USA - Featuring 165 different sets, and a star-studded cast of musicians and models, Rihanna’s recent Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 was not merely a fashion parade but a multifaceted celebration of style to show off her latest lingerie range. Taking place at the LA Convention Centre (LACC), and streamed on Amazon Prime, the celebrity line-up included showcases from Lizzo, Willow Smith, Bad Bunny, Ella Mai, Miguel, Mustard, Roddy Ricch, and Rosalía, while Travis Scott performed during the post-credits outro of the stream. Among the models, Big Sean, Cara Delevingne, Normani, Paloma Elsesser, Paris Hilton, and Christian Combs all returned to show off the new season collection. Bella Hadid led a group of black satin, leather- and lace-clad models and stars - including Demi Moore, Pose star Indya Moore, and RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12 winner Jaida Essence Hall -
UK - Britannia Row Productions Training (BRPT) has been awarded £152,000 as part of the UK government’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund (CRF) announced by the Culture Secretary to help face the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure they have a sustainable future. Britannia Row Productions Training is one of 2,049 cultural and creative organisations across the country to have been awarded £409m of urgently needed support (up to 24 October 2020). The Culture Recovery Fund grants programme is being administered by the Arts Council England on behalf of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Further rounds of funding in the cultural and heritage sector are due to be announced over the coming weeks. BRPT was founded in 2012 to provide holistic trainin
USA - Whitesburg Baptist was at a crossroads last year. Leaders at the 7,000-member church knew that they had to modernise their worship space to create a more engaging environment, one that would support their three different Sunday services while also being more camera friendly for livestreams and broadcasts. The question they faced was how? Ideas ranged from constructing an entirely new building, to undertaking smaller piecemeal changes. None felt quite right until they met with the team from Paragon 360 who showed them how they could completely transform their existing space without making the investment of time and money in a new facility. This summer, Whitesburg Baptist unveiled the result of its collaboration with Paragon 360: a contemporary and beautifully balanced worship centre that makes all feel welcomed, whether they’re watching online or participating i
UK - English National Opera chose live event specialists ADI to support them in the delivery of ‘the world’s first fully staged drive-in opera’, ENO Drive & Live at Alexandra Palace (19-27 September). This ambitious outdoor project saw performances of Puccini's La Bohème take place outside Ally Pally, providing UK audiences with live opera for the first time since March. ADI supported ENO in delivering the drive-in experience by providing a complete event production solution, incorporating staging, structures, LED screens, lighting, OB and cameras. Despite the creative and technical challenges of delivering fully-staged performances beyond their usual venue, ENO in partnership with ADI achieved the feat of transforming a car park at Alexandra Palace into a fully-featured outdoor theatre on a vast scale. The production has been met with critica
USA - Strand has announced the new NEO Compact 10 lighting console. This new, more compact version of the popular NEO console is now available globally and brings the power of NEO software in a 10-fader lighting control console suitable for education, theatre or house of worship applications. “The combination of sophisticated features, quality-built hardware and small form factor makes the new NEO Compact 10 Console the most powerful lighting console in its class,” says Fernand Pereira, global head of marketing and product management, Vari-Lite and Strand at Signify. “The NEO Compact 10 offers the full capabilities of Strand NEO software optimized for a smaller footprint, with seven different onboard effects engines as well as user-configurable buttons, faders and palettes that let you adapt NEO to the way you work.” To further simplify operation, the NEO Compa
UK - Members of the events industry lit up part of Scotland’s Nevis Range – including the summit - on 16 October. Say the organisers, “This is part of our campaign to highlight our presence to the Government and that we need assistance to keep business surviving. Scotland's events artists, technicians and crew are fighting to resurrect the industry. “We are looking for better grants as opposed to loans and a date to begin working towards reopening our sector safely. The present financial support schemes are limiting and many freelancers in particular are not eligible due to the criteria set out on the forms. Many people are falling through the gaps. “We are representing live events and all of those people and businesses who are affected in the supply chain. We are also here in solidarity for everyone who has been affected greatly by COVID -19 - from tourism,
