Jon Kusner Navigates Day-to-Evening Changes at Michigan Central Station with 4Wall and Chauvet Professional

	Chauvet Professional and 4Wall at Michigan Central Station.

Close collaboration between a lighting and video team is always essential. Anyone who's been a part of an arena show where lights and screens flow seamlessly together can appreciate that. But the fine points of this relationship take on an extra level of urgency when the sun starts setting on an outdoor broadcast production.

This point was driven home to multi-Prime Time Emmy Award winning lighting designer/director Jon Kusner on June 6th, when he lit the grand reopening of the iconic Michigan Central Station, a 90-plus minute event that started in the early evening, and featured stars like Eminem, Diana Ross, Jack White, Big Sean and Jelly Roll, as the sky darkened.

The tallest railroad station in the world when it opened in 1914, the 230ft high Beaux-Arts building was abandoned in the 1980s; its decaying façade quickly becoming emblematic of urban decay. Today, its reopening as a gleaming multi-purpose center represents something else: Detroit's rebirth. Thanks to the station's symbolic importance, its reopening ceremony attracted widespread media attention and was broadcast on the NBC network, in addition to being streamed on Peacock.

Kusner, a partner in 22 Degrees, talked about the challenges involved in lighting this dusk-scheduled event. "TV shows that start in daylight but quickly run into nighttime are always an interesting ride for the lighting and video departments," he said. "You quickly realize how much you rely on each other to make sure the cameras look good. I felt confident going into this project, since we had Terrance Ho as the lead video engineer on the project. Terrance and I have worked together many times in the past. Initially, you need a lot of light to compete or enhance with what mother nature is doing, but soon after that it's a roller coaster of quickly minimizing the amount of light you need to have proper balance as the daylight exits."

Helping Kusner meet the "lighting part" of this challenge was a collection of 99 Color Strike motorized strobes and 60 Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash fixtures from Chauvet Professional, which, like the rest of his rig, was supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.

The Color Strike M units were hung vertically, 21 apiece, on three FOH towers. The vertical configuration of the high output fixtures helped "carry the energy from the stage far back into the crowd," noted Kusner, who also positioned 12 of the fixtures on the stage side of each tower to add tempo and color throughout the near audience area.

Kusner arranged his Maverick Storm 2 BeamWashes primarily on the ground as well as on elevated columns in front of the main building. He directed them towards the stage. "The Storm 2s provided a punch of light that appeared to emanate from the main entrance to the station," he said. "This worked out especially well on the drone shots. These fixtures were also great to fill the physical space between the stage and building that was left empty for emergency egress and backstage equipment."

Aside from having to navigate the always tricky day-to-evening transition, Kusner and his team had to work with a short load in timeframe, which left no time for rehearsal, except for a period on the day before the event. Complicating matters, a rain and windstorm on rehearsal day necessitated a mandatory stop, as the team had to shelter in the main building until the storm passed.

"Our team performed phenomenally," said Kusner. "Bob Suchocki, my point person from 4Wall, did a fantastic job with the ever-changing request and adjustments to the gear list. Alex Flores was lead 4Wall person on site, working with John Cox who was the gaffer for the show. Jon Weaver, Mike Peters and Martin LaCombe from Fantasee Integration were instrumental in getting us control of the thousands of parameters of newly installed lighting within Michigan Central. Tyler Ericcon held it all together as our LD. I was also lucky to work with a person I think is one of the most gifted designer/programmers in the world, Eric Marchwinski -- along with a young protege of his, Jonathan Martin."

Working with this team, Kusner was able to create a show that celebrated the historical significance of the moment while also creating a rewarding viewing experience for the live and TV audience. "From the beginning, it was planned to be a streamed or aired show, so the main concern for me was the camera and how it translates to it," he said, looking back on the project.

"The hardest part of any TV show is lighting the people in a flattering manner, so they felt like they belong in the environment around them," he continued. "This being an outside show meant that lighting positions all had to be manufactured or installed since none existed beforehand. So, the basic design needed to have flexibility to light the people, the scenery, which in this case, was a huge building -- and often negative space where there is no scenery."

Helping TV viewers appreciate the sense of place at the event was the Jamboree roof over the massive 65ft wide by 50ft deep performance area, which had a trim that ranged from 32ft to 44ft high. "The type of roof we used was the least obstructive alternative," said Kusner. "We also trimmed our trusses at the maximum height to allow the clearest view possible of the building."

As for the grand old building itself, it seemed to enjoy all the attention, standing tall as it did against the darkening sky, not just a revitalized train station, but a proud symbol of a city on its way back.