Boomtown is a pop music festival which takes place in Ghent (Belgium) every year during the “Gentse Feesten”. With MLA they’re not only using a great sound system, the MLA system is also an asset in sound control. It’s a winning solution at city festivals where noise pollution is an important topic.
The full light and sound installation at the “Kouter” stage in Ghent at Boomtown festival is provided by ARC Productions. They are specialized in sound, light and video projection and you can always refer to them from a custom-made design to a perfectly delivered production.

To let Boomtown’s visitors fully enjoy their favourite national and international bands, ARC Productions worked with 16 Martin Audio MLA Compact as main system, 8 MLA Mini as delay system, two W8VDQ loudspeakers as infill, and 12 WS218X sub-bass systems in a matrix configuration. For on stage monitors, ARC Productions provided the necessary LE1500 high performance stage monitors.

The two main hangs comrising of 16 Martin Audio MLA Compact and, on stage, two W8VDQ precisely set to cover the audience close to the stage

The MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array delivers dramatically increased level of performance and consistency of audience coverage compared to conventional touring arrays. Unlike line arrays which aim to produce iso-phasic wavefronts as they exit from the array (usually up in the air in real-world applications). MLA cellular technology is designed to achieve phase-coherent summation across the audience itself.
MLA technology gives the system tech the tools to control sound throughout the venue with absolute confidence and the FOH engineer can mix knowing that the balance set at the mix position will be heard everywhere. For the Boomtown festival, ARC Productions uses MLA Compact and MLA Mini also to keep noise pollution as low as possible.

MLA Compact and Mini lets Boomtown festival explode

The Martin Audio W8VDQ combines line array and differential dispersion technologies to provide an advanced solution to the requirement of even coverage over wide angles and throw distances. The resultant dispersion pattern is ideally suited to cover audiences located in front of the Boomtown stage.
Martin Audio’s WS218X is high performance sub-bass system which is designed for use at medium to large event locations. By placing the sub-basses in a matrix configuration, controlling the radiation pattern of the sub frequencies happens at a very efficient way.
In this configuration, there’s a significant reduction on the back and the sides of the sub matrix but maximum power and tonality are kept in the listeners’ area. By using an ‘hard avoid area’ on stage in the design of the MLA Compact combined with the level reduction at the back side of the sub matrix, a quiet stage is created which musicians and monitor tech will appreciate very much.

WS218X sub-bass system in matrix configuration

Jeroen Willems, Account Manager at FACE adds: “A clear and proper sound goes directly and accurately throughout the audience. MLA Compact is a great and precise system for sound engineers to work with. The advanced control of the radiation pattern of the system gives us a great extra tool for difficult situations we have at city festivals.”

More informations

• On the Martin Audio website
• On the Face Website

Leading Netherlands based production and rental company Ampco Flashlight Rental BV (AFR) has made a another substantial investment in Robe moving lights – with the purchase of 80 x DL7S Profile LED fixtures and 80 x LEDBeam 1000s, delivered via Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux.

Photos : of Vrienden van Amstel LIVE 2016 are by Andre van Wijhe (Tribe Company)

AFR’s lighting operations manager Marco de Koff explained how Robe has been on their radar for some time, but it was 2010 when they started looking more closely at the brand with the launch of the ‘ROBIN’ range, including the MMX Spot and the LEDWash series. ‘It was clear that Robe was taking a very innovative route in its product development, a trend that’s continued and impressed a lot of people,” says Marco.
As AFR has started receiving more artist rider and event design requests for Robe they have boosted their own stock to meet this demand. The first actual purchase of Robe kit was 100 x Pointes in 2013, quickly followed by CycFX 8s, then last year, the first 32 BMFL Spots to join Utrecht-based AFR’s inventory … was also the largest BMFL order in Netherlands at the time. With the latest 160 fixtures … AFR is certainly putting its money where its mouth is!

Photos : of Vrienden van Amstel LIVE 2016 are by Andre van Wijhe (Tribe Company)

The LEDBeam 1000s were selected for their output and versatility as a ‘hybrid’ beam / wash fixture after they had been a massive success on the 2016 Vrienden van Amstel Live shows at the start of the year in Rotterdam’s Ahoy arena with lighting designed by Gert Jan Schreuder.

The DL7Ss were purchased as Marco and the AFR lighting team saw the potential for this flagship elegant, high quality LED profile luminaire to become a ‘workhorse’ luminaire for the company, spread across all their primary markets theatre, television and live events.

‘It’s still rare for an LED source to be able to deliver the intensity, colours, smooth dimming, quiet operation and refined movement of the DL7S,” says Marco, adding that it is stylish, adaptable and does not need replacement bulbs – a winner to any rental operation, making the ‘cost-of-ownership’ calculations very quick and extremely attractive. Marco also observes that the quality of the DL7S is so good that it can be mixed and matched seamlessly with other discharge fixtures that might happen to be on a rig.

