In a unique collaboration, the 67th Eurovision Song Contest, that annual extravaganza of music and lighting, was hosted in Liverpool by the UK, on behalf of last year’s winners, Ukraine – the first time two countries have co-hosted the event.

Two semi-finals on 8th and 11th May saw 37 acts whittled down to 26 finalists for the spectacular Grand Final on 13th May at the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena. The show reached record UK viewing figures and was broadcast globally to over 160 million viewers.

In what he calls ‘a dream-come-true project’, multi award-winning lighting designer, Tim Routledge and his team were, in addition to all 37 performances, responsible for every aspect of the lighting including presentation states, commentator boxes, voting sequences, and the half-time and opening shows for the two semi-finals and Grand Final.

This massive undertaking was based on briefings, renders and notes mostly delivered remotely and a 20-minute meeting with each of the countries’ delegations in March. “We had to focus on the key points from each to realise their design wishes, and work fast to deliver everything within the time frame,” says Routledge.

With such tight time schedules and high-profile exposure, Routledge needed equipment that was fast, accurate, versatile and reliable. He chose Ayrton’s new Zonda 9 FX, Karif LT, MagicBlade R and the laser-sourced Cobra as key components of his lighting inventory.

Zonda 9 FX

90 Zonda 9 FX were used to create 10 ‘Svoboda 3000’ pods, Routledge’s modernised recreation of the classic Svoboda batten, which he says were a ‘massively important feature’ in the show.
The pods were mounted on independent automated hoists, and tessellated within the three concentric rings of oval lightboxes above the centre stage to form one big curve, and could each be lowered and raised at will.

“I’ve always loved those Svoboda lights, plus it was a kind of nod to my late father who first gave me a book on Josef Svoboda when I was young,” says Routledge. “We wanted to create a Svoboda pod that was epic and could fly in and out individually.”
Zonda 9 FX’s large face was ideal for providing the eye candy and dressing looks that Routledge was after, as well performing as a punchy wash light. “Zonda 9 FX has great power, but we chose it mainly for the clever matrix effect (LiquidEffects™) on the front,” he says.

“These gave really cool looks to fill the shots when they were dropped in low, and also had the ability to create something pretty without having to blow the shot with loads of powerful light they looked great without even having to use their punch. They proved very popular with the delegations and fulfilled the brief of what I was trying to do with the pods perfectly.”

MagicBlade-R

96 MagicBlade R were rigged in the central chandelier feature that filled the space between the oval light boxes in the centre of the arena. These were used for “fun stuff and sky eye candy filling the centre spot above the oval stage.”

Ayrton-cobra

50 laser-sourced Cobra, which can narrow down to the tightest of beams at 0.6°, were rigged down the sides of the arena to provide big beam looks for all the audience ‘down-the-room’ shots and dressing shots for camera reverses.

“The Cobras were used really well on several numbers, especially France’s prop which was edged in a mirror ball fascia, and during the Semi-Final 1 half-time show when the performers opened up their costumes to reveal a mirrorball textured heart jacket,” says Routledge. “We pointed the Cobras at those with phenomenal effect.

“At another point, Spain wanted their artiste to scoop up a beam of light in her hand one Cobra was aimed at a specific spot for a closeup on her hand bathed in high intensity light that looked she was literally holding light.
The punch and the tight beams the Cobras gave us shooting from 80m well they were brilliant in every sense of the word!”

Ayrton Karif LT

30 Karif LT were rigged around the arena on goal posts to provide back beams for the audience shots and add background texture to the oval stage’s left and right wings.
“To avoid compromising audience sightlines we were quite restricted for space and height, so I needed a compact beam light that would work well in those tight spaces. Finding the right LED fixture that was small and fast was the challenge, and Karif LT fitted the bill really well.”

“I want to heap praise on my programmers Tom Young, Alex Mildenhall and Mark Nicholson who programmed over 79,000 beat-perfect precise lighting cues, and my associate LD, James Scott, for helping this dream come to fruition,” concludes Routledge.

Neg Earth Lights was the official lighting supplier for Eurovision Song Contest 2023, with great technical support by Ambersphere.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 was organised by the BBC, together with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), in consultation with UA:PBC, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

For more information on Ayrton Zonda 9 FX, Cobra, Karif LT, MagicBlade R and its full range of LED lighting fixtures, visit www.ayrton.eu

In recent years, lighting professionals have made precise demands, and manufacturers have geared their production to certain market trends which have become difficult to ignore.

One of these, IP66 weather-resistant lights, has been taking an ever-greater market share. They are not only seen as the perfect fixture for outdoor events, but also as ideal lights for indoor productions, since they are protected against the harmful effects of dust and a variety of other external agents, and therefore require less maintenance. In the long run, this results in time and cost savings, and a better return on investment.

The Arolla Aqua is Claypaky’s top-of-the-range weather-resistant light. It is a true workhorse with IP66 rating and technical and construction features which were once unimaginable for this kind of light.
Claypaky’s R&D department’s challenge was principally to design a high-power, high-brightness fixture with top-level performance while at the same time limiting its weight and size.

The Arolla Aqua’s dimensions are indeed remarkable: less than 750 mm in height and only 38.5 kg in weight, thus enabling fast pan and tilt movements.
The Arolla Aqua fits a white 900 W (7000 K) LED light source, capable of a 40,000-lumen output. This means it can compete with both high-power-range lights (given its output) and medium-power-range lights (given its small size and weight).

Its uniform light beam is another key feature. The high quality of the beam, its density, and the total absence of spurious lights can be appreciated with the naked eye, and its zoom can be adjusted over a linear 5.5°-50° range (9:1).

The Arolla Aqua boasts an effects section consisting of two gobo wheels (one of which rotating) with very high-definition dichroic glass gobos; an innovative animation wheel which brings out some of the most typical effects of this feature, a four-sided prism, a 16-blade motorized iris, a framing system on four focal planes with rotation between +/- 60°, and a separate macro control channel.

