USA - Lorna Shore doesn’t hesitate to bend or break rules in order to expand their musical horizons, readily adding techno and symphonic elements to their signature metalcore sound. But when it comes to lighting, the band and their LD, Nate Haber, do have one edict that they’re pretty strict about: limit the use of front light. “The band and I have come up with a few guidelines regarding front light,” said Haber. “In no particular order it goes something like this: the default is that they have no front light. Also, we try to keep Austin and his drum set as lit as possible. When Adam has a guitar solo he always needs light; and when Will is talking to the crowd, he needs light too. There are a few other parts in songs where I light the band because it feels right. In those cases, typically, if you can see one member of the band you can see them all, but at this poi
UK - A 500 drone show was experienced nightly by 50,000 music lovers at the Isle of Wight Festival last weekend. US-based Skyworx Drone Shows, producer for The Global Drone Network (GDN), presented a 12-minute show at the close of each night for revellers to enjoy. References to Jimi Hendrix, the island’s heritage and the world-famous festival filled the sky on all four nights with an attention-grabbing animated display. Skyworx and GDN were supported by UK company AeroAVA, who handled all UK regulatory permissions and flight crew for the project. Skyworx founder and CEO, Taylor Woodall, comments: "It has been a great pleasure to create and deliver our first UK drone show at the iconic Isle of Wight Festival. We believe this is the largest drone show presented at any UK festival to date." Reflecting on the sustainability aspects of the project, Tom Rees,
Singapore - Cinewav is looking to expand its presence in the live events, sports and broadcast sector. The platform has already been successfully enjoyed by thousands of guests at outdoor cinema events and at festivals including Vivid Sydney 2023 where Cinewav enriched dozens of immersive, super-sized light, drone shows and animations with personalised soundtracks. At the Danang International Fireworks Festival 2023 (DIFF2023), Cinewav synchronised the audio soundtrack with fireworks displays via mobile phones to locals and tourists across Da Nang, Vietnam’s fifth most populated city. Upcoming global projects include Drive-ins and cinematic screenings at cultural attractions, hotels and resorts. Cinewav is a platform and mobile app that allows users to watch visuals on a big public screen and listen to the audio in perfect synchronicity on their own mobile pho
UK - The fantasy world of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones is brought to life at Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Northern Ireland with over 1000 Elation lights supporting its epic storytelling. The new global attraction, located at one of the series’ original filming locations at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, invites fans to step behind the scenes and discover the making of the celebrated series. Game of Thrones achieved record-setting ratings over 73 episodes and eight seasons, and established itself as one of the most iconic shows in television history. Opened in 2022 in partnership with Warner Bros, Game of Thrones Studio Tour is a 110,000sq.ft interactive indoor experience that allows fans to explore the original sets, costumes, props and weapons used in the series. Brian Reilly, MD of PSI Production, one of Ireland's largest technical producti
Norway - The Voice, officially distributed in 62 countries, is one of the most-watched television formats worldwide, with over 650m viewers. For the eighth season of The Voice - Norges beste stemme, TV2 Direkte studios have chosen numerous Prolights fixtures. Prostage, the official Prolights distributor in Norway, supplied 20 Astra Wash19Pix moving heads, 40 Astra Hybrid420 hybrid moving heads, 50 LumiPar 12UQPro LED fixtures, 30 Lumipix 12QTour linear LED bars, and 20 Stark Bar1000 units. The lighting system installation, entrusted to Center Stage and Hilux, has delivered a visual experience, illuminating the stage, backlighting the contestants during their performances, and enchanting both the live audience and the millions of viewers at home. The lighting designer, Kasper Melgavis comments: “I worked very well with the Prolights lighting fixtu
USA - There are as many ways to tell a story as there are stories to tell. The incomparable Reba McEntire has demonstrated this with the rich and varied narratives that run through her songs. So too did Matthieu Larivée and the team at Lüz Studio when they created one of the final shows in the Queen of Country’s current tour at Madison Square Garden. The Montreal based design and production team, which included David Rondeau, Pierre-Luc Bedard, and LD Andy Knighton, wove a textured narrative to reflect the multi-Grammy winner’s music by using a range of different techniques, most of them centred on employing lighting and set extensions as storytelling tools. “This show is a great music show; it is not theatrical at all, so lighting is a big actor in the narrative,” said Larivée. “We wanted to create lighting moments. There’s so much history in Reba’s l
