Projects

Details
Spain - The School of Modern Music (TAF) has installed an Allen & Heath dLive S Class digital mixing system, comprising a S5000 Surface with DM64 MixRack, in its concert hall.
Located in Madrid, the centre offers a wide educational programme, focusing on practical experience and a detailed curriculum and requiring professional world-class facilities, staff and equipment.
Alex Blanco, chief technical officer at TAF, comments, "Students should feel that what they are learning is useful, so we endorse practical assignments from the outset. dLive was chosen because of its expansion possibilities and exceptional configuration flexibility, which allows us to manage any type of event, from concerts or theatre productions to broadcasting.”
The dLive system is employed to manage the school’s concert and theatre productions as well as for touring duties and TV show

Details
UK - Bat out of Hell the Musical opened at the Manchester Opera House in February where it is currently enjoying a 12-week run. The show is the brainchild of Jim Steinman and rock superstar Meat Loaf - a romantic adventure about rebellious youths. Steinman composed Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell albums and always dreamed of lifting the tracks from record to stage. Forty years later the dream has become a reality.
Production manager Simon Marlow, who will also take the production to the London Coliseum in June for another 12-week run before transferring the show to Toronto, knew that for this technically complex large scale production he would require the help of Unusual Rigging. He said, "As production manager here in the UK and technical supervisor in Canada, I am in charge of everything, from the set, engineering, automation and rigging etc, to costumes, wigs an

Details
Canada - Lighting designer Al Paquette was looking for some new and exciting fixtures to incorporate into his design for the current 1000 Arms tour by Canadian country rockers Blue Rodeo - and chose Robe Spiiders and PATT 2013s which were newly purchased by lighting vendor Apex Sound & Light from Ontario, Canada.
Al has worked with the popular band for the last six years, and this is the fourth full production tour he's done with them for which he created a totally original look and design. He knows what they are comfortable with onstage, "it's about setting the right mood and environment for the music," he explained.
Limited truck space was another consideration for this one, so getting maximum impact from a minimum number of fixtures was essential. Keeping this in mind he chose the 20 x Spiiders and five PATT 2013s.
The Spiiders were evenly positioned along

Details
USA - Like a warm summer breeze, the music of pop punk pioneers We The Kings has always been reassuring, pleasing and tinged with a sense of expectation. Beginning with their platinum breakthrough single Check Yes Juliet, on through We’ll Be A Dream (with Demi Lovato), the band has served up some of the most memorable let’s journey forth together love songs for the generation that came of age with the internet.
True to this breakaway spirit, We The Kings has set out on the road to celebrate the 10th anniversary of its debut album with an ambitious 37-city tour that began in Nashville on 17 February and will wrap up at the Slam Dunk festival in the UK. Travelling with the band on the US leg of this journey is a versatile road-friendly rig from New York-based Squeek Lights that is made up almost entirely of Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“We designed

Details
UK - The British TV show Strictly Come Dancing approaches its 15th season this year. Renowned for its visual razzmatazz, the show’s lighting depends on a vast network of data control, an essential component of which is the powerful ProPlex IQ Two 1616.
“We purchased an IQ 1616 Ethernet-DMX node last autumn for Season 14,” says Mark Newell, lighting gaffer and chief systems tech for the show. “It’s an integral part of a system incorporating two consoles and a media server, all outputting on the same network. We’ve been using the ProPlex node to output DMX for a grid of LED battens, pixel-mapped within the media server, and used to light any band extras or special props that the couples use during their dances.
“Because the consoles we use for Strictly have a limited number of outputs, we have to swap routing during the show. The ProPlex IQ 1616 is

Details
UK - Rental company Adlib continues its work with top comedians, having just supplied full production – sound, lighting and video – for Jack Whitehall’s sold out, three week At Large UK arena tour. The Liverpool based company previously supplied production for his ground-breaking 2014 arena tour, which was staged in the round.
Having appropriate production in the right proportions and places is a key to delivering comedy on a large scale. It is about presenting this very intimate and personal style of entertainment and communication in a way that ensures audiences in larger venues enjoy all the same essential experiences as a one-to-one scenario.
Steve ‘Patto’ Pattison mixed front-of-house, working with a strong team from Adlib including monitor engineer / sound crew chief Marc Peers and systems tech Tony Szabo, who was responsible for the precision and detai

