USA - Roger Waters' Us + Them tour has utilised a DiGiCo SD7 console. Monitor engineer Matt Napier started working with Waters last year for his shows in Mexico and Desert Trip following the passing of Waters’ previous engineer Ian Newton few years ago. “I felt a lot of responsibility to do Ian’s memory justice, and make the gig work as smoothly as possible,” Napier says. “We didn’t have a lot of rehearsal time, so it was intense, but the shows went really well. You just have to do this music justice.” The production for Us + Them is down to a strong emphasis on the synergy between the music and the aural/visual experience. “The surround system installed in each venue makes the aural experience very immersive for the audience, and the visuals are absolutely stunning,” Napier explains. “Roger really is the captain of the sh
UK - Vectorworks is hosting a free half-day event at the Theatre Trust in London on 30 October to explore the features of the Vectorworks Spotlight design software. Lighting professionals can find out more about Braceworks, a rigging analysis module and Vision that enables LDs to pre-visualise and cue their show. There will also be talks from professional users on the practical applications of the software in 'real world' situations. The event, running from 1PM - 5PM on 30 October (Monday), will be followed by informal networking opportunity over drinks. The organisers are urging those interested in attending to secure their places in advance by registering for free here.
Keeping Music Live - Campaigners fighting to preserve Cardiff’s live music scene have heralded a breakthrough after plans to develop flats in the heart of the city’s entertainment district were withdrawn. A campaign to protect the city's grassroots music scene has been underway since the start of this year, with campaigners fighting in particular to preserve the entertainment venues on Womanby Street, which is home to several live music venues but has seen a string of closures in recent times. The campaign attracted thousands of signatures, and calls on Cardiff Council to protect the area as a cultural hub. Venue owners and music fans also condemned a planning application to create a hotel to be built above a Wetherspoon’s pub on Womanby Street. Plans for a residential housing development comprising six flats had been submitted for the street, however these
USA - Nashville-based lighting design company Ardee Design Group (ADG) was contacted to relight Plaza Mariachi, a former supermarket converted into a 60,000sq.ft multi-purpose facility. ADG chose to use Elation Professional dynamic ellipsoidal, Par and moving lights. “The Plaza Mariachi project is a mix of entertainment techniques in an architectural application, and we utilized quite a bit of Elation equipment to achieve our goals,” said Richard Davis, president and senior designer at ADG, the 30-year design collaborative that combines years of experience in entertainment lighting with a practical knowledge of architectural lighting techniques. The Plaza’s main courtyard and five streets, each storefront with a themed, theatre-like façade, all required illumination. ADG uses colour, contrast and lighting effects to enhance the space, focus attention and c
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has supplied Allen & Heath's dLive S7000 digital mixing console to Aberdeen-based production company Granite City Events for use on live music events, festivals and theatre productions. Granite City Events is one of the premium production companies in Aberdeen and the Scottish Highlands and, with over 20 years of industry experience, puts on events ranging from concerts and live shows through to weddings and corporate functions. The sale, which also included an Allen & Heath DM48 mix rack, was handled by Steve Eaton, sales executive in the company's dedicated audio sales division. Barry Sherriffs, Granite City director, comments: “After various discussions with, plus help and advice from Steve, we decided the dLive was the way forward. The versatility of dLive, plus the speed of the system, made it perfect fo
USA - LD Rob Sinclair is using BlackTrax to control the lighting during Queen and Adam Lambert’s 2017-2018 tour. BlackTrax is a vision-based system that connects to a range of third party applications, such as robotic lights, media servers, and any other device that uses the RTTrPM open protocol, capturing and passing positional 3D (X,Y,Z) and 6D rotation (yaw, pitch, roll) data to them. Sinclair said: “I’d seen what Dark Art Creative had done before, and was blown away by the creativity and precision of the lighting I knew that Oli Metcalfe was the owner and responsible for lighting the shows and, as I’d known him for decades, contacted him and asked him how he’d done it. He pointed me in the direction of BlackTrax.” Sinclair used Clay Paky Scenius Uncio and controlled them with BlackTrax, with all seven band members being tracked. “Followspo
