UK - More than 30 years after they became the first metal band to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1991 with Slave To The Grind, Skid Row still has plenty of highly combustible fuel left in the tank. This was evident on the last leg of their 2022 The Gangs All Here tour in support of their new album, and their first with their new lead singer, winner of Swedish Idol, Erik Gronwall.
Wrapping up 2022 with 22 shows in seven countries, the tour coincided directly with the release of the new album and saw the sold-out London O2 Forum show being filmed for a 2023 DVD release. Reflecting Skid Row’s high-octane sound during this performance was a raw, intense and fast moving lighting design by the band’s LD Will Furze, who once again enlisted Fineline Lighting to supply the touring package.
Featuring a complete package, including networking, power, and data distribution, as well as ground podiums, the Fineline kit provided a comprehensive solution night after night. Key to its potency were eight Chauvet Professional Rogue R2X Spot fixtures, which Furze relied on as the mainstay of his floor package.
“I need to deliver the same visual show every night, regardless of stage size or in-house infrastructure limitations,” said Furze. “Having had a very successful tour and great experience with these fixtures in 2019 with Fineline, I was glad to have them in my kit again.
“The R2X spots tick all the boxes, for bus tours where trailer space is at a premium,” continue Furze. “In these cases, we need fixtures that a

The Netherlands - Reflexion Evenemententechniek relied on products from Showtec and Infinity to bathe the Brand Weizen Pavilion at the Oktoberfeest in Sittard in light and support the artists in putting on an unforgettable show. The festivities and charisma of both national and international artists were given a lively energy boost by the professional lights and lighting design.
For the 2022 edition of the Oktoberfeest Sittard, the Brand Weizen Pavilion was rigged and taken care of by Reflexion Event Technology. T.Y.S was again responsible for the design on behalf of Reflexion. Building strongly on products by Showtec and Infinity, they put up lots of lighting fixtures to create a an unforgettable experience. Because Oktoberfeest Sittard is not only about beer, but also about music and performances, the quality of the shows is very important. And therefore, so is the lighting and its design.
As the available room was not very spacious, especially in terms of height, it was important to use compact yet high-quality and powerful lighting effects. To meet these requirements, 17 Infinity iFX-640, 25 Infinity Furion B401 Beam and 16 Infinity Furion S401 Spot moving heads were used as the main lighting on stage. With their small size and yet powerful light output, they fitted perfectly into the stage design.
As front lights, 10 Infinity iW-741 RDM Zoom moving heads were chosen for their small size, wide beam angle, and powerful effect thanks to their Osram RGBW LEDs. On the stage itself, a further 80 Showtec Sunstrip Active DMX fixtures were used to finis

Europe - Woodroffe Basset Design specified Follow-Me on a number of productions during 2022including the Rolling Stones SIXTY tour.
The show had a new set design by Stufish, customised for each venue yet clearly briefed to give the typical look, feel and experience of a classic ‘Stones concert with the original, 40 years long, lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe as creative director bringing Ethan Weber in as tour lighting director. Terry Cook, associate lighting designer at Woodroffe Bassett Designs oversaw the needs of this summer tour with fixtures and positions chosen for all staging and weather conditions.
Key to Woodroffe Bassett Design was allowing the show to feel real, as if it was being operated in an original follow spot way, they wanted flexibility with the system as they were not always in the touring roof meaning their overhead rig changed a lot and their FOH towers moved venue to venue and they know from previous Follow-Me projects the system is adaptable.
Terry Cook explains why Follow-Me was chosen. “We chose Follow-Me as we wanted a remote system that we had previously used on a large-scale project. Follow-Me allows us to use multiple lights from different positions that made it simple yet creative along with not taking up too much space with operators in the FOH area.” Cook continues to explain the choice to work with Moving Fixtures as follow-spots: “At FOH, for the first time ever, we specified ten Ayrton Domino LT units attached to the Follow-Me follow-spot system. This is a new Long Throw unit of the Domino range, and

