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‘De Battle’ supported by Painting with Light
17/01/2020
Robe illuminates Mazowsze
07/01/2020
Spanish festival triplet lit with Robe
23/12/2019
Robe illuminates Hellfest
18/12/2019
Juan Luis Guerra on tour with Robe fixtures
11/12/2019
‘De Battle’ supported by Painting with Light
Painting with Light (PWL), working for television producers Dedsit, supplied lighting and video content design, creation and control for ‘De Battle’ - a co-production between Belgium’s SBS and Netherlands broadcaster RTL - which was recorded at the Pop Up Theatre in Puurs.
Studio 100’s Pop Up Theatre was chosen as one of the largest and most flexible studio/performance spaces in the country which comes complete with production facilities including eight moving seating tribunes to fit 1600 people and eight remote-controlled LED screens which can be moved into any position and configuration. These large moving assets enabled the production team to build the multiple locations needed within the venue to stage the different challenges.
PWL’s creative director Luc Peumans designed lighting for each different scenario, utilising the substantial ‘house’ lighting rig in the Pop Up Theatre (also home of the 40-45 musical spectacular) as a base, and adding around 140 moving lights.
Series director Kevin Houben initially produced a mood board for each act/challenge and location. The series logo, which was prominent in the video artwork, was originated and styled by the creative team at SBS. Luc Peumans took these two elements as his starting points and started the lighting process and briefed the video content creators accordingly.
PWL pre-visualised all the lighting and video content and did this in relation to the different camera and audience positions. The screen shots from WYSIWYG were shared with the whole production team so tweaks could be discussed and implemented at this stage.
The additional lighting fixtures were 125 x Icon Stage hybrid beam/spot/wash luminaires from PRG Belgium who also supply the venue house rig, plus 96 x GLP Impression X4s and XL LED washes. The vast majority of these were deployed on the floor, on the screen wagons, on the bleacher seating, etc., only 24 extra lights were hung in the grid.
Peumans utilised six PRG Best Boys as follow spots, operated remotely via a ground control system. A GrandMA full size console was used for lighting control - running with fully redundant backup - and a third mobile console which was used to position fixtures in other areas whilst programming continued for the current area. Programming was co-ordinated by PWL regular Niels Huybrechts. The positional pre-programming was done by Céline Cuypers.
Co-ordinating visuals and running PWL’s 10 x D3 video servers on site was Tommie Kidjemet, with all the advance video programming undertaken by PWL’s Katleen Selleslagh. PWL commissioned Bart Tauwenberg from New Solid to produce the video content under Luc Peumans’ direction.
Over the course of the two-week shoot period, all the venue’s remote moving LED video screens were used. These each measure 7 metres high and 4.5 metres wide and each has its own onboard D3 server (which are networked). Different quantities of screens were used in different formats for each of the show challenges.
Tommie Kidjemet used the Christie Pandora’s Box Widget Designer in combination with the D3 to insert live video effects at certain points in specific scenes. As well as playback video related to the challenges/tasks, inserts of the contestants training for some of these were shown at specific times, synched to audio, and some of the lighting cues - related to win/lose moments - were executed by the GrandMA MIDI triggered from content on the D3s.
(Photos: Louise Stickland)
Ryan Lombard chooses Robe for ‘Noot vir Noot’
Robe moving lights were all over the rig designed by Ryan Lombard, HOD of show lighting for lighting suppliers Blond Productions, for the latest series of the Afrikaans language music quiz ‘Noot vir Noot’ which is broadcast on South Africa’s SABC2 channel.
It’s the longest continually-running TV game show in the country, first broadcast in 1991. Ryan Lombard and Blond Productions, who delivered lighting, audio and LED screen, had already clocked up at least ten years on the series.
Lombard started as a follow spot operator in 2008/09, with 12 x Robe ColorSpot 250s and six ColorWash 700E ATs in the mix. “The production has just continued growing organically with more lighting each series,” he comments.
For this series, the producers wanted a complete revamp for the show that was recorded at the Urban Brew Studios in Randburg. Blond Productions’ owner and founder Christiaan Ballot and Ryan Lombard designed a new set concept. Lombard integrated 72 Robes in the design - 24 x LEDWash 300s, 12 x MiniPointes, 12 x CycFX 4s, 12 x MMX Spots and 12 x Robe 600E Beams.
The LEDWash 300s were located all around the studio at the back, and used as primary rear lighting on the band - the shows also all included live performance - and on the contestants, of which there were four per episode. A live DJ was also present in the studio. Positioned as they were, the LEDWashes could also illuminate the audience.
The MMXs Spots were ensconced in the set walls and used for beam work and some gobo texturing and gobo looks. The MiniPointes were also rigged towards the back of the set playing to the front with beams and effects.
The CycFX 4s were in the roof above the set panels just behind the contestant booths and the 600E Beams were also in the roof, supporting the MMX Spots and MiniPointes with more beams and colourful effects. There were no lights on the floor, which was a departure from the previous series where floor lighting was very prominent.
Ryan Lombard worked in conjunction with Alistair Richards who took care of all the white light elements. Lombard ran the show on a GrandMA2 light console while Richards ran the white lights on an onPC.
For strategic moments - e.g. as contestants answered questions - the LED changed colour, and specific lighting cues were also triggered via a MIDI signal sent to both Lombard’s GrandMA light and Richards’ onPC. Sitting on the same network was a VPU for graphics to the LED screens.
Pictured (left to right): Riaan Rademan (Senior RF/Sound Technician), Christiaan Ballot (Blond Productions owner), Donavon Blomerus (Technical Assistant), Ryan Lombardt (Lighting & AV Designer/Operator). (Photos: Mike Schmucker/Studio88 Photography)
Robe MiniPointes selected for Andres Cepeda’s Bogota shows
His long term lighting designer Nestor Gaitan - universally known as “Carinosito” (which roughly translates to Care Bear in English) - lit the show and used the theatre’s 12 x Robe MiniPointe moving lights which are part of the house lighting rig.
