Europe - The list of exhibitors to withdraw from the postponed Prolight+Sound tradeshow has continued to grow today, with Artistic Licence, Ayrton, Chauvet Professional, Robe Lighting, Robert Juliat, CLF Lighting, and Roe Visual among those who have cancelled their plans to attend the fair. “The latest Covid-19 developments in Europe and the potential threat for those travelling to Frankfurt from around the world have led us to take a sensible and measured decision after considering the current facts and the dramatic spread of the virus,” commented Robe CEO, Josef Valchar. “I am sure that the industry will pull together to get through these challenging times. Prolight+Sound is the busiest and most important European trade show for us in terms of the rental and staging sectors, and an important showcase for new and emerging technology. We look forward t
USA - Magmatic atmospheric effects is shipping the first snow machine in its Polar series of high-output snow effects - Polar Crisp. Crisp is a professional, high-volume snow machine with intuitive innovation that makes it easy to create scene-setting wintry settings. Compact and lightweight, Crisp is capable of producing high volumes of naturalistic snow with the capacity to adjust snowflake size for greater versatility, says the company. Small flake or large, short throw or long, this 1250W high-volume snow machine can project snow up to 40ft with the flexibility to adjust to the occasion. An all-in-one APF (Air Pump Fan) system together with an auto-clean feature lowers the risk of clogging and reduces the need for maintenance. An easy-to-open housing and serviceable design add to its user-friendliness. Built to withstand travel and repeated use, Crisp feat
USA - Claypaky Xtylos laser source moving lights made their Pepsi Halftime Show debut at Super Bowl LIV where they added even more impact to the dynamic performances of Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium. Xtylos created a network of intense beams in varied colours as well as wave effects that served as a background for the stage. Lighting designer Bob Barnhart of 22 Degrees, who has 21 Super Bowl halftime shows to his credit, selected 50 Xtylos for the event after seeing the fixtures at LDI 2019. “I was impressed with the beam quality, which was so pure and consistent in intensity from the outside edge to the centre,” he says. “Xtylos was incredibly crisp and clear; its really hard edge intrigued me and stayed on my mind as the halftime show took shape.” “It takes a special breed of person to use a new product on a project like t
Germany - When Circus Flic Flac rolled into town at Westfalenhalle, Dortmund for its ninth annual Christmas show, it brought with it a 1,200-capacity circus tent, an array of human-only artistes and an Ayrton lighting arrangement by lighting designer, Christopher Rostalski, from CR-Lichtdesign in Soest. Rostalski chose to work with the latest Ayrton products to create his design in this setting, employing 20 Khamsin-S profile spots, 20 Bora-S washlights and 10 MiniBurst graphic strobe fixtures, all of which were supplied by Stefan Kniess at B + B Veranstaltungstechnik in Dortmund. Circus Flic Flac was needing powerful lighting for the inside of this dark and dramatic performance setting and the Ayrton fixtures had features that suited this environment. “We really liked the fact that Khamsin and Bora both have the Ayrton 100% framing system which are perfect for an a
USA - To update his original 2008 lighting design for a modern touring production of Dreamgirls, lighting designer Ken Billington chose the LED-based VLZ fixtures from Vari-Lite. After seeing a demo of the VLZ fixtures, he was satisfied with them as the luminaire that would reproduce the look and feel of his original Vari-Lite rig. Billington specified 32 VLZ Wash, 22 VLZ Spot and 12 VLZ Profile fixtures to form the show’s entire overhead lighting rig. “The fixtures are bright,” he says, “in fact a bit too bright! We run them at 50-70% most of the time. When you fade the LED, there is no beam degradation, which you would see if there was a shutter dimming a discharge fixture.” A key aim for this production was recreating the original colour palette, which the VLZs matched well. “The colours are really clear, clean colours that don’t muddy the beam
UK - White Light has provided the lighting equipment for the UK tour of Ghost Stories, having also supplied its recent West End run at the Ambassadors Theatre (see LSi March). Written by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, Ghost Stories has been terrifying theatregoers for over a decade. The show invites audience members to enter a nightmarish world, full of thrilling twists and turns, where their deepest fears and most disturbing thoughts are imagined live on stage. The lighting designer for the show is James Farncombe, who comments: “What was clear from the outset was that the design needed to be as much about the absence of light as much as anything else.
