UK - When Bat Out of Hell-The Musical co-producer Michael Cohl stood on a make-shift stage outside the London Coliseum at the press launch in November, he declared his latest project, along with fellow producers David Sonenberg, Randy Lennox and Tony Smith, and production manager, Simon Marlow, to be the biggest rock musical to premiere in London since We Will Rock You. Peter Marshall, director of theatre for PRG XL, oversaw the provision of kit to the musical: “The show initially opened for a 12-week run in Manchester at the start of the year, before transferring to the Coliseum for the summer season from June to August. It was brilliant to continue our relationship with producer Michael Cohl and general manager Julian Stoneman again - after supporting them on Rock of Ages, and very exciting to work with Patrick and Finn, providing some of the latest
Australia - IKONIX, the Australian audio-visual production expert, has supplied an Avolites Ai RX8 media server and two Avolites Miami Dongles, to run 960 gigabytes of content for Queensland's largest youth performing arts event, Creative Generation (CGEN) - State Schools on Stage 2017. The event, now in its 13th year, was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Queensland. GCEN aims to mentor the next generation of performers, providing opportunities for them to work with professional artists. More than 1800 students aged between four and seventeen took part in this year's event. Zachary Burton, co-founder of IKONIX alongside business partner Richard Saunders, worked with the CGEN team to manage and coordinate the production's entire lighting and video aspect. "IKONIX has been working with CGEN since 2014," says Burton. "This year we decided
Spain - Multiple Grammy and Latin Grammy Award winning Spanish singer / songwriter and musician Alejandro Sanz performed a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ show at the Vicente Calderón Stadium in Madrid to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his best-selling and landmark fifth studio album, Más, released in 1997. The production team wanted some spectacular visual moments to make what was already going to be an outstanding show even more memorable, so the show’s production manager Borja Gonzales contacted stage automation and engineering specialists WIcreations. WI’s Geert Stockmans headed their team after the introduction, which initially came six months ahead of the gig via Frank Janssens, a Belgian lighting specialist living and working in Spain. Geert and Frank have worked together many times, including on Malu’s 2016 tour. Containing a diverse collectio
Pop-Up Shakespeare - City of York Council has given its approval to plans for a pop-up Shakespearean theatre in the city centre. The council’s executive gave its backing to the plans put forward by Lunchbox Theatrical Productions. The plans are for a 12-sided pop-up theatre, which will be Europe’s first full-scale, pop-up replica of a traditional Shakespearean theatre. If the plans go ahead, the pop-up, which will be modelled on the 16th-century Rose Theatre, will run between May and September next year. The council has negotiated a package with Lunchbox Theatrical Productions that will include educational opportunities, an area to showcase local food and drink, and tickets from £12.50. Under the educational offer, schools in York will be offered material for lessons, discounted tickets and pre-show talks with cast and crew. No Hope - The company beh
Hungary - Four Robert Juliat’s 4000W HTI Lancelot fixtures were the followspots of choice for Frédéric “Aldo” Fayard, the lighting designer behind the opening ceremony of the 17th FINA World Aquatic Championships, which took place in Budapest and Balatonfüred in July this year. The FINA World Championships is one of the biggest sporting events in the world and the largest sporting showcase Hungary has ever hosted. With over 2,500 athletes from 180 countries and 200 events over a period of 17 days, this was a massive undertaking. Frederic Fayard, who is founder and designer with Concept K in Paris, created and programmed the lighting for the opening ceremony event, which was conceived and produced by the French production ECA2 Group with MUPA from Hungary. The four 4kW Lancelot followspots were supplied by PRG France and were rigged on two technical towers front of s
Belgium - Spread across four stories and six zoned entertainment areas, the new 6000sq.m Comics Station Antwerp indoor theme park is a colourful celebration of creativity. Located in the city’s central station complex, it offers children and adults alike the opportunity to interact with Belgium’s best loved comic heroes such as Suske en Wiske (Spike and Suzy), Jommeke and the Smurfs. To highlight the zones and multiple interactive elements within the theme park, Belgian creative visual design practice Luc Peumans and his team at Painting with Light drew on their multi-disciplinary experiences working on theatrical shows and attractions to implement a comprehensive lighting concept. Peumans and production lighting designer Kristof Devriese turned their vision into reality with some help from over 200 Chauvet Professional fixtures, which they used to create engaging looks