Photos : of Vrienden van Amstel LIVE 2016 are by Andre van Wijhe (Tribe Company)

Recently, LD Martin Beekhuizen used 40 of AFR’s DL7S Profiles on the latest series of wacky scientific games show, Professor Nicolai & Dr. Beckand, recorded at Aalsmeer Studios. Marco mentions in the same breath that the DL4S range is another excellent ‘mid-range’ multi-use option that can be used across all sectors and genres.
Marco recently visited the Robe factory in Valmez for the first time which was interesting and inspiring. “You can tell a huge amount about the company by looking around the factory” he says, “The staff really believe in what they are doing and work diligently and at every stage of the manufacturing process … the focus is on quality”.

More information on the website www.robe.cz

UrbanVoices has been held in the French city of Nantes each July for the past six years and features a 1000-strong choir of Nantes singers from seven to 89 years old.
This is spectacular in itself, but this year the audience experience was further enhanced with the use of L-ISA Live, the latest sound reinforcement concept introduced by L-Acoustics founder Christian Heil.

The UrbanVoices choir performs at the Grand Auditorium of La Cité Des Congrès Nantes.

UrbanVoices is a multifaceted project organized by the association of the Cité Monde [World City] which takes place over several months and is open to the entire city of Nantes.
Karim Ammour is artistic director and creator of the project, entitled The City is Beautiful, and also its composer and conductor. It is an eclectic programme which honours mankind and nature and features compositions that range from reggae, soul, pop and gospel to rhythm and blues, with the thousand singers accompanied by a singer/guitarist, three beatboxers, a percussionist and a DJ.

Klaus Blasquiz performs with the UrbanVoices choir.

With 40 singing rehearsals spread over eight weeks in 18 different locations, starting at the end of April, UrbanVoices is an amazing musical adventure that culminated in the Grand Collective Urban Nantais, held on the 9th and 10th of July in the 2000 seat Grand Auditorium of La Cité Des Congrès Nantes.

Klaus Blasquiz, a renowned musician best known for his band Magma and musical director of UrbanVoices, had approached L-Acoustics with his wish to provide something special and more immersive for this year’s event.

“He visited our L-ISA auditorium in Paris together with Karim Ammour,” says Sherif el Barbari, Head of Application at L-ISA. “We introduced them both to the capabilities of our L-ISA Live concept, which immediately convinced them to be very suitable for what they wanted to achieve.”
Sherif and his team produced a design for an L-ISA Live setup for UrbanVoices consisting of five L-Acoustics Kara arrays of six elements each for the scene area, plus two 12XT per side for extended panoramic expansion.

12XTs provide the choir with the musicians monitoring

This frontal system was complemented by two flown SB18 per side for low frequency extension and stacked SB28s on the stage floor for ultralow frequency content. Frontfill was handled by six 8XT speakers along the downstage edge.
“The choir was divided into two groups of 500, alternating throughout the six performances over the weekend,” says Sherif. “The beatbox performers produced unbelievably low frequency content, which justified the use of large subwoofers to handle their signal.
“The massive choir provided the basis for a very wide immersive experience which really benefitted from the L-ISA configuration, while the localization of Karim’s vocal and the instruments was maintained for every seat in the audience and with a clarity that is usually missed in a conventional L+R approach.”

Five L-Acoustics Kara arrays of six elements each were deployed for the scene area, withtwo 12XT per side for extended panoramic expansion. Two flown SB18 per side provide low frequency extension and stacked SB28s on the stage floor for ultralow frequency content. Frontfill was handled by six 8XT speakers along the downstage edge.

“L-ISA Live connects the sound with the visual image of the artists performing on stage,” adds Mickaël Sourisseau, technical manager of La Cité des Congrés. “It allows every member of the audience optimum sound and consistency with what they are seeing, not just those in the seats located in the central axis of the scene. “It was a great opportunity to deploy the L-Acoustics system – acquired two years ago during an upgrade to the Citè’s PA – in a new configuration, that introduces the audience to a truly immersive experience.”

More informations on the L-ISA Web site

AUSTRALIA – The CMC Music Awards 2016 were held at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), with some of the biggest names in country music including superstars Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line, Australia’s own Adam Harvey, and rising country star Kelsea Ballerini taking to the stage to perform.
Broadcast live on Foxtel’s Country Music Channel the event celebrated the music and artists who are most-loved by their dedicated country music fans in Australia.

