World - The 2018 version of Lightconverse Tools offers new features to the software, which is a specialised 3D design programme focused on stage design of all types and sizes. LC Tools 2018 is compatible with Lightconverse 3D Show Platform as projects built in LC Tools can be directly imported. From theatre spaces, corporate events and TV studios, to rock tours and awards shows, the software offers design, documentation and inventory options to quickly and effectively build shows from the ground up while decreasing the time and material expenses of implementation. It also can be thought of as an advanced paperwork platform which compliments Lightconverse 3D Show Platform. The new functionalities for LC Tools 2018 include: Imported images duplications (supported formats: JPG, PNG); Import AutoCAD files, in addition to other types; Flip command (Fixture arrangement
USA - When Thievery Corporation, played a month-long tour last autumn, lighting designer Luke Stratton turned to Elation Professional’s Platinum FLX hybrid moving head to visually complement the band’s innovative music with a variety of dazzling textures and graphics. Stratton, owner of Luke Stratton Designs, who designed lighting for rock band Dopapod for seven years, punts all his shows, a hands-on approach that allows him to better customize looks for a creative band like Thievery Corporation. Calling himself an ‘old Elation user’ and ‘a big fan of hybrid lights’ and the versatile design options they provide, Stratton has been using Elation gear for years, including the Platinum FLX on festivals. On Thievery’s fall tour, Stratton alternated the Platinum FLX hybrids with 1000W short-arc discharge fixtures across up- and mid-stage trusses with more fix
UK - Experienced lighting designer Davy Sherwin has been turning increasingly to GLP’s X4 Bar 20 battens to provide stage dynamics for popular British bands including Foals, Wolf Alice and Sundara Karma. The KOI award winner admits to having used them on his last four stage designs after he was introduced to them when planning his production design for Foals back in the summer, when seeking a row of LED pars for a low-level curtain effect. "I have been using them all quite differently with each band," he says. "What I have been trying to do is replace conventional moving lights instead of having rows and rows of wash lights and strobes." As for the recent Sundara Karma tour, to bring the best out of the Reading-based indie band, with the exception of a few strobes, he ran the entire show with the X4 Bars
UK - Liverpool-based installation and production specialist Adlib is supplying video and audio for an exhibition featuring China’s Terracotta Warriors being staged at the city’s World Museum. China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition is now open and running until 28 October 2018. Featuring 10 life-sized figures, the exhibition includes a terracotta cavalry horse from the burial site of China’s First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (221-206 BC) and over 25 smaller warriors from the Han Empire, China’s second imperial dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). The exhibition opened in February and has already received worldwide acclaim and is exceptionally popular, attracting people from all over the UK and Europe, with visiting hours having been extended to accommodate the demand for tickets! Adlib’s head of video, Tom Edwards, is project managing and oversa
Singapore - February ended on a high note for Chauvet in Asia. The company’s first open house in Singapore drew an enthusiastic crowd of close to 50 lighting professionals, who came for a first-hand look at the latest Chauvet Professional, Chauvet DJ and ChamSys products. This followed an open house with the company’s distributor ASIIS that drew over 100 lighting industry professionals to the large Neo Soho, Keluarga Allah Church in Jakarta, which recently had a full Chauvet product install. Visitors to the Singapore event enjoyed hands-on demonstrations of the company’s Maverick and Ovation series fixtures as well as the ChamSys line of consoles, including the Magic MQ500 Stadium. Those who attended the Soho, Keluarga Allah open house got a first-hand look at how the 30,000-member church is using its extensive collection of Ovation, Rogue and COLORdash fixtures from
USA - High End Systems has launched HogFactor USA 2018, the company’s annual two-phase collegiate lighting programming competition held in conjunction with major trade shows in North America and across the globe. Universities are now invited to enter teams of up to three students. The submission deadline is 30 June and over 20 collegiate teams have already signed up to participate in Phase One. To enter, each team is required to provide a performance lighting piece programmed on a Hog or Hog 4 PC that can be downloaded for free with a special demo version of Light Converse visualisation. Three teams will be shortlisted by 31 July to participate in Phase Two and programme a performance lighting piece based on High End Systems’ 2018 LDI booth design. The teams will then be invited to perform their shows live at LDI on 19 October (Friday) at the High End Systems boo
