Club After Dark is a vibrant new “Dinner Drag Decadence” supper club / cabaret concept, created by legendary Swedish drag artist and performer Christer Lindarw, a colourful, fun-fuelled extravaganza of music and dance directed and choreographed by Hans Marklund, with music directed by Kent Olsson who is also a co-creator of the show together with Christer and Hans.
Staged at the Vasateatern (Vasa Theatre) in Stockholm, the show is lit by Mikael Kratt, who was asked onboard by Hans and producers My Blomgren and Mikael Jernberg, to craft an appropriately spectacular and dynamic lightshow for the evening, which unfolds over three hi-energy acts embracing multiple musical genres.
Mikael immediately thought of Robe’s MegaPointe for this task and specified 14 of these compact versatile multi-purpose luminaires to be at the heart of the show’s lighting supported by nine Robe Spiider LED washes.
Two Robe BMFL WashBeams together with one MegaPointe are running on a RoboSpot remote follow spotting system. “MegaPointes were the first fixtures that came to mind for this show,” confirmed Mikael. “They were a perfect solution in every way!” – a conclusion he made having used MegaPointes and Spiiders on many other projects. He needed plenty of dynamics and diversity to make the show come alive with visual eloquence.
Before launching his lighting design career Mikael was a professional dancer, and in fact had previously worked with Hans as a choreographer. He was therefore in a unique position of being able to transpose his onstage perspective and skills – not to mention a fantastic sense of rhythm – from the stage to FOH to ensure that the lighting was as fluid and impressive as the cast action. Lighting effectively became another performer!
The brief was to bring a fresh contemporary look to the stage but with a touch of classical and retro, a nod to the original After Dark shows that were so groundbreaking in their time. The first two acts are more refined and theatrical with printed back cloths and other drapes coming in and out. The second act ramps up with a parade of Burlesque costumes and its own mini-musical before the guests enjoy their main course. Anyone getting sleepy by dessert receives a giga-jolt of energy as the third act explodes in a whirlwind of colour, excitement, and a hard pumping power pop finale, complete with the reveal of an expanded stage with built-in lighting effects and the upstage LED screen.
“The treatments for this show use techniques from a wide spectrum of lighting disciples – theatre, concerts, dance, cabaret, opera and TV – and there is simply so much you can do with a MegaPointe, so it was a must-have choice,” commented Mikael. The fixtures are rigged on two over-stage truss boxes with the MegaPointes towards the back of the performance area. The other big challenge was the Vasateatern’s exceptionally tight stage space, an aspect that constantly characterized the original After Dark shows, and with that, the limited weight loading on the two roof trusses.
“MegaPointes were small and light enough to tick those boxes as well,” he stated. He used the fixtures to close the space and make it intimate and personal for the first act and fine-tuned the environment for the musical richness of the second act with “classy spotlighting, great gobo work and the amazing colours.” Then for the eruption of energy and big ballsy looks boosting the third act, the brightness of the MegaPointes was needed to complete and cut through the intensity of the LED wall in such close proximity. Follow spot effects were another brain teaser.
Christer loves the drama of a classic follow spot aesthetic, explained Mikael, but with absolutely no space for traditional follow spot positions in the venue, he thought RoboSpot could provide a modern technological answer! The two BMFL WashBeams are positioned centrally, one over the stage and one on the advanced bar with a MegaPointe on the RoboSpot system deployed upstage centre where a smaller light was required due to headroom restrictions. The BaseStation is shoehorned into one of the old private ‘loge’ gallery boxes stage left which is no longer used by the public.
The nine Spiiders are all above the stage and provide general stage and set washes. They are largely hidden from view but play an instrumental role in the show. “They are a small light fixture with a great punch and excellent colours,” he states. Mikael also loves the flower effect. “It’s a fabulous extra trick in the hat of surprises!”
The Vasateatern’s main lighting rig contained some Robe DL4S and DL7S Spot luminaires which were installed with a technical upgrade in 2016, so Mikael decided to incorporate these into the Club After Dark show. It is the first time he has used them and particularly rates the DL7S Spots which are hanging on one of the front bars. “They are great for producing good skin tones and I appreciate the accurate shuttering” he commented.
All the lighting was programmed by Mikael using a grandMA2 light. He worked closely with Edvin Nyström who undertook all the show’s pre-production and oversaw the get-in and ensured the whole lighting system was operational, while day to day, Club After Dark’s lighting is being operated by Max Petersson. Mikael has thoroughly enjoyed the creative process, along with the great teamwork and camaraderie of producing the show which is scheduled to run long term run with regular breaks.
The process included extensive rehearsals with the cast pre and post costume fittings, plus some intense interaction and collaboration with the video department whilst streamlining the lighting for the third and most demanding act. Due to Covid restrictions, the premiere was delayed for an additional four weeks, which gave the team some extra time to finesse the production. The additional lighting equipment – MegaPointes, Spiiders, BMFL WashBeams and RoboSpot system – is being supplied by Musiklagret, a rental company based in Borås.
Vasateatern, as the home of this new chapter of the After Dark experience, is a stone’s throw from Hamburger Börs, the original venue hosting many of Lindarw’s iconic “After Dark” drag duo performances which burst onto the Swedish alt culture scene in 1976 and became enduringly popular and hugely successful both domestically and internationally for the next four decades!
The shows became synonymous with high production and performance values, attention to detail and the ‘magic’ of inventive and sometimes improbable sets squeezed into the tiny space and plenty of visual and lighting trickery to enhance quick costume and scenic changes. Paying homage to all those great entertainment traditions, Club After Dark takes the unquenchable positive energy, spirit, and flamboyance of drag artistry to new levels.
For more press information about Robe lighting, you can visit www.robe.cz
Technical Arts Group (TAG), an industry leader in event production and premium production equipment rentals, provided SJ Lighting, Inc. of Westlake Village, California with IP65-rated Ayrton Perseo Beam and Domino fixtures for the New York edition of the Rolling Loud global music festival last autumn. ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America.
TAG was formed in 2021 and specializes in lighting, audio, video, staging, special effects and event management. The company has offices in Secaucus, New Jersey and Miami. It furnished lighting, sound and video equipment for Stage 4 of Miami’s Rolling Loud fest last July then was asked to supply lighting for New York’s two main stages and sound and video gear for the third. The three-day event at Citi Field drew more than 80,000 fans to electrifying performances from some of hip hop’s biggest emcees.
The IP65-rated Perseo and Domino fixtures proved to be an inspired choice for the large outdoor venue, as TAG’s CRO Kevin Mignone recalls. “The festival got tons of rain and high winds. The Perseos and Dominos definitely got wet, but none failed – a real testament to the Ayrton fixtures. They also packed a punch, and the SJ Lighting team made great use of them.”
Ayrton Perseo
Ayrton Domino
The Deleón Stage, where Maxwell T. Robin, SJ Lighting’s Associate Designer and Project Manager served as Lighting Designer, featured 68 Dominos. Most were mounted over centre stage and eight were FOH on delay towers. “The Dominos were used as a stage wash to light the performers,” Robin explains. “They were great fixtures because they are outdoor-rated with good gobos, high beam quality and are reliable in all weather conditions. I didn’t have a single issue with any of the fixtures on this show.”
Fifty Perseo fixtures were used on the wings and through the deck and two Domino units were FOH on the Audiomack stage where David Hauss was the Lighting Designer.
“The Perseos were the main moving light detail for this stage,” Robin says. “Creating aerial effects and providing big looks were the main purpose of these fixtures. The Dominos were hung at FOH to provide light for the banner that was hung over the stage. Both these fixtures were a good choice because of their IP rating, reliability, light output and the high quality of that light output. The framing shutters on the Dominos were critical for getting a clean focus on the banner over the stage.”
