Inspired in self-isolation (6)
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Inspired in self-isolation: Gabe Fraboni
Gabe is a lighting and production designer and show director based in Los Angeles and travelling worldwide on numerous innovative projects in collaboration with a talented team of individuals from his visual design practice, Phntm Labs. Known for his insouciant passion for life and the industry, for the last four years Gabe has been production and show designer – lighting, video, set, lasers – for top DJ / music producer Martijn Garrix, working on 485 shows in 106 countries!
Robe: Where are you right now?
Gabe: in LA, California.
Robe: How are you spending time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Gabe: My first priority was to ensure that all of my colleagues at Phntm Labs were looked after so we could stay working – remotely – from our various homes, and ensuring that our capital and resources were spent wisely while we weather the storm.
After that I have been very focused on strategic planning for the company which has included looking at how we can develop and diversify our current skill sets and embrace new ones for the future benefit of all our business.
We have concept designing for a few longer-term ‘horizon’ projects that are ongoing, and we are looking at future presentational opportunities and how we can optimize the possibility of digital and virtual spaces … a project I had initially earmarked for 2021, which with Covid-19, I have brought forward!
Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do whilst in isolation?
Gabe: Well, there are those design projects I mentioned already, but aside from those, I am enjoying the enforced down-time to work on my personal self-development.
The past four years with Martijn has been totally full-on and while I’ve loved the energy and buzz … this is now a great moment to ‘reset’.
When the whole pandemic and resulting shut-downs first took hold, like most people, I was panicking and over-thinking the scenario. Then I quickly realized that rather than having almost ‘a grudge’ against the virus for stopping everything in its tracks … it was time turn things totally positive, be philosophical … and catch up on things like sleep and actually having the space and time to appreciate many things including the fantastic people around me.
In addition to that, I am doing several technology related tutorials that I never ‘normally’ have the time for!
All of this is keeping me challenged!
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Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis? Like neighbors or others in the family?
Gabe: My team at Phntm Labs.
Robe: Has anyone particularly inspired you since this crisis started?
Gabe: My cousin who is a newly graduated doctor from Columbia University, and who has been on the Covid-19 front lines in New York.
Apart from this, this time has also allowed me to take a deep-dive into some of my favorite artists – which include Anish Kapoor (British Indian sculptor specializing in installation and conceptual art); Andi Watson (acclaimed lighting and stage designer) and a few others, all of whom are sources of creative inspiration.
I have actually been able to reach out to some of them in person on Instagram!
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Robe: What has been your favorite book / movie / Netflix or TV series / viral video / Games / music?
Gabe: I’m a prolific reader – I like fiction and books about history and business. Last year I read around 40 titles and this year my goal was set at 52, one per week, but I’ve actually only got through five so far.
Two of these are biographies of Benjamin Franklin and Albert Einstein … and they were both long and very intense, so that took some time!
I’m actually trying not to be too hard on myself with my book ‘deadlines’ right now!
Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this crisis?
Gabe: Have a nice dinner / meal out with my friends, drink at a bar and hang out!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Gabe: I feel the key to getting through this period – which we all will – is to manage stress sensibly and practically on one hand, and also find pleasure and purpose in the many ‘little’ things in life that we so take for granted!
Also realizing that slowing down is actually … OK!
Inspired in self-isolation: Amy Kerr
Amy is Robe UK’s field sales support manager – a role as social as it is diverse and a job she loves. Time is spent on the road – visiting customers and demonstrating fixtures; teaching a group of industry professionals and students how to use a specific product; or at a trade show mingling with people from all around the world.
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Robe: Where are you right now?
Amy: I am currently at home in Bedfordshire.
Robe: What are you doing to fill the time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Amy: As well as continuing to work from home I have been taking advantage of the lovely weather by getting out on my bike and I have discovered so much more about where I live!
Exercise is very important for me for looking after not just my physical health but also my mental health during this lockdown. Online workouts allow me social interaction and to feel part of a group again, as well as an opportunity to get the blood pumping and turn up the music!
Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do in isolation?
Amy: Gave my husband a new hairstyle and trying to learn a new lighting console!
Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis?
Amy: Just my husband.
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Robe: Has anyone inspired you since this started?
Amy: There have been a lot of heart-warming stories and I am inspired by the selflessness of the general public, the bravery of our NHS staff and key workers and our ability to pull together in a crisis.
Robe: Favourite book / movie / Netflix series / viral video?
