Set & Light: Spring 2022 (Issue 135)

Set & Light

www.stld.org.uk

Issue 135: Spring 2022

from the Society of Television Lighting and Design

INSIDE: AGM | ARRI VISIT | EXTENDED REALITY | BSC EXPO | MEET THE MARTINS PT II

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editorial

A Note from the Chairman To say we are going through turbulent times is an understatement. The Platinum Jubilee heralded a joyful opening up of society after the worrying times of the pandemic, and at last your STLD is able to host live face-to-face meetings for the first time in years. I am pleased to say we have recently managed to get some really good meetings together. Too late for this issue we were invited to look around the new BBC studios in the centre of Cardiff and saw what the latest broadcast technology brought to their operation. We also hosted an interview with LD Nigel Catmur where he talked through his lighting design for the universally-acclaimed Platinum Jubilee Concert at the front of Buckingham Palace. These meetings will of course feature in the next issue of this magazine.

But we have also lost some good friends. Rod Litherland edited Television Lighting (as it was then) for many years when he served on the STLD committee, and he sadly died earlier this year. Then just weeks ago we heard the heartbreaking news that our current treasurer, Mike Le Fevre, had died suddenly on his way home from work. Both of these sad events are reported in this issue, but then too late for publication we heard that John Simpson of White Light had died after a short illness. John was featured in our article celebrating White Light’s 50th anniversary last year. He was also chairman of Backup – The Entertainment Charity. We will report more fully on John’s contribution to our industry and the larger lighting industry in the next issue of Set & Light, but we all offer our sincere condolences to his friends and colleagues at White Light and at Backup, and of course to his family.

John Piper has been on the STLD committee for a few years now helping Mike Le Fevre in his treasurer activities, and I am pleased to say that he has now been co-opted into the Treasurer role to deal with immediate business, until we can fill the post in the more formal way at an AGM. We should all be grateful to John for stepping in so quickly and efficiently.

Can I wish you a happy and safe summer, and maybe see you at a future STLD meeting.

Bernie Davis Chairman

contents 4

AGM

24

Meet the Martins (Pt II)

7

Obituary: Mike Le Fevre

30

Obituaries: Chris Watts & Rod Litherland

8

ARRI meeting

31

Charity page: Kartfest

16

Sponsor Focus: Limelite Lighting

32

Sponsor News

17

Showlight 2023

60

Committee contact details

18

Extended Reality

61

Sponsors directory

22

BSC expo

64

Index of advertisers

Set & Light is the journal of the Society of Television Lighting and Design and is published three times a year. ISSN 2055-1185 Editor: Emma Thorpe Email: editor@stld.org.uk Web: www.stld.org.uk Production Editor: Jonathan Sever Sponsor news: Emma Thorpe Email: sponsornews@stld.org.uk Advertising: Emma Thorpe Email: adverts@stld.org.uk Cover photo: Martin Christidis

Printed by: Gemini Print Deadlines for the next issue: Editorial: 23 September 2022 Advertising: 16 September 2022 Advertising is accepted only from sponsor members of the Society

© Society of Television Lighting and Design 2022 Set & Light | Spring 2022

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A word from the chairman A rundown of the past year which saw a tentative return to live events and changes galore Words: Bernie Davis Well, that was another strange year, but we’re still here!

Can I start by thanking ETC for hosting the STLD AGM again – it seems ages ago we were here last, although it was only 2018.

One year ago we were hosting our first virtual AGM, and who would have expected even then that we would be doing the same thing a year on? At that time vaccinations for COVID were just being rolled out while we lived through another wave of infections following Christmas 2020.

Television was not as badly hit as the live entertainment industry, although I am aware that crews were reduced, productions cut,and working conditions were complicated by social spacing and frequent self-isolation.

Even now the pandemic is not yet over, but there is no doubt things are moving in the right direction – let’s all hope this continues and that the opening up of society progresses safely through 2022.

I am going to admit it has been tough keeping the STLD going through all of this. The structure of the Society has developed around our regular meetings, known for their wide range of interests as much as their high quality. The social part of these meetings has always been important too, and I have really missed this part of STLD life. But our activities did not stop completely.

The AGM 2021 was hosted by MaxLive Events letting us all contribute from home, and the meeting was excellently enhanced by a presentation by Jeremy Hoare about his work and experiences. The video of this is still available on the STLD website.

Not long before that, we had held a very successful meeting online with Frieder Hochheim about his development of LED Kino Flo products which attracted members from Canada to Nigeria – over 200 viewers were able to join us for this. The meeting was helped and enabled

by Cirro Lite and we are grateful for their involvement.

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Not long after that, STLD member Dave Davey and his team from Dancing on Ice invited us to hear more about how that flagship programme is put together. Dave as always was a gracious host, and audience numbers were high.

Showlight is an event the STLD has always been involved with, and anyone who managed to get to Florence in 2017 will know why. The range of speakers is fantastic and the opportunity to network with industry leaders and international students is unrivalled. But it was soon realised in 2020 that Showlight 2021 was not likely to happen in the usual way, so we set up the first Virtual Showlight – a one day event with a good spread of papers, both live and recorded.

All the papers are still available on the Showlight website, and be assured that the STLD will be involved with Showlight when it returns with a face-to-face conference in May 2023 in France. Put it in your diaries, it is not to be missed!

By now we were sensing that Zoom meetings were losing their appeal, and despite the constant promise of things opening up in the future, our opportunity for good meetings started to dry up. But then Martin Hawkins offered to host something, and we explored the possibilities of an actual live face-to-face meeting. Martin is well-known as a lighting designer and DoP specialising in sitcom lighting, and as he had recently taken over the lighting of Not Going Out we came up with the idea of inviting Martin Kempton and Martin Hawkins to meet on the set to discuss their different approaches to lighting the same show on the same set. It took a while to get a suitable date from Pinewood but once we did, it has to be said that Avalon Television were really helpful in giving us access. MBS Equipment are not STLD sponsors – yet – but as they are the contractors who supply the studios, they joined us for the evening and kindly provided the refreshments.

In September, PLASA opened their Olympia event for the first time since 2019, and with the ability to request vaccine evidence and recent test results they were able to offer it as a mask-free event – the first I had been to since lockdown. It was wonderful to see faces and shake hands for the first time in 18 months, although it did feel like we were being naughty!

The STLD were able to have their stand as before, our thanks go to Alan Luxford. I think it was the first time I attended PLASA all three days, and met so many colleagues.

It was wonderful, and gave us a glimpse of the release from lockdowns that was surely to come soon.

Only recently, ARRI invited STLD members to see their LED Volume stage in action. For those of you like me who are still catching up with this emerging technology, this is where action can be set in a virtual world which is shown on screens surrounding the cast. Camera positioning as well as zoom and focus information can realistically match the background virtual imagery to the camera shots. This is like green screen in the 21st century, and is already in use on about 30% of films.

I am pleased to say the STLD has extended our contact with students, inviting them to our meetings when possible and when the cost to the society is acceptable, and many of these meetings have had a big proportion of students attending both in person and online. I believe their attendance adds value to our meetings for us and for them, and will make sure we continue this in the future. It is the right thing for our industry to help and encourage those

Chairman’s report

The Society of Television Lighting & Design 48th Annual General Meeting – Minutes ETC, London and Zoom Wednesday 2 March 2022 at 7pm Present Bernie Davis, Stuart Gain, Paul Middleton, Eric Samuel, Alan Luxford, John King, Andrew Dixon, Martin Hawkins, Andrew Mott, John Piper, Barry Grubb On Zoom: Andrew Parker, Bill Dudman, Dan Cranfield, Dave Roberts, Matt Maller, Mike LeFevre, John O’Brien, Ian Hillson, Peter Philipson • Notice convening the meeting was read by the Secretary • Apologies for Absence received from - Andrew Harris, Andy James, Martin Christidis, Mike Baker, John Rossetti, Albert Barber, John Watt • Minutes of the 47th AGM held on Friday 26 February 2021 at 2.30pm were proposed bythe Chairman and approved by the meeting • Matters arising There were no matters arising • Treasurer’s report The financial report had been circulated. Mike outlined the current situation and said the society had made a £3k loss for the year. This was mainly

due to COVID with the Subscription Holiday that had been introduced. He went on to ask if members could make payments by credit card if possible as this is the best and cheapest way to collect subscriptions.

He also thanked John Piper for his work as Assistant Treasurer. The report was proposed by John Piper and Seconded by Andrew Dixon and was passed by the meeting.

• Rule change There were no rule changes proposed • Election of Officers and the new Committee The proposed officers and committee for the coming year are:

This was proposed by the Chairman and carried • Appointment of Auditors The Treasurer Proposed keeping our Auditors the same being Hillier Hopkins. This was seconded by Stuart Gain and carried by the meeting.

• AOB (1) Paul Middleton – Said that we should be including more people involved in lighting to become members. The Chairman pointed out that all members of the lighting team were already included in our member categories and it was up to the current members to encourage those involved in television to join. The reason for changing our name to The Society of Television Lighting and Design was to cover all grades within the design aspect of television production.

Chairman Bernie Davis Deputy Chairman David Bishop Treasurer Mike Le Fevre Hon Secretary Stuart Gain Admin Officer Paul Middleton Assistant Treasurer John Piper (2) Paul Middleton – also mentioned Magazine Editor/Sponsor Liaison there were a lot of outstanding monies Emma Thorpe due from overdue subscriptions which Exhibitions Alan Luxford was unlikely to be collected and should Membership Secretary be written off the accounts. The Bruce Wardorf Chairman said this would be dealt Membership Administration with over the next year.

Sue Tiller Publicity Andrew Harris (3) Ian Hillson – wanted to give a Website Administration vote of thanks to John O’Brien for all Oliver Lifely his work on the committee. This was Student Representative agreed by the meeting.

Nathan Mallalieu Committee Members There being no further business the meeting closed at 8pm John King, Ian Hillson, Matt Maller

thinking of working in television in the future.

One thing we have discovered from lockdown is that video streaming can be added to our meetings to extend our audiences through distance and time. Not everyone has to travel to get to meetings now, and by recording them members can enjoy the meeting at a time that suits them, just as we are doing with the AGM right now. The technology is now available and affordable, and we now have to consider involving cameras at any meeting where it is possible.

But of course all the meetings and more get written up in the STLD magazine, Set & Light. I must thank the editorial team for their efforts in keeping it going, especially in the past two years as the material dried up.

I would like to use this opportunity to remember two great characters from the world of TV lighting who we have lost recently. Derek Lightbody was instrumental in setting up the original STLD nearly 50 years ago, and Rod Litherland

who served on the committee for many years, for many of which he edited the magazine and wrote most of the articles.

Rod was my mentor when I completed my BBC lighting course, and was patient and generous with his guidance. Our sympathies go to both their families.

You should have heard that we are in the process of having a new website built. This is an ambitious task that is taking much planning and thought. The old site has served us well and our thanks go to Ian Hillson and John Bowling whose efforts have kept it going over many years. But the world has moved on and the site was showing its age, and so a new one has been commissioned. This time last year we were shortlisting potential sources of website builders, and ended up settling for Morphsites who struck the committee to be a very competent company who took the trouble to listen to our needs and make good recommendations. This is not a cheap project, but I believe it is a necessary expense that will Set & Light | Spring 2022

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Susie Tiller signs on to the STLD fold “I would like to introduce myself.

I have recently been appointed to the role of Membership Administrative Support for the STLD. My role is to ensure that all your membership details are correct and inform you if your account is showing arrears. STLD is aware that changes happen over time and there is a need for regular review and updating of the site.

I have started to contact individual members by email to confirm we have all your correct information including email, postal addresses and telephone numbers. I will also be advising you if your membership account is showing arrears and will forward you a statement.

I hope all members will find this helpful and look forward to contacting you soon.

If you have any changes in relation to the contact information we have, it would be very helpful if you could get in touch with updates. Please email me on members@stld.org.uk.”

Susie Tiller benefit the Society in many ways in the future. It will tie our membership information directly to our accounting software so avoiding multiple database entries. It will be a more appealing platform for members and sponsors, and we aim to fill it with resources such as back issues of the magazine and recordings of meetings. There will come a time when the magazine can exist online through the website as well as the hard copy you get through your letterboxes, enabling articles to be more current. In the future, reports of this meeting should be on the website within days rather than only appearing in print months later in the next issue of Set & Light. There is space for both versions and both have their values, and we want to move with the times.

You should have received your STLD diary by the end of last year, and if you have not I still have copies. But as voted by the membership that was the last time. It has been a hot discussion point for many years now, with strong opinions for and against. But with so many members now using their smartphone calendars, the votes finally went against keeping the diary and 2022 will be the last edition.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the committee: • Secretary Stuart Gain, making the old Gain/Davis double act for yet another year • Mike Le Fevre our stalwart Treasurer who has the thankless task of worrying about the finances and the accountancy on our behalf • Deputy Chair David Bishop who has also overseen the new website design • Emma Thorpe who has dealt with the magazine editorship and liaison with sponsors, and all while running a young family – a tough juggling act in lockdown 6

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• Alan Luxford who has looked after our exhibitions.

Exhibitions were not so busy in 2021 but Alan’s experience and wise council is something I value very highly • John Piper joined as a student member but now helps with treasurer duties, but if I might say John is great at offering sound advice and good opinions on anything and everything, I really value John’s work on the committee • Andrew Harris quietly sits in the background and deals with our mail shots • Ian Hillson still helps to oversee the old website We also have Matt Maller, John King and Nathan Mallalieu who help to broaden the spread of experience and knowledge.

I must pay tribute to Paul Middleton (Admin and Data Officer) who has put so much work into the STLD especially in recent times. He has been providing the streaming service for this meeting, as well as the Martins meeting and the ARRI meeting, a very successful meeting which he brought together. On the committee Paul is a strong driving force to be reckoned with.

Two names I deliberately left to last – Iain Davidson, who kindly let me push him into volunteering to look after membership after we sadly lost Chris Harris early in the pandemic. Iain always said that it was a time-limited offer because of his personal circumstances and we are grateful for his offer of help. But this AGM is where Iain stands down, and I would be grateful if you could all give him a round of applause for his work.

Bruce Wardorf has been on the committee for a few years despite being a busy man, and he offered to take on membership. In a departure from how this role has been managed before, I am introducing a second membership position. All this needs to be voted on and approved later in the AGM but I am proposing that we introduce the role of Membership Administrator which will be taken on by Stuart’s partner, Sue Tiller.

Sue is a retired nurse looking for other activities to occupy her time, and with Bruce being busy it means that Sue can look after the day to day business of updating records and entering new members’ details, and Bruce can help more with recruitment and policy. It is an experiment, but I think it will suit both of them. And if it doesn’t work we can look again next year. One last name is that with the new website we have had an offer of help entering data and keeping it current, so Oliver Lifely is fulfilling that role.

Can I also add that if you feel you have the time to help run the STLD we would welcome you on the committee. For nearly two years we have not been able to meet up in person, but I sense the time is approaching soon, and it will be a lot of fun when we do.

Finally I would like to thank all our members including our sponsor members. Running the STLD costs money and we can only do it with your generous support. Can I wish you all the very best for 2022. Stay well, stay safe, and please do not hesitate to contact the committee if we can do anything. We are an interactive society and welcome your thoughts and ideas.

obituary

Mike Le Fevre

Mike Le Fevre (1963-2022) A sad farewell to a giant of the lighting industry Words: Bernie Davis At the end of May I was shocked to receive the sad news that Mike Le Fevre had died suddenly on his way home from work. Friends and colleagues he was with that day had no clue that this tragedy was coming.

Mike grew up in Rye, East Sussex, and at one point was a volunteer with the Pett Level Rescue Boat. His interest in lighting goes back to school days when he joined the National Youth Theatre, where he first met theatre lighting designer Mark Jonathan who was NYT Technical Director.