He notes that SJ Lighting has a history of using Ayrton fixtures. “From our installs to our festival stages we always appreciate the reliability and quality that Ayrton fixtures provide,” he says. “We like that the Perseos and Dominos are IP rated with an LED engine. Being outdoor-rated means we can put them on any show, in any location and any weather condition knowing they will hold up when faced with the elements. Rolling Loud New York in particular saw heavy rain and high winds throughout the load in and show without a single light being compromised. We also especially like Domino’s framing shutters and Perseo’s prism options. We absolutely will be specifying these two fixtures again.” Lighting Designer Stephen Lieberman is President of SJ Lighting, Inc.
More information on Ayrton Domino, Perseo and the full portfolio of innovative Ayrton LED fixtures can be found at www.ayrton.eu
Available in Spot and Profile framing versions, powerful full-spectrum LED moving heads offer MAXimum fusion of performance, features, and value. Rivals 1000W/1200W class discharge fixtures.
After teasing attendees at the USITT show early in March with a first peek at the Fuze MAX™, Elation Professional is pleased to be shipping the new full-spectrum LED luminaire. The fixture will see its European debut April 26-29 at the Prolight + Sound show in Frankfurt (Hall 12.1, Stands B49, C49). Available in Spot and Profile framing versions, the Fuze MAX has been designed for precision lighting applications such as theater, broadcast and Houses of Worship where a wider chromatic spectrum (including dynamic whites), a full feature set and outstanding quality is required, a specification that rivals 1000W/1200W class discharge fixtures.
The Fuze MAX Spot and Fuze MAX Profile, both automated LED moving heads, offer full-spectrum performance from a 92 CRI engine that utilizes an 800W 5-color homogenized LED array of Red, Green, Blue, Mint, and Amber sources. The RGBMA LED engine produces fully blended colors across an impressively wide breadth of the color spectrum like rich saturates and vibrant primary colors, along with pure dynamic whites that are tunable from 2400-8500K. The addition of Amber and Mint emitters has extended the possible range of colors, including warmer tones, theatrical whites and pastels. Colors blend quickly yet smoothly with natural color transitions and no color fringing.
The carefully tuned LEDs ensure accurate color reproduction and dynamic whites while delivering a powerful output of over 21,000 total fixture lumens. Precision control over green/magenta allows for detailed color accuracy, allowing the user to perfectly match light sources and create visual balance. Virtual color temperature plus CMY emulation provides the designer with immediate access to the impressive LED color array while a virtual gel library allows for easy recall of a variety of premixed shades.
The Fuze MAX uses advanced, high-quality optics that are razor sharp for crisp projections, and dimming of the LED engine is smooth and stepless with variable 16-bit dimming curve modes available to suit any application. Both the Fuze MAX Spot and Fuze MAX Profile house a motorized zoom that can adjust the beam angle from a tight 7-degrees to 53-degrees wide and ship with an included snoot attachment to position the beam even more precisely. The Fuze MAX Profile houses a full blackout framing system with four rotating blades and +/- 60 degree indexing for full control of the beam shape when required.
Designers have access to a comprehensive FX package that includes 19 gobos across three gobo wheels in the Fuze MAX Spot and 13 gobos across two gobo wheels in the Fuze MAX Profile. Both fixtures offer rotating and fixed glass gobos, ideal for aerials, textures or breakups, and an animation wheel can also be engaged to bring graphics to life. Effects can be multiplied via dual prisms (4-facet round and linear) and a dual variable frost filter (Medium/Wash) can be employed when designers wish to diffuse the light for softer gobo or wash effects. A motorized iris and high-speed electronic shutter and strobe can be engaged for further impression.
The Fuze MAX will be welcome in broadcast, theater and other noise sensitive environments thanks to its quiet operation and Mute mode option and LED refresh rate frequency can adjust remotely to avoid any flickering, a must when working with today’s sensitive camera systems. Elation’s Fuze series has found a niche in the market whenever outstanding quality and price-value is high on the list. Now with greater performance and an enhanced feature set, these latest Fuze luminaires have taken that to the MAX!
Robert Juliat is happy to announce that 36 of its Dalis 860 cyclorama lights, complete with mini yoke and Quickrig systems, have been supplied to the National Taichung Theater in Taiwan by DLHG Co., Ltd.
The National Taichung Theater (NTT) has three main venues: the 2007-seat Grand Theater, the 794-seat Playhouse and the 200-seat Black Box theater. The main location for the Dalis 860 fixtures will be the Grand Theater which hosts a broad programme of musicals, opera, ballet, modern dance and drama. The Dalis 860 cyclorama fixtures will be installed in truss and groundrow positions to light the venue’s impressive 18m wide x 10m high cyclorama with a smooth, even, highly controllable coverage.
“However, the mini yoke and Quickrig system make it easy for us to transfer the Dalis units to our other venues as required,” says the venue’s head of lighting, Simon Hsieh.
No stranger to Robert Juliat products (the NTT has invested in RJ Cin’k 350LF Fresnels and Digitour 6S dimmers in the past), Mr Hsieh and his team were introduced to Dalis by Jackson Yu of DLHG Co, Ltd. “The NTT team was looking for an LED product with good colour mixing and rendering, and multifunctional control via DMX and Ethernet protocols,” says Mr Yu. “Dalis 860 ticked all those boxes as well as being an award-winning fixture by a well-known and respected brand.”
The NTT took delivery of the Dalis 860 units in 2020 but was unable to put them to immediate use due to closures enforced during the pandemic. Now the venue has reopened, the technicians have had the opportunity to use the Dalis fully and are very impressed.
“The colour mixing and colour saturation of the Dalis 860 is really amazing,” says Mr Hsieh. “We also like its brightness, the versatility of the optics, and its adaptability which enables us to floor mount or rig it. The engineering quality is robust and reliable, and we have the flexibility of being able to daisy-chain the Ethernet to DMX control.”
The operators and lighting designers at the NTT also benefit from the ease of using their ETC Eos® console to gain full, precise control of Dalis’ complete colour spectrum, thanks to a dedicated and integrated Dalis library. Designers can synchronise their Dalis cyclights to a precise colour, or match any manufacturer’s gel palette, and rapidly fine tune and modify the colour spectrum at will. “This is a great advantage because it is much quicker and easier for the designer to match his cyc colours,” confirms Mr Hsieh.
One of the first – and most spectacular – productions to use the new Dalis cyclorama lighting was the NTT New Year’s Eve concert in the Grand Theater, lit by award-winning lighting designer, Cheng-Wei Teng (winner of the World Stage Design Professional Lighting Gold Award in 2017).
Publicised as ‘a purely vocal feast’, the audience was treated to a festive, musical evening featuring award-winning acapella vocalists who showcased a wide variety of music pieces and styles from around the world.
Lighting designer Cheng-Wei Teng produced a spectacular lighting design worthy of such a celebration to which he brought his trademark pixel lighting effect. He rigged one row of 12 Dalis 860 units behind the venue’s projection screen from where he rear-projected cyclorama colour and pixel effects from the groundrow position, and used a second row of 12 units to colour the haze circulating in mid-air.
Mr Teng agreed with Mr Hsieh saying: “I was impressive with the power of Dalis 860. The colour mixing is good, but the powerful brightness and the fullness of the saturation is amazing.”
