Rental News

Bright! Studios turn to Elation for opening of European Football Championships

Just before the start of UEFA Euro 2024, Frankfurt, one of the ten host cities, set the stage for four weeks of international football fever with a spectacular multimedia show. The show, a collaboration between Bright! Studios and spatial experiences agency Atelier Markgraph on behalf of Tourismus + Congress GmbH Frankfurt, transformed one of the city’s notable bridges over the Main River (Flößerbrücke) into a gigantic musical instrument.

The bridge, covered in the colors of the 24 participating nations for the duration of the European Championship, became the centerpiece for the 25-minute show. Lighting designer Thomas Giegerich from Bright! used 96 Proteus Excalibur, 48 Proteus Maximus and 48 of Elation’s new Pulse Bar L linear lighting solutions to visually bring the concept to life. Kaiser Showtechnik was responsible for the production’s technical equipment with all Elation gear distributed through Elation’s German partner LMP.

“The starting point of the concept was the colored fields modeled on the Euro 2024 logo and attached to the bridge, which we wanted to extend up and down with the help of light and have them ‘play’ like a piano or violin in time with the music”, explains Thomas Giegerich. “The reflections on the water further expanded the playing area.”

Giegerich chose the Proteus Excalibur IP65 beam light to extend the colors of the “bridge jersey” up and down: “After a test setup, it quickly became clear to me that I would like to use Proteus Excalibur in order to project the national colors intensively into the night sky during team presentations.” Additionally, 48 Proteus Maximus fixtures provided uplight for the color fields. “The Maximus worked from scaffolding towers almost 150 meters from the bridge”, notes Giegerich.

The designer was the first to debut Elation’s Pulse Bar in Germany, a new linear strobe and effect light which is also IP65-certified. “In addition to the reflected light and the visual extension through beams, I wanted a little additional color intensity towards the audience”, he explains. “The Pulse Bar is incredibly bright and has a very intense effect. We only ran them at 20 percent. It was precisely this headroom in terms of intensity that gave us the freedom we needed to occasionally set accents in the show with very high light output. It was also the Pulse Bars that visually translated the string passages in the piece of music onto the bridge.”

(Photos: Frank Baudy - Seitenstopper.de)

www.elationlighting.com

Tom Kenny uses Elation indoors and out at 2024 CMT Music Awards

Lighting Designer Tom Kenny utilized Elation lighting for both the indoor and outdoor stages at the 2024 CMT Music Awards earlier this spring. The lighting package, supplied by 4Wall, included Proteus Excalibur, Artiste Mondrian, and Dartz 360 luminaires, among other fixtures.

Broadcast live from the Moody Center on the University of Texas campus in Austin, performances took place inside and on an outdoor stage in front of the University of Texas Tower. Lighting direction for the indoor show was by Felix Peralta, David “Fuji” Convertino, and Michelle Griesmer, with Han Henze and Matt Piercy handling lighting direction on the outdoor stage. Production design was by Anne Brahic, her fifteenth year working the awards show.

Kenny was in his twelfth year designing for the CMTs. After familiarizing himself with the songs, he worked closely with the production team regarding camera angles to make sure the lighting looked compelling for the millions of at-home viewers, and after rehearsal time tweaked the lighting to ensure the artist was fully satisfied.

Kenny says he strives to make the lighting unique each time, adding drama while staying within the architectural look that Anne Brahic and her team have created. Video, naturally, was a dominant aspect of the look and the designer worked purposefully with color to blend lighting with video, harmonizing the LED screens with complementary lighting.

Elation lighting was prominently featured, especially outdoors at the UT Tower stage, where IP65-rated Proteus Excalibur beam effects were required to withstand rain while lighting up the entire skyline. Kenny placed the Excaliburs upstage on the deck, behind the band.

Additional to the Elation package were Dartz 360 LED beam/spot fixtures. Kenny positioned them throughout the house and on the University walls in the outdoor rig. He says the Dean of the University loved how they lit the buildings and foliage. “It’s always an interesting life being a lighting designer for CMT as they’re always breaking the rules on where a location should be”, shares Kenny. “It’s what makes these shows fan favorites.”

The CMT Music Awards made their return to Austin for a second consecutive year, after more than twenty years in Nashville, fully embracing Texas’ current status as a hotbed of country music. Inside at the main show, Production Designer Anne Brahic highlighted the city of Austin and its Congress Street Bridge with an asymmetrical set that extended to the heights of the venue and into the audience.

To cover the space, a large lighting package was used to light both set and talent and included Elation’s 51,000-lumen Artiste Mondrian LED profile fixture. The Mondrians were used both in the main show and throughout the outdoor rig at UT tower. “They cut through the strong video sources with the strong palettes created by Trevor Burke and Kat Folts”, says Kenny.

Art Director was Gloria Lamb; Jonathan Stoller-Schoff was the Asst Art Director. The main show team included: Cole Kiracofe (Gaffer); Michael Smallman (Best Boy); Alex Flores (Lighting Crew Chief); Matt Weede, Daniel Teeter and Taylor Moore (Lighting Techs); Loren Barton (Media Server Programmer); Zach Peletz (Content Director); Michael Moxon (Video Crew Chief); David Imlau, Tom Armbruster and Brandon Oosterhof (LED Leads); Russell Eia, Ryan Hollis, Austin Stengle and Kenny Stanley (LED Techs).

The Remote Stage UT Austin Tower team included: Daniel Fly (Gaffer); Brian Monahan (Production Electrician); Adam McIntosh (L1); Jake Riddell and Amy Sunshine Ross (L2s); and Ivy Weede (RoboSpot Tech).

(Photos: Rick Kern/Catherine Powell/Getty Images for CMT)

www.elationlighting.com

Eric Price debuts Elation SOL I Blinder on Taking Back Sunday tour

Taking Back Sunday lighting designer Eric Price is the first to tour with Elation’s new SOL I Blinder, integrating the LED light into the rock band’s set on their current North American outing. The tour kicked off on May 19, 2024, in New Orleans and continues through the summer.

Price and tour manager Andrew Sprague talked design ideas with Taking Back Sunday vocalist Adam Lazzara, who Price says is very hands on with the look of the show. Looking back at styles as diverse as Queen shows of the 1970s and the iconic sets of Soul Train, Price says Lazzara wanted a bold, traditional aesthetic with eye candy looks on stage and minimal moving lights.

“Obviously we weren’t going to bring out 100s of PAR cans so we explored custom set pieces”, explains Price. “Looking at venue sizes and logistics, we needed something efficient and effective and we settled on an idea of a lot of blinders.” After talking to Jason Reberski at lighting vendor JRLX, as well as Ross Blitz at Elation, Price says he realized that the SOL fixtures were an interesting option.

The setup includes a 24-ft wide by 4-ft tall riser with steps, a drum riser stage left and a vocal riser stage right, all skirted with 44 SOL I Blinder fixtures. The SOL live on pipe in racks of four which clamp onto the back of the legs of the riser decks, a quick set-up and tear-down rigging plan that was worked out by stage provider Gallagher Nashville, along with JRLX. Elation SixBar 1000 LED battens provide side lighting.

The band’s music, a mix of heavy numbers with quick transitions into quieter more emotional songs, gives Price the opportunity to use the fixtures in a variety of ways. “I enjoy transitioning from big white CTO looks or saturated color sweeps down into a dark moody blue, just following the music”, he says. “You don’t need a lot of gobos, just color and tempo.”

