Pharos - Leaderboard - May 2024

Lighting

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USA - Elation’s R&D department embarked on a development project that spanned several years to tackle the challenge of achieving ‘the perfect balance between colour accuracy and intensity’. The result is TruTone Technology, an advancement that allows designers to adjust CRI from a single fixture in order to find the best lighting fidelity.

Achieving that perfect balance between brightness and colour accuracy is an issue that has persisted in the entertainment lighting industry for years and holds significance for lighting designers and rental houses alike. Traditional LED engines, with their fixed CRI values, have fallen short in delivering a comprehensive spectrum, leaving designers and gear providers with inflexible options. Despite the industry’s numerous attempts to address this shortfall, the ideal solution has remained elusive.

The

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The Netherlands - Following the pandemic, Racoon embarked on an extensive tour of The Netherlands in support of their album.

The quartet performed at a wide variety of venues, from amphitheatres and festivals, to clubs and theatres during their busy 30-month tour. Each show had its own distinctive atmosphere, which is why Racoon’s long-time lighting designer, Erwin Van Lokeren created different looks for every stop along the way.

Now, as Racoon does the final shows of its extended run, Van Lokeren has woven together many of those looks from the past two-and-a-half years into a transformative tapestry. Moving seamlessly through a spectrum of emotions, his design blends live images of the band’s members on a blow-through video wall with evocative (mostly warm white) light projected from multiple angles.

“I took all those designs from prev

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The Netherlands - With the 2022 version of Soenda Indoor Werkspoorkathedraal in Utrecht being a major success, repeating the trick for the 2023 edition in the same location would be no small feat. T.Y.S were once again on hand to create a design that surpassed expectations.

The biggest challenge for the design team was coming up with a solution that could turn the cavernous Werkspoorkathedraal into a venue with a cosy club atmosphere. With a floor surface of 5,800 m2 to cover and a ceiling height of 20m, there was plenty of scope for creativity.

Together with the event’s producer, Elevation Events, the design team decided that doing something with motion could add a surprising new dimension to the lighting setup for the 2023 edition. This culminated in the construction of four large square frames that were suspended from the venue’s two crane tra

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UK - A celebration of the remarkable life of Richard Pilbrow - lighting designer, theatre consultant, producer, author, educator, mentor, friend, and so much more – is being held today (17 May) at the Dorfman - formerly Cottesloe - at the National Theatre.

The Pilbrow family, along with the ALPD and the ABTT invite those who knew Richard to join them at the venue from 1.30pm. “All are welcome,” a statement says. Like the great producer Richard sometimes was, we want a sold-out event, maybe even bursting a little at the seams - but not to end up with people unable to get in.”

Anyone who can’t make it but would still like to commemorate Richard is asked to do so by supporting the entertainment charities Backup Tech (in the UK) or Behind The Scenes (in the US).

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Europe - Simple Minds are back on the road for their 2024 Global Tour, playing arenas and proving perennially popular to both old and new generations of music fans.

The production has also been growing and developing in size and dynamics with Robe iForte and BMFL moving lights assisting show and lighting designer Mark Wynn-Edwards to produce a colourful show supporting the band’s powerful up-tempo set.

The show design is new but contains some threads inspired by the 2020 arena tour which was abruptly halted due to the pandemic. Mark has been working with the band since 2018, initially coming onboard to look after media servers.

The tour features 14 x iForte in the floor package and three iForte for followspot duties plus 37 x BMFLs in the flown rig which are the main hard edge and workhorse lights of the design. All kit is supplied by Solot

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Qatar/UAE - The inaugural Qatar-UAE Super Cup football tournament kicked off in Doha, Qatar on April 12, 2024, showcasing talent from both nations, then continued the next day with the UAE-Qatar Super Cup Shield match in Dubai.

Qvision (Qatar Vision), the Doha-based event production and management company, was charged with bringing the organising committee’s vision to life in spectacular opening ceremonies featuring a large complement of Claypaky lighting fixtures.    