These were rigged on four vertical stands on tank trap bases, positioned two (stands) either side of a prominent central LED screen. The MiniPointes were used extensively throughout the show.
Cepeda’s large band for this series of shows was enriched with the sounds of a brass section. The musicians and backing vocalists were split between a raised deck above the LED screen and on the stage floor with Cepeda.
Gaitan programmed and controlled the MiniPointes plus all the other lights in the ‘top’ house rig, using the venue’s GrandMA2 console. He has worked for the artist for the last five years, touring frequently around Colombia and other Latam countries. Their standard touring rider contains only Robe moving lights.
The lighting is evolved working closely with video content producer Jonathan Ricardo Garcia who coordinates all the video elements including the playback run from a Resolume server.
(Photos: Louise Stickland)
Painting with Light creates lighting and video design for ‘Nachtwacht’ musical
Genk, Belgium-based design studio Painting with Light (PWL) was asked to create the lighting and video design for the first musical theatre production of Studio 100’s ‘Nachtwacht’ (Nightwatch) TV series, which is playing a 3-shows-a-day schedule during weekends across Belgium in 1500 and 2000 capacity theatres and arenas. Lighting was designed by PWL’s Jeroen Opsteyn.
The overall style of the lighting is moody and dark as most of the action takes place at night. The lighting kit was supplied by Phlippo. The production is using 16 of Phlippo’s proprietary URC 201 LED wash moving lights together with 22 x CLF Orion hybrid spot/beam fixtures. They are used for all the general washes, effects and specials.
They have also been hooking in to house lighting rigs at each venue, especially to get conventional front light, which is augmented with three of the Orions for key lighting the three main characters. The Orions are fitted with custom gobos.
PWL is supplying one of their Disguise D3 4x2 video servers to the tour for the video content, and commissioned Bart Tauwenberg from New Solid to create and supply the content to PWL’s direction. This was then programmed onto the server by PWL’s video specialist Katleen Selleslagh. The content and the lighting are closely matched in colour and texturing, and the D3 timeline cues triggered by the GrandMA lighting console so they coincide with specific lighting cues.
The main setting of the musical is a library in which three of the bookcases are digital - on three 5.7 mm pitch LED screens - one upstage with two smaller ones flanking it slightly downstage, and in between are scenic bookcases. Video runs through the whole show. Looking after lighting and video on the road for PWL is Arjan Grootenhuis.
(Photos: Sina Sohn)
Capital Sound’s new Wavefront Precision debuts with Eddie Izzard
Martin Audio has announced the first sale of its new Wavefront Precision WPS array into the rental community. The 8” ultra-compact system - featuring scalable resolution optimisation technology - met the requirements of its premier partner Capital Sound and has gone out on Eddie Izzard’s UK and Ireland tour.
Izzard has toured with Martin Audio PAs on many occasions in the past, but it was his sound engineer Alan Behr, a fan of the Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) technology on which it is based, who had requested the brand.
However, looking at the tour itinerary, Capital realised that while some venues would require the comedian to play through existing house systems, in others the restricted rigging and loading points would preclude the hanging of heavy incoming rigs.
“We had to look at lighter options, and besides that, we had been wanting to replace our old W8LM for a while,” says Capital account manager Robin Conway. “The 10” MLA Compact would have been too big and the 6” MLA Mini too small, whereas the 8” WPS was light weight, flexible and used MLA technology which Alan liked, so it ticked all the boxes.”
He noted that some venue rigging points would only support a few hundred kilos but with each WPS weighing just 27kg, a 12-box hang each side could be accommodated. The rig is powered by Capital’s newly-acquired Martin Audio iKON iK42 amplifiers in the most efficient 1-box resolution. The WPS is supported by four Martin Audio SX218 subs, two per side, with six DD6 front fills and four XD12 balcony fills.
Chauvet fixtures used for La Nuit des Musées at Château de Pau
Once a year, the Château de Pau in France invites the public to enjoy its art and artifacts at no charge as part of La Nuit des Musées (Night of Museums). In 2019, the experience was enlivened by song and dance from local youth groups.
The lighting design, retained by producer Avant Scene de Pau for the event, featured a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures which were supplied by AG Lum S.A.
Creating a transcendent glow on the stone walls of the château were 70 IP65 rated Well Fit uplighting fixtures. Grégory Alain of AG Lum and his team positioned the RGBA LED projectors at the base of the historic building. Inside the building, in the area devoted to art exhibits, the AG Lum team positioned four Ovation E-260WW ellipsoidal fixtures.
Robe illuminates Mazowsze
Mazowsze, the Polish State Folk Group of Song and Dance, was featured in Pawel Pawlikowski’s movie ‘Cold War’ in 2018, and just before that, it had invested in some of Robe’s Tarrantula LED wash beams, which met a tender specification that was initiated by technical manager and lighting designer Lukas Rúzewilz.
Their rehearsal and performance facility on the outskirts of Warsaw has been open since 2009, and Rúzewilz has worked there for a year, before which he was the technical manager of the Dramatic Theatre in Warsaw.
Mazowsze’s 600 capacity venue is funded by the government and, in addition to being home to the company, it stages several other dance, music, theatre, comedy and ballet shows, amounting to around 250 a year. All Mazowsze’s own touring shows are produced there before going on the road.
When Rúzewilz joined the production and technical team, the venue’s existing moving light rig was ten years old and in need of an upgrade, so he started the ball rolling on this process. A tender for new moving lights was offered to selected companies, and the section to provide LED wash lights was won by Robe’s Polish distributor Prolight with the Tarrantulas. Prolight supplied 24 Tarrantulas as part of the new package.
Lukas Rúzewilz lights all the productions that appear onstage at the venue, and has often worked with Robes on previous shows, including LEDWash 1200s. Twelve of the Tarrantulas are installed almost permanently in the venue above the stage and work most of the time, while the other twelve are used as and when needed. They work as a complement to the profile fixtures that were also part of the lighting upgrade.
