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I Art Nouveau transforms with Chauvet Professional Well STX 360 fixtures from AudioMaster
25/03/2025
Robe helps unmask in Brazil
20/03/2025
Nashville’s “Big Bash” lit with Robe
28/02/2025
360-degree symphonic spectacle puts DiGiCo consoles at its heart in a first for Polish music
27/02/2025
“Afrikaans is Groot” powered by DiGiCo
24/02/2025
Kaytranada tourt mit GLP Impression X5 IP Bars
Auf der „Timeless“-Welttour des kanadischen DJs und Produzenten Kaytranada hat Lichtdesigner Jaycob Luque insgesamt 156 GLP Impression X5 IP Bars eingesetzt. Ergänzend nutzte er 24 GLP-JDC1-Hybrid-Strobes, bereitgestellt von Matt Brotz und LEC Event Technology.
„Ich habe mich gefragt: Was würde ich mir als Zuschauer bei diesen Shows wünschen? Welche Farben passen zu welchen Songs?“, erklärt Luque seine Herangehensweise. „Mit Kaytranadas künstlerischen Wachstum konnte auch ich mich weiterentwickeln und in den letzten drei Jahren die meisten seiner Shows gestalten.“ Die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Künstler sei dabei unkompliziert gewesen - Kaytranada ist seit seinem fünfzehnten Lebensjahr bekennender Lichttechnik-Fan.
Auch die Zusammenarbeit mit LEC, Luques bevorzugtem Partner, habe sich ausgezahlt, unter anderem in Bezug auf die Impression X5 IP Bars: „Matt (Brotz) hat spezielle Halterungen angefertigt, sodass sie an der Traverse perfekt ausgerichtet sind und eine durchgängige, gleichmäßige Linie bilden“, erklärt Luque. Das gesamte Set-Design ist auf diese Struktur abgestimmt: Vertikale Türme und horizontale Linien umhüllen die Bühne.
„Die X5 IP Bar bildet die Basis“, so Luque weiter. „Links und rechts ragen die Lichttürme von der Bühne bis zur Decke, horizontale Linien verlaufen von vorne nach hinten, während die gesamte Deckenkonstruktion auf automatisierten Traversen montiert ist.“ Auch die Bühnenkante wird von einer durchgehenden Lichtlinie gesäumt, während weitere fünf Reihen in die Tiefe führen und so ein dreidimensionales Lichtszenario schaffen.
Für Kaytranadas Key-Light nutzt Luque die Zoom-Funktion der X5 IP Bars, mit kreativer Freiheit, wie er erklärt: „Manchmal setze ich den Zoom ein, um ihn auf eine bestimmte Art zu beleuchten, die über die klassische Frontausleuchtung hinausgeht. Egal aus welcher Entfernung, ich erziele immer eine gleichmäßige Lichtwirkung.“ Was das Programmieren betrifft, sagt Luque: „Die X5 IP Bar fühlt sich an wie eine X4 Bar, nur mit mehr kreativen Möglichkeiten.“ Er nutzt hauptsächlich GLPs Mode 4 MultiPix Advanced mit 84 DMX-Kanälen und programmiert den Großteil selbst.
Unterstützt wurde er dabei von Jake Hett, der auch die Show steuerte, während Luque als Tour-Show-Director fungierte. Weitere Schlüsselfiguren des Teams waren Eddie Perez, Bethany Vargas, Tamir Schlanger und Von Ford (Kreativ- und Content-Design), Ivan Ceron (Visual Director), Nate Rogers (LEC-Produktionsleiter) sowie Olive Ball und Josh Gordon (Lichttechniker). Tourmanager war Tamir Schlanger, Eliza Willburger die Produktionskoordinatorin und Nate Rebolledo der Produktionsleiter.
(Fotos: Patrick Le/Sabrina Poei/Julio Torres/The Illiterate Eye/Mr Blank)
Corbin Alvae sets fun mood for Alexandra Kay tour with Chauvet
Alexandra Kay’s lighting designer, Corbin Alvae, saw a stylized heart in an advertisement - it struck him with a vision of the perfect set piece for his client’s current 30-city “Cupid’s A Cowgirl” tour. “The concept for this design really came when AK talked about this being the start of a new phase of her career”, recalls Alvae. “We called it the ‘Lover Girl Era’.”
“So, when I was designing this with her and her management, I wanted something to stand out as a good center prop to bring this show together”, he continues. “One day visiting home in Michigan for the holidays, I drove by a massive red heart, and it just hit me with a lot of inspiration to tie together not only the tour’s name, ‘Cupid’s A Cowgirl’, but also the love aspect that a heart can bring and the joy of what being loved feels like.”
Drawing up his idea in previz, Alvae took two curved aluminum pipes with extensions, and mounted them to a couple heavy duty base plates to bring his vision to life. “We went through two or three different versions until the final fabrication that’s seen on this tour stuck”, he says. “Considering that some of the rooms we’re playing have trim height restrictions, along with stage restrictions, we had to make sure it fit every venue. At the same time, the heart had to be big enough to have an impact.”
Helping to ensure that Cupid’s heart, along with the rest of the set, has the desired “big impact” is a collection of Chauvet Professional Colorado fixtures supplied by Bandit Lites. Most prominent in this group are twelve PXL Curve 12 RGBW motorized battens, which are positioned throughout the rig. “The PXL Curve 12s are a go-to fixture for us on this tour”, he says. “I have them scattered everywhere - six hang out downstage to give some really fun looks for fans, whereas the others are mid stage by the risers, and also are rigged inside of eight-foot truss.”
The remaining Colorado fixtures (PXL Bar 8 motorized battens and RGBAW pixel mappable Solo Battens) are also well represented in the rig.
(Photos: Chauvet Professional/Stephanie Siau/Steph Media LLC)
Claypaky Volero Cubes make Dutch debut at Son Mieux concerts in Amsterdam
Dutch indie pop group Son Mieux played two sold-out shows at Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome recently where 32 Claypaky Volero Cubes, provided by AED Group Netherlands, made their country-wide debut. Lighting and Set Designer Jasper Nijholt of Jasper Nijholt Lighting Design was tasked with creating a lighting and stage design that would have an open and layered appearance with dynamic elements visible throughout the show.
His lighting design offered ways to evolve throughout the evening beginning with just floor lighting, a centerpiece above the band and light from the band riser. “In the first part of the show, the Volero Cubes were a real eye-catcher creating backlighting behind the band”, says Nijholt. “They were also used for narrow beam effects in the air and to add power to the musical accents with the strobe lines.”
It was his intention to use only white tones of light, ranging from CTB to CTO and everything in between. “The ability to connect the fixtures very closely together was exactly what I needed for this design”, he says. “The overall setup consisted of blocks of fixtures, and I was looking for an eye-catching element near the band, a row of lights that would connect the band riser to the surrounding design.”
By illuminating the venue from the band riser, the Volero Cubes had a prominent position in Nijholt’s lighting design. “They provided exactly what I hoped for: beautiful looks with high output. In relation to the entire lighting rig, I sometimes had to reduce the intensity on the lighting console to keep everything balanced, as the Cubes have plenty of power.”
Nijholt gives kudos to Hans van de Wiel and Jelmer Dijkshoorn at AED Group Netherlands for providing the fixtures and Ampco Flashlight Group for their installation on site. Special thanks go to Claypaky, he says, for being “incredibly helpful from the moment I reached out to them about using their fixtures for the shows and for allowing me to be the first lighting designer in the Netherlands to use the Volero Cubes”.
Members of Nijholt’s team at the Ziggo Dome included Lighting Programmers Bob Walraven and Mike Driessen, Associate Lighting Designer Glenn Neyndorff and Assistant Lighting Designer Stef Oude Nijhuis.
(Photos: Jessie Kamp)
Follow-Me brings performer tracking to “Mamma Mia! The Party” Rotterdam
“Mamma Mia! The Party” in Rotterdam is an immersive theatrical show that combines the successful “Mamma Mia!” theatre production with a dining experience. Set in a Greek taverna with the entire venue being used as the set, the show invites audiences to become part of the action, interacting with the cast and enjoying a meal while the story unfolds around them.