Thanks to our exclusive “Go-Bright” technology, there is no light loss or colour shift when gobos are inserted into the beam. The gobos can be swapped and morphed with each other and the animation wheel to create new, exciting textures.

The colour section consists of CMY colour mixing with 16-bit control, linear CTO and a six-colour wheel (including an 88+ CRI enhancement filter). This outstanding moving head comes complete with a soft edge frost filter, flood frost effect, ultra-precise 24-bit digital dimmer, digital stop strobe and four fan operating modes, right up to the highest level of quietness.

The Arolla Aqua sets a new benchmark for professionals who are looking for a high-power IP66 light which is compact, reliable and complete in every aspect, with top performance and an unparalleled cost-performance ratio.

More information on the Claypaky website

Award-winning lighting designer Tim Routledge and a hugely talented team of creatives and technical specialists – working across multiple disciplines – helped deliver a dazzling, slick, streamlined and highly emotional 2023 Eurovision Song contest event at Liverpool Arena in the UK on 13th May.

All the glamour, craziness, and sheer ebullience of the 67th Eurovision Song Contest was embodied in the event that was shifted to the UK after 2022 winner Ukraine had security concerns related to the ongoing war with Russia which has raged since being invaded by its neighbour in February 2022. As the 2022 runner up, the UK stepped in and stepped up to ensure that millions of Eurovision fans worldwide could enjoy Ukraine’s party on UK soil.

Julio Himede (left) and Tim Routledge (right) ©Photo EBU BBC

Tim utilised over 600 Robe moving lights for his design which comprised approximately 2500 luminaires plus 2 kilometres of LED tape, clocking up 17,500 individual light sources when counting the individual pixel cells of the various fixtures, all supplied via lighting equipment contractor, Neg Earth Lights.

For Tim, well known for his sumptuous glossy floor and epic pop lighting designs for television, it was his first ESC. He collaborated closely with set designer Julio Himede, acclaimed for his work on major music broadcast shows like MTV’s VMAs and EMAs amongst others, also working on his first ESC.

Tim and his team created 37 unique immersive lighting environments to showcase each delegation’s songs, keeping each of these micro-shows animated, fluid and energised, curating lighting and video interactively and simultaneously. This enabled the end-goal of offering the clean, precise shots from multiple angles that resonated with camera directors Nikki Parsons, Ollie Bartlett and Richard Valentine, and translated brilliantly on the TV broadcast.

The set effectively surrounded the performance space with video, so lighting placement was challenging and had to be facilitated where there was no encroachment, whilst maintaining the architecture of the space and creating all the right moods. The results were a feat of synergy as much as technical excellence, in an infrastructure where lighting, video and scenic presentation worked seamlessly as one visual entity.

The lighting rig included a 15-way Robe RoboSpot remote follow system running with 15 out of the 66 Robe Fortes in the building, which were positioned all around the arena, offering the flexibility of picking up artists from any angle, eliminating shadows and ensuring faces looked perfect.

The Forte parameters could all be controlled via the FOH grandMA3 consoles, leaving the operators free to concentrate on following the artists. Other Robe elements included 152 x LEDBeam 150s, 84 x Paintes, 123 x Spiiders, 190 TetraXs, 12 x Robe BMFL Blades and 12 x Robe Patt2013s, a fixture that Tim invented, and that he used on this occasion to light Latvia’s performance.

A back wall of TetraXs worked brilliantly as stun-and-amaze effects for several artists. They were on the reverse side of seven LED columns making up the back wall of screen which rotated 360 degrees revealing the TetraXs, and made their presence felt during the performances of Israel, France, Finland and others. An upstage wall of Paintes was revealed when the screens were rotated at 90 degrees.

Tim’s FOH team included Ukrainian LD and programmer Zhenya Kostyra – a regular at Kyiv based rental company Alight – who worked as the overnight associate LD when on site, with James Scott as the overall lighting design associate. Lead programmer was Tom Young and the other two main programmers were Marc Nicholson and Alex Mildenhall.

Follow spots were called by Louisa Smurthwaite, and Morgan Evans worked with Tim and Tom during the pre-viz period which included four weeks at Neg Earth’s studio ahead of the get-in in Liverpool, when the process continued onsite as each delegation’s lighting looks evolved and were finessed.
Seven students on stage and lighting design and technical courses at two locally based academies – the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) and Cheshire College – had the opportunity of working on Tim’s crew for the duration the event was on-site at the Arena. Five were RoboSpot operators and the other two were lighting technicians, all recruited via Robe UK’s NRG (Next Robe Generation) programme.

Additionally, Tim’s team co-ordinated with four vision engineers in the truck, and at the centre of ensuring all things lighting ran as smoothly as the surface of the best polished Eurovision glitterball, was gaffer Keith Duncan.

Tim elucidates that around 79,000 lighting cues were programmed into the consoles over the course of the three live broadcast shows, which included two televised semi-finals from which the last songs from the 37 participating countries were chosen … and went forward to the final. The finale line up comprised 26 stonking pop anthems from 26 countries covering a diversity of genres from thrash metal to hip hop!
With 50-second set changeovers, all delegations with their own creative directors and demands and the sheer intensity of creating that many individual performances, several very complex, in a short space of time, challenges abounded … and everyone delivered a superlative show.

Tim was “thrilled” to be involved, even admitting that designing a Eurovision final event was one of his professional bucket list items! He is also the first to credit the “massive” teamwork that made it all happen, together with the fusion of skills, experience, personalities, and camaraderie of all involved. “It is the most joyous show I have worked on, with a team who just wanted to be there and give it their all, and of which Ukraine could be very proud!”

The annual glam-and-glitter-tastic pop extravaganza is one of the biggest entertainment broadcast events of the year. It was organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) on behalf of UA:PBA, Ukraine’s public broadcaster.