China - The global event and entertainment industry is gearing up for the opening of Prolight + Sound Shanghai this week from 11 – 14 October. The four exhibition halls of N1 – N4 spanning 45,000sq.m of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre, will stage over 630 brands and companies from 23 countries and regions. Experts from various local and overseas associations will also address the latest innovative technologies in the fields of 3D audio, acoustics technology, AoIP, lighting design, studio recording, sound systems and event safety. Now in its 15th edition, the fair will continue to feature a strong international presence with a wide range of offerings. Participating brands include Audio-Technica, Beta-3, Concord, DGX, Eastern Edison, EM Acoustics, ENEWAVE, Fidek, Great Wall, Harman International, LaON, Lewitt, LiteLEES, NEXT-proaudio, Neutrik, Peavey, Prol
UK - Delegates who attended the 2017 PLASA Rigging Conference at London Olympia last month have hailed the new format a success, according to the event's Platinum sponsor Unusual Rigging. The 8th annual conference commenced with the traditional opening address – this year from industry legend Morris Lyda who talked about working with the likes of Phil Collins and Genesis while addressing the key entertainment basics, their shortcomings, values, obscurities and a contemplation of its uncertainties. The speech was brought to life by cartoonist Matt Lawrence who worked closely with Morris and Unusual's Robin Elias to create a series of drawings – as well as providing a series of tongue in cheek caricatures of those who attended the event. This was followed by a programme of subjects for debate – the morning session was chaired by Unusual's Alan Jacobi and deba
UK - Load Cell Rental (LCR) provided a 40-cell wireless BroadWeigh system to monitor the loadings on each lighting and audio point during the load in and load out during Adele’s Adele Live 2017 tour. Steve Walsh, head rigger on the tour said: "As the entire rig was located in-the-round on a custom ground support, being able to load the structure evenly was essential. We're talking about a total rig of 72 tons in weight and 25m high, with four leg ground supports designed to need little to no side bracing. “Even loading of the structure was absolutely essential from a structural point of view – we knew that the ground support was immensely strong, but it had to be loaded correctly. It was at this point we turned to Colin Luke at Load Cell Rental (LCR). I've used LCR for all of my tours over the last five years and the service and equipment they supply makes
USA - Metallica’s WorldWired tour is pushing technological boundaries by debuting the world’s first autonomous indoor drone swarm in a major touring act and revealing a new, in-the-round stage design, custom-built by TAIT. The fresh set and stage design by show director David Braun, give concert-goers an immersive concert experience with a 44 ft. by 44 ft. square mainstage equipped with several prop lifts located in the centre of the arena. This in-the-round experience incorporates 52 LED video cubes which ascend and descend while displaying colourful, vivid and flashy video content. The LED video cubes hang from 52 BT290 winches housed in a 60ft by 60ft mother grid rigging system above stage. Each 4ft LED video cube moves 4ft per second and has 40ft of vertical travel space. TAIT Navigator, an entertainment automation platform, serves as the primary s
USA - The lighting at the 20th IYRS Gala, an annual fundraiser benefitting the International Yacht Restoration School, featured 22 Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures. Supplied by JDI Productions, the fixtures were part of the event's lighting design created by Megan Alksninis. “The first part of the night was a dinner and auction where I chose to stick with select colours. I tried to create a warm look through magenta and amber that was not too distracting,” said Alksninis. “In transitioning to Kool and the Gang, I used the four Rogue RH1 Hybrids in my floor package to create a rock-and-roll feeling. All the while, I wanted to keep my lights harmonious with the surroundings. Newport is one of the most beautiful places to work.” In addition to four Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Alksninis’ rig featured 12 Rogue R2 Washes and six Rogue R3 Washes. The wide zoom range
Argentina - A top Argentinian creative team including director, set and lighting designer Ariel del Mastro, award-winning lighting director Ariel ‘El Gato’ Ponce and video designer Maxi Vecco have created the production design for Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot, currently playing at the Broadway Theatre in Buenos Aires. Robe moving lights are central to creating the raw vibe with Spiiders, Spikies and Squares prominent on the rig, and being used to the maximum by the two Ariels. These products were chosen for the flexibility and creative scope they bring to lighting two other shows also playing at the Broadway Theatre – the cirque-musical extravaganza Mahatma and the erotic show Taboo. All shows utilise the same rig but look completely different, so some of the fixtures are re-positioned and re-rigged while Mahatma als