With lively performances, ABBA music, and a mix of comedy and drama, “Mamma Mia! The Party” creates an environment that blurs the line between audience and performers. The Follow-Me Track-iT system was chosen to track the performers through the venue, adjust lighting automatically and replace the need for manual follow-spots. The system combines RF tags worn by performers and strategically placed anchors to provide real-time positioning data, and its capabilities perfectly aligned with the vision of industry legend Patrick Woodroffe.
“We needed a robust system that could handle the complexity of this show, with its constant movement of cast members across the audience and stage”, says Woodroffe. “The Follow-Me Track-iT system provides exactly that, allowing us to use multiple or individual lighting units in a way that would have been impossible with conventional follow-spotting.”
Woodroffe also highlights the system’s adaptability: “One of the standout features of the Follow-Me Track-iT system is its ability to integrate seamlessly into any lighting rig, no matter how complicated. The system gives us more creative flexibility and ensures that no matter where the action goes, the lighting remains as dynamic as the performance itself. It’s truly a game-changer for shows that push the limits of live lighting.”
The production’s lighting team worked under Technical Direction of Jeroen Frijters, along with Alex Marshall as Associate Designer, Greg Iannarilli as Show Operator, and Jasper van Eyck as System Tech, with Pascal Schutijser serving as the main Lighting Systems Tech for the show. The Follow-Me system was supplied by Events Light.
(Photos: Follow-Me)
I Art Nouveau transforms with Chauvet Professional Well STX 360 fixtures from AudioMaster
The Parisian period of painter-illustrator Alfons (Alphonse) Mucha’s life serves as the inspiration for I Art Nouveau, a visual experience from the creators of the show Vivaldianno, led by Michal Dvorak, a member of the Czech rock band Lucie.
The 90-minute I Art Nouveau show takes 21st century audiences at Prague’s Hybernia Theatre on a journey back in time to Art Nouveau’s golden age in Paris. There is music, dance, animation, acrobatics - all of them seamlessly blended together to create an immersive sense of a lost world.
Lighting designer Lukas Patzenhauer uses a collection of twenty-four Chauvet Professional Well STX 360 tubular fixtures supplied by AudioMaster CZ a.s. The battery operated Well STX fill several roles in I Art Nouveau’s stage - arranged in a variety of configurations depending on the performance, the pixel mappable RGB fixtures create a colorful geometric backdrop to fit the theme of each particular act.
For one dance the fixtures may be arranged horizontally, only to be reconfigured vertically for the next. Symmetrical configurations that define the stage at one point may give way to asymmetrical arrangements, depending on the mood of the moment. At times, the fixtures are held by the dancers as they become a dynamic part of their choreography.
“During the performance, we create a luminous scene from the tubes, where they are in a different position or formation for each painting”, says Patzenhauer. “This flexibility was especially crucial during frequent scene changes, when tubes were used not only as part of a static scene, but also as a dynamic element in the dances.”
(Photos: Zuzana Havlinova, Fotohavlin.cz)
Professional Wireless Systems delivers seamless audio support at Premio Lo Nuestro
When Univision presented the 37th annual Premio Lo Nuestro at the Kaseya Center in Miami, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS) was onsite to handle frequency coordination and supply all wireless microphones, IFBs, IEMs and intercom for this year’s Latin music awards show. PWS managed frequency coordination and equipment for the entertainment program, including the red-carpet festivities, livestream and main event.
“We have supported this event for thirty consecutive years and continue to evolve our technology package to meet the challenges of the changing RF environment and the needs of the event”, says Jim Van Winkle, General Manager, PWS. “Our team continues to provide seamless frequency management and select optimum equipment to make certain the show runs smoothly in Miami’s complex RF environment.”
For this year’s production, the PWS intercom team, which consisted of Kasey Gchachu and Justin Van Winkle, ensured seamless communication and performance between the main event and the pre-show red carpet. The team utilized ninety packs of Riedel Bolero wireless intercom. PWS also provided specially licensed antennas, deploying twenty units throughout the arena, red carpet, media center and backstage dressing rooms. These antennas were strategically placed to guarantee comprehensive coverage across all key areas.
RF mics, IEMs and IFBs were handled by James and Elise Stoffo with James Stoffo handling overall coordination for the main show and livestream. He called for the use of seven different frequency bands, which included Shure Axient Digital G57, K54, X55 and Sennheiser A1 to A4 for mics, G10 for Shure IEMs, Comtek TV5/6 for IFBs and Lectrosonics Block 24 for IFBlue listen-only packs.
Pictured: PWS team - Elise Stoffo, Kasey Gchachu (standing), James Stoffo (seated), Jim Van Winkle, Justin Van Winkle (left to right). (Photos: PWS)
Minigigs and Martin Audio turn sports arena into gala awards and party venue
The Sportcampus Zuiderpark is an indoor sports arena located in The Hague, The Netherlands. Opened in 2017, it is used for several indoor sports and the main 3,500-cap hall is the home arena of professional basketball club The Hague Royals. Every year, just before Christmas, the venue hosts the annual Sportgala, which recognises the achievements of local athletes and sports teams, as well as coaches, referees and volunteers.
Also based in the Hague region is Roel Bik’s rental supply company Minigigs, who were contracted to provide sound, light, video and rigging. While Bik has reinforced many sports events at the arena, the challenge this time was to convert a cavernous and reverberant multipurpose sports hall into a chameleon “theatre” type venue by providing a constantly changing technical infrastructure. This would initially support the formal awards presentation, before enabling the audience of 1100 people to make its way from the stalls and bleachers down to the main floor for the after-party.
A curtain then lowered to form a partition between those wishing to engage with the dance sounds of the DJ (replacing the live band of earlier), and the corporate dignitaries preferring to engage in polite conversation on the other side of the curtain, immune from the high SPL. Minigigs had to maintain intelligibility and mitigate against reflections and feedback from roaming presenters with head-worn mics.
The rental company had replaced its previous frontline speaker inventory a year ago with Martin Audio. “The main reason for moving to Martin Audio is that they have a solution for each of the projects we do”, says Bik. “We use Torus for a number of venues where we need the width of coverage, and the ceilings are low, and we need to direct the angle of the speaker. CDD-Live we use for applications where we need little cabling, and use Dante for getting the sound to the speakers. But just as important as good equipment is good service and our relationship with Martijn de Jong (at distributors Ampco) - and their experience with Martin Audio - was key.”
Minigigs had previously used their old line array in earlier editions. “But it had two downsides”, says Bik. “First, we needed an awful lot of speakers to achieve the coverage across the entire room, and with so many we sacrificed a lot of height so people walking in the area of the speakers with their headset microphones risked feedback. Now with the wide coverage and small boxes of Torus we can adjust the horn angle to optimise the sound and project directly at the audience instead of the walls.”
For this event, main L/R hangs comprised three Torus T1215 a side. “We then used a pair of 8in Torus speakers (T820) for centre fill and six for delays. We could deploy them above the LED screen without being in line of sight”, says Bik. Minigigs also deployed eight SXCF115 cardioid subwoofers in the centre of the arena. “We want to use cardioid subs for all our events”, he continues. “Low end coming back onto the stage when you have a presentation is not nice for the people presenting, nor at a live event when you want to get the lows to the audience without disturbing the neighbourhood.” This entire rig was driven by a combination of five iKon iK42 process-controlled amps.
Reflecting on the event and how the sound had remained continuously optimised and without coloration, Bik attributes the success largely to the prep work carried out by Martijn de Jong in Martin Audio’s Display3 visualisation software. “We made several renders and that’s how we determined all the subs should be positioned in the centre”, he says. De Jong, who worked as de facto system engineer on the night, adds: “We would only just get the first row in the coverage area and that was exactly the case when we were tuning the system. If we took one step forward from the first row, we would walk out of the coverage area.”
Minigigs serviced everything mostly from their own inventory, with the exception of some minor support from fellow Martin Audio network members Stairway.
(Photos: Martin Audio/Wouter Vellekoop)
Ayrton lighting, MDG atmospherics and GrandMA3 lighting control selected for Luke Combs’ fourth Australian tour
Lighting designer Kevin Northrup chose an array of Ayrton fixtures, MDG TheOne and Atmosphere HO foggers/hazers and GrandMA3 consoles for singer-songwriter Luke Combs’ recent stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand.
