South Africa - Robe moving lights were all over the rig designed by Ryan Lombard, H.O.D of show lighting for lighting suppliers Blond Productions, for the latest series of popular Afrikaans language music quiz Noot vir Noot which is broadcast on South Africa’s SABC2 channel. It’s the longest continually-running TV game show in the country - first broadcast in 1991 and presented for the last 28 years by Johan Stemmet. He finally stepped down in January this year to focus on other projects including producing Noot vir Noot through his company Stemmburg Television. Popular actor and singer Emo Adams was revealed as the fresh new face of the perennially popular show in the latest series. Ryan himself and Blond Productions, who delivered lighting, audio and LED screen, had already clocked up at least 10 years on the series. For this series, with al
USA - ADJ’s new Hydro Wash X7 IP-rated moving head wash luminaire has been released to the market, the manufacturer reports. This versatile 280W LED fixture packs a host of features into a compact housing, making the luminaire suitable for one-off events and concert touring as well as permanent installation in large nightclubs and other entertainment venues. The latest addition to ADJ’s Hydro Series of IP65-rated professional moving head fixtures, the Hydro Wash X7, harnesses the power of seven 40W Osram 4-in-1 (RGBW) LEDs. Each LED can be controlled independently, which allows for the creation of dazzling ‘eye candy’ visuals through full pixel-mapping. The unit also offers motorised zoom with a wide range of between 6° and 40°. This makes the fixture equally suited to generating large washes of punchy saturated colours as it is to creating narrow solid beams
USA - Designed in the spirit of the award-winning Sharpy Plus, the Sharpy Plus Aqua luminaire is an IP65-rated moving head fixture designed for outdoor events, touring, permanent installations, cruise ships, and much more. This new fixture maintains the same performance features of its predecessor, the Sharpy Plus luminaire, in a new weather-resistant package; giving you greater flexibility in a single luminaire. The cooling system has been redesigned and optimised specifically for this new outdoor configuration for the Osram Sirius HRI 330W X8 lamp currently used in the Sharpy Plus fixture. This lamp is a proven performer in its reliability, output, and being consistent in both brightness and colour temperature. Like the Sharpy Plus, the Sharpy Plus Aqua fixture offers two distinct operating modes - beam or spot. The 3° to 36° zoom covers the entire zoom range linea
Slovenia - Over 30 Chroma-Q Inspire XT LED house lights have been installed in the Conservatory of Music and Ballet Ljubljana (KGBL) to provide high quality lighting with minimal noise. Regarded as being instrumental to the development of the Slovenian music and ballet profession, KGBL’s basic music education, secondary music and ballet education, and higher ballet education programmes have earned it numerous awards and recognition on the international stage. As part of an upgrade to KGBL’s main performance auditorium, the project brief was to source a multi-purpose fixture that could be used as a high-quality working light for musicians, a show light for performers, and a house light for the overall room. In addition, the requirement was for a very powerful solution, which could illuminate the large 16m by 16m space using as few fixtures as possible. Howe
USA - In January 1996, what is now Life.Church was founded as Life Covenant Church in a two-car garage equipped with an overhead projector and two construction lights purchased at Lowes for under $40. The church and its technological prowess have both come a long way since then. Ranked among the largest houses of worship in the US, Life.Church has 34 different campuses stretched out 2,078 miles, from Rio Ranch, New Mexico to Albany, New York. Live stream video has been key to helping the church reach worshippers throughout this far flung network of satellites. Since July of this year, these videos have emanated from a sprawling new broadcast campus, engineered by Summit Integrated Systems, that features equipment, including a lighting rig anchored by a collection of over 100 Chauvet Professional Maverick, Ovation, and Rogue fixtures. The product of a two-year pr
USA - ETC and High End Systems will exhibit the latest innovations in lighting technology in a combined stand at LDI 2019. Visitors will get the chance to see powerful fixtures, sophisticated controls, and intuitive rigging products in stands 325, 425, and 525. Among the new products is the upcoming Augment3d programming environment. This tool will be included in Eos v3.0 and enables programmers to control and design in a three dimensional space. Live demos of Augment3d will take place throughout the show. The High End Systems stand will be packed with new automated and effects fixtures to view. The SolaPix family makes its grand entrance at LDI with an exceptionally bright wash. The HaloGraphic Pixel Definition featured in the SolaPix provides improved face definition with edge lighting on the pixel cells. For more unforgettable effects, TurboRay will turn hea
