UK - Richard Cuthbert has assumed an associate role working solely with specialist installation contractor and systems integrator, Push The Button, bringing with him three decades of experience in lighting and engineering within the entertainment industry.
Cuthbert comments: “I am keen to focus on what I enjoy doing the most, delivering innovative solutions and immediately thought of Push The Button. I worked with Nick (Ewins, Push The Button managing director) when I was starting out in the industry, and I have the utmost respect for his client-focused approach. I’m really looking forward to making an impact at PTB.”
Nick Ewins comments: “I first met Richard as a trainee engineer, and he later became a key member of my team for many years before we both went our separate ways. He has made a tremendous contribution to the industry both in terms of designing award winning products and complex systems and I am delighted that he will be assisting us. Richard shares my passion for theatrical projects and marine projects and I’m really looking forward to working with him again.”
Germany - ‘Elation translates visionary concepts into meaningful innovation to bring new product ideas to light’. The company will feature a broad selection of lighting solutions at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt (Hall 12.1, Stand B49/C49).
Highlights in the Proteus series of multi-environmental luminaires include the IP66-rated Pproteus Hybrid Max, that launches as the torchbearing successor of the Proteus Hybrid. Also on display will be the Proteus Odeon, a framing profile fixture with an industry-first completely variable CRI LED engine; and Proteus Radius, a high-intensity Beam FX fixture with solid state phosphor-converted light engine for incredible power at long distances.
New in Elation’s popular Fuze series is the Fuze Teatro, a fully-automated yet fanless framing fixture for completely silent operation and the first fanless automated luminaire incorporating an additive colour engine. New luminaires in the KL Key Light series include the KL CYC cyclorama/set/wall wash along with the all-in-one KL Spot IP, a fully automated static ellipsoidal fixture with zoom.
Visitors to PL+S will be some of the first to preview five new series of products designed to kindle the creative spirit - Six+ Par, Sol I Blinder, PIlse Bar, Pulse Panel FX and Limelight PAR.
“New possibilities in performance open up for all-new designs and experiences, moving the industry forward into new realms of creative expression,” says Elation, whose team of experts will be on hand to provide demonstrations and insights into the advanced features and versatile
USA - Lighting designer Marc Janowitz from E26 Design loves creative challenges and collaborations, so the current Chronicles of a Diamond world tour by Black Pumas energised his imagination and united the talents of the FOH lighting team as programmer Meagan Metcalf and lighting director Alyssa Milione worked closely with him to create a great look for the band.
The lighting kit had to fit into one truck, a galvanising resource boundary that provokes invention and thinking out of the box, so Marc crafted an aesthetic for the band utilising the smart integration of lighting and a multi-dimensional scenic backdrop to produce truly stunning results with Robe moving lights right at the heart of the visual magic.
Marc opted for a combination of Esprites, Spiider wash beams, MegaPointes, Spikie+s and Tetra2s.
Wanting to formulate a fresh look, Marc’s ideas involved dovetailing Black Pumas developing brand identity and album art, and as part of this process, having a link to previous successful live show styling. He describes it as “a kind of a shapeshifting through-line” permeating the work.
The striking Puma-based logo was a major visual starting point, transformed for this tour into a practical 3D dimensional curtain & lightbox. The show’s narrative arc is loosely related to the journey of a diamond, starting as rough, untouched raw beauty that can become sculpted into an elegant gem.
Plenty of split beam lighting effects would be required to produce abstract physical manifestations of diamonds with beams shooting through face
USA - Florida’s Pensacola Christian College (PCC) has unveiled the transformation of its Dale Horton Auditorium, thanks to a collaboration with All Pro Integrated Systems and Elation lighting. All Pro Integrated Systems, a Sweetwater company based in Pensacola, spearheaded the project, seamlessly integrating a new LED lighting system that elevates the overall experience for both performers and audiences alike.
Pensacola Christian College is celebrating its 50th year of service in the Florida panhandle. The 3,500-seat Dale Horton Auditorium, a spacious multifunctional space with large lower bowl and upper balcony, is used for theatrical performances and other special events. The venue’s existing lighting, dating back to the building’s construction in 1986, lacked dynamic capabilities and was in dire need of modernisation. All Pro Integrated Systems collaborated closely with PCC to address specific challenges within the venue and provide a modern, dynamic lighting solution.
