USA - Fireworks by Grucci, the latest partner company to invest in Verge Aero’s drone show technology, recently completed a project with a difference for YouTube superstar MrBeast when he decided to have a little fun with some serious fireworks in the Nevada desert. MrBeast - real name Jimmy Donaldson - is a YouTube phenomenon, attracting over 38m subscribers with his videos of elaborate challenges, attention-grabbing stunts and jaw-dropping philanthropy. With each video quickly drawing tens of millions of views, he brings his unique brand of fun to an impressive worldwide audience. For his latest video, I Bought The World’s Largest Firework, MrBeast commissioned Long Island-based Fireworks by Grucci to design and produce all the professional fireworks effects. Filmed at a site not far from the fabled Area 51 (a location long associated with strange lights i
USA - The Loop, a public architectural feature in Downtown Long Beach, California, recently joined the nightly neighbourhood celebration to honour first responders with a spectacular light show. With original content design by Ryan Mueller and the team at TheatreDNA Creative, the structure that sits on a 7,700sq.ft lot at the southeast corner of Ocean Boulevard and Pine Avenue is a steel mesh infinity loop that sparkles and dazzles with a variety of shows that rotate randomly throughout the night. Westview provided the fixture installation and programming, as well as a robust controls system with remote management. The newest element is a daily five-minute light show at 7:00 p.m. designed and programmed by Westview. Its computer-driven LED system can display an infinity of colours, making for a spectacular array of lights to brighten up the city. This latest initiativ
UK - Following the recent announcement of a strategic partnership with SFL, alongside its appointment of several new roles, WL is continuing to expand its production department, offering a complete technical service. With so much recent change within both the wider world and live events industry, WL saw this as the ideal time to look at its existing production offering and assess how this could be broadened in order to further benefit the huge range of projects it delivers annually. As such, it has restructured its existing team and created roles which will see them work even closer with clients in order to fulfil their creative requirements. With many years of experience both at WL and in the technical production sector the account management team now consists of key account managers, Stuart Crane, Dominic Yates and Richard Stirzaker who have been joined by tec
South Africa - The South African entertainment industry joined forces on 5 August for the #LightSARed ‘Code Red’ activation. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the critical state of the country’s live entertainment industry and its support infrastructure. The industry is yet to receive financial support from the government five months since mass gatherings were banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the whole sector out of work and with no cash flow to depend on. Over 500 buildings, structures, monuments, venues, spaces and places all over the country were lit including the side of Cape Town’s most famous natural landmark Table Mountain. Robe moving lights were used on many of the installations, and the various action was coordinated by project teams in major cities including Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Free State, Port Elizabeth, East London
USA - Amber Solutions has announced it has secured a patent for a solid-state power supply technology for use in LED lighting architecture. The AC Direct Integrated Driver Solution offers benefits in terms of size, cost, capability and reliability, says the company, adding that using its technology in lights, manufacturers can achieve smaller, lighter and brighter products that are more energy efficient. Amber's solution uses silicon chips to replace conventional power converters that depend on a system of capacitors, rectifiers, magnetics, transformers, TRIACs and relays. According to company founder and CEO Thar Casey, typical commercial LED power supply bricks measure 9” x 2.8” x 1.5”, a total of 37.8 cubic inches. By comparison, Amber’s power supply is just 5” x 3” x 0.25”, for a total of 3.75 cubic inches, and it’s only a quarter inch thick. “Thi
USA - On 12 March, Season 12 filming of NBC’s primetime series American Ninja Warrior was postponed in the middle of production in Los Angeles, and just one day before the reality competition was set to get underway beneath an Elation lighting rig with Obsidian control system. Delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show eventually headed into production again in July with a crew happy to be back to work and a number of health measures to abide by. Lighting was under the capable hands of two long-time industry pros and Warrior lighting veterans, Adam Biggs (lighting design) and Ed Motts (lighting direction). “We were all ready to shoot when the producers called us in and announced they were postponing the show as a health measure so we immediately started loading out that night,” recalled Motts, now in his eighth year with the show. “Then we sat at home like
