UK - Reading-based television lighting rental specialist Version 2 Lights has made a large investment in Robe’s new Forte moving lights with the purchase of 50 fixtures. These have been supplied with both the HCF (high colour fidelity) and the HP (high performance) LED engines - to service V2’s upcoming projects. Versions 2’s managing director Nick Edwards stated, “We needed a high-powered, high-quality fixture to meet the demands of the big shows, so explored a number of options and selected Forte as the best fixture with optimum quality output for camera.” The Fortes - among the first in the UK - will be working hard this winter, including on ITV’s new talent show, Walk the Line which is being lit by LD Tim Routledge. The show is produced by Simon Cowell and due to be aired in December. For Nick and V2, a product like Forte has all t
Saudi Arabia - Visitors to 1Rebel in Riyadh might easily think they’ve entered an upscale club were it not for the rows of treadmills, bikes and other exercise equipment that reveal its identity as a fitness centre. This is precisely the sort of image, management of the London-based gym hoped to create when they opened their two Saudi Arabian locations. Their vision for their Middle East expansion was based on the success they had in the UK, offering guests a total experience. AV designer Toby Jones worked with lighting designer Durham Marenghi, who he had also collaborated with in the UK. Together they endowed the new Saudi centres with the engaging look and feel that have become a signature of 1Rebel. Helping them accomplish this was a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. The team positioned Ovation, COLORado and ÉPIX strip fixtures within the four
Europe - Robe lighting s.r.o has launched the full-form product video for its new T11 luminaire, the latest in its T series. T11 is a static fixture – available in three versions (Profile, Fresnel and PC) - is designed to be “a perfect investment for any venue - especially theatres and performance spaces - seeking to renew their existing ‘generic’ lighting rigs and upgrade to the latest LED technology with all Robe’s guaranteed reliability and quality”. This genuine three-in-one solution in a single fixture housing alleviates the additional cost of separate ‘generic’ purchases and looks forward to a more sustainable future, says Robe. The MSL-TE 350W LED engine itself generates 16,760 Lumens, giving 9,500 lumens from the T11 Profile, 9,600 lumens out of the T11 Fresnel and 9,400 lumens for the T11 PC, and being a TE light source, brings all the
Germany - Anolis Eminere 1 RGBA LED wall washing lighting fixtures were specified to create mood lighting in a series of breakout rooms in the newest extension to the Estrel Congress Centre (ECC) in Berlin, with the Czech manufacturer also producing some specially adapted ceiling mounting versions of the fixture to suit this project. The 10 breakout rooms are part of a new 5000sq.m extension project which opened last summer having been under construction for nearly two years, adding an 800 seat auditorium / presentation space and 10 event rooms to ECC’s substantial multi-purpose conference, exhibition and hotel complex which first opened in 1999. It occupies a massive site in the south of Berlin city. Each of the new rooms can accommodate up to 50 - 240 people, and Estrel’s owner and technical management teams planned mood lighting from the early stages of the de
UK - Prolight Concepts has announced the release of The VersiLED 6 Wireless from LEDJ - a universal DMX controller designed for controlling multi colour LED fixtures. Suitable for use with RGB, RGBW/RGBA, RGBWA or RGBWAUV products, with or without dimmer channels the controller may be used for LED par cans, panels or even LED strip lights. The on-board W-DMX transmitter allows for wireless DMX control.
