Switzerland - Pop-rock band Hecht entertained 13,000 fans at Zurich’s Hallenstadion in an energy-fuelled visual and sonic extravaganza which included zip-lining keyboardists, crowd surfing, inflatable pink flamingos and several tons of confetti.
Show and lighting designer Roger Staub was asked to create a big, vibrant and memorable show to end their current touring cycle riding high on their chart-topping third studio album Oh Boy and assisting him to make a massive impact were 98 Robe MegaPointes and 60 Pointes.
Roger is also a video content creator and his elegant design combined the media of lighting and video, proportionately putting the band right at the centre of the action on a large (18 x 8m) semi-transparent LED screen.
Visually, Roger wanted to create simple and powerful statements and a clean performance space. To keep focus on the band, he proposed the central upstage screen instead of standard left and right IMAGs as one of his starting points.
The concert was also shot for a DVD / documentary film with 15 cameras in total, 11 of which were available for a lively IMAG mix which was cut by John Allen of Live Image.
In addition to the Pointes and MegaPointes, there was a matrix of 84 LED battens around and behind the LED screen, and a scattering of strobes.
He relied on the full multi-functionality of the MegaPointes in particular to provide his beam, spot and wash effects. Roger had used MegaPointes before, but primarily in festival scenarios, so this was the first show with them as the main fixture.
Se

USA - Keeping pace with Andrew Peterson’s gently winding performance of Behold The Lamb Of God as it weaves its way through a mix of words and music is a supple lightshow designed by Winn Elliot and operated by Jessica Sanders.
Elliot and Sanders’ blend of brightness, colour and shadows was on full display Sunday 1 December when the 20th edition of the popular holiday tour played to a sold-out crowd at the Von Braum Civic Centre in Huntsville. Helping them create their flow of evocative looks was a collection of 16 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures supplied by 44 Designs.
Flown on upstage, midstage and downstage truss, the 440W moving fixtures were used to spot performers in all sections of the stage as the Christmas narrative unfolded. During dramatic moments, the Maverick MK2 Spot units turned up the intensity level with sweeps and overhead beams. The versatile fixtures also created a variety of concert-style looks in support of the show’s diverse musical mix, which ranges from the soft rock country tones of It Came To Pass to the hard-driving Celtic-sounding Gather Round Ye Children.
At the start of the show, when special guests like Jill and Andy Gullahorn, Scott Mulhavill, and Sierra Hull appeared, Sanders busked often to reflect their individual styles. “We created a lot of different looks,” she said. “The Mavericks definitely added versatility to the show. Their optics were amazing. I got to change up looks dramatically using their zoom ranges and varying intensity levels.”
Sanders also

France - The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, the well-known islet in Normandy, provided an enchanted venue to Laurent Voulzy’s concerts in September.
The popular French singer and song-writer performed here for the first time accompanied by a keyboard player and harpist.
Lighting designer John Artonne enhanced the atmosphere by using Prolights Starkbar1000 to illuminate the stage and create a set of aerial effects.
“Choosing Prolights Starkbar1000 fixtures was a no-brainer for me,” says Artonne. “Among all the products I have seen were those who convinced me the most in terms of light output and effect possibilities, to such an extent that we had the chance to see up close its great potential even when Mont Saint-Michel was shrouded in thick fog. My team was enthusiastic about this choice too.
“It’s always a pleasure working with this brand. Thanks to ESL, Prolights distributor for France, who has been involved in providing local technical support and assistance.”
(Jim Evans)

World - Twenty-four Astera AX1 LED battery powered wireless ‘pixel tubes’ played their part onstage with rock band Muse during their action-packed Simulation Theory world tour, which has just played its final show in Chile, having been on the road since February.
The AX1s were used in just one song - Algorithm - for maximum impact. They were placed in custom angled holders on the sides of a long runway / thrust during the blackout, and at the start of the song formed 12 illuminated pillars of light behind lead singer / guitarist Matt Bellamy, who was playing keyboards on the B stage right in the centre of the venue.
The tubes were then picked up by a troupe of Ninja performers who used them in bō staff-style to make geometric formations and accentuate their distinctive robotic movements as they moved along the walkway and across the stage.
Two conjoined AX1s each made up one bō staff and there were 12 Ninjas at the largest shows. The tour played a mix of stadiums and arenas.
Creative director Jesse Lee Stout of Metaform Studio wanted to use the fixtures. His original ‘simulation theory universe’ setting for the show was a concept inspired by 1980s and 90s sci-fi movies and spacey themes, which was developed into a dynamic ‘Cyber Noir’ environment for the band, where lighting - designed by Sooner Routhier - was very much a character in the plot.
Being a Cyber Noir show, he needed the Ninjas to have an illuminated tool / weapon for strategic moments and thought that AX1s - used in bō staff style - would be the right

