Ireland - Stage Electrics has won a £2m contract for the Grangegorman campus East Quad at TU Dublin, Ireland’s first Technological University. The new campus, part of a wider development at TU Dublin, will provide learning and teaching facilities as well as dedicated space for research technology. The East Quad buildings include the schools of art, design and printing, conservatory of music and drama, and media. Stage Electrics is supplying full lighting, sound communication and audio-visual systems to a 400-seat rehearsal hall, a recital hall, a performance hall, a black box theatre, TV studios, and post-production studios throughout the building. Work will commence on site shortly and is expected to be completed by late spring 2020. (Jim Evans)
Ukraine - Lighting manufacturer Prolights has appointed Light Converse as distributor for Ukraine. Founded in Kiev in 1997, Light Converse has developed strong relationships throughout the show lighting worlds, particularly in the world of stage, theatre, architectural and TV. Aleksandr Berenok, owner of Light Converse, comments: "Prolights has rapidly become an important landmark in this industry. Their can-do attitude and thirst for innovation are among the reasons why we decided to work alongside them. We have seen Prolights continually put exceptional customer support, personal customer relationships and high-quality products at the forefront and this completely aligns with how we operate. We look forward to a long and successful relationship as their distributor." Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights, adds: "We are really proud to start workin
USA/UK - Ayrton has appointed Chris Lose as designer relations manager and Jonas Stenvinkel as director of strategic development. Chris Lose, an international touring lighting director, programmer and columnist, will be based in North America. His most recent clients include Hall and Oates, Nicki Minaj, Fleetwood Mac, Don Henley, Calvin Harris and corporate events around the globe. At Ayrton, Lose’s role will be to develop successful relationships with the predominant designers and specifiers in the industry. Jonas Stenvinkel will be based in London. Originally from Sweden, he has spent the last years in a senior EMEA role at Martin/Harman after many years heading up Martin/Harman APAC out of Singapore. With his international experience he will develop mid- and long-term relationships on the distributor and customer side. “We are delighted and excited to wel
USA - At LDI (22-24 November, Las Vegas) Elation Professional will unveil five new fixtures from its award-winning Artiste, Proteus and Fuze product lines. The Artiste Mondrian is the company’s brightest, full-featured LED Profile FX fixture Elation has produced to date. It offers extreme output with high centre intensity and narrow-beam angles, a comprehensive FX package with endless framing, and a wide colour-mixing gamut through its variable SpectraColor colour mixing system. Providing over 50,000 lumens from an efficient 950W LED engine, the Mondrian features a large 226mm (8 ¾”) front lens and has the power to cut through at great distances. The Artiste Rembrandt is a bright, full-featured LED Wash fixture. Providing up to 51,000 lumens from an efficient 950W LED engine, the Rembrandt is the designed for any application requiring “superior wash output, brig
Finland - Helsinki City Theatre is putting on the Disney magic this season with its lavish musical production of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. The production plays in repertoire in the 950-seat main theatre for over 120 performances from August 2019 to Spring 2020, including the all-important Christmas period. Helping to create the magical underwater atmosphere are haze, fog and low-fog generators from MDG. In this Disney adaptation of the original story, mermaid Ariel falls in love with human Prince Eric, and sells her beautiful voice to the sea witch Ursula in exchange for legs so she can join him in the surface world. The ambitious production has been put together by director Samuel Harjanne, set designer Peter Ahlqvist and costume designer Pirjo Liiri-Majava and choreographer Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson from Sweden. Characters are also brought
UK - Avolites and Weigl partnered on The Wildwood Tree, an installation located within Wildwood Grove at Dollywood. The centrepiece of this new land was designed and built by LifeFormations with creative from The Imagination House. All involved were able to bring this to life using “pioneering lighting and video technologies”. Weigl designs and manufactures a range of software and hardware products for permanent theme park and interactive experience installations. The story of their collaboration with Avolites starts back in the mid-2000s where Weigl used Avolites’ DMX Pearl and Azure consoles to create single universe ‘single pass’ moving light profiles for their animatronics shows. Weigl worked closely with Avolites, providing clear and concise feedback without the pressure of a live performance setting. In June 2019, Wildwood Grove opened with the me
