Production News

Shinedown “The Revolution’s Live Tour” with Elation SEVEN Batten and Bandit Lites

USA – Hard rock band Shinedown has just wrapped up its biggest stage show to date on, “The Revolution’s Live Tour,” already their second headlining North American trek of the year. Lighting design was by Mitchell Schellenger with Carter Fulghum out on the tour directing a rig that included effects from Elation Professional SEVEN Batten 72 linear LED lights. Lighting supply was by Bandit Lites.

“Revolutions” kicked off on 1 April in Spokane, Washington and travelled throughout the US before wrapping up in Knoxville, Tennessee on 7 May. The acclaimed quartet, hailed for their high-octane live shows, are touring in support of their new album “Planet Zero” to be released on 1 July.

The six-foot-long SEVEN Batten 72 strip lights lined 20ft sections of automated truss that moved into various configurations throughout the show. As the truss angled into different positions, kinetic lines of light moved to form varying shapes and different looks, which Fulghum says made for a great effect. “One of my favourite looks was something we called X Wing,” he explains, “where some of the trusses angled up while others angled down. The effect was to create a look that mimicked the form of an X-Wing Starfighter from Star Wars. It was a great look and one of many.”

The SEVEN Battens were used to help set the mood throughout the entire show, including interludes between songs when they were used as audience lights. Although known for their hard driving numbers, the band achieves a variety of sounds and plays a number of slower ballads as well. “It runs the gambit and therefore we needed a flexible light that could adapt,” Fulghum says, explaining that they used the colour-changing linear effects for strobe looks, chases and hits, glow looks and accents. They even accessed the fixture’s ten zones to create big or small squares of ever-changing light. “We got a lot of use out of them for sure. We custom made all the effects and with the RGBAW plus lime plus UV engine there was lots of colour choice.”

Other Seven Batten fixtures were used from a vertical truss position behind a video wall to light band members from the back while a pair of units placed under grated staging on the downstage shined up to light the band from below.

Fulghum, who has been touring with Shinedown since 2012, says he had several people come up to him after the show to comment on the strip lights. “It’s one of the major lights in the rig and although there is a lot of ambient lighting, they cut through in a big way and really got noticed. In fact, there were times when I had to dim them down they were so bright.”

Bandit has counted Shinedown as part of the Bandit family ever since Bandit owner Michael Strickland heard the album “Leave a Whisper” in 2003. Fulghum has been working with Bandit for years and says the advice and support he gets is first rate. “Over the years, client rep Brent Barrett, Jake Tickle (tour support) and owner Michael Strickland have been very active with advice and have always been very supportive.”

The Shinedown rig is now heading back to the Bandit facility in Nashville where it will be revamped – still with Seven Battens – before heading to Daytona Beach later in May for Welcome To Rockville 2022 where the band headlines May 21 alongside Guns 'N' Roses and Rise Against. Shinedown then head to Europe for a string of festival shows in June before returning to the States for more shows in July.

photos: Sanjay Parikh

www.elationlighting.com

25th May 2022

Enlightened of Bristol invests in Ayrton Perseo IP65 Profiles

UK – Bristol-based Enlightened, one of the largest event suppliers in the south west of the UK, has recently invested in a stock of Ayrton Perseo Profile IP65-rated fixtures to service its busy events schedule.

Enlightened specialises in full production services, supported dry hire, design and delivery of permanent installations, as well as sales, skilled repairs and maintenance to a diverse range of clients and venues. “Corporate and private parties and events, large outdoor events in winter, festivals in the summer, installation, sales; basically, we do everything for everyone,” says head of hire and production, Dave Thorpe. “Bristol is a good hub for small to medium companies to which, along with many small companies and theatres all over the country, we cross hire equipment. We therefore make a point of only investing in the very latest in top quality entertainment technology.”

Enlightened’s diverse fields of operation demanded a fixture that could also do ‘everything for everyone’. “When we make new investments we look for a product that will fit into at least two markets,” explains Thorpe, “and that is exactly what happened with Perseo. On the one hand, it is a waterproof fixture but equally capable of working in a theatre environment; I also know that it will fit into any rock and roll or festival stage that we will do in the summer, and will happily sit outside at one of the large scale events we supply for the winter. We have a regular client in Scotland who will have a consignment of Perseo in operation from mid-October to January and I know the fixture will be fine. The lights are brilliant!”

Thorpe was not an immediate convert to Perseo when it first arrived on the market in 2019. “We had a gap in our stock for a decent size workhorse profile, especially since we had a lot of outdoor work, so it was on our radar, but at first we weren’t confident they would also be suitable for indoor work.

“However, as we saw them specified more and more on events, and saw other companies buying them in serious quantities – including those to whom we cross hire – we decided to reconsider. On closer inspection we discovered just how good a fixture Perseo Profile is: the optics are great, the effects all work properly, it does everything, and it does it really well. A final winter of waterproofing our existing non-waterproof stock finally swung the decision for us. We invested in Perseo this March to get ourselves prepped and ready for the mass onslaught of outdoor work we have lined up for this summer.”

On receiving the new Perseo Profiles, Enlightened immediately sent eight units to Bristol Old Vic for a five-week stint on Wonderboy, lit by lighting designer Aideen Malone who was the first to use the new units. "Wonderboy needed both subtle and supersaturated colours which the Perseo units did brilliantly,” says Malone. “And rather than having to specify a choice of light or heavy frost, the Perseos have the flexibility of both. The Ayrton optics helped us achieve many precise awkward framing angles easily."

“They did a storming job,” says Thorpe. “Despite Aideen’s initial request for Ghibli, the specs matched the Perseo Profile in almost all but IP-rating, so they were totally interchangeable, which was perfect from both our perspective as a rental company and the lighting designer’s as an artist.”

Enlightened purchased the Perseo Profiles from Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions. “We have had a great relationship with Ambersphere for years and they always provide an excellent, reliable and honest service,” says Thorpe. “Perseo may be slightly more expensive, but for a little bit extra you get a whole lot more. The pricing of them is sensible across the country and that, combined with their popularity, means we will have a swift return on our investment.

“We kept coming back to the fact that all the alternative options had their failings and were not suitable for that cross over into indoor applications, but Perseo ticked all the boxes. That’s what pushed us. It really is that light that works in all situations.”

photo: Enlightened

24th May 2022

Bigabox Productions Supports Armin van Buuren at Wembley with Chauvet Professional Color Strike M

UK – When Dean Graves and the team at Bigabox Productions Ltd. added the new Chauvet Professional Color Strike M to their inventory earlier this year, they had some very definite ideas on how they were going to use the motorised strobe/wash to enhance their clients’ shows.

“We took on this fixture, because we were super impressed with its output, functionality, and IP rating,” said Graves, adding that the later feature was especially important given the number of outdoor festivals that rely on Bigabox supplied stages. “Aside from the fixture’s ROI potential, we were quite impressed with the kinds of looks designers could create with it. In our minds we could see it being sensational at big outdoor shows.”

Graves’ vision came to fruition in April when lighting designer Michael Seeverens of TwofiftyK used 12 of the high output fixtures to create dazzling visuals for Armin van Buuren in the Dutch trance masters show at Wembley Stadium.

Joining 30 Strike 1 fixtures and a collection of 24 Rogue R3 units, the Color Strike M luminaires gave Seeverens a versatile and powerful creative tool chest, which he took full advantage of to transform the stage into a glowing, multi-faceted light box that captivated the sold-out crowd.

Built around a large illuminated geometric structure that was accentuated with voluminous overhead light, the design pulled the crowd ever deeper into a matrix of colour and brightness. All the while, it never strayed from making the renowned artist on stage the centre of attention during the show, which was produced by TwofiftyK.

Featuring two ultra-bright white light tubes, surround by 14 controllable sections of pixel-mappable RGB LEDs, the Color Strike M opened myriad creative options for the show’s lighting design. The fixture's 180 degree tilt range allowed intensely bright light to be directed along wide range of paths, enhancing the matrix effect that so captivated the audience at Wembley.

Also contributing to the intricate rig layout were the fixture’s multiple mounting options, which allowed it to be hung vertically or horizontally. Its built in alignment pins made it easy to position the fixtures in perfectly straight configurations.

Speaking of the Color Strike M’s flexibility, Graves said: “It’s versatility sold us on this fixture,” adding “it’s perfect for a long list of shows,” and that includes one at Wembley Stadium for one of the world’s leading trance artists on a beautiful April evening.

24th May 2022

MDG theONE provides the canvas for Genesis The Last Domino? tour

UK & USA – For the current Genesis tour, The Last Domino?, Roland Greil, co-lighting designer with show designer Patrick Woodroffe of Woodroffe Bassett Designs, chose five MDG theONE dual haze and fog generators, citing the need for an excellent canvas of haze on which to paint their lighting design for this iconic band’s potentially last tour.

Throughout its history, Genesis has built a reputation for pushing boundaries with its show designs. The visual impact is a crucial, signature part of the band’s shows and a feature that Greil and Woodroffe were keen to maintain. Their show and lighting design incorporated homages to the band’s history, reflecting looks from past tours, whilst simultaneously bringing the visuals into the 21st century to create an unforgettable experience for the audiences.

“It’s very important to have even haze for a show because we rely on it so much to show the beams and the lighting,” says Greil. “theONE has been one of my favourite haze/fog products for years. We’ve used it for Adele, Phil Collins, Rammstein, etc. It is especially good for its haze. There is not really a comparable product out there at all that can create an even haze – or even a real haze – that’s not just a version of smoke or fog.

“theONE is also good from a touring perspective because the combination of having both a fog machine and a haze machine in one means you can basically leave one product at home as you can get two effects from one unit.”

Another very interesting fact post-COVID: “The treatment of atmospherics is especially interesting in our day and age since the arrival of COVID-19 because arenas worldwide have changed their protocols in relation to air extraction and circulation in the buildings, which brings with it its own extra challenges,” explains Greil.

“For example, with Phil Collins, we toured three MDG theONEs for our haze set up. We went to all the normal arenas and with those three machines running at a low level, we were able to create a good and even haze in every arena worldwide.