Mandylights were responsible for the production design, production management, stage management, lighting design and operation. Lighting gear came from Crystal Productions, Resolution X and Mandylights themselves. The event was the first time Scenius, Clay Paky’s moving head spotlight, was used in Australia as Crystal Productions had received fourteen a few days prior.
“We are among the first companies in Australia to offer Scenius which gives us an advantage,” commented David Thomas, managing director of Crystal Productions. “Anybody can join the party later, but being early adopters sets Crystal apart and the Scenius are the new standard in lighting technology. It has a huge 8°-50° zoom, is super quiet and very fast for a fixture of its size. The depth of field with projected images is unlike anything we have seen before.”
Scenius features an advanced optical unit and the new 1400W OSRAM discharge lamp that provides a much higher light output than with previous generation 1500W lamps. For this production seven Scenius were hung whilst seven were on the stage deck.

“The Scenius is fantastic!” commented Richard Neville, managing director of Mandylights. “We used them all onstage kicking back into the audience and way into the house. The fact that the focal range is just so long on them means that on camera they look in focus when the camera is up close to the fixture, say when it’s behind a presenter, but then the gobo up on the roof is sharp. It’s just in perfect focus the whole length of the beam.”
Scenius is a very, very bright hard-edged light and Richard loves that its’ aperture is so large delivering a massive diameter of light. The fixture produces a 6500 K output colour temperature that does not vary over time; Scenius also can count on a very high CRI, which is extremely unusual for a metal halide light source. Its colors cover a broad spectrum with even pastel shades.
“It has a really flat field, all of the colors are fantastic and there are no visible hot spots when you’re mixing pastel colors,” confirmed Richard. “It’s incredibly uniform color wise.”

Scenius offers top-rated special effects with two rotating gobo wheels, each with six interchangeable gobos, a rotating prism and an interchangeable graphics wheel for spectacular new effects. The fixture can also be used in wash mode by inserting a new design of frost filter.

More about Scenius on the Web site Clay Paky

The most powerful RGBW wash designed for spreading magnificent colours over the long throw distances is presented in this new Ayrton video.

AYRTON – WildSun-S25 – Presentation from Ayrton on Vimeo.

WildSun™-S25 is the colour-mixing cousin of Ayrton’s WildSun™K25 wash light. The new full colour model packs 217 highly efficient single RGBW LED emitters into a compact moving head and punches out 60,000 lumens of light. This output rivals that of 4000W HMI luminaires fitted with colour filters, but with far greater flexibility of use and lower maintenance.

Ayrton WildSun S25

WildSun-S25’s four-colour mixing is based on an ingenious arrangement of emitters combined with a holographic filter, which optimises the colour mix to create an infinite palette of pastels and saturated colours. Its LED emitters are distributed over six 60° segments with the colours in each 36-diode segment capable of being individually controlled.
The filter also protects the fixture under extreme conditions, for example, the dust and sand within multi-sport venues, and the transmitting lens is equipped with an integrated honeycomb ‘egg crate’ louvre to prevent unwanted off-axis glare.

WildSun-S25 has a proprietary, silicone-based, high-output 6:1 optical zoom which gives a zoom range of 10° to 60° and ensures perfect colour stability over time.
It has powerful tri-phase stepper motors to drive the pan and tilt axes ensuring fast, accurate and silent positioning. WildSun™S25 is equipped with serial connectivity and can be controlled using DMX-RDM, ArtNet™, sACN or wireless CRMX TiMo RDM from LumenRadio™.

In conclusion, Wildsun-S25 is the most powerful RGBW fixture on the market and ideal for spreading magnificent pastels, saturated colours and sheer power over the long throw distances of concert halls, stadiums and festivals. It is available from Ayrton’s international distributor network with immediate effect.

More details and full technical specifications on the Ayrton Website

UK Lighting Designer, Tim Routledge, is the mastermind behind the lighting design of one of the biggest stadium-touring shows in 2016; Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour. After playing six concert in five venues, the UK leg of the tour concluded in Glasgow’s Hampden Park before moving on to Ireland and mainland Europe.
After a ‘Summer Shootout’ held in London, using SGM units at Carfest and The White Rose at London’s O2 Arena, Tim literally saw the light in SGM’s fixtures and consequently specified 602 Q-7s and 22 G-Spots for his design for the upcoming Formation World Tour.

Tim explained: “This fixture was my immediate choice for this tour. I needed a bright color-changing source that would make a huge impact and – most importantly – would be weatherproof.” In collaboration with Production Designer, Es Devlin, and Lighting Director, Jonathan Rouse, Tim designed what they call a ‘Strobe Horizon’, with the 602 Q-7s forming a curved structure that surrounds a massive, monolithic LED cube in the center of the stage.
Tim said: “We all agreed that rectangular fixtures rather than circular sources would be ideal for this production, and would match the expression of the LED video monolith. So the Q-7 was the obvious choice.” As rehearsals were rapidly approaching, and Tim needed to source enough Q-7 fixtures for the design, tension rose. In collaboration with Neg Earth, SGM made it happen.
According to Tim: “SGM were superb in their support of me on this show and worked closely with Neg Earth to achieve what I needed and to ensure that all the units color-matched.” The large-quantity order of Q-7s had SGM’s production facilities working round the clock for several weeks. The shipment was delivered to Rock Lititz in Pennsylvania in time for the rehearsals which took place during first weeks of April.

