USA - Pittsburgh Penguins fans are enjoying an even more dynamic game experience this season with the installation of Ayrton Zonda 9 FX LED moving head washes beneath the new scoreboard at the PPG Paints Arena. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.
Kevin Hogan, the lighting designer and programmer for the NHL team since 2005 and the owner of Pittsburgh-based Process of Illumination LLC, chose eight Zonda 9 FX fixtures for the new scoreboard, which is part of an arena upgrade by the Fenway Sports Group (owners of the team since late 2021). Designed and built by Mitsubishi Electric, the much larger, four-sided scoreboard features 50ft LED panels around a hollow central core with two Zonda 9 FX positioned on the lower mounting rail of each panel.
It was Ayrton’s promotional video for the fixtures that sparked Hogan’s interest in using Zonda 9 FX. “It was all I needed to see,” he recalls. “The Zonda 9 FX was an amazing fixture with so many features built in, including the LiquidEffect and individual pixel control. I hadn’t seen anything else like it. It was a great quality wash light with eye candy effects that were second to none - exactly what I would like for the new scoreboard.”
Hogan talked to Rick McKinney at long-time equipment supplier Main Light about seeing the Zonda 9 FX in person. “Main Light has a reputation for being one of the best partners you could ask for in this business,” he says. “They are always advancing their inventory, so it was no surprise that they had added Zon
USA - Blowing away crowds with his blasts of dubstep beats and trashing techno shreds at one turn, then picking up a guitar the next to venture forth into dreamy dance tunes, Gryffin is a one-person ensemble of diverse sounds.
This was evident during the artist’s recent performance at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Taking the stage in his trademark baseball jersey, Gryffin treated fans to a dynamic, EDM-infused set, as he performed on the stage and an exposed-scaffold riser.
Keeping pace with him and reflecting his energy with colours and motion was a compelling stage production by lighting designer Julie Reux, content creator/VJ Eddie Perez, and TM Jonny Stiegler. Like the artist’s performance on stage, the looks supporting him were multi-faceted, while still being perfectly harmonious.
“Everything about any show I do begins with balance,” said Reux, owner of Black Lantern Creative. “Our team wanted to give every visual aspect of the show a unique character. At the same we wanted everything to create this single, seamless cinematic visual feel.”
Contributing to this immersive aura was a collection of 4Wall Entertainment supplied Chauvet Professional fixtures that included 90 Color Strike M motorised strobe/blinders, 30 COLORado PXL Bar 16 motorised tilting battens, 12 Strike 1 units, and 12 R2X Washes.
Run in 74 channel mode, the Color Strike M fixtures were flown on stage left and stage right vertical truss, as well as on three rows of raked overhead truss. From these positions, the fixtures filled a va
South Africa - Atlantic Studios, Cape Town is a multi-stage film and television production facility and hub of creative activity serving the Western Cape and far beyond.
One of its current productions (produced by HBC Broadcasting Solutions) is the South African edition of Deal or No Deal (DoND), the popular risk-taking gameshow where contestants make seat-edge decisions on whether to accept a cash offer from 'the banker' in exchange for what might - or might not - be contained in a series of unassuming boxes.
Lighting designer Daniel Louw is using some new Robe Esprites which were purchased by HBC for this show and delivered by Robe’s South African distributor, DWR at the start of the recording period in February.
Dan is a freelance lighting designer / director and has worked on several projects at the studios which also has other Robe moving lights - Pointes, miniPointes, LEDBeam 100s and ParFects.
When he created the original lighting design and specification for Deal or No Deal, he wanted some moving lights to add dynamics and movement to the overall pictures and shots.
The recording schedule is intense with a total of 260 episodes which are broadcasting on SABC 1 until the end of March 2024. Twenty contestants start each round of the competition, hopeful of scoring the big money, and it’s proving a massive hit with South African audiences.
Dan wanted a light that was versatile, with a good CRI, a selection of CT whites and that was available at short notice as the investment was green lighted with on
Germany - Wacken fans don't let the weather stop them. It's not for nothing that ‘rain or shine’ is the rallying cry of party-loving metal fans who travel to northern Germany from all corners of the world for Wacken Open Air (WOA).
This year, metalheads had to be particularly strong. Days of constant rain had so softened the ‘Holy Ground’ of the festival site that a travel stop had to be imposed for the first time in the festival’s history. Anyone who made it onto the grounds though still got the full Wacken experience, including knee-deep mud.