Belgium - Completed shortly before the COVID-19 lockdown led to it to suspend operations, but since reopened, the 2000m² indoor JumpSky Inflatable Park, which is located in Gent’s trendy Dok Noord shopping area, treats young eyes to a veritable metropolis of inflatable structures of every conceivable shape. Adding to the delightful panorama is a crayon box palette of bold and vivid colours from Chauvet DJ SlimPAR Pro H USB fixtures that glow throughout the massive room. “This is a playful venue, so I wanted to use all the colours in the rainbow,” said Wim Zwarts, owner of DiverZe, which designed and installed the lighting and sound system at JumpSky Inflatable. “Colour is transformative, so we sought to include as much of it as possible in our design. Thanks to the closed character of this venue, we are able to use the UV function of the SlimPars to give us an even
UK - The UK events industry proudly came together in a show of solidarity under the #WeMakeEvents campaign banner yesterday (11 August) to ask the government to ‘throw us a line’ in the form of on-going and increased financial support. As part of the movement, over 715 buildings across the UK lit up in red to symbolise the imminent danger over one million people in the live events industry face unless the government provides additional financial support. 20 of the UK’s biggest cities hosted events to raise awareness of the struggling supply chain that facilitates events across the country. From the Minnack Theatre Cornwall to The Queen’s Hall Edinburgh, Principality Stadium Cardiff and the Millennium Forum Northern Ireland, the message was spread far and wide – the situation is urgent. In Manchester, 200 technicians pushed redundant flightcases through the c
USA - Launching a national radio promotional tour in the midst of a pandemic is not an easy task, but rising country newcomer Elvie Shane is no stranger to hard work. With his blue collar upbringing and gospel-bred roots, the BBR Music Group/Wheelhouse Records recording artist recently released the ballad My Boy. Bandit Lites is providing a lighting package for Shane’s virtual concerts which are being live streamed on radio stations around the country. Lighting designer Keith Hoagland crafted a lighting design that would translate on camera and computer screens all the while matching the energy of soulful vocals, rollicking guitar tones and pounding beat. Hoagland chose iWhite LED fixtures as the key lights due to their dual warm and cool colour temperatures. Color Chorus 48 units, with their lower power consumption and bright output were utilised. Six P
UK - Chris Hale is working out of his garage in Ashford, Kent. Ritchie Reed is 180 miles away in Nottingham. Yet, both are coming together (virtually) every day to offer a valuable service to designers, programmers, event specialists, and integrators with their 30-minute Chauvet Online Demo Sessions. Working in tandem, the two lighting professionals take a holistic approach to their educational sessions, which air daily at 10am BST, demonstrating fixtures in a way that reflects how they are actually used in real world applications. For example, rather than showcase one fixture in isolation, they will look at paired fixtures, such as the Maverick MK3 Profile and Maverick MK3 Wash; or Rogue Outcast Hybrid IP65 and Rogue Outcast Beam IP65. “For us, it makes more sense to look at fixtures from the perspective of how they are going to work together in real life,” said
USA - Now in stock and shipping is Elation’s Artiste Mondrian LED profile FX luminaire is billed as ‘a high-impact lighting solution for any application requiring powerful beam looks, stunning air effects and superior colour’. Filling out the top of Elation’s award-winning Artiste LED moving head series, the new Mondrian partners alongside and uses the same technology as the Artiste Monet and Artiste Rembrandt, including Elation’s seven-flag SpectraColor colour mixing system, and endless and continuous rotational framing system. The Artiste Mondrian is the brightest, full-featured LED Profile FX fixture Elation has produced to date. “The Artiste Mondrian really has it all,” states Elation product manager Matthias Hinrichs. “Tight beams from its massive front lens, smooth washes with unprecedented light output and sharp images without ever compromising
USA - Chauvet has doubled its capacity to serve customers in the west region of the US by opening a 35,000sq.ft satellite facility in Las Vegas. The new office-warehouse-service centre complex is twice the size of the company’s West Coast Burbank, CA satellite facility that it will be replacing as of now. “Our investment in a new, larger and more technologically advanced facility reflects our commitment to this industry - and our belief in its future,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Being in Vegas will enhance the level of service we’re able to offer our customers.” Combined with the company’s global headquarters in Florida, the new Vegas operation gives Chauvet the capacity to ship to any point in the 48 contiguous United States within three days, maximum. The Las Vegas facility will stock Chauvet Professional, Iluminarc, Chauvet DJ and Cham