Germany - Since the end of October, Sarah Connor has been touring arenas, with 15 dates in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Already announced for the summer of 2020 is an open-air tour, and in March 2021 there will be a further seven arena dates, reflecting her huge success. Lighting designer Bertil Mark has been working with the artist for several years and has accompanied the current Herz Kraft Werke tour as lighting and set designer as well as creative director. He says that he had arrived quickly at a concept with the artist and the production managers after initial ideas had been exchanged. Although the stage is dominated by powerful LED surfaces, Bertil manages to create versatile and fluid organic looks. “We start the show on a largely veiled stage and work with multiple gauzes that are removed step by step,” he explains. “One last gauze, situated directl
France - Parodic metal band Ultra Vomit and EDM solo act Sebastian are in the middle of popular autumn club and festival tours throughout France. The two artists have something else in common too, each is supported by high-energy light and video shows created by Chirac Design and run with ChamSys consoles. “We tend to have intense clients, and we strive to match their intensity with our shows,” says Chirac co-founder and Marilyn Manson LD Nico Riot. “I have been a ChamSys user for quite some time, because the simplicity of the console frees me up to do the things I envision.” Riot’s enthusiasm for ChamSys is shared by his partner and Chirac co-founder Romain Dronne, who is using a ChamSys MagicQ MQ60 to run shows for Sebastian, and Gregory Dutein, who is powering Ultra Vomit shows with a MagicQ MQ80 plus an extra wing. “Sebastian is an EDM light sh
France - The Amphithéâtre de la Verrière, located in Aix-en-Provence, recently added Robert Juliat Dalis 863 Access lighting fixtures to its in-house inventory. These LED battens can be used to illuminate a cyclorama, or as front of stage lighting. Located inside the Cité du Livre, the Amphithéâtre de la Verrière is a 450-seat multi-purpose hall. Jean-Marie Albaladejo, technical director of L'Amphithéâtre, was looking for an LED solution to replace old luminaires and provide effective low-angle lighting. Until now, this had been problematic in this amphitheatre-shaped venue, with an audience that sits very close to the stage. "We are already equipped with many long-standing Robert Juliat luminaires, so it was only natural that we should turn to the same brand with confidence to find an appropriate solution, and choose LED sources that are more energy efficien
The Netherlands - Robe’s new Esprite LED moving lights made their live debut in The Netherlands at the high-profile AMF event staged in the Johan Cruijff ArenA, a showcase concluding five days of electronic music conference sessions, debates and live events related to the 2019 Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE). The production design for AMF - with 40,000 visitors and high-energy sets from David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Tiësto, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Alesso, Don Diablo, Timmy Trumpet and many more - was created by Maarten Hoogland from organiser ALDA, who is also the overall production manager and Andre Beekmans from creative visual design practice, The Art of Light. The look featured a series of ‘crosses’ and other large geometrically-shaped video pieces flown 360 degrees round the 40,000 capacity (for this event) Ajax stadium, and involved approximately 1000
UK - On 5 November, Bristol-based specialist installer Stage Electrics marked 40 years in business with a staff party held at Bristol Zoo. The company was formed in 1979 by a group of theatre lighting and sound equipment enthusiasts and has since grown from three staff to over 120 whilst amassing an impressive portfolio of sales and installations. Offering a range of services, including installation, product sales and testing, inspection and maintenance services, Stage Electrics has a sales team of over 20, including a field sales team. Its export business has also seen significant growth in recent years. “We tailored our service to suit our customers, who all have differing needs,” explains sales director, Anna Western. “Some clients like to see their contact person on a regular basis, while others like to have someone available on the end of the phone.