USA - Indie/emo band Foxing entitled their fourth studio album Draw Down The Moon. For the album release show at the Pageant theatre in St Louis, designer Gerry Dintleman reflected the mood of the music with a redolent, theatrical lightshow that drew on a collection of over 45 Chauvet Professional fixtures from the venue’s house rig as well as ten Nexus panels rented from Arch City AV. “I wanted things to have this emotional power, with very dramatic highs and lows, using as little front light as possible, with the exception of specials,” explained Dintleman. “Since the album is called Draw Down The Moon, I added a moon gobo with my Ovation ellipsoidal for the backdrop. Overall, I just wanted to match the wide dynamics of the record and bring Foxing’s live show to a whole new level.” Back, key and side lighting were critical to Dintleman’s p
France - PlugFest, the technical event for entertainment lighting interoperability, returns to Lille in France from 29-31 March 2022 following a two-year hiatus. Organised by PLASA, the popular event welcomes manufacturers, developers and technicians from across Europe to test their products and learn about the latest protocols. PlugFest is an opportunity for participants to collectively test and demonstrate device and system interoperability with the aim of improving reliability, resolving compatibility issues and ultimately improving connectivity between all entertainment lighting and related technologies. The event’s expert hosts, Hamish Dumbreck (JESE Ltd), Peter Willis (Howard Eaton Lighting) and Wayne Howell (Artistic Licence) will host a series of workshops and technical break-out sessions and will also provide individual support and guidance. Attendees will
USA - Designer and programmer Keith Hoagland and co-designer Steve Leopard of Leopard Production recently lit a corporate event livestream for country band Sixwire with special guest Steve Augeri, the lead singer of Journey from 1998 to 2006. Accounting for the small studio space that the livestream was shot in, the two designers deliberately kept their video wall backdrop simple. “In some instances, it’s better to approach video with the less is more mindset, especially when space is an issue,” said Hoagland. “In this case, having a quite backdrop with a series of smaller video walls, allowed us to paint the area between those walls with rich colours. This gave us depth of field for the cameras to read.” The duo lined the walls of their set with seven video panels in a U-shaped configuration. Rather that show the same images on each, they devoted one or two
Austria - For the two million Austrians who tuned in every Monday to watch the country’s 2021 Ninja Warrior championships, keeping pace with the gifted young athletes as they raced across unstable bridges, swung along series of hanging rings, and hauled heavy weights up a ‘salmon ladder’, would have seemed like an impossible task. But, for Bernhard Endl, it was a matter of routine. Endl didn’t physically run through the new show’s gruelling obstacle course, but he did keep pace with its athletic participants, when lighting the programme on Austria’s Puls4 network. Powering his 89-universe 936-fixture lighting design was a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M console. “This was a fun project with a different set of challenges than you typically face on a tour or other kind of show,” said Endl. “We had to create an even illumination over the entire parkour with all it
South Africa - Faith Broadcasting Network has consolidated a vast following of approximately 264m viewers worldwide since its inception two decades ago, with satellite, terrestrial and digital broadcasts reaching worshippers all around the world. With headquarters in South Africa, and studios in the USA and the UK, MyFaithTV is the largest religious broadcaster on the African continent. To accommodate such growth, the Faith Dome - the ministry’s base in East London, South Africa - has been undergoing renovations for many years. Parts of the premises have been refurbished to house different aspects of the ministry’s work: including a number of television studios, humanitarian aid warehouses, activity spaces as well as their main broadcasting studio. In 2015, work commenced on the ceiling to replace it with the dome we see today. Stage Audio Works were called upon t
Norway - Stavanger Concert Hall is a glass and steel architectural building occupying a waterfront location in Norway’s ‘oil capital’, where the hustle of marine-based industries fuse with a passion for culture and live performance. The venue - busy reopening for an action-packed autumn - has not been quiet during the pandemic period, which has seen the delivery of 66 x Robe Esprite moving lights and 24 ParFect 150s, all part of an ongoing technical upgrade overseen by head of lighting, Nils Foss. The new fixtures are rigged in the 1,200 seat Fartein Valen concert hall, named after the Norwegian composer Fartein Valen and featuring a magnificent organ made of 65,000 parts. Fartein Valen is home to the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra. They are also in the fully flexible multi-purpose Zetlitz hall which has capacities of 850 seated and 1,900 standing and is u