Mike was still very young when his mother wrote to The National Theatre to say her son was interested in lighting and would love a look around backstage. They very kindly invited Mike and his mother along, and the now famous lighting manager Lenny Tucker gave up his own time to show Mike around.

At the end of the tour Mike was so grateful he asked Lenny how he could repay him, and was told ‘Just do this for others in the future’ Mike never forgot that, as so many in the lighting industry will confirm. He always credited Mark and Lenny as having inspired him in his younger days.

Mike’s career took him to the BBC, and he was picked to work in the Comms Department in Outside Broadcasts. The manager picked Mike from a group of new recruits as he looked like someone who could carry a lot of equipment. The manager then asked Mike how he thought he might cope in the confines of the Comms trucks – Mike was 6ft 8in – and his answer was that when you are as tall as he is, you get used to being in places that are not big enough!

Mike stayed in Outside Broadcasts for a few years, but his love of lighting saw him moving to BBC Television Centre in White City to work in the vision department. With his enthusiasm and application he soon progressed to Vision Supervisor (Console Operator) and then to Lighting Director with the BBC. This was a time when the BBC was heading to be a user of freelance lighting directors more and more, but Mike hung on as a member of staff until a few years after the millennium when he too joined the freelance world.

His credits range from Top of the Pops, Crime Watch, A Question of Sport, and the Sports Personality of the Year awards.

He also worked on many stage shows that were broadcast from The National Theatre and The Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells and the Northern Ballet. He specialised in lighting studios for sport programmes and worked regularly at IMG’s studios in West London, remotely lighting sport presenters around the world. He also made regular appearances at Wimbledon and Queen’s Tennis Club.

Mike’s enthusiasm for lighting took him to some unusual projects, from the time when he lit 1,700 naked people crossing the Millennium Bridge in Newcastle under the

direction of American photographer Spencer Tunick, to a mixed reality experiment at TV Centre some years back, with avatars battling each other in a virtual world with their own virtual lighting rig mimicking contestants in the real world.

With both parents being architects Mike clearly inherited a brain steeped in technical expertise and creativity, letting him get his head around the technical complexity while still maintaining high creative values. Mike also worked as a lighting consultant, working on many large installations and new project launches.

Mike was a very tall man, with every inch packed full of talent, generosity and fun in equal measure. Get him in a bar and he would entertain you with great stories of his experiences. Mike was very keen to help and encourage young people who had an interest in lighting for TV or theatre, and would go out of his way to pass on the benefit of his experience to others. He taught at Nottingham University regularly, and was very proactive with lighting training courses conducted by the STLD and the BBC in the past.

Mike’s warmth and enthusiasm for his work made him a very popular person everywhere he went, at his extreme height, and his signature leather hat, meant everyone remembered him. He was one of those few people who made you feel that you had a special bond with him, and in some ways we all did.

Mike was an active supporter of many charities including Cancer Research UK, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The NSPCC, The RNLI, Craft Aid, Backup – The Technical Entertainment Charity, and The Molly Rose Foundation. Mike supported the ALPD Lumière scheme which provides pathways for emerging lighting practitioners, providing not only the pathways but also the money to finance them.

Mike served on the STLD committee for many years, most of them as treasurer, where again his attention to detail was highly valued.

Mike was only 58 when he left us, and he has left a large, tall gap that can never be filled. Our deepest sympathies go to his wife Donna, daughter Abigail and son Shaun, as well as his mother Jodie.

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stld visit

STLD visit to ARRI LED Volume Stage, Uxbridge, 22 February 2022 The future is closer than you think as the STLD found out at ARRI’s state-of-the-art facility Words: Paul Middleton Photos: Ian Wallman, Martin Christidis and Paul Middleton Most people will be aware of the effect that the technology used to shoot Disney productions such as The Mandalorian has been brought to TV and film drama production over the past few years. Not so long ago the thought of using an LED wall as a backdrop to replace a video projector or real scenic backdrop would have been met with great trepidation. Would the LED wall give moiré patterning when seen on camera?

Would the colour and contrast range be suitable for the video camera and how would the talent react to it?

Many actors have become accomplished to reacting to performers in green screen suits moving around on set 8

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pretending to be monsters in a post-apocalyptic landscape, but what if the monsters and backdrops can be created in real-time direct in the studio so that everyone can see what the scene will finally look like? What if the only props needed to shoot a scene of a car driving along a mountain road were the car, and a series of views created electronically? This is where the worlds of Virtual Reality (VR), Extended Reality (XR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) have evolved. If you get confused about these different acronyms, don’t worry – you’re not alone!

For the past few General Elections, BBC viewers have seen Jeremy Vine walking around a VR House of Commons showing how the division of seats changes as the votes come in. The Olympics has seen AR technology extend a relatively small studio set into a wide computer-generated cityscape and now the XR/MR technology used in studios like the ARRI LED Volume stage allows actors and cameras to move in virtually real-time and see the computer-generated world in 360 degrees around them.

The opportunities this technology offers are almost unlimited. Hollywood pioneered back-projection to give front and side views of scenes supposedly shot inside moving cars, without actually having to leave the studio. The technology evolved for use in TV studios, with some having odd long corridors leading nowhere running off at right angles to the main studio. This was where the projectors were situated – firstly to cut down on noise from the projector and secondly because of the throw distance with the absence of wide angle lenses for projectors. These were used for film backprojection and persisted until the introduction of Colour

Arri

Separation Overlay (CSO) which used green or blue screens (and sometimes yellow – where the action needed to include people in blue or green costumes). The improvements in the generation of the key signal using technology such as Ultimatte reached the point where now a suitably lit scene can allow shots of actors with thin wispy hair to be perfectly keyed over a new background. That technology is great, but usually not currently used for real-time effects where the camera wants to move around the scene.

This is where the use of LED screens has begun to open up entire new production avenues. Alongside the increased screen resolution and brightness has come the ability to create an entire environment and characters in real-time thanks to the software and hardware that is present in modern computer games consoles.

Whilst this seems great news the reality is that the best computer games will usually only be expected to be displayed on a canvas of a maximum of 4K resolution. The selling point of many games consoles is that they can display the game graphics at high frame rates of up to 120fps in order to give the most fluid and smooth motion, but as has been shown by the failure of high frame-rate feature film production systems such as Ang Lee’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, to takeoff there is not the same desire for higher than 4K/60fps for TV/film/streaming productions. Once you start to consider the size and resolution of the LED screens in place in an XR studio, the scale of the requirements of the computing power needed to drive the LED wall start to become enormous An early lesson I remember about TV resolution and electronic graphics was that to reduce aliasing, the resolution of the generated picture needs to be at least twice the final resolution. To put that into perspective, as a minimum an LED screen resolution equally needs to be a factor of twice the shooting resolution. So at close distance an 8K resolution screen is needed to get the optimum results on a 4K camera In practise however we don’t usually expect to see a perfectly in-focus background nowadays. A modern large format sensor has almost gone full circle back to the early days of TV where the large target size on an Emitron camera gave a very shallow depth of field, and the low sensitivity of the tube gave rise to a need for very high lighting level in the studio. The high lighting levels are no longer needed (at least when shooting at normal frame rates) and viewers are now used to seeing lovely soft-focus backgrounds in close-up, or mid shots. When transferred over to the LED wall scenario, this reduces the required resolution needed on the screen.

To put the maths into practise the screen pitch (distance between each pixel) on a current high resolution LED screen currently tops out at 2.3mm between each pixel. With an LED wall that is 5m-high, this gives a pixel count of just over 2,100, but to drive the maximum resolution around the studio that has a diameter of 19m (circumference of 120m) that gives a rough count of 52,000 pixels around and a total pixel count of nearly 110 million. That’s the equivalent of around 10 iMac 5Ks worth of resolution!

With the quality of the characters and scenery that can now be created for video games, then the obvious question was why can’t that technology be used to create realistic, or totally alien backdrops and environments for film makers to use – in real-time? That is precisely what production

A view for the servers and video processors driving the LED walls at ARRI Stage London

companies are doing now when they need to shoot something that doesn’t exist in real-life, or does exist, but is very hard, expensive or dangerous to shoot.

Whilst the ‘holo-suite’ virtual reality of a Star Trek TV series is still a long way off, the technology now exists to create completely photo-realistic synthetic scenes in realtime, that can then be walked-through on the computer with the viewpoint of the scene being determined by lens data and positional data from a 3D camera tracking system.

A word you will hear mentioned later in this report is a ‘frustum’ Wikipedia reports that this is defined as “the field of view of a perspective virtual camera system”. What this means in practical terms is that the area that is outside the actual viewing angle of the camera doesn’t have to be rendered at the same high resolution as the area that is in-vision. This cuts down on processing power that would be needed to generate the entire 360o view in full high definition resolution.

You will have experienced this type of scenario whilst wearing a 3D headset that changes the view in the goggles to match the direction the wearer points their head. To expand that experience further on an Augmented Reality stage, the ‘goggles’ are replaced by a video wall in the studio that can cover just a small part of the studio space.

External view of ARRI Stage London from the balcony Set & Light | Spring 2022

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stld visit ARRI decided that they wanted to offer something that was slightly different to other stages and in 2021 decided to make a global commitment to developing the necessary technology.

ARRI Solutions, a division dedicated to designing and engineering production environments, ARRI Rental and their partner Creative Technology (CT) collaborated extensively, testing out various permutations and resolutions of LED screens to create a setup which is as flexible as possible and large enough to cope with bringing real objects, such as a Greyhound bus, into the studio and surrounding that with a video environment.

In theory the LED screens would provide the same lighting environment as the real-life scene and it would be able to be shot without any extra lighting, but as we all know though it is almost always necessary to control and modify the real life lighting to produce the required ambience and modelling. The same is true on the LED Volume stage.

So on 9 June, 2021 ARRI announced the opening of its new state-of-the-art mixed reality studio in the UK. Equipped with an LED volume comprising 343m2 of LED wall, installed in partnership with NEP Live Events production and technical specialist firm Creative Technology, the studio is currently one of the biggest permanent mixed reality production spaces in Europe.

Located at ARRI’s UK premises in Uxbridge, with camera, grip and lighting packages available on site from ARRI Rental, the 708m2 (7,621ft2) studio is being offered for hire to short and long-form productions of any kind, as well as for events, education, and R&D. The volume consists of a main, ‘in vision’ curve that is 30m wide by 5m high (98.4ft x 16.4ft); two moveable and tiltable side screens, each 3m wide by 4.2m high (9.8ft x 13.8ft); and a height-adjustable ceiling of 9.6 m by 9.6m (31.5ft x 31.5ft).

A back curve measuring 18m wide by 4.2m high (59.1ft x 13.8ft) completes the fully encapsulated yet adaptable space, and can be programmed to display 360-degree imagery that even when not in frame, casts dynamic, fully integrated lighting effects onto the performers and the scene being shot.

The main LED wall (as seen by the camera) is made up of the highest resolution LED panels and covers an angle of about 180 degrees around the centre of the stage. If you stand in the centre of the stage you cannot fail to be impressed with the brightness of the screens, nor the detail on it. I can see a time where the poor screen brightness in many current cinemas, will see projectors replaced by LED walls.You have to get pretty close before you can start to see the individual pixels on it, and if it is wound up to full brightness you will definitely need to wear sunglasses!

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A view of the ceiling showing part of the ring of ARRI Orbiters, and star markers for the Mo-Sys tracking system

A further effect, that is not relevant to what the camera sees, is that if you stand at a point where the screen covers your full peripheral vision, then I for one began to experience motion sickness when the screen image began to move left or right, or track in. My eyes were telling me I was moving, but my balance from my ears was saying ‘you aren’t moving!’ which was very disconcerting.

Overhead are panels of lower resolution LED. These give the overhead light that would arise from the real scene and also give realistic reflections for shiny objects underneath them. They have the added advantage that variable density masks can be mapped over them so that the brightness of specific areas of the panels can be controlled in the same way as using solid black or diffusers in real life.

The section that follows is based on a transcript of a recording from the event with extra detail added.The full video of the event is available for STLD members to view online at stld.org.uk (you need to login!)

Andrew Dixon

“Good morning. The STLD are as ever wishing to keep ourselves open and inclusive to everyone interested in the delicate trade of television lighting. There are plenty of resources online for everyone to learn about the technology used on these new stages at ARRI, but the STLD felt there

Arri

was no substitute for seeing the place personally ourselves.

“As a Society dedicated to TV lighting, we particularly wanted to find out about the lighting aspects of working in this type of unique stage and ARRI were good enough to find this gap in their bookings in order to help us to see how it all works.

“If you want a comparison to the first TV studio at a place called Alexandra Palace – did anybody work at Alexandra Palace? I did but only after the News had left in 1973. The BBC first took it over in 1935 and the studio there was 70ft by 30ft which is just over a quarter of the size of this stage.

“I hope that by the end of the event you will be able to tell the difference between a Nit, a Black Quartz 4.6, a Ruby 2.3mm and a megapixel Helios. The exciting things we have in front of us! You’ll also be able to explain to your friends how programmes such as The Mandalorian are made.

“I won’t pre-empt his speech any more other than to say please give a warm welcome to the Business Director of Development of Global Solutions at ARRI, David Levy.”

David Levy

“I was one of the original Project Managers for the build of this stage. ARRI really believed and understood this technology and that this way of production was something ground-breaking and we had to be part of it. We partnered with the great people at Creative Technology to improve and optimise it. In the six months since we’ve been open, the stage has received around three major upgrades.

“All the Orbiter fixtures you see on the perimeter lighting ring are connected via an IP network which gives us great flexibility and speed of changing modes and adapting the lighting fixtures. The fixtures are in two groups that can be controlled by either the video playback or the MA lighting desk. For the lighting suspension system and ceiling automation we’re using a Movecat I-Motion control system.

“It’s a closed loop system so we’re actually able to move the roof very safely whilst I’m under it. The ceiling is also able to be quickly split into four quadrants giving us a lot of flexibility on how we position and light the space.”

Tom Burford

“I’m Head of Technical Services at Creative Technology. My background is live events but I got into this project originally with the intention of looking for a replacement for green screen for live presentations. We got some viable demo systems running with something that we knew would work for rendering real-time environments.

“We built a small stage in our office in Gatwick and that was a big success so I was naturally looking for doing something that was a little bit larger, and more ambitious, specifically with cars in mind. I was lucky enough to meet some like minds at ARRI. We did a test build on this stage and got it all up and running and started shooting a couple of bits and pieces.

“It gave everyone enough confidence that we wanted to commit to this as sort of a long-term collaboration. A lot of R&D effort and passion has gone into this stage. On the technology side we’ve got a couple of different bits of hardware in the stage that all serve slightly different purposes at the moment. I think it’s fair to say that any virtual production stage will have properties – things that it’s good at, and things that it’s bad at. You may notice this stage is a different style to The Mandalorian. That’s a complete drum, with a lid over the top. This is an asymmetrical design – so we’ve got a different LED product on each of the four screen areas. Behind us we’ve got the Ruby 2.3mm. It’s not the highest resolution currently available from ROE, but is perfect for our needs.

“We picked the Ruby specifically as the front in-camera LED wall because it’s got excellent colour reproduction.You may have heard the term moiré punted around with reference to LED. A fine dot pitch helps with mitigating moiré. The other thing we need is a good off-axis viewing angle. Because we are a curved screen the camera may at any time be at an angle to the LED surface so it needs to have very good off-axis colour reproduction and viewing angle.

“Above us is a Black Quartz. It’s a lower 3.9mm dot pitch LED but because we’re not pointing a camera directly at that we don’t need the resolution. There is a key difference between these two products as the Black Quartz has a maximum brightness of 5000 nits, whereas the Ruby is 1,500 nits. (Nits is the brightness of the screen).