USA - While not a single moving light source could actually appear on camera, Robe BMFLs, Esprites and RoboSpots played a starring role for three different live concerts filmed for the live sections of the Amazon Prime hit Daisy Jones & The Six. A massive effort and meticulous detail went into crafting the vintage 1970s concert looks for the series by lighting director Matt Ardine, and while the hundreds of PAR cans visible at the gigs played their part in the visuality, for practicality, the band’s key lighting was achieved using Robe innovations. The narrative follows a fictional rock band embroiled in the thrills and spills of the LA music scene, as Daisy Jones & The Six rise rapidly from obscurity to global fame and success, quitting unexpectedly at the height of their fame. Matt was brought onboard by the series gaffer, Nicholas Kaat, and th
UK - The high lumen output of the Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP from Signify was seen by millions of people for the King’s Coronation Concert, where landmarks across the UK were lit at part of the Lighting up the Nation event. Lighting designer David Bishop sourced 41 VL3600 fixtures, which were rigged outside Sheffield Town Hall in changeable weather with their IP-65 rating, to achieve the intricate Union flag design using their rich colours and optics system. “I discovered the VL3600s at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, getting a demo and trying out the output and colour wheel mixing system,” says Bishop. “The Sheffield project was meant to be a projection mapping job with a few luminaires around the building as fill light. However, this approach changed after I realised I could use the VL3600s even at a 66m throw from the building to both create strong enough light and
UK - In celebration of the coronation of King Charles III last month, the Palace of Westminster in London was illuminated in the colours of the Union flag - red, white, and blue. To illuminate the Gothic-style exterior facade in the national colours, lighting designer David Bishop chose a total of 74 units of Cameo Zenit W600 LED Wash Lights, supplied by Version 2 Lights. The IP65-rated Zenit W600 fixtures were placed at the base of the building's facade over a width of more than 250m by David Bishop and gaffer Matthew Zelmanowicz, focused to uplight the historic building with a beam angle of 18°. When choosing the colours, the lighting team didn't have to think twice: blue, white and red - alternating across the entire width of Palace of Westminster. “The Zenit W600 was the obvious choice”, says David Bishop. “Its power, reliability and IP rating combine to pro
UK - Simon Horn designed the lightshow for Anastacia’s current tour. Originally scheduled to start in February 2020 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the singer’s seminal hit I’m Out Of Love, the tour had to be shelved because of COVID. This year, supply shortages and budget constraints still lingering from the pandemic lockdown made it impractical for Horn to get the level of video he wanted for the tour. He more than compensated for this, however, by creating a captivating background using geometric configurations of light that he is running on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, which, like his lighting rig, is supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. “I have always stood by the idea that if you are going to use video, and do it well, it takes money,” said Horn. “There are some shows I’ve seen that were ruined by the desperate desire to use v
Thailand - Total Solution Marketing Thailand (TST), Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Thailand, reports its first sale of Ayrton fixtures into Thailand with the purchase of 16 Diablo S by Creative Rock Thailand. Creative Rock Thailand, which specialises in servicing high end international conferences, was looking to upgrade its existing 700W moving lights to LED fixtures. “We had been hearing of the growing popularity of the 300W LED Ayrton Diablo so we compared it with several other LED moving light brands,” says Creative Rock’s managing director, Wikran Maneesri (Nit). “We found the Diablo to be compact and light weight and surprisingly very bright for its size. It has everything we need for the conference market: framing shutters, good colours, smooth dimming and great output. It is very versatile, which means we can use it across many segments including
Denmark - Lighting designer Ulrik Gad specified Robe iFortes for the Royal Danish Theatre’s 2023 summer production, Ragnarok, a new work by Kim Fupz Aakeson which premiered and is being staged at the Jægersborg Dyrehave, a deer park and forest north of capital city Copenhagen. The park is known for its undulating topography, tranquillity, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer. The show runs for six weeks in a natural amphitheatre space that has had some performance infrastructure added over the years. All departments of the Royal Danish Theatre collaborate to produce a new summer show every second year, which alternates between playing this site and another just outside Aarhus in the western part of Denmark. This is the fifth summer show that Ulrik has lit. The stage space is completely open, and the usual challenges of outdoor per
