Laura Frank is the founder of Luminous FX, and as she says in her bio on her website: “I am not a designer, and I am not a technician. What I am is a creative partner. I’ve called my role a technologist, a visualist, a mediator, but ultimately I think I am a great editor. I take the genesis of the designer’s concept and make it thrive in the chaos of production.” The Super Bowl halftime show with Paul McCartney? That was some of Laura’s work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz38asyJkcU
So were the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002 and the Vancouver Olympics in 2012.
http://youtu.be/Uhr49NeN-_4?t=1m50s
She’s not a lighting designer, per se, but controlling light and making beautiful spectacles is all part of the job.
Stress is also a big part of the job. When your work relies on computers and programming, things are bound to go wrong, but Laura says it’s all a part of the process.
It takes a special group of people to make magic happen on the giant stage, and it’s a team effort.
Laura valued the experience of working on the International stage with the Olympic events, but the “experience nearest and dearest to her heart” was David Bowie’s Reality Tour in 2003-2004. She worked alongside Bowie figuring out the visual display for the show, and he gave her a bit of advice:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eF551z9KlA8