All Pro, who previously carried out an audio upgrade at Dale Horton Auditorium, handled the complete integration and project managed the lighting upgrade from concept to completion. Justin Schwartz, design engineer at All Pro Integrated Systems, played a pivotal role in the project and says the mission was clear: replace outdated conventional fixtures with new automated LED technology, offering dynamic colours, textures, and positioning while addressing specific infrastructure challenges within the venue.
Elation rep firm Freed Sales provided a large number of fixtures onsite
USA - Pensacola-based All Pro Integrated Systems selected 12 Ayrton Huracán LT long-throw LED moving head profiles and two MDG ATMe hazers for a recent technology upgrade in the Dale Horton Auditorium at Pensacola Christian College. Both brands are exclusively distributed in North America by ACT Entertainment.
Pensacola Christian College was founded in 1974 to provide a Christian-traditional liberal arts education. Named for the founder’s father, the Dale Horton Auditorium is the home of the college’s fine arts events, recitals and other programs.
“The auditorium is a 3,500-seat, multi-purpose space that mostly had technology original to its building in 1986,” says Justin Schwartz, design engineer at All Pro, an audio, video and lighting systems integrator serving the needs of organisational, commercial, educational and governmental clients nationwide. “They were overdue for a change and wanted to transform the auditorium to better serve its multiple uses.”
One goal was to replace all the conventional lighting with LEDs. “The catwalks are on two levels with the farthest at a pretty steep angle to the stage; they struggled to get good light downstage and on the thrust,” Schwartz explains. “Performers were actually trained to keep their heads tilted up to catch the light. The auditorium couldn’t change the catwalks, but they could put moving heads on automated truss.”
All Pro began by getting a generic model of the auditorium and spending 60 hours rendering the room to show new lighting placement. “They liked the idea of
Columbia - Bogotá’s Movistar Arena staged the 2023 Red Bull Batalla World Final, celebrating the creativity, importance, and popularity of freestyle rap culture in Spanish-speaking communities. The event was fully loaded with energy and excitement and lit by Madrid, Spain-based lighting designer Edu Valverde from design studio Experiencias Visuales.
Edu utilised over 200 Robe moving lights to realise an eye-catching show design for the tournament which was attended live by a 14,000-capacity audience and streamed worldwide.
On Edu’s lighting plot were 105 x Robe MegaPointes, 66 x Spiiders and 53 x BMFL WashBeams, all delivered by Bogota-based rental company, Linea Estratégica, who also take care of all things technical for the venue and were picked to deliver specific results for this spectacular show.
Edu has previously lit Red Bull Batalla tournament finals in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and the previous one in Madrid, in addition to several national finals in Spain, so he knows the brief, and was very excited to be working with a great team in Colombia on this one.
The 2022 event featured an LED screen and video heavy design, so in 2023, he wanted to turn this around and produce an equally dazzling environment but this time with “light being the main protagonist”.
The set design was - similar to 2022 - a collaboration between producers Babbla Studio, the Redbull Batalla team and Experiencias Visuales. A long and slightly quirky shaped runway stage allowed contestants to strut their stuff and connect with fans in th
Denmark - SGM Special Projects, a group within SGM Light specialising in creating custom lighting solutions, is a core group comprised of key personnel in Product Management, R&D, and Customer Service. The group is experienced in developing state-of-the-art products for demanding lighting professionals and has a vast prior background in both project management and lighting design.
SGM Light’s ability to deliver custom solutions is made possible by utilising in-house software engineering, extensive rapid prototyping facilities, full photometric lab, as well as a diverse network of local fabrication partners with the latest equipment. In-house testing and total control of supply chains means guaranteed quality and speed to market.
By combining design, manufacturing, approbation, delivery, as well as testing & commissioning assistance, SGM Light Special Projects can deliver production runs of custom solutions that mass market enterprises can’t, says the company.
Frank Hoehn, SGM sales director states: “Far East manufacturing is improving steadily on standard volume products. But SGM can engineer solutions on a different level than most as all aspects of development and sourcing are controlled by SGM.”
Jason Osterman, SGM product manager adds: “SGM has a lot of high-profile experience both in live entertainment and in fixed installation. We’ve completed some stunningly successful projects already and I’m excited to see even more new projects make use of our capabilities.”
