UK - London’s Gotham City-inspired Park Row ‘theatrical restaurant’ has been installed with visual infrastructure by creative projection specialist Motion Mapping, to enable the venue to host immersive events. At the heart of the setup is a Green Hippo Hippotizer Mayon+ MK2 media server, which is driving image and video content, including for a DC Universe game launch which saw a 280-degree projection of pre-programmed custom graphics onto four surfaces that enveloped the space, using seven Optoma ZH406ST projectors. Motion Mapping was tasked with specifying a permanent projection and video manipulation solution for the venue, and designing a touch screen GUI interface that would allow simple operation of the content via the Hippotizer Mayon+ MK2 - Green Hippo’s two HDMI output Hippotizer system designed for smaller live events and installations. “At o
South Africa - English singer-songwriter, Calum Scott, who found fame following his 2015 appearance on Britain’s Got Talent, recently performed to a full crowd at Zevenwacht Wine Estate in Cape Town as part of his Bridges album tour, supported by local artists Craig Lucas and Werner Bekker. The event, attended by 2000 fans, was organised by Breakout Events with Ultra Events responsible for delivering the technical solutions on the day. “Zevenwacht Wine Estate is an interesting venue, as the front row is at stage height and the back row rises to an elevation of 8m, due to a natural slope,” explains Costa Champanis, owner of Ultra Events. “The brief was to provide great sounding audio for all guests, from the front row to the back row.” Ultra specified a full d&b Audiotechnik system. The main PA system consisted of 12 d&b V8 mid-hi
USA - The live finals of American Idol 2023 moved to a new venue - Red Studios Hollywood - giving lighting designer Tom Sutherland of DX7 design and production designer Florian Wieder the chance to create a fresh and new look in this special space, which has embraced history and innovation in film and TV production since the early 20th century. Tom included plenty of Robe moving lights on his lighting plot, including 137 MegaPointes, about which he states, “I would not do a show without MegaPointes.” These were joined by 104 Robe Tetra2 moving LED battens. He also used 49 Spiider LED wash beams, together with BMFL Blade Follow Spots. The new set was one starting point for his lighting design concept. Elegant and modern, the performance area was a distinctive diamond shape, and the overall set incorporated a host of LED sources: screens, panelling, an
Europe - Metallica launched their M72 World Tour on 27 April in Amsterdam with Rob Koenig again at the helm as lighting designer, an outing that has the thrash rockers playing a two-night, no-repeat schedule in cities across Europe and North America. Koenig crafts customised lighting looks using 600+ automated lights, a rig that includes Proteus Excalibur sky beams from Elation Professional. Lighting supply is by Premier Global Production. Koenig has been part of the Metallica family since 2008. He started as lighting director under John Broderick, eventually moved into the lighting designer role and is now on his fourth record cycle with the band. Metallica is touring in support of its eleventh studio album, 72 Seasons, which released in April. The number 72, which refers to the number of seasons in a person’s formative first 18 years of life, is a th
USA - By calling their facility The Venue, the United Auburn Indian Community and Thunder Valley Casino Resort left no doubt about the goal they set for this 4,500-seat indoor theatre located outside Sacramento. Their new attraction was designed to stand-out from the pack and define its own category. Featuring shows by artists like The Eagles, Bruno Mars, Santana with Bryan Adams, The Black Crowes, and Ringo Starr, The Venue, which was built to replace the casino’s outdoor amphitheatre, offers top-flight entertainment in an engaging and supportive setting. Contributing to the fan experience at the facility are three massive video walls made with over 550 Chauvet Professional F3X LED tiles supplied and installed by CTM Sound of Sacramento, which has worked with the casino since 2010. CTM used 255 of the 3.9mm high-res panels to create an impressive 50ft wide cen
Denmark - Theatre and musical producers Lion Entertainment turned to automation specialist Motor Stage Automation (MSA) to provide specialist knowledge and equipment for three major moving elements and control for its production of musical Pretty Woman. The system included Kinesys motors and control, Litec trussing and EXE trolleys in MSA custom touring dollies, and an ALFA Systems double revolve, all of which helped bring a fantastic set design by Benjamin la Cour to life, enhancing the narrative set to music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Valance. The automation system was specified and designed by MSA’s Christian Vigsø in conjunction with the requirements of Lion Entertainment’s automation supervisor, Thomas Sunesen, who also operated the Kinesys Vector console running everything on the road. The show featured three specific aspects that needed
