Croatia - Prljavo Kazalište celebrate 40 years of hits and stardom with a world tour which kicked off with a show at the Spaladium Arena in Split, with lighting designed by Sven Kučinić of LumiLas LLC, who has worked for the band for the last six years and is also a big Robe advocate. Sven again specified Robe fixtures to light this show, where the challenge was on to create a spectacular but scalable design to work for the whole of the upcoming tour which plays various sized venues and is scheduled to run for the rest of this landmark year in the band’s amazing career. Sven had carte blanch to come up with cool, practical and spectacular ideas, although as always, budget was a consideration and the goal was to create something really impressive without busting the bank! Known for his imagination, style and ingenuity, Sven produced another great looking resu
USA - The 2017 Ultra Miami dance music festival drew a diverse line-up and some of the biggest international DJs and producers to the Bayfront Park site in downtown Miami, transforming it from a cool shorefront public space to a pleasure dome for around 150,000 electronic music fans for the weekend, enjoying the warmth, good vibes and music. Robe moving lights were specified for four of the main performance areas – the Carl Cox & Friends Arena, Main Stage, Live Stage and Arcadia - the world’s favourite giant spider made from recycled industrial waste, which is newly lit with Robe after a major investment by Arcadia Spectacular. The production lighting design for the Carl Cox & Friends Arena was created by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting, celebrating 18 years in the Ultra Miami ‘hot seat’ - the festival is 20 years old next year. For Carl Cox &
Peru - It’s been four years since Justin Bieber performed in the Peruvian capital, and fans of the Canadian superstar have built up quite a case of Bieber Fever during that time. Some 30,000 of them jammed into Lima’s National Stadium when the singer’s worldwide Purpose tour stopped in Peru this spring. Setting the visual tone for the concert and reflecting the growing maturity of Bieber as an artist was a Cory FitzGerald-designed multi-faceted Purpose tour lightshow. Providing some intense crowd and stage illumination for the tour’s Lima stop was a collection of 60 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Hybrid moving heads, supplied by DBLUX-SAC, which provided audio, lighting, video and power for the concert. Andrés Cuadros, who co-owns the company with Guillermo Riera, was confident placing the Maverick fixtures at this concert, which was produced by Move, becau
The Netherlands - The cultural centre De Oosterpoort in Groningen has purchased a range of Claypaky moving head fixtures as part of a major technical upgrade to the centre's lighting and audio departments. De Oosterpoort's long-term lighting rental and sales partner Lichtpunt Theatertechnieks recommended and supplied 26 x Claypaky Scenius Spot, 26 x Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K10 and 16 x Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K10 CC for use across De Oosterpoort's large 1150 capacity concert hall and smaller 450-seat chamber hall. "When the tender for De Oosterpoort came up in March 2016 and the client asked for us to supply them with profiles, washes and effect washes I knew straight away to suggest Claypaky products," says Leon van Warmerdam, sales manager at Lichtpunt. "Since first seeing the Claypaky moving head range at Prolight + Sound 2015 Lichtpunt has always been very enthusiastic
Estonia - Robe’s DL4S Profiles and DL4F Fresnels – 52 in total – have been specified and installed at the new Nuku (Puppet) Theatre in Tallinn. This world-famous theatre has just opened a completely new space – formally an outside courtyard - at its theatre complex in the heart of the picturesque and vibrant Estonian capital. The project is one of the latest in a number of high profile theatre installations of Robe DL series LED moving lights around the world. The luminaires have been specifically designed for performance applications, combining all the benefits of LED technology with the refined features and functionality expected from a theatrical fixture. The new Ferdinand Stage at the Nuku Theatre now becomes the main venue. Its development includes a new entrance and foyer which have been integrated seamlessly and stylishly into the existing building. The
UK - As the doors close on another year of PLASA Focus Leeds, enthusiasm from the industry proves that the show’s Focus formula remains a perfect fit. Providing the ideal platform for many UK debuts of new products, the show’s many networking opportunities and leading seminar programme combining expert-led sessions and hands-on training, make for a truly unmissable show. Spread over two halls of the Royal Armouries, the showfloor was packed with hundreds of brands showcasing the latest audio, lighting, AV, broadcast, rigging and stage technology – including UK debuts from many of the industry’s major players. New releases in audio included, Shure’s UK launch of the Axient Digital Wireless System; Martin Audio showed their Wavefront Precision Series - a new generation of multi-purpose line array; Bose introduced the ShowMatch DeltaQ Array loudspeaker fo
