UK - In Tomb Raider: The LIVE Experience, teams of eight people experience an adrenaline-fuelled adventure in search of a powerful artefact in an approximately 30,000 m2 LIVE action course in London. On behalf of Little Lion Entertainment, Darkside Audio Visual was responsible for the planning and installation of the lighting, audio and video technology, and for this, the London-based integrator relied on a total of 166 spotlights from Cameo. Tomb Raider: The LIVE Experience moves through single and multi-level areas with one overarching goal: to immerse participants deeply in the story being told. In addition to the beautifully designed sets, actors also contribute to the adventure. The selected Cameo fixtures – from the Q-Spot, Studio Par, Root Par, TS and Thunder Series – are spread across all areas of Tomb Raider: The LIVE Experience. For e
Italy - Prolights has released its latest product in the soft light range, the EclSoft Tube100, a multipurpose, IP65 wireless linear pixel tube designed for film & TV, indoor and outdoor environments. The EclSoft Tube100 has a 48W RGB+WW source and 16 independently controlled sections. Just like the other fixtures in the soft light range, it has RGBW mode, HSI, CMY, XY, Raw Direct, CCT linear, CCT presets with +/- green shift, source emulation and industry standard gels, plus a wide range of built-in pixel effects. There is a powerful, long-lasting battery on-board and Wireless DMX (CRMX and W-DMX), making it possible to take the EclSoft Tube100 anywhere without running cables. The new soft tube includes a built-in power supply that bipasses the battery and enables extra lumen output when connected to the mains, an ideal feature for users wanting to install the uni
Italy - Follow-Me has announced the start of a new partnership with Italian distribution company Molpass for stocking, sales, marketing, training and support of the Follow-Me remote follow-spot and performer tracking system, across the Italian market. Paolo Albani, commercial director of Molpass comments, "We have already been collaborating with great quality brands for some time and, adding Follow-Me among these, is a big step and a great opportunity to offer to our customers a single solution to their projects.” The wide array of applications that Follow-Me is currently used on range from international tours with artists such as Genesis, Ed Sheeran & Rolling Stones to TV shows like The Masked Singer, Dancing with the Stars, theatrical productions, Expo 2020 Dubai, theme parks, cruise ships and many other applications. General manager for F
USA - Salem Baptist Church in McDonough, GA, sits on a beautiful 104-acre wooded campus with winding paths and gently rolling bluffs that provide an idyllic setting for worship services and bible studies, as well as a variety of recreational activities by its community of worshippers. Completed in 1979, the church building itself is also warm and welcoming, and features a modern video-ready lighting system. Salem recently opened the first satellite campus in its 152-year history. Located 12 miles from the main campus, the new Salem at Keys Ferry building, which was acquired from another church, seats approximately 300. Like the main campus, the new building was designed to support a welcoming worship environment. However, it did not have comparably modern lighting. To address this issue the church contracted StageCulture to design and install a new lighting system for the K
The Netherlands - The new Amare building is an arts, culture, and educational hub on the Spui in Den Haag, which opened last year at the heart of this lively capital city, after six years of construction. Built on the footprint of the old Lucent Danstheater, Amare is a centre for excellence and houses the Dance and Music Centre, The Hague Foundation, the Residentie Orkest, the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) and the Royal Conservatoire. Offering a 1500-capacity concert hall (2500 standing) and a 1300-seater theatre plus two other performance halls and extensive rehearsal facilities, it was a big deal to get over 100 Robe moving lights specified for the project. These are a mix of 86 x T1 Profiles and 30 x T2 Profiles plus 60 x ParFects all supplied by Robe’s Benelux distributor Controllux and installed in the two primary venues and their main black box space. A
UK – EnterTec, a Buckinghamshire-based provider of audio and visual rental and turnkey production services, has made a major investment in lighting equipment from the Prolights brand, via UK distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET). The range of new equipment EnterTec has added to its stock includes a range of Prolights’ moving heads such as Astra Wash 19Pix washlights, Jet Spot4z spots and Jet Beam2 beam fixtures. Static luminaires from the brand include Eclipse FS RGBLs (with a choice of lenses), plus a number of Eclipse Junior profiles and Fresnels. The investment also sees EnterTec add 24 of Prolights’ Lumipix 15IP, the tour-ready LED pixel batten, to its stock. Through clients including production management agencies and high-end event producers in the UK and Europe, EnterTec supports events for global brands including several international airli