Europe - Elation Professional has introduced the DiGidot C4, a small and powerful LED controller and pixel tape driver that has use in all kinds of applications. “DiGidot is a powerful, innovative solution for pixel control and is one of the most advanced LED pixel tape drivers on the market today. We are proud to now offer it in our product line up,” stated Elation Professional sales director Eric Loader. “It offers the latest technology for integration into a variety of LED pixel tape projects and runs all pixel tapes on the market, including the Elation Flex Pixel range.” The DiGidot C4 is an in-house development of DiGidot, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It works as a pixel controller, ArtNet node, show recorder and trigger device and can work standalone for smaller setups or collaborate in larger networks with third-party devices. One device can dri
UK - ETC has announced the promotion of Darren Beckley to the role of sales manager for ETC Ltd. In this newly created position, Beckley will oversee all sales activity in the regions covered by ETC Ltd, including the UK and Ireland, northern and southern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. He will be based out of ETC’s London office, and will spend time in all territories, providing support to ETC Ltd’s regional sales managers and their dealer and distributor networks. Beckley has more than 15 years of experience working in the industry, including more than a decade with UK-based dealer Stage Electrics. For several years, he was sales manager for installation projects, leading a team responsible for designing and selling integrated lighting, audio, video and stage engineering systems across the EMEA region. He was also responsible for establishing the Dubai branch of
UK - GLP’s award-winning X4 Bar 20s were out in force at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, led by Andi Watson, who had already been lighting Radiohead on tour using 14 of the large X4 L as well as quantities of Bar 20s and Bar 10s. The inventory was supplied by Neg Earth. Speaking of the Bars, he noted, “I love how you can make light move within these fixtures. I am looking for texture, beams and movement and the X4 Bars do that really well.” All are pixel controlled through the grandMA desk. Of the large X4 L he added, “While I’ve always been a big fan of the X4, when we came to do the tour, knowing we would be headlining Coachella and Glastonbury, I knew I wouldn't be able to light the crowd adequately with these. So, on those two front trusses, the lights are mainly X4 L.” Elsewhere, award-winning Tobias Rylander of Seven Design Works used 36 GLP
Australia - South Perth’s Wesley College has been shaping young minds since 1923. Its Goatcher Auditorium, seating more than 300, has been serving the College’s needs since opening in 2008, and after nine years of constant use, it was time to refresh the lighting system and upgrade to LED. Alex Spartalis, head of lighting for the college, helped the school to install four High End Systems SolaSpot Pro 1000s and four Elation Platinum Sevens, giving them their first moving lights and first LED sources. “I’ve used the SolaSpot Pro 1500s and was really happy with them,” said Alex. “They were too big for this use case, as the school needs fixtures that are a one-person lift. I was just as happy with the smaller SolaSpot Pro 1000s – they have good colour mixing, a good zoom, and they run extremely quietly, if not silently. They’ve got the output and colour the Coll
USA - When fans of American singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw arrive at a show of his, they can anticipate the Grammy-nominated artist to play all his hits, albeit with one notable modification: a pared down band. Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the production, and while previous tours elicited more of a rock show feel, the Gavin DeGraw Tour utilises a three-piece band to give a much more stripped back, intimate feel. “We wanted a classic and intimate look to fit this show,” said production manager Mitch Vanhoose. “Also, going into smaller venues, we wanted to keep it somewhat scalable. What we ended up with is a simple yet elegant look.” Bandit Lites supplied Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Chauvet Freedom Par Quad 4 fixtures, Color Kinetics Blaze 72 along with Portman P1 Retro Lamps and a Whole Hog 4 for control. The recently acquired Portman P1
Germany - Beer, food, folk music and a wide variety of other forms of entertainment are a perfect recipe for a good time. The Licher Wiesnfest Beer Festival has been following this formula successfully since 2009. While Munich’s Oktoberfest is Germany’s most internationally famous beer festival export, this summer event, which takes place near Frankfurt am Main, has been gaining traction since its inception, thanks to its beer and varied entertainment programme. Wanting to give Licher Wiesnfest’s main stage a visual look worthy of a much larger festival main stage, local production specialists Flashlight Veranstaltungstechnik supplied light operator Björn Göbel and lighting technician and LD Benjamin Graff with 14 Chauvet DJ Intimidator Hybrid 140SR fixtures, which they skilfully deployed to create some impressive looks. By positioning eight Intimidator units
