Production News

TiMax Powers Real-Time Spatial Audio for Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupé Global Premiere on LA’s Sixth Street Bridge

USA – Mercedes-AMG recently transformed Los Angeles’s Sixth Street Bridge into a mock Autobahn for the global premiere of its new all-electric AMG GT 4-Door Coupé and the audio brief was as audacious as the staging: track the car in real time as it raced across more than 300 metres of bridge, with absolute spatial precision.

Delivering on that brief was a collaborative effort built around TiMax SoundHub, supplied by PRG. PRG’s technical product manager – audio, Douglas Plander explained: “We were tasked with providing a large Main PA system for the audience with the inclusion of an A-list musical act, but to also include multiple smaller flown systems that would make the audience feel like they were in the middle of it all. Without the TiMax system in place, the event wouldn’t have been as easy or sounded as good. The special environment, cross fades and the precise timing of the event was all brought to the forefront of the experience.”

Sound designer Anthony Narciso was introduced to deploy the spatial rendering required to realise the creative vision of event sound designer Peter Phillips.

For Phillips, TiMax was “the only system that allowed for a completely bespoke approach to spatialising live audio”, which was essential on this project. The AMG GT remained under wraps until a single rehearsal before showtime, meaning the entire spatial design had to be built and refined without it. Narciso’s pre-production tests proved so convincing that, as he puts it, “several people who heard them actually thought the car was physically present during playback.”

Without access to the car, Narciso mapped over 300 metres of bridge within TiMax Panspace. During pre-programming, he generated around 26 test cues referencing a variety of image definitions, fade automations and movement speeds, ready to evaluate as soon as the bridge system became functional. With the AMG GT off-site, the TiMax built-in playback engine became central to the workflow. Every test cue was run using samples loaded directly into TiMax and refined long before the car arrived on the bridge.

With pre-programming complete, the next step was synchronising cues to the car’s movement on the bridge. As the stunt drivers used a test vehicle to map their speed runs, the team stopwatched exactly when the car would pass specific markers, allowing Narciso to fine-tune timing within TiMax. When the live audio feed from the AMG GT itself came online on event night, the team swapped the source inputs and the programming tracked through perfectly with no further adjustment required.

The flexibility of TiMax also proved decisive when last-minute changes were needed. Speakers were repositioned and the ground plan was expanded to cover additional distance, both handled in minutes thanks to TiMax SoundHub’s recalculation capabilities. After speaker movements were dropped into a scaled ground plan, the image definitions were instantly updated without affecting existing work. The team even added localised DJ playback to a dedicated section of the system speakers and used the built-in OSC library to create a custom Stream Deck control panel tailored to the show’s operational needs.

Narciso confirmed: “The TiMax programming worked flawlessly. We delivered an experience where the audience genuinely felt the sensation of the car whooshing past them at high speeds. The flexibility of TiMax allows you to create extremely precise effects while also enhancing reality in ways that elevate moments like this.”

Plander concluded: “While other systems might have achieved similar results, the TiMax system was the one true winner when it came to the immersive movements needed in such a short time frame both in pre-production and in real time. Building on our success with TED and ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ (on Broadway), we felt that the TiMax system best incorporated the artist vision and demanding needs of the show.”

photo: Larry Chen

16th June 2026

The Technical Department provides rapid electrical support for London exhibition project

UK – When production manager Ollie Jeffrey was contracted to oversee the UK delivery of The Nova Music Festival Exhibition: Oct 7 06:29 The Moment Music Stood Still, he brought The Technical Department on board to provide electrical support.

The exhibition, a sensitive remembrance project reflecting on the lives lost at the Nova Music Festival and the human stories connected with that day, is on the 12th leg of its round-the-world tour. The Technical Department was asked to support the wider technical production team with power, practical lighting, work lighting and emergency lighting.

With project details still evolving, TTD’s first task was to assess how the existing house power within the space could be utilised safely and effectively. Phil King, project manager at TTD said: “Following a rapid site visit, we identified a suitable distribution board, agreed dimmer locations and obtained the required MCBs to allow the house power to be used. All tails were signed off to BS 7671, with power in place within two days, allowing the rigging and lighting teams to continue progressing the project.”

During this period, Jeffrey and his fire and safety team produced a plan identifying where emergency lighting was required. TTD had both the equipment and crew available on site to install the emergency lighting, making use of the venue’s existing cable tray system. King continued: “We installed the work lighting at the same time and drew on our industry relationships to develop a practical cabling solution that supported an efficient and tidy installation.”

Although the project was relatively straightforward in technical scope, the short timeframe, fluid brief and level of co-ordination required between departments made flexibility essential. For TTD, this ability to respond quickly, adapt as details develop and support productions as requirements evolve on site is one of the company’s key strengths.

The project also demonstrated the value of working with a team able to deliver beyond standard plug-and-play temporary power solutions. With City & Guilds-qualified electricians on the crew, The Technical Department was able to support work involving permanent installation considerations and solutions outside the entertainment industry’s usual BS 7909 certification route.

Jeffrey said: “I have worked with The Technical Department across a number of projects over the years and they have become one of those suppliers I know I can rely on when it matters. Whether responding at short notice, mobilising quickly or delivering complex temporary electrical installations, their team consistently brings professionalism, technical expertise and a practical approach to getting the job done.”

He concluded: “During The Nova Exhibition project they responded rapidly, worked efficiently and collaborated closely with the wider project team to help deliver safe and compliant installations within a challenging environment. They remain one of the first calls I make when I need trusted technical support on a project.” 

16th June 2026

Ed Warren Evokes Narrative for Kingfishr with Chauvet Professional

UK – There are times when even a consummate designer like Ed Warren wonders how much lighting can add to a show. Discussing his client Kingfishr’s current Halcyon tour, Warren declared: “In all honesty they don’t even need a light show.” Such is the richly textured visual power of this rapidly rising band’s story-telling music.

But the uber-talented Warren’s hyperbolic remark is overly modest. As evocative as it is, Kingfishr’s indie Irish music, is allowed to flourish all the more on stage when it is supported by a lighting design that understands it at its core level. Warren is demonstrating this is in beautiful fashion on the trio from Limerick’s tour with a design that calls forth shadows, silhouettes and subtle colour changes to reflect their music.

“Given the nature of this band, it was just important to provide a setting for them to perform within the stage that would complement whatever it is they’re doing,” said Warren. “I want to let the band perform and tell their story in a warm welcoming environment without providing any distractions.”

Warren noted that there are different elements to his tour design. “First and foremost, this band are not suited to the overuse of video/content,” he detailed. “They’re very real and have an ‘analogue feeling.’ So, for the UK tour I go primarily with a scrim backdrop and project the band’s silhouettes onto it, which keeps everything natural and engaging. 

“When it comes to larger shows (30,000 capacity outdoors) we have an upstage video wall as part of the house rig, which we utilise sparingly,” he continued. “We hang the scrim in front of the video wall to diffuse it and take out some of the LED harshness. For the full arena rig we are actually projecting onto the scrim which gives us a much more textured video look working in tandem with the silhouettes.”

Providing the lighting power for Warren’s design in the tour’s full arena show are 96 Strike 1 fixtures and 10 COLORado PXL Curve 12 motorised battens, both from Chauvet Professional and both supplied by Neg Earth. Most of the Strike units are arranged on two lower-level rows on the sides of the stage and the upstage backdrop. Additional units are on side and upstage truss as part of the floor package. The PXL battens are positioned just upstage of the band to backlight them.

“Some of the patterns we get with the PXL are truly lovely,” said Warren. “The Strike fixtures give us very dynamic, exciting looks around the band, but at the same time, they look very real and inviting, so they connect to the crowd. As you can imagine, the show is one very big sing-along.”

In addition to generating excitement on stage, the Strike 1 fixtures are connecting the crowd to Kingfishr through audience lighting. They’re also contributing to the monochromatic mood Warren is creating on stage. “I limited my palette to very natural colours, such as warm whites and ambers,” he said. “Three are one or two moments with a red or blue but again we want to retain the warmth and natural feeling of the show. 

Working closely with his collaborators Steve Heywood (programmer and operator), Dave Glover (TM/PM), Ben Milner (video director), as well as Davide Palumbe and Shelley (lighting technicians), Warren keeps his looks neat, symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. “Our goal is to provide a design that is welcoming to the audience no matter where they are in the venue,” said Warren.

A noble goal? Most definitely; and one best filled by an evocative lighting design, the kind needed by every band, even the best storytellers! 

16th June 2026

DiGiCo Quantum T software proves popular with Stage Sound Services

UK – Cardiff-based sound hire company, Stage Sound Services (SSS), has long-standing relationships with many award-winning sound designers. Recently, keeping up with demand has necessitated a substantial investment in DiGiCo Quantum consoles. Regardless of the console size, one thing unites them: DiGiCo’s Theatre software. Company owner, Phil Hurley, explains why the T software remains so popular with theatrical sound designers.

“Our SD10T was an absolutely rock-solid, stable console and the Quantum 338T has been the perfect upgrade,” Hurley says. “Having multiple screens is a big advantage, theatre designers jumped onboard very quickly and it has now become an industry standard. It quickly became a solid choice for mid-sized and larger musical theatre productions. In fact, our first Quantum 338T is on Stranger Things: First Shadow in the West End.”

Hurley has quite a collection of DiGiCo consoles, including six Quantum 225s, 19 Quantum 338s and four Quantum 326s, all with T software upgrades. He has also added the Quantum 225 DS upgrades to the entire SSS Q225 collection. With a strong return on investment, Hurley continues to purchase DiGiCo products with confidence.

“As a rental company, it’s all about investing in the right tools at the right time,” he explains. “When the SD10 came out, we invested heavily early on, they continue to work hard and have been on a lot of shows. Our investment in the Quantum 338Ts is based on that history and, with the upgrades available, we know we’re going to get a lot of use out of our new stock.”

Sound designer Tom Marshall has relied on SSS equipment and support for over ten years. They have supplied many of his designs, including Bank of Dave, the Musical which premieres at the Lowry Theatre in Salford during May. For him, the Quantum Series and T software is the ideal match. The combination enables him to design the console architecture offline in advance, building in contingency, before working with the Number One sound operator to program the show during rehearsals.

