Follow-Me 3D system successfully supported Alanis Morissette’s Las Vegas residency at Caesar’s Palace, delivering advanced lighting and tracking solutions for landmark performances celebrating the 30th anniversary of Jagged Little Pill.
The residency, which took place in October and November, included eight performances on Caesar’s Palace’s expansive 35-metre-wide stage, featuring classic hits such as Ironic and You Oughta Know. The production combined Morissette’s powerful rock performances with theatrical elements including dancers, monologues, set pieces and sketches that told the stories behind her songs.
The Follow-Me 3D system enabled approximately 120 fixtures to operate as follow-spots throughout the production. The system provided seamless console integration and allowed real-time adjustments to accommodate the show’s dynamic, non-rigidly structured format.
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Fuse Technical Group (FTG) supplied the equipment for the residency. Lighting Designer and Director Nathaniel “Nate” Cromwell led the production design and technical direction of the show, working alongside Chris Lose and Luke Edwards from Follow-Me, who provided system training and integration support.
The production presented several specific challenges. Morissette’s performance style avoids traditional stage marks, requiring the tracking system to adapt to her spontaneous movement across a very wide stage. In addition, the show featured dramatic shifts in energy, including two major musical breakdowns with high-precision industrial tempos, alongside intimate moments addressing themes such as alcoholism, attachment and detachment.
The technical setup used Follow-Me 3D with two cameras—one positioned at the front and one at the rear of the theatre—to provide complete stage coverage. The production deployed six manual operators managing six follow positions, along with additional fake points for keyboards and drums covering the band. A total of 32 fixtures on the downstage used the system’s proximity feature to improve efficiency.
I chose Follow-Me for this project because it was the right tool for the right job. I could turn any fixture in the rig into a follow-spot, notes Cromwell, who has worked with Morissette for nearly nine years.
The system delivered significant operational advantages. The proximity feature on the 32 downstage fixtures resulted in considerable time savings during setup. The production completed focusing and calibration within a very tight timeframe, with Cromwell highlighting the accuracy of both the fixture profiles and the tracking model.
"The way Follow-Me handles its injection into the network stream, with that elegant sACN priority shifting back and forth, was something I really enjoyed on this project". explains Cromwell. "The ability to take individual fixtures online and offline without being tied to a specific console was key".
The system’s creative capabilities proved essential to the show’s narrative. During The Reasons I Drink, as Morissette moved across the stage and dancers entered, lights progressively latched onto her, building up to around 86 fixtures, before opening out to different positions as the dancers exited during the chorus.
We are literally using the lights to tell the story of what’s happening on stage. I can crossfade between the lights on tracker one and the lights in my band preset, so as I move back and forth, the lights jump directly between Alanis and the band, without follow-spot operators having to zig-zag between the two, describes Cromwell.
The centrepiece of the production was a longitudinal truss structure, dubbed the Chakra Truss, featuring seven backlights that converged at three specific points during the show. Each song was designed around a specific chakra colour from these backlights, creating a cohesive visual narrative throughout the performance.
The system’s intuitive programming interface was another major asset. Despite the complexity of the show—featuring theatrical elements rarely seen in Morissette’s previous tours—the production team completed load-in and final programming in just two days.
That’s another great thing about Follow-Me: I learned it in a day and a half. Ultimately, Follow-Me made this incredible tracking show happen in just two days. It allows me, as a designer, to create those magical theatrical moments thanks to its speed, precision and ease of use, concludes Cromwell.
