USA - The first shipment of the Chauvet Professional Color Strike M fixtures arrived at The Design Oasis right as Abbas Ritscher was about to head out to sea from Miami as the production manager of the 2022 Nursecon cruise. He was so eager to try the new IP65 rated motorised strobe/wash that he decided on the spot to add two units to the rig that he and lighting designer Joe Donnelly put together for the Royal Caribbean pool side party stage. “The Color Strike M got into our warehouse, so it was the perfect excuse to get my hands on it,” said Ritscher. “Being on a cruise ship you need to load in fast. You also need fixtures that have a lot of impact for their size, and of course, everything needs to be able to take the weather, which comes in fast and hard. This fixture fit the bill perfectly.” Ritscher and Donnelly positioned a Color Strike M on either side o
Denmark - Copenhagen’s Bellevue Theatre asked lighting designer Mark P Jones to create a practical and versatile lighting scheme to facilitate their recent touring version of A Column of Fire, a musical production based on Ken Follet’s gripping work encapsulating politics, passion, religious divisions and other 16th-century melodrama of the moment. It was initially staged at the theatre in 2019, directed by Mads M Nielsen with set designed by Benjamin la Cour and lit by Mikael Sylvest. The show was a success, and so after Covid had effectively shut the industry down for two years, the theatre was keen to get it on the road once things started to properly re-open again. Mark’s solution involved several Robe moving lights - Esprites, LEDBeam 350s, Tetra2s and DL4S Profiles - all supplied by Copenhagen rental specialist The Live Company. They also des
Germany - Berlin-based LaserAnimation Sollinger has acquired Bavarian firm Ray Technologies. The two companies are internationally established in the show and event industry, Ray being better known for its RTI brand. The merger is hoped to lead to “an even broader coverage in the professional market” and will result in shared resources, with significant benefits to R&D. "A joint path strengthens both brands in the high-end laser market and enables new developments in various product areas," comments Michael Sollinger, founder and CEO of LaserAnimation Sollinger. The LaserAnimation and RTI brands will continue to exist, as will the companies’ locations in Berlin and Bavaria. All existing employees will remain onboard, with newly-created roles currently being filled as well. Meanwhile, a new special effects lighting unit has also been established.
Italy - Prolights has just expanded its EclFresnel range with four new variable white variants. This includes the MINI, with a 60W LED engine and a 100mm lens, JUNIOR, with a 150W engine and a 150mm front lens, the 1K Fresnel with a 250W source and a 200mm front lens and finally, the 2K Fresnel, with a 500W LED source and a 250mm lens. The variable white series include a CCT range between 2,700K to 5,600K, rendering skin-tones naturally whilst delivering a clean light beam and smooth fades between warm white to cool white. Because these are variable white only fixtures, users get an incredibly bright beam across the entire zoom range, whilst keeping high CRI, TLCI and TM30 values. The EclFresnel range are the perfect fixtures for high-demanding jobs like theatre and broadcast. There are many accessories for these units, including an eight-leaf barndoor and a 28m
USA - The Mulehouse in Columbia, Tennessee sets a new standard for live and streaming events; this multi-function venue brings together many different aspects of making and listening to music - from workshops, to exhibitions, to multi-media interviews and, of course, live shows. The venue, which can accommodate more than 500 spectators, meets all the requirements for high-quality streaming. The lighting package from ETC ensures balanced lighting in the architecturally impressive venue, using over 50 spotlights from the ColorSource family, a HedgeHog console, and an ETCNet streaming network. Prominent entertainment professional Blair Garner is behind the concept of the new location. The award-winning radio DJ has shaped the American country radio landscape for over two decades; he is a member of the National Radio Hall of Fame and Country Radio Hall of Fame. Garner says, “I
USA - Altman Lighting has announced an update to its PHX line. The new PHX LIME chip is brighter without any increase of power consumption, meaning that mixing to white brings a 1,000-2,000lm increase in total brightness per fixture, all whilst delivering independent saturates of Red, Green and Blue. “This is made possible by splitting the LED only four times, allowing us to deliver more power to the saturate chips than many other fixtures in the current market while still maintaining thousands of colour combinations,” says the company. The new PHX LVD has a very smooth fade out and in function, as Nicolas Champion, VP of sales and marketing for Altman Lighting, explains: “The LVD performance is similar to an incandescent dimming curve and can dim all the way to 0% very smoothly. Furthermore, the PHX LVD is forward or reverse phase compatible, meaning that it can work
