For a DJ, what you see is as important as what you hear, so you should always pay attention to lighting, even at live events. That is the view of American DJ Brent Schmidt, a Cleveland native. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the artist did not hesitate to join the cause of live shows.
Driven by his desire to pass the time and entertain fans and friends, the DJ has managed to put together an impressive show, shaped in part by his lighting choices.
Shows such as "Six Feet Apart Party" are streamed from his own home studio. Truth be told, from a production standpoint this home studio is far less equipped than professional studios he has worked in, such as SkyProut, or than what he had while touring with magician Rick Smith Jr. But there is a reason for this: Schmidt does not want to give the impression that he is working in a big studio while playing at home. Even so, during each livestream he strives to give his very best.
"I love doing livestreams, and I also think they're a good opportunity for other DJs to do the same. I think this kind of streaming content helps us all escape from reality"
"In any case, you have to deliver a show with lighting that's up to the task. Every show reflects what you're worth and what you're capable of, so you have to impress. You never know who'll be watching!"
For recording, Schmidt relies on two cameras that capture a visually striking scene with multiple colors, layers of light and depth effects. He is assisted in the lighting work by a number of CHAUVET DJ fixtures from the inventory of his company, B Productions.
His lighting rig consists of seven battery-powered Freedom H1 RGBAW-UV wash lights that can be controlled remotely via their built-in D-Fi transceiver. Of these fixtures, he uses two for front lighting, three for back lighting and another two for side lighting.
For special effects he also relies on other CHAUVET DJ fixtures such as the Freedom Q1N, the COLORband T3 USB and the COLORband T3 USB Bar. Thanks to these linear lights, the show reaches a new level of entertainment, noticeable even on the smallest screens.
All the lighting fixtures in the Freedom range run on batteries, so power consumption is minimal. In addition, they can be controlled wirelessly, and Schmidt can operate them without any problem while working the turntables and being streamed live to Facebook, Instagram and Twitch.
"I care about this show as if I were getting paid for it. It's been a lot of fun. I like getting requests from people and making them have fun wherever they are. What motivated me to start these livestreams was basically killing boredom. And now I already have events lined up for next year, booked exclusively for streaming."