Mazowsze already has some other Robe fixtures including 7 x MegaPointes, 24 x Cyc FX 8s and 16 x LEDWash 800s. The CycFX 8s are often used to up light backdrops, legs, borders and other ‘soft’ items or drapage, and these are all used frequently for the music shows staged there. Some of the Robes also go on the road for their tours.
(Photos: Piotr Pasieczny/Fotobueno/PZLPiT Mazowsze)
Rundbogendach von Cast beim Seefest in Schliersee im Einsatz
Die Laut und Hell GmbH mit Sitz im Süden von München betreut seit über zehn Jahren das Schlierseer Seefest und liefert Licht, Ton sowie die Bühne. Seit 2016 nutzt Laut und Hell zwei Cast ArcStages II. Beide Bühnen messen 8 x 6 Meter, wobei sich daraus auch eine größere Bühne bauen lässt.
Beim letztjährigen Seefest in Schliersee kam das Rundbogendach in einem kompakten Design zum Einsatz. Eine transparente Dachplane gab den Blick auf das Voralpenpanorama rund um den Schliersee frei. Die Bayern-1-Band gab den Auftakt zum dreitägigen Bühnenprogramm, welches im Juli 2019 rund 5.000 Besucher anlockte.
Für Laut-und-Hell-Geschäftsführer Florian Penzberger sei unter anderem das Abplansystem entscheidend bei der Wahl des Bühnendaches gewesen. Der bereits vorhandene Bestand an schwarzen Prolyte-H30V-Traversen, die zur Konstruktion des Bühnendaches herangezogen werden können, habe ebenfalls für die ArcStage II gesprochen. „Die Integration von Layher-Riegeln, Nivtec-Bühnenelementen und den Prolyte-Traversen funktioniert ideal mit diesem Bühnendach“, so Penzberger.
Genetic Productions chooses Elation for Morgan Wallen tour
Event production company Genetic Productions was out with Morgan Wallen as the country musician opened as direct support on Luke Combs’ ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour,’ a North American stretch including shows at 20,000-capacity Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Genetic again supplied an Elation rig for the singer after having supplied Wallen’s inaugural headlining tour in the previous year. Genetic serveed as the lighting and video vendor for the outing, working closely with designer Zac Coren.
The lighting rig included Elation Dartz 360 LED moving heads. Zac Coren, who served as lead LD, chose the Dartz as the main focal point of his design. “The entire rig fits in a single trailer pulled behind a bus,” says Genetic Productions President Andrew Sparks. “The design consists of four separate set carts and each cart serves as both the show and transport location for the lighting and LED video.”
Each set cart holds six Elation Dartz 360, two Cuepix Blinder WW2 fixtures, two ACL 360 Bar LED battens, and one 2 m tall x 1 m wide AV4 LED video wall from Elation sister company ADJ. “The carts are designed to allow the top panels, along with the two ACL 360s, to fold back,” Sparks explains. “Two carts were set on either side of the center-positioned drum riser, allowing for a symmetrical look that allowed for a wide backdrop to Morgan’s set.”
Coren adds that each cart was configured with the ACL 360 Bars mounted towards the top, whereas “the WW2 blinders were mounted low on the cart to help complete the picture when I added them in with whatever moles I was given in the house rigs. Having the WW2s low also created some dynamic looks like being able to create silhouettes on stage. The AV4 panels were configured in a 2 wide x 4 high configuration and added a backdrop to the stage.” The complete rig was made up of 24 Dartz 360, 8 ACL 360 Bars, 8 Cuepix Blinder WW2s and 32 AV4 IP LED panels.
(Photos: David Lehr)
Spanish festival triplet lit with Robe
Lighting and show designer Eduardo Valverde from Madrid-based Pixelmap Studios was this year’s creative director of the ‘Love the 90’s’ festival, which was staged in Madrid, Seville and Valencia. Valverde’s brief included imagineering the stage layout, set architecture including LED screens and the lighting.
Prominent on his lighting plot were around 150 Robe moving lights including Pointes, MegaPointes, LEDBeam 150s and LEDWash 800s, complete with three RoboSpot systems run with BMFL Spots, all supplied by rental company Fluge. Due to the different venues, the rig design varied slightly for all of the shows.
This year the stage design took on a new dimension as Eduardo Valverde and his team created a near 360° experience with a 45 metre wide stage and a 30-meter runway thrusting out from the front that sliced the near-stage audience into two, with a circular B-stage at the end.
Flying above this B-Stage was a 9-metre diameter ‘disco ball’ made up of curved trussing, rigged with lights and a think ring of LED. For some acts, the DJ booth was located on the B-stage, putting the performers right in the middle of the fans.
This 360-degree concept - in which production ‘wrapped’ around 270 degrees of the stage - leaving room only for a small amount of backstage and technical space at the back, was the starting point for the lighting as it meant there were multiple viewing and camera angles which needed to be covered with lights.
There was also a vast amount of LED screen flown around the stage - 380 square metres in total - including several ‘lozenge’ shaped pieces of screen, and there were also some circular lighting trusses which further defined the architecture and maintained the ‘curvature’ of the production aesthetics.
In Madrid, the show was staged at the 17,000 capacity WiZink Centre, a venue with serious load capacities in the roof. For the Valencia and Seville editions, a 20-metre-high ground support was installed and all the major production and architectural elements - including the disco ball - were flown from this.
Lighting was divided into three zones. The first one was above the main stage and included an overall mothergrid in the roof, with sub-hung circular trusses providing additional lighting positions. This zone also included the lozenge shaped video screens.
