USA - Bandit Lites returned to the ocean for another spectacular weekend at the Hangout Music Festival, where the beach provided a picturesque backdrop for the thousands that made the trek to the sandy shores. This year’s line-up boasted a wide range of artists, such as Mumford & Sons, Chance the Rapper, Phoenix, Major Lazer, Weezer, MGMT, Sigur Ros, Band of Horses, Franz Ferdinand and Charli XCX. While the musical acts coupled with a weekend at the beach were reason enough to attend Hangout, festival goers could also experience a host of activities ranging from beach volley ball, an ocean side Ferris wheel, beach club, arcade, puppy kissing booth and even a legitimate wedding chapel. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the festival’s main stage, rightfully dubbed the Hangout Stage, Fitz’s Stage, along with the Surf Stage, which flanked the main stag
Poland - Gamers from around the globe gathered recently once again in the International Conference Centre in Katowice, for the world’s biggest annual online gaming event: the Intel Extreme Masters. With this year’s event seeing gamers compete in various games such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and StarCraft II, the task of designing a suitably impactful staging concept fell for the second year in a row to Polish production house, Aram. This year’s secret weapon came in the form of 16 Chauvet Professional STRIKE 1 and 16 STRIKE 882 strobe fixtures, which Aram incorporated within a spectacular visual production including live video gaming and pyrotechnics. “With the event expanding so dynamically in recent years, the pressure was certainly on to create new looks and breath-taking visuals for 2017,” commented Michal
UK - David Atkinson Lighting Design (DALD) recently completed the lighting design for the Robots exhibition at the Science Museum, London. This intriguing exhibition features a unique collection of over 100 robots, from a 16th century mechanical monk to robots from science fiction and modern-day research labs. Set in five different times, Robots explores how religious belief, the industrial revolution, popular culture and dreams about the future have all shaped society through the different robots on display. Recent developments from robotics research are also on show, allowing the visitor to explore how and, more importantly, why roboticists are building robots that resemble us and interact in human-like ways. The exhibition encourages the visitors to imagine what a shared future with robots would be like, with the latest humanoid robots in action.
India - During the Palm Expo Mumbai trade show, MA team members kept a keen eye on companies offering and selling MA copies. Says the company: “In a couple of cases, these copies were identified and MA successfully ensured that they were immediately banned from the booth of the offering company. “Furthermore, MA made it extremely clear to these companies that it will not tolerate anyone selling or distributing copies, and that MA reserves the right to take legal action against anyone engaging in this practice. “Additionally, all companies offering MA copies were prompted to delete all catalogues, brochures etc. displaying or referring to MA copies. MA Lighting products are protected by a wide range of patents, which include software, hardware and design, whether used on Linux or Windows platforms. MA Lighting really appreciates the support given by the org
Ireland - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) have been appointed as the exclusive distributor in Ireland for the Luminex range of high performance networking solutions, following a successful partnership with the brand since being appointed as their exclusive UK distributor in 2014. Over the past three years, AC-ET have employed their extensive industry knowledge and experience to grow the adoption of Luminex products to their large customer base of entertainment technology dealers and end users. Neil Vann, AC-ET’s brand manager for Luminex commented: “Luminex have built a great reputation and client base here in the UK, with their high-quality products and fantastic customer service. Their products are innovative and user friendly. We were delighted when the deal was confirmed for us to be their exclusive distributor for Ireland as well.” Sales manage
UK - Last weekend UK d‘n’b duo Sigma became the first drum and bass act – complete with full band - to play London’s Royal Albert Hall. Creating a very special visuality for this ground-breaking gig in the world-famous venue was show designer Andy Hurst. He used a combination of lighting equipment supplied by Blackburn rental company HSL and the in-house rig, and worked alongside a crew of three from HSL. Lasers - fast becoming a Hurst show signature – were delivered by ER; LED screens, cameras and projection were from Video Illusions and BPM supplied the pyro. The pressure was on for Andy to produce something amazing in the short timeframe. The get-in was 7 a.m. on showday, so the rig had to be quick and practical to install as well as looking great! While some elements of a show can be pre-visualised, there is still a lot of programming that can’t b