UK - Film, TV and theatre lighting supplier Flashlight has announced the appointment of Danny Tomkins, who joins the company's UK sales department as a business development manager. Tomkins will provide field-based sales and support for the company's expanding range of leading lighting brands. He has grown into the industry over the last eight years working with Rosco (UK) focusing on the LED solutions for the film and TV market. Danny says: "I'm looking forward to the exciting challenges and learning from two of the best in Andy and Rob." Flashlight directors Andy Dodd and Rob Williamson comment: "We're delighted to welcome Danny to the company. His enthusiasm and hunger in the film/ TV lighting market allows us to continue to be in front of end users and support new business with a strong presence." (Jim Evans)
UK - First performed in 1960, Gore Vidal’s The Best Man recently made its debut in London’s West End. Opening at the Playhouse Theatre, the show tells the story of two presidential candidates who are both vying for an endorsement from the current president; with the play exploring the lengths they’ll go to achieve this. This latest production is produced by Bill Kenwright and the lighting equipment was supplied by White Light. The Best Man enters the West End directly from a UK tour, on which WL also supplied the lighting. It stars a range of well-known names, including Martin Shaw, Maureen Lipman and Honeysuckle Weeks and features a lighting design by Chris Davey. Chris comments: “The entire play is set in a hotel suite in Philadelphia, which houses both of the candidates. In terms of the set, there is a huge gauze wall with a bedroom upstage th
USA - Hip-hop artist Juvenile recently brought his street heat to eastern Georgia, shaking up the house at the Country Club live music venue with blistering renditions of songs like Back That Thang Up and his 2003 No. 1 Billboard hit Slow Motion. Helping set a feverishly intense mood at the club for his no-holds-barred performance was a bright fast-moving John Berret lightshow that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Quest Sound & Productions. Anchored by Rogue R1 Beam and Rogue R2 Spot fixtures, Berret’s show, which he controlled with a ChamSys PC Wing and Chauvet Net-X Art-Net node, filled the spacious dancehall venue with bursts of light to accent key moments in Juvenile’s performance. “No doubt, this lightshow was built on brightness and intensity, because this is what the music called for,” said Berret. “Something I
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) have helped full event production services company VisionEvents Manchester (VE-M) to upgrade their equipment inventory with some of the latest technologies from premier industry brands, including Green Hippo, Panasonic, ProLights, Sennheiser, Manfrotto, Doughty and Tourflex Cabling. VE-M's complete event services cover all creative and technical aspects of client projects - including event planning & solutions; creative graphics & video production; and technology equipment hire. VE-M were keen to invest in high quality new video, sound and lighting technologies for their AV department, so approached AC-ET, knowing that the company would be able to meet all their needs. Mike Docksey in AC-ET's external sales team oversaw the sale. Working with product specialists in the company's dedicated video, lighting, audio
Mexico - LED Project, the Mexico City-based technical lighting and video rental company, owns a large rental stock of current and new Robe products. With over 200 BMFLs, Spiiders, Pointes, LEDWash 300s and 600s, LEDBeam 1000s, CycFX 8s and MiniMe’s in the inventory, the company run by Sergio Serrano has been a major Robe brand ambassador for the last five years. His decision to invest in Robe early on, and to specify Robe moving lights for some key music clients that he has production managed, has also set trends and encouraged others to follow. All of which has helped to raise the brand profile and put Robe on the map in this crucial ‘crossover’ territory between the U.S and Latin America. His latest purchase from Robe’s Mexican distribution SHOWCO, has been 12 x Spiiders. These will shortly be followed by another 12, and he also, naturally, has his sigh
Canada - With the winter season in full swing, Canadian production company Ottawa Special Events (OSE) increased the scope of its service to corporate clients by investing in 12 of GLP’s large Air Dome 850’s. GLP Air Domes offer protection against rain and other environmental influences in various sized housings, with the 850 dome purpose-designed for larger moving heads. They were supplied by GLP’s Canadian distributor, AVL Media Group who have been aggressively promoting both these, and GLP’s Rain Cover Kits into the local markets to counter the arduous conditions. “We were looking at a product that was going to protect our fixtures and be rugged enough to withstand cold Canadian weather but also be user friendly and a breeze to install,” confirms OSE production manager, Joel Deslauriers. “There were other brands out there, but the builds were n