The second zone covered the runway. Trusses were flown above to provide lighting positions to cover the catwalk itself and the audience areas both sides of it. The third lighting area was around the DJ booth on the B-stage and the trussing ball that mimicked the disco ball of the 1990s, which itself was rigged with 48 Robe LEDBeam 150s to create dynamic beam effects. In addition to the Robes there were around 50 x LED floods on the rig plus 400 or so LED battens.
The most challenging element of this project was controlling and running over 600 fixtures of which at least 400 were moving or ‘intelligent’. Apart from the environment being virtually 360°, from the operating position it was impossible to see what is happening on all sides, so the set-up, programming and tech periods were complex.
Joining Valverde on his FOH crew were lighting programmer and operator Juan Manuel Lázaro and project manager Carlos Fernández. The lighting crew chief was Bochi Piaggio, the production’s own video artist team - producing their bespoke content - comprised David Inlines, Sergio Puig and Carlos F. All of Fluge’s Robe stock has been supplied by San Sebastian-based Spanish distributor EES.
(Photos: Aarón Alborés)
Arf & Yes runs 148 universe show for Juhuasuan with ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium
Arf & Yes from Ghent, Belgium, created the lighting design for Hangzhou, China-based JSTV’s 99 Juhuasuan Shopping Day Show. Hovering over the 40-meter wide by 45-meter deep stage, the show transfixed the audience at this happening by directing colorful beams of light to create a matrix of effects that was balanced against a captivating pixel wall.
Featuring 1,533 moving heads, 800 RGBW scenic lights, the show involved 148 universes and 49,515 parameters. This design was controlled by four ChamSys MagicQ MQ500 Stadium consoles without the need for any distribution nodes. The entire show was programmed on-site in a matter of days.
“There were three moving screens, two moving risers, and two catwalk elevators to give you an idea of the show’s size,” says lighting designer Timothy De Mets from Arf & Yes. “We worked with four consoles on the same network on the same show.”
The triangular configuration of lights on three levels positioned over the stage created a sense of depth. A highlight of the design was the 26-meter by 10-meter pixel wall that the Arf & Yes team created with the inbuilt MagicQ Pixel Mapper. “I used the Pixel Mapper with many layers with the addition of extra normal FX on the duplicated heads,” explains De Mets.
Elation Smarty Hybrids illuminate 50th annual GMA Dove Awards
Mark Carver, lead designer at Carver Lighting Design, based in Nashville, turned to Elation’s Smarty Hybrid moving head to help the GMA Dove Awards celebrate their 50th anniversary.
The show was held October 15th at Nashville’s Lipscomb University. With multiple awards to hand out and 20 performances to light across both a main and satellite stage, Carver - who has lit the awards show for the last few years - says diversity in looks was essential. “The Smarty Hybrids were the main workhorse fixture on the show,” he states.
Distributed across multiple levels on what the designer calls eye-candy trusses, 64 of the CMY color-mixing Smarty fixtures were sprinkled throughout the set, intertwined with set piece ladders and also used as an audience surround. Mostly used for beam and gobo looks, the designer also turned to the multi-functional moving heads for color accents.
One of the designer’s favorite looks was a narrow beam look that transitioned from amber to teal green, with another favorite a gobo look for artist Riley Clemmons in peach and magenta. Bandit Lites supplied lighting for the show.
Vari-Lite’s VL2600 Profile selected for ‘So You Think You Can Dance’
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Lighting designer Bob Barnhart chose 80 VL2600 Profile luminaires from Vari-Lite, a Signify entertainment lighting brand, as his “workhorse” tool for the 16th season of Fox’s TV show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’.
Produced by 19 Entertainment, Dick Clark Productions and Conrad Sewell Productions, the show saw around 900 dancers compete to be declared “America’s favorite dancer”. During the show’s final stages Barnhart needed to light almost eighty dances.
“A challenge that this particular show brought is a very short schedule,” he says. “We got twenty minutes to light each dance the day before the broadcast. No cameras, just the lighting department, the dancers and the choreographers.”
For Barnhart, the VL2600 Profile’s four-blade framing shutter system has been key to achieving a certain variety. “The shutters gave us a whole new tool to play with,” he says. “We used to have a custom square gobo, just to get away from the usual ‘dots’ look. Now we can make the square any size, and vary shapes from squares to triangles. It’s been really helpful in finding that variety we needed to separate each dance.” Barnhart positioned the majority of the VL2600 Profiles in his overhead rig.
(Photos: Fox)
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Herbert Grönemeyer mit Sennheiser-Equipment auf Tour
Mit Open-Air-Auftritten in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz hat Herbert Grönemeyer im Spätsommer 2019 seine Konzertreihe zum aktuellen Album „Tumult“ fortgesetzt. Die Stimme des Sängers wurde bei den Konzerten der Tournee mit Sennheiser-Digital-6000-Systemen übertragen.
Grönemeyer verwendet bereits seit Anfang 2019 Sennheiser-SKM-6000-Handsender, die mit Neumann-KK-204-Mikrofonköpfen (nierenförmige Richtcharakteristik) bestückt sind. Die digitalen Transmitter lösten bei ihm analoge Sennheiser SKM 5200 ab.
Bei den Shows der „Tumult“-Tournee standen für Herbert Grönemeyer insgesamt vier Drahtlosstrecken zur Verfügung, von denen zwei aktiv genutzt wurden, während zwei Übertragungsstrecken als Spares bereitstanden. Nach der Hälfte des abendlichen Sets erhielt der Sänger einen frischen Handsender. Zwischen den Tourneeauftritten wurden die in die Kapselköpfe integrierten Schaumstoffeinlagen sowie die Drahtgeflechte von der Ton-Crew gereinigt.
Nicht nur der Gesang von Herbert Grönemeyer, sondern auch alle anderen Stimmen wurden mithilfe der digitalen Drahtlossysteme von Sennheiser übertragen. Die den Backing-Vocals zugewiesenen SKM-6000-Handsender waren mit dynamischen Sennheiser-MD-9235-Kapseln versehen; die Akustikgitarren wurden mit SK-6000-Taschensendern übertragen, was gleichermaßen für das Saxofon galt.
