USA - Comedian Nick Cannon returned to his hometown of San Diego, which presented him with a plaque and declared an official ‘Nick Cannon Day’ in America’s eighth largest city. The highlight of the visit was Cannon’s sold-out Wild ‘N Out show at San Diego State’s 12,000-capacity Viejas Arena. Featuring appearances by Eman Hudson and a bevy of other guest stars, along with games like Wildstyle and Let Me Holla from Cannon’s hit MTV programme, the show served up a full Wild ‘N Out experience, one that was made all the more intimate for his hometown fans by its open circular stage. Although the stage setup strengthened the connection between Cannon and his audience, its open design created special challenges for lighting designer/technical director Marc Wasserman of 3 with1 Grab Productions. Wasserman, who has worked on the sta
USA - ABC News’ live coverage of the nation’s Midterm Elections counted on High End Systems LED lighting to do the heavy lifting for the November 6 broadcast. LD Dennis Size of the Lighting Design Group was called in to ensure that the anchors, reporters, political consultants, statisticians and other guests were seen in their best light. To meet that requirement, Size specified 42 HES SolaFrame 750s and 12 SolaSpot 1500 automated luminaires from Main Light to supplement his conventional fixture package and to keep up with the continuously-changing action. “I’m strictly a High End guy,” the New York-based LD explains. “I was once a strong Vari-lite user, but HES has made great strides with the advances in the Sola line. That is all I specify now.” ABC’s senior production designer Seth Easter created the special two-story high set for ABC News. The
South Africa - Ultra Events is a technical supply and production company based in Cape Town, South Africa, owned and run by Costa Champanis and is the latest in several rental companies in the region to invest in Robe’s MegaPointe multi-functional luminaire. Ultra took delivery of four units initially with the rest to follow soon. The company started commercial life as Ultra Sound, specialising in professional audio for assorted events markets. Immediately the Pointes were onboard, the demand was so great that they upped the initial four units to 24 in less than a year. Based on their success with the Pointes and the intense demand on riders for MegaPointes, they ordered these from South African distributor, DWR. The first event for the new MegaPointes was lighting the runway show for the two-day #COSMOFest2018 fashion extravaganza, staged at Canal Walk
Europe - “I wanted a bit of additional craziness going on behind the band,” says Prodigy lighting and set designer Tim Fawkes. He is utilising eight Kinesys Elevation motors to move four special 4m long lighting trusses up and down, just upstage of the band, for the current European leg of their No Tourists tour. The four pods in their home position made up two apex shapes to blend in with the rest of the structural trussing design. Each one is lined with four Martin Sceptron LED battens, five GLP JDC1 strobes, four Robe MegaPointe moving lights, four Showtec Sunstrips and five old-skool PAR cans with CP60 bulbs for a classic ‘ACL’ look. All lighting and rigging equipment is being supplied by Blackburn based rental company HSL. Having these pods automated on the Kinesys motors using a Vector controller enabled Tim to add lots of extra dynamics to t
USA - Bandit Lites long time team member Chas Albea has been promoted to equipment co-ordinator for the Nashville shop. He will be responsible for planning, directing and coordinating Bandit’s massive collection of gear for preparation and distribution among productions. Albea’s journey into the lighting world was one of happenstance as he studied audio engineering in school before a friend recommended Bandit Lites. “After working here for a month or so, I slowly started picking up knowledge in lighting as my quest for an audio job became a thing of the past,” comments Albea. “The rest, as they say, is history.” Albea’s 10-year tenure at Bandit Lites has taken him on the road with tours such as Montgomery Gentry, Avenged Sevenfold, Paulina Rubio, Santana, Shinedown, WWE, Lee Brice, Rascal Flatts and Alice Cooper. “Chas was ready to make
Canada - Solotech has announced the appointment of Mitchell Sadofsky as sales director, effective 10 December. Sadofsky holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and Business Management (Double Major) from the University of Massachusetts. He has been working in business management for about 15 years. His areas of expertise include, among others, account management, and sales growth planning and analysis in large-scale companies such as Peerless Electric and Alico Lighting. “Thanks to his solid experience in business development in Ontario, Mr Sadofsky was the natural choice for this position. We are looking forward to engaging his skills and leadership,” says Philip Giffard, president, sales and integration division. (Jim Evans)
