Switzerland - As the European festival scene kicked back into action following the upheaval and restrictions of the pandemic, Ayrton teamed up with some established Swiss rental companies to support festivals across the country and showcase some of Ayrton’s latest fixtures. Stagelight AG Showtechnik supplied kit to the largest hip-hop festival in Europe at Frauenfeld, the Gurten Open Air festival in Bern and Schaffhausen’s Stars in Town across July and August. Stagelight AG Showtechnik used the same equipment package from Ayrton for each festival: 16 x Zonda 9 FX; 16 x Cobra and four Domino LT with every fixture adding its own features to the stages. “Each of these fixtures brings a new dimension to meet open-air design challenges,” opens Stagelight’s Stefan Rüttimann. “We have a long and mutually trustworthy relationship with Ayrton, and having Marc (Lor
Japan - Since opening in 1985, Antiknock has become a hall of fame for punk and hardcore bands, and many of today’s major artists originally set down their roots there. Now the venue, situated in the burgeoning Shinjuku district of Tokyo, has become the first in Japan to install Martin Audio’s new Torus constant curvature array. Speaking of the installation, Mr. Sekikawa, CEO of Hardaway Corporation, which manages the venue, said the renewal of the sound system was a gift to the many artists and patrons who volunteered to sell T-shirts and make donations to keep the venue alive during the COVID pandemic. “This was my first thought when trying to thank them all for their cooperation during those difficult times,” he said. The system previously installed had been huge and featured old long-throw cabinets. Their disproportionate size not only made the stage looked
USA - For Patrick Dierson, it was a case of really bad timing. The day before he was scheduled to travel to The Kia Forum for the iHeartRadio ALTer Ego concert, he had to cancel his flight after testing positive for COVID. “It was a real bummer, as this is one of my favourite projects,” said Dierson, the production designer for the big alternative music concert. “It was particularly disheartening given what a non-event my sickness turned out to be. So, I had to work on this one remotely. In the end, though it proved to be way more of a personal disappointment than an actual production challenge. “Things went smoothly because of the team we have onsite, beginning with our project manager and gaffer, Zack Guthimiller, and our LD, Justin Cheatham, as well as the crews from 4Wall Entertainment, C2W Rigging, and Diversified Production Services.” There was an
Denmark - When it opened in September of last year, the new campus of Sonic College - a unit of the University of South Denmark in Kolding - immediately vaulted to the top ranks of European educational institutions for all disciplines related to sound design for music, film, video, and gaming. The new facility boasts 10 studios for sound creation, recording, and mixing, but what sets Sonic College apart is what the school calls their “sound-embracing atrium”. More than 180 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers are installed throughout the five-story space, with about half facing into the open atrium and the remainder placed in the ceilings of connected corridors. Each loudspeaker is connected to a discrete output of a Galileo Galaxy Network Platform, which allows dynamic panning of multiple sound sources throughout the entire space using Meyer Sound’s Spacemap Go spat
Sweden - Pop supergroup GES (an acronym derived from the surnames of three of the country’s biggest singing stars – Anders Glenmark, Orup (Thomas Eriksson) and Niklas Strömstedt – continued a rollercoaster tour that started in 2021, wrapping up 2022 with a 33-date sold-out residency at Stockholm’s Cirkus venue. The lighting and visual stage design was created by Palle Palmé, based around the architecture of this circular-shaped venue which was also where the tour had originally kicked off all those months ago after the first Covid restrictions were lifted. The design featured two truss circles – large and small – and a curved LED screen on an automation system, with an all-Robe lighting rig in the air. Backed by a versatile band, the whirlwind-paced show romped through a string of hits from the collective and individual careers of GES to which the
France - Anolis ArcPar 150 Outdoor architectural luminaires have been installed for an urban lighting renovation scheme – halving the power consumption – in and around the vibrant Gerland Park district of Lyon. Gerland is a dynamic residential area that has also become a hub for emerging tech companies and commerce and a hotspot for sports and entertainment events with several world-class venues located in its 7th arrondissement catchment area. Lighting designer Laurent Fachard, founder of Les Éclairagistes Associés (LEA), has worked extensively in and around this area, and recently two of his key landscape lighting projects were updated with new LED technology that had subsequently come to the market. The new Anolis lighting authentically replicates his original illuminated art, simultaneously making these landmark urban lighting designs more energy effic
