France - In its third successful year in France, the Download festival served as solid evidence that rock’n’roll is as alive and relevant as it was in 1980, when its direct predecessor – Monsters Of Rock – forced itself on the unsuspecting English market town of Castle Donington. Launched in 2003 to showcase the best in rock, metal and hardcore, Download expanded in 2016 with Live Nation’s introduction of Download Paris, and Stageco France – as the provider of all five stages – has played a major role in the festival’s production since it began. In fact, as long as Igor Dawidowicz steers the ship as production manager, Stageco appears to have a job for life. He comments: “Involving Stageco was a very easy decision. Who else could do it? We know a lot of staging companies, but I can’t imagine giving this responsibility to anyone but Stageco – they
UK - Planning/management specialist Bliss Events has designed and developed London’s largest urban beach, at Royal Docks, to incorporate a swimming pool, which opens on 18 July for six weeks, and an August event space. Funded by the GLA and the London Borough of Newham, Bliss partnered with Star Events to plan a set of structures, linked by walkways, and create the first pool proper on the London leg of the Thames. Buoyed by Star’s extensive experience with waterborne projects, Park Live for London 2012, Airbnb’s Floating House on the Thames and several Jaguar Land Rover activations among them, the 2018 Royal Docks’ beach is a massive technical achievement. The pool deck, based around Star’s VerTech sub-structure, incorporates a children’s paddling area and extends existing infrastructure around the beach to cover any hazards hidden by the shingle a
The Netherlands - The Free Your Mind Festival is very aptly named. Taking place on the banks of the Rhine with its stage under the historic John Frost Bridge, the festival offers a mind-expanding “bridge” of its own, affording visitors the opportunity to explore beautiful natural surroundings, new ideas and progressive EDM music by artists like John Digweed, Hot Since 82, Black Coffee, Kölsch and Len Faki, all of whom were among the many stars appearing at this year’s edition of the festival in early June. Contributing to the festival’s expansive atmosphere was a powerful, intense and free-flowing lightshow created by RF Shows that featured Chauvet Professional STRIKE 1 and STRIKE P38 fixtures. The Nootdorp-based firm supplied all lighting gear for the Metallum (Under the Bridge) Stage. The company also ran the boards for all artists that performed on the stage.
Portugal - The deployment of Martin Audio MLA as PA for some of the most famous festivals around the globe continues. Having established itself as first choice on main stages at Rock In Rio - in both Brazil and Lisbon - they stretched the envelope further at this year’s event in the Portuguese capital with the addition of MLA to the second delay line. “This helped to push our coverage out further with greater clarity and impact,” says Peter Racy, chief engineer at the sound production company, Gabisom. It has been a fruitful journey for the award-winning system which began in 2015 when MLA was first trialled on the second stage at Rock in Rio USA, in Las Vegas, and later in Rio that same year. Due to its success, MLA was then deployed for the first time on the World Stage at Rock in Rio Lisbon 2016, and has subsequently held this position for the following two ed
USA - Signify reports that the Medieval Times attraction in Buena Park, California has upgraded its show lighting with the latest LED fixtures from the Philips Vari-Lite and Showline brands. The new lighting choice will eventually bring improved performance and power efficiency to all ten Medieval Times venues in North America. Lighting designer Marty Huntoon of installer All Pro Integrated Systems specified the new Philips Vari-Lite VLZ Profile, plus the SL Punchlite 220 and SL LEDSPOT 300 fixtures from the Showline range. He says, "The SL Punchlite 220 was a simple replacement for the PAR lanterns, giving huge improvements in output, power efficiency, programming options and reliability. The motorized zoom capability was also a factor. Add to that the fixture's IP65 protection rating in a hostile, dusty environment and the 220 was the only choice." Huntoon also chose
Italy - Concerts by Italian megastar Vasco Rossi are usually an emotional experience, but the artist’s recent Non Stop Live summer stadium tour was ‘moving’ for a different reason - a large Kinesys automation system was used to dramatically change the architecture and shape of the stage through the show. Lighting designer Giovanni Pinna, set designer Claudio Santucci of Gioforma, d3 operator Marco Piva and other key members of Vasco’s creative team including live camera director Peppe Romano were instrumental in the implementation of the Kinesys system to maximise the dynamic movement they wanted as part of the show aesthetic. The hardware and control was supplied by PRG Belgium and operated on the road by Jimmy Johnson a UK based rigger / automation specialist. The system comprised 16 x half tonne Kinesys ApexHOISTS complete with ApexDRIVES which