“Now on the Genesis tour, we have five theONEs: two upstage, two downstage each side and one front of house to create an even haze around the venue, and we have to drive them hard, running five machines nearly at full for the whole show just to maintain that even haze. This is because venues now switch the air extraction to double the normal rate to get rid of the potential virus and germs. It’s healthier of course, but it also sucks out everything you pump into those arenas. With any smaller, lesser machines it would be hard to maintain a decent level of haze.”

Genesis The Last Domino? tour resumed in September 2021 in the UK before travelling to the US mid-West and East Coast. The four-times rescheduled London dates finally took place on 24-26 March at The O2.

photos: Manfred H. Vogel

24th May 2022

Massive Power Cable and Distribution Hire Stock Increase at IPS

UK – IPS adds over 30km of power cabling and 300 distribution units to hire stock. This significant stock increase has already been hard at work supporting both IPS productions on site, as well as meeting the needs of IPS’ range of trade hire customers.

Over the last few months, IPS has been working hard to increase hire stocks all the hardware needed for the distribution of temporary power at events. Close working relationships with suppliers have been essential whilst battling supply restrictions and varying lead times along with all the other pressures associated with coronavirus, along with tireless work from Joe Martin who leads the IPS service department. Joe says: “It really has been a non-stop few months for me and the team, but despite all the obstacles, we are pleased to now have an expanded and upgraded range of fully tested cabling and power distribution equipment ready to hire.”

In total, around £750,000 has been spent on top quality hardware that will provide many years of reliable service. All the new cabling has been made with tough black H07 cable and fitted with either CEE Form or Power Lock connectors. IPS now has an available hire inventory of more than 80km of mains cabling consisting of both single and three phase options, in 16A, 32A, 63A, 125A, 200A, 400A and 600A variants. The 200A Power Lock range is new for 2022, with sets stocked in 5m, 10m, 25m and 50m lengths. All cabling is colour coded and labelled with length and ID details and has been electrically tested and logged on the IPS barcode-based inventory system.

The 300 new and updated power distribution units have been manufactured and supplied by Distro Design and incorporate lots of features to make them perfect for a hard life in the events industry. All units have been fitted with recessed tour plate labels and scribble strips to make each unit and circuit quick and neat to label on site. Smaller distro units are fitted with carrying handles, and larger production units are fitted into wheeled frames for easy handling on site. This brings the total IPS power distribution stock holding up to nearly 550 units. Ben Stearn from Distro Design says: “We are proud to have been able to continue our working relationship with IPS, and the high specification of the units supplied is really raising the bar in professional event power distribution. Along with the vast amounts of distribution IPS already have, this puts them amongst one of the largest stockists of power available for hire in the UK.”

In keeping with the existing IPS stocks, distribution units follow the same naming conventions. Distro units are fitted with incoming MCB protection, and then depending on the specific configuration RCD protection for the outputs. Larger units are fitted with digital metering, variable RCD protection, Power Lock and earth terminals. James Mason, IPS managing director says: “We have focused on consolidating our range and making units compliant with all current regulations, whilst remaining user friendly on site. This has been a significant investment; we have vastly increased the stock quantity of the most popular distro units to make larger systems easier to deploy,” This is certainly reflected in the stock count, with each model of distro being stocked in quantities from 20 to over 100 units. Full details of the units are available on the IPS website.

IPS also stock a broad range of power adaptors to connect everything up, with converters, splitters, plugboards and 13A, 15A, powerCON, TRUE1, IEC, Shuko adaptors to name just a few; almost any combination is possible. IPS also have over 750 sections of cable ramp available for hire, with a range of standard, modular and wheelchair accessible options to choose from to make everything work on site.

24th May 2022

Pasi Hara Brings Monitoring into the Third Dimension with KLANG

USA – Celebrated monitor engineer Pasi Hara came from Helsinki’s uniquely Finnish metal community of the 1990s and 2000s, one he embraced enthusiastically as a guitarist himself. However, he soon discovered that his most salient talents lay in putting the technical pieces of a show together. He debuted those with Helsinki goth-rockers H.I.M., starting as their FOH and “everything” engineer, later becoming the band’s monitor mixer. And that’s the role he’s settled into since, for numerous artists like Slash/Guns N’ Roses, The Cult, Tower of Power, Beck, Fergie, Fall Out Boy and Tool, although he’s likely best known for manning System of a Down’s monitors over the past decade.

What being around the serious sonic horsepower that heavy-metal music engenders has taught Hara is that anything he can do to make the monitoring environment for his musicians safer, more comfortable, and more accurate – but without sacrificing impact – he’ll gladly do. And the KLANG immersive in-ear monitor mixing system has become his primary tool of choice to accomplish just that.

“I first heard about the KLANG platform when it popped up on my Facebook feed,” he recalls, speaking from his home in the Los Angeles area, where he moved his family about seven years ago. “I thought, ‘I need to take a look at this.’ So I went to their website, watched the videos, then emailed them, saying, ‘You have my full attention'!”
That immediate and keen interest came about because of how the KLANG:fabrik system could allow Hara to create a virtual and precise replica of any musician’s immediate stage environment in their in-ear monitors, with the KLANG:fabrik’s three-dimensional capability letting him put every instrument on stage in exactly the same place in their IEM mix.

What he could accomplish using KLANG:fabrik was made clear the first time he tried it out in 2014 with Guns ‘N' Roses guitarist Slash on one of his solo shows in Germany. The band was loud and there was a lot of bleed into lead singer Miles Kennedy’s microphone, and thus into his IEMs.

“By just applying the KLANG to that situation, moving the guitar to the side in Miles’s ears and keeping the vocal in front, the overall volume had gone down 9 to 10dB and all the bleed was gone,” Hara recalls. “He wasn’t fighting the guitar in his monitor any more, in the 3D mix it was behind him and to the side, just like it was on stage and I didn’t have to do the usual carving out of frequencies for them to coexist. It was amazing and I was sold on KLANG.”

KLANG:fabrik worked just as well for System of a Down, particularly for drummer John Dolmayan. Hara brought the KLANG system into a rehearsal and set up the drum kit virtually to reflect how Dolmayan perceives it from the drum throne: an array of five toms, plus a pair of kicks. “I remember that John sat down behind the kit, went around the toms once, then looked at me and said, ‘What did you do?’ And before I could answer, he said, ‘Don’t touch anything. It’s perfect.’ John’s a very precise drummer and tends to look straight ahead when he plays, so everything in his in-ears is exactly as it is right in front of him.”

System of a Down’s members were all very effusive about the benefits they’ve derived from using the KLANG:fabrik IEM mixing system. “Before KLANG, I had to guess what my band members where playing. Now, I hear every note and it’s life-changing,” Dolmayan personally shares. Shavo Odadjian, the band’s bassist, who directly transitioned to the KLANG platform from using monitor wedges, says: “My stage experience went from zero to 60 real fast after I started using the KLANG. I can now be anywhere on our stage and hear everything clearly, which is truly a game-changer!” And for vocalist Serj Tankian, it’s all about the third dimension: “The 3D mix creates way more space for isolation of specific instruments delivering more clarity during our performance.”

Since then, Hara has used his KLANG:fabrik pair on virtually all of his clients, including Ebi, The Cult, KISS, Slipknot, and Stone Temple Pilots. More recently, Hara has also expanded his KLANG universe with a new DMI-KLANG card, which he uses with a DiGiCo SD5 console via an Orange Box, or by plugging it directly into one of the DMI slots found on the back of a new Quantum225 or Quantum338 desks.

“During the pandemic, I had a loaner SD12 with a DMI-KLANG card and I tried it out, transferring my files from the KLANG:fabrik. That made an even greater difference, because the latency, which was already very low, was now only a quarter of a millisecond with the DMI-KLANG integrated into the console. Latency is mission-critical, and I always measure it from the microphone to the earpiece, because everything digital that you add in line can cause more delay. But with the DMI-KLANG card, that’s no longer adding much to that equation.”

Hara says that the KLANG system’s ability to create fully immersive soundscapes for stage monitoring has been transformative. “Not everyone gets the idea of 3D right away for monitors, because the term gets used so often for so many things,” he says. “But when I bring out the iPad with the KLANG:app software running on it and show someone what can be done with 3D monitoring, they immediately get it. And it has let me change how I get the sound to the musicians. I don’t have to try to carve out a space for the drummer to hear the click, for instance. And that’s also saving everyone’s hearing. KLANG has literally changed everything in my world for the better.”

24th May 2022

Tristan Mouget and Don’t Give Up Help Cabaret Du Bout Des Près Sparkle with Chauvet Professional

France – Words like “magical” and “enchanting” come up often when travel and entertainment writers, not to mention food critics, describe their experiences at Cabaret Du Bout Des Près. Anyone who’s ever visited this pastorally beautiful 17-hectare site in the Chevreuse Valley would readily agree.

Although it’s located only 30 minutes from Paris on a “farm at the end of the meadows,” as its website proclaims, Cabaret Du Bout Des Près transports visitors to another world, beyond the reach of the hustle and bustle of the city, where they can enjoy rustic French cuisine and fine wines in a relaxed setting, while taking in music and dance productions that represent the best of France’s can-can tradition.

The original stone walls and exposed beams of the converted 17th century stable where the cabaret revues are performed take guests back to an earlier, simpler era, while also providing an evocative backdrop to the contemporary and ebullient shows, making the experience at Cabaret Du Bout Des Près all the more memorable.

Enhancing the visual impact of this setting and providing the production teams behind the shows with broader and more powerful creative options is a new lighting system designed and installed by Tristan Mouget of Don’t Give Up that features a collection of over 60 Chauvet Professional fixtures.

Given that Cabaret Du Bout Des Près, employs professional singers, dancers and actors, in addition to creating its own choreography and costumes, the Dont Give Up team was intent on outfitting this performance space with high quality LED theatrical lighting that offered realistic colour mixing and sharp focus, as well as quick, smooth movements.

This criteria let to the selection of the Chauvet Professional units. "Regarding the products we installed at the venue, Chauvet was the choice,” said Mouget. “The company is global, their products’ color mixing is excellent, and their pricing is fair.”

A collection of 30 Rogue R1 BeamWash fixtures plays a key role in the new lighting rig. Mouget notes that the wide zoom range (3.4° to 67.7) of this 40W RGBW fixture, gives designers more flexibility to create a wide array of looks, something that is critically important to supporting the venue’s diverse range of entertainment offerings.