Die Hand- und Taschensender kommunizierten mit Sennheiser-EM-6000-Doppelempfängern, die über ihre AES/EBU-Ausgänge mit dem digitalen Mischpultsystem verbunden waren. Ein einzelner Sennheiser-EM-6000-Doppelempfänger befand sich abgesetzt in einem Seitenbereich der Bühne und lieferte in der „Guitar World“ Signale für Profiling-Amps. Der entfernt vom Monitorplatz positionierte EM 6000 war über ein Netzwerkkabel in das Sennheiser-Gesamtsystem eingebunden, sodass Ferneinstellung und -überwachung mithilfe der WSM-Software möglich waren.
Der Sennheiser Wireless System Manager war am Monitorplatz auf einem Laptop installiert; unter anderem ließen sich hier die Ladezustände der Akkupacks kontrollieren. Mit Energie versorgt wurden die Akkus in vier L-6000-19“-Ladestationen, welche mit passenden Modulen (LM 6060 und LM 6061) für die BA 60 und BA 61 der Hand- und Taschensender ausgerüstet waren. Die Bühnen wurden auf der Tournee mit drei Sennheiser-Antennenpaaren (A 2003-UHF sowie AD 3700 mit schaltbarem Booster) abgedeckt.
Für die drahtlose Übertragung der Monitormischungen setzte die „Tumult“-Produktion ebenfalls auf Lösungen von Sennheiser. Verwendung fanden SR-2050-IEM-Rack-Doppelsender, die mit EK-2000-IEM-Bodypack-Empfängern betrieben wurden. Die Signale wurden über zwei zirkular polarisierte A-5000-CP-Wendelantennen abgestrahlt, welche in Kombination mit einem Sennheiser-AC-3200-Combiner eingesetzt wurden. Monitormischer war Christian „Chris“ Orth (Foto), Geschäftsführer der in Köln ansässigen O-Lab Audio GmbH.
Robe illuminates Hellfest
Nearly 300 Robe moving lights and seven RoboSpot systems were delivered by Melpomen (part of the B-Live Group) to the 2019 Hellfest French rock festival, complete with six BMFL LTs from rental company Novelty, claiming a ‘world first’ for the usage of these fixtures in a festival context. The event is staged annually at Clisson in Loire-Atlantique, France, with six dynamic stages of live action and over 100 artists performing.
Robe moving lights - 126 x BMFL WashBeams, 126 x MegaPointes, 12 x BMFL Blades and 6 x BMFL LTs plus 7 x RoboSpot control systems - were prominent across the two Main Stages (1 and 2), which production designer Tristan Szylobrit from Light & Day) was tasked with coordinating, together with the requirements of all the visiting LDs.
Szylobrit has been an operator on Mainstage 1 for several years and is also known for his role in designing the two Satanic Cathedrals, assisted by Technical Director Julien Recoque and WYSIWYG operator Julien Ferreiro. Main Stages 1 and 2 were built side by side so the daily running schedules could be ‘flip-flopped’.
Four of the six RoboSpot controlled fixtures were positioned on one of the Main Stage area delay towers which was stage right (house left), with the other two on a structural element located on the house right side of the audience space. Completing this arrangement were four BMFL Blades - eight in total - also RoboSpot controlled, mounted on the front truss of each stage. In total, seven RoboSpots Base Stations were used to control these 14 fixtures.
Three BaseStations were dedicated to the 8 x front truss BMFL Blades on the two stages and the other four for the 6 x BMFL LTs used on both Main Stages. Two of these were dedicated to the four BMFL LTs on the right side of the auditorium and two for the two on the left side.
The seven RoboSpot BaseStations - and their operators - were located under the stage. Master dimming, colours and effects were operated by Greg Valla positioned FOH running a dedicated house follow spot lighting console. The seven RoboSpot operators had control of the lights’ pan, tilt, iris and zoom functions.
Vincent Murzeau from Regie Lumière - also part of the B-Live Group - co-ordinated the follow spots with Greg Valla who also communicated with the bands’ own LDs and they constantly monitored feedback from the video team throughout the event. The RoboSpot network was partly designed by Yves Venet.
Each RoboSpot station was connected via an RJ45 port on a fibre switch console. The BMFL Blade controlling devices (for the front truss fixtures) were connected via DMX to the house lighting control console, with the BMFL LTs being directly connected to a “regie” switch station at front-of-house. All these elements were supplementary to the lighting network which was designed and set up by Anthony Le Fur.
Two fibre optic network loops were run between all the stages and control rooms. Seven pairs of fibre optics were available to hosted productions for direct and independent connections from the control room to each stage - all in addition to the existing loops dedicated to the basic equipment, RoboSpot control and video. Splitters were dedicated to the RoboSpots and other RDM devices.
(Photos: Jean-Luc Poumarat)
MDG supports ‘The Little Mermaid’ at Helsinki City Theatre
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The musical production of Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ at the City Theatre in Helsinki, Finland, plays in repertoire in the 950-seat main theatre for over 120 performances from August 2019 to Spring 2020, including the Christmas period. Helping to create the magical underwater atmosphere are haze, fog and low-fog generators from MDG.
The production has been put together by director Samuel Harjanne, set designer Peter Ahlqvist and costume designer Pirjo Liiri-Majava, all of whom are from Finland, and choreographer Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson from Sweden.
Characters are also brought to life with liberal use of flying, and puppetry from UK-based Stitches and Glue. The puppetry and flying demands haze coverage in all three dimensions, both to create atmosphere and also to mask and highlight the puppetry and set.
Helsinki City Theatre’s resident lighting designer of nine years, William Iles, chose MDG generators to create the necessary haze for this production, using an ATMe haze generator and TheOne dual-mode haze and fog generator for general ambience, and an Ice Fog Q with a Round Floor Pocket for low fog effects.