UAE - As part of the continued effort to help international designers take on projects across industries, global design and BIM software developer Vectorworks, Inc. is welcoming First Star Computer as the new United Arab Emirates (UAE) Vectorworks software distributor. With Vectorworks Architect, First Star Computer adds the leading cross-platform BIM product to its portfolio, along with the rest of the product line, including Landmark, Spotlight, Designer, Fundamentals and Vision. “With the dedicated team at First Star Computer and their years of experience, we know that they will help us to reach new audiences, while providing top-quality support for our existing community of designers in the UAE,” said Vectorworks CEO Dr. Biplab Sarkar. With more than 12 years of experience in the CAD industry, First Star Computer has a team of expert engineers who curren
USA - Located in Columbus, Georgia, Cascade Hills Church is a congregation filled with parishioners from all walks of life who wish to come together for a spirit-filled worship experience. Like many other churches worldwide, the technical elements behind that worship experience, including the architectural house lights, are becoming an important component to the overall sanctuary design. With an aging house lighting system of their own, Cascade Hills Church recently worked with the integration division of their longtime partner Morris, and renovated their house lighting design with Chalice LED Pendant and Recessed LED downlights from Altman Lighting. “This was actually our third technology installation at Cascade Hills Church where we have previously retrofitted their theatrical lighting, video and audio systems,” began Dustin Burggraff, Morris integration divisio
USA - Nashville’s 19th Annual Grammy Block Party returned to Cumberland Park for a party for Recording Academy’s yearly member’s event. Chris Lisle Lighting Design utilised a lighting package from Bandit Lites where musical performances included Grammy-award winning super group, Lady Antebellum, Anderson East, Moon Taxi, CeCe Winans and Muddy Magnolias. With the Nashville cityscape as a backdrop to the festivities, it is a far cry from the small stage outside of the Nashville Grammy offices that production manager Chris Lisle illuminated nearly 20 years ago. In addition to providing the lighting for the show, Chris Lisle Lighting Design (with support from Mark Anderson from their home office) also provided the production management for the stage and performances. “We couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it and to partner with the Recording Academy to
USA - Fans of Mastodon weren’t surprised when three of the band’s members appeared in an episode of Game of Thrones. Like the HBO hit, the music of this group reveals itself in lavishly detailed layers of fantasy that fire the imagination and leave easy categorisations smouldering by the wayside. The complex Mastodon experience is on full display in the quartet’s 30-city North American Emperor of Sand tour, not just in the epochal music, but also in the highly evocative light and video show that Michael Howe created and controls with the new ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium and Magic HD media server. The Emperor of Sand album takes listeners on a cosmic odyssey through time as it follows a man sentenced to death in a majestic but cruel desert. Howe’s design evokes rich imagery that reflects this musical narrative with seven 2’ wide by 14’ tall vid
USA - The Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) has celebrated William Shakespeare’s legacy since 1935 with another busy summer season of plays underway. OSF also stages plays by other playwrights and is presenting UniSon at the Angus Bowmer Theatre through October, a new musical inspired by the poetry of August Wilson. Lighting designer Alex Jainchill is using dynamic lighting from Elation Professional on the play, including ZCL 360 Bar wash/effect lights and Platinum Wash 16R Pro moving heads, as well as colour-changing Elation Flex LED Tape. UniSon is the story of a dying poet who leaves a mysterious box to his apprentice with strict instructions to destroy it. The apprentice opens it however, releasing seven ‘Terrors’ that tormented the poet through his life. The seven different Terrors allowed Jainchill to use six of the ZCL 360 Bar fixtures to tr
UK -Currently running at The Vaults beneath London’s Waterloo Station, Alice’s Adventures Underground is an immersive theatrical retelling of the classic Alice in Wonderland story. Presented by theatre company Les Enfants Terribles, the play originally ran last year at the same venue and was nominated for an Olivier Award. White Light originally supplied the lighting equipment and have done so once again on this occasion. Alice’s Adventures Underground allows audience members to meet some of Wonderland’s most famous and curious inhabitants, take tea at the biggest unbirthday party with the maddest of hatters and even join the underground movement to rise against the fearsome Queen of Hearts. The lighting designer is Mike Gunning, who comments: “I have worked on shows similar in the past such as Punchdrunk’s The Drowned Man. My br