The colour rendering capabilities of the Rogue units is also heavily relied on at Cabaret Du Bout Des Près, given that its bright and airy productions call for bold and vibrant palettes, often accented by dramatic changes in hues and intensity levels. Thanks to the compact size of the units, the team can locate them in a wide range of positions, which helps them accentuate performances with many different light angles.

Another compact fixture, the Ovation Cyc 1FC, contributes to the rainbow of looks that enliven the venue’s stage. The sleek design of this linear unit allows it to be positioned discretely, so as not to distraction from the productions that it is enlivening with colour.

Added colour is provided by the new rig’s 14 COLORado Q-15 units, while a collection of 11 Maverick Force S Spot, 3 Maverick Profiles, and one Force 1 Spot deliver punch for the peak, exciting points in shows at Cabaret Du Bout Des Près.

These fixtures are kept to good use, as there are many such “highlight moments” on stage during these freewheeling cabaret shows. The chance to enjoy such performances, plus a magnificent menu, have many people talking about the “farm at the end of the meadow.” And now, they can enjoy both the dining and entertainment under lights that are as vibrant and engaging as this remarkable venue.

23rd May 2022

PYTCH Create Rave Vibe at Alfresco Disco with Chauvet Professional

UK – New art and cultural movements seem to blossom most rapidly (and colourfully) outside the grip of commercial interests. Such was the case in 1988, when the so-called “Second Summer of Love,” sprang up virally in Bristol and other UK cities, as young people flocked to clandestine rave clubs that opened in abandoned and forgotten warehouses.

Now, some three decades later, the spirit of those heady times is being revived and honoured by Alfresco Disco, a group that organises roving rave music and art events reminiscent of the mood of that long ago summer.

At one recent stop the ambience of the original rave nights was recreated in deeply evocative fashion, not within the worn out walls of an unused factory, but inside a 3,000 square metre state-of-the art warehouse. Working this magical transformation was the design team from the facility’s owner, event specialist PYTCH.

The PYTCH crew used 50 Chauvet Professional fixtures to light Alfresco Disco, which, true to the underground origins of the early rave clubs, only announced that it would be taking place at the site on the day of the event itself. Nevertheless over 2,500 ravers showed up.

When they did, they were instantly immersed in an '80s metro, subterranean vibe. The people from PYTCH transformed the empty warehouse into a full-scale party venue in a mere two days. Central to infusing the creative energy of those incendiary early raves into the space was their creative use of eight Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash fixtures, which were hung from trussing structures. Thanks to each fixture’s seven 45W RGBW LEDs coupled with the 12 pixel-mappable RGB LED ring, the team were able to create unique, redolent visual effects that transported ravers back to an earlier time.

With lead lighting designer Dan Giddings and lighting tech Luke Boast busking through performances by artists like Move D, DJ Gregory and Matisa, the designers drew upon the playful juxtaposition of the Outcast’s central light source and outer ring to create spontaneous and energetic visuals.

This interplay of looks succeeded in engaging the expectant crowd with the music and space combined fuse space, music and creativity. “The new Rogue Outcast 1 BeamWash fixtures were the talking point of the evening for anybody interested in lighting,” said Giddings. “Even for people who weren't necessarily lighting-savvy, the ring effect around the beams were definitely noted and commented on for their incredible retro feel.”

While the retro look was high on the client’s list of priorities, using outdated and highly inefficient retro halogen fixtures was certainly never an option for PYTCH, which has built a reputation for harnessing latest technologies to create captivating visuals.

Awarding the event with the best of both analogue and digital worlds were ten Strike P38 fixtures, which gave an additional retro visual kick to proceedings. Thanks to the Strike P38's punchy 90W LED source, the team could recreate the halogen par can look synonymous with 90s rave culture, incorporating the tungsten emulating effect into the various sets.

Providing a foundation of visual support with a mixture of movement, strobes, beams and washes, the team specified 12 Rogue R2 Wash, ten Maverick Hybrid MK1 and a further eight Rogue R2 Wash and two RH1 Hybrid fixtures for the second stage.

With the placement of the wash and hybrid fixtures, the team were able to douse large swathes of the huge warehouse in saturated colour, immersing party-goers in an thrilling atmosphere. Given that the lighting technicians were busking the entire show, they were also able to draw upon the zoom of the fixtures to create captivating movements within the crowd, cross crossing with diagonal beams from different directions to infuse energy within the DJ sets.

“Everybody really loved the night,” said Giddings. “This was a fun event to light. For those who were around at the time, it also brought back memories.

Whilst those memories might not have had the spontaneity of the original rave era, they certainly captured its liberating feeling and for those enjoying Alfresco Disco at PYTCH on this night, that was more than enough.

23rd May 2022

Robert Juliat DALIS 860 LED Cyclights Play Key Role in Drawn to Life, New Cirque du Soleil-Disney Production

USA – Drawn to Life, the first collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering, has opened in Disney Springs, Florida where Robert Juliat DALIS 860s take center stage with an impressive 80 x 45-foot cyclorama. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Robert Juliat lighting in North America.

In Drawn to Life the stage is transformed into a giant animation table where drawings come to life. The art of classic Disney animation is reinterpreted through Cirque du Soleil’s innovative design and costuming, mesmerising acrobatic performances and dazzling choreography and combined with all-new Disney animation and an original score. Drawn to Life is the new permanent show at Disney Springs, where the previous production from Cirque du Soleil ran for 18 years.

Montreal-based lighting designer Martin Labrecque is using 58 DALIS 860 300W LED asymmetric cyc/wall wash luminaires for the show. The fixtures deliver powerful, smooth coverage and a huge variety of pastel and saturated colours.

“I had used Robert Juliat DALIS LED footlights on an opera, but this was my first time using the DALIS cyclights,” says Labrecque. “I’m quite a fan of Robert Juliat equipment in general and was impressed by the footlights. But for ‘Drawn to Life’ I had a giant cyc with two or more scenic layers in front of it to light and I had to get all the colours I wanted to use. The DALIS 860s are powerful and bright and the optics so good that I went all in with them. The cyc was the centrepiece of my design, and we built a top-notch rig around it.”

About half of the DALIS 860s are mounted on top of the cyc illuminating the massive backdrop like a soft box to backlight scenes. The rest of the DALIS fixtures are on the floor to light the cyc from the front.

Labrecque explains that classic multi-plane animation, in which multiple layers of elements were shot on glass to give a three-dimensional look to animated scenes, inspired the lighting techniques. “There are four or five tracks in front of the cyc so we can layer scenic paintings just like shooting multi-plane animation. We can light the paintings from the front so they are opaque or light them via the cyc so they are translucent. And we can change their colour. The DALIS 860s give us the power we need to do all this: Even when we’re using saturated colours on multiple layers in front of the cyc we still have light left.”

An additional DALIS 860 fixture is mounted on a moving truss so it can be positioned wherever needed. “We can do interesting gradients of colour with this light,” Labrecque notes. “In the ‘Dreams of Color’ sequence about the artists who painted the animation cells, we create a gradient of eight or nine colours on the giant cyc.”

Drawn to Life opened last November, and Labrecque reports that the DALIS 860s “have been performing perfectly with no issues at all for ten shows a week”.

photos: Mathieu Poirier

23rd May 2022

Europe’s Biggest Music Reunion Relies on Exceptional Shure Audio for its 2022 Edition

Italy – The most complex and anticipated music gathering in Europe, the Eurovision Song Contest, celebrated its 2022 Grand Finale on 14 May. Broadcast live from Pala Alpitour in Turin, Eurovision featured 40 international artists and attracted more than 100 million viewers globally. The sound of Eurovision 2022 was designed by Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana and supported by Agorà Srl, the service company for audio, lighting, and video service, by De Amicis Wolfango and Vittorio brothers. The Shure Axient Digital Wireless System was selected to deliver extraordinary audio throughout one of the largest live music events in the world.

Eurovision Song Contest was first held in 1956, and with more than 30 countries competing each year, it has become an influential annual event for European music. Well-known artists Laura Pausini and Mika hosted the evening with Italian presenter Alessandro Cattelan. During the voting period to select the best Eurovision song, Mika performed some of his most famous music, including Love Today, Grace Kelly and Happy Ending. He relied on a Shure ADX2FD Beta 58 hand-held wireless microphone transmitter before announcing Ukrainian artists Kalush Orchestra as Eurovision’s 2022 winners.

Across Europe, the public also voted for British singer Sam Ryder, who earned second place, and the Spanish Channel, winning third place. Both exciting performances depended on Shure ADX2FD handheld wireless microphone transmitters.

During the semi-finals and the Grand Final of ESC on Saturday, all performances, interviews, artists, and viewers enjoyed high-quality audio delivered by Shure Axient Digital. Given the complex audio solutions necessitated by the scale of the event, organisers trusted Shure Axient Digital Wireless Systems to perform flawlessly in even the most congested RF environments. Axient Digital didn’t disappoint, providing the clarity, flexibility, and control required for extraordinary sound throughout Eurovision 2022.

“Eurovision Song Contest is challenging, because it is broadcast and viewed by millions of people across different countries who get together to celebrate Europe’s music. Without a reliable sound system, we couldn’t make this happen,” said Andrea Tesini, RF engineer at Agorà. “Shure Axient Digital wireless system is the only ecosystem we could trust, as it has all the capabilities for ensuring the stability, control and clarity needed for an event of these technical characteristics,” added Ivan Omiciuolo and Enrico Mambella, RF Engineers at Ágora.

The wireless audio ecosystem for Eurovision 2022 included:

• 23 AD4Q Axient Digital four channel Quad Receivers, 20 on stage and three in rehearsal spaces

• 20 ADX1 Digital wireless bodypack transmitters

• Two AXT630 Axient antenna distribution systems

• Two AXT600 Axient spectrum managers

• Six AD610 Diversity ShowLink access points

• Two HA-8091 domed helical antenna

• Four UA845UWB antenna distribution systems

• 37 units of ADX2FD hand-held wireless microphone transmitters

“Both the RAI team for Broadcast Sound and the Agorà team for Studio Sound have done an awesome job ensuring the top audio standard ESC requires. Axient Digital Wireless provided flawless RF, transparent sound, and real-time remote control, which is key on these scenarios,” said Mauro Severoni, head of sound at RAI and head of the ESC Audio project.