USA - When asked how he felt about touring, Billy Currington proclaimed: “I want to go everywhere.” Recently, the multi-platinum star got to go 600-miles due north of Nashville to a small town outside Milwaukee to join fellow CMT Award winner, Kip Moore and other country stars for County in the Burg. The two-day event was more than just country music show, Currington, Moore and their fellow artists were helping their Badger state fans raise money for a collection of local charities. Providing upbeat visuals for their performances was an intensely colourful lightshow based on a tour design by Currington’s LD Landon Bloss that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Sound Design Productions. Glenn Ottenbacher installed the rig and ran the lightshows for many of the performers. He notes that having a high output fixtures like the Maverick Storm 1 Wash, St
USA - Bandit Lites has provided the lights for the 7th Annual Black Music Honors, the company reports. Held by Central City Productions at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, the two-hour event celebrated artists and musicians who have influenced and made significant contributions to American music. This year marked the return of a live studio audience, and lighting designer Mark Carver rose to the challenge of crafting distinctive looks for the diverse genre of music and artists. The event honoured iconic musical acts Dru Hill, The Whispers, Karyn White, Tevin Campbell, Keri Hilson and the gospel duo Mary Mary. Bandit Lites supplied more than 170 fixtures, including Ayrton Ghiblis, Chauvet Rogue R2X Washes, Claypaky B-EYE K20, Elation Smarty Hybrids, Elation ACL 360i, GLP X4 Bar 20 and GLP JDC1 LED Strobes. Carver utilised the Ghiblis for key and backlights
UK - The Swansea Arena is a new £135m music and theatre venue operated by Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). The new arena is part of a large-scale development in the centre of Swansea, called Copr Bay. This will also offer new shops, restaurants, apartments and parkland. The area will be serviced by two multi-storey car parks and a pedestrian bridge over Oystermouth Road to improve connectivity between the city and the beach. Swansea Arena will also be home to 2,000sq.m of exhibition space. This will have the capacity to host 2,500 people, with dining capabilities for up to 750 guests. The arena’s LED façade is particularly notable, making the venue instantly eye-catching and awe-inspiring. To achieve this, 97,000 LumiNode Pixel LED’s, from leading LED specialist Tryka, have been used on the façade. The LumiNode Pixel LED is a full-colour, 16-bit, RGBW s
USA - The DALI Alliance is set to present two showcase seminars at LightFair 2022, a trade show and conference for architectural and commercial lighting taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Centre on 21-23 June. The seminars will focus on two hot topics within the lighting control arena - smart lighting with D4i-enabled luminaires, and the benefits of the Zhaga-D4i ecosystem - delivered by eminent experts in the field. The DALI Alliance will also be present on Booth 2371 at the exhibition, from where it will set out how this open, global consortium of lighting companies is helping to grow the market for lighting-control solutions based on DALI-2 and D4i. On 22 June at 11:00-12:00, the DALI Alliance will deliver a seminar on smart lighting with D4i-enabled luminaires, exploring energy reporting, asset management, predictive maintenance and more. Experienced
World - Women In Lighting (WIL) has recently released two new Ayrton-sponsored interviews with female lighting designers: Nashville-based Sooner Routhier, an award-winning designer, producer and director, who has worked with an impressive list of headline artists including KISS, The Weeknd, Motley Crüe, Muse, Rhianna and, currently, Coldplay; and LA-based Emmanuelle ‘Gigi’ Pėdron, a French-born lighting designer who has worked with the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, My Chemical Romance, Garbage and Prince. WIL is a global project co-founded by Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton of Light Collective to promote the work of women lighting designers across the entertainment industry. There are more than 160 interviews with respected female lighting practitioners on the WIL website at www.womeninlighting.com, and sharing these is a key way of raising awareness of
Portugal - Lisbon’s Praça de Touros do Campo Pequeno is a multi-event venue that was fully renovated in 2006. It has been transformed from a bullring into a live music venue, underground shopping centre, cinema, restaurants, and parking lot combined. It now hosts a plethora of events and offers a stage for international live acts and famous bands. At a large-scale gala dinner, sound and light specialists from Janitasound provided its services to ensure the evening proceeded smoothly and was full of ambiance. Supplied by exclusive Portuguese distributor Lagotronics, the Infinity iFX-640 six 40W RGBW effect moving heads were a key part of the night’s illumination. A total of 12 iFX-640s were used, and together with eight Infinity S601 Profiles, 12 Infinity S401 Spots, 16 Infinity iW-1240 RGB washes, 18 Infinity iB-5R beams, two Showtec Theater Profile 600MKIII, eigh