“Thanks to the versatile T software, I use DiGiCo desks on every show I do, no matter what the style,” Marshall notes. “Smaller Q Series consoles, such as the Q338 and Q326, have allowed me to replace the SD10T workhorses on all shows I’m designing, they’re great mid-scale touring theatre FOH consoles. The Quantum 338 has very quickly become a favourite and the offline editor is a fantastic tool; I can create a show file in a very short amount of time. Personally, I find it the easiest console software to navigate, especially as it retains the original DiGiCo ‘channel strip’ GUI, which has always been a leader in the market when it comes to ergonomics and use. The Mustard EQ and dynamics offer a lot more flexibility, plus they sound great. I do tend to rely quite heavily on onboard processing like the Optical compressor emulators and Spice Rack. All the Quantum features, the T software, three screens and now the Fourier interface, makes the Q338 a great console.”

Marshall uses Fourier transform.engines on many of his designs and, as he continues, it has proved ideal in theatrical environments.

“I’ve been using the transform.engine for a while now, either as a stand-alone device using MIDI program change to alter reverb presets, or with the full integration within the desk, which I utilised for the Olivier Awards,” he says. “Fourier sits very well within the DiGiCo ecosystem and is a great interface.”

His thoughts echo Hurley’s experience, with many sound designers opting to go digital with their effects choices. For SSS, this represents a shift in the type of outboard equipment they stock, with hardware being replaced with software devices, such as Fourier’s transform.engine.

“We’ve still got some traditional effects units that go out, too, but that’s very rare now,” he expands. “It’s all about the digital plug-ins. People have been looking at lots of different options over the last five to ten years and now the Fourier range has, for a lot of engineers, become an indispensable tool. There are lots of factors involved, but the range of processing, ease of use and compatibility means it’s really easy to use. There are still some that prefer the old-style effects, but the transform.engines are definitely taking over.”

DiGiCo has always been heavily invested in the theatre market. Since the development of the D5T in 2004 with theatrical design greats like Andrew Bruce, they have listened to what sound designers and engineers need and responded with tools that allow creativity to flow freely. As Hurley concludes, this early investment in digital consoles has resulted in firmly established relationships that deliver great results for everyone involved.

“I think the strength in DiGiCo as a theatrical market leader goes back to when they developed the T software,” he finishes. “In those early days, we invested in the D5Ts and the work on the T software has been constant since then. The older consoles have done great service, but the Quantum range, with their powerful processing, stability, clear screens and great workflow are always popular. DiGiCos do seem to be gaining more and more recognition as one of the most stable consoles in the mid/upper scale musical theatre market. Adding to that with the Fouriers has just given DiGiCo even more ways to convince us to spend with them!”

16th June 2026

Brompton processing and Absen LED panels bring the 50th Olivier Awards to the stage and screen

UK – Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the annual Olivier Awards once again took place at London’s Royal Albert Hall to celebrate the best of theatrical entertainment, not only over the past 12 months, but the last 50 years. Blue-i Theatre Technology relied on Brompton Technology’s Tessera LED processing platform to help deliver a spectacular visual experience, both in the room and on screen, for the prestigious ceremony’s much anticipated return to prime-time BBC television.

Into The Woods and Paddington The Musical, which also feature Brompton processing, both led the evening’s nominations with 11 each, with Paddington The Musical taking home seven awards, including Best New Musical. 

The LED rig was split into seven pieces: a central 16:9 screen flew in and out throughout the ceremony to display VT packages and scenic content behind performers, while another six screens built into the scenery as ‘posters’ were used for both scenic content and imagery celebrating nominated and winning productions.

The set-up comprised two Tessera 4K SX40 LED processors and two Tessera XD 10G data distribution units for the main flown screen, with a matching configuration of two further SX40s and two XDs powering the poster screens.

This year also saw Blue-i transition to its latest batch of Absen Saturn 2.6mm panels, chosen specifically to run on Brompton processing. The move brought a significant practical advantage, with the new panels weighing less than half their predecessors, a benefit welcomed by the automation and rigging teams working within the Royal Albert Hall.

“Productions of this scale demand complete confidence in every element of the LED workflow,” says Darren Jackson, business development manager (UK and Ireland) at Absen Europe. “The combination of Absen Saturn panels and Brompton processing gave Blue-i the performance, colour fidelity and reliability needed for a live prime-time broadcast, and we're proud to have contributed to such a landmark celebration of British theatre.”

For Blue-i’s head of technical theatre, Sam Jeffs, the Olivier Awards is a personal highlight of the year, and marked his 12th consecutive year working on the show. As a broadcast production, the technical stakes were particularly high and redundancy was a top priority. “Being a live broadcast, project timings are really tight, so ensuring we could load in quickly and have a rock-solid system with full redundancy was very important,” Jeffs explains. “The SX40 and XD combination allowed for multiple layers of redundancy, which makes it one of our favourite Brompton features.”

Ultra-low latency was equally critical for the live camera feeds that were central to the show’s broadcast. This feature reduces end-to-end latency to just one frame across the processor, providing an effective solution for exactly these kinds of broadcast demands. Because the production signal had to pass through an outside broadcast system, minimising latency at every possible point in the chain was essential.

Genlock further supported the broadcast pipeline, allowing the entire LED system to be synchronised to the production’s house sync, helping eliminate any risk of on-camera artefacts during the live transmission.

The fine colour control offered by the SX40s, in particular ChromaTune, which includes a 14-way colour corrector, also proved invaluable in collaborating with the broadcast engineering team to achieve the precise on camera look required. “Having the fine colour controls was heavily used to work with the broadcast engineers to get things looking just right on camera,” Jeffs says. “The different levels of control really helped dial things in quickly.” 

He also highlighted Brompton’s Stacking feature, which ensured any changes made were propagated across all four SX40 units simultaneously, enabling rapid adjustments across the system. The Frame Store feature meanwhile provided an added layer of confidence, giving the team the ability to store and recall video snapshots as a contingency should any issues arise during the live broadcast.

“It’s always a highlight of the year, celebrating the success of UK theatre, and it’s such a privilege to be a part of that,” Jeffs reflects. “For me it’s special, as it’s one of the few shows for which I’m still in the hot seat looking after programming.”

“The Olivier Awards’ return to prime-time TV is a landmark occasion,” concludes Patrick Goodden, technical sales manager (UK and Ireland) at Brompton Technology. “Live broadcast is one of the most demanding environments for LED processing, with latency, redundancy and colour accuracy requiring no margin for error. The fact that Blue-i have built their entire workflow around the SX40 is a real testament to what the platform can deliver; it’s a privilege to support them in making something this special look its very best.”

Photos: Danny Kaan

15th June 2026

Pretty Woman: The Musical debuts highly anticipated d&b audiotechnik CCL Compact Cardioid Line Array System.

South Africa – The South African premiere of Pretty Woman: The Musical, produced by Showtime Entertainment, has officially marked the regional debut of d&b audiotechnik’s highly anticipated CL-Series, deploying the brand-new CCL compact cardioid line array system. Supplied by Cape Town-based rental premier Eastern Acoustics and supported by local distributor Stage Audio Works (SAW), the cutting-edge system has set a new benchmark for theatrical sound reinforcement in the country.

Brought to South African stages by Showtime Entertainment, the high-energy musical production features a rock-infused score by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance. To deliver the power, clarity and precision required for a production of this scale, South African sound designer David Classen chose the d&b CCL system as the centerpiece of his audio design.

Single-channel broadband directivity control is the stand-out technical achievement of the CL-Series, bringing advanced low-frequency cardioid behaviour into a compact form factor. For a theatrical environment, where open lapel and headset microphones are constantly moving across the stage, this exceptional rear-rejection is a gamechanger, greatly reducing mic bleed and virtually eliminating onstage feedback.

“The d&b CCL system completely transformed how we approached the sound design for Pretty Woman,” explains sound designer David Classen. “In musical theatre, stage spill is always the enemy. The passive cardioid behaviour of both the CCL tops and the flying CCL subwoofers kept the stage incredibly quiet. This clean stage environment gave us significantly more usable gain before feedback than we’ve ever had with a compact rig, allowing the vocals to sit effortlessly on top of the mix.”

Classen also notes the pristine acoustic performance of the system: “Beyond the raw control, the high-frequency detail in the CCL boxes is exquisite. The HF headroom is remarkable, ensuring that every piece of dialogue and subtle vocal nuance carries cleanly without a hint of distortion. Combined with d&b’s ArrayProcessing, we achieved perfectly even coverage and a consistent tonal balance throughout the entire auditorium. Whether you are sitting in the front row or the back of the balcony, the listening experience is identical.”

To accommodate the venue dynamics, Eastern Acoustics specified an extensive d&b system built around the new cardioid line array modules:

• Main Left/Right Hangs: 14 x d&b CCL tops perside
• Low-Frequency Extension: 6 x d&b CCL-SUBs per side
• Fills & Center Cluster: a curated mix of d&b V-Series and E-Series loudspeakers
• Amplification & Networking: d&b D25 and D80 digital amplifiers, fully integrated into a high-speed, redundant Milan-AVB network infrastructure for pristine digital signal transport

This successful deployment of new technology sets a milestone for the local industry, highlighting the rapid adoption of international audio standards by South African creative teams, producers and rental companies. “We are absolutely thrilled to see the latest generation of d&b audiotechnik products adopted by a South African production of this magnitude so soon after its release,” says Nathan Ihlenfeldt, CTO of Stage Audio Works. “The CL-Series represents a major technological leap, packing world-class broadband directivity control into an incredibly lightweight and efficient footprint. Showtime Entertainment has put together a world-class production, and Eastern Acoustics has done a phenomenal job deploying this system to match that same standard.”

Pretty Woman: The Musical continues its successful South African run, moving from its opening season at the Artscape Opera House in Cape Town to the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg.

photo: Showtime Management

15th June 2026

Ayrton MagicDot Neo deliver classic Rock’n’Roll looks for Canadian band TRIUMPH’s 50th anniversary tour

North America – Canadian hard-rock power band TRIUMPH has begun its 50th Anniversary Tour with Ayrton MagicDot Neo providing powerful beam effects on stage. Toronto-based Phase 3 AV is the tour’s lighting and video vendor supplying 80 MagicDot Neo from its inventory of 100 MagicDot Neo fixtures. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton fixtures in North America.

The tour, TRIUMPH’s first in 30 years, kicked off the Canadian leg of the tour on 22 April in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with stops in Toronto, Hamilton, Halifax, Moncton, Laval, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Edmonton before their final Canadian show on 10 June in Montreal. The US run begins on 13 May in Rosemont (Chicago) and continues in Milwaukee, Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston, Tampa, Atlanta and Sterling Heights (Detroit) before wrapping up on 6 June in Boston.

