Mazzy Star

Lighting, Video & Projection Design

Lighting with Darkness

Touring as Mazzy Star's lighting and video designer was an interesting challenge. The band prefers to remain in shadows with very low intensities of saturated light. Day to day was less about figuring out how to light the band and more about figuring out how NOT to light them. Using very narrow beams and high angles whenever possible I focused on lighting just upstage of the musicians and on the face of the amplifiers and drum kit. This gave the band just enough light for them to see their instruments and still feel comfortable in their darkness. 

Projecting the Show

Visually, the show was mostly carried by the projections on a large cyc behind the band. The imagery ranged from stereographic slides that were curated by lead singer Hope Sandoval to abstract and  saturated moving patterns that I created from footage shot during the tour. My goal with the imagery was to compliment the stark nature of the songs and create a very subtle feeling of movement, giving the audience something dynamic to look at.

In a review for the  NY times John Pareles wrote: "The band performed in dim light, with members’ faces in shadow; a video screen showed starscapes, rippling coastal waters or old stereoscope images. There was just enough visual information to keep the focus on the songs."