Europe - Painting with Light continues its active collaboration with entertainment tech giant Panasonic through the current European Media & Entertainment Roadshow initiative which is showcasing the brand’s latest, high-powered projectors. The projectors work in conjunction with technologies that the Belgian creative design practice has invested in and is using in innovative ways. These are BlackTrax remote tracking, d3 high performance media servers and Notch real-time interactive video content. The specialist technical and programming skills needed to optimise and run these systems are also being provided by Painting with Light and the overall project is being managed for them by Wouter Verhulst. This creative / technical partnership was first seen at the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) exhibition, Amsterdam in February, where Painting with Light’
UK - Driven by the market demand and enhancing the existing stock of its clients, Dry Hire Lighting (DHL) has recently made a heavy investment in SGM’s LED technology. Having added a substantial amount of Q-7 flood lights, P-5 and P-1 wash lights, SixPack blinders, and G-4 Wash and G-4 Wash-Beam moving heads to its inventory, it is ready to support and fulfil equipment shortfalls discretely as and when required by professional lighting hire companies. Co-director, Rob Merrilees, states: “The selling point from our point of view is LED, IP-rating and reliability, and SGM ticks all these boxes. Our relationship with SGM is very strong and hopefully this will grow in the future.” During a HQ visit at SGM Light, co-directors Rob Merrilees and Nic Tolkien met with SGM CEO Peter Johansen and SGM UK director Ian Kirby. “We appreciate the opportunity to
USA - Combining various musical styles such as jazz, house, folk and soul with African, Asian, and Middle Eastern influences, it’s clear to see why Bonobo has been described by Electronic Beats magazine as one of the most prolific “genre shunning” producers. Fittingly, the lightshow on this artist’s world tour was given an expansive look by Will Thomas with help from a collection of Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Thomas relied on 19 of the Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures, supplied by Colour Sound Experiment, to complement the impressive video walls in his design for the tour, which supported Bonobo’s UK Top 5 album Migration. Given the central role that video played in his overall stage design, it was of great importance to Thomas that his lighting coordinate with the video playback, while also reflecting elements of the darker, edgier and
Australia - With a career spanning 40 years, iconic Australian band Icehouse has continued to delight millions with their music, well-known and loved by audiences across generations. Icehouse began in 1977 as a Sydney-based pub rock band called Flowers, who were the highest paid unsigned act in Australia at the time. In 2006, Icehouse was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame, being described as “one of the most successful Australian bands of the 80s and 90s”’. Icehouse’s 1987 album Man of Colours remains to this day as the highest-selling album in Australia by an Australian band. With a history like that, it’s no wonder the band have been selling out their 40 Years Live Tour this year as it travels the country - with more dates just announced. Touring with an audio package from JPJ Audio, the tour utilised in-h
USA - Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado is one of the most iconic concert venues in the world. Everyone loves playing in this unique setting with its special ambience and for a recent Trey Anastasio Band (TAB) gig, LD Marc Janowitz used Robe BMFL Spots to highlight the rock formation at the back of the stage. Marc is currently on tour with the artist with whom he’s worked since 2012. It is the third TAB tour that he has designed, and this time, the design brief was to break everything right down to basics and take a pure-lighting approach with no video, scenic or backdrops. The touring lighting package also had to fit into a 15ft trailer towed behind the bus and dovetail into a ‘top’ package being supplied by the local promoters at each venue. So Marc looked for small, light and bright fixtures and chose 25 x Robe Spikies and 13 x Spiiders. These are posi
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on tour is not an unfamiliar occurance. After all, the band has been on the road since it was established in 1976 and has since been considered one of the most successful and long-running American rock groups in history. This year’s tour, however, has a different air to it: not only are the Heartbreakers commemorating their 40th anniversary, but 2017 is expected to be the last year the group will tour on such a large scale. The 46-city, cross-continent tour began in April and will continue through late September stopping at major US, Canada and UK venues to celebrate with their most dedicated fans. With the additional pressure to mark these milestones, touring sound reinforcement powerhouse Sound Image was called upon for their services. And when it came to designing the front-fill element of the customised electro-acoustic system, presiden