“We know we’ve a good margin of exposure, but depending upon the environment that you’re shooting you may not want to get an awful lot of light out of the ceiling panel. It will give you a base level of illumination, so think of this as of your environmental lighting. Then you will augment that with conventional lighting fixtures. It moves up and down which is very useful, for example with vehicles that have got a very curved bonnet. It’s a very tricky positioning reflections and being able to move that screen is incredibly useful. It can tilt 30 degrees in any direction.You may have seen our mobile screens, which we affectionately refer to as ‘siege engines’, when you entered.

The Movecat I-Motion Screen display Set & Light | Spring 2022

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(L-R) Tom Burford, James Medcraft and David Levy

“They’re mobile and can be tilted for getting light into a particular location that’s specifically from the environment.

Finally we’ve got the screen behind you. This is the same product as the mobile screen. It’s a ROE Carbon Series CB5 5.7mm.

“So why this stage is an asymmetrical design? It’s because we’ve got a standard direction of shooting and we simply rotate or reposition the vehicles and the talent in the space to get the required shots.

“To make this all work we need a tracking system that gives the exact position of the camera in the physical world in order to be able to match that to the virtual world. The system that we’re using here today is by RaceTech. Think of it as indoor GPS for your camera. The dome that you see on top of the camera is providing XYZ positional and rotational data. We can also pull in the lens data using the ARRI Live Link Metadata Plugin for Unreal Engine via the Universal Motor Controller( UMC). That allows us to properly replicate the camera’s properties in the virtual world. It uses the selection of little blue domes around the space which have prisms on them and that yellow box over there with its laser scanners works out where those markers are exactly in 3D space.

“It’s an optical system, ultra wide band so all of the advantages of not needing line of sight and therefore not having occlusion if there is a object between the camera and the detector. When dealing with things like shiny vehicles optical systems can cause problems. No tracking system is 12

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flawless. Each of them have got strengths and weaknesses and it’s about picking the appropriate system for what you’re doing. We’ve also worked with Natural Point and Vicon on shoots in the past and also MoSys, which is an inside out tracking system, so you’ll see there’s a collection of stars on the roof outside the area that the system uses to calculate its position based on the number and rotation of those IR reflective markers.

“The total power consumption for the screens – excluding the practical lighting – is around 300A amps 3 phase for the LED if all screens were run at Peak White. This is provided by generators out in the Car Park.Very rarely do we run every pixel at peak brightness though. These screens are designed to be able to be used outdoors in daylight, but there is no need to use that level of brightness here indoors.

“In the entire space you have precise control over exposure in your environment which I think is really interesting especially from a Gaffer and Lighting designers point of view.”

James Medcraft

“Hi. I’ve been working as a Director of Photography for about ten years, but I started off in the entertainment industry. I’ve worked with CT before and we’ve done a few shoots recently here. We’ve planned a couple of different demo setups which we’re going to run through from a Gaffer’s point of view.

Arri

“Many producers call me up and say ‘I’ve seen The Mandalorian with all these amazing behind the scenes videos and it means you don’t need to use any lighting, you just let the screen do the lighting?’ Unfortunately that’s a little bit of a myth. The screens are a great tool for base lighting and reflections but it doesn’t dispense with the Gaffer’s role to actually shape physical subjects on the camera. The LED is a fantastic tool for creating ambience, and for reflections or soft sources, but because the LED has a wide spread it doesn’t have any directionality and therefore it doesn’t give you that ability to shape the light and create contrast, but it’s a really good starting point.

“As you can see we’ve got a range of Orbiters around which are obviously hard sources so they’re very useful for creating sunspots. It is worth noting that the LED panels are arranged on a modular basis so you can actually take single panels out, without having to remove the surrounding panels first. They’re about half a foot square, so if you were for example shooting a scene where you did need a real sunlight beam you could take a panel out and stick a hard source through the hole in the wall. This is where it’s important for the LDs, the Gaffers and other Heads of Departments to start planning the lighting before you go into the studio.

“You also have to think about the lighting in the virtual world. The use of 3D game engines allows the LD to light the virtual backgrounds with the same tools they would use in the real world. We can also control the virtual lighting from the production lighting console and do things like move the sun around in real time and adjust the time of day lighting to our exact requirements and I think that gives a guarantee to production that through proper planning and visualisation you can get a lot of the way even before you even enter the stage.

“It’s a good idea to talk about content. What we’ve got on the screen here is the most basic form of environment that you could have. This is a particularly nice still image from a photographer that we’ve worked with called David Noton.

He travels the world and we’ve got a beautiful Sri Lankan shot behind us that’s made up of a composition of something like 50 photos so although this is probably the most rudimentary form of environment there are some definite advantages to it if you haven’t got any movement in the background.

“It’s obviously very easy to achieve photorealistic environments so the big advantage is that the speed of acquisition and the accuracy and the price and this is much cheaper than building an entire world of digital content.

Real photographs actually produce very good quick realistic imagery.You’d be surprised at how often this comes up as a viable way of shooting. We’ve done quite a lot with just very rudimentary environments, not even movement. City skylines are a classic one, and you can see examples of this on the test shoots we did with SKY. “We did a few very basic pickups with a car here just before Christmas. We had one scene where it was a sundown moment on a beach with just one hard source. It was the most basic setup, with a wind machine, but it totally looked like we were in the Caribbean.

• This article will continue in the next issue of Set & Light Set & Light | Spring 2022

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sponsor focus

Step into the Limelite Spotless operators with first-rate service Words: Bernie Davis Limelite is one of the STLD’s newer sponsors, based in leafy Kent near the picturesque village of Goudhurst. When I was invited to visit them to see what they had made of their business, somehow I expected to be looking for the more usual industrial estate where companies locate themselves.

But instead I found myself in a hops farm, certainly not what I was expecting. So arriving after a lovely Kent spring drive (with only a brief blizzard) my first question was ‘How did you end up here?’

If you have not met Matthew Mountier, co-founder of Limelite with long-term friend Ed Railton, his answer was typically straight to the point – “Because I live very nearby”.

Matthew and Ed went to school together near Tunbridge Wells where their interest in lighting brought them together, starting a fledgling lighting supply business providing kit to local amateur dramatic companies. After studying at Ravensbourne learning all about TV and its lighting needs, Matt promptly left all that behind and became a freelance electrician. The lighting hire business he ran with Ed was still not large enough to be a viable business that could support them, so their freelance work paid the bills.

When freelancing at The London Studios Matt met John Pocock and Bill Peachment, and set his sights on TV work with much of his work coming from ELP. While Matt was moving into the world of TV lighting Ed became a lighting designer for Phoenix Dance Theatre after graduating from Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. Then in 2005 they felt the time was right to set up the new company, Limelite, specialising in TV lighting equipment. And it was in part ELP’s 16

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Limelite Lighting

business model that has shaped the company to be the success it is today. As Matt put it ‘They just wanted to be the best lighting supplier in Kent, but never thought their work would expand to what it is now.’

Matthew and Ed are very much hands-on managers and their personal approach has enabled them to build strong relationships with their clients. Rather than having a strict marketing strategy, they nurture repeat business and wordof-mouth leads to increase their market. From personal experience Matthew knows what the good gaffers want to see – good quality equipment properly prepared and flightcased so it arrives in good repair and ready to use. He found that the corporate market soon appreciated the quality of their equipment and started to offer repeat bookings.

And it is clear that they keep reinvesting in new equipment, so much so that the farm premises they have been in for years is no longer big enough and they have taken on a new unit a few miles away just for the mains and generators. The tight-knit nature of Limelite means that if they want to invest in equipment they don’t have to answer to anyone else, and can quickly target new purchases to suit clients. They even manufacture specialist fittings, particularly to meet the reality TV market.

A glance around their depot shows the value they put in their warehouse organisation and storage facilities – it is spotlessly tidy. Matthew makes no secret of the fact he has based his operating model on what he learned from ELP and like so many others he holds Tony Slee in the highest regard.

But at the heart of this company is the double act of Ed and Matthew, both very grounded and very straight dealers, and both with that passion for the business. One thing Matthew said when I was there was ‘I am not a salesman, I could not sell anything to anyone’ Well,. in my book this is the best sort of salesman. For more about Limelite please visit limelitelighting.co.uk.

industry expo

Showlight 2023 invites exhibitors and sponsors One year to go – and we’re excited already Showlight gives you three fantastic days of fascinating presentations delivered by lighting designers from all disciplines, and plenty of opportunity to network at a range of social events, workshops and dinners – not least the glamorous Grand Conference Dinner! Showlight is the only international event organised for lighting professionals, by lighting professionals; the Papers Committee has started work on the programme of speakers and is already spoilt for choice, but will continue to invite participants until closer to the date to ensure the most current projects are considered.

Showlight has always been well-supported by its exhibitors and 2023 will see over 25 join the fun. As an exhibitor, Showlight offers you exclusive access to a focused audience of designers, students, venues and technicians in an informal atmosphere where knowledge sharing is paramount. There are plenty of networking opportunities, with time to talk and gather feedback from users. There are currently exhibitor

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Showlight 2023

places left, but they will go quickly as costs continue to represent excellent value for money.

We are grateful to the following sponsors who are continuing to support Showlight despite the pandemicenforced hiatus of two years: our headline sponsor, Robert Juliat, Platinum sponsor, Ayrton, Gold sponsors Eyetidy, Robe, SFL, Silver sponsors ABTT, ACT Entertainment, Altman, CAST, Christie Lites, White Light and Bronze sponsor, PRG. We are proud to have LSI as our Media Partner and LSA as our Media Supporter once more, and the support of PLASA. Further sponsorship opportunities exist and Showlight invites more sponsors to come on board. As well as the standard sponsorship arrangements, we are also looking for mini-sponsors – companies or individuals or those with smaller budgets who can opt to sponsor the small but vital things that help make Showlight so enjoyable. Past minisponsors have supported Showlight by sponsoring welcome drinks on the first night, a student or speaker, or even tea, coffee or lunch refreshments.

To find out more about becoming an exhibitor or sponsor, contact Showlight Chairman, John Allen, on chairman@showlight.org. Submissions for Papers will continue to be accepted up until 30 November 2022.

Contact the Papers Committee Chairman, Jim Tetlow, for more information on papers@showlight.org.

Showlight will be exhibiting at ABTT (22-23 June) at Alexandra Palace, London (stand E32) and again at PLASA in September. We look forward to seeing you there.

extended reality

Set the context Abu Dhabi showcases the future right now as the virtual and real worlds collide to maximum effect Words: Bernie Davis Blockchain Expo 2021 was held in Abu Dhabi in December 2021, presenting cutting-edge companies and technology that attracts guests and speakers from a wide range of interests, from Cryptocurrencies to Artificial Intelligence. This latest technology has thrown up new successes such as the digital graphic artist Beeple. According to auction house Christie’s, Beeple – real name is Mike Winkelmann – is now among the top three most valuable living artists in any medium, alongside Jeff Koons and David Hockney. He has achieved this status by selling his art in the form of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), collectible digital assets that use blockchain technology to turn virtual work into unique items, in the same way that bitcoin works. Last year, his work sold for a staggering $69m, which is not bad for art that you can’t even 18

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hang on your wall.

The organisers of this event were still coping with the lockdown and lack of travel that the global pandemic brought, and looked to see if they could explore new technology to present speakers globally.

Technical Director Ben Rogers is a lighting video and scenic designer experienced in live events, who was familiar with the use of video screens and green screen techniques, and he proposed presenting the speakers using extended reality technology. Extended reality (xR) is the technology that allows you to blend virtual and physical worlds together using augmented reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) in live production environments to create fully immersive experiences.

The idea was to place the speakers on a relatively small stage, just 4m x 4m, with 3m-high walls made of video screens onto which was played video content. The speakers then stood in the space and could be broadcast in whatever virtual world they created.

But of course the clever bit is to make the backings change with the camera shots, so feedback of the camera positions

Blockchain Expo

and zoom settings drove the content using ‘Disguise’, a content driver that could produce any layers needed to complete the virtual world, and more than that the software would know if the cameras went further than the screens and could seamlessly generate the extended virtual world, so allowing 360 degree camera movement, regardless of the screens limitations.

Ben proposed to make the whole thing a more interesting experience for both live and online audiences by placing the stage next to the control gallery and then opening the gallery up so it could be seen by the live audience. He also placed a screen over the stage so the live audience could see the finished product as well as the workings of the broadcast team that were creating it. The requirement was to deliver 18 programmes in three exhibition days, and they allowed for a seated live audience of 400 people who could watch the process in action.

All the environments were built in Unreal Engine, a tool made for computer gaming but fast becoming a standard for producing virtual environments for film and broadcast. The D3 server from Disguise then took that virtual image and displayed it on the LED screens. Information from the camera tracking system then locked the background to match the live subject.

With 18 productions to deliver in just three days, the method was simplified yet was still able to produce results never possible with green screen, although they did not need the full cinematic animation experience on this occasion. Three cameras were on the stage, one on a jib and the other two placed to get cutaways of presenters, while a fourth camera was used for audience shots. In theory it is possible with some cameras to take zoom and focus data to further match the background, but with the Canon cameras they had they simply worked to a fixed zoom angle which was set before the start and then left. The two side cameras just added an abstract backing, leaving the virtual imagery to the jib.

The work was made more manageable by using HD images rather than 4k, and as Ben explained, the crucial part of the planning is to match the cameras and content to the screens.

Sound capture presented the problems most of us have experienced before, providing PA for the live audience while capturing the speakers for broadcast all in a non-sound studio will always be a compromise. There also was a small latency in the process, but they accepted that as part of the experience.

To make the virtual worlds tie into the live speakers it was essential to match the lighting in style and direction, and Ben brought in STLD member David Horner who he knew from previous projects. The graphic designer was able to create virtual light sources fixed in the virtual world that could then be controlled by the real desk. With this David was able to use drama-style lighting to match the two worlds, controlling the balance shot by shot. David had a small rig comprising some Prolight ECLPanel Juniors and six Prolight Pixie Washes, allowing him to give proper treatment to each presentation whether it was a single speaker or interview set-up. The light sources needed to be bright to match the screens – if you just dim the screens to match the lights, you can start to suffer from posterisation.

Graphic content came from a range of sources. One speaker was an artist talking about his NFT studio installation in

extended reality

Above: The lighting plot in all its glory Right: The extended reality (xR) crew Top right: The screens which allow you to blend physical and virtual worlds Bottom right: The nerve centre where everything is controlled

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Blockchain Expo

Finland, and they were able to make a background of his studio so not only could he be placed within it, he could see and point to the works he was talking about, something you could not do with green screen. Another environment they used was a desert setting at sunset, another was in space; the speakers could be offered pretty well anything.

Selling the idea to the client was interesting – they built a virtual environment and demonstrated it with VR headsets.

The client then asked if everyone would have to wear headsets! But once demonstrated and they could see the potential it proved a great success.

The technology at the heart of this project is not completely new. Extended reality studios have been around a few years now, sometimes giving fast turnaround sets for small studio programmes, sometimes enabling enhanced on-line presentations. And recently the STLD was able to visit the LED volume that ARRI uses for film work. But the interesting thing about this project was the combining of a live event with an on-line event, and the way the careful planning allowed for a very short set-up time to give 18 very varied set-ups in an exhibition environment, and the extended reality gave a large studio experience to a surprisingly small footprint. And in the future it might even be possible to add speakers and guests from around the world, after all not everyone wants to travel these days.

But one comment that David Horner made remained with me – he explained that the small and flexible moving light rig let him match the people lighting to the background, which gave the finished image a reality that you would not get with a general soft light rig. And there you have it, even with the latest technology there is still high value in proper and appropriate portraiture lighting.

stld live

BSC 2022 sparks the industry back to life STLD sponsors turn out in force in Battersea Words: Bernie Davis I like BSC expo. I quite enjoy the relatively limited range of products that I want to know more about, and I enjoy the wonderful camera technology there to tempt our camera colleagues, from the latest Technocranes to specialists in vehicle mounts, to inventive and cheaper alternatives for those with more modest budgets. All very eye-catching and distracting, but of course I went to see the lighting, and with COVID-19 restrictions being carefully removed layer by layer, BSC expo 2022 felt bigger and better than ever.