For more information on Robert Juliat’s full range of lighting solutions, visit www.robertjuliat.com
“It’s a very high-quality system, and the company’s ability to deliver was huge,” says Tom George, Senior Design Engineer at Clair Global Integration’s Cleveland office; citing the loudspeaker’s high-quality sound and Adamson’s capacity to provide a solution that blended seamlessly with the Palace’s spectacular décor.
Tom George, Senior Design Engineer at Clair Global Integration’s Cleveland office.
Constructed in 1928, the approximately 1500-seat theatre-style venue is a cornerstone for cultural activity in downtown Marion, Ohio; a decidedly multi-purpose facility that hosts a mix of concerts, theatre productions, films, and special events.
Designed by Architect John Eberson, the venue was constructed to give audiences the impression of attending a show at a ‘Palace in Old Spain’. As the Marion Star described it just before the Palace’s grand opening back in the day, “Allow your imagination to carry you to the gentle slope of a moon-lit Spanish hill… Through the archways spreads the soft light of a harvest moon, and the dim glow casts shadows over the somber-coloured walls. Overhead, myriads of stars are twinkling in an azure blue sky, and soft, fleecy clouds are drifting gently with the breeze.”
Over time, great care has been taken to ensure that the theatre’s setting remains as impactful as it’s ever been. After Marion Palace was acquired by the non-profit Palace Cultural Arts Association, it underwent a comprehensive restoration/renovation and has since been upgraded via a series of structural improvements and updates to the backstage and front-of-house areas.
The stage right hang made of ten IS7.
Naturally, the Palace’s audio systems have evolved as physical changes to the venue were made. But, until the replacement of the venue’s previous 1980’s-era point source loudspeakers with the Adamson rig in January 2022, the systems inhabiting the space didn’t provide optimal coverage, output, or quality.
The new system is comprised of three arrays of Adamson IS7 in an LCR configuration, with two IS219 subs placed on the floor to either side of the orchestra pit, and eight Adamson Point 8 as under-balcony fill.
“We basically did a vocal tuning for the center cluster and a more ‘musical’ tuning for the left and right arrays,” George says. System tuning was done within the Lab Gruppen amplifiers driving the system (multiple D 120 amps for the LCR elements and one D 200 for the subs) and is “locked out” in the amps, George continues.
The stage right Sub IS219 laying vertically on the ground.
However, visiting engineers can put their own stamp on the sound via a pair of Lake LM44 processors at FOH and the venue’s pre-existing Yamaha GL5 console. The system was also reconfigured to be run on Dante. “We go into the LM44s and then to the amplifiers (over Dante), and we have an interface there for visiting operators to drop in a visiting console,” George adds.
That provides a welcome degree of flexibility. “It allows guest engineers, touring artists, anyone who uses the space, to utilize Dante and reroute things easily,” says Acting Technical Director and head of local audio firm JCR Studio & Sound, Brian Jester.
The central hang, perfectly matching the color of the curtains.
The size and weight of the loudspeakers were also beneficial. “The IS7 has such a compact footprint and being able to have a large enough array to cover the room and fit within the physical parameters, was a big part of the choice,” George notes. “We’re also fortunate because they’re about the same weight as what we took down – the center cluster was actually lighter. So, we were able to reuse much of the existing rigging.”
Other longstanding issues were also addressed, among them, the replacement of a 70-Volt system that the under-balcony loudspeakers previously used with a low-impedance system. New cabling was also installed for the roughly 100-foot run from the stage to the balcony FOH mix position.
The result is an incredible improvement. “Far superior coverage of the venue and far better audio quality overall,” George says. But as much as those involved in the project wanted patrons to hear the difference it was important they didn’t see a difference. Consequently, Adamson’s willingness and ability to provide custom colour matches (to blend with the Palace’s ‘courtyard’ walls to either side of the stage, and make the center cluster virtually disappear into the background of the rich, red velvet drapes framing the proscenium) was critical to that effort.
Adamson CEO, Marc Bertrand.
While selecting RAL numbers to match the colour and texture of thick velvet drapes was a challenge, it’s one Adamson’s Port Perry, Ontario facility is purpose-designed to meet. “We’re completely vertically integrated,” explains Adamson CEO, Marc Bertrand. “So, when matching RAL numbers, we’re able to control the end result seamlessly; from the machine shop and woodshop, all the way through wash, powder, and wet spray.
Because we’re not outsourcing the job and just waiting for product to come back, we can ensure the coverage is right, the metal is matched up properly, the powder matches the wet spray on the wood, and we can choose other colour elements for the silkscreen to make the match even closer.
You’re taking a risk if you outsource,” Bertrand continues. “We know immediately if something’s wrong. It’s about control. We punch our own metal as well, so we’re controlling not only the colour but the whole process.” While other manufacturers do custom colour matching, for Adamson, it’s a common occurrence. “This was the sixth custom job we’ve done in the past four months, although, I will say none of them were quite as pretty as that red.”
Kirk Detweiler, Marion Palace’s Executive Director.
“Adamson matched the curtain colours without overshadowing the architecture of the proscenium, and the two side arrays also blend in very well,” says Kirk Detweiler, Marion Palace’s Executive Director. “We haven’t had a big show in since the system was put in, but for the movies, it’s sounding great, and we had a four-person vocal group in that sounded awesome.”
“As you can imagine, in any older theatre, the deep balcony, the multi-levels of coverage (present challenges),” Jester explains, “but the system Clair designed does everything it should and more. My only experience with Adamson is with some of their older boxes from the late 1990s/early 2000s. So, hearing the evolution of their speakers was very encouraging.”
Ultimately, the new Adamson system allows Marion Palace to continue to fulfill the role it has had in the community for almost a century, and in a way that’s as easy on the eyes as it is on the ears.
“The sound almost feels like it’s coming from the walls, rather than from the speakers,” Jester concludes. “The way the loudspeakers were placed, tuned, and deployed – sonically, the system complements the visual aesthetic of theatre.”
Written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and directed by Polly Findlay at London’s The Bridge Theatre last autumn, the European premiere of White Noise explored the subject of race in the 21st century from both a black and white perspective through a group of college friends.
Ayrton Diablo at work on White Noise for Jackie Shemesh at The Bridge Theatre, London.
Working on an ambitious set design by Lizzie Clachan, lighting designer, Jackie Shemesh, chose six Ayrton Diablo LED profile fixtures to deliver some extremely precise lighting effects and ambient washes, and worked hard to sculpt the huge set despite some difficult rigging angles and ensure the skin tones of the diverse cast looked correct on stage. The 27m-deep set included a thrust stage, an overhead catwalk, a series of side wall flats arranged in perspective to frame the stage, and an angled ceiling flat which severely restricted hanging positions and lighting angles.
“I chose Diablo for several reasons,” says Shemesh who has used the compact profile fixtures on several productions at the National Theatre. “Firstly, I know and like the fixture, so knew they would give me some nice results. Secondly, the truck’s side walls and low roof made it very difficult to get light into the acting area. I knew I wanted some low-level moving light options front-of-house, and with limited headroom over the audience, we needed a fixture that was both small, light and quiet.
Diablo ticks all those boxes! Nicole Smith (The Bridge Theatre’s Head of Lighting) and I tried a few options, but the angle was so shallow that only the Diablo would fit the bill. Nicole was very supportive of having the Diablos on this show.” Shemesh rigged two Diablo fixtures centrally in low mid-house positions from the lower gallery where he used them as “good fillers” on the thrust stage “or wherever I had a gap or a little bit of a dark place.”
These units also took a key role in the more dramatic moments for the four characters’ with Shemesh using the Diablo’s shutters to project very narrow, sharp cuts on the actors to isolate them for each of their monologues. “The position of the Diablos created beautiful beams that cut really low in the theatre, almost appearing like two walls, until they met the actor or actress,” he explains. “It was a really strong, powerful image that we chose to use for each of the monologues.”
