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TiMax tracks twenty mobile performers in Paraorchestra’s “The Nature of Why” in Hong Kong
18/06/2026
Heavy AV and Preston Productions use all-Chauvet rig for Cal State Fullerton Spring Concert
16/06/2026
Wharfedale Pro returns to Tolkien Days
12/06/2026
Daylight Events delivers Elation Paragon-powered rig for inaugural World Fencing League event
10/06/2026
ETC Hog steuert BTS-Comeback in Seoul
01/06/2026
Anolis goes “Beyond The Bridge” in Clapham
01/06/2026
IMS Dalt Vila 2026 illuminated with Elation
26/05/2026
We Belong Here festival lit with Chauvet
25/03/2026
TiMax tracks twenty mobile performers in Paraorchestra’s “The Nature of Why” in Hong Kong
The UK’s Paraorchestra brought “The Nature of Why” to Hong Kong’s No Limits Festival in March 2026, as a celebration of unconventional concert touring. Up to 250 audience members shared a 15-metre circular space with around twenty musicians, singers, and dancers, most almost constantly on the move. To track every performer in real time and give the audience precise directional information, front-of-house engineer Simon Honywill deployed TiMax SoundHub with TiMaxTrackerD4.
Founded by conductor Charles Hazelwood in 2011, Paraorchestra creates professional opportunities for disabled musicians. Breaking boundaries in every sense, the staging of “The Nature of Why” in earlier iterations highlighted an audio problem Honywill had struggled to solve. Honywill’s experiments to create an “acoustic bubble” around the performance lacked the precision he was looking for but most importantly, the performers struggled to hear themselves clearly through a monitoring system that doubled as the PA. Therefore, Honywill turned to the TiMax immersive sound solution.
The system installed for the five performances at the Kwai Tsing Theatre in Kowloon was built around real-time performer tracking. Six TiMax Tracker D4 sensors mounted overhead triangulated the live positions of performers and instruments, feeding TiMax SoundHub, which in turn, drove a ring of seven Martin Audio FlexPoint FP12 loudspeakers at a height of 2.5 metres, augmented by a Martin Audio SXCF118 cardioid subwoofer. Around twenty mobile sound sources were fitted with trackers, some performers wearing multiple units; the wheeled marimba alone required three.
Honywill accurately represented the audio performance in the space through an object-based mix. DPA microphones were routed individually to TiMax via Dante, bypassing conventional subgroup mixing entirely. It is this direct, per-source routing that enabled the spatial precision the piece required. “Using a system like TiMax, every source has its own unique amplitude and phase relationship to the sound system”, notes Honywill.
The seven Martin Audio FP12 loudspeakers formed a reinforcement ring around the performance area, allowing TiMax to generate a unique Image Definition - a bespoke set of per-cabinet level and delay values that placed every source precisely in space - for each performer in real time. The SXCF118 sub added low-frequency energy while its cardioid pattern reduced rearward radiation, preserving the clean spatial image inside the circle.
The full audio equipment package was supplied by Martin Audio’s APAC sales agency Generation AV, whose technical manager Jeremiah Joseph also joined the production team as both system tech and TiMax engineer.
(Photos: TiMax)
Martin Audio WPL reinforces Dianjiang Peony Culture Festival concert
The Dianjiang Peony Culture Festival is one of Southwest China’s most prominent floral and cultural events. With over 25 years of history, the festival attracts thousands of visitors annually - and in 2026 added further momentum to its tourist appeal with a concert at Dianjiang County Stadium, reinforced by a Martin Audio WPL Wavefront Precision sound system.
With an expanded programme and a broader “Wellness & Health” focus, the 2026 Festival - entitled “New Charm of Chongqing - Wellness Dianjiang” - ran for three months from March to May. Daytime flower viewing was complemented by a diverse calendar of activity, including sports events such as the Peony Marathon and Triathlon, food festivals, arts exhibitions, and this year’s Peony Festival Concert featuring nationally recognised music stars.
On April 12, artists Zhang Xinzhe (better known internationally as Jeff Chang), Yu Wenwen (Kelly Yu), Huang Pinyuan and Xianzi took to the stage at Dianjiang County Stadium. For main PA coverage, the concert deployed 36 Martin Audio WPL Wavefront Precision line array loudspeakers, flown as eighteen cabinets per side. Outfill coverage in the stadium was provided by a Martin Audio W8LC system, with left/right hangs comprising twelve units per side.
A further W8LC system was also deployed as delays - optimised using Martin Audio’s software - and configured as two flown hangs of twelve elements, combined with four ground-stacked array elements per side. For the front-row audience area, a Martin Audio W8LM frontfill system, featuring wide and consistent 120° dispersion, was evenly distributed as six stacks of two elements. Low-frequency reinforcement came from a total of 44 ground-stacked Martin Audio WS218X dual 18-inch, ultra-long-excursion subwoofers.
(Photos: Martin Audio)
Hippotizer MX blends scenic design and projection mapping on Hayley Williams tour
American singer Hayley Williams’ tour is out with a Hippotizer Teka MX Series media server, enabling a projection-led design to transform theaters into immersive environments. The Hippotizer Teka MX is part of the new range of MX Series media servers from Green Hippo.
The production relies heavily on projection as a primary scenic and atmospheric tool. Therefore, it required a media server capable of layered playback, real-time manipulation, and tight integration with GrandMA control in a streamlined touring package.
The creative concept was developed collaboratively by Lighting Director and Programmer Matthew Greer, designers Tobias Rylander and Michael Straun, Media Server Technician Dan Gentile, and Production Manager Riley Emminger. LMG Touring supplied the tour.
“Tobias and I wanted to approach Hippotizer in the same way we approach lighting fixtures”, says Straun. “We use the same language and the same design thinking. We were working from a single projection source and didn’t require IMAG or a heavy video infrastructure, so the Teka MX was the right fit both technically and economically.”
“The projection canvas is literally the entire stage”, adds Cory Froke, Technical Project Manager at LMG. “We’re using white drapes over custom-built lighting ladders and scenic pods, along with fabric hung from truss in more traditional configurations. In effect, the entire proscenium becomes the raster.”
Straun continues: “We started by sharing ideas and references with Hayley. During preproduction, we tested one of her music videos across the stage, scenic elements, and performance space. It immediately confirmed the direction - the imagery sat naturally across the environment and reinforced the concept.”
“We wanted to be in a room that was timeless and would make the audience ask: ‘Where are we?’”, he furthers. “The idea was to create a space that feels timeless and undefined, where it isn’t immediately clear whether Hayley is entering a space or leaving it. That ambiguity became a core part of the design.”
Content was developed by Frameworx, who created abstract environments, textures, and atmospheric sequences designed to complement Williams’ music. These were combined with reworked album artwork, promotional imagery, and re-synced music video elements.
“We had limited time to build and refine content”, says Straun. “Hippotizer gave us the ability to load, test, and manipulate material quickly. Using tools like brightness, contrast, and the internal effects engine, we could adapt content directly to the physical environment and immediately evaluate how it behaved on stage.”
Froke concludes: “Being able to house the servers directly in the FOH lighting rack significantly reduced system footprint and simplified load-in. In many of the venues on this tour, FOH space is extremely limited, so that efficiency is critical.”
(Photos: Green Hippo)
Heavy AV and Preston Productions use all-Chauvet rig for Cal State Fullerton Spring Concert
The clouds drifting overhead most of the day did nothing to dampen the enthusiastic anticipation of the more than 5,000 students gathered at Cal State Fullerton’s Intermural Fields last month for the school’s Annual Spring Concert.
The sold-out concert, which was headlined by DJ Mustard and also featured performances by Rebecca Black, Danny Lux, and Wax Motif, took place on a stage that featured a 100-percent Chauvet Professional lighting rig supplied by Preston Productions. The rig consisted of 89 IP65 outdoor rated Chauvet fixtures including thirty Maverick Storm 1 Flex units, twenty Strike Array 2 blinders, twenty-five Color Strike M motorized strobe wases and fourteen Rogue Outcast 2x Washes.