Italy - Neapolitan rapper and record producer Luchè, former member of the hip hop group Co'Sang, landed in arenas across Italy with his latest platinum-selling album DVLA - Dove Volano Le Aquile. The sell-out tour has crossed Italy from Naples to Milan via Rome and Rimini and will reach London in March 2023 for a special one-off date. During the tour the singer was joined by other stars of the Italian music scene such as Shiva, Elisa, Marracash, Sfera Ebbasta, Paky and Guè. Lighting designer Giorgio ‘Josh’ Geromin chose 42 Ayrton Domino Profile S fixtures as the main light source and key lighting for the tour. The concept started from the idea of an eagle's flight, echoing the name of the album Dove Volano Le Aguile (Where Eagles Soar) and symbolising a human being’s attempt to rise up and land on Mars. From this was born the idea of approaching the stage as i
USA - Dead & Company kicked off 2023 with a concert series in Riviera Cancún, Mexico and chose Meyer Sound’s Panther to power the destination event. Dead & Company tour director and FOH engineer, Derek Featherstone brought UltraSound LLC’s Panther system to the beach to anchor the 14-17 January series that also featured a one-night headline performance by rising American rock band Goose. UltraSound provided a Panther system with 16 per side (12L, 4W) providing even coverage across the long, narrow waterfront audience area. The system also included six Panther per side (4L, 2W) for out-fill, six Panther (L) for lipi-fill, a centre cluster with six Leopard, and 24 1100‑LFC, supported by six Galileo Galaxy 816 processors. “The Panther system covered the space as we expected it to and easily kept up with the wind,” said Derek Featherstone, UltraSound CEO
USA - Philadelphia’s HiJinx Festival transformed the Pennsylvania Convention Centre into a massive two-night EDM New Year’s Eve party, bringing a stellar line-up of bass heavy DJs who played out amid lighting that was designed to uplift and thrill. Creative production company Raw Cereal, known for pushing the boundaries of light-art shows, created a wide range of powerful effects using Vari-Lite VL3600 fixtures from Signify. Raw Cereal’s Cort Lawrence joined HiJinx as production designer and creative director for the inaugural Philadelphia incarnation of the festival in 2018 and has been raising the bar ever since. Working with Live Nation Philadelphia, which runs HiJinx, Lawrence created a design that integrated multiple artists’ production riders, resulting in a curated lighting environment that made each performer shine and ensured upbeat consistency throug
UK - The MOBO Awards, which recognise and celebrate black music and culture, returned for its 25th year in October last year. With Craig David, Little Simz, Central Cee and Knucks among the artists recognised, the annual ceremony took place at the OVO Arena Wembley, where a star-studded line-up of artists including Nile Rodgers, Kojey Radical, Tion Wayne, Fireboy DML, Cat Burns, FLO and Eliza Rose all performing on the night. DiGiCo’s SD10, SD12 and S21 digital mixing consoles offered flexibility, sound quality and reliability to the technically challenging event. Simon Purse, head of audio at South West Group Events (SWG Events), who also acted as audio crew chief at MOBO Awards, explains that, for the first year, SWG Events was sole audio supplier for the event. “The MOBOs is a technically challenging event to pull off,” says Purse. “It was also an extr
Belgium - The cavernous North Hall of Koninklijk Legermuseum - Musée royal de l'Armée (Royal Military Museum) in Brussels houses a wide collection of aircraft from different eras. “People have always dreamed of flying,” said Mathias Roelandt. “You think of someone like da Vinci studying the flight of birds and insects over 500 years ago to draw flying machines and know that the idea of flight eventually became a reality that continues to evolve all the time. We humans always want to do something that’s never been done before. That’s the spirit that’s reflected here in this space. It is inspirational, and worth celebrating.” Roelandt and his brother, along with their team at IIIMAGINE, including lighting operator Michiel Goedertier, did indeed celebrate flight by turning the museum’s Aviation Hall into an electronic music space for three captivating pe
South Africa - Bridge Church in Alberton, Johannesburg, is a contemporary church that strives to be a catalyst of positive social change within the local community; ‘moving lives’ forward. The congregation has grown considerably in recent years, causing the church to undergo a renovation, increasing its capacity from 400 to 900. As part of this renovation, Stage Audio Works (SAW) was brought in to design, supply and deliver a complete audio overhaul plus a turnkey house lighting and additions to the existing stage lighting solution, complete with flexible control for all of these systems. SAW was referred to the project by their very own Lee Thomson, a SAW project sales manager, who is also a member of the church. Having observed the successful delivery of many similar solutions, he could confidently recommend SAW, who have an extensive House of Worship project por