Singapore - Lighting solutions expert Showtec has made a major investment in Claypaky Scenius Unico and Mythos 2 fixtures to serve its extensive South East Asia markets. The company, which provides lighting to entertainment, corporate and exhibition events, now has 100 Scenius Unico and 50 Mythos 2 in stock. It is based in its Singapore HQ and has regional offices in Malaysia, China, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. Showtec’s director of sales, Vincent Tan, says: “We are always looking to invest in the most innovative products on the market and Claypaky is ahead of the curve, producing world-class quality fixtures with distinctive features that are exciting for our market. “The South East Asia live entertainment and events scene is growing rapidly and there is a hunger for the latest technology to achieve stunning and dynamic effects. That’s wh
USA - New Albany High School in New Albany, Indiana, recently completed seven sold out performances of the timeless classic The Wizard of Oz and used their new rig of Elation Professional lighting fixtures to help bring the musical to life. With three top-tier theatre programmes only miles from each other, Southern Indiana is a proven mecca for high school theatre. After sister school Floyd Central High School received a lighting upgrade of Elation fixtures a couple of years ago, New Albany High School was ecstatic when their opportunity came. “When funds came around, we were next,” said New Albany High School’s resident lighting and sound designer Crit Fisher, who was employed by the school five years ago to help resurrect what he says was an increasingly neglected programme. “Although New Albany High School has roots in theatre the program was in dir
World - Keith Urban’s 2018 world tour in support of his tenth studio album, Grafitti U, kicked off in North America in June 2018. Since then the talented country/rock singer, musician, songwriter and record producer from New Zealand has covered 59 venues in six months. The tour’s production design firm, FragmentNine, chose 68 Ayrton MagicPanel-R fixtures, supplied by Upstaging, to add depth, dynamism and texture throughout this creative and dynamic show. Video designer, Jackson Gallagher and lighting designer, Jeremy Lechterman of FragmentNine explained that part of the reasoning behind their choice of MagicPanel-R was largely due to its square face and special abilities, which fit into a mostly geometric and ‘square’ design. Forty-eight panels were rigged to four custom-built pods which automated as the most upstage visual element on stage, with two mor
Europe - Swedish artist Kristian Matsson is better known under his stage name, The Tallest Man On Earth. His recent European tour, in support of his album When The Bird Sees The Solid Ground, has seen LD Anders Heberling using GLP’s impression X4 Bar 20 in his stage design. He deployed 13 fixtures as a floor package with the remaining batten in the roof, directly above the head of an artist who is known for his dynamic stage performances. The fixtures were mounted in almost completely sealed custom made boxes, allowing just small cracks for the light to shine through. According to Heberling, the inspiration for this was old barns where the sun shines through the walls. Of his choice of lighting the LD said: “I needed a pixel batten that could move but most importantly be rigged vertically to fit inside the boxes. The wide zoom was very helpful in term
UK - Signify reports that its Philips Vari-Lite VLZ Profile LED luminaires were chosen to meet some specific stage lighting demands on the recent Savage tour by British electronic music pioneer Gary Numan. For special tour dates, including a showcase performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Numan and his band were joined on stage by an orchestra and choir. In response to this, the visual design, by Luke Edwards of Cue Design, successfully referenced the post-apocalyptic theme of the Savage album, while combining softer theatrical touches to complement the orchestra’s presence, both on the stage and in the music. “To light the orchestra, we needed fixtures with a really nice light quality,” said Edwards, “but with so many tuneable instruments on the stage we also needed lights that wouldn’t throw out lots of heat. The VLZ Profile was a great option: the op
UK - The Human League’s 2018 Red tour saw the band use projection mapping for the first time, with creative content and equipment supplied by Really Creative Media. The 27-date Red tour began in Brussels on 31 October, landing on UK shores at the Brighton Centre on 23 November, playing various size venues, from theatres and arenas, wrapping up at London’s Eventim Apollo on 8 December. Really Creative Media (RCM) has worked with The Human League on previous tours, supplying projection equipment and creative content and the band returned to their trusted supplier to push their visual creative offering for the Red tour. RCM supplied an MA Lighting grandMA3 Light console and OnPC Command Wing as a backup console, along with two Catalyst V6 Media Servers, six Panasonic RZ21K 20,000L laser projectors and two Panasonic RZ31K 30,000L laser projectors. These Panasoni