The Rogue Outcast 2X Washes were used for front lighting and backlighting. The Strike Array 2 units were used as blinders and for eye candy and were flown on the downstage truss as well as mounted on pipe and base on stage. The Color Strike M units were used for backlight and eye candy and were both flown and placed on the deck.
While the Rouge Outcast, Strike Array 2 and Color Strike M are longtime staples of the Preston Productions inventory, Justin Preston, who served as LD for the event, was also tried the new Maverick Storm 1 Flex hybrid units. Positioned throughout the stage, from the downstage edge and truss to the upstage truss and the top of the video wall towers, they served as the backbone of the rig. “It gave us the ability to provide tight beams, as well as wide gobo looks, which helped us keep pace with the diversity of the music”, says Preston.
The lighting rig was designed by Preston and Heavy AV. The show was programmed and operated by Marcus Mathews. The Master Electrician was Lucas Garrity. “We put a great deal of thought into the design and Heavy AV was very involved”, notes Preston. “Our headliners often appear at larger venues and festivals, so it was important we match that level of production at this event.”
(Photos: Chauvet Professional)
Charlie Puth on tour with DiGiCo Quantum5 consoles
Charlie Puth’s “Whatever’s Clever” world tour will take the singer-songwriter-producer on one of his largest live productions to date, with headline dates across North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific, starting in April 2026 in San Diego and closing (so far) in Perth, Australia in November, in support of his fourth studio album.
Besides Puth there are drums, bass, guitars, keyboards, and three backup vocalists onstage. For production manager Mike Schaeffer, who is also mixing front of house, and Josh Cruz at monitors, their instruments are equally important: a pair of DiGiCo Quantum5 consoles, supplied for the tour by Clair Global. “The Quantum console has been on the rider for Charlie since 2018”, says Schaeffer. “It’s always been my preferential console.”
Both consoles are on a single Optocore network, sharing it with an SD-Rack and an SD-Mini Rack, as well as an Orange Box bidirectional audio-format converter that connects between any two of the compatible DiGiCo Multichannel Interface (DMI) cards. In this case, some of the outboard used on the tour includes various Waves plug-ins, as well as a Rupert Neve Designs Shelford channel strip that combines transformer-gain microphone preamp, an inductor-based equalizer (EQ), and a diode-bridge compressor that Schaeffer applies to Puth’s vocals. Otherwise, the Quantum5 desks are pretty much the center of all routing as well as processing.
“My workflow is pretty straightforward”, says Schaeffer. “I do a lot of bus processing. I like the fact that you can send a bus to a bus, which a lot of consoles just didn’t do for a while. I use a Rupert Neve Design master-bus processor and a master-bus transformer. No matter what configuration of outboard and onboard processing I need, the Quantum5 lets me organize it however it best suits my workflow needs.”
Josh Cruz joined Puth crew in 2022, as the band was just formulating itself around the core that would be on the current tour. “DiGiCo has also been my preference for a while. I’m doing a lot more than just your basic channel input to aux output”, he explains. “I tend to take a very basic approach to monitor mixing: a lot of my EQs are pretty flat, not a ton of compression going on. The band members are very particular about their sounds and it’s not my place to unnecessarily manipulate any of that. For example, our guitar player uses an Axe-FX and he shapes a lot of his sounds on the front end. He literally says, ‘Do not put any filtering, EQ, or compression on it’. It’s an XLR straight to the desk and I simply send it right back to him at the level he wants.”
“We’re a little over the 56 I/O an SD-Rack offers in terms of physical inputs coming from the stage, but in total terms of what’s on my desk, I’m almost maxed out: there are a few double-patched inputs, effects returns, and there’s a number of playback channels, which come in over MADI through the Orange Box”, he continues. “We also have the Sound Devices Astral wireless ARX16, running two of them in mirror mode, and that provides all of our vocal inputs. Plus, I have a number of utility channels that I’m using to allow for some tech control. It expands well beyond the normal use case of an input channel being something coming from stage.”
“The DiGiCo consoles have the ability to have external control from a number of different sources”, Cruz furthers. “Being able to incorporate the console into a network is pretty common in a lot of consoles these days, but with the Quantum5, specifically, I’m able to control it from multiple sources at monitors.” He cites the software Companion by Bitfocus using a custom module called DiGiPanion by fellow DiGiCo user David Lim, which allows operators to manage tasks such as triggering complex macros and interfacing with external platforms such as DAW systems, with a single button press.
The “Whatever’s Clever” world tour audio crew (left to right): Mike Schaeffer, Josh Cruz, RF/Monitor Tech Noah Silverman, PA/FOH Tech Harrison Maher, and System Engineer Tony Toneatti. (Photos: Grace Tom/@gracet0m)
ADJ Encore DBX selected for The Strokes at Coachella
When The Strokes took to the Main Stage at Coachella this year, anticipation was high. Slotting in just ahead of Justin Bieber’s much-publicized return to live performance, the New York rockers delivered a set that balanced nostalgia with a fresh visual identity. Central to that look was a lighting design driven by ADJ’s Encore DBX LED blinder fixtures.
The creative vision for the show was led by Mitchell Schellenger, who served as Production Designer, Lighting Designer and Co-Creative Director. Working closely with the band’s Creative Director - who doesn’t come from a concert touring background - Schellenger helped translate an abstract artistic vision into a cohesive live experience.
He was joined by Associate Designer & Lighting Director Jason Rothberg, with the pair having first collaborated with the band during a run of one-off shows and festival appearances in the latter half of last year. Building on that partnership, Schellenger and Rothberg were brought back on board during the run-up to Coachella, tasked with evolving the visual aesthetic while remaining true to the band’s established identity.
“Since the band has an illustrious legacy, we wanted to honor the look they have established over the years”, explains Schellenger. “It has a bit of a ‘70s feel, combined with digital components, and heavy use of geometric shapes. So, we wanted to check those boxes, because when we’re brought in to work with a band that’s established themselves aesthetically, I think our role is to bring something new while respecting what’s been established over the years. A reference point, visually, was the early ‘80s version of ‘Tron’, which is very geometric and digital but in a retro way, with that film grain CRT VHS type look.”
To bring this vision to life, the lighting design centered around a custom floor package that combined scenic structure with high-output fixtures. A total of 72 Encore DBX units were deployed, distributed evenly across six bespoke zig-zag shaped carts, each loaded with twelve fixtures and finished with custom neon trims. These carts formed a bold geometric backdrop behind the band, reinforcing the retro-digital aesthetic while ensuring the lighting elements were always front and center within the visual composition.
Each Encore DBX fixture is powered by two 150-watt RGBAW color mixing LEDs, capable of delivering an output of up to 11,465 lumens. This brightness ensured the fixtures could compete with the scale and ambient light levels of Coachella’s expansive Main Stage, while still offering precise control. Independent dimming, color mixing, and strobing for each LED cell allowed the designers to craft layered effects that ranged from subtle atmospheric looks to full-on, high-impact hits.
“I felt like we needed a fixture that was scenic in itself”, Schellenger says of the Encore DBX, “because I knew I didn’t want an overly scenic design, as they are a rock band at heart. We didn’t want all this geometric scenery just for the sake of having it, we wanted it to serve a purpose. So, the purpose of the scenery became to house the lighting fixtures that gave us the punch that we were after for a rock show. The Encore DBX offers that classic rock-and-roll warm white blinder effect, but with the added scenic face, which meant it served both purposes.”
The Encore DBX’s background glow provided a rich canvas of color behind the primary light source, enabling dynamic contrast between the punchy blinder hits and softer, more immersive washes of light. Used creatively throughout the performance, this feature helped the fixtures function as both lighting instruments and scenic elements.
“The first light I ever owned as a child was actually a DJ Scan 250, which I used to learn the basics of DMX control, so ADJ has always held a place in my heart”, notes Schellenger. “The fact that we were able to use that same brand, in a new era, on a show of this scale, was cool for me.” Rothberg adds: “We brought in Warren Fu - a legendary video director - who did an awesome job of capturing the performance, and the ADJ fixtures came across really well on camera.”