The Winston Salem, North Carolina-based Northrup has been working with Combs since his headline arena show in Asheville in 2017 and was lighting designer for Combs’ 2023 Australian arena tour. The new tour, the first for a country artist headlining a full stadium tour in Australia and New Zealand, played eight dates in January and February 2025 in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
The show continued the look established by production designer Ollie Metcalfe for Combs’ 2023 North American stadium tour. “We knew that looked good, would work and fit the timeline we had”, says Northrup. “Luke likes to do really big colour looks: He’s a fan of red and white and the stronger and more saturated the colour the better. He plays everything from ballads to solo acoustic to heavy-hitting honky tonk, and I try to build moments and match the energy of what he’s doing while never overstepping.”
Northrup had used Ayrton Khamsin, Zonda 9 FX, Perseo Beam and Domino LT fixtures on Combs’ North American stadium tour. He reprised the Domino LTs for Australia, added Perseo Profiles and utilized Rivale Profiles for the first time. “I used the Rivales as audience eye-candy”, he explains. “We had six on each of six ladders plus 20-odd on the downstage truss. They were way brighter than the fixtures we had previously, so they gave us extra fire power.”
Northrup mounted two lines of 34 Perseo Profiles in an arc above the set. “I used them as band down lights, audience light and for stage washes”, he says. “I also pulled out twelve and dedicated them to rear follow spot action. Kind of a hallmark for Luke is having light from above that’s like an arrow pointing to where he is onstage.”
Northrup placed eight Domino LT fixtures on the floor on each side of the stage and hung eight more, six of which acted as FOH spots and two as specials on the end of the tuning fork-shaped thrust. The New Zealand rig was slightly different with the Ayrton fixtures consisting of Domino LT spots and Rivale Profiles mounted on ladders.
The New Zealand and Australian dates all used MDG hazers. Two MDG TheOne foggers/hazers were deployed in Auckland and six active Atmosphere HO haze machines in the Australian stadiums. “MDG TheOne is my go-to hazer, but they were hard to get in quantity”, Northrup says of the different units used. “TheOne has a variable output in fog mode. I like to have a constant flowing haze and build in fog bursts with TheOnes.”
Northrup brought a GrandMA3 full-size system and two processing units from SES in the US, and added another full and a light once on site. The full-size units controlled lighting from FOH while the light served as a tech desk. An OnPC system ran as part of the follow spot process. Lighting in New Zealand was supplied by Spot-light Systems; lighting in Australia was furnished by PRG.
(Photos: Kevin Northrup)
Robe helps unmask in Brazil
Lighting designer and DOP Alexandre “Alê” Augusto created a lighting scheme for the latest series of “The Masked Singer” in Brazil, with his rental company, Spectrun Design e Iluminação, supplying the lighting equipment and production.
The fifth season of the music TV show was recorded at Banijay Studios in the Guarulhos area of Sao Paulo, and Augusto collaborated closely on the design side of this project with another of Brazil’s leading lighting designers, Serginho Antonio. Both are keen users of Robe moving lights and LED products.
Prominent on Augusto’s lighting plot were twenty TetraXs - the first in Brazil - which were rigged on a shaped and automated truss that moved in and out to create different architectural looks in the studio. Augusto used MMX WashBeams for key lighting the judges and six of Spectrun’s 24 new Paintes which replaced bulkier spotlights from another brand as “deck candy” on the floor behind the artists, and often visible in shots.
Augusto has lit “The Masked Singer” since it started in Brazil, but the 2024 series was the first in this specific studio. He and Antonio worked with set designer Ludmila Machado and director Marcelo Amiky to create Brazil’s own look for the “Masked Singer” franchise. Augusto, Machado and Amiky regularly work as a creative team and have designed some of the highest-profile shows on Brazilian television.
Lighting needed to be big and pop-tastic, fitting to a sumptuous glossy-floor production with plenty of theatrical twists. Flexibility was the cornerstone of the lighting design for Augusto, who endeavours to make each series look different and within that, each of the individual artist performances. Time is always the challenge with this show, with four weeks of recording sandwiched in between eight rehearsal sessions to produce the twelve episodes, from which one winner emerges from sixteen finalists. Combining the moving lights (including others on the rig) with the automation enabled a set of unique structural looks to be achieved for each performance.
Positioning the TetraXs on a moving truss meant Augusto could get far more out of the fixtures than them just being effects in their own right. He leaned into the potential of the pixel and flower effects and the continuous pan. The Paintes - also recently delivered by Robe’s Sao Paulo-based distributor HPL - were on the floor, set up close to the many LED screens that made up the set structural elements.
Used for backlighting the artists, they were in shot much of the time. Augusto notes that the output of the previous fixtures in this position almost disappeared as soon as a colour went in. “It is vital for the cameras that we don’t suddenly lose intensity”, he says. Ten MMX WashBeam fixtures were rigged to come in from the front with three from each side to nicely key the judges, with the framing shutters being handy here as some of the fixtures were around thirty metres away.
Augusto worked on programming the show with operator Kelton “Ere” John - the pair have worked together on it for two years. Taking on the DOP role as well as lighting designer meant that Augusto looked after the key lighting, while John took care of programming all the moving and effects fixtures.
Augusto has been a lighting professional since 2006 and started working at Spectrun in 2014. The company was originally founded in the 1980s, and he has been the sole director of the company since 2020, when his then-business partner retired. Spectrun’s first Robe acquisitions were MMX WashBeams and LEDWash 600s around ten years ago. The Paintes and the TetraXs were purchased new for this “Masked Singer” show, and they currently have totals of 24 of each fixture.
(Photos: João Pedro Martins)
Claypaky fixtures used at Bahrain’s celebration of football team’s Arabian Gulf Cup win
A large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures was on hand for the celebration hosted by the State of Kuwait at Bahrain National Stadium following the victory of the Bahrain national team at football’s 26th Arabian Gulf Cup.
Faalyat Event Management were the main event organizer. Showtech Productions W.L.L., an event management company in Bahrain, produced the gala event and provided the lighting design and fixtures for it. Lawrence Rodricks, CEO of Showtech, was the Lighting Designer for the celebration. Claypaky fixtures included forty Skylos, forty Xtylos, and forty Scenius Profiles.
Alex Douglas, a freelance Lighting Programmer and Operator in the Gulf region, has used Claypaky fixtures on a number of installs in the Middle East. The Arabian Gulf Cup celebration marked the first time he utilized Skylos, Claypaky’s all-weather, laser-powered beam.
“All the beam fixtures were behind a big rectangular stage in four lines of twenty each”, he explains. “They displayed the national colors of red and white and delivered beams for a region which likes them as far as the eye can see: In the Middle East the bigger the beam, the better.”
The array of Xtylos created a particularly “bright red, which was key when showing the national colors”, he notes. “Since the event was televised, everything had to look good on camera, and the lights had to hold their own against the fireworks finale.”
Douglas points out that the Skylos’s IP66 rating came in especially handy at the event. “The heat of the day combined with the cold of the night in the desert make the condensation level insane, especially in winter”, he says. “So the fixtures were constantly wet from condensation, but we had zero problems.”
The Scenius Profiles were positioned twenty on each side of the stage to act as front lights and base lights for the presentations.
(Photos: Claypaky)
DiGiCo Quantum consoles for Mazowsze National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble
The Mazowsze National Folk Song and Dance Ensemble was established in 1948 and is dedicated to the preservation and performance of traditional Polish folklore. In 2024, the venue completed extensive audio upgrades, with major changes to the sound system in the concert hall, designed by sound designer Krzysztof Polesinski.
Powering the upgrades are two DiGiCo Quantum 852T consoles and two further DiGiCo Quantum338 consoles, also equipped with Theatre software and Pulse upgrades for touring use, all supplied by Polsound, DiGiCo’s distributor in Poland. “Today’s audience’s demands are very different to even ten years ago, so our investmenmust reflect that”, says Jacek Boniecki, Maestro and Director of Mazowsze. “We want the beautiful sound of Mazowsze to represent the next t step up in what is possible.”