Italy - The Parma Città Della Musica festival is new, but its Romanesque setting was decidedly historic. Set in the Parco della Citadella of this ancient northern Italian city, the festival’s inaugural edition had the walls of a 16th century citadel serve as the backdrop for its stage. Accenting this setting was evocative lighting from over 60 Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures supplied by Fumasoli Audio and Lights Rental.
Gustavo Boetti, lighting manager for Fumasoli, built the lighting rig with the evocative nature of the festival’s setting firmly in mind. His goal: create a rig that would lend itself to theatrical looks. The lighting designers for the festival’s co-headliners, pop icon Antonello Venditti and Italian rap star Salmo, both made use of his rig to support their clients with compelling scenic panoramas on stage.
Utilising deep pools of light and shadow, crisp key lighting, and boldly saturated back light, the designers eschewed the “typical concert look with its continuous rapid movements” in favour of more immersive and subtle displays.
“The designers wanted the lighting to create emotion,” says Boetti. “Because of this, they focussed on using the fixtures to create more scenic looks with a lot of back light, side lighting, and dark areas to build a sense of space and drama.”
Working with Enrico Fumasoli and the rest of the Fumasoli Audio and Lights Rental team, Boetti selected 44 Maverick MK2 Washes as the backbone of his design, hanging 12 across the front truss, 20 on the back truss, and positioning

UK - For the UK tour marking the 40th anniversary of Gary Numan’s career as a solo artist, lighting designer Luke Edwards called on the power and clarity of the VL2600 Profile luminaire from Vari-Lite. The tour, which completed at the end of October, played 24 UK venues.
“Although this tour was to celebrate the fact that Gary has been touring for 40 years, he is still very much an artist in the present,” says Edwards. “So we’re using the newest technology, with a large video wall and stage set design for the size of venues we are playing.”
Placed on tiered risers upstage, 14 VL2600 Profile fixtures created strong gobo looks through the band, as well as beam and mid-air effects. “I was looking primarily for brightness and clarity, which the VL2600 Profile handles particularly well,” he explains. “I would have thought they were a discharge lamp source, instead of LED.”
Edwards enjoyed the advantage of the VL2600 Profile’s compact form and punchy output. “The compact size is a big advantage, as space is usually at a premium. With a relatively small footprint and incredible brightness and gobo clarity, it was still powerful enough to cut through the air, even against the video content, and even with a gobo and colour.”
Impressed by the fixture’s output and colour, gobo clarity and high colour temperature, Edwards adds: “The Vari-Lites absolutely delivered, and I will use them again, without a doubt. In fact, they have already been drawn into next year’s tour designs.”
(Jim Evans)

UK - Light Fantastic Production Services once again supported CoppaFeel with a full production package as well as taking on the overall production management mantle for Festifeel 2019.
The work being done by CoppaFeel raises awareness of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer particularly amongst young people.
Held at House of Vans London, deep within the arches below Waterloo Station, Festifeel is the charity’s annual music and comedy festival that flies the flag for the work they do and highlights the help they provide.
Having provided a full production package, including lighting, audio, rigging and video, LFPS transformed the underground venue with a vibrant, creative mix of colour and projections throughout the urban interior. The lively look provided an appropriate backdrop to a host of musical performances that included Bombay Bicycle Club, James Bay and Feeder plus comedy sets from Sara Pascoe, Dane Baptiste and Harriet Dyer.
LFPS project manager Andrew Maxted comments: “We are extremely proud to have once again supported Festifeel and to help highlight the fantastic work being done by the Coppafeel team. This year’s event has been another great success. An enjoyable event to be involved with and a wonderful opportunity to play a part in helping raise awareness of such an important issue.”
On working with LFPS, Coppafeel founder, Kris Hallenga, says: "We worked with Andrew and Light Fantastic on our annual music and comedy festival Festifeel. There were many elements of our event that Light Fantastic dealt with, includi