Denmark - Creating the best guest experience and superlative customer service for visiting lighting designers rocking up to the Arena Stage at Roskilde Festival in Denmark is the objective of Sune Verdier and his team co-ordinating and running lighting for this busy and popular venue. Building on the success of the 2017 move to an all-Robe moving light rig, Sune repeated the move again, utilising 76 x Spiiders, 48 x BMFL Spots all supplied by Copenhagen based rental company, Comtech. Sune designed the production lighting rig for the 17,000 capacity inside venue – with another 17,000 outside - and liaised with the many visiting LDs to ensure that they received the best show possible. Joining him this year at FOH were Frederik Heitmann and Nicolai ‘Gubi’ Smith. Sune first introduced Robe to the Arena in 2016 with BMFLs. Last year Spiiders replaced the
Australia - The Mel Brooks musical Young Frankenstein has been a popular staple in regional theatres across the globe since its 2007 Broadway debut. At a recent production of the musical comedy at the Devonport Entertainment & Convention Centre, designer Nick Glen supported the fantastical story of an American doctor who finds his body parts in Transylvania with a lighting design that smoothly balanced comedic and dramatic elements. Glen, of Nick Glen Lighting Design, was aided in his effort by a collection of Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot and COLORdash Par-Quad 18 fixtures, supplied by Show Systems Australia. “The performance features of the Mavericks and colours of the COLORdashes allowed me to create a range of looks,” he says. “We needed this diversity to support the show, both as a comedy and as a more straightforward story.” Hung from
Switzerland - Geneva-based event production company Skynight SA chose six pieces of the ARX Systems ISO Balancer VC as part of an extensive AV setup at the Montreux Jazz Festival in July. Supplied to Skynight by Tonspur AG, the Swiss distributor for ARX Systems, the ISO Balancer VC’s were used primarily for straightforward volume adjustment. Eddy Broquet from Tonspur comments: “At certain places within the festival there are some TV screens with a live feed from the concert. Yvan Barone (Skynight project manager for the Montreux Jazz Festival) was looking for something of high quality that was easy to use to adjust the audio volume in these areas. As it can be the waiter of the bar in charge of the volume he really wanted to avoid putting in a small mixing console. As Skynight already use the ARX USB-DI they asked if ARX had a product that might fit their demand and the
The Netherlands - Technical production company 4light Showprojects chose various CLF lighting fixtures for the 10th edition of 7th Sunday Festival in Erp. All fixtures were supplied by Dutch dry-hire company Rent-All. Light designer Joep van Bree of 4Light Showprojects picked 50 CLF Aorun beams in his design to outline the impressive stage. The fixtures were selected because of their impressive output, fast movements, big lens design and very smooth frost effect. To illuminate decorative items, the CLF Ares was used. Most of them were placed behind plexiglass windows. 4Light Showprojects uses the Ares during the majority of their events, including the Untold Festival in Romania and Daydream Festival in the Netherlands. 4Light Showprojects owner Ronnie Santegoeds comments: “I really like the
North America - More than 30 years ago, Mexican music legend Antonio Aguilar toured the American continent accompanied by his family with the first equestrian show in the history of Latin show business. Now, his son, Latin singer Pepe Aguilar, has revived the tradition with his Jaripeo Sin Fronteras equestrian show, steeped in three generations of Aguilar performers and updated with dynamic lighting effects. Pepe Aguilar’s nine Grammy awards and star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (his father has one too) are testament to the Mexican singer’s appeal, on both sides of the border. On 26 May in Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes, Pepe Aguilar presented his Jaripeo show with lighting accompaniment from 40 Elation Platinum FLX hybrid moving heads and 22 Elation SixPar 200 IP colour-changing Par lights with Antari F-7 Smaze units used for atmospherics and a t
Malta - Luxury cruise line Seabourn introduced its newest vessel, the Seabourn Ovation, with a naming ceremony in the harbour of Valletta in Malta in May. The ship is the fifth ultra-luxury vessel to join the Seabourn fleet over the past decade and the second of two ships designed by Adam D. Tihany. The event was managed by Belinda King Creative Productions and saw the ship's Godmother, Elaine Paige perform to an exclusive audience on the cruise ship’s pool deck and a debut of the Seabourn anthem entitled We Sail to See the Lives of Others by Tim Rice was performed. The evening was capped with a fireworks’ display that lit up Valletta Harbour. Belinda King Creative Productions brought Push the Button on board to handle the technical aspects of the project and they, in turn, asked Unusual to deal with the rigging elements. Jim Dugan, production manager