Italy - On 12 May, super-model/actress Elodie performed before a capacity crowd at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago. Contributing to the magic of the evening was a massive light show by Blearred, a lighting design studio with offices in London and Milan. Filling the venue with intense monochromatic colour palettes and bold videos fed to large LED walls, the design captivated fans as it drew them closer to Elodie’s personality and performance. A lighting rig of international level dimensions and quality energised the show, which was produced by Vivo Concerti. At its centre were 68 Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M motorised strobes, exclusively distributed in Italy by Zalight. Ivan Russo, technical project Manager from Blearred, comments: “We used the Color Strike M during the event in 24 channel mode. Of the 68 units, 40 were positioned vertically on ladders
Full-service video and lighting company, 4Wall Europe, added Elation Proteus Rayzor Blade tilt FX bars to inventory this past spring and immediately deployed the units on the European leg of Depeche Mode’s Momento Mori world tour. The Proteus Rayzor Blade is a tiltable linear LED light that can function as a wash, strobe or FX light, all inside a compact IP65 design. Darren Poultney, managing director EMEA at 4Wall Europe, commented on the purchase: “We are thrilled to have invested in these impressive fixtures from Elation and to continue to grow our lighting fleet for concert touring, corporate events, exhibitions and beyond. The high-demand fixtures touched down in our warehouses and were very quickly prepped for Depeche Mode’s world tour, supported by our 4Wall US team who delivered the fixtures on the US leg. We can’t wait to see the results.” The lig
Israel - The Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv is one of the busiest and most recognised in Israel, and since 2003 has been located in the vibrant cultural hub that is the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre. Founded in 1848 shortly after the State of Israel itself was formally established, the theatre is focused on producing local works. It has five halls, the largest with a 1000 capacity and has recently invested in Robe Esprite moving lights and Tetra2 moving LED battens. These were the first moving lights in the venue and were initially purchased for a production of Kaymim Achadim lit by Nadar Barnea, explained technical manager Shabi Aaron Nahum, who is delighted with the new fixtures. The very first Robes in the house were ParFects, so they were familiar with the brand through these and generally. After making the decision to invest for the production, they specifi
Spain - My Mother’s Courage is a bold new theatrical co-production by Teatro de la Abadia in Madrid, Ur Teatro Company and Palma de Mallorca’s Teatro Principal, recounting a multi-layered narrative based on Jewish Hungarian-born George Tabori’s true story recalling how his mother Elsa Tabori escaped from Auschwitz and the Nazis during the Second World War, using her wits and determination. Multi award-winning lighting designer Nicolas Fischtel, AAI, was asked onboard by director Helena Pimenta with whom he’s worked on other projects. Lighting was absolutely integral to the storytelling, which took place over the course of one single day, and also in providing environmental and locational details and context. Nicolas used five Astera AX3 LightDrops as part of the lighting rig, which were located on scenery elements and props that were moved around the s
UK - There was much to celebrate when Coldplay performed the third of four shows at Etihad Stadium in early June as part of its eco-conscious Music of the Spheres world tour. The venue’s usual residents, Manchester City F.C. had just won the F.A. Cup at Wembley, ahead of one of the most visually enchanting live productions in recent memory providing the party of a lifetime for 60,000 ecstatic fans. For PixMob, the Canadian technology developer behind the crowd’s “game-changing” LED wristbands, this leg is also the first since it announced its expansion into Europe with the opening of a new base in Brussels. “Having been involved in projects on the continent for the best part of a decade and seen increasing demand, we decided to get closer in order to better service the market,” commented Ysabel Vangrudenberg, managing director of PixMob Europe. S
Europe - Ayrton has announced Iain Quinn as the latest member of its growing global install team. The role begins with immediate effect. Iain brings to the position over 30 years of experience in business development and project management roles with some of the industry’s major lighting manufacturers. Iain will be working alongside global install director, Paul ‘PJ’ Johnson, focusing on the large-scale, permanent installation market, both on land and sea, exploring and expanding the Ayrton brand on a global scale. He describes his new role as a ‘natural evolution’ in his career. “I’m very excited to be joining Ayrton right now,” says Iain. “The product is at its absolute peak, the people, company culture, agility and pace are amazing, and the company is in a dynamic phase of growth and development, but with an attention to quality that is awe-inspiring