Details
Australia - Philips Lighting reports that its LED stage lighting added to the drama and detail of an award-winning production of the hit Broadway musical Wicked at the historic Theatre Royal in Hobart, Tasmania.
In the role of both lighting designer and technical supplier was Gareth Kays of GK Productions, Tasmania's leading performance technology consultancy. His brief was to create an impressive, Broadway-style production on a comparatively small stage.
"One of my main challenges was disguising the ground support system which allowed lead character Elphaba to take flight during the number Defying Gravity," Kays explained. "I used Philips Showline SL BEAM 300fx moving head luminaires at full zoom for back lighting Elphaba as she rose into the air. Light radiated out from her, masking the mechanics and giving the impression she truly was flying. I used Philips S

Details
USA - Quickly becoming on the of the hottest stars in country music today, Cole Swindell has recently set out on the What the Hell World Tour with fellow country music superstar Dierks Bentley. Fresh off his very successful Down Home Tour, Swindell and his production team were looking for a fresh tour design to take on the road in 2017.
Once again working with tour provider Elite Multimedia, production manager James “Mo” Butts began the process of finding the ideal tour design and in the end, it was the creativity of Sooner Routhier at SRae Productions that was chosen to highlight the Academy of Country Music award winner.
“When we started outlining the new tour design we chose four designers that we really felt were doing great work and asked them to submit design proposals for a completely new production design,” began Butts. “As an artist, Cole loves video

Details
USA - Versatility is a key ingredient in any lighting rig that Creative Production & Design builds for a multi-artist show. This was especially evident recently when the Austin, Texas-based company created a lighting and video show for CRUSH Dallas 2017, part of a four-city Insomniac production. Their immersive, high octane rig engaged the packed house at the South Side Ballroom, while also supporting the diverse musical styles of artists on stage, thanks in part to a massive collection of PVP X6IP LED video panels from Chauvet Professional.
“My business partner Justin Jenkins and I always try to make our show designs flexible and well rounded,” said Dan Wyatt of Creative Production & Design (CPD), who served as the production manager and designer on the project. “This event was no different. Not only did we have DJs like Yellow Claw that just need a table full

Details
Sweden - Located on a tree-lined avenue, restaurant Usine adds a touch of French industrial flair to the heart of Stockholm’s business district. Featuring a bistro, tapas bar, café/takeaway and conference facilities, a zoned Yamaha audio system blends seamlessly with the venue’s aesthetics.
Usine’s name comes from the French word for ‘factory’, which is reflected in its girders, overhead air ducts and other services being left exposed and made a feature of. AV specialist Watt & Volt was contracted to design and specify a zoned audio system, choosing Yamaha CIS products to deliver high quality audio in a challenging environment of hard, flat reflective surfaces.
Controlled by an MTX5-D matrix processor, the system is divided into nine zones and features 32 VXS8 full-range, surface mounted loudspeakers, plus two IS1112 subs in the main bar/dining area, two

Details
USA - Country music star Brantley Gilbert has launched The Devil Don’t Sleep tour playing arenas in North America through early spring in the first leg. Nathan Alves and Howard Jones co-designed the show, which features Claypaky Scenius, Mythos 2, Sharpy and Stormy Strobe fixtures.
The tour supports Gilbert’s new album of the same name. Jones’ company, Nashville-based DCR, is supplying all of the show’s equipment; it has provided gear for Gilbert since before his first record deal. The tour marks Alves/Jones second collaboration for the artist.
The Devil Don’t Sleep is a departure in design from Gilbert’s recent tours. “In the past tours used truss structure to define a shape, like the motorcycle motif for last year’s tour,” Alves explains. “Now we’re using digital scenery with videowalls front and center. That gives us more flexibility to take hi

Details
The Netherlands - Allen & Heath’s dLive S Class and ME digital mixing systems have been purchased to manage the On Stage live radio show for no.1 Dutch radio station, NPO 3FM.
The new radio show includes performances from live bands, and incorporates visual clips. dLive manages the live radio, floor sound and several feeds for live internet streaming. Comprising a S5000 and DM64 with DX32 expander rack, the system is fitted with MADI and Waves network cards, with an IP8 remote controller and a ME personal monitoring system, including 6 ME-1 mini mixers, for monitoring the bands. dLive is configured to provide three different mixes going to the DJ desk, and dlive communicates with the DHD radio mixer via Dante.
“As a fanatical iLive user, I was pleased to get the opportunity to purchase the dLive and ME systems. The learning curve was only about one hour,” exp