USA - At LDI 2019, Chauvet Professional (stands 945/937) will show its most powerful Maverick moving head yet, along with the COLORado Solo Batten 4, a new generation of Rogue fixtures, and a high-resolution video panel from the F2 series. The company’s stand will also feature a lightshow by Max Koehler and Ryan Warffuel of Antic Studios, who have designed for leading EDM stars like Bassnectar, Ganja White and Adventure Club. Maverick MK3 Profile is a fully featured 820W LED moving profile with an output of over 51,000 source lumens. Suitable for large concert venues thanks to its many high-performance features - including a 4-blade, fully wiping shutter system that can rotate up to 60° in each direction - the fixture is also right at home in broadcast and event applications. Also shown will be the Maverick Storm 1 Spot, a 480W cool white moving spot fixture
UK - Lighting control manufacturer Zero 88 has launched a new website, www.zero88.com, complete with a modern design and a host of relevant product, project and general information that’s quick and easy to navigate. The site is optimised for smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops, with embedded product overviews and training videos organised in a user-friendly layout. Finding and downloading the latest software versions is now more straightforward, and users can also download the back catalogue of software releases - a useful resource to aid showfile compatibility. Zero 88 product manager Jon Hole, who is part of the team driving the development of the new portal, comments: “The website has been designed to meet the needs of today’s end-users, including lighting creatives and specifiers who are regularly accessing the internet on the move using mobile hand-h
UK - Ben M Rogers, lighting designer for Penguin Cafe, recently deployed Martin MAC Allure Profile and VDO Atomic Dot lighting fixtures on the band’s 2019 UK tour. Penguin Cafe was founded by Arthur Jeffes in 2009, bringing together a group of musicians from the likes of Suede, Gorillaz and Razorlight to perform his father Simon Jeffes’ legacy of world-renowned Penguin Cafe Orchestra music. In 2019, the band released their latest album of original music, Handfuls of Night, a collaboration with Greenpeace to help raise awareness for the endangered Antarctic seas. Penguin Cafe recently set out on a UK tour from 28 September through 7 October, performing songs from the new album along with hits from both Penguin Cafe and the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra. To compliment each performance with immersive visual experience, Penguin Cafe hired lighting designer Be
USA - For more than half a century, the Dove Awards have recognised exceptional achievements in the Christian music industry. This year, the industry’s best gathered to pay tribute to their history and celebrate the future of Gospel and Christian music with performances ranging from modern rock, rap/hip hop, pop/contemporary, inspirational, southern gospel, bluegrass, country, worship and more taking the stage with a lighting system from Bandit Lites. “The logistics of putting this event on are quite boggling and its success is due to a veteran staff calling all of the right shots,” says Bandit Lites vice-president Mike Golden. “Because of their focus and attention, this year’s Dove Awards was another resounding success from a production vantage point. This year marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Dove Awards and, coincidentally, Bandit celebrated our fiftieth
Ireland - Stage Electrics has won a £2m contract for the Grangegorman campus East Quad at TU Dublin, Ireland’s first Technological University. The new campus, part of a wider development at TU Dublin, will provide learning and teaching facilities as well as dedicated space for research technology. The East Quad buildings include the schools of art, design and printing, conservatory of music and drama, and media. Stage Electrics is supplying full lighting, sound communication and audio-visual systems to a 400-seat rehearsal hall, a recital hall, a performance hall, a black box theatre, TV studios, and post-production studios throughout the building. Work will commence on site shortly and is expected to be completed by late spring 2020. (Jim Evans)
Ukraine - Lighting manufacturer Prolights has appointed Light Converse as distributor for Ukraine. Founded in Kiev in 1997, Light Converse has developed strong relationships throughout the show lighting worlds, particularly in the world of stage, theatre, architectural and TV. Aleksandr Berenok, owner of Light Converse, comments: "Prolights has rapidly become an important landmark in this industry. Their can-do attitude and thirst for innovation are among the reasons why we decided to work alongside them. We have seen Prolights continually put exceptional customer support, personal customer relationships and high-quality products at the forefront and this completely aligns with how we operate. We look forward to a long and successful relationship as their distributor." Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights, adds: "We are really proud to start workin