Taking Back Sunday music pairs well with strobe looks, which Price turns to at medium to low intensity. “They would destroy the crowd at full intensity”, he says, noting that he generally runs the SOLs at 30-35 percent with an end-of-show walk-off look at up to 60 percent.

Ryan Kestler is the LX/Video Tech on this tour. Worm serves as Stage Manager/Carpenter. Video Vendor is DCR Nashville.

(Photos: Salma Bustos/Glenn Cummings/Charlie McCarty)

www.elationlighting.com

Ayrton illuminates first major event in Spain’s renovated Santiago Bernabéu

The “Telefónica 100 Live” event - a celebration of Telefónica’s centenary, held on May 18, 2024, at the newly-renovated Santiago Bernabéu stadium in Madrid - brought together over 60,000 attendees for a night of music and technology that featured performances by artists like Alejandro Sanz, Hombres G, and Ana Mena, among others.

Each act was accompanied by an audiovisual display. The mastermind behind this setup was lighting designer Caco García. At the heart of the lighting display was the Ayrton Cobra Laser IP65 luminaire. With 56 units strategically deployed, these luminaires illuminated the stadium and transformed it into a canvas of light and colour.

The Cobra’s laser beams cut through the air, synchronized with the music to create a variety of patterns and shapes. “The Ayrton Cobra fixtures were essential to achieving the visual impact we sought”, says García. The LED screen surfaces were harmoniously integrated with the lighting effects to create a synergy between light and sound. Every note and musical rhythm was accompanied by synchronized lighting movements.

“The key was close collaboration with the technical team and suppliers”, adds García. “The success of this event was the result of collective effort and meticulous planning.”

(Photos: Nabscab)

www.ayrton.eu

www.stonexsl.com

Tube UK supplies “Kagami” shows

Technology collective Tin Drum asked Manchester-based audio specialists Tube UK to assist with the delivery of a sound system - speakers together with a playback/racking control system - for a series of immersive mixed reality performance concerts, “Kagami”, featuring the music of the late artist, composer and audio producer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

The in-the-round shows were originally staged during the 2023 Manchester International Festival (MIF23) at the Old Granada Studios, also with Tube as audio supplier. Tin Drum next moved the show to the Roundhouse in London for a high-profile showcase and again asked Tube UK to supply the audio equipment, including speakers and collaborating closely with their sound designer Rob Parkinson.

“Kagami” will now tour worldwide for the next two or three years with the same audio control set up as delivered to the initial UK productions by Tube. Audiences wear compact Magic Leap 2 AR headsets, start off in a circle and can see a virtual Sakamoto playing the piano in the centre area, together with dimensional art synched to the music. As the piece unfolds, they can explore the space while hearing the spatial audio and experiencing the surrounding atmosphere through the speaker array rigged in the venue.

Rob Parkinson is using D&B Audiotechnik’s S100 Soundscape to create a layer of sonic atmosphere. In March 2023, just a couple of days after Sakamoto’s passing, audio engineer and designer Kazuyuki “zAk” Matsumura, who has been integral to Sakamoto’s live sound/recorded works for over a decade, reached out to D&B in Japan to establish the feasibility of the project using D&B Soundscape.

Matsumura’s original sound design for the piece stems from Sakamoto’s “Playing the Piano” concert series which was both performed live and streamed. He wanted to realise this once again without the presence of the artist, and so paid extra attention to how the audience might experience the body of the piano as if it was there right in front of them.

A system mock-up was set up in D&B’s Yokohama demo room, and then again at their partner Soundscape’s studio in Tokyo, where a quarter of the circle making up the full system for audio preproduction was emulated to translate Matsumura’s aural concepts into audio. This particular show was premiered at The Shed in New York and was a great success, so it was decided to use the same base sound design again for the “Kagami” shows.

The main challenge for “Kagami” from the general audio side was to design a safe network system for playback that would run without the engineers present. Dante enabled DS100 was convenient as it could cater for numerous design changes, explains Ayumi Hanano from D&B Audiotechnik in Japan.

For the Roundhouse shows, Tube UK supplied twenty-nine D&B E-Series speakers - E5s, E6s and E8s - with circular deployment in the venue’s main space, with V-10P and Y10P downfills in the centre, plus two flown V-Subs. Additional speakers (two D&B Y7Ps and nine D&B E8s) were rigged in an induction space showing a pre-performance film comprising a mix of Sakamoto images and video footage.

The main room speakers were rigged in five circles in the Roundhouse roof and used to create a rich and enveloping concert hall in which to stage the performance. With the audio plot drawn up in advance, once in the venue Rob Parkinson worked with the riggers to get the CAD drawing and actual reality as close as possible. Once in place, the X/Y position of each speaker was laser measured and the positional information updated in the Soundscape software.

Next the speaker-to-floor distances were measured, also with a laser tool, as each box has to be physically exactly where it is in the computer. Parkinson worked on this element of the process with YoYo Munk, Tin Drum’s chief scientist. The number and types of speakers and amplifiers will vary as “Kagami” tours around the world depending on the region and venue, so Soundscape recreates the original object-based spatial mix in the new venues, and Parkinson will lead the production redesign each time it moves.

The playback show runs on a QLab machine - with another for hot backup - feeding into the brains of the system, the D&B DS100 Signal Engine, which maps the movement and immersive effects - time delay and level control - for every speaker. For this set up, QLab runs automation for En-Scene - sound object localisation using level and delay parameters - and En-Space, convoluted room emulation. The signals are distributed via Dante to two D&B DS10 Dante to AES convertors which were interfaced to ten D&B D20 amps for The Roundhouse installation, and then to the speakers.

All the audio is cued through a That Little Box controller, a custom designed product invented by Rob Parkinson. For the Roundhouse, Tube also supplied their first Yamaha DM7 digital mixing console - Parkinson liked it so much that he asked production manager Rory Howson to add it as a first choice to the “Kagami” touring rider. Kagami’s next stops are Taipei, Tokyo, and then Sydney in 2025.

(Photos: National Theater & Concert Hall, Taipei, Taiwan/Chen-Chou Chang)

www.tubeuk.com

Showtec, Infinity und DMT bei „Pump Up the 90’s“ in Hardenberg im Einsatz

DPL Licht en Geluid, niederländischer Anbieter von Beleuchtungs- und Audiolösungen, hat bei der jüngsten „Pump Up the 90’s“-Veranstaltung in der Evenementenhal Hardenberg (Overijssel) wieder die 1990er Jahre zum Leben erweckt: Am 20. April 2024 traten Künstler wie Charly Lownoise, T-Spoon, Flamman & Abraxas, Critical Mass, DJ Potato, DJ Zany und Don Cartel unter der Lichtshow von Showtec, Infinity und DMT auf.

Für die „Duikboot Area“ wählte DPL Produkte aus, die eine immersive Atmosphäre schaffen sollten. Dazu gehörten vier neue Infinity-Raccoon-S420/4-Scheinwerfer, ein Strobe/Wash mit sektionaler Steuerung, RGBW-Wash-LEDs mit einem CRI von 92 und 35 CW-Strobe-LEDs mit über 70.000 Lumen. Diese wurden von zwanzig Infinity-Raccoon-P14/4-RGBM-Pars, drei Infinity-TF-300-Fresnels, 32 Showtec-Phantom-180-Wash-RGBW-LED-Wash-Moving-Heads und sechs Showtec LED Octostrip Set MKII für insgesamt 48 Meter mit sektionaler Steuerung unterstützt.