Germany - The new Claypaky SharBar and other Claypaky products were used by a trio of young artists at the annual artistic lighting awards LiO (Light is Osram) Awards 2017 in their winning installation The 5th Dimension, hosted at Munich's historic event space, the Praterinsel, by German lighting manufacturer Osram. The winning installation was designed by the artists Eylül Aslan, Sola Thoma and Frederic Hanen to explore the spatial interplay of light and dark. The artists used the SharBar in conjunction with the Claypaky Show-Batten 100 and architectural lighting product the Claypaky Odeon Flood to construct an immersive light show described by judging light artist Ingo Maurer as a "fascinating personal experience". "The 5th Dimension installation created a series of emerging walls and columns of light that appear to create a 'fifth dimension', making l
UK - Robe co-hosted a ground-breaking LED Theatrical event staged by staff and students on the Theatre Production course at Guildford School of Acting (GSA), part of the University of Surrey. The Czech Republic based manufacturer supplied around 50 LED luminaires to the event and to GSA’s 2017 gala musical production staged at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in central Guildford, Surrey, including its DL7 theatrical range - plus the new Spiider LED wash beam, CycFX 8s, Spikies and VIVAs - plus technical support. The idea of an LED Theatre event was originated by GSA Lighting Tutor Mig Burgess and facilitated by Ashley Lewis from Robe UK. She wanted to devise some innovative and fresh ways to demonstrate lighting technologies in a working environment. Several productions are staged across the university's various venues over an academic year and Mig felt that as theatre pro
Finland - AVITA Audiovisual Expo, the largest trade fair of the audiovisual industry in the Nordic countries, will bring together players in the industry at Messukeskus in Helsinki on 26–27 September. The fair will showcase new products and services of both domestic and international players in the sector, and the interesting briefings and training sessions it offers will also provide a good foundation for sharing professional information. The two-day event has been revamped and will showcase a wide selection of new products and services in the audio visual industry. Both domestic and international importers, manufacturers and service providers in the audiovisual sector will showcase their new products and services for visitors – both for those who use audio visual devices as tools or to support their operations and for those who are planning to buy audio visual products
USA - Chauvet Professional has extended the Maverick family with the introduction of the Maverick MK3 Wash, a powerful and intensely bright RGBW LED moving wash. Powered by 27 40W Osram Ostar LEDs, the new pixel mappable fixture has the output and performance features needed for even the largest arena applications, says the company. “We were very encouraged by the response to our Maverick series when it was introduced last year,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Designers who embraced Maverick told us they wanted a wash fixture for larger venues that had all of the features they valued in the series. The MK3 Wash is the next step for Maverick.” As is true of all Maverick models, the MK3 Wash has fast and smooth pan and tilt movements, but its output and brightness have been seriously stepped up for long throw applications. Depending on the zoom angle, the
USA - Built in the 1980’s, Christ the Redeemer Parish Church is a thriving part of the community in Atco, New Jersey. From more humble beginnings, when Deacon Charles “Chick” McAleer was part of the team that helped wire the original Church, the initial sound system used just six pendant style loudspeakers distributed down the sides of the congregation seating. Localisation, intelligibility and overall sound quality were lacking for today’s worship services, which can be attended by over 800 people. Music now also plays a much greater part in many services. The Church found JD Sound & Video through an internet search and, after seeing the work they had done for other local churches and Catholic high schools, invited them for a consultation. JD Sound & Video designed a system using Community’s E Eries Entasys loudspeakers, having previously used them with gr
South Africa - Lighting designer, Michael Broderick will present a theatre lighting workshop at DWR Distribution on 25 May from 9am to 5pm. Working as a lighting designer for over 15 years, Michael is keen to mentor people, particularly youngsters, who have a passion for theatre. Topics include: Aims and Objectives of Stage Lighting; Controllable Properties of Light; Light and Colour;Lighting Positions and Angles; Lighting Instruments; Dimmers and Control and The Basics of Stage Design. (Jim Evans)