USA - As the first of its kind, the 1DayLA event saw 20,000 members mobilised between 18 and 24 July to offer communities across the county of Los Angeles help and hope. It culminated in a massive concert named The Freedom Experience, which was hosted at the new SoFi Stadium and subsequently aired on YouTube, where volunteers and contributors from across the Los Angeles region gathered to give one final cheer to this celebration of humanity, and enjoy the experience. The concert featured a star-studded line-up, with performances from headliner Justin Bieber, Tori Kelly, Chandler Moore, Chance the Rapper, Jaden Smith, and Grammy Award-winning artist, Kari Jobe. 4Wall Entertainment provided lighting, video and rigging, including Brompton 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors and ROE Visual LED panels. “That weekend was just unbelievable for the 4Wall team, and we were so thri
USA - PRG has made two senior appointments. Stephan Paridaen (pictured, right) has been named CEO. He currently holds the role of president & COO at PRG, leading its operations in EMEA & APAC since 2010, and will step into his new position from 3 January 2022. PRG has also appointed Jeremiah J. (Jere) Harris (left) as the company’s executive chairman and CCO. “There’s no one better prepared and able to lead the company than Stephan Paridaen,” Harris said. “Since arriving at PRG 12 years ago, he has demonstrated an exceptional passion for our mission and has focused on the continual growth of our business in the EMEA and APAC regions, while improving our operations and expanding our offerings.” As executive chairman & chief creative officer, Harris will work with and support Paridaen and the leadership team. Harris felt that the timing was
USA - The Proteus Rayzor Edge and Proteus Rayzor Blade are billed as a striking visual combination of linear wash, high-intensity strobe line and SparkLED FX inside a compact IP65 linear fixture design. Envisioned to provide the designer ‘unlimited creative control of powerful colours’ and high-powered strobe effects from a single unit, they allow unlimited placement in any outdoor and indoor environment, greatly enhancing their capabilities, says Elation. Protected from dust and water ingress, they are part of Elation’s industry-leading Proteus range of outdoor luminaires, matching colours and SparkLED effects with the popular Proteus Rayzor 760. Driven by six or 12 independently controlled 60W RGBW LEDs, Proteus Rayzor Edge and Blade provide a powerful beam. The oversized front lenses create a large visual surface on the fixture that is enhanced by the epatent-
South Africa - Idols SA 2021 became the first television show in South Africa to use a fully grandMA3 - software and hardware - lighting control platform, chosen by Joshua Cutts and Andre Siebrits from Visual Frontier to run their lighting design for the final televised segments of the popular and high-profile singing competition. Other ground-breaking aspects for this year’s broadcast shows included a move away from the State Theatre venue in Pretoria after several years, decamping to Studio 10 at the Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg. With that came the need for a completely different aesthetic approach and treatment. “The objective was to ensure it looked amazing from all camera angles,” explained Josh, adding that his own Idols expertise - this is his 17th series - plus Andre’s fresh eyes as an LD has been “a great combination”. Knowing th
Europe/USA - With fellow General Device Type Format (GDTF) founders MA Lighting and Robe Lighting, global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks has revealed several updates to GDTF - the standard for describing the hierarchical and logical structure and controls of any type of controllable device in the lighting and entertainment industry. The GDTF file format has continued to evolve with input and involvement from manufacturers across the globe and critical feedback from its many adopters, resulting in a newly published update to DIN SPEC 15800:2021. “Receiving recognition in the form of a published update to DIN SPEC 15800:2021 is a testament to the continued evolution and success of GDTF,” comments Vectorworks CEO, Dr. Biplab Sarkar. “The necessary work will continue to take place to ensure GDTF’s bright future so that its benefits can not only advan
UK - Live music venue, Rock City in Nottingham boosted its house lighting rig for October this year - a busy period including some lively university Freshers Week events - with a rig of 60 Robe moving lights, with extras supplied via rental and production company Zeal. Rock City’s lead project lighting designer Will Brown explained that with the post Covid re-opening of live shows, they wanted to make a big impression, especially to make up for last year when everything had to be cancelled! Will designed lighting to cover an array of events, from popular bands to heaving club nights, as people from all over the city celebrated being able to congregate, have fun together and enjoy live music again. While many bands will bring their own productions and floor packages, historically for crew the venue is famous for band productions loading out while the disco is
Europe - This month sees LED lighting solutions manufacturer Ayrton celebrate its 20th anniversary. “When Ayrton was created, we didn't know at the time, but we were going to revolutionize the world of lighting with a totally disruptive concept, digital lighting,” says Ayrton founder, Yvan Péard. “Over the past 20 years we have created more than 70 extraordinary digital luminaires that are as innovative as they are effective. We are very proud of our achievements and the way we continue to lead the way, pushing technology and design to the limits. This year we are celebrating 20 years of passion, creation and design; 20 years of working with the world's greatest lighting designers, who have placed their trust in us to make the tools they want to use; 20 years of innovation to bring the wildest projects to life.” Péard first brought Ayrton to life in 2001, nam
