USA - New York City may be over a thousand miles away, but local company, JEM Productions, created the look and feel of Manhattan jazz club at its warehouse- turned-studio in Wausau, WI, as it hosted a livestream fundraising show by the Sara Rifleman Trio. The performance by the Wisconsin-based musicians was the latest in a series of livestreamed shows emanating from the lighting and audio company’s makeshift studio. It was the smoothest production to date, according to Joe Ellis, president of JEM Productions. “We’ve been doing these for weeks now, ever since the Covid-19 shutdown started,” said Ellis. “I think we’re getting familiar with this process! Our lighting and production crew did a really great job creating the look of a classic New York jazz club on the set. Sometimes, the simpler the look, the harder you have to dig into the art of design. This
USA - Chicago-based Charles Ford and his business partner Brandon Clark from Creative Live Control have developed a professional streaming production service - lighting, audio, cameras and broadcast - that meets all the social distancing requirements, can be installed and run by the two of them. While the challenges of producing special high impact lighting for community lighting projects like Chicago Unite at Night have been stimulating and fun, Charles and Brandon also need to generate some business as all their touring work has currently been cancelled, so they hit on the idea of the professional live streaming service. The living room of Charles’ condo has been transformed into a pop-up studio space and after a couple of test runs, there is a queue of local artists lined up to visit and use the facilities. Brandon completed all the networking, intern
USA - Bending Lite Productions’ Erik Mahowald has enjoyed a long tour of duty with American electronic musician and DJ Dillon Francis, noted for popularising the ‘Moombahton’ genre - a fusion of house music combined with reggaeton. Last summer, Erik conceived a lighting design for Coachella 2019 based around 60 GLP JDC1 hybrid strobes, but with the intention of bringing it to major headline events following the reveal. Working alongside creative content director and VJ, Mario Adato; production manager, Nathan Rebolledo and tour manager, Mike Finn, Mahowald programmed the lighting to animate a set that combined complementary surround elements with creating big moments of drama to produce a high-octane party vibe for audiences to become immersed in. In the centre of this was Dillon Francis himself, performing from an elevated booth, housing his CDJ setup. The
UK - GoboPlus.com continues to operate in these difficult times with reduced staff numbers, but remains determined to support to its customers with a continued service of both custom and stock gobos. In recent weeks the company has seen a huge increase in gobos celebrating the NHS. Goboplus.com responded by designing a range of NHS gobos for its website and has seen this move mushroom into an online campaign which is steadily growing week by week. “We have received orders from across the UK from many customers who have been expressing their support on Thursday nights as they #clapforcarers in celebration of the commitment and strength being made by all front-line staff,” says GoboPlus.com’s Paul de Ville. “We have been sharing these pictures on social media in the hope that the message will spread far and wide to show how proud we are of all the hard-work
USA - The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for UV-C lighting products offering reliable disinfection, even from coronaviruses. ACT Lighting has announced that it is distributing UV-C lighting devices from Luxibel as well as the GSUV product range from Golden Sea. “ACT Lighting has begun to distribute UV-C disinfecting devices from our suppliers, which are ideal for use in production environments of all types,” says Aaron Hubbard, regional sales manager at ACT Lighting. “We are delivering a myriad of products from both manufacturers geared toward the permanent installation markets as well as portable solutions ranging from smaller, consumer level applications to theatres and arenas.” Luxibel, the professional AV lighting brand of AED group, which has its headquarters in Belgium and offices in The Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK, currently offe
USA - Just as it does at outdoor festivals, nature can work with or against the LD who lights a drive-in concert. Matt Collier got a taste of both on Saturday, 23 May when he lit a two-hour show by jam band Spafford at the Digital Drive-In outside Phoenix. The brilliant orange sunset that filtered through the feathered clouds at the start of the show served up one of those breath-taking spectacles that happen on special evenings this time of year in the dessert. Along with this gentle touch, however, nature also showed its harsher side with some strong southwest winds. Drawing on his extensive experience touring the festival circuit with Spafford and other bands, Collier adroitly handled whatever Mother Nature dished out, incorporating the colourful sky into his design for the drive-in show, while also coming up with a substitute for the fog he planned to use before t
UK - TSL Lighting has developed a Covid-secure remote control lighting system. The Basingstoke-based company devised the solution in response to a project brief from digital web streaming pioneers Beings Broadcast, on behalf of creative agency Collider. “The COVID-19 lockdown has required companies across the event production industry to look at new ways to deliver client communications,” says TSL’s Loz Wilcox. “When the message is important, it’s imperative that this is delivered in a slick, professional manner and sometimes this can be tough to do outside of the normal production environment. “TSL was contacted by lighting designer Paul Cook, who required a lightweight and easily transportable lighting solution. There were multiple needs: no bulky flight cases which might not be suitable for a home broadcast, simple setup that could be achieved by s
USA - Lighting designers Sooner Routhier, Cory FitzGerald and Travis Shirley are set to share their insight into concert and live event lighting on the 3 June Elation Hour. Routhier counts artists like KISS, Muse, Halsey, Mötley Crüe, and Depeche Mode as clients, while FitzGerald has lit some of music’s biggest acts like Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Justin Bieber and Jennifer Lopez. Shirley has designed for names like Christina Aguilera, Smashing Pumpkins, Enrique Iglesias, Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Linkin Park. The session is hosted by Elation national sales manager John Dunn and global product manager Matthias Hinrichs on Wednesday, 3 June 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. See how to register here.