USA - Premier Productions’ stellar 2019 Worship Tour is running across the USA this fall. Earlier this year, Seth Jackson was approached by Josh Chambless of Premier Productions to create a unifying design for a tour that would feature three of worship music’s most prominent groups: Casting Crowns, Elevation Worship and Hillsong Worship. Multiple Dove Award nominees all, and in two case Dove and Grammy winners, each band has its own distinct look on stage, created by its own talented production team. Jackson’s mission was to come up with a design that would pull together each band’s stage persona, while still presenting a smoothly flowing and harmoniously balanced look on stage. Working with his partner Nate Alves, Jackson met this challenge, creating a sweeping panorama that embraces the visuals of each band, while also projecting a unified image that is uniqu
Belgium - Painting with Light (PWL), working for television producers Dedsit, supplied lighting and video content design, creation and control for De Battle – a co-production between Belgium’s SBS and Netherlands broadcaster, RTL – which was recorded at the Pop Up Theatre in Puurs. The TV series is billed as ‘the next level of studio entertainment’. Four celebrity contestants, divided into two Belgian and Dutch teams faced brain-teasing quizzes, gravity-defying stunts – from drifting cars to traversing a high wire plus a host of manual dexterity and physical exercise skill tasks – testing them to the max in front of a live audience. Studio 100’s Pop Up Theatre includes eight moving seating tribunes to fit 1600 people and eight remote-controlled LED screens which can be moved into any position and configuration. These large moving assets ena
USA - Brown Note Productions, a full service production company based in Thornton, Colorado, has purchased a large fleet of Elation Professional IP-rated outdoor lighting fixtures and immediately had the gear out on a fall run of music festivals. “We chose to go with IP rated fixtures to be part of the solution for our industry,” stated Ryan Knutson, president of Brown Note Productions. “With the changing climate and the desire to be outdoors listening and seeing your favourite performers, the stakes in the game have changed. The visual designs now call for non-traditional stage layouts to complement the artists’ performances. These visual platforms require lighting and other production technology to be directly exposed to the elements.” Knutson says that Brown Note’s historical approach was to bag fixtures with bulky, expensive weather domes but that was
USA - This year at LDI, TMB’s signature hospitality will be offered in a revised booth setting. The 80-plus products and growing ProPlex Devices and Drives range now features new ProPlex Software V2, a real step forward in Node and RDM management. While still ProPlex user-friendly, the new software allows management of all ProPlex IQ Nodes with one powerful, yet simple to use, and easy to navigate, system. Allowing effective, yet surprisingly simple, management of even the largest lighting networks, the many features and benefits of ProPlex Software V2 are legion. Hands-on demos will be available for everyone. Also new to the ProPlex range is the GBS Network Selector, a unique Ethernet source selector offering instantaneous selection of up to two of four input sources. Intended primarily as a lighting console switcher, the GBS Network Selector is ideal for redundant
USA - Las Vegas will be the first US exhibition for Robe’s new Esprite LED profile moving light. This will be shown alongside other new Robe technologies including Tetra 2. This year’s live show presents the next chapter in Robe’s Return to The Future trilogy, inspired by classic movie moments and a bit of car geekery In addition to Esprite and Tetra2, Robe showcases several other new and current product ranges. Esprite is the first in a new series of Robe luminaires that will feature fully replaceable / transferable white source LED engines. This high-performance luminaire can potentially replace old and entire fleets of workhorse discharge fixtures. Offering a cost-effective and easily changeable LED engine, Robe has eliminated the white source problems of unpredictable life and performance inconsistency. Design innovations include a new coo
USA - Rock band Sum 41 embarked on their US and Canadian Order In Decline Tour with a JRLX touring lighting package onboard. Lighting designer Nick Stabile of Helm Projects specified a rig of Elation Professional Dartz 360s, ACL BAR 360s, Cuepix WW2 Blinders, and GLP JDC1 Strobes. Nick Stabile Explains, “Sum 41 has moved past their pop-punk days. Their set is a lot of straightforward rock - quick and heavy songs with slow and beautiful moments peppered in. There is a lot of dynamism in the show, so I needed a lighting rig that was super punchy, yet able to accommodate the more theatrical points in the show. “The fixtures I selected are small, yet powerful and multifaceted. The Cuepix WW2s have been my go-to for years now for stage blinders. The ACL BAR 360s can give me utter madness on stage for those crazy moments -and pixels. But it is the Dartz 360s that are rea
Taiwan - The 3201 Multi Hall in the Taiwan Traditional Theatre Centre (TTTC) at the National Centre for Traditional Arts (NCFTA) in Taipei became the first theatre in the country to use moving heads and be equipped with all-LED lighting with the installation of a complement of Claypaky and ADB products. The NCFTA’s mission is to cultivate talents in the traditional arts and to conduct investigation, research, conservation, transmission and development of the traditional arts. The GuoGuang Opera Company, Taiwan Bangzi Opera Company, National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan and Taiwan Music Institute operate under its authority. NCFTA oversees the TTTC, which is also known as the Xiqu Centre of Taiwan. The Multi Hall is a small venue seating about 130 people. It hosts traditional Chinese and Taiwanese opera and Palmadrama (Taiwanese hand-puppet theatre) as well as press confe