“We develop our products together with audio professionals, artists, and customers, who help us understand their challenges in complex environments similar to the one at Eurovision. Our Axient Digital Wireless ecosystem is so reliable because it was designed to meet the high demands of today’s most innovative professionals, ensuring impeccable audio for artists and the audience,” said Tuomo Tolonen, senior director of pro audio in Western Europe at Shure.

23rd May 2022

500 Plus Astera Titan Tubes Join the Cyber Rodeo Party at Tesla Gigafactory

USA – Lighting and visual designer Rob Ross of New York and LA-based technical production company Rob Ross Design used over 500 Astera Titan Tubes to highlight impressive architectural and industrial areas at Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, for the automotive giant’s recent facilities launch party, ‘Cyber Rodeo’.

Covering 2,500 acres along the Colorado River and offering over 10 million square feet of factory floor, Gigafactory Texas is a US manufacturing hub for Tesla Model Y and the future home of Cybertruck.

Rob and his team were asked onboard by the ‘Cyber Rodeo’ event’s creative director Stefan Beckman and producer Mark Seed and tasked with designing a creative illumination scheme for the vast environmental spaces involved in the event, including interiors and the building exterior.

This epic mission saw close collaboration with LD Tom Sutherland and his team from DX7 Design who created lighting for Cyber Rodeo’s three stage and entertainment areas.

The enormous main space utilised for the event measured 3800ft x 1200ft and stretches the equivalent of seven city blocks.

Looking at photos, videos, walk-throughs, plans and renders were useful for getting an impression explained Rob, but it wasn’t until he finally stood in the space for real during the first recce that he truly felt and understood its scale and enormity.

This was the first trigger for creating an atmosphere for guests to be engaged, impressed and put in the mood to party by proactive lighting.

“We had a free rein to suggest ideas which was great fun!” stated Rob, who immediately thought of utilising the building’s impressive structural metalwork as part of the installation, highlighting its form and impressive architecture as well as utilising it practically to provide lighting positions.

Titan Tubes also sprang to mind straight away! This was for the quality and power of the output and – obviously in a space this size – the wireless control and operation.

Rob frequently uses Astera products in designs and projects and loves the versatility of all the Astera products.

Get in and set up time for Cyber Rodeo was tight given its size and ambition, also partly due to the factory continuing to be functional throughout the build.

The Titan Tube installation was approximately 1,900ft long with 568 fixtures deployed across the building, the vast majority magnetically attached to the top parts of the columns which were each 40ft apart.

This ‘perspective design’ illustrated the spectacular size and presence of the building, emphasising its character and potency as a workplace, and additionally gave it a real sense of depth as guests moved around to the various areas.

These included the main stages and assorted ‘exhibition’ areas that were highlighting various Tesla vehicles, old, new, prototype, etc., as well as cutting-edge manufacturing plant like aluminium casting machines which form part of a vehicle frame from molten aluminium, a technology designed to reduce the amount of welding needed, plus new painting facilities and an array of other amazing industrial robots.

The Titan Tube design allowed the whole area to be beautifully and tastefully lit and enabled some mind-bending effects with chases whizzing manically up and down the building, all helping ramp up the energy, excitement and high-tech party atmosphere.

Over 400 of the Titan Tubes were ingeniously rigged to the steel pillars using Androokie magnet kits, with some other fixtures dotted around on the floor and other vantage points, all controlled through Astera ART7 boxes via a grandMA2 lighting console. “This all worked fantastically,” commented Rob.

It would have been near impossible to cable that many fixtures neatly within the time frame, an exercise that would have been costly and inefficient in person-power, but the Astera units were loosely power cabled for the programming sessions with the cabling running along the floor that was removed on the morning of the show, leaving them completely wireless.

Rob was delighted with the results as were his clients.

He admits that he’s been wanting to do something of this scale and profile with Titan Tubes ever since he first used Astera products around five years ago.

“The light quality is soft and nicely textures spaces, people, and objects. They are small and handleable – extremely mobile, the colour mixing is excellent, and they can be fitted absolutely anywhere,” he concluded.

Rob Ross Designs owns a quantity of Titan Tubes as well as the smaller Helios Tubes and the larger Hyperion, all of which use the same Titan LED engine however, even using all of these they didn’t have anywhere near enough for Cyber Rodeo, so most units were supplied by Wireless Film Lights, with entertainment stage lighting contractor 4Wall pitching in to make up the remaining count.

Rob and his team also supplied around 100 of their own Astera AX5 TriplePARs and 24 AX3 LightDrop on the truck for last minute deployment. Sure enough, the day before, all of these were utilised to light signage, bars, walkways, toilets, etc., as this part of the factory was transformed from an imposing cyber manufacturing facility into a cool event space for the evening.

The Titan Tubes were also programmed into the DX7 Design team’s lighting control consoles allowing them to be incorporated with their stage lighting at specific moments as a series of live acts and guest speakers took to the stage, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Rob’s associate for the project was Aiden Marshall and their assistants were Jai Jing Qi and Dan Schreckengost.

Rob concludes: “We all had a really amazing experience on this project. It was a lot of fun to be challenged to work on such a large space and get to know such amazing new Tesla technology! I particularly enjoyed the teamwork and synergies existing between the different departments, disciplines and everyone involved who worked tirelessly to make it happen, as well as having the opportunity to create these incredible visual elements using such innovative products. A huge thanks to all of the teams and vendors that helped make it happen!”

photos: JorgPhoto

20th May 2022

Over 400 Claypaky fixtures at the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest

Italy – The 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest was held by the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) at the PalaOlimpico in Turin. About 200 million people watched live and, for the first time in three years, there was an almost full audience at the venue.

RAI RadioTelevisione Italiana, as host broadcaster, took the lead in setting up the stage, which this year revolved around "The Sun Within" designed by Francesca Montinaro, an ambitious new stage concept based on the light of a kinetic sun. The multi-level stage set-up was complemented by spectacular waterfalls, large LED video walls and – as always – an impressive array of lights ready to set the competing artists' shows on fire.

Claypaky was there with over 400 lights, including 120 Sharpy X Frame, 64 Xtylos, 25 Mini Xtylos, 42 Arolla Profile HP, 25 Stormy CC and 144 Sharpy Wash units. Particularly prominent among them all were the new Claypaky Sharpy X Frame hybrid lights, which flanked the two side catwalks that led from the upper stage down to the stage below. The Claypaky Xtylos fixtures were arranged along the two top side edges of the structure and were particularly visible in the fanned-out coloured light that cut through the audience. They also had the essential task of creating the lighting effect that accompanied the presentation jingle at the beginning of each song.

The Claypaky Mini Xtylos HPEs were fitted in unusual places: thanks to their great compactness, they were installed inside the stage-side trapdoors, from which sharp blades of coloured light shot out. The Claypaky Arolla Profile HPs and Sharpy Wash 330s were placed around the stage and the venue and played multifarious roles. They provided side and back lighting for the artists, and wash lighting for the green room.

The event was directed by Duccio Forzano and Cristian Biondani, and Mario Catapano was the lighting director.

Marcus Graser, Claypaky CEO, said: "The world's most impressive musical show used our lights once again this year. The lighting designer chose a wide range of Claypaky units, including profile spotlights, hybrid fixtures, beam moving lights, washlights and strobes. The fixtures used various light sources: LED-based, laser-based and discharge lamps. This speaks volumes about the wide variety of versatile, reliable lighting solutions which only Claypaky can currently offer the market.”

The lighting systems were provided by Calvini Light Equipment Service, based in Taggia (Imperia), and Sound D-Light from Pesaro.

photos: Nathan Reinds

www.claypaky.it

20th May 2022

GLP shines twice on back-to-back primetime German TV shows

Germany – At the beginning of April, the classic German TV series Verstehen Sie Spaß (which translates as ‘Do You Understand Fun?’) entered a new season, with the moderator duties transferring from the long-serving Guido Cantz to Barbara Schöneberger, and the entire production moving from its familiar Munich location to the Berlin studio.

Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon, who has been responsible for lighting the show for many years, took the opportunity to update the lighting concept on behalf of Kimmig Entertainment GmbH to include over 250 GLP spots. While Gerdon design GmbH adapted the lighting and content design for the show’s acts, the light and content design for the Beatrice Egli Show – which was produced directly afterwards in a modified set – was forged completely from its Wiesbaden design studio.

Thomas Gerdon, who always favours GLP products for his TV productions, also staged the Beatrice Egli shows with multiple devices from the German manufacturer. A total of 48 GLP impression X4 Bar 20, 42 GT-1, 35 X4 L, 31 JDC1, 20 X4 and 17 Highlander Wash, plus 12 of the new impression X5 and 64 Fusion Stick FS16 Z, were deployed.

Several challenges had to be overcome with this combined production. On the one hand, the TV classic Verstehen Sie Spaß needed to look fresh but still offer a high recognition value for the viewers. On the other, the two shows, produced back to back, made very different demands on the lighting.

"A Saturday evening entertainment show with a high proportion of talk like Verstehen Sie Spaß, followed by a typical music show featuring multiple acts, had to be treated fundamentally differently," says Thomas Gerdon. “However, we didn't have time for several days’ rebuild, so I developed a hybrid concept that met the specific needs of both productions.”

This concept resulted in two individual stage designs for the two shows. The talk corner of both formats was designed to its usual high standard, while the show stages were equipped for the most diverse possible use. A mix of spots and washlights provided the basic production lighting. A wealth of variable elements on towers or on roller boards provided the necessary variety, especially in the Beatrice Egli Show, which had two show stages at its disposal.

“In this, it was the individual pieces that we were constantly able to arrange differently, which made it possible for each artist to have a completely different look," adds Gerdon.

The 17 Highlander Wash were exclusively responsible for the personal lighting. "With a really good wash light like the Highlander, which combines a high CRI with sufficient power and aperture options, you can be super-precise,” says Gerdon. “And thanks to its power, this can be done right across the board. I'm definitely a fan of this washlight.”

Another must-have in this instance was the 42 compact GT-1 beamlights, as Thomas Gerdon explains: “The permanently fixed component of the Verstehen Sie Spaß set is a ceiling plafond with embedded beam lights. Here we chose the GT-1 primarily because of its high brightness. Since the lamp has no base, it also looks very good in this setting.”