Für Lichteffekte sorgten zwei Sets des neuen Showtec Stage Blinder Flex Blaze mit insgesamt sechzehn warmweißen (3.000 K) 100-W-LED-Blinder-Pods. Jeder Pod ermöglicht eine traditionelle Wolfram-Dimmsimulation mit integrierten gelben LEDs und bot RGB-Blaze-Effekte. Um Farben und dynamische Beleuchtung zu erzeugen, wurden 150 Showtec Spectral M800 Q4 IP65, wetterfeste RGBW-LED-Pars, in zwei Hallen platziert, die von zwei Showtec-Lampy-20-2U-DMX-Konsolen gesteuert wurden.

Die Banner wurden von zwanzig Showtec ACT Profile 50 WW, warmweißen Theater-LED-Ellipsoid-Scheinwerfern, beleuchtet. Die Hauptbühne wurde von einer vierzig Quadratmeter großen DMT-Premiere-Series-4.6-G2-Outdoor-LED-Leinwand dominiert.

(Fotos: DPL Licht en Geluid/Highlite)

www.highlite.com

www.dplsound.nl

Nick Jevons immerses at Terminal V Festival with Chauvet Professional

For this year’s tenth edition of the Terminal V Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, which took place in April at the Royal Highland Centre, the V2 Stage (now Area V2 Stage), a mainstay of the annual EDM event since 2017, was turned into a 360-stage. The team at 19MIL, which designed the Area V2 Stage and the adjacent Terminal Stage, therefore called in Nick Jevons, lighting designer and president of Nick Jevons Designs Ltd.

Working in Depence 3, Jevons created 3D renders of his design to share his vision for the V2 Stage and the gritty industrial look of the Terminal Stage. At the Area V2 Stage, Jevons had twenty Chauvet Professional PXL Bar 16 motorized battens and sixteen Color Strike M motorized strobe/washes supplied by Marc Callaghan and his team at Liteup.

Jevons arranged the batten units around the bi-level central video screen that surrounded the DJ booth, and used the Color Strike M units to frame the video screens in the four corners of the expansive room. He also brought in Auratecture to run the Area V2 Stage.

At the Terminal stage, Jevons ran the show himself. He used twenty Colorado PXL Bar 16 to make the massive video screen stand out against a hard-edged background to create greater audience interaction. “I had ten of the PXL Bars line the top of the screen and ten line the bottom”, he says. “They were the main element of my design in this setting.”

(Photos: Chauvet Professional/Nick Jevons Designs Ltd.)

www.chauvetprofessional.com

SJ Grevett and DMX Productions create the looks for Mobo Awards with Chauvet

The 26th annual Mobo Awards, held at the 11,000-capacity Utilita Arena in Newcastle, once again was the UK’s biggest celebration of Black music and culture. Supporting the music on stage was a lighting design by SJ Grevett, operated by Liam Griffiths and Kris Goodman, that featured 98 Chauvet Professional fixtures.

The kit included 24 Maverick Storm 4 Profiles, thirty Maverick Storm 3 BeamWashes, 32 Strike 1 units and twelve Colorado PXL16 motorized tilting battens. “We went for the big and bold look with brightest fixtures, so we could really punch through against so much LED screen space on camera”, says SJ Grevett.

At times, Liam Griffiths would endow the stage with a bold multi-layered background, then have it disappear to be replaced by a more subtle, dreamy panorama. Throughout the show, he changed color combinations to coordinate them with video content. Kris Goodman expanded and contracted the amount of dark space and key light to ensure that the looks were varied and interesting for both the live audience and television viewers.

The looks that were conjured up were reflective of the aspirations of the performers on stage. “We didn’t see content until a few days before the show, so everything was a bit of a stab in the dark, then tweaked on site. It was a real team effort to bring the creative ideas of the artists to life”, says Grevett who set these looks within a clearly defined framework on his 12-meter trim stage.

“Essentially, when it comes to award shows, in my opinion are two options - either frame a stage as we did in this case, or just go huge on the back with massive open stage”, he explains. “Budget dictated that we framed it for this show.”

(Photos: Chauvet Professional/DMX Productions/Mobo Awards)

www.chauvetprofessional.com

Chauvet fixtures selected for Jon Batiste’s Coachella show

During his appearance at Coachella’s Outdoor Theatre, Jon Batiste, his band, and a variety of special guests took fans on a musical odyssey that included everything from covers of Beatles songs to the classic from his hometown New Orleans, “When The Saints Go Marching In”.

The set on Batiste’s stage reflected the rich diversity and creative spirit of his music, with a tree in the middle of the stage, a clothesline to the left, a recording studio to the right, and a utility pole thrown in for good measure.

Accenting the set pieces and reflecting Batiste’s music and stage persona was a Shepherd Lowrey lighting design on a rig that featured twelve Chauvet Professional Color Strike M motorized strobe washes from Ariel Afar and his team at SLX Productions.

Describing the vision behind the production of the Jon Batiste show, Lowrey says: “It was all about the tree of life. Once we surrendered the right of way to the tree, everything made sense. We used some light as roots that carried this electric current of the tree. Others, like the Color Strike Ms, were almost like budding flowers, or maybe even weeds underneath the tree, depending on the roll they played for each song.”

Lowrey achieved this effect by positioning the Color Strike M fixtures upstage left and upstage right, as well as across the downstage deck. He ran the fixtures at 65 percent to achieve the desired level of brightness and coverage.

“In this show, I used the Strikes for candy light”, continues Lowrey. “Like candy, they were not absolutely necessary for your everyday diet - but they were oh so delicious. They were really used to accent the music as opposed to washing the stage or keep anyone visible. The Strikes had no responsibility to keep anyone covered, so we could use them freely to spice up the show with stabs of white or chase effects.”

On the subject of white light, Lowrey says “ain’t nothing like a blast of white to break it up!” He used white lighting in the show to accent drum hits. “We wanted to support the drums with blasts of white so that the sound connects with the lighting and locks the whole thing in for an immersive experience”, he explains. “White is full on. So, we gave the down beats blasts of white to command the visuals.”

Jon Batiste’s Coachella show was the product of many collaborative hands, which in addition to Lowrey included the SLX team, creative director Jemel McWilliams, production designer Eighteen Twenty-Six Studio, scenic designer Winston Studios, content designer Cameron Leahy, and video director Raux Rau.

(Photos: Charles Detwiler/Mach Shot)

www.chauvetprofessional.com

Innlights steuert Videowand mit 840 Quadratmetern LED-Modulen zur ITB 2024 bei

Während der offiziellen Eröffnungsveranstaltung der Internationalen Tourismus-Börse (ITB) vor 3.000 Gästen in Berlin erstrahlte am 4. März 2024 auf 105 Metern Breite bei einer Höhe von acht Metern eine zusammenhängende Video-Wall mit der Vorstellung des diesjährigen Gastlandes Oman. Gebaut und geliefert wurde die Video-Wall von Innlights Displaysolutions aus Wuppertal im Auftrag der Berliner TSE AG.

