ETC Fixtures and Consoles Support 2021 MobMovie Awards

Held at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, the 2021 MobMovie Awards were part of the three-day MobMovieCon Festival that features cast, crew, and memorabilia from some of the most popular mob movies and television shows. Fourteen SolaFrame 750, 16 SolaFrame 1500, and 22 ETC Lustr II fixtures were specified as part of the lighting package, as well as a Full Boar 4 console and Hoglet for control.

Charlie Santella was brought on as the event’s lighting director to design both the main award’s ballroom and the cast and crew panel room. Lighting equipment was provided by Mid Atlantic Event Group, who also produced all audio and video elements for the event. Joining Santella on the crew were Production Manager Kyle Kelly, Video Director Drew Mercadante, and Associate Lighting/Video Designer Alex Brunette.  

Santella visited High End Systems in 2019 as an intern with 4Wall, where he trained on Hog 4 and was first exposed to the SolaFrame fixtures. “I haven’t looked back since,” he says, “and have used Hog 4 on almost every project since then – except for theater, where Eos still has my heart!”

The MobMovie awards was a live, broadcasted event which also had a large audience in the space. In addition to rigging limitations, the lighting rig needed to be versatile enough for both the awards show and the subsequent after-party, while still having a quality of light that would look great for the broadcast and IMAG walls.

Those design parameters lead Charlie to use SolaFrame 750 and SolaSpot 1500. “I knew they would bring the power, color accuracy, and beam feature sets needed to handle the event while still fitting within budget. The fixtures looked fantastic from anywhere in the room and broadcast. I also used Lustr II fixtures throughout the entire ballroom to provide both a front light system for the stage and a texture system to enhance the room’s architecture and seating space.”

At FOH he used a Hog 4 Full Boar with a Hoglet backup to handle show control. “Hog was definitely the best fit for the project,” he points out, “since it allowed for seamless and versatile control between the show’s segments, which included multiple cue lists and even busking some moments during live performances. We also got to utilize Hog’s plot and media mapping features to eliminate the need to create as many color palette effects. Downstairs in the panel room we used ETC’s EOS Nomad for control, to have as low profile of a FOH as possible, along with the ability to connect via VNC to make changes without having to walk down to the console.”

In closing, Santella says, “It was a super fun project to create, and the event went off without a hitch. I am really happy I trusted High End fixtures and consoles with this project.”

Photos by Charlie Santella and Andrew Lopiccolo.