UK - Big Box Digital Media has lent added colour and sparkle to two of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions. The company has installed powerful colour changing LED fixtures from Chauvet DJ at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in Blackpool and at several Sea Life Centre locations. At Madame Tussauds, the Intimidator Spot 255 IRC LED moving head positioned at the museum entrance creates a colourful and exciting welcoming atmosphere for guests. With its built-in automated programmes, selectable pan and tilt, dimming, split beam, three-facet prism and gobo effects, the Intimidators provide the museum with an endless variety of engaging looks for its entrance area. At Sea Life Centre, Big Box installed a variety of fixtures including the Abyss LED 3.0, COREpar 40 USB and Intimidator Spot 255 IRC. The installation comes as part of a wide-ranging visual overhaul to provide re
USA - Luke Bryan lighting designer Justin Kitchenman of Align Design Group used 100 of Elation Professional’s compact ACL 360i fixtures in a spectacular upstage wall of lighting effects on the artist’s 2016 Kill the Lights tour. For the country music star’s current Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day tour, the designer again turned to the narrow-beam LED lights, deciding to add an additional 80 units in his new design. “We used the ACL 360i as a feature on last year’s tour so I know what they are capable of,” comments the LD, who is entering his seventh year with Luke Bryan. “I was blown away by them. The beam can punch through, even with the other lights on. They are lightweight and low profile and worked out really well.” The Kill the Lights tour played a final string of dates in February and March with the newly designed Huntin, Fishin' and
UK - The latest release of DMX-Workshop - a powerful, free software package for managing Art-Net networks - is now available for download from the Artistic Licence website. Developed by Artistic Licence - the company that invented Art-Net - DMX-Workshop is a network management, analysis, configuration and diagnostics tool. The latest version has some new features, and is optimised for Windows 10 (although it remains compatible with Windows XP, 7 and 8). Based on customer feedback, the designers have added automated configuration the first time DMX-Workshop is run. This application will detect whether you are running on an account with a high enough privilege level and warn if not (DMX-Workshop needs administrator privileges). It also automatically opens routes through the firewall for ICMP and UDP messages. Additionally it will search all available network interfaces a
UK - Philips Lighting has announced the launch of its new Philips Vari-Lite VL1100 LED luminaire for stage and television applications. The global launch will take place at the 2017 ABTT Theatre Show (6-7 June 2017, Alexandra Palace, London). The new Philips VL1100 LED has been designed as a seamless, low-energy replacement for the popular VL1100 ellipsoidal reflector spotlight, a favourite tungsten moving head fixture for many lighting designers. High quality, high-CRI light output, consistent colour reproduction and a perfect 'tungsten' colour shift emulation are therefore key to its design. These characteristics are all delivered by an exclusive new 3200K Philips LED light engine, which succeeds in making the Philips VL1100 LED the first moving head fixture to offer a true alternative to the traditional tungsten source. In addition, the Philips VL1100 LED offers the
Denmark - Popular Danish R&B and pop singer Burhan G is on the road with a new set and lighting design by Theis Wemuth of Aarhus based creative visual practice, Create This, with Robe Spiiders, BMFLs and Pointes right at the core of the aesthetic. Theis started his lighting design career 12 years ago and is well known in Denmark for his imagination and thinking ‘out-of-the-box’. He was asked by the artist to produce a design for the tour which promotes his latest album Pas på pigerne (Beware of Girls) which features a big band sound and style bringing a new dimension to his diverse repertoire. This set the tone for the lighting and scenic design proposed by Theis, for which he specified 18 Robe Spiiders and 25 x BMFL Spots, which are being supplied to the tour by rental company Comtech. There's no video on the tour, so it’s down to music and lighting to enha
USA - Lighting designers all have their own individual styles, and they go about the business of reflecting their clients’ music in slightly different ways. As a designer himself, John Garberson fully appreciates that, which is why “flexibility” was one of his primary goals when he put together the West Stage lighting rig for the 2017 Pot of Gold festival at the Rawhide Centre outside Phoenix. Helping him create a festival rig that could support the different styles of a very varied mix of nine visiting LDs was a collection of Maverick, Rogue and STRIKE fixtures from Chauvet Professional. “We have been doing the Pot of Gold festival for a number of years,” said Garberson of Creative BackStage. “This year, we decided to go from an old school 120K system to a mostly LED and moving light rig. The move saved on generators, gas, labor and rigging costs. Going be