Phase 3 AV has a history of stocking Ayrton lighting counting Diablo and Mistral fixtures among its inventory before investing in a large complement of MagicDot Neo specifically for the TRIUMPH tour. The company offers a 360-approach to a wide array of clients with full custom AV production and audio, video, lighting and staging rentals.

“We began working with the band and lighting and production designer Paul Dexter last fall and are happy to be able to provide the technology to support the show’s rock & roll vibe,” says Phase 3 AV Founder and CEO Shane Fine. “Paul was looking for fixtures that packed a lot of punch and were small enough to fit a lot within the confines of the set.  We suggested Neos, which we knew were fast, compact and delivered great beam effects.  We have a long relationship with ACT Entertainment and were among the first in North America to receive a shipment of Neos after their release.”

The lightweight, IP65-rated MagicDot Neo is a real asset for TRIUMPH’s tour of arenas and amphitheatres. It features a brand-new 120W multi-chip RGB-Lime LED source paired with a high-efficiency 100mm optic, delivering a total output of 3,000 lumens for just 160W of power consumption. MagicDot Neo switches from beam to wash in an instant, offers a 10:1 zoom ratio and covers a wide beam angle from 3° to 30°.  Continuous dual rotation on the pan and tilt axes allows fixtures to be clustered so that each light source can be individually controlled in every direction and the minimal spacing between units makes previously impossible configurations achievable.

In addition, MagicDot Neo’s intense beam, combined with the High-Definition Liquid effect – featuring 60 RGB LEDs around the beam’s periphery – creates mesmerising multi-colour effects.

According to Fine, four vertical rows of eight MagicDot Neos are positioned on each side of TRIUMPH’s set. The rest of the MagicDot Neos are mounted atop the stage left and stage right LED screens. “They act as beam effects lights creating eye candy for the fans, including really cool Liquid Effects,” he says.

Looking ahead, Fine sees the MagicDot Neo playing a busy role in Phase 3 AV’s inventory. “They will provide a lot of punch for indoor and outdoor projects,” he predicts.  “Because we have 100 units, these fixtures can be really impactful for any event.”

ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

photos: © Iliam Photography

15th June 2026

WTF is Happening at ON Services

USA – The event services company ON Services, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, has purchased 100 Robe WTF! IP rated wash twist flash LED strobe-wash-blinder fixtures, 88 of which are featured on country music legend George Strait’s 2026 run of shows, with lighting designed by Stacey & Skylar LaBarbera.

The LaBarberas – Stacey and his oldest son Skylar, who has his own production design company and is the tour’s co-designer and lighting / media programmer on the road – specifically specified 88 of these fixtures as they wanted a new IP rated luminaire that literally washed, twisted and flashed, explained ON Services’ senior account executive for touring and national lighting, Donny LoDico, “so we purchased them!”

Donny added that the WTF!s – 100 was a nice round number – are ideal for general rental stock and for lighting the many festivals, tours, exhibitions and corporates that ON Services supplies. Some have already been used on other gigs, including rockers Def Leppard.

Donny, who still engages in some lighting design work himself, was looking at several strobe products with a large quantity investment in mind. “For me, the WTF! is a proper multi-functional product and a luminaire that ticked numerous boxes for us and our clients,” he affirmed.

As an LD, he loves the fact that it spins 360 degrees on both horizontal and vertical axes, “together with the zoom and the ability to zone it into different sections of light, and of course the sheer firepower in terms of lumens and output. We needed a fixture that was most importantly IP rated for our outdoor venues and needed to be very bright to cover the audience with the ability for some eye candy effects.”

With over 1,500 Robe moving lights in stock at ON Services, including iFORTES, iFORTE LTXs, Spiiders, ESPRITES, Spikies, Tetra2s and LEDBeam 350s, he knew already that WTF! would be a reliable, robust and well-engineered product.

As an operation already committed to Robe as a key house brand, it made sense to invest further in the same manufacturer and the fixtures will be moved between ON Services’ six branches.

Stacey and Skylar LaBarbera are equally enthusiastic. Over many years of working with Robe, Stacey thinks “they make innovative, quality and reliable fixtures,” and he is on a constant quest to discover something different for each design they create to help make it a standout creation.

They believe that WTF!s are “Perfect for the profile of the tour and the size of the stadium shows that George Strait is playing today.”

Skylar agrees: “Playing stadiums, you need intensity and the WTF! is really impressive, especially when in colours and as a strobe that also pans, tilts and zooms! It allows us to perfectly focus the fixtures based on the size of the venue we are at that week and the zoom sections are super convenient and allow for some cool looks; it really does it all for an audience colour strobe! And you still have the ‘CTO Mole’ strip in the middle for additional functionality, which we use almost every song to light up the crowd for George.”

On the George Strait tour, they are using 40 WTF!s on eight trusses positioned above and below the four onstage video walls for audience wash (the show is staged in-the-round). On top of that, the four corners of the rig each have 12 WTF!s rigged in a grid-like pod configuration which are utilised for eye candy effects and to also wash the audience.

These are run in full pixel mode so they can create twinkling, sparkling, kinetic eye candy and other effects. “I took a lot of time to program these and get them just right, and in full channel mode, the versatility was endless,” Skylar says.

The LaBarberas initially saw WTF! demonstrated a while back and decided to use them at the next opportunity.

Donny also supplied a couple so they could start programming and pre-vizzing the tour. “It’s so incredibly bright that you can’t even look at it whilst programming,” notes Skylar, quipping, “anything over 5% and I have to wear sunnies!”

Stacey likes the fact that WTF! is a fundamentally simple luminaire in concept of being a wash, a square and a pixel surface, but with the added scope of continuous pan and tilt, focus and in / out zoom, then there’s the quality range of whites and other colours plus the warm tungsten ‘Mole’ temperature and tungsten emulation of the centre pixels.

Skylar says that the IP rating offers a plethora of possibilities for lighting outdoor events, festivals and large stadiums where you need to control the environment more than a conventional Molefay or standard colour blinder. “You can focus these from the console and effortlessly fill every dark hole in the venue with light.”

“It is an amazing light; insanely bright and really unique!”

Stacey underlines the great relationship they enjoy with Donny and the ON Services team who always keep on top of the latest tech and developments. They know this was a big investment that had to work for everyone.

Stacey has worked with George Strait for over 37 years, showing remarkable client loyalty and how Stacey’s designs have moved with the times.

Speaking with this fund of experience and knowledge as a lighting professional, he explains that he has “seen many different aspects of lighting and lighting products evolve and I am always looking for something that is different that stands out from the rest. Josef [Valchar, Robe CEO] and the team are consistently developing cutting-edge ideas and tech that help all of us in the industry push the creativity and originality of our art.”

Donny further highlights the “excellent” relationship and outstanding support that ON Services receives from the Robe North American team, which supplied the fixtures.

photos: courtesy On Services

12th June 2026

TMPRL Makes Chilean Festival History with Three Stage Funktion-One Deployment

Chile – TMPRL, an electronic music event produced by Street Machine alongside underground collectives FOMO and DAME, has marked a landmark moment for live audio production in Chile, becoming the first festival in the country to have Funktion-One systems on three stages, thanks to a collaboration between Funktion-One Chile, Funktion-One Argentina and Púrpura Producciones.

Held at Parque de los Gasómetros, a historic industrial complex and former gas works in the heart of Santiago, the event transformed a significant piece of the city’s industrial heritage into a contemporary cultural space where electronic music, architecture and visual art converged. TMPRL also marked the first time the site had hosted an event of this scale and nature, presenting a unique set of acoustic and production challenges.
During preparations for the event, the Púrpura team used Funktion-One’s Projection software to map dispersion and coverage patterns, informing the system design and specification. This was followed by extensive on-site tuning. The goal, according to Púrpura's Joaquín Baeza, was dialling in the systems to deliver maximum sonic engagement for the audience.

“The priority was maintaining definition and musicality across the audience areas while avoiding listening fatigue during long sessions,” said Baeza. “The system needed to respond equally well to both high-energy moments and more minimal passages.”

An important contribution came from an extended soundcheck with DJ and producer Lil Louis. “For approximately two hours, we carefully tuned both the DJ booth and the main dance floor located inside the Gasómetros structure,” said FOMO’s Beto. “It became an extremely valuable process because it allowed the system to be refined from both an artistic and technical perspective, helping define how the experience should truly feel within the space.”

On the night, the audience response validated the approach. “Clarity and definition were essential,” said Beto. “Even during high-energy moments, the system-maintained intelligibility and detail, which was especially important considering the event’s musical curation and the wide range of sonic textures presented throughout the night.”

“One of Funktion-One’s most important characteristics is its ability to deliver an extremely dynamic and natural listening experience. The low-end response was also particularly remarkable: deep, precise and physical, yet always controlled and musical. It never felt invasive or uncontrolled, even within an acoustically challenging environment like the Gasómetros site.”

For everyone involved in TMPRL, from the organisers to the sound team and the artists, the objective was to unite the audience with the music. “Beyond this particular event, we believe one of Funktion-One’s greatest strengths is the way it transforms the relationship between the audience and the music. It is not simply about volume or physical impact, it is about creating a far more emotional, immersive and artistically connected experience.”
Future editions of TMPRL are currently in development, with plans to expand the concept to additional markets across Latin America.

12th June 2026

AG Production Services and The Activity Light Up Hoover Dam in Dazzling Patriotic Display with Elation Fixtures

USA – AG Production Services and The Activity teamed up on an extraordinary project at Hoover Dam for America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations, turning to Elation lighting to bring the landmark to life with a visually powerful lighting display that highlights the scale and magnificence of the dam and canyon while evoking a powerful sense of national pride.

Hoover Dam was lit up in red, white and blue for Memorial Day weekend with a massive 150 x 300ft American flag draped across the landmark ahead of the America 250 celebration. The installation coincided with a Memorial Day ceremony honouring the sacrifices of fallen service members while also launching Southern Nevada’s summer celebration leading into America’s 250th birthday. The patriotic display will shine nightly until 4 July.

AG Production Services was contacted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to create a patriotic lighting display for the Hoover Dam, with Andrew Gumper asked whether the company could illuminate it to deliver a true ‘wow’ impact. Within hours, Gumper was on site conducting a site assessment and by the following morning, the project was confirmed.

With just six days’ notice before load-in, Gumper immediately brought in The Activity to support design and execution. “It was clear from the start this had to be approached with precision and speed,” said Gumper. “Once I saw the scale of the dam in person, I knew we needed a lighting strategy that was both technically accurate and visually monumental. Patrick and The Activity were the obvious call.”

