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…
Author: TPi
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…
The week-long Summer Nostos Festival (SNFest) is an international multifaceted art, sports and education festival held every June, that is free for all to attend and welcomes people of all ages. It was the fifth year of the incredibly popular festival, with the powerful sound of Clair Brothers speakers. Like every year, SNFest 2019 was hosted by the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation. This is the organisation responsible for the entire construction in 2017 of the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens where the festival is held, for the third year, right on the beautiful Athenian seafront. The venue has already…
Phantom of the Opera has been an international phenomenon for more than 30 years. Now, the French concert version of the hit musical has debuted in Montreal and Quebec City where Lighting Designer Jean-Francois Couture, of Montreal’s La Boîte à Lumière, utilised a full-size grandMA3 console for lighting control. ACT Lighting is the exclusive distributor of MA Lighting products in North America. The new production, featuring 20 singers and a 40-musician orchestra, enchanted audiences at the Théâtre St-Denis in Montreal and the Grand Théâtre de Québec in January. It was presented by Spectra Musique through a special arrangement with The…
It is with great sadness that Lectrosonics mourns the passing of a member of its immediate family, longtime Northeastern Technical Sales Representative Howard Kaufman, on February 27, 2020. A 23-year veteran of Lectrosonics, Kaufman was working as an engineer at the United Nations designing systems for broadcast and conference facilities when he met Gordon Moore, who was Kaufmann’s primary technical support at Lectrosonics. Getting to know Howard inspired Moore to offer him a position at Lectrosonics. “Howard loved providing technical support throughout the Northeast US and loved going to Europe for trade shows. He was demanding of our engineering department,…
Hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall and held at a sold-out O2 Arena in London, this year’s BRIT Awards celebrated its 40th anniversary with an explosion of great acts and performances, solidifying its status as the biggest music awards show in the UK calendar. Britannia Row Productions, long-time audio provider for the show, yet again supported one of the most anticipated events of the year by providing the requirements for the show’s audio system. The BRITs always presents unique challenges for the audio team lead by Live Sound Supervisor Colin Pink. This year was no exception, with three stages and two…
Green Hippo has announced that David March and Ryan Brown are to take on new directorship roles at the company. At the same time, Business Unit Director Emma Marlow is to leave the company after almost seven years at the helm. During her time as CEO, then Business Unit Director of Green Hippo, Marlow has driven huge growth, expanded international operations and overseen the 2018 acquisition of the company by US-based Spitfire Creative Technologies. Now that Marlow has successfully overseen the integration of Green Hippo into the Spitfire group of specialist AV brands, she will not be directly replaced. Instead,…
Live sound professionals across India continue to rely on JBL Professional VTX V Series line array loudspeakers, more than eight years after their release. A product of decades of experience in loudspeaker design, the JBL VTX V Series introduced several innovative technologies that have cemented its place on stages worldwide. Patented Differential Drive transducers and D2 compression drivers deliver pure sound with high output, while the Radiation Boundary Integrator (RBI) waveguide ensures precision coverage. The S.A.F.E. suspension system streamlines deployment and ensures secure rigging. “Of all the achievements JBL has made over the years, the VTX V Series stands tall…
With redesigned drivers, an all-new rigging system and three flexible models to choose from, JBL Professional VTX A-Series line array loudspeakers have quickly become a favourite of live sound professionals in the Indian market. Building on the success of the VTX V Series, VTX A-Series loudspeakers feature several new innovations that make them the ultimate choice for touring and installed applications of any size. Next-generation transducers deliver high-output performance with improved low-frequency extension. A redesigned Radiation Boundary Integrator waveguide ensures a smooth transition between mid and high frequencies. An all-new rigging system features auto-locking suspension for faster, safer and more…
The Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has announced the appointment of five new judges across its three categories for the 2020 Awards. Renowned for the professionalism and impartiality of its judges, the KOI Awards invites critics, journalists and industry professionals to form its three independent judging panels for the categories of Concert & Event, Television and Theatre. Critic, broadcaster, and chair of the Theatre judging panel, David Benedict is joined by three new judges this year: Mark Pullinger, an experienced opera critic and editor of classical music magazine Bachtrack; Sarah Crompton, dance critic for The Observer and theatre reviewer for…