Amy: I have recently discovered a podcast called “The Last Podcast on The Left” (http://www.thelastpodcastontheleft.com), which is a horror/true-crime podcast and the hosts are hilarious! (this weekly podcast features comedian and podcast host Ben Kissel, podcast producer and researcher Marcus Parks, and comedian and actor Henry Zebrowski, all of whom are long-time friends)
I have been catching up on a few Netflix series’ and I just finished Tiger King, which is off the wall crazy.
Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through it?
Amy: Go to a gig!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Amy: This pandemic has made me appreciate a lot of things in my life that I took for granted before.
Inspired in self-isolation: Maxime Rosnarho
Lighting designer and operator Maxime was expecting to finish a tour with Canadian Rwandan singer Corneille, and then be preparing for the summer festival season which would have included HellFest, La Nuit de l’Erdre, Megascéne and others. Instead, he found himself … inspired in self-isolation.
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Robe: Where are you right now?
Maxime: I’m at home!! in Vannes, Brittany, France.
Robe: How are you spending time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Maxime: I am taking the opportunity to spend time with my partner and repair small things in our apartment as well as training on different software.
Robe: What is the most creative thing you’re able to do whilst in isolation?
Maxime: In collaboration with 10 colleagues (sound, video, riggers, etc), we are developing an innovative scenography concept to propose for staging a DJ show with an orchestra!
Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis? Like neighbours or others in the family?
Maxime: Yes, I live in a building where many elderly people live, so I try to bring them groceries from the supermarket. The Thursday 8 p.m. applause (clap for carers) is very followed here, and it is a pleasure to say "hello" to everyone at this time.
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Robe: Has anyone particularly inspired you since this crisis started?
Maxime: Obviously, all those in the medical profession – who luckily are here to help all of us fight, but it’s a shame that it has taken this … for everyone to realise and appreciate them!
Robe: What has been your favourite book / movie / Netflix or TV series / viral video / Games / music? (some detail needed here answers please)
Maxime: I watched the 9 seasons of "Suits"!!! (set at a fictional New York Law firm); “Casa de Papel” (AKA “Money Heist”, award-winning Spanish series on Netflix set around two incredible bank heists), and French political thriller “Le Bureau des Légendes”.
I also listen to a lot of music … rediscovering an old album is always a pleasure (today the release of a new Rolling Stones title):
Robe: What is the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this crisis?
Maxime: Going seeing my parents, eating a good barbecue, seeing my friends again and quickly going sailing!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Maxime: With or without a pandemic situation, I think it is important to respect everyone and to pay attention to all the people around us.
Inspired in self-isolation: Victorien Cayzeele
Victorien is a talented and busy young French lighting and set designer working with a raft of creative and interesting artists on various sized tours … from clubs to stadiums! He’s on the road or in rehearsals with artists and their teams for most of the year. His most recent collaborations include Soprano, Etienne Daho and Vitalic. When the French lockdown was announced he’d just finished rehearsals with multidisciplinary artist Aloïse Sauvage which combined music with acrobatics and was also working on a special one-off with soprano accompanied by 15,000 singers! Currently, he should have been touring with French pop duo AaRON.
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Robe: Where are you right now?
Victorien: At home in Paris, where my office and creative space is.
Robe: How are you spending time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Victorien: Many things – sleep, find a balance between work and personal moments, rediscover time for myself and my loved ones, organising barbecues on the terrace, doing DIY jobs, tidying up … and finally … all those things that I can't usually do.
Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do whilst in isolation?
Victorien: I am getting ahead and ensuring that I am well-prepared for when everything starts again, and this includes taking the time to prepare and finesse upcoming projects and creating new ideas for potential upcoming tours.
I am also making sure that I learn new ways of improving organisation of the workflow – precision, detail and everything that makes it possible to be creating and more efficient at the same time.
I try to think outside the box, discover new visualisers, new software, and new methodologies.
It's nice to discover new things.
Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis? Like neighbours or others in the family?
Victorien: I keep in touch with the family, and here I watch over my girlfriend, my roommates and the birds who come to feed on the terrace and who offer a break in the city!
I can't wait to find my friends, artists and teams on the road again!
Robe: Has anyone particularly inspired you since this crisis started?
Victorien: Not so much ‘inspired’ but there are those for whom I have a lot of respect, which include all the nursing and medical staff – doctors, nurses, ancillary jobs, researchers, and more broadly all the people on the frontlines bringing their help and genius to the management of this episode!
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Robe: What has been your favourite book / movie / Netflix or TV series / viral video Games / music?
Victorien: I'm starting (superstar DJ and musician) Moby's new book Then It Fell Apart (the second part of his memoir), and I'm watching (American political thriller and web TV series) House of Cards on Netflix which is very addictive.
I listen to my favourite music a lot, and from time to time check out LimeLightWired (a lighting community source about what's new with a humorous take on situations faced by the industry) on Instagram which is pretty funny.
Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this crisis?
Victorien: Join my family, my niece, have a drink with my friends and then go see the sea!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Victorien: I hope we will grow through it!
Now is the perfect time to step back and reflect on our way of life. I think we should take this opportunity to change our ways of living, working, bringing more harmony and sharing.
Inspired in self-isolation: Palle Palme
Palle is based in Sweden and works as a freelance lighting designer in all disciplines - musicals, drama, opera, concerts, touring, commercial and industrial events, etc. His long-term client list includes urban dance impresario Fredrik ‘Benke’ Rydman for which he lit “Varoffer”, an amazing performance that saw Benke partnering with an industrial robot.
Robe: Where are you right now?
Palle: At my home in central Stockholm, Sweden.
Robe: What are you doing to fill the time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Palle: Trying to stay in the house as much as possible and go out as little as possible. Just for buying food or medicals or for a walk in the forest. People are disciplined here in Stockholm – keeping the correct social distance from each other when walking, on the streets and inside the shops.
Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do in isolation?
Palle: First, I had to reschedule all my productions for March, April and May and hope that some of the summer productions are going to work out. After that, I anticipate there being a huge amount to do from September onwards!
Right now, I am also learning the basics of the grand MA3 via the educational channels available online … for future work.
Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis?
Palle: No, just busy taking care of myself and my family.
Robe: Has anyone inspired you since this started?
Palle: No!
Robe: Favourite book / movie / Netflix series / viral video?
Palle: I have watched the complete package of James Bond movies – it’s been a while since I’ve had time to do something like that!
Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this crisis?
Palle: Start seeing people face to face again and have proper meetings rather than through FaceTime or Skype!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Palle: I think that all of us in the entertainment business will have to adapt to new times when the virus slowly is disappearing. There will be a lot of unemployment worldwide and people will have difficulties in paying for high ticket prices, so promoters and producers will have to lower prices!
All of us – artists, creatives, rental companies, sales companies, manufacturers, technicians – all the people that work across all sectors in our business must assist in bringing it back to ‘normal’ again. It will take time, but I believe that we can do it!
Inspired in self-isolation: Ali Pike
Ali has been working worldwide as a touring lighting director for over 15 years with a variety of music artists who enjoy her diligence and attention to detail. Recent projects have included Kylie Minogue, Frank Turner, LCD Soundsystem and Goldfrapp.
Robe: Where are you right now?
Ali: Right now, I am sat in my garden in Liverpool.
Robe: How are you spending time whilst isolating / on lockdown?
Ali: I seem to have accidentally fostered a rabbit called Matilda ... who was supposed to stay for 5 days whilst I was home doing pre-vis … that was 5 weeks ago now. Vets are only open for urgent operations right now, and the rescue (Rescue Me Animal Sanctuary in Liverpool) can’t do home checks, so now she is basically the boss in our house!
She manages to take up a lot of my day, she is very good at making mess, demanding food, hanging out in the garden, and will happily sit being groomed for hours every afternoon.
Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do whilst in isolation?
Ali: There has been a lot of baking and cooking going on, bread, cakes, and lots of newly discovered vegan dinner recipes! Favourites are a moussaka and a meat-free meatloaf … oh and our Battenburg cake was a sticky mess of deliciousness!
Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis? Like neighbours or others in the family?
Ali: We have a neighbour who is over 70 so we have been doing his grocery shopping, and also providing occasional slices of homemade cake. I have also joined a local Covid-19 support group, and have collected and delivered prescriptions for elderly and vulnerable people locally.
It only takes the occasional hour of my day but makes such a difference to people who are self-isolating.
Robe: Has anyone particularly inspired you since this crisis started?
Ali: I have been impressed with the British public as a whole, a large majority of whom are observing the social distancing rules.
I go out for local walks most days, and have noticed an increase in people smiling and saying hello to each other (from opposite sides of the path of course). There is a real feeling of community up in Liverpool, and this is evident even more right now.
Robe: What has been your favourite book / movie / Netflix or TV series / viral video
Games / music?
Ali: I have just started “Zelda: A Link To The Past” (a Nintendo action-adventure game) on the SNES … I never played this as a kid as I have no sense of direction and can’t read maps, so I suspect this may take a while!
Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this crisis?
Ali: Hug all my friends and family, then get back to my beloved Arizona and hike up a really big hill and tell the cacti how much I missed them!
Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?
Ali: We know bad days are going to hit us all at some point. That is a totally natural and understandable response.
Look after each other and check-in with your friends, even if it is just sending a picture or something random on WhatsApp … you might just pull them up on a really bad day!