USA - Throughout the fall and into the holiday season, Showtime Sound and director of design and production Aaron Kovelman staged Showtime At The Drive-In, a series of concerts coproduced with AutoFlex Entertainment. Held at an improvised drive-in venue at the Frederick Fairgrounds, Frederick MD, the series featured popular artists such as moe, Grace Potter, KIX, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Goose, Dark Star Orchestra, Mt. Joy and Blackberry Smoke. Holding over 300 cars spread out over a wide area, the drive-in offered an experience that’s far from the ideal concert setting, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. “All of us are determined to provide people with the best possible show, regardless of the circumstances,” said Kovelman. “With everyone so spread out at this site, we had to create visuals that were very bold and looked good from any
UK - One of the UK's longest established safari park attractions, Longleat, recently became home to a temporary spectacular seasonal experience, The Land of Light. The Land of Light was a journey through several different areas and featured a host of bespoke creations. Longleat partnered with production and hire company, Zeal, who helped design and bring to life this experience. Steve Hough, Zeal’s managing director comments: “We partnered with Longleat in May 2020 after they had to postpone their regular Festival of Light. The goal was to create a new unique experience from scratch that took consideration of coronavirus during the installation and the event itself. From there, we developed concepts and went on to design, build and produce an experience focused on stimulating the senses that allowed people to immerse themselves in real li
Germany - The German Sustainability Prize (Nachhaltigkeitspreis) has been awarded by the Nachhaltigkeitspreis Foundation for the past 13 years, in cooperation with the country’s Federal Government and several public and civil society institutions. Outstanding sustainability achievements in business, municipalities, and research are awarded in several categories. On 3-4 December 2020, the prizes were presented at the Maritim Hotel in Düsseldorf. There were two premieres this year: on the one hand, the award in the Design category was presented for the first time, and on the other hand, the award ceremony itself (and accompanying congress) were extensively streamed live due to the pandemic. A large number of award winners were connected live, as were most of the speakers. There were also a few guests who formed part of the supporting programme. 12 of the new GLP JDC
ETC has announced the release of Hog 4 OS v3.15 software, which includes enhancements to MIDI mapping of third-party control panels, adding tap tempo for effects and internal effect engine optimizations. This version also contains new keyboard shortcuts a number of bug fixes, listed in the release notes. Hog 4 OS v3.15 is available for download at www.etcconnect.com. Entertainment controls product manager Sarah Clausen comments: "We are happy to bring improvements to MIDI mapping in this release to follow on our opening up of MIDI/OSC control of encoders and faders in the last release. And many users will be happy to see implementing tap tempo for effects."
USA - Preparing the Way Ministries, a small but thriving local church in Lake Charles, Louisiana, has invested in an ADJ Pixie Strip system to enhance the lighting in its worship space. The new configuration of pixel-mapped linear LED fixtures allows low-resolution video playback across the rear of the church’s stage area. This provides a versatile backdrop that can be easily adapted to the style or tempo of worship to help enhance the atmosphere without distracting congregants. With a capacity of approximately 150, Preparing the Way Ministries’ auditorium is a relatively small but modern space. Worship for Sunday services is led by a multi-piece contemporary worship band and the facility is also used for midweek prayer and worship meetings which tend to feature a more stripped-back music group. Prior to this recent upgrade, the church’s lighting setup simply inv
USA - The ever-evolving Las Vegas strip is renowned for its approach to building bigger, bolder, and brighter structures. One of its latest additions, the Caesars Forum conference centre is no exception, spanning a mammoth 550,000sq.ft and boasting the two largest pillarless ballrooms in the world. Located in the centre of the Las Vegas strip, Caesars Forum features 300,000sq.ft of flexible meeting space. This consists of the two large ballrooms of 110,000sq.ft each, a further two ballrooms, and six boardrooms and a dedicated outdoor event plaza connected to three hotels with 8,500 guest rooms As part of the technology integrated into the new event space, Caesars Forum is home to one of the largest single installations of DMX controlled tuneable white lights. The Creston building control system installed and commissioned by NTA and Pulse features over 4,500 DMX lightin