Sweden - ‘Attention! This Performance Contains Lighting That May Be Considered As Disturbing’. This is the caption that presented itself on the Royal Swedish Opera’s site publicising the show by the Royal Swedish Orchestra devoted to celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Swedish gaming phenomenon that is DICE. The dynamic meeting of cultural opposites showcased the musical accompaniments of games such as Battlefield 1, 3, 4 and V, Battlefield 2042, Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2, Star Wars: Battlefront I and II, Mirror’s Edge and Mirror’s Edge Catalyst. The musical background of a video game, similar to the function of a film soundtrack, guides and supports the gamer through the narrative of the game. For LD Ishai Mika of Green Wall Designs AB, Sweden, this presented a challenge: how to light a multimedia performance that embraces musical genres that ran
Europe - Andrea Bocelli’s audio team has relied on DiGiCo’s professional touring consoles during the star’s career, starting in 2006 with the original D5 Live. After a brief move to an analogue solution, the production migrated back to digital with the SD7, but recently upgraded to DiGiCo’s flagship premium Quantum 7 console and its advanced processing suite to cater for the high I/O count typical of the classical genre and the grand venues in which it is hosted. With an average of 45 concerts a year, the renowned tenor maintains a busy touring schedule. Reportedly the biggest selling solo classical artist of all time with 85m worldwide album sales, Bocelli sustains an ongoing tour programme for his legions of international fans, selling out arenas across the globe. “My colleague Francesco and I started working with Bocelli in September 2006,” comments seni
UK - The Christmas holidays ignited the zany and uniquely British performance phenomenon of pantomime which came to theatre stages up and down the country. This year, lighting designer Andy Webb was asked to design two high-profile panto shows – Aladdin at the Waterside Theatre in Aylesbury and Beauty and The Beast at the Festival Theatre in Malvern, both for UK Productions (UKP). Andy chose a selection of Robe moving and LED luminaires to help bring the vibrant, trippy craziness of the genre to life. “Rule number one in panto lighting is keeping up with the fast-and-furious pace of the action whilst informing the narrative and captivating the audience’s attention,” he explained. Audience participation is a major aspect of any panto production. All of this means that lighting must be highly adaptable and multi-functional, as the LD must b
USA - Dave Koz, the chart-topping saxophonist kept the holiday tradition alive with his Dave Koz & Friends Christmas Tour. Bandit Lites provided the lighting system for the tour’s 25th anniversary, where Rick Braun, Peter White, Keiko Matsui and Rebecca Jade joined Koz for an evening of holiday music and memories. “This is an incredible outfit full of wonderful people,” said Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden. “I believe we just completed our tenth year of Mr. Koz and company coming to our programming and rehearsal studio Venue One and it seems much like old friends coming together once a year to share company. I cannot say enough about Brian and Josh Foisy who share production management positions and of course any time Chris Lisle comes into play you can be assured of a wonderful environment and beautiful lighting.” Chris Lisle designed the light
Australia - A light art installation created by Ben Cisterne and comprising 450 Astera NYX Bulbs graces the ceiling of the newest Great Southern Land permanent gallery at the National Museum of Australia (NMA) in Canberra. Designed as a digital ‘murmuration’, emulating the kinetic phenomenon made by hundreds of starlings flying in swooping and random but apparently intricately coordinated kaleidoscope patterns at speed through the sky, Ben, was commissioned to create this special work with the exhibition designer, Fernanda Reis of Local Projects based in New York. Ben, who also lit the other elements of the Great Southern Land Gallery, has known and worked with the NMA Canberra team led by NMA assistant director for the discovery & collections division, Katherine McMahon, and Suzanne Myers responsible for management and development of the Museum’s permanent
Philippines - Located in the central business district of Makati, Philippines, HIT Productions is a 31-year-old post-production studio known for creating award-winning work serving the advertising, music, film, and streaming localisation markets. With recent changes in how content is created, distributed, and consumed, HIT realized that its old facility no longer met the needs of its production teams and clients. Studios in the old facility were based on analogue point-to-point connections built back in the era of specialised rooms with limited signal routing options, resulting in inefficient use of space and resources. When a new building became available in 2021, HIT jumped at the opportunity to build a new facility that would allow them to meet the challenges of a constantly changing technology ecosystem. Dennis Cham, founding partner and chief technology officer