„Es ist die größte LED-Wand an einem Stück, die wir für ein Indoor Event bisher realisiert haben“, sagt Kolja Birkenbach von Innlights Displaysolutions. Für das Video Processing der insgesamt 17.640 x 1.344 Pixel setzte Innlights seinen Video Controller InnVision SCXR Pro 7U ein. In seiner Maximalkonfiguration ist der Controller mit elf Input- und elf Output-Karten ausgerüstet, die jeweils 4K-Auflösungen steuern.

Für das Event zur ITB mit 840 Quadratmetern LED-Modulen wurde der InnVision Controller über sieben Output-Karten in 10-Bit-Farbtiefe mittels Glasfaser-Leitungen zwischen Regie und LED-Wand verbunden. Der Controller bot dabei über sein Multiview Board eine ständige Diagnose zur Videosignalqualität. Für den Aufbau der Hardware setzte Innlights Displaysolutions zehn Techniker und weitere sechs Helfer ein. Das Team benötigte insgesamt zwanzig Stunden für Installation und Inbetriebnahme.

(Fotos: Innlights Displaysolutions)

www.innlights.de

4Wall energizes Detroit Lions new uniform reveal with more than 100 Chauvet fixtures

This spring, the Detroit Lions football team unveiled their new uniforms for the upcoming 2024 season. NFL regulations allow teams to change the look of their uniforms every five years. The Lions held a reveal event for the new uniforms at their Ford Field home, drawing thousands of fans. The same stage was also used for the Detroit Lions NFL Draft Party. Both events were executed with the help of 4Wall Entertainment’s Detroit crew.

Led by VP of Live Events Joe Leahy, the 4Wall team of Kareem Harris, Gary McGarity, Ross Zhang, Xavier Williamson, Jason Dunk, Robert McGoldrick, Jon Sogoian, Johnny Pike, Michael Gallacher, Brian Lavender, Tommy Minkowski, Joshua Ruhlman, and Rahul Samuel set a stylish, upbeat tone for the reveal event.

Helping them in this effort were 113 Chauvet Professional fixtures, including 14 Maverick MK3 Washes, 48 Colorado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens, 14 Color Strike M strobe-washes, 14 Strike Array 4 blinders, 20 Epix Strip IP one-meter linear units, and five Cloud 9 foggers.

Working with a 58’ x 38’ mobile stage with an 80’ T-shaped thrust and 29-30’ trim, the team created a bold setting on the field. Three large video walls ran the width of the stage, and a horizontally oriented screen ran across its top, all of which were supplied, installed, programmed, and operated by 4Wall. The video content displayed during the reveal event was shot at the 4Wall Detroit warehouse utilizing Chauvet gear.

At the start of the actual reveal, the stadium became dark, with almost all the light coming from video walls, which displayed narrated images. When the video ended, the Colorado PXL Bar 16s positioned on the runway deck bathed the arena in the Lion’s blue team color.

Next, as players entered wearing the new uniforms, the rig’s Mavericks created crossing beam patterns, while the Color Strike M units strobed accenting the fog from the Cloud 9s, and the Epix Strip fixtures on rolling truss carts served up some dynamic backlight.

(Photos: Chauvet Professional/4Wall Entertainment/Detroit Lions)

www.chauvetprofessional.com

Distortion Studios launches Bristol Virtual Production space based on Stage Precision software

Distortion Studios, specialists in virtual production, recently opened the doors of its new Bristol-based studio, backed by an in-house team of immersive digital arts specialists. The space can be utilised by anyone looking to shoot virtual production content, as well as serving as a training and community hub.

“At Distortion Studios, we want to play a part in upskilling the next generation of industry professionals locally”, remarks Nick Diacre, Technical Director at Distortion Studios. “So, we’re looking to invite technical people in and run training in the space, alongside the usual studio hire. Remaining technologically agnostic was therefore important to us.”

Diacre first encountered SP by Stage Precision in the software’s early beta phase, which coincided with his exploration of XR setups using Disguise technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic. “SP slotted into a gap when we needed to take our productions to the next level and be more versatile”, recalls Diacre. “With SP we didn’t need to program custom code from scratch to build integrations anymore.”

Diacre designed the VP workflow at Distortion Studio based on Stage Precision. Distortion’s commitment to remaining platform-agnostic allows for adaptability to different tools and technologies based on project and client requirements. With Stage Precision at the centre of operations, Distortion Studios can switch between platforms, software, and systems. “Unreal Engine, TouchDesigner, Pixera; all of these can be connected into a single interface in SP. The software just does its job and puts out the correct data”, adds Diacre.

Distortion uses SP’s seamless integration with Stream Deck to control camera positions and lighting functions. Stage Precision’s Shield plug-in for Unreal Engine 5 is also in use at the studio. “Shield has become a potent tool for us, taking the legwork out of controlling Unreal”, says Diacre. “Our green screen workflow is elevated as Shield facilitates a closer control and monitoring of Unreal Engine.”

(Photos: Stage Precision/Distortion Studios/Andre Pattenden)

www.stageprecision.com

www.distortion.studio

Magnum PA and SR Productions field Martin Audio WPL for Admiral Insurance ASM

Cardiff-based Magnum PA Ltd and SR Productions enjoy an ongoing strategic partnership, with Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision series line array at the heart of it. While Magnum PA carries the WPL in its inventory, SR supports the WPC in its hire fleet - so that between the two companies, the Martin Audio box count exceeds 150. To further strengthen the offering, both companies frequently partner with Bristol-based SWG Events.

Long-standing SR Productions client Orchard Media and Events Group recently required a solution to cover delegates for Admiral Group’s annual staff general meeting at Utilita Arena Cardiff. A main hang of twelve WPL per side was supported by an outfill of eight WPC per side, while centre fill duties were carried out by four Torus T820 and monitors by four LE200s. This created an end-to-end Martin Audio solution.

(Photos: Admiral Insurance ASM/Magnum PA Ltd/Martin Audio/SR Productions)

www.martin-audio.com

Forbidden City Concert Hall uses Green-Go for Juan Gomez gig

For Colombian singer-songwriter Juan Gomez’s concert at Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, China, the ethernet-based Green-Go digital solution was chosen to improve efficiency. The Concert Hall’s main stage measures 23-metre wide and 14-metres tall, offering more than 1,400 seats on two floors. The venue hosts both international tours, the Beijing International Music Festival and concerts by the China Philharmonic Orchestra and Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

China Green-Go dealer and AV expert EZPro was tasked to provide an intercom system for sound engineers and stage staff for the show. Inside the Concert Hall’s main auditorium, the team configured a Green-Go Wall Panel X - a wall mount station with direct access to three channels and an integrated speaker and a headset connection - at the FOH position, for use by sound engineers. At this point, a Green-Go Beacon call indicator was also rigged, which emits a flashing red signal when receiving a call ensuring the sound engineers can communicate effectively in low-light environments.

Four Green-Go Wireless Beltpack X units were used by the stage staff, enabling them to make use of 32 available channels, a program audio channel and an extra channel for direct user communication. This allowed them to talk directly to other stage staff or within multiple groups. In addition, a Green-Go Wireless Antenna was located at the rear of the Concert Hall, serving the four Wireless Beltpack X devices.