Europe This week’s Elation Coffee Break is hosted by Alistair Smyth and Frederik Afif and will focus on the creative possibilities unique to three of Elation’s most popular automated LED luminaires. The narrow-beam Dartz 360, Chorus Line pixel bar, and compact Rayzor 360Z will take centre stage for a discussion of their creative potential and the dazzle, drama and excitement they can add to stages big and small. The Elation Coffee Break (www.facebook.com/ELATION.Pro.Europe/live/) with a focus on creative LED luminaires will air live on Thursday, 12 November 1at 11:00 a.m. CEST. No registration is required. The Elation Coffee Break is an online presentation series from Elation’s European office in Kerkrade, the Netherlands that takes an up-close look at some of the company’s most popular product series. To view previous Elation Coffee Break webinars, vis
Germany - Lean-pro & Co has invested in Prolights EclPanel TWCJr. With the new LED softlights, the Paderborn-based company has equipped its livestream studio for trade fairs, product presentations, workshops, lectures, concerts, general meetings and much more, thus further expanding its professional image, lighting and sound technology. Joachim Flottmeier, managing director and partner, says, "The decisive criteria for me were the excellent price-performance ratio and the enormous output in relation to the size of the device. Thus the EclPanel TWCJr makes the competition look old. It is also unrivalled in this price league in terms of the range of functions. In addition, the wide range of accessories such as diffusion filters, egg crates and snap grids convinced me". The Prolights EclPanel TWCJr offers not only a wide range of colours, but also white tones from war
USA - Smaller crowds equal smaller lighting budgets. Like virtually every designer working a socially distant show, Evan Antal faced this reality when he met with his client to draw up plans to light Le Getaway, a one-day October outdoor event featuring jam band masters lespecial and Eggy in the Camp Getaway Berkshire resort in Kent, CT. Despite these limitations, the event’s promoter had set lofty goals. “I was asked to put together a package that delivered big rock show looks on a pretty tight budget,” said Antal. “Because of the pandemic and the limited audiences, it’s become a razor-thin balancing act to make a show on a budget work for everyone involved.” Antal met this challenge in stunning fashion, turning Le Getaway’s small (24ft’ x 20ft) mobile stage into a panorama of overlapping colours. Swirling gobo patterns and fast-moving beams. Helping h
Monaco - Organised by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Monte-Carlo Gala for Planetary Health was held on 24 September on the terraces of the Monte-Carlo Opera. Dedicated to ‘Ocean, Earth, and Humanity’, an audience of ‘patrons, decision-makers, artists, and scientists’ gathered under an immersive dome. For this event, designed and produced by the event agency TUFF Consult, the technical setup relied on five Modulo Kinetic and one Modulo Player, supplying 1,500sq.m of projection. Since 2006, the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has been working to protect the environment and promote sustainable development on a global scale. Since its creation, more than 540 projects have been achieved by the foundation’s international branches located in France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Spa
The Netherlands - Throughout the summer and fall, more than 80 of ADJ’s weatherproof moving head beam and LED wash fixtures were used to light a temporary beach club venue in The Netherlands. Insight Beach Brabant offered visitors an opportunity to enjoy drinks, gourmet food and music in a large outdoor setting at a lake-side venue in the heart of the Dutch city of Eindhoven. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation of concerts and festivals, as well as the closure of nightclubs and music venues, opportunities for relaxing and socializing have been rare. Offering a solution to this, Insight Beach was a large pop-up beach club with a limited capacity that assigned guests dedicated day beds to allow for social distancing. From the comfort and safety of their designated space, visitors could enjoy a full menu from resident chef Pascal Ariëns of Restaurant By
Germany - German Unity Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit), celebrated on 3 October, marks the anniversary of the nation's unification in 1990, when the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic became one single, federal Germany. Being the 30th Unity Day, the 2020 event took on special significance, with even more resonance added to the mix due to the challenges faced by everyone in dealing with life during the Coronavirus pandemic, and broadcaster ARD highlighted a very special TV show staged at the Metropolis-Halle in Filmpark Babelsberg, Potsdam which was organised by the Brandenburg Staatskanzlei (federal government). The venue and Filmpark (dedicated to the history of moviemaking in the region) is a regular client of rental and production specialist Zound’z Unlimited Event Technology GmbH, also based in Potsdam, which was asked to provide ligh
