During all this upheaval the company has managed to service various tours including: Zero 7 for the second time this year, again lit by Utopium LD Stuart Farrell who operated an Avo Pearl and used Mac500 and Studio Beams mounted over a semi- circle truss. Uriah Heep recently performed in Guernsey with equipment and crew supplied by Utopium. The LD was Chris Bushell who was also LD for the recent Goldie Looking Chain tour. Mercury Music award winner, Dizzee Rascal has just finished his first UK Tour with Utopium andJonny Gaskell has chosen Utopium's Pixel Drive control system on Embrace. The eight Pixel Lines are controlled from Utopium's packaged control system. The Pixel Drive takes the signal from the desk, processes this through the Pixel Drive computer and outputs up to four DMX universes to run the images on the Pixel Line Battens. The main rig on Embrace is run from the Whole Hog II and Hog Extension Wing. Delirious, with LD Neil Whitehorn used an Avolite D4 along with Radlite to run the show and video sequence along with the X-Spots and Pixeline.
For TV Daryl Noad has used Utopium for the four part series of the Welsh TV show 'Risg' at Studio 1 in Cardiff. X-Spots, Pixeline, P36 LED Chroma Cans and single ACL cans were used in the design with Theo Cox programming the Whole Hog II. The Royal Television Awards 2004 were held at the Cardiff Museum and Martyn Rourke contracted Utopium to light the event. He used a mixture Mac500, Mac300 and conventional lighting on a six leg 195' 'ground supported' Litebeam structure.
Utopium has also done its fair share of movie premiers, AD Events asked Utopium to service the promo for the Be Witched movie at Sounds Republic, a preview at Battersea Park of the latest BBC Voyage to the Planets and the celebrity premier of the animated movie The Incredibles. The new Tom Hanks movie for Christmas, Polar Express premiered at Leicester Square and West Design asked Steve Hicks to design the show for which the gear was supplied by Utopium.
Bonfire night has kept the company busy - at the Hurlingham Club Fireworks Display with the Band of the Royal Marines and also with Robinson's Juice at Alexander Palace. The former show was lit by Chris Bushell and used the SGM-Palcos, along with High End X-Spot Extremes and City Colours. Angus Chinn oversaw the Ally Pali Event for KLP, with a kit list of 20 City Colours, 12 Cyber Turbos and 144 Par 64s.
Jack Dee performed at the Deloitte & Touché event at the Hilton Park Lane - lit by Matt Button and Utopium Lighting Ltd. Button used a combination of 18 HES.PC Beams, 32 ETC S/4, 48 Thomas four cell cyc-lights and 36 1.2 kW Selecon Fresnels. Button also used Utopium to light the Regent Street Christmas Lights with Jamie Cullam. And finally The Mackenzie Group had Utopium install an Avolite D4, this month, at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.
(Sarah Rushton-Read)