The live shows were presented by British singer Alesha Dixon, British actress Hannah Waddington and Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina, who were joined for the final by Irish TV personality, Graham Norton.
The 2023 winner was Sweden with “Tattoo”, performed by Loreen who became only the second performer in the history of Eurovision to win twice, following her success in 2012 with another banger, “Euphoria”.
Coming a nail-biting second was Finland’s flamboyant Käärijä with “Cha Cha Cha” which stormed home with the biggest public vote.

For more information visit the Robe lighting website

Wireless LED lighting specialist Astera launches two new fresnel products – the PlutoFresnel for medium to small spaces and applications and the LeoFresnel, a cable-free LED alternative to the classic 1K fresnel ideal for scenarios requiring more power and punch!

These are the first battery powered fresnel lighting fixtures developed by Astera, which are supplied as a complete package with barn doors, a full yoke with TVMP adapter for stand mounting, removable handle and several other super-useful accessories.
While developed in response to more immediate market demand, the R ‘n’ D, especially in relation to the lens development, will form the basis of some exciting future Astera product plans.

These two initial high quality and very practical fixtures named after a Greek mythological figure and a large constellation of stars, combining an element of technological mystique with power and beauty also shake up the traditional fresnel market … bringing some fresh ideas and impetus! While fresnels have been established, well used and popular for so many years, the Astera team believed it was time for some innovation!

Astera’s film and broadcast users had been mentioning the need for a “good” fresnel with a projection lens option, so after additional research, it transpired that the event industry would also benefit from a similar luminaire … and the seeds germinated.
The first battery powered fresnels complete with outstanding optical system, Astera’s award winning Titan LED engine and the future in mind … are here!

As you would expect with Astera, the Pluto and Leo fresnels are supplied complete with multiple mounting options and the accessories mentioned above. Furthermore, the lenses can be removed so the light source can be used in different ways which will include being mounted to a projector … utilising a lens to be launched later in the year.
The PlutoFresnel offers a 15° to 60° beam angle without any colour fringing, both wired and wireless DMX control with an inbuilt battery with up to 3 hours run time.

The full spectrum high rendition Titan LED engine offers an impressive output that is comparable to a traditional 300W Tungsten fresnel, yet the power consumption is less than 80W, and the fixture weighs a tidy 4.5kg, ideal for small and less accessible spaces.

The PlutoFresnel has a removable handle, foldable legs and YokeBases making mounting and adjustment straightforward while enhancing creativity and productivity!

The larger LeoFresnel is comparable in light output to a standard 1K tungsten lamp, however it has an even higher lumen value than this industry benchmark when running in 6500K daylight white! It is also powered by the full spectrum high rendition Titan LED engine, and naturally consumes dramatically less power! Its 15° to 60° beam emits a beautiful quality of light with no colour fringing as well as wireless and wired DMX control, with a 2-hour onboard battery, and a 250W power consumption.

It weighs 14kg and has a removable handle compatible with Airline Track systems, plus a full range of helpful and practical accessories including quick-release YokeBases for mounting and adjusting, and a TVMP adapter T-Bolt thread handle on the yoke for attaching an Astera Runtime Extender or Airline Track.

The Leo fresnel lens is also detachable, and as previously mentioned, Astera will be launching a series of projection lenses which will transform it into a multipurpose fixture with potent projection capabilities, complete with a slot for size B glass or metal gobos, making it hugely versatile. This feature combined with the dynamic zoom will also be of special interest to the event industry.
Both sizes of Astera Fresnel have a 4-leaf barn door system that can be extended to 8 leaves for the accurate shuttering of light, and the fixtures are compatible with several DoP Choice products including the Rabbit Rounder for beam modifiers and various soft boxes.

For more info, you can visit the Astera website

Robert Juliat is happy to announce the appointment of PSI Production as its new exclusive distributor for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with effect from April 2023.
PSI Production was established in 1996 to provide high-quality technical solutions to the corporate, arts and entertainment industry.

(from left to right) PSI Production MD Brian Reilly, RJ Sales Director Claus Spreyer and David McKeown who handles Project Estimation & Design at PSI Production.

Its dedicated lighting department specializes in all aspects of lighting from theatrical, architectural, live concerts and festivals, to television, conferences and special events. PSI also has an excellent in-house lighting design team, and a network of talented LDs at its disposal.
The company will be responsible for promoting and supporting the entire range of Robert Juliat lighting products. With offices located in Belfast and Dublin, it is perfectly placed to service all clients on the island.

“As Ireland’s principal technical production company, PSI Production holds Ireland’s largest stock of professional lighting equipment for hire or sale,” comments PSI MD, Brian Reilly. “RJ is a brand beloved by generations of event technicians and we are proud to be their representatives in Ireland.”

“By welcoming PSI Production into the RJ Family we can ensure our customers receive dedicated attention and support across our full portfolio of products,” says RJ MD, François Juliat. “Ireland is such a hotbed of creativity that we are looking forward to becoming more involved at every level through PSI’s excellent market knowledge and great technical abilities. There are exciting times ahead.”

For more information about

– PSI Production
– Robert Juliat

British rock band Muse recently finished the North American leg of its “Will of the People” tour named for the band’s ninth studio album that’s packed with UK and Billboard chart toppers.
Lighting Designer Sooner Routhier of Sooner Rae Creative, who served as Co-production Designer with tour Creative Director Jesse Lee Stout, chose Ayrton Perseo and Domino LT fixtures as stage lights and spots.

“I love the reliability of the fixtures and that they are rated IP65,” says Routhier. “With Muse heading to Europe for a summer stadium tour at the end of May, it was important to have fixtures that could deal with inclement weather. We also love the fixtures’ brightness and smooth field of colours.” John Bahnick and Josh Wagner from Upstaging provided the Ayrton fixtures.

The post-apocalyptic staging of the new tour takes the band in “a very different direction from their previous tour” in our pre-pandemic, pre-insurrection world, notes Jesse Lee Stout. He partnered with Muse to transport the band to a near-future realm where an extreme group of vigilantes are resetting the world to ground zero.

