Belgium - Over recent months, the drive-in movie has been very evident throughout Europe, as drive-in theatres have popped up this year from the Baltic to the Mediterranean. In East Flanders, the government of Wichelen took a somewhat different approach. Instead of creating a single drive-in movie site for people to visit, it brought the concept to its citizens. Under the leadership of mayor Kenneth Taylor, a Flemish TV and film director, it organised drive-in events at different locations throughout the community. The Lokeren- based event company D-Dream set up the drive-in sites for the Wichelen municipal government. “We were directly contacted by the city,” said Elke Scheirs of D-Dream. “They told us they wanted to bring a new live event to entertain their citizens in a safe way during the Corona pandemic. Since the shows were to be held at different locations
USA - When Athens First United Methodist Church in Texas decided to transform an old and seldom-used fellowship hall into a new contemporary worship space they selected an all ADJ, all LED-powered rig. Then, pleased with the quality and reliability of their lighting, the church again chose ADJ when it was time to replace the aging projectors in their main sanctuary with modern LED video walls. A former paramedic/firefighter who then spent 10 years working in the oil and gas industry, Wes Akin felt a sense of calling to serve others again and began volunteering as the technical director at Athens First. Over time this simultaneously led to a full-time role at the church, overseeing business and operations, and a rekindling of his passion for technical production. Wes founded Gain Stage Productions to offer live audio and visual services to local venues as well as to provide i
Italy - Since the start of the pandemic, Prolights has been one of the thousands of companies worldwide in entertainment that has been largely hit by the snowball effects of COVID-19. As a manufacturer of entertainment lighting and video equipment, with a strong presence internationally, the company felt the effects of a total shutdown of the theatre and live events industries, and a cut-back on public spending and delays of many projects that Prolights was involved with together with its partners. Despite having been in the epicentre of cases in Europe and gone through a forced shutdown of the majority of the markets during the months of March and April, Prolights was able to keep all its staff at work through those times and made a point of not postponing or cancelling any on-going development. In fact, the company kept its ambitious product roadmap and strongly inve
USA - Music technology hardware, software and consumer electronics specialist inMusic has confirmed the acquisition of ArKaos. ArKaos and its entire engineering department will now become part of inMusic’s R&D family, which includes several music technology and consumer electronic brands such as AIR Music Technology, Akai Professional, Alto Professional, Alesis, BFD, Denon DJ and Denon Professional, Engine DJ, HeadRush, ION Audio, M-Audio, Marantz Professional, MARQ Lighting, MixMeister, Numark, RANE, SONiVOX, SoundSwitch and Stanton. Agnes Wojewoda, outgoing MD and founder of ArKaos, comments: “We have successfully closed the acquisition of ArKaos. We are very excited and happy about this new chapter. The integration to inMusic Brands creates an amazing perspective for ArKaos to continue to develop and meet with our customers’ expectations.” ack O
The Netherlands - Visual Productions has launched B-Station2, a successor to the popular B-Station. The B-Station2 is designed to offer a user-interface to lighting projects, it is a wall-mount panel with six push-buttons. The buttons can be configured to send out a multitude of control messages via DMX, UDP, OSC, Art-Net or sACN. The B-Station2 is designed for triggering lighting scenes stored in a CueCore2 or LPU-2 controller. The push-buttons are fitted with RGB LED rings. The LEDs can be freely programmed to create an intuitive user experience, for example by indicating which button or lighting scene is active, or representing the real-time colour of the fixture. Messages from protocols such as DMX, UDP, OSC, Art-Net or sACN can be used to control the feedback to the LED rings. For small lighting projects, the B-Station2 is a compact and complete stand-alone
USA - The new IP65 rated COLORado Batten Q15 from Chauvet Professional features an array of rigging options that make it suitable for a wide range of designs. The adjustable trunnions on this one-meter long RGBW LED batten, which can be adjust without tools on its integrated track, have been given an even greater degree of versatility with the addition of ¼ turn omega brackets. Adding to the COLORado BattenQ15’s adaptability is a new system for joining different units together. Integrated into the end caps of the fixture is a system to connect units seamlessly for perfect row alignment. Since these attachments are weight bearing, the COLORado Batten Q15 can be hung ‘icicle style’, or arranged in tower configurations using the included hanging/floor mount plate. “Given the demands of today’s market, when lighting rigs are being set up in many different