Lighting designer Jerry Appelt, who has been associated with the massive metal festival for 20 years, has also experienced a lot in Wacken. “I am emotionally attached to the festival,” he said. “It was remarkable how the organisers dealt with the very difficult situation this year.”
More than ever, Elation’s Proteus series of weatherproof lights showed its advantages under such adverse weather conditions with 72 Proteus Maximus and 48 Proteus Excalibur an integral part of the lighting design.
Technically, Jerry, who designed the lighting for the two main stages, relied on a mix of new and tried-and-tested for WOA 2023. On a festival of this size, the primary aim is to provide the most multifunctional setup possible to suit the many bands yet additional focus is placed on the recognition value of the festival. “Visitors should know at first glance that they are at Wacken. The look and feel of the festival must of course be continued from year to year. This is a very clear wish of t
USA - At times it seemed that everything that could go wrong would go wrong at the one-day Desert Sky Music Festival in Chandler, AZ. Not only did rain delay the 2pm start of the first act by over 30 minutes, but once the music started playing, bumps in the road kept threatening to derail the best-laid plans.
“The event gods were not smiling on us,” said John Garberson of Creative BackStage, who set up production for Desert Sky. “It rained off and on for eight hours, creating a lot of mud. There was a power outage, a medical emergency, though fortunately that turned out ok, and networking issues that disrupted the sound and lighting.”
Still, no one in the sold-out crowd of 15,000 was thinking about any of these snafus when the curtain went down on the festival late that night. They were too busy savouring the good times, and the rollicking music they just enjoyed by an enthusiastic group of performers, including headliner Lainey Wilson, 2023 CMA Female Vocalist of the Year.
Setting an upbeat tone for the festival that overshadowed any of the issues at its start were the immersive lightshows that seemed to fit each artist’s music and personality like pair of tailor-made jeans. The Creative BackStage team made that happen through some careful planning and the thoughtful placement of over 75 versatile Chauvet Professional fixtures in the festival rig.
“There were no band riders for this festival,” said Garberson. “None of the acts came in with a lighting plot. I had to anticipate what would work best for each artist and the visit
USA - We Came As Romans recently wrapped the fall leg of their Darkbloom II headlining tour, a 30-date run with a lighting system from Bandit Lites. The metalcore band kicked off on 10 October in Indianapolis and made its way throughout the country, culminating in Nashville, Tennessee on 19 November.
Lighting designer Corbin Alvae worked with guitarist Lou Cotton and bassist Andy Glass who sought to recreate a ‘black hole’ style stage design and update it with a space feel. A 10ft diameter circle truss was outlined with Elation ACL 360i fixtures as well as Elation DTW Blinder IP 65 fixtures.
“The band played around with different ideas and concepts, but the final look that was seen on this tour was absolutely solid looking and how everything panned out at the end looked wild,” said Alvae.
The large circle truss required them to adjust depending on the stage space and trim height clearances as well as having alternative layouts.
“When Corbin approached me in August to begin designing this tour, the goal was an arena look in a club tour,” said Bandit Lites client representative Mark Scherer. “Presenting the bands idea of a ‘black hole’, we worked to pick fixtures that would have a big impact in a club setting. His design looked enormous on the club stages while maintaining a smaller footprint to fit into all venues. His design skills and talent led this to become a powerful rig that complimented the band’s massive sound.”
“The Elation ACL 360i fixtures shined bright,” said Alvae. “With the ability to do
France - ETC’s automated fixtures range Halcyon has been selected by the noted Parisian theatre, la Comédie-Française.
A total of 27 Halcyon Platinum fixtures and 12 Halcyon Gold fixtures have been installed at the famous theatre, which has several productions including French plays by Molière, Racine, Corneille and others. A cultural institution, la Comédie-Française is the only French national theatre since 1680 to have a permanent drama troupe.
Sales manager for France Nicolas Da Canal comments: “la Comédie-Française already has High End Systems SolaFrame Studio, SolaFrame 2000 and SolaFrame 3000 moving lights installed which have been particularly appreciated for their colour-mixing quality. The team at the theatre were therefore happy to again proceed with High End Systems automated lights in their process of further transitioning to LED.”
