Europe - Paul Johnson (PJ), has joined Ayrton in the newly created position of global install director with immediate effect. His role will be to open up a new area of activity for the company, expanding the use of stage lighting to architectural and large-scale, long-term installations. Johnson has long been fascinated by ways of bringing the creativity of stage lighting into the architectural and built environment in ways that enhance and maximise the experience for both the client and user. Having spent the past 15 years forging this philosophy with architectural installation and creative companies, whilst also maintaining an ongoing involvement in stage lighting design, Johnson now brings his eclectic experience to Ayrton where he will focus on bringing together the best of both worlds. “There is an increasing potential in architectural development to intr
UK - Showtec has announced new additions to its Shark series of moving head light fixtures in the form of the Shark Beam One, the Shark Spot Two and the Shark Wash Zoom Two. The Shark Beam One is a 90-watt LED beam moving head that creates colourful and dynamic light displays thanks to its impressive features. It boasts 13 colours plus white, a 6-facet rotating prism, 11 gobos, frost and flower effects, and more. The Shark Spot Two is a versatile 90-watt LED spot moving head, with seven colours plus white, a three-facet prism, six gobos, and dimmer and strobe functions. Classic wash effects with different beam angles are easy to create on the Shark Wash Zoom Two thanks to its motorised zoom. It also has dimmer and strobe functions. Showtec’s Shark series features several compact moving head light fixtures that are suitable for bars, small clubs and simila
USA - Quasar Science has announced the release of a new lighting design app for its Double Rainbow and Rainbow 2 RGBX linear LED fixtures. starCTRL is a free iOS app that users can download from the Apple App Store. It allows users to control colour and effects parameters of up to seven Rainbow series lights from an iPhone or iPad. starCTRL allows users to adjust the control parameters, pre-sets, and lighting effects of Rainbow fixtures remotely with a quick to configure Bluetooth connection. With the Rainbow lights in starCTRL Mode, the app will quickly Auto-discover all lights and be ready to control in seconds. "The starCTRL app lets you quickly and easily set your lights." said Quasar Science CTO, Ben Dynice. "With its intuitive interface and wireless capabilities, users can control multiple parameters for multiple lights directly from the iOS device, eliminating
USA - Winter Jam, the Christian music tour, has returned to cities across America with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. This year’s line-up features Dove-award winning We the Kingdom, Jeremy Camp, Andy Mineo, Anne Wilson, Disciple, Austin French and Winter Jam founding members, NewSong. With a $15 ticket price sold at the door, Winter Jam seeks to include everyone who wants to attend and hear their message of hope. Production manager Jerry Holcomb and lighting designer Kurtis Wheat crafted a system that would give the range of artists the most bang for their buck, starting with the large LED surface upstage. “It is 76ft wide at the top and tiers down to 48ft wide at the bottom and is 32ft tall,” explained Holcomb. “We went through several scenarios and designs based on truck space and budget. One thing we all wanted and worked towards were the angl
UK - Oastlers School in Bradford is a specialist setting that provides support for children and young people who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties. The school takes an empathic approach and offers a number of therapeutic strategies that sit alongside its high-quality teaching. Music and music technology play an important role in Oastlers’ curriculum and are recognised as being vitally important in adding value to personal and social development, helping to to develop increased self-esteem, creativity and confidence. During a recent evaluation of its facilities, the school decided to overhaul its music room and an adjacent small hall to create a recording/rehearsal facility and a dedicated performance space. A key aim was to give learners the opportunity to gain real-world industry experience of working in a professional studio, including broadca
USA - Miley Cyrus returned to US screens recently for a massive live-broadcast party with a host of star guests. Taking place at Miami’s Telemundo Studios, it featured classic rock ‘n’ roll lighting effects mixed with a Miami club style setting, achieved using Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash luminaires from Signify. The DX7 Design team delivered the lighting design, specifying a series of the VL5LED Wash fixtures which were mostly rigged to the arches of the main scenic structure over the main stage. “This was our third TV show with Miley and on each one, she has opted for a more lighting-based design with almost no video,” explains Tom Sutherland, CEO and lead designer at DX7 Design. “She is a big fan of the more traditional lighting looks, which is why we had a large PAR wall as our background, as opposed to a video wall. Positioning the VL5LEDs on the arches real