On the other hand, Gerdon requisitioned 12 of the brand-new GLP impression X5 washlights for the first time, which served as effects during various moments in the show. "The X5 is brighter than the previous model, but that's not a criticism,” he explains. “The zoom is very, very fast, which of course is pretty cool. But what really impresses is the light quality of the new X5. It's fantastic in the white area as well as in the colours. The quality of the colours and the white light is definitely unparalleled in its class and product range.”

The X4 Bar 20, X4 and X4 L are already among the standard workhorses in Gerdon's GLP box of tricks. “With the 48 X4 Bars, we illuminated several large areas on which foil prints indicating light reflections were laminated. We noticed that these prints come out differently depending on the colour temperature and then sometimes appear as if they are glowing themselves, which looked great.”

The 64 LED Fusion Stick FS16 Z and the 31 JDC1 hybrid strobes contributed to a large section of the show’s effects lighting, the JDC1 providing effects lighting on both show stages (on the floor and in the trusses). "As schlager music becomes more modern and electronic, the JDC1's versatility and punch make it a very welcome solution when it comes to creating 18 schlager titles with different looks,” Gerdon concludes.

“We used the Fusion FS16 Z on the one hand as a fixed part of the show light on the stage, while other sticks were installed in various arrangements on the title decoration towers or could be used behind the audience as spotlights. For me, the FS16 Z is a great example of what constitutes the quality of GLP as a manufacturer: they listen carefully, ask the right questions and then deliver a product that simply offers everything you would expect from such a TV studio lamp. This cannot be done any better."

photos: Julian Huke

20th May 2022

JRLX adds “do all” Proteus Lucius to rental stock

USA – Chicago-based systems integration, sales and production firm JRLX, Inc. has added Elation Professional’s outdoor-rated Proteus Lucius LED profile moving head to its growing inventory of rental lighting fixtures. The Lucius, an all-purpose fixture in Elation’s market-leading Proteus line of weatherproof luminaires, is fully loaded and is the compact brother to the company’s popular Proteus Maximus.

Jason Reberski, CEO at JRLX, saw the Lucius at LDI 2019, just months before the industry shutdown. He comments: “Elation has the most highly specified IP-rated fixture toolkit currently and the Proteus name is known globally. I knew that when the demand came roaring back in spring of 2021, that Lucius was high on our list of fixtures to evaluate. We compared it to 1000 Watt HID source fixtures on the market and the output and feature set of the Lucius far excelled.”

The Lucius compares favourably to current 1500W-1700W discharge fixtures on the market, Reberski says, and at a fraction of the wattage and with more features. “It’s a solid fixture in every category but here’s the silver lining: there are zero downsides to the fact that it is weatherproof. The Proteus Lucius is lightweight, compact, and super quiet. It is perfectly useable in an opera house, an arena, an outdoor festival, or a movie shoot. The IP65 rating is simply a bonus that makes it even more versatile. It really is a ‘do-all’ fixture!”

The Proteus Lucius houses a CMY colour mixing system with variable CTO and five-slot colour wheel and can be used as a profile, beam or wash light, reducing the need for variant fixtures. It produces up to 33,500 lumens from a peak field 580W white LED engine and is loaded with features: 5.5° to 50° zoom, three gobo wheels, dual prisms, animation wheel, full blackout framing system, variable frost filters, iris, electronic shutter and more.

“The best part of Lucius is that it is not a niche filler,” according to Reberski. “This light can go anywhere, indoor or outdoor, and it makes no feature compromises.” An important benefit of IP-rated fixtures, he points out, and one that can sometimes be overlooked, is the fact that when used indoors with pyro, atmospheric effects and the grime of an arena setting, there is no need to open the fixture and take it completely apart to clean it. “We simply wipe the fixture off and it looks brand new because it is completely sealed to not only moisture but also dust, smoke, and fog!”

JRLX took delivery of the Proteus Lucius in March and the IP65 moving heads were immediately sent out on tour with heavy metal rockers Gojira. JRLX is in its eleventh year of providing touring production, lighting and visual solutions, technical, support, and systems integration on a national scale. With a touring production department stocked with the latest in lighting technology, including their new Proteus Lucius fixtures, the company is equipped for further success.

photo: Errick Easterday, easterxdaily

www.elationlighting.com

19th May 2022

Massive Productions Creates Soaring Looks For El Alfa with Chauvet Professional

Curaçao – The New York Times hailed him as the “King of Dembow” after a sold-out October show at Madison Square Garden. For the passionate legion of El Alfa fans, this title is more than well-deserved. With his alto, sensual voice and non-stop energy, the charismatic Dominican singer embodies the essence of the bouncy, upbeat variation of reggae that came of age in his nation and has swept across the world.

Recently, El Alfa brought his whirlwind dembow performance to Curaçao for the island’s first major music festival since the start of the pandemic lockdown. For the fans, it was well worth the wait. Their live festival draught ended with a bang, as El Alfa heated up the stage with his rapid fire intensity and smooth moves, all the while engaging the audience with his intimate style.

Enhancing the memorable experience at the festival, which was produced by Beehives Curaçao was a bold and dynamic lighting design by Jimmy Lo-A-Njoe and Iziquiel Goncalves of Massive Productions, which supplied and installed the rig. Anchoring the light show and driving its visual power was a collection of over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures.

“It takes a village to make show like the Ambiente Music Festival 2021 happen, beginning with the man himself, El Alfa,” said Lo-A-Njoe, of Massive Productions. “Giving all that has happened over the past two years, this festival meant a great deal to live music fans here.

“We were honoured that Beehives Curaçao choose Massive Productions to do the event productions on location, and to make sure all went as planned,” continued Lo-A-Njoe. “To ensure the success of this event, we turned to our trusted partners like Franky's Chairs & Tables, Royal Rentals, The Green Machine Generator Rentals, Quickfiks Cleaning Services, T-Experience Security, Safe, Selikor, Yess Event Power, POSH, Prorent, Fiesta Tou and, of course, our Chauvet Professional fixtures.”

The rig’s 12 Maverick MK1 Hybrid fixtures, positioned six apiece to either side of the stage, were used as the main fill light during the show. Drawing on the intense output and tight beam angle of these 440W movers, the designers also relied on them to create an array of aerial and eye candy effects.

Joining the Mavericks in accenting ballyhoo moments (along with ample quantities of fog), were 15 Strike 4 fixtures. These high output blinders also reinforced the crowd connection, which is so much a part of an El Alfa concert experience, by washing the audience in warm white light.

Colour also played a key role in the lighting design, creating markedly different atmospheres to reflect the various moods of the songs in El Alfa’s set list, which featured a range of hits from “Banda De Camion” and “Dominiano Soy,” to “4K.” For some of the more mellow and reflective tunes, the stage was covered with deep blues that were sprinkled with cool whites. At other points, things heated up with intense reds, pierced by sharp yellows and greens. Then there were more elegant passages where purples ruled.

To spread colour throughout the entire stage, the designers relied on ten COLORado Tri Tour fixtures to serve as truss warmers. However, most of the colour intensity was delivered by 16 Rogue R2 Spot fixtures, supported by 16 Rogue R2 Beam and 26 R2 Spot units, which contributed to the colour scape in addition to creating aerial effects and crossing patterns of light.

“The entire family of Rogues are our workhorses,” said Lo-A-Njoe. “Since they are extremely fasted, we put them to use creating rapid sweeps for this show. We also used them for specials and eye candy throughout the evening. They’re compact enough to use in a ballroom, but powerful enough to make a statement at the big shows.”

On the subject of big shows, none have been bigger in Curaçao for quite some time than the return of festivals with El Alfa. As anyone at the Curaçao Festival Center on Saturday 20 November would agree, the Massive Productions light show was big enough to meet the moment, and then some.

19th May 2022

Patchwork London deploys DiGiCo Quantum 225 on Pale Waves

Worldwide – Pale Waves was formed in 2014 by lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie and drummer Ciara Doran while they were at university in Manchester. The band was later joined by guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood, completing the line-up. Eight years later, the English indie rock band released their second album, Who Am I? in February this year, that peaked at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Currently touring across five countries and with more US concerts coming up, expert in live production, Patchwork London, is providing tour and production management services to the band, which includes two DiGiCo Quantum 225 consoles for FOH and monitors supplied by SSE Audio.

“Due to a massive increase in touring projects we support, we needed to invest in new, high quality consoles,” says Calum Mordue, touring director at Patchwork London. “The Q225s ticked all the right boxes. They’re next generation consoles, hugely powerful and relatively compact in size so can easily service both a tour bus and trailer tour or an arena tour.”

Despite having worked with Pale Waves’ management company and record label for a long time, this is the first tour Patchwork London has supported. “We decided on the Q225s because of their smaller footprint and massive feature set. The console is small enough to squeeze into Dublin Academy and not out of place in the Roundhouse,” explains Mordue.

The engineers on the UK leg of the tour were Calum, on monitors and Lee McMahon at front of house.

“As we were going into a new campaign, Patchwork gave me the opportunity to scale up to the Quantum 225 from the SD11i I'd used previously. It was a seamless transition, the extra capabilities of the Q225 allowed me to do so much more and, after a few weeks with it, I’ve never been happier with how the band are sounding!” exclaims McMahon.

“I’m using all available input channels on the console, taking 52 inputs from stage (plus effects returns, utility channels, etc.) and mix mostly with groups. DiGiCo’s flexibility for routing and layout has become critical to how I put mixes together now. I use the matrix mixer to send left/right/sub/fill to my Lake LM44 as well as creating two-track mixes for archive and an IEM mix to our lighting director.”

Combined with the 32-bit cards in the SD-Rack, the Spice Rack handling dynamic EQ instead of outboard and the Mustard processing adding great tonality options to inputs and groups, McMahon says the Q225 is a perfect blend of horsepower, sonic quality and importantly for a band of this size.

He also notes that is the first tour with the band where he has not used any analogue outboard gear, and is utilising a Waves SuperRack system for record-specific effects as well as some group processing.

While multi-track recording every soundcheck and show, for this tour McMahon uses the UB MADI’s built-in SRC to allow him to use 48 channels of record at 48kHz while still running the Optocore loop at 96kHz. “I don’t utilise snapshots for this show, but rely heavily on macros to engage and disengage cues including side chain compressors, LPF/HPFs, gates, AM radio-style vocals as well as reverb/delay throws,” he explains.