Italy - The Teatro Donizetti is an institution in the city of Bergamo. It was built in the late 18th century and was originally named Teatro Nuovo (new theatre). It has been the city's most important opera house for more than two centuries and hosts an intense schedule of plays, operas and symphonic music.
In November 2022, Claypaky signed an agreement with the Teatro Donizetti to supply the new Sinfonya Profile 600 moving heads, specially designed for use in theatres.
The Sinfonya Profile fixtures have enhanced the lighting stock at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo’s città bassa (the relatively more modern ‘lower town’) and at the equally famous Teatro Sociale in the città alta (the hilltop medieval ‘upper town’), which is also part of the Teatro Donizetti Foundation.
Lighting designer Emanuele Agliati of K 5600 Design relates how he used the Sinfonya Profiles for the opera semiseria Chiara e Serafina: “I used the Sinfonya fixtures mainly for side lighting, which often acted as key lighting. This opera is a reworking of the original libretto in a 1930s variety show setting. I tried to reproduce the atmosphere of those years as best I could by using very warm lights and huge contrasting shadows.”
The Sinfonya Profile 600s were installed on battens about 12ft above the singers. “I used them for two purposes. First, to recreate the warm atmosphere typical of incandescent light sources, in perfect combination with the PARs and Svoboda ADBs already installed in the opera house. Secondly, when the scene suggested, they conju

USA - NFL players are some of the toughest people anywhere, but they weren’t the only ones exhibiting true grit and determination around Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday 29 January when the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFC Conference Championship game. Outside the big football field, Gerry Dintelman and the crew from Midwest Music Supply were showing their own rugged character as they braved below zero Fahrenheit wind chills to set up a 24’x 20’ mobile stage for the KC Tailgate District, a pre and post-game party and concert.
Like the victorious Chiefs themselves, Dintelman and the production team delivered a performance that left fans happy as they supported a variety of music acts from rap to country with hard-hitting light shows that utilised the colour rendering prowess and intense output of Chauvet Professional fixtures from Midwest Music Supply’s own inventory.
“This was quite a bear to set up, given the frigid conditions,” said Dintelman. “It took us about 10 hours to build this site the day before the game. The real challenge was the cold, even with several layers on, I had to keep moving just to keep warm. The cables were all stiff and frozen, and everyone was working just a step slower than usual. But the people in this industry are some of the toughest people I know, and we accomplished the whole show without any complaining.”
Punting the entire show, Dintelman worked with stage plots that were sent to him a week prior to the event. This gave him time to put together a show file built primarily aroun

Spain - Lighting designer Antonio Arrabal (AAI, Lighting Designers Association of Spain) used Astera NYX Bulbs to illuminate a series of scenic spheres that were an integral narrative element of the Índigo Teatro company’s latest production, Viaje al Planeta de Todo es Posible which premiered at the Cánovas Theatre in Malaga.
The production – aimed at children aged between 5 and 12 – is fun and adventure filled, but also with plenty of appeal and massaging for accompanying adults - and unfolds a story about the importance of kindness and friendship.
It was created by Indigo Teatro’s artistic director Celia Almohalla with whom Antonio collaborated closely on evolving the show aesthetic, together with set designer Isabel Soto. “There was a lot of teamwork which is a very satisfying way to realise a production,” he commented.
Lighting plays a fundamental and strategic role in the storytelling, dramaturgy and impact of the work which is set on a different planet. The performance space is transformed into a magical and mysterious environment, with lighting creating different moods and textures as the heroine of the story subtly learns the advantages of overcoming adversity and the insights of looking at things beyond ‘face value’.
One of the narrative threads requires the characters to continuously interact with 15 magical spheres which needed lighting for their leading role in the drama!
This presented a bit of a brainteaser for Antonio who did some research and auditioned to find the best light sources for the job

USA - Elation Professional has announced the promotions of Eric Loader to global vice president of sales & marketing and John Dunn to director of sales – U.S.
ADJ Group President, Toby Velazquez, has worked closely with both Eric and John over many years in building the Elation brand. He comments, “Eric and I have a successful history spanning over three decades and John's contribution to Elation's ascent as a premier brand in the industry over the past decade has been extraordinary. We couldn’t ask for a stronger team to drive the company's growth and keep Elation at the forefront as an innovative, reputable, and leading brand in the industry.”
Eric Loader, with 17 years of dedicated service to Elation, has been instrumental in driving the company's growth and expansion. In his new role, he will continue to lead the company's strategy and growth vision through its subsidiaries and partners worldwide. He will also focus on strengthening distribution partner relationships and increasing brand awareness, key factors in ensuring continued growth for the company. Additionally, Eric will work to expand the availability of Elation's products to lighting designers, ensuring that customers around the globe have access to the innovative solutions they have come to expect from Elation.
Eric comments, "I am honoured to lead the global sales & marketing team at Elation. The success we have achieved is a testament to the incredible team we have built, as well as the support of our customers and designers who have helped elevate Elation to perfor