UAE - Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) has made an investment in Elation Professional’s Proteus series of automated IP65 lights, along with studio-optimised IP-rated KL Panel softlights. The purchase includes the Proteus Excalibur sky beam moving head as well as the Proteus Maximus LED moving head, both high-power luminaires routinely used on large-scale productions and outdoor spectaculars. Additionally, CTME has invested in Elation’s versatile KL Panel XL IP, a full-colour spectrum LED softlight suitable for use in broadcast and film settings. CTME worked closely with Jean Pierre de Vernon from Venutech LLC, Elation’s exclusive distributor in the Middle East, to procure the new lighting gear. Sam Connolly, head of lighting at CTME comments, “Elation is a ground-breaking brand creating innovative and versatile products like the Proteus series and KL Pane
Australia - Lightware Visual Engineering has announced two key roles, with a focus on growth in the Australian market. Gordon Anderson is the national manager for defence, intelligence and government, while John Garfi is the regional manager for Victoria and Tasmania. These announcements contribute to elevating the Australian Lightware office as a central hub for customers and partners across the Asia-Pacific region. In his new role and working from Canberra, Gordon Anderson ‘will ensure that Lightware's hardware delivers the highest quality in AV & UC system security, with the reliability and performance demanded by these key sectors’. He has previously worked for Intravision, Crestron Electronics, Hills Limited, Sound Advice Australia and his own company Anderson Audiovisual. John Garfiis a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience in the live st
USA - Glendale, California-based Kinetic Lighting has added 80 Ayrton Zonda 9 FX fixtures to its lighting rental inventory. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. Kinetic Lighting provides theatrical and studio lighting services worldwide in studio, corporate, exhibit, theatre and live-event markets. The company’s range of services includes equipment rentals, sales, lighting design, previz and related show services. Zonda 9 FX is a versatile fixture that combines the main features of the Zonda 9 Wash with stunning 3D volumetric effects and complex LiquidEffect graphic effects. “We hadn’t been actively searching for new wash fixtures when Eric Abad, western regional sales for ACT Entertainment, demo’d the Zonda 9 FX for us,” recalls Kinetic Lighting president, David Rosen. “We loved it and realised it would
UK - Following a successful start to 2023, E1 London has unveiled its ‘most eclectic season to date’. Featured acts include Blawan, Pantha Du Prince, Dr Rubinstein, Dubfire, DVS1, Ellen Allien, Hector Oaks, Indira Paganotto, Kangding Ray, Kelly Lee Owens, Marcel Dettmann, Matrixxman, Mood II Swing, Nastia, Special Request. This season the club also unveils its new A/V & lighting system. For this latest run of events, all new screens will run up the wall behind the performers, from floor to ceiling and above the heads of the crowd, offering a whole new visual dimension. These will be displaying bespoke seasonal content created by Spencer at Rebel Overlay. It will be regularly updated to keep the venue feeling fresh and play on top of the over 151 lighting fixtures which range from spots to beams to lasers to pixel-mapped LED bars. In all, there are 4,620,288 pixels in
USA - Steve Cohen and Bob Bonniol collaborated on the production and lighting design for Blake Shelton’s current Back To The Honkey Tonk tour. In the process, they created something that is likely to influence and inspire other designers for some time to come. The creative journey began when Shelton, the multi-award-winning country music superstar and coach on The Voice, said that he wanted to create the distinctive look and feel of a genuine honky tonk bar for his new 2023 tour. Co-scenic designers, Cohen and Bonniol set about creating an evocative old-school look that matched this vision. In contrast to the retro vibe they were seeking to replicate, the duo used 21st century AI technology and the Unreal engine to achieve their vision. Working with these tools was, in Bonniol’s view “a liberating experience” that freed them from many of the const
New Zealand - The New Zealand Opera’s recent acclaimed production of Giuseppe Verdi’s MacBeth unleashed a classic and grisly narrative of power, politics, corruption, murder and authoritarianism that is every bit as pertinent today as when William Shakespeare penned the original play, circa 1606. Lighting designer Matt Marshall was delighted to be part of a talented cast and creative team delivering this production for which he specified and used Robe T1 PC moving lights to provide special soft back lighting to delineate the cast and evoke a sense of separation between them and the large scape video projections across the set. The performance opened at the Aotea Centre in Auckland, then travelled to the St James Theatre in Wellington and the Isaac Royal Theatre in Christchurch, impressing critics and theatre buffs and thrilling audiences. It was the