(Photos: Green-Go/ELC Lighting/EZPro)

www.greengodigital.com

www.elclighting.com

KV2 Audio system selected for Australian production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” musical

In the wake of the success of the 1991 animated film “Beauty and the Beast”, Michael Eisner, Disney’s then-CEO, took the plunge to produce it as a musical on Broadway in 1994. The stage musical was the first full-length stage show to be produced by the newly created Disney Theatrical Productions (DTP) company. A new Australian production - based on the 2021 UK revival - is currently mid-way through a tour across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

Sound designer and long-time Disney collaborator John Shivers turned to KV2 Audio for this production. He first started work on “Beauty and the Beast” for the Shanghai production in 2018. He and his associate designers Kevin Kennedy and Greg Pink along with sound engineer Andy Sharman then started designing the new, re-conceived version of the show which launched at the London Palladium for a limited 12-week run before heading out on a nationwide tour. A similar production is now on tour in Australia. “I specify KV2 loudspeakers for all my shows now”, declares Shivers who has designed KV2 Audio systems for a large number of Broadway musicals including “The Lion King”, “Kinky Boots”, “Pretty Woman”, “Shucked” and many more.

Kevin Kennedy describes the system in use for “Beauty and the Beast”: “Where space permits, we use the ESR215s as main left and right loudspeakers. For Beauty, we use two sets as upper and lower systems for most of the venues, with EX12s flown near the lower ESR215s as infill for the first few rows. If space is limited, we replace the upper 215s with EX15s with a further two EX15s as balcony delays flown from a delay truss midway into the house. A pair of SL412s serve as our centre cluster, with one SL412 focused on the circle/balcony while the other acts as a downfill for the stalls.”

“We also have a pair of EX1.8 subs as part of the centre cluster which provide low end reinforcement for the circle and stalls and a pair of floor-standing VHD2.18J subs providing low end for the main seating area”, he continues. “We deployed twenty compact EX6 loudspeakers for foldback, both on- and off-stage, and as fills in the house for places shadowed by the main PA such as the boxes and extreme sides of the auditorium. ESD5s - over forty in total - were used as front fills, under-balcony delays and surrounds, and finally, we made a late add of three EX10s to beef up the surrounds.”

“Beauty and the Beast” is currently playing at the Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, and will be moving to Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, in June where performances are scheduled until the end of October 2024.

(Photos: KV2 Audio)

www.kv2audio.com

Gearhouse Splitbeam invests in Ayrton Rivale Profile for South African production of “Mamma Mia!”

Theatre and professional rental specialist Gearhouse Splitbeam of Johannesburg, has made its first investment in Ayrton, purchasing a consignment of new Ayrton Rivale Profile fixtures from Ayrton’s South African distribution partner Planetworld.

The decision came after a concerted post-pandemic fact-finding mission to secure new LED moving lights with which to update Splitbeam’s aging lighting stock, spurred on by the requirements of Showtime Management’s production of “Mamma Mia!” later in the year and a need to increase its stock of LED moving lights. Departing from its traditional manufacturers, Splitbeam decided in favour of Ayrton Rivale Profile following a shoot-out between major manufacturers’ products and a visit to the Ayrton factory just ahead of the launch of Rivale Profile.

“We are essentially a theatre and long-term lease company working only on theatre productions, and therefore concerned with the finer details of moving lights”, explains Splitbeam’s managing director Alistair Kilbee. “Previously we’d experienced problems with colour mixing in LED moving heads, but Michael Althaus (Ayrton’s Global Sales Director) promised me Rivale would solve these problems. And he was right.” Kilbee placed his first Rivale Profile order with Mike Summerfield of Planetworld for 36 units, which were turned around quickly and immediately went out on tour with “Mamma Mia!”.

“Mamma Mia!” features a full South African cast, crew, and band, and is headed by an award-winning South African creative team. The production’s lighting and set designer is Denis Hutchinson. The tour kicked off on 6 March 2024 at the Artscape Opera House, Cape Town, playing to full houses before transferring to Teatro, Montecasino, Johannesburg, on 12 April where it will run until 9 June.

(Photos: Christiaan Kotze/Alistair Kilbee)

www.ayrton.eu

www.planetworld.co.za

www.splitbeam.co.za

Lutz John nutzt Robe Esprite auf Annett-Louisan-Tour

Für Annett Louisans „Baby Blue Live 2023“-Tour hat erneut der Licht- und Bühnendesigner Lutz John aus Hannover den visuellen Rahmen gestaltet. Zum Einsatz kamen dabei unter anderem 31 Robe Esprite als Effekt- und Personenbeleuchtung.

Im Zentrum des Designs stand ein geflogenes Lichtobjekt, das intern als „Omega“ bezeichnet wird und die Outline eines Balkons, wie man ihn im Zuschauerraum eines alten Theaters finden kann, andeutete. Am Anfang der Konzerte blieben Teile des Omegas im Dunkeln, erst Stück für Stück wurde das gesamte Objekt für den Betrachter sichtbar.

„Das Licht auf dem Boden war gestalterisch das Führungslicht. Von ihm aus entstanden die Licht-Raumbilder auf der Bühne“, erklärt John. „Die Omega-Form legte sich scheinbar leicht auf dieses Lichtbild. Die Musiker wurden von Lichtpositionen aus dem Rigg in unterschiedlichen Winkeln beleuchtet, vervollständigten die Bilder, akzentuierten und sorgten für Sichtbar- und Unsichtbarkeiten. In wenigen Passagen war auch mal alles sichtbar, dies war aber die Ausnahme.“

Die Robe Esprite waren sowohl im Ober- und Seitenlicht geflogen als auch im Gassenlicht und im Gegenlicht hinter der Band positioniert. Ein zentraler, rückgesetzter Esprite übernahm die Hervorhebung von Anett Louisan.

„Die Designs von Lutz sind für mich immer eine Augenweide“, sagt Jens Langner, Business Development Manager DACH von Robe Deutschland. „Man merkt bei den Entwürfen von Lutz stets seine langjährige Erfahrung und sein Gespür für Proportionen, Helligkeiten und Timing. Das Design der ‘Baby Blue Live’-Tour war für mich einer der Höhepunkte des Jahres 2023.“

(Fotos: Stefan Tietz)

www.robelighting.de

Tim Goodacre relies on Astera

Tim Goodacre, a freelance gaffer and lighting specialist based in Sydney and working all over Australia, primarily on TV dramas, has invested steadily in Astera to help drive his business over the last two years, most recently purchasing one of the new LeoFresnel products from Astera’s Australian and New Zealand distributor ULA Group, which is added to his existing stock of AX3 Lightdrop and NYX Bulb kits and workhorse Astera Titan and Helios Tubes.

Goodacre immediately utilised the LeoFresnel on season two of the Netflix “Heartbreak High” reboot, specifically for a forest night scene shot on location with the Heartbreak High students camping out under the moonlight. In a different scenario, a moving light might conventionally be used, however the practicalities of the location demanded a wireless lighting solution. Goodacre rigged sixteen Titan Tubes on a “Moon Box” with the LeoFresnel positioned in the centre, which was hoisted above the action pointing right down with the LeoFresnel acting as a spotlight.

Controlled through the Astera app, the need for a board operator to run the moon-box was averted. Goodacre created different cues and looks which provided the moonlight and a cost-effective way of lighting the scene with a clearly defined central lightsource surrounded by shimmering light from the softened tubes which combined to produce the effect wanted by director Neil Sharma and DoP Campbell Brown.