Indonesia - Ayrton has announced the appointment of PT Inti Megah Swara (IMS) as its new, exclusive distributor for Indonesia. IMS will be responsible for the sales and rental of the entire Ayrton product range in Indonesia. The appointment takes place with immediate effect
Established in 2000, IMS is the official distributor of many international brands of audio equipment, with a strong retail presence of approximately 40 Desound and JBL stores located across Indonesia. The company also has branch offices in Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, Malang and Bali.
2022 saw a strategic decision from IMS to expand into professional lighting to better facilitate its customers in all aspects of production. Since this date, IMS has made both professional audio and professional lighting the main focuses of its business. This, in addition to its retail lines, enables the team to cater for all professional audio and lighting needs in a wide variety of settings.
“There is a rapidly increasing market for professional lighting products in houses of worship, hospitality venues like cafes and restaurants, and entertainment industries including ballrooms, function halls, theme parks, theatres, clubs and television stations,” says IMS’s Irvana Theo. “In addition to this, we have identified a growing demand in Indonesia’s professional lighting market, especially with the post-pandemic boom in events and concerts. We believe that Ayrton’s innovative product design and wide range of lighting solutions will satisfy the market needs across all the variety o

Italy - In response to environmental and energy sustainability challenges, the city of Formia turned to the power of Christmas architectural projections as the most effective way to illuminate its urban landscape over the recent holiday season.
Six of the city's landmarks and community gathering places were dressed up with a light show, utilising Prolights Mosaico L projectors and personalised gobo images supplied by Prolights. The image-mapping technique was used to adapt the projections to the specific buildings, creating a different and dynamic display at each location.
The Mosaico L projectors proved to be the ideal tool for this project, with their flexibility and remote-control capabilities allowing for dynamic scenes to be displayed in sequence. The 300W LED source and efficient optical system of the projectors also significantly reduced energy consumption, resulting in a 75% reduction in operating costs compared to traditional lamp fixtures and a much lower environmental impact.
The display was met with widespread approval from both residents and visitors, with images of the illuminated buildings quickly going viral on social media.
"We are thrilled to be at the forefront of sustainable holiday lighting solutions and proud to bring this innovative technology to our city," said a representative from the city of Formia.

New Zealand - George Ezra’s lighting director Chris Taylor and production manager Jake Vernum were very happy to see Robe on the lighting specs for the recent Australia and New Zealand legs of the UK singer / songwriter’s Gold Rush Kid tour.
Eleven Robe MegaPointes on the upstage truss have been present throughout the whole tour which kicked off in Spring in the UK and Ireland, then extended into a lengthy festival section as Ezra and his band delighted audiences across Europe.
The original show and lighting / set design by Cate Carter is being overseen and co-ordinated on the road by Chris Taylor, and the earlier sections of the tour have also featured two Robe RoboSpot systems running with two Forte moving lights.
The Auckland show, staged at the Spark arena, was an all-Robe rig – apart from the strobes and 10 2K fresnel ‘specials’ on stands – with all kit supplied by leading NZ rental specialist, Spot-Light Systems.
This was the only New Zealand date, preceded by a show in Dubai on the way there and followed up by the four gigs across Australia.
A total of 38 x BMFL WashBeams on the rig in Auckland were distributed on two side torms with the balance of fixtures along the floor at the back and on the front truss. They were used for front and cross-stage washes and specials, and the ones on the deck for high impact effects, both integrating and contrasting to the high level MegaPointes on the upstage truss.
Five Robe LEDWash 600s a side were positioned on the downstage corners of the stage for front kickers, and all