Europe - Foo Fighters will be on the road through December promoting their ninth studio album, Concrete & Gold. Following dates in Asia, the Seattle band will hit Berlin and London before opening their US fall tour at Cal Jam 17 in San Bernardino, California in October. Since 2010, Dan Hadley has been the group’s production designer and lighting programmer/director, and his current design includes 27 Flare Q+ LR linear fixtures. “We are going very light for quick runs of festivals,” says Hadley, “I had to make sure that the fixtures we were bringing packed a punch. I used the original Flares on the last tour to bash and colour the crowd. The Q+ Linears do the same job while providing an unbroken line of light and colour. This adds a sort of architectural/scenic element that makes it stand out from any other lighting rig that the audience is seeing that day
UK - The latest lighting console from British lighting and video control manufacturer Avolites is currently being used to control the versatile lighting rig on the National Theatre's River Stage Festival on London's South Bank. A free outdoor event, the River Stage Festival runs each weekend throughout the month of August. Audiences are invited to see a wide range performances from award-winning dance and cinema to family workshops, live music and theatre. "The festival's varied performance agenda features over 60 live events," says Huw Llewellyn, the National Theatre's lighting resources supervisor and chief lighting designer for the River Stage. "To meet demand, we needed a lighting console that could deliver an extensive range of lighting control options." The Arena console is the latest control surface in the Avolites Titan range, with 40 precision playbac
UK - MDG is a well-respected manufacturer of industry bench-mark haze and fog generators and is loved and well-known within the industry. This summer the company has made some unusual new friends, namely Mole, Ratty, Badger and Mr Toad from the riverbank. The Wind in the Willows the musical, has had a riotous run at the London Palladium this summer. Spectacularly produced by Jamie Hendry Productions and written by Julian Fellowes, Oscar-winning screenwriter and creator of Downton Abbey, and the Olivier award-winning composer and lyricist, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, the show has been a great success. The production’s lighting designer, Howard Harrison, insisted on using two MDG ATMe haze generators for this show. Harrison commented, “MDG is one of the super companies I have always believed in. They produce very good high-quality products and I ha
USA - JR Lighting provided the lighting, rigging and control package for the US leg of American pop punk band All Time Low’s The Young Renegades tour , a successful six-week run this summer that featured Elation Professional lighting and video. Lighting designer Jeff Maker (Pierce the Veil, The Dresden Dolls) has worked with All Time Low for the past eight years and earlier this year used Elation lighting on a string of shows in the UK and Europe. For 2017’s U.S. leg he added a dominant upstage visual piece in the form of an eye-catching LED video wall. “Whereas the UK design was all about the lighting, the U.S. leg was very video heavy,” Maker explains, referencing the unique cityscape/soundwave video wall made up of Elation EMAG4 LED video panels. “We wanted to create a very interactive design that helped transform the stage with each song having its own persona
Japan - Summer is the festival season right around the world — and that includes Japan, which is awash with many music festivals. Rock In Japan is one of the biggest open-air events of its kind in the country, and is held on four days over two consecutive weekends in August. Once again, crowds of more than 68,000 people assembled on each day, totalling over 272,000 people in all. Tickets sold out in advance, and many TV stations reported on how successful the event was. Martin Audio Japan has deployed its MLA speakers for this event for many years, and once again they covered the main Grass Stage with their equipment for the 2017 edition. While this again included the MLA series, all attention was focused on the new XE500 floor monitors along the front edge of the stage, seen for the first time in Japan and Asia Pacific. Powered by an equally new Martin Audio
USA - The theme of the fourth annual EST Festival, which took place outside Cleveland August 11-13, was “1970 Something” a tribute to those unruly, hard-driving days when social inhibitions seemed to be falling like bowling pins. Early Seventies style swagger was out in full force during the two-day festival, as its founder Machine Gun Kelly and other hip-hop heavyweights like Gucci Mane tore things up with some high-powered decibels. There were even some period piece scenic elements dotting the festival grounds for atmosphere, but the Alex Kay lightshow that supported the onstage performances went way beyond anything anyone could ever have imagined back in the day. Kay, of NPi Audio Visual Solutions, used an array of high output fixtures, a 13’ x 20’ video wall, and projection mapping with 20K projectors to create a non-stop visual assault that matched the music on