Goodacre has also used Astera fixtures for night scenes along roads, in the bush and other “run-and-gun” situations without needing a generator, PD, cables and extensive prep time. He recalls a night beach scene on another project, always a galvanising place in to find lighting positions for soft sources, which in this case were needed to back-light three people. Here his water resistant LeoFresnel was rigged on a stand with an 8x4 bounce reflector attached that facilitated the creation of a soft source in the right place. He’s also used the LeoFresnel on comedy drama “Ladies in Black”, shot in Adelaide.

Goodacre says he will often use his AX3 LightDrops for quick deployment and architectural requirements, together with AX5s and AX9 LED PARs for general purpose lighting of buildings, sets and structures. The NYX Bulbs will be used for a myriad of set practical applications. Also, for cityscape effects like bokeh dots and twinkling lights in the background, run in festoon style in the distance with authentic and random looking “living, breathing” colours and looks dialled in just like a real city.

(Photos: Tim Goodacre/Josh McDowell)

www.astera-led.com

South African sound engineer Simphiwe “Smooth” Mhlanga chooses DPA Microphones

Dedicated to the art of music engineering, Simphiwe “Smooth” Mhlanga spent years training and honing his skills as a freelance sound engineer for both broadcast and live music. With a growing reputation, he has become the top choice for some of South Africa’s most promising talents, including the likes of Jabulani “Sjava” Hadebe, a singer, rapper and actor, as well as Kiernan Forbes, the late rapper and producer known as AKA.

Additionally, as Sub-Saharan African music has recently seen a surge in music sales and an increase in streams on popular music platforms, Mhlanga’s experience is needed now more than ever. This global recognition for the musical style has opened the door for artists, producers and engineers from the region to showcase their talents and compete on an equal footing to their colleagues in more established markets.

Working with DPA Microphones specialist Keith Karimi from ApexPro in South Africa, Mhlanga selected the DPA 2028 Vocal Microphone to benefit all of Mhlanga’s production work. “The DPA 2028 is a handheld vocal condenser mic that can be used wired or wirelessly. It is specifically designed for the live stage”, says Karimi.

The benefits of the 2028 go beyond the artist’s performance on the engineering side - Mhlanga has found that the response and EQ issues he previously experienced were solved once introducing DPA into his workflow. “The mic is sensitive enough to allow more gain before feedback, but rugged enough to hold up on the road and during live shows”, he says.

Mhlanga began his sound engineering career while still in high school, when he joined the production crew at Hope Restoration Ministries in Gauteng, South Africa. This experience led him to a passion for the art and the subsequent pursuit of formal training, specializing in film, television, radio and broadcast.

Now, as a freelance sound engineer, he often collaborates with other like-minded young professionals to provide live production, outside broadcast and post-production services to creative and corporate clients in the region.

Pictured: Keith Karimi and Simphiwe “Smooth” Mhlanga. (Photo: DPA Microphones)

www.dpamicrophones.com

Robe catches the action for Nina Pušlar show

Slovenian singer-songwriter Nina Pušlar played a sold-out show in Ljubljana’s 14,400-capacity Stožice Arena which was recorded for broadcast on national TV and celebrated the dropping of some new music from Pušlar, for which her team including creative director Anže Škrube wanted a spectacular production.

Lighting designer Amadej Šuperger from design studio Blackout specified large quantities of Robe moving lights which made up 75 percent of the lighting. The positions were facilitated by an angled triangular truss in the centre with four bracing trusses flanked by raked grids of crisscrossing trusses in the roof above the stage, which brought a structural look and industrial tone to the performance area. It also amplified the depth of the performance space.

Šuperger has been working with the artist for some time. He already had a show designed for smaller venues which served as a basic starting point for this one, but Stožice required a new concept and an approach that was much bigger than anything that had gone before. This was both to fit the occasion and the expansive space of the arena, which is a challenging space for rigging production.

“I wanted it to look impressive even without any lights turned on, hence the geometry, style and look of the metalwork”, explains Šuperger. Another factor around which the lighting evolved was a substantial upstage LED screen and two side LED screens which meant an emphasis on top lighting to leave clear sightlines, especially to the screen at the back. Šuperger collaborated closely with VJ Rasta - who produces all the playback content - on this aspect of the design. The 20-camera shoot was directed by Nik Gradišnik and Anže Škrube.

When it came to populating the lighting fixtures, Šuperger used 36 Robe Fortes including two which were on two RoboSpot systems for key and back lighting. The RoboSpot operators were off to the sides of the stage. He added 28 MegaPointes to this, 42 Spiider wash beams, 40 LEDBeam 150s, 26 CycFX8s and eight Patt2013s, plus strobes, blinders, and fog machines, all supplied by Slovenian rental company Event Lighting.

Eleven of the Fortes were used for front light and keys, with the other 25 rigged along at the back of the trussing grid and filling in the main triangle piece, positioned for outlining, silhouetting and rear beam work. The key lighting was programmed by Šuperger’s Blackout colleague Crt Birsa - also an LD in his own right - and was run live as dancers and guests came and went during the action-packed show.

Šuperger mixed Fortes seamlessly with the MegaPointes which were mostly rigged around the upstage areas of the horizontal trusses. The Spiiders were deployed for all the rear washes and in the top part of the triangle on this show.

Twenty LEDBeam 150s were used, ten each side, to accentuate the lines and form of the triangular shape and to create eye-candy effects. Šuperger notes that the LEDBeam 150s also looked great when framed by the cameras at the back of the arena capturing the long shots of the stage. Another twenty LEDBeam 150s were used for side light onstage. “Running ten of them together gives a substantial output”, says Šuperger.

He had originally specified Tetra2s rather than CycFX 8s, but these were busy on other Event Lighting jobs, and he was happy with the predecessor CycFX 8 LED moving batten fixtures once they were all in place on the rig. They provided “fillers” around the back of the stage, across the downstage edge and along the thrust.

Šuperger had originally planned to use the Patt2013s for the acoustic section of the show, for guests at the end of the catwalk and for the softer songs in the set, but this changed and they were positioned much more prominently behind the band and beneath the two side screens where their visibility enhanced this black space and offered more interesting camera shots. He notes that these were ideal for scenic as well as illuminative purposes.

The main objective of the show was to present a “big, bold, modern, mainstream pop, glossy-floor pop fill of colour, life and excitement to get Nina’s fans on their feet, moving and grooving”, explains Šuperger. It was also a special show for him being his first in the venue working in the full lighting design role.

Šuperger and Birsa both programmed on their own consoles and were engaged in the process right up until doors. They also both worked closely ahead of the show with VJ Rasta, which was a big help having access to some of the content, so this could be blended with lighting looks and scenes. “We use the same creative language”, says Šuperger, “so this is also one of the fun parts of devising these concerts.”

(Photos: Matic Kremžar/Kristjan Kuzmanoski/Miro Majcen/Fon Nejc/Primoz Piculin/Darja Stravs Tisu)

www.robe.cz

Robe supports Taki Rua Productions production of “Hatupatu/Kurungaituku”

Lighting designer Jo Kilgour created the lighting for “Hatupatu/Kurungaituku: A Forbidden Love”, a new aerial dance work produced by Aotearoa’s Kaupapa Maori theatre company Taki Rua Productions. The work, written by creative director Tanemahuta Gray and Kapa Haka by Wetini Mitai-Ngatai, premiered at the Tawhiri Warehouse in Wellington as part of the 2024 Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts.

