UK - Thanks to songs such as You Raise Me Up and Have I Told You Lately, Russell Watson’s blend of classical opera and catchy pop has succeeded. On the road recently with Watson’s latest tour was LD Ollie Wilkinson of Arranpaul LTD, who treated Watson’s show to an all-encompassing visual spectacle with a selection of Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. Wanting to provide a stunning set of visuals for the Manchester-born opera singer, Wilkinson worked together with Production Manager Dan Tiley to produce a show of grandiose measures. To provide illumination for one of the defining features of the stage - a wraparound curtain behind the band - Wilkinson utilised the 19 (15W) RGBW quad-LEDs of the Rogue fixtures to excellent effect. “I wanted to wash the entire backdrop with colour,” commented Wilkinson. “The saturated colours of the Rog
USA - When Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas presented its annual The Gift of Christmas show in December 2017 design collaborators UVLD took control to a new level employing Claypaky Scenius Profiles and Mythos2 fixtures for the spectacular, 90-minute multimedia production. The production featured Santa and his workshop in Act One, a choral interlude in Act Two and a living nativity in Act Three. This season, new music and a new script opened the show; two-thirds of the lighting cues occurred in Act One and five days were devoted to programming them. “In the past we’ve had 10 or 12 dedicated follow spots to cover people flying and various audience activities,” says UVLD lighting designer Matt Webb. “We discovered a new follow spot system and decided to give it a shot. It allowed us to utilise moving lights as follow spots.” “We could
USA - The Admiral Theatre, an art deco movie house in Bremerton, Washington, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The Admiral Theatre Foundation, which helped renovate the venue in the 1990s, raised $1.2m and recently completed upgrades to its infrastructure and sound reinforcement system, adding 11 new Clair Brothers 1AM+ and 1.5AM+ powered monitors. "Performers these days are looking for hi-fi sound in their monitors. The days of a simple 'horn-in-your-face' are gone," said Andrew Saylor, production manager for the Admiral Theatre, who also plays the role of Audio 1, house system tech, and frequent FOH mixer. "In our search for new monitors, we wanted something that could handle volume while still remaining punchy, transparent, and bright. We demoed a lot of different top-name manufacturers, and the Clair Brothers 1AM+ and 1.5AM+ powered monitors stoo
USA - Rock band Avenged Sevenfold has been busy with its latest world arena tour, following the release of the group's most recent album, The Stage. FOH engineer Bob Strakele - also known for his work with The War on Drugs, Awolnation, Papa Roach, and James, amongst others - has been with them at every stop, and chose the Solid State Logic L500 Plus live console for mixing duties. Audio kit on the tour has been supplied by Solotech. On this tour, Strakele has around 48 inputs from stage, with about 23 of those accounted for on the drum kit. The rest of the set includes bass, two electric guitars, two acoustics, plus five vocal mics. According to Strakele, the main sonic challenge arises from the sheer size of the tour venues, so clarity is a priority: "With double kick drums and blazing fast songs, it might be hard to keep it punchy - keep it together... So I'm
UK - Broadcast and event lighting specialists Version 2 has continued its investment into its power distribution equipment offerings. Version 2 prides itself on being at the forefront of technology and innovation with its power distribution systems. The company offers monitoring that utilises its propriety SMARTdistro technology. The company once again turned to its manufacturing partners SES (Entertainment Services) who have built the companies entire distribution inventory since its inception. The design process was led by Sam Crook, Version 2’s technical director who collaborated with SES managing director Mark Cooper on the specification of the latest units. SES’s Mark Cooper commented: “SES loves working with companies like Version 2; they come to us with a clear outline of what they want both technically and physically, but still allow us to build th
Thailand - Com 7, a technology retail chain, has relocated its headquarters to a new six-story office building in Bangkok. AV integrator Mahajak Development selected an end-to-end Harman networked audio solution consisting of JBL speakers, Crown amplifiers, Soundcraft mixers, BSS audio processors and AMX control systems to create a multi-zone AV system for the conference and training rooms. Pongsakorn Kanchanachayphoom, project director, says: “Harman solutions incorporate the latest advances in technology with seamless integration, allowing us to achieve their goals and install a conference audio system that delivers consistent intelligibility and advanced networking capabilities.” Mahajak outfitted Com 7’s conference and training rooms with JBL LSR305 two-way studio monitors and Control 25-1 compact speakers. Mahajak also installed Control 14C/T full-range cei