It is always good to catch up with the STLD sponsors at events like this, although of course the companies and the equipment on display are targeted more at the film end of the market, but much of what we do crosses over into that area of lighting too, so there was plenty to see. For example while ARRI CT Ltd were concentrating on their leading camera range, the front of their stand featured the ARRI Orbiter – a new LED powered take on an open-faced fixture with a quick light mount that easily changes the fixture from 22

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BSC Expo

a 15° to a 30° to a 60° throw. The unit looks rugged and business-like, looking more like an underwater camera than a traditional light!

Panalux were of course exhibitors, as major players in the film business their stand was heaving whenever I passed it.

Rosco had dressed their stand with their SoftDrop product, a custom backdrop supplied either from their collection of digital imaging, or else specifically supplied to your design. They can provide all the imaging servicing required too of course.

I quite liked a range of products from The Light Bridge on the Prolight Direct stand – they had re-engineered the ubiquitous reflector panel for the 21st century. They had mirrors with various diffusion surfaces enabling you to choose the soft quality of the light simply by picking the preferred reflector. They came in sizes from the more familiar 4x4 down to ones smaller than a drinks mat, all with handy grip adapters to mount on spigots or stirrups. In those drama-like set-ups reflectors like these are a quick way to convert any convenient light source (even the sun) into a softened source where you want it and as diffused as you like. Naturally they are packaged into convenient kits in soft bags.

De Sisti were right at the entrance to the main hall, and I was very drawn to their products. The LED Cob fresnel range is fast becoming the LED fresnel of choice with many LDs, the variable white versions taking you from 2,800k to 6,600k and all supplied in sizes from the little 60w to the very large 1,000w. The smaller ones in particular have proved very popular with their ability to sneak into hidden corners.

But the lights that caught my imagination were in were the ‘Muses of Light’ range. Their website takes you through ten products, all very poetically described. But reading between the lines these are what I can only describe as LED versions of the old Brute par arrays. All based on multiple LED emitters they are colour-tuning, and the variety between fixtures comes from the number of LED cells, the lens angles, and the shape of the arrays. The Clio for instance is what we would recognise as a 2x1 panel measuring 100cm x 50cm holding 160 17° lenses taking 480w total. And the Clio delivers 5,400 lux at 10m.

The Erato is a hexagon-shaped panel with 90 34° lenses, so much wider and dimmer than the Clio, but still giving just over 1000 lux at 10m, and of course a much greater area from just 360w.

At the other end of the scale the Aurea is a circular array that measures 176cm diameter with more lenses than I could count. It takes 2kw of power, and with its 11° lenses delivers a massive 33,000 lux at 10m. These fixtures punch light over a distance and in some ways are a new style of fixture, and I look forward to finding an excuse to try them.

Cirro Lite are dealers for a small and selective range of high-quality manufacturers, and a couple of new things on their stand were interesting. They now sell lighting equipment made by the US company Fiilex, and Fiilex’s USP is that they have developed the Dense Matrix LED chip that is really compact and powerful, the one I saw was about 7cm diameter and was a 900w chip with full RGB at a very high CRI and TLCI. Making the light source round and small improves the optics of the fixture that uses them, and Fiilex

Above: The Dense Matrix LED chip from US company Fiilex and (below) the Matthews Air Climber in action

have introduced the Q-series of fresnels, the largest of which takes this 900 chip.

Another company in the Cirro Lite stable is Matthews, famous for grip products from camera cranes to the C-stand, and they were introducing a pneumatic stand, the Air Climber.

This stand has a foot-print of 1.5m x 1.5m or 2.4m x 2.4m when in use, and the air-powered mast can lift up to 90Kg up to 7.5m, enough to light through a first floor window without the need to build a tower.

With limited time I might have missed as much as I saw, but next year I recommend noting BSC Expo in your diary – I will certainly be back.

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Meet the Martins: the art of lighting sitcoms In the second part of our visit to the Not Going Out set, the Martins reveal the secrets of the show…

Photos: Martin Christidis In late November 2021, Bernie Davis, lighting director (LD) and Chairman of the STLD, welcomed its members to the set of the BBC’s hit show Not Going Out at Pinewood Studios, for a chat with fellow LDs Martin Kempton (now retired) and GTC Council member Martin Hawkins about how they light studio sitcoms.

GTC members were kindly invited to join the live stream, and Zerb’s Managing Editor, Rob Emmanuel went along in person. Here’s a summary of this fascinating discussion between three leading lights of the industry…

Bernie Davis, (BD) “I’m delighted that we’ve managed to arrange this in such a great venue, and on such an interesting subject. I’d like to introduce Martin Hawkins – a DoP who’s worked on so many comedy shows his CV reads rather like a 24

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list of British comedy – and Martin Kempton, whose credits go back to Top of the Pops and all manner of iconic studio programmes. He was a BBC studio lighting director and, as such, would have done the whole rota of BBC shows, although he specialised in sitcoms and his CV also reads like a history of British comedy.

We’re sitting here in the set of Not Going Out because this is where the careers of these two eminent LDs overlap, as both have worked on this show although, interestingly, both actually came to lighting through the camera department rather than through vision. Part of the interest for tonight is to see how they approached the same show in different ways.

But to start, I think it’s worth exploring the dynamics of how the lighting team works. The conventional route into lighting, particularly in studios, has tended to be through the vision department. As vision engineers deal with the cameras’ images and exposure, there can be a natural progression to operating the lighting desk and, as the desk operator, they are then an assistant to the LD, but let’s talk about how the lighting team works.”

Martin Hawkins (MH): “Basically, your lighting team is your gaffer, who’s on the floor; your console operator; and the vision engineer – and you get to choose them all.

Having said that, because I inherited Not Going Out from Martin, I didn’t want to come in and start changing

Meet the Martins Part II

everything, so I went with Jim Murphy, who has been the vision engineer for virtually every series; Roy Winfield was the gaffer; and Simon Braddock was the console operator, both of whom I knew very well, having worked with them a lot, which is important because you don’t want to have to explain everything all the time to new people.

I think that’s why most folk in TV like working with familiar faces, because you build up a shorthand, where each knows how the other works.You know the job will get done, and that provides peace of mind a lot of the time.”

Martin Kempton (MK) “I used my console operator to do the balance that they thought looked good and then I’d comment on it, rather than start with me dictating exactly how I thought it should be. By letting them get on with it, I could then become the viewer, as it were. Sometimes they might surprise me by using a lamp I hadn’t originally plotted for that scene, but I’d realise it actually worked well. I could chip in with comments in general terms, offering suggestions on lamps and areas in response to what I was looking at.

The reason I preferred to do it like that, rather than work in a perhaps more traditional way, was due to my background at the BBC (having originally joined the camera department), where you started by racking cameras, then became a console operator, then an LD. It was a real team effort; the console operator’s job title, weirdly, was actually vision supervisor and they were expected to actively contribute to the look of the show. I know it was different at ITV and in the film tradition, where the console op would be an electrician. In fact, going way back, it could be any electrician on the day, and they would expect to be told exactly what to do. It’s changed nowadays and, whilst a lot of electricians still operate consoles, they contribute far more and are much more part of the team.”

MH “Absolutely, you rely on your console operator as being a second pair of eyes. I didn’t come from the BBC, so I like knowing all the levels of the lamps; so if I raise this light’s output by 10% and drop that one by 10%, then I know that one is at 80% and the other is at 60%. Remember, we’re not on the floor during filming but in the gallery in another part of the building, so we only have a monitor to go by and it’s easy to get very disorientated as to what’s on and what’s not.

You therefore not only rely on your plot – knowing which lamps are on and at what level in order to know how to respond – but also on your console op as a second pair of eyes, as well as to run ideas past them, because it’s not all about you (the LD) all the time. The old saying ‘You’re only as good as your team’ is very true and it’s why it’s important to pick your own crew, because they can make or break you.”

BD “As I always say, as LD, I’m not the only person who can have good ideas about what should be done; I’m the editor of any ideas, not the sole producer. That doesn’t mean giving up control, it’s about engaging everybody’s creativity – from the electricians that focus the lights, to the console operator and the vision people – I can point out when it’s not a good idea and they should listen, but equally, they can make suggestions.

It does work rather well.

What about the setup of the studio? Do you colour balance the cameras to a particular colour or vary it, show by show, and do you aim for a particular f-stop?”

MH “I tend to go for 3,200 Kelvin and that allows me to shift slightly warmer for night scenes or cooler for day scenes.

I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way, but generally, it’s a balancing act between putting some warmth or cool in the camera and/or in the lighting, depending on what you’re doing. That’s one of the beauties of LED lights; you can now have one light that can cover warm and cool needs. I’d much rather have one lamp up there that I can change from 2,800 to 1,100 Kelvin than two lamps. Having said that, I still haven’t found an egg crate to match that of the North Light – to me, a soft light is great but it’s only as good as its egg crate.

It’s not just colour that can change the feel, you can play with lighting levels as well – for the day setting, we’d bring more intensity from the window side to give a natural feeling of daylight coming in, whereas at night, the light would come from within the room, apparently from the practicals.

As for f-stop, it depends on the show. If we want a more dramatic feel, then I’ll maybe work about a stop back from fully wide open, giving me a little leeway as sometimes you still need to push the camera a bit. On a show like this, it might be around f3, to throw the background out of focus a little and give it that filmic, single-camera look, although these cameras are never going to have the same shallow depth of field of an ARRI ALEXA or something like that.

You don’t want the cameras to look too edgy or electronic.

If you’re lighting an light entertainment (LE) production, like a music, variety or gameshow, you probably want the pictures to look quite crisp and sharp, whereas with something like this, you’re tweaking out the artificial sharpening of the cameras to try and smooth it all and make it look a bit more filmic and less electronic. But cameramen hate it; of course, because they’re struggling to focus, which I do appreciate as I remember it from my days as a cameraman.

You’re bringing the lights down all the time to get that low stop, but on several occasions, I’ve walked out of the lighting gallery onto the studio floor and was surprised how dark it actually was! Not only are the camera operators working fairly wide open, there’s also a diffusion filter in the camera, so that’s another layer of difficulty to deal with. With regards to diffusion, I tend to use a Lee Soft Effects No1, which is a little glycerin filter that goes behind the lens. A lot of studio cameras have built-in filters too, which I think are 1/4 and 1/2 Black Pro-Mist in different filter wheels, so you can have 1/4, 1/2 or 3/4, which gives you a bit of flexibility, depending on what you’re doing.”

MK “I did similar on Upstart Crow at The London Studios, where we used Glimmerglass filters as well. These were lovely for candlelit scenes, and we used to mix up different filtering. Also, if we had a dinner party scene on Not Going Out, we’d probably put in another layer of filtering to give the whole thing a slightly more evening-y glow. It’s nice when the practicals have a slight glow around them; there’s no obvious difference to the sharpness of the pictures, it just takes the edge off and really, it’s what happens to the highlights that makes them look a bit nicer.”

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stld live

real as possible. But I don’t think there is such a thing as ‘sitcom lighting’.”

BD “From your comment about lighting being there to deliver the comedy, is there an element of truth to the cliché of ‘bright for comedy’?”

MH “A lot of the time, the comedy is in the reaction, so you have to be able to see that reaction. As regards ‘bright for comedy’, I’ve never had a director say it’s too bright but I’ve had several directors ask me to make it brighter! That’s because they want to see the close-up, as that’s where the comedy is, in the reaction.”

BD “With sitcoms, do you shoot whole scenes in one go, to get that comic timing right?”

BD “What exactly is sitcom lighting? Is it different from other genres or have we just imagined it to be?”

MH “I don’t think it’s different from any other type of lighting; at least I don’t want to think it is.You’re creating a mood that’s relevant to the scene or the script, and you’re trying to get it as real as you can, bearing in mind you’ve got five cameras, with three booms poking over the top, so there’s a limit to what you can do. But I think if the viewer feels comfortable with what they’re watching, then, for me, that’s good enough.You don’t want to make it so good that the audience is looking at the lighting and not the comedy.

With drama, a lot of the time it’s about the shot, the track, the lighting, and the genre encompasses all that, whereas with comedy, whatever you do, the comedy must always be the priority; every department has to focus on ensuring that happens. So, my attitude is always to make it look as good and as real as I can, and then I think I’ve done my job.”

BD “Do you think realism is what it’s about?”

MK “I’ve asked myself this many times over the years, because a sitcom like this is not the same as shooting a single-camera sitcom. These days, some shows are called sitcoms that I think should be defined as comedies or comedy dramas, because they are shot single-camera on location without a studio audience and that makes for a much more realistic, natural way of performing; whereas most sitcoms filmed in front of a studio audience are more theatrical, so the performance is bigger and its timing governed by the audience reaction. Also, the writing is normally different because it’s a lot more gag-driven, sometimes with visual/sight gags and things like that, and scenes tend to be longer as well.

So, you ask yourself why you’re trying to make this look like it’s a real house when we know it isn’t; it’s sort of a theatre set, in front of an audience. And yet, it would be wrong to light it theatrically; everyone – the art department, costume and so on – is trying to make the set look as real as possible. On some sitcoms (take Fawlty Towers – when Basil opens the front door, there’s a painted cloth!), it doesn’t matter and yet, on every sitcom I’ve ever lit, the producers, director, cast, everyone, has expected me to make it look as 26

Set & Light | Spring 2022

MH “Yes. In fact, episode six of this series is set in a jury room and Lee [Mack, star of Not Going Out] wanted to run the whole 30 minutes without stopping.”

MK “I lit a few of those. Lee likes to do that, to get the flow, but it’s a real challenge for everyone: the cast, the boom ops, and obviously the camera crew, to remember all the shots. To light it, you end up breaking the scene down into separate lighting cues and doing shifts of lighting balances as the scene progresses. I have to say, this revamped set now has a dark front door, but when I was lighting the show, the door was white and it was an absolute pain because it really kicked the light back, which certainly didn’t help!

In a scene that runs for, say, five minutes, you might have at least two, perhaps three, lighting cues, plus lamps that are ridden manually. For example, a conversation that starts at the front door might move across to behind the sofa, then continue through to the kitchen, before finally ending up on the sofa. There might be a moment when somebody turns their head and looks in a different direction, so you might have a lamp that needs to be ridden up a bit just for that moment and then down again. That’s a lot of different lighting cues involving various shifts of lighting balance, but the audience at home should never be aware of them. Hopefully they won’t be, and that’s down to the skill of the console operator getting those crossfades right. I imagine that sort of thing wouldn’t normally happen on a single-camera drama shoot, where the lighting is set for each particular moment or shot.”

MH: “Yes, you’re constantly changing things all the time. A lot of the action in this show happens upstage of the sofa, so you light that area, but then halfway through a scene, they might come forward and sit downstage, which means you seamlessly have to bring down the lighting behind, to keep the focus more on wherever the action has moved to. As Martin said, that sort of thing is happening constantly; it’s not a question of just lighting the set and leaving it be.”

MK “We don’t get a technical rehearsal like they get in the theatre. We are constantly doing the lighting balance at the same time as the camera crew are rehearsing and blocking through the scene. It’ll usually be rehearsed a few times,

Meet the Martins Part II

that comes back year after year, you’re continually trying different things; you may have a problem with a position that’s never quite worked and decide to just stick a lamp in to sort it, and if that helps, you’ll carry it on to the next series. As a result, with a show like this, I ended up with a huge lighting rig, as my gaffer, Roy Winfield, will testify!

Whilst my plot evolved over the years to include lots of lamps all pointing in different directions, it’s relevant to mention that I like to mix colour quite a lot. For instance, on daylight scenes, I like to get a sense of cold light coming in from the window but, to give an excuse of why there would be cold light from the window and warm light in the room, I would often have practicals on in the room, even in a daytime scene. Therefore, above every window, I’d have one or two additional lamps, each with either a half- or quarterCT Blue, just to give a cold kick when needed – and that all added to the size of the rig.