Slovenia - Comedian and TV personality Lado Bizovičar set lofty goals for his live show Slovenska Muska A-Ž (A-Z), in which he went through the entire Slovenian alphabet, linking it to a recording artist (A for Avsenik Ensemble), or genre (R for rap) to reflect on the state of music in his country.
Like the star and his many guests on stage, the production team that supported this show at the sold-out Arena Stožice in Ljubljana aimed high, creating a 360-degree stage and working with hang points that reach 34m. And just like him, they delivered a spot-on performance, thanks to the inspired efforts of director Nejc Levstik, set designer Greta Godnic, and TD Rok Lozar, along with lighting designer/programmer Crt Birsa and his ChamSys MagicQ Stadium Connect.
“This was the first 360-degree stage in the history of Arena Stožice (13,000 capacity),” said Birsa. “There were 540 fixtures in the show, probably the most in any project in Slovenia’s history. Programming and focusing for a two-hour circular stage show, along with an hour of supporting acts, was a challenge. My ChamSys was invaluable in helping me meet it.”
Birsa elaborated on how the MagicQ Stadium Connect helped him achieve his vision. “I liked that it has all the features and the layout of the Stadium consoles that I’m familiar with,” he explained. “Some additional programming buttons make the workflow go faster, which is very important at a job like this one. Also, the LTC is already built in the connect, which is very helpful, because you do not have to carry a separate
The Netherlands - As part of the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), electronic music fans partied the day away at the combined Dockyard Festival x Mystic Garden Festival ADE 2023 in the Havenpark in Amsterdam on Saturday 21 October.
Think! AV supplied and set up lighting equipment for several of the areas at the festivals with the company's Niels de Feij managing the light project. He also created the light design along with YES! Your Event Support's Itai Joosten who also worked as the technical producer.
The Dockyard Festival x Mystic Garden Festival ADE offered revellers the chance to enjoy electronic music in contrasting settings. While the Mystic Garden Festival had a magical, fairytale-styled theme, the Dockyard Festival went for dark and industrial. In total, there were six stages with Chris Liebing, Dax J, East End Dubs, HI-LO, Olympe and Vuur headlining the Mystic Garden, Vision, Dockyard, Terminal One vs HE.SHE.THEY., _UNPAVED_, and TIJDMASJIEN stages, respectively. To ensure each area had spectacular lighting effects, Think! AV used a large number of lights by Infinity and Showtec to fulfil the ideas of the light designers.
At the Mystic Garden stage, eight top-of-the-range Infinity S601 Profile moving head spotlights from the Furion series provided fast, precise movements with colourful, dynamic light effects. These were complemented by eight Showtec Helix S5000 Q4 washers, two Showtec ACT Fresnel 50 WW theatre lights and two Showtec Blinder Flex Blaze that added creative blinder effects. A Showtec Mistique hazer added extra atmosphere. Other
Italy - Indie group Pinguini Tattici Nuclear (Tactical Nuclear Penguins) played Reggio Emilia’s RCF Arena, Europe’s largest outdoor concert venue to a crowd of 80,000.
Supporting the pulsating, upbeat music of this six-member Italian pop band, which takes its name from a Scottish beer, was a vibrant light and video show by Ombra Design that featured 120 Chauvet Professional COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorised battens, imported by Zalight and serviced by Agora.
Designing for Pinguini Tattici Nuclear’s entire 11-date tour run, Ombra Design created looks that were as big and embracive as the music of the band itself. The two large IMAG walls to either side of the stage, and the immersive video display at its centre were joined visually by a smooth horizontally oriented lighting display that used vivid colours to set an emotionally engaging tone for the big audience.
Contributing to the cohesiveness of this design were the COLORado PXL Bar 16 fixtures, which ran across most of the stage, being installed on its edges, as well as on the catwalk. Additionally, four of the motorised battens were placed above the proscenium, to create particular geometric elements.
Ombra Design chose the COLORado PXL Bar 16 because of the fixture’s brightness. (The unites in this show were almost always dimmed, given their exuberant power.) Also influencing the decision to go with these fixtures was their IP65 protection they offer.
Video contributions are an important part of the Pinguini Tattici Nuclear concert, explained by Lorenzo De Pascalis, who served a
UK - London welcomed 2024 with its biggest ever New Year’s Eve fireworks, lights and drone show on the banks of the Thames River. Lighting Designer Tim Routledge returned for a second year to light the giant London Eye Ferris wheel, choosing laser-source Claypaky Skylos fixtures to deliver spectacular beam effects from each of the Eye’s 32 pods.
