UK - CEG is a UK-based independent equipment rental provider to all sectors of the technical entertainment industry in music, theatre, film, TV and corporate settings. In March CEG made the first of a number of investments in Ayrton with a consignment of Diablo LED profile fixtures, purchased from Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions. “We chose Diablo because it is the trifecta of what you want a product to be: cost-effective, feature-full and very popular with our clients,” says CEG’s Ben Bowles. “Our core business is to supply industry providers, all of whom have been telling us that Diablo is the fixture they want and the key spot of its type for the foreseeable future, and we couldn’t agree more.” Vitally, Bowles sees Diablo as cost-effective fixture with no compromise on features: “Our business is about giving our custome
USA - Dan Michie, who lit metalcore band Falling in Reverse on their recently concluded Live From The Unknown tour, enthusiastically reflected his client’s menacing sound with a broad palette of vivid colours. “There’s nothing wrong with using a wide range of colours,” said Michie. “Typically, I’ll stick to three main colours per song, but I’m not strict about it. Some songs I’ll listen to and see different coluors in my head for the verses than I do for the choruses. One of my favourite looks is to run a rainbow effect on the washes or any kind of RGB/CMY fixture and cut through that with white spots or beams. Falling In Reverse is also a fun band and I felt that the rainbow look fits some of their songs really well.” Michie worked his colour rendering magic to perfection on the tour, as evidenced in his lighting for their 2022 hit “Zombified,”
USA - It may never rain in southern California, but it pays to be prepared because when it does, it pours. Full Flood lighting designer Noah Mitz and lighting director Bryan Klunder opted to use 40 IP65-rated Ayrton Perseo fixtures for Adele’s surprise CBS special, Adele One Night Only, at the landmark Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles last November. The two-hour show no sooner finished than the skies opened up in a dramatic and torrential storm that found crews scrambling to cover non-IP-rated gear. “It was one of the most intense weather systems that LA had seen in some time,” recalls Harrison Lippman, co-founder of Burbank-based Volt Lites which was the production lighting vendor for the show with additional support provided by PRG Los Angeles. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. “Being equipped with t
UK - As if reopening the venue after a little problem with storm Eunice wasn’t enough, UB40 managed to implement several notable firsts of their own for their show at London’s slightly ragged O2 Arena on 25 February. “Grant Hickey, who took the reins as LD in 2018 was stranded in Australia by travel restrictions,” explains Oli Metcalfe. “Things in our business are currently so unstable but we have to roll with it. Fortunately Grant set me up with a starting showfile which I ran with and then added to on the load-in day. Even so, it was quite something to go in hot with nothing more than a quick sound check for the London show.” Metcalfe had formerly designed for UB40 himself and indeed on that last tour had directed video while Hickey ran the lights. “Luckily mine and Grant’s histories with the band goes back some way and this design is still his. With t
USA - Theatre Projects has announced two additions to their team in North America - Peter Wilson and Thomas Bukovac. Both have joined the firm as associates. A licensed architect, Peter is an accomplished venue designer who previously worked at architectural firms such as Gensler and Barton Myers Associates. He is passionate about designing theatres and says he’s “thrilled to share my knowledge with new clients and new colleagues, and to learn as much as possible from each of them in turn.” His past projects include the renovation of the Madrid Theatre for the City of Los Angeles, several theatres at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, and a new 600-seat theatre for the Television Academy’s Saban Media Centre in Los Angeles. Thomas joins Theatre Projects as their new audiovisual and integrated technology team leader. A licensed professional e
UK - Having its origins in the 18th century, British Sign Language (BSL) was frowned upon for centuries by an educational establishment that refused to teach it in school, believing that the deaf should learn to read lips instead. That all began to change in the 1970s, as schools throughout the UK incorporated BSL into their curriculums. By 2003, the British government had recognised BSL as its own language. On 28 March, this vibrant form of communication will reach another milestone with the debut of Sign 2 Win, the first game show played entirely in BSL. Hosted by deaf actress Fifi Garfield of Switch and Punk Chef fame, the show offers contestants a chance to win £1,000 in prizes. The programme’s producer, Drummer TV, turned to Pytch for help in creating the first 10 episodes of their breakthrough series. Pytch provided a virtual venue f