UAE - Dubai-based Fountains International Events employed Green Hippo to deliver a prestigious graduation ceremony in the United Arab Emirates. The American University in the Emirates (AUE) invited Dubai-based Fountains International Events to craft a video and lighting show for its seventh commencement ceremony at Dubai World Trade Centre. Led by Pavel Pashkovskiy, Fountains International Events has extensive experience in the region, and for the AUE graduation ceremony the company designed and produced content with a total size of approximately 10,000 x 4,000 pixels. Using a pair of Hippotizer Karst Media Servers, Pavel operated a special Art-Net timeline-based controller from Syncronorm, sending layers, and starting triggers to the Karsts. Pavel calls this technique ‘Art-Net timecode’, and the Art-Net timeline triggered all of his other devices, including lasers
UK - Figure of Eight Events was recently approached to provide technical production for this year’s Isuzu Awards, which took place in the 70,000-seat Principality Stadium in Cardiff. As the new sponsor for the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU), Isuzu wanted to create a fitting start to their relationship by showcasing what the stadium has to offer. Figure of Eight didn’t disappoint by delighting the guests with a 360° lighting design that featured a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional. With the awards ceremony and dinner housed within a clear marquee, positioned 3m high over the central pitch area, Figure of Eight came up with the idea of surrounding the structure with high-power light from the Rogue RH1 Hybrid and Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. “We wanted to create a stunning backdrop for the award ceremony by allowing the guests inside to be able to se
UK - Illumination rental and installation specialists LED Creative assisted in creating the 360° studio experience for the recent six-show run of BBC’s All Together Now. Produced by Remarkable Television (part of Endemol Shine UK) and filmed in front of a live studio audience at Salford’s Dock 10 studios, All Together Now posts a series of would be singing stars before a panel of 100 carefully selected, highly opinionated ‘judges’ who cast their votes by standing up and joining with the performances. The series features a set created by scenic designer Dominic Tolfts, lit by LD Dave Davey, that surrounds the singers, panel and audience in a wall of colour and movement, allowing the performances to be viewed from almost any angle with no break in the vibrant studio backdrop. LED Creative supported the crew on the shows, supplying their BYTE
USA - A quality tungsten audience blinder has a key role in a Zac Brown Band show, and last year’s discharge-based lights for the band’s Welcome Home tour gave way to high-impact Elation Professional Cuepix Blinder WW2 LED-based white light fixtures. Production and lighting design for the tour was by UK-based production design company Okulus, who also handled creative direction and scenic design. James Scott, Okulus director, had been introduced to the Cuepix Blinder on another design tour, Passenger, in 2015, an outing where power consumption limitations were a concern and an LED fixture the solution. “Looking at the sheer quantity of blinders that Zac Brown wanted to use on this show, having all those dimmers and cabling didn’t make sense. We had to go LED and again chose Cuepix,” Scott commented. The Cuepix white light fixtures not only give the cl
UK - On the evening of 16 February, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council organised the Fashion Hong Kong Show and Cocktail Reception at London's Somerset House. Being an approved supplier at Somerset House, along with working on several shows across London Fashion Week, White Light was called upon to provide the technical solutions. The event was produced by My Beautiful City - a full service creative agency that offers end-to-end support across art direction, concept creation and event production. For over 10 years they have worked with some of the world’s most talented designers to bring their collections to life at Fashion Week. They have also worked closely with WL across several London Fashion Weeks. WL’s senior account manager Dominic Yates comments: “We have a strong working relationship with My Beautiful City, which goes back many years, and they calle
UK - Bristol-based LED lighting manufacturer GDS has confirmed Glantre Engineering as an installation partner. Wokingham-based Glantre are experts in designing and installing comprehensive entertainment solutions across various sectors including theatre, broadcast, hospitality and education. The company's installation projects encompass theatre, TV studios and architectural lighting. GDS managing director Matt Lloyd comments: “We’re very much looking forward to working with this internationally renowned and respected company. As the scope of GDS’s technologies continues to widen across a whole variety of market areas, it’s important that we develop and maintain strong partnerships with trusted installers on a global scale. “Glantre’s reputation for service delivery is of the highest order and we’re certain that GDS products will prove to be an invalu