The great thing about Martin is that he came in, ignored everything I’d done, and did his own thing! Of course, everything works perfectly; it’s just a different approach. But it’s good to strip it back and start with a clean slate, because a lot of those lights were unnecessary, they were only there for historical reasons.”

MH “The first sitcom I lit was Black Books, a few years ago.

As Martin says, you sit at your kitchen table looking at a plot,

The kitchen set of Not Going Out, with Martin Hawkins’ lighting plot in the foreground

which is really the director working it through with cameras to get the shots, but then the boom operators are focusing on how they can cover it, and we’re exploring how to light it, as we seldom get the chance to rehearse anything again to check our lighting – that wouldn’t go down well as there’s too much to do on the day.”

BD “Take us through your different, but equally good ways of lighting Not Going Out…” MK “To design the lighting for a sitcom, you’re given a set plan and, usually but not always, a model. Every studio has a different way of hanging lights; this studio is great because there are all these mono poles, so you’ve got huge flexibility as to where you can hang the lights and what height they can be.

I’d get my pencil and stencil ready to draw the lights on the plan, and start by breaking down each scene into its elements: ‘If this character is standing here with another there, then I need this lamp to do this and that one to do that. Hang on, if they then go there, I need something to cover that…’, and you build up the plot.You might sleep on it, then think: ‘Why have I put that lamp there? It doesn’t make sense. Unless I move that lamp here. Hmm no, that’s no good…’, and so it evolves over a few days. When you get to the studio and do the pilot or the first episode, that’s when you learn what actually works and what doesn’t’. On a long-running series

stld live

wondering where you’re going to put your lamps.Your first priority is boom shadows, so that means starting by putting some lights upstage (but then upstage keying does often give the best modelling anyway). I looked at the plot for Not Going Out and decided to have a lamp in both corners to cover the upstage area, desk and entrance. Then it’s a good idea to have a lamp downstage of that, because if the director decides to move the actors downstage on the day, you can’t go moving lights. So, I’ll draw another light in the next lighting track along. I’ve pretty much taken that principle into most sets I’ve lit since and it just works. It might not work for everyone but it does for me. That’s the thing about lighting: nobody can tell you how to light, you’ve got to find it out for yourself.You’ve got to discover what works for you, and for me it’s with North Lights and I’m very confident and happy with what I can do with them. I was working at Teddington, where these North Lights came from, and the best thing about them, from my point of view, is the egg crate, because they are a lovely soft light and that’s what I like using. But any soft light is only ever as good as its egg crate, as far as I’m concerned – fortunately, I’m still able to hire North Lights, as I just love them.

When you’re asked to do a series, you first meet the director and designer, who will normally come up with a concept for the project. First off, the designer will create a model in the computer that we can all view and then the director and I throw in ideas. This gets transferred to the model where you can look at different angles from camera points of view; as a result, the director might ask for any camera traps and I might request a wall to be lowered to allow getting a lamp in.

Once it’s all finalised, your lighting plot becomes your key; with the model in one hand and plot in the other, you can work out where you need your lamps. I like to keep things 28

Set & Light | Spring 2022

simple, so I tend to put a ring of soft lights around upstage and then the rest is about how you dress things in through windows, where the practicals go, etc. Martin and I are both fans of practicals on set, so we’ll always ask the designer for wall lights and table lamps, etc.

The question about visualisation is interesting because right throughout the preproduction process, the designer can show the producer and director the model, and they can get fabrics and wallpaper, and photographs of the type of furniture they’re going to use; the costume designer can bring in the costumes. So, everyone has an idea of what the set and everything is going to be like, but no one knows what it’s actually going to look like until the lights get turned on – and that’s quite scary. (MK Yes, that’s quite a responsibility, isn’t it?

It’s always slightly terrifying that first day of a new show, on a new set, and you just hope you’ve got it right.When the lights start to come on and you think, ‘Phew, that looks alright!’… unless it’s: ‘Oh no, now what are we going to do?’)

The director rehearses with the cast in a rehearsal room, while the buildup to the first show begins. The lights will be rigged on the Sunday before the sets built on Monday and Tuesday; the lights will be lowered on Wednesday, which is my chance to fine-light and focus everything. If you’re lucky, the set will stay built for the whole run, in which case you rig it once, although there will usually be guest sets, such as bedrooms or other living rooms, which get swapped in and out as needed. The crew arrive on Thursday, which can involve pre-records of scenes that can’t be shot in front of an audience (e.g. any green screen or scenes involving children that aren’t’ available on the record day). Finally, at 09.00 on Friday, you start rehearsing the show from beginning to end, followed by a dress run of the whole thing at around 16.00.

There’s a break for supper before the audience come in and you start recording at 19.30, hopefully finishing around 22.00. What I love about it is you walk out of the studio knowing you’ve just finished a 30-minute show – and that’s a great feeling.

All that then happens again the following week; the designer gives me the plot the week before, we discuss what will and won’t be needed, and it gets rigged over the weekend. The director will start rehearsing the next show on the Monday, and the whole weekly schedule repeats for however many episodes are in the run.”

BD “With all the care and attention to detail you put into the pictures, do you both get involved in the grade?

MH “When it comes to lighting, grading is a massive part of what we do, because you may only get pictures to about 60% of what you’re aiming for in the studio. With five cameras across the set, you’re always struggling to get grip equipment in to where it’s needed to control spill and create shape. The grade is really where you can start to improve things, but a grader will only know what you want if you’re with them, so we both insist on being in the grade as much as possible.

Grading isn’t so much about changing colour, it’s about shaping and shading a lot of the time. For example, an over-shoulder shot where the near person is wearing a light shirt will result in the foreground being too bright and distracting; in the grade, you can take that brightness down to

Meet the Martins Part II

almost nothing, thereby bringing the focus of the shot back to where it should be. Grading is a massive process and it really shouldn’t be underestimated at all; I love it because it makes the pictures for me.”

MK “Colourists often work with single-camera material which, depending on where it’s been shot, might have ended up with an unintentional, built-in colour cast, so their first instinct is to neutralise everything and bring it all down to a sort of ‘mean white’. Often, when they’re given scenes that we’ve lit deliberately warm or deliberately cool, the temptation is to correct them because it looks like an error, until you tell them otherwise.

Some colourists absolutely get what we’re trying to do, they work with us, helping to refine the pictures, to shape them, just tweaking the colour where necessary, whereas others, I’m afraid, just see themselves as being the next step in the process: the project is now with them and they will do what they think should be done to the pictures – of course, that can be very frustrating! However, grading is a very productive and enjoyable experience most of the time.

When it comes to converting from tungsten to LED who wins the argument between a production’s budget concerns and the need to be more green?”

MH “On Not Going Out, the budget for lighting is £36k for the whole series (£6k per episode), and you’re not going to get a lot of LED for that, I’m afraid. We need a lot of lamps and, unfortunately, you just couldn’t afford to do it with all LED units. It’s worth noting that we do have about two-thirds tungsten and one-third LED here. It’s a start; hopefully we’re getting there, slowly. Mind you, not all the lights are on all the time; you may be running a lot of 2Ks on this set, but then the other sets will go dark, so you try to get a balancing act.”

MK “And very few lamps are burning flat out, many will be at 60–70%. Although on paper it might look like you’ve got a huge amount of lighting, which will use a large amount of power, the draw at any given moment will actually be a lot less than your kit list might imply. But I don’t know the answer, because the independent companies are in the business of making television programmes and they can’t run at a loss.

At the beginning of 2020, before I retired or we’d even heard of COVID, I had a number of shows to light coming up and wanted to use more LED lighting. I contacted all the productions I was due to work for, to inform them I intended to halve the amount of power usage. I included rough figures of what it would cost but only one production agreed to it; all the others were horrified at how much more it was going to cost because it just wasn’t in their budgets. I know everybody is trying to go green but, unfortunately, LED fixtures cost a lot more to hire than boring, old-fashioned tungsten – but that nettle has to be grasped somehow.

I also pointed out there’d be far less electricity used and the savings to be had, but that doesn’t get passed onto the production; they don’t get a reduced hire rate from the studio because there’s less electricity being used. So, there’s got to be some joined-up thinking. At some point though, somebody’s got to speak up and insist on more budget for

Fact file: meet the Martins

Martin Hawkins is a member of the GTC, STLD and GBCT For more information on him, please visit his web site: martinhawkins.com Martin Kempton began his career at the BBC in cameras before moving into lighting, becoming an LD in 1990; he went freelance in 2002. His numerous lighting credits include The Goes Wrong Show, the ‘live’ Inside No 9 and Upstart Crow. He is a multi-award winner: three Knights of Illumination, one Welsh BAFTA and two RTS Craft Awards. Martin retired in 2020; he is the author of the History of London’s Television Studios website. To find out more, visit: tvstudiohistory.co.uk lighting because LED units do cost more; that’s the world we live in now, but they do draw less power and we can’t keep on burning all this tungsten.”

BD “In a way, the answer to the question ‘Who wins?’ is that it’s a production argument, because they want to get their Albert credentials but they’re also paying the bill, so they have to choose a side of that coin. Only time will tell!

I have to say, it’s been fascinating. I’ve really enjoyed it, I hope you all have too. Thanks very much indeed to Martin Hawkins and Martin Kempton for giving up their time.”

Set & Light | Spring 2022

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obituaries

Chris Watts/Rod Litherland

Christopher G Watts (1949-2022) I first met Chris when I started working on Doctors in 2001 and when talking to him realised our paths crossed unbeknown to each other in 1970, at the start of both our careers in the BBC. Chris was an assistant cameraman working in Alexandra Palace at the start of the Open University and I started as a Direct Entry engineer. He then moved back to Television Centre shortly afterwards so I didn’t have much contact with him. He went on to become a cameraman and then a Lighting Director working in Television Centre and Bristol.

When Chris left the BBC to go freelance, he worked in Italy and Kuala Lumpur assisting local technicians setting up and training Lighting personnel.

As a freelance he worked on CBeebies, Father Brown and Doctors, and was the main Lighting Director on Teletubbies. It was whilst working on Doctors, in 2001 that we became good friends and colleagues. It was always good news to have him on the crew; he could always be relied on to steer a smooth course through the ups and downs of a fast moving drama.

He was always sympathetic to costume, make-up, actors and sound but still creative with his lighting. He was particularly supportive to new and inexperienced directors and always managed to put them at ease. As such, he was always in demand.

Chris lived life to the full whether it was refereeing hockey, travelling, walking or sailing. He loved volunteering at Tyntesfield House National Trust where he was responsible for cataloguing and mapping various species of trees on the site and he always joked that he was a ‘tree bore’.

Rodney F Litherland (1943-2022) We were very sad to hear earlier this year that Rod Litherland had died. Rod was a highly respected BBC Lighting Director, having joined the BBC straight from school in the early 1960s.

His lighting career started after he moved from the camera department, and worked across the range of shows from Doctors to Top of the Pops.

His calm and professional manner was always in demand. Rod also spent some time in Dubai where he was 30

Set & Light | Spring 2022

That is something Chris was not. He was a gentleman and gentle man and will be sorely missed by Ginny, his family, ex colleagues and close friends.

John Waldron

posted by the BBC to help to set up their television service. Rod took redundancy in the early 1990s but continued to freelance until 2005 when he decided to spend more time in his second home in France, and pursue his many interests including walking, wood carving, and sailing – he bought his first boat when he was 17.

Rod served on the STLD committee for many years, where he took on the production of the magazine, often writing the articles himself. He also hosted STLD meetings at TV Centre.

Showing typical organisation and generosity, when Rod knew his days were numbered he contacted me to find a home for some lighting equipment he owned, and

Rod Litherland with his wife Quita at the STLD 25 Years celebration

ended up donating them to Rose Bruford College.

Our sympathies go to his wife Quita, and children Claire, Louise and Lauriel.

charity news

Pedal to the metal

Kartfest is back!

Rev up for some high speed fundraising fun It’s been two long years, but it’s time to pull on your racing suits, don your helmets and get back behind the wheel for the industry’s favourite get together, Kartfest 2022, which takes place on 7 July at Daytona Sandown Park.

“Kartfest has always been an amazing event,” says Backup’s Lee Dennison. “We’ve missed the fun of getting together with our industry friends, and the thrills and spills of the teams battling it out for the coveted Kartfest Champions title, so we’re delighted to announce its return.”

Kartfest is a vital fundraiser for Backup. The charity has been a lifeline for so many during the pandemic and, whilst recovery of the industry is underway, the ongoing work it does, including medical grants and wellbeing support with a 24-hour helpline, mental health counselling grants, MHFA training bursary and support of Addiction and Recovery Aware training workshops, is still essential. “That’s why Kartfest has even greater significance this year and why we’d love as many of you as possible to join us,” Dennison adds.

With a theme soon to be revealed, the day will see three hours of intense racing from up to 30 teams of drivers, all

keen to show their prowess on the track, and will include fun challenges, a BBQ lunch and drinks. Team entry from the website gets you six drivers.You can also buy nonracer wristbands.

If you want to join in with the fun, catch up with your friends and help Backup help more of our industry family, visit backuptech.uk to enter your team.

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sponsor news

AC-ET Pavilion Theatre makes a sound investment in state-of-the-art NEXO system

The award-winning Pavilion Theatre, located on the waterfront in Rhyl, Wales, have recently upgraded their technology to match the same high standard as their awardwinning performances (venue).

The 1,031 seat theatre has been designed to accommodate a variety of productions, from theatre shows and comedy acts to music tours. Recent productions have included Mrs Brown’s Boys, Chicago, Little Mix, Olly Murs and John Bishop to name but a few. As well as large scale productions, the Pavilion Theatre is committed to facilitating theatre and dance in the community, as well as school productions.

Technical Manager Andy Hughes was tasked with updating the existing 25-year-old PA system to a cutting-edge solution that could handle the variety of performances this venue hosts. He approached A.C. Entertainment Technologies’ (AC-ET) audio specialist, Steve Eaton who helped specify the upgrade along with the NEXO team in France.

For this project, AC-ET supplied over 65 products from the NEXO range, including; GEO M10 Line array modules, ID24 speakers, subs, NEXO NX controller amps and the new P+ series speakers.

Hughes commented; “I had heard a lot of systems in the theatre over the years from touring shows, including many big-named brands and NEXO always really stood out, sound-wise. They were also very helpful and accommodating, leaving us with a system for a week to test within the theatre 32

Set & Light | Spring 2022

to ensure we were happy. All this, along with the support from AC-ET even through the pandemic, helped make the decision. The NEXO products purchased will be used in other venues and events, so we needed a brand with not justone good product but a whole range to cover any size of venue and event.”

“I’ve been working with Andy and Leon at the Pavilion on this project for a couple of years now, so it’s great to see it all come together. They required a system capable of handling everything from comedy gigs right up to full rock and roll shows. The system had to be extremely versatile though to use in the theatre itself, the outdoor arena next door, plus all the other venues and sport centres under their jurisdiction.

The combination of NEXO’s GEO M10 line array and their stunning new P+ series speakers covered all eventualities.” commented AC-ET’s Steve Eaton.

The system was installed by Pavilion Theatre’s house staff using NEXO’s NS-1 System Configuration Software. NS-1 is a powerful and intuitive system configuration and simulation tool enabling NEXO users to configure and optimise the performance of any NEXO system by predicting its behaviour in any venue to ensure uniform SPL coverage.

Hughes added; “Using the NS-1 software, our team was able to install and configure the NEXO system and it sounded great. We then had the NEXO experts come and help us fine-tune – the finished result is absolutely outstanding! We cannot wait to use it for our upcoming pantomime.”

AC-ET also supplied another Yamaha QL5 console to add to Pavilion Theatre’s inventory, along with 12 more channels of Sennheiser EW G4 wireless systems.