For the opening ceremony’s show, Qvision artistic director and executive producer, Sharif Hashisho, devised a mesmerising display at Al Thumama World Cup stadium where storytelling laser animation highlighted the development of football in the GCC region and the significance of the newly established championship. A massive array of Claypaky beams lit up the night sky, sweeping

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

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

“We are essentially a

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USA - Bandit Lites has announced that Kelly Feild has joined the team as the director of touring personnel.

In addition, Feild will also head expanding Bandit’s college outreach as well as interviewing and hiring additional touring personnel of all experience levels and backgrounds.

Feild’s background in live events began early, in high school. She then earned a BBA in Music Business from Belmont University. Following graduation, she worked at Belmont’s event services as their Coordinator of Scheduling before joining Bandit Lites as a lighting technician. She worked on multiple tours and eventually set out as a freelancer.

“I started at Bandit with a business degree and almost no technical experience,” Feild says. “Bandit taught me everything I needed to know to successfully tour as lighting tech. I know how to do the office part

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USA - On his recent arena tour of the US, Israeli superstar Eden Hason worked closely with lighting designer, Alon Shnaiderman.

“The concept of the performance design was built by me together with my client,” said Shnaiderman. “We meet and began to bring his personal place onto the stage. There was a hopeful, positive message he wanted to say to the audience, we broadcast this through the design.”

In keeping with this vision, the singer and his lighting designer sought to create an uplifting mood. “We wanted to give the impression of levitation, that the whole element floats and gives a feeling in space,” said Shnaiderman. “This was key to the story Eden wanted to tell.”

Relying on 20 automated hoists, Shnaiderman created multiple layers of light to change perspectives during the two-hour concert. Over 340 lighting fixtures, 1

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New Zealand - Audio Progress is an audio, lighting and staging company based in Palmerston North, about 150km from capital city Wellington.

The enterprise is run by Malcolm McKinnon, who founded it back in the 1980s, originally as an audio specialist, and since then, he and the team have built a solid reputation for delivering quality productions for all types of shows and events, concerts, and festivals.

A recent investment in 16 x Robe LEDBeam 350s sees the first Robe moving lights to join the Audio Progress inventory.

The new fixtures – delivered by distributor Jands New Zealand – are being used effectively and efficiently to light an increasing array of televised and streamed events serviced by Audio Progress.

Malcolm was aware of Robe as a brand already and had hired some LEDWash 600s for a Kapa Haka festival from Grouse Ligh

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The Netherlands - Villa Ananas hosted a tropical disco party on King’s Night and King’s Day in Beek en Donk. Featuring an impressive array of lighting equipment including Infinity and Showtec fixtures supplied by Dito Rental B.V., the event lit up the night with retro beats and vibrant hues.

As the Netherlands geared up for its vibrant King’s Day celebrations, Villa Ananas welcomed party-goers to immerse themselves in two days of retro beats and disco vibes on King’s Night and King’s Day. Held in the historic village of Beek en Donk near Eindhoven, Villa Ananas offered a tropical disco paradise.

Dito rental B.V. supplied an impressive array of lighting equipment, including 36 Infinity Furion B401 Beam moving heads, 28 Infinity iW-741 RDM RGBW wash moving heads and 10 Infinity iW-1941 RDM RGBW wash moving heads, creating an electrifying atmo

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USA - Obsidian Control Systems is offering offer the Netron CLU, an easy-to-navigate central utility interface useful in discovering and managing Netron data distribution devices across a lighting network. Especially helpful when deploying networks that use multiple nodes, or when working with nodes that lack integrated screens, the Netron CLU makes Netron data signal devices even easier to configure, eliminating the need to physically access the devices themselves, says Obsidian.

Netron devices can be discovered regardless of their current IP address, and all Netron features can be centrally configured, or reconfigured, without the need to access individual web pages or the device displays. Whether you're setting up a handful of nodes for a live event or 50 nodes for an install, remote access to all device functions straight from a computer makes device set

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Italy – This year, Claypaky once again played host to the students enrolled in the Master in Lighting Design and LED Technology, organised by the Polytechnic University of Milan. This course has long been devoted to nurturing the talents of aspiring young lighting professionals.