The ADJ fixtures were the backbone of the whole rig, says Schellenger, and were used in some capacity throughout almost the entire show. “For some songs it was just the aura effect providing a background look, while at other times the blinders were really prominent”, he concludes. “Because each cell, as well as the aura, has its own independent color mixing we were able to do so many unique things that it never felt like they were getting overused. I’d like to explore more of what ADJ has to offer, as this really has been a positive experience.”
PRG was the lighting vendor for Coachella, with the ADJ Encore DBX fixtures being sub-rented from Eagle Productions.
(Photos: Jenna Murray)
Wharfedale Pro returns to Tolkien Days
Wharfedale Pro loudspeakers once again provided the main sound system for Tolkien Days 2026 in Geldern, Germany. The four-day festival attracted around 14,000 visitors and combined Tolkien-themed activities, live entertainment and concerts for fantasy fans from across Europe.
Audio production was managed by Rockline-Veranstaltungstechnik from Issum, while the Wharfedale Pro WLA-312X line array system was supplied by Spirit of Sound Veranstaltungstechnik. The main system comprised sixteen WLA-312X line array elements supported by twelve WLA-218BX dual-18’’ subwoofers, with multiple WLA-112 loudspeakers providing infill coverage. DSP was managed with Wharfedale Pro XC Series system controllers with related FIR presets.
As with previous years, the system was required to handle a wide range of content throughout the festival, from spoken word and acoustic performances through to full concert productions. The headline act for 2026 was Italian power metal band Wind Rose. Their performance demanded high output levels and strong low-frequency impact, with the Wharfedale Pro system delivering consistent coverage across the audience area.
(Photos: Wharfedale Pro)
Daylight Events delivers Elation Paragon-powered rig for inaugural World Fencing League event
Los Angeles-based lighting company Daylight Events recently deployed an all-Elation lighting package featuring newly acquired Paragon S luminaires for the inaugural World Fencing League (WFL) event, held April 25, 2026, at the landmark Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in LA.
For Daylight Events owner Greg Day, who purchased sixteen Paragon S fixtures in December 2025 and quickly integrated them into Daylight Events’ rental inventory, the fixture addressed a growing need for more sophisticated lighting solutions capable of serving both live audiences and broadcast cameras.
When creative agency Meridian brought Daylight Events into the WFL project, Day chose the Paragon as a foundation for the rig. Working alongside Meridian, which managed the broadcast and video content for the WFL event, Daylight supplied truss, rigging, and lighting for the broadcast production.
The Shrine Expo Hall’s expansive stage and balcony configuration required a lighting system capable of covering both competition and audience areas while meeting the demands of broadcast production. The lighting system centered around Elation fixtures exclusively, including the recently purchased Paragon fixtures alongside twelve Fuze Profile and twelve Fuze SFX luminaires. “The Elation rig lit the fencing, the whole stage, and did area lighting throughout the room”, Day explains. “We used it to create the walk-in look, ballyhoos for winners, everything.”
“Due to the broadcast and basic pro fencing standards, a CRI of 80 or more was very important”, adds Elation’s Esteban De La Torre, who programmed and operated the show. “The main focus of the Paragons was to light all the high visibility areas for the broadcast, most importantly the ‘piste’ which is the long, narrow area where the actual fencing takes place. We brought the color temperature down from its native 6,500 K to 5,600 K and was easily getting around 1,000 lux on it, which was the minimum requirement for intensity.”
The Paragon’s Ultra Dimming feature also proved effective, allowing for precise, low-level dimming control at a refresh rate of 25 kHz. “This was important because the broadcast utilized lots of slow-motion replays that required the lighting to operate at a high speed to avoid any flickering on camera”, notes De La Torre.
The Fuze Profiles were used to light other broadcast areas like entrances, walkways, and special areas outside of the piste. The Fuze SFX units were used primarily as area lighting, with breakup gobos used to light the walls, as well as for audience lighting.
(Photos: Elation)
Chauvet helps Jaclyn Ash master darkness for The Black Dahlia Murder
Creating a shadowy aura, without overdarkening the stage requires an artful touch. Lighting designer Jaclyn Ash exhibited such skill in resounding fashion on melodeath heavyweights The Black Dahlia Murder’s 22-city “Spring Fling” tour, which concluded May 2, 2026, at Milwaukee’s Rave.
Conjuring up broody color combinations and moving light in unsettling ways, including slow deliberate menacing patterns, she evoked deeply dark looks that reflected her client’s sound. Yet, at the same time, her design maintained a bold richly textured look.
“For The Black Dahlia Murder, I wanted to find a way to visually express their dark nature without relying on total darkness or blackouts all the time”, explains Ash. “Personally, I find something eerie about slow movements - almost like a flashlight scanning through a cemetery. I wanted to convey that creepy feeling by incorporating slow, intentional movements, and then suddenly adding tension with a quick effect, as if something has just jumped into the beam of light. By combining those movement elements with colors of vile green, a murderous red, a fleshy pink, a frozen blue, or a vampiric purple, we can set the scene like a horror film, but with a less obvious approach.”
Among the gear she selected were sixteen Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Squeek Lights. Included in this mix were four Colorado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens, four Color Strike M motorized strobe washes and eight Maverick Force S Spots. Ash used this floor package in different ways from venue to venue, always keeping “the complexity of the band’s ideas” at the center of her creative vision. “There were definitely a lot of changes in scenery throughout this tour”, she notes. “I am grateful for Corinne Sumner, who was designing and operating for the direct support band for this tour who gave me a lot of support.”
“Some venues only had conventional par cans in their house rigs, while others had so many fixtures that they required eleven universes and network control”, continues Ash. “Some stages were very tall, whereas in others I could touch the ceiling by standing on my toes. These differences made it crucial to determine how we positioned the units on stage and how we focused the fixtures. Overall, some days were spot on and incredible, while other days I wish I had a do-over button.”
The PXL Bars were positioned on the mid-stage deck, the Color Strike Ms served as side lights and the Force S spots added dimensionality on SL and SR risers. “The PXL bars were a big help in washing the mid-stage scrims and highlighting the drum riser, while also providing zoom and wall effects”, details Ash. “My side Color Strike units were essential - they not only made sure that the band could see during their solos but also helped set the mood for the songs. The side beams provided precise movements and effectively broke up the wash, creating an intense visual that matched the nature of TBDM’s music. They could also be directed at the backdrop, resulting in unique textures, which I played with a lot in the set.”
Ash’s light was key to setting the mood, but then again there was also the way she shaped darkness. “The dark space emphasized key moments in certain songs, whether it’s an intense lyrical point, a highlighted guitar solo, or insane drum fill”, she declares. “Having focused lighting break through the darkness is very much intentional and powerful.”
(Photos: Stu McDonald/Jenn Racho)
Klang delivers immersive monitoring for NYTW’s “My Joy Is Heavy”
New York Theatre Workshop’s (NYTW) recent production of “My Joy Is Heavy”, by writing and acting duo The Bengsons (“Hundred Days”, “The Keep Going Songs”), was a portrait of the unexpected joys and humor that are forged in the wake of loss. The transcendent indie-folk-punk show was staged at NYTW’s venue in the city’s Bowery district.
One of the challenges of the production was to examine multiple layers of emotion through a complicated and crowded set design. On stage, the show featured a six-person band - all cast members and actors, including creators Abigail and Shaun Bengson - collectively singing and playing guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, trombone, reeds, accordion, and various other instruments.
To best manage a complex audio signal flow while being responsive to the performers, sound designer Nick Kourtides opted to deploy a Klang:Technologies immersive in-ear monitor mixing solution, allowing the entire ensemble to work together seamlessly. That setup was comprised of seven Klang:Kontrollers up on the stage, fed by a DMI-Klang card plugged into a DiGiCo Quantum7T mixing console at front of house.
“The show was definitely challenging for monitoring, but Klang helped us bring all elements together”, says Kourtides, adding that colleague vendors Masque Sound and Autograph A2D were “instrumental in supporting the Klang deployment”. Klang also enhanced accessibility and hearing health, offering clearer, less fatiguing mixes - which was especially relevant given one performer’s progressive hearing loss. The broader production incorporated accessibility elements like live captioning and multiple sensory entry points.