TheOne and the ATMe generator were already part of Helsinki City Theatre’s own equipment inventory, and are rigged on either side of the stage in a mid-position on the proscenium towers from where the haze spreads evenly thoughout the stage and auditorium.
The Ice Fog Q and its associated Round Floor Pocket (RFP) are both new to the Helsinki City Theatre and were supplied by MDG’s exclusive Finnish distributor Msonic Oy. The Ice Fog Q generator is located under the stage revolve, where it rotates with it, and the low fog is ducted out through the RFP situated centre stage.
(Photos: Robert Seger/Helsinki City Theatre)
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Hairston Touring Production lights up Rhett & Link with Chauvet
The design team of Rebecca and Bryan Hairston - owners of Hairston Touring Productions - delivered the lighting design for comedic musicians Rhett & Link when they stopped at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans this fall. Helping them were a group of Chauvet Professional Maverick, Rogue and Ovation fixtures supplied by See-Hear Productions.
The Hairstons’ rig featured 20 Maverick MK2 Spot fixtures, ten Rogue R2 Wash units, and six Ovation 910-FC ellipsoidals. They flew 12 of the Maverick units, along with the ten Rogue fixtures and four of the Ovation ellipsoidals, on overhead truss.
Drawing on the six position rotating gobo wheel of the Maverick MK2 Spot, they used the 440 W LED moving fixture to create mood-setting patterns on stage. At other points in the show, they served up concert-style looks.
Complimenting the Maverick units was the color wash from the Rogue R2 fixtures. Also contributing color to the stage, in addition to key lighting the artists, were the RGBA-Lime Ovation ellipsoidals. The remaining eight MK2 Spot fixtures and two Ovation 910-FC units were placed on deck, adding further depth to the middle of the stage.
With tight closeups of Rhett & Link showcased on a large split screen video, it was important for the lighting to carve out the duo visually when they were in front of this wall. The Hairstons used the Ovation 910-FCs to shape the direct environment, establishing front and back specials via profiles on the performers. The Rogue fixtures were used for front and back washes and to smooth out any unwanted shadowing.
Juan Luis Guerra on tour with Robe fixtures
Juan Luis Guerra recently kicked off his 2019 ‘Literal Juan Luis Guerra 4.40 Tour Grandes Éxitos’ with a complete Robe specification for the lighting rig, which has been designed by Daniel Charif and is being operated and directed on the road by Emmanuel Ferry, who also programmed.
Bogota’s new Movistar Arena provided the second stop on the tour, and Emmanuel Ferry had nearly the full complement of Robe moving lights supplied by the house technical providers - Columbian rental company Linea Estrategica - at his disposal.
Guerra’s touring specification includes 112 x Robe fixtures, a mix of BMFL Spots, BMFL WashBeams, MegaPointes and Spiiders. These are at the hub of the rig, augmented with around 75 other lights including more wash lights, strobes and 2-lite blinders.
The fixtures had to cut through a large expanse of 6 mm LED screen which isn’t just at the back; all the stage risers, set and steps are also fronted with LED, and they also have two side screens.
The lights in Bogota were rigged across three ‘goalpost’-style trusses onstage and a front ‘advance’ truss. The goalposts created a shrinking perspective look and offered up three sets of trussing side legs, ideal for hanging wash fixtures like the Spiiders in cross-lighting positions.
Ferry and Charif used a ChamSys MQ80 console. Video directors were Tabare Blanchard and Dennis Lozado.
(Photos: Louise Stickland)
Gerdon bestückt Nature One mit GLP KNV Cube, Line und Dot
Vom 2. bis 4. August 2019 feierte das Festival Nature One auf der ehemaligen Raketenbasis Pydna im Hunsrück sein 25-jähriges Jubiläum. Herzstück des Festival-Geländes war erneut der Open Air Floor. Wie auch in den Jahren zuvor zeichnete Gerdon Design hier für das gesamte Produktionsdesign verantwortlich.
Der Name des Floors ist Programm: Hier wird unter freiem Himmel getanzt, während sich der Großteil der Lichttechnik über den Köpfen des Publikums befindet - befestigt an einer Traversenkonstruktion von 26 x 26 Metern und einer Höhe von 15 Metern. Die Bühne maß 46 Meter Breite, 18 Meter Höhe und 16 Meter Tiefe. Die DJs fanden ihren Platz unter dem von der 2007er „Turn It On Again“-Tour von Genesis bekannten Bühnendach.
Die Veranstalter des Nature One entschieden sich für die Entwicklung einer neuen Designsprache mit Wiedererkennungswert, die in den Folgejahren weiterentwickelt werden soll. Wesentliches Gestaltungselement waren in diesem Jahr 48 Blechpyramiden (2 x 2 Meter), die direkt an die Layher-Konstruktion der Bühne angehängt worden sind. Diese waren seitlich mit LED-Panels (25 x 100 cm) und mittig mit jeweils einem GLP KNV Cube ausgestattet.
„Dadurch bekam die Bühne, die vorher nur aus LED-Screens und gelegentlichen Bannern bestand, erstmals eine wirklich dreidimensionale Optik“, berichtet Thomas Gerdon, Geschäftsführer von Gerdon Design und Lichtdesigner des Nature One.
Die Weißlicht-LED wurden vom Lichtpult aus, alle RGB-Elemente der KNV Cube hingegen mittels Pixelmapping über den Medienserver angesteuert. Insgesamt 24 KNV Dot, das kleinste Modell aus der KNV-Familie, setzte der Designer im Bühnendach ein und steuerte sie über das Lichtpult an. Hier sorgten die RGB-Pixel überwiegend für Washlight- und „Kamera Flair“-Effekte, während die Weißlicht-LED im Zentrum als Strobe diente.