USA/UK - Ayrton has appointed Chris Lose as designer relations manager and Jonas Stenvinkel as director of strategic development. Chris Lose, an international touring lighting director, programmer and columnist, will be based in North America. His most recent clients include Hall and Oates, Nicki Minaj, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Calvin Harris and corporate events around the globe. At Ayrton, Lose’s role will be to develop successful relationships with the predominant designers and specifiers in the industry. Jonas Stenvinkel will be based in London. Originally from Sweden, he has spent the last years in a senior EMEA role at Martin/Harman after many years heading up Martin/Harman APAC out of Singapore. With his international experience he will develop mid- and long-term relationships on the distributor and customer side. “We are delighted and excited to wel
USA - At LDI (22-24 November, Las Vegas) Elation Professional will unveil five new fixtures from its award-winning Artiste, Proteus and Fuze product lines. The Artiste Mondrian is the company’s brightest, full-featured LED Profile FX fixture Elation has produced to date. It offers extreme output with high centre intensity and narrow-beam angles, a comprehensive FX package with endless framing, and a wide colour-mixing gamut through its variable SpectraColor colour mixing system. Providing over 50,000 lumens from an efficient 950W LED engine, the Mondrian features a large 226mm (8 ¾”) front lens and has the power to cut through at great distances. The Artiste Rembrandt is a bright, full-featured LED Wash fixture. Providing up to 51,000 lumens from an efficient 950W LED engine, the Rembrandt is the designed for any application requiring “superior wash output, brig
Finland - Helsinki City Theatre is putting on the Disney magic this season with its lavish musical production of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. The production plays in repertoire in the 950-seat main theatre for over 120 performances from August 2019 to Spring 2020, including the all-important Christmas period. Helping to create the magical underwater atmosphere are haze, fog and low-fog generators from MDG. In this Disney adaptation of the original story, mermaid Ariel falls in love with human Prince Eric, and sells her beautiful voice to the sea witch Ursula in exchange for legs so she can join him in the surface world. The ambitious production has been put together by director Samuel Harjanne, set designer Peter Ahlqvist and costume designer Pirjo Liiri-Majava and choreographer Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson from Sweden. Characters are also brought
UK - Avolites and Weigl partnered on The Wildwood Tree, an installation located within Wildwood Grove at Dollywood. The centrepiece of this new land was designed and built by LifeFormations with creative from The Imagination House. All involved were able to bring this to life using “pioneering lighting and video technologies”. Weigl designs and manufactures a range of software and hardware products for permanent theme park and interactive experience installations. The story of their collaboration with Avolites starts back in the mid-2000s where Weigl used Avolites’ DMX Pearl and Azure consoles to create single universe ‘single pass’ moving light profiles for their animatronics shows. Weigl worked closely with Avolites, providing clear and concise feedback without the pressure of a live performance setting. In June 2019, Wildwood Grove opened with the me
Germany - Since the end of October, Sarah Connor has been touring arenas, with 15 dates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Already announced for the summer of 2020 is an open-air tour, and in March 2021 there will be a further seven arena dates, reflecting her huge success. Lighting designer Bertil Mark has been working with the artist for several years and has accompanied the current Herz Kraft Werke tour as lighting and set designer as well as creative director. He says that he had arrived quickly at a concept with the artist and the production managers after initial ideas had been exchanged. Although the stage is dominated by powerful LED surfaces, Bertil manages to create versatile and fluid organic looks. “We start the show on a largely veiled stage and work with multiple gauzes that are removed step by step,” he explains. “One last gauze, situated directl
France - Parodic metal band Ultra Vomit and EDM solo act Sebastian are in the middle of popular autumn club and festival tours throughout France. The two artists have something else in common too, each is supported by high-energy light and video shows created by Chirac Design and run with ChamSys consoles. “We tend to have intense clients, and we strive to match their intensity with our shows,” says Chirac co-founder and Marilyn Manson LD Nico Riot. “I have been a ChamSys user for quite some time, because the simplicity of the console frees me up to do the things I envision.” Riot’s enthusiasm for ChamSys is shared by his partner and Chirac co-founder Romain Dronne, who is using a ChamSys MagicQ MQ60 to run shows for Sebastian, and Gregory Dutein, who is powering Ultra Vomit shows with a MagicQ MQ80 plus an extra wing. “Sebastian is an EDM light sh