The Netherlands - Robe Esprites have joined the house lighting rig at Patronaat in Haarlem, one of the core music venues in the northern Netherlands, which features two busy halls and a café area all hosting performances, a mix of rock and pop shows, club nights and dynamic music-based festival events. The new fixtures were actually delivered at the start of 2020, but with successive Covid-19 lockdowns over the last 18 months, they have only started being used extensively since re-opening, explained head of lighting Robin van der Plas. Lighting designers and the Patronaat’s own house lighting crew – including senior lighting technician Frits Barends – are loving the new moving lights. Twenty-four Esprites are installed in the main 950-capacity main hall, with the other 12 in the smaller second hall space, making up a total of 36 luminaires, all of them
Italy - Prolights has extended its range of image projectors by adding the Mosaico L to the family. The newly added fixture is a bright outdoor LED gobo projector, designed for long-range images, textures and logo projections. The Mosaico range has an IP66 rating for long-lasting outdoor installations. The Mosaico L has a 300W high-power white LED source and an incredibly bright 11,700-lumen output. The 7 to 49-degree zoom range makes the Mosaico L versatile for near-field or long-throw installations. The new fixture has an enhanced optical system that boosts the light output, making it more efficient while making the gobo images crisp and focused on all positions, including the centre and the edges of the projected picture. It also prevents distortion or bending of the image at large zoom angles. The Mosaico L comes with an extensive set of features, including a
UK - Avolites has unveiled an incremental update to its lighting and integrated media control Titan software. This update looks at making the setting up of fixed installations easier. Titan’s Timeline has proved useful to fixed installations, as well as live productions, as it transforms the way users can programme a time coded show, dramatically speeding up the process. Essentially it provides a visual approach to programming, allowing users to quickly capture their actions manually via the UI or by using the innovative live record feature. With Titan 15.1 a new Venue Mode Workspace allows users to choose a workspace that will display on the screen when the console is locked. This can be used to display user-selected playbacks on the lock screen, allowing for basic control by venue staff such as cleaners or bar staff when the lighting operator is not present. This
South Africa - Located in Pretoria, Choose Life Church was founded in 2005 by Pastor John and Mandri Roebert. Embracing technology has been a part of Choose Life’s ethos throughout their journey, consistently ensuring that high quality systems are installed on their premises. In fact, after purchasing the building in 2010, the first thing they did was renovate and improve upon the existing system. The first major project in 2011 was centred around the installation of a d&b T-Series audio system in their main auditorium, which was supplied and integrated by Stage Audio Works (SAW). Recently, Choose Life Church called upon SAW once again, this time to implement a large Pixel Plus LED wall to act as the backdrop for their stage. A secondary requirement of this project was to upgrade their hardware and streaming infrastructure, to allow them more flexibility moving f
USA - Rosco Laboratories continued their long-time support of the charity with a cheque presentation at USITT 2022, reflecting sales of Roscolux #359 Medium Violet. Henry Cowen, live entertainment sales manager - North America, presented the cheque on behalf of Rosco, saying, “I am truly honoured to able to present this donation to our friends at Behind the Scenes this year. The work you do is so important to the industry we all call family, particularly in the past two years when so many of our colleagues and their families were negatively impacted by the pandemic. I speak for the entire Rosco family when I say Thank You for the work you do. We appreciate you, and we are committed to you.” Tobin Neis, a BTS Board member, accepted the cheque on behalf of the charity, and commented, “It’s so gratifying to accept this donation from Rosco who was our very first Pl
USA - In a city renowned for its iconic neighbourhoods and distinctive architecture, The Bollinger Canopy of Peace quickly established itself as a must-see New Orleans landmark after it opened in 2019. Soaring 148ft in the air, the bright white steel-and-fiberglass structure seems ready to take flight as it spans the entire campus of the National World War II Museum in the heart of the city. However, there is more than the aesthetic appeal of the 481ft long by 133ft wide canopy that moves observers. Equally compelling is its symbolic significance, as it representsthe sacrifices of the 16m Americans who served in the military in the Second World War. In preparation to unveil the Expressions of America interactive light and sound show later in 2022, the canopy was equipped to become even more powerful, thanks to a dynamic lighting display over its surface. Created