Details
UK - Working for exhibition designers and producers event.live, Blackout were approached for the third year to provide rigging for Microgaming’s stand and bar at the ICE Totally Gaming exhibition at ExCeL, February 2017.
The Microgaming stand and bar designed and produced by event.live had a daily change in set design to encourage repeat footfall and stand out from the visually competitive surrounding stands. The final day of the show engaged delegates with a castle-themed bar, utilising Blackout’s rigging expertise to suspend a number of chandeliers from one half of the truss grid above the bar to surround guests with in-keeping decor, whilst being entertained by professional sandcastle sculptors organised by Microgaming.
Tim Searle, Blackout’s project manager and his six-strong crew, over the course of three days, supplied and installed 300m of black Prolyte H4

Details
USA - The Nashville Municipal Auditorium hosted the Youth Evangelism Conference in March. Bandit Lites provided the lighting package for the event for Orchestrate Experience with lighting designer Trey Meares and Orchestrate Production director Alex Fleming. Featured guests included Dave Edwards, The Skit Guys, Luke MacDonald and the YEC Worship Band.
Due to the audience size and the nature of the conference, Meares created an 'in the round' setup to an end stage in the arena, giving attendees the maximum amount of impact, while still being mindful of the calling of the conference. “Lighting always has the ability to drive the ‘mood’ of the room, and I make an effort to not let the technology overpower the message that is being delivered by the organisation,” Meares shared.
“On the other hand, lighting can make the room exciting for the attendees and can als

Details
USA - Crossroads Christian Church has been growing in Corona, California, since it was founded in 1892. Now occupying a large, multifaceted campus including a modern 2500-capacity Main Worship Centre, the church welcomes around 7000 attendees every weekend to enjoy its message, and the sophisticated live show that frames it.
Tyler DeYoung is the technical director and FOH engineer at Crossroads, and has recently specified an SSL Live L500 digital audio console for FOH duties, which was supplied by systems integrator CCI Solutions.
"As well as the three services in the main auditorium, that space is also regularly rented out for music events and used for other special church events, explains DeYoung. "We run about 48 inputs every weekend - full drum kit, tracks, keyboards, two guitars, bass, five vocals, and a couple of acoustic guitars. On top of that we might add stri

Details
Australia - Lighting specialist Resolution X, a company based in Melbourne and Sydney with an impressive track-record of high-profile production services, has recently supplied White Night Melbourne with lighting and rigging services. White Night is an outdoor art festival that attracts over 500,000 attendees each year.
The team deployed over 25 W-DMX transceivers and receivers over the White Night weekend through several spaces, from the Royal Exhibition Building (REB) and surrounding gardens.
“Our control position was at the heart of the Carlton Gardens, where we had our new compact GrandMA onPC command wing Systems, running two separate W-DMX networks, each with a BlackBox F-1 G4S transceiver, and an 19dBi directional antenna,” commented Mark Hopkins, of Resolution X.
The first receiving point was 80m away, on a roof, feeding DMX to IP64 ShowPro Quad PARs,

Details
UK - Situated at the heart of The University of Manchester’s campus, the Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama recently underwent a significant refit, including the installation of a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient production lighting package, featuring a control desk, LED luminaires and power controls from ETC, and auditorium lighting from GDS, all supplied and installed by Stage Electrics.
An important arts venue for north-west England, the Martin Harris Centre offers students a fantastic space in which to study and perform, as well as hosting many professional musicians, performers and prize-winning authors. It provides an excellent space for contemporary and classic theatre, music and comedy events, and holds a reading series that has in the past featured such literary luminaries as Martin Amis, Will Self, John Banville and Clive James.
The project, which w

Details
USA - Most of the fans who turned up at The Holding Company to hear a St. Patrick’s Day concert by the popular Irish band The Fooks were appropriately dressed in green. They weren’t alone. The well-known Ocean Beach music venue was also adorned in brilliant emerald, thanks to some imaginative lighting by Matt Collier and a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional and Chauvet DJ.
The touring LD for Brothers Gow, Collier took time off from the road to light the San Diego nightspot. He transformed its stage and exterior into a sea of green using Rogue R1 Spots and SlimPAR 64 par-style fixtures. “The Rogues and SlimPARs both render excellent greens, so it was pretty easy to create something that looked good,” he said. “It added to the spirit of the evening. Everyone wears green on St. Patty’s Day, but we got the whole building green, so it stood out.”