Ayrton Diablo
A further pair of Diablo profiles were rigged on the low level gallery in spot positions from where Shemesh was able to wash the side walls with brushes of colour, using stronger colour palettes to recreate a club vibe. “I chose to work with a pinkish colour as a general wash which worked very with the different skin tones of the faces,” explains Shemesh. “The walls were washed with a blue base, and the Diablo’s pink side wash added a mix to give a purplish feeling over the walls and, almost like a side light, highlighted the returns of the wall with a stronger pink. This bright edge on each flat gave another element of colour and design, which amplified the position of the stage and gave it a frame.
It added another layer onto the rhythm of the walls as they retreated upstage in perspective, and provided a contrast with the frame in a stronger colour than the wash on the wall. I was able to do this because of the generosity of Diablo’s lens: it is huge – so big – and gives lots of light and spread. They did a really good job.”
Lighting programmer for White Noise, Miguel Figueiredo, also enjoyed using Diablo: “The Diablo is a really cool fixture,” he says. “It is bright, fast, and compact in size, and considering the amount of features it offers, I was very impressed with how quiet it can be. This is also a big plus when marking Diablos in the dark as preparation for cues.
“The shutters also proved very helpful when trying to cover the many areas over a set that had very tricky angles. I can definitely see this fixture showing up more and more in theatres around the country. In fact, after White Noise, I went on to use the Diablos again on the West End musical Cabaret at the Playhouse Theatre.”
Shemesh was happy with his choice of Diablo once again: “It was a tricky set to light but Diablo made it possible and the results really paid off in the end. I got a light that gave me the position I wanted front of house, at the height and angle I wanted, and was quiet enough to hang less than 1m away from the audience with no problems at all, and no complaints!”
The Ayrton Diablo fixtures were supplied by Sparks Theatrical Hire, which has been an early adopter of the fixture. Paul Anderson, the company’s director, was very impressed with the units when they were demonstrated to him at Sparks’ HQ by Ambersphere’s Briony Berning last year. “I was particularly struck with how small the unit was, and how many features it had for its size, not to mention the amount of light that comes out of the front,” he says. “For such a compact unit, it really packs a punch. So far, it’s been an extremely popular addition to our rental stock, so much so, we are about to purchase more units from Ambersphere to meet demand.”
More information on Ayrton Diablo and Ayrton’s full range of LED lighting can be found at www.ayrton.eu
The Mac Ultra Performance with its motorized framing shutters and 1700 W led lighting source, produces an exceptional luminous flux as well as a beautiful light. Its original design and philosophically different concept compared to the competition, requires more space inside for the optics and other functions.
Yohan Ory, lighting applications engineer at Algam Enterprises, shows us his own maintenance ritual in three easy steps, starting on the outside and working his way inside to the heart of the fixture, the effects module and trichromic module.
ETC introduces the High End Systems Talen, an automated luminaire that adds visual excitement and big looks to any show with its punchy, rig-defining aerials. The fixture’s high-intensity beams are created with full additive color RGBW emitters and a large front aperture, resulting in an extremely narrow 3° beam with high center beam candlepower.
With infinite pan and tilt movement, Talen moves beyond the positioning limitations of other luminaires. Talen’s footprint is small enough to fit anywhere in a lighting rig, and it can also be rigged in creative hanging positions. Fixtures can be easily configured and addressed through ETC’s Set Light App.
Automated Lighting Product Manager Matt Stoner commented, “It is exciting to add a simple, affordable beam light to our collection of fixtures. Talen is excellent for adding movement to conventional rigs and supplementing big ones by adding excitement and expanding the designer toolbox.
With exciting features like an eye-catching TIR lens producing a tight beam of light, Fixture configuration wirelessly via iPhone and Android devices, and the versatile Talen hinge, Talen is the perfect exclamation point for any show.”
Polish lighting and production rental company Transcolor has invested in new Robe moving lights and remained busy throughout the pandemic with its five full-size studios and rehearsal rooms which have been utilised for television and movie productions, promo and advertising shoots and other assorted events. Two of the studios are among the largest in Warsaw, and these have continued with regular TV productions and clients as well as hosting a range of new clients producing digital and streamed events.
Transcolor’s head of technical Szymon Kosicki explained that, like everyone, they have faced major challenges, but Transcolor has always been well run, with a relatively compact administration setup for such a large operation. Simon is responsible for the kit and its prep for the various projects and shows.
The demand for the studios has soared over the last two years as media and TV companies scrambled to meet the need for new and different content, and this led to the purchase of additional Robe LEDWash 800Xs. The LEDWash 800X – featuring 30% brighter LED chips and a removable beam shaper module with motorized rotation which produces an ovalised beam for precise positioning – is a perfect combination for theatre, TV, automotive exhibitions, etc.
Szymon Kosicki
“The continuity provided by this fixture for TV in particular is excellent,” commented Szymon, adding they also contribute to the green footprint as there is increasing pressure on productions to be as sustainable and carbon-conscious as possible.
It brings their total stock of LEDWash 800s to over 300, together with 200 x Spiider wash beams, 100 x MegaPointes and 12 x RoboSpot remote follow spot systems.
Company owner and boss Lucjan Siwczyk has insisted that Transcolor set trends by purchasing innovative equipment, in the process establishing new investment directions for other companies in the Polish rental market, and also helping promote given brands in Poland. He very much wanted to keep this process going throughout the pandemic.
“The LEDWash 800 is a Robe product that has worked very consistently for us in recent years,” confirms Szymon. “It’s a powerful luminaire with great colours,” he said, explaining that all the shows in the studios consume numerous washes – productions like “We Can Dance” which featured 60 x LEDWash 800Xs, and the most recent “Got Talent”, on which prolific Polish lighting designer Jacek Chojczak used 60 x Spiiders. He also lit the latest “Top Model” finale.
Szymon elucidates that, for Transcolor, there are two essential elements to Robe in addition to the fact that all the LDs, lighting directors, DoPs and gaffers etc., are happy to work with the products. Firstly, the company is owned and run independently. “This ‘real person’ and people aspect is extremely important for us, and the fact that management is not faceless and interchangeable.” The second point he makes relates to the Czech Republic’s geographical border with Poland and their physical proximity, which is extremely handy. There are also many parallels between Czech and Polish culture and life.
Szymon has liked Robe products right from the start when the brand was officially launched in 2002. “They were small then, and now they’ve grown to be very big and a world leader – all of it without losing the personal touch – which is very impressive,” he comments.
With high hopes and a cautious optimism for 2022 in terms of shows and events being able to re-start, Szymon thinks companies will be able to flourish once again and offer crew sufficient work. He believes that there’s going to be so much activity when things fully ramp up that there will be the usual peak time shortages of kit and crew, and plenty of competition over budgeting and clients. “I think we are all looking forward to this as it’s a good ‘issue’ to have to solve,” he concluded.
For more info about Robe lighting, you can visit www.robe.cz
CEG is a UK-based, leading, independent equipment rental provider to all sectors of the technical entertainment industry in music, theatre, film, TV and corporate settings. CEG concentrates solely on delivering a dependable, cost-effective and sustainable equipment rental service which keeps its customers coming back again and again.
In March CEG made the first of a number of investments in Ayrton with a consignment of Diablo LED profile fixtures, purchased from Ayrton’s exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions. “We chose Diablo because it is the trifecta of what you want a product to be: cost-effective, feature-full and very popular with our clients,” says CEG’s Ben Bowles. “Our core business is to supply industry providers, all of whom have been telling us that Diablo is the fixture they want and the key spot of its type for the foreseeable future, and we couldn’t agree more.”
