Author: TPi

To update his original 2008 lighting design for a modern touring production of Dreamgirls, renowned lighting designer Ken Billington chose the LED-based VLZ fixtures from Vari-Lite, a Signify entertainment lighting brand. After seeing a demo of the VLZ fixtures, he was satisfied with them as the next-generation luminaire that would reproduce the look and feel of his original Vari-Lite rig. Billington specified 32 VLZ Wash, 22 VLZ Spot and 12 VLZ Profile fixtures to form the show’s entire overhead lighting rig. “The fixtures are bright,” said Billington, “in fact a bit too bright! We run them at 50-70% most of…

Vari-Lite, the originator of the modern moving head lighting fixture and a Signify entertainment lighting brand, has announced that the Vari-Lite VL800 EVENTPROFILE is now shipping. Originally debuted at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the VL800 EVENTPROFILE is the newest member of the popular VL800 Series of event luminaires. The VL800 EVENTPROFILE brings the DNA of Vari-Lite in a compact profile luminaire perfect for the event market. “The VL800 Series has already been embraced by designers on tours and installations alike,” said Martin Palmer, Senior Product Manager, Vari-Lite and Strand Luminaires at Signify. “This latest member of the family…

Paul Siebert makes no bones about it: every night, as soon as punk rockers Menzingers strike the first snarling note in one of their Hello Exile Tour sets, he kicks his light show into fourth gear. “I really try to introduce a lot of energy into the room as early as possible,” he explained. “This is a punk show at heart, so all the transitions between songs are really fast, and most of the band’s songs come out of the gate swinging. The earlier I can get the crowd moving, the better the show will be for everyone.” Helping Siebert…

When Guns N’ Roses’ successful Not In This Lifetime tour switched to disguise for its North American leg, it opened up new creative possibilities to enhance the already visually spectacular rock show. The tour wrapped last November with two shows at The Colosseum in Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. The three-year world tour played 158 concerts selling more than 5 million tickets and grossing $584 million. The Not In This Lifetime tour that started in 2016 marked the first time that Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan played together since 1993. Screenworks-NEP Live Events was the disguise rental partner for the…

The Slovak Volleyball Federation recently contracted laser specialists, Kvant, to provide a spectacular multimedia show for the Superfinals of the Slovak Cup, at the Eurovia Arena in Bratislava. The clients were looking for a high-quality ‘curtain raiser’ for the opening of the Men’s and Women’s finals, and to entertain the audience between the breaks. Following the Finals, there was a live performance as the winners were announced. Helping to boost the extravaganza were 24 Aqua 580 Beam from PR Lighting. The spectacular itself was designed by Martin Gabco, Kvant’s show designer, with lighting, laser beam and graphics all operating to…

Kings of Floyd are a leading Pink Floyd tribute band based in Germany led by Brit, Mark Gillespie. They have earned a deserved reputation for presenting an accurate and atmospheric representation of the classic progressive rock supergroup. In order to replicate and do justice to the magic and majesty of Pink Floyd, Kings of Floyd and their experienced crew place audio quality high on their list of priorities. Highly respected FOH Engineer, Howard Heckers, notable for his work with Supertramp co-founder Roger Hodgson amongst many others, is the band’s audio lynchpin and his work in helping to produce the authentic…

Cameron Birchill used a collection of CHAUVET Professional Rogue R2 Wash fixtures from Squeek Lights for Beartooth, on the metal band’s national co-headline Disease and Disguised Tour with Motionless in White. Beyond reflecting the mood of the music itself, his colour changes, along with his mix of bold hues with white light, served as a bridge between the audience and the deeply personal forces driving each song. This was plain to see in the prelude to the title song: Disease, when frontman Caleb Shomo explained how this work was inspired by his own struggle with depression. Birchill set the stage…

Theatre lighting design specialist Tyler Micoleau recently collaborated with New York based Public Theater’s Public Works programme, lighting a production of the musical Hercules, a world premiere presentation of a stage musical adaptation of the Disney film, developed in a collaboration between The Public Theater and Disney Theatrical Productions. The venue chosen was the outdoor Delacorte Theater in New York’s Central Park, and helping Micoleau to achieve his objectives were 34 Fusion Par 7’s and 20 Fusion Stick battens, operating alongside the repertory house rig. Micoleau has a long history of working on productions with Lear deBessonet, founding director of…

Lighting designer, Michael Brown used 49 Robe MegaPointes and 25 Kinetic Lights custom moving mirrors for the US leg of Bon Iver’s recent tour. Brown first encountered the Kinetic Lights winch system in 2017 while researching cool art projects for the Eaux Claires Festival in Wisconsin for which he was the creative director/ visual arts curator for all four years – 2015 to 2018 – that the event has run so far. Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner from The National are the main curators – for music and all aspects – of the entire festival. Brown reached out…