The Halcyon Gold fixtures have been integrated in the over-stage rig on the first electric position and the Halcyon Platinum fixtures are further upstage at higher trim heights.
"The advantage of the Platinum is that even in the High Fidelity version, you still get 38,000 lumens as standard, and up to 46,000 when you use the boost mode. That is less than the 70,000 lumens of the Ultra-Bright version, but it's enough to make the fixture very versatile. And above all, the High-Fidelity engine has a CCT of 6,000K, which is close to HMI sources making this move over to LED a little smoother," adds Nicolas Da Canal.
B-Live, one of ETC's commercial partners in France, delivered the fixture
UK - LSi is sad to report that Richard Pilbrow, the pioneering lighting designer and theatre consultant, passed away on 6 December, peacefully, at home, surrounded by family after a short battle with cancer, writes Rob Halliday.
Richard’s remarkable 90-year life was truly a life well lived. He took a passion for theatre developed at an early age and turned it into a career through the formation of his company, Theatre Projects, as a way of subsidising and supporting his lighting design work. In doing that, he played a large part in creating the profession of lighting designer in the UK from 1957 onwards.
The timing of this meant that Richard was perfectly placed to be selected by Laurence Olivier as the lighting designer for the opening of the National Theatre company in 1963, which put him in the right place to become the theatre consultant for the new National Theatre building then being planned.
Through the National, he helped establish a second profession, theatre consultant, in the UK; he and Theatre Projects Consultants would go on to be part of many other landmark projects in the UK, including the Barbican and, particularly close to his heart since he was one of the project’s instigators with his regular collaborators, director Michael Elliott and designer Richard Negri, the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. His consultancy work ultimately led him to relocate to the US to expand TPC’s operation across the US and then worldwide, completing over 1,800 projects in 80 countries.
Alongside this work, he continued to light sh
UK - The LiGHT23 expo, staged in London for the second year, stepped up several levels according to the team from specialist architectural LED lighting brand Anolis, which showcased its three current main product lines - Calumma, Ambiane and Eminere - at the two-day event in Islington’s Business Design Centre.
The show, which launched in 2022, has been developed as a forum and a meeting place for the design community. Manufacturers can demonstrate their latest technologies and lighting designers, architects, interior, exterior and visual designers can gather to see the latest innovations and attend a full programme of talks, panel discussions and seminars embracing topics and issues relevant to the built environment world.
“Visitor numbers were definitely up, especially on the first day, and we saw a steady stream of high-quality people on both days from a broad spectrum of the industry, from lighting designers and architects to integrators, installers and end users,” commented Ashley Popple, Anolis’ London & Southeast business development manager.
He added: “Apart from a great buzz, it was also a convincing networking event at which we saw existing clients and made plenty of new contacts, also providing some excellent opportunities to touch base with a range of busy industry professionals who are sometimes difficult to otherwise pin down!”
The first night ‘social’ and late opening offered less formal but equally valuable social engagement time, and Ashley felt that the extended opening hours also drew many people for the
UK - ABTT’s popular Pyrotechnic Safety Awareness Training was a sell out in September 2023, and booking is now open for the 2024 course which takes place on 11January at The Elgiva Theatre, Chesham.
Equipment and devices used, demonstrated or viewed during the course include products from: Le Maitre: Pyroflash - ProStage II - Virtually Smokeless (VS) - Illusion - Skyhigh - Torch - Blakes - Viking - Theatrical Pyrotechnics - Wells - Ultratec - LunaTech - PyyroPak.
The course will provide candidates with an opportunity to keep ‘up to date’ with ‘considered best practice’ and familiarise themselves more readily with new and current regulations, alongside forthcoming UK/EU legislation.
The course will also serve as a refresher for technicians who have to produce certificates of awareness, to keep themselves ‘in date’. The candidates will also receive a comprehensive set of notes and subject to satisfactory completion of the course, will receive a certificate, signed by the tutor, and automatic enrolment with the Association of Stage Pyrotechnicians register.
Germany - The artist Alligatoah is not easy to pin down. He marries rap with catchy pop melodies, slips into ever-changing personae and has been delighting large audiences for years with his overall package. The theatricality certainly suits him, and in 2023, this phenomenon of German rap will continue with the latest leg of his Retour, which will introduce tracks from the current album Rotz & Wasser.