The Activity’s Patrick Dierson led initial design support, lighting direction and on-site programming services. Upon confirmation, The Activity rapidly produced 3D scans of the dam and surrounding topography, which were imported into Vectorworks for design development and ultimately into Syncronorm Depence R4 for proof-of-concept rendering and design alterations. Dierson oversaw on-site implementation directly.

AG Production Services handled the bulk of the design, which leaned on traditional photometric maths. “There was a toolset from which we could pull equipment and the best photometry won the day,” Dierson said. “We needed high-output brightness to be emitted from a very specific array of distances in order to pull this off appropriately.”

AG drew from its extensive inventory of Elation lighting, selecting 72 Paladin, 84 Proteus Excalibur, 36 Proteus Maximus and 84 SixPar 200 IP fixtures, alongside beam lights and Hydro Spot 2 fixtures from Elation’s sister company ADJ.

Over 500 lighting fixtures were transported and installed across the site within two days, moving through tunnels, stairwells, elevators and restricted access pathways. Rigging presented significant challenges, including technicians rappelling down the dam face and suspending truss systems to support the oversized American flag.

Gumper notes: “None of this would have been possible without the support of Hoover Dam personnel. Their co-operation with access, power infrastructure, personnel and on-site co-ordination was essential to making a project of this scale happen safely and efficiently.”

The hydro-power generated from the dam provided an ample power supply, but lighting positions were somewhat limited. At the base of the dam, a row of Elation Paladin fixtures delivered broad and bright uplighting in blue and red across the lower 100 feet. They were coupled with a complement of Proteus Maximus units that primarily handled cross-coverage to hit the high, curved corners of the dam and surrounding natural rock formations.

Slightly farther away, ADJ Hydro fixtures expanded colour washes across the rock faces, moving outward through the dam’s valley. Much farther out, along the roofs of the dam’s turbine stations, were a double feature of more ADJ Hydros to continue the rock face toning alongside Proteus Excaliburs.  

The dam’s scale – 726 feet tall and spanning up to 1,244 feet across at the top – combined with its curved, three-dimensional concrete surface introduced unique challenges in achieving even illumination. Subtle surface variations, including concave geometry and natural staining, required careful balancing of output and beam placement.

“With the flag of the United States being the star of this show, the Excaliburs arguably became the workhorse of the project in handling the majority of the dam’s colour wash while still allowing us to maintain isolation control,” said Dierson. “By that, I mean that we were able to break up the grid of wash in a way that allowed us to quickly roll with the unexpected changes that came about from the flag. With the riggers facing so many challenges such as solid debris on the dam’s face, increasing wind speeds, etc., we were put in a position of having to relight the flag appropriately at a moment’s notice on the day of the event as well as needing to update that at a later date when the flag was removed and ultimately re-rigged at a different vertical location on the dam.” Lighting control was managed across three networked console positions, enabling coordinated real-time adjustments throughout the installation.

There are many specific rules when it comes to US flag etiquette and one of the most important is to ensure that the flag is lit cleanly in white with no colour changing or patterns projected over it.  “The Excaliburs gave us both the precision to make any necessary alterations rapidly as well as having the punch to make both the flag majestically bold and the surrounding dam walls pop in rich colours.”

Despite the massive scale of the project, the tricky structural composition of the dam itself and environmental challenges including wind, dust, insects and complex rigging conditions, the result is striking. The client, the governors of Nevada and Arizona, and other dignitaries are reportedly thrilled with the outcome. Not least, the public reaction has been fantastic.

“The initial concept rendering at the start of the project was inspirational,” Dierson shares, “but what was achieved on site exceeded expectations. Seeing the Stars and Stripes draped across one of America’s most iconic and ambitious achievements of infrastructure and then flanked with rich stripes of red and blue, is an absolutely awe-inspiring vista.”

Dierson concludes: “The flag carries different meanings for different people, but for many of us who have had to salute it, wave it, handle it in an official capacity and have even had to witness friends, colleagues and loved ones draped with it as we’ve said our final goodbyes, it represents unity and our shared identity. My hope is that this project brings Americans together to remember that before any differences or opinions between us, we are Americans united together under that magnificent flag.” 

12th June 2026

Wharfedale Pro Returns to Tolkien Days 2026

Germany - Wharfedale Pro loudspeakers once again provided the main sound system for Tolkien Days 2026 in Geldern, Germany. The four-day festival attracted around 14,000 visitors and combined Tolkien-themed activities, live entertainment and concerts for fantasy fans from across Europe.

Audio production was managed by Rockline-Veranstaltungstechnik from Issum, while the Wharfedale Pro WLA-312X line array system was supplied by Spirit of Sound Veranstaltungstechnik.

The main system comprised 16 WLA-312X line array elements supported by 12 WLA-218BX dual-18” subwoofers, with multiple WLA-112 loudspeakers providing infill coverage. DSP was managed with Wharfedale Pro XC Series system controllers with related FIR presets.

As with previous years, the system was required to handle a wide range of content throughout the festival, from spoken word and acoustic performances through to full concert productions.

The headline act for 2026 was Italian power metal band Wind Rose. Their performance demanded high output levels and strong low-frequency impact, with the Wharfedale Pro system delivering consistent coverage across the audience area.

Having once again been selected for one of Germany’s best-known fantasy festivals, the deployment demonstrates the continued confidence of both rental companies and event organisers in Wharfedale Pro’s WLA Series line array systems for large-scale outdoor events.

12th June 2026

Charlie Puth Takes to the Road with Clever DiGiCo Quantum5 Consoles

USA – Chart-topper and multi-award-winner Charlie Puth’s Whatever’s Clever World Tour is just that: it will take the singer-songwriter-producer on one of his largest live productions to date, with headline dates across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific, starting in April in San Diego and closing (so far) in Perth, Australia in November, in support of his fourth studio album. On stage, it’s a tight group: besides the artist there are drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and three backup vocalists. For production manager Mike Schaeffer, who is also mixing front of house, and Josh Cruz at monitors, their instruments are equally important: a pair of DiGiCo Quantum5 consoles, supplied for the tour by Clair Global.

“The Quantum console has been on the rider for Charlie since 2018,” says Schaeffer. “It’s always been my preferential console. I’ve always chosen DiGiCo and so the console became a requirement based on anything we were doing.”

Both consoles are on a single Optocore network, sharing it with an SD-Rack and an SD-MiNi Rack, as well as an Orange Box bidirectional audio-format converter that connects between any two of the compatible DiGiCo Multichannel Interface (DMI) cards. In this case, some of the outboard used on the tour includes various Waves plug-ins, as well as a Rupert Neve Designs Shelford channel strip that combines transformer-gain microphone preamp, an inductor-based equaliser (EQ) and a diode-bridge compressor that Schaeffer applies to Puth’s vocals. Otherwise, the Quantum5 desks are pretty much the centre of all routing as well as processing.

“The Quantum5 is a very comfortable desk to move around on,” he says. “My workflow is pretty straightforward. I do a lot of bus processing. I like the fact that you can send a bus to a bus, which a lot of consoles just didn’t do for a while. I use a Rupert Neve Design master-bus processor and a master-bus transformer. No matter what configuration of outboard and onboard processing I need, the Quantum5 lets me organise it however it best suits my workflow needs.”

Josh Cruz joined Puth crew in 2022, as the band was just formulating itself around the core that would be on the current tour. “DiGiCo has also been my preference for a while. I’m doing a lot more than just your basic channel input to aux output,” he explains. “So having the flexibility of the three banks of faders, a powerful macro section and the amount of inputs and outputs the Q5 offers were super helpful.”

Cruz describes his goal when monitor mixing as preserving the feel for the musician. “I tend to take a very basic approach to monitor mixing: a lot of my EQs are pretty flat, not a ton of compression going on. The band members are very particular about their sounds and it’s not my place to unnecessarily manipulate any of that. For example, our guitar player uses an Axe-FX and he shapes a lot of his sounds on the front end. He literally says, ‘Do not put any filtering, EQ, or compression on it.’ It’s an XLR straight to the desk and I simply send it right back to him at the level he wants.”

“We’re a little over the 56 I/O an SD-Rack offers in terms of physical inputs coming from the stage, but in total terms of what’s on my desk, I’m almost maxed out: there are a few double-patched inputs, effects returns and there’s a number of playback channels which come in over MADI through the Orange Box. We also have the Sound Devices Astral wireless ARX16, running two of them in mirror mode and that provides all of our vocal inputs. Plus, I have a number of utility channels that I’m using to allow for some tech control. It expands well beyond the normal use case of an input channel being something coming from stage.”

Fortunately, the Quantum5 is more than up to the task, designed, as Cruz puts it, “to remove the guardrails around what it means when you look at an input channel, an aux, a group or a matrix,” he says. “I can essentially take any of those things and turn them into anything that I want and route them anywhere. And because of that, it has allowed me to push the limits as to what each of those things can do.”

Another capability both engineers celebrate about DiGiCo’s Quantum technology is its ability to manage control from numerous sources via massive I/O capacity, Optocore fibre loops, DMI cards (Dante, MADI, Waves) and extensive software integration. “One thing that I really appreciate is that the DiGiCo consoles have the ability to have external control from a number of different sources,” says Cruz. “Being able to incorporate the console into a network is pretty common in a lot of consoles these days, but with the Quantum5, specifically, I’m able to control it from multiple sources at monitors.” He cites the software Companion by Bitfocus using a custom module called DiGiPanion by fellow DiGiCo user David Lim, which allows operators to manage tasks such as triggering complex macros and interfacing with external platforms such as DAW systems, with a single button press. “The flexibility of what DiGiCo has made available through their OSC control has been super helpful for me,” he says. “Capabilities like that, and the ability to let us work the way we want to, is why DiGiCo is always the top choice.”

12th June 2026

Chauvet Professional Helps Onedot Reflect April Moments at the Pentapic Music Festival

Canada – Spring officially starts in late March, but in most of the northern hemisphere, it isn’t until April that the first tantalising tastes of this hopeful season appear. But winter does not go quietly. It remains, rearing its head from time to time, creating what Shakespeare called “the uncertain glory of an April day.”

Louis-Xavier Bonneau and the team at Onedot reflected this glorious mix in the lighting design for Pentapic, an annual music and sport event held every April at the base of the Sommet Morin-Heights ski resort, 83 kilometres (54 miles) north of Montreal. 

Winter is definitely present at the festival. It is, after all, held at a ski resort and skiing is indeed part of the fun. But the exhilarating sense of spring is also in the air. Bonneau and the team at Onedot celebrate and reflect both sensations in light through their artful mixing of colours.