For “My Joy Is Heavy”, Klang’s binaural mixing transformed rehearsal, performance, and accessibility in a non-traditional musical production featuring actor-musicians. A major innovation was building the full-stage audio environment during studio rehearsals, eliminating the usual disconnect between rehearsal and live performance.
(Photos: Marc J. Franklin/Klang:Technologies)
Creative Technology uses DirectOut Prodigy.MP for “G42 Supercharged”
Creative Technology Middle East (CTME) was the sole technical supplier for “G42 Supercharged”, AI cloud computing company G42’s flagship event, held in the Adnec ICC Halls in Abu Dhabi. The event brought together the latest in technology from across the entire brand and delivered a day of debate on an AI enabled future.
“G42 Supercharged” hosted over 2,400 guests and featured over 150 meters of LED screens, plus the largest d&b Soundscape system ever deployed in the region. In preparation, CTME built a scale version of the installation and ran four days of rehearsals in their warehouse for all stakeholders. The setup had a huge channel count with audio and visuals synchronized with audio transitions that enveloped the audience. The audio network was powered by DirectOut’s Prodigy.MP and this rehearsal reduced the entire installation time to 48 hours on site.
Tim Cook was system engineer for the event, working alongside spatial and playback engineer George Abi Aad. The pair were responsible for the programming and management of the two Prodigy.MPs and, given the profile of the summit, they opted for three layers of redundancy, with one Prodigy.MP handling full redundancy of playback utilizing Ears and console feeds through Input Manager, while the second managed complete redundancy for d&b’s DS100 amplifier feeds.
“Input Managers handled both DS100 processor feeds, so that if one channel dropped, it would automatically and seamlessly fail-over to the backup”, explains Cook. “To go one step further, we implemented another fail-over layer, using the Summing Busses within the Prodigy.MP to feed a standard stereo system as a final backup.”
CTME purchased its first Prodigy.MP in 2022, alongside a range of cards to complement the existing inventory, including Dante, Ravenna, Milan, and MADI. According to Cook, the modular design allows the company to adapt the same unit for different systems and applications, ensuring there is a constant use of the Prodigy.MPs.
“The interchangeable I/O cards let us build for any workflow, while the routing matrix and onboard DSP cut down on the need for multiple outboard units”, he adds. “It’s quickly become the backbone of our shows and, if I had one tip, it would be to stop thinking of Prodigy as just a processor. Think of it as a flexible audio hub that can sit at the heart of any system design.”
For CTME, Dante is their network protocol of choice and Milan is also being used more, especially for the new connected amplifiers that many loudspeaker manufactures are developing. “The Dante SRC card gets a lot of use”, says Cook. “The MADI cards are also essential, integrating seamlessly with our DiGiCo consoles and legacy systems. We’re also embracing Milan, so the Milan SRC card is being used more and more, especially with our new d&b amplifiers and DiGiCo Milan DMI cards now in play. It’s great to see everything tying together across protocols.”
The team at CT utilizes the Globcon software: “We use Globcon for remote management and control”, continues Cook. “We also integrate the Prodigy with third-party controllers and consoles for more streamlined workflows. Everything fits neatly within our eco-system. 7Hertz have supported us in integrating our DirectOut solutions into our workflow and ensuring that we maximize the capabilities of the Prodigy.MP.”
“We tend to use the Prodigy.MP in almost every situation, from system tuning and playback redundancy to matrix routing”, he concludes. “As a rental company, we work across a huge variety of productions with different requirements and the Prodigy.MP provides a consistent backbone.”
(Photos: DirectOut GmbH)
ETC Hog steuert BTS-Comeback in Seoul
Beim Comeback der koreanischen Boygroup BTS - „The Comeback: Arirang“ - Ende März 2026 steuerten Systeme der Hog-Familie von ETC das Scheinwerfer-Setup.
Eine Tour-Hog-Konsole mit Hog-OS-Betriebssystem stellte im Gwanghwamun Square sicher, dass alle Cues und Looks sowohl für die rund 100.000 Fans vor Ort als auch für die weltweite Netflix-Übertragung präzise synchronisiert wurden. Insgesamt wurden über 230 Scheinwerfer über die Tour Hog gesteuert.
„Die Tour Hog hat eine entscheidende Rolle dabei gespielt, das visuelle Erlebnis dieses Konzerts auf ein neues Niveau zu heben“, sagt Lichtregisseur Ross Williams. Die BTS-Comeback-Show sei erst sein zweiter Einsatz mit einer Tour Hog gewesen, vorher habe er mit älterer Hog-4-Hardware gearbeitet. „Der Umstieg auf die neue Hog-Generation verlief reibungslos. Besonders der direkte Zugriff auf 64 Universen ist ein echter Meilenstein - eine Kapazität, die wir während der Show nahezu vollständig ausgeschöpft haben“, so Williams.
Lichtdesigner für die BTS-Comeback-Show waren Al Gurdon und Harry Forster; die Programmierung übernahmen Alex Mildenhall, Alex Silvester und Alex Passmore; als Setdesigner fungierte Florian Wieder.
(Foto: Ross Williams)
Anolis goes “Beyond The Bridge” in Clapham
“Beyond The Bridge” is a creative community-driven intervention that has transformed the Falcon Road Rail Bridge underpass in Clapham, South London, from an uninviting urban walkway to a safer, more pleasant and visually stimulating environment with the application of art, lighting and logistics.
Now featuring seventy Anolis Eminere 4 luminaires plus other new lighting fixtures, the project was commissioned by the London Borough of Wandsworth in a bid to transform the 100-metre-long major rail and road intersection in a practical way that addressed community concerns. A competition for architects, designers and artists to present ideas was launched in 2024, resulting in a winning entry picked for its innovation and vibrance.
“Beyond The Bridge” was a bold, collaborative vision, collectively imagined by GPAD architects, community engagement specialist POoR (Power Out of Restriction), MRG Studio, Sutton Vane Associates (SVA), Cundall and MDA Consulting, with SVA responsible for the lighting design. SVA specified the seventy Anolis Eminere 4 IP67-rated LED strip luminaires to be a major part of the new lighting scheme, with 35 fixtures installed near the top of both sides of the underpass walls on special mounting brackets.
Mark Sutton Vane, who heads up the Hammersmith-based architectural lighting design practice, explains that POoR had engaged in valuable ground research with the community to get feedback and inspiration for the artwork that now stretches along the full length of the passage - which then needed appropriate lighting.
There were three elements to the lighting design of “Beyond the Bridge”. The first was to provide comfortable and legally compliant street lighting for all using the busy road that was brighter at night and dimmed down to twenty percent during the day; the second was to provide balanced lighting for the art panels; and the third element was adding illuminative fun into the equation.
“We wanted to be able to colour the whole scenic area along the bridge”, states Sutton Vane. “This included the walls and the overhead steel support beams.” The Council chose a signature blue colour from the Anolis fixtures which lights the whole roof and provides an iridescent glow. This runs for ten minutes, then morphs into a subtle and slow rainbow chase activated over a five-minute period, carefully calculated to not be distracting for passing vehicles, before reverting to the solid blue.
The fixtures also needed to be robust. Being waterproof was a given, as was extended longevity, and they also have to withstand the bridge’s constant vibrations from Network Rail rolling stock traversing multiple tracks above, going in and out of Clapham Junction station - one of the busiest rail intersections in the UK - that operates round the clock.
The lights also had to be resistant to other common urban hazards like pigeons, although reducing their presence was part of the overall project. Technical specifications also included DMX control. Eminere 4 was chosen after extensive testing. It was the first time that SVA has specified Anolis products. The Emineres are programmed and run via a Pharos controller.
Anolis designed and built the special Eminere 4 mounting brackets which utilised as many existing holes as possible in the original Victorian brick walls from the previous lighting installation. The brackets had many variants as the runs of lights are not exactly straight, and had to navigate drains, pipes and other obstructions.
The lighting installation was completed on site by electrical contractor Armadillo Lighting using bespoke cable layout designed by SVA to ensure all necessary wiring stayed neat and well protected.