Belgium - Luc Peumans and the team from Painting with Light created a lighting design and supplied media servers for the production of Disney’s The Little Mermaid staged by Marmalade Content at Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium. Luc had worked in the same role on Marmalade’s 2016 Beauty and the Beast productio and was delighted to be reunited with set designer Stefan Haudenhuyse and director Frank Van Laecke, with whom he collaborated on 14-18, a Spectacular Musical. The technical director was Bart De Coensel from The Production Box. The creative process began with a brain-storming session between Luc and the producers, Frank and Stefan, from which this basic aesthetic framework emerged and Luc started to develop the lighting concepts. An underlining theme was to make it properly ‘spectacular’ in both impact and presence, so the audienc
China - The Mr. Future Music Festival brought nearly 40,000 fans to Wuhan, China to enjoy an impressive line-up of hip-hop and electronic artists in front of an interactive set design. Sharing the massive stage with the acts were over 100 Adamson loudspeakers supplied and supported by the company’s exclusive Chinese distributor Real Music. “Mr. Future is a unique and innovative event that brings people from all kinds of different circles together,” begins Real Music owner Zhen “Richie” Wang. “Of course, music is the central component, and Club Muse, the organiser, chose an Adamson system to ensure every single ticketholder had a powerful and exciting experience that exceeded their expectations.” The substantial system included main reinforcement from arrays of 15 Adamson E15 three-way, true line source enclosures per side. Because the unique stage d
UK - Lighting designer Nathan Wan, who designed the light show at last year’s Autosport International, returned for the show’s 2018 edition at the Live Action Arena in Hall 5 of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. Wan utilised over 250 Robe moving lights, working for the Live Arena’s equipment suppliers and technical consultants Network Productions. Network Productions’ Nick Halliday looked after the Live Arena’s technical direction and management aspects, with Dave Beel as production manager. Nathan introduced the power of Robe BMFLs into the mix last year for the first time, which enhanced the dynamics he could create with the rig. Apart from getting enough brightness in there, other parameters to consider include not blinding drivers as they belt round the short track at supernatural speeds, so fixture placement was crucial. In
USA - The recently-opened World Club has quickly become popular among visiting LDs for artists like Hardwell, Tiesto, Alan Walker and Armin Van Buuren. The spacious 21,000sq.ft venue at the south end of Charlotte’s famed Music Factory complex provides designers with a broad, colour-neutral canvas to work on. And, with eight universes of lighting hung from its ceiling, they can let their creative impulses scream out in wild, eye-shattering explosions of patterns and colour. “The space really gives the LD creative freedom to set the mood,” said Eye Dialogue’s Travis Pagels, who used a collection of Intimidator fixtures from Chauvet DJ to anchor his rig. “All the walls and furniture in the venue are black or metallic silver, so there really isn’t a colour scheme restricting the lighting designer. Then with all those universes in the ceiling, it’s easy to turn the
USA - FOH Engineer Simon Thomas began his live sound career in theatre at 16. Thirty four years later, he’s worked with many major artists including Gary Numan, Echo and the Bunnymen, Moby, Tracy Chapman, Kylie Minogue, Jessie J, and Sam Smith - and 2017 saw him out with Ariana Grande. His FOH rig with Grande was inherited from the tour’s previous engineer, Toby Francis, and was Thomas’ first experience with Rupert Neve Designs equipment, including a 5059 Satellite summing mixer, a Shelford Channel for lead vocals, and a Portico II Master Buss Processor on the 2-buss. Thomas’ DiGiCo SD7 console sent seven groups into the 5059, including drums, band/tracks, backing vocals and lead vocals. On combining analogue summing with the digital realm, Thomas says, “In very simple terms, the analogue thing brings the mix forward, brings it out of the box - rather than ma
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has supplied StageSmarts smartPDU power distribution system to Titan Reality for their first certified, fully immersive 3D audio venue experience in Europe. The Aures club is located along Leake Street Tunnel under London's Waterloo station, which features a giant mural of street art organised by renowned street artist, Banksy. Aures provides a blank canvas event space within a seven-metre high exposed brick arch and over 2,000 square feet of floor space, which is used for product launches, photoshoots, presentations and corporate parties. The venue recently launched the first phase of Sensorium, an immersive experience which will eventually encompass sound & light, taste, scent, sight, and touch, to create a five-sensory venue for the arts and events. To deliver their creative vision, the team behind the <