Germany - This past summer, Waldstadion in Frankfurt was the scene of two sold-out shows by one of Germany’s favourite rock bands over the years, Böhse Onkelz. Renowned lighting designer and long-time lighting collaborator with the band, Jerry Appelt, created a spectacular stage and lighting design for the stadium shows and ensured that the visual impact would be memorable using Elation Professional’s Proteus Excalibur beam moving head. Formed in Frankfurt in 1980, the band’s stadium shows were meant to be 40th anniversary events in 2020 but were postponed until this year. Appelt, who worked with the band earlier in its career and lit the band’s ‘farewell’ concert in 2005 before 120,000 fans, has continued to light shows for them after the band reunited in 2014. The two Waldstadion shows featured distinctive stage and lighting designs by Appelt who says h
UK - The Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra embarked on their Autumn 2022 UK tour in October, backed by a ‘big band’ lighting design by Paul Fairfield. His vision for the show swings from upbeat rock ‘n’ roll large looks to smooth solo instrument key lighting using VL2600 Profile luminaires from Vari-Lite. The VL2600 Profile fixtures were supplied by Peterborough-based Pearce Hire, which was the first company in the world to invest in them back in 2018. Pearce Hire has supplied the lighting rig to Jools Holland’s Rhythm and Blues Orchestra tours for more than a decade and worked with Fairfield to specify the VL2600s. “We knew the VL2600s were just perfect for the needs of the Jools Holland tour,” says Fairfield. “The consistency of the smooth light output from the LED engine across the rig versus a discharge fixture was a game changer.” For
France - Every year since 1998, the mass choir of Les Fous Chantants (The Singing Fools), has honoured French-speaking songwriters and composers - living or deceased - with a major choral concert devoted to their works. The musical programme generally includes 25 songs, including those of the guest artist, that are sung with the choir. This year's event, honouring Pascal Obispo, took place in the Temperas Arena in Alès, at the end of July. One thousand choristers were seated on bleachers around a 27m wide x 13m deep main stage, extending the performance area a further 35m x 20m x 8m high. Victor Lagiewski and Guillaume Fournier, founders of lighting design company Chromatik, have managed the lighting for this event since 2017 and specified 44 Ayrton Cobra, 16 Ayrton Perseo Profiles and 12 Ayrton Khamsin S luminaires for their main rig, all of which were supplied S Gro
USA - To simultaneously ensure professional key lighting while blending seamlessly with the set design, HBO’s Game Theory With Bomani Jones recently utilised Martin VDO Sceptron and MAC Encore Performance lighting fixtures deployed by lighting designer Mike Baldassari. Produced by HBO, Game Theory with Bomani Jones features the Emmy-winning journalist sharing his satirical takes on the intersection of sports and culture through topical monologues, sketches and deep dives. Season One of is available to stream on HBO Max. To ensure a sleek and fresh lighting design for the new series, television producer Kathy Welsh hired Mike Baldassari, who utilised Martin lighting fixtures such as the VDO Sceptron and MAC Encore Performance for their versatility, reliability and user-friendliness. MAC Encore Performance fixtures provided all the key light and addition
UK - The city of Birmingham hosted the first PoliNations event, an epic installation work that took over Victoria Square with 40ft-high sculpted archi-cultural trees and thousands of varieties of plants crafted into a setting that hosted a diversity of live events, experiences, and performances. The forest celebrated the colour, existential beauty, delicacy, and adaptability of horticultural life, telling stories of different species and their global journeys, movement and transformations, a fantastic metaphor for the energy and symbiosis that cultural diversity brings to any society. Lighting designer Matt Daw was already onboard with the project when Hampshire-based lighting rental company Liteup won a competitive tender issued by creative production company Trigger Collective – under the artistic direction of Angie Bual and Carl Robertshaw – to illuminate the project
UK - Rental and technical production company Adlib has invested in Robe Forte moving lights and RoboSpot remote follow spot systems to service their busy ongoing work schedule. Some of the new kit went directly out on the recent Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Live Show - The Battle for Moore Street tour, with lighting designed by Mike Summerfield, who made use of two Fortes on the front truss controlled via two RoboSpot BaseStations positioned side stage by the racks. “This is one of the best remote follow spot systems out there,” commented Adlib account manager Jordan Willis. “So far, our team has praised this system's additional flexibility. The set-up and operation are easy, so it makes sense that everyone is happy to see it on a rider or a specification.” Mike Summerfield comments, “The Fortes remove the need for touring bulky follow spots that need