He also uses GPIs on the console to fire macros via a foot switch. “I have one that, when I engage the foot switch, it attenuates the lead vocal channel down by 10dB, turns off the vocal aux sends and adds a LPF to the channel, he says. “This means during sections where Heather isn’t singing, or is away from her mic, I can reduce any spill introduced from cymbals and generally clean the centre of mix up in between vocal phrases. As soon as I release the foot switch, it goes back to its normal state. It’s quick, transparent and enables me to keep my hands on the faders at all times.”

As the first UK rental company to purchase DiGiCo Quantum 225 consoles, Patchwork London see it as the ideal console, both in terms of price and feature set.

“Aside from the Pale Waves tour, we have already deployed Q225s on Jessie Ware, both on FOH and monitors. Rina Sawayama for FOH and Ella Henderson on monitors,” Mordue concludes. “It looks like our Q225s are going to be very busy over the summer, and we have another two on order to service the demand!”

www.digico.biz

19th May 2022

David Beebe Reflects Many Sides of The Zombies with Chauvet Professional

USA – Last year, David Beebe became one of the first house LDs to add Chauvet Professional’s Maverick Force S Spot to his rig when he took shipment of six of the then-new 350W lightweight movers from JRLX at the legendary club The Birchmere, where he’s been looking after the lighting since 2004.

At the time, Beebe explained the move by saying he was expecting the new fixtures to add “another dimension” to his light shows, allowing him to incorporate new looks to reflect the diverse mix of artists that take to The Birchmere’s stage. This April, he provided another example of how the fixtures have exceeded his expectations when he created a deeply evocative show that morphed from psychedelic, to old school rock, to jazz looks.

This time, the show has an extra-special personal touch for Beebe, as the band he was lighting were the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, The Zombies. “I listened to them as a kid,” he said of the iconic group from St. Albans, UK. “They were always special.”

That’s an opinion shared by many rock critics. Hailed by Rolling Stone for creating a “suite of songs that are among the best ever in the rock era,” The Zombies have left an indelible mark on the genre. Beebe did them justice in their 90-minute set with his seamless light show.

“I try to never to repeat looks throughout a show,” he said. “It bores me to be repetitive and I don’t want to bore the audience either. For the Zombies, I wanted some psychedelic looks which I got mainly using the video wall and some colour scrolling. The rest was straight rock and roll or ballad looks. I like to do darker looks with a lot of overhead lighting and many of the bands seem to like that as well. Keeps the light out of their eyes! I used the mirror ball on one song and lot of swirly stuff on the video wall.”

Beebe’s six Maverick Force S Spots contributed mightily to this flowing stream of looks. He had two of the fixtures on the downstage corners, while spreading the other four evenly across the upstage deck. In addition to framing the stage, these were focused on the mirror ball at times.

“I liked fanning the Forces in a straight out look for slow ballads,” he said. “Then for other more aggressive numbers I went for a thin beam laser-type look. Changing up the zoom, gobos, and colours kept the show varied. Also, I often spun my lights slightly for atmosphere. Another thing that was important in this show was the Forces’ tight zoom, which was great for highlighting solos.”

Joining the Force S Spots in creating these many moods on stage were the rig’s six Maverick MK1 Spot fixtures. Flown on midstage truss, they were used for ballyhoo specials, solos, and audience lighting.

“Audience lighting was a big part of this show,” said Beebe, adding that the crowd was “really enthusiastic” as soon as the Zombies walked on stage. Like the house LD himself, many of them also had great memories of one of rock’s most remarkable and innovative bands.

18th May 2022

Proteus Maximus fulfils key visual role at Expo 2020

UAE – Elation’s Proteus Maximus has been employed on top name shows and events since launching in 2019 but none perhaps as impressive as Expo 2020. In September 2021, Dubai saw the beautiful opening ceremony of Expo 2020, the kick-off of the world’s premiere international exhibition event that ran through March 2022. With 192 participating countries a part of the journey, Expo focused on ‘Connecting Minds and Creating the Future’ explored through the themes of Sustainability, Mobility and Opportunity.

Woodroffe Bassett Design (WBD) served as lighting design consultants on Expo 2020 with WBD founding partner Adam Bassett lead in the process. The initial brief was to transform Al Wasl Plaza, a 67 metre tall, 130 metre diameter structure with 252 video projectors and an immersive sound system, from a spectacular garden into a live event venue. Al Wasl Plaza, the beating heart of the Expo, hosted an ambitious daily program of shows, concerts and ceremonies, which changed nightly over the Expo’s six-month duration. WBD designed a house lighting rig that integrated into the structure with the clear direction not to detract from the beauty of the architecture.

While Expo was open to the public during the winter months, rehearsals and programming in the outdoor dome was carried out at the peak of the Dubai summer. It was recognised from the outset that the harsh summer environment would place a lot of stress on all parts of the lighting system and that, where possible, all fixtures needed to be outdoor rated.

“One of the driving factors behind our fixture choices was their proven ability to withstand harsh environments,” Adam Bassett commented. “We needed not only for the fixtures to operate in extreme heat but also withstand sandstorms and torrential rain over an extended period, operating 24 hours a day without the need for regular heavy maintenance. The Proteus Maximus was one of the fixtures that confidently matched up to the challenge and we were delighted to see the units live up to the promise!”

Two thirds of the way up the dome were mounted 159 Elation Proteus Maximus LED moving heads that sat outside with a custom shade to protect them from direct sunlight. Around the perimeter of the trellis were 42 projection pods, below which a further 82 Proteus Maximus hung along with other lighting fixtures. WBD worked closely with Agora, the lighting supplier for Al Wasl Plaza, who in turn worked with Elation distributor Audio Effetti.

WBD executed a number of ambitious shows in the Al Wasl Plaza, 40 by the end of March, with some of the most notable Al Adiyat: The Story of a Boy and His Horse, Diwali and the stunning Sami Yusuf performances of 'Beyond the Stars’. Along with the house shows that were delivered throughout the exhibition, the venue was host to a number of external lighting teams bringing in concerts and special events. In addition, WBD were asked to provide the lighting design for the Expo Daily Productions in Al Wasl Plaza, led by Principal Designer Terry Cook.

Eight other entertainment venues fell under WBD’s scope, among them the Jubilee Stage lighting design. Inspired by a contemporary music festival main stage, music acts, spoken word, dance and comedy acts performed beneath 200+ moving fixtures including Proteus Maximus. Also, the Dubai Millennium Amphitheatre, a more intimate multipurpose venue with an emphasis on theatrical events, featured 180+ moving fixtures consisting of Proteus Maximus and other lights. Neuman and Muller supplied lighting for both the Jubilee and DMA stages.

Several of the country pavilions offering immersive cultural experiences utilised Elation lights as well, including 29 Proteus Hybrid LED moving heads by Novelty Group for the French Pavilion, and Elation luminaires from Intersonic Oy for the Finnish Pavilion, amongst others.

Throughout the four years that WBD spent supporting this extraordinary project, they had the pleasure to work with an extremely talented and diverse team both locally and across the globe.

Specific mention goes out to five individuals who led and supported WBD’s journey at every turn: Tareq Ghosheh chief events and entertainment officer, Amna Abulhoul executive creative director, Kylie McOmish vice president – production and operations, Kate Randall vice president – ceremonies and programming and William Ainley vice president technical. The principal consultant team for Expo included Adam Bassett and Simon Fraser of WBD, Piers Shepperd of Wonder Works and Scott Willsallen of Auditoria.

photos: Ptarmigan Integration

www.elationlighting.com

18th May 2022

Hans Zimmer on the Road with Robe

Europe – Iconic multi award-winning composer, producer and “rock star of film music” Hans Zimmer hit the road this spring on a much-anticipated tour. Delayed due to the pandemic but worth every moment of waiting, as the artist and a host of talented musicians (his 19-piece band and an orchestra) delighted fans all over Europe with outstanding performances.

An eye-popping lighting design was delivered by John Featherstone from lighting and visual design studio Lightswitch. John and his team pushed for an all Robe moving light rig for the tour which started production rehearsals in Berlin with 250 Robe fixtures onboard ahead of the first European leg, with lighting equipment supplied by German rental specialist, Satis & Fy.

John explained how the design process originally started back in 2019 / 2020 with Hans curating his creative ‘dream team’ which included renowned Broadway set and scenic designer Derek McLane, video designer Peter Nigrini, choreographer Barry Lather and, of course, himself. “Hans is a master at putting collaborators together,” stated John, and in this case, hand-picked a team of experienced practitioners known for their flair and style, all of whom brought their own dynamics from different disciplines to the 'Zimmersphere'.

The lighting team was rounded out with John’s daughter Hailey Featherstone as lighting director and Chris Herman as programmer. “I was really fortunate to have such a fabulous team working with me, they really embrace collaboration and making this job great and rewarding!” he noted.

It was the breadth, richness and detail of the music that inspired the team as a starting point for the lighting design.

Hans had arranged 12 vibrant new suites of his greatest hits to be played throughout the three-hour performance using over 300 instruments in total with some numbers accompanied by an eight-member dance and chorus troupe choreographed by Barry Lather.

“With this much energy and diversity on stage from Wonder Woman to the Lion King, I knew I needed the most versatile lighting fixtures, ones that could morph and change constantly throughout the set,” enthused John, “and Robe’s MegaPointe was my go-to multi-purpose fixture!”

In creative terms, John’s underlying quest was for the lighting to be ‘musical’ and that also brought him back to Robe fixtures.

“Robe makes really elegant luminaires, there is a very organic way about the way they look and move, and the colours are outstanding,” he commented.

He wasn’t shy with the MegaPointes, adding 172 to the lighting plot!

He is a huge fan of this fixture and the MegaPointe has been a ‘spectacular workhorse” for many Lightswitch projects, be it a tour or a slick corporate show, and when it comes to needing huge adaptability, John declares that he doesn’t “know a fixture that does it better than the MegaPointe.”

For the Zimmer tour, MegaPointes were deployed all over the rig: along the top trusses and populating the three left-and-right side stage verticals, with a few on the downstage edges of the floor.

Six of the overhead trusses moved on a Cyberhoist system enabling John to integrate several ‘automation lighting’ cues into the show, whereby the trussing hardware moved while the lights on board remained static and on. This offered a contrasting and often subtle element of motion from the light movement itself and worked brilliantly in terms of physically transforming the shape and architecture of the stage space.