UK - Martin Dudley has been running Cate Carter’s lighting designs for James Morrison on his ChamSys console since 2012. In the ensuing decade, he’s not only grown ever-more appreciative of Morrison’s vocals, but also of his colleague’s singular ability to refresh and expand the evocative looks that support the singer’s shows in light. “Working with Cate is a lesson in the creative power of design,” opens Dudley. “Her approach is never formularised; instead she’s always finding different ways to add new elegant dimensions to James’ shows. It’s a genuine pleasure to take her vision off the computer screen and into reality.” For the recent tour, which saw James Morrison play a number of venues around the UK, Carter’s originality took the form of eschewing big lighting effects in favour of a timelessly classic visual concept. Helping Dudley trans
Qatar - With around six months left until the FIFA World Cup takes place in Qatar, the countdown to the tournament is well underway – and lighting fixtures from Elation Professional are helping to build up the anticipation. Unveiled last November in Doha, the Official Countdown Clock ticks down through every hour, minute and second to the opening game at Al Bayt Stadium on 21 November. Working for client fischerAppelt Qatar, ES:ME Entertainment Services handled lighting, rigging and audio for the reveal event, including hanging of a translucent screen. ES:ME also provided technical support, whilst lighting design was handled by visual design and technology company bright! studios of Germany. ES:ME has worked on many of fischerAppelt’s big events over the last 10 years and for the Countdown Clock reveal supplied a show lighting package of 22 Elation Proteus Maximus,
USA - Tesla vehicles recently served as the centrepiece of a colourful light and sound ‘rodeo’ show. It was all part of Cyber Rodeo, a signature event for 15,000 guests celebrating the opening of Tesla’s new 10 million square feet Giga plant outside the Texas capital of Austin. Rob Ross and the team at Rob Ross Design created the visual by lighting 25 unpainted Tesla vehicles in an array of vibrant colours to coordinate with a thematic soundscape developed by the Tesla media team. The collaboration resulted in a 10-minute music and light show that captivated visitors at the ceremony. “We called this the ‘Body in White’ section,” says Ross. “It was one of my favourite points in the event. Seeing these vehicles accented by different colours and patterns in coordination with the music was a lot of fun, and it conveyed a nice upbeat mood.” There we
USA - Verge Aero’s military-grade drones were out in force as the annual Thunder Over Evans event complemented a massive firework show with drone displays to salute America’s service members. Thousands of families and service personnel travelled to the Towne Centre Park in Evans, Georgia to witness the celebrations, as the Verge Aero team coordinated 180 drones to complement the pyrotechnics and fireworks. The drones were programmed to deliver sky-high messaging, spelling out a massive ‘U-S-A’ and morphing into precision-animated 3D volumetric shapes, which displayed the Stars and Stripes and military crests, as well as patriotic patterns of red, white and blue. It was the second consecutive year that Verge Aero was commissioned to deliver the drone event for Thunder Over Evans, following a pandemic pause in events in 2020. Last year, Verge
France - Twenty of Robe’s Forte moving lights are a key feature of a new lighting design by Maxime Chotard for Mousquetaire de Richelieu (Richelieu’s Musketeer), one of the flagship shows at Puy du Fou, a historical theme park in Les Epesses in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France. These have now been joined by 22 x Robe Esprites which were chosen as a complement to Robe’s highest-powered LED moving light. The show, staged in Le Grand Carrousel Hall, a 6,000sq.m equestrian theatre with seating for 3000, combines sword fights, poetic tirades, equestrian prowess, costumes, moving sets and spectacular special effects that immerse visitors in a swashbuckling mid-17th century tale that unfolds on a massive purpose-built stage. The 74m wide by 45m deep performance space is equipped with - among other things - the world’s largest stage curtain
USA - More than 5,250 graduates celebrated commencement at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville under a lighting system donated from Bandit Lites. The ceremonies took place over three days at Thompson-Boling Arena and consisted of graduates from 45 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico and 23 countries. Bandit donated a flown truss lighting system that included motors, trussing, lights, and draping. The system featured 140 fixtures including Vari-Lite 3000 Spots, GRNLite LED moving head washes, Chauvet ColorDash Batten Quad-12, Chauvet ColorDash Blocks and Thomas 9-lite DWE moles. “As a graduate of UT, as well as serving on multiple boards for many years, it is an honour and pleasure to give back and turn this proud day into a great experience,” says Bandit chair Michael T. Strickland. “The best and the brightest walk across that stage and take their place a