USA - Lighting designers, programmers and operators all made their way to the Obsidian booth over the course of the three-day show to check out the NX1 lighting console, as well as other consoles in the NX line and a full line of Netron data distribution products. The NX1 has created quite a buzz in the lighting control community since launching at the Prolight + Sound tradeshow in Frankfurt last April with LDI being the first opportunity for many in the U.S. to see and demo the console in person. The unit has been shipping worldwide since September. The NX1 is a scalable and full-featured console that offers the complete Onyx experience in an ultra-compact package. It is expandable with the dedicated NXP motorized playback wing, and the NXK, a small USB-powered control surface. Obsidian ran a grand prize drawing at the show with one lucky winner walking away with a
USA - The Vari-Lite team says they are “overwhelmed” at the response to the new products showcased at LDI 2022 and by the strength of the brand within the industry. Three major new flagship products made their US tradeshow debut at the event. A highlight was the Vari-Lite VL3600 Profile IP - a large-scale, high output production profile fixture with an IP65 rating and pitched for touring and TV productions, stadiums and arenas, and large theatres and houses of worship. The other new luminaire showstopper was the VL1600 Profile - an advanced moving head profile luminaire designed for theatrical key lighting applications. The team also unveiled the new Neo X15 control console, which was powered up for hands-on demo at LDI 2022. The Neo X15 is Vari-Lite’s flagship, high-performance lighting console, offering 15 multifunctional motorized playbacks and backlit encode
South Africa - Cape Town-based Ultra Events has purchased 12 Robe Robin LEDBeam 350s from DWR Distribution which went straight to work this past weekend. Costa Champanis, owner of Ultra Events, was one of the core people during the pandemic who would meet up to come up with plans and ideas to save the live events industry and was instrumental in the formation of #LightSAred. He has a heart for people, and a dedication towards his clients. “Oh, what I relief!” said Costa. “After a dark period of business during COVID-19, with the events industry being shut down and our ability to work restricted, it’s a great feeling to be on site and doing what we love most with great people and nice toys to work with.” Johnny Scholtz, DWR’s representative in Cape Town says: “I was able to spend a bit of time with Costa and his team while taking delivery of their ne
USA - After a two-year, pandemic-related wait, The Weeknd’s 19-date After Hours Til Dawn Tour surpassed even the loftiest expectations. This was plain to see (and hear) from the moment the stage erupted in light, and The Weeknd appeared dressed in black and wearing a mask to begin his show with a hauntingly evocative rendition of Alone Again. Supporting The Weeknd during his transformative two-hour set was an immersive light and video show that featured over 1,100 fixtures and a 180ft video wall supplied by Solotech. Solotech account executive Robert Kennedy and his team accomplished this feat by drawing on global resources. The resultant lighting and video rig was a key part of a production design. Going beyond scenery, the design created an actual ‘city’ on stage with 17 custom carved, hard coated, painted buildings in various levels of ruination
France - Internationally acclaimed Franco-Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado is showing Amazônia, his seven-years-in-the-making photographic journey into the still-unspoiled heart of the world’s greatest and most awe-inspiring wilderness. Salgado’s work is fittingly celebrated at the Amazônia Exhibition at Palais des Papes in Avignon, which runs until 30 November. Designed by Lélia Wanick Salgado and accompanied by evocative music from Jean-Michel Jarre specifically written for the occasion, this experience features over 200 black & white photographs that reflect the striking complexity and beauty of the Amazon. Enhancing the power of the exhibit and making it even more transformative is a balanced lighting design by RT Events that features 166 Chauvet Professional fixtures. Subtle and discrete, their lighting manages to add to the exhibi
USA/Europe - The music of Phoebe Bridgers has been captivating an ever-growing fanbase since her first album release in 2017, with lighting designer Spike Kienholz Inglis of Spike Design having been lighting the artist since those early days. The LA-based singer / songwriter released her second album, Punisher, in 2020. With live events and touring disrupted at the time due to covid, she is now mid-way through a 2022 world tour which started in the US, before moving to Europe for a festival blast through the summer, and ultimately culminating in a UK headliner tour. For the US leg of the tour, Spike specified a full Robe moving light rig – with 24 x MegaPointes, 24 x Spiiders, 16 x Tetra1s and six Fortes – all supplied by Gateway Studios & Production from St Louis. Spike first encountered Robe’s products whilst touring Europe in 2014 and has be