Krzysztof Polesinski, Head of Audio Technology at the Mazowsze Auditorium, assembled a team that would be able to provide a fully immersive experience for the musicians and performers. Piotr Przedbora, FOH Engineer and Head of Sound Engineers at the Mazowsze Auditorium, is an expert in the field of Dolby Atmos immersive mixes and mastering.
To deliver an immersive experience, the system utilises three Fourier Audio Transform.Engines, two at the front-of-house position, and the third dedicated for touring. Training for this system was provided by Polsound. The monitor system is powered by Klang:Konductor, offering engineers complete control from the console.
“With the immersive sound system in the main auditorium, we anticipated the need for immersive monitoring for the company, so we have prepared for this with Klang:Konductor”, notes Monitor Engineer Miklaj Grzebieniowski. “The flexibility of the DiGiCo consoles allows us to control multiple devices from a single position”, adds Przedbora. “For example, we can integrate the Quantum 852 with the L-ISA system, Klang, Fourier and Waves servers, seamlessly controlling everything with just a few clicks.”
“The Mazowsze Ensemble has made incredible changes and our DiGiCo consoles are at the heart of them,” concludes Polesinski. “The Theatre software has been a great choice for us. Piotr came up with a very cool idea for the use of Liquid Sonics plugins, Seventh Heaven and Cinematic Room in particular, and it does a tremendous job via the Fourier Transform.Engine in creating the correct feel for our artists.”
(Photos: DiGiCo)
GrandMA3 for “Jesus Christ Superstar” production in Oslo
Scenekvelder at the Folketeateret venue in Oslo, Norway, staged a new production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” bringing fresh and contemporary urban/industrial twists to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s classic rock musical. Lighting designer Matt Haskins used the venue’s GrandMA3 lighting console to control his design.
Haskins has previously worked in the theatre on a production of “Miss Saigon”, and was asked back to light this show, together with director and choreographer Cressida Carré, who, he explains, wanted “a playground of possibility” with this lighting design. It was also the first time that Haskins, who works extensively in theatre and opera, has lit this popular musical, and the first time he used a full GrandMA3 system set up.
Haskins has always been an MA Lighting user, but this was the first year he had used the GrandMA3 in full 3 mode, having opted to run their GrandMA3 console in GrandMA2 mode when he was last working there for the “Miss Saigon” show. The set was minimal and industrial, with lots of scaffolding structures and wooden platforms to the sides, all used by artists throughout, and a large open space in the middle. Dramatic props, including a huge cross, came on and off for specific scenes.
The lighting rig comprised over 250 fixtures, a combination of moving lights from Martin Lighting and Chauvet Professional, plus 46 vintage PAR 64s cans for the “Jesus Christ Superstar” number, together with Astera PixelBricks and custom LED strips, all controlled via the GrandMA3.
Haskins thought the time was right for him to make the transition to full GrandMA3, having talked to numerous other LDs who had already completed the process. No pre-viz time was allocated, but the onstage tech rehearsal period was a generous five weeks, kicking off with a week of rehearsals with cast onstage, followed by four solid weeks of programming, then a week of dress rehearsals and previews.
One significant change was utilising CuePoints software during pre-production to align all cues in musical numbers with timecode, which were then imported into the GrandMA3 console. The GrandMA3 was programmed in “hybrid” style, combining theatre and rock show techniques and treatments, underpinned by a theatrical cue structure with multiple playbacks for instant recall. This was also handy for the many recurring narrative and character motifs that ran through the performance. All the main characters had their own lighting motif.
Haskins worked closely with set designer Sara Perks, and some of his multilayered lighting treatments involved the integration of different palettes, with a nod to the old skool large banks of PAR 64s, blended with the more modern look and output of the inbuilt LED set lights. On site at Folketeateret, all their lighting needs were looked after by Chief LX Lars Lunder together with Fredrikke Folvik and Marius Ilerød who tech’d the follow spots.
(Photo: Fredrik Arff)
Swedish production of “Dear Evan Hansen” lit with Ayrton Rivale Profiles
“Dear Evan Hansen”, a musical about a high school senior with social anxiety, received its Swedish premiere in Stockholm on January 23, 2025, at the Intiman Theatre. The show has been lit by Swedish lighting designer Palle Palmé, using only Ayrton Rivale Profiles.
“My first design intention was to create different sized ‘rooms’ using light”, says Palmé. “I was very happy with Rivale’s shutters. They allowed me to sharply shutter the ‘rooms’ and focus the audience on where the action takes place. I also found Rivale’s colour mix to be a game changer. I don’t see any flags coming in on low percentages in the CMY, and the CTP channels help me to get the best skin tones that I have ever been able to achieve. I also find the two different frost filters very usable in producing delicate edges.”
“I hardly use gobos in the show at all - only at the end when they create a lovely dapple as we enter the apple orchard - but I must mention Rivale’s dimmer system”, he continues. “When you have a very slow fade, it dims more or less like a tungsten unit.” Palmé rigged a total of thirty Rivale Profiles at distances from 5 m to 6 m: four on the front truss, two as side front light, two as low side front light, five per side on on-stage ladders and 5, 4 and 3 in the roof on LX1, 2 and 3, respectively. Given the small size of the 600-capacity venue and the close proximity of the audience, Palmé used the Rivales on normal fan mode. “They are so quiet anyway that even when the different parameters were running you could not hear them”, he notes.
The Ayrton fixtures were supplied for “Dear Evan Hansen” by Soundforce of Linköping, Sweden. “We’ve noticed an increased demand within the Swedish market and have therefore invested in several batches of these luminaires”, says Soundforce’s Michael Karlsson, adding that Topstage, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor in Sweden, provided Rivale trainings and updates.
“Dear Evan Hansen” runs at the Intiman Theatre until April 12, 2025.
(Photos: Mats Bäcker)
Nick Jevons chooses Chauvet’s Colorado PXL Bar 16 for Fly Festival
Drawing up plans to light the 40-meter long main stage at Edinburgh’s Fly Festival, lighting designer Nick Jevons opted to go with a single lighting fixture model: the Chauvet Professional Colorado PXL Bar 16 supplied by Liteup. The two-day festival was held at Princes Gardens.
“Convincing others that the concept of having one fixture type would work to deliver enough different looks for a two-day dance festival was a challenge”, says Jevons. “I’m proud to say the results did not disappoint.” Persuading everyone to go alone with his one fixture plan was one of the challenges Jevons faced, the other was to ensure that the two rows of 1000 x 139 x 273 mm (39.37 x 5.47 x 10.75 in) fixtures in his design, each consisting of forty units, were aligned in two straight lines. He credits the production team, notably Chris Canavan from 19MIL “who come up with the stage design and had faith in my lighting design”, with making this arrangement work.
The two rows of PXL Bar 16 battens, flanking a large horizontal video wall on either side ran across the entire width of the stage. There were also some atmospheric effects, but from a lighting standpoint, no other fixtures were there to help. A row of mirrored panels, angled at 40-degrees, reflected the light from the fixtures, adding to the depth of the show.
“Drawing on this fixture’s full pixel mode gave us incredible creative flexibility when it came to programming”, says Jevons of his 23-universe show. “My programmer, Steve Mac, fully mixed everything live to follow the ebb and flow of the music.” With the Colorado PXL Bar 16s, “we could get huge looks with full intensity, and then break the lighting down into individual pixels for really small intimate looks”, he adds.
Working with the video content and atmospheric effects, the PXL battens helped Jevons and his team come up with the desired visuals throughout the festival, whether it was a glowing purple haze for Mr. G’s heartfelt funk, or ice cool looks for UK wave maker Max Dean.
(Photos: Chauvet Professional/Michael C. Hunter)
Claypaky fixtures selected for World Table Tennis Grand Smash Singapore
A large complement of Sharpy X Frames and Sharpy Washes from Claypaky were deployed on the field of play at the 2025 World Table Tennis Grand Smash Singapore for competition lighting and audience-pleasing sports presentations.
The World Table Tennis (WTT) series started its Singapore leg in 2021 with Gabriel Chan acting as Lighting Designer/Programmer. Singapore hosted the inaugural WTT Grand Smash tournament in 2022 and has since been the cradle of Grand Smash tournaments around the world, where sports presentation ideas are birthed, researched and tested before being exported to other countries holding tournaments.