Denmark - Nordic Rentals has recently made its first major Robe investment with the purchase of 50 x MegaPointes and 26 x Spiider LED wash beams for rental stock, a decision driven purely by “demand” explained senior sales and project manager, Tue Knudsen. The Veile and Copenhagen-based company already has around 800 moving lights on board, but wanted to keep pace with the latest innovations from Robe. Knudsen comments: “It’s a big investment, however, the massive demand for the fixtures enables a quick ROI, making the products very attractive.” He also mentions Nordic Rentals had been looking at ways of reducing its annual sub-hired rental costs - and owning more of the products being spec’d is one approach. The MegaPointes were out of the warehouse door the day after they were delivered by Robe’s Danish distributor Light Partner and are currently
USA - Martini Bar, a new Florida nightlife venue, boasts three LED-lined spaces controlled by one Avolites Ai Miami Licence dongle. Martini Bar is situated just a short trip from Miami International Airport in the CityPlace Doral retail and entertainment complex and offers a nightclub and an outside lounge. Upscale entertainment lighting experts idesign Productions served as the speciality lighting and video designers for the project. Owner and lead designer Michael Meacham worked with the idesign team to create a diamond-shaped LED wall upstage, a LED-lined DJ booth and a large LED façade for the external lounge. "The Martini Bar's owner, Joe Delaney, allowed us to have creative freedom for the spaces. We wanted a unique design that brought the rooms to life, rather than a usual video screen shape," says Meacham. "In addition to creating the unique video screen la
UK - Now in its sixth year at Hyde Park, AEG Live’s Barclaycard Presents British Summer Time (BST) has settled into a proven formula, with sound reinforcement partners Capital Sound and Martin Audio’s MLA loudspeaker system having yet again optimised the sound site-wide. Maintaining the status quo, Capital rigged the main stage and outfield identically to 12 months ago - with one major exception.Providing the spectacular curtain raiser to the 10-day festival, Roger Waters brought his Us + Them tour to the UK for the first time. Waters had already taken his sonic and visual experimentation to breath-taking levels at Desert Trip in 2016, with the biggest surround sound system ever built. To create maximum impact at Hyde Park, Capital were asked to provide an additional 12 hangs of MLA/MLA Compact on towers positioned through the concourse for one night only.
Canada - With the popularity of boxing on the rise in Ontario, ensuring Canadian audiences get the kind of bang for their buck provided by high profile bouts is increasingly important. For Craig Bickerstaffe, owner of Toronto production services company, ShowWorks Inc., that means investing regularly in cutting edge LED technologies. ShowWorks road-tested and then purchased Elation’s new DARTZ 360 narrow-beam fixture, as well as ADJ Vizi CMY300 hybrid moving heads, just prior to United Boxing Promotions’ The Big Hurt at the Hershey Centre in Ontario in May. SFM, Elation’s exclusive distributor in Canada, provided the DARTZ and Vizi CMY300 fixtures to ShowWorks for road testing. “The first time I saw the DARTZ I was in Montreal and I was blown away by the amount of output for a 50-watt LED fixture,” Bickerstaffe states, adding that many of the lighting
Italy - The former railway station of Porta Romana is one of the historic areas of Milan waiting to be renovated with a project of urban revaluation. Since 2015, Social Music City has enhanced that unused space with its tensio-structure, attracting thousands of young people thanks to the DJ sets and spectacular themed events. The lighting system for Social Music City consists of 78 moving heads by DTS: 46 Raptor, 12 Evo and 20 Wonder units. Daniele Campanaro, resident programmer at Social Music City, comments: "This is the second year that Feliciano Musillo (Felix) of Expect Nothing has asked me to programme the stage lighting. The lighting project of SMC is by Felix, with whom I collaborate on different projects programming the light shows. “A lighting design that satisfies the variety of SMC events - from electronic dance to corporate events - is certai
UK - De Montfort University in Leicester has recently undergone a major investment in their lighting and staging capabilities for one of their largest on-site facilities, The Venue. With the help of Stage Electrics, the university now possesses more trussing and some of the most up-to-date lighting kit available. Created to host a wide range of events, The Venue is often used for music events, conference work, performances, and celebrations. As the university hold all their graduation ceremonies here, they can now give each graduate the moment in the spotlight they deserve. The university has invested £5 into transforming the building. After installing a number of improvements including retractable bleacher-style seating and a full sound rig, they have now added the lighting equipment to truly showcase the capabilities of this space. Stage Electrics were appr