“We used a rich palette of cool tones to reflect the winter atmosphere surrounding the base of the ski mountain,” explained Bonneau. “Warmer colours were then introduced to evoke the arrival of spring and create a sense of seasonal transition. Yellow also played a key role throughout the design, as it was the primary colour of the event.”

Contributing to this colour narrative were 12 high-output Chauvet Professional Rogue Outcast 2 Beam fixtures supplied by FX Production. Going beyond their considerable colour rendering capabilities, the Rogue units, which were rigged vertically on two towers, played a pivotal role in adding “personality” to the festival lighting so it could better pump up excitement, while reflecting the music of the various performing artists.  

“To create dynamic and versatile looks that could adapt to the wide variety of artists performing throughout the event, we incorporated two distinct lighting effects in our design,” said Bonneau. “We had the powerful Rogue Outcast 2 Beams positioned on each side of the stage to deliver intense visual punches and high-energy moments. Then, for contrast, we had a luminous box installed on the roof of the container for softer lighting patterns and more atmospheric when needed.

“The Rogue fixtures proved to be extremely effective for the production,” he continued. “Their powerful output, IP-rated construction and overall reliability made them perfectly suited for the outdoor environment. They gave us everything we needed to create impactful, high-energy looks while allowing the team to operate with confidence despite the weather.”

As Bonneau noted, despite the seasonal transition, winter was most definitely still present at the festive. This created a challenging environment. Snow created logistical difficulties throughout the production. At times, equipment got stuck in the snow enroute to the stage.

Then, there was also the need to protect the performers themselves. The Onedot team used a shipping container as a DJ booth to offer added protection and carefully monitored the use of smoke and haze.  

In the end, however, winter’s threats were successfully met, leaving fans free to enjoy its invigorating benefits, while also sampling beautiful traces of spring … exactly the combination that makes April so special! 

11th June 2026

Third Day Returned to the Stage with CTS AVL and JBL Professional VTX Systems on 30th Anniversary Tour

USA – Christian rock band Third Day returned to the stage for its 30th anniversary reunion tour, marking the band’s first large-scale tour together in more than a decade. Known for helping shape contemporary Christian music throughout the 1990s and 2000s with chart-topping albums, arena tours and live worship performances, Third Day launched the 30-city US tour with a JBL Professional VTX system supplied by CTS AVL. The production marked a major return for the Grammy Award-winning band and required an audio platform capable of supporting a wide range of venues while maintaining the scale and impact expected from one of Christian music’s most recognised live acts.

Production company CTS AVL partnered with tour promoter Awakening Events to provide complete audio, video and lighting production for the spring tour. With sound quality identified as a top priority from the outset, CTS AVL selected a JBL Professional VTX system centred on VTX A12 line array loudspeakers to support the band’s return.

“The music of Third Day has been a major part of Christian music for decades, so the audio experience had to meet a very high standard,” said Michael Taylor, president of CTS AVL. “We wanted a system that delivered clarity, musicality and consistent coverage in every room on the tour. JBL VTX gave us the performance and flexibility we needed while also simplifying logistics across a wide range of venues.”

The main PA system featured two hangs of 16 JBL Professional VTX A12 line array loudspeakers for the primary arrays, complemented by two hangs of 12 VTX A12 loudspeakers for side coverage. Low-frequency reinforcement was provided by 18 ground-stacked JBL Professional VTX B28 dual 18-inch subwoofers and 12 flown VTX B28 subwoofers. Stage monitoring included five JBL Professional VTX F12 loudspeakers, while two JBL Professional VTX B18 subwoofers supported drum and keyboard monitoring. Additional coverage for front audience areas was handled by eight JBL Professional VRX932 loudspeakers. The entire system was powered by Crown I-Tech 12000HD and Crown I-Tech 4x3500HD amplifiers.

CTS AVL selected the JBL VTX system not only for its sonic performance, but also for its scalability and deployment efficiency throughout the tour schedule. Because JBL VTX systems are widely supported in major touring markets, the team was able to maintain consistent system configurations without carrying supplemental PA for different venue sizes.

“This was my first tour with the JBL A12 system and CTS sent out the perfect crew for it. The ease of flying the rig allowed the team to move quickly and effortlessly and as both TM and FOH on the tour, that made the audio side something I didn’t have to worry about,” said Curtis Flatt, FOH engineer and tour manager for Third Day. “We played several older, acoustically challenging venues, but vocal clarity remained exceptional night after night. With audience levels regularly exceeding 100dBA, it was critical that every lyric and spoken moment remained intelligible for the audience. The JBL A12 system consistently delivered that clarity in every room on the tour.”

“We designed the production around what the artist wanted to achieve and what made sense operationally for the tour,” Taylor said. “The flexibility of the JBL VTX system allowed us to scale the show efficiently while maintaining the same sound signature from city to city.”

The 30th anniversary reunion tour represented a significant moment for Third Day, whose catalogue and live performances helped shape contemporary Christian music throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The tour also highlighted the collaboration between CTS AVL’s engineering and production teams, who managed the system throughout the run. Key crew members included project manager Trent Stegink, FOH engineer and tour manager Curtis Flatt, FOH system technician Jonathan Smith, monitor engineer Jeremy Simmons, systems engineer Josiah Novinger and lead patch Brooke Colebank.

As the tour concluded with its final stop in Duluth, Georgia, Third Day’s 30th anniversary reunion run reaffirmed the band’s enduring connection with audiences across the country. The tour was met with strong audience response and prompted plans for additional touring activity following the anniversary run. By combining JBL Professional VTX systems with Crown amplifiers, CTS AVL delivered a touring audio system capable of supporting the scale, emotion and production demands of Third Day’s long-awaited reunion performances.

11th June 2026

Dianjiang Peony Festival Concert Blooms with Martin Audio WPL

China – The Dianjiang Peony Culture Festival is one of Southwest China’s most prominent floral and cultural events. With over 25 years of history, the festival attracts thousands of visitors annually and in 2026 added further momentum to its tourist appeal with a star-studded concert at Dianjiang County Stadium, reinforced by a Martin Audio WPL Wavefront Precision sound system.

Dianjiang’s peony story spans nearly 2,000 years, dating back to the Han Dynasty. The region in the Chongqing municipality is famed for its wild landscape peonies, which grow naturally on mountainsides and the festival has become a showcase for both the blooms and the local culture surrounding them.

With an expanded programme and a broader “Wellness & Health” focus, the 2026 Festival entitled “New Charm of Chongqing – Wellness Dianjiang”, ran for three months from March to May. Daytime flower viewing is complemented by a diverse calendar of activity, including sports events such as the Peony Marathon and Triathlon, food festivals, arts exhibitions and this year’s Peony Festival Concert featuring nationally recognised music stars.

On 12 April, artists Zhang Xinzhe (better known internationally as Jeff Chang), Yu Wenwen (Kelly Yu), Huang Pinyuan and Xianzi took to the stage at Dianjiang County Stadium.

For main PA coverage, the concert deployed 36 Martin Audio WPL Wavefront Precision line array loudspeakers, flown as 18 cabinets per side. Outfill coverage in the stadium was provided by a Martin Audio W8LC system, with left/right hangs comprising 12 units per side.

A further W8LC system was also deployed as delays, optimised using Martin Audio’s software and configured as two flown hangs of 12 elements, combined with four ground-stacked array elements per side.

For the front-row audience area, a Martin Audio W8LM frontfill system, featuring wide and consistent 120° dispersion, was evenly distributed as six stacks of two elements.

Low-frequency reinforcement came from a total of 44 ground-stacked Martin Audio WS218X dual 18-inch, ultra-long-excursion subwoofers, delivering the physical impact required for a stadium-scale pop concert.

The Martin Audio deployment ensured consistent sound quality across the venue, supporting both the scale of the event and the Festival’s growing ambition.

11th June 2026

Hippotizer MX Blends Scenic Design and Projection Mapping on Hayley Williams Tour

USA/Europe – American singer Hayley Williams’ tour is out with a Hippotizer TEKA MX Series media server, enabling a projection-led design that’s transforming theaters into immersive environments.

The Hippotizer TEKA MX is part of the new range of MX Series media servers from Green Hippo, an ACT Entertainment brand. It was specified for its compact 1RU footprint, performance headroom and touring efficiency, and has been key to maintaining high-end playback capability within the constraints of limited FOH space.

The production relies heavily on projection as a primary scenic and atmospheric tool. Therefore, it required  a media server capable of layered playback, real-time manipulation and tight integration with grandMA control in a streamlined touring package.

The creative concept was developed collaboratively by lighting director and programmer Matthew Greer, designers Tobias Rylander and Michael Straun, media server technician Dan Gentile and production manager Riley Emminger. LMG Touring supplied the tour.

“Tobias and I wanted to approach Hippotizer in the same way we approach lighting fixtures,” says Straun. “We use the same language and the same design thinking. We were working from a single projection source and didn’t require IMAG or a heavy video infrastructure, so the TEKA MX was the right fit both technically and economically.”

“The projection canvas is literally the entire stage,” explains Cory Froke, technical project manager at LMG. “We’re using white drapes over custom-built lighting ladders and scenic pods, along with fabric hung from truss in more traditional configurations. In effect, the entire proscenium becomes the raster.”

Straun continues: “We started by sharing ideas and references with Hayley. During preproduction, we tested one of her music videos across the stage, scenic elements and performance space. It immediately confirmed the direction; the imagery sat naturally across the environment and reinforced the concept.

“We wanted to be in a room that was timeless and would make the audience ask, ‘where are we?’ The idea was to create a space that feels timeless and undefined, where it isn’t immediately clear whether Hayley is entering a space or leaving it. That ambiguity became a core part of the design.”

Content was developed by Frameworx, who created abstract environments, textures and atmospheric sequences designed to complement Williams’ music. These were combined with reworked album artwork, promotional imagery and re-synced music video elements.

“We had limited time to build and refine content,” says Straun. “Hippotizer gave us the ability to load, test and manipulate material quickly. Using tools like brightness, contrast and the internal effects engine, we could adapt content directly to the physical environment and immediately evaluate how it behaved on stage.”

“Being able to house the servers directly in the FOH lighting rack significantly reduced system footprint and simplified load-in,” adds Froke. “In many of the venues on this tour, FOH space is extremely limited, so that efficiency is critical.