UK - dBS Solutions has adopted a Martin Audio theatre system for the newly opened Legally Blonde The Musical. dBS Solutions purchased Martin Audio’s XD/WS218X model, deploying the larger XD15 unit for the production, as the 15” LF drive unit and 1.4” neodymium HF compression driver has reduced weight and several pairs can be mounted up the vertical proscenium truss to the rotatable horns. Musical theatre and panto specialists UK Productions contacted dBS Solutions based on the audio company’s past success with their flagship Christmas pantomime in Sunderland. dBS Solutions sound designer Chris Bogg recognised that this latest challenge would not be an easy one. “The show’s American girl-heavy production numbers have a tendency to sound ‘squeaky’ to me so the main aim was to make the sound less shrill and much warmer,” he said. “We h
UK - Stage Electrics has been appointed as a main dealer for ChamSys lighting products. The company is now selling and supporting ChamSys products nationwide. Stage Electrics’ sales director Anna Western comments: “As ChamSys’ consoles are an industry favourite with a strong global presence, building a relationship with ChamSys was a natural progression for us. Since becoming a main dealer, Stage Electrics have already made considerable investments towards their commitment with ChamSys. As well as investing over £45,000 in stock, Stage Electrics has also held both staff and customer console training days, which proved to be well received by all who attended. Western continues: “As a technical supplier with substantial stocks, adding ChamSys to our inventory makes perfect sense to meet the needs of our professional lighting clientele. We are now able to suppor
USA - Bandit Lites is providing the lighting package for American Country Award-winning artist Chris Young. Young is rounding out the year with a new album and a tour run that covers the country as part of Jason Aldean’s They Don’t Know Tour. Using Bandit supplied Elation CuePix Blinder WW2 fixtures, Robe Pointes, Ayrton MagicPanels, and Martin Atomic 3000 Strobes, lighting director Mike Stanley created a portable version of Chris Lisle’s 2016 tour design which did not have any floor lights conducive for an opening act position since most of the rig was in the upstage torms. “Uprights were installed on the pyramid video carts, moving down about half of the Magic Panels and Pointes,” said Stanley of the reconfiguration. With 12 mi video on the carts, Stanley loaded strobes and CuePix blinders behind it to blast through while switching to the Roe L
Germany - Lighting effects from Elation Professional Platinum 1200 Wash, Platinum FLX and Platinum Beam 5R Extreme provide the pre-game light show for German ice hockey club Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers. Elation dealer and entertainment technology solutions provider sld mediatec GmbH has partnered with the team for the past seven years and the company’s head of lighting and rigging Sebastian Groß wanted to create ‘something special for the multisensory show that accompanies player introductions’. The pre-game light show is used to create movement, energy and excitement before each home game. The Ice Tigers’ logo is illuminated in white light while the rink is awash in colors representing the team´s corporate design. Splayed beams of energetic light represent the players on the ice while the coloured ice rink reflects the dynamism of the Ice Tigers’ team. A
South Africa - The 2017 Hilton Arts Festival took place on the weekend of 15 September, writes DWR lighting designer Michael Broderick. Now in its 25th year, the festival continues to provide a platform for a wide variety of artistic disciplines. The event doesn’t differentiate between main and fringe theatre productions and there are no venues dedicated to a single production for any length of time beyond their technical rehearsal time and actual performances. The festival technicians are most often turning around big productions in very short timeframes to cram as much entertainment during the three-day festival. Black Coffee Productions was the festival’s technical supplier and DWR Distribution provided technical support and equipped every venue with a MA Lighting dot2 Console, with the company saying the ease of use and reliability of these consoles prevented th
USA - House of worship lighting designer and technical director Bobby Dennis will be conducting an educational session for Chauvet Professional at the WFX Conference on Thursday, 12 October at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas. Dennis will conduct the learning session, 5 Steps To Greater Engagement With Light, with Michael Graham, the engagement and education manager of Chauvet Professional, and discuss simple cost-effective ways of using lighting systems to create more immersive worship environments. “We’re honoured that someone of Bobby Dennis’ experience and stature will be participating in our learning sessions,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Bobby’s reputation as a thoughtful and knowledgeable lighting designer is known to virtually every person involved in church lighting. We are looking forward to learnin