USA - ZZ Top recently wrapped up a tour celebrating their 50th year as a band with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. Comprised of Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard and Dusty Hill, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band formed in 1969 and have sold more than 50m albums worldwide
Lighting designer John Lucksinger conceived a classic par can rig made up of moving lights to give the band the authentic rock look of yester-years.
“It’s been a fun time,” says Lucksinger. “Three guys on stage. No real frills. Just guys playing great music. It has been different in that the last few tours I was behind the console for where we had a lot of trucks, huge video walls, and lots of lights. This is just a plain and simple rock show. The band doesn’t like movement in the lighting, so the show is mostly big rock looks with hits of lights and colour chases. I’m just trying to accent what is being played on stage and not distract from it.”
Bandit Lites supplied Martin MAC Auras, GLP X4, GLP X4S, GLP JDC1, Elation CuePix WW4 Blinders, Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Claypaky Sharpys, Bandit’s exclusive GRNLite Moving Washes and a grandMA2 Full console for control.
“I tried to get an old school look with newer technology,” Lucksinger explains. “I chose the fixtures based on that. Also, the functionality of the fixture was important; colour mixing and zoom was a must. I went with the RH1s due to size, as I needed a small powerful fixture.
“I’ve always been a fan of the X4s,” continues Lucksinger. “It’s small and versatile, plus

USA - Building on the momentum of last year’s inaugural event, the West Coast Music Festival treated fans to a star-studded line up of hip-hop, DJ and rap artists this fall. Headlining the festival at Tucson’s Mercado district was Ice Cube. Supporting the festival, was a punchy and flexible light show created by John Garberson and his team at Creative BackStage that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“We built our design around a large video wall,” says Garberson. “Inter Technologies, supplied the screen and hired us to do the lighting. The wall displayed some iconic images for Ice Cube. We needed lights that would stand up to the bright wall and provide colour and movement to energize the looks for Ice Cube’s show. We also needed the fixtures to be flexible enough to create distinctive looks that reflected the music of the other artists.”
Garberson and his lighting programmer Ellie Knight, relied on 10 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures to complement the video wall, flying four of the 440W moving fixtures on mid stage truss, and six on upstage truss. Drawing on the fixtures 3-facet prisms and 13° to 37° zoom range created a flow of new looks by changing coverage areas.
“The performance features of the Mavericks were important in terms of creating variety, but what really made the design work was their output,” said Garberson. “We had a lot of brightness from the video walls, so we needed fixtures that could stand out.”
Also standing out were the eight STRIKE 4 blinders in the Creative BackStage rig. Garberson and his te

South Africa - The Joburg Zoo Festival of Lights, held in partnership with the Joburg Theatre and the City of Johannesburg, has transformed the city’s zoological gardens into a night-time wonderland for both young and old this festive season.
Many of the trees at Joburg Zoo are more than a hundred years old and contribute to the city’s magnificent forest canopy. The Festival of Lights pays homage to these majestic forest giants by bathing them in light over the festive season for all to enjoy.
Johnny Scholtz, architectural lighting specialist at DWR Distribution, worked with Joburg Zoo management and the City of Johannesburg to come up with a design for the temporary installation of lighting fixtures and audio equipment for this year’s festival. “There were a number of factors that we needed to take into consideration, such as the sheer size of the area that Joburg Zoo wanted to illuminate and bathe in sound as well as the impact of the installation on the animals that reside at the Zoo,” says Scholtz.
The DWR team deployed 60 Longman Parco R350 units to wash the Zoo’s forest in dynamic colours. The wash effects provided colour and a sense of drama when used in conjunction with the hundreds of meters of fairy lights that add that special festival-season charm to the display.
In addition to the lighting, Jaco Beukes of DWR Distribution designed an audio solution for the Festival of Lights that features Quest MX601 speakers on towers that have been strategically spaced throughout the allocated area to provide ev