USA - With its intersecting patterns of light wrapping around a diamond-shaped configuration of risers, and cool colour schemes, the stage on Jacob Sartorius’ current tour evokes images of cyberspace. It is a fitting impression, since this Top 40 teenage artist found fame on the internet in 2016, when he was the ninth most frequently searched musical artist. Lenny Sasso, who lit Sartorius’ first headlining shows two years ago, came up with the futuristic concept for the singer’s 2018 tour. Helping him in this endeavour was a collection of Chauvet Professional Épix Strip Tour and Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures, supplied by Squeek Lights. Sasso arranged the linear fixtures in a matrix-like formation, filling the upstage area with light while creating a high-tech look. “I knew that I wanted to wrap the band in Épix Strips,” says Sasso. “It was just something that
UK - Following on from their success last year, Stage Electrics are hosting another equipment showcase. Taking place on 30 January 2019, at the SS Great Britain, Bristol, this event will bring the newest theatre and broadcast equipment to one place. Featuring some of the biggest names in theatre and broadcast, such as Sennheiser, Prolyte, ChamSys, Chauvet, ETC, High End Systems and DiGiCo. There will be 19 manufacturers in attendance, demonstrating their extensive range of lighting, audio, video and staging equipment. With free entry, this event will run from 2pm until 7pm and drinks and nibbles will be served from 5:30pm onwards. Get in touch with Stage Electrics to register, free parking will be available to all those who register before 17 January. (Jim Evans)
Denmark - Eleven trucks of production equipment is a lot for one stand-up comedian, but delivering the nuances of live comedy in an arena format is a fine art which needs a delicate balance of style and production values and for Denmark’s leading comedian, Anders ‘Anden’ (the Duck) Matthesen, this happened to be a 25th anniversary tour, so he wanted to make a big impact. Peter Fisker has been Matthesen’s lighting designer since 2006 and in that time, the funny-man known for his multiple crazy, off-beat and appealing characters - has toured regularly as well as producing movies, DVDs and books. This particular tour was shorter than usual - the seven shows were played in Denmark’s two largest arenas - five at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen and two in the Jyske Bank Boxen Arena in Herning - reaching around 86,000 fans. Peter took up some of that truck-space with
France - PlugFest, the technical event for entertainment lighting interoperability organised by PLASA, is coming to Europe on 26-28 February 2019. The event is taking place in Lille, France, at Ibis Lille Centre Gares, and presents an opportunity for delegates to test and demonstrate device and system interoperability, with the aim of improving reliability, resolving compatibility issues and improving connectivity between entertainment lighting and related technologies. New for 2019 will be a presentation on the ESTA Entertainment Industry control protocol standards which have been in public review since the last PlugFest, with the revised drafts of the RDMnet standard being of particular interest to many previous participants. Attendees will also learn about the latest ESTA/ANSI standards, set to be released in early 2019. Focusing on a wide array of protocols
UK - HSL has added 100 units of Chauvet Professional’s Maverick MK3 Wash RGBW LED lights to its inventory at the LDI Show in October. By the start of the holiday season, the UK company already had the fixture out on three of its 2018-19 pantomimes, at the 2018 Liverpool Horse Show, and on the Arena Cross Tour. “The immediate response has been very positive,” says Simon Stuart, managing director of HSL. “We’ve even had a certain renowned theatre LD comment that he didn’t want any other fixture except this in the future.” He adds: “We spent a great deal of time chatting with some of our strategic partners in the USA, and with various LDs. Everyone was extremely positive about Chauvet and this fixture. We needed more large LED washes, and it became clear that the MK3 has all the bells and whistles. It’s extremely bright, is pixel mappable, has a great z
Germany - Prior to 1944, Frankfurt had one of the most beautiful and largest medieval half-timbered old towns in Germany. Recently restored, the architectural treasure was opened in September with a cultural programme that included a unique night drone show supported by lighting effects from Elation Proteus Hybrid moving head fixtures. The highlight of the three-day celebration was a spectacular production in which drones drew constellations of light in the Frankfurt sky accompanied by a visually stunning light show over the river Main. bright! GmbH was responsible for the concept and technical implementation of the production, as well as the programming of the drone show. Michael Giegerich, one of the managing directors of bright! GmbH and project manager for the constellations, developed the show concept along with lighting director Daniel Gündner. Both worked unde