China - PR Lighting has launched Omega, a new moving zoom bar. With six RGBW 4-in-1 60W LEDs, Omega is “a versatile moving bar effect fixture, producing a powerful, zoomable blade of light,” says the company. Each pixel can be controlled individually and the light output can easily be converted into dynamic rays of mid-air micro beams. The fixture contains mechanical dimming (linearly adjustable); electronic strobe (0-25 fps); 540° pan and endless 270° tilt; individually controllable colours; colour touchscreen; over-temperature protection; wireless DMX control. Housed in IP20 high temperature plastic housing, the net weight of the Omega is just 14.1kg. Shipping in late April, and the product can be seen for the first time at Frankfurt Prolight+Sound. (Jim Evans)
World - Irish rock band The Script's current Freedom Child tour features a complex mix of video, live footage, pre-made content and live effects displayed on a multiscreen structure. The ambitious visuals are being powered by Avolites Ai Infinity R8 Servers and Quartz lighting control consoles. The Script's long-time show designer, Jamie Thompson, is working alongside freelance media server expert Annalisa Terranova, Tom and Satoko Wall from Blinkin LAB and video director Ben Farrey, to deliver the architectural content. The multi-screen set-up is being run by four Ai R8 media servers. Two R8 servers process content created in real-time effects generator, Notch, which is then fed into the second pair of Ai servers which handle the main content. All of this is then outputted to the massive, angular on-stage LED screens. "It's a pretty hybrid setup and we've
UK - A.C. Special Projects (AC-SP) has assisted engineering company Hoare Lea in bringing its dynamic lighting scheme to life for etc.venues' 68,000sq.ft multi-use event space inside the London County Hall - providing an e:cue control system to meet the venue's bespoke needs. The historic County Hall location is etc.venues' largest event space of 15 sites around the Capital, and a major historic tourist destination. The lighting team at Hoare Lea worked closely with lead interior designer, Jestico + Whiles and executive architect, Synergy Architects, restoring County Hall to create a unique conference space for etc.venues. The project included upgrading the building with integrated lighting elements to reveal and accentuate its architectural history, and help to create spaces with flexible ambient lighting serving and enhancing different events and tasks, rang
USA - Guests at the Arizona Biltmore often ask if the upscale hotel/resort was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It wasn’t, but it could well have been. Although the famed architect didn’t draw up the blueprints (a former student of his did), he was actively involved in planning the aesthetically balanced 89-year-old structure, which bears his trademark ‘textile block’ construction. Nowhere is Wright’s ethereal touch more evident than in the Biltmore’s spacious grounds, which instantly captivate visitors with their winding tree-lined paths, evocative abstract sculptures from the Master’s own Midway Gardens, and gently curved glimmering pool. The transformative effect of these grounds was made even more powerful at a recent event, thanks to a Creative BackStage lighting design that featured Maverick and Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional. “We were b
USA - Paradigm Rigging has worked with Christie Lites to monitor the loads with BroadWeigh wireless load cells on The Killers Wonderful Wonderful world tour. Michael Sorowka, CEO, Paradigm Rigging, explains: "In September we were brought to New Jersey where The Killers were doing technical rehearsals and programming of the show before their UK leg. There we had 56 cells in play to weight the full show before it hit its first arenas. “From initial versions, cells were originally going to be specified for some of the larger video walls and two mother grids to help with determining load distribution, but through a few minor design revisions, elements of that changed which in turn changed the needs of the load cells for the run." The set gives a strong Las Vegas feel consisting of large flown marquee arrows lined in neon, pointing downward to the stage as w
USA - Lighting and visuals designer Tom Sutherland incorporated 110 Spikies into his lighting rig of over 600 fixtures for rapper Pitbull’s current Time Of Our Lives residency at the Axis Theatre, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. “We had brand new 470W HMI lamps right next to the Spikies, and on a few occasions, I couldn't tell which lamp was which,” stated lighting and visuals designer Tom Sutherland talking about rapper Pitbull’s current Time Of Our Lives residency playing at the Axis Theatre, Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas. Tom first started working with the popular artist, record producer and activist over the last year, and was asked to redesign his show by producer Macarena Moreno with whom he had previously worked on The Latin Grammys. Pitbull’s Las Vegas residency has been running for the last couple of years, usually in blocks of three o