Germany - From 27-29 January, the 110th Six Day 2023 took place at the Velodrom in Berlin. The cycling race, also known as the Six Day Race, is one of the sporting highlights of the German capital, sending the professionals out on to an impressive 250m oval track. This year, the lighting in the Velodrom was the responsibility of AVM Event Veranstaltungstechnik & Service, which already has years of experience with the SixDays offshoot in Bremen, north Germany. With more than 300 Cameo spotlights used in Berlin, the full-service provider relied on an impressive lighting setup. As the cyclists do their laps at top speeds of up to 80 km/h, what is needed above all is an equally bright and homogeneous illumination of the racetrack. AVM Event entrusted this task to a total of 116 Cameo Zenit W600-D LED washlights, which, with their high-resolution dimming behaviour and
USA - Lighting designer Bobby Grey of Notan Creative was brought in by 24/7 Productions to design a series of late-night talk show appearances for singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez and chose to incorporate Elation Professional’s KL Fresnel 8 FC soft light as a retro look fixture in his design for a February performance on The Late Late Show With James Corden. For the Late Late Show performance, Sanchez teamed with Em Beihold to deliver a duet of his hit Until I Found You. For the performance, LD Grey placed 10 KL Fresnel 8 FC fixtures on C stands for a vintage Fresnel backdrop look. “I just love a Fresnel and feel it really personifies light as art. A big Fresnel has this great vintage Hollywood feel,” Grey stated, explaining that he originally tried to retrofit a classic 10" Fresnel with LEDs inside to get a colour-changing glow but gave u
USA/Europe - The latest leg of Lizzo’s The Special Tour is currently taking the pop singer who recently added a fourth Grammy Award to her collection, winning Record of the Year for her About Damn Time single - across Europe, the UK and North America through summer 2023. Since the start of the tour in 2022, front-of-house engineer Nick ‘Gauge’ Todd and monitor mixer Rico Gonzales have both been behind SSL Live L550+ consoles supplied by global production provider Solotech. Gonzales additionally uses an SSL Fusion processor and an THE BUS+ compressor and dynamic EQ, and Todd has also recently added a Fusion at FOH. The two engineers switched to SSL Live desks for the three-month-long first leg of The Special Tour, which got underway in September 2022. The pair made the move to SSL at the suggestion of Gonzales, who has been with Stevie Wonder since 2014, mi
USA - Central City Productions recently premiered a new television series entitled Black History Honours. The four-part docuseries honoured heroes of the Underground Railroad and featured musical tributes from gospel music artists with a lighting system provided by Bandit Lites. Don Jackson, founder of Central City Productions, shared: “The unique perspective of our Black History Honours series honours the lives and legacies of the Underground Railroad freedom activists. As well, in this post-covid season, where African American museums are struggling to maintain and increase attendance, our series underserves the fact that black history and black museums matter”. Lighting designer Andre’ Petrus sought to create a lighting system that would complement the performances without becoming the focus points. “The direction of this show was to ho
Mexico - “We have broken paradigms,” Sergio Lizárraga, leader of Banda MS once told an interviewer, referring to his band’s popularity, which has transcended all expectations to prove that banda music has unlimited appeal in today’s market beyond Mexico. Sold out shows before wildly appreciative crowds from Nashville to Las Vegas have provided convincing proof of Lizárraga’s claim. The ability of Banda MS to touch audiences was on full display when the chart-topping band appeared at Arena Monterrey, supported by a dynamic lighting design created by Mario More Flores. Helping Flores work his magic was a lighting rig featuring over 200 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Víctor ‘Chacho’ Gutiérrez and his team at Proaudio del Norte. Included in this power-packed collection of fixtures were 32 Maverick Storm 4 Profile units. With an output o
Poland - The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) is the biggest, non-governmental, non-profit, charity organisation in Poland raising money for paediatric and elderly care. Every year, the charity organises a televised fundraiser on TVN with several personalities who help with the cause. This year's event in the studio featured 45 x Prolights EclPanel TWC fixtures, with the production lighting conceived by Polish supplier ATM and designed and programmed by Green Beam Design. Jacek Chojczak, MD of the GBD and lighting designer, said: “We know we can always trust the EclPanel TWC to deliver a great quality of soft lighting.” Jacek added: “They are our go-to panel for these types of productions.” The EclPanel TWC is a 2x1 LED soft light with tuneable white and colours, pixel control and high CRI and TLCI. This fixture has been a flagship product for Proli