“The MX Series allows designers to work with high-resolution content and complex layering without constantly needing to think about system limitations. The system is designed with a modular approach and future workflows in mind. Support for emerging standards like ST 2110 and IPMX shows where the platform is heading, which is important for long-term production planning.”

photos: © Craig Mitchell / LMG Touring

11th June 2026

Heavy AV and Preston Productions Use All-Chauvet Professional Rig to Reflect Excitement of Cal State Fullerton Spring Concert

USA – The clouds drifting overhead most of the day did nothing to dampen the enthusiastic anticipation of the more than 5,000 students gathered at Cal State Fullerton’s Intermural Fields last month for the school’s Annual Spring Concert. The sold-out concert, which was headlined by Grammy-winning artist DJ Mustard and also featured performances by Rebecca Black, Danny Lux and Wax Motif, took place on a stage that featured a 100-percent Chauvet Professional lighting rig supplied by Preston Productions.

Excitement built at 5pm when the first headliners appeared and reached a fever pitch later in the evening when the main act, Grammy-winning, multi-platinum artist Mustard hit the stage. The West Coast Hip-Hop pioneer revved up the crowd, unleashing hits like as “Not Like Us,” and “POP DAT THING”. The show, in the words of the student newspaper “left concert goers in awe of the experience they just shared.”

The lighting rig consisted of 89 IP65 outdoor rated Chauvet Professional fixtures including 30 Maverick Storm 1 Flex units, 20 Strike Array 2 blinders, 25 Color Strike M motorised strobe wases and 14 Rogue Outcast 2x Washes.

The Rogue Outcast 2x Washes were used for front lighting and backlighting. The Strike Array 2 units were used as blinders and for eye candy and were flown on the downstage truss as well as mounted on pipe and base on stage. The Color Strike M units were used for backlight and eye candy and were both flown and placed on the deck. “I love using the Color Strike M units for concerts as they allow you to get a bright colour wash, strobe or eye candy effect from a single unit,” said Preston.

While the Rouge Outcast, Strike Array 2 and Color Strike M are longtime staples of the Preston Productions inventory, Justin Preston, who served as LD for the event, was eager to try the new Maverick Storm 1 Flex hybrid units. Positioned throughout the stage, from the downstage edge and truss to the upstage truss and the top of the video wall towers, the versatile Storm 1 Flex served as the backbone of the rig. “It offered a lot of flexibility and punch in a lightweight, IP65 package; I was really impressed,” Preston said of the fixture. “It gave us the ability to provide tight beams, as well as wide gobo looks, which helped us keep pace with the diversity of the music.”

The lighting rig was designed by Preston and Heavy AV. The show was programmed and operated by Marcus Mathews. The master electrician was Lucas Garrity. “We put a great deal of thought into the design and Heavy AV was very involved,” said Preston. “Our headliners often appear at larger venues and festivals, so it was important we match that level of production at this event.”

10th June 2026

Lighting the Mischief: White Light Powers Thespians

UK – Lighting Thespians meant finding a world somewhere between Ancient Greece, Saturday morning cartoons and a musical comedy that absolutely must keep moving.

As Mischief continues to expand beyond its best-known Goes Wrong titles, Thespians represents an important new chapter: a fresh, licensable musical comedy with the potential to have a life beyond its first production. Written by Jonathan Sayer and Ed Zanders, and co-produced by Mercury Theatre Colchester, HOME Manchester and JPT Productions, the show takes audiences to Ancient Greece for a deadly prayer contest, told with Mischief’s unmistakable comic energy.

For lighting designer David Howe, the challenge was to create a world that felt ambitious, theatrical and full of colour, while remaining practical enough to tour.

“Lighting Thespians was about creating a bright, warm, slightly ridiculous world where the audience immediately understood the tone and wanted to be part of it,” says Howe. “The design was never about making something grand for the sake of it. It was about supporting the storytelling, the music and the comedy.”

Director Robyn Grant and designer Jasmine Swan established a visual language that deliberately avoided museum-piece Ancient Greece. Instead, the world of the production sits somewhere between myth, musical theatre and cartoon.

“Robyn and Jasmine had a very clear visual world in mind,” Howe explains. “It was a playful blend of Disney’s Hercules and The Flintstones, which immediately gave me permission to think in bold, graphic terms. I wanted the colour palette to move from warm Mediterranean daylight, sun-baked stone, terracotta and sunset tones into bolder musical and comic moments. The Grecian sky backdrop became central to that world, helping the lighting shift between daylight, sunset and theatrical night, with strong backlight at times to accentuate the show’s bigger ‘hero’ moments, while keeping everything inside its bright, cartoon Ancient Greece.”

A key part of Howe’s approach was not to “light the jokes”, but to make sure the world of the show remained clear, inviting and alive. As a musical, the production moves constantly across the set, so the lighting had to create spaces, environments and tone for each scene and song, while keeping the performers connected to the audience. With the budget unable to sustain followspots, precision became essential: the design relies on a detailed network of specials, meaning reliable equipment and accurate positioning were vital from the outset.

“I don’t think comedy wants to be lit with a wink,” he says. “The lighting still has to believe in the world. If the audience feel comfortable, included and able to read the actors’ faces clearly, then the comedy has the best chance of landing. The danger is over-signalling the joke.”

The budget was tight, so every fixture had to work hard. Howe worked with White Light to create a practical touring rig that could still deliver scale, colour and flexibility from venue to venue. “This was not a case of throwing a large rig at the problem,” says Howe. “We had to be disciplined about what toured, what could be picked up from each venue and which units genuinely earned their place. Every moving light had to do several jobs: specials, texture, scenery, sky and the occasional piece of theatrical mischief.”

The production made use of a very small touring package alongside house equipment, including the Mercury Theatre Colchester’s upgraded LED rig and existing tungsten fixtures. This allowed the design to feel richer than the equipment list might suggest, while still remaining adaptable.

“White Light’s role was not just supplying the fixtures,” Howe continues. “They understood the brief and supported what we were trying to achieve. The useful conversations were around making the package robust enough to tour, simple enough to re-create quickly and flexible enough to cope with different venues. On a show like this, the success is often in the unglamorous details: data, power, cable runs, sensible fixture choices and knowing what can be achieved repeatedly without making each Monday feel like starting again.”

Howe drew on the following fixtures: ETC ColorSource Profiles, High End Systems SolaFrame Profiles and Chroma-Q Color Force battens, each chosen for their ability to serve multiple purposes across the production. They played a vital role in shaping the visual identity of the show, from detailed keylighting to colour, texture and the atmospheric illumination of the Grecian sky backdrop.

The design was programmed by Freddy Sherwood, who has also taken on the role of touring production electrician and weekly relighter, giving the production valuable continuity as it moves between venues. “Freddy understands the tone of the piece: the pace, the musicality, the comedy and the warmth,” says Howe. “That makes a real difference when the show has to be re-created quickly each week. It is not just about putting lights in roughly the right places, it is about protecting the spirit of the design.”

As with any tour, each week brings a different venue, with front of house positions, sightlines and available equipment varying slightly from building to building. The touring version therefore has to be robust without becoming rigid. The aim is always to protect the character of the show – the colour, warmth, pace and sense of fun – while allowing Freddy and the touring team enough flexibility to make it work properly in each space.

Reflecting on the project, Howe says: “I’m proud that the show feels bigger than the equipment list. That’s always the exciting challenge: when the audience hopefully see a bright, confident, theatrical world, rather than the compromises that made it necessary.”

Thespians opened at the Mercury Theatre Colchester and is now touring, bringing Mischief’s distinctive comic voice to a new musical world of gods, mortals, music and theatrical chaos.

photos: Mark Senior

10th June 2026

Eric Clapton Embarks on a World Tour with Modulo Kinetic

10th June 2026

SMODE enables smooth video control and live management on Theodora’s Free Kitty Tour

Europe – When French-Congolese singer Theodora took her Free Kitty Tour to 12 arenas across France and Belgium in spring 2026, it marked her first large-scale Zénith-level production. The tour, supporting her four Victoires de la Musique (the French equivalent to the Brit Awards and Grammy Awards) with her latest album Méga BBL, sold out multiple dates and drew on a highly theatrical visual concept built around a pink house set in which video screens formed the walls, surfaces and centrepiece of every scene.

Managing the video system for the entire run was Célestin Soum, founder of Saturn Studio, who operated SMODE in a dual capacity that had him running media server output and live directing the show simultaneously.

Célestin Soum was brought into the project by Jordan Magnée, the Belgian stage, video and light designer responsible for the overall visual concept of the tour. The two had worked together on a production for French rapper Ninho. Content for the Free Kitty show was created by Mathematic Studio, with Laetitia Le Gall co-ordinating between Célestin Soum and the graphic artists producing the visual assets. “Managing both aspects simultaneously using SMODE was a genuinely stimulating challenge”, says Célestin Soum.

The visual rig centred on a cohesive suite of LED panels (courtesy of Alabama Média), was designed to ensure visual uniformity across the set. “Since all the elements were placed directly adjacent to one another, it was essential to minimise any variation between surfaces,” states Célestin Soum.

At the centre of the stage, the LED tower comprised a single motorised back LED screen measuring 6.5m high x 3.5m wide, which was motorised to allow set dressing to pass through. The tower was flanked by four curved LED screens, each measuring 2.5m x 2.5m. The assembly was topped by a 10m long by 1m high half-ring LED screen. To either side of the central tower stood two further LED structures recreating shops, each made of a 5m x 2.5m front screen with two further side LED screens topped by 5m long x 1m high LED strips.

Completing the visual setup was an IMAG LED screen (5.5 x 3.5m), positioned to the rear left of the stage, visually echoing the look of an urban advertising billboard. All LED panels, together with two X-REAL media server bays running SMODE, were supplied by Alabama Média (Groupe Novelty).

SMODE handled the primary output to all LED screens and simultaneously served as a show viewer for Célestin Soum’s live direction role. Two confidence feeds, which were distributed across approximately ten screens positioned around the stage and in backstage areas, gave Célestin Soum real-time information on the state of the show as it unfolded.

“This proved invaluable for keeping track of real-time information during shows that ran over two hours,” says Célestin Soum, “including the next track, the positions of the various performers, the timecode and the return feeds from the nine cameras available in the video mixer.” A source switch built into SMODE managed what information appeared on each screen. An NDI feed was also distributed across the network to the lighting department, allowing them to pixel-map the media content into their lighting rig in real time.

Rather than importing pre-finished content, Célestin Soum assembled and edited all media within SMODE itself. “This approach offers complete flexibility, as it’s common for the music, structure and musical sequences to evolve throughout the residency and tour. As a result, I value being able to rework the media build at any point,” says Célestin Soum. On the Free Kitty Tour, that flexibility proved its worth in practice. When one song was performed acapella, Soum was able to simplify the corresponding video edit on the fly without requesting new content from Mathematic Studio.