Iceland - Prolights has appointed Exton as its new distributor for Iceland.
Exton’s Vignir Hreinsson (project manager) and Sigurjón Sigurðsson (sales manager) comment: “Our motto is ‘ambition built on equality, cooperation and fun’. We take great pride in assisting our clients in any way needed and delivering on time world class services. It means a lot to us to be able to work in this kind of industry.
“When we first approached to Prolights, we immediately appreciated their vision, intuition and quality. Prolights’ broad selection of equipment really impressed us.”
Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights, adds: “Exton shares our philosophy and they are well known as a top products supplier in their country. I have no doubt that their expertise will help Prolights gain popularity throughout Iceland and we are beyond proud they joined our team.”
(Jim Evans)

Australia - ADJ entered a distribution partnership with the ULA Group for Australia and New Zealand on 1 December. 
Established in 1992, ULA supplies rental houses of all sizes as well as supporting major installers who provide clients with market-leading visual solutions and services. Working from three offices spread across Australia, in addition to a dedicated facility in New Zealand, the company demonstrates versatility and commitment to each project it undertakes, whether a standalone display for an event or an extensive collaboration with a publicly listed corporation.
“We are extremely excited to extend our partnership with ADJ Group and include the world renowned ADJ product range in our portfolio,” comments Cuono (Con) Biviano, managing director of ULA Group. “The globally strong ADJ brand represents a vast range of innovative products with great ROI and proven reliability supported by a strong warranty program, all perfectly suited for the mid-market. We look forward to working with all the team at ADJ and growing the brand throughout Australasia.”
“ADJ’s product range has matured over recent years from our DJ/club roots to the point that we now offer an unrivalled line-up of professional fixtures targeted at the broad mid-market of the entertainment lighting industry,” adds ADJ’s President, Toby Velazquez.
“As we continue to expand more heavily into the rental, touring and event production sectors, I am excited to be partnering with the ULA Group to grow our market share in Australasia. It is a company with a soli

Columbia - Juan Luis Guerra recently kicked off his 2019 Literal Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 Tour Grandes Éxitos with a complete Robe specification for the lighting rig, which has been designed by Daniel Charif and is being operated and directed on the road by Emmanuel Ferry, who also programmed.
The three-time Grammy and 21-time Latin Grammy award-winning artist, musician, singer, composer and record producer has sold over 70m records worldwide and is one of the most internationally recognised Dominican artists. His signature merengue / Afro-Latin fusion style has been distinctive, popular and successful, and for this tour he is playing alongside his band, 440, creating a diverse mix of sounds in an entertaining live show.
Bogota’s new Movistar Arena provided the second stop on the tour, The show was completely sold-out with the majority of the Robe moving lights supplied by the house technical providers Linea Estrategica, Colombia’s largest rental company.
Guerra’s touring specification includes 112 x Robe fixtures: a mix of BMFL Spots, BMFL WashBeams, MegaPointes and Spiiders. These are at the hub of the rig, augmented with around 75 other lights including more wash lights, strobes and 2-lite blinders.
(Jim Evans)

UK - A large pyramid-shaped scenic element defined the stage in the British Theatre Academy’s recent production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at London’s Compass Theatre.
The pyramid succeeded in conveying a sense of time and place, but thanks to a collaboration between the BTA’s artistic director Dean Johnson and lighting designer Andrew Exeter, it also did much more.
Constructed with six Chauvet Professional COLORdash Batten-Quad-12 fixtures, supplied by T&B Events, the distinctive triangular structure was used to create a flowing wave of colour changes that accentuated the powerful current of emotions running through this story of hope, betrayal, courage, and redemption.
“Dean and I have worked together on many projects,” says Exeter. “His concept for the set in this production called for having this giant pyramid act as a symbol of Egypt, then using it with colour to reflect the moods and character development of the protagonist, as well as the flavor of the different locations in the play. Based on experience, we knew that the COLORdash Battens could help us achieve this vision, so we hired them out from T&B Events.”
Using pixels and offsetting colour, Exeter focused different architectural looks on the COLORdash Batten-Quad 12 fixture to underscore different moods. “The colour of the pyramids’ battens mirrored the changes that took place in the play,” he says. “For example, we included blue by gold pixels for Joseph’s progression to ‘Pharaoh’s number two’ man. We also had a