USA - The summer is off to a full swing, with massive tours hitting the road, meaning Bandit Lites has again invested in increasing its already expansive touring inventory, this time purchasing Robe PATT 2013 fixtures. While harkening back to vintage, broadcast lighting looks, the elegant design of the Robe PATT 2013 provides a new element of mood and stage lighting, all the while considering the need for lighting designers to utilize fixtures that will not only meet the booming retro-style trend, but also provide warm tungsten eye-candy looks. “The Robe Patt 2013 brings a cool, sleek, retro conventional fixture to our inventory,” said Bandit’s director of technical services, Jake Tickle. “Robe has done a great job bringing this style of fixture back to the market, with more offerings in this range on the way.” These fixtures have been most recently uti
UK - Avolites' trailblazing lighting and video integration system is 'heaven sent' for lighting designer James Bawn on his latest large-scale project, live arena spectacular Heaven on Earth, which will be touring UK arenas between 4 December 2017 and 12 May 2018. The large-scale musical, produced by Eden International Productions, is a classic re-telling of the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. Written by Sara Jeffs and directed by Racky Plews, the musical boasts an original musical score and arrangements by Geoff Alexander. "The story is fantastic," says Bawn, who has been developing the production's lighting and video design for the past year. "Creatively, the production has really demanded that we all push the boundaries of our own area of expertise." Bawn, who worked closely with stage designer Jacqueline Pyle on the production, describes the creative pro
Russia - Claypaky's SharBar, the LED-based multi-beam effects light fixture, has been used to great effect on a live concert by popular Russian band, My Michelle, at the Volta Club, Moscow with lighting design by Russian designers David Misakyan and Dmitry Buryak. Led by singer-songwriter Tanya Tkachuk, the band has enjoyed great success across Russia with its modern, soulful pop sound. For the Volta Club concert, My Michelle's producer, Pavlo Shevchuk, worked with Misakyan and Buryak to create a 'cool, club show' feel for audiences. The design played to the venue's compact 8m x 6m stage area, with a height of just 4.85m overhead to the stationary truss structures. Misakyan explains: "When we thought about the production design we wanted something more than just truss warmers and colour washes - we needed a fixture suitable for dance pop-music, which would look good in
UK - Aurora continue to invest in energy efficient light sources with a host of new additions to their LED product range. As part of a pan-company programme to invest in both products and people, broadcast lighting specialists Aurora are expanding their range of LED and low energy light sources with a significant intake of new equipment. Commenting on the investment, head of lighting at VER and Aurora, David March says: “As lighting technology continues to move forward we are witnessing a definite shift in the preference for specifying LED products. To properly reflect this growing trend we are making sure we have the very latest technology available to clients operating throughout all areas of our industry.” Following on from the recent purchase of Chroma-Q Space Force, Rosco Silk 210 and Mole Richardson Vari-Soft Softlights, Aurora have now grown their inve
Italy - Leading Italian lighting manufacturer Claypaky is proud to have been the Headline Sponsor and host of the Showlight 2017 conference, which closed on 23 May after three extremely successful days in Florence. Over a three-year period, the Claypaky team has worked closely with the Showlight committee to help produce this extraordinary event. Showlight combines a unique mix of elements - a world-class conference, an exhibition of manufacturers and service providers, and a rich and varied social and cultural programme designed to maximize networking opportunities among delegates, manufacturers, lighting designers and students. Attracting a broad range of the world's leading lighting designers and practitioners, Showlight happens just once every four years, and has long been a favourite event on the professional show lighting industry's calendar. Staged in the beauti
USA - Visitors to this year’s InfoComm – America’s largest tradeshow for AV solutions – can expect an exceptional line-up of exciting new lighting innovations from Elation Professional. Held June 14-16 at the Orange County Convention Centre in Orlando, Elation Booth 7345/7243 will feature a number of innovations like the Artiste DaVinci, a full-featured, high-output theatrical-grade LED moving head spot luminaire with a host of colour and graphics possibilities for the creative LD. A new breed of hybrid luminaire, Elation’s versatile full-colour Paladin strobe/wash/blinder effect light, recently used as a feature light on the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest, will also be on display. The multi-functional Paladin is also IP65 protected for use in all types of environments. The new Proteus line of IP-rated arc-source moving heads also headline an outstandin