USA - The 62nd Grammy Awards became the first major broadcast event to utilise a large complement of Claypaky Xtylos fixtures when lighting designers Bob Dickinson and Noah Mitz of Full Flood Inc. deployed 60 Xtylos for Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s duet, Nobody But You. In addition, 118 Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures were part of the main set rig and the dish stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. PRG was the lighting vendor. The show’s creative producer Raj Kapoor asked the lighting designers for a lighting installation that would separate Shelton and Stefani from the band and enfold them as they performed the romantic ballad. “Raj was looking for lighting as architecture to surround the duo,” says Mitz. “We first thought of Mythos 2, but when we realised Xtylos would be available we made the switch.” He notes that Xtylos had been
USA - The new Cross Church DFW satellite campus that sits on 27 acres on the busy Blue Mound Road is reflective of the dramatic expansion that has taken place in North Fort Worth recently. Parent church, North Richland Hills Baptist, opened the spacious satellite in September 2019, after two years of planning, to reach the increasing number of worshippers settling in the area. Reflecting the forward-looking orientation of the new campus is an AVL system designed and installed by Paragon 360. Outfitted with the latest audio and video equipment, the new system is used to broadcast services and events to lobbies and classrooms throughout the expansive Cross Church facility, as well as to the North Richland Hills Baptist home base, strengthening the connection between the two campuses. Helping to ensure the quality of those videos is a stage lighting rig that features Cha
South Africa - On the evening of 19 May, Mark Gaylard of technical production company MGG and his crew of 20 replicated a version of the South African flag using 214 lighting fixtures, predominantly Robe, at the company’s premises in Johannesburg. During the Covid-19 lockdown, MGG has thought on its feet and adapted to the new environment, becoming an ‘essential service’ provider by offering a virtual studio for broadcasting and streaming. Other activities have included assembling information noticeboards, developing a hands-free door opener, and producing essential PPE kit like masks. “I wanted to shine our lights in solidarity for South Africa, and I wanted to reach out to Robe and the other various #TogetherWeAreStronger and #LightTheSky projects,” Mark explained. “Also, I wanted to highlight the plight of the thousands of freelancers in our industry, m
Europe - Ayrton has announced the appointment of LiteNordic as its new exclusive distributor for Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The new arrangement takes place with immediate effect in Sweden and Denmark, and from 1 July in Norway. Formed in January 2018, LiteNordic is a ‘young’ lighting distribution company with many years of industry experience due to its team of skilled and knowledgeable individuals. LiteNordic identifies as a Scandinavian operation with offices and sales teams in Sweden, Norway and Denmark, and a comprehensive network of partners in all three countries. “We work closely with influencers such as lighting designers for live and corporate events and installation projects,” says Espen Bechmann, LiteNordic’s sales manager for Norway. “And as Norway, Sweden and Denmark are small countries, we work alongside partners in many fields in each count
Germany - ARRI has appointed Ivo Ivanovski as general manager lighting business unit, effective 1 August, 2020. In this position, Ivo Ivanovski will be responsible for demand creation including the areas of product management, application engineering, service, sales, and marketing. He will support long-term ARRI colleague Markus Lampier who will continue to focus on operations at ARRI Lighting. Ivanovski will report directly to Markus Zeiler, executive board member of ARRI. Ivanovski studied electrical engineering at the University for Applied Sciences in Aachen and began his career at Targetti Lighting in Italy where he pioneered the use of LED technology in the field of general lighting. Soon after completing his MBA studies, he continued his professional career at Osram Opto Semiconductors. Markus Zeilercomments, “We are thrilled to be able to welcome Ivo
USA - Funk/rock fusion quartet Katastro played to a near-empty LIT Lighting warehouse, as part of the COVID-19 driven LIT Live livestream shows. Much of lead singer Andy Chaves’ on-stage fluency is due to his natural talent and experience, but some of the credit must also go to the warm, welcoming vibe that Chris Broadman and his team have created at their warehouse turned livestreaming studio in Tempe, AZ. This is the second incarnation of LIT Live for Brodman, Cody Lisle (also of LIT), and Rodger Pugh of Devus Designs. They began collaborating on the livestreaming programme early in the pandemic, but closed up shop after the governor of Arizona declared a general lockdown. In May, with the crisis easing and restrictions lifted, they restarted LIT Live – and as they’ve moved forward, they’ve picked up new bits of knowledge with every step along the way.