UK - Claypaky and CAST Group of Companies have launched the Wackit virtual lighting design competition based on a concept by lighting designer Durham Marenghi and his partner Jennie. “Whilst planning this event, we had no idea that England would enter a second lockdown,” say the organisers, “and given that colleges are still open - giving our students access to lighting systems - we feel that this is actually a very appropriate time to launch our Wackit competition.” Two side-by-side competitions require professional and student lighting designers from UK and Ireland to create a virtual video of their work from a model of the prestigious Royal Albert Hall. CAST will support Wackit with free WYSIWYG Educational Licences for the period of the competition for Professional LDs as well as a 12-month free Design Educational Licence for
Europe - Elation Europe is marking 10 years in business this year. The company opened its European headquarter office in Kerkrade, the Netherlands in 2010 and has since grown to become an established player on the market. To mark the anniversary, Elation Europe will celebrate with a variety of special activities in 2021. “Like so many other events in 2020, Elation Europe has decided to postpone celebration activities until 2021 when larger groups can again gather safely,” says the company. “It’s really incredible to think how much has changed in these 10 years,” comments Frederik Afif, international sales manager for Elation Europe and one of a handful of employees who helped to start up the operation in 2010. “We started in a small office with just two sales people and some back-office support, a coffee machine and not much more. “I was on the pho
USA - The crowds that normally fill the Rawhide Centre in Chandler, AZ, on weekends for headliners like Kayzo, Adventure Club and Nightmare weren’t there this October. COVID-19 restrictions saw to that. But the intensity that shook up the 13,000 sq. ft. outdoor venue for Relentless Beats’ aptly named The Pod Experience was impossible to miss, thanks to the driving textured tracks laid down by the EDM stars, the delirious reactions of the fans who were able to score the limited number of tickets, and some fast-moving lighting by Luis Torres. Wanting fans to be engaged with the artists on stage, despite being separated by pods, Torres dialled up the intensity level with some extra bright audience lighting and bold aerial sweeps. “Relentless Beats came up with a really good plan for providing fans with a way to enjoy this kind of experience safely,“ he said. “F
Greece - St. Catherine's British School in Athens, Greece, took delivery of Prolights fixtures as part of the audiovisual installation of the new building of the school. The scope of the project highlighted the importance of selecting equipment that was easy to use by students and staff, along with being cost-effective to run and maintain. Consultant and lighting designer Vagelis Delivasilis evaluated the LED range from Prolights, as well as other brands, and found Prolights to be a suitable solution for the project. Kariotis Audio & Lighting, Prolights' distributor in Greece, in collaboration with the consultant, came up with a comprehensive lighting package that could be flexible, allowing the school to run medium-scale theatrical performances, music events, conferences and orchestral plays. Delivasilis made diagrams with the chosen fixtures, while Kariotis Bros
USA - Chauvet Professional has presented a cheque to Behind the Scenes for $25,000 from its recently launched ReSet Fund to be used to support entertainment technology members and their immediate dependent family who are seriously ill or injured, and to fund emotional wellness resources and training. Chauvet announced last week that it will be donating up to $50,000 in funds to help live event industry members impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this initial $25,000 donation, Chauvet will match donations up to an additional $25,000 from participants who buy special fundraising ‘ReSet’ jackets, caps, truss gloves, and other merchandise at www.chauvetprofessional.com/resetfund through 30 November. Behind the Scenes executive director, Lori Rubinstein, commented, “Chauvet Professional’s generous donation comes at a particularly important time for the char
Russia - Russia-based automotive photography specialist Denis Minchenkov used eight Astera Titan Tubes to enhance a night-time photoshoot featuring an Audi Q8 SUV for auto tune-up company MTR Design. That quest to capture vivid colours, glistening reflections and the richness of the dark, stark and deliberately wet floored environment of a low-ceilinged parking garage beneath an office block saw Denis choose Titan Tubes for his primary lightsource, having used the Astera products extensively in his work over the last couple of years. He positioned the Titan Tubes around the car, some hung from the ceiling of the parking garage on catenary wires and others on the floor on stands. The Asteras were all run wirelessly and controlled using the IR remote. “The IR remote control means I can shift the setting of the whole shoot in a matter of seconds,” he declared.