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Peter Mumford’s prestigious career in 2019, December saw the ALD host an evening In Conversation with Mumford where he was bestowed with a Fellowship of the Association by Lucy Carter, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the art of lighting design. On presenting the award, Lucy said: “I’ve got a lot to thank Peter for because 25 years ago when I was a dance and drama student, I didn’t even know about lights in performance and it was watching Peter’s designs for contemporary dance that I suddenly saw this new medium and is essentially…

Once again, Riedel Communications supplied a comprehensive signal transport and communications backbone for the spectacular New Year’s Eve Hogmanay celebration in Edinburgh, Scotland. Riedel’s MediorNet provided real-time transport, processing, and routing for all video and audio signals and also enabled critical IP-based systems such as CCTV, Internet access, and weather monitoring. Riedel’s Artist digital matrix intercom system and Bolero wireless intercom were tightly integrated with MediorNet to ensure clear and reliable communications for the production crew across five stages. Billed as one of the world’s largest New Year’s Eve celebrations, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 19 culminated in a giant street party on…

For the current world tour by British pop sensation Charli XCX, lighting designer Elliott Mountford is enjoying the power and consistency of the VL2600 Profile luminaire from Vari-Lite, a Signify entertainment lighting brand. The tour is in support of Charli XCX’s third studio album CHARLI, acclaimed for its experimentation and diversity. The show, therefore, required extraordinary variety. Having worked with Charli and creative director Jed Skrzypczak through the summer, Mountford knew what was required, but also the limitations. “Charli hates key light, so most of my show is backlit, with a very silhouetted look. I love big, backlit looks in…

Over the past several months, Midge Ure has been touring the UK with the 1980 Vienna Visage Tour. The tour includes classic Visage tracks in the first section, followed by the entire ULTRAVOX VIENNA Album then concluding with a four-song encore of fan favourites. Rik Foreman of Flux Rig & Lights describes bringing the tour lighting to life making use of the Briteq BT-Vintage. “My brief was to supply theatrical type lighting with three distinct looks for each section,” he explained. “I wanted a statement fixture that had a lot of presence on stage. The shape, size and overall look…

Norwegian sound engineer Tom Meyer has built up a large collection of DPA microphones over the years and has always been very happy with the results they deliver. He is now spreading the word to artists he works with and has recently persuaded pop singer Lisa Skoglund to switch to one of the company’s new 2028 Vocal Microphones. “As soon as the 2028 Vocal Microphone was released, I ordered one for Lisa and she is so happy with it that she takes it with her wherever she is singing,” Meyer said. “I take a selection of DPA microphones with me…

Vari-Lite, the originator of the modern moving head lighting fixture and a Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) entertainment lighting brand, has announced that its new Vari-Lite VL5LED WASH fixture is now shipping. Originally debuted at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the VL5LED WASH is the true successor to the Emmy-winning VL5. With an RGBALC colour system, onboard motorised zoom, and LED blade lights, this compact VL5LED WASH brings a host of modern features to the familiar form factor of a legendary fixture. “Often imitated but never duplicated, customers continue to use both the original VL5 and the VL500 many years after…

Brompton Technology has hailed ISE 2020 a success, after giving visitors to this year’s exhibition the first European showing of its Dynamic Calibration technology as well as launching its latest LED processor, the Tessera S8. “Our demonstration stations were a big draw and the reaction to the Tessera S8 has been very encouraging,” commented Brompton’s Senior Business Development Manager, Rob Fowler. “But the reactions to our presentations of Dynamic Calibration, the enabling technology for Brompton’s HDR solution, were truly astounding.” The Tessera S8 is a cost-effective solution for high profile projects that do not require the large output capacity of…

American rock band Alter Bridge recently wrapped a headlining winter tour with a lighting system from Bandit Lites. The Florida quartet comprised of Myles Kennedy (vocals, guitar), Mark Tremonti (guitar, vocals), Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums) recently released their sixth full length, WALK THE SKY (Napalm Records), an album that brought the band its first career No. 1 on the Top Current Albums Chart. Lighting designer Joshua Light shared this tour’s system adopted key aspects of the band’s European Walk the Sky tour, designed by the late Joe Eager while evolving into a more compact package that would…

Martin Audio’s MLA Multicellular Loudspeaker Array played an important role at the Countdown Japan Festival 19/20 at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center in Chiba. Countdown Japan is one of the biggest new year countdown music festivals in Japan, held over four days at the end of December (and leading up to the final countdown at midnight on December 31st). This major event features between 40-50 Japanese music acts per day. The main stage is the 40,000 capacity Earth Stage, while the other four stages comprise Galaxy Stage, Cosmo Stage, Moon Stage and Astro Arena (some with acts running through until…