Stout and Routhier created a massive grid that formed three walls of a skeletal building with the band inside. This simplistic industrial look became the visual identity of the underplay tour by Muse last autumn and carried through to the “Will of the People” tour in 2023.

The production features a clear stage comprised of 75 percent plexiglass that exposes gear, lighting and other industrial materials; when the plexiglass decking is lit from below it adds to the skeletal feel of the stage. A 15-foot animated flaming logo is an acronym for “Will of the People.” Two inflatables more than 30 feet tall tower over the stage; one of them, dubbed “WILL,” wears a plexiglass mirror mask, which bounces light as do kinetic ceiling mirrors.
“The content helps explain a narrative of these vigilantes unifying after witnessing a non-violent protester brutalized by a pack of authoritarian figures adorned in golden armour and bull skull-shaped masks,” says Stout. “This figure appears as a 40-foot inflatable for the encore.”

For Muse’s arena shows, 16 Perseo fixtures were located on the bottom of the torms surrounding the stage. Eleven Domino LTs were deployed as spotlights with eight on a FOH truss for front light and three on an upstage truss for backlight. When the tour plays stadiums this summer 12 Domino LTs will be mounted on FOH delay towers and three upstage for backlight.
The North American tour marked the first time that Aaron Luke, the Associate Lighting Designer and Lighting Programmer, worked with Perseo and Domino fixtures although he has used other Ayrton fixtures in the past. “I’ve been very happy with Ayrton products for their brightness, efficiency and reliability,” he says. “Using IP-rated fixtures now made them the right choice for this tour as we head outdoors.”

The Domino LT, in particular, was selected for its compatibility with the Follow-Me system used on the tour. “We needed a bright light with long-throw optics and a flat field as well as the speed to keep up with artists who quite literally sprint from the main stage to the B stage at times,” says Luke.

“We’ve been very happy with the performance of all the Ayrton fixtures and have had absolutely zero issues with them,” he reports. “The support we received from ACT was amazing, as always,” adds Routhier. “We love ACT!”

More information on Ayrton Perseo, Domino LT, and the full portfolio of innovative LED and laser-sourced products can be found at www.ayrton.eu

Nantong Grand Theatre is a new cultural and arts centre at the centre of the city of Nantong in China’s Jiangsu Province. It is the last masterpiece to be designed by the late master architect Paul Andreu whose other designs include the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, and the Grand Arche at La Défense in Paris.

Nantong Grand Theater designed by Paul Andreu.

Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, the beautiful complex houses five performances spaces: the 1532-seat Opera Hall, the 1185-seat Concert Hall, a 599-capacity Drama Hall, a 250-seat Children’s Theatre and a multipurpose Function Hall.

Six Robert Juliat followspots were supplied to this magnificent building by Hangzhou YiDaShi Technology Development Co., Ltd and installed in the two largest venues. Four Aramis 2500W HMI followspots were delivered to the Opera House and two 1800W HMI Victor followspots to the Concert Hall.

The theatre owner, Nantong Culture & Sports Exhibition Management Co, Ltd, specified the Robert Juliat followspots for this important new venue because they believe “RJ’s followspots are of the highest quality and the easiest followspots to operate in the world.”

The Aramis and Victor units are installed in the main front-of-house followspot boxes with a throw distance of approximately 50m to the stage – a distance perfectly suited to their 4.5°-8° and 7°-14.5° zoom ranges respectively. Here they will be used for the venues’ eclectic programme of dance, musicals and opera.

Nantong Grand Theatre’s Head of Lighting Mr Wang Chenyu is happy with their new purchases, saying: “the beam quality for both Aramis and Victor is excellent – very bright and even.” His show team also enjoy using them for their ergonomic qualities. “Both the Aramis and the Victor are very easy to control,” confirms followspot operator, Li Hao.

Robert Juliat is distributed exclusively in China by Hangzhou YiDaShi Technology Development Co., Ltd / Ekolight.

For more information on Robert Juliat’s Aramis and Victor followspots and its full range of LED and traditional lighting solutions, you can visit robertjuliat.com

DiGiCo is proud to announce the launch of the next generation of large format live audio production mixing consoles. As you would expect from a brand-new console from DiGiCo, it has been designed from the ground up.

Familiar, yet different, and with improved audio quality via enhanced algorithms, Quantum852 delivers a massive leap forward in processing power. It is neatly packaged with 1000 nit LCD screens for full daylight operation and a newly designed worksurface, giving users the confidence that, true to the DiGiCo ethos, Quantum852 has been designed not just for now, but for the future.

With that firmly in mind, Quantum852 also includes a raft of eco credentials. Its lightweight alloy construction reduces weight, which in turn helps mitigate its environmental impact during transportation. It has a reduced operating power, thermal cooling fans along with convection cooling and temperature dependent cooling. Further reducing Quantum852’s environmental footprint is the inclusion of sustainable and recyclable materials.

Screens and controls like it’s been raining. It’s better because of the crazy potential of this console!

Quantum852’s tech spec is equally as impressive. Featuring fully redundant processing, each engine is powered by five of the latest 7th generation FPGAs and next generation SHARC DSP processors.

Quantum852’s input count increases to 384 mono channels, with 192 Aux / Sub-Group busses, plus the familiar LR / LCR / 5.1 Master busses. It comes with a 64 x 64 Processing Matrix, 36 Control Groups, two Solo busses and 64 FX Rack slots. There are 48 Graphic EQs, 384 Nodal Processors, 128 Mustard Processors and 32 Spice Racks.

The magic continues with the Ultimate ‘Stadius’ modular LOCAL I/O, with each of the three cards providing four Stadius Mic-Pres, four Stadius Line Outputs and two Bit Perfect AES I/O. On the back of each engine there are eight single or four redundant BNC MADI ports, Word Clock, AES Sync and Video Sync inputs, Dual USB 2.0 Sockets, a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 socket, 4k DisplayPort Overview Out, 5-Port 1Gbps network switch, Dual DMI slots, Waves SoundGrid port and Optocore inputs as standard, with space for an optional second Optocore loop.