Peter Johansen, SGM CEO, said: “Even though Tim was cutting it fine, we set sails to deliver. At SGM we like to go above and beyond to make sure we provide the lighting community with the right tools for the job – even at the last minute. Seeing how Tim has brought our Q-7s to life on the shows makes it all worth it. Well done, Tim!”
See the Q-7s and G-Spots in action in this official Beyoncé video:

The 22 G-Spots are used both on the B-stage and on the floor of the main stage. Eight of them are placed on each side of the water basin to crosslight the B stage. Since kicking off, the outdoor tour has been exposed to the elements – particularly heavy rains. During the first leg of the tour the crew struggled with regular torrential downpours that eventually led to equipment breakdowns.

Nick Barton, Crew Chief, said about the SGM fixtures: ”It’s nice not having to worry about them when it’s bucketing down with rain.”
Jonathan added: “The Q7s have been rock solid, delivering fantastic vivid looks in the fiercest of weathers. Whether it’s been blazing sun or snow their uniform colors have shone through day after day. We use a truly wide pallette on the Beyoncé tour, from soft pastels to the hardest reds and bright whites. They’ve delivered everything and there’s never been a color we couldn’t achieve.”
To sum up the experience with SGM and SGM fixtures, Tim concluded: “If ever there was a perfect product for the job, it was these.”

INFOSPORT+, a themed TV channel offered by the CANAL+ Group, France’s leading pay-TV Group, recently installed 50 neutral white LED Robert Juliat Tibo profiles in its brand new broadcasting studio where they are in daily use on sports live news broadcasts.
Due to the re-orientation of the INFOSPORT+ editorial line, a new studio was created by French designer, Philippe Désert, which led to new lighting requirements. Engineering project manager, Jean-Marc Delage, decided on Robert Juliat Tibo neutral white LED profiles, on the advice of French lighting director, Frédéric Dorieux.

The new studio INFOSPORT with LED Tibo Robert Juliat

This is not the first time Robert Juliat Tibo LED profiles have been favoured by Canal+. The same model was installed in 2013 at the INFOSPORT+ studio, at that time with a white body colour to blend with the studio’s white feature ceiling. Successful comparative tests were conducted, by the studio’s technical team, to evaluate the homogeneity of the colour temperatures between the units already used in the former studio and the new profiles.
The new fixtures were proved to deliver consistent performances, and this homogeneity, together with Tibo aesthetics and compact design, definitely convinced the technical team. As a result CANAL+ demonstrated its confidence again in Robert Juliat Tibo LED profiles by investing in a second shipment.

LED, halogen and discharge, the range of Tibo answers to any field of applications.

“We have the option to mix and match 3-year old LED profiles with newly delivered ones, with no deviation in terms of colour rendering, which has led to significant money saving,” Jean-Marc Delage stated.
“In addition, the low energy consumption, the stability and reliability of Tibo profiles have been really instrumental”.

Growing pressure to cut energy consumption has seen many TV studios turning to LED lighting.
Tibo has come into its own, brilliantly delivering powerful output from a 75W LED source with no loss of projection quality. Its die-cast aluminium body work has given rise to a stylish and compact unit design, whereas its exclusive optical device allows two different zoom ranges – from 15° to 45° – in one single unit.

“We also chose Tibo because Robert Juliat gave us the opportunity to design bespoke profile yokes which would fit our limited hanging space,” adds deputy operations manager, Nicolas Michaud. “The profiles spots had to be installed very close to the ceiling so it was essential to save a few centimetres. Robert Juliat were able to accommodate this and perfect the final solution.” Launched at the opening of the UEFA EURO 2016 finals in France, the new studio broadcasts live news 7/7 and up to 18 hours a day and is corering the Summer Olympic Games Rio 2016.

More on Robert Juliat’s Tibo profiles can be found :

• On SLU : Test Robert Juliat Tibo 533
• On the Robert Juliat website

APG, the French manufacturer of high end professional loudspeakers and inventor of the modular line array, is pleased to announce that it has hired two new engineers, thus reinforcing its core business. The announcement is in line with the objectives set by the company when it joined forces with Active Audio in April 2016.

The company’s R&D department welcomes Charlotte Gegout. Charlotte brings ten years of experience as a sound technician in the entertainment industry, before she completed her degree at the prominent Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM) and graduated as an acoustical engineer.
The CNAM has been training some of the best French engineers since 1925. Since joining APG in June, Charlotte has taken on a research project on the development of new technologies in acoustic loads.