UK - White Light has supplied the lighting equipment for [BLANK] which recently ran at the Donmar Warehouse.
[BLANK] is a theatrical provocation, which marks 40 years of Clean Break, a theatre company that works with women affected by the criminal justice system. Featuring over 100 unnamed scenes, [BLANK] sees the director Maria Aberg choose 30 of these in order to create the production.
Featuring an all-female cast and creative team, the show has a lighting design by Jess Bernberg, who comments: “After attending meetings with Maria and Rosie Elnile (set designer), we came to the decision to keep the aesthetic quite open. Whilst part of Rosie’s inspiration for the set was mother and baby units in women’s prison, we didn’t want to create any literal space, instead choosing practical lights to break up the space and adding a sense of uniformity to the lighting design.”
To achieve all the required specific looks, Jess approached WL who have supplied a range of her shows this year, including Out of Water (Orange Tree), And the Rest of Me Floats (Bush Theatre) and The Crucible (The Yard)
Bernberg explains: “Most of the rig was Aryton Ghiblis and ETC Lustr2s, as well as CP61 par cans forming a toplight grid. The Ghiblis are wonderful moving lights, super quiet in terms of ambient noise which is very important for a space like the Donmar where audiences are just metres away from the units and there were many quiet, delicate scenes that can’t be disturbe

USA - Premier Productions recently wrapped a special 2019 USA arena tour featuring multi-platinum-selling artists Casting Crowns, Hillsong Worship and Elevation Worship. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the concert series as each evening showcased the three acts as they gathered their fan bases for a night of worship and praise.
“It takes teamwork to pull off a show of this nature and I must say each individual involved worked together in tandem to make this show look easy and beautiful,” said Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden. “I had the pleasure of working with production manager Cory Edwards for the first time and I was extremely impressed with his professional, confident demeanour. Putting a show of this magnitude together with three very high-profile acts requires attention to detail as well as being able to adjust on the fly. Cory guided the ship on a daily basis with a smile on his face and a positive attitude that never wavered.”
Lighting designer Seth Jackson engineered cohesive design that multiple lighting designers could utilise to their own ends, a space that Jackson jokingly referred to as ‘a sandbox to play in.’
“My fixture choice, therefore, was based on the most flexibility,” he said. “Earlier in the year, Chauvet had shown me the MK3 in its early stages, and I was looking for the opportunity to get them into the field. The quality of output, the CRI and the multitude of options in the light made it the perfect choice.
“Josh Chambless, from Premier Productions, was integral to this success.

South Africa - Over the past few years, Blond Productions has established a strong reputation as a leading supplier of turn-key technical solutions for the live events, television and film industries across Africa.
In line with the company’s commitment to maintaining the highest technical standards, company owner, Christiaan Ballot, and the Blond Productions team have recently taken delivery of 12 Robe Esprite fixtures from DWR Distribution, Robe’s African distribution partner.
“Blond Productions services a niche clientele, and the industry has come to rely on us to bring the latest and best in production lighting to the table. We always try to invest in technology that ensures that we not only meet, but exceed our client’s expectations, and which sets us apart from the competition,” Christiaan points out.
According to Christiaan, Blond has been looking to replace its ageing discharge fixtures for some time, as their existing inventory of Robe MMX Spots was becoming less economical to run. “With lighting in a studio setting, you need to run fixtures for hours on end. Older units consume much more power in comparison to newer LED-based light sources and have bulbs that need to be replaced more frequently. As such, while the MMXs still offer high-quality lighting, they are a lot more expensive to run than newer products on the market, which we wanted to address with our latest acquisition.
“Purchasing new fixtures represents a sizable investment for Blond, and we wanted to be sure that we would be getting workhorse lighting that