Europe - LED manufacturer Absen has announced the start of a new recruitment phase in a bid to further expand its global partnership network. Supporting the growth of the LED market, Absen – who currently operate in over 130 countries – is set to expand its global network of systems integrators and rental stagers by reaching out to other like-minded businesses who may apply to become an Absen partner representative in its commitment to remain market leaders globally. Absen currently boasts 13 domestic and overseas offices, employing over 2,000 staff and representatives who are responsible for the completion of over 50,000 projects to date. To further establish the global partnerships already fostered from two decades in the LED industry, the company is committed to welcoming ‘businesses with similar ideologies, vision and drive’. “We have, and will cont
Europe - Chauvet has appointed Antonio Parise to the position of EMEA business development manager. Based in Rimini, Italy, Parise will work with Goran Dončić, the company’s current European business development manager, in that market, in addition to being responsible for serving customers in Africa. He and Dončić will both report directly to Stéphane Gressier, Chauvet’s international sales director. “As a company, Chauvet has been extremely pleased with the way our brands have been embraced throughout EMEA market,” says Gressier. “As we continue to grow, we want to ensure that our distributors and dealers continue to receive the uncompromising level of support that they have come to associate with the Chauvet name. Given Antonio’s impressive track record in this industry, we’re confident that he will help us take things to the next level and help o
UK - The highly lyrically complex songs of Laura Marling, performing solo on an acoustic guitar, brings with it demands for a special kind of lighting. Showcasing her latest album, the Grammy- and Mercury-nominated Song for Our Daughter, her recent three-week sold-out club and theatre tour - her first in four and a half years - was highlighted by two nights at London’s Roundhouse. Marling’s long-term LD, Jon Barker, recently formed a collaboration with fellow designer and long-term colleague, Dom Smith, with the pair now operating under the name NeonBlack. Their mission: to tell the story of the artist through light. Since this was also a low-production tour, they were able to achieve most of their objectives by deploying 16 of GLP’s impression X4 Bar 20 battens. The rig needed to suit Academy-sized venues where the lighting needed to be nimble and d
USA - Lighting designer/director, Brian Jenkins of Flicker Designs had specified two of MDG's award-winning, dual haze and fog generators, theONE, for the band’s 2020 tour before it was postponed due to the pandemic. After an 18-month enforced break, the tour resumed last summer, with the band visiting many of North America's largest outdoor amphitheatres playing to 15,000-30,000 capacity crowds. Rehearsals for the eight-week tour, which was in support of the band’s seventh studio album, Jordi, started in late July with the first show slated for 10th August 2021 at the White River Amphitheatre in Auburn Washington. The final date took place in October at the Concord Pavilion, Concord California. Jenkins chose theONE for both its versatility and powerful output capabilities: “We specifically needed a hefty, high-output unit for the outdoor amphitheatre show
Europe - Ayrton has announced the Domino LT, the first long-throw IP65-rated fixture in its 9 Series. Domino LT is the first all-terrain LED luminaire in Ayrton’s LT (Long Throw) range. Designed for intensive outdoor use in long-distance applications that require high precision, Domino LT can cope with the most extreme conditions, and is able to acclimatise to all types of environments and endure rapid climate change. It combines the minimalist design of Domino Profile with the colour mixing capabilities of Huracán Profile and the IP65-rated weather-proofing of Perseo. Domino LT’s 225mm diameter frontal lens produces an ultra-intensive beam with a 15:1 zoom ratio and a zoom range of 3.5° to 53°. Equipped with an all-new high-efficiency 1,000W LED module, Domino LT delivers a record luminous flux of 51,000 lumens at a colour temperature of 6,700K. Domino L
New Zealand - The Halberg Awards celebrates the country’s sporting excellence. The 2022 extravaganza was staged at the Spark Arena in Auckland, this time with a reduced live audience of 100 seated guests (usually 1000), a measure applied late-on as the country went to a COVID ‘red alert’ level. It broadcast live on Sky TV. The set, lighting and visuals were designed collaboratively by LD Jason Steel working closely with Simon Garrett of Big Picture. The company delivered lighting and visual equipment, including the nearly 100 Robe fixtures utilised on the show. The starting point for lighting the diamond-shaped stage was a 25m wide cross-shaped 6mm LED video surface, curving gently round at the ends, a monolithic structure that set the aesthetic tone and look of the event. The stage was built with wings at 45-degrees and featured a large ramped central run