APG’s sales department has also expanded with the addition of Maxence Castelain, the company’s new client support engineer. Maxence graduated as an engineer in 2015, and has already spent a year at APG in the R&D department to work on the development of the critically acclaimed new Uniline Compact range before his position was made permanent.
With a solid background as a freelance sound engineer working for various rental stagers in North of France and Belgium for several years, Maxence is perfectly equipped to understand the needs of the APG partner network. His role will be to answer any technical and business query in France and on an international level, providing consultancy, demos, acoustical studies, product training and system start-up on site.

Commenting on the new recruits, APG’s marketing and business development director Grégory Dapsanse commented: “We are delighted to welcome two great prospects like Charlotte and Maxence, who are a perfect fit to APG’s ethos. It’s a very logical step for us to start our mutation with people that are driven by passion and knowledge. They both represent our commitment to the industry, to offer superior technologies and high level technical support.”

Maxence Castelain can be reached on [email protected] or on his mobile +33 776 777 307

And Visit APG WebSite

Lighting Designer Steven Douglas is no stranger to the Ayrton fixtures. When he was looking for a new way to show The Killers’ logo of a ‘K’, his previous experience of Ayrton MagicDot™-R proved a fertile ground for firing his imagination.

Regardez au centre de la scène, au dessus des musiciens, le concepteur lumière steven Douglas a construit un K en utilisant 68 MagicDot-R. © Erik Kabik

“We’ve had various illustrations of the logo over the years; I’d always thought it would be nice to build a giant ‘K’ out of moving lights but I was always put off by the size and weight it would inevitably end up being as well as the space needed between fixtures to allow to the head to move.”
“When I saw the MagicDot-Rs for the first time it was exciting to think I had found a solution to the problem. Being able to mount the MagicDots closer together because they are so small and do not move outside of the radius of the head itself meant that the concept was now a workable design.
I spent a lot of time going back and forth with the guys at Ambersphere Solutions getting them lay out fixtures at different intervals and send me pictures so I could see in real life the gaps I had toyed around with in Vectorworks. As always, they were more than happy to oblige.”

© Erik Kabik

Douglas was concerned that, by trying to replicate the band’s logo exactly, the dots would be too close together and simply produce a clump of light with little or no definition. Scale was also an important factor; the super-size ‘K’ needed to be in proportion to the stage and the lighting rig without losing the identity of the original font in the logo.
He continues. “Once we had figured out what we reckoned was the right separation between the units so we had clarity between each dot but retained a clear connection with the logo, I arrived at Ambersphere with biscuits in hand so we could do a proper shoot-out.
It was essential that the MagicDots were not going to be too bright when pointing straight out into the audience even though I only use them at full-on and directly into the FoH area twice in the show. One of the great features of the fixtures was being able to spin them right round and point back onto itself and a glowing ‘K’; the symbol is fully lit but without any intrusion into the audience space.”

Once Ambersphere had answered all Douglas’ questions, the supporting framework was constructed by All Access. To complete the look of the piece, Douglas asked for a rail to be built around the edges which are rigged with Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures. The whole frame splits into eight sections and the MagicDot-R units are permanently set into the sections that travel in custom-made set carts. Presently touring in the US where the rental supplier is Christie Lites, Douglas is clearly happy with what a packet of biscuits and a day at Ambersphere Solutions has achieved.

© Erik Kabik

“I’ve been able to create huge effect from these little beauties,” concludes Douglas. “For one song just being able to do a simple pan moment and offset all the fixtures allows for a huge effect to come from something very simple. We will be using the Super ‘K’ for sometime to come.”

More information

• Le site Ayrton
• Le site Ambersphere

“Les Feluettes” (“Lilies”) made its world premiere at the Opera de Montreal recently playing to full houses during its four-night run. Lighting designer Martin Labrecque utilized seven Clay Paky Scenius Spots for the new production.
“Les Feluettes,” with a book by Michel Marc Bouchard and music by Kevin March, is a play within a play. It begins as a prison confessional and unfolds as a love story spanning 1912-1957, a time when same-gender relationships were conducted largely in secret.

The opera marked Labrecque’s first use of Scenius Spots.
He frequently deploys other Clay Paky fixtures using them on Cirque du Soleil productions and the Pan American Games’ opening ceremonies last summer. For “Les Feluettes,” Labrecque lit eight tableaux showing different locations and time periods in monochromatic palettes of amber or blue. The orchestra sat upstage, behind a black scrim, instead of in the pit.