A detailed view of the power supply and the left engine with inserted two DMI cards, Klang and Dante and the Local I/O with its three Stadius cards. The right side is identical and has the same DMI cards.

The three 21.3 inch, all-new daylight bright screens ensure there will never be a situation where viewing is difficult. There are also three 19.2 inch dedicated meter bridge screens, three dedicated 6.8 inch control screens for bank and layer switching, and 69 1.3 inch worksurface screens, all of which are touch sensitive for channel selects and solos, ensuring instant access and control.

“Quantum852 truly is a massive leap forward in every way,” says DiGiCo Managing Director, Austin Freshwater. “Whilst it is completely new in its design and construction, it is still instantly recognisable as a DiGiCo. Its familiar workflow will make any DiGiCo user instantly comfortable, but its tremendous increase in power and speed will delight them. After an incredible 15 years of impeccable service, the Quantum 7 finally has a console to look up to.”

For more information, visit the Digico website

An assembly of two L2 and one L2D elements.

At a private event at the Hollywood Bowl, L-Acoustics announced the new L-Series with its patented Progressive Ultra-Dense Line-source (PULS) technology.

L-Acoustics introduced the line array concept in the early 1990s, and three decades later, the technology remains the standard for live events around the world.

“The L-Series is a revolutionary concept in concert sound, made possible by the culmination of 30 years of intensive research and development in software modeling, loudspeaker technology and electronics,” says Germain Simon, Director of Product Management, Loudspeakers at L-Acoustics.

“When we analyzed hundreds of projects using line source array across all genres and venues, we realized that most audience geometries and array shapes followed a similar trend.
This led to the understanding that a fixed element with pre-defined progressive angles would provide incredible gains in quality, efficiency, and sustainability.”

Germain Simon

L Series comprises two elements that are designed to work together or on their own: L2 above and L2D below. One L2 or L2D element provides the same contour as four K2 elements in a format that is 46% smaller and 40% lighter.

The audio benefits of L Series encompass industry-leading SPL per size, unparalleled consistency over the audience area, and improved rejection everywhere else. Accompanying the audio benefits, L Series revolutionizes deployment with a smaller, lighter footprint that reduces truck space and requires fewer elements, cutting the number of actions needed to load in and out.

The L2 element intended to shoot in the distance and initiate the J shape once connected to L2D, or extend the line with up to two other L2 elements.

L2D designed to end any length of L Series line.

There are images that speak for themselves. Compared to an equivalent line-array, L2 is less…

The power density of the new L Series is unprecedented. Each element contains eight three-inch high-frequency drivers with eight ten-inch low-frequency drivers, complemented by four side-loaded 12-inch drivers with front and back exits to deliver efficient, high precision broadband coverage with a choice of cardioid or supercardioid patterns.

L Series also features L-Acoustics Panflex technology, which provides sound designers with quick access to a choice of four horizontal directivity patterns: 70° or 110° symmetrical, or 90° asymmetrical on either side. Each L2 element includes four Panflex modules, while L2D contains two Panflex modules on the top elements, and two fixed L-Fins progressing from 110° to 140° on the bottom elements.

L2 at the BRITs.

Josh Lloyd, Britannia Row Head of Engineering and Special Projects, led the BRIT Awards’ team from design to delivery while continuing his tenure as the BRIT Awards Music FOH Engineer.
“L Series was truly impressive in terms of its coverage consistency, it was nearly impossible to hear any transition between elements of the array,” he commented.
“The tonal consistency was incredible; every listener had the same audio experience. The cardioid behavior of the box meant that once moving out of the coverage zone, it was difficult to tell if the system was on!”

“At the BRITs, where we hear presenters, acceptance speeches and a wide variety of musical performances, gain before feedback wasn’t a worry. The broadcast team received inputs that were uncolored due to the remarkable off-axis performance. L Series sounded incredibly musical, delivering output and punch that do not seem possible, based on its size.”

The operating efficiencies of L Series originate from its shape. With no inter-element angles, a pin-less auto-lock rigging system, and a single cable connector, repetitive load-in-/load-out actions are drastically diminished. This creates a set-up environment that reduces errors and leads to a stunning three-fold decrease in loading time versus a similar K2 configuration or up to five times faster than Kara II.

Helene Fischer on tour with L2.

L Series is just as impactful on the environment as it is on deployment. Starting with material savings: 56% less paint; 30% less wood and 60% less steel. L Series is frugal in resources.
Clocking in at 30% less volume and 25% less weight as compared to an equivalent line source array, L Series is also frugal in truck space and consequently in fuel consumption. The impact of the L Series is already being felt by Solotech on tour with Helene Fischer.

“Our L2 system uses a fraction of the truck space as an equivalent K1/K2 system would have,” explains Holger Schader, Senior Consultant Concert Touring and Special Events at Solotech.
“We used just one truck instead of two trucks for the audio on this tour. Load in is also easier and more fail safe because we only have four elements to connect instead of 16.”

Adding to system efficiency, L Series is driven by the new LA7.16 high-resolution touring amplified controller, which supports L2 and L2D with 16 channels of high-power amplification and processing.

LA RAK III, 60 kW in less than 10 U.

LA7.16 comes in a new LA-RAK III touring rack offering 48 channels of amplification in a Milan AVB-ready package with more than 60,000 watts of power in 9U. Leveraging the high-resolution amplification of LA7.16 and the advanced Autosolver tools, L Series output can be perfectly modulated to achieve results that are impossible with traditional line array technology.

With L Series, L-Acoustics also introduces the new Clamp1000, which can carry up to four L2/L2D. It can also be used with Kara II, K3, or K2, supporting up to 16 K2.
Using Clamp1000 users can rotate a flown line array from the ground, drastically saving setup time and the number of motors needed.