Switzerland – The LIT Lighting Design Awards is now accepting submissions for its annual event, recognising and celebrating the best in lighting design from around the world.
For the 7th edition, the LIT Lighting Design Awards is now featuring a new section dedicated to entertainment lighting design. This award is a billed as a cross-disciplinary platform from which to promote your designs to a truly international market’.
With 31 categories in architectural lighting design, 15 categories in entertainment lighting design and 44 categories in lighting product design represented, the programme aims to ‘unite creativity, and innovation’.
In 2022, the programme received over 650 submissions from 51 countries. L'Observatoire International was awarded the Lighting Design of the Year title for the Hermès’ collections at Milan Design Week 2022 and Expolight won the Lighting Product Design of the Year award for the Chandelier in the B14 UNIT City business space. Other winners in included Licht Kunst Licht, brandston partnership inc, dpa Lighting Consultants, Lucent Lighting Design and Consulting and Light Collab. Nominees in Lighting Product category were Maytoni, Ayrton, Nulty Bespoke, BuzziSpace, A-Light and many more.
The LIT Design Awards also recognises the importance of sustainability in lighting design and designers can now share their approach as a way to consider the long-term effects of lighting solutions on natural resources and the carbon footprint.
"At the LIT Lighting Design Awards, we strive to promote diversity and inn

USA - Eliminator Lighting’s Vortex is a compact and lightweight entertainment lighting fixture that offers an impressive output. Combining a potent gobo flower effect with a rotating mirror barrel, it generates a myriad of sharp pattern projections that together produce a room-filling effect. It is suitable both for permanent installation in all kinds of entertainment venues as well as for use by mobile entertainers and performers.
At the heart of the Vortex is an efficient 80W white light LED engine, which is positioned behind a combined colour and gobo wheel. This offers a selection of 10 colour and gobo pairings – including open white, a beam reducer and a multicoloured pattern – which have been carefully selected for generating both stunning aerial beam effects and intricate surface pattern projections. A manual focus knob is located on the rear of the fixture, which can be used to ensure sharp gobos at variable projection distances.
Inside the unit, the light from the LED engine is directed through the colour/gobo wheel onto a bi-directional rotating mirror dish, which multiplies the single 5-degree beam. Finally, the multiple gobo patterns generated by the mirror dish are reflected from the external rotating mirror barrel to output a myriad of animated beams. In addition to continuous 360-degree rotation, the mirror barrel can also pan through 180-degrees, which allows the fixture’s beams to truly fill an entire room.
Through varying the rotation speed of both the internal mirror dish and external mirror barrel, a wide variety of effec

Hungary - What started as a two-employee TV and projector repair business has grown into a global pro AV operation, as Lightware Visual Engineering turns 25 years old in 2023. The manufacturer celebrated this milestone at ISE 2023 by introducing new corporate and several other vertical market AV solutions.
Lightware will also strengthen its lines of educational, defence and intelligence market solutions throughout the year, with many on display in Barcelona last week.
The celebration comes at a time of rapid company growth, with Lightware strengthening the security profiles of its product range as collaborative AV over IP applications continue to soar in popularity across the globe.
New advanced security features incorporated into Lightware’s products - like isolated ethernet networks and data diode technology – promise unidirectional signal data flow while maintaining the flexibility to design collaborative environments.
The 802.1X authentication protocol gives the Taurus UCX access to the protected network after authentication. Lightware separates sensitive data from Internet connectivity, allowing users to access the LAN without risking security breaches.
Further, Lightware’s data diode option, available in the HDMI-3D-OPT-DD series extenders, guarantees data confidentiality while offering systems integrators greater flexibility to secure their network when connecting to third-party devices.
Lightware now serves customers in more than 30 countries, reinforcing its position as one of the leading global AV solutions provider