South Africa - This year will celebrate the sixth St Mary’s Battle of the Bands competition and for the third year DWR Distribution is a sponsor once again, prizes including a dot2 Node, DMX Dongle and training. The competition has moved on in regards to the technical rig and now includes a National Schools Lighting Competition. Barry Stydom gives feedback on the growth and interest from the children in this exciting project. Barry Strydom is the manager at St Mary’s The Edge Theatre in Johannesburg and has been part of Battle of the Bands since the very start. “Six years ago, we started with a totally generic rig with piles of gobos and gels,” he smiles. “It has grown to a point where any professional band would be happy to perform on the set. Then in 2015 we introduced a lighting competition and while for the last two years only Johannesburg schools have been inv
USA - With 16 studio albums and nearly 60m records sold worldwide, the multi-platinum recording artist Alan Jackson has solidified himself as one of country music’s leading talents. In a career that spans over three decades, Jackson is still hard at work touring the nation for his dedicated fans. Needing a new production design to support the current Honk Tonk Highway Tour, the management team once again enlisted the creativity of Craig Rutherford, Blueshift Design, who in turn called upon Nashville-based tour provider Elite Multimedia. “Since we have had such a long relationship with Alan, he is sort of ‘hands off’ when it comes to the designing of the production for his tours,” began Rutherford. “I typically start the process by reviewing the designs from previous tours, and then finding new ways to change it up to keep the tour fresh. Afterwards, I then speak
USA - Long before the cry “Drivers Start Your Engines” marked the start of the 101st Indianapolis 500 at 12:14 pm on Sunday 28 May, over 30,000 EDM fans at the speedway were already racing through some slick bangers at The Snake Pit Presented By Coors Light. Held on the track’s infield at Turn 3, this one-day festival within an auto race kicked off at 7 am and kept going until the chequered flag was waved track side. Accenting the performances from the likes of Zedd, Marshmello, and Adventure Club at this year’s event was a Collyns Stenzel designed light and video show that relied on Chauvet Professional COLORado fixtures to help it stand out against the Indiana sun. “This is my third year designing this show,” said Stenzel of White Light AV. “It’s fun to see all these fans have the time of their lives in a unique setting. However, there’s also a chal
UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) supported LD Richard Bowles in lighting one of the biggest nights in the current election campaign as Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn faced a live audience and Jeremy Paxman in May v Corbyn Live: The Battle for Number 10. Aired live from Sky Studios on Sky News and Channel 4, Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May separately faced audience questions before being grilled by Jeremy Paxman on key issues such as Brexit, social care and the economy. With the General Election just a week away and the polls narrowing between the two main political parties, the night proved illuminating on both sides. Lighting for May v Corbyn Live was designed by Richard Bowles, supported by RML and a vast rig was employed. As well as the interior lighting for the debate, Richard also designed the lighting that surrounded the exterior of the studio and an emphasis was
Argentina - Award winning Argentinian lighting designer Ariel del Mastro was asked to add his own touches of lighting inspiration to latest thrilling stage show created by choreographer / producer Flavio Mendoza, Mahatma, which played the summer season at the Luxor Theatre in Villa Carlos Paz, Cordoba and has now transferred to the Teatro Broadway in Buenos Aires. The show is Indian influenced, featuring a blend of exuberant and reflective music and dance capturing the humour, colour, diversity and wisdom of the culture in a vibrant and animated performance for which Ariel chose Robe moving lights as his principal fixtures. Fourteen Spikies, 18 Spiiders and 16 Squares were on the rig at the Luxor – the first time all of these new fixtures made their theatrical debut in Argentina. The big challenge in lighting the show, said Ariel, was to capture the man
USA - In a move to expand their International sales division, Altman Lighting has announced the appointment of Jaime Friedstadt as their new international sales director. With a wealth of knowledge in both the architectural and entertainment lighting industries, Friedstadt will now manage the Altman Lighting sales channels in the Caribbean, Latin American, European, Middle Eastern and African markets. “With the expansion of our product offerings and our growth in a worldwide market, we are very fortunate to have Jaime join us to reinforce our efforts and expand our market presence accordingly,” stated Julie Smith, Altman Lighting general manager. Friedstadt has over 20 years of experience providing quality sales support and generating client relationships for a number of entertainment and architectural lighting manufacturers. Prior to joining Altman Lighting, Fried