Vitally, Bowles sees Diablo as cost-effective fixture with no compromise on features: “Our business is about giving our customers good value, and ultimately we wouldn’t buy a product that was compromised in terms of its feature set. Diablo is a good value product in that it’s priced attractively, yet gives 85%-90% of what you would get on a fixture that cost much more. From my perspective, they are up against fixtures that cost at least 50% more, which not only allows us to provide a product that creates a sustainable return for our business, but provides the customer with a compelling creative solution.
“In making up a concert or theatre show, there are areas where you need sheer volume to create a look. If you can use 600 fixtures that cost 50% less with very little loss of quality or impact, you are adding amazing value to the process. Add to that the requirement of a specific feature or two, and Ayrton is ticking all the boxes achieving all a designer wants with very little, if any, compromise, and also being economically viable as a rental product.”
CEG’s business ethos focuses majorly on sustainability in both business and ecological terms, and aims to reach net zero carbon by 2030. “Sustainability in a business and environmental sense are two major drivers these days and Ayrton seems to tick those two boxes nicely for us: materials and processes, packaging, shipping, not sending boxes round the world with air in them, which is a huge carbon footprint. We are careful to make sure everybody is sustainable in the eco-supply chain from where a product is built to where it is being used, and that there is enough money to support everybody profitably.
“However, it’s difficult to get manufacturers to declare how much carbon they use to build a light, which is the answer I really want – building and buying new kit is probably the biggest carbon footprint. In other sectors, we have a good idea of how much carbon it takes to produce our mobile phones, laptops, our cars, etc, and the pressure is on now for our industry to follow suit. Designers are going to be held accountable for their carbon footprint, especially in film, television and corporate fields, and that will start to determine what they buy.
“Ayrton appear to be way ahead of their contemporaries in addressing this issue, taking active measures and stating their current position whilst working to further improve it. “This works well for us. The closer a brand gets to its customers, the better it is for the customer, and Ayrton are doing it extremely well. In the UK there is a good connection with the Ambersphere team who have done a great job to cement Ayrton products in the market. They keep Ayrton competitively priced which makes a huge difference, especially while companies are recovering from the pandemic, and have a good ethos which goes way beyond that. Glyn, Rob and Briony worked hard to make sure we are well looked after and the team understand the different breed they are dealing with. This is the start of a good relationship.”
“This is very gratifying to hear,” says Ayrton CEO, Chris Ferrante. “We are spending a lot of time and effort on this part of the business and feel that it is enormously important. We have just concluded our first end-to-end carbon emission audit, which will allow us continue to improve our sustainability by using hard facts and implementing science based targets. We will be undertaking these audits annually and, in the very near future, will be in a position to provide our partners not only with data, but also with the positive steps we are taking to make a difference.”
More information on Ayrton Diablo and Ayrton’s full range of LED lighting can be found at www.ayrton.eu
Église épiscopale de St Paul. Regardez en haut à gauche et à droite de la photo, on aperçoit une paire d’ID84 noirs.
Oregon-based audio production and installation company Alpha Sound has reported two highly successful NEXO ID series installations already this year in local churches. Central to the high levels of performance achieved in St Paul’s Episcopal Church and Kingwood Bible Church, both in Alpha Sound’s hometown of Salem, is the deployment of a pair of NEXO’s new ID84 columns as the main speakers, supplemented by ultra-compact ID14s covering smaller areas of the churches.
Devin Sheets
Alpha Sound’s Devin Sheets takes up the story. “When we first got our hands on the ID84, we discovered something very different from a conventional column loudspeaker. Firstly, the soft dome tweeter array lends what I would describe as an almost ‘hi-fi’ sonic characteristic, with an open, natural high end that’s perfectly suited to speech reproduction, which makes up so much of a typical church service.”
L’ID84. Huit haut-parleurs de 4″ et huit dômes souples de 1” dans un agencement en attente de brevet.
“Then there’s the coverage. With continued downward off-axis response intelligibility, we found that a pair of ID84s mounted 20 feet up delivered consistent SPL and frequency coverage right to the very back of the venue. It’s fair to think of the ID84 as a viable substitute for a small line array in applications where the budget is limited.”
The system at St Paul’s uses a pair of ID84s in what is a long, narrow, and semi-reverberant liturgical space. With a shared sonic signature, ID14s are used to cover the transept, choir, and overflow areas.
Le ID14 petit et efficace.
A similar system is deployed at the Kingwood Bible Church, where the main space is somewhat shorter at 55 feet, with relatively dry acoustics. A pair of ID14s cover the balcony areas and a single NEXO L18 sub extends LF response.
Un des ID84 de la Kingwood Bible Church.
The full system at the Kingwood Bible Church is powered by a single NEXO NXAMP4X1MK2, while the St Paul’s system uses an NXAMP4X1MK2, supplemented by a NEXO DTD/DTDAMP4x0.7 which powers the ID14s.
“The NXAMPMK2 is our go-to amplification solution” continues Devin. “Having pre-sets for every cabinet and horn configuration makes it quick and easy to configure systems that combine different speakers from the NEXO range. And it’s also very cost-effective. We can even use a couple of spare channels to power legacy speakers such as existing ceiling speakers in other rooms.”
Le Nexo L18, ou comment remplir son bas avec un seul sub.
Alongside its sonic and coverage characteristics, the form factor of the ID84 column is also well suited to liturgical spaces, with their typically vertical architectural features.
“People have said, ‘wow, the system sounds great, but where is it?’” says Devin. “It’s just another example of how the NEXO ID Series is so well suited for applications in houses of worship.”
With the professional audio industry roaring back to life again across all vertical markets—touring, festivals, theatre, corporate, install, immersive, and more—L-Acoustics has continued investing in its teams to ensure that it will smoothly and sufficiently keep up with customers’ needs.
From left to right : Laurent Vaissié L-Acoustics CEO, David Cooper Sales Director for Asia Pacific, BJ Shaver Sales Director for the Americas, Jacob Barfoed Sales Director – EMEA and Jochen Frohn Executive Director of Business Development.
Having recently announced the creation of a team dedicated to the Asia-Pacific region, the manufacturer now announces that it has created and filled three key Sales Director positions to match its regional operational structure: BJ Shaver for the Americas, David Cooper for Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Jacob Barfoed for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). All three directly report to L-Acoustics Global Director of Business Development Jochen Frohn, BJ and David will also be developing regional sales strategies in close collaboration with Americas CEO Alan Macpherson and APAC CEO Tim Zhou respectively.
BJ Shaver
Based in, Arkansas, L-Acoustics Sales Director, Americas BJ Shaver has been with the company for over nine years, first serving as a regional sales manager for the southeastern US, and then later as an installation business development director, Install for the Americas. Before joining L-Acoustics, he spent six years with an AVL integrator.
David Cooper
Recently relocating from the United Kingdom to new L-Acoustics APAC office in Singapore, David Cooper has also been promoted to his current role as L-Acoustics Sales Director, APAC. Like Shaver, Cooper has spent more than nine years with the manufacturer as a sales manager and is well known throughout the industry for his prior 20-year association with Midas mixing consoles.
Jacob Barfoed
Jacob Barfoed, L-Acoustics Director of Sales, EMEA, is based in Copenhagen and a new hire to L-Acoustics. Barfoed comes to the manufacturer from Sony Professional, where he spent nearly two decades in various leadership capacities, the latest being head of European sales.