One of the advantages of lighting a longer show is that you can unlock a whole Pandora’s Box of visual tricks and magic over time, keeping everyone on their toes with little aspects and moments of surprise.

While the stage had an epic film look at times with the overall big, wide screen appearance, when this split horizontally and the top half tracked up, it became stylishly concealed and unobtrusive and framed the rest of the stage, which was a characteristic of Derek McLane’s skilful scenic setting and Peter Nigrini’s thoughtful and textured visuals.

John loves working with Peter as he is very conscious of how a screen functions not just as a visual treatment but also as a light source.

Sometimes in the set the screen was off completely, while other times it was used subtly for moire-style effects, and it certainly wasn’t always obvious, even for its physical size. This intelligent approach to content and screen design made the whole setting more intriguing.

Another reason John needed intense fixtures like MegaPointes was to ensure a presence on stage and to work optimally with these substantial video aspects.

When the top screen flew out, it effectively became an IMAG surface – like binoculars – for those further down the arena, leaving the stage and the action on it (and not the moved screen) very much the full focus for those sitting nearer.

The upstage screen use was restrained through the first half of the show so there was a conscious emphasis on lighting, and the palpable atmosphere and excitement was ramped up similar to a film as the show had a proper narrative arc. With the first bars of the Wonder Woman medley, the trusses started moving for the first time which brought the house down every night, followed by a gentle increase in screen content as the production started building to a unique and beautifully dramatic sonic and visual crescendo.

“Working with Derek, Peter, and Hans himself, who is very involved with the stage presentation, was one of the most enjoyable parts of this project,” related John, who has clearly relished every minute of the process and, ever his own worst critic, is “extremely pleased” with the results.

For keylighting the orchestra and band who covered a substantial area, John turned to another Robe favourite, 24 BMFL WashBeams and six BMFL WashBeam FollowSpots. Of the latter, four were on an advance truss above the audience out in the house and two were on two of the mid-stage moving trusses for neat and tailored back light.

The BMFL FollowSpots, operated via six BaseStations located backstage, were for the principals and soloists. Their main parameters were controlled via the lighting console so the operators could focus on the following, and “they worked exactly as we envisioned,” commented John.

For the first time ever, John used Robe’s Tetra range of moving LED battens in a show design, adding a row of 36 Tetra2s along the whole downstage edge of the stage, plus 32 Tetra1s rigged above the stage in key positions on various mid stage trusses.

The Tetra2s made excellent footlights he reports and can also be used to create audacious sweeping curtain-of-light effects one moment, then be transformed into a jaw-dropping effects look the next moment applying the flower effect for delicate filigree-style tracing particles of light which John particularly loved from this low-profile front of stage position.

“The Tetra range is really impressive,” he commented, adding that he is sure he will be using them again in the future.

Talking about Robe more generally, John appreciates specific characteristics that the luminaires bring to a designer: “The colours are beautiful and the colour continuity between different types of fixtures is really important; with Robe they have paid attention to this for some time, they are thinking in a proper grown-up lighting world!”

John also appreciated the great family atmosphere on the tour, and especially when his own daughter Hailey was able to clear her busy schedule and join the team as lighting director and operator for the tour. John, Hailey and Chris Herman from Lightswitch programmed the show and did one month pre-vis in New York before decamping to Europe and production rehearsals before hitting the road.

John also mentions the “outstanding” service they have received from Satis & Fy on this tour as well as commenting that both Robe’s North American and German subsidiaries were instrumental in making several logistical challenges happen like short notice custom gobo deliveries.

The sold-out tour finished its first leg to fantastic reviews, and everyone is hoping for more live shows in 2023.

photos: Lindsay Cave

www.robe.cz

17th May 2022

Midas Tours with Melissa Etheridge

USA – Melissa Etheridge is one of rock music's great singer/songwriters. With 21 albums and a slew of ongoing projects as well as her Etheridge Island Festival, she seems to stay busy even when she’s “not busy.” During the height of COVID-19 when it seemed the music world was shut down, Etheridge went livestream with her highly successful “Lockdown Concerts.”

When concert touring once again became feasible, she hit the road with her “One Way Out Tour.” The tour, promoting her newest album of the same name, brings to light previously written songs that Etheridge had penned in the 1980s and 90s. The shows feature her as well as band members David Santos (bass and vocals), Eric Gardner (drums) and Max Hart (keys, guitar, steel guitar and vocals). The tour began in March in the US with stops mostly at casinos and theatres, including the historic Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom in New Hampshire, and heads to Europe before returning for a final US run, wrapping up in October.

For this tour Etheridge has again teamed with long-time FOH mixer, Jim Roese (pictured), who is carrying a pair of Midas Heritage HD96 consoles – house and monitor – provided by Sound Image. Because the tour relies on each venue’s in-house PA system, the control and consistency that is needed for the show makes the console choice critical. Roese comments: “It’s hard to explain how awesome the Midas Heritage HD96-24 is. It’s got a wide spatial image, but is completely cohesive when the instruments sum. It’s the same great Midas Pro Series sound but on steroids. The workflow is super dialled. You can put anything anywhere and the touch screen GUI is very intuitive. Any move that I make while mixing requires only minimal time looking away from the stage or the artist.” Two Lake LM44 processors are also in Roese’s kit which allow him to better cope with the “PA du jour” scenario. “I actually enjoy the challenges of dealing with a new system in each venue. It keeps me on my toes. Having the Lake processors is crucial for consistency day to day,” says Roese.

Roese’s company, RPM Dynamics, has used and sold Midas consoles for over a decade. “We put Midas consoles in the vast majority of our design-build installations and on every tour that we are involved with. In early 2021, AVL Media Group became the distributor for North America which coincided with the re-launch, if you will, and availability of the HD96. Needless to say, I'm a fan.”

Monitor mixer Ozzy Giron, who had previously mixed Etheridge on a Midas Pro X, admits that it took a nudge from Roese for him to change to the HD96. “With a little hesitation I agreed and it was a decision I do not regret whatsoever. From the moment I first touched the desk it was very comfortable.

I give stereo mixes to each of the band members as well as a mix for our Etheridge TV live stream platform and am simply amazed at the sonic quality of the Midas HD96. The first thing Melissa said was how great it sounded which is exactly what you want to hear from the boss.”

17th May 2022

TiMax TrackerD4 first video-mapping for Broadway’s Flying Over Sunset acid trip

USA – Broadway’s bold and original new musical, Flying Over Sunset, at the Broadway Theatre, has been ground-breaking not only for its left-field storyline of a fictional meeting between Aldous Huxley, Clare Boothe Luce and Cary Grant all dropping LSD. Written and directed by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner James Lapine, with a score written by Pulitzer Prize, Emmy and Tony Award winner Tom Kitt and Tony nominee Michael Korie, the scenic visualisations in this unusual staging are supported by TiMax TrackerD4 to track the performers not with audio as is often the case, but with video projection, and for the first time on Broadway.

The consistency and versatility of award-winning TiMax TrackerD4 precision stage tracking is well acknowledged, and its status as de facto tracking system for other spatial audio engines beyond TiMax SoundHub is well earned. Packing flexible OSC protocol communication capabilities to ensure compatibility with most contemporary audio and media platforms, TiMax TrackerD4 was always destined for a wider stage.

In Flying Over Sunset, TiMax TrackerD4 was in place to manage a series of visuals including a moving effect that centred on each actors’ positions, following them as they walked through turbulent water projected on the stage. Production video technician Chris Kurtz maintains: “The accuracy of TiMax TrackerD4 running at 50 frames per second (fps) allowed the effect to be creatively possible. Trying to time that movement would have been extremely difficult and TiMax alleviated the need for more complex line of sight tracking products.”

With all equipment supplied by Sound Associates, the TiMax TrackerD4 setup was simple, using just six TTd4 Sensors positioned as mirrored pairs to form an elongated hexagon shape from upstage to downstage. The successful aim of this configuration was to have at least three sensors covering any playable part of the Beaumont’s very large stage, providing effective redundancy as only two Sensors need to see an actor’s Tag for them to be consistently tracked.

The actors, each wearing a single TTd4 Tag, could be accurately followed by the video mapping which applied the attention-grabbing effect, so they appeared to be engulfed by swirling turbulent water as they progressed through it. Another effect made the sea-level off the beach rise around the actors as they walked down the beach and into the water, a simple but ingenious use of freely-interactive video scenography.

As the first deployment of TiMax Tracker D4 for this debut multimedia control application, Flying Over Sunset was a great success, especially where the need and expectation of speed and accuracy were exponentially levelled up. The challenges faced were not just technical but logistical, the biggest of which, according to Kurtz: “Was trying to figure out coverage without moving lots of scenery.”

Dave Haydon, from the OutBoard UK team who created and develop TiMax, commented on the new markets now available to TiMax TrackerD4: “This latest entry for TiMax TrackerD4 into such an important new show control application represents a new era and market sector for the product in live show and event automation, especially important at a time when demand for precision performer tracking for spatial audio, media and lighting is on the rise. We’re happy that TiMax TrackerD4 is at the forefront of this wave and so accessible to any size and scale of production.”

17th May 2022

Follow-Me tours with Scorpions

USA – Some things in life just get better with age. Wine undoubtedly, also the German rock band Scorpions! In February 2022, the musicians presented Rock Believer: the 19th studio album of their over 50-year band career. After several weeks at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, they started the Rock Believer world tour in early May beginning with a special concert at Madison Square Garden, New York.

Austrian Manfred Nikitser has been accompanying the internationally successful band as lighting designer since 2016. In addition to the lighting design, Manfred also created the complete show design (stage set and video) for both the Sin City Nights Residency in Las Vegas and for the subsequent tour. Insuring the band members are cleanly lit at all times, Manfred selected to use the remote followspot system from Dutch manufacturer Follow-Me: Follow-Me 3D SIX.

The centrepiece of this redesigned show is a pyramid-shaped drum riser in front of a semi-circular stage set made of custom-made metal grilles, which houses numerous spotlights and blinders. The atmosphere created evokes a classic rock & roll look.