Europe - ETC Ltd and ETC GmbH have appointed three new employees to work on the High End Systems brand. Tania Lesage has joined as High End Systems brand manager; Markus Farncombe-Fischer - as regional sales manager, and Konstantinos Vonofakidis as field project coordinator. In his new position, Konstantinos will be responsible for High End Systems projects in the Southern European, African, Middle Eastern and Indian territories. He will manage sales arrangements for key accounts in these regions and work in cooperation with distributors and dealers. Konstantinos joins ETC following a role as international sales manager for the High End Systems brand at AED group. He worked there for three and a half years and during this time managed sales and concentrated on developing the dealer network in Southern Europe, Russia, Turkey and Africa. Tania previously worked for
The Netherlands - One of the bonuses of working with innovative and influential artists like dance music producer DJ Hardwell is that you get to work on some interesting shows. Symphony: The Global Revolution of Dance was one of those moments for lighting and visuals designer Andre Beekmans of The Art of Light and operator Jaap Kamps. The event was a live performance and collaboration between the globally popular and world leading electro DJ and multiple Grammy winning Metropole Orkest at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam, celebrating 30 years of dance music. It was staged to coincide with the renowned Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) conference. Andre and his Eindhoven based creative visual practice The Art of Light - who have designed and co-ordinated Hardwell’s lighting for some years - were approached by organisers Fourmation Events and MOJO and asked to create
Canada - Solotech has announced the appointment of Nicolino Iannotti as vice-president, finance, effective 7 January, 2019. Iannotti holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Concordia University, and the CPA, CMA and CA professional designations. He has 20 years of experience in accounting, external reporting, audit, and financial planning & analysis in large-scale companies such as Gildan and Deloitte. “As a leader in financial management in the United States and Canada, Mr. Iannotti will be a great asset to support Solotech’s growth on a global scale”, said Nicolas Lavoie, chief financial officer. (Jim Evans)
USA - Orlando-based Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) has introduced new Ecoflex10 low-loss coaxial cable assemblies designed for today’s demanding wireless audio applications. Ecoflex 10 is a low-loss coaxial cable that features a flexible design and durable jack suitable for touring use. “Ecoflex 10 is terminated with BNC connectors and sold in standard lengths of 25, 50, 75, 100 and 150 feet,” explains Justin Van Winkle, PWS production manager. “The connectors are reinforced with heavy duty adhesive-lined shrink tube which makes the cable even more durable for live wireless applications. “The 10.2 mm thick cable offers a stranded, oxygen-free copper centre conductor which makes it very easy and flexible to install,” continues Van Winkle. “SSB’s proprietary techniques, continuous centre conductor calibration and compression as well as the applicatio
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has supplied a new stage lighting rig for the indigo at The O2, a live entertainment sister-venue to The O2 Arena which regularly hosts exclusive after-show performances by superstar artists, including Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Prince. The 2,800 capacity venue has established itself as one of the Capital's most popular settings for big events on a smaller scale, hosting live music gigs; after-show parties; sports and club nights; stand-up shows including Jimmy Carr; and TV events such as the British Comedy Awards and the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. With such an impressive roster of artists using its production facilities, when the stage lighting rig was in need of an upgrade after 12 years of service, indigo at The O2's technical manager, Rob Burrows needed a system which was nothing less than cutting-edge to satisfy cli
Australia - Completed in 1862, Queensland’s stately Old Government House provided a dramatic backdrop for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. Tying the stunning 19th and 21st century visuals together into a balanced panorama was a colourful lighting design by Tim Allder of Chameleon Systems that featured 110 Chauvet Professional COLORdash Par H12IP fixtures, supplied by Showtools International. To light the runways that ran on three sides of the iconic building, Allder had his COLORdash fixtures positioned on top of ground support vertical towers. Each tower had a 4-meter pipe on top that held five of the RGBAW+UV LED wash lights. “We relied on the COLORdash fixtures to set the mood on the walk-in, as well as to light the building’s columns,” said Allder. “The building provided an excellent backdrop for the catwalk with lots of depth for us to play with, and