Europe - KVANT’s latest design of the Atom and Spectrum series laser projectors received the 2023 iF Design Award in the Industry/Tools product design category. The iF award stands for outstanding design and is a badge of excellent quality for professional and trade users. For this winning project, KVANT cooperated with the Slovak Academy of Sciences and Werkemotion - Transport and Industrial design studio based in Bratislava. The jury of 132 independent experts from around the world found the innovative design and the foamed aluminium material used within the product exciting. Foamed aluminium is made from aluminium semi-product, which expands its internal structure when heated to a foaming temperature. Apart from lower weight, smaller footprint and increased firmness, it allowed us virtually unlimited shaping, resulting in this extraordinary design. At the sa
USA - AV rental and production company, Markey’s, has recently added Elation Professional Proteus and Fuze series lighting fixtures to inventory. The purchase of 72 Proteus Rayzor 760, 12 Proteus Rayzor 1960, and 50 Fuze MAX Profile luminaires extends Markey’s comprehensive range of lighting options and enhances the company’s ability to adequately cover a variety of indoor and outdoor productions. Founded more than 60 years ago, Markey’s has transitioned over the years into a multi-faceted, multi-capable event technology company. Based in Indianapolis with regional offices and warehouses throughout the United States, the company is a long-time supporter of Elation and its product lines. “This latest investment is a wonderful addition to our already large inventory of IP-rated Elation fixtures, which include Proton Eclypse, DTW Blinder 700 IP and Cuepix 16 IP
UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians’ Annual Awards took place on Wednesday evening, 7 June, after the first day of the 2023 ABTT Theatre Show at Alexandra Palace, London. This year, the awards were again generously supported by TAIT. Ted Moore, director of rental services, said of the Awards: “TAIT is really proud to be here once again to sponsor the ABTT Awards Presentation, one of the best globally in our industry. We wish all the nominees good luck and give congratulations to whoever the winners may be.” The five highly sought after Awards for Lighting Product, Sound Product, Engineering Product, ‘Widget’ and Stand of the Year, were complemented by the announcement of the recipients of the ABTT Technician of the Year and the ABTT Award for Emerging Excellence which recognise the achievements of individuals both starting out and well-establ
USA - With visualisation software and tools like ETC’s Augment3d 3D programming environment, digital models play an increasingly integral part in lighting workflows. When time or budgets are tight, however, drafted or point-cloud models can still be out of reach. ETC’s new Augment3d Scanner app reduces this barrier to entry, allowing users to seamlessly create and import ready-to-use room models directly to their Eos Family consoles from a phone or tablet. With the Augment3d Scanner app, a comprehensive 3D space model is just a few touches away. Built for use with the Eos Family line of lighting control systems, A3d Scanner leverages the augmented reality tools included in your device, saving you time building your 3D space. Once installed, explore the easy-to-use tools to map your space - including walls, doors, windows, a full floor plan, and even prosceni
USA - The stately well-appointed theatre at 30 North Van Brunt Street in Englewood, NJ is no stranger to sellout crowds. On 22 November, 1926, when it opened as the Plaza Theatre with a double feature headlined by Harry Langdon and Douglas Fairbanks, its $1.10 tickets were the hottest in town. Tickets for this year’s grand reopening of the historic venue, in April were a bit pricier, but they were just as hard to come by. With Jay Leno doing the ribbon cutting, the 1,367-seat theatre, now called The Bergen Performing Arts Centre, opened its doors to the public once again, following a renovation of its main hall. The celebrity ribbon cutting wasn’t the only thing drawing attention to the festivities during the theatre’s opening weekend. There was also excitement in the air (quite literally) created by four 60,000-lumen output Chauvet Professional Maverick Storm 4
USA - In partnership with dry-hire rental house Main Light, Elation Professional provided Fuze MAX series moving head luminaires to David Geffen School of Drama at Yale for use on the school’s annual Carlotta Festival, which showcases plays written, directed, acted and designed by students. The Carlotta Festival features three fully produced new plays by graduating playwrights performed in rotating repertory. The plays presented in this year’s festival, which ran 5-12 May at the Iseman Theatre, included littleboy/littleman by Rudi Goblen (directed by Jacob Basri); Furlough’s Paradise by a.k. payne (directed by Leyla Levi); and Color Boy by Esperanza Rosales Balcárcel (directed by Jecamiah M. Ybañez). The Carlotta Festival demonstrates to students the significant artistic, technical, and managerial challenges of producing new plays in reper