France - Christie Mirage 4K40-RGB pure laser projectors have formed the centrepiece of a new extension to a research centre at IRCAD (Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l'Appareil Digestif) located within the University Hospital of Strasbourg, France. IRCAD 3 is the latest addition to the globally recognised surgical research and training institute, and the 2,400sq.m (26,000sq.ft) hub building dedicated to robotics.
AV integrator DEYA installed a pair of Christie Mirage 4K40-RGB projectors in its 237-seat auditorium, delivering 3D and leading colour reproduction required for specialist learning. A Christie Terra SDVOE-based AV-over-IP solution is used to power content at the auditorium, and the building features a host of IP-connected AV elements throughout, including speakers, microphones, digital signage and video conferencing technologies.
“The aims of the auditorium were above all 4K and 3D, but also to ensure a very immersive experience,” says David Hiltenbrand, AV Technician at IRCAD. “We wanted, unlike the other auditoriums we had, to have a large, wide projection area so we could display at least five or six images to provide versatility. We were looking for a laser projector with beautiful colorimetry and strong 3D capabilities. The choice naturally turned to Christie, who was the only manufacturer at the time to offer this type of product. We also switched to video over IP throughout the building, and that’s a complete paradigm shift.”
The auditorium is equipped with a fully modular stage space, with the 11.6m (38ft) di

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the promotion of Mark Scherer to client representative. Scherer is the latest addition to the leadership team at Bandit where his recent adventures on the road will ‘offer a fresh perspective to clients as well as practical applications of the latest in lighting technology’.
Scherer joined Bandit Lites fresh out of college and quicklyestablished himself as a vital team member, working as a lighting tech on Chris Young, the dimmer tech for Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty Tour, crew chief on Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill Tour, dimmer tech on Shinedown’s Revolution Live Tour, and most recently as the lighting director on Maren Morris’s Humble Quest Tour, as well as many other roles over time.
“I am excited to step into the role of Client Representative at a company that has taken care of me from the beginning,” said Scherer.
“Mark is an amazing person,” says Bandit chair Michael T. Strickland. “We all know that Mark will go a long way in his new role, helping propel Bandit even further into an already bright future. Thank you Mark and enjoy.”

Germany - Rapper Luciano had six albums chart in the Top 10 and sold out Germany’s leading concert venues. Last year, in September, he became the first German rapper to reach over seven million Spotify listeners. But through it all, musical phenom Luciano hasn’t lost touch with the creative forces rising from the streets of the Schöneberg district of Berlin; they continue to drive his music today, just as they did when he burst upon the scene in 2012.
“I come from the street. I have characteristics from the street, and the streets can teach positive lessons as well,” Luciano once told an interviewer. However, as his career has flourished, the irrepressible rapper has enlarged his musical footprint and stage charisma, creating a uniquely powerful style. His impressive presence was on full display on his recent Majestic Tour of Germany and Austria.
Reflecting the spirit of Luciano’s impassioned performance visually was a bold and ambitious light/video show that was programmed by Stefan Gunkel on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, and run by lighting operator Norbert Wolf using two MagicQ MQ250M units supplied by Robin Masters Veranstaltungstechnik (Björn Dietsch), who recently invested in the consoles.
“The show captivated audiences, not only through its music, but also with a lighting and stage design that were majestic too,” Gunkel explained. “The central element in the show was made up of two 10m high LED blocks, which were covered with content as well as live camera images.”
Playing off against the transformative images on

USA - Pixellot has announced the appointment of Connor Thinnes as the vice president of sales in North America.
Connor brings considerable sales and marketing experience to Pixellot, with over 20 years of accumulated knowledge in these fields. He has worked in sales for 10 years and marketing for an additional 10 years. Prior to joining Pixellot, Thinnes held the position of VP of marketing at HomeTown Ticketing, a provider of digital ticketing services primarily for the high school market. In his new role, Connor will be responsible for leading both the club sales team and the Vidswap analytics sales team in the US.
"We are thrilled to welcome Connor to the Pixellot team," said David Shapiro, president of North America, Pixellot. "Connor's background in both sales and marketing, combined with his deep understanding of the High School and club sports market, make him a valuable asset to Pixellot's team.”