USA - Red Rocks Amphitheatre has attracted the attention of some of the greatest musical acts in the world since 1941. Everyone from The Beatles and the Rolling Stones to U2, James Taylor, and the Eagles has played Red Rocks.
Nestled just outside of Denver, Colorado in the tiny town of Morrison, where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains, two giant rocks jut out from the earth creating an open-air performance venue that is nearly acoustically perfect. These monoliths not only create the perfect natural sound stage, but also provide a mesmerizing background for some impressive lighting effects.
In the spring of 2019, Barbizon Light of the Rockies completed the installation and programming of an upgraded lighting package at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Until 2019, large 400 W mercury-vapor lights lit the historic rocks and eight outdoor PAR 64s lit the audience.
“We had been working with venue director, Tad Bowman, of the city and county of Denver to look at LED products for the space for about three years,” says Pete Maurelli of Barbizon. “While we looked at a variety of fixtures from small to large, we recommended the ETC Desire D60X fixtures for two main reasons - the five-year warranty and ETC’s history of customer service.”
Maurelli also notes that the smaller size of the ETC fixtures offers better control and coverage of the rocks without visually interrupting the view. This is important for a venue that has such a focus on naturally created elements. If one ETC Desire fixture were to fail, it’s a minor issue because of the

France - The eyes of the global gaming community were focused on the spectacular final of Riot Games’ League of Legends World Championship in November as teams battled to be crowned the 2019 winners.
An estimated 100m people live streamed the tournament, with a capacity 20,000 in attendance at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris. With due modesty, Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent described the final as “the biggest event in the history of esports”.
A grand opening ceremony kickstarted proceedings, with new projection technology simulating immersive holographs interacting with real-life singers and dancers.
TSL Lighting worked with production company Concom and lighting designers Arnold Serame of Serame Design and LeRoy Bennett of Seven Design Works to supply, deliver and man a full lighting and control system comprising more than 1,000 fixtures.
Eight trucks transported the equipment from the company’s Basingstoke warehouse to the indoor arena in the French capital.
“We’ve been working with Concom on the Riot shows for the last five years and they just keep getting bigger and better,” says TSL's Dom Sheerman. “They chose to work with us in the first place because of our reputation for attention to detail and delivering solid lighting systems. We have a very strong backbone with our control systems, particularly when we’re doing live broadcasts, and it’s really important to the Riot team to make sure there are no issues at all.”
Twelve of TSL’s new grandMA3 consoles - eight full size and four light versions - contro

Germany - From 4-10 November, Berlin was transformed into an open-air exhibition and event venue as part of a large-scale festival. Used to illuminate a 150m long artistic Skynet along Straße des 17. Juni, as well as a large festival-ending stage show at Brandenburg Gate, were Elation weatherproof Proteus and Paladin series luminaires. celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall
The city honoured the peaceful revolution of the autumn of 1989 with numerous exhibitions, events and art projects. One of the most interesting was a Skynet of approximately 120,000 ultra-light, partially reflective flags onto which 30,000 people from all over the world had inscribed with handwritten messages and memories of the events of 30 years ago. Installed on behalf of the Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH, the Skynet was the creation of Patrick Shearn and his team at the American artist collective Poetic Kinetics.
The lighting design for the super light Skynet, titled Visions in Motion, as well as for the closing ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate, was by Flo Erdmann working together with the Berlin artist collective phase7 performing.arts and their creative head Sven Sören Beyer. In order to be on both the safe and visually appealing side in Berlin’s November weather, IP65 rated lighting was a prerequisite.
"In November, at our latitudes, you have to expect bad weather and that's exactly what we got," stated Flo Erdmann. In fact, it rained nearly every day of the 14-day-setup and show. "For aesthetic reasons, domes were out of the question for

USA - ChamSys has become one of the first lighting console manufacturers to release software capable of importing GDTF personality files directly.
The company’s ChamSys MagicQ software is free to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It supports an output on up to 64 universes without additional hardware or dongles, making it an ideal test platform for GDTF.
In addition to importing the basic channel information from GDTF, the MagicQ inbuilt MagicVis 3D visualisation and plot views will automatically make use of 3D and 2D information provided in the GDTF files.
Demoed at LDI, ChamSys MagicQ software with the ability to import GDTF personality files received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception from all who saw it.
Chris Kennedy, ChamSys’ software director, comments: "ChamSys is a strong supporter of GDTF and the philosophy behind it. The entertainment lighting industry badly needs a common personality interchange format for lighting fixture manufacturers to describe the features of their new fixtures, and GDTF can only advance this.
“We have always embraced open protocols, and we continue this philosophy with GDTF support,” continues Kennedy. “ChamSys currently supports a library of over 28,500 different fixture personalities, and we’re committed to continue working with fixture manufacturers to improve the electronic description of their fixture capabilities through GDTF."
(Jim Evans)