“We’ve always had a good relationship with AC-ET. Steve Eaton made several site visits to help us throughout the

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

purchasing process to ensure we got the solution that was right for us. The service received from all at AC-ET is friendly and professional, and nothing is ever too much trouble for them. A huge thank you to all the team for helping us with this huge upgrade and especially to Steve for being there to assist every step of the way” concluded Hughes.

Limelite Lighting take stock of Claypaky Tambora

Leading lighting rental and production management company, Limelite Lighting have become one of the first in the UK to take stock of Claypaky’s new Tambora batten.

Priding themselves on providing high quality lighting, rigging and power equipment to the TV, theatre and events industries, Limelite are always on the lookout for new cutting-edge technology to add to their inventory.

When Claypaky announced their new Tambora batten with its advanced pixel mapping capabilities, Limelite were keen to get a closer look.

Matthew Mountier, Director at Limelite Lighting commented; “We have recently purchased the new Claypaky Tambora Batten to replace our outgoing LED battens. As a dry hire and production supplier for TV, events and theatre, we needed a product that was adaptable for a range of applications and that offered creative possibilities.

“We knew we wanted an LED batten that had dynamic pixel mapping and motorised movement. Having extensively researched various batten products by comparing the specs, costs, and availability, we decided the Claypaky Tambora was the most attractive option for us.

“So far we are delighted with our decision, and we are already receiving positive feedback from lighting designers and technicians.”

Limelite Lighting have already supplied the fixtures for a number of exciting projects, where they have received great feedback.

Gus Domingues, an international Lighting Director from LA and the first Limelite Lighting client to use the fixture on set, commented; “I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Tambora Battens from Limelite. I was extremely impressed with the output levels and pixel mapping options. From now on they will be my go-to unit for linear visual effects, while maintaining a powerful wash ability.”

The fixtures were supplied to Limelite Lighting by Claypaky’s UK exclusive distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).

Ben Steppenbeck, AC-ET’s Northern Lighting Sales Manager commented; “We always love bringing some of the industry’s latest technologies to our friends at Limelite Lighting and are pleased to hear Claypaky Tambora is already delivering such great results for them and their clients.”

To conclude, Mountier adds, “We have worked with the team at AC-ET for a number of years and they are one of our trusted suppliers. The quality of service and products received are always of very high standards. We are also really impressed with the delivery time of these fixtures, considering the ongoing delays our industry is facing. Thank you, AC-ET!”

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Tourflex Cabling also offers a wide range of customisation options. Each assembly is made to your exacting specification and is extensively tested so you can be confident you’ll see great results.

ARRI Markus Zeiler to leave ARRI

After more than nine successful years at ARRI – three of which were spent as an Executive Board member – Markus Zeiler has decided to accept a new professional challenge.

His expertise remains in the industry after he assumed his new role on the Management team for one of ARRI’s longterm customers in April 2022.

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“On behalf of the Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Markus Zeiler for his outstanding efforts and accomplishments for the ARRI Group.

“We deeply regret this decision, but wish him all the best, personally and professionally. We look forward to working with Markus on joint projects in the future,” declares Prof.

Dr. Hans-Joerg Bullinger, Chairman of the Supervisory Board at ARRI. Zeiler came to ARRI as General Manager Business Unit Lighting in 2013. In this position, his responsibilities included the successful introduction of the LED soft light platform SkyPanel, for which ARRI was awarded an Engineering Emmy® this past year. Early 2019, Zeiler was called to the Executive Board at ARRI and was most recently in charge of the business units Camera Systems, Lighting, and Rental, along with the marketing and sales departments. Together with Executive Board member Dr. Michael Neuhaeuser, Zeiler set an important course for the future of ARRI and was able to lead the globally active film technology company, while achieving record sales figures in 2021, through the coronavirus pandemic.

Zeiler handed over his areas to Dr. Matthias Erb, Chairman of the Executive Board at ARRI, who took over these responsibilities temporarily. A smooth transition was therefore ensured.

comments Florian Bloch, Head of Product Management at ARRI Lighting. He continues: “Not only is his great enthusiasm for the world of lighting and camera palpable, but he has also proved his merit as a specialist in the development of state-ofthe-art, highquality products.” Ben Díaz is no stranger to ARRI; as a lighting designer and DP he manipulated ARRI Daylight and ARRISUN luminaires on set for years.

He says: “Joining ARRI means a lot to me. The first cinema camera I operated was an ARRIFLEX and the first luminaire I ever bought was an ARRI Studio fresnel.” As Senior Product Manager, Lighting, based in Stephanskirchen, Germany, Díaz will deploy his expertise in market research and user-centric design to support users of the current lighting portfolio and create new ARRI fixtures together with the R&D department.

Ben Díaz strengthens ARRI Lighting as Senior Product Manager

ARRI Lighting is pleased to welcome a new member to its team in Stephanskirchen. Effective February 2022, as Senior Product Manager, Ben Díaz strengthens ARRI’s business unit focus on the development of high-quality LED lighting fixtures and accessories. Together with Florian Bloch, Head of Product Management at ARRI Lighting, and the team, Díaz will play an integral role in the planning, development, introduction, and life cycle management of new ARRI lighting products.

Díaz is a senior executive highly specialized in LED lighting technology. He is also a lighting designer, director of photography, and educator with more than 15 years of experience in the industry. Holding important roles in the areas of design, strategy, research, and diverse operational matters, Díaz has worked with professional crews from 28 countries on four continents. After several seasons directing lighting for television shows and designing tours for international artists, Díaz joined the Danish manufacturer SGM Light in 2014, where he first worked as Area Manager and later as Business Development Director for Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. In 2017, he became Head of Product Management at SGM, assuming control of the LED portfolio across its life cycle while accelerating its presence in permanent outdoor installations.

“We at ARRI are thrilled to Ben Diaz, Arri’s new Senior Product Manager have Ben Díaz on board,” 34

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ARRI Approved Certified Pre-Owned programme expands to include lighting products

With immediate effect, the motion picture equipment manufacturer also offers selected pre-owned and refurbished lighting fixtures for sale. “We are excited to add lighting products to the ARRI Approved Certified Pre-Owned programme,” says Stephan Schenk, Managing Director of ARRI Cine Technik and General Manager Global Sales & Solutions at ARRI. “With this additional tier to our lighting portfolio, we are providing a more cost-effective option to access our technology. It also gives educational institutions a great opportunity to provide high-quality equipment for their students.”

ARRI’s attention to detail combined with more than 100 years of experience with user requirements, set and studio conditions, have resulted in generations of products that are robust, reliable, and long-lasting. Under the ARRI Approved Certified Pre-Owned programme, selected lamp heads undergo thorough assessments, are given careful overhauls during the refurbishing process, and are tested in detail before they receive ARRI’s stamp of approval. Mechanical defects are repaired, electrical and electronic components updated, and worn-out parts replaced. The light source of each LED lighting fixture is checked against factory specifications and replaced if necessary. Lastly, each lighting fixture receives the latest firmware before the equipment goes through a final function test to ensure full functionality.

Christian Richter, General Manager Sales & Solutions EMEAI and Global Manager Certified Pre-Owned Equipment at ARRI,

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

confirms that this programme delivers reliability, affordability, and dependability.

“Expanding the programme to include lighting products was the logical next step after our initial success with the CPO programme. We are delighted that we can now offer an even broader portfolio and give more creatives access to tools that will enable them to work their illumination magic,” he adds.

ARRI CPO customers can be sure that they are not sacrificing performance for price; all selected ARRI approved CPO products come directly from the manufacturer and are backed by ARRI’s warranty. ARRI CPO lighting products are backed by a two-year warranty while all other ARRI CPO offerings come with a one-year warranty.

Berenok. “It's a great honour and opportunity to become part of the wonderful Ayrton team and a company with such a great history and reputation.”

“We are excited to welcome Nick to the Ayrton family,” says Ayrton’s global sales director, Michael Althaus. “This is a new role within the company and we are very excited about its potential – which is showing itself already. Nick is extremely knowledgeable across all sectors of our market and we anticipate he will be very busy!”

Nikolay is currently based in the Czech Republic and can be contacted on +380 67 722 6966, or nick.berenok@ayrton.eu

AYRTON Ayrton’s Cobra strikes at Prolight + Sound

Ayrton celebrated its 20th anniversary at Prolight + Sound with a new lightshow, created by Stéphane Migné in conjunction with French water effects company, Aquatique Show. This showcased Ayrton’s latest products including the new Zonda 9 FX with its stunning liquid effects and Cobra, Ayrton’s first IP65 laser sourced fixture. The imaginative visual choreography gave a taste of the creativity these new products are capable of and ensured Ayrton remained one of the busiest stands at Prolight + Sound.

“It is incredible to be back at Prolight + Sound after two years,” says Ayrton CEO, Chris Ferrante. “We have been busy engineering and developing new products, such as Domino LT and Huracan LT. Now, for the first time, we are showing Zonda 9 FX and Cobra, our laser light sourced fixture. These are all clever, unique products, especially the liquid effects in Zonda which are absolutely stunning, and the narrow 0.6° beam of Cobra – these are things we couldn’t have achieved just a few years ago. It’s been super to show these new products to the industry in person and to hear first-hand their overwhelmingly positive response.”

Ayrton welcomes Nicolay Berenok as brand ambassador

Ayrton Brand Ambassador Nikolay Berenok

Ayrton is very happy to announce the appointment of Nikolay Berenok as its new brand ambassador, with immediate effect.

Co-founder of the visualising software company, Light Converse Ltd., Berenok brings a wealth of industry experience and contacts to Ayrton. His new role entails making use of his extensive network and superb recognition to drive interest in the Ayrton brand, and to support the work of its global sales team.

“I'm really happy and excited to take on this new role,” says

Ayrton continues its support of Women In Lighting through exclusive WIL Entertainment Lighting Partnership

Ayrton is proud and excited to announce that it will continue to support the Women In Lighting project throughout 2022 via its exclusive WIL Entertainment Lighting Partnership.

Founded in 2019 by Sharon Stammers and Martin Lupton of Light Collective, and already well-established in the field of architectural lighting, WIL exists to provide an inspirational digital platform that profiles women working in lighting and lighting design, celebrating and promoting their work and career paths. It challenges the under-representation of women within the industry and aims to support and encourage the next generation.

Ayrton’s primary aim is to raise awareness and broaden the reach of the WIL project to include women working in entertainment lighting – not just lighting designers, but women working in all aspects of entertainment lighting.

“We are thrilled that WIL has chosen to work exclusively with Ayrton when adding the entertainment perspective and Set & Light | Spring 2022

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there are lots of exciting plans being made for the year ahead,” says Ayrton’s Linnea Ljungmark.

The first of these is the WIL Global Online Gathering which took place on 8 March 2022 to coincide with International Women’s Day. Co-organised by Light Collective, Archifos and architectural lighting manufacturer, formalighting, and sponsored by Ayrton, the day is divided into three time zones, each with four sections: Global Light, Global Action, Global Journey and Global Work.

“This is an opportunity to listen to designers present their projects, learn more about architectural lighting and watch a project presentation from Emily Bornt, an entertainment lighting designer from the US, which Ayrton is proud to sponsor,” says Ljungmark.

Emily Bornt, founder of Lighting Entertainment and Production Services, LLC, will talk about her work and experiences as part of the Global Work contribution in The Americas section.

In addition to her lighting career, Emily provides mentorship to younger aspiring designers and students.

She also runs a Facebook group for those who have the ‘non-male’ experience in the entertainment industry which offers support, work opportunities and sense of community for those who may not have access to inclusive work environments.

Ayrton will also sponsor new interviews for the WIL website this spring, and bring a WIL presence to each of the major tradeshows in 2022, before hosting the first in-person Global Gathering at the Ayrton head office in October.

“WIL is about inclusivity and celebrating the work of women in the field of lighting,” says Ljungmark. “Ayrton is supporting the project because entertainment and architectural lighting are both male-dominated work places and we want to make sure that women feel included, seen and heard. The project has received a great response from around the world and I think we can all be very proud to be part of this.”

“We are delighted to be able to support and be a part of this wonderful initiative,” adds Ayrton CEO, Chris Ferrante.

“Women In Lighting is an excellent forum and, given that Ayrton has such a talented group of women in our organisation, it is even more important for us to be part of this project. As well as the upcoming Global Gathering, I am excited that we are hosting a dedicated Women In Lighting section on our Prolight + Sound booth in Frankfurt and then, later in the year, a lighting experience here at our Paris HQ.” WIL reaches out to all women in lighting, not just designers, and we encourage you to get in touch and get involved.

Contact us at womeninlighting@ayrton.eu, or visit ayrton.eu and womeninlighting.com.

B360 B360 helps to uncensor Piers Morgan with stunning success

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show has delivered in excess of 64 million online views in the first week. B360 have spent 12 months of dedication to create a state-of-the art show launching on TalkTV in the UK, FOX Nation in the US and Sky News Australia.

TalkTV Executive Director Erron Gordon said: “I began with an absolutely blank canvas in terms of the studio space – with the simple vision to create something as unique as the show itself. Knowing Piers Morgan Uncensored will be broadcast across three continents, we have created a truly state-of-theart environment containing unique design elements not yet seen in British TV news.”

The environment also contains a fully automated LED lighting kit and a state-of-the-art track lighting system pioneered by Emmy award-winning lighting designer Deke Hazirjian of New York City Lites with instruments and lighting programming by B360.

B360 designed and installed the custom grid for Timeline Television consisting of 315 rigging points and 71 scenery points. There are 252 ways of mains power located around the grid, along with 80 ways of DMX and Cat6 throughout. A full Luminex backbone was installed, and all controlled by ETC Ion Xe lighting desks.

B360 also supply the daily lighting crew and Desk Operators at Ealing Broadcast Center as well as News UK London Bridge.

Barry Denison, Director at B360 says: "We have had a solid relationship with News UK over the years working on two studio installs and multiple Radio studios for the London Bridge developments. Being asked to undertake this install was a pleasure as well as being asked to look after the day to day lighting labour requirements for News UK." There are a further two studios at Ealing Broadcast Centre that B360 have installed the custom grid, network and power infrastructure, and it is a pleasure to see these studios coming to life with various shows and bookings.

Alongside working closely with NewsUK and Timeline Television, B360 have been working hard in all areas. We had the delight of supplying the lighting and labour for the broadcast of the Winter Olympics, as well as lighting for the Winter Paralympics, sending equipment out to Beijing.

More recently, we had the pleasure of providing lighting, rigging, power and network infrastructure as well as labour to BBC Sports for the coverage of the Invictus Games.

Our power department have been busy providing power to a range of Outside Broadcast Units. We had the deepest pleasure of providing power and studio lighting for the FA Cup third, fourth, fifth and sixth Rounds as well as the FA Cup Semi-Final and Final. We have continued to provide power for the broadcast of the National League, Women’s Super League and Women’s FA Cup. As well as power for the PDC Darts, European Professional Club Rugby and Women’s Six Nations.

With excitement in the past few months, we have been providing lighting and labour to Ultimate Boxxer for their Press Conference and Weigh Ins. We currently have several positions available – within our warehouse, power department as well as our installation/ project department. Please feel free to contact us for more details.

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

audio, projection and lighting position in the space had to be on truss towers or scaffolding with G-block ballasts.

“Given some spatial constraints and heavy equipment logistics, we essentially had to build things a bit backwards starting with the screen at the end of the theatre and working outward to avoid painting ourselves into a corner, all while ensuring that we protected trees and the park itself,” said Hall.

“We pretty much lived on-site for about eight solid days to get it done! I can’t emphasise enough how important team work was in this effort. Our LD Ben Green deserves a lot of credit as do Drew DeCorleto and J Wiese of 4Wall.”

While managing the logistics of this massive setup, Hall and his team also had to keep their attention focused on aesthetics.

“For this event, as is true at virtually all such screenings, the content must look and sound perfect,” he said. “Arguably equal to that is the red carpet/step and repeat moment since those photos and videos will go out to millions of viewers worldwide.