Lithuania - The open-air production of the Wagner opera The Flying Dutchman in the historic Paul Willy Lindenau shipyard in Lithuania was was broadcast live on the OperaVision streaming platform. Lighting designer Andrius Stasiulis and event technology service provider Baltic Production Service relied on more than 200 outdoor-ready Cameo spotlights for the lighting production of the spectacular stage.
The Wagner protagonists performed on a 50m stage, and often moved far from one another on the ship and the laterally rigged superstructures, sometimes being up to 40m apart. In addition, Andrius Stasiulis and Baltic Production Service were faced with the challenge of creating a lighting setup that was equally suitable for live and camera use. The team used a total of 38 Opus X Profiles for spot and front lighting, while the 32 Opus H5s were primarily used for show elements.
With the Opus X Profile moving head, Baltic Production Service was particularly impressed by the enormous brightness of the 33,000 lumens, as well as the even colour mixing. The Opus H5 also impressed with its CMY colour mixing, making the beam-spot-wash hybrid the ideal choice for theatre productions for Baltic Production Service’s Jurgis Uborevicius.
The Zenit W600 and W300 models and the Zenit P130 LED PARs were used for wash and uplight tasks. Here in particular, the magnetically interchangeable diffusers played to their strengths when it came to adapting the lighting to different scenarios.
For the provision of the Cameo spotlights, Baltic Production Service w

USA - The multi-generational Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, Texas, ramped up atmospheric looks and festive lighting effects for a series of concerts in December, rigging Vari-Lite VL1600 Profile luminaires from Signify.
The church’s lighting director Matthew Hughes worked with Tyler Gannaway, Vari-Lite business development manager Central and Eastern rental & touring at Signify, to source the VL1600 fixtures. Hughes’ aim was to utilise the VL1600’s VL*FX wheel to add movement to the textures projected on the walls, and the tuneable white engine and wide colour range to create the perfect atmosphere for the concerts.
“I wanted the service to have a delicate feel, as Advent services are often full of reflection and preparation and require a bit of theatrical finesse to pull off in a tasteful manner,” says Hughes. “Many of the songs we did were very slow, so it was important that the transitions moved seamlessly from one moment to the next.”
The concert opened with a modernized rendition of the Christmas classic, Little Drummer Boy, which included percussive and rock elements. “The VL1600s provided strong backlight and texture that really helped pull the look together,” says Hughes. “They made a significant difference in the overall look of the service and allowed me to achieve exactly the mood and atmosphere for each moment that was needed. These fixtures were a great fit for us because they worked within the power constraints of our space and at the same time provided enough punch to render clear images even after la

France - “We think of our creations as an invitation to dream,” Jean-Baptiste Duperray, founder and artistic director of La Compagnie des Quidams has said. This invitation was eagerly accepted recently by all who visited the historic Château des ducs de Bretagne on the banks of the Loire in Nantes to see the street art group’s Fiers à Cheval performance. There, as the show’s large, self-lit inflatable horses floated in the air, flowing in harmony with metamorphic human artists, the imagination of spectators took flight.
Like all Compagnie des Quidams performances, Fiers à Cheval (Proud on Horseback) is an enchanting and colourful open air presentation, where music combines with the swirling, synchronized motions of humans and large (3.5m high by 2.5m wide) self-lit inflatables to transform any public spaces into a dream-like wonderland.
Enhancing the magic of the moment at the group’s Château des ducs de Bretagne performance was artful lighting design by Mathieu Simon and the team at Ecom Events that featured Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“Our client wanted lighting that could fill a variety of roles,” said Simon. “We created different lighting atmospheres. There was the need for homogenous lighting throughout the event, scenic lighting on the grounds, and architectural lighting, all with a harmonious color scheme. The vision was to highlight the performance without distorting the elemental way it connects to people. To accomplish this required outdoor-ready wash lights with excellent colour qualities.”

UK - For the past several years, White Light (WL) has worked closely with Culture Creative and Sony Music to supply the lighting and technical support for their Christmas trails. Taking place at locations across the UK, the trails feature trees and woodland drenched in Christmas colour, shimmering waterside reflections, tunnels of light as well as fire gardens. WL once again supplied the Trails in 2022 and not only invested in several new fixtures for the illuminations but also helped develop a new unit that is now part of the company’s extensive hire stock.
The 2022 Christmas Trails featured a more expansive list of locations than ever before, ranging from Kew Gardens and Blenheim Palace to Leeds Castle and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. As always, WL’s role was to work closely with Culture Creative, Sony and the designers involved to bring their vision to life.
WL’s technical director Dave Isherwood comments: “We’ve worked with Culture Creative and Sony for over a decade now and have a very strong, collaborative relationship. We also work specifically with their lighting designers, such as Tony Simpson and Adam Povey, in order to help fulfil their designs for the various locations. With the trails taking place outside, it’s vital we supply them with the appropriate equipment; fixtures that are able to sustain the often quite harsh weather conditions whilst also being flexible enough to deliver their artistic vision.”
For the 2022 Trails, WL decided to specifically invest in a range of new fixtures. Dave explains: “Over the p