BPM synchronisation across the show was handled using SMODE’s tempo tool, which locked the video loops to the tempo of each track. “I make frequent use of that tool to sync the various media elements, typically video loops, to the BPM of each track,” says Célestin Soum. Working to a shared methodology with Mathematic Studio, all video content was produced in durations of four, eight or sixteen seconds. At the correct BPM, each second aligned with one musical beat, allowing the visual structure to follow the arrangement of every track precisely.

“The ability to composite and edit media on a timeline is one of the software’s key strengths,” says Célestin Soum, “and the precise processing of live feeds displayed on the IMAG screen is another major advantage.” He spent significant time during the tour refining the colour treatment applied to those live camera feeds, working with a set of cinematic LUTs developed in collaboration with a cinema colourist. The aim was to present Theodora in the most flattering light possible while maintaining a subtle and consistent visual tone across the full show.

One of the most technically involved elements of the production was the creation of the house scenography visuals. To ensure the set appeared as realistically lit and spatially coherent as possible in the video content, Célestin Soum built a full 3D model of the scenography from the manufacturer’s technical drawings. After, Mathematic Studio’s graphic artists rendered the content from each of the camera positions placed in the scene, producing four separate render files per pass. Then, a dedicated SMODE project was developed to recompose those renders as 2D video via a content map and 3D mapper. The process, co-ordinated by Laetitia Le Gall, allowed the house to take on a distinct visual identity for each song in the show.

“Given that the set is built around video screens, video was essential to making this whole production pop,” says Célestin Soum. “Although the shape of the scenography and screens takes the form of a house, a great deal of work went into the media to translate that house into a distinct visual for each song. It was hugely important, so much so that there isn’t a single track on the show where the screens are off.” The entire rig was driven by a single SMODE instance running on a machine fitted with an NVIDIA RTX A6000 ADA graphics card with 48GB of VRAM, backed by a spare instance, handling the full show from LED output to confidence feeds to NDI distribution.

“This is quite a different project for me, as I covered two roles, both the SMODE operator and live director,” says Célestin Soum. “SMODE genuinely allowed me to bring a degree of manageability to work that might otherwise have been simply impossible for a single person.”

With the tour dates complete, Theodora and SMODE continue to bring the production’s energy elsewhere. Theodora opened the 2026 Cannes Film Festival alongside Oklou, performing a Beatles cover with SMODE used as the media server for the ceremony.

Now, with the festival circuit just around the corner, Célestin Soum says: “I’m looking forward to hitting festivals with this project. It’ll be a great adventure to face those new challenges with the new set-up.”

photos: Célestin Soum 

10th June 2026

TiMax Tracks 20 Mobile Performers in Paraorchestra’s The Nature of Why at Hong Kong’s No Limits Festival

Hong Kong – The UK’s Paraorchestra brought The Nature of Why to Hong Kong’s No Limits Festival in March, as a glorious celebration of unconventional concert touring. Up to 250 audience members shared a 15-metre circular space with around 20 musicians, singers and dancers, most almost constantly on the move. To track every performer in real time and give the audience precise directional information, front of house engineer Simon Honywill deployed TiMax SoundHub with TiMaxTrackerD4.

Founded by conductor Charles Hazelwood in 2011 Paraorchestra creates professional opportunities for disabled musicians. Breaking boundaries in every sense, the staging of The Nature of Why in earlier iterations highlighted an audio problem Honywill had struggled to solve. Honywill’s experiments to create an “acoustic bubble” around the performance, lacked the precision he was looking for but most importantly, the performers struggled to hear themselves clearly through a monitoring system that doubled as the PA.

Honywill researched the options and reached a clear conclusion: “The only way to go, really, was to use a TiMax immersive sound solution.”

The system installed for the five performances at the Kwai Tsing Theatre in Kowloon was built around real-time performer tracking. Six TiMax Tracker D4 sensors mounted overhead triangulated the live positions of performers and instruments, feeding TiMax SoundHub, which in turn, drove a ring of seven Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 loudspeakers at a height of 2.5 metres, augmented by a Martin Audio SXCF118 cardioid subwoofer. Around 20 mobile sound sources were fitted with trackers, some performers wearing multiple units; the wheeled marimba alone required three.

Honywill accurately represented the audio performance in the space through an object-based mix. DPA microphones were routed individually to TiMax via Dante, bypassing conventional subgroup mixing entirely. It is this direct, per-source routing that enabled the spatial precision the piece required. “Using a system like TiMax, every source has its own unique amplitude and phase relationship to the sound system,” Honywill explains. “There’s no problematic phase interaction between sources, so the clarity is exceptional and it gives that positional information within the space.”

The Martin Audio loudspeakers delivered on that TiMax design intent. The seven FP12s formed a reinforcement ring around the performance area, allowing TiMax to generate a unique Image Definition – a bespoke set of per-cabinet level and delay values that placed every source precisely in space – for each performer in real time. The SXCF118 cardioid subwoofer added low-frequency energy while its cardioid pattern reduced rearward radiation, preserving the clean spatial image inside the circle.

The full audio equipment package was supplied by Martin Audio’s APAC sales agency Generation AV, whose technical manager Jeremiah Joseph also joined the production team as both system tech and TiMax engineer. “A valuable addition to the team and very talented,” said Honywill of Joseph.

The benefits landed on both sides of the microphone. Musicians could hear themselves clearly within the ensemble despite constant movement, improving confidence and precision, while the audience gained the directional clues they needed to follow soloists and singers through the crowd. Reactions were consistently intense and at a post-show presentation to 15 regional clients of Generation AV, Honywill recalls, “they were, to a person, completely blown away. One veteran consultant was moved to tears.”

For Honywill, the experience has reshaped how he thinks about live mixing. “TiMax has given the performance a new dimension,” he reflects. “It’s made the sound such an essential part of it, enabling me to elevate the whole thing sonically to a new level and giving it a bigger energy. It’s not devastatingly loud, but the difference between being within the loudspeaker system and outside it, from an energy point of view, is very marked. You’re either in the show or you’re out of it.”

9th June 2026

Robe Spotlights Metallica’s Incredible M72 2026 Stadium Tour

Worldwide – Metallica’s phenomenal record-breaking M72 stadium tour continues to play sold-out venues across Europe, supporting their eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons. It started in Amsterdam in April 2023 and continues to delight Metallica fans around the globe.

The tour features an impressive 120-foot-wide, in-the-round stage designed by Dan Braun, including a centre-ring pit area and a spectacular lighting design created by Rob Koenig, Metallica’s long-term LD. The tour is known for delivering completely unique setlists each night and featuring different opening acts as well, with a schedule that typically comprises two nights in each city.

Rob is utilising 16 Robe iFORTE LTX followspots and an eight-way RoboSpot remote follow system to ensure that the band can always be clearly seen by fans from all angles and also look great on multiple cameras.

The 16 iFORTE LTX fixtures are positioned on eight 30-metre-high towers erected around the stadium field, focused on the central stage. Playing in the round is one of their favoured stage formats as it allows maximum proximity and access to their wildly enthusiastic fanbase.

Each tower is rigged with large LED screens and each has ladder torms extending down the full length of the screens, with the two fixtures at the bottom of each ladder being the followspots.

Rob chose iFORTE LTX FS – supplied by worldwide lighting vendor Premier Global Productions out of Nashville – for their power, IP rating, high CRI and outstanding colour rendering, which offers excellent flesh tones and keylighting.

The near throw from the spotlight to stage is approximately 14 metres and the longer throw – to the other side of the stage – is around 35 metres, so they need something with plenty of power and punch. However, depending on the venue and the stage layout, the long spot throws can be up to 50 metres. “The iFORTE LTXs really shine over those longer distances,” enthuses Rob.

Rob has been using RoboSpots on his lighting designs since 2018, “At the time, it was the only system with a zoomable camera and as our stadium stages are massive and the band are highly mobile, this was the most flexible option for us,” he stated, adding that the system has been a great asset ever since.

At the start of the M72 tour, back in 2023 (the tour was originally planned to run for two years, but stratospheric ticket demand saw it continue extending) the RoboSpot system utilised Robe BMFL WashBeam fixtures.

This year, these were upgraded to the IP rated iFORTE LTX.

They had utilised iFORTE LTXs last year on several festivals: “The first time we lit the band up with these fixtures, we absolutely loved the way that they looked natively: the brightness, texture and the quality of the light were all spot on, with not a single complaint from anybody.” 

Rob still did his due diligence and conducted a shoot-out in January this year to assess multiple moving head spotlight options, a process that concluded with him choosing the iFORTE LTX.

“Firstly, they are comfortable for a performer to look at,” elucidated Rob, saying that while this might seem obvious, he’s seen many moving head spotlights in action over the years, “and if my artist isn’t comfortable, then that’s it: pack it up and send it away! Part of my job is to ensure that artists feel as comfortable as possible while still being able to launch rockets off their faces.”

As well as ticking many other boxes – for brightness and weatherisation – “the light is simply the most comfortable when looking down its barrel,” he confirmed.

The RoboSpot operators are positioned underneath the grandstands ensconced with video and monitor worlds.

They only have to point the iFORTE LTX FSs at their designated band member, as Rob explains that they utilise the tracking zoom parameter from the RoboSpot stations and all other colour and dimmer information comes from the FOH console, managed by FOH lighting technician, John Niles.

Rob also appreciates the huge flexibility of the RoboSpot system. “The operators handle all parameters or just a single one like we are doing here, so depending on the gig, it can be as simple or as complex as I want it to be.”

On the road with M72, the RoboSpot system has a dedicated technician, ‘V’ Ruby, who looks after it day-to-day.

Metallica fans will also be able to catch their heroes at Sphere Las Vegas in October, where they are headlining a 24-show "Life Burns Faster" residency.

photos: Jeff Yeager, JJ Valchar and Brett Murray 

9th June 2026

Whitney Hoversten Moves to the Mood of Bruno Mars on the Romantic Tour with Chauvet Professional

USA – Movement is the voice of life … philosophers and naturalists have long declared. For Bruno Mars, this dynamic ‘voice’ is ringing out loud and clear on The Romantic Tour, which began its 71-date North American and EU run on 10 April at Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium. It concludes its 2026 run on 8 December in Mexico City, with every intention of continuing in 2027.

From the moment the show begins with a dramatic video of Mars praying in church before singing the heartfelt ballad “Risk It All, “ the 15-time Grammy winner takes fans on a constantly unfolding journey of music and choreography that never quits. Enhancing the impact of Bruno’s kinetic performance in the 30-song set is a high energy Whitney Hoversten lighting design, which, like the star it supports, is marked by a dynamic sense of motion.