Christoph Schneider is responsible for the lighting design on this tour, which is promoted by ibb Booking and Boldt Berlin. He specified 46 GLP JDC1, 10 JDC Line 1000 and five impression X5 Wash to fulfil the artist’s vision.
“Alligatoah is a very creative person who is heavily involved in the show design,” states Christoph. “He designed most of the set himself, as well as the intro and choreography for individual songs. To complement this, I created the lighting design and programmed the show, further developing Alligatoah’s ideas and bringing the concept to life. This influenced, for example, the positions of the risers in the individual songs and the question of when everything stands still or when (and how much) it moves.” The artist himself made the prop selection for the individual songs.
In keeping with the musician’s passion for theatrics, the show is divided into three acts: Act 1 takes place in a parcel sorting office, Act 2 takes place outdoors, where the packages are delivered (including using illuminated drones), and Act 3 is set in a monochrome orange world, that initially doesn't bode well.
The show
UK - LSI Projects director Bob Peill has left the company after three decades. The company expresses its gratitude for his pivotal role in achieving significant milestones that have defined its success from the first projects in China in the early 90s up to and including one of the company’s largest projects to date in the form of the New Cairo Opera House in Egypt.
Stepping into the role of projects director is Nick Broad who has a proven track record in systems integration, project management and consultancy.
Nick joins the company as LSI completes projects at Bristol Beacon, and Sadler’s Wells in Stratford East, and continue work on Hertford Theatre, Theatr Clwyd in North Wales and the Royal Arts Complex in Riyadh.
Brenda Dunsire, managing director of LSI, comments: “We will be forever grateful to everything Bob has committed to LSI over the years playing a fundamental role in shaping the company it is today and he will be sorely missed. It is time however for LSI to look to the next 30 years and the appointment of Nick aligns seamlessly with our strategic vision for the future.”
USA - Bandit Lites has announced that an original Bandit, Brent Barrett, has moved into his retirement. Brent, along with founder Michael T. Strickland, first met in grade school in Kingsport, Tennessee. Neither knew this meeting would culminate in a strong bond and friendship that would last both a full career and a lifetime.
While Bandit began in junior high school, the real work began as Barrett and Strickland attended The University of Tennessee together. Barrett was pursuing a degree in food and lodging with an intention to be in the hospitality industry. After a Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn tour while in college, Barrett never looked back. Both Strickland and Barrett indeed finished their degrees, and at the same time toured and ended up in their lifelong careers.
“Brent and I grew up together,” stated Strickland. “We have been best friends since grade school. We lived every phase of life together and know more about one another than anyone else. To sum up Brent Barrett is easy: He is a friend. Period.”
Barrett toured with numerous artists in the early days including Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Kenny Rogers, Blackfoot, Def Leppard, Molly Hatchet, and many others. He then transitioned into the role of lighting director and production manager with Alabama. This is a position he would hold for 23 years. Indeed, most people in the industry remember Barrett as the jovial gentleman that ran the amazing Alabama show for many years.
When it was time to retire from the road, Barrett moved into the role of director of business developm
UK - Exterior lighting solutions provider DW Windsor has unveiled its Light Responsibly initiative to support and promote responsible lighting practices.
Announced at the LiGHT 23 Expo in London, the new initiative aims to provide lighting specifiers with the tools and guidance needed to eliminate light pollution, conserve energy, cut waste and help protect biodiversity. It consolidates several long-standing principles the British luminaire manufacturer upholds and underlines its commitment to delivering sustainable lighting solutions.
The initiative outlines five key areas where DW Windsor can assist lighting professionals, helping to educate key stakeholders and support considered lighting designs. It includes the adoption of precise optics and light shields, warmer colour temperatures, adaptive lighting controls, highly efficient LEDs, and the embracing of circular economy principles.
DW Windsor addresses these crucial areas through its product design, innovative technologies, advanced manufacturing processes and local supply chain. For example, several DW Windsor luminaires are now DarkSky Approved, meaning they don’t pollute the night sky.
Alan Grant, design and Development director at DW Windsor, explains: “Lighting has a significant impact on our lives and the functions of our urban spaces. When carried out responsibly, in line with best practices, good lighting can enhance the built environment while providing social, environmental, and economic benefits.”