According to Gabriel Chan, the lighting design for the Singapore Grand Smash needs to fulfill three functions. The field of play lighting for the actual competition has to be bright yet soft to illuminate the playing field without glare that might affect the athletes’ performance. Lighting must also be broadcast-ready and accommodate slow-motion footage that requires even field lighting at high lux output. For the sports presentation, light and sound shows amp up spectators pre-match and for athletes’ entrances. In addition, lighting creates theatrical moods and atmosphere for time outs and other out-of-match periods for dramatic effect.
Michael Chan joined the lighting team in 2023 when the design workload became too heavy for a single person given the delivery timelines. Since 2024 Gabriel Chan has focused primarily on field of play (competition) lighting as well as lighting for broadcast while Michael Chan acts as Sports Presentation Lighting Designer.
There are usually five 45-second light shows with music and multimedia in each match. “They are meant to hype up the audience before the players walk in and to keep the energy levels high”, says Michael Chan. “The light shows have become a prominent and integral part of the event experience and are now a highly choreographed design with lots of cues responding to all the attacks and beats.”
In addition, there are opening and closing shows of two to two-and-a-half-minute’s duration. “Similar to the light shows, they are packed with cues, but normally interlaced with more storytelling”, says Michael Chan. “We also have used the lights to enhance the sound and video effects, such as a lion’s roar or a ball being hit.”
Back in 2021, the Grand Smash’s original lighting design featured older hybrid fixtures from other brands whose beam functions were used primarily in the light and sound shows while their wash functions served as soft fill light for broadcast. They performed well for their time but it was decided they were in need of a refresh. At the same time, lighting vendor MediaPix was looking to update its inventory. The design intent sought to exploit both the beam and wash functions of hybrid fixtures for different key requirements of the sporting event, and Claypaky Sharpy X Frames were chosen to achieve this.
A total of 83 Sharpy X Frames was deployed for the Grand Smash. For competition lighting at the recent Grand Smash, six Sharpy X Frames were mounted on each of four diagonal trusses as camera fill lights. Eight were on the mother truss as athletes’ bench/umpire chair specials. Eighteen were positioned on the rear truss above the 24-meter LED screen. Sixteen more units were on the floor with an extra fixture dedicated to backlighting athletes in the tunnel.
The Sharpy X Frames also replaced two rows of eight Claypaky Mythos fixtures previously used above the catwalk to add punch and beam effects. “I think the Sharpy X Frames stand out in a market where all the new and upcoming fixtures are either LED or laser-based”, says Michael Chan. “The use of a discharge lamp creates a solid, punchy looking beam that is hard to replicate with current LED and laser technology.”
Sharpy Washes have been a mainstay in competition lighting from the beginning. At this Grand Smash, 29 Sharpy Washes were mounted on the perimeter of the mother truss to act as audience wash lights. “I appreciate the saturated reds, the thematic color for the event, that the fixture is able to produce, which I use to light up audiences during competition”, says Gabriel Chan.
For the Grand Smash, Zach Leo served as Lighting Operator and Frankie Yee at MediaPix was the lighting vendor. Acoustic and Lighting System is the Claypaky distributor for Singapore.
(Photos: Claypaky)
Level 42’s FOH engineer relies on DiGiCo consoles
Mark Clements has been touring with Level 42 for over 23 years. For the last sixteen, he has been using DiGiCo consoles provided by Neal Allen, CEO of Merlin PA Hire. For the band’s 2024 touring dates, Allen joined the tour mixing monitors, with Clements at the front-of-house position.
The year began with the pair using a Quantum 225 at front-of-house and an SD10-24 for monitors. Towards the end of the year, they swapped to a Quantum 338 at front-of-house, and a Quantum 326 at monitors for the London O2 Indigo shows. 2025 will see the Quantum 338 changing to a Quantum 225 for the overseas shows to fit the slimmed down logistics package. “I love the Quantum 225 and 338”, says Clements. “We have 48 inputs from stage and for most of these I find the onboard vintage compressors and dynamic EQ are particularly useful.”
Last year was a hugely successful year for Level 42, with dates played across Europe and the UK. When the time came to upgrade the front-of-house console, Allen was grateful to the team at Core Pro Audio for ensuring that a console could be prepped and delivered in record-quick time. “I’ve worked with Mark on and off for over a decade, so when Level 42 needed some help, I offered”, says Allen.
“For the last three or four tours, we’ve supplied everything on the audio side”, he continues. “I purchase my DiGiCos from Core Audio and the team there have been fantastic. They made sure we had the serial number for our new console a good few weeks before it was scheduled to be delivered, so we could complete the touring Carnet.” Allen has continued to invest in DiGiCo consoles, adding the Fourier Transform.Engine to the kit list for the 2024 shows.
“The guys in Level 42 are some of the most precise and knowledgeable musicians I have ever worked with”, adds Allen. “They know what they like, and they can hear the difference immediately if anything changes, so the sound must be spot on. When we go out to Europe, we just take what we need for the stage-end of things. It all needs to fit in a long wheelbase transit, so every piece of equipment has to earn its place on the van, and the compact size of the SD10-24 has been perfect.”
(Photos: DiGiCo)
Ian MacDonald illuminates Suicideboys with Robe
Underground rap duo Suicideboys completed their “Greyday 2024” US and Canadian tour with a production design - lighting and set - created by Ian MacDonald, who used Robe moving lights to help deliver a raw, in-the-face, lighting aesthetic.
MacDonald is based in Ottawa, Canada, and has worked with the band since 2021. This latest tour design featured 42 Robe iForte LTXs, 34 Spiiders and four iForte Follow Spots, all supplied by Fuse, who purchased the iFortes for this project, which was co-ordinated for them by account managers Matt Kirkpatrick and Kevin Foreste.
It was the first time MacDonald used Robe’s iForte luminaire. His starting point for the design was the “obnoxiously big” portrait orientated slab of upstage video screen trimmed at 64 ft high from the floor and flanked by two stage lift platforms framed with video panels. The big screen needed something seriously hardcore on all the open sides to fill in the space, so he drew four lighting torms on the plot and populated them with various fixtures including some of the Spiiders.
All the iFortes were rigged on four finger trusses above the band, trimmed at 60 ft from the deck. Often, they were used in narrow mode for max intensity and maximising the more menacing feel that can be produced by top lighting blasting directly down onstage. MacDonald reports that the iFortes held their positions very well and he rarely had to do any tweaking or adjustments.
Spiiders are a fixture he has used many times before, usually in full “wide” mode for building mesmeric and kinetic effects. For this tour, the rest of the Spiiders were deployed on audience trusses together with six automated 2 metre by 2 metre internally lit scenic skulls constructed by Glow Motion Technologies, which tilted, pitched, and moved up and down. The Spiiders on these trusses were highly effective for room sweeps that wrapped the audience up in the action.
The whole show ran to timecode. Programming and running a hip hop show like this is very different to a rock or a metal show, notes MacDonald. While much of the music is fast and aggressive, there are several poignant moments that need to be punctuated, and generally there’s more space and air onstage needing to be filled visually.
“I programmed a show with multiple contrasts”, he explains. “Top lighting can be really harsh, especially with the power of the iFortes behind it, which was great, but there were also numerous intimate and emotionally charged drops which I built these into the cue list.” The song “Whatwhat” was lit completely in green.
MacDonald worked closely on this tour with video producer Tristan Zammit, including during the show programming to ensure that lighting and visuals worked harmoniously - either together or in contrast with one another. IMAG camera feeds were integrated onscreen - often tweaked live using Notch effects - together with all the playback video content running via a Disguise D3 media server.
The touring lighting crew were chief’d by Temple “Mel” Dorough and comprised techs Jim Meredith, Vreje Bakalian, Jacob Jordan, Guillermo Medina, and Matt Margulis, and the video team was led by Curtis Miller (crew chief) working alongside Chris Small, Colin Johnston, Marcus Taylor, and Miles Pierce.