Robe equipment was chosen to be part of a new permanent multimedia spectacular, From Dusk to Dawn, which is projected onto the western slope of Masada Mountain near the Dead Sea in Israel.
The area is operated by Israel Nature and Parks, a government organisation that manages nature reserves and national parks across the country. This environment is also a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site.
Robe BMFL Blades and IP rated Robe ColorStrobes are now a main part of the light show designed by Eran Klein & Ben Alon from Cochavi & Klein light architects which supports the new large format (approx. 120m wide and 60m high) video images which are mapped onto the mountain’s rugged terrain.
The lighting supports the moving images and the narrative as it covers this vast canvass with a series of special lighting and effects, complete with a dramatic soundtrack by Shlomo Gronich, telling the gripping story and history of the Mountain.
There had been a light & sound show onto the mountain for over 30 years, but with the march of time and technology plus people’s rising expectations, it was time to modernise and present something for a new generation!
The recent revamp has taken the whole Masada cultural pilgrimage to a new level of experience and excitement.
The design and production were delivered by Breeze Creative, directed by Oded Avraham with script and song-writing by Oren Neeman. The new lighting kit has been supplied by Danor Theatre and Studio Systems from Hod Hashron who were involved in the original lighting insta

UK - Television lighting director Bernie Davis successfully trialled the new VL2600 Profile LED luminaire from Vari-Lite on the BBC Proms classical music festival this summer.
Staged through August and September at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the BBC Proms has an intense schedule, with concerts broadcast daily on BBC Radio and many performances recorded or broadcast live on BBC Television. With such time pressures, it’s essential for lighting fixtures to be reliable and versatile, but also quiet in operation and great-looking on camera.
“I was looking for a good, programmable profile spot that would be quiet enough for use on the Proms yet flexible enough to provide a high-quality light source with good zoom range, good shuttering on a flat field, and colour suitable for camera,” says Davis.
Having seen a demo of VL2600 Profile, Davis decided to trial them on the Proms. He positioned them on an advance truss, quite high over the front of the stage. “They seemed to meet all those needs comfortably,” he adds. “They were very successful in keying items all around the hall, particularly during the children’s ‘CBeebies’ Prom, which had action everywhere, even a rocket that ‘launched’ from the area lift.”
Overall, the VL2600 Profiles delivered a pleasing performance, as Davis explains: “The very flat field and good shutter performance makes them very usable. Their colour performance on camera is very good, and the wide zoom range is an essential for me, as they can answer so many demands during the season.”
(Jim E

USA - In addition to the 11 new lighting fixtures and LED video panels announced in the run-up to the event, ADJ used LDI 2019 to launch four extra products.
The Encore Profile Pro range is a new series of professional LED-powered ellipsoidal fixtures designed for theatrical, broadcast and performance environments. The Focus Spot 6Z and Focus Wash 400, meanwhile, are head luminaires that join the ranks of ADJ’s popular Focus Series.
The Focus Spot 6Z harnesses the power of a 300W cool white LED engine and pairs it with precision-engineered optics to create an impressively sharp and bright output. While still retaining a compact design, this is ADJ’s most feature-rich Focus Series moving head to date.
Bringing a dedicated wash luminaire to the Focus Series for the first time, the new Focus Wash 400 features a 400W HEX LED engine (red, green, blue, amber, cyan and lime) that generates an output of 11,000 lumens with a high CRI. Its large Fresnel lens generates a homogenized output, while its motorized zoom function allows for a variable beam angle of 12-55°.
The new Encore Profile Pro WW is an LED-powered ellipsoidal designed for professional theatrical and other performance lighting applications. It utilises a potent 250W warm white LED light source with a colour temperature of 3200K and a high CRI in excess of 97.
"There’s no doubt that this year’s LDI was the best one yet for our company,” reports ADJ USA’s national sales manager, Alfred Gonzales. “Our team did a fantastic job of creating a stunning stand design that sh