“There is a real feeling of movement in this production and it stems from Bruno himself,” said Hoversten. “The incredible music drives much of this energy, but there is also the movement of Bruno and the band; it is truly choreographic. Our mission is to support this with lighting, video and effects that reflect Bruno’s vision.”

Hoversten collaborated closely with production manager Joel Forman, the team from TAIT, as well as Bruno himself on the stage design. Together they ensured that every element of the production flows with the music and choreography across the 190-foot wide stage, 76-feet of which are dedicated to the main performance areas.

“I poured a lot of energy into the selection and placement of every light in this very extensive rig,” said Hoversten, who notes that 1,543 fixtures were used in the mammoth production, which had 34 universal production trucks and 54 additional trucks for the steel structured roof system. His dedicated effort paid of beautifully, as the show engages fans with its orchestrated dance of light and video.

Chase sequences animate the show, moving horizontally one moment and vertically the next, or travelling in both directions simultaneously. Blackouts transform the stage, as do intense blinding effects. Pyro effects accent the performance at some points, then disappear. Bold colour combinations change to reflect the mood of each song. Movement is ever present.

Making a key contribution to the show is a collection of 292 Chauvet Professional Strike V motorised strobe-wash, supplied by Fuse Technical Group. “They are the foundation of our back wall,” Hoversten said of the 180° tilting fixture, which has three rows of individually controllable LEDs. “The variety of movement we can get with them makes them ideally suited for a show like this, which is defined to an extent by movement. We count on them for giving us a variety of looks.”

In addition to creating a dynamic back wall, the Strike V fixtures run across the top of the rig, creating clean imagery over the width of the stage. These units are often strobed to sync with the music and they also provide audience lighting.

Hoversten often has to throttle back the intense output of his Strike V fixtures to ensure clean images of Bruno for the audience and on the IMAG screen. To further ensure precise keylighting, he positioned his spots on extra high (80-foot) towers.

“The positioning of the spots was one of the details we spend a lot of time on, to make sure Bruno was lit properly,” said Hoversten. Such relentless attention to detail is working hand-in-hand with the show’s irrepressible energy on The Romantic Tour. Of course, there is also a third partner: the intense collaboration among talented programmers like Brian Jenkins and Eric Marchwinski, who handled all of the lighting programming and brought a fresh perspective to the show.

Together, they are working magic on this long-awaited tour.

photos: Daniel Ramos

9th June 2026

Actorsingers choose Look Solutions Tiny FX for ferocious effect

USA – Actorsingers latest production, Shrek the Musical, called for a ferocious dragon and Donald Smith-Weiss, set designer, was determined to create just that. With some help from a Look Solutions Tiny FX, the team exceeded even their expectations.

Actorsingers began in New Hampshire during 1955 with a production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Mikado. Since then, the company has grown steadily and now produces at least six shows a year, all delivered to exceptional standards by a team of dedicated volunteers. Dennis Schneider has been one of those volunteers since 1984, holding a place on the board of directors and fulfilling a variety of roles during production periods. Shrek the Musical was his 71st show and Schneider was technical director. He explains how, with the right tools, the company continues to bring a slice of Broadway magic to every production.

“The particular effect we were looking for was achieved and then some, it was pretty spectacular,” he recalls. “We had used the Tiny FX before, so when I was talking to Don Smith-Wiess, the designer of the dragon, he was willing to give it a try and see how it would turn out. It came out great!”

Schneider’s relationship with the Look Solutions USA team goes back to when he contacted Nathan Kahn, the company’s president, to ask about the Unique haze machine. He ended up making the purchase and shortly after also bought a CryoGate. But it was their 2024 production of Beauty and the Beast that made him think of purchasing a Tiny FX.

“There’s an inventor’s cart in the musical that needed to roll around the stage. In the story it’s driven by a steam engine, so it needed to smoke,” Schneider continues. “I rang Nathan and said, hey, I think I need a Tiny FX. He agreed so, I put one of those in my inventory and I’m happy I did! The Tiny FX has been used three times now. As far as I know, only the Tiny FX can do the things we need.”

The Actorsinger Shrek dragon makes a massive impact. Voiced by Victoria Sebastian and articulated by four puppeteers, Patrice Nicole Doherty, Danielle Godjikian, Holly Melancon and Mei Sicurella, the dragon has been lovingly crafted and is a huge presence on stage. The nostrils of the puppet smoke as it moves, serving as a warning and punctuating the action. Ensuring the spectacular dragon’s head was safe to wear required a little bit of ingenuity from Schneider and Smith-Weiss. As with all fog machines, the fog nozzle of the Tiny FX gets hot, so working together, they found a way to make Smith-Weiss’s design completely safe.

“We inserted the Tiny FX into a modified can, which insulated the costume against the hot end of the Tiny FX. We left the ventilation holes around the sides exposed so that air could be pulled in,” he expands. “We then secured it into place with zip ties inserted through holes in the cardboard rib above the fogger, and placed the fogger with the start button and light facing up.”

Actorsingers is careful with budgets, but this doesn’t reduce creativity. The can Schneider describes was actually a repurposed aluminium beer can. Schneider came up with the idea to use it as a heat shield, protecting the fabric and acting as a heat dissipator to also protect the puppeteer, all at zero cost. Placing the Tiny FX within the head also had a number of other benefits, as he continues.

“The zip ties allowed room for technicians to reach up and press the button. You can confirm it’s working by sending a little puff of smoke out of the fogger; there’s no need to see the light. This also kept the bottle of fluid easy to reach and replace as necessary. We ran the wires for the remote switch and battery to the back of the head. The remote was taped to the side of the helmet and the battery was zip tied through small holes in the blue backing fabric onto a wooden rib in the back. This allowed us to access the wires so we could disconnect the battery easily for re-charging.”

Staffed entirely by volunteers, the whole team pulls together to make amazing shows across all their performance spaces. The company has a permanent home in the Actorsinger Hall, but performs Main Stage shows in the Keefe Center for the Arts, Nashua, with its Second Stage and Fringe productions showing at the Janice B Streeter Theater alongside the Teen and Youth shows.

“We can only dream about having the amount of equipment that multi-million-dollar Broadway shows use,” continues Schneider. “But, thanks to relationships with people like Nathan and the Look Solutions USA team, I've been able to get a little bit of what they might use. I grew up in New York and I saw everything on Broadway, so we love it. Our shows are a labour of love, our two-storey set for Shrek the Musical was erected in under four hours, and it took our amazing art department a week of afternoons to paint and dress to make it into a swamp.”

The company is built by community spirit, giving audience members amazing performances and fantastic memories. Being part of the company from a young age gives children and adults access to a wide range of life affirming experiences and skills. It is this community-building mindset that led Schneider to forge relationships with Nathan and Look Solutions USA, upgrading Actorsingers equipment and heightening design possibilities. The company makes full use of not only the small and effective Tiny FX, but also their Unique 2.1 and CryoGate machines that deliver great results every time they are used.

“I can’t say good enough stuff about the team,” Schneider concludes. “Look Solutions products are great, they work well, they’re rugged and they're very well supported. In my mind, that differentiates them from others. I’ve got other machines and they’re loud, you can't control them via DMX, so I have to put a relay in front of them and program around it. The Unique 2.1, the CryoGate, the Tiny FX, are all fully DMX controllable. But most of all, it all just works.” 

9th June 2026

Christie laser projectors illuminate new immersive water show honouring Song Dynasty poet Lu You

China – Christie laser projectors are illuminating a new immersive water show celebrating the 900th birth anniversary of renowned Southern Song Dynasty poet Lu You. Staged at the Lu You Hometown Scenic Area in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, the grand spectacle features close to 20 Christie Griffyn Series, M 4K RGB Series, and HS Series laser projectors.

Titled The Wonders of Lu You, the show officially opened to the public on 17 February, coinciding with the first day of the Lunar New Year. The Lu You Hometown Scenic Area carefully designed a guided route that leads visitors from Lu You Museum, through the water stage and finally to Lu You’s former residence, creating a cohesive cultural journey. After dark, the historic site transforms into a dreamlike canvas of light, water and live performances centred on storytelling, vividly bringing Lu You’s patriotic spirit and literary brilliance to life.

Christie’s authorised distributor, Shanghai Qingying Digital Technology, provided end‑to‑end project support, from early‑stage spatial surveys and equipment selection to complex multi‑projector installations across performance venues and building façades. These initiatives ensured a continuous visual narrative as audiences moved between the memorial hall, water stage and former residence of the prodigious poet, who composed 9,300 poems in his lifetime.

“Christie’s extensive product portfolio, spanning RGB pure laser and laser phosphor illumination technologies, has met the creative team’s requirements for realising this large-scale spectacle,” said Yueyi Wu, general manager, Shanghai Qingying Digital Technology. “Together, these visual solutions deliver a seamless, emotionally engaging experience that resonates with visitors of all ages.”

To realise this ambitious vision, Qingying Digital Technology provided a customised projection solution featuring a range of illumination options designed for the site’s complex outdoor environment. Multiple Christie Griffyn 4K50-RGB pure laser projectors, each delivering 50,000 lumens, were deployed at the main water stage to recreate epic battle scenes and capture the refined details of Song Dynasty architecture with exceptional clarity and colour accuracy.

Complementing the main stage, more than a dozen DWU23‑HS and DWU15‑HS laser projectors were installed across distributed performance areas. Compact yet powerful, the HS Series enabled flexible, cost‑effective installations for corridor‑based interactive projections and for reconstructing scenes from Lu You’s former residence, enveloping visitors in a visually rich and historically resonant atmosphere.

Qingying Digital Technology further ensured reliable performance by deploying Christie Conductor, an advanced monitoring and control software, for the Griffyn 4K50‑RGB and M 4K+25 RGB projectors. This enabled stable 24/7 operation, supporting the high visitor traffic and operational demands of the scenic area.

“The Wonders of Lu You demonstrates how projection technology can elevate cultural storytelling to an entirely new level,” said Gene Wang, senior director of ProAV sales for China, Christie. “From high‑brightness RGB pure laser projection on expansive water stages to flexible installations in intimate interactive spaces using the HS Series, this project showcases the versatility and reliability of Christie solutions in demanding outdoor environments.”

The project stands as a compelling example of how projection technology can enhance cultural tourism experiences, creating immersive, emotionally resonant journeys that connect historical heritage with contemporary audiences.

photos: courtesy Shanghai Qingying Digital Technology

9th June 2026