USA - Internet singing sensation Jacob Sartorius is wrapping up his second headlining tour with a lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites. With 1.5m Twitter followers, 9m Instagram followers and 2.7m YouTube subscribers, the multi-faceted artist released his second EP Left Me Hangin’ in the fall of 2017 before hitting the road in 2018 to bring his infectious energy and hit songs to fans in person. Bandit Lites supplied lighting designer Lenny Sasso with Martin MAC III Profiles, MAC Viper Profiles, Martin Sceptrons, Solaris Flares and a grand MA 2 lite console for control along with 60 Clay Paky Mirage Panels. Sasso designed the lighting to be a modern twist on the classic cabaret and big band styles, putting the band up on a raised platform with eight feet wide steps at the centre, giving Jacob the option to utilise both the downstage edge to connect with th
UK - Sculptor Andy Scott has created a five-metre high galvanised steel leopard - Poised - as the centrepiece of the newly developed Marischal Square urban quarter in central Aberdeen, Scotland. The work was commissioned by Muse Developments and Aviva Investors and was inspired by the City of Aberdeen’s ancient heraldic coat of arms, which features two leopards. The majestic beast is five metres high, with another five-metre reach for the tail hanging below. It weighs two tonnes. It is internally lit by 11 x Anolis ArcSource Outdoor 4MC LED fixtures. The leopard’s lighting design - to bring it alive after dark - was created by Scottish based lighting and environmental design practice Atelier Ten, also responsible for lighting all the Marischal Square commercial, retail and leisure spaces for Muse Developments. For Atelier Ten’s Peter Kerr, th
UK - Depeche Mode’s Global Spirit world tour kicked off in Stockholm in May 2017 and is currently scheduled to continue until the third quarter of 2018. Blackburn-based HSL is the worldwide lighting vendor for Global Spirit working with a travelling crew headed by production manager Tony Gittins. The asymmetric lighting design was created by Sooner Routhier and Robert Long of SRae Productions in Nashville and is being directed on the road by their associate LD, Manny Conde. The industrial production design was imagined by the band’s creative director Anton Corbijn, who has always pioneered video as an essential vehicle of live production. This is no exception with a large video screen upstage. HSL’s project manager looking after the tour is Jordan Hanson who comments, “It’s brilliant to be working with Tony, Sooner, Manny and an amaz
USA - Since 2015, event production company Showcore has been providing Elation Professional lighting to Minneapolis’ multi-purpose sports facility Target Centre that recently underwent a $130m renovation. Home to the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, the lighting system is a major contributor to the pre-game atmosphere. Showcore recently added Elation Paladin hybrid LED strobe/blinder/wash lights and compact Rayzor 360Z LED beam moving effects to the arena lighting rig to complement other Elation lights installed in 2015 and 2016, namely Arena Par Zoom and SixPar 300 LED Par lights, Rayzor Q12 LED moving heads, Protron 3K LED strobes and Cuepix WW2 LED blinder/strip lights. “We’ve had Elation products in the arena since 2015 and have had a lot of success with our client using Elation,” said Josh Wabaunsee, lighting designer at S
UK - Star Light, Star Bright, an award-winning installation created by Bailes and Light and Hellion Trace, is that’s taking place in Oxford throughout January and February. Bailes and Light designed lighting and digital electronics for the seven ‘constellations’ that make up the installation. The constellations are part interactive lighting spectacle, part social experiment. They bring people together, encouraging them to play with light and learn more about the stars above their city. Star Light, Star Bright launched in Oxford January 2018. Bailes and Light have worked closely with Hellion Trace to ensure Star Light stays fully functional throughout its stay. As Ben Bailes, director of Bailes and Light says: “We’re proud to think we helped bring Hellion Trace’s interactive installation to life. It was fascinating to explore how technology ca
India - Harman Professional Solutions supplied an extensive audio system to India’s 69th annual Republic Day celebrations. Each year, more than 200,000 people attend the Republic Day parade at Rajpath, a ceremonial boulevard that runs from Rashtrapati Bhavan to the National Stadium in New Delhi. The chief guests for this year’s celebration included 10 heads of state from the ASEAN nations, adding even more significance to the event. Last year, Harman Professional supported the Indian Army during the transition of Rajpath’s audio systems from analogue to digital. After witnessing the system’s superior audio quality, the Indian Army decided to commission Harman audio solutions for the 69th Republic Day parades at Rajpath. “Harman is honoured to establish a long-standing relationship with the Indian Army, and deliver superior audio quality at one of the n