USA - Philips Lighting has announced that its stage lighting is providing lighting effects central to the artistic stage design of the Chicago-based alternative rock band Wilco’s world tour. In support of the tenth studio album, Schmilco, the tour is visiting the US, Europe and South America. Lighting designer Jeremy Roth has pronounced the Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 Spot "integral" to the tour's ambitious theatrical set design - which is stylistically closer to a Broadway or an opera backdrop than a standard rock and roll set. Wilco front-man Jeff Tweedy's visual concept for the tour was inspired by a 3D-forest scene theatre set in a Masonic temple in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In true experimental Wilco style, Tweedy wanted to emulate this juxtaposition of the natural world and overt theatricality for the band's show. He called upon Roth, the band's lighting design
South Africa - The Blue Man Group visited South Africa for the very first time in February and March this year and, whilst performing at The Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg, they celebrated the 200th performance of their world tour. South African sound engineer, Christo Davis, has worked with Blue Man Group for the past year, mixing an average of four shows or more a week on a DiGiCo SD7, with his deputy sound engineer covering the rest. The Blue Man Group, established in New York by three friends in 1991, are known for their award-winning shows that captivate audiences with music, comedy, fresh stories, custom instruments and technology. “I did a show with them in Australia about four years ago and I just hit it off with the sound designer,” says Christo. “We have similar philosophies and approaches on how we like to do things and he’d been trying to ge
USA - The lively and varied 2017 US festival season continues with the 2017 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival staged at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, where Robe moving lights were chosen by leading LDs like Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting who specified Spiiders and Pointes for the Yuma stage and Gabriel Fraboni, who added 90 x Spikies as specials for Dutch DJ Martin Garrix’s two sets in the Sahara Tent over the event’s two weekends. The 125,000-capacity festival is one of the U.S.’s highest profile music and arts extravaganzas. It’s also one of the most in demand festivals, with 2017’s nearly 200,000 tickets selling out in three hours despite 52,000 more being available over the weekend than in 2016. Steve Lieberman and Los Angeles based SJ Lighting has been involved in designing the Yuma Stage since it started six years ago and works in
UK - The South Downs Planetarium at the Sir Patrick Moore building in Chichester, Sussex, UK, reopened following a technology upgrade and installation of a new media server and show control system from 7thSense Design. The upgrade of the 100-seat star theatre was led by Brighton-based immersive experience experts TEQ4. Working closely with TEQ4, 7thSense integrated a single Delta Nano Media Server and show control system as a cost-effective yet powerful solution for the two-channel fulldome display. Martin Howe, founder and managing director of TEQ4 commented, “Delta was the obvious package for this project. It can play uncompressed images straight from Fulldome content without the time-consuming slicing that is often necessary. Also, the enhanced User Interface feature allows the operators to control the entire system from a browser running on a tablet. This all-in-
Europe - Holotronica, owner of Holo-Gauze, 3D display solution for large hologram effects, has announced Gerriets GmbH as its exclusive European sales partner. The German company will distribute Holo-Gauze in the UK, Europe and Russia and featured the system on its stand at Prolight and Sound in Frankfurt. “Gerriets is enthusiastic about this partnership with Holotronica for Holo-Gauze and is looking forward to a great future for this product,” comments Andreas Gause, director for marketing and key account management at Gerriets. “We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Gerriets and look forward to seeing Holo-Gauze being used in even more countries and for even more fantastic events and broadcasts,” says Holo-Gauze inventor and Holotronica owner/CEO Stuart Warren-Hill. “Holo-Gauze is ideal for live events, allowing live performers to be situated
UK - Avolites has announced the appointment of Canada's AVL Media Group and Malaysia's Acoustic & Lighting System (A&L) as its new distribution partners for Canada and South-East Asia respectively. The two new partnerships will see Avolites' products available across Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. The move comes at a time when the Avolites' brand enjoys its largest order book in company history and a rapidly growing international client base. Of the Canadian expansion Andrew Hope, managing director of AVL Media Group, says, "Avolites is an iconic brand offering an exceptional portfolio of lighting and video products, unique in the Canadian market." The AVL Media Group partnership was officially launched at Expo-Scène - the only major Canadian event dedicated to lighting, sound, and video technologies. The trade show was held at the