The festivities featured more than 12,000 fireworks, 600 drones, 430 lights and a varied soundtrack of songs and voice-over clips. Attending the huge party were 100,000 lucky ticketholders while millions around the world watched on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Routledge positioned 32 Skylos in the Eye’s passenger pods or capsules to create amazing beam effects that complemented the fireworks and drone display in the night sky.
Neg Earth supplied the Skylos fixtures, which are much more than classic searchlights. Skylos is an ultra-versatile and weather-resistant fixture with incredible light output and outstanding construction features. Considering its light output and the size of the front lens, the body of this remarkable light is lightweight and compact - a must for mounting high up on the London Eye. The fixture’s IP66 rating was also a plus for this challenging application.
"We used Skylos as a new fixture this year, as we had been looking for something new that could cut through the fireworks and the sheer amount of smoke they generate,” explains Routledge. “Skylos did us proud with punchy, bright beams that looked even more stunning when used with the prism effect that gave us a unique l
The Netherlands - Renowned trance music festival Transmission transposed to the Gelredome in Arnhem in The Netherlands for the first time, presenting its newest Elysium show concept at the end of 2023 and keeping the winning international production and supply teams that have helped make the event such a success in its native Czech Republic and globally.
Organisers United Music turned to their long-term lighting, audio and LED screen supplier, Ministry Rentals to supply the production kit - every bit of the kit came from Banska Bystrica in Slovakia - and lighting designer Bas Kempers to create an eye-catching visual environment to work in conjunction with their spectacular scenic design.
Bas’ lighting scheme included over 250 Robe moving lights, a dynamic combination of Fortes, MegaPointes, Pointes and BMFL WashBeams, together with multiple strobes and LED washes.
Being the first Transmission NL and the final event of a busy year for the brand which also staged sold out events in Australia, Poland and Thailand, the pressure was on to present something spectacular.
Bas started with United Music’s creative team’s vision of 400sq.m or so of LED screen - masked into a giant spherical shape upstage evoking a large modern pros arch. As well as complementing this with lighting, he also considered the vast environs of the venue which required filling with ambience and energy.
“I needed fixtures that could make those big, bold, bright and huge multi-faceted looks and scenes … and of course they had to be super-fast for the mu
UK - Ayrton has announced that David Stewart has joined the Ayrton team as UK designer relationship manager. The appointment takes place with immediate effect.
Stewart’s role will be to support new and existing lighting designers and production staff, and to work closely with Ambersphere Solutions, Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, in promoting the Ayrton brand and product range.
Stewart comes with more than 30 years of experience within every facet of the entertainment industry, having worked as a freelance LD, operator and technician, and as a business owner, through to full-time sales and business development with key manufacturers and distributors.
Stewart comments: "I'm really excited to join Ayrton at a time of incredible innovation and growth, to strengthen relationships and take on the challenge of pushing such cutting edge products and services for the future."
Stewart joins Ayrton’s team alongside Marc Lorenz and Brian Dowd, designer relationship managers for Europe and the US respectively.
“What a great fit to our team David is,” comments Michael Althaus, Ayrton’s global sales director. “He is a strategic asset and important interface to the UK market and its importance in the concert touring, theatre and film market.”
Germany - The Adam Hall Group will once again be presenting its extensive event technology portfolio in a variety of ways at this year's Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt.
The event technology manufacturer will not only be represented with two stands (Adam Hall Networking Space and Cameo) in the exhibition halls, but will also open its Experience Centre at the nearby company headquarters in Neu-Anspach for the exclusive Adam Hall Group Surround Experience. The Adam Hall Group's presence at the trade fair will be rounded off with a presentation by Herbert Bernstädt (senior research & development engineer, light technology) as part of the Manufacturers' Forum.
The Adam Hall Group's Networking Space (12.1 A24) is the central point of contact for all those interested in the company. With its designated business area, the Networking Space offers a location for focused customer discussions and relaxed networking. Visitors will also have the opportunity to see the pioneering MAILA (Modular All-Round Intelligent Line Array) system from LD Systems live.
As in previous year, the almost 100sq.m Cameo stand (12.1 B24) is located directly next to the Adam Hall Networking Space and merges with it to form a large, overarching presentation area. In 2024, the Adam Hall Group's lighting technology brand will be presenting several pioneering new products.