Jochen Frohn
“After a couple of understandably quiet years, the world is ravenous for live entertainment and, by extension, the technology to make those performances more memorable than ever,” says Frohn.
“By all early markers, 2022 is shaping up to be a robust year for L-Acoustics. To properly ensure that our clients are supported regionally with the highest level of experience, business acumen, and integrity, we’ve turned to three incredibly sharp professionals: BJ, David, and Jacob.
While they’ll lead sales teams with a local focus, they will also collectively contribute to a harmonized global strategy, working in tandem with our Application teams to ensure the highest level of support to our customers around the globe.”
The cream of the automobile industry and a host of celebrity guests gathered recently in the Chinese city of Hangzhou for the prestigious Super 818 Car Carnival Night, featuring a glittering and ambitious audio-visual programme, orchestrated by a networked DiGiCo system. Chosen for its capacity to simultaneously manage extensive optical fibre runs, multiple act FOH and monitors, advanced AV, and broadcast, the DiGiCo system was provided and operated by technical design team from DiGiCo’s distributor for the region, specialist sales and installation company, Racpro.
Staged in Hangzhou’s 80,000m2 Olympic Sports Centre, the event was created by auto internet services provider, Bitauto App, and broadcast giant, Zhejiang Satellite TV. The highly specified and creative gala presentation was designed with two performing spaces in the stadium, with the programme alternating between a performance stage featuring China’s top artists, and a state-of-the-art interactive car zone.
The star-studded artist roster for the evening was a huge-scale production, with large channel count requirements. National pop idols and supergroups graced the stage, including THE9, INTO1, Cai Xukun, Guan Xiaotong, Gina, Li Chen, Shen Tang, Kid Wang Linkai, Hard candy girl 303 and Ouyang Nana.
Leading automotive brands produced an interactive supercar showcase, featuring a 360-degree multi-level track, coupled with an immersive cross-screen technology, using mixed and extended reality sequencing dynamic landscapes, including mountains, seas and urban streets.
“In my opinion, DiGiCo is the only solution provider that could cover all of the bases on a show of this magnitude,” comments Zhou Fengxin, technical director of Racpro and sound designer for the gala. “I can’t think of another system that could manage long haul optical fibre, advanced AV practises, simultaneous festival level FOH and monitors… and broadcast!”
The hub of the audio system was a series of DiGiCo mixing consoles, connected over an Optocore fibre loop managing multiple long-distance runs. Two DiGiCo SD5 consoles were deployed for FOH and monitor audio for the artists, whilst an SD8 managed AV requirements for the car showcase, along with three SD-Racks. Finally, DiGiCo’s powerhouse Quantum 7 console was employed to command OB duties for national broadcaster, Zhejiang Satellite TV.
“Due to COVID restrictions at the time, the audience was kept to an exclusive guest list, unusual for such a large stadium. However, we spent 11 days working hard on the production and did not compromise on any aspect, with a full rig to provide a normal live environment for the artists and the VIP guest list,” concludes Zhou Fengxin.
“As expected, the DiGiCo consoles were amazingly easy to operate in a pressurised live environment, and were unfailingly trustworthy throughout the evening. We were really happy with the result.”
NEXO, a Yamaha Group Company, announces the appointment of Delphine Hannotin as Manager of its rapidly expanding Engineering Support Team. Delphine takes up her new post with the French professional sound system manufacturer on May 1st.
Delphine Hannotin
Based at the company’s Plailly campus north-east of Paris, the NEXO Engineering Support Team is already highly active in supporting production services providers, integrators and consultants with system designs and commissioning for live events and fixed installations. Delphine will focus on delivering similarly world-class technical support for the Group’s AFC immersive sound solutions, from project design through to system calibration. Drawing on 20 years of experience as a trainer at France’s Institut national de l’audiovisuel (INA), Delphine will also bring her commitment and know-how to the partnerships implemented by NEXO and its parent company Yamaha Corporation with leading universities and, of course, to the Group’s Audioversity training program.
Francois Deffarges
Commenting on the appointment, NEXO Director of Engineering Support François Deffarges says: “In 2022, we are strengthening our team again. Our occasional collaborations with Delphine on festivals and other projects over the years have recently become much more frequent with many projects undertaken jointly with Yamaha, so her appointment at NEXO is a natural evolution. Delphine’s skills, energy and personality will be important assets for our user clients, and her arrival in our division will further strengthen the ties with Yamaha Corporation.”
“Having joined the Yamaha Group in 2019, I’m looking forward to working with the team at NEXO in a function that will combine a lot of contact with both customers and R&D teams” comments Delphine Hannotin. “I’m passionate about sharing knowledge and providing support and advice, and the international dimension of my new role at NEXO is particularly exciting”.
Jean-Charles Juliat (on the right) successfully passed on the values of the family business to his sons François (left) ad Frédéric (center).
Located on the edge of the region of Picardy, the family business, Robert Juliat has made an art of combining the precision of a craftsman with the near insanity of new technology. François and Frédéric Juliat, General Managers of Robert Juliat, welcomed us with open arms in Fresnoy-en-Thelle at the heart of their factory to see their museum devoted to the history of luminaires and share their views on the future of lighting.
Interviewing an Empire
The Robert Juliat secret museum, Holy Graal of all lighting archeologists.
It’s quickly noticeable that, after close to 100 years, the family business hasn’t changed very much. Robert Juliat, one of the pioneers of live shows, has been able to keep its family heritage and independence, with their leitmotiv summed up by the sentence: “creating solutions for lighting designers, technically sound, and surprisingly simple”.
In four generations, from Jean to Robert, then Jean-Charles to François and Frédéric Juliat, they have built an empire that can’t be missed. Jean, 120 years ago, worked with Melies as a projectionist during the beginning of film-making. Hence, becoming one of the first lighting engineers, he had to master the magic of electricity.
Jean Juliat
He passed on his enthusiasm to his son Robert, opening one of the first post-war movie equipment workshops in 1919, on Rue Trévise in Paris. They made some of the first single-lens luminaires used to highlight the entertainers performing on stage, during intermissions, while the projectionist changed the film reels. Robert Juliat was becoming a legend at the early age of 25 years old.
Robert Juliat at the Paris Fair in 1922.
Jean-Charles, Jean’s grandson, who was already a skilled technician, boarded the family boat in the ’60s. Theaters and movie theatres were exclusively using, at that time, the soon-to-be outdated arc lamps. The evolution towards using Tungsten lamps enabled the company to leave the film market to the major companies like Philips, and devote their work to theater (stage) and architectural lighting which was led by Strand Lighting.
It was soon to be the Disco era, psychedelic oil-based effects, an orgy of gobos and colors, the beginning of showbiz, and its dedicated and specialized lighting. Between these different uses of lamps, Jean-Charles quickly understands the importance of the new discharge lamp, the HMI by Osram and the MSR by Philips that were available in the late 1960s
The father of all the followspots keeps an eye on the office.
The first HMI followspot, Pixie, appeared in 1976 and put RJ in the Hall of Fame of entertainment companies. Little by little it replaced the steel beast carbon-arc Super Trouper, made famous by the song of the same name by the group ABBA in 1980. It quickly became the companies’ trademark and evolved, with the progress in technology, with more punch and easier handling, along with the arrival of DMX protocol and the collaboration with AVAB.
This success paved the way for the constant growth of theaters and entertainment, encouraged by Jack Lang French Minister of Culture in the 1980s, and the development of Fresnel, Plano-Convex, and Profile luminaires. Long before Jean-Charles Juliat succeeded his father at the head of the company, Robert had already planned to leave Paris and move the company to a renovated post-war farmhouse in Champagne-sur-Oise.