(Photos: Ian MacDonald)
DiGiCo Quantum 338s join Sleep Token on world tour
Front-of-house engineer Thom Pike has been with the British heavy metal band Sleep Token ever since their third gig in 2018. For their 2024 world tour he ditched his usual mixing desk for a DiGiCo Quantum 338. Monitor engineer Samuel Schmitt also used a Quantum 338.
“It was the start of a new cycle and a new era in terms of venue sizes”, says Pike. “I had been having some issues with my desk towards the end of the last tour, so I rang the new production manager and explained. Solotech was able to help us out in terms of budget, so for our first gig at Wembley Arena I swapped straight to DiGiCo. By the end of that tour I was in love with the console.”
Being with the band since the very beginning, Pike used to mix FOH, monitors, manage the production and the tour. As the band’s success has grown he has been able to delegate responsibility and now solely concentrates on mixing FOH. Their rise in popularity has seen the band go from 130 people capacity clubs to selling out 23,500 capacity venues like Manchester’s Co-op Arena in just a few years. The increase in venue size and production elements was just a part of the reason behind swapping to DiGiCo, as self-confessed enthusiast Schmitt recalls.
“I am a true DiGiCo evangelist”, he says. “When a band is rapidly growing in terms of venue sizes, there are going to be things you want to do that some consoles are just not able to do. And that means you will be running in circles. That is never an issue with DiGiCo, the workflow is just much cleaner.” It was Schmitt’s enthusiasm and support that made Pike feel more comfortable taking the leap to DiGiCo and, if issues did come up, Schmittt was only too happy to show Pike a quick fix. “We joked that I was Thom’s personal DiGiCo tech support”, says Schmitt.
“Compared to other consoles, the DiGiCo just seemed like a big scary computer”, recalls Pike. “But you can make them sound how you want them to. Other desks just sound like they sound, but DiGiCo is really clean and there is plenty you can do to change the sound if needed. I love Mustard processing and basically use it on everything. For this tour, I didn’t use a single standard EQ or compressor on anything. When I first started there was a limit on Mustard channels and I ran out. On this tour, we upgraded to Pulse, so now I have enough Mustard for everything.”
(Photos Adamross Williams/Adamrosssi)
ACT Productions and IPS light Orange Bowl Halftime Show and Fan Fest with Elation
The Orange Bowl is an American tradition that combines the best in college football with top-class musical performances. ACT Productions of Miami Beach celebrated its 17th year producing the event, handling artist bookings and producing both the Halftime Show and Fan Fest. They partnered with Illuminate Production Services (IPS) as their lighting vendor on the productions, both illuminated using Elation lighting fixtures.
The Capital One Orange Bowl, held on January 9, 2025, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, saw country music star Nate Smith headline the Halftime Show, while Lauren Alaina, a multi-faceted country artist, performed a tailgate concert at the Fan Fest stage before the game. Both performances featured lighting designs by IPS, using a range of all-weather IP-rated Elation products.
The Halftime Show and Fan Fest were entirely lit using Elation lighting rigs, including fixtures from the company’s Proteus and new Pulse series. ACT Productions handled everything from concept to completion, including specification of the lighting and sound packages and worked closely with IPS to realize the event.
“The Orange Bowl Halftime Show is unlike any other event in the entertainment world”, says Carlos Henao, Technical Director at ACT. “In a matter of minutes, five to be precise, our audio, lighting and staging teams have to build a ‘set’ that will both entertain and wow the thousands of fans in the stadium, but also the millions of fans on TV. This is no easy task. The planning and execution of those plans can make or break the outcome.”
The Halftime Show lighting design was led by Caleb Franke, with support from Michael Betancourt, both from IPS. Betancourt also handled the design for the Fan Fest stage, working closely with ACT. “We’re very close with Michael and the IPS team and have partnered with them on major events in the past such as the Montreux Jazz Festival in Miami, and City of Miami Beach 4th of July celebration”, says Bruce Orosz, CEO of ACT Productions. “We worked with them on last year’s Fan Fest and were very happy with the results, their communication, plans, design and their team.” Orosz says that they seek to change the look and feel of the show year after year, and this year chose to forgo the traditional Halftime Show fireworks in favor of IPS’s lighting design.
Working on the Orange Bowl Halftime Show can be quite challenging for a number of reasons, not least the tight logistical circumstances they have to work within. “Right when the last play of the first half ends, the referee throws his red cap onto the ground, which begins a 22-minute clock”, explains Orosz. “That’s our signal to start moving all the staging, pre-set with lighting, through the tunnel and out onto the field. This year, we brought the stage out in four parts plus additional lighting setups on truss systems that flew in stage right and left. Everything had to be out, assembled, plugged in, and tested in five minutes. It’s a complicated maneuver.”
Lighting designer Caleb Franke adds: “There are certain parameters we have to stick to in order to get the stages through the stadium tunnels and on the field in less than five minutes. Designing with very specific limitations and parameters is always something I enjoy because I feel I can be more creative. I see them not as limitations but as opportunities.” Following Nate Smith’s performance, disassembly and load-out took place in four minutes. Orosz says it all worked out perfectly. “We had a dynamite team of 100+ people to manage all the equipment, and it ran like a Swiss clock.”
IPS designed a fresh, multi-layered look for this year’s Halftime Show. “When designing, I wanted the set to have depth and elevation to it”, says Franke. “The depth came by having sixteen Pulse Panel FX in the background attached to the upper 100 level of the stadium. This created opportunity for big hits of color and wash throughout the show. It gave the camera lens something to see in the background which added a lot of depth. Having the Pulse Bars and Pulse Panel FX allowed me to have them work together and they punch very well.” One fun look featured the use of all the cold white strobes of the Pulse Panel FX and Pulse Bar. “It seriously lit up the stadium and made it look huge”, says Franke.
The design featured a myriad of IP-rated moving heads from Elation’s Proteus line, including Maximus, Excalibur, Hybrid Max, and Radius. On the field, Franke designed a 3-tiered look in both stage width and height - the downstage deck for the lead singer, the middle deck for the band, and upstage deck lighting via three tiers of lights. Beam and aerial effects from Proteus Hybrid Max emanated from the top row with aerial beams from Proteus Radius radiating from the bottom two rows.
Each row also had eight Pulse Bars in groups of two for a total of 24 fixtures forming the visual background for the band. “We were able to achieve elevation with the tiers and also it created a great background of eye candy behind the band and artist”, says the designer. Located on the downstage edge of the artist risers as kickers to help light the performance were SixBar 1000 IP battens.
The upper deck of fixtures formed the main element of the design. Down on the field, a truss cart on either side of the stage held five Proteus Rayzor Blade L linear effects and six Proteus Excaliburs each, with five Rayzor Blade L on the artist deck. The truss carts added width to the overall look of the show, says Franke. Lastly, twelve Proteus Maximus on the 300 level of the stadium provided the main key light for the stage. “We also highlighted some of the logo graphics on the field with them”, adds Franke.
“This year, we bulked up lighting on the third level and flew trusses full of lights stage right and left, adding depth and enhancing the visual impact”, says Orosz, adding that lighting also came from FOH from the opposite side of the field and down onto the stage, changing the look and feel and matching up with the music. Franke says that big beam looks using the Hybrid Max, Radius, and Excaliburs were some of his favorites. “When the strobes and color wash are off and it’s just the beams shooting out, it looks amazing. We used this near the end of the show with a big beam sweep at the end”, he concludes.
Lauren Alaina’s pre-game Fan Fest concert featured Elation’s Proteus Rayzor 760 wash effects moving head, Proteus Lucius profile moving heads, and DTW Blinder 700 IP. Lighting control came courtesy of an Obsidian NX2 console with Netron nodes, used on both the Halftime Show and Fan Fest. Atmospheric haze effects from Magmatic Therma Tour 800s added an immersive touch to the outdoor concert.
Alongside Michael Betancourt and Rick Franke (Project Management), and Caleb Franke (Lighting Designer and Programmer), the Halftime Show crew included Alex Aslanian (Video/Graphics Creator and Lead LED Tech), Bryce Adams, Sean Coakley and Sean Marshall (Lighting Techs), Jonathan Petrie (LED Assistant and Tech), as well as Shaloom John, Boyd Powers and Jared Clendenin (Technicians).