USA - When WestJet Airlines, Canada’s second-largest air carrier and the number one international carrier into Las Vegas, wanted to celebrate its 21st birthday, the company decided to go all out and set some Guinness World Records in the process. WestJet treated passengers on one of its Toronto-Las Vegas flights to a massive light show in Utah’s Mojave Desert featuring 126 Claypaky Mythos fixtures Creative agency Rethink devised the rather daunting concept, which Westbury National Show Systems Ltd. in Toronto executed. “We don’t scare easily,” laughs Westbury Vice President Rob Sandolowich. The full-service AV company provides lighting, staging, video and audio services for shows and permanent installations. Rethink’s idea was to create a giant, ground-based spinning wheel of lights with a prize-winning seat number revealed in the center. The lights would b
Slovenia - Event Lighting is Slovenia’s largest and busiest lighting rental specialist, based in the capital, Ljubljana. The operation is owned and run by Jernej Gustin, who likes to be setting the trends rather than following them. So it wasn’t a massive surprise that they were the first company in the country to purchase Robe’s new Spiider LED wash beams following a trailblazing purchase of BMFL Blades last year which also started the ball rolling in a country with a small but highly competitive and action packed market! Event Lighting’s first batch of Spiiders went straight out on a number of projects and this was soon followed by a second order, so they now have 40 in stock. “Everyone loves a fat beam,” says Jernej. They wanted a latest generation LED wash fixture to pair with their growing inventory of Robe’s BMFL Blades. The Spiiders have the
Australia - Lexair Entertainment has announced that it is the new Australian and New Zealand exclusive distributor for LDDE. LDDE specialises in the theatre and studio lighting markets, and has held an exceptional reputation since its foundation nearly 30 years ago. Their products are all manufactured in the company’s home of Austria. “On the occasion of Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt in April 2017, first discussions were held with Lexair to offer LDDE products to an even larger audience in Australia and New Zealand” stated Peter Durstberger, international sales manager for LDDE. “I am pleased to have found a partner with Lexair, one of the top companies in its region. Together, we will be able to provide our customers with even better support in the future.” “We are very excited to bring the highly regarded LDDE into the Lexair family, rounding ou
UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards – the industry’s largest Awards to celebrate the achievements in lighting and video design seen in the UK -has announced a special collaboration between KOI Awards, Hawthorn and the PLASA Show. This initiative will introduce a new exhibition area to the PLASA Show (17-19 September 2017), specifically created to showcase the shortlisted and winning designers of the 10th annual Knight of Illumination Awards. The designated KOI area will be located upstairs at the London Olympia exhibition halls. All visitors to the show are invited to see the showcase of work created by the shortlisted lighting designers, and following Sunday’s ceremony, an update with the winning designs. Chris Toulmin, director of events at PLASA Events comments: “This collaboration enables us to display some of the best creative talent
UK - Details of an impressive array of contributors for the Theatres Trust Theatres & Placemaking conference have started to emerge, as delegate bookings for this one-day conference rise. Taking place at Lyric Hammersmith on Tuesday 17 October, Conference 17 will discuss why and how theatres can engage with the placemaking agenda. New contributors include: Paul Callaghan, chair of live theatre and trustee of Sunderland Music, Arts and Culture Trust, will explore the role of culture within regeneration as part of the MACQ (Music, Arts and Cultural Quarter) project in Sunderland, whose vision will see the restoration of an important area of Sunderland, re-establishing the area’s previous importance as the Edwardian heart and soul of the city. Graham Lister, project director for Storyhouse Chester and Cllr Louise Gittins, deputy leader of Cheshire West and Che
In Flight Entertainment - German live music promoter Deutsche Entertainment AG has bought out British entertainment producer the Flying Music Group, as it looks to expand into the UK theatre market. Established in 1976, producer and promoter the Flying Music Group is behind theatre productions including Thriller Live and The Kite Runner, both of which are currently running in the West End, and forthcoming musical The Toxic Avenger. DEAG has now acquired a majority shareholding of the company through its British subsidiary Kilimanjaro Holdings. Through the £5m deal with Flying Music Group, DEAG will expand its activities in the UK, moving into the touring plays and musicals market. A statement from DEAG said its sales in the UK are expected to increase to more than €100m in 2018 following the acquisition of the Flying Music Group. Stuart Galbraith, chi