Qatar - Creative Technology Middle East supported broadcaster Fox to deliver the largest temporary studio in Qatar on the Doha Corniche waterfront promenade, for the live broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 2022. Fox sports broadcast all 64 World Cup games live across the United States from their set featuring four different stages, each having a backdrop of the West Bay illuminated skyline of Qatar's capital. CTME delivered the studio’s AV requirements across the impressive space which span across 148ft x 33ft within two stories. The onsite build started on 22 October and ran 24/7 until FIFA went live on 20 November. The AV solutions consisted of 500sqm of LED controlled by multiple Novastar H9 splicers and Barco E2 screen management system to manage over 22m pixels. A bespoke lighting package consisted over 700 lighting fixtures. CT also managed all of t
UK - Ollie Titterington of O T Events Technicians knows every inch of the path that winds through Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens for Illuminate. That’s not surprising; after three years of working on this winter light celebration at the historic Dorset garden (it dates back to 1756), he’s traversed the event’s well-planned route time and time again, visiting the site months in advance to look for optimal lighting positions. Titterington couldn’t help but feel a delightful sense of newness and discovery every time he walked down this year’s Illuminate path. Seeing the brilliant bursts of reds, blues, purples and other colours playing against shadows of forested paths never gets old. Neither does gazing at a fallen pine tree laying near scenic objects in a peaceful pond, all embraced by dreamy gobos. Nor does coming upon a classic statue that beckons at the end of a
The Netherlands - The first season of the 1% Quiz TV show in the Netherlands was recorded at EMG's Mediahaven Studio in Amsterdam with a stylish lighting design by Henk-Jan van Beek of design studio Light-H-Art. This featured 110 x Robe Esprites, 98 x LEDBeam 350s, 46 x LEDBeam 150s and 20 x T1 Profile moving lights, all delivered by Eventec. Dutch producers Blue Circle Productions added a few of their own exclusively Dutch elements as this was the first time the show concept has been produced outside the UK where it originated on ITV. One hundred contestants – who are also the audience – try to answer a question that only 1% of the country can get right. The show is styled as an IQ test with questions based on logic and common sense rather than general knowledge. Henk-Jan worked closely with Dutch set designer Harald Kassies who took the original 1% Cl
Italy -Two events - Legend 375 and Christmas Night - staged at the Coccia Theatre in Novara marked the Italian debut of the Adamson Fletcher Machine the immersive audio processor designed and created by Adamson. On stage was the musical project written by Claudio Mazzucchelli - co-founder of the orchestra and director of the two shows - and interpreted by the 50-piece CM Orchestra Rhythms & Drums directed by Maestro Andrea Pollione. A story in music, through which the director wanted to relive the soundtrack of his life, together with the audience, where everyone can recognize passages of their own. An exciting choral play of sound, light, and color designed to immerse and excite. Claudio Mazzucchelli, artistic director and concert technician said, “With the CM Orchestra we looked for an audio system that was capable of interpreting the skill
USA - Nick Chang has been overseeing lighting for services and other events at Church of the City in Nashville since 2020 and again handled lighting programming and direction for five Christmas services this past December. Employing Elation’s Artiste Mondrian LED profile FX luminaire on the worship services, Nick hid the multi-functional moving heads behind a blow-through LED wall to create a variety of impactful and unexpectedly striking lighting scenes. Production and lighting design was by Jori Johnson. Held in a 3,000-seat auditorium at Church of the City’s main campus in Franklin, Tennessee, this year’s services featured an increased production value, including a dedicated producer (Tommee Profitt) and expanded lighting design. At Nick’s disposal were 32 Artiste Mondrian luminaires rented through 4Wall Nashville. “Previous years were more traditional s
Iceland - Known for their ethereal sound, frontman Jónsi's falsetto vocals sung in Icelandic and non-linguistic vocalisations, as well as their use of bowed guitar, Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós have recently completed their first world tour in nearly five years, delivering 70 shows across 28 countries. The band’s monitor engineer, Throstur Albertsson, deployed KLANG’s immersive in-ear monitor mixing solution, using a DMI-KLANG card-equipped DiGiCo SD12 96 digital mixing console, supplied by new UK pro-audio equipment rental and support provider, 22live. Albertsson was recommended to Sigur Rós in mid-2021, as they were starting to plan their 2022 tour. “As the tour was going out for many months, I had a few meetings with the band to make sure the fit would be a good one, both for them and me,” recalls Albertsson. “At the time, my mixing abilities wer