UK - All or Nothing, the mod musical that follows the rise and fall of the Small Faces, features a range of the band’s classic hits, including Itchychoo Park, Lazy Sunday and All or Nothing. Following its initial run at The Vaults in 2015, followed by a sell-out UK tour, the show opened last week at London’s Arts Theatre. Having supplied the show since its very first production, White Light has been called upon once again to provide the West End run. The lighting designer for All or Nothing is Peter Small, who has worked on the show since it first opened in 2016. He comments: “It’s fair to say the show has definitely grown and changed over time; so much so that it’s now a completely different production than the one seen at The Vaults. Every time we’ve remounted it for an extension or a new tour, w
South Korea - Junghoon Pi, professor of music & sound design at Seoul Institute of the Arts has recently employed a TiMax SoundHub immersive audio processor to add spatial dimension to an art installation commissioned by the Asia Culture Centre in Gwangju, South Korea. Based on his previous work with TiMax, the studio of Kimchi and Chips sought Pi for collaboration on the third edition of its Light Barrier series. Influenced by impressionist painters who were inspired by the introduction of photography to create 'viewer-less images', the installation allows images to arise from the canvas, - “creating paintings outside of perspective”. Pi created an immersive soundscape rendered and distributed by a 16-channel TiMax SoundHub dynamic spatial audio matrix, to help embed the images into the audience’s senses. The installation uses a multi-segment mirror
UK - Planning permission has been granted for the £48.8m transformation of Bristol’s Colston Hall. The redevelopment of the venue includes refurbishing its historic facade, remodelling and upgrading the Main Hall and The Lantern, and utilising the Victorian cellars as a third performance space and education suite with classrooms and a technology lab. Bristol Music Trust, the organisation that runs Colston Hall, and Bristol City Council have selected construction company Willmott Dixon as preferred contractor. Work will start in June and the new Hall is expected to re-open in 2020, with the Foyer set to stay open throughout the transformation. Louise Mitchell, chief executive of Bristol Music Trust, comments: “Now our plans have been approved we’ve reached the final milestone as we approach the start of the Hall’s transformation. We are incredibly gratef
USA - The song fit the moment for Target when the company sponsored a 3:15 minute video of the No.1 Billboard dance hit The Middle during the 28 January broadcast of the Grammy Awards. Like the awards show itself, the melodic tune, which features country star Maren Morris, EDM producer Zedd and the dance pop duo Grey, illustrates the power of music to pull together a diverse mix of cultural influences. Supporting this musical melding was a captivating video that featured a stunning skyline background of varying geometric light configurations, created by Volt Lites using 325 ChauvetProfessional Nexus 4x4 panels. Arranged in different heights across the set, which represented the roof of an urban high rise, the Nexus panels flashed on and off in a variety of patterns to evoke powerful images of a city skyline. This setting lent an edge to Morris’ haunting vocal
USA - Around 250 of GLP’s LED products were deployed at the Pepsi Super Bowl LII Halftime Show during Philadelphia Eagles’ defeat of New England Patriots at the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The show featured a versatile 12-minute set from Justin Timberlake that spanned the entire field. For lighting designer Bob Barnhart of 22 Degrees, for whom this was his 20th involvement in the event (and ninth as principle LD) the extreme, sub-zero temperatures were just one of the many challenges he faced. The event required all his expertise. Collaborating with set designer Bruce Rodgers of Tribe Inc, Nick Whitehouse, Justin Timberlake’s designer, and Josh Zangen (of Fireplay), he again drew heavily on GLP’s inventory to help illuminate Justin Timberlake’s show, which took place in eight different performance positions. Barnhart explained, “JT was tu
Europe - US rock band Paramore's current world tour features a complex array of projection mapped video screens, with the production displays’ psychedelic visuals powered by Avolites' EX8 Ai Infinity Server and Ai v10.1 software. Production designer Butch Allen devised the show's complex video display. Three concentric rings of truss and screen loom over the audience at a 45° tilt. Managing the tour's substantial projection-mapping system is LMG Touring's technician Grant Draper. "In terms of video mapping for Paramore, we have multiple planes of convergence and multiple focal points, as everything is on a slant and stepped back on stage," explains Draper. "There is about a foot and half between each circle of the central screen, meaning that even on the most basic level we are not working with a flat plane." Using a modest six layers of content, Draper has co