KNV Lines mit jeweils fünf Power-Pixeln in einer Reihe setzte Thomas Gerdon über dem Dancefloor ein. „Wir verteilten 32 KNV Lines im Ground-Support und nutzten auch hier nur die Power, die wir wirklich brauchten, um diese Fläche wirkungsvoll zu bespielen“, erklärt er.
Thomas Gerdon wurde auf der Nature One von seinem Lighting Director Rando Lorenz und Licht-Operator Tobias Reinartz unterstützt. Um die Medienserver kümmerten sich die Operatoren Marek Papke und Artur Kechter. Jens Diefenbach war Technical Director, Oliver Reis von der Schoko Pro GmbH war als Project Manager vor Ort. Die Laser wurden von der Laserfabrik GmbH betreut.
(Fotos: Ralph Larmann)
Chauvet beleuchtet Preisverleihung für Otto Waalkes
Bei der diesjährigen Gala des Vereins Kinderlachen Ende November in der Dortmunder Westfalenhalle unterstützte die Deutschland-Niederlassung des amerikanischen Schweinwerfer-Spezialisten Chauvet Professional die hochwertige Veranstaltung mit unterschiedlichen Licht-Installationen. Insgesamt kamen 120 Lampen von Chauvet Professional zum Einsatz: Damit ist das Unternehmen in diesem Jahr einer der größten Unterstützer.
Seit 2002 unterstützt der Kinderlachen e.V. schwer kranke Kinder in den unterschiedlichsten Einrichtungen. Dazu zählen neben Kindergärten, -kliniken, -hospizen, und -tagesstätten auch Einrichtungen, die von der öffentlichen Sparwelle betroffen sind. Krönender Abschluss der im deutschsprachigen Raum unternommenen Aktivitäten ist die jährlich stattfindende Kinderlachen Gala in der Dortmunder Westfalenhalle, die am 30. November bereits zum 15. Mal stattfand.
So feierte man nicht nur die stolze Summe von weit mehr als 700.000 Euro an Spendengeldern, sondern zeichnete auch das Engagement prominenter Unterstützer des Vereins aus. Den Ehrenpreis erhielt in diesem Jahr der Komiker Otto Walkes, der seit vielen Jahren neben verschiedenen Hilfsorganisationen für bedürftige Kinder auch den Verein Kinderlachen unterstützt. Im vergangenen Jahr stellte Otto drei handgemalte und -signierte Bilder für die Gala-Auktion zur Verfügung.
Chauvet Professional unterstützt mit 120 Scheinwerfern
Die technische Realisierung der Veranstaltung übernahm auch in diesem Jahr Malkus Veranstaltungstechnik aus Iserlohn. Trust Event aus Frechen unter Leitung von Sebastian Huwig sorgte für das Lichtdesign. Beide Firmen waren bei der Umsetzung auf die Unterstützung verschiedenster technischer Dienstleister angewiesen. Das vermutlich größte Engagement mit 120 eingesetzten Leuchten kam dabei in diesem Jahr vom amerikanischen Scheinwerferhersteller Chauvet Professional.
P2 Veranstaltungstechnik aus Greven stellte 50 Maverick MK3 Wash, Eventtechnik Südwestfalen aus Meschede 70 Epix Strip IP zur Verfügung. Das hiermit umgesetzte Lichtdesign verlieh der Bühne einen dynamischen und visuell eindrucksvollen Charakter. Im Decken-Truss befanden sich die MK3 Wash mit jeweils 27 40W Osram RGBW LEDs ausgestatteten MK3 Wash sorgten vor allem durch ihre durchgängige Farbkonstanz für eine ausgeglichene farbliche Ausleuchtung der insgesamt in drei Segmente unterteilten Podiumsfläche. Links und rechts von der Bühne wurde das flexible Epix Strip-System von Chauvet Professional platziert. Diese boten mit unterstützem Pixelmapping vielfältige Möglichkeiten der Effektgestaltung.
"Ohne die großzügige Unterstützung unserer beiden Partner P2 Veranstaltungstechnik und Eventtechnik Südwestfalen wäre eine derart gelungene und eindrucksvolle Umsetzung der Gala kaum möglich. Die von ihnen zur Verfügung gestellten Fixtures von Chauvet Professional waren ein wichtiger Bestandteil des diesjährigen Lichtdesigns", resümiert Sebastian Huwig. "Wir alle sind jedes Jahr wieder stolz darauf, einen Beitrag zur wichtigen Arbeit des Vereins Kinderlachen auf diesem Weg leisten zu dürfen!"
Fotos: Oliver Pohl
www.chauvetprofessional.eu
Martin MLA takes top four stages at South West Four
Celebrating its 16th year at the Clapham Common site, South West Four is a familiar August Bank Holiday destination for London’s clubbers. This year it again welcomed the House of Commons Festival, curated by Madness, onto two of its stages for Bank Holiday Monday itself.
The event’s long-serving sound production company Capital Sound were again brought in by promoters Lock ‘N’ Load Events, and of the five stages they equipped, Martin Audio PA systems dominated the first four.
Capital upgraded Stage 3 from MLA Compact last year to the full MLA, flying eight elements (plus an MLD Downfill box) on either side of the stage. “Although the speaker complement was roughly the same as before we needed more horse power to deal with reflections at the back of the tent,” says Capital account manager Martin Connolly.
The Capital FM main stage saw 13 MLA and a single MLD Downfill flown on each wing with a single mast of symmetrical outfills (comprising eight MLA Compact elements) on the downstage edge. Providing the low frequencies were 20 MLX subwoofers, designed in a broadside cardioid array while those near the front had the sound enhanced by 12 Martin Audio W8LM near-field speakers.
Stages 2 and the smaller Stage 3 comprised an identical MLA/MLD formula with 12 MLX subwoofers in a spaced cardioid array, and four Martin Audio XD12 for front fills. The 40 m x 45 m Stage 4 tent saw the PA ground-stacked, with six MLA Compact on each side, atop four SX218 subs; these were in 2 x 2 end fire configuration, due to space constraints.