“The team of L Series, Clamp1000 and LA7.16 with its best-in-market amplification efficiency, along with advanced Autofilter processing, will make immersive audio deployments with L-ISA technology faster, easier, and more budget-friendly,” explains Simon. “And these benefits also extend to traditional stereo projects where the pressure to create quality sound with less people and less time is ever-present.”

L2 as unveiled to the Hollywood Bowl audience during the L-Acoustics keynote.

In January of this year, L-Acoustics began a comprehensive L Series pilot phase with partners Britannia Row and Solotech. Between April and October, the pilot program will progressively include six leading certified partners around the globe:
PRG and Solotech in the Americas, Britannia Row/Clair Global and Novelty Group in EMEA, and Tokyo Sanko and Winly in APAC will be deploying the new technology for various live events in October of 2023 when the pilot phase concludes.
Additionally, L-Acoustics deployed L2 and L2D at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach in California with support from RAT Sound and AEG Presents.

“We were privileged to be the world’s first to deploy L Series last February at The BRIT Awards 2023. The process was seamless, from initial training and warehouse prep to system deployment at the O2 Arena,” said Lez Dwight, Director of Britannia Row Productions.
“L-Acoustics is a long-term partner, and we are quite proud to be the first company to pilot L Series on tour with Helene Fischer, for whom we are providing audio, lighting, and video,” says John Probyn, Head of Business Development, Live Productions Division, Europe, Solotech.

L Series ships in Q4, 2023.

For more information on the new L-Acoustics L Series, visit the L-Acoustics website

Robert Juliat is delighted to announce the appointment of Sound Technology Ltd as its new exclusive distributor for the UK (England, Scotland and Wales), with effect from 25th April 2023.

Sound Technology Managing Director, Steve Fay (centre) with Robert Juliat’s Claus Spreyer (left) and Ludwig Lepage (right) at Prolight + Sound 2023, Frankfurt.

Sound Technology Ltd, a Midwich Group company, is one of the most successful distributors operating in the professional lighting, professional audio and musical instrument industries in the UK. Expanding its dedicated lighting division, Sound Technology will exclusively distribute and promote the full range of Robert Juliat lighting equipment.

François Juliat, Managing Director of Robert Juliat, comments “We are very proud to welcome Sound Technology in the RJ family circle. We are confident they will provide our UK customers with a high level of expertise, as well as comprehensive technical training and after-sales support.”

“The Sound Technology team is proud to welcome Robert Juliat aboard. Robert Juliat is the perfect addition to our current portfolio, allowing us to provide a full package in all areas of the industry from live, touring and install to architectural and theatrical lighting,” says Steve Fay, Managing Director of Sound Technology.

“We are excited to expand our lighting division and look forward to continuing to develop Robert Juliat’s reputation for excellence with our team’s full range of experience and expertise.”
Robert Juliat fixtures will soon be available to demo in Sound Technology’s demo facility in Hertfordshire and will be on the Sound Technology stand at PLASA Focus in Leeds.

Sound Technology Ltd can be contacted at: Sound Technology Ltd Letchworth Point – Letchworth Garden City – Hertfordshire – SG6 1ND – Website: https://www.soundtech.co.uk

For more information on Robert Juliat’s lighting solutions, visit www.robertjuliat.com

Depeche Mode is back touring in a big way with their “Momento Mori” world tour with lighting design by Jason Baeri and lighting supply by 4Wall. Elation lighting features in Baeri’s design, including three fixtures from the award-winning Artiste series of LED movers Monet, Mondrian and Rembrandt along with Elation’s new Proteus Rayzor Blade.

The “Momento Mori” tour, which is out in support of their newly released album of the same name, kicked off on March 23 in Sacramento, California, marking their first tour in five years. The European leg begins May 16 in Amsterdam with a North American fall leg set to launch in September. Baeri has support from Joe Bay, who serves as associate lighting designer and lighting programmer, while Sarah Parker is out operating the show as lighting director.

M backdrop

His first outing with Depeche Mode, the designer says talks with the band began in late October of 2022 and by mid-December a preliminary design was completed, which later saw small refinements. The tour features a 27-foot-tall M backdrop, a large structural piece running video that Jason says was one of the most important aspects of the design. Dutch artist and longtime Depeche Mode photographer/videographer Anton Corbijn came up with the basic concept, which Baeri helped flush out and turn into a physical product for the production design.

Changing perceptions

The M has a dual role as Baeri explains. “It’s designed to be a scenic piece rather than just a video screen so it has depth and weight. So when you play video across both the main screen and the M, you have two planes of video that look different for anybody in the house.

People who view it dead on have a different perception of it than people who view it from the side or at a higher angle. It physically changes what you’re viewing and how you experience the films that Anton has made. That was the basic concept that we started with, a physical object that would not just be a video effect but would physically change your perception.”

Lighting is used to match that same idea while supporting the physical frame of both the video wall and the M. “We were trying to replicate the same type of scale overhead that we were looking at on stage,” says Baeri, “so the overhead lighting rig is actually a forced perspective mirror image of the M itself.”

Synth and rock

Active since the early 1980s, Depeche Mode is known for their distinctive sound, a blend of new wave/synthpop and rock. Jason uses the rig to accentuate the expanse of moods and textures. “The music itself is really based on two separate ideas and we really had to embrace both,” Baeri states.
“We tried to pick one direction per song to go with rock or synth so the rig is broken into two parts that really reflect that. There are a lot of beamy looks and classic rock looks that are parcan reminiscent, and then for the synth songs there is more LED color and looks that feel more digital.”

Artiste Rembrandt

One of the workhorses of the rig, says the designer, is the Artiste Rembrandt LED wash moving head. “I love how much it’s actually a real wash light! Many manufacturers have what they say is a wash light with a PC lens but it’s really just a spot with internal frosts. They try to be the ultimate all-in-one tool but the quality of the light still feels hard edge.