Everything else starts to fall into place after that when it comes to the overall guest journey and experience.”

Lighting played a key role in creating this experience. With hang positions throughout the event space somewhat limited, CHAUVET Hall and the team had to be meticulous about fixture selection.

This led them to specify 90 Rogue R2X Wash fixtures to be Chauvet Professional helps invoke entertainment positioned throughout the space.

“Given that we didn’t have a great many hanging positions accent red carpet event for HBO’s Insecure considering the size of the event, we needed to rely on a It isn’t listed in the credits, but the beautiful city of Los fixture that had a lot of output, great zoom range, and wasn’t Angeles skyline with the San Gabriel Mountains in the too heavy,” he explained. “The R2X also has great, smooth background played a key supporting role in the widely color mixing and zone control. This allowed us to go from a acclaimed HBO Original Series Insecure.

Many of the most memorable scenes in the multiple functional wash light to something more fun when we Primetime Emmy Award winning show, took place against this transitioned into the after party.” iconic backdrop. Given the skyline’s association with Insecure, Also included in the lighting rig were 72 WELL Fit uplights, it was only fitting that Los Angeles’ Kenneth Hahn State Park, which were relied on to light oversized production stills from which affords 360-degree views of the city, was chosen as the each of the five season of the series. Arranged in “galleries” that site for the red carpet event celebrating the groundbreaking lined each side of the connecting pathways, these images set an comedy’s final season premiere. immersive tone for guests as they moved from one area of the “This incredibly beautiful and expansive park was perfect event to another. for our event,” said Barrett Hall of Invoke Entertainment, “We wanted to create the effect that the large photos which oversaw all creative and technical aspects of the were floating in space as guests travelled through the galleries,” premiere screening and after party. “The site is in close said Hall. “To accomplish this, we needed a low profile, proximity to the neighbourhoods where much of the series aesthetically pleasing fixture to highlight each photo print. As took place. Also, the final season’s key art with creator and this was covering a lot of ground, we also needed an option star Issa Rae was actually shot in the same location where we that was battery powered and wirelessly controlled. In addition, built our theatre.” there were dozens of trees and low brush that the WELL Fits The appropriateness of the park notwithstanding, it also were used to highlight, which contributed to the mood we represented a considerable logistical challenge for Hall and his were after.” team – one that they met very successfully with help from To enhance the immersive mood inside the tent, the team 4Wall Entertainment, which supplied 382-feet of box truss illuminated its clear top with 21 COLORado 1 Solo washes. and some 300 lighting fixtures, more than half of them from Relying on the fixture’s colour mixing capabilities, they created Chauvet Professional. a variety of mood setting hues, contributing to a picture perfect “We had to build everything from the ground up on setting for a landmark programme. levelled decking,” said Hall. “This included a 190-foot ‘blue carpet’ step and repeat with a 120-foot press wall, a 100 by 100 foot pre-reception and after party tent area, as well as a CHROMA-Q fully tiered seat-theatre with a 40-foot wide projection screen to accommodate 400 guests. The project covered 85,000 square feet.”

More Chroma-Q Space Force land at Pixipixel The various areas that made up the event space were Independent London-based camera and lighting equipment rental house, Pixipixel, have recently invested in even more connected by over 500-feet of raised deck pathways. Every

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Over the past 25 years, Chroma-Q has launched numerous award-winning products, becoming one of the industry’s leading lighting brands, with their products being featured on some of the biggest stages and productions around the world.

“We are so proud of all we have achieved over the past 25 years. The dedication and hard work of our teams and the drive to excellence of our wonderful customers are the key factors for the success of Chroma-Q. Thank you all for your continued support. We look forward to the next 25 years... we know it is going to be a bright one!” concluded Pelletier.

CIRRO LITE

Chroma-Q® Space ForceTM octo LED soft lights. With nearly two decades supplying film, television and commercial productions, Pixipixel are committed to offering the latest and most innovative kit, and as such have been stocking the Space Force octo fixtures since they arrived to the market back in 2016.

Johnny Colley, Director of Lighting at Pixipixel commented: “The Space Force lights are always a great choice for cinematographers and gaffers. The lightweight, fast and easy set-up, low power consumption and low heat emission make the Space Force octo fixtures a perfect fit on sustainable productions. We have found these have become increasingly popular, particularly when used in a studio setting, mounted from the rig.

“These new additions arrived at our Lighting Division in Tottenham and are already being used in a studio shoot of a TV drama for a well-known streamer,” added Colley.

Pixipixel purchased their additional 40 Space Force octo units from Chroma-Q’s exclusive UK Dealer, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).

Pixipixel’s Managing Director, Steve Knight said: “The team at AC-ET are always very helpful and quick to respond.

Communication is great and so are the products received.

Thank you, AC-ET for always being on hand to help with our equipment needs.”

Chroma-Q celebrates 25 years of brilliant solutions

Renowned multi award-winning LED manufacturer, Chroma-Q, is proud to have been delivering its brilliant solutions for over 25 years.

Synonymous worldwide with quality and innovation, Chroma-Q products have been widely adopted across a range of sectors, including; Concert & Touring, Theatre & Performance, Corporate & Hospitality, Film, TV & Broadcast.

Houses of Worship and more.

Chroma-Q Global Brand Manager, Paul Pelletier commented; “From our first colour changer launched in the mid 90s, through to the award-winning LED technology today, a lot of things have changed. One key thing that remains the same is our vision and dedication of bringing ‘Brilliant Solutions’ to our customers, which to this day remains at the core of everything we do.”

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Fiilex Lighting is launching the Q10 COLOR, the latest innovation in LED lighting for the motion picture and broadcast TV industries

The Q10 COLOR is a powerful 900W Color LED Fresnel that floods and spots from 70 to 11 degrees. Like all the other Fiilex Color Fresnels, this offers more than 50 different operating modes, including the Tunable CCT (2000K to 10000K) and RGBW modes to the more advanced gels and effects modes, for users to choose.

At the core of the Q10 COLOR is an innovative LED cluster with over 400 high brightness LED chips of various types and is assembled at a stunning 90% packing density.

This light is designed with many custom optical elements, including a half sphere glass, a patterned cone reflector, and a 10" Fresnel lens, all precisely integrated to transmit a very smooth and well mixed beam.

On top of an exceptional LED engine, the Q10 COLOR comes with a phenomenal color science which delivers high quality white and color lights.

Premium electronics and Fiilex proprietary calibration scheme allow each individual unit to perform consistently and dim smoothly The Q10 Color has an integrated Lumen Radio wireless DMX, is IP-X5 rated, and can be powered by 100-240 VAC (the fixture has an internal PSU) or 48VDC As the only manufacturer to release an LED colour Fresnel with the above features, Fiilex Q10 COLOR won the 2021 Gine Gear Lighting Technology award, a very prestigious industry recognition.

CLAYPAKY Claypaky announces the launch of Sinfonya Profile 600, first of a new family of LED fixtures, exclusively designed for theatre applications.

Claypaky announces the launch of its brand new, low noise LED based fixture exclusively designed for theatre applications. Sinfonya Profile 600 is revolutionary and contains a host of new features that increase the performance levels dramatically on previous models on the market.

It is stylish, compact, and packed full of new technology.

Theatres are demanding applications that require extremely low noise operation, very high quality of light and control

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

along with precision of re-positioning. The new Claypaky range meets those needs and provides brand new levels of performance that were simply not possible before.

Most of the LED theatre fixtures on the market have been mostly recycled from touring moving heads and adapted for theatre use. Not so with Sinfonya. This was a landmark decision and project to design the best fixture possible completely from scratch. Based on extensive customer feedback and input the team have been working away and managed to create a beautiful fixture that outperforms the best on the market.

Compacting so much new technology into a new body was a challenge but is has been achieved with spectacular results.

The goal was to have a discreet form factor that can be used both on lighting rigs in theatres but equally sits well in the small niches around the stage frame. These were previously difficult places to mount fixtures, mainly due to their size.

Crucially, all these customer demands were incorporated in a stunning new product design that is sleek and modern. The precision of the beam control is amazing, offering outputs from 5o to 60o coverage on stage.

TONEDOWN™ is the product's flagship feature. Claypaky started with a fresh design to enable true silent operation on stage, achieved by redesigning the cooling system. Even at full output the noise is just 27db, a level impossible to achieve before. In addition to this, the fan has been taken out of the base. This reduces noise even further on stage and removes black noise from other frequencies that can sometime be annoying. TONEDOWN™ is a feature that was impossible to achieve before and gives a huge scope for designers and theatre directors to incorporate stunning new choreography and performance aspects.

Another technology first for Sinfonya is the use of ACCUFRAME™, a unique new framing system using two focal planes. We have used four planes ourselves for many years until our engineers discovered a new way to improve the performance. Saving time in programming and re-focusing was a key request from designers. Our team found a new way to do this and dramatically improve performance at the same time. It is 40 times more precise than traditional framing systems. This gives limitless scope and possibilities on stage.

Claypaky have designed a new proprietary Optical system that gives ultra-high efficiency and precision. By improving the performance, we can increase the aspect ratio to 1:12 giving

us a true 5 to 60-degree beam angle potential on stage. This feature allows for a greater flexibility of use in large theatres and small ones where the low height may be an issue. Sinfonya can be used now in a wider variety of venues without loss of performance in the beam for white or colours.

Claypaky’s new, sophisticated firmware gives us precise control over the beam in our multicolour engine. This provides vibrant and rich colors optimised for the stage or TV with high CRI and TLCI levels. It’s much simpler to install and operate saving time and controls the Sinfonya’s five-colour light engine precisely. More importantly the high control of the engine means the quality of light in the beam is exceptional. All this is possible thanks to the special firmware algorithm, developed internally by Claypaky.

Using the new Calibration feature in conjunction with the Claypaky CloudIO software you can easily align any fixtures on stage for a performance to the same light output and colour temperature levels. Even older fixtures can have the colour sampled and measured before being imported using the ‘digital filter option’ and replicated in Sinfonya so that they all match perfectly to give unparalleled consistency on stage.

“We listened to the market and designed a new fixture just for them” says Product Portfolio Manager Giovanni Zucchinali. “It is the first pure theatre fixture for Claypaky, we wanted it to be special and we are thrilled with its performance” he says. “It definitely puts down a marker to the rest of the industry and to have a fixture with such smooth control at 30db is incredible, we are sure it will be welcomed by the market and can’t wait to hear customer feedback”.

Sinfonya includes a host of trademarked and protected technology that is seen across the Claypaky range. The ‘Absolute Position’ of Pan and Tilt is the first on the market.

This feature will save lots of time for designers on stage.

Sometimes during a performance, a fixture in a series may need resetting, it happens it’s just life. This can be awkward and visible as the fixtures scrolls through its set up process to find its zero point and be able to join in again with the sequencing and performance.

“Absolute Position is a massive step forwards in terms of lowering audience distraction because of a clever sensor in the head. This signals where the fixture is in the cycle meaning the audience do not see one fixture turning and swirling to distract them from the show as it tries to find the re-set point. This new system gives also a much higher precision in term of repositioning, feature that will be really appreciate since the time for refocusing before the show is always limited.”

Claypaky Sharpy X Frame: small in stature with a BIG punch

Adding to the family of the award-winning SHARPY fixtures, Claypaky introduces the SHARPY X FRAME multifunction luminaire. The SHARPY X FRAME takes the best features of the SHARPY line and integrates a four-focal plane shutter system in a lightweight, compact fixture. The unit’s source is the powerful 550-Watt arc lamp that makes this fixture extremely bright and produces deep and vivid uniform colours (including an unmatched deep red).

The unit boasts the flexibility to be the light you need when you need it. As a completely hybrid, multifunction fixture, the Set & Light | Spring 2022

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SHARPY X FRAME is not limited to beam effects; it can also be a spot, profile or wash unit. This fixture replaces much larger luminaires using the longer life 550-Watt arc lamp.

Although a small fixture by most standards, nothing is sacrificed in the SHARPY X FRAME fixture’s feature set. In addition to the four-focal plane shutter system, the unit offers a rotating gobo wheel with eight rotating gobos, a static gobo wheel, four and eight-facet rotating prisms, linear frost, a colour system featuring CMY, CTO and a separated colour wheel and six beam reducers starting at 0.5°.

With a zoom range from 2° to 52°, the SHARPY X FRAME can do unparalleled visual effects. The unit is fitted with a 160mm front lens and proven Claypaky optics for producing sharp images and collimated beams.

The SHARPY X FRAME is the most versatile, compact hybrid fixture on the market that addresses the need for a bright spot, aerial effects unit, framing fixture and everything in between in an affordable, compact package.

Claypaky news at Prolight+Sound 2022

After two years without almost any in-person events, we finally had the chance and pleasure to meet all sectors of our industry at ProLight+Sound 2022 in Frankfurt. Claypaky CEO and Osram Head of Business Field for Entertainment Lighting Solutions Marcus Graser said: “Over the past two years Claypaky have never stopped investing in people, innovation, process improvement and new product development. We presented a broad, versatile portfolio of over 20 products, which serve the needs inherent in various fields of use. Some of our fixtures made their international début in Frankfurt.

“Today Claypaky offers one of the most complete assortments of lighting solutions both by kind of light source – lamp-based, LED-based and laser-based moving head fixtures – and by professional sector – touring and events, 40

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theatre, effect lighting, and IP66 weatherproof units. We met many professionals from our industry who told us that there is a strong desire everywhere to return to live shows and great optimism for full recovery after two years of COVID pandemic.”

Claypaky has already implemented several projects to reduce the environmental impact of its business activities. At ProLight+Sound 2022 Claypaky launched a new company initiative “Claypaky Green – Spotlight on Sustainability” to approach the topic of environmental sustainability with even greater focus and in a more systematical way.

DEDOLIGHT The Dedolight Asymmetric Ceiling Light

This is designed to improve the lighting in any office or room where one or more people gather for online meetings. The light can be mounted in a tiled ceiling with a standard size of 60x60cm (2-feet x 2-feet.) The fixture of the light will therefore be hidden, flush in the ceiling, and can be mounted on a permanent basis. Alternatively, for non-tiled ceilings, the light can be suspended just below the ceiling.

This is far less disturbing than having regular film lights and crew in place. This ceiling light is asymmetric, which means the light has a further reach towards the far end and lesser light to the near, made possible by led strips which are equipped with individual optics; these are arranged in such a way that they give continuous lighting in the isometric light distribution.

The centre of the lights can be rotated and directed to light those in the business office. Multiple lights can be used and the light intensity can be adjusted from left to right, foreground to background, all dimmable using DMX control.

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

The dedolight Asymmetric Ceiling Light provides a solution to light any office or room used for teleconferencing, or even as a small studio, in a controlled and effective way, which will lift the standard of lighting beyond what is expected and created for many web conferences.

DOUGHTY Doughty’s Studio Rail goes back to school

When Matt Strigden of SRD Projects was looking for a track solution for a new drama venue at Channing School in Highgate, North London, he turned to Doughty Engineering.

Having worked with the Doughty team for years, Strigden, who heads up the projects department at SRD, knew that they were the right team for the job. He said: “I know Doughty well – the people and the products. I have known sales managers, Dan Phillips and Laurence Dyer, for nearly 20 years. Both are extremely helpful whenever I have a design question and are really good at providing the answers we need.”

SRD Projects works across all sorts of sectors; theatre, education, fitness, houses of worship and retail, providing lighting and audio solutions in these spaces and so regularly find themselves turning to Doughty for the right kit. This project, at Channing School, involved restoring one of the halls – Founders Hall – into a new performance space.

Strigden continued: “The hall had been converted into classrooms about ten years ago and been used for numerous things including music, drama, PE etc and there was a lot of infrastructure in place that didn’t really work. We had conversations with the school over a period of 18 months to two years and were finally ready to start work when COVID hit, and everything got put on hold.”