UK - Solotech has expanded its global operation by extending its video department into the UK and has opened new offices in central London. As part of Solotech’s expansion strategy in the UK, the company has appointed Ian Woodall as director of video, and Paul McCauley as video business development manager in the UK and European markets. Ian ‘Woody’ Woodall has worked at XL Video as sales director and has also been a freelancer, designing and building AV systems in European venues and as a touring video engineer on projects including Nile Rodgers and Chic who have been with Cher for the past year. Meanwhile, Paul ‘Macca’ McCauley has extensive experience in the both the live events and integration industries. Woody comments: “We decided that it was important to build on the huge reputation of Solotech for video in Canada and the US and theref
Europe - Three further exhibitors have announced they won't be attending this year's Prolight+Sound (PL+S) tradeshow. Loudspeaker manufacturer Adamson Systems Engineering, ionage GmbH - the company behind Madrix - and LED solutions manufacturer Roe Visual have all pulled out of the Frankfurt-based event. The tradeshow, which was due to take place at the end of March, was postponed to 26-29 May due to coronavirus fears. The three companies have joined a growing list of exhibitors who have formally withdrawn from the annual fair. As of today, these are Adam Hall, Allen & Heath, d&b audiotechnik, ETC, High End Systems, JB Lighting, L-Acoustics, Martin Audio, Nexo, Vari-Lite and Strand, and Yamaha Music Europe. "Unfortunately, we cannot participate in Prolight+Sound this year", comments Madrix sales manager, Christian Hertel. "This was not an easy decision for us at all.
USA - Lighting designer David Grill has returned to GLP’s lighting portfolio to stage a new production of Michael Pink’s 1996 ballet Dracula, a reimagining of Bram Stoker’s horror classic story, at the Civic Centre Music Hall in Oklahoma City. This was presented by the Oklahoma City Ballet. “The production is rented to ballet companies throughout the world, and at each venue I lay out the line sets and adapt the show to whatever I find there,” says the LD, explaining the background. “[GLP impression X4s] are among fixtures that remain constant and the rest change depending on venue.” He believes that the production plays better in theatres where the architecture is either more ornate or with darker woods, rather than the light grey ones that pull focus from the stage. However, with the latest transfer, fixture availability forced him to replace the
South Africa - Lighting designer Marius Coetzee was asked by Johannesburg -based technical production company AV and Beyond to create a vibrant visual ambience for the 2019 FNB (First National Bank) Innovators Awards, staged in Hall 5 of the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand, Johannesburg. Over 100 Robe moving lights helped him produce spectacular lighting including AV and Beyond’s new Esprite LED Profiles, the first in South Africa, which arrived on site just in time to be added to the rig. The event recognises and celebrates the efforts, contributions and ideas of the innovators within the company. All recipients work for FNB Bank and received awards based on multiple elements, including flair, imagination and ability to think creatively and out-of-the-box in formulating solutions and instigating good working practices. With the focus on ‘innovation
Belgium - After decades of civic campaigning, the residents of Deinze near Ghent recently achieved a long- awaited dream when the €10m Leietheater opened. Located in the town centre, the theatre creates an immediate impression from the outside with its minimalist architecture. Inside, its multifaceted, modern productions are supported by a collection of Chauvet Professional Ovation fixtures specified by the theatre itself, and supplied by Sotesa. The task of fitting a modern lighting rig for the 500-capacity theatre fell to the theatre's head of technology, Jef Donné. Having previously used Chauvet Professional fixtures in the live event sector, Donné was well aware of the advantages that the Ovation fixtures. "Being able to create our rig from scratch allowed us to harness the advantages associated with the Ovation's LED technology, which essentially gave us the
Slovakia - The Slovak Volleyball Federation recently contracted laser specialists, Kvant, to provide a spectacular multimedia show for the Superfinals of the Slovak Cup, at the Eurovia Arena in Bratislava. The clients were looking for a high-quality ‘curtain raiser’ for the opening of the men’s and women’s finals, and to entertain the audience between the breaks. Following the finals, there was a live performance as the winners were announced. Helping to boost the extravaganza were 24 Aqua 580 Beam from PR Lighting. The spectacular itself was designed by Martin Gabco, Kvant's show designer, with lighting, laser beam and graphics all operating to time-code. While Kvant fielded 10 of their ClubMax 10W lasers and four Spectrum 30W lasers, some of the PR Lighting pieces were set on the balconies around the hall, some combined in a floor package behind the LED peri
Austria - When German car manufacturer Audi looked to draw attention to their first fully electric model car, Audi e-tron, at the Audi guest experience in Kitzbühel, lighting designer Chris Moylan of Optikalusion says the only option he really had was Elation’s Proteus Hybrid. “It’s the only fixture that would have worked for this,” he says, explaining that he needed a powerful, IP65-rated lighting fixture he could place every few meters along very difficult terrain full of snow and ice, something that could tolerate the harsh environment of the Austrian Alps, including subfreezing temperatures. “The Proteus Hybrid is tough. It’s weatherproof, bright and reliable, the ideal fixture for this type of event.” Produced by creative agency Dreinull and event lead agency Die Favoriten, Moylan handled lighting design for the event together with Dreinull, who c