The Rembrandt on the other hand is a dedicated washlight where you get a good splashy feel and a real wonderful soft quality of light. It does it really well and not in a way I see in other fixtures that are on the market at the moment.”
Baeri has the 51,000 lumen LED Wash fixtures working from the deck as shin lights. The fixtures feature throughout the show with the look for one of the band’s biggest hits, “Personal Jesus”, built around them.

Monet and Mondrian

Working from keylight positions and providing a bit of effect light as well are Artiste Monets, 45,000-lumen LED Profile luminaires with comprehensive FX package. “The Monets are a classic staple for me,” Baeri comments. “It’s such a clean, repeatable and reliable fixture that is just endlessly controllable. The ability to get them into those deeper, darker colors while still maintaining your output is a real big help.”

Rounding out the Artiste series lights used on the “Momento Mori” tour are 51,000-lumen Artiste Mondrian LED profile FX fixtures, which the designer uses as an upstage effect light. “It’s got that big fat lens on the front of it; it really holds its own with presence. We only use six of them upstage but they feel like a whole upstage wall of fixtures. They explode through the band and compete with the video well.”

All three Artiste fixtures house Elation’s proprietary 7-flag SpectraColor™ (CMYRGB+CTO) color mixing system, and unlimited indexing and continuous rotation framing, along with a host of texture, animation and layering solutions. “It’s nice to have that consistency throughout the range and know that I can hit those colors when I need to.”

Proteus Rayzor Blade

Seeking to emulate the frame around the video with lighting, Baeri says they sought a fixture to line the downstage edge and found what they were looking for in Elation’s new Proteus Rayzor Blade. “The Rayzor Blade is a nice take on the bar light and fit that role really well,” he stated. “It’s a really high-output fixture with clean color mixing and a zoom that has a great range. They definitely help to ground the downstage edge of the picture.”

The Proteus Rayzor Blade is a tiltable linear LED light that functions as a wash, strobe or FX light. Available with 6 or 12 independently controlled 60W LEDs, the fixture zooms to 6° for mid-air beams and out to 45° for washes and a 210° tilt rotation allows them to position dynamically. The fixtures are IP65 rated and are unique in other ways as well. Two high-intensity strobe lines of cool white LED dots run along the length of the unit, and they also include Elation’s proprietary SparkLED twinkle effect.

“The strobe line is great!” Baeri exclaims. “It’s like a big slap in the face. Even when there’s a lot of brightness in the room it cuts through well.” The designer incorporates the SparkLED effect in a couple of songs. “It helps diffuse the nature of the unit being such a technical object. It’s a fun effect and even more useful for TV and camera work.” Baeri shares that the original plan was for the Rayzor Blades to also line the runway, but that idea had to be scrapped due to sightline issues.

The Elation equipment for the “Memento Mori” tour is being supplied by 4Wall worldwide and is a component of a more extensive lighting setup. When the band embarks on their European tour on May 16, the rig will expand slightly for stadium shows.

For more information, you can visit www.elationlighting.com

Quebec’s KOTV is wrapping up the first season of Zenith, a new concept in live musical competition broadcast by Radio Canada, where song stars of different ages fight for the votes of an audience of 100 judges representing four generations.
Lighting Designer Martin Labrecque selected Ayrton Zonda 9 FX fixtures for the show in what is believed to be their first TV broadcast appearance. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.

Zenith aims to unite viewers from the Baby Boomer generation and Generations X, Y and Z in front of the small screen. Each week four well-known singers cover hits from yesterday and today in a battle to get the most votes from a studio audience of 100 representing those same generational demographics. The audience is divided into four groups of 25 judges each led by a star from the same generation.

The singers perform popular hits that span the decades, relying on strategic song choices and innovative arrangements to appeal to as many age groups as possible. Twenty-four artists participated in the first round of the competition with one per generation making it to the grand finale. The artist displaying a timeless talent that reaches across all eras, styles and trends will emerge the winner.

Zonda 9 FX

Labrecque, who is currently working on the new Cirque du Soleil production, teamed with the set designer to create the visual look of Zenith. “I built a lighting kit to hand off to DP and Lighting Director Yves Aucoin, who does the weekly show, so he has the flexibility to light the many different looks required by a variety show,” he explains.

Zenith marks the first time that Labrecque has used Ayrton Zonda 9 FX fixtures, which he saw at LDI and then at a demo arranged by ACT Entertainment’s Alex Monast. Zonda 9 FX is a versatile, full-equipped luminaire designed for a multitude of applications.

It offers the main features of the Zonda 9 Wash with infinite continuous rotation on the pan and tilt axes I.R.S. (Ayrton’s trademarked Infinite Rotation System) plus 3D volumetric effects and the complex graphic LiquidEffect, which can be used alone or in combination with the main LED matrix.

“A variety show like Zenith, with four different songs per night, presents a lot of different kinds of music,” says Labrecque. “We needed a versatile wash fixture and the Zonda 9 FX, with its LiquidEffect, offered really good eye candy too. It could adapt to all the different numbers on the show.” Labrecque obtained 16 Zonda 9 FX from event production agency Creativ Nation in Montreal, which has an extensive inventory of the fixtures.

At the start of the series Labrecque hung all 16 fixtures on the grid. “I thought they’d be used mostly as a wash creating a large beam of light with wide shots showing the LiquidEffect,” he explains.
“Then, in the middle of the series, Yves decided to put five of them on the floor so now you see the LiquidEffect used more as eye candy behind the participants. He’s found them to be great lights that deliver everything they’re supposed to do.”

Labrecque believes the Zonda 9 FX will come in handy for future large-scale variety projects he might do. “Their colours are so vivid and the light intensity so strong,” he says. “And the LiquidEffect is unique to them, something you don’t see very often and is quite interesting to use.”
Eric Belanger is the Lighting Programmer for Zenith.