USA – Eos family control becomes even more versatile with the release of the newly-upgraded iRFR and aRFR iOS and Android mobile applications. Both remote apps boast fully-redesigned user interfaces, more intuitive connectivity and an expanded feature set, including a full-feature keyboard and direct selects. This redesign is available as a free update for anyone who has previously purchased the iRFR or aRFR application. Note that software v2.6 must be installed on the host Eos device (console, RPU, laptop, etc) for these revised applications to work. All app sale proceeds will be donated to charities that support lighting and theatre professionals in need. There are two versions of each app: one supporting Behind the Scenes (BTS), the US-based charity that assists production personnel in need, and one supporting Backup, the UK-based equivalent. The existing apps –
USA - JR Lighting provided the lighting, rigging and control package for the US leg of American pop punk band All Time Low’s The Young Renegades tour , a successful six-week run this summer that featured Elation Professional lighting and video. Lighting designer Jeff Maker (Pierce the Veil, The Dresden Dolls) has worked with All Time Low for the past eight years and earlier this year used Elation lighting on a string of shows in the UK and Europe. For 2017’s U.S. leg he added a dominant upstage visual piece in the form of an eye-catching LED video wall. “Whereas the UK design was all about the lighting, the U.S. leg was very video heavy,” Maker explains, referencing the unique cityscape/soundwave video wall made up of Elation EMAG4 LED video panels. “We wanted to create a very interactive design that helped transform the stage with each song having its own persona
USA - The theme of the fourth annual EST Festival, which took place outside Cleveland August 11-13, was “1970 Something” a tribute to those unruly, hard-driving days when social inhibitions seemed to be falling like bowling pins. Early Seventies style swagger was out in full force during the two-day festival, as its founder Machine Gun Kelly and other hip-hop heavyweights like Gucci Mane tore things up with some high-powered decibels. There were even some period piece scenic elements dotting the festival grounds for atmosphere, but the Alex Kay lightshow that supported the onstage performances went way beyond anything anyone could ever have imagined back in the day. Kay, of NPi Audio Visual Solutions, used an array of high output fixtures, a 13’ x 20’ video wall, and projection mapping with 20K projectors to create a non-stop visual assault that matched the music on
USA - When WestJet Airlines, Canada’s second-largest air carrier and the number one international carrier into Las Vegas, wanted to celebrate its 21st birthday, the company decided to go all out and set some Guinness World Records in the process. WestJet treated passengers on one of its Toronto-Las Vegas flights to a massive light show in Utah’s Mojave Desert featuring 126 Claypaky Mythos fixtures Creative agency Rethink devised the rather daunting concept, which Westbury National Show Systems Ltd. in Toronto executed. “We don’t scare easily,” laughs Westbury Vice President Rob Sandolowich. The full-service AV company provides lighting, staging, video and audio services for shows and permanent installations. Rethink’s idea was to create a giant, ground-based spinning wheel of lights with a prize-winning seat number revealed in the center. The lights would b
Slovenia - Event Lighting is Slovenia’s largest and busiest lighting rental specialist, based in the capital, Ljubljana. The operation is owned and run by Jernej Gustin, who likes to be setting the trends rather than following them. So it wasn’t a massive surprise that they were the first company in the country to purchase Robe’s new Spiider LED wash beams following a trailblazing purchase of BMFL Blades last year which also started the ball rolling in a country with a small but highly competitive and action packed market! Event Lighting’s first batch of Spiiders went straight out on a number of projects and this was soon followed by a second order, so they now have 40 in stock. “Everyone loves a fat beam,” says Jernej. They wanted a latest generation LED wash fixture to pair with their growing inventory of Robe’s BMFL Blades. The Spiiders have the
Australia - Lexair Entertainment has announced that it is the new Australian and New Zealand exclusive distributor for LDDE. LDDE specialises in the theatre and studio lighting markets, and has held an exceptional reputation since its foundation nearly 30 years ago. Their products are all manufactured in the company’s home of Austria. “On the occasion of Prolight & Sound in Frankfurt in April 2017, first discussions were held with Lexair to offer LDDE products to an even larger audience in Australia and New Zealand” stated Peter Durstberger, international sales manager for LDDE. “I am pleased to have found a partner with Lexair, one of the top companies in its region. Together, we will be able to provide our customers with even better support in the future.” “We are very excited to bring the highly regarded LDDE into the Lexair family, rounding ou