Columbia - Rapper and singer-songwriter Nanpa Básico held his virtual Kosmo concert last autumn with a large complement of Claypaky fixtures lighting up the live-streamed show. A team from Arbol Naranja, led by Jorge Jiménez, Camilo Mejía and William Gallo, were challenged to craft a virtual concert that the public would enjoy from their homes and that recreated the mood of a live show on any digital device. “Reinventing the way in which Nanpa's music is consumed live opened a door for us to a format that we will continue to perform in, without any doubt,” says Arbol Naranja manager Jorge Jiménez. Nanpa Básico fuses rhythms, such as bolero and reggae, for a hip hop style very much his own. According to the Arbol Naranja team, he is an unconventional artist who integrates orchestral musicians and treats the rhythm and style of each song with great presence and
Italy - Andrea Bocelli and Igor Mitoraj’s sculptural works were the protagonists of a special evening in Noto to promote Sicilian Unesco sites. wysiwyg was also honoured to be there to help light this concert and its cultural assets as Andrea’s voice filled the piazza in front of the Noto Cathedral in Sicily during a concert held to convey a message of courage and unity among the seven sites recognised by UNESCO in Sicily (see our latest issue for a report on the event). The tenor was accompanied by an orchestra and the Teatro Massimo Bellini choir in Catania, directed by Alberto Bartalini. The event is organised thanks to the financial commitment of the Sicilian Region and the Municipality of Noto. T
Japan - Lighting designer Mr. Mitsumasa Hayashi created The Robe Lighting Show - a piece of light art at the Urayasu Mai Studio of the Nihon Stage Co, which featured over 350 Robe moving lights. These were supplied by prominent Japanese rental companies, M-Tech Style and the Mula Corporation. The piece was commissioned by Mr. Masaharu Sakamoto who heads up LTG, Robe’s Japanese distributor. With live performances halted worldwide due to the pandemic, Mr. Sakamoto was keen to produce a lighting art video concept that could be enjoyed and appreciated by lighting enthusiasts worldwide, and he knew Mr Hayashi was the right person to create a brilliant, poignant, and high-impact work. Mr Sakamoto himself was inspired by the positive, robust power of Robe’s brand messaging during these uncertain pandemic times. “A show like this using Robe products exclusively i
Slovakia - Ŭsmev ako dar (Smile As A Gift) is a high-profile gala evening and charity concert broadcast on Christmas Eve on Slovakia’s national RTVS Channel 1. The show features the participation of children from orphanages and foster care facilities across Slovakia, together with some of the country’s best known popular singers, bands, and dancers. Slovakian technical production and rental company Q-99, headed by Martin Kubanka, has been involved with the Smile As A Gift foundation since 1994, and this year’s festival special was recorded – without audience due to Covid restrictions – in a pop-up streaming studio created at their warehouse facility in Bratislava-Čunovo. The studio was built earlier in the year to provide some revenue during the pandemic. In keeping with Q-99’s commitment to excellence in lighting, video, and audio, it
Estonia - On the final day of Bocuse d'Or Europe 2020, leading chefs from 24 nations gathered with their teams in different rooms at the Saku Arena in Talin early in the morning to review their secret plans for the dishes they would be offering judges later that afternoon. All of them would be working with Estonian quail and eel catfish. The culinary wizard who blended these basic ingredients into ‘the most sumptuous and alluring gastronomical creation’ would be crowned European Champion by Estonian president Kersti Kaljulaid. As the top chefs and their assistants met in secret that morning, Olev Luhaäär was also busy meeting with his team as they reviewed plans for lighting the televised event under unusual circumstances. (Unlike in previous years there was no live audience in the 10,000-seat arena because of the pandemic.) Luhaäär had begun preparing for this
France - Robe’s new flagship, high powered, TE (Transferable Engine) LED luminaire – the Forte – has made landfall in France where the new units have been delivered from the Czech Republic via Robe France to rental and technical production specialist Concept Audiovisuel. The 40,000 lumen fixture features Robe’s new 1000W white LED light engine, complete with independent zone control for even higher output when zoomed in. The engine is fully and easily replaceable – extending the lifespan of the fixture. Concept Audiovisuel is based in Niort, western France, and was founded in 1998 by Pierig Burgin and Hughes Mongrand as a design rental and installation company. The usually busy schedule sees the delivery of lighting, audio, staging and rigging solutions for a wide range of rental and installation projects covering concert touring, live events, and fest