(Photos: Katie Walker)
Industrieareal mittels Breakout-Räumen und Akustikwänden von HMS Design Solutions als Konferenzlocation genutzt
Für ein Strategie-Meet-Up im April 2026 hat HMS Design Solutions eine Industriehalle in eine Eventlocation transformiert. Rund 400 Teilnehmer, 26 Speaker sowie zahlreiche Partner und Aussteller kamen für eineinhalb Tage zusammen, um gemeinsam an strategischen Themen und zukünftigen Entwicklungen zu arbeiten.
Das übergeordnete Raumkonzept, das die Halle in unterschiedliche Funktionszonen gliederte, wurde durch den Veranstalter definiert; die Umsetzung zentraler Elemente wie Plenumsbereich, Auditorium sowie Partnerflächen und Networking-Zonen übernahm HMS. Das Unternehmen realisierte unter anderem Breakout-Räume (eigenständige, physische Nebenräume innerhalb größerer Veranstaltungsflächen, die für kleinere Gruppenformate wie Workshops, Diskussionen oder Strategie-Sessions genutzt werden können).
Im Fokus des Strategie-Meet-Ups standen drei Breakout-Räume mit jeweils rund 140 Quadratmetern Fläche innerhalb der bestehenden Hallenstruktur, die als Plattform für parallele Strategie-Meetings und Präsentationen dienten. Zum Einsatz kam unter anderem ein in der Entwicklung befindliches Akustikwandsystem, das räumliche Struktur schuf und durch seinen mehrschichtigen Aufbau zur Schallabsorption beitrug. Das von HMS konstruierte System wurde erstmals in diesem Umfang eingesetzt.
Mittels der genutzten HMS-Systeme konnten Wandflächen individuell bedruckt und gebrandet werden, um funktionale und visuell prägnante Räume mit klarer Markenführung zu realisieren. Für eine optimierte Nachhaltigkeit sind sämtliche HMS-Elemente modular aufgebaut und vollständig wiederverwendbar. Als Mietprodukte für temporäre Veranstaltungen konzipiert, sollen sie einen ressourcenschonenden Einsatz über mehrere Events hinweg ermöglichen und den Material- sowie Produktionsaufwand reduzieren.
Die Breakout-Räume boten ca. 17,5 x 8 Meter Grundfläche bei 2,5 Metern Höhe, fünf integrierte Zugangslösungen pro Raum und insgesamt rund 155 laufende Meter Wand (ca. 400 Quadratmeter Fläche). Neu entwickelte Netzwerktische von HMS dienten als Präsentationseinheiten für Partner und Aussteller. Ausgestattet mit jeweils zwei integrierten Screens und intelligenter Verwaltungssoftware, ermöglichten sie eine flexible Nutzung im laufenden Betrieb. Inhalte konnten automatisiert gesteuert werden, beispielsweise durch das Abspielen von Stand-by-Visuals bei getrennten Endgeräten. Diese Einheiten waren zentraler Bestandteil der Eventkommunikation vor Ort und rund um die Plenumsfläche.
Zur ganzheitlichen Aufwertung der Eventfläche wurden rund 1.800 Quadratmeter Teppichboden verlegt. Neben der visuellen Strukturierung der Halle habe dabei laut HMS vor allem die akustische Optimierung eine entscheidende Rolle gespielt. Gemeinsam mit den eingesetzten Akustiksystemen sei so eine deutlich verbesserte Aufenthalts- und Kommunikationsqualität innerhalb der großvolumigen Industriearchitektur entstanden. Die Realisierung des Projekts erfolgte innerhalb eines Zeitfensters mit drei Aufbautagen und einem Abbautag.
(Fotos: HMS Design Solutions)
Mexico’s Estadio Azteca reopens with assist from Obsidian Control Systems
All eyes will be on Mexico City on June 11 as the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off at the newly renovated Estadio Azteca, recently renamed Estadio Banorte. A reopening event and friendly match were held on March 28, with lighting control managed on Obsidian Control Systems’ NX consoles by lighting designer and Lightshow de Mexico director Giovanny Garrido.
Garrido’s relationship with Obsidian Control Systems dates back to the introduction of the M1 console to the market. “At the time, we were the first in Guadalajara to have this console, and after fifteen years of use, it’s still going strong on some of our projects”, he states. In recent years, he has acquired an Obsidian NX4 lighting console and Netron data distribution devices for ArtNet from Elation Professional Mexico. “Since discovering the Onyx software that Obsidian uses, I’ve preferred working with these systems”, he says.
For the inauguration of Estadio Banorte, the designer used two Obsidian Onyx lighting consoles to control the lighting setup - a compact NX2 and an NX4 with expanded control surface - with one unit on the field and the other at front of house. “Having both consoles was vital for setting up pre-lights on the field and observing what was happening from the television broadcast angles.”
In the control area, another console monitored data transmission, where Systems Engineering Manager Tomás Novoa used several fiber optic-to-network converters from the field to the control area. For this, Obsidian’s Netron EN4 and EN12 EtherDMX gateways were essential for data distribution. All Obsidian products were provided for the reopening event by Lightshow de Mexico.
(Photos: Obsidian Control Systems)
Chauvet Professional illuminates Levity at Wintrust Arena
Ryan Warffuel and the team at Antic Studios had an ambitious creative vision for the show they planned for Levity at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena, an effort involving 330 FB4-level lasers controlled over a network of nine laptops, along with sixty Chauvet Professional Color Strike M motorized strobe-washes.
Antic Studios, along with its collaborators, LEC Event Technology and Slick Lasers, transformed the 10,000-plus capacity downtown venue into a vortex of light and color that worked in harmony with the music of the hardcore bass trio as they performed on a 360 stage.
“This was a 360 show in an arena with many very different asymmetrical levels”, says Warffuel. “So, our main challenge was to shoot lasers safely in every direction to cover the entire arena space while still looking cohesive. To achieve this, we shot the lasers in and across the arena, out from the center towards the crowd, up and around the ‘Lasership’, and even had some crowd scanning lasers shooting into the audience. This took a lot of careful placing, zoning, and planning the different looks.”
Warffuel and his team also put a lot of thought into where they positioned their Color Strike M fixtures, which were supplied by Antic Studios, with additional lighting units, along with audio, rigging, power, and networking from LEC Event Technology. The majority of lasers were furnished by Slick Lasers with additional lasers supplied by Antic Studios and Levity. “We made sure to have plenty of them placed at great viewing angles so they could all be seen easily”, explains Warffuel. “The tilt function is useful in this situation, so we can adjust them to all the different levels of the arena.”
“Strike Ms are great for a show like this”, he continues. “They are able to cut through all the lasers, but they also are pixel mappable, giving lots of programming options to complement the lasers at the same time. We made sure to program lighting, lasers, and video, to play off each other, and give each element their time to shine without having to fight each other. We needed extensive planning and practice to hit the specific cues.”
“We wanted to make sure we didn’t use all the different looks and FX/tricks right away in the beginning and brought them in throughout the set to make sure it kept evolving and felt fresh”, notes Warffuel, who adds that the team - including Alyssa Miller (Video Director/VJ/Cameras), Owen Howell (Lighting Director/LD), and Corbin Sharpe (Laser Director/Operator) - strove to ensure that the audience was “fully engaged throughout the whole set.”
(Photos: Chauvet Professional)
Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club takes Ayrton Rivale Profiles “Into The Woods”
Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club’s production of the Stephen Sondheim classic “Into The Woods” was performed in March 2026 at the ADC Theatre in Cambridge. The Lent term musical is the highlight of the ADC Theatre year, and the most demanding project in its repertoire.
“Into The Woods” is a fast-moving melange of the Grimms’ Fairy Tales of “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Rapunzel” and “Cinderella”, and the English tale of “Jack and the Beanstalk”. It starts as a light-hearted piece that follows the characters in their search to make their wishes come true, but transfigures into a darker tale in Act II that reflects the consequences of such actions.
The show requires a big stage for the large cast and a multitude of locations, but the ADC Theatre stage measures just 8 m x 6 m and the set never changes, so it was the job of lighting designers Angus Cha and Eloise Davis to convey the different parts of the forest and changes in mood with lighting.