UK - The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards – the industry’s largest Awards to celebrate the achievements in lighting and video design seen in the UK -has announced a special collaboration between KOI Awards, Hawthorn and the PLASA Show. This initiative will introduce a new exhibition area to the PLASA Show (17-19 September 2017), specifically created to showcase the shortlisted and winning designers of the 10th annual Knight of Illumination Awards. The designated KOI area will be located upstairs at the London Olympia exhibition halls. All visitors to the show are invited to see the showcase of work created by the shortlisted lighting designers, and following Sunday’s ceremony, an update with the winning designs. Chris Toulmin, director of events at PLASA Events comments: “This collaboration enables us to display some of the best creative talent
World - Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes shot to fame via a clip he posted to Vine in 2014 and has quickly garnered pop royalty status with a social media fan following of millions. At the pinnacle of his career playing sold-out arenas around the world, Shawn is currently embarking on his Illuminate world tour – and French manufacturer and provider of lighting balloons for the event industry, Airstar, is helping to set the stage with its Pendulair LED product. The llluminate tour comprises 61 dates in total touching every continent, with Shawn playing some of the world’s biggest music venues. Named after his current platinum-selling second studio album, the show features a set built around a 5m wide Airstar Pendulair LED lighting balloon - known as the ‘Orb’. Providing the main source of the light for fans as they walk into the venue, in an off-b
South Africa - Indian Independence Day, holds a special meaning for the people of Lenasia Township. It was here in the early 20th century that a young Mahatma Gandhi staged a famous protest at the local railway station to advance the cause of civil rights for South Africa’s Indian population. Later, when he returned to India, Gandhi would employ the idea of non-violent civil disobedience that he had honed in South Africa to win independence for his native country, and in the process, change the world. This year, as India celebrated the 70th anniversary of its independence, Lenasia hosted an array of events to mark the occasion. Among the most moving and colourful was Celebrating India at the township’s Patidar Hall, which featured a performance by the Kashvita Music and Dance Academy. Creating a bright and upbeat background for the spirited performances on stage w
USA - Foreigner recently released Forty Hits from Forty Years with an accompanying 40th Anniversary Tour appropriately featuring an old-school lighting design by Dan Lastovka using Elation Arena Par Zoom LED wash lights supplied by See Factor. Used to create a 70’s rock par can look but with the benefits of a modern intelligent luminaire are 108 Arena Par Zoom fixtures. Lastovka comments: “When I was first playing around with ideas for Foreigner’s 40th Anniversary Tour, I wanted to centre the design around a big par can rig, certainly not the largest that has ever been out, but bigger than has been seen in 10 or more years, and maybe a different look to modern audiences. In the end, whimsy yielded to practicality and a richer feature set, so the hunt for a par can analogue began.” Lighting vendor on the tour is See Factor, who, working with Elation rep
UK - Lighting and visuals designer Andy Hurst wanted to make a big impact for Chase & Status acclaimed Saturday night headliner set at the 2017 Lovebox festival in London’s Victoria Park - so he designed an epic specials package which was supplied by HSL, together with crew – which was installed under the event’s production ‘top rig’. The ‘extras’ included 194 x SGM Q-7 LED flood / strobes, used highly effectively for the onslaught that you expect at a Chase & Status gig as well as super-bright floods and audience blinders. The Q-7s were rigged so they effectively worked together in linear strips, wrapping around the back and sides of the stage, the PA wings and the portrait format IMAG side screens, also integrating these screens into the performance space. Andy loves creative challenges and is known for his fresh approach. “I wanted th
Germany - The annual DPWK Deutscher Preis für Wirtschaftskommunikation (German Prize for Business Communication) gala award presentation took place recently in the casual surroundings of Berlin’s Columbiahalle rock venue (replacing the usual formal ‘black tie’ event). Known as Der Goldene Funke, the event was expertly lit by locally based lighting designer, Björn Hermann, working in conjunction with phase7 performing.arts, with whom he shares a studio. German lighting manufacturer GLP provided many of the creative tools, including 24 x GT1, 14 x impression X4 and 16 x impression X4 L. Hermann says he believes it is important to support the City’s institutions, particularly at student level, and GLP were also happy to lend their sponsorship. Explaining his conceptual mission, the designer states, “It was important to create an ‘Oscar’ type feeling