Martin Connolly was supported by a team of Capital technicians, headed by crew chief Tim Patterson. System tech was Joseph Pearce and monitor engineer was Marty Beath, while Richard Wonnacott was head stage patch. Overall production manager was Alex Anderson.
Smoke and Mirrors picks VUE AL-12 for Chella latin music festival
Full production services for this year’s Chella Music Festival - held at the Riverside County Fairgrounds of Indio, California, and produced by Goldenvoice - were provided by long-standing Goldenvoice collaborator Smoke and Mirrors SVL, Inc., who deployed a VUE AL-12 Acoustic Linearity line array system for the event.
“I’ve been involved with the Coachella festival for nearly twenty years, but this was our first year handling everything at Chella, including lighting, video and audio,” explains Sean Lyons, CEO of Smoke and Mirrors.
For the 5000-capacity venue, Lyons’ design incorporated left and right VUE AL-12 arrays of eight elements on each. Low frequency was delivered by 12 VUE HS-221 dual 21-inch ACM subwoofers positioned at ground level across the front of the stage. Four AL-8 acoustic elements were placed across the top of the subs for front fill.
VUEDrive V Series System Engines provided all power and processing for the AL-12 and AL-8 elements, while onboard VUEDrive electronics powered the subs. Allen & Heath dLive consoles handled both front of house and monitor mixes. Several visiting engineers piloted the VUE array throughout the day, and Lyons reports that the VUE AL-12 will soon be a permanent member of his rental inventory.
(Photos: Smoke and Mirrors SVL, Inc.)
The Design Oasis and Helm Projects use Chauvet fixtures at Suwannee Huluween
This October, the Suwanee Huluween Festival, a three day event located in Florida’s Suwannee Music Park, featured over 200 Chauvet Professional fixtures throughout the grounds as well as at two of the stages. The fixtures were supplied and installed by The Design Oasis.
Abbas Ritscher and his team at The Design Oasis, which included John Hollignshead and Joe Donnelly, positioned 150 Colorado 1-Tri IP fixtures around the lake that served as the “festival centerpiece.”
They used the RGB fixture to wash monsters, goblins, mad beasts and other freakish figures in a range of scary colors. Drawing on the Rogue fixture’s 16-bit master dimmer, they also relied on the interplay of moving light and shadows to endow the ghoulish scenery with menacing sense of animation.
In addition to illuminating scenic elements, the Colorado units were used to direct light on the lake itself as well as the surrounding trees to impart a haunting sense to the festival grounds. Ritscher also installed the fixtures on the festival’s Lake Stage, which was designed by Andy Caroll.
At Suwanee Huluween’s big Amphitheatre Stage, Justin Casey of Helm Projects and his programmer Alex ‘Herm’ Schneider called on a collection of 30 Rogue R1 FX-B fixtures, also supplied by The Design Oasis.
Casey’s design called for twenty of the 5-headed Rogue R1 FX-B units to be positioned (five apiece) on each of the four PA scaffold towers that flanked the stage, two on each side, with the remaining ten being arranged vertically and horizontally on upstage truss. With the five moving heads on each Rogue R1 FX-B being aimed in various directions.
Elite Event Technology selects Robe for Naidoc Awards
Elite Event Technology from Canberra, Australia, supplied lighting equipment and crew for the 2019 Naidoc Awards which celebrated the history, culture and outstanding achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The event featured a mix of live performance and awards presentations and was hosted by media personalities Sean Choolburra and Elaine Crombie at the National Convention Centre Canberra in front of a live audience of 1,200 and broadcast live on SBS’s NITV channel.
The lighting design by Tom Wright featured an all-Robe moving light rig with 12 x BMFL Spots, 12 x BMFL WashBeams, 26 x LEDWash 300+’s, 12 x LED Wash600s and 14 x MMX Spots. It was the first time that Elite had been a technical supplier, working for main event producers 33Creative and 38Ten who coordinated all the technical direction.
Elite’s managing director Darren Russell and his team took a detailed brief from lighting designer Tom Wright and technical director Peter Quinlan of 38Ten and constructed the lighting rig to their specifications.
Stage depth was limited as video was squeezed into the space. The curved front stage had a small thrust emanating from the middle, and above this were two semi-circular rings of trussing created with straight pieces rigged in a curved shape, with another gentler V-shaped truss further upstage.
Most of the BMFL Spots, BMFL WashBeams supported by the MMX Spots were positioned on these for good coverage of the stage. The ones on the outer ring could also swing around and highlight the audience.
BMFL Wash Beams were also chosen to balance the lighting levels for camera against the five columns of LED screen which were prominent onstage. Tom Wright operated lighting for the show using a GrandMA2.
(Photos: Elite Event Technology)
Arenal Sound celebrates 10th anniversary with DAS Audio systems
Since its inception in 2010, DAS Audio has been delivering sound in all the editions of the Arenal Sound festival in Spain. In 2019, more than 300,000 people attended the event, and the venue was enlarged 10,000 square meters.
In this last edition, DAS Audio has been on all the stages deploying the necessary equipment to cover the acoustic needs. Audioprobe, the company responsible for the sound system and its installation at the festival, deployed on the Desperados main stage thirty-two Aero-40A, eighteen flown UX-218A sub-woofers and six stacked UX-221A as the main system.
Twelve Aero-40A were used as outfill and sixteen Aero-40A as frontfill, as well as eighteen Aero-40A for the first delay and fourteen Aero-40A for the second. The main stage required a projection of 150 meters, so the system was optimized with DASaim to provide even coverage in all the listening areas.
On the Negrita stage, twenty-four Aero-50 and eighteen UX-221 as the main system, plus twelve Aero-50 as delay, eight Aero-40A as frontfill and twelve Aero-20A as outfill were deployed. The Beach Club stage, devoted to electronic music, used as the main system twenty-four Aero-50, twelve UX-221A and ten Aero-40A as frontfill.
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