Sweden - Since 1959, the Swedish Eurovision entry each year has been chosen via an annual televised talent competition, known since 1967 as the Melodifestivalen, organised by public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). In 2002, the Melodifestivalen upped the ante further in terms of a selection event and started touring to six key cities around Sweden with a final in Stockholm, this year at the 65,000-capacity Friends Arena. The finale broadcast is among the most popular programmes on Swedish television. Top Swedish LD Fredrik Jonsson of Eyebrow Designs has lit Melodifestivalen since 2002, capturing all the glamour, glitz and drama. This year, he enlisted the help of 168 x Robe moving lights (upped to over 300 for the final show) including MegaPointes, Spiiders, LEDBeam 150s and six BMFL WashBeam follow spots runnin
UK - Thousands of people in Chorley and Bolton witnessed Rivington Pike turn blue last on Thursday 21 May in tribute to the NHS and other key workers. The Pike Tower, one the area’s most prominent landmarks, was bathed in a brilliant blue glow from a number of LEDJ Spectra Par 15Q8 Exterior Fixtures as part of the weekly ‘clap for carers’ initiative. The event was the brainchild of Chris Beesley and his company CDS Events UK with support from another local firm Paul K Sound, as well as United Utilities, Rivington Heritage Trust and Chorley Council, which owns the Pike structure itself. CDS’ Chris Beesley said, with so many public events cancelled because of lockdown, the firm’s traditional workload had tumbled so they had hit on the idea of lighting up buildings for free to raise a smile. One recent cancelled event was the Rivington Terraced Gardens’
Ghana - Accra recently staged its own ‘behind closed doors’ Ghana Covid-19 Heroes Concert in order to raise funds for both UNHCR, to help protect refugees from the pandemic, and the National COVID-19 Trust Fund. It was also a way to thank all frontline workers who have risked their lives in saving others. Charterhouse Ghana, a one-stop production house, staged the event, in partnership with Ghana Music Awards Foundation, at The Grand Arena, located on the premises of the Accra International Conference Centre. It was transmitted to audiences through television (TV3) and through social media streaming. WABlighting, run by Ernest Awuah, was brought in to handle the production design and drew heavily on fixtures from PR Lighting. “PR is rated number one brand in Ghana over all others due to its explicit features,” he explains. Both Wablighting and Charterhouse Ghan
Europe - Having enjoyed a business relationship for years, Artistic Licence and Controllux have announced a formal distribution agreement for The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Founded in 1968, Controllux is a leading name in the distribution of professional lighting equipment. With many experienced staff, the company provides comprehensive supply and support for respected brands in the theatrical, broadcast & film, entertainment and architectural markets. Artistic Licence CEO Wayne Howell comments: "Our broad range of lighting control and infrastructure products will nicely reinforce the Controllux emphasis on solutions. Both companies have been trading for many decades and bring customers the reassurance of experience, quality and reliability. Artistic Licence designs and manufactures all its own products in the UK - something that we are very proud of - an
Russia - Despite its relative solitude in Russia’s vast Siberian region, the city of Irkutsk is a thriving seat of culture that embodies all the best of Russia’s storied theatre tradition. Irkutsk boasts an impressive number of theatres and Irkutsk Academic Drama Theatre of N.P. Okhlopkov, the oldest theatre in Eastern Siberia and the cultural hub of the region, epitomises that artistic vitality. Founded in 1850 and currently celebrating 170 years as a cultural institution, the theatre recently worked with Light Power Design (LPD) to upgrade its stage lighting to an automated lighting system from Elation Professional with lighting control consoles from Obsidian Control Systems. Established in 1986, LPD focuses on sales and installation of professional lighting and sound equipment and has served as Elation’s Russian distributor for several years, enjoying exclus