Clay Paky Scenius Spot

“Because the orchestra was on stage, all the action took place downstage. So we created four FOH positions for the primary Scenius fixtures, which were mostly used as general ambience and gobo washes, mostly in white or full CTO,” Labrecque explains. Three additional Scenius were positioned on stage as backlights.
For the big fire sequence projections of the blaze were mixed with Scenius lighting effects on a giant white sheet suspended over the stage. “We combined the projections with Scenius in its color mode and with two gobos to make the fire look as realistic as possible,” says Labrecque. “Scenius worked very well with the video sequence; everything blended together well.”
The lighting designer was impressed by the fixtures’ “quality of optics and bright, white lamps. They had a really good feeling,” he says. Labrecque was also pleased that when Scenius was operating in the quiet mode required by the production the fixtures maintained their power.

Patrick Belzile, technical director for the Opera de Montreal, echoes that observation. “The quietness of Scenius allowed us to hang some of the [fixtures] at very close audience proximity,” he says. “The brightness, versatility, reliability and quality of construction of Scenius were outstanding. We were glad to have the opportunity to use them; they scored a great achievement!”

Martin Labrecque notes that with just three days in the theater to put together the production he had no time to program Scenius and only scratched the surface of what the fixtures can do. “This production whet my appetite for next time,” he says. “It was a chance to try Scenius and was a great first experience. I want to dig deeper and do more things next time.”

More Informations on the Clay Paky Website

Justin Bieber, one of the most universally recognized pop icons of the 21st century, is enjoying the commercial success and critical acclaim of his excellent fourth studio album, “Purpose”, the campaign for which currently includes an extensive world tour.
Lighting for the tour has been designed by Cory FitzGerald with the rig including Robe Pointes plus two BMFL Spots which are being utilized as rear follow spots.

Photo : Steve Jennings

It’s Cory’s first work for Bieber. When he came on-board, the production design created by production manager Chris Gratton and creative director Nick DeMoura was already evolving, together with video content produced by Michael Figge of Possible. After listening to a detailed brief from Nick and Chris, Cory wanted to make the lighting as flexible as possible to create “a wide diversity of looks and help transform the space,” taking the video content, which is a huge element of the stage design, as the base images … and building on it from there.
Fifty six Robe Pointes are rigged on the upstage trusses and under the downstage flying catwalks, which are used for many scenes and effects, primarily as the high-powered beam lights for which they are renowned.

Photo : Steve Jennings

“They are great fixtures” he states, “fast, punchy and with lots of tools under the hood to create multiple looks with a single fixture.” He especially likes the dual prism.
The two BMFL Spots work hard throughout the show as rear follow spots. “We really take advantage of their brightness on this,” explained Cory. Having used them extensively on other gigs, he was again impressed with the intensity, animation wheel, colors and diversity.
“The BMFLs give us full control of beam size, color and strobe effects from the console, which can then be cued into the show like any other lights, giving the rear spots a life of their own,” he commented. Cory programmed the show with the help of Davey Martinez, and Nick Van Nostrand is lighting director and operator on the road. The lighting equipment is being supplied to the tour by VER.
They have a tight load-in schedule in order to get it all up, running and programmed during production rehearsals but everyone is delighted with the results, “it was a true team effort and a great process to be involved with,” confirmed Cory. Each song has a totally different vibe, and lighting and visuals form an important part of unfolding the narrative and producing the right ambience. All of Cory’s lighting palettes are very specific to each number as well as being connected to its relevant visuals.

Bieber is known for being a great live performer and commands a very special engagement with his audience and the production has been designed with this and many other criteria in mind. Cory has been using various Robe products in his work for some time and thinks the brand is in a “really good place’ right now, with innovations constantly being developed and a solid set of standard products that is very useful.”

Photo : Steve Jennings

Cory FitzGerald has been in the industry all his life, starting his lighting career as a pre-teen during a school summer camp. He’s based in LA now, but has spent many years in New York and now focuses on designs that integrate lighting and production design elements like video, set and automation. Other recent artists he’s worked with include Bruno Mars, Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé & Jay Z, Gwen Stefani, Meghan Trainor, Skrillex, Troye Sivan and Zhu.

More informations on the Website Robe

When the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo came to the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand in February 2016, production supplier, MJF Lighting, decided the scale of the production warranted new followspots and invested in four Robert Juliat Merlin 2500W HMI followspots specifically for the spectacular show.
“There were no quality 2kW HMI followspots available in New Zealand to match this event, with all previous shows of this scale and high production standards having relied on units out of Australia,” says MJF’s CEO, Michael Farrand. “It was time for a change.”

Crédit photo : Blair McLaren

Farrand had previous experience with Robert Juliat followspots on the AC/DC tour, which UK-based Neg Earth had supplied with 4kW RJ Lancelot followspots. “I had the opportunity to talk to the touring tech, and find out first hand just how reliable the RJ product was,” Farrand says. “Feedback from actual users is always far more valuable than any pitch from a salesman or brochure, and my experience proved the RJ range of followspots actually deliver everything they purport to do, and more.” It was with this in mind that MJF chose the RJ Merlin to fulfill the remit for REMT.