This factory continued to grow with the help of distributors such as Collyns, however, they kept their offices in Paris, and later in Saint Denis (just outside of Paris) for their clientele. French stars such as Claude Francois, Bougliones, and Coluche continue to live in memory in the hallways of those offices. As the company became bigger it moved to the small town of Fresnoy-en-Thelle, it could then include everything necessary for manufacture, inventory management, big machines, customer services, logistics, and a research center. The company with its 10000 square meters and 70 employees has become an economic hub for this area.
The Robert Juliat factory in Fresnois-en-Thelle.
Followspots, the companies’ trademark, has opened the way for many other luminaires, such as the sacrosanct 614 and 714 profile fixtures, that have become the major reference of their type all over France. The expansion of theaters, encouraged by the Minister of Culture in the left-wing government, was going to fill up Robert Juliat’s order books like never before.
The Merlin followspot in Edimbourg, New Zealand, during the Military Band Festival.
During the 1990s, business in France slows down, the company concentrates more on its exports. A distribution network per country is set up. For more convenience, in 1997, sales, communication, and administration are all done in-house at the headquarters in Fresnoy-en-Thelle.
The 2000s mark the beginning of global expansion. The “French Touch” is the reference in followspots, obtaining many awards in specialized Trade Shows. The Cyrano in 1999, Super Korrigan in 2006, and the Lancelot with its top-of-the-line effects comparable to the best moving lights in the industry used for the 2008 Olympics, the Merlin and now the Arthur, tested here in this magazine.
Lancelot is used in top international shows. Seen here at the Bruce Springsteen concert in Milan, supplied by the American company Morpheus Lights, LD Jeff Ravitz.
François, the American Son, joined his older brother Frédéric in the family business in 2003 and developed the American and Chinese markets. Although the followspots are their iconic luminaires, François with his vision of sales and Frédéric’s talent enables them to market more and more modern fixtures.
Francois Juliat
As of 2008, with François at the head of the company, they are on the brink of their third technological revolution. After the halogen and discharge lamps, electroluminescent diodes become the light source. The Aledin profile, in 2010, was the result of a partnership and allowed the necessary amount of time for Robert Juliat to perfect the electronics and be self-sufficient. Two years later the Tibo and Zep were born, a giant technological leap forward for the homemade led light source.
In 2016, the Dalis bars, which are available in different models, encouraged the French company to collaborate with others who specialize in color sources. An engineering adventure that resulted in an innovative and exclusive luminaire, specially designed for live stage performances.
The Dalis patent led sources combined with small sophisticated asymmetrical reflectors.
Along with the 150 units bought by the Bolchoï, and the awards obtained in 2015 and 2016, Robert Juliat has secured its position among the elite of high-tech companies in the entertainment industry. After perfecting the use of the leds and mastering the slightest color, protocols (reseaux), and calculation algorithms, a whole new frontier opens up for Robert Juliat.
The SpotMe tracking system, combined with the Maestro server in collaboration with the company Zactrack, is compatible with all makes of lighting desks.
In 2019, with the collaboration of the Novum studio, the SpotMe system presented an “on-the-fly” tracking solution, innovative as ever. Today the research department is studying and dissecting the RDM and sACN protocols, to make the system more and more user-friendly.
Always looking for ways to improve and innovate Robert Juliat, the “grandfather” of lighting companies, is a maker of award-winning luminaires in France, and it’s what keeps them young, François, worthy successor of the family business, has kept the same excellence in craftsmanship as his forefathers and is amazed by the possible inventions of tomorrow.
General presentation of the company by François Juliat:
A quick history of the profile luminaire
After our visit to the past, Sévrine Zucchiatti, communication manager, and Ludwig Lepage, product manager, will walk us through the evolution of the Robert Juliat profile luminaire, and remind us of the very many innovations over the past decades.
This quite unique mix of traditional craftsmanship and state-of-the-art technology deserves our greatest respect for the innovations that have been made to the once “basic” lighting fixture used in theaters.
The renowned 614SX profile spot.
The 614SX is timeless, the quintessential 1000W halogen profile is over 30 years old. For generations technicians have memorized the positions and uses of the “knobs” for the lenses, clamping the shutter blades in their position, inserting gobos and color filters (gels).
Not forgetting the maybe lesser known handles to unblock the yoke, the iris/gobo double slot, 8 blade insert, internal gel holder, and the possible barrel rotation. Over the years, numerous little changes, almost going unseen, perfecting the optics, mechanical fine-tuning, and different materials used to enhance its performance.
Later followed other models with the same basic features: the 613SX with a 28 to 54° zoom, the 611SX zoom of 11 to 26°, thus adding to the 16 to 35° zoom of the 614SX. Then came 714SX and SX2, “SX” standing for their double condensor optics, the “2” meaning it can house either a 2000W or 2500W lamp, and a 15 to 40° zoom. The 710, 711, and 713SX2 have zooms of 10 to 25°, 8 to 16°, and 29 to 50° respectively.
François Juliat, Robert Juliats’ grandson, continues the families’ fascination for lighting by creating the Sully.
The Quincy, a lesser known model using an MSD 575W lamp, and the Artagnan 930,933 and 934NSX, using an MSD 2500W lamp, are an incursion into the use of discharge lamps, enabling the use of DMX to control the shutters and striking of the lamp. Widening the range available, always using the French know-how for generations.
With the advance in technology Robert Juliat had been looking into new led light sources, they were the first to use an 85W led block in 2010 with their Aledin. This type of led block could be used instead of, and in place of, the halogen lamps of the series 600SX turning the existing luminaires into more ecological ones.
The 3 models similar to the ones using tungsten lamps, 631,633 and 634SX had 40% less output, had room for improvement, and were quite a bit heavier, however, this new technology was ready for lift-off.
True to French engineering, Robert Juliat had always designed its own PCB*, including the control and ventilation modules, and Osram led modules. (*: Printed Circuit Board)
Aledin Video:This was the presentation of the totally new concept at the time, and is perfect to rediscover the 600SX profiles.
A few years later, in 2012, came the ZEP series, shown here, and/or the Tibo here in a new and improved model. The size and structure of the ZEP 641, 643, and 644SX2 were similar but with a bit bigger zoom barrel and the rear body of the 611, 613, and 614, using warm white or cool white 150W led module, complete with a menu and DMX connections or wireless option. The result is very close to that of a 1000W halogen lamp and a color rendering of 70. The Tibo series, smaller in size are ideal for architectural lighting or sales conventions, they have slightly simplified optics and accessories, and an output of a 600W halogen lamp.
In 2018, the ZEP2 series was equipped with a new Osram led block, also 150W but with more output and a color rendering of 92. For the first time, the ZEP2 641,643 and 644SX2 had an output almost identical to the 600SX with tungsten lamps. Using a 300W led block the ZEP 661,663 and 664SX2 were giving the traditional 2KW profiles a run for their money, the cool white version out-scores a 714SX2 with a CTB filter (gel). Admittedly the ZEP series is longer and heavier than the tungsten ones, their led blocks are not adaptable in the standard profiles, however, the quality of the light output is such that they should be considered to replace an entire stock of profiles in a theater or on-hire.
Alice, one of the first led followspots, used a 600W led module.
The Charles profiles, known as 961,963 and 964SX, are beginning to compete with the Artagnan which uses a 2500W HMI lamp. These monsters, by their size and output, use a 600W 5600K led module, identical to the first led followspots, the Oz and Alice. Available since 2019, they haven’t had the exposure expected due to the Covid-19 lockdown, halting almost all shows and events.