USA - ADJ has introduced the latest edition to its range of lighting control solutions, The Link. This hardware/ software system combines the processing power, wireless connectivity and multitouch screen of an iPad with lighting-specific tactile controls and a four universe DMX interface to deliver a control solution. The Link fills the void between small single universe DMX controllers and large format lighting consoles, says the company. It is designed to simplify control for aspiring lighting designers, small production companies, churches, community theatres and performances spaces, providing a new connection between lights and creativity. The ADJ Link control system is powered by the dedicated Airstream LINK iOS App for iPad, which is available as a free download from the Apple App Store. This lighting control platform includes an extensive fixture library, making
UK - Lighting rental house MBSE has made a significant investment in over 500 Luminex network and lighting distribution devices. This substantial acquisition was supplied by sister companies A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) and A.C. Lighting to the MBSE technical teams on both sides of the Atlantic. Created specifically for the entertainment industry, Luminex products are becoming increasingly responsible for managing the data behind many of today’s fixture heavy productions. AC-ET’s brand development manager, Neil Vann comments: “In my opinion, Luminex has established itself as arguably one of the industry’s leading standards for data distribution. The attention to detail and ability to make sure that everything on set reacts as it is supposed to, exactly when it is supposed to, makes these products an incredibly important part of an installation. When
Denmark - Live Company is a full technical production and rental specialist based in Skovlunde, a suburb of Copenhagen, owned by Peter Clausen, Mikkel Bedsted and two other business partners, all of whom are dedicated to providing quality service and high production values to clients across multiple performance genres. Since 2018, the company has invested steadily in Astera products, the first ones being AX1 PixelTubes which were purchased to illuminate the domed roof of Cirkusrevyen’s big top venue in Dyrehavsbakken (the north of Copenhagen). Started in 1935, Cirkusrevyen is the biggest revue show in Denmark and has been performed every year except 2020, when the season was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic! The AX1s were modified with special magnetic fastenings for this specific project. They were utilised during a spectacular dance number, where t
USA - Like all minor league baseball teams, The New Hampshire Fisher Cats had no 2020 baseball season, because of the COVID-19 lockdown. Although the crack of the bat and thump of a fastball hitting the catcher’s glove could not be heard at C this summer, the connection that the club, an affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, has to fans remains as strong as ever. This was very evident at the team’s annual Granite State Baseball Dinner. Held virtually this year, with Events United producing the event at Studio Lab, the fundraiser ran over its scheduled time because of the high level of interest from fans throughout New Hampshire. “The Fisher Cats are an institution in this area,” said Tim Messina, owner of Events United. “Since they could not hold their dinner live, we helped them create a new atmosphere of their traditional event in a livestream.” The key to
UK - 3LR Lighting has received Albert Certification. Albert is the authority on environmental sustainability for film and TV, whose role is to advise stakeholders in the industry on effective measures to reduce carbon footprint. 3LR achieved its certification as a result of its commitment to the promotion of green products and methods across every area of its business. MD Matthew Lloyd is very proud: “The brands we represent all strive towards creating environmentally friendly products, and the 3LR team has vast experience of helping to deliver green solutions across the different sectors in which we operate. Albert is a BAFTA organisation, funded by the industry, which plays a very important role in offering training and advice to those involved in production, enabling them to develop and embed sustainability in all their practices. “At 3LR, we represent a number
Sweden - Östgötateatern, Sweden’s largest regional theatre, has further invested in Chroma-Q’s award-winning Color Force IITM Cyc, Wash & Effects LED battens. Welcoming around 100,000 visitors a year across their two theatre buildings and smaller venues, Östgötateatern offers a wide range of theatre - from classic Swedish tales, to modern international plays. With Color Force II in demand for a number of their performances they have expanded their stock to 26 units to enable the fixtures to be used on multiple stages and performances at the same time. Linn Persson, lighting designer at Östgötateatern, comments: “We first purchased Color Force II back in 2018, and they have since become a staple fixture for a number of performances taking place in our theatres. We have been very impressed with their performance, which meets our requirements for a good, s