UK - Sound Technology, the UK distributor of Martin Professional, has reported that a large quantity of the MAC Ultra Performance were supplied by various dealers, including White Light, Stage Electrics and Hawthorn. The high-output profile luminaires replace existing generics and tungsten sources. A total of 23 have been added to the standard overhead rig, replacing older generics within the 1,150-capacity Olivier Theatre, with a further 10, provided earlier by White Light, to be stored in Lighting Resources to be called on as necessary by lighting designers. Matt Drury, head of lighting, explains: “In the Olivier we needed a punchier fixture and had been looking at an alternative source prior to lockdown. We knew that by 2022 we would need something of that ilk but during the interruption the MAC Ultra Performance and MAC Ultra Wash came along, and they did so at just t
USA - Technical Arts Group (TAG) provided SJ Lighting of Westlake Village, California with IP65-rated Ayrton Perseo Beam and Domino fixtures for the New York edition of the Rolling Loud global music festival last autumn. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. TAG was formed in 2021 and specialises in lighting, audio, video, staging, special effects and event management. The company has offices in Secaucus, New Jersey and Miami. It furnished lighting, sound and video equipment for Stage 4 of Miami’s Rolling Loud fest last July then was asked to supply lighting for New York’s two main stages and sound and video gear for the third. The three-day event at Citi Field drew more than 80,000 fans to performances from some of hip hop’s biggest emcees. The IP65-rated Perseo and Domino fixtures proved to be an inspired choice fo
Serbia - Earlier this month, the Novi Sad Fair celebrated the Migration of Souls. Held in conjunction with the city being named a European Capital of Culture for 2022, the 11-day, multimedia event features presentations by writers and thinkers, as well as art exhibits and music/dance acts by an impressive global collection of performers. Each day’s session concluded with a concert, and as befits the theme of the event, the roster of artist was varied, beginning with Japanese experimental guitarist Miyavi, on to the Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra and The Chalaban band, which performs Moroccan music with a central European twist, plus Original Enigma voices. Chameleon Rental delivered the lighting with help from an impressive collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures. The rig featured 28 units of the Maverick MK2 Wash and 16 of the Maverick MK1 Spot, as wel
UK - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera collected the 2022 Bert Easey Technical Award which was presented at a gala event organised by the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London, at the end of February. Astera’s head of development, technical service, and product management Simon Canins collected the award, which was specifically for the company’s Titan LED engine, praised for its “mastery of LED technology, technical perfection and quality of light output”. These awards were first presented by the BSC in 1951 and renamed in 1976 in honour of Bert Easey, head of the Camera Department at Denham and Pinewood Studios and integral to the formation of the Society. “Of course, we are hugely honoured to receive this,” commented Astera sales director Sebastian Bückle. “All thanks go to our R ‘n’ D team fo
USA - Lighting metal band Killswitch Engage means slamming your foot down on the accelerator and never really letting up, according to lighting designer Cody James. The longtime designer for KSE, James describes the process this way: “Killswitch on stage has no brake pedal. Even during tuning breaks, it's a full-on experience the entire time. The lights have to reflect that. When the band is coming at you at 100 mph, so should everything around them on stage.” When lighting the band’s recently concluded 32-city Atonement Tour 2022, James powered his Chauvet Professional anchored rig with a ChamSys MagicQ MQ250M and extra wing. Innovative strobing played a big part in James’ design vision for this busked show. Reflecting the band’s intense sound, he conjured up a varied mix of bold strobing looks, mixing in different colours and coming at the stage and a
UK - The BandLab NME Awards 2022 returned to the O2 Academy Brixton in London on 2 March 2, with the crew from TSL Lighting responsible for installing the rig and lighting system in place for Renegade’s lighting designer, Nick Gray “As always, working with TSL was a pleasure,” says Gray. “Their attention to detail, prep and general approach is second to none. For this show, we had an awful lot of lighting, most of which couldn’t be accessed once installed so I needed to work with a team that did their utmost to make sure we didn’t have any equipment issues. “The team of technicians were very familiar and absolutely amazing. TSL were an ideal partner for Renegade on the show and proved again why we rate them so highly.” The main lighting rig extended out into the auditorium and was steeply raked to be visually impressive on camera. The show compris