UK - The ALD’s successful Lumiere Scheme, which has for the last five years created pathways for lighting practitioners to work as an assistant to established designers on a diverse range of new productions, has been reformatted in response to the current pandemic situation. This year, a modified scheme entitled ALD Lumiere 20:20, will pair 20 emerging lighting practitioners with 20 lighting designers, representing a wide spectrum of work, for a series one-hour online conversations across the 10 weeks from mid-September. ALD Lumiere 20:20 is an opportunity to gain direct access to a designer and to inspire creative conversations about the art, the craft, the life of live entertainment lighting. Lumiere 20:20 will involve weekly mentor sessions between Lumière and lighting designer, each having different topics to consider as a starting point. Although this
USA - Located adjacent to Florida Institute of Technology’s Joy and Gordon Patterson Botanical Garden, the Gleason Performing Arts Centre in Melbourne is among the first places students go during orientation. As the site of graduation ceremonies, it is also one of their last touchpoints with the school before heading out into the world. In between, students will visit the modern, 483-seat facility numerous times for classes, guest lectures, and recitals, as well as productions by Florida Tech’s theatre department and outside performers. Not surprisingly, given the many ways that the facility serves the Florida Tech community, “versatility” was a watchword when the school upgraded its lighting to an all LED Chauvet Professional system in early 2020. “We placed a premium on selecting fixtures that could do a lot of different things, because of the wide range of
USA - Producing fresh content this summer has proved to be a challenge for some networks, but Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) the world’s largest Christian television network and America’s most-watched faith-and-family channel had faith it could be done. TBN lighting designer Brad Hill supplemented the studio lighting with a rental package from Bandit Lites. The goal was to accomplish five different shoots over five days, including the Independence Day Music Special hosted by Mike Huckabee featuring guests Lee Greenwood and the Oak Ridge Boys, and Huckabee, a weekly variety show boasting a trapeze act, live audience and Todd Tilghman, winner of NBC’s The Voice. The main challenge was to ensure each show was shot in a different configuration, meaning versatility was going to be key in the rental lighting package. “We didn’t want all the
USA - At the beginning of the summer, long-established entertainment and event technology supplier Good Guy Productions invested in a significant number of ADJ’s AV4IP LED video panels. Part of a long-term plan, and the next step in the company’s growth strategy, the system has already been put to use delivering live video playback of socially-distanced graduation ceremonies. Part of a long-term plan, and the next step in the company’s growth strategy, the system has already been put to use delivering live video playback of socially-distanced graduation ceremonies. Based in the Lake Placid area of New York state, Good Guy Productions provides audio and lighting rental, as well as DJ and other entertainment services, for a wide range of private and corporate clients. The company is owned and managed by Eric Wilson, who has spent his entire life working as part of
Italy - On the night of 23 July, the stunning Castle of Arco, in Trentino (Northern Italy), was the setting for a performance by Elio, lead singer of the band Elio e le storie tese. The event, that was part of the festival called Il castello delle meraviglie (The castle of wonders), saw the artist tell the audience Sergej Prokofiev's world-renowned story Peter and the Wolf, accompanied by the music of the Carlo Coccia symphony orchestra. To make the location even more spectacular, the castle's tower was lit up using 16 Prolights Lumipar 18QIP. Iiriti, a company based in Riva del Garda, worked on the lighting installation. Leonardo Gerola, sales assistant for Iiriti said: “Peter and the Wolf is one of those stories that people always remember, even as adults. We wanted the lights to emphasise both the music and Elio's performance. Tha
UK - On 11 August (Tuesday), the live events industry across the UK will come together in solidarity to host a series of protests to help save the live events and entertainment sector, which is on the verge of collapsing without financial support from the government. Encouraged by the #WeMakeEvents and #LightItInRed campaigns, hundreds of venues are expected to light up red, along with other creative activities being staged in over 20 cities across the UK to symbolise the industry going into red alert, and a final call to action titled ‘throw us a line’ will be taking centre stage on London’s South Bank. The capital’s finale will begin on a boat at 20:20, as it makes it way down the Thames - passing Royal Festival Hall, the National Theatre and the Tate, and more all illuminated in emergency red. As the boat reaches key locations, such as Westminster Bridge and