Czech Republic - David Kachlir has delivered a lively lighting design for the current production of Mamma Mia!, which is playing on the 680-seat Musical Stage at Městské Divadlo (City Theatre) in Brno, Czech Republic. At the heart of the Musical Stage lighting rig are some of Robe LED luminaires including new T1 Profiles and T1 Fresnels, DL7S Profiles and LEDBeam 150s, part of an investment process in the brand that started in 2015. It’s the first time that David has lit the foot-tapping musical written by British playwright Catherine Johnson, based on the songs of Abba and set on a Greek island. He has enjoyed the challenge, working alongside a strong creative team including director Petr Gazdik, also one of the Czech Republic’s best-known actors, and set designer Emil Konecny. “Petr had some very clear ideas about lighting right at the sta
USA - The University of Tennessee System honoured Bandit Lies founder and president Michael T. Strickland with The Presidents Council Service Award on 31 January. The President’s Council Awards Dinner was held at the Discovery Park of America in Union City, Tennessee and was attended by several hundred Tennessee alumni from across the country. The UT System is comprised of multiple campuses and locations across the great state of Tennessee. Strickland was recognised for a lifetime of service and dedication to the entire University of Tennessee System. “Without the higher education I was afforded in my time at UTK, I would never have been able to achieve at the level that I did,” he says. “It is my mission to enlighten other people, create engagement and involvement with the school, and enable as many other people as possible to have the same education and opp
Europe - The sell-out crowds that fill Italian and Swiss concert halls to see the Legend of Morricone can be forgiven if every now and then they forget where they are, and are transported back to a time when they sat in their favourite cinemas. Such is the redolent power of the musical scores written by this four-time Academy Award winning composer. Dating back to his seminal score for the Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood spaghetti western The Good the Band and The Ugly up to his current work for films like Quinten Tarantino’s The Hateful 8, Morricone has demonstrated a genius for weaving music into the very fabric of a film. Conveying the intense imagery of the maestro’s music in light during the Legend of Morricone tour is a nuanced and richly textured Patrick lavarone design that features Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures supplied b
Germany - Following the announcement of Prolight+Sound 2020’s postponement until late May, MDG has moved its planned anniversary celebrations to next year. MDG president and CEO Martin Michaud comments: “We are sorry to announce that, in view of the current situation regarding the coronavirus, (Covid-19), we have taken the decision to postpone MDG’s 40th anniversary celebration at the Union Halle in Frankfurt. “We have given this careful consideration and strongly believe that the safety and security of our MDG Family comes first. Seeing the increasing measures being taken on an international scale to contain its spread, we feel a social responsibility to play our part in reducing the chances of transmission, and feel it is a prudent move to postpone the gathering. “We are, of course, very disappointed but have no doubt this is the right decision for ev
USA - grandMA3 consoles made their Super Bowl Halftime Show debut at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium where they joined a complement of grandMA2 consoles to control video elements, stage effects and the LED wristbands worn by approximately 65,000 spectators. Super Bowl LIV featured one of the most talked about Pepsi Halftime Shows in years with Shakira and Jennifer Lopez turning up the heat with their high-energy, bilingual performances on the main stage. Jason Rudolph, a lighting director for the halftime show for the last decade, was equipped with a pair of grandMA3 light consoles and four grandMA3 processing unit M to control all the video elements in the show as well as the LED lighting not from moving head fixtures. “We pixelmapped the KNV LED cubes on media servers and fed that via Art-Net to the grandMA3, where I merged it so that I coul
USA - Vari-Lite has announced that its new Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash fixture is now shipping. Originally debuted at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the VL5LED Wash is the successor to the Emmy-winning VL5. With an RGBALC colour system, onboard motorized zoom, and LED blade lights, this compact VL5LED Wash brings a host of modern features to a familiar form factor. “Often imitated but never duplicated, customers continue to use both the original VL5 and the VL500 many years after the end of their original production because of their love not only for the unique look of the front face, but the high quality of the wash and the compact build of the fixture,” explains Martin Palmer, senior product manager, Vari-Lite and Strand Luminaires at Signify. “The new VL5LED Wash carries over the size and quality of light from the original VL5, but with features for a modern market.