The course aims to equip them with the skills they need for diverse applications such as entertainment venues, interior architecture, urban landscapes, museum exhibitions and temporary installations and residential spaces. The curriculum focuses on the analysis and synthesis of lighting design methods, covering conception, organisation, and rigging.

Among the esteemed instructors who teach on the course is Giovanni Pinna, a renowned lighting designer in Italy, known for his work with artists like Vasco Rossi. Pinna runs the Lighting Design for Entertainment module,

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UK - Johnny Marr had some very definite ideas about the kinds of looks he wanted on stage for his Greatest Hits tour, which kicked off at Newcastle’s O2 City Hall on 2 April, with lighting design by Ed Warren.

“Johnny and I have a really good relationship,” said Warren. “We spent a fair bit of time hanging out and chatting before coming up with any kind of plan for this tour.  Once we had this decided, I programmed the entire show at home on my MQ70 using Capture over the course of a couple of weeks.

“Since Johnny’s studio is so close to me, I would pop round to see him every few weeks and talk about life, love, football and of course music. He would explain to me the moments he felt things should happen and would even give me background behind meanings of songs. This really helped me interpret them into light. Of course, this was pretty

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Poland - AV Light the exclusive distributor of German Lights Products (GLP) in Poland, has confirmed the successful delivery of the first GLP JDC2 fixtures to Transcolor, one of Poland's largest and best-known lighting companies. This milestone marks a significant moment in the partnership between AV Light and GLP, showcasing their commitment to innovation and excellence in the lighting industry.

Jan Bakiewicz, chief sales officer at AV Light, played a pivotal role in introducing the GLP JDC2 fixtures to the Polish market. Working closely with Stefan Wagner from GLP, Bakiewicz spearheaded efforts to showcase the capabilities of the JDC2 to clients in Poland, highlighting its innovative features and superior performance.

"We are thrilled to partner with Transcolor to bring the GLP JDC2 fixtures to Poland," said Jan Bakiewicz. "These fixtures represent

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Denmark - Performing arts centre Musikhuset Esbjerg has upgraded with advanced dimming and power management solutions from Australian lighting controls manufacturer LSC Control Systems. The new system has delivered faster workflows, increased flexibility, space-saving, and greater peace of mind to this busy, multi-faceted venue.

Musikhuset Esbjerg serves a broad programme of performing arts to the Danish city – including plays, musicals, opera, comedy, and conferences. (Interestingly, this is not its only link with Australia: architect Jørn Utzon, who oversaw the building’s design along with his son, Jan, back in the late 90s, also designed the Sydney Opera House). Today, the building attracts over 150,000 visitors each year, including 80,000 for cultural events and 30,000 for conference and meetings, the remainder being tourists and visitors to non-pay

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Italy – Last month, From the Heart to Hands: Dolce&Gabbana opened its doors at Palazzo Reale Milano. Supermodel Naomi Campbell opened the proceedings, inaugurating an evening of celebrations, from a tour of the rooms hosting the display to a fine dining experience.

Every detail of this exhibition has been ‘meticulously orchestrated from ambient and theatrical lighting to scented rooms’.

Produced by IMG, From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana, curated by Florence Müller is an exhibition that pays tribute to the values of Fatto A Mano (hand-made), and delves into the creative imagery and cultural references that underpin the essence of the iconic fashion house that have been essential since its founding.

ERCO helped bring this vision to life, working closely with IMG to provide innovative lighting solution

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Australia - Tim Goodacre is a busy and in-demand freelance gaffer and lighting specialist based in Sydney and working all over Australia, primarily on TV dramas.

He has invested steadily in Astera to help drive his business over the last two years, most recently purchasing one of the new LeoFresnel products from Astera’s Australian and New Zealand distributor – ULA Group, which is added to his existing stock of AX3 Lightdrop and NYX Bulb kits and workhorse Astera Titan and Helios Tubes.

He immediately utilised the LeoFresnel on season two of the award-winning Netflix Heartbreak High reboot, specifically for a forest night scene shot on location with the students camping out under the moonlight.