Eighteen Robe T1 PCs and ten LEDWash 600 wash beams made up an integral part of Kilgour’s lighting rig, which was supplied to this production by Wellington-based rental company Grouse Lighting and project managed by Cameron Nicholls with the assistance of Riley Gibson.

The immersive storytelling was presented in traverse, with the audience standing either side of a central 1.5-metre-high runway stage, relating the tale of warrior Hatupatu and bird woman Kurungaituku in an anti-gravitational collage of movement, action, and visceral emotion.

A “spine” truss running the length of the runway in the roof and scaffolding structures either side was used to facilitate the people flying, so finding workable lighting positions was challenging. Upstage at one end was a rear projection screen, with four roof trusses flown parallel to the spine (two either side) along the length of the space to provide additional lighting positions.

A maximum trim height of 6.5 metres in the lowest venue on the tour also impacted the approach of all technical departments - lighting, rigging, audio, video, flying, etc. - who had to work within with these parameters. All the equipment had to be relative to the spatial dimensions and the main spine truss.

Kilgour worked collaboratively with set designer John Verryt. The design process included a pilot workshop staged at Tawhiri Warehouse in November 2023 with the full set design and a quarter of the then-specified lights, so Kilgour could establish what worked and what was practical.

The pilot confirmed that any long snout fixtures overhead encroached too much on the space so they were out, and the exercise also enabled her to identify optimal rigging positions for fixtures that would not interfere with the access needed for the flying artists and climbing technicians. It also underlined her decision to use moving lights.

The T1 PC’s zoom made it a popular choice for the “boom” positions which were mounted on the scaffolding structures 2.8 m either side of the runway stage. To ensure accurate and complete control of the output, Kilgour utilised the internal beam shaper (barn doors) to accurately shutter light off the climbers, the audience, and the projection screen. In addition to side lighting, the T1 PCs were used for specials on the overhead rig and for washing across the space. The ten LEDWash 600s were rigged overhead and used almost like house lights, for general uniform wash coverage of the space.

The action-packed 75-minute show saw moments of great beauty and serenity juxtaposed against raw and aggressive fight scenes accompanied by a soundtrack composed by Paddy Free. The video images designed by Artificial Imagination included a lot of content from Rotorua, where the story is set. A research trip there gave the creative team the idea of keeping the venue hazy and misty with lots of fog mimicking the mythical geothermal activities present in the region.

Having this many moving lights plus several other luminaires extended the possibilities for lighting, and nine days of full production rehearsal time in the Wellington venue with the cast - ahead of the first show - was another rare luxury for the creative team. Kilgour pre-programmed the show before handing over to Nicholls and Gibson for the tour.

After Wellington, “Hatupatu/Kurungaituku” toured to Auckland’s Q Theatre, then played at the Air Force Museum of New Zealand in Christchurch before finishing up at the Energy Events Centre in Rotorua.

(Photos: Stephen A’Court Photography/Lauren Groundwater/Paul McLaughlin)

www.robe.cz

Britannia Row Productions deploys sitewide comms, networking and radios to 19th World Athletics Indoor Championships

Britannia Row’s specialist comms department Surfhire oversaw a large Cisco network backbone, Riedel comms and Motorola radios to the World Athletics Indoor Championships, a globally watched live sporting event.

Held in Glasgow over three days in early March 2024, the 19th edition of the World Athletics Indoor Championships saw 586 athletes from 128 countries go head-to-head for 26 titles as 22,000 spectators watched. To ensure uninterrupted coverage of the performances both on-site and for global TV audiences, Britannia Row was asked to deliver a comms solution and a team of experts to Glasgow’s Commonwealth Arena.

Working on behalf of UK Athletics (UKA), the governing body responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events and athletes in the UK, the crew distributed a large network backbone deployment of Cisco Nexus 10G Switches, Riedel Artist Intercoms network - 30 assorted panels of IP based smart panels, 35 Bolero wireless intercoms and 40 Bolero NSA002 4wire interfaces - plus 250 Motorola R7 Series Radios with six Motorola SLR 5700 Repeaters for a two-way radio service.

“We had a highly specialised crew on-hand for this project - three Network Engineers and two Matrix Comms Engineers”, says Britannia Row comms specialist Simon Hodge. “Two of our IT engineers are CCNA Level Architects.” Britannia Row was also tasked with managing the entirety of the event’s spectrum, including DMR channels, PMSE channels and Microwave spectrum of up to 12 Gghz for wireless cameras and links.

“A live sporting event of this scale has huge potential for RF interference between users”, says Hodge. “Thanks to Paul Carter who was equipped with a portable analyser following heavy planning, the gig happened without a hitch. He also managed Qualifying Revenue to Ofcom - the UK’s communications regulator - for the spectrum, acting as our agent to ensure all stakeholders were happy.”

(Photos: Britannia Row Productions/UK Athletics)

www.britanniarow.com

Ultra Events designs audio system for OMD concerts in South Africa

Synth-pop and electronica outfit Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) recently returned to the stage on a greatest hits world tour, which saw the return of the band to South Africa for the first time in twelve years. The first performance took place at Cape Town’s Greenpoint A-Track, with another following event in Johannesburg two nights later.

The South African tour was organised by Breakout Events, with the Cape Town leg managed by Rogue Entertainment. Ultra Events, specialists in AVL solutions, were responsible for supplying and implementing the technical solutions for these shows, including a V-Series sound system from D&B Audiotechnik.

“The A-Track comes with challenges that need to be navigated with care when setting up a concert system”, explains Patrick Dudgeon, Audio HOD at Ultra Events. “Not only are set-up times restricted due to the venue being a functioning cricket club, but the A-Track is also very close to a residential area, a public hospital and a hotel. Therefore, we need to be conscious of the surroundings regarding noise levels whilst delivering impactful audio to the concert audience.”

With these requirements in mind, the team at Ultra Events designed and deployed an audio system that would deliver OMD’s hits without causing a nuisance to neighbouring residents. Two ten-element line arrays consisting of V8s at the top and V12s at the bottom were flown on either side of the stage, with low frequencies taken care of by B22 subwoofers, ground stacked in cardioid mode.

Four AL90 loudspeakers took care of front fills whilst M4 monitors provided playback for onstage artists. Additionally, Array software from D&B allowed the team to simulate audio coverage and tweak it accordingly to the needs of the venue and its residential neighbours.

(Photos: Stage Audio Works/Ultra Events)

www.stageaudioworks.com

www.ultraevents.co.za

UCSD student designers illuminate “Winter Works” dance production with Elation

Three lighting design students from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) recently had the opportunity to work with Elation Proteus Lucius and Fuze Wash Z350 moving head luminaires on “Winter Works”, a dance production featuring three original works by three professional choreographers from the UCSD dance faculty.

Produced yearly by the school’s Theatre & Dance Department, “Winter Works” specializes in dance repertory production. This year, Taylor Olson, Elba Emicente, and Vida Huang collaborated with choreographers Kara Mack, Ana María Álvarez, and Dr. Grace Shinhae Jun, respectively, on the performances. The productions, which involved a large cast of student performers, were showcased from March 15-17, 2024, at the 400-seat Mandell Weiss Forum on the UCSD campus.