To achieve this, the duo used Ayrton Rivale Profiles as their moving lights on the recommendation of Ayrton’s Briony Berning. “We needed a fixture that was compact yet powerful because the grid is so small but the demands of the production called for ultimate versatility”, says Davis. “We requested Ayrton Rivale or Stradale Profiles for their size, and found the Rivale Profiles to be punchy, powerful fixtures which fitted in very neatly.”
“For Act I we focused on the whimsical, comedic aspect of the play, using bold, block colours and bright ‘sunlight’ to create the unreal world of the conventional fairy story”, explains Cha. “We picked our palette to reflect the set and costumes, and had fun creating a big bold burst of colour as the cast first enters the forest, setting the tone for the whole act.”
“The lighting was very ‘front on’, compared to Act II when we introduced greater contrast, more muted colours and lots of textures to make the Woods seem threatening and confusing”, continues Cha. “Rivale’s colour palette gave us all we needed in terms of the saturated and subtle colours for the full range of moods and locations we wanted to represent.”
Most of the Rivale Profiles were used as top light, rigged asymmetrically on the grid to force unconventional lighting angles. Another two Rivale Profiles set on the floor in the downstage wings provided strong side light which helped avoid plain front light and enhanced sunset and dawn effects. The remainder were rigged downstage for face light or upstage for back light and gobo effects.
“We could make full use of the gobos to create the many dappled effects and textures that were vital to the show’s ambience, especially in Act II where we could play with shadows and give the impression of the cast moving through a forest that was much bigger than our actual set”, says Davis. “The lighting positions gave us plenty of options to focus in on specific areas or widen out to encompass the whole stage and direct the audience’s attention in a subtle way, changing the landscape with light.”
“A lot of our design relied on delivering a sense of movement which we did using live positional changes to track characters across the stage, transporting them from one ‘location’ to another”, confirms Cha. “It is quite unusual to have live movement for moving lights in theatre, but worked well. The effect really enhanced the sense of changing location in a static set.”
“Another fun but significant part of the show was how to portray the approach of the giant’s footsteps”, notes Davis. “We used Rivale’s ‘gobo shake’ feature, and gradually focused down on the cowering group of characters while increasing the intensity of the shake - the effect was superb and very dramatic.”
“Productions like this are fun and important, nurturing the talents of the lighting designers of the future”, concludes Berning. “It was my absolute pleasure to support Angus, Eloise and their team and look forward to seeing their future productions. They have a bright future ahead of them.”
Alongside Cha and Davis, the “Into The Woods” team included director Toby Trusted, musical director Collier Ow, producer Eva Ilieva, technical director Jenna Braban, set designer Abigail Lemans, costume designer Edith Howe, puppet designer Nina Winstone, and sound designer Reuben Karas.
(Photos: Anna Gungaloo)
Dick Brave mit ETC-Tour-Hog-Lichtsteuerkonsole auf Tour
Lichtdesigner Rolf Wenzel nutzt eine ETC Tour Hog für die laufende Tournee von Dick Brave, dem Rockabilly-Alter-Ego von Popsänger Sasha. „Im Fokus des Lichtkonzepts stehen vier mit 220 Glühlampen beleuchtete Großbuchstaben: DICK“, erläutert Wenzel. „Der Rest herum ist überschaubar: Unterlicht, etwas Seitenlicht - das war’s auch schon.“
„Ich habe mir angeschaut, was in den 1950er- und 1960er-Jahren so üblich war“, fährt er fort. „Dieses Retro-Feeling wollten wir auch generieren - und das ist uns gelungen.“ Zum Einsatz kam dabei die neue Tour-Hog-Konsole von ETC. Wenzel steuert die Show komplett manuell, ohne Timecode oder MIDI-Unterstützung. „Die Band hat eine wilde Energie, die Tempi wechseln ständig“, sagt er. „Genau darauf spontan reagieren zu können, macht den Reiz aus.“ Entsprechend wichtig sei ein schneller, direkter Zugriff auf alle Funktionen.
Gearbeitet wird mit einer festen Song-Struktur: Für jeden Titel legt Wenzel eigene Pages an, zwischen denen er sich während der Show bewegt. Ergänzt wird dies durch eine sogenannte „Template Page“, auf der alle essenziellen Funktionen dauerhaft verfügbar bleiben - etwa Seiten- und Unterlichter oder grundlegende Looks. Dadurch könne der LD jederzeit auf wichtige Parameter zugreifen, auch bei kurzfristigen Änderungen im Ablauf. Die übrigen Fader nutzt Wenzel flexibel für songspezifische Effekte, Farbwechsel oder spezielle Looks für die beleuchteten Buchstaben.
Trotz wechselnder Venues benötige er meistens nur rund zwanzig Minuten, um die Konsole an die jeweilige Bühne anzupassen, sagt Wenzel. Dabei nutze er auch vorhandene Hauslicht-Systeme, vor allem Blinder und Frontlicht für die Interaktion mit dem Publikum. „Der große Dick-Brave-Schriftzug ist so effizient, dass die Bühne selbst ohne klassisches Gegenlicht immer Tiefe behält“, so Wenzel.
(Fotos: ETC/Rolf Wenzel)
IMS Dalt Vila 2026 illuminated with Elation
In late April 2026, the 17th edition of the International Music Summit opened the Ibiza summer season at IMS Dalt Vila, transforming the UNESCO World Heritage site into one of the most visually striking stages in electronic music. The Shop Productions delivered full production for the event and once again turned to Elation lighting gear to illuminate the show.
Set within the historic walls of Ibiza’s old town, the location hosted a lineup including Pete Tong, Eliza Rose, Ahmed Spins, Ankhoi, and a live closing performance from Faithless Sound System. From initial planning through to final execution, The Shop Productions team managed every aspect of the build and technical delivery, working within one of Ibiza’s most complex and protected environments.
“Dalt Vila is not a conventional venue, and producing at this level requires a precise balance between creative ambition and structural discipline”, says Simeon Friend, Founder/Owner of The Shop Productions and Founder & Creative Director of International Music Summit. “The stage and technical systems were designed to integrate seamlessly into the historic surroundings, while supporting a high-impact performance environment for internationally recognized artists. Every element - from rigging to lighting, audio, and show control - was executed with complete coordination and control.” The Elation gear which was provided through AdagioPro, the exclusive distributor for Elation products in Spain.
For IMS Dalt Vila 2026, The Shop Productions once again worked alongside lighting and visual designer Nick Jevons. With extensive experience across international stages, Jevons brought a clear and structured approach to the lighting design, aligning closely with the technical setup and production requirements of the show. His work aimed to translate the scale and energy of the lineup into a cohesive visual output.
The Elation system was built around Rebel Profile fixtures, providing a technical backbone with CMY color mixing, variable CTO, high CRI output, and a full effects package including rotating and fixed gobos, prisms, frost, and framing shutters - allowing for controlled beam shaping and layered textures across the stage. “At the heart of the design, the Rebel Profile delivered crisp aerial effects, allowing us to sculpt the space with striking definition even in an open-air environment”, Jevons states.
“Complementing the Rebel fixtures, the Proteus Radius brought a new layer of versatility and resilience”, he adds. Used to extend the visual reach beyond the stage itself, the Proteus Radius fixtures delivered sharp, long-throw aerial beams using laser-driven light sources, enhanced by fast 360° continuous rotation, CMY color control, and effects such as prisms and gobos - creating bold, architectural beam structures across the skyline.
“To amplify audience connection, we integrated the SOL 1 Blinders, creating warm, immersive moments that bridged the gap between performer and crowd”, Jevons continues. “Its output and dimming curves gave us the ability to shift seamlessly from subtle ambiance to full-impact hits.” Pulse Panel FX units introduced a dynamic visual layer, combining high-output strobe, wash, and continuous pan/tilt movement to create rhythmic energy and evolving stage compositions. “Together, these fixtures formed a cohesive system that balanced power, precision, and atmosphere”, says Jevons.