Spain - Estopa, one of Spain’s most popular rock/rumba bands, have been touring the country for much of 2022. With many venues sold out, their Fuego tour has been a roaring success. Sixteen Showtec Sunstrips have been used as part of the lighting setup throughout the tour. They were supplied by Fluge Audiovisuales, who were responsible for the tour’s sound, lighting and AV equipment. After performing a few dates in the USA earlier this year, Estopa have played more than 20 dates throughout Spain. The Fuego tour was originally planned to go ahead in 2019 and 2020 to support the release of the album that bears the same name but, due to the global pandemic, the tour dates in 2020 had to be scrapped. Consisting of brothers José and David Muñoz, Estopa have now been successful for over two decades. In addition to touring Spain, they have played in the U
USA - Main Light increased its rental inventory of Ayrton lighting fixtures with the purchase of a large complement of versatile new Zonda 9 FX fixtures. The company currently has offices in Delaware, Tennesse, and Las Vegas, with a fourth location coming February 2023 to Teterboro, NJ. Main Light has seen a steady demand for its Ayrton Perseo, Khamsin and Diablo fixtures, which were acquired during the past two years from ACT Entertainment, the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. Main Light’s acquisition of Zonda 9 FX represents one of the first investments by a US company in the luminaire. Designed for a multitude of applications, Zonda 9 FX is the first in a new family of products for stage lighting equipped with a high-performance 40W LED source with RGB+W additive colour synthesis. Zonda’s LED/optical system combination can produce a powerful
USA - Elation expected a busy LDI 2022. Their booth was crowded from the minute the show opened on Friday at the Las Vegas Convention Centre and lighting pros continued to make their way to the booth to talk lighting and demo Elation, Obsidian and Magmatic products throughout the weekend. The Elation team was excited to be back at the show after a three-year hiatus. “We had a fantastic show,” enthused Elation director of sales & marketing, Eric Loader. “We expected a lot of contact and interest from customers leading up to the show so the crowded booth didn’t surprise us in the least. It was great to see so many faces again, both our faithful partners and customers but also the many new faces and contacts we made. The attention on our new products was great and based on the quality leads generated it gives us a lot of opportunities to continue our growth.”
Australia - The Street Theatre in Australia is Canberra's award-winning home of live storytelling and performance, and a major investor in new theatre, music, and artists from the ACT and region. The Street Theatre commissions, develops, produces, and presents work that challenges expectation and convention. In the months leading to their purchase, they had experienced a bigger demand for LED product in their lighting rig. This demand was driven by the desire to be able to respond to key moments in a performance and being able to easily colour mix and adjust focus, allowing their operators to create lighting that could help drive a performance. “We produced a three-month concert series early 2022, and for this series we hired in an LED lighting rig for the season,” explained James Tighe, technical manager. “After seeing what our lighting team were able to create
USA - Lighting designer Ian Haslauer chose a large complement of Claypaky Xtylos and Mini Xtylos HPE fixtures for the North American leg of The Lumineers’ Brightside World Tour 2022. Christie Lites and representative Martin Kelley supplied the Xtylos fixtures, featuring Claypaky’s proprietary RGB laser source, for the arena tour supporting the American folk-rock band’s Brightside album. The tour played dates across the UK and Europe before moving to North America for the spring and summer, wrapping at Wrigley Field in Chicago in September. Haslauer has worked with The Lumineers since early 2019. Production designers Sooner Routhier and Robert Long of SRae Productions came onboard in 2016 and have three tour cycles to their credit. Routhier suggested that Haslauer use the small form factor Mini Xtylos HPE in his rig following her success in deploying them
Hosted by Oscar-winning composer Steven Price, the two-hour spectacle features highlights from the series shown on a giant 4K screen with live music being performed by an orchestra conducted by Robert Ames. Intelligent lighting by Infinity and Showtec enhance the entire experience. While breath taking images on screen and live orchestral music already engage the audience, stunning lighting effects throughout the venue augment the visual experience to fully immerse them. Numerous lighting fixtures by Infinity and Showtec are used for this. These include 34 Infinity iW-1941 RDM washers, 14 Showtec Helix S5000 Q4 washers, 25 Infinity S401 Spots and eight Infinity S601 Profiles. Each fixture plays an important part in the spectacular light show that was designed by Art of Light’s Andre Beekman. Additional effects are provided by two Showtec Mistique CO2 hazers. In addition to