UK - Avolites has announced the release of the latest version of the Titan lighting software with version 14, featuring time-saving and practical features taken from user feedback. “We decided that this release was a great opportunity for us to focus on the many feature requests we have from our users. We feel it is really important to listen to what users want and to provide them with what they have asked for. We hope everyone enjoys using this feature packed release,” says Paul Wong, managing director at Avolites. Key features in this release include Virtual Faders, Open Workspace Window Overlay, MaskFX, Handle Options, and Manual Crossfade FX. Virtual Faders give you access to 15 virtual handles that provide additional control of playbacks, masters, fixtures and more via the touchscreen. The faders can be paged and the window is fully configurable to su
USA - Global design firm, DX7 Design, recently embarked on its second season of lighting the hit American TV dance competition Dancing With The Stars, shot at CBS Television City in Hollywood. Production loaded in at the end of August and the show runs for 11 weeks, culminating in the final over Thanksgiving weekend, at the end of November. After featuring GLP fixtures heavily on the last series, LD Tom Sutherland has raised the bar even higher this time, deploying 150 GLP fixtures, predominantly X4 Bars and JDC1 hybrid strobes, in his ever-changing landscape. “We reprogramme weekly,” he explained. “Then we bring in extras for certain dances week-to-week if the creative team call for them.” The lighting brief is heavily dictated by the set design. “[Production designer] Florian Wieder has created a modern take on an art deco ballroom. It’s esse
USA - Eastern Lighting Design has been relying on Chroma-Q products for many years and many projects, including their most recent lighting design project for WGN’s News Nation studio. Specialising in TV and broadcast studios, Matt Gordon, president of Eastern Lighting, along with VP of design Mick Smith, and supported by Barbizon Lighting Company, worked through the COVID-19 pandemic to provide the lighting for the Chicago based facility. “Working through a pandemic has been a real learning experience and adjustment.” explains Matt “I am still surprised how quickly we were able to turn around the project within the given time-lines considering that most of the world was in lockdown. We opted to work during the night in order to practice social distancing from other trades.” News Nation is a new national newscast programme that was going into WGNs old, 3,500s
Denmark - Vejle Musikteater, in the fjord-side town of Vejle is usually a bustling hub for live entertainment, offering a mix of band concerts, dance and DJ events, theatre production and conferences, events and presentations. Like most venues, it closed as COVID-19 spread worldwide, stopping the industry in its tracks in March. However, far from becoming a ghost-like shell of its former self, staff, management and crew have been busy in the last six month overseeing a complete technical refit and the Musikteater has just cautiously reopened for shows and business to reduced capacities and a new set of COVID-compliant operational rules and regulations. During this long ‘dark’ period, the venue’s technical manager Rasmus Primdahl explained, they purchased 16 new Robe Esprite LED Profiles which have been added to the existing 16 x Esprites - selected after extens
UK - Arts Council England has opened its £18m Developing your Creative Practice (DYCP) fund to a wider pool of creative practitioners in light of the COVID-19 effects on the workforce. Able to apply for a grant this year will be DJs, performer/creators, arts and cultural educators, community practitioners/engagement specialists, movement directors, cultural conservators, creative enablers and creative technicians. “We know that COVID-19 has had a significant impact for individuals, and many will need to develop themselves and their work to respond to the new environment,” says the Arts Council. “We want to support as many people as possible to reshape and redefine their work and continue to make a positive impact on creativity and culture.” The grants, ranging from for £2,000 to £10,000, will be awarded for development activities from practitioners worki
USA - Some of the only ticketed live concerts in New York State in recent months took place 30 September - 4 October on Bannerman Island. Illuminance, a fundraising concert by the Daisy Jopling Band, received special permission from the State of New York to hold five nights of open-air concerts amid the natural surroundings and magical ruins of Bannerman Castle. Daisy Jopling is a classical/rock violinist who tours with her own band and also runs a music mentorship foundation. Illuminance featured performances by the Daisy Jopling Band, Michael Feigenbaum, Sal Lagonia, and local youth musicians with proceeds benefiting the Daisy Jopling Music Mentorship Foundation and the Bannerman Castle Trust. Five days of sold out shows, two shows per day with 20 lucky guests per show, were lit by New York City Lites using a lighting package of Elation Professional IP-rated