UK/Singapore - Chauvet has expanded its international training and support team. The company has announced the appointment of Amy Kerr and Jeffrey Ong, two experienced industry members as product specialists. Based in Manchester, Kerr will be responsible for the Europe, Middle East and Africa markets, while Ong, who works out of Singapore, will handle Asia. “Everyone at our company, from our CEO Albert Chauvet on down, is committed to offering customers a complete package that includes not only quality products, but also the ability to support them with training and education,” said Stéphane Gressier, Chauvet’s international sales director. “We want our customers to know as much as possible about our products, so they get the maximum benefit out of them. With Amy and Jeffrey, we have two people who possess a deep understanding of lighting and lighting products
Denmark - Copenhagen’s Det Ny Teater (The New Theatre) has recently invested substantially in new Robe moving lights with the purchase of 16 x Robe T1 Profiles that have joined the house rig together with an additional 20 Spiiders (bringing the total to 30). Also new are two RoboSpot systems with two T1 Profile FollowSpots, plus 11 x Tetra2 moving LED battens and 18 x LEDBeam 350s. This was possible thanks to financing via the AP Møller Foundation which was started in 1953 by ship owner AP Møller and his wife Chastine McKinney Møller to support areas of importance to them, including buildings of historical and cultural value and a number of other cultural criteria. The fixtures were delivered by Robe’s Danish distributor Light Partner. All these fixtures are in daily use to facilitate Ny Theatre’s busy repertory schedule. Located centrally in the vibrant
USA - NFL legend Joe Thomas stepped out to lead the Greater Cleveland Sport Awards recently, staged to honour athletic achievement in Ohio. The ceremony took place at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse arena in front of a live audience and was filmed for streaming. Lighting director Derek Hons, from NPiAV, specified Vari-Lite VL5LED, and VL2600 Series luminaires from Signify for the event. NPiAV has a longstanding relationship with The Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, delivering regular events across Northeast Ohio. The Sports Commission approached Hons to design a lighting solution that would add bright washes and audience overhead effects for both those in attendance and for the live stream. “I have been a part of this event for 15 years, so I knew the flow of the show very well,” says Hons. “In terms of design, timing, familiarity and execution were important
Singapore - The City Light-Up event was a celebration of light held alongside the Singapore Airlines' Singapore Grand Prix, which culminated in the F1 night race around The Marina Bay Street Circuit in front of a capacity crowd of 300,000 spectators. As part of this prestigious event, the Internal System and Technical Team at Hexogon Solution Pte was asked to provide lighting solutions for one of the City Light-Up locations, the beautiful – and huge - Conservatory buildings located at the Gardens by the Bay. They chose to use 20 Ayrton Domino LT fixtures which were supplied by Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Singapore, Total Solution Marketing. Mr Adrian Goh, group managing director of Hexogon, commented: “We had decided to light the Conservatories with lighting fixtures rigged on floor-standing truss to illuminate the architectural structure and fram
UK - Lightware Visual Engineering has announced the appointment of Christopher Chandler as vice president of global partnerships. In his new role, Chris will be responsible for driving business growth within integrator customers and alliance partners globally, and he will report to Szabolcs Turi, Lightware’s executive director, business development. Chris is an experienced audio and technology industry professional with a track record spanning more than 25 years in sales and management. Prior to joining Lightware, he worked at Biamp where he held various roles including sales director. "Lightware is committed to providing the best integrated systems solutions to our customers, and we are excited to have Chris join the business to lead our global partnerships strategy," said Szabolcs Turi, "His extensive experience across the industry will make him an invaluable asset
UK – The 16th century stately home of Wollaton Hall was given a spectacular lighting treatment for Christmas, when production company dbnAudile provided visitors with a beautiful light trail through the grounds, completed by a stunning finale against the backdrop of the house itself. For all of this, dbnAudile used a Vista by Chroma-Q control system, sourced from A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET), to provide stability behind the scenes. Manchester-based rental and production house dbnAudile, a long-standing user of Vista by Chroma-Q, was contracted by Kilimanjaro Live for the Christmas at Wollaton project, which ran from December into January. Their team delivered the 1.2km light trail made up of 12 individual lighting installations, plus the grand finale at the house, which featured a lighting rig including IP65-rated Panorama IP Airbeams from PROLIGHTS, also suppl