Demonstrating how the initiative integrates more broadly across the
UK - Manchester-based dbnAudile has served as event technology providers for The Warehouse Project ever since the series of popular club nights debuted in 2006. This year, seeking a new linear lighting effect that could do more while ensuring operation in wet conditions, the company turned to Elation’s versatile Proteus Rayzor Blade.
The Warehouse Project, which runs from September through New Year’s Eve, features acclaimed DJs and musicians as well as less established artists, and is continually rated as one of the best dance/DJ club venues in Europe. dbnAudile handles audio, lighting, video and rigging for the project’s run, which has been held in the refurbished Mayfield Depot in Manchester since 2019.
Pete Robinson project manages the operation for dbnAudile and has served as lighting designer since The Warehouse Project’s inception. He explains that the 10,000-capacity former railway station is a significantly bigger venue than the previous location and therefore required upscaled production.
“Each year we try to find an upgrade or change in design to keep the look fresh and interesting and this year we were looking for something more interesting than the LED bars we’ve been using the past few years,” he commented, acknowledging head of lighting Dale Wilson and main room desk operator Colm Whaley as important collaborators on the project.
“The Rayzor Blades jumped out at us not only because they are brighter and punchier than the previous LED bars we were using, but with the strobe effect and sparkle feature we felt th
Denmark - Hip hop band, Suspekt, appeared in a one-off date at Copenhagen's 47,000 capacity National Parken Stadium in September. Suspekt is renowned for playing with cool lighting effects and Ayrton was delighted that its Zonda 9 fixtures were chosen for the dramatic lighting system that included 168 Zonda 9 Wash and Zonda 9 FX fixtures.
Zonda 9 Wash is the first luminaire in a new family of Ayrton products devised for stage lighting, equipped with a high-performance 40W LED source with RGB+W additive colour synthesis. The lighting was supplied by VIGSØ, Denmark, and the striking lighting and stage design was provided by Johnny Thinggaard of CMY.
Thinggaard elaborated on his choice of lighting: “The concert was a one-day event and the band's biggest show to date. I chose to use the Zonda 9 Wash because of its large light surface - I really like the way that the lamp provides such a great visual fill for this type of show. In fact, the entire show was based on the Wash style. Not a single gobo. For me, it is about creating space and emotions - and since this is a hip hop band, I didn't think profile lamps would fit the style. I also chose Zonda 9 as I needed a lamp that could light from a height of 20m all the way down to the floor. There is a lot of light in the Zonda 9 and it mixes colours really nicely.”
The strong and colourful design for the show and the rapping, hard-hitting style of the band required some strong, punchy lighting. Arraying the Zonda 9 Washes in 10 pods of four x three units, plus a row of 48 more on the floor upstage, Th
USA - Alongside showcasing a selection of fixtures from the company’s existing catalogue of professional luminaires through a lightshow programmed by concert LD Steve Kosiba, ADJ Lighting will use the LDI tradeshow to exclusively introduce many exciting new products.
Visitors to the expo will be the first to discover the new Vizi Beam CMY automated beam luminaire, the ElectraPix series of lime-infused hex LED wireless bars and par, the next generation Aria X2 wireless DMX system, and the much-anticipated IP-rated additions to the popular Jolt Series of multifunction LED strobe/wash fixtures.
Popular with concert lighting designers and nightclub integrators alike, ADJ’s Jolt Series features a collection of potent fixtures which each feature brilliant bright white strobe/blinder LEDs combined with multicoloured chase effects in the same versatile unit. Taking the series to the next level, the new Jolt Bar FXIP offers the same creative potential but that can be utilized outdoors in any weather conditions. The IP65-rated linear fixture features a central strip of 112 x 5-Watt cool white SMD LEDs, surrounded on both sides by a total of 448 (significantly brighter) 1.5W RGB colour mixing SMD LEDs.
The next evolution in ADJ’s popular Vizi Series of automated luminaires, the new Vizi Beam CMY is a powerful and feature-packed dedicated beam fixture. Harnessing the full potential of the 310W Osram Sirius HRI discharge lamp, paired with precision engineered optics, it generates a potent and crisp 2-degree beam that is ideal for generating awe-inspiring
USA - GLP (German Light Products) will showcase its innovative portfolio in a future-oriented design, on stand #194. The company invites trade fair visitors to climb aboard its all-white ‘GLP Spaceship’, which will also provide the setting for ‘a very special world premiere’.