USA - City Theatrical will be launching and demonstrating new technology in Booth 435 at the LDI Show 2019. Nominated as an LDI Show 2019 Best Debuting Product, City Theatrical’s newest QolorFLEX 5x2.5A 900MHz/2.4GHz Multiverse Dimmers will be launching at the show. Available in dual band 900MHz/2.4GHz (P/N 5942) or 2.4GHz band only (P/N 5943), this new product is a constant voltage, five-output dimmer that can be controlled wirelessly with Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM technology or with wired DMX. City Theatrical will also be presenting new QolorFLEX 2x2.5A Multiverse Dimmers and Multiverse Receiver Cards. The QolorFLEX 2x2.5A Multiverse Dimmers (P/N 5916 for 2.4GHz band or P/N 5917 for 900MHz band) are tiny two-channel low voltage dimmers, each with a Multiverse wireless DMX receiver built in. These receiver/dimmers are designed to be mounted in the smallest spaces,
USA - Wireless LED lighting manufacturer Astera will exhibiting on the stand of its exclusive USA distributor, Inner Circle Distribution, on Booth 1205. V11, a major upgrade of the flexible AsteraApp, is launched at the show; there will be a preview of the new Wireless PixelBar wall washer to be launched in 2020 and Astera will show its popular Titan Tube range of LED battens – Helios, Titan & Hyperion Tube – together with all their accessories. Other flagship products will include the AX1 PixelTube, the AX3 LightDrop, the AX5 TriplePAR and the AX10 SpotMax. The AsteraApp offers quick and intuitive control of complex lighting setups and a range of fully customizable programmes and effects. New in V11 is Layer Effects. This gives full control over all the pixels in the Astera fixtures which can be used to create fluid, kinetic effects. This wo
USA - Entertainment lighting and video specialist ADJ will use LDI 2019 to unveil multiple additions across its product range. These will include a new series of LED video panels, a Hydro Series IP65-rated moving head wash and a high power moving head beam fixture, as well as LED-powered follow spot and strobe fixtures. ADJ’s new ‘VS’ Vision Series of LED video panels offers a versatile modular solution that has been developed to make life easier for video professionals installing LED walls on either a temporary or permanent basis. Each model in the range features four individual modules, which are front and rear serviceable, making it ideal for both temporary hanging and permanent wall mounting. The modules are all mounted to the same frame, allowing panels of different resolutions to be used together and meaning that the same rigging bar and road case can be used for
USA - The popular Focus Spot Two compact moving head fixture from ADJ has been upgraded. With increased brightness thanks to a new 100W LED engine, the Focus Spot 2X model inherits all of the award-winning features of the original fixture alongside the addition of a second six-facet prism to give lighting designers even more creative potential. ADJ’s Focus Series is a range of LED-powered moving head luminaires designed to offer the best possible combination of brightness, feature-set and build quality in the small-to-medium class. Since its launch in 2016, the series has proven immensely popular with both lighting designers and installers looking for compact, potent and reliable fixtures for events and installations. It has also been a big hit in the mobile entertainment market, with the Focus Spot Two winning the Pro Mobile magazine award for Lighting Product of the Year
USA - The new Maverick Storm 1 Spot just introduced by Chauvet Professional, will be showcased at the company’s LDI booth (9370). The Maverick Storm 1 Spot delivers a flat even field of light with variable CMY + CTO colour mixing to create a wide palette of colours. Creative featuress include its 8° to 48° zoom angle and field angle, 16-bit dimming for smooth control of fades, five-facet motorized and rotating prism, animation wheel, iris for beam control, and independently controlled light and medium frosts. In keeping with its flexible design, the versatile Maverick Storm 1 Spot offers a wide array of gobo options. The fixture has seven glass rotating and indexable gobos on Wheel 1 and nine metal static gobos on Wheel 2. Compact enough to allow easy installation on any rig (it weighs in at just 38.19 kg or 84.2 lbs.), the Maverick Storm 1 Spot is powerful
UK - In 2009 the 11-mile stretch of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal won the UNESCO World Heritage Status. Situated on the border between England and Wales is the Chirk Canal Aqueduct & Railway viaduct which is a part of the route. This aqueduct was finished in 1801 and has been an important landmark and way of transportation for the region ever since. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of being a UNESCO World Heritage Site the Welsh Canal & River Trust wanted to do something special. Enlightened Lighting was commissioned through winning a competitive tender process put forward by those leading the project: The Glandŵr Cymru, The Canal & River Trust in Wales on behalf of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct & Canal World Heritage Site Partnership. The project formed an exciting challenge for Enlightened Lighting and for their lighting designer, Ben Dodds. He in