The Elation gear at the Halftime Show comprised 12 x Proteus Excalibur, 12 x Proteus Maximus, 12 x Proteus Hybrid Max, 24 x Proteus Radius, 15 x Proteus Rayzor Blade L, 24 x Pulse Bar L, 16 x Pulse Panel FX, 14 x SixBar 1000 IP, 3 x Obsidian Netron EN12, and 2 x Obsidian Netron EN4.
The Fan Fest crew: Michael Betancourt (Project Management and Designer), Jeff Miller (Project Manager), Matt Hutton (Lead Video Technician), Julian Mitat (Lighting Programmer), George Mitat (Lighting Tech), and Leo Betancourt (Technician).
Elation gear at the Fan Fest: 12 x Proteus Rayzor 760, 12 x Proteus Lucius, 4 x DTW Blinder 700 IP, 1 x Obsidian NX2, 1 x Obsidian Netron EN4, 2 x Magmatic Therma Tour 800.
(Photos: ACT/Elation/IPS/@keepitexclusive/@michelphoto69)
www.illuminateproductionsevents.com
Nashville’s “Big Bash” lit with Robe
“New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” at the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville, Tennessee, celebrated the new year rollover, featuring a lighting and production design created by Robert W. Peterson of Real World Lighting.
Peterson added 86 Robe iForte LTX moving lights to his lighting plot, together with 46 iFortes, 38 iSpiider LED wash beams, 20 Tarrantula large LED wash beams and 20 LEDBeam 350s, all supplied by Solotech, project managed for them by Austin Schussler and Steven Morgan with Joseph Logsdon providing account oversight for the whole project.
The five-hour CBS special concert kicked off at 7 p.m. It was directed by Sandra Restrepo and broadcast/streamed live offering a series of back-to-back performances beamed across multiple time zones live from “Music City”. It was headlined and co-hosted by Keith Urban with Rachel Smith, together with Kane Brown and Jelly Roll, with sets from Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer and others.
It’s the second year that Peterson has lit the concert. The telecast also involved pre-recorded cut-ins that were filmed in various live music clubs along Nashville’s Broadway in December (shown on the IMAG screens for those at the concert), however, as he explains, in terms of stage design, lighting rather than video was very much the dominant visual aesthetic.
Gently curving trusses at the back were divided by horizontal strips of LED, rather than a big upstage slab of screen, a decision made by “Big Bash” executive producer Robert Deaton, who wanted to unify the theme and place the focus firmly on the artists rather than any supporting video content. The main screens were the stage left and right wing IMAGs.
In addition to the trusses, a series of arched structures upstage were populated with Robe fixtures plus other lights - a nod to the many arched bridges that define and traverse Nashville’s section of the Cumberland River and serve to help define its cityscape.
iFortes and iForte LTXs were the workhorses of the rig. They were positioned on the over-stage trusses front and back and on six self-climbing towers located in the audience together with two more towers at the FOH positions. The luminaires worked extensively throughout the event period and the show, despite high winds and rain throughout the week.
Being a celebratory broadcast, good audience lighting was critical, and “these were some of the best-looking crowd shots I’ve seen, fully bathed in the iForte LTX beams”, declares Peterson who also used iForte LTXs as rear follow spots onstage. He notes that both iFortes and iForte LTXs will be going on all his future lighting designs when possible.
The LEDBeam 350s were rigged on the arch structures and used as band back light as well as for numerous other rear-lighting and back-of-camera effects. The iSpiiders were also on the rear trusses where they provided contrast to the iFortes including lots of twinkling and sparkling pixel effects.
Onstage, Peterson used 32 of Robe’s Footsie2 Slim RGB luminaires to assist as low-profile key lighting for the left and right sides of the mainstage. It was the first time he had used the Slim version of the Footsie, an IP65-rated reduced footprint version of the original product.
Twelve of the iForte LTXs - positioned on the FOH and sides of the onstage rig - had RoboSpot cameras added and were controlled by twelve RoboSpot BaseStations with their operators located downstage right in a designated tent.
Peterson worked closely with lighting programmer Scott Cunningham on the “Big Bash” event. Cunningham also programmed and operated lighting for many of the pre-recorded venue segments, and Tal Kolchav took care of audience lighting of the TV show.
Solotech’s lighting crew chief was Tommy Smith, Dave Carr managed FOH and was the team’s RoboSpot wiz, the dimmer tech was Robert Winfree, and they worked alongside lighting techs Josh Dirks, Robbie Sheene, Hayley Cass and Jimmy Healey.
Video crew chief Marshall Blair with techs Kenny Kightlinger and William Sherman, and the screens and lighting director was Taylor Price. Lead rigger was Jake Lanier, and Gabe Boardley co-ordinated the automation elements. The entire event was managed for the City of Nashville by David Spencer and Chris Lisle.
(Photos: Jake Matthews/Alan Poizner)
360-degree symphonic spectacle puts DiGiCo consoles at its heart in a first for Polish music
In November 2024, Atlas Arena in Lodz hosted the live event “Jimek & Guests: Subclassics”, Poland’s first-ever symphonic spectacle in a 360-degree format. The orchestra was sited in the round, which provided the audience with a special perspective on the orchestra. The audio system was built around two DiGiCo Quantum 338 consoles, with Pulse upgrade, at the front-of-house position and Quantum 852 and SD12-96 consoles at the monitor position.
Radzimir Debski, professionally known as Jimek, is a composer and conductor, known for blending classical sounds with modern music genres. His “Subclassics” concert was a blend of symphonic compositions and hip-hop tracks featuring several guest artists. “There’s no adventure if you know what to expect. Only uncertainty leads to fulfilment”, says Jimek. “I’m not interested in concerts where we press ‘play’ on something you can just as easily hear in your headphones. I crave the musician’s presence, freestyling, and serendipitous moments.”
The sound system for this project was designed by Remigiusz Kasztelnik, CEO of the Brawlers. The company also supplied and installed the sound system for the event, with the consoles being supplied by Polish DiGiCo distributor Polsound. “Such projects are always a challenge, but also a great satisfaction”, says Kasztelnik. “Thanks to precise planning and the work of the entire team, we created a sound space that emphasised both the delicacy of the orchestra and the strong, rhythmic style of hip-hop.”
The front-of-house mix was shared between two engineers, each utilizing a Quantum 338 Pulse. Krzysztof Podsiadlo and Piotr Szreder split responsibility for the orchestra, with one engineer concentrating on dynamics and spatial details, while the other focused on percussion and soloists. “For Jimek’s concert, we payed special attention to detail - each instrument had to be heard in perfect balance, but also keep dynamics and energy”, says Podsiadlo.
The orchestra featured strings, brass, drums and a rotating line-up of guest vocalists. The mixes were split between the Quantum 852 and the SD12-96, operated by Iwo Bialy and Piotr Gozdek. Every member of the orchestra received their own mix.
(Photos: Brawlers/DiGiCo/Note the Note)
“Afrikaans is Groot” powered by DiGiCo
For three weeks in November, Time Square’s 8,500-capacity SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, is home to “Afrikaans is Groot”, a series of performances devoted to Afrikaans music and culture. 2023 was the first outing with DiGiCo Quantum consoles and in 2024 the audio team increased their capacity with a Quantum 338 and Quantum 326 Pulse at front-of-house and Quantum 338 at the monitor position.
2024 was Afrikaans is Groot’s biggest year yet, boasting nine shows over two weekends, with over 70,000 people enjoying the spectacular cultural experience. Kyle Freemantle is Head of Audio for the production and has overseen the growth over the last decade. DiGiCo continues to be Afrikaans is Groot’s console of choice.
“DiGiCo consoles are at the top of my list because of their flexibility regarding Optocore networks and their ease programming”, says Freemantle. “We are running an additional Dante network for all the radio-microphones and playback lines. In total, we have just shy of 128 inputs across both the Optocore and Dante networks. All these inputs are fed via copy-audio and Dante to a pair of MADI/Dante bridges, which feed two MADI recorders for our main recording. There is a backup recording, which is fed by the MADI outputs on the RMIO units to a DiGiGrid MGB to accommodate all 128 channels.”