The two happy fathers of the Sully module: Thierry Dupont and Ludwig Lepage.
It takes more than a pandemic to discourage the French company. Their latest innovation is a led module interchangeable on the SX2 profiles, called Sully. Tested here.
It is overwhelming how the light output is far beyond that of the traditional profiles. Helping theaters to advance with this new technology, led sources, state-of-the-art networks, and an array of light sources, Robert Juliat continues to innovate with the Sully and Tibo HE series.
The factory strikes back
Even with the Covid-19 crisis, Robert Juliat, strong yet (modest?) humble, continues to carry the family colors. Robert Juliat, along with other French companies in the S1Bis sector, were helped by the UDFM association and the French government, they adapted their production line and were able to keep all their employees with partial unemployment. Keeping their head above water wasn’t easy, comparable to the 2008 crisis or the post-war era. The 100-year-old company, with its diverse clientele onstage, shows, TV, theaters, and over 65% of exports was able to clear the rough waters.
Our personal tour guides : Séverine Zucchiatti marketing manager, and Frédéric Juliat General Manager.
These difficult times have proven that the companies’ strategy is the correct one. It’s the mastering of many different technologies, reducing the number of outside suppliers, and a quick turn-around time that enables Robert Juliat to look calmly into the future. Their work with led sources, the future of lighting, and the technological challenges to creating such products as SpotMe and the Sully 4C inspire lighting designers and technical directors
This DNA is obvious as we visit the maze of this factory. Séverine and Frédéric, our guides, have planned an in-depth tour, of the birth of a luminaire from a few grams of metal, a lens, some bits of plastic, and some electronics. Beforehand we must, as in a maternity ward, wear protective clothing as per the French regulations, including those very stylish shoe coverings. The numerous and sometimes complex regulations are often questioned by many, however, they are the guarantee of quality and meet international standards. Robert Juliat has always been ahead of its time in terms of quality and standards, thus being able to easily export to North America or Asia.
The factory is buzzing with sixty or so employees, about 40 of them working on the assembly lines. The metalwork, with the automatic punching machine, is the heartbeat gobbling up pallet after pallet of sheet metal. The huge robotic arm switches between different tool bits. The sheet metal is bent and put into shape flawlessly nonstop with the grace of a dance routine, almost hypnotizing. The old hand-driven machines on the side seem to be looking on as impressive cutouts are easily done, almost a relic from the past like all the bygone machine tools, they needed almost ninety people, to turn out a few hundred luminaires per day in the 1980s.
The Innovation Award, at the Plasa Awards, was won by Robert Juliat in 2018 for the SpotMe system.
The company stands by its French craftsmanship, and know-how is what its demanding clientele is looking for. This also applies to being self-sufficient and using local suppliers, better turn-around times, and very rarely slowing production. Robert Juliat still has requests for the older versions of luminaires, even with the standardization in 2010. From the 1000W to the 5000W models (even though discharge lamps have practically become obsolete) over 3000 halogen luminaires were made in 2021.
There are no leftovers once the punching machine has finished its “meal”. It outputs the luminaires’ pattern complete with grids, and grooves, ready to be shaped. As soon as the series of luminaires, or types of luminaires with the same module, is decided upon the layout per sheet of metal is optimized to limit the amount of wasted or leftover metal. All of the leftover metal, or scraps of metal, are recycled via their local suppliers, thus reducing their carbon footprint as much as possible.
The factory is like a mechanical wilderness, where the sounds of the punch press are similar to mating calls in the forest, and the folding of metal cut-out patterns are giving birth to luminaires. Metal bars, 6 meters in length, are cut and bent into the shape of the luminaires’ yoke, this is where metalwork meets show business. As different shapes are needed along the way, the machine operators change the different molds needed. Fresnel 310 sides, the back section of a Sully or the ZEP bases, these semi-automatic folding presses are outputting the parts that will become professional lighting fixtures.
In the photo above, during the Prolight + Sound 2019 edition, from left to right: François Juliat, Ludwig Lepage (Product Manager), Thierry Dupont (International Customer Manager), Manon Faor (ADV??), Claus Spreyer (Director of Sales) and Séverine Zucchiatti (Marketing Manager).
Adjacent to the machines, workers and specialized workers are riveting and welding in step. It is all about teamwork, co-workers depending on each other, and each generation passing down their knowledge and skills to the next. The PC (Plano Convex) Lutin, as per their historic conception are still handmade with care. The led luminaires, with their recognizable honeycomb grid, require other skills, the art of cabling and electronics. Repetitive tasks on the assembly line are waived by the engineering and the use of leds.
The Covid years had a major impact on the supply chain of raw materials. Wood, metal, textiles, and also paint, electronic components, and freight, in general, went askew. With the surge in investments for the upcoming summer events and last-minute orders due to the end of the fiscal year, our stocks were quickly dwindling. Luckily, the factory’s swift responsiveness, using identical parts for different models, along with local subcontractors, were able to meet the demands. All orders were delivered within 6 weeks, without employee overtime nor temporary labor being necessary.
It was barely visible that Covid had slowed production, except in the painting section where the luminaires were starting to pile up from the lack of paint. The de-greasing shop looked somewhat like a car shop, racks of luminaires were swallowed up into the chemical-free “vacuum” area to catch up with the backlog. Painters apply solvents and powder in the extraction cabins, then like clothes pins on a washing line, the luminaire bodies go on a roller-coaster ride to the drying chambers in the basement then to the first-floor ovens. Once dry, the parts are separated by type and model ready to be assembled.
The hatch door of a Sully, the fruit of the company’s imagination, is being inspected by Frédéric Juliat before being mounted.
Up on the first floor, the mood is studious around the workbenches. Like an orchestra following music composed by the research department, electricians cable the power sources, opticians seal lenses in place, and electronics engineers couple components. The parts supplied by subcontractors are quality controlled and tested before their use. The light sources are ready and are just awaiting approval, before moving along on the escalators down to the ground floor for final assembly.
Although each step is highly specialized, they are all part of the overall picture. From creation to assembly, the production line is constantly adapting to change, something that s vital seeing that every three or four years a new technology emerges. The engineers are raised on mechanical precision, thrive on industrial electrics, surf on electronic waves, and dream of new optics. They have the knowledge, the know-how, and put it all together with care to make a product that is efficient and timeless. This mastery of the components, and their track record, the luminaires are “followed” to ensure easy maintenance, repairs, and/or replacement of parts.
The experts in the research department in Fresnoy-en-Thelle.
In a large room, using solar-energy lighting, a string of workspaces use pneumatic tools, and motorized hoists on beams to move the bigger heavier parts. Depending on what has been ordered, from the light source to the accessories, all of the pieces gather to form either the small Lutin or the impressive Lancelot luminaire. Each one is checked one last time in the testing area, before being carefully packed into boxes, unless it is sent off in a flight-case made to measure by our nearby trusted partner, LikeCase.
Protected in their special crates called “Wrap”, these luminaires are waiting to be sent off to their future owners.
Our story has come to its end, a historic adventure, both human and industrial with one of the last great names in French lighting companies. The rest of the day was spent in the Research and Development offices, soaking in the research on PID RDM by Thierry Dupont, and the certification of the latest nodes to be embarked in the latest Sully.
The Sully 4C is a new RGB Lime led source, that can be installed in your old models of profiles, are already in use in the Fresnel, profile, or follow spot in this line. The future is written in color.
Seeing it from the users’ view is their strength, this is what has made the relationship between Robert Juliat and the client special for over a hundred years. One hundred years of technical knowledge and research, not only makes great equipment, it makes Robert Juliat an ambassador of lighting.