Details
UK - Colour Sound Experiment supplied a lighting and video floor package for the latest run of live shows by talented music producer Bonobo (Simon Green), with a new lighting look for the stage designed by Will Thomas.
The tour is in support of Bonobo’s recent UK Top 5 album, Migration, released in January on independent label Ninja Tune Records. Will Thomas has previously worked on Bonobo’s extensive Black Sands and The North Borders tours, which culminated at the end of 2014 with a sell-out show at London’s Alexandra Palace.
Will has produced an energising and refreshing show to match the vibe of the music of Migration and its transitory themes. A major starting point for this was the visual material commissioned by Bonobo and produced by Strangeloop from LA, who also created the screen design which brought an architectural presence to the stage.<

Details
UK - Winner of the 1991 Olivier Award for Comedy of the Year, Ray Cooney’s Out of Order is making a triumphant return to the stage. Starring television favourites such as Shaun Williamson and Sue Holderness, this classic farce will now embark on a nationwide tour. White Light is providing the lighting equipment on this production.
Out of Order tells the story of Richard Willey, a Government Junior Minister, whose plans to spend the evening with one of the opposition’s typists go disastrously wrong. This revival is being produced by Tom O’Connell and the lighting designer is Jack Weir. He comments, “Out of Order is a purposefully over-the-top, hilarious farce and typical of Ray Cooney’s work. The show takes place in real time, in the one location of a hotel room overlooking the London skyline. My role was to light the action and highlight the f

Details
China - Nexo STM M28 has made its debut appearance in the great city of Shanghai, in a new entertainment venue that has become one of the main hotspots for both local and foreign visitors.
VShow, a five-year-old KTV brand, has recently made the leap into live music, commissioning the V Livehouse in the heart of Shanghai’s ‘club central’ on Huaihai Dong Lu, another sign that the Chinese nightclub and bar entertainment market is getting back on its feet. At V Livehouse, the band is the central attraction. The performance stage is embraced by high-end interior décor, superior food and beverage service, and top-class management.
For this environment, a high-specification front-of-house PA was essential. The STM M28 ‘omni’ cabinet was a perfect fit for the venue, offering high SPL from small unobtrusive cabinets. Three M28s per side were installed, fitted with 12

Details
Austria - World renowned lighting designer Björn Hermann employed 60 x Claypaky Mythos2 and 20 x Claypaky Supersharpy2 to deliver two titanic light sculptures as part of global crystal producer Swarovski's Festival of Light, hosted at their seven-hectare fantasy park Swarovski Kristallwelten (Crystal Worlds) in Wattens, Austria.
Lead creative agency for Festival of Light was Berlin-based international creative production company StudioNOW, who originated the project's concept. StudioNOW worked alongside Hermann and German art collective phase7 to create an adventure park of sound and light that included the two colossal light sculptures crafted by the beams of Claypaky's award-winning long-throw arc lamps. The Mythos2 and Supersharpy2 fixtures were supplied to the event by German event production and rental specialist satis&fy.
"The inspiration for the project cam

Details
USA - Shaping Sound, the mash-up of contemporary dancers, musical genres and dancing styles has returned to the road with a new production with Shaping Sound: After the Curtain.
Bandit Lites is providing the lighting package for the spectacle which is cultivated under the artistic direction of Emmy Award winner Travis Wall and co-created with Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson. The dazzling show follows the story of a man as he struggles to come to terms with the loss of his one true love, his struggle to find his creative voice and grasp the reality around him.
Co-lighting designers Nathan W. Scheuer and Teresa Fensler created a plot based on a typical dance set up, with four booms for side light and spreading out overhead electrics for high sides and a good down wash.
“In dance, the most important aspect of the design is obviously showcasi

Details
UK - Aliens have invaded earth and in order to save humanity you need to create a capsule with the best the human race has to offer – what would you choose?
That’s the very loose premise behind the new ITV show Harry Hill’s Alien Fun Capsule. Lit by lighting designer Martin Kempton, supported by Richard Martin Lighting, the show sees the responsibility fall to the wacky comic who gathers a panel of celebrities each week to deliver judgment on comedy moments, some of which are dug up from television gone by, some created in the studio to help fill the capsule. All to sway our new alien overlords to spare the human race.
The celebrity panel each week are put through their paces like all of Harry Hill’s victims in previous success TV Burp, with clips from television appearances dug up and commentated on with the dry and witty asides Harry is famed for.
  1. Doughty helps Little Angel Theatre transform
  2. Unusual Rigging at Norwegian Aviation Museum
  3. ModTruss makes more of the world a stage
  4. Robe on the menu for MasterChef Algeria
  5. LD Justin Townsend turns to Elation LED
  6. GLP LED fixtures out in force at Dragonland
Page 454 of 461

Latest Issue. . .