Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX Luminaires Are a Direct Hit for One Direction

	Lighting designer Paul Normandale used the VL3500 Wash FX luminaires to wash the stage and One Direction with vibrant color and deliver some stunning effects. Photo: Calvin Aurand

One Direction embarked on their worldwide Where We Are tour this spring, performing in some of the biggest stadiums around the globe to millions of screaming fans. For shows of this size and scope, go-to lighting designer for the live music industry Paul Normandale needed a mind-blowing lighting design to match and so, the company says, he turned to the Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX luminaires, supplied by Lite Alternative.

Having designed shows for some of today's biggest concert touring artists including Arctic Monkeys and Coldplay, Normandale is used to making a huge impact with his designs, which he says often feature the VL3500 Wash FX at their core.

"The VL3500 Wash FX luminaire has long been a favorite of mine," says Normandale. "Because of this, it has formed the basis of many of my designs over the last few years."

Normandale's design for One Direction needed to pack a huge punch in order to stand up to the extensive onstage video element, as well as work against the sunlight that streamed into each stadium. He rigged eight VL3500 Wash FX luminaires on the floor and 12 in the air, to wash the stage and the band with vibrant color and deliver some stunning effects.

"The VL3500 Wash FX is a fantastically bright source with endless creative possibilities, which is just what I needed," says Normandale. "It provided me with the perfect transition from daylight to darkness at the end of the set when the band played their newer, rockier songs as I could then amplify the effects."

The Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX has an output that exceeds 70,000 lumens as well as varied options for color and beam control. It also provides designers with a four position plus open rotating FX pattern wheel, CMY color mixing, variable CTO color temperature correction, dual five-position color wheels, a separate dimmer, and an independent dual blade strobe mechanism. As well as its wash and effects modes, the VL3500 Wash FX provides the VARI*BRITE mode, which can be engaged to offer a tight column of intense light, making it one of the most versatile wash luminaire on the market.

"For this tour, we had to be really mindful of weight loadings because of the sheer scale of the set," continues Normandale. "As the VL3500 Wash FX works as a wash and gobo effects light it was the ideal solution."

One Direction continues the extensive US leg of their tour throughout the summer.