Freemantle uses Fourier and DiGiGrid MBG for all external processing. Klang is in use for in-ear-monitoring, enabling a consistent environment for the many performers featured during the concerts. “Fourier runs all the effects and multiband compressors on the masters”, says Freemantle. “It’s been great being able to use the Valhalla reverbs. The fact that its Dante I/O ties into our existing large Dante network makes load-in time much faster. The need for third-party gear has also drastically reduced.”
The shows combine musical performances from a whole host of Afrikaans musicians, but they also reflect the cultural richness of the Afrikaans community, combining spoken word performances in a Variety-style. This style of performance can mean a busy time for monitor engineers, but as Gert Watson found out, having Klang and DiGiCo on your team can make all the difference.
“With a variety show like this one, where all the artists join each other on stage to perform a single number, I have countless button presses on the console for each song”, says Monitor Engineer Gert Watson. “I was really surprised by how seamless the DiGiCo/Klang integration is. Using Klang on the artists aux sends did not affect my workflow or speed at all; it was so smooth that I almost never had to take my hands off the surface to fiddle with a laptop because everything was right there on the console.”
Paulo Azevedo is a producer and Executive label manager for Coleske Artists PTY, promoters and producers of the concerts. His understanding of his label’s artists makes him well placed to mix front of house. The show is so complex that there are two FOH engineers, with Azevedo mixing the vocals and Murray Lubbe looking after the band, tracks and additional instruments.
“Afrikaans music is vocal forward, so we need to have the acoustic space to ensure the vocals can be managed effectively”, says Azevedo. “There are some really quick cues in the group numbers, with people entering and exiting in quick succession. This is a unique performance, with a full range of emotions for the audience, from excitement and comedy to nostalgia and legacy.”
The show is staged in a variety format, with a full house-band that is adapted for each performance, with drums, bass guitars and keyboards being added or removed as needed. There are backing vocalists and sixteen lead vocalists, who may also be playing acoustic guitar, all using radio-microphones and in ear monitors.
“Because the show is so big, the audio team have three full days to rehearse”, says Azevedo. “We keep most channels in isolate throughout rehearsals and sound-check, then once the performance has settled, we start recording Snapshots. The rehearsal days are full on before we even hit the first show, but it gives us the time to programme everything nicely.”
Azevedo’s Quantum 326 Pulse is programmed to change Snapshots via timecode, so when there are big group numbers, that could have up to thirty triggers during a song, it is all taken care of automatically by the console.
Günther Müller, Project Manager for the show, supplied the 326, adding the console to MGG’s inventory just in time for the festival, maintaining their position as Africa’s largest stockist of DiGiCo consoles.
(Photos: Kief Kreativ/Ruben Roos Photography/Quintin van der Merwe)
Painting With Light helps Clouseau look vibrant at 40 with Chauvet Professional
“Clouseau 40”, the year-long tour throughout Benelux that celebrated Belgian band Clouseau’s forty years of making music, featured 137 Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by Ampli, on the rig. Lighting design was by Luc Peumans, head of Painting With Light (PWL).
Peumans had started with Clouseau back in 1995 on the “Oker Tour” as a light tech and became the duo’s lighting and production designer in 2001. Since that time, he has worked on all Clouseau tours and Sportpaleis shows. Peumans took on a somewhat different role in the “Clouseau 40” tour, handing the role of touring designer and programmer to Jeroen Opsteyn from PWL, so he could focus his attention exclusively on the stage and lighting designs.
Framing the band in a jewel box of coloured light, the design was creating multi-dimensional looks in a variety of venues regardless of their size. “Our set was highly adaptable in size, an essential feature for Clouseau’s long-running tours, as they strive to bring fresh, innovative elements to each show by incorporating new technologies”, says Peumans. “With the tour appearing in venues and festivals of varying sizes, this flexibility was key to preserving the show’s unique identity. The lighting setup featured a range of fixtures to create dynamic effects.”
Twenty-four Strike Bolt 1C units were used as strobe and colour accent lights. While the Strike Bolts created eye-popping looks, a group of 41 Colorado PXL Curve 12 motorized units created a variety of pixel mapped effects. The titling battens were arranged in three lines - one on the back truss and two on the floor.
Also featured on the rig were 48 Maverick Storm 1 Hybrid fixtures, which served as spotlights for beam and effect lighting that connected the band to the audience. Adding more power to the rig were 24 Strike Array 2C units, which served as blinders and also provided colour accents.
Given the wide range of venues on the 30-city tour, including festivals, the lighting setup was created for flexibility and adaptability. Custom-built dollies helped make load-ins as quick as possible. The setup also included a back truss that could be assembled behind the backdrop for festival performances.
(Photos: Picturesk/Frank Lambrechts)
Europalco’s automated solutions selected for Renault Group convention
Europalco successfully executed the Renault Group Convention, hosted at the MH Atlantic Hotel in Peniche, Portugal. In close partnership with agency Prestígio for Brands, the convention brought together around 300 participants for two distinct programs, a press presentation and an internal meeting, under the unifying theme “Shaping the Future Together”.
Europalco, celebrating its 28th anniversary this year, provided a comprehensive range of production services during the event. The company delivered AV solutions, provided furniture, executed a stage design, and implemented automation systems. A central feature of the production was the display setup. Secondary screens complemented the main mobile screens, each a Ledwall P3,9 with dimensions of 6 m by 4 m.
The highlight of the Renault Group Convention was the stage entrance. Europalco created an immersive experience by implementing Ledwall panels with automated horizontal movement that opened to reveal the speakers and the stars of the convention, the Renault models. This portal of light and technology brought dynamism and surprise, capturing attention during every presentation. The video processing and show control were managed through the Analogway Pulse 2 system.
Another notable visual element was the integration of automated features. The event showcased horizontal movement rails and robotic lighting provided by the Ayrton Zonda 3 FX. These elements enhanced the visual appeal of the stage.
Additionally, Europalco managed the carpentry flooring and installed cut-pile carpeting to complete the setup. The chosen furniture reinforced the event’s sophisticated atmosphere. Europalco selected the DSW chairs and Totem Ledwall elements for their seamless integration with the overall layout. These pieces and custom carpentry work created a balanced environment for media presentation needs and internal discussions.
Every event presents its challenges. For this convention, the cart unloading coincided with the Ledwall’s opening, which stood out. The team overcame this potential disruption through careful planning and on-site problem-solving, maintaining an uninterrupted schedule throughout the event. A total of 22 Europalco professionals ensured the event ran smoothly on-site. They completed the assembly in two days.
“I want to thank Prestígio for Brands for their trust and for including us in such an outstanding show”, says Pedro Magalhães, CEO of Europalco. “This year, we also furthered our commitment to innovation by investing in automation, particularly by introducing new rotating stages that we will soon unveil.”
(Photos: Europalco/Renault Group)
One-Source chooses XTA and Funktion-One for Tipper live shows
British electronic music composer and producer Tipper played his first theatre events since before the pandemic at the Orion Amphitheatre in Huntsville, Alabama. Philadelphia’s One-Source Productions provided the audio for the shows.
Joe Adkins, One-Source owner and CEO, deployed a Funktion-One system comprising 20 x Funktion-One Vero for mains, 12 x F124 and 12 x F221 subwoofers, and Funktion-One Evo for in-fills and out-fills. One-Source Productions has been delivering sound for Tipper for almost decade.
One-Source powered the Funktion-One Vero at the Orion shows with amplifiers by UK manufacturer XTA, pairing the company’s DPA and DNA series amplifiers with the Vero system for the first time. “We’ve had a lot of success using the new XTA amplifiers alongside our Funktion-One Evolution 7 system, so for these shows it seemed like a natural progression to integrate them with our larger Funktion-One Vero system”, says Adkins. “We’ve long been fans of AudioCore as it allows us to quickly set up and deploy our systems - crucial for the demanding nature of live events.”
For the main Vero hangs One-Source used a combination of 2 x XTA DPA100 and 1 x DNA per side, with the F124 and F221 subs powered by a combination of DNA120 and DPA100 units, respectively.
2025 is shaping up to be another busy year for One-Source with many festivals already booked. The weekend of July 4th will see them once again hooking up with Tipper and Friends at The Gorge amphitheatre in Washington for another outdoor spectacular.
(Photos: One-Source Productions/XTA)