“The Merlins are beautifully engineered,” Farrand continues. “The design has been thought about and the guys at Robert Juliat have obviously consulted thoroughly with the people who use the product. They’ve thought about everything: the balance of them, where the controls are located and how they go in and out of the roadcases. Every little detail has been thought about.” The four RJ Merlin followspots were positioned on the roof of the stadium, 26m above the field, in two purpose built huts that were craned up into position. The installation took a week to complete and included a life-sized replica of Edinburgh Castle as the backdrop to Paul Collison’s lighting design.
Collison was very impressed by how the Merlin followspots performed.
“The Merlins were amazing and an ideal fixture for the Military Tattoo,” says Collison. “Their size meant they could be effectively used in a tight position on the roof above the field, and the way they cut through the arena wash to help us pick out individual talent was incredible. I’ve been a fan of RJ fittings for a long while, particularly their optics, but I was incredibly impressed with the output of the Merlins. They really made lighting the show a pleasure as we could rely on them to compete with hundreds of other fittings even though they (the Merlins) were throwing over 100m at times. To my knowledge, there is no competitor that comes close to the quallity of RJ.”

Katie-Jane Bowen, Chef opérateur de poursuite et le Merlin en action au Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo à Wellington, Nouvelle-Zélande. Crédit photo : Blair McLaren

Robert Juliat are as careful to design for the comfort of the operators as they are for the designers and technicians and were very happy to hear the feedback from Head Followspot Operator, Katie-Jane Bowen.
“There are many features on the Merlins that I found extremely useful,” says Bowen. “One of my favourite features was the dimmer control position and the percentage reading on the display. This enabled me to be able to call my team to match the exact output with ease to balance our pickups perfectly without guesswork. The positions on both the dimmer and the iris are placed so that the operator does not have to shift their weight to access these controls, allowing for smooth and steady operating. From a full body clean shot to a perfectly formed pin spot at the far end of the stadium, the beam is beautiful and the precision in the controls is long awaited for.”

Collison observes that the well-designed features had a beneficial effect on the performance of the spot operators: “I felt the ergonomic user features also meant a higher quality or work from the operators,” he confirms. “Once the operators became accustomed to the RJ way, they executed their cues flawlessly. This was quite a feat, when you consider that the temperatures at show time often dropped below 10°C and wind speeds across the roof averaged 30knots with gusts of over 50knots.”
Merlin may have been designed as a giant touring unit, but its size proved no hindrance to the operators: “I am a small girl, and seeing the size of these units was a little overwhelming in the anticipation of rigging them,” says Bowen. “But the lift points and handles are positioned extremely well for easy lifting and rigging, even within a tight space. With assistance of only one other, I was able to comfortably lift and set these up as desired.
“Operating the RJ Merlin for me was an absolute dream. I have operated a lot of different followspots over the years and in every single situation I have had to learn as an operator to adapt and compromise, make the best of what I had to do the best job that I could. For the very first time I found there was no compromising or adapting with the Merlin. The movement is incredibly smooth, the balance could be made to be almost perfect for centre stage position, and control was precise and beautifully simple. At long last, here is a followspot that is built to compliment the art that an operator can truly contribute to any performance.”

les Merlin de Robert Juliat captent les talents individuels. Crédit photo : Blair McLaren

“Katie-Jane’s comments are among the greatest compliments we hope to have at Robert Juliat,” says RJ CEO François Juliat. “Merlin seems to have hit the spot in ruggedness, performance and operability that we had designed it for. We are extremely happy to hear the comments from everyone involved in this production.”
The Robert Juliat Merlin followspots were purchased by MJF Lighting from RJ distributor Show Technology. The MJF team for REMT consisted of Head System Tech/Engineer, Blair McLaren, System Tech, Shamus Jackson, Head of Lighting, Michael Farrand, and Head Followspot Operator Katie-Jane Bowen, with lighting design by Paul Collison of Eleven Design, Australia.

More information on Robert Juliat Merlin followspots can be found on Robert Juliat website

After several years of growth Adamson is pleased to announce an expansion of its management team at their global headquarters in Port Perry, Canada. Benoit Cabot is promoted to Director of R&D while Marc Weber joins in a director capacity to launch a new Product and Brand management division. They join Director James Oliver to continue the strengthening of a young leadership team that has been instrumental in the increased visibility of the brand.

“Our product vision has endured generations and we’ve built a management team that will lead it through many more,” explains Brock Adamson, Founder and President of Adamson Systems Engineering. “We’re driven by engineering and the production of high performance systems; not a corporate obsession of satisfying a group of investors. Our young leadership has been tasked to maintain this focus while our company rapidly expands.”