(Photos: Leafhopper Project/Phrank.net/Juan Sabatino)
GLP JDC Burst 1 unterstützt „Orange the World“ am Karlsruher Turmberg
Am 25. November 2025 erstrahlte der Turmberg in Karlsruhe in kräftigem Orange. Die weithin sichtbare Illumination war Teil der internationalen UN-Kampagne „Orange the World“, mit der weltweit ein Zeichen gegen Gewalt an Frauen gesetzt wird.
Auftraggeber der Aktion am Turmberg war der DM-Drogerie-Markt, der sich im Rahmen der Kampagne mit mehreren Illuminationen beteiligte. Die vollständige technische Planung und Umsetzung übernahm die Hell begeistert GmbH. Die Wahl des Illuminationsobjekts auf den Turmberg. Neben der Illumination des Turmbergs wurde im Zuge von „Orange the World“ auch das DM-Headquarter orange beleuchtet. Bereits im Vorjahr hatte Hell begeistert zudem das DM-Verteilzentrum in Waghäusel illuminiert, dort mit rund 100 GLP FP7.
Für die Umsetzung am Turmberg setzte Hell begeistert zwölf der neuen GLP-Hybrid-Strobes JDC Burst 1 ein, ergänzt durch weitere Scheinwerfer. Sechs JDC Burst 1 wurden bodennah so positioniert, dass sie die südwestliche Seite des Turms vollständig ausleuchteten. Weitere sechs Geräte kamen auf der unteren Aussichtsplattform in rund sechzehn Metern Höhe zum Einsatz und waren nach Nordwesten ausgerichtet, um insbesondere die oberen Turmbereiche in gleichmäßiges, sattes Orange zu tauchen. Durch diese Staffelung ließ sich die Geometrie des Turms flächig und ausgewogen illuminieren.
„Zwar haben wir die JDC Burst 1 ursprünglich nicht für klassische Architekturbeleuchtungen angeschafft, dank ihres IP-Schutzes und der großen Abstrahlwinkel eignen sie sich jedoch hervorragend auch für solche flächigen Außenanwendungen“, sagt Nikolai Stefansky von Hell begeistert. Die Geräte aus dem eigenen Bestand von Hell begeistert werden regelmäßig bei Musik- und Kulturveranstaltungen verwendet, etwa als Stage-Wash, als Strobe oder für kreative Effekte mit der Single-Pixel-Strobe-Line. Auch bei Industrie-Events sowie für Kameraaufzeichnungen und Livestreams kommen die JDC Burst 1 zum Einsatz.
(Foto: Nikolai Stefansky/Hell begeistert)
„Mord auf Ex“ mit Equipment von MA Lighting, Martin Lighting und Major auf Tour
Das wöchentlich erscheinende True-Crime-Format „Mord auf Ex“ der Journalistinnen Leonie Bartsch und Linn Schütze zählt zu den Top-10-Podcasts in Deutschland und erreicht monatlich über fünf Millionen Abrufe. Im Januar 2026 spielte „Mord auf Ex“ den zweiten Teil seiner aktuellen Live-Tour, die insgesamt über 100.000 Besucher in sechzehn Städten im DACH-Raum verbuchte.
Mit auf Tour waren fünfzig IP54-klassifizierte Mac-Viper-XIP-Moving-Lights von Martin Lighting. Groh-P.A. Veranstaltungstechnik zeichnete als Full-Service-Dienstleister für die gesamte Technik verantwortlich und stellte das Material. „Der Live-Podcast war eine Mischung aus Theater, Show und Konzert. Entsprechend vielseitig musste die Technik sein, um allen Anwendungsfällen gerecht zu werden“, sagt Fynn Heidutzek, Head of Lights und Projektleiter.
„Der Mac Viper XIP war genau das, was wir bei dieser Produktion benötigten, denn er übernahm einfach alles: Er illuminierte das ganze Set und setzte als Key-Light mit seinem Weißlicht die Gesichter der Protagonistinnen in Szene“, ergänzt Lichtdesigner Maximilian Gräf. „Zusätzlich überzeugte er mit präzisen Beam-Looks. Dank ‘Light-Recycling’ hatten wir auch beim Einsatz von Blendenschiebern einen hervorragenden Output.“
„Light-Recycling“ ist eine Technologie aus dem Hause Martin, die es durch das Zusammenspiel der LED-Engine mit dem optischen System ermöglicht, hohe Anteile des intern reflektierten Lichtes zu nutzen und auf diese Weise den Licht-Output zu steigern. Über das „Light-Recycling“ kann beim Mac Viper XIP der Output beim Einsatz von Gobos, Blendenschiebern oder Iris noch einmal um bis zu 25 Prozent gesteigert werden.
Gesteuert wurden die Shows mit einem GrandMA3-System, bestehend aus zwei GrandMA3-Light-Konsolen, zwei GrandMA3 Compact sowie fünf GrandMA3 onPC 8Port Node 4k PoE. Zudem wurden ausschließlich Stromverteiler und Kabel von Major verwendet. „Groh-P.A. arbeitet nur mit GrandMA3. Für verschiedenste Anwendungsfälle haben wir uns mit GrandMA3 Compact, GrandMA3 Light und GrandMA3 Full-Size ausgestattet“, so Heidutzek.
(Fotos: Auf Ex Productions)
Naostage K System drives dynamic stage automation on Tiakola tour
When planning the visual identity for one of French rapper Tiakola’s recent tours, the creative team behind the show sought to build a stage environment that could evolve continuously throughout the performance. At the centre of that design was the Naostage K System, the world’s only beaconless performer tracking ecosystem that enabled lighting, video and automation elements to respond dynamically to the artist’s performance and the stage architecture around him.
The scenography and lighting design for the production were led by Julien Peyrache and Michael Berzon of Alien le studio, who were brought into the project by Nonstop Productions. Early discussions with producers Morgan Antonutti and Marie-Sandrine Martin focused on creating a highly kinetic stage environment where the artist, musicians and scenographic elements could move freely throughout the performance.
The resulting design incorporated motorised musician lifts, suspended lighting pods and a large automated LED screen, alongside a custom mirror-clad sphere that served as the centrepiece of the show’s opening sequence. With so many moving elements interacting within the same performance space, the team required a tracking platform capable of maintaining precise spatial awareness across the entire 8 x 22 metre main stage and 4 x 11 metre B-stage. They accomplished this using two Kapta tracking sensors mounted on the overhead truss structure.
“We’d been following Naostage for some time, but everything really clicked when we saw the system demonstrated in the field at the Poupet Festival”, says Peyrache. “You can shape the system to work with almost any type of fixture, which meant we could integrate it directly into the creative process.” The Naostage K System is built around three core components – the Kapta tracking sensor, the Kore AI deep-trained processing server and the Kratos control software. Together, these form a beaconless tracking platform that identifies performers directly on stage using several cameras and artificial intelligence rather than wearable transmitters or markers.
Mounted above the stage, Kapta sensors use a combination of visible-light cameras, infrared cameras and thermal sensors to generate a real-time 3D representation of the performance space. Data from these cameras and sensors is sent to the Kore server, which processes the information using AI algorithms to determine each performer’s position, movement and speed in real time. The resulting spatial data is then distributed to external show systems through protocols such as PosiStageNet (PSN), OSC and Art-Net.
For the Tiakola tour, the tracking system managed five human targets alongside six machine trackers linked to the stage’s automated elements, resulting in a network of 23 PSN trackers controlling lighting and video behaviour across the show. As the production evolved, the design team began to view the tracking system as something more than an automated followspot tool. “It quickly became the nerve centre of a massive 3D interactive ecosystem”, says Peyrache. “We weren’t just tracking performers. We were tracking the entire stage architecture.”
To coordinate the large amount of spatial data generated by both performers and moving set pieces, the production integrated the Carrot Industries PSN Toolbox into the workflow. Integrated into the setup by lighting operator and developer Jérémy Dufeux, the software acted as a central processing layer between Naostage, a Raynok automation system and the show’s lighting and video control platforms.
The PSN Toolbox collected tracking data from the Naostage system alongside positional information from Raynok, which controlled elements such as the LED screen, mirror sphere, musician lifts and overhead lighting pods. The software then merged and transformed these data streams before sending clean positional data to the GrandMA3 lighting console and the Smode media server.