GLP's JDC1 Hybrid Strobe is a popular standard that set new standards when it was originally introduced. The JDC2 upgrade will be shown for the first time at LDI.
Larger, significantly brighter than the JDC1, IP65-certified and equipped with a still under-wraps secret special feature, the JDC2 is ‘set to revolutionise the world of professional show lighting again’. Visitors to the stand can look forward to a newly designed show that breaks from the classic light shows at the exhibition stand.
After the successful market launch of the impression X5 Wash 2021, the impression X5 IP Maxx is an even more powerful sister device for applications from greater distances and - thanks to the IP65 version - also outdoors.
The GLP impression X5 IP Maxx emits an extraordinary luminous flux of up to 24,000 lumens with an expanded colour space, from 37 powerful 40W RGBL LEDs. Like all devices in the X5 series, the X5 IP Maxx is equipped with the new iQ.Gamut colour algorithm, which means it always offers a clean white point with a CRI 90+ / TLCI 90 at 6,500 Kelvin.
Like the impression X5 Wash, the impression X5 IP Maxx also offers an extensive effects package. The new 16:1 zoom mechanism allows a penetrating 3.5° parallel beam as well as a homogeneous wash up to 60°.
USA - Claypaky is returning to LDI again to present its recently launched products. The joint display, in Booths (179, 279, 285) in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Centre, will feature the company’s top-of-the-line products for the entertainment industry.
Besides all the new products and innovative technologies shown, it is also the first time since ARRI’s acquisition of Claypaky, that the two companies will be exhibiting together at LDI, thus presenting a broader product portfolio in addition to the entertainment-oriented product range.
On debut will be Rhapsodya - a high power, low-noise multi-spectral - LED based fixture designed for a variety of applications such as theatre, TV production, touring and live events. It uses a custom 1200W multicolour RGBAL LED engine, capable of a 24,000-lumen output.
Rhapsodya incorporates AccuTone, a sophisticated, internally developed firmware algorithm for a precise control over the beam in a multicolour LED engine, providing vibrant, rich colours and a balanced, consistent white, optimised for both stage and TV.
Colorstring is a new system enabling an individual control of four independent LED stripes within the engine for a high level of graphics and colour effects.
With Xtylos, the first laser-sourced moving light beam fixture in the entertainment lighting, Claypaky has shaped a new era of moving heads.
Skylos, the most recent member of the laser family, is an ultra-versatile and weather-resistant fixture is much appreciated in the touring sector, where LDs are constantly
USA - Vari-Lite has announced a new, higher output light engine upgrade for their workhorse VL2600 Series fixtures. The light engine upgrade provides significantly higher output to the popular line of moving head luminaires while aligning with Signify’s commitment to sustainability by promoting circular economy, minimising waste by extending the existing product lifecycle rather than making iterative new versions, for a positive impact on the environment and society.
Originally released in the spring of 2018, the VL2600 Series is, to date, one of the most popular Vari-Lite fixtures ever produced. Boasting a profile, wash, and spot version, the VL2600 Series is a full family of fixtures with a broad colour palette, a wide range of features, and a consistent light engine across the series. It’s possible to rent a VL2600 Series luminaire on every continent on the globe, and the new easily replaceable light engine increases sustainability by extending the life of these highly specified light fixtures with notably higher output and the same great features.
“The VL2600 Series is now entering its seventh year of production, and it’s amazing to see how little technology and feature trends have changed in that time,” says Martin Palmer, Vari-Lite product management and marketing leader at Signify. “Although technology in areas such as the efficiency of LEDs may have improved, the core technologies and needs for fixtures like the VL2600 Profile have not shifted that much. That’s why the VL2600 Series still remains competitive, even against new competi
Switzerland - The Zurich Open Air Festival, held over three days in suburban Glattbrugg, features artists from an array of genres, from ballads to electronic beats, and hard rock anthems to indie tunes. Jazz, blues, and folk join the diverse mix for good measure. The artists on stage at this year’s (10th annual) rendition of the festival, included Robbie Williams, Zara Larsson, Bastian Baker, The Killers, The Chainsmokers and Paul Kalkbrenner.
The production design on the 2023 festival’s substantial main stage also embodied a very diverse range of creative inputs. Defined by two high towers, each with a large vertically-oriented video wall at its base, the towers were connected by horizontal rows of lights. Other rows of lights extended from each wall and sloped down to smaller stage left and stage right columns.