From 19-21 March, the Adam Hall Group's Experience Centre in Neu-Anspach will become an open experience centre for a special ‘Surround Experience’. In the large auditorium, visitors can expect a specially
USA - The first Super Bowl played in Las Vegas attracted the largest audience ever to watch the game on a Spanish language television network.
Over two and a quarter million viewers tuned in to Univision’s Super Bowl broadcast to watch the Chiefs top the San Francisco 49ers. To mark the occasion, the popular Spanish language network staged a lively pre-game celebration at Caesars Palace at the centre of the festivities was a performance by the multi-award-winning Puerto Rican rapper and singer Myke Towers, which was broadcast on Televisa, Univision’s sports special for the Super Bowl.
Pumping up the energy level around the performance for the live audience and TV viewers was a production design by Rene Garcia of Absolute Lighting Designs that featured over 75 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by 4Wall Entertainment.
Working with programmer Chris Fernandez and camera director, Michell Lorens, Garcia created a captivating flow of stunning looks for the event, which took place in the fountain area of Caesars Palace at the entrance to the resort. His design moved seamlessly with the flow of the show, starting with when Myke Towers and the dancers began their performance in a car and worked their way up to the stages.
Flanking the star and his dancers as they approached the stage was a series of COLORado PXL Bar 16 fixtures that lined the red-carpet runway. “These fixtures worked wonders,” said Garcia. “They were ideal for our jib and steady cam shots.”
Anchoring the rig were 46 Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures. Garcia and h
The Netherlands - Created in 2013 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of dance in The Netherlands, the Amsterdam Music Festival is the biggest electronic dance music event of Amsterdam Dance Event which takes over the city annually each October. AMF’s popularity in its first year saw it move from the RAI Amsterdam to the 40,000 capacity Amsterdam ArenA (now the Johan Cruiiff ArenA) where its top EDM line up attracts the most international visitors of any dance event in the city.
Lighting designer, and owner of The Art of Light, André Beekmans chose a wealth of Ayrton Cobra, Huracán Profile and Ghibli fixtures to light the 2023 edition, the line up of which consisted of EDM royalty Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Headhunterz, James Hype, Purple Disco Machine and Vini Vici.
The show’s lighting and rigging were supplied by Ampco Flashlight with Light Specials providing the LED lines. The Art of Light operators - André Beekmans, Rik Verschuren, Kasper Dijksterhuis and Jaap Kamps - were responsible for programming, operating and facilitating all the guest operators for the event. Guest operators included Michael Seeverens as the touring LD for Armin van Buuren and Tom Pietermans with Afrojack, whom they supported with positions, presets and any additional needs.
Beekmans chose 54 Ayrton Cobra fixtures specifically for its laser source and narrow beam to highlight the outline of the stage and to add an extra dimension to its depth. He then placed 74 Ghibli spot fixtures within the stage area, rigged in b
UK - Playing at London’s Old Vic Theatre, Just For One Day is a new musical which tells the story of Live Aid and those who came together to create this event. Penned by John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire), it features the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, U2, Queen, Elton John and Paul McCartney among others. The show also features a lighting design by Olivier Award-nominated Howard Hudson, who approached White Light (WL), a d&b solutions company, to supply his lighting rig.
Just For One Day is an insight into the origins of the history-making concert held at Wembley Stadium on 13 July 1985; one which was attended by 72,000 and watched by a staggering 1.9bn worldwide. Discussing the show, Howard comments: “Live Aid was such a ground-breaking event and one which has a vast amount of now iconic imagery associated with it.
“Our show tells the story of several of those involved in the making of the concert, so whilst we ultimately do go to the event itself in the second half, a large amount of the show is narrative-based which requires a vast number of locations such as the recording studio, Bob Geldof’s house and all the way to Ethiopia; the country which was featured on the news report which inspired Live Aid.”
Unusual for even a historical-based musical, part of Howard’s brief was to actually recreate those now legendary performances from the concert; wanting to ensure the audience felt as though they were being transported back to that day almost forty years ago. He explains: “The primary resource for me was the
Europe - Light and Sound Design (LSD) Serbia is now officially an exclusive SRS Group distributor for Serbia, Kosovo, and the Balkan region.