Calibrating the system required precise alignment between the physical stage and its virtual representation within the lighting console. “To calibrate the space, we defined six reference points on the floor and entered their exact coordinates into the system”, explains Berzon. “That allowed the tracking environment to match the 3D space used by the lighting console, ensuring that everything was speaking the same spatial language.”
In total, more than 120 lighting fixtures were calibrated individually within the tracking environment. This represents a new record for the K System, as it’s the largest number of lighting fixtures ever managed by the platform on a single production. These fixtures included 108 Starway Baracca 360 fixtures, alongside a large complement of Chauvet Professional and Robe products distributed across the stage and moving pods.
The spatial tracking network also allowed the team to explore new creative approaches to lighting and video interaction. Integration with the Smode media server enabled the creation of generative video elements that followed the performer across the stage. “We programmed a virtual halo of light that moved in real time behind Tiakola”, says Peyrache. “As he moved left or right, the halo translated across the LED screen to stay perfectly aligned with his position, merging the physical and digital worlds.”
The production also drew on the expertise of a number of specialist teams. RCube served as technical director, with AIM Motion acting as technical provider. Construction was handled by Eddy May and Fer & Défaire, and automation was overseen by Mash. Media creation was the work of Les Vandales, with Smode operation managed by Pixel Priority, alongside Romain Fior and Romain Delaplace. Lighting console operation was handled by Loris Illouz, and Naostage system operation by Corentin Courcoux.
(Photos: Alien le studio/Naostage)
Robe’s iFortes and Spiiders selected for Amble arena shows
Irish indie-folk trio Amble played three sold-out shows at Dublin’s 3 Arena - their largest headlining gigs to date - plus one at Belfast’s SSE Arena, with lighting designed by Steven Douglas. He used 68 Robe iForte and sixty Robe Spiider moving lights as the primary lighting and effects fixtures for the show, supplied - together with other lights, sound, video and rigging - by Dublin-based rental company Just Lite, project-managed by John McGuinness and Paul Smith.
Douglas first met the band when they were opening for Hozier, also one of his clients, on a US tour. They liked what he was doing and asked him to produce some lighting for them, culminating with these four high-profile arena shows. Amble liked the idea of having a big back wall of lights, so after initial discussions, Douglas took this as a starting point and framed this with an eye-catching LED pros arch to complement the wall of Spiiders. In addition to the three members of the band, these Dublin shows featured up to six guest performers onstage.
“I didn’t want to have a 60 ft wide stage with a load of dead space and people feeling uncomfortable”, Douglas explains, so the LED pros and the back wall of lights functioned as practical set pieces, to which he added risers for guest artists. The back wall of ten wide and six high Spiiders on ladder trusses made a dramatic statement and Douglas also used it to create subtle twinkling and kinetic effects. The Spiiders were interspersed with some blinders and strobes.
The iFortes were positioned on the overhead and front trusses and also on side torms with twelve fixtures on the floor for some rear lumen power. Douglas has used the iForte numerous times, he says. This time, six units rigged on the front truss were paired with a remote follow spot system with two front lights each designated to the three Amble band members, together with one iForte from the back - on a separate truss just upstage of the pros - so for every person there were three iForte follow spots. They were complemented by side lighting from another eight iFortes to complete the key light picture. The twelve iFortes on the floor were used for big, bold, sumptuous beamy backlight looks.
There was no pre-production time at the arena, they loaded in and went straight into the first show. However, Douglas was able to build most of the show on Capture and spent two days of pre-vizzing at Just Lite’s studio in Dublin. Prior to the Arena shows, Douglas completed a quick run of shows with the band in the UK in smaller venues like Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom and London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire, carrying only a small floor package in a trailer with the main workhorse being six Spiiders.
(Photos: Steven Douglas/Adam Heffernan)
GrandMA3 controls lighting and video for Jean-Louis Aubert shows
Lighting designer and programmer Valentin Nebati of TightLight enjoyed a busy 2025 working with several artists and projects, including as lighting director and operator for singer-songwriter Jean-Louis Aubert’s “Pafini” concert series. This tour saw Aubert plus a full band play shows across France, Belgium and Switzerland, a mix of Zenith and arena venues, culminating in a finale at Paris’ La Défense Arena in December.
Nebati chose to work with MA Lighting’s GrandMA3 control system for lighting and video control after joining Jean-Louis Aubert’s creative team in February 2025, where he was working closely with lighting and set designer Jordan Magnée to create the show’s aesthetic.
Nebati has been using the GrandMA platform since the start of his career as a lighting professional fifteen years ago. He has been using version 3 since the software was first released and has been regularly running shows fully on GrandMA3 since 2024. For this tour, he used a GrandMA3 Full-Size console for the arena shows; for the Zeniths and also for some of the festival slots that they played, it was two GrandMA3 Light, and for the finale stadium date, this morphed into four GrandMA3 Light and one GrandMA3 Full-Size.
The stage design was defined by a semi-circular LED upstage surrounded with four concentric arches of LED, with lights popping through the gaps. This offered plenty of scope for the creative lighting and video. In terms of lighting fixtures, for the Zenith shows, Nebati was controlling approximately 300 lights - about 225 moving lights from a handful of manufacturers, plus strobes and blinders - which would be boosted to around 650 for the arena shows and the finale, all supplied by rental company MPM.
Playback video appearing on the screen surfaces was played through a Smode media server and fed into Nebati’s GrandMA3 console Art-Net, giving him the scope to apply nuances and specific effects. The GrandMA3 was run completely manually.
(Photos: Valentin Nebati/Marceau Uguen)
We Belong Here festival lit with Chauvet
Starting only five years ago, We Belong Here has quickly established itself as one of the EDM world’s fastest growing festivals. This year, the event, held at Miami’s historic Virginia Beach Park, reached a new milestone, expanding from two days to three, featuring artists like Kaskade, Chris Lake, Gorgon City, and Tiesto.
Contributing to the engaging vibe throughout the grounds and on the three festival stages, including the 360° main stage, was a lighting design that featured over 100 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Technical Arts Group.
“Key to our vision for the design was the concept that production will not live on just the live on the stage but will surround the audience”, says designer Moshe Baskin. “By placing lighting elements throughout the site around the main stage area, pathways, and surrounding structures, we created the feeling that the production wraps around the crowd rather than just being something they look at from a distance. It helps the audience feel fully immersed in the environment and makes the entire festival space feel like part of the show.”
Alongside Baskin, the production team included festival production manager Riad Feratovic, L1 Michael Salvatore, house LD Jeffrey Giancaspro, lighting techs Mokishini Luis, Jean Pierre “JP” Pesantez, Nicolas Moreno, Randy Castro and Joseph Eskew, as well as laser vendor Coherent Desi, and laser operator Will Kent.
High on the list of objectives was creating a versatile rig that maximized creative options for visiting LDs. “We created a playground of eight different fixture styles, and staggered configurations specifically for versatility”, says Baskin. “We also focused on creating a balanced blend of video and light. A big part of that was restraint. The lighting rig was designed to complement the lasers rather than compete with them. We avoided oversaturating the stage with LED output during laser moments and made sure the beam fixtures and atmospherics supported the laser effects instead of washing them out.”
Contributing to the lighting part of this equation were 58 Colorado PXL Bar 16 motorized battens, 22 of which were arranged on the overhead rig to deliver top lighting for the performers. By utilizing the 90-degree tilt of these fixtures, the design team was also able to accent the architecture of the stage and the nearby floral installations. The remaining batten fixtures were positioned on towers to provide immersive lighting at the festival site.
The rig’s fifty Color Strike M fixtures were arranged on the stage’s back-grid setup. Staggering these fixtures alongside blinders created a wall of light effect that was essential for those high-energy drops.
The one thing missing from the main stage’s power pack rig was a video wall. “Not having LED screens is a core part of the festival’s identity”, notes Baskin. “We Belong Here intentionally does not use them in productions. From the beginning of this festival’s history, the idea has been to create a visual experience driven by lighting, lasers, and stage architecture rather than large video surfaces.”
(Photos: Chauvet Professional)