The Netherlands - Given all the highly original interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake that have beguiled audiences almost since the moment the ballet premiered in 1877, one may be tempted to think there is nothing much left to add to the mix. Not so. Guy Weizman and Roni Haver, the co-founders of Club Guy & Roni, which collaborates closely with Noord Nederlands Toneel, have created simultaneous live and online versions of the star-crossed love story that are not only outlandishly fresh and original in the way they interact with one another, but also deeply resonant during this era of COVID-19. Contributing to this impressive accomplishment are 18 COLORado Batten Q15 fixtures from Chauvet Professional that were supplied by Lichtpunt Theatertechniek. The designers rely on the IP65-rated RGBW linear fixtures, which were selected in a shoot out involving
South Africa - PlatformZA, a digital pay-per-view media channel which was germinated during the first COVID-19 lockdown, is a completely new concept for South Africa and the brainchild of Christiaan Ballot from technical supplier Blond Productions and production manager Pieter-Jan Kapp (Kappie) from PJK Project Management. A small subscription fee covers an amount of free content and the pay-per-view price varies for other material. Ballot and Blond Productions would usually be working together extensively during the arts festival season which has effectively been canned this year like almost every other ‘live’ event as the country fights the pandemic. Like so many new COVID-era inspired projects, PlatformZA started with a series of Zoom chats between connected industry people and influencers, during which, explains Chr
USA - Livestream performance producers VYE have collaborated with Clair Global and production company Genetic Productions to create a pay-per-view live stream performance space at Clair Global’s facility in Nashville. “We wanted to give fans everything they’re used to seeing at a concert with moving lights, video walls, etc. and blend that with high-quality video streaming and a multi-camera setup for broadcast,” states Danny Zacharias of VYE, who designed lighting for the live stream space using gear from Elation Professional and sister company ADJ. “Add to that a Virtual Live Audience and this is really a virtual live event experience like no other.” Zacharias started working on what would become VYE late in 2019 with business partners Maggie Seidel-Laws and Jayme Braun. VYE is a turnkey producer of professional virtual events that fans can watch from any
Jamaica - Before the pandemic brought large public gatherings to a halt, Tech Diva Ja organised Our Heroes: Walking in their Light, illuminating the works of original sculptors and artists in vivid colours with help from Chauvet Professional WELL Fit fixtures supplied by Phase 3 Productions. An all-female design collective led by Nadia Roxburgh, Tech Diva Ja is made up of technical artists, engineers, choreographers, lighting designers and production managers. Also working alongside the Tech Diva Ja team at the event, which was held in Kingston’s National Heroes Park, were industry pioneers, Rufus McDonald and the late Franklyn ‘Chappie’ St. Juste. This project, which paid tribute to Jamaica’s National Heroes, continued Tech Diva Ja’s work that previously reimagined Kingston’s public art spaces at night. Located around the nation’s capital, these s
UK - Former BBC lighting director and STLD chair (1993 - 1995) Mike Jefferies passed away last month aged 86. Jefferies’ work in broadcast lighting spanned the 1970s and 1990s on shows such as EastEnders, Doctor Who, Citizen Smith, Ever Decreasing Circles, Rings on Their Fingers, Top of the Pops, and many others. Tom Warden of IPS, a friend and former neighbour of Jefferies, said of the late LD: “Mike was a real gentleman, and always fascinating to talk to, full of stories of the productions he had worked on over the years and the places he’d been. I’m sure there will be lots of people who’ll remember some of the many productions he was involved in with the BBC, and it would have been great to have worked alongside him. He continues: “Mike had a very happy retirement travelling round the world with his wife Monnie, and never lost his fascination w
UK - 10K Used Gear has announced the passing of co-founder Keith Dale who lost his battle with cancer on 29 October. He was 61. Dale began his career as a lighting designer in the early 1980s working for bands such as Haircut 100, Culture Club and mostly for Joe Jackson with whom he kept in touch with until the end. Keith then joined forces with Tim Bridle, Andy Reed, and Matt Deakin to form Celco, a leading force in lighting control in the 1980s. “I guess it must have been late 1980 or early ‘81 when Keith first came to our shop in Surbiton to show us his new lighting console,” said John Lethbridge whose company Cerebrum Lighting was Celco’s distributor back in the day. “I cannot remember if it was the prototype Gamma 300D or an earlier desk with a pin matrix, but I do know that the first time we showed the Gamma 300D was at Showlight ‘81 at The Barbican,