UK - Creative Technology (CT) has introduced some changes to its UK senior management structure that have been in development for a few years. Nick Askew is stepping into the role of head of corporate events and will have overall responsibility for CT UK’s corporate projects. Matt Eve is the new commercial director, focusing on the development and alignment of sales and marketing across CT. Dan Burgess has moved into the creative services division as head of creative services and Will Case is taking on the role of director of innovation, continuing to develop strategies and techniques that bring our client’s ideas closer to our services and technology. “We are pleased to see on-site event work picking up in selected markets as well as virtual and remote production that we moved into heavily over the spring and summer continuing to progress,” says Ma
France - The Ballet Preljocaj production Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is currently touring Europe. Created and choreographed by Grand Prix National de la Danse Award winner Angelin Preljocaj, the production, which debuted before a socially distanced audience at the Grand Théâtre de Provence, blends dance with narration in a contemporary arrangement of the classic work. Supporting the performance by the programme’s 27 dancers was a balanced Eric Soyer lighting design that featured Silens 2 Profile fixtures from Chauvet Professional. “We first discovered this silent fixture during a demonstration produced by RT-Events at the all-new SMAC in Aix in Provence,” said Luc Corazza, technical director of the Ballet Preljocaj. “There were five of us who saw the demonstration, and the response was unanimous. We were all seduced by its colour management, total ease o
UK - Events and creative industry professionals Mark Davies, Jerry Cleary and Edwin Higgins have joined forces to launch a new event production company, JEM LIVE. The new venture combines a physical event production offering with services such as live streaming, extended reality (xR) and social media amplification to enable organisers and agencies to expand the reach of their event. “We wanted to create a company which was fluent in virtual event technologies while not forgetting the importance of more classic elements of event production,” comments Davies. “High quality design, lighting, sound, staging etc. remain at the heart of live events but in the COVID-19 era we have to be willing to integrate virtual elements too.” Davies has more than 25 years’ experience in live events and entertainment architecture and is responsible for the commercial and
USA - Hunter Hughes and his crew at Scout Productions hadn’t worked on an event in well over six months, when they signed on recently to provide lighting and sound for a small outdoor country music show near Landsdale, PA. “Although 10 years of experience certainly hasn’t been forgotten, it was good to be able to go back to a gig with familiar gear like Chauvet DJ’s ShowXpress, and the ease of use that’s associated with it,” said Hughes. “We are really comfortable working with ShowXpress, so it was nice have it on our ‘return gig’. We use many different fixture profiles with ShowXpress software. Having it at this event enabled us to programme our show quickly.” Hughes worked his Xpress-Rack 1024 with a split power line that enables the unit to run without the need for a laptop by using pre-programmed cues with either the onboard buttons or via IR r
USA - More than 55m viewers watched as President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden met for the final presidential debate at Belmont University. Bandit Lites supplied the university’s exterior and site lighting, illuminating the campus in striking patriotic and branded looks. Lighting designer Chris Lisle designed the exterior event lighting, working to up light and enhance any building or structures that would be seen as part of the televised broadcast, including the two main entrances to the Curb Event Centre (where the debates took place), the Bell Tower (the main focus point of the campus) and the historic Freeman Hall (which boasts high visibility from Wedgewood Avenue). Lisle contacted Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden about a year prior, and even then he had a plan for the exterior. “To look back at that preliminary work seems more like a
USA - Signalling the start of the new NFL season, The Killers staged a special, highly symbolic one-off performance of their anthemic Mr Brightside on the rooftop of Caesar’s Palace for the Las Vegas Raiders who have just moved into the newly completed Allegiant Stadium. Produced for ESPN, the segment’s lighting design was created remotely by The Killers’ long-term lighting designer Steven Douglas, who included 43 x Robe MegaPointes and 14 CycFX 8 moving LED battens on the rig, supplied by lighting vendor LMG. Steven was working from home in Ireland, unable to travel due to international restrictions during the Coronavirus pandemic. He received a brief about the look of the piece from director Dagen Merrill plus ESPN’s creative team, and his design was realised on site by lighting programmer and operator Josh Spodick and the LMG crew. The brief sp