Singapore - Signify reports that its Philips Vari-Lite stage lighting fixtures have helped to conjure the magic of the big-top for the sumptuous Circus 1903 - The Golden Age of Circus. The dazzling show, complete with life-sized elephant puppets, thrilled audiences at its most recent run at Singapore's Marina Bay Sands Grand Theatre. Lighting designer Paul Smith utilised the dual functionality of the VL4000 BeamWash to fulfil two important lighting roles from a single unit. He says, "The VL4000 BeamWash performs well as a wash, and as a spot too - much better than I ever expected a hybrid fixture like this to perform." With life-size mother and baby elephant puppets central to the show, floor space was at a premium. The mother elephant alone has four puppeteers inside. This gave Smith a challenge. "The BeamWashes have helped me to reduce the number of units I ne
UK - Stormzy, headlined the Saturday main stage in spectacular fashion at this year’s Wireless Festival in London’s Finsbury Park. The London-born superstar performed in a full, bespoke production in six acts, created by Bronski and Amber Rimell of Tawbox. It was clear that lighting designer, Tim Routledge, would need a giant-sized fog generator when lighting Stormzy’s set, and specified two MDG Me8 fog generators to take on the job. “I’m very familiar with MDG’s TheONE dual fog/haze generator which I specify for most of the tours I light,” says Routledge, “but when Matt Wiseman brought the Me8 to my attention at the ABTT show last month and highlighted the sheer volume of controllable fog it can produce, we decided to try it out. Stormzy’s set design called for vast quantities of dense fog for a couple of numbers, which is always a challenge in an ou
France - Nouvelles Pièces Courtes is a collection of short contemporary dance pieces, created in May 2017 by French choreographer Philippe Decouflé and his Compagnie DCA. Each piece tells a different story, which in turn calls for a very separate visual identity to each work. “My interest in the short form comes to me via rock'n’roll: short, efficient tracks gaining in power what they lose in duration,” says Philippe Decouflé. “For me this system works well for dance, where the composition is often more poetic than narrative, where the format needs to be adapted to its subject, to go through different worlds in a same programme and take the pleasure to get lost.” Lighting designer Begoña Garcia-Navas used Robert Juliat fixtures to complement each different dance piece through her use of lighting, choosing 20 Robert Juliat Dalis 860 Cyclight LED b
USA - Grammy-nominated group Kaleo fuses Mississippi blues, old school country, up-tempo rock and a range of other styles into their creative cauldron to arrive at their particular brand of music. Kaleo’s distinct style is also reflected in their ethereal stage presence. Minimizing the use of colours, they prefer to be lit in subtle variations of white light. Max Lenox, who has worked with the band in various capacities since 2016 and is the lighting designer for its current tour, has mastered the art of creating subtle white-light-dominated looks, while still providing the versatility needed to reflect his client’s eclectic music. This balance was on full display in late June, when Kaleo headlined at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, illuminated by a bright, evocative lightshow created by Lenox with help from a floor package that featured Chauvet Professional STRIKE and
South Korea - Curated by Olivier Saillard, Volez, Voguez, Voyagez - Louis Vuitton tells the history of Louis Vuitton, beginning in 1854, through the archives of the family’s founding members. Conceived and designed by Robert Carsen, the thematic journey has been touring around the world, including a stop in Seoul, South Korea. With strict guidelines for the exhibition lighting design, lighting specialist Baesung Kim needed a series of powerful yet flexible lighting solutions, so he worked with distributor Hansam Systems and created a design with 260 Gallery LED luminaires from Altman Lighting. “The exhibition was part of the world tour for the Louis Vuitton show with the initial exhibition design coming from France that included lighting product specifications,” began Baesung Kim. “I joined the team for the stage setting and assisted with the product pro
Russia - After 19 TV shows, dozens of songs, some special performances and innovative lighting designs, created and executed by Leonid Poznyanskiy, Songs on TNT TV project had its final broadcast on 2 June. He deployed 24 GLP impression X4 Bar 20 and 24 JDC1 strobes in the production, which ran from the first episode until the last. And the final performance by the singer Nazima was made almost exclusively with the X4 Bar 20. The designer admits that he has been a fan of the GLP products ever since the Eurovision Song Contest that took place in Moscow in 2009, when some of the first LED moving heads were placed in the side-fills. This signified to him that the new era in professional lighting had arrived. Around two years ago Leonid came across the X4 Bar 20 for the first time and by summer 2017 he had the opportunity to use them in a project. At that ti