UK - Harman Professional Solutions has appointed Ben Payne as the head of sales for Martin Professional Lighting in EMEA. He has more than 20 years of experience in the theatrical and live entertainment industry. “I am delighted to have Ben lead Martin Professional Lighting in EMEA. Having worked in theatre and live entertainment lighting for many years, Ben has an innate understanding of the needs of our customers and a passion for the lighting industry and the Martin brand,” says Hamid Soufian, vice president and GM for the EMEA region, Harman Professional. “I am particularly pleased that Ben’s promotion supports Harman’s global initiative to nurture internal talent and grow our people into key roles.” Payne started working in theatres behind a lighting desk and quickly became a theatre technical manager for the Arts Theatre in Cambridge. He also worked
USA - Although the COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic effect on peoples’ lives and the industry, lighting professionals are taking the downtime as an opportunity to educate themselves and prepare for the eventual reopening. Elation Professional is offering just such an opportunity with launch of a new online Learning Centre available on the www.elationlighting.com website. Designed to provide lighting professionals with easy-to-access learning options, the new resource site is full of free educational and training material. Available training videos include Obsidian Control Systems covering the Onyx platform, Dylos pixel composer, Capture Visualization software, and more; Elation Educational Experience (E3) training videos are presented by one of the industry’s top technical e
Ireland - Peter Canning from Dublin-based lighting and visual design specialist High Res specified 24 x Astera Titan Tube wireless LED fixtures to provide atmospheric lighting for an eye-catching video featuring singer Hozier recorded at Croke Park stadium, one of many high points during a special RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann) Comic Relief telethon. The event united the cream of Irish comedy and entertainment to raise a laugh and much-needed funds for the Irish charity sector on Friday 26 June. In a tribute to all HSE (Ireland’s health service) staff and other key frontline workers, Hozier performed the Simon & Garfunkel classic, Bridge Over Troubled Water, a highly symbolic song that made significant impact in concluding the fundraiser, for which he was backed by a 16-piece orchestra. Peter designs and lights numerous television and entertainmen
Zimbabwe - PPC Zimbabwe, the African nation’s largest cement maker, recently introduced its new Surerange series. Heralded with the kind of fanfare typically associated with the release of a film or rock album, the product launch featured a lavish livestream presentation with exuberant dancing, music by performers dressed in construction worker outfits, and a colourful fast-moving light and video show from Events Evolution that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures. Lighting and set designer Blessing Bero worked his magic in the livestream, which was videoed at the SK Borrowdale theatre, with help from nine Maverick MK2 Spot and four Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. The Maverick units were flown in groups of three on upstage truss, while the Rogues were hung in pairs from the same structure. Orienting these fixtures downward, Bero used them to add depth to the stage with gob
Sweden - Full production and rental company Soundstar, based in Skövde, invested in some of Robe’s MegaPointes and Spiiders at the end of last year as they needed lighting fixtures with “more punch” than their rental stock at the time. The company - normally - delivers audio, lighting, video, rigging, and has an OB-truck, for the full complete technical solution, and is working on a wide selection of corporate and industrial events and conferences. It was founded in 1991 by Per Larsson initially as a DJ service company and has steadily grown into a solidly well-respected production house. “We wanted fixtures weighing around 25kg for easy handling by one person,” explained Soundstar’s Daniel Wiklund. They completed several projects with the new Robe lights before the Covid-19 lockdown including two big conferences for Volvo Cars, and a 40-year celebr
USA - Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) is a non-denominational Christian church located in Phoenix, Arizona, with multiple other locations throughout the state. In 1996 it purchased the property now known as the Peoria campus, moving to the site in 2000 and opening a 3,500-plus seat auditorium four years later. At the church’s broadcast campus, it recently added a number of GLP fixtures to its stage, purchasing eight S350 moving head profiles for key light purposes, and 32 X4 Bar 20 battens as part of a long-term rental package, from 4Wall of Las Vegas. At the same time, CCV has added 10 of GLP’s E350 moving heads (the S350’s brighter sibling, with an extremely narrow iris) for its newly opened Verrado Campus. According to CCV’s production designer Trevor Rigsby, all new campus auditoriums will henceforth have a package of E350s as their go-to moving s