Germany - Johannes Spieß, project manager from technical specialist MKM Event Show Technik based in Darmstadt, launched a new initiative of his own –Bergstraße leuchtet (Bergstraße Lights) – to highlight some of the famous Bergstraße mountain route’s monuments, historical buildings and public spaces. With events halted, normally busy rental company MKM had an abundance of lighting products including an extensive Astera inventory of AX3 LightDrops, AX5 TriplePARs and AX7 SpotLites sitting in the warehouse, so these were used to support all 12 of the lighting installations which were carefully crafted and delivered over a two month period. Astera AX7s were used at all locations, culminating with a spectacular and innovative event at St. Peter’s church in Heppenheim. “Everyone in the area knows and loves the highlighted buildings and spaces,” stated
USA - ETC has postponed any participation in traditional trade shows until July next year. “Out of concern for the safety of its employees and global community, ETC has announced that it will not participate in traditional trade show exhibitions until July 2021,” says a statement. “With the pandemic affecting many people’s ability and desire to travel, the company has instead decided to focus its resources on remote demos and online events.” The statement continues, “A major part of the trade show experience is the chance to see the latest gear and get one-on-one face time with product experts. With this in mind, ETC has been hard at work converting in-house demo spaces throughout the company’s offices into studios for online product demonstrations. Customers may now use an online portal to schedule live, one-on-one demos of some of the company’s newest fixtu
Spain - Producciones Yllana captures the swirl of emotions and music that surrounded violinist Niccolò Paganini’s life in Maestrissimo, a 90-minute show that is being performed before limited, socially distant audiences in Spain. Weaving together the action and music on stage, while also making performers comfortable in near-empty venues, is an immersive three-universe, 150-fixture lightshow created by Fernando Rodriguez Berzosa. A longtime ChamSys user, Berzosa programmed his show on a MagicQ with a PCWing. He is running the show at venues throughout Spain on his MagicQ MQ80, and notes that the compact size of this console makes it an ideal traveling companion. “Nowadays I always use a ChamSys for any project I am involved in,” said Berzosa. “My reason is simple: dependability. I can’t afford to have a console fail; that is why I always depend on my
Italy - The Arena di Verona recently hosted the RTL 102.5 Power Hits Summer 2020 while following the Covid-19 rules issued by the Italian government. The event was held on 9 September, celebrating the singles with most radio plays during the summer. Several famous Italian singers took part in the event, performing on stage and filling the arena with their music. Mod Srl, which is part of Rooster Srl, was in charge of the lighting project. Emilio Lombardi, owner of Mod Srl who oversaw the works, reports, “Because of the pandemic, the 2020 edition of the RTL Power Hits has been different compared to previous years. The stage was not on the south side of the arena. Instead, it was in the middle. The chairs that usually fill the grounds were removed to give us the chance to assemble the stage and to work safely. With those changes, it was equally important to mak
USA - Harman Professional Solutions has announced the addition of 10 free Live Workshops available for registration. From musicians and performers to designers and programmers, upcoming workshops feature audio and lighting experts who have extensive industry knowledge and experience. Collectively, the presenters have worked with various artists including Bob Dylan, Carrie Underwood, Green Day, Janet Jackson, John Mellencamp, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Lou Reed, Marilyn Manson, Michael Jackson, Natalie Cole, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Styx, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, U2, Van Halen and many more. The workshops open for registration include: The Art of Perfect Playback in Lighting Design with Michael Keller (27 October), A Brief User’s Manual For A Lighting Career with Benny Kirkham (28 October), The ABC's of Awesome Lighting Technology with Brad Schiller (2
USA - ETC has announced the addition of the Fresnel to the fos/4 studio family. With the addition of LEDs, however, many Fresnels became more about the technology and less about light. ETC’s fos/4 Fresnel ‘takes the most desired features of an incandescent Fresnel and adds in the nuanced colour mixing, smooth fades, and LED technology of ETC’s other professional grade fixtures. With fos/4, you get a true Fresnel with an LED engine, not the other way around’. The fos/4 Fresnel includes ‘all the features you’d expect from a standard Fresnel’. Adjust the 15°-50° zoom from either the front or the rear of the fixture. Use the accessory slot to add any number of beam-control accessories such as barn doors and soft boxes. The adjustable yoke enables easy balancing of the fixture after focus, and the homogenized optic gives you an impressively seamless beam of light