UK - ISCE has confirmed its first Sound Engineer ECS Card Health and Safety Assessment event, to be held on Wednesday 6September 2017, at SSE Audio Group’s office in London. Following the recent announcement of ISCE’s accreditation to assess and issue ECS cards to its members, a Health and Safety Assessment is a critical component of the ECS card application process. All ECS Card applicants must hold an up-to-date health and safety qualification in order to be awarded with an ECS card. This inaugural Health and Safety Assessment event will take place at: SSE Audio Group, 3 Cumberland Avenue, London NW10 7RX. To find out more and register for the London September event or express an interest in future Health and Safety Assessment events please follow the registration link: www.isce.org.uk/isce-sound-engineer-ecs-card/apply/ (Jim Evans)
France - With the appointment of AED France as Prolyte distributor next to its existing distribution partner Axente, Prolyte Group has established full distribution coverage in France, offering customers optimized access to the range of Prolyte products. Prolyte Group’s trusted partner Axente, which holds the position as Prolyte distributor and ProLyft Service Point in France for a prolonged period, made it possible to succeed to open the French market for Prolyte and grow a trusted and steady customer base. By adding AED Group to the distributing network in France, Prolyte hopes to open up more market segments by offering an alternative sales channel. “It’s really important for us to offer optimum service and flexible access to our product ranges,” states Ralph Stockley, Prolyte CCO. “By installing an extra distributor in the French market, we strive to ena
UK - Entertainment lighting control system rental specialists, Illuminate Lighting, has acquired the lighting control and data distribution hire business of Lighting Productions with a mission to expand the console brands they offer and the services the company currently provides. The combination of resources will allow an enhanced provision of services to Illuminate Lighting's growing client list with everything from basic dry hire to a full lighting control solution. "Illuminate Lighting can now offer three of the leading console brands in the industry - Avolites, Hog, and MA Lighting alongside all the accompanying data distribution equipment," says Jonathan Pask, founder of Illuminate Lighting. "There's a real synergy between our two business inventories. This enables Illuminate Lighting to provide everything from individual consoles to entire networked systems tai
USA - For over 30 years, DeHerrera Event Services has been working behind the scenes to make the performances, conferences, and celebrations in the area around Pueblo, Colorado come to life. The company’s highest profile work includes concerts for up to 5,000 people (Foghat, Jimmy Eat World, War, etc.) and its regular gig running AVL for the three free stages of Colorado’s State Fair. But DeHerrera Event Services also has plenty of bread-and-butter work running modest AVL systems at weddings, graduation ceremonies, and the like. Because its large-format consoles are overkill on those smaller jobs, company owner Wayne DeHerrera recently picked up two of Ashly Audio’s new digiMIX24 digital mixers, which pack all of the features of his larger consoles into a 14” x 20”, 17lb frame using a clever workflow that, in DeHerrera’s words, “has anyone I’ve shown it
UK - BBC One’s musical show Pitch Battle recently completed a successful opening season with five pre-recorded episodes, plus the live finals. Live broadcasts have zero tolerance for malfunctions (just ask Mariah Carey or Janet Jackson) and gear must be 100% reliable. For this reason, lighting designer Mark Kenyon insists on ProPlex Data Distribution Devices for all his show data networking. In addition to Pitch Battle, British television credits for ProPlex include six seasons on the hit show Strictly Come Dancing, five seasons of Saturday Night Takeaway and the new game show Big Heads – all designed by Kenyon. “ProPlex just keeps working,” says Mark Newell, lighting gaffer and Kenyon’s chief systems tech. “For Pitch Battle, we used 10 ProPlex Opto-Splitter 2x8 RDM units, plus a user-friendly, versatile ProPlex IQ
UK - Funktion-One rental house and sound production company, Sound-Services Ltd., worked together with the loudspeaker company to produce the Funktion-One ‘Experimental Ambisonic Soundfield’ for The Glade Stage – the major electronic and dance music stage – at The Glastonbury Festival. Sound-Services put in a Cadac CDC seven live sound console FOH, for its audio performance, allowing the audience to fully appreciate the ambisonic configuration of the Funktion-One Evo system. Sound-Services installed a Funktion-One Evo Touring system, comprising a main-stage FOH system with four additional positions; the six loudspeaker positions arranged in a perfect hexagon, 36 meters in diameter, to create the sound-field. The ‘Experimental Ambisonic Sound-field’ was not a discreet configuration but a system design wherein all loudspeaker positions conjoined to generate a