Germany - Anolis LED lighting has been installed to illuminate Dark Matter, a new exhibition space in Berlin showcasing the creative work and technical innovation of light artist Christopher Bauder from WHITEVoid. Dark Matter is contained in seven pitch-black rooms within three purpose-built buildings on the site of a converted factory in the lively Lichtenberg (Light Mountain) area of the city. The experience opened during the pandemic and has fast become a runaway success for light and interactive art lovers. When it came to highlighting and illuminating the exterior of Dark Matter, Christopher, and his team - including technical lead Marc Liebold and site manager Natalie Heckl - turned to architectural lighting brand Anolis to provide the lumens, colours and aura of magical transformation that brings the buildings, gardens and surrounding indus
UK - At this year’s PLASA Focus Leeds, TechLED presented new products from Abstract Lighting, aimed at installers or rental companies who require affordable LED lighting solutions. The showcase included Abstract’s IP20-rated, RBGW LED lighting system Candi Blox. Manufactured in the UK, the 200mm x 192mm unit features a five-by-five array of multi-chip LEDs configured as a central array of 25 LEDs, with an edge halo effect surround achieved through 20 additional LEDs. Lens options include 10°,15° and 40°, as well as an opal diffused option. The fixture can also be truss- or surface-mounted. Candi Blox is connected via four-pin XLR and operated via Duplicator 4, Duplicator 6, or even a proprietary smartphone or desktop app. The Blox draw just 5V for a 15W output. Abstract’s Candi Bar packages up to six Candi Blox together as a standalone fixture taking the six-w
Sweden - Green Wall Designs, a Sweden-based company that creates visuals, sets, and lighting designs for stage performances, TV, and events, were responsible for lighting the national song contest that decided who would be the winning group to participate in the Eurovision. The event was held on 22 April at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm. “We used a total of 103 Prolights SunBlast 3000FC in the main rig, and an additional eight units during the finals,” said the team at Green Wall designs. “They were a big part of the show, we used them in almost every song and they were crucial to the Melodifestivalen 2022 look. Their brightness combined with the option to use all 48 cells pixel mapped individually enabled us to use them in different ways depending on the song's mood and feeling. “All from brutal bursts controlled by the lighting console to detailed twinkles pl
France - The world’s largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean International’s Wonder of the Seas will have four Robe RoboSpot systems installed in its 1,600-seat capacity Main Theatre, and two more in Studio B, which is the Royal Caribbean ice rink. The four RoboSpot BaseStations in the Main Theatre will be controlling eight Forte moving lights from Robe, each running in conjunction with four motion cameras. Meanwhile, the two BaseStations in the ice rink will be used with four Esprite LED Profiles. This installation builds on the success of RoboSpots installed as a remote follow spotting solution in the Two70 venue aboard Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas, which commenced service in 2021. The Wonder Main Theatre show will be an all-singing, all-dancing Broadway-style production, complete with aerialists, drones, and complex automated scenery, with lighti
UK - Bristol-based event supplier Enlightened has recently invested in a stock of Ayrton Perseo Profile IP65-rated fixtures to service its busy schedule. Enlightened specialises in full production services, supported dry hire, design, and delivery of permanent installations, as well as sales, skilled repairs and maintenance to a diverse range of clients and venues. “Corporate and private parties and events, large outdoor events in winter, festivals in the summer, installation, sales - basically, we do everything for everyone!” says head of hire and production, Dave Thorpe. “Bristol is a good hub for small to medium companies to which, along with many small companies and theatres all over the country, we cross hire equipment. We therefore make a point of only investing in the very latest in top quality entertainment technology.” Enlightened’s diverse fie
UK - When Dean Graves and the team at Bigabox Productions added the new Chauvet Professional Color STRIKE M to their inventory earlier this year, they had some definite ideas on how they were going to use the motorised strobe/wash to enhance their clients’ shows. “We took on this fixture, because we were super impressed with its output, functionality, and IP rating,” said Graves, adding that the later feature was especially important given the number of outdoor festivals that rely on Bigabox supplied stages. “Aside from the fixture’s ROI potential, we were quite impressed with the kinds of looks designers could create with it. In our minds we could see it being sensational at big outdoor shows.” Graves’ vision came to fruition in April when lighting designer Michael Seeverens of TwofiftyK used 12 of the high output fixtures to create dazzling visuals for