In a different scenario, a moving light might conventionally be used, however the practicalities of the location essentially demanded a w

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UK - GLS Lighting, the Southampton based lighting hire company, has been awarded the ESG Mark, an industry benchmark for companies committed to a sustainable future.

GLS Lighting was founded in 1995, to provide lighting equipment to the concert and theatre industry, working on concert tours and events in the UK and worldwide. Over the past 20 years they have progressively introduced initiatives synonymous with the ESG Mark principles. Through the rigorous assessment process, GLS Lighting demonstrated a high level of performance against environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and an ongoing commitment to positive change.

Additionally, GLS Lighting has joined over 14,000 businesses in the UK by becoming an accredited Real Living Wage employer. The company aims to guarantee that staff are paid a wage rate that meets the cost of living. The

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

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

Amadej has been working with the artist for some time. He already had a show designed for smal

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Europe - Ayrton has announced the official launch of Kyalami, its first IP65-rated laser source luminaire in its Creative Solution series.

Kyalami is inspired by the multiple award-winning MagicDot. First released in 2015, MagicDot sold by the thousands within months, and still inspires creativity. Nine years later it has given birth to Kyalami.

Devised for architectural graphic effects, Kyalami is an ultra-compact luminaire with great creative potential. Its essential performance capability is based on its design, extreme miniaturisation, and a minimalist cylindrical footprint that allows multiple luminaires to be installed only a few centimetres apart.

A sphere of just 265mm incorporates Kyalami’s 100W laser module, cooling system and optics, while its 126mm front lens positioned in the continuity of the sphere provides Kyalami with a uni

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USA - Bandit Lites has added adds Claypaky Sharpy X Frames to its touring arsenal and is the first company in the world to send the Sharpy X Frames on the road.

“I am very excited to have these in our inventory to offer our clients,” said Jake Tickle, Bandit Lites vice president of business and innovation. “Claypaky somehow found a way to create what may be the most complete Hybrid Beam fixture in its category. From smooth, even output to intense beams, the Sharpy X Frame really does it all.”

Bandit wasted no time in getting the Sharpy X Frames out on tour with American blues guitarist and singer Gary Clark, Jr. (lighting design by John Adamo and Robert Fuller), The Used (lighting design by Dillon Pajunas and Joe Nicoletti) and Hardy’s set at Patriot Fest (lighting design by Trevor Drawdy). Other tours are in the planning phase now.

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USA - Working with lighting designer Roger Gant, Montreal-based visual design company Lüz studio oversaw the lighting design, creative design and video content for Billy Strings’ ongoing US tour and festival dates, which feature Ayrton fixtures, grandMA3 consoles and MDG theONE atmospheric generators provided by Bandit Lites in Nashville.  ACT Entertainment exclusively distributes all three product brands in North America.

The singer, songwriter and bluegrass star’s current tour commenced in Asheville, North Carolina in February. Dates are booked nationwide through April and May, there’s a break in June and July for a trio of festival performances, then the tour resumes for a summer leg that wraps at LA’s Kia Forum. Billy Strings’ 2024 tour is in support of his Grammy-nominated collaborative album with his father, ME/AND/DAD.

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Canada - For Winnipeg’s large French-speaking community, the Franco-Manitobain Cultural Centre (CCFM) serves as an important cultural gathering spot for events and celebrations. CCFM recently marked its 50th Anniversary in grand fashion with a dazzling show featuring a production design by Red Rover Entertainment and illuminated by Elation lighting.

With two large-scale shows as well as several smaller events on the schedule, the venue’s year-long anniversary celebration commemorates the rich cultural heritage of Winnipeg’s francophone community across five decades. For a special anniversary show that took place 19 April, several francophone artists who have graced the CCFM stage over the past 50 years, old and young talent alike, were invited to perform backed by a house band.

Jon Stanners, who has operated Red Rover Entertainment in Winnipeg

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  4. London’s Park Theatre upgrades with ETC
  5. Robe dances with Māori theatre company
  6. Showtec and Infinity out in force at Paaspop
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