Contributing to the rich visual panorama was a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied and installed by FeedBack Show Systems & Service, which provided all video, audio, and lighting services on the main stage.
The spectator area around the main stage at this year’s festival was designed to resemble a rock concert arena. FeedBack Show System & Service’s rig accentuated this mood with its bold towering lighting displays, abundance of blinders for audience lighting, synchronised pixel mapped effects, and linear lighting arrange to extend the impression of the stage.
Key to helping in this effort were the rig’s 24 Color Strike M motorised fixtures. Drawing on the two ultra-bright white tube elements in the
Greece - DirectOut and Audio & Vision have joined forces to establish an exclusive partnership for distribution in Greece. With this strategic alliance, Audio & Vision will now serve as the official distributor of DirectOut products in Greece.
Audio & Vision has established itself as a reliable provider of premium AV products and services in Greece since the beginning of their activities in 1998.
"We are proud to add DirectOut to our distribution portfolio in Greece," says Mr. Alkis Kotsifas, general manager of Audio & Vision. "With a 25-year track record in the professional audio, video and lighting solutions sector, we have been committed since the foundation of our company to provide our customers with the highest quality of products and services. We seek the best partners worldwide to achieve our goals, and our new partnership with DirectOut is a testament to our determination."
Audio & Vision acts across various sectors within the AV industry, including installation, touring, broadcast, and recording. By incorporating DirectOut’s innovative solutions into their offerings, they are equipped to meet the diverse demands of signal distribution, conversion, routing, and processing.
Lorenzo Sassi, business development manager, comments: "We are thrilled to partner with Audio & Vision in Greece. This partnership marks an important step for the future, and we are confident that our combined expertise will bring innovative and high-quality solutions to the Greek market."
Europe - Prolight is reinforcing its commitment to excellence in cable manufacturing through a substantial investment in cutting-edge testing equipment. The collaboration with Distro Design yielded a remarkable achievement when tasked with developing a new cable tester.
The Cirris powered tester manufactured by Distro Design for Prolight is the largest to date with over 380 test points. This tester was a great challenge, something we relish doing. Working with Prolight was seamless and very easy something we hear a lot around the industry. They are a growing company with a great reputation we are immensely proud to have been asked to work with them in designing ‘the beast’,” says Distro Design MD, Ben Stearn.
Chris Beesley, product sourcing manager at Prolight says: “As the cable department grows here at Prolight, our need for a centralised, rapid test facility has far outgrown the large collection of individual, single function cable and appliance testers. After reviewing a number of options, it was clear we needed a custom-built option, configured not only for the most common plug to socket cables but also with the capability of testing more complex cables such as socapex spiders and motor looms.”
This strategic investment emphasises Prolight's dedication to upholding the highest standards of quality in cable production. The integration of advanced testing equipment not only ensures superior manufacturing but also enhances operational efficiency. Prolight is now equipped to provide comprehensive testing documentation along with cables, a
USA - City Theatrical will be introducing three new solutions available for demonstration in Booth 809 at LDI, including the DMXcat-E, Multiverse Connect Module, and Wing Nut Socket. These products are expansions of City Theatrical’s award-winning DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool system, family of Multiverse wireless DMX/RDM technology, and expansive hardware collection.
City Theatrical will also be offering an LDI event giveaway of one DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool or RadioScan Spectrum Analyser, at the winner’s choice, to one randomly selected event participant who registers with the City Theatrical team in Booth 809 before the event concludes. The winner will be announced via email one week after the show.
Available to demonstrate at LDI Show 2023 and shipping in 2024, City Theatrical’s new DMXcat-E (P/N 6100) is an expansion to City Theatrical’s DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool system of solutions that allows for Ethernet control of a lighting fixture. In addition to all the functions DMXcat users currently enjoy, including utilisation of the DMXcat free smartphone application for iPhone and Android to plan, install, operate, and maintain theatrical and studio lighting equipment, DMXcat-E allows users to view and send Ethernet protocols, including ArtNet and Streaming ACN (sACN).
DMXcat-E also allows users to perform cable testing of five-pin XLR and Ethernet cables via an included external remote.
DMXcat-E can read SMPTE timecode as well as MIDI timecode and regular MIDI for audio and other entertainment projects. DMXcat-E uses