USA - Spotrack has appointed Apex Technologies as its exclusive North American distributor. Liam Feeney, CEO of Spotrack, explains: “When you take into account the far-reaching knowledge and experience of the Apex team, it’s easy to understand why we are so excited by the prospect of working with them in the United States. The North American market already has a highly distinguished Spotrack client base, and there is huge demand for our products into other market verticals. We are confident that we have found the perfect partner to help release the full potential of Spotrack for the benefit of the US entertainment production community.” Bill Morris, general manager at Apex Technologies, adds: “Spotrack has developed some incredible technologies for follow-spot control that we haven’t seen here in the American market. The ability to interface with fixtures an
Europe - A new F-Drive accessory is now available, simplifying installation and vastly increasing compatibility with third-party LED fixtures. The B-Box4 uses the RJ45 output of an F-Drive card to position up to four channels of Molex, terminal, or RJ45 connections at any location in your installation. With the addition of B-Box, the F-Drive LED power system offers more flexibility to meet each facility’s installation needs. Whether using third-party or ETC-manufactured fixtures, specifiers can simplify the wiring required to connect to the F-Drive unit. F-Drive is a modular, centralized solution for controlling LED luminaires. With easy access to swappable driver cards and power supplies, all critical components are readily accessible for maintenance and updates. F-Drive is available as an R12 rack-mounted solution or a W1 wall-mounted solution. A variety o
UK - Video technology rental company and technical creative production specialists, 80six, recently hosted a series of virtual production Discovery Days at its new virtual production studio facility in Slough. The events were staged in response to the growing appetite for information about virtual production technology and techniques, and allowed those in attendance to gain insights into the world of virtual production. Directors of photography, film and TV producers, cinematographers, and representatives of production and post production houses, all took advantage of the opportunity to explore the workflow and real-time technologies required to power both live and on-set productions. 3LR Lighting Ltd, representative for international manufacturers of architectural, film, entertainment and broadcast lighting and control, was an event partner, alongside ROE Visual, Brom
Austria - Located close to The Graben, one of Vienna’s most famous streets, renowned architect Matteo Thun created the design and atmosphere of Bar Campari, Campari Austria’s flagship location. An Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system delivers the audio. Bar Campari is owned by Peter Friese, of Vienna’s Zum Schwarzen Kameel (The Black Camel), one of the city’s highest profile restaurants. The owners contacted Wolfgang Sauter, founder of Vienna-based systems integrator Pro Performance, with a brief for an audio system that had to deliver quality sound, performance and reliability. It also had to blend in with Bar Campari’s décor, which is based on the lively aesthetics of Italian cafés and the graphics designed by futurist artist Fortunato Depero for Campari in the first half of the 20th century. As well as sound quality, containment was also important, as t
USA - Lighting designer Jeff Croiter and set designer Beowulf Boritt engendered the connection between actors and audience in their work for the current (and fourth) iteration of Freestyle Love Supreme at Broadway’s Booth Theatre by creating an immersive atmosphere that enveloped both the stage and the venue itself. “We want to have a club-like look and feel throughout the theatre as the audience enters,” said Croiter, who was also responsible for lighting the three previous productions of the show. “At times throughout the show, it’s important to be able to have a connection between the audience and stage.” Helping Croiter accomplish this is a collection of Chauvet Professional COLORado 1 Solo and COLORado 2 Solo fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. The RGBW washes connect to the audience, the moment people begin to enter the theatre. Dra
Europe - ETC’s Eos Family of lighting controllers is known for providing comprehensive, finely tuned control for lighting rigs of all sizes. Now, with the release of Eos v3.1 – the latest major software update for the platform – that control becomes even more customisable to suit any programming style or show. Eos v3.1 is all about you, with new tools that help you set up your workspaces – programming, 3D-visualized, and physical – just the way you want them, says ETC. In a fast-paced show environment, you need quick access to all your content. In Eos v3.1, Custom Direct Selects now support thousands of custom target lists, which you can populate with channels, groups, palettes, scenes, and more – along with new navigation tools to help you page quickly between them. A new icon library lets you add images to both Direct Selects and Magic Sheets so that you can id