“Immediately after LSD reached out to us, we quickly understood that they are a very well-established company, that anyone would like to collaborate with,” says Samuel Sloboda, CEO of SRS Group. “For over 20 years, Milan (the CEO of LSD) and his team have been doing a great job evolving the entertainment industry in the Balkan region from the heart of Serbia - Belgrade. With the extensive time investment LSD put into the construction of its new futuristic building, we are thrilled to see the Balkan market expand and prosper, as we are sure LSD is future-proof and absolutely ready for it.”
LSD covers all areas of the industry - rental companies, theatres, television and movie production companies, hotels, bars and clubs, and cultural and sports venues. Their open day last week was the first fair in the Balkans dedicated solely to professionals from the AV/rigging industry, and it gave visitors from all Balkan countries the opportunity to meet SRS Group’s team and test the equipment in real-life scenarios.
“Being made in the EU is an extremely important factor for us. SRS Group will fit nicely with our portfolio of premium brands,” mentions Milan. “The sheer quality, for both, products and the people of SRS Group, made it easy to decide that we want to start this distributorship.
"We had several meetings with SRS Group before we signed the contract to start the exclusive distribution. Th
Germany - Lighting control specialist Pharos Architectural Controls will be exhibiting at this year’s Light + Building expo, continuing the company’s busy calendar of events as part of its milestone 20th anniversary year.
Pharos will showcase its Expert, Designer and Cloud product ranges at the expo, held from 3-8 March 2024 at Frankfurt am Main, demonstrating the substantial benefits these technologies bring to the industry.
Located on stand 8.0-C71, Pharos will be demonstrating a number of key solutions from across its lighting control portfolio. Visitors will be able to explore and interact with the latest features in the Pharos Designer range and get hands on with the most recent addition to the Pharos product portfolio, Pharos Expert.
Expert is an innovative and straightforward control solution centred around a single, reliable, set-and-forget controller. A lighting control system with hardware that simplifies installation, and the recently released v1.0.0 of its commissioning software that makes programming easy. Expert guides users through setting up their system and creating their lighting design with clear, easy to follow helpers and walkthroughs.
Key regional sales representatives and product category specialists will be on the stand to welcome visitors, discuss the Pharos technologies, and identify opportunities where Pharos could benefit upcoming projects.
Pharos commercial director Bas Hoksbergen, says: “Light + Building is the largest exhibition in the lighting industry calendar and in this milestone year for Pharos,
The Netherlands - Visitors cannot help but feel the freedom of the sea when they encounter Het Scheepvaartmuseum Amsterdam, the National Maritime Museum of the Netherlands. The attraction sits on an artificial island built in 1656 as a naval base near Amsterdam’s city old harbour.
Designed by Belgian architect Laurent Ney, the symmetrical roof, engenders an air of openness and discovery in the courtyard below, while projecting a nautical image. Accentuating this effect and enhancing the aesthetics of the courtyard is a new LED lighting system by Leon van Warmerdam and the team at Lichtpunt that features 32 Ovation CYC 1 FC LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
“In this historical monument there are many restrictions. We did search for the most low-profile solution with maximum performance. By wrapping the luminaires, they got the same colour as the background,” said van Warmerdam, who noted that the Ovation units were selected “because of the small measures of the fixture, the enormous light output, the asymmetric light distribution, the rich colour palette, and the noiseless operation”.
According to van Warmerdam, glare on the roof of courtyard was an issue with the old graze lighting fixtures that had been used in the space. This concern was eliminated with the addition of the Ovation CYC fixtures. “By choosing another angle than the former graze light fixtures, and by using the integrated glare shield on the Ovation products, we addressed the issue with glare,” he explained.
Another big difference between using graze light
China - Hypersonic Fest was a one-day experimental event organised by Hypersonic Lab in Hong Kong, aimed at inviting people to enjoy the talents of 37 diverse Christian artists and music bands from Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia and to explore the possibilities of Christian music. The festival was staged at Kowloon Bay International Trade & Exhibition Centre and featured four action-packed stages of live music performance.
Production equipment for the Main Stage including lighting was supplied by the MPHK Group and project managed by Raymond Wong, working closely with LD Kei Lui who utilised a grandMA3 full-size console, a decision taken jointly between the LD and Raymond.
Kei is based in Macau and is technical manager of the famed Para Club, as well as running his own company in Hong Kong / Macau for freelance lighting design projects like this.