Germany - Last year, music resonated throughout the Festwiese Apolda. Stars from Germany and around the world journeyed to this central German setting to perform. These sounds went silent following the Covid-19 lockdown. For weeks, the pastoral fairgrounds remained void of public entertainment. Happily, that changed on Friday 15 May when Studio D4 launched Autokino Apolda, a pop culture throwback to the 1960s-style American drive-in, but with a decidedly high-tech touch provided by a bright 10m by 6m LED video screen built with Chauvet Professional F4 IP panels supplied and installed by Materie Event Production. “The panels give us brilliant colours and sharp definition thanks to their 4.8 mm pixel pitch,” said Heiko Ullrich of Materie Event Production. “The black body of the LEDs means that we have great images even during sunlight. This was important, because t
Australia - Nalini Tebbey owns and runs Floating Lotus, a yoga studio based in Helensvale, on Australia’s Gold Coast, offering a busy weekly schedule of 36 yoga, pilates and meditation classes. Recently, helping to create a harmonious ambience in the studio have been six Astera Titan Tubes. The business had just moved into a tranquil new premises with large windows, lots of incoming natural light and panoramic views, a fully conducive environment for relaxation and concentration, when the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown meant the doors had to be temporarily closed to the public. Ever resourceful, Nalini started streaming her classes. The Studio space needed additional lighting to keep up the quality and style associated with Floating Lotus. Nalini wanted her broadcasts to look polished and professional and Astera Titan tubes were recommended, and
Germany - In March and April, German TV network ProSieben broadcast the second season of the TV show The Masked Singer (TMS), in which celebrities sing whilst wearing imaginative full-body costumes. Whoever receives the fewest votes per show must remove the mask and disclose their identity. In the meantime, the jurors, Ruth Moschner and Rea Garvey, along with a guest judge each week, speculate over the course of six live shows as to the identity of who might be hiding behind the masks. Lighting designer Arkin Atacan from atacan design turned to various lighting solutions from GLP to ensure that the lovingly designed costumes, comprising dragons, sloths, robots etc,. appeared to optimal effect on the television screen. Arkin, who mainly specialises in the TV sector has been in charge of the Endemol Shine production since the first season last year. The stage conc
UK/USA - The organisers of the 2020 Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards have announced the cancellation of both the UK and the USA events due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entertainment industry. The difficult decision has been reached following extensive discussions between the committees of both the UK and US versions of the KOI Awards: The Fifth Estate and KOI co-founders Durham and Jennie Marenghi, along with the ALD and STLD in the UK and Live Design/LDI in the USA. All parties explored various possible options to secure the events, including virtual, live streamed/webcast ceremonies and postponed or scaled-back ceremonies. However, these ideas were ultimately deemed not to be viable for 2020. KOI-UK and KOI-USA executive committee member Sarah Rushton-Read of The Fifth Estate comments: "This has been a challenging decision, given the unpredi
UK - sunDial quad, the PLASA Gold Award-winning mains LED dimmer from Artistic Licence, demonstrates just how good the dimming achievable with an ETC Source Four Mini LED can be. Artistic Licence used its photometric lab to create a custom dimming curve for the fixture, with impressive results. The Source Four Mini LED from ETC is a miniature version of their classic stage spot. It uses a 12W LED and some clever optics to provide impressive projection, aimed at the museum, retail and restaurant markets. It has an onboard LED driver that can be controlled with mains phase dimming - as such, it is compatible with the sunDial quad dimmer. Curious to see the results, Artistic Licence trialled the Source Four using sunDial's default linear curve. The dimming was excellent, but limited to the central 70-80% of the DMX512 range. Additionally, the linear curve provides limited