France - The Amphithéâtre de la Verrière, located in Aix-en-Provence, recently added Robert Juliat Dalis 863 Access lighting fixtures to its in-house inventory. These LED battens can be used to illuminate a cyclorama, or as front of stage lighting. Located inside the Cité du Livre, the Amphithéâtre de la Verrière is a 450-seat multi-purpose hall. Jean-Marie Albaladejo, technical director of L'Amphithéâtre, was looking for an LED solution to replace old luminaires and provide effective low-angle lighting. Until now, this had been problematic in this amphitheatre-shaped venue, with an audience that sits very close to the stage. "We are already equipped with many long-standing Robert Juliat luminaires, so it was only natural that we should turn to the same brand with confidence to find an appropriate solution, and choose LED sources that are more energy efficien
The Netherlands - Robe’s new Esprite LED moving lights made their live debut in The Netherlands at the high-profile AMF event staged in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, a showcase concluding five days of electronic music conference sessions, debates and live events related to the 2019 Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The production design for AMF - with 40,000 visitors and high-energy sets from David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alesso, Don Diablo, Timmy Trumpet and many more - was created by Maarten Hoogland from organiser ALDA, who is also the overall production manager and Andre Beekmans from creative visual design practice, The Art of Light. The look featured a series of ‘crosses’ and other large geometrically-shaped video pieces flown 360 degrees round the 40,000 capacity (for this event) Ajax stadium, and involved approximately 1000
UK - On 5 November, Bristol-based specialist installer Stage Electrics marked 40 years in business with a staff party held at Bristol Zoo. The company was formed in 1979 by a group of theatre lighting and sound equipment enthusiasts and has since grown from three staff to over 120 whilst amassing an impressive portfolio of sales and installations. Offering a range of services, including installation, product sales and testing, inspection and maintenance services, Stage Electrics has a sales team of over 20, including a field sales team. Its export business has also seen significant growth in recent years. “We tailored our service to suit our customers, who all have differing needs,” explains sales director, Anna Western. “Some clients like to see their contact person on a regular basis, while others like to have someone available on the end of the phone.
USA - Premier Productions’ stellar 2019 Worship Tour is running across the USA this fall. Earlier this year, Seth Jackson was approached by Josh Chambless of Premier Productions to create a unifying design for a tour that would feature three of worship music’s most prominent groups: Casting Crowns, Elevation Worship and Hillsong Worship. Multiple Dove Award nominees all, and in two case Dove and Grammy winners, each band has its own distinct look on stage, created by its own talented production team. Jackson’s mission was to come up with a design that would pull together each band’s stage persona, while still presenting a smoothly flowing and harmoniously balanced look on stage. Working with his partner Nate Alves, Jackson met this challenge, creating a sweeping panorama that embraces the visuals of each band, while also projecting a unified image that is uniqu
Belgium - Painting with Light (PWL), working for television producers Dedsit, supplied lighting and video content design, creation and control for De Battle – a co-production between Belgium’s SBS and Netherlands broadcaster, RTL – which was recorded at the Pop Up Theatre in Puurs. The TV series is billed as ‘the next level of studio entertainment’. Four celebrity contestants, divided into two Belgian and Dutch teams faced brain-teasing quizzes, gravity-defying stunts – from drifting cars to traversing a high wire plus a host of manual dexterity and physical exercise skill tasks – testing them to the max in front of a live audience. Studio 100’s Pop Up Theatre includes eight moving seating tribunes to fit 1600 people and eight remote-controlled LED screens which can be moved into any position and configuration. These large moving assets ena
USA - Brown Note Productions, a full service production company based in Thornton, Colorado, has purchased a large fleet of Elation Professional IP-rated outdoor lighting fixtures and immediately had the gear out on a fall run of music festivals. “We chose to go with IP rated fixtures to be part of the solution for our industry,” stated Ryan Knutson, president of Brown Note Productions. “With the changing climate and the desire to be outdoors listening and seeing your favourite performers, the stakes in the game have changed. The visual designs now call for non-traditional stage layouts to complement the artists’ performances. These visual platforms require lighting and other production technology to be directly exposed to the elements.” Knutson says that Brown Note’s historical approach was to bag fixtures with bulky, expensive weather domes but that was