USA - Lorna Shore doesn’t hesitate to bend or break rules in order to expand their musical horizons, readily adding techno and symphonic elements to their signature metalcore sound. But when it comes to lighting, the band and their LD, Nate Haber, do have one edict that they’re pretty strict about: limit the use of front light. “The band and I have come up with a few guidelines regarding front light,” said Haber. “In no particular order it goes something like this: the default is that they have no front light. Also, we try to keep Austin and his drum set as lit as possible. When Adam has a guitar solo he always needs light; and when Will is talking to the crowd, he needs light too. There are a few other parts in songs where I light the band because it feels right. In those cases, typically, if you can see one member of the band you can see them all, but at this poi
UK - Creative Technology UK supported the technical delivery of National Geographic Explorers Festival in London, a flagship event that takes place all over the globe, with previous locations including Mexico, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Washington, D.C. National Geographic’s long-time partner e2k Events x Entertainment have a long-standing global relationship with Creative Technology and the UK team were very happy to support by providing video solutions to the event this time around. 2023 brought the festival to the Royal Institution of Great Britain, in London, attracting both leading and upcoming explorers ‘back to base camp’ for an experience of knowledge sharing and ‘science telling’. The historic operating theatre style of the venue allowed for a unique viewing platform for all the attendees, creating an intimate and immersive space that brought th
UK - A 500 drone show was experienced nightly by 50,000 music lovers at the Isle of Wight Festival last weekend. US-based Skyworx Drone Shows, producer for The Global Drone Network (GDN), presented a 12-minute show at the close of each night for revellers to enjoy. References to Jimi Hendrix, the island’s heritage and the world-famous festival filled the sky on all four nights with an attention-grabbing animated display. Skyworx and GDN were supported by UK company AeroAVA, who handled all UK regulatory permissions and flight crew for the project. Skyworx founder and CEO, Taylor Woodall, comments: "It has been a great pleasure to create and deliver our first UK drone show at the iconic Isle of Wight Festival. We believe this is the largest drone show presented at any UK festival to date." Reflecting on the sustainability aspects of the project, Tom Rees,
Namibia - RFS Fund Administrators (RFS), recently upgraded its Windhoek headquarters with the expansion of its boardroom. The doubling in size of the space called for a new audio-visual and voice conferencing system. Stage Audio Works (SAW) Namibia was contacted by RFS directly to assist with the installation of the new boardroom. “The client knew exactly what they wanted and gave a clear and precise brief of their expectations,” explains Emcé Smit, technical manager at SAW Namibia. “They had enlarged the existing boardroom to double its size and required an upgraded system to handle conference calls and meetings in the new space.” Measuring 84sq.m and containing 20 seats, through close collaboration with RFS accounting manager Nicolo Benade and associate director support services manager, Louis Theron, SAW Namibia specified a dual-screen room VC solution wit
UK - The fantasy world of HBO’s hit series Game of Thrones is brought to life at Game of Thrones Studio Tour in Northern Ireland with over 1000 Elation lights supporting its epic storytelling. The new global attraction, located at one of the series’ original filming locations at Linen Mill Studios in Banbridge, invites fans to step behind the scenes and discover the making of the celebrated series. Game of Thrones achieved record-setting ratings over 73 episodes and eight seasons, and established itself as one of the most iconic shows in television history. Opened in 2022 in partnership with Warner Bros, Game of Thrones Studio Tour is a 110,000sq.ft interactive indoor experience that allows fans to explore the original sets, costumes, props and weapons used in the series. Brian Reilly, MD of PSI Production, one of Ireland's largest technical producti
Saudi Arabia - Terhal, the most recent creation by Dragone, is an original, immersive theatrical show that celebrates the rich culture of Saudi Arabia. This spectacle honours the country’s vibrant culture, exploring the vital role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's people and heritage in shaping the future. Terhal features acrobatics, stunts, aerial performance, and dazzling special effects alongside traditional Saudi art and dance. To accompany and enhance this awe-inspiring production, Dragone chose L-ISA Immersive Hyperreal Sound technology by L-Acoustics to create an immersive sound experience to complement the enchanting visuals. While the show run is temporary, to ensure that each performance is memorable, the venue housing the show is purpose-built, designed explicitly for Terhal. Delivering the large-scale production in the purpose-built venue wi