UK - The Lyttelton Theatre - the middle-sized of the three venues that make up the National Theatre complex on London’s South Bank - has recently undergone a complete lighting upgrade, replacing the last of its tungsten and discharge automated heads with an almost all-Martin LED rig.
This brings it into line with the other spaces, including their premier Olivier and Dorfman Theatres. Both have also systematically transferred exclusively to LED rigs, using Martin by Harman MAC Encore Performance wash lights (both CLD and WRM versions) and recently the new high-powered MAC Ultra Performance profile.
Laura Curd, lighting supervisor for the Lyttelton, confirms that in recent months the theatre has taken delivery of nearly 80 mission critical fixtures from the Martin portfolio, including a further 54 Encore Performance WRM and CLD ‘top-ups’ and seven MAC Aura PXL - but most significantly, 16 of the new MAC Ultra Performance. These were sourced from a variety of suppliers including Stage Electrics, White Light and Flashlight - all dealer partners of Sound Technology, Martin’s UK distributors.
“Our new rig is now in the final stages of development and is completely LED,” she confirms. The Lyttelton was fortunate in being able to review the MAC Ultras when they were trialled originally in the National’s largest 1150-cap Olivier Theatre. “The Olivier was the obvious first choice for the Ultras. The output is immeasurable compared with other units and they have proved to be brilliant. Therefore, they have been increasingly used in the Dorfm

Germany/Poland - Event technology service provider DLP Motive supplied full technical design and production – staging, automation and kinetic elements, lighting, sound, video, and LED screens – to ESL Gaming for the 10th anniversary of the Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) e-gaming tournament, including two three-day events staged at the 10,000 capacity Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland, and the 18,500 capacity Lanxess-Arena in Cologne, Germany.
Striking lighting designs by Andreas (Andy) Mohl for these two events included over 250 x Robe moving lights, part of 15 trucks worth of production kit that helped ensure the delivery of a colourful, adrenalized, all-action three days of superlative e-gaming enjoyed by both live and streamed audiences.
The Robe luminaires included 48 x Esprites, 70 x Spiiders, 60 x LEDBeam 150s, 54 x Pointes and 22 x MegaPointes, and the event included all the games and associated elements plus a series of live show segments which were presented onstage in the Arena.
Starting points for these two stage and lighting designs included presenting the show and players who were right at the centre of the action; and simultaneously ensuring the whole ‘being there’ experience was memorable for the live audiences. Highlighting the artist segments onstage was a big part of this objective.
Over 400sq.m of LED screen were integral to the set and staging which followed the same concept but was physically different for the two events.
Bespoke video content produced by ESL’s creative team infused each event and each indi

USA - Once again, the company responsible for creating the light show at Seattle's New Year's Eve event at the Space Needle, Illuminate Production Services (IPS), turned to Elation Professional's line of IP-rated products to bring their vision to life.
New to this year’s design were Elation Proteus Rayzor Blade linear effects, which joined other Proteus range luminaires and other Elation IP-rated lights on the dazzling show.
The New Year's Eve celebration featured a choreographed 11-minute show with synchronized drone footage (Sky Elements), fireworks (Pyro Spectaculars), and Elation lighting. The show was set to a playlist highlighting significant music and pop culture events of the year and included a tribute to Ukraine. Broadcast locally on KING 5 and streamed online, the night also included two 10-minute light shows prior to the New Year’s countdown used to build anticipation.
IPS president Rick Franke managed the lighting project for the IPS team while IPS vice president of design & operations, Caleb Franke, served as lighting designer and programmer.
New to this year’s design were 30 Proteus Rayzor Blade linear lights used to illuminate the structure’s core. “We were extremely pleased with the addition of the Rayzor Blade fixtures on this year’s show,” stated Caleb Franke. “Their movement and strobe aspect for the Space Needle’s core was phenomenal.” Driven by independently controlled 60W RGBW LEDs, the Proteus Rayzor Blade is a visual combination of linear wash, high-intensity strobe line and SparkLED FX inside