More information on Ayrton Zonda 9 FX and Wash, and the full portfolio of innovative LED and laser-sourced products can be found at www.ayrton.eu

Unlimited Vision & Sound is a lively full production event rental company based in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, capital of the North Brabant area and a renowned beauty spot.

Unlimited Vision & Sound owner & CEO Pascal van Engelen on the left, with operations manager John van Gaal.

Owner and CEO Pascal van Engelen, started the business in the 1990s whilst studying electronics at the local university, initially supplying his own DJ shows and party sets. After he graduated in 2000, he was enjoying the industry so much, that he decided to make it a more serious enterprise, adding several corporate clients and events to the portfolio, with the idea of providing the full technical package.

Clients liked his energy and attitude, so Unlimited Vision & Sound grew steadily and sensibly during this time. The company earned a great reputation for being creative, delivering excellent value and investing in quality technology, and the full-time team is currently 15 people, all retained through Covid.

Pascal has kept the rental stock relevant and contemporary, and right from the start wanted to work with leading brands, so Astera was going to cross their path sooner or later!
The first Astera AX3s were purchased in 2021, Pascal comments that they are “great little fixtures” with so many ingenious mounting options. In 2022, they purchased AX9 PowerPARs, which he reckons is a “perfect product in every way” again offering so much flexibility.

Using their time and space effectively during the two pandemic years, a high-quality streaming studio was added to the warehouse, as the demand for this service continued growing even once in-person events returned, with the part-live-part-streamed becoming a dynamic and good option for many businesses and brands.

“Streamed events need very specific lighting to ensure that the space works well and has the best impact on camera, adding depth and presenting a rich, textured 3D style and great flesh tones,” noted operations manager John van Gaal. “So the AX9s are excellent for our high-end streaming events and also cross over nicely to all the live events we are doing.”

They both agree that the battery life on Astera products is “amazing” and the software is powerful and logical to use. In fact, John says a case of Astera AX9s goes on the truck for every job leaving the warehouse, ‘just in case’. They can be quickly mounted and used in any scenario where a dark spot needs illumination or lifting. It’s a catch-all solution for which there is a constant need.

“As a rental company, we want to be as adaptable and offer our clients the best possible service and results,” stated Pascal, so this quality and type of lighting is always important. That is why we have currently 96 pieces in stock with all corresponding accessories, and we hope to extend that in the future!” he says with a smile.

All the Astera luminaires have been supplied by Astera’s Benelux distributor, Controllux.

For more information, you can visit the Astera website

Among the most watched and anticipated entertainment and broadcast moments of the year – the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show – saw superstar Rhianna rock back to live performance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, USA, in a showstopping performance accompanied by a slick, elegant and super-epic production, setting new WOW factors for this hi-energy extravaganza!

The set was defined by seven flying platforms on which the artist and dancers started the show, mirrored on the pitch below by a striking red runway dancefloor where the action shifted for the latter half of the 12-minute segment.
Choreographed by Parris Goebel, this breath-taking piece of art was lit by Al Gurdon, who has sprinkled his illuminescent magic on the event for several years, with cameras directed by the legendary Hamish Hamilton.
Al needed to ensure that all performers on the moving platforms were evenly and consistently lit for the whole time as well as providing lighting for shots from two remote ‘NavCams’ flying above and between the moving platforms (but unseen during the broadcast).

Enter zactrack – the world’s most straightforward and intuitive real-time tracking system!

Technical challenges abounded in carrying off such a visually stunning and smoothly delivered production, one of which was how to keep approximately 200 overhead moving lights following the movement of the floating platforms and the NavCams which were running on a TAIT TOWERS Navigator automation system.

A zactrack solution was suggested by Eric Marchwinski of Earlybird.

Earlybird provided pre-visualization services and onsite support as they have in past years, and Eric and Mark Humphrey programmed the show lighting collaborating closely with Al, his two lighting directors, Harry Forster and Ben Green plus others on the creative team.
Eric tapped into the power and flexibility of being able to connect the zactrack PRO server with PSN (PosiStageNet) data from the TAIT Navigator system and embed this in the lighting cues recorded on the grandMA3 lighting console which was running in Mode 3.

This enabled any of the overhead moving lights to be assigned to any of the 7 performance platforms and the two flown cameras with the current position of each platform sent in real time from Navigator to zactrack via PSN. zactrack received those positions and accurately aligned the selected fixtures on the moving targets.

These lighting fixtures were used throughout the whole show, as the platforms moved at different heights and formations above the field of play delivering some effortless-looking set choreography. The same moving lights were also utilized when the show narrative reached the ground and Rihanna and the flying dancers stepped onto the runway which has been deployed on the pitch for the latter part of the show.

This ambitious masterpiece of show design was originated by Willo Perron and Rihanna with creative direction and production design from Tribe Inc’s Bruce Rodgers. “A reliable and active tracking system to keep light on the platforms was essential, and zactrack allowed us to do just that,” stated Eric.
The zactrack PRO servers were supplied by North American distributor, ACT Entertainment, with technical assistance from ACT’s resident zactrack expert, Aria Hailey. The zactrack feature enabling PSN to be used in this way – to track ‘virtual trackers’ – was developed in 2022 during “Awakening”, another acclaimed show at The Wynn in Las Vegas produced by Baz Halpin, Bernie Yuman and Michael Curry, on which Eric and Earlybird also worked.
This attention to detail from the manufacturer and support from the distributor has impressed Eric who notes that zactrack’s international team is “very supportive, they listen to our requests and have brought expertise and imagination to the software to enhance the system’s usability.”

The lighting contractor for the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime show was PRG and the lighting gaffer was Alen Sisul. The flying platforms and Navigator camera design and engineering were delivered by TAIT TOWERS with the field staging design and engineering completed by All Access. These were just some of the talented players in an all-star performance, technical and creative cast that have made this show one of the most talked about of the year so far!

More information on www.zactrack.com