UK - The 2020 celebrations marked the 17th year that DeltaLive has provided communications and audio services for London's New Year's Eve festivities (get the full story of the NYE spectacular in the upcoming LSi issue). Jack Morton, the global brand experience agency, helped to develop the original concept for this annual event and worked in partnership with the Mayor of London's office and a dedicated team of experts to create the experience. The 10-minute show, designed for home viewing and created in collaboration with the BBC, was broadcast live on BBC1 and watched by a global viewing audience of millions. Due to COVID-19, audiences were not able to attend the event this year, which would normally see some 100,000 spectators. But with no audience, this gave the Jack Morton led production team the opportunity to expand on previous years and utilise multipl
Belgium - The Belgian edition of Wheel of Fortune (Het Rad van Fortuin), first appeared in 1976, only a year after its American counterpart debuted. Like all long-running success stories, the Wheel of Fortune franchise has survived thanks to its ability to adapt and change, a quality that has enabled it to appeal to new generations of fans without losing their parents. This renewal process was very much in evidence in the 2020 edition of the Belgian show, which featured a sleek new set designed by Deusjevoo. Accentuating this set and endowing with extra vibrancy and depth was a lighting and video design by Painting With Light that featured an extensive collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Splendit, including the EPIX Strip IP, Maverick MK3 Profile, Maverick MK2 Profile, Rogue R2X Wash, Ovation E-910FC ellipsoidal, COLORado Panel Q40 and
Hungary Production designer Frédéric ‘Aldo’ Fayard (of Concept K) deployed Fusion by GLP FS20 Sticks for the first time when lighting the recent ISL (International Swimming League) event in Budapest. Born from the initiative of Ukrainian businessman Konstantin Grigorishin, the event features 10 teams of 28 swimmers, who take part in a knockout competition, culminating in two semi-finals and a final. Held inside a sanitary bubble, the audience-free occasion was one of the biggest sporting events in the world this year and was broadcast on CBS in the US and BeIN Sport among others. From a lighting perspective, Fayard had to ensure this high-profile international competition, where several world records were broken, still retained its entertainment value in the absence of an audience. The LD founded Concept K 23 years ago, mainly for touring and classical eve
USA - For The Morton Arboretum, the idea of not running Illumination this past holiday season was not an option, says Lightswitch principal John Featherstone about the popular wintertime lighting display in Lisle, Illinois. Illumination continues to shine through after being redesigned for a drive-thru experience using additional Elation luminaires, the eighth year for the project. “It’s about a partnership between a remarkable institution, and an industry full of incredibly creative, hard-working and motivated people who are still passionate about delivering remarkable experiences to an entertainment-starved public and bringing relief to people,” says Featherstone. “The motivating force behind why the Arboretum decided to pivot Illumination to a driving experience was not only to ensure guest safety in the middle of a pandemic, but also because we
UK - Knowsley Safari Park, just outside of Liverpool lets you see baboons, prides of lions and much more. This year they organised Enchanted, a foot safari which comes alive as the sun sets. You can enjoy the safari after dark as the whole path is lit with magical lights which guides you through the enchanted trail. Stage Management Company installed the lights for this project. They used Showtec Spectral M800 Q4 IP65 spots. Additionally they deployed Showtec Cameleon flood and Showtec Cameleon bar 24/3, both very powerful fixtures. The Showtec Festoon string was used as well, which has a length of 15m with 20 pixels. Each pixel can be controlled individually with the dedicated Festoon controller. Completing the setting were the Infinity iW-1915 fixtures, where LEDs are divided in five controllable sections allowing for rich colour flows and creative patterns.
UK - Video specialist Observatory has expanded its senior team with the addition of Kelly Faller as director of marketing. Kelly, originally from New York, will ‘leverage her extensive events experience and fan engagement expertise to expand the global footprint of the business’. “Kelly brings a skill set that will strengthen and drive expansion for the business,” says Observatory founder and creative director, Ben Sheppee. “We have been looking to develop our portfolio in fashion and lifestyle, where she has extensive experience. Our existing clients can look forward to an industry expert bringing her knowledge and understanding to the vision of engaging audiences, so we are thrilled to have Kelly add to and grow Observatory, building on our award-winning conceptual visual offering.” Kelly has worked in New York for both digital media and creative producti