Turkey - Show architects Black Skull Creative and Balich Wonder Studios collaborated to present Pepsi’s 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show on 10 June in Istanbul. Brazilian pop sensation Anitta and Grammy award-winning Nigerian superstar Burna Boy and special guest multi-platinum DJ and producer Alesso featured in the show. Black Skull’s Jay Revell comments: "With The 2023 UEFA Champions League Final Kick Off Show by Pepsi, we wanted to showcase the immense power of football to unite diverse fans and cultures. Istanbul, a symbol of global cultures, serves as the perfect backdrop for this unforgettable TV spectacle. “By enlisting artists from three different continents - Africa, South America, and Europe - we wanted to highlight the global reach and influence of football. This show is a testament to the unifying force that brings powerful, disti
Norway - The Voice, officially distributed in 62 countries, is one of the most-watched television formats worldwide, with over 650m viewers. For the eighth season of The Voice - Norges beste stemme, TV2 Direkte studios have chosen numerous Prolights fixtures. Prostage, the official Prolights distributor in Norway, supplied 20 Astra Wash19Pix moving heads, 40 Astra Hybrid420 hybrid moving heads, 50 LumiPar 12UQPro LED fixtures, 30 Lumipix 12QTour linear LED bars, and 20 Stark Bar1000 units. The lighting system installation, entrusted to Center Stage and Hilux, has delivered a visual experience, illuminating the stage, backlighting the contestants during their performances, and enchanting both the live audience and the millions of viewers at home. The lighting designer, Kasper Melgavis comments: “I worked very well with the Prolights lighting fixtu
USA - There are as many ways to tell a story as there are stories to tell. The incomparable Reba McEntire has demonstrated this with the rich and varied narratives that run through her songs. So too did Matthieu Larivée and the team at Lüz Studio when they created one of the final shows in the Queen of Country’s current tour at Madison Square Garden. The Montreal based design and production team, which included David Rondeau, Pierre-Luc Bedard, and LD Andy Knighton, wove a textured narrative to reflect the multi-Grammy winner’s music by using a range of different techniques, most of them centred on employing lighting and set extensions as storytelling tools. “This show is a great music show; it is not theatrical at all, so lighting is a big actor in the narrative,” said Larivée. “We wanted to create lighting moments. There’s so much history in Reba’s l
USA - While not a single moving light source could actually appear on camera, Robe BMFLs, Esprites and RoboSpots played a starring role for three different live concerts filmed for the live sections of the Amazon Prime hit Daisy Jones & The Six. A massive effort and meticulous detail went into crafting the vintage 1970s concert looks for the series by lighting director Matt Ardine, and while the hundreds of PAR cans visible at the gigs played their part in the visuality, for practicality, the band’s key lighting was achieved using Robe innovations. The narrative follows a fictional rock band embroiled in the thrills and spills of the LA music scene, as Daisy Jones & The Six rise rapidly from obscurity to global fame and success, quitting unexpectedly at the height of their fame. Matt was brought onboard by the series gaffer, Nicholas Kaat, and th
UK - The high lumen output of the Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP from Signify was seen by millions of people for the King’s Coronation Concert, where landmarks across the UK were lit at part of the Lighting up the Nation event. Lighting designer David Bishop sourced 41 VL3600 fixtures, which were rigged outside Sheffield Town Hall in changeable weather with their IP-65 rating, to achieve the intricate Union flag design using their rich colours and optics system. “I discovered the VL3600s at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, getting a demo and trying out the output and colour wheel mixing system,” says Bishop. “The Sheffield project was meant to be a projection mapping job with a few luminaires around the building as fill light. However, this approach changed after I realised I could use the VL3600s even at a 66m throw from the building to both create strong enough light and
UK - In celebration of the coronation of King Charles III last month, the Palace of Westminster in London was illuminated in the colours of the Union flag - red, white, and blue. To illuminate the Gothic-style exterior facade in the national colours, lighting designer David Bishop chose a total of 74 units of Cameo Zenit W600 LED Wash Lights, supplied by Version 2 Lights. The IP65-rated Zenit W600 fixtures were placed at the base of the building's facade over a width of more than 250m by David Bishop and gaffer Matthew Zelmanowicz, focused to uplight the historic building with a beam angle of 18°. When choosing the colours, the lighting team didn't have to think twice: blue, white and red - alternating across the entire width of Palace of Westminster. “The Zenit W600 was the obvious choice”, says David Bishop. “Its power, reliability and IP rating combine to pro