Taylor Olson, an MFA Lighting Designer at UCSD, who lit the Kara Mack piece “Open Your Eyes”, contacted Elation Product Application and Customer Experience Specialist Nick Saiki to discuss the project and eventually decided that Proteus Lucius and Fuze Wash Z350 fixtures would provide the versatile lighting needed for the diverse performances showcased in “Winter Works”. Aspect Lighting supplied the lights for the performances.

Olson utilized the Proteus Lucius LED profile fixtures consistently throughout the “Open Your Eyes” performance as both a backlight and side light, experimenting with beam shaping and color to enhance the choreography, including one representing the historic Jericho Road. “I used the Lucius as a back diagonal light with a sharp shutter cut on the floor to create a rectangle path then used the Fuze Wash as front light to fill the space”, she explains. “I was interested in the warmer colors - ambers, yellows and reds - and was able to use all three colors in one by adjusting the iris and focus for a more diffused look.” She says it was an impactful scene and although she had never used a moving light with framing shutters before, having them in the Lucius proved to be very useful.

Working with other moving lights, the designer explored matching color tone across fixtures while experimenting with texture. She explains how she used the “dots” gobo to great effect: “We were exploring in time with all the dancers moving and the idea of lighting within those liminal spaces. Bodies in dark would walk into the light and then back into darkness. It was a lot of playing with light, space and bodies, just exploring within darkness then coming into passages with light. With the zoom capabilities and the spread I was able to get texture on the floor and the upstage all with only a few lights.”

For “¡Azúcar!”, an immersive dance piece choreographed by Ana María Álvarez, MFA Lighting Designer Elba Emicente explored “the essence of this grain’s history and everything it represents in human culture, with the goal of carefully elevating each movement and moment through my lighting design”. One of the key elements of her design was the integration of three Proteus Lucius fixtures which “played a role in transforming three blue tarp scenic elements into real moon rocks with eroded formations”, as Emicente puts it. “By strategic placement and selecting the perfect gobo, I was able to permeate each rock with a texture that spoke volumes and boosted the visual narrative of the piece.”

Emicente also incorporated the Fuze Wash Z350 PAR moving heads into the piece as a main side light source, strategically placing them on either side of the voms. “This decision not only gave me extensive dynamic pan and tilt capabilities, but also allowed me to paint the artists with a rich color palette”, she says. One of the most memorable moments of the choreography, she expresses, was when the artists manipulated a blue tarp, from top to bottom, simulating the fluidity of water. “It was here that every Fuze Wash truly shined, fusing its lavender and cool white with the deep blue atmosphere coming from above, surrounding the performers in an aquatic environment but highlighting their white vaporous costumes.” As the piece came to an end, the designer isolated a single Fuze Wash as the sole light source for the cue before the blackout. She says the decision brought a sense of intimacy and warmth, bathing the artist’s rested bodies in a comforting glow, symbolizing the culmination of their journey.

The Fuze Wash fixtures were also employed by Olson in “Open Your Eyes” to provide front diagonal and front side light, with additional fixtures hung high on a catwalk. “With dance you need direct side light so you get more illumination on the body and bring more dimension to the space”, she says. “We used the Fuze as a diagonal light to give versatility within upstage to downstage.” Colorwise the designer used warmer colors, ambers and reds, and created sharp shadows to emphasize movement and space. “There is a moment where I wanted to emphasize the shadows of dancers on stage in order to convey more bodies in space and time and I used the Fuze to create those shadows”, she explains.

“Open Your Eyes” was followed by “¡Azúcar!” with “Can We Kick It?”, a high-energy hip hop performance with lighting design by Vida Huang, the final piece. All three incorporated the Elation lights. Assistant Lighting Designer was Stephaney Knapp, Alexander Deviataikin was the Moving Lights Programmer.

(Photos: Vida Huang/Erik Jepsen/Doug McMinimy/UC San Diego Communications)

www.elationlighting.com

Convention4u in Linz widmet sich Potenzialen Künstlicher Intelligenz für die Tagungsbranche

Das Austrian Convention Bureau (ACB) lädt unter dem Motto „Künstliche Intelligenz - lebendige Tagungskultur. Potenziale erkunden.“ vom 1. bis 3. Juli 2024 zur Convention4u in das Palais Kaufmännischer Verein Linz ein. Die jährliche Tagung, konzipiert als „lebendiges Labor für Innovation(en) in der Meetingbranche“, bietet eine Plattform für den Austausch neuester Erkenntnisse und zukunftsweisender Entwicklungen.

Die diesjährige Convention4u setzt auf kreative und innovative Ansätze im Meetingdesign - und dies nachhaltig, schließlich wird angestrebt, die Veranstaltung zum fünfzehnten Mal nach den Kriterien der UZ 62 des Österreichischen Umweltzeichens als Green Meeting zu zertifizieren.

Mit Bezug auf den Themenschwerpunkt KI sagt ACB-Präsident Gerhard Stübe: „Wir lernen derzeit zu verstehen, wie künstliche Intelligenz unseren täglichen Arbeitsablauf erleichtern kann. Doch wie kann es uns gelingen, dass KI die wichtigen Transformationen in unserer Branche unterstützt? Dazu wollen wir uns auf der Convention4u austauschen, gemeinsam Lernen und dadurch auch noch besser ins Verstehen kommen“.

Den Kick-off zum Programm liefern unter der Moderation des Eventdramaturgen Michael Gleich die KI-Expertinnen Isabell Claus (Geschäftsführerin von Thinkers.ai) und Sabine Theresia Köszegi (Professorin an der TU Wien sowie Vorsitzende des UNESCO-Beirats für Ethik der Künstlichen Intelligenz in Österreich) mit ihren Fachinputs zu den Chancen sowie Risiken von KI für die Tagungsbranche.

Das vielseitige Programm des Tagungslabors soll mit dem Wissensparcours mit Anwendungsbeispielen und Experten-Impulsen ein gemeinsames Wissensfundament für die Teilnehmer schaffen. Durch interaktive Sessionformate wie Workshops und Diskussionsrunden soll zudem Raum für die vertiefende Auseinandersetzung, persönliche Reflexion und die individuelle Entwicklung geboten werden.

Die Veranstaltung wartet mit rund 200 nationalen Fachleuten aus allen Bereichen der Meetingindustrie auf - von Veranstaltern, Professional Congress Organisern (PCO), Akteuren aus Hotellerie, Kongressdienstleistung und von Veranstaltungsstätten bis hin zu Forschern und Technologie-Experten.

„Unser Ziel ist es, eine Umgebung zu schaffen, in der unsere Teilnehmer, aus verschiedenen Bereichen kommend, ihr Wissen vernetzen und gemeinsam neue Wege zur Gestaltung zukunftsfähiger Veranstaltungen erkunden können“, sagt ACB-Geschäftsführerin Michaela Schedlbauer-Zippusch.

Das historische Ambiente des Palais Kaufmännischer Verein Linz mit seinem modernen Zubau bietet den Rahmen für den ACB-Jahreskongress. Als diesjähriger Technik-Partner steht Steinerlive.com mit Expertise sowie bei der Einbindung von KI dem ACB zur Seite. Zum Auftakt der Tagung laden die Destination Linz und das Convention Bureau Oberösterreich zum Get2gether in das „Museum der Zukunft“, das Ars Electronica Center, ein.

(Foto: Flo Taibon - Taibonfotografie.at)

www.acb.at