Adamson’s James Oliver, Benoit Cabot, Brock Adamson and Marc Weber are at heart of new management team.

Benoit Cabot has been under the mentorship of Brock for more than ten years.
He has been instrumental in refining many of Adamson’s patented designs that lead to the hugely successful E-Series and S-Series systems. “Brock seeks truth in everything he does. When it comes to design we have never settled. I’m looking forward to helping lead this growing team as we realize more integrated, user-friendly systems that continue to lead our industry in performance.”

Former d&b audiotechnik product manager, Marc Weber, joins the team in Canada to lead the newly created Product and Brand management team. It has been designed to sharpen Adamson’s brand perception in the market and strengthen the connection to its user base. “Our focus will be to improve the overall user experience in cooperation with our partners. The development and delivery of a cutting edge global training program will allow us to better share our technical knowledge with our users, optimizing the performance of our loudspeakers in the field,” says Marc.
“Adamson products already are specified on many global tour riders and we will build on this success, widening the Adamson offering and bringing this high level of performance to new applications.”
During Marc’s 17 years with d&b he was responsible for the establishment of their global service network, created the 48-hour replacement service and specified and launched key products like the R1 Remote control software and the d&b D80 amplifier. He also serves as chairman of the marketing workgroup for the OCA Alliance.
To support Marc’s customer-driven mentality, Application Engineers Brian Fraser and Jeremiah Karni will form the nucleus of the Product and Brand management team.
“Brian and Jeremiah have spent the last four years in the field applying our technical knowledge and, in turn, learning from our users. From performing arts installations through mobile stadium deployments they have seen Adamson products at work. Brian will drive new products and the workflow of current systems. Jeremiah will turn his focus to the development and delivery of a cutting edge global training program. To support this growth, further central application support will be added.”

“I think our customers have already felt the impact of our renewed focus”, concludes Brock Adamson. “In the coming years this management team will continue to grow our system offering to meet the standard Adamson has set in the industry.”

For more informations, visit the website Adamson

ETC has appointed Enrico Nobile as European rigging sales manager, a new position devised by the company to fuel the growth and development of its rigging division in Europe.
Nobile will be based out of ETC’s Rome office, with much of his time spent in the sales territories of ETC GmbH and ETC Ltd, working in collaboration with distributors, dealers and integrators.

Nobile’s involvement in the industry began in 1979 when he established the design and installation company Elettrosistemi. Six years later, he accepted a position with ARRI Italia and developed the technical department while working alongside Fulvio Cotogni, the former ETC regional manager for Southern Europe and the Middle East.
Subsequently, Nobile served as a project manager for Strand Lighting, and later for the Manfrotto Vitec Group, before setting up the TEYCORIG rigging brand in 2011. He spent the following five years managing the design, development and distribution of a complete range of hoists and control systems — the FLY series — for television studios, auditoria, theatre and architectural applications.

“Becoming the new European rigging sales manager is both a dream come true and a new challenge for me,” says Nobile.
“Since my first experience with ETC, when ARRI used ETC technology in its consoles, I have watched the company grow. Now, I have seen first-hand the passion at ETC, and the emphasis placed both on product testing and on customer support. I was impressed to find that 100 percent of rigging equipment is fully tested before final packing. For this reason, I’m proud to have the opportunity to guide and nurture the rigging business in Europe, together with the rest of the rigging team and the wider ETC family.”

Mark Vassallo, vice president of sales at ETC, adds: “It is with great honour that I welcome Enrico to ETC as the European rigging sales manager. Enrico, whom I have known for many years, has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the rigging business. This will help him in his future challenges of introducing ETC into the rigging market in Europe. I know Enrico will be successful in this journey into rigging with ETC.”

More informations on the website ETC

David Keighley and Peter Johansen

SGM has announced the appointment of David Keighley as new executive vice president of SGM, effective 1 July.
Keighley has an impressive track record in the lighting industry both as a lighting designer, tour manager and production manager and as executive vice president and chief of operations of Syncrolite, managing director and CEO of PRG Europe and managing director of Light and Sound Design.

Keighley has been involved with the Olympic Games (1992, 1996, 2000,2004 and 2012) and worked with artists such as Madonna, Rolling Stones, Spice Girls, Billy Joel, Pink Floyd and Deep Purple.
Keighley’s primary area of responsibility will be to work with and support designers and architects to ensure the right equipment for the job. He will be based in the UK, but will be travelling to oversee global activities for SGM.

Keighley said, “I am excited to be joining SGM. I look forward to introducing old friends and new to SGM’s innovative range of LED lighting fixtures.”
Peter Johansen added, “Dave and I go way back and I look forward to working closely with him. I know he will be a great ambassador for the
SGM brand.”
More information on the SGM Web Site