His task at Hypersonic Fest was to light all the bands on the Main stage, many of whom he was seeing live for the first time, give them the best possible shows, and make each one stand-out and look different, all of which had to be achieved in a highly compressed timescale of only four hours for get in, set up, prep and programming.
Using grandMA3 in this context really helped a demanding process and saved time. Kei had 43 moving lights in the space on overhead trusses with around 1200 parameters of control, so it was not a large rig, but ideal for the space, and he worked it hard.
He commented that the MA Startshow file is “great” and saves a lot of preparation tim
Qatar - Lighting designer Roland Greil turned to two power luminaires in Elation’s Proteus series to bring the grandeur of the AFC Asian Cup opening ceremony to life.
Held 12 January at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Greil chose the Proteus Brutus and Proteus Excalibur to deliver captivating lighting displays and theatrical impact for this major event production.
The AFC Asian Cup, organised by the Asian Football Confederation, brought together 24 national teams in Qatar to crown the men's football champion of Asia. The opening ceremony was a celebration of unity and inclusivity with performances by renowned Qatari and regional artists who revealed the secrets of The Lost Chapter of Kelileh & Demneh in a visual narrative.
Greil was hired by executive producers Katara Studios to deliver the full lighting design, a scope that also included previz, programming and ultimately delivery of the lighting component of the show together with the creative and technical teams. He shared insights into the creative framework, stating, “From the beginning, the brief was to create a highly theatrical experience that was also flexible enough to deliver big ceremony looks and tick all the boxes in terms of a 360-degree live-for-broadcast show.”
Design studio Sila Sveta created an organic production design that embedded the local culture and history into an amazing 21-minute visual story. Collaborating with Sila Sveta, Greil supported the story by creating a picture frame for wherever the action was taking place, the stage or elsewhere. “We set the
USA - LightenUp Inc. (LUI), a Los Angeles-based professional lighting company, has added 48 Ayrton Rivale Profiles to its extensive inventory of Ayrton fixtures and quickly put them to work on a cross-country Paramount+ project. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting products in North America.
Owned and operated by skilled and experienced technicians, LUI supplies a full range of lighting equipment and power distribution to all types of events. It also offers lighting rentals. The Rivale Profiles join a roster of Ayrton fixtures that includes Diablo, Perseo, Zonda 9 FX and Zonda 3 FX units.
Rivale Profile is the most versatile fixture Ayrton has created to date. Rivale is a 450W 6500K LED IP65-rated moving head profile with 4-52º zoom developed for mixed use indoors and outdoors, in all conditions. Surprisingly lightweight, it offers continuous rotation of the pan and tilt movement, a new high-definition progressive CMY colour-mixing system for perfect colour reproduction as soon as the filter is inserted, framing shutters, and a large selection of gobos and effects.
“We were one of the first to get Diablos, which have been our workhorse fixture, and now we’re one of the first with Rivales in our push to find IP-class fixtures,” notes LUI lighting designer, Joe O’Neill.
“We are not afraid to be the first to jump in if we believe in the product,” notes LightenUp founder, Nathan Megaw. “We have a history with Ayrton and know first-hand about their quality, craftsmanship and performance.”
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Australia - Every January, when the sun is at its hottest, thousands of country music-loving people make the pilgrimage to the country town of Tamworth for the Toyota Country Music Festival which runs over 10 days.
The heat of over 40°C and the flies are no deterrent as the festival, presented by Tamworth Regional Council, is now in its 52nd year and is recognised as the second biggest country music festival in the world, after the CMA Music Festival in Nashville USA. The town comes alive with ticketed and free shows alike, and buskers that line the main streets.
The festival culminates in the televised Golden Guitar Awards which celebrates Australian country music and is fortunately held at the air-conditioned Tamworth Regional Entertainment & Events Centre.
Sydney-based Live Event Services has been providing production for the past 10 Golden Guitar Award ceremonies and the crew is thankful not to have to work outdoors.
“When I arrive in Tamworth before bump-in, the wall of heat smacks me in the face,” comments Colin Baldwin, managing director of Live Event Services. “I think of my colleagues from Eclipse at the park in the city bumping in for day and night shows in this heat and I’m grateful we work in TRECC.”
Most of the Live Event Services crew make the five-hour drive from Sydney. This year, three semi-trailers made the trip: one predominantly lighting, one audio and vision and the other LED screens, as well as a van full of camera gear.
The popularity of the festival post-Covid caused the Live Event Services