Back in 2019, when Manfred used a Follow-Me system for the first time during the final concert of the Austrian cult band "Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung" in the Wiener Stadthalle, he was quickly convinced of the advantages. “Thanks to Follow-Me, one person can control several lamps, which can reduce personnel costs but more importantly, allows the followspot operator to focus 100 per cent on tracking while the dimmer and colour can be controlled from the desk,” he explains. “In the early stages of the Scorpions production, there were still a few bugs that we had to learn how to deal with. The system is now working reliably. You can calibrate and make adjustments very quickly. I've worked with other remote follow systems before, but Follow-Me is the fastest to set up and most efficient to operate.”

The Scorpions' Follow-Me 3D SIX system consists of an FM rack server (plus one spare), the camera (plus one spare), two custom-made camera-to-fibre converters and four active Follow-Me mouse consoles (plus one spare). The system tracks four performers during the show. Eighty-seven moving lights in the light rig can be used as followers. Twenty-one of these serve exclusively as chasers, while the rest can be used as chasers or show lights. Drum riser and stage set were built in duplicate by schoko pro GmbH in Wiesbaden. One set was sent straight to Las Vegas. The second will be used for the European tour from May. The video content was created together with the Hamburg company Pacific Digital.

On tour Otto Schildknecht and Florian Bauer are taking care of the Follow-Me 3D SIX system together. A simple and functioning system is necessary in order to run the show the way it is with both Otto and Florian also having other responsibilities during the show, namely Otto as live camera director and Florian as cameraman. Alongside Florian, Olaf Pöttcher and Jindřich Jankulár are responsible as lighting technicians for the floor set. All 87 moving lights change from country to country as well as from show to show. This is made possible by the fixture independent nature of Follow-Me and the efficient camera calibration with the intuitive fixture refinement features, allowing for fast and accurate set-up on tour with a new fixture rig in each venue.

Volt Lites of Burbank, California provided lighting equipment for the Vegas residency, including 87 Elation Artiste Monet. The Follow-Me system for both the residency and the tour was supplied by Alleycat Rentals.

The entire production is overseen by production manager Roland Beckerle with Dirk Schindler as stage manager. Olaf Schröter is the touring director of this technologically sophisticated tour.

photos: Manfred Nikitser

17th May 2022

Butch Allen and André Petrus Get Spacey with Chauvet Professional for Bruna Boy at Madison Square Garden

USA – Sometimes lighting design comes down to an elemental level, even when it results in a 54-universe, deeply evocative show with an intergalactic theme that takes place at one of the world’s most famous arenas. Such was the case on 28 April when Butch Allen and André Petrus lit Nigerian superstar Burna Boy’s two-hour “One Night In Space” show at Madison Square Garden.

The massive lighting design for the sold-out concert dazzled, turning the iconic venue into giant lightbox that stirred the imagination with outer space images. Yet for all its multi-faceted flourishes, the design process followed a basic formula.

“Burna Boy’s music provided the road map, and we followed it,” said Allen, noting that the end result was a design based on “visual harmony” between the image, atmosphere and the artist’s performance.

Lighting the way on that road map and contributing to that atmosphere were Madison Square Garden’s house lights and an impressive rig provided by 4Wall Entertainment that featured 68 COLORado PXL Bar 16 fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

The motorised RGBW COLORado units with their 200 degree tilt were critical to creating the show’s space ship vibe. Using the fixtures to outline the outer edge of the “starship stage” and circular “space ship trusses,” Allen and Petrus reinforced the theme of the concert. “They were our nod to close encounters,” Allen said of the battens.

Elaborating on the symbolic theme of the evening (the first ever MSG concert headline by a Nigerian artist), Allen coined terms like “Sharpageddon,” and “Beampocolypse,” before adding: “It was like a 190-foot starship carrying all of us through our one night in space.”

Preprogrammed and time coded by Petrus at his Nashville studio, the fantastical show energised the entire arena without distracting the live audience or detracting from the livestream of the concert.

“We utilised the 4Wall lighting system and augmented it with the very well-equipped MSG in house production,” said Allen. “The MSG lighting system is perfectly placed to provide a camera-ready, rental-damage-free guest experience.

Allen also credits Burna Boy and his production management with creating a smooth show experience. “We are so grateful to Burna Boy and his sister Ronami Ogulu for her leadership and vision,” he said. “Ronami was a guiding force driving the spectacular visual presentation Burna Boy made on stage. This was a magnificent evening; the whole show was just next level.”

Interestingly, this immersive panorama came to fruition without rehearsals on the part of the lighting/production crew. “This was a one-off, and we never had the opportunity to rehearse,” said Allen. “We were never even in the same room. The show was designed over WhatsApp, Zoom and email, yet it came off beautifully.”

The Burna Boy production team, also helped make the show come together under these circumstances, noted Allen who said “they really set the tone for us to follow.”

Following that kind of tone, and the music of an inspired artist, will help gifted designers get to a good place every time, even in the heart of the big city.

16th May 2022

Firefly AV Crafts Smashing Looks for the Allam British Open Squash Tournament with Chauvet Professional

 

UK – During a game of racket ball in the 1830s, a group of London schoolboys noticed that a punctured ball, which squashed on impact with the wall, offered more variety and more intensity of play than its intact counterpart. Thus, to the delight of millions of fans ever since, the game of Squash was born.

Although its rules have evolved somewhat over the years, the game those lads stumbled upon in that long ago London afternoon, has lost none of its compelling power. Spectators who saw this year’s Allam British Open would readily attest to that as they witnessed some of the world’s greatest squash players fiercely compete for the £135,000 prize.

With squash enthusiasts all around the globe also able to tune in to the event live via SquashTV, as well as via the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour, organisers were keen to create a riveting production. Toward this end, Firefly AV was brought on board to award the tournament with a sporty visual flair. Helping them in this endeavour were Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot and MK2 Wash fixtures, along with Rogue R1 Washes and R2X Beams.

The squash facilities at the University of Hull’s Sports Complex provided an ideal setting for the event in which World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy would defend the title he won in 2019. (COVID forced the cancellation of the 2020 competition, which is close to marking its 100th anniversary.)

While the state-of-the-art glass-walled courts offered great spectator viewing both at floor and balcony level, the challenge for Firefly was to create a lighting concept which would heighten the intensity of the event for spectators on location, whilst also providing stunning looks for viewers at home without distracting the players.

The solution was to incorporate an all Chauvet Professional rig that was both hung from suspended trussing and positioned on the floor. From here, Firefly's lighting designer John Richards could program a number of different scenes and visual effects through his Chamsys MQ500M lighting console to provide illumination of the courts, as well as atmospheric illumination of the audience grandstand, which translated brilliantly on camera.

To highlight the action taking place on the court itself, Richards utilised eight Maverick MK2 Spots and five MK2 Washes to create bright and focused illumination. "The powerful and bright combination of the Maverick and Rogue fixtures proved to be ideal for providing general court illumination," commented Richards. "We also positioned a selection of 15 R2X Beams behind the LED video screen at the back of the sports complex, which added depth to the screens for the live audience and TV audience. The beams were punchy enough to stand out against the light of the screens."

To place further visual emphasis upon the courts, Richards and the Firefly team decided to consciously play with the effect of the coloured light reflecting onto the glass walls, which was achieved by positioning a selection of the fixtures directly next to the glass. While this might not have necessarily provided any additional functional lighting, by Richards' own admission, it was an essential addition to give the event an intense visual flair.

"The R2X Beams added a lot of pop to the production," said Richards. “What’s more, thanks to the colour correction feature, the saturated red and blue coloured effects also came across brilliantly for the TV cameras."

Central to the entire lighting concept, however, and arguably the Pièce de résistance of the production, was the choreographed entrance lighting display, which was introduced to bring an element of theatricality when individual players entered the court. To achieve this suspenseful and dramatic effect, Richards and the Firefly team positioned 16 Rogue R1 Wash fixtures in two vertical lines festooning the sides of the entrance. This formation ensured that the saturated wash effects could create a curtain of light, crossing in unison to create an opening and closing effect.

“The most memorable part of the project was the lighting display we created for the player entrance,” concluded Richards. “Thanks to the Rogues, this effect worked to perfection, anchoring the whole tournament and simultaneously transforming the event into a true spectacle. This ultimately reflected the energy and excitement of the squash games. It was truly rewarding to see that our concept looked just as good on television as it did in real life!”

In a game where excitement is often generated by a ball taking unpredictable bounces, it was nice to see the adroitly crafted lighting design work to perfection, just as expected thanks to the work of Firefly AV.

13th May 2022

Technical Arts Group (TAG) gear up for busy summer season with new Elation lighting

USA – New York and Miami-based production and rental company Technical Arts Group (TAG) has added a large number of Elation Professional luminaires to its growing inventory of rental gear, a lighting package that will service events throughout what is gearing up to be a busy summer season.

TAG was formed in January 2021 in the wake of COVID when KM Productions joined forces with AVS Production Group and Quality Audio Visual to create a new brand and client experience. Providing quality production services and equipment rentals for live events from headlining tours and large corporate events to smaller events and private parties, TAG services the entire USA, as well as international destinations.

Seeking to support clients while shoring up its lighting rental fleet as the entertainment industry continues its strong comeback, TAG looked to Elation’s broad product line of innovative lighting, including its industry-leading IP-rated luminaires.

“We needed reliability so we went with Elation,” states TAG’s CRO, Kevin Mignone. “They have great products that hold up well through events and we work with a great sales rep as well in Healy Sales. Scott Jolliffe at Healy has always been easy to work with and is quick to help us with any need or project. They helped us lock in the gear we needed with the timing it needed to happen.”

Additions to the TAG inventory include Elation’s groundbreaking IP65 multi-functional Proteus Hybrid moving head, along with the weatherproof Paladin Panel, a versatile LED flood and effect light that functions as a wash light, blinder, strobe or large-face eye-candy light. Filling out TAG’s new IP65 offerings is the DTW Blinder 350 IP, a variable white LED 2-lite blinder.

Other additions include the Rayzor 760 LED wash/beam light with continuous pan and tilt and Elation’s exclusive SparkLED technology, along with DTW Bar 1000 variable white LED battens. TAG has been stocking Elation gear for the past six years and the new units add to other Elation Proteus, Paladin, and DTW units already in inventory. The new Elation gear will see service on a host of projects this summer including concerts, festivals and outdoor venue installations.

www.elationlighting.com

13th May 2022