USA- A 32-channel AXS console has been commissioned in Studio A at Made In Memphis Entertainment (MIME). The new music venture opened its doors this past April, and serves not only as a studio, but also a music label, production company, and publishing group. Kerry Kernan, chief engineer at MIME says, "The AXS has been a fantastic addition to our studio and has been a joy to track and mix on. I really like the way the AXS has remained truly analogue, yet the automation features can still integrate well with the modern DAW workflow. We are still discovering all of its capabilities." MIME's CEO David Porter adds: "The legendary API sound combined with the AXS's feature set made for an unbeatable combination for Studio A. We couldn't be happier with our new console." (Jim Evans)
USA - Earlier this year when Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney approached Jeff Mathews of Borealis Stage Lighting about designing a floor package for their upcoming tour, they asked him for something that looked large yet compact. Mathews, who has been lighting the pop-country duo since early 2016, gave them the bold look they were after by creating a power-packed video and lighting package that he runs with a ChamSys MagicQ MQ 80 and an extra wing. Despite the memorable impression that it’s making on the international tour, Mathews’ 79-universe rig is compact and flexible enough to fit a wide variety of venues. “Our clients wanted a large package for the summer and fall tour, as well as the spring 2018 tour, that could fit in two trailers alongside the backline,” said Mathews. “Since they play a variety of sized venues -- from clubs and large theatres, to arenas, a
USA - Over the past two years, SGM Lighting and Deep South Productions have worked together building a strong business relationship and Deep South Productions has invested heavily in a variety of SGM LED fixtures keeping their inventory at the cutting edge. Located in Louisiana, Deep South Productions is gearing up the southern states with a large SGM stock ranging over wash lights, strobes and moving heads. “I have been using SGM products since 1996 and had a bunch of Giottos and Flashers. When we needed to move towards LED, we became very enthusiastic about these products,” says Rich Barrett, head lighting designer and programmer of Deep South Productions. Products available for rent include G-Spot, G-Wash, Q-7, X-5, G-1 Beam, and G-1 Wash with the option of being battery-driven. With this wide range of fixtures and a stockholding of nearly 200 units, end-users
Estonia - Robe moving lights were specified for major international opera festival Opera Days held on the island of Saaremaa. The festival saw the world premiere of Nurjatu Saar (The Evil Island) by Estonian rock musician, pianist and composer Rein Rannap, which was performed at a 2,200-capacity structure erected in front of Kuressaare Castle. Lighting was designed by Margus Vaigur, who, in addition to his freelance design work, heads the lighting team at the Endla theatre in Parnu, a high-profile repertory house. He’s lit the Saaremaa Opera Days event in 2013, and this year was asked back by director Vahur Keller. He specified 84 x Robe moving lights to assist with an eye-catching lighting scheme to accompany the drama unfolding onstage. Inspiration for the lighting started with the music and ambience of the piece, explained M
Switzerland - Seventy Robe BMFL moving lights – 48 BMFL Blades and 22 x BMFL WashBeams were used on the 2017 Basel Tattoo, one of the leading military tattoos in Europe, which is staged for a week in a temporary structure erected in front of the Kaserne former military barracks in the centre of the city in northwest Switzerland. The BMFLs were part of a lighting scheme by Rolf Derrer for the week-long Tattoo which features 10 shows and capacity audiences of 7500 for each one. Working closely with Rolf was programmer and his right-hand person Reto Engler, who has worked on the event since 2013. The BMFLs were supplied by Winkler Multimedia Events AG from Wohlen together with the rest of the lighting kit and the full technical production. Winkler’s technical director Roni Huber first started looking for new and more powerful fixtures after the 2016 show, when Reto an
Italy - An Allen & Heath dLive S Class mixing system was selected for a recent large scale classical music production at Mandela Forum, Florence, which saw over 460 musicians and choristers perform a selection of works to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Florence Foundation. La Piazza Incantata included members of the Choir of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with the soloists of the May Academy, the Orchestra of the Conservatorio Cherubini, the Italian Youth Orchestra of the Music School of Fiesole and the Orchestra of Tuscany. Production company ABC srl Rome was responsible for the audio for the event, which required 148 mic inputs, over six stereo matrix, and multiple Aux groups for monitor mixes. To achieve this, ABC used a dLive S7000 surface, with a DM64 mix rack and three fully-loaded DX32 I/O expanders to handle both FOH and monitor mixing.