UK - Simon Horn designed the lightshow for Anastacia’s current tour. Originally scheduled to start in February 2020 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the singer’s seminal hit I’m Out Of Love, the tour had to be shelved because of COVID. This year, supply shortages and budget constraints still lingering from the pandemic lockdown made it impractical for Horn to get the level of video he wanted for the tour. He more than compensated for this, however, by creating a captivating background using geometric configurations of light that he is running on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, which, like his lighting rig, is supplied by 4Wall Entertainment. “I have always stood by the idea that if you are going to use video, and do it well, it takes money,” said Horn. “There are some shows I’ve seen that were ruined by the desperate desire to use v
Denmark - Lighting designer Ulrik Gad specified Robe iFortes for the Royal Danish Theatre’s 2023 summer production, Ragnarok, a new work by Kim Fupz Aakeson which premiered and is being staged at the Jægersborg Dyrehave, a deer park and forest north of capital city Copenhagen. The park is known for its undulating topography, tranquillity, ancient oak trees and large populations of red and fallow deer. The show runs for six weeks in a natural amphitheatre space that has had some performance infrastructure added over the years. All departments of the Royal Danish Theatre collaborate to produce a new summer show every second year, which alternates between playing this site and another just outside Aarhus in the western part of Denmark. This is the fifth summer show that Ulrik has lit. The stage space is completely open, and the usual challenges of outdoor per
USA - Inglewood California’s 70,000-capacity SoFi Stadium hosted the 39th annual WrestleMania with a blockbuster two-night event enveloped in LED screens and scenic video technology driven by an army of Green Hippo’s Hippotizer Boreal+ media servers. More than 161,000 fans witnessed WrestleMania over two sold out evenings, energised by high octane video content created by the WWE Media Graphics Department. The visuals were displayed on multiple entranceway LED screens, custom Ring Post, Ring Skirt, and LED Barricade. All these screens were supplied by ScreenWorks, a division of NEP. Upstaging provided Saber LED batons - a double row LED effects product that borders truss and scenic elements. In addition, the SoFi Stadium In-house Infinity Screen and five levels of ribbon boards were also controlled by the Hippotizer Media Servers. The massive amount of content mean
Italy - On 12 May, super-model/actress Elodie performed before a capacity crowd at the Mediolanum Forum in Assago. Contributing to the magic of the evening was a massive light show by Blearred, a lighting design studio with offices in London and Milan. Filling the venue with intense monochromatic colour palettes and bold videos fed to large LED walls, the design captivated fans as it drew them closer to Elodie’s personality and performance. A lighting rig of international level dimensions and quality energised the show, which was produced by Vivo Concerti. At its centre were 68 Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M motorised strobes, exclusively distributed in Italy by Zalight. Ivan Russo, technical project Manager from Blearred, comments: “We used the Color Strike M during the event in 24 channel mode. Of the 68 units, 40 were positioned vertically on ladders
Full-service video and lighting company, 4Wall Europe, added Elation Proteus Rayzor Blade tilt FX bars to inventory this past spring and immediately deployed the units on the European leg of Depeche Mode’s Momento Mori world tour. The Proteus Rayzor Blade is a tiltable linear LED light that can function as a wash, strobe or FX light, all inside a compact IP65 design. Darren Poultney, managing director EMEA at 4Wall Europe, commented on the purchase: “We are thrilled to have invested in these impressive fixtures from Elation and to continue to grow our lighting fleet for concert touring, corporate events, exhibitions and beyond. The high-demand fixtures touched down in our warehouses and were very quickly prepped for Depeche Mode’s world tour, supported by our 4Wall US team who delivered the fixtures on the US leg. We can’t wait to see the results.” The lig
Spain - My Mother’s Courage is a bold new theatrical co-production by Teatro de la Abadia in Madrid, Ur Teatro Company and Palma de Mallorca’s Teatro Principal, recounting a multi-layered narrative based on Jewish Hungarian-born George Tabori’s true story recalling how his mother Elsa Tabori escaped from Auschwitz and the Nazis during the Second World War, using her wits and determination. Multi award-winning lighting designer Nicolas Fischtel, AAI, was asked onboard by director Helena Pimenta with whom he’s worked on other projects. Lighting was absolutely integral to the storytelling, which took place over the course of one single day, and also in providing environmental and locational details and context. Nicolas used five Astera AX3 LightDrops as part of the lighting rig, which were located on scenery elements and props that were moved around the s