UK - P&J Live at TECA, the North of Scotland’s new events venue, has invested in over 700 Prolights fixtures to provide in-house production services for events ranging from conferences to gala dinner dances. P&J Live’s deputy operations manager technical, Steve Morrison needed a moving wash fixture to provide flexible, high-quality lighting during events. He specified 140 Prolights PixieWashXB units after being impressed by their versatility, size and quality of light output. The additional 560 LED fixtures included RA2000 moving LED profiles, Eclipse HD LED ellipsoidals, Eclipse 1K and 2K LED Fresnels, StudioCob LED PARs, Lumipix 16H LED battens and SmartBat Plus battery uplighters. Stev
USA - After debuting last year at The Strat in Las Vegas, Celestia, a Cirque du Soleil-type entertainment show, has emerged as one of the city’s top North Strip attractions. With a troupe of performers highlighted by ‘an otherworldly lighting design’ by Tom Sutherland of DX7 Design, the fast-moving circus-style production is a carnival of thrills. The LD entered the project somewhat late as part of a creative team hired a relatively short time prior to opening night to ‘cast their eyes over the production’ and enhance the show’s look. “They had brilliant acts and a state-of-the-art theatrical tent but there was no real glue or production value,” Sutherland states, explaining that the new creative team only had a few weeks to implement their ideas, which included an extra build and additional lighting fixtures. “We stripped out some rigging, pu
USA - SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, has filled many roles since it opened in 2001. Not surprisingly, being in the heart of the state that holds the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, it has hosted rallies for virtually every candidate in this century who’s aspired to take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue not to mention sports, concerts, and conventions of every type. On Wednesday 5 February, the spacious arena assumed a somewhat different appearance. Instead of swelling with crowds of 10,000 or more as it does for political rallies and concerts, it welcomed a more intimate gathering for a sales event for IT services provider Connection. Once inside the arena, the conference’s thousand or so guests were immersed in a welcoming environment that featured an Events United lighting, video, audio, and scenic design anchored by over 70 fixtures and 56
USA - Theatre lighting design specialist Tyler Micoleau recently collaborated with New York-based Public Theatre’s Public Works programme, lighting a production of the musical Hercules, a world-premiere presentation of a stage musical adaptation of the Disney film, developed in a collaboration between The Public Theatre and Disney Theatrical Productions. To add poignancy, the venue chosen was the outdoor Delacorte Theatre in New York’s Central Park, and helping Tyler to achieve his objectives were 34 Fusion by GLP FP7 Par and 20 Fusion by GLP FS10 Stick battens, operating alongside the repertory house rig. Tyler has a long history of working on productions with Lear deBessonet, founding director of Public Works, and has designed four productions for The Public Theatre at the Delacorte. The LD said: “Musicals are not the typical production at the Del
UK - Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Peter Mumford’s prestigious career, last December saw the ALD host an evening In Conversation with Peter Mumford where he was bestowed with a Fellowship of the Association, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art of lighting design. On presenting the award, Lucy Carter commented: “I’ve got a lot to thank Peter for, because 25 years ago when I was a dance and drama student, I didn’t even know about lights in performance and it was watching Peter’s designs for contemporary dance that I suddenly saw this new medium and is essentially why I’m a lighting designer now. I’m sure that Peter is still inspiring us all and inspiring a new generation as well.” The event to reflect upon his career was held at the National Theatre on the night following his own press night as lighting designer for