The scope of the job was to turn the space into a drama and teaching space, designed so it could be split into two studios with concertina wall folds down the middle and connected to a Dante network so that musicians can play from Founders Hall and the audio feed streamed through to the theatre next door which lacks the space for an orchestra.

Doughty supplied perimeter Studio Rail around the edge of the space, enveloping it to make it a more intimate venue and

to improve acoustics. The school had previously used Studio Rail in its theatre space a few years previously to supplement the existing infrastructure and provide additional wing space in the theatre.

Strigden commented: “ Studio Rail really is a go-to product for us. It’s easy to work with when installing it and when you hang anything on it – it hangs well. Because it’s an I beam design and the runners that sit on it are nice and chunky, it runs really smoothly. An all-round great piece of kit.”

The Founders Hall project was eventually rubber stamped and signed off in the middle of 2021, with a completion date of September in sight ahead of the reopening of the school for a new term. “This proved quite a challenge,” explained Strigden, “largely because in the current climate, suppliers are finding it hard to meet demand. However, Laurence Dyer provided excellent customer service as our main point of contact on the project and helped us to manage the customers expectations throughout the project, helping us to deliver everything to deadline. We pride ourselves on the feedback from our customers and Channing School is delighted with the outcome. We are intent on delivering quality solutions that tick all the boxes for the customer.

Reputation is everything and that is why we work with Doughty.” to improve acoustics. The school had previously used Studio Rail in its theatre space a few years previously to supplement the existing infrastructure and provide additional wing space in the theatre.

Strigden commented: “ Studio Rail really is a go-to product for us. It’s easy to work with when installing it and when you hang anything on it – it hangs well. Because it’s an I beam design and the runners that sit on it are nice and chunky, it runs really smoothly. An all-round great piece of kit.”

The Founders Hall project was eventually rubber stamped and signed off in the middle of 2021, with a completion date of September in sight ahead of the reopening of the school for a new term. “This proved quite a challenge,” explained Strigden, “largely because in the current climate, suppliers are finding it hard to meet demand. However, Laurence Dyer provided excellent customer service as our main point of contact on the project and helped us to manage the customer’s expectations throughout the project, helping us to deliver everything to deadline. We pride ourselves on the feedback from our customers and Channing School is delighted with the outcome. We are intent on delivering quality solutions that tick all the boxes for the customer. Reputation is everything, and that is why we work with Doughty.”

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ELATION Elation welcomes industry veteran Jonas Stenvinkel to global sales team

Elation Professional is pleased to welcome experienced industry professional Jonas Stenvinkel to its Europeanbased sales team. Jonas, a native Swede who works from a base in London, joined the growing Elation sales department in March and is tasked with overseeing some of the company’s most important growth markets including Jonas Stenvinkel, who has joined Greece, Turkey, the Middle Elation’s European sales team East, the Indian subcontinent, and Africa.

Stenvinkel, a 20-year industry veteran, brings with him broad international sales and marketing experience and has a proven track record in leading sales teams to new goals and growth.

He comes to Elation from a similar position at Ayrton. His industry journey began at Martin Professional in 2003, which included a three-year assignment in Singapore as managing director for Martin’s APAC office. He later moved to London to work for Harman International in a senior EMEA role.

“I’m very happy and excited to join Elation and its great team,” Stenvinkel comments. “Elation has a long and stable track record of producing reliable products that meet a variety of clients’ needs and I couldn’t be more excited to start this next chapter in my career.”

Marc Librecht, Sales and Marketing Director at Elation Europe, commented, “The fact that we can welcome such an experienced professional like Jonas to our team speaks to our growing status in the industry and the opportunities our recent growth opens up for professionals in our industry. We are extremely happy to have Jonas on board and anticipate our sales team will benefit greatly from his industry connections and years of experience.”

Proteus powers through on Super Bowl LVI Pepsi Halftime Show

Sure, the game is fun to watch but for many – certainly those in the entertainment technology industry – it is the Super Bowl halftime show that garners most of the attention. On Sunday, 13 February 2022, all eyes were on SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI where hip-hop legends Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem and Mary J. Blige took the stage, with surprise performances from 50 Cent and Anderson Paak.

Super Bowl halftime veteran Al Gurdon of Incandescent Design was back lighting the show and, as befits a show of this caliber, had a large lighting package at his disposal. This was the 42

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Emmy-winning designer’s sixth time lighting the event and with ambient lighting conditions to contend with, chose a powerful package that included Proteus Maximus™, new Proteus Excalibur™, and Protron 3K Color™ luminaires.

Entertainment design group 22 Degrees supported Gurdon in his design including lighting direction. The lighting system, made up of over 600 lighting fixtures, was supplied by PRG. Executive Producer of the show was Roc Nation.

In terms of what is most important when it comes to fixture choice for the Super Bowl halftime, Gurdon says it depends on the show. “One Super Bowl can be very different from another,” he says. “Very significant considerations are whether or not the stadium is under cover from the elements or not, and the type of throw distances involved.”

Last year’s halftime show, in Tampa, was exposed to the elements and therefore having an IP65 rated fixture was very important. “That was the first time I used the Proteus Maximus, and I was very impressed with its functionality and particularly its brightness,” Gurdon comments. “Again this year, we were all extremely impressed with the brightness at significant throws, and that was particularly important in this halftime show as we were shooting across the borderline between full daylight and full night.”

Gurdon says that because the precise duration of the first half of the game was not predictable, they did not know what sort of ambient conditions they would eventually shoot in. “As it turned out, the first half was very quick and we broadcast the show at the earliest and brightest time we had ever seen it.

It was very useful at this point to be able to call upon the considerable brightness headroom we had built into the rig to give us more contrast in brighter daylight conditions.”

Although the IP rating was not a requisite for this year’s show as the field at SoFi Stadium is covered, Gurdon says the shuttering, and most importantly, their brightness, made them an obvious choice for this year as well. He incorporated 94 Maximus in his design, arrayed around the building and mainly used for key light. “I also used them for the ‘Global Citizen’ event in Paris this year, and found them effective and efficient.”

In searching for a compact moving head that could create powerful aerial beams, Gurdon spoke with Elation’s UK-based Business Development Manager, Graham Hill, who introduced him to Elation’s newest Proteus series fixture, the Proteus Excalibur™. “The set design concept for the show (Es Devlin) was a series of iconic buildings from the Compton neighbourhood, sitting on a field cloth of Los Angeles from the air,” Gurdon explains. “I wanted something that would give me a good searchlight effect. I was keen to have the visible fixtures feel like a motivated part of the environment, rather than ‘just a bunch of lights’.”

The Proteus Excalibur projects an ultra-narrow 0.8-degree beam – producing up to 200,000 lux at 20 meters. Eighty-four Excalibur fixtures were arrayed on field carts on both sidelines and on audio carts that created a ring around the field.

Finally, rigged next to the Proteus Maximus, 106 Protron 3K Color™, a high-power RGBW strobe light with 40,000 lumens of power, provided a stadium-sized flash effect. Gurdon says he is a big fan of strobes and often prefers to simply accent the music using them, something he feels they do well.

The Super Bowl is the most watched television broadcast in the United States every year with this year’s halftime show

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

Mary J Blige at the Superbowl LVI (Kevin Mazur-Getty Images for Roc Nation)

viewed by over 100 million US viewers, plus millions more around the globe. The game proved especially satisfying for Elation as the Los Angeles-based company’s home team, the Rams, came out victorious, beating the Bengals 23-20.

Elation KL Panel™ meets Olympic standard for curling qualification

The Olympic Qualification Tournament in curling took place in the Netherlands in December 2021 and the ice has never looked better thanks to MHB AV and Elation’s tunable Kl Panel™ LED soft lights. Held at the Elfstedenhal sports complex in the town of Leeuwarden, a professionally illuminated surface of the highest standard was a must for the Olympic qualifying event.

The Olympic Qualification Tournament was the first international curling tournament to be hosted by the Netherlands. Teams from across the world competed in the two-week event in the hopes of advancing to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. As stones slid across the curling sheet and echoes of ‘sweep!’ filled the air, the stakes were high and concentration was at its highest.

Months prior to the event, MHB AV (mhbav.nl) had contacted Bert Schmeits, Key Account Manager Benelux at Elation, and as a result invested in the full-colour-spectrum and colour temperature-adjustable KL light panels. Schmeits reports that the company was so enthusiastic with the high-quality illumination and enormous output that they immediately saw the soft light as the perfect candidate to illuminate the curling event.

MHB AV has plenty of experience designing and supplying audiovisual solutions for sporting events, having worked with clients such as Triple Double sports marketing and EMG media group. For the Olympic Qualification Tournament in curling, MHB delivered a complete lighting, audio, video and rigging package.

Lighting for TV and video has particularly demanding requirements. For example, the illumination levels required for

televising curling are much higher than for normal competition play. A uniform field of light across the entire ice surface was also a prerequisite.

“We needed a bright, high CRI lighting setup that we could place above the curling lanes in order to deliver at least 1,400 lux onto the ice so that the curling players and television cameras had a perfect light without shadows,” stated Marten Hylkema of MHB AV. “We chose to use 90 units of the KL Panel because of its good light output, high CRI and perfect colour tuning.” The KL Panel units were mounted in rows approximately seven metres above the ice.

Housing a 295W RGBW + Lime + Cyan LED array, the KL Panel outputs 24,000 lumens from a small form factor to produce a flat field of soft white light or full-colour washes if required. Colour rendering is of the highest quality with a CRI above 95. Colour temperature is adjustable and the unit is adept at matching the white balance for camera through a green shift adjustment and virtual gel library.Virtually silent, the KL Panel is fully optimised for broadcast with 90025,000Hz LED refresh rate adjustment.

Besides the benefits of an LED system like lower power draw and greater reliability, the luminaires produced less heat in the arena, meaning the cooling system for the ice did not have to work so hard.

ETC Eos Apex consoles offer the luxury of complete control

As production continues to resume around the world, lucky programmers will be greeted with a powerful and elegant new lighting control desk: the Eos Apex console.

Withthree sizes to choose from – the Eos Apex 5, 10, and 20 – this latest release ushers in the next generation of ETC’s flagship controls line.

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A lighting control desk is more than just a powerful piece of hardware – it is your home away from home when you’re working on a show. Eos Apex consoles prioritise the user experience with creature comforts to ease those long hours behind the desk. The massive multitouch displays offer generous screen real estate for Magic Sheets, Direct Selects, and Augment3d models, and feature eye-strainreducing 4K resolution.

The displays articulate on a dual-axis and feature a 160-degree viewing angle, so you can see all your tools and data from anywhere along the programming surface. With an ergonomically redesigned wrist-rest, book lights built into the sides of the desk, hand-holds for easy carrying, and drawers and charging ports for your accessories, Eos Apex is the ultimate workspace for high-level programmers.

The luxurious innovations extend to the programming surface as well. New-to-the-industry technologies provide programmers access to their most-used tools – right on the face panel. The familiar Eos Family programming keypad has been enhanced with a touchscreen that thumps with haptic feedback when you press your soft keys or mapped content.

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Selects, which boast OLED displays that can be customised with images, icons and text. The encoder area from the Eos Ti console has been expanded to include eight mini-encoders and a navigation dial to switch between parameters.

The five, ten and 20 motorised Playbacks on each Apex console (respectively) now boast an additional, separatelymappable scroll wheel for on-the-fly programming. With more buttons, encoders and Playbacks than ever before, Eos Apex makes fast, hands-on programming a breeze – all while maintaining the familiar, sophisticated look and feel that users of the family love.

A powerful lighting desk demands a powerful system, andthe Eos Apex line delivers with brand-new components to build out your lighting network. The Eos Apex Processor provides the power of an Eos Apex console in a portable, rack-mountable box that makes an ideal primary or backup controller or remote programming station.

When you need a portal into your lighting system but not the processing power, the new Eos Remote Interface lets you view and edit your system from anywhere in your venue.

Apex consoles themselves are built with flexible systembuilding in mind, allowing you to mix and match your DMX

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

and show control ports on a per-show basis using customizable widgets. In addition to standard etherCON Gigabit connections, all Apex-class controllers also feature SFP+ ports that are compatible with the latest high-speed copper and fiber networks.

Eos Apex consoles and Processors provide 24K output, allowing them to control complex rigs with ease. And because shows keep getting bigger and bigger, expansion processing options are already in the works as the next phase of Eos development.

The Eos Apex line ushers in a new era of control and comfort for professional programmers. Though directly replace the Eos Ti and Gio in ETC’s currently-shipping line-up, those desks will continue to receive new software updates, as well as the full benefit of ETC’s industry-leading customer service and support for the duration of their long lives in the field. To learn more about Eos Apex and the latest software advances in the Eos family, visit etcconnect.com/Eos.

ETC Launches Cyberlight LED

ETC is pleased to introduce Cyberlight LED, a moving mirror fixture born from industry feedback and built in Austin, Texas.

Cyberlight LED surpasses moving head luminaires in a variety of uses including high-speed pan/tilt movement and the ability to hide lighting fixtures in permanent installations. Customers with existing mirror fixtures in the themed entertainment market and elsewhere can retrofit those products with Cyberlight LED for more energy-efficient operation and service. The 470 W Bright White LED engine and the highquality optical system delivers 12,750 field lumens with 90+ CRI for superior color rendering capabilities. A full complement of features are included on Cyberlight LED for creative design possibilities, including colour mixing plus colour wheel, dual rotating pattern wheels, zoom, focus, iris, prism and diffusion.

Automated Lighting Product Manager Matt Stoner commented, “The lighting industry has been approaching us for years regarding an LED version of the Cyberlight. We took this opportunity to bring the entire fixture up to date with modern automated luminaire technology. By introducing a smaller gate size, we have provided a fixture with a much broader feature set, wider zoom range, and encoded pan and tilt system. In addition, the fixture includes a transferable LED engine, and a maintenance design that prioritises longevity and precision."

Themed Environment Specialist Scott O'Donnell said, “The super-fast speed of the Cyberlight is beyond any other fixture in the market. And since you can neatly stow the fixture away in the décor, Cyberlight is exactly the kind of light needed to create a dazzling themed environment. What an awesome fixture!”

GLP 360 GLP JDC Line 1000s in the Saudi desert

What was billed as one of the largest music festivals in the world, out in the Saudi desert, also broke new ground for GLP,

Photo: Kris Goodman

as 360 of the new JDC Lines were used by lighting designer Sam Tozer for the first time on a single stage, at the massive MDLBeast Soundstorm EDM event.

Set over four days on a 120-acre site outside Riyadh, the event was graced by over 150 world-famous DJs‚ including Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte, Martin Garrix, Steve Aoki, Tiësto and Deadmau5 – and an audience of over 700,000. And Sam Tozer’s Vision Factory were responsible for lighting four of the eight stages.

Equipment vendor Colour Sound Experiment topped up its GLP inventory by acquiring a further 100 JDC1 hybrid strobes for the occasion. But it was the JDC Line 1000s that were foremost in MD Haydn Cruickshank’s mind. “We supplied 360 of them,” he reports. “I really like the JDC Line, and since it is related to the JDC1 that we already had, it was a safe bet. Sam was on board straight away.”

Colour Sound handled the lighting, video and rigging aspects of the production in the four Underground stages at Soundstorm, working closely with MDL on the engineering and structural requirements of the Underground area, which was constructed of nearly 1,000 shipping containers.Vision Factory was also heavily involved, helping to create four unique venues that represented the nightlife culture within Saudi Arabia, each within one of the shipping containers.

Colour Sound has enjoyed a close relationship with Sam Tozer over the years, and his pre-viz took place over a week at its London facility. This was the largest project the LD and his nine-strong team had been involved in, and such was the scale that Colour Sound itself shipped 20 containers out to the desert.

All 360 of the JDC Lines were deployed on the UG1 stage (the biggest in the Underground area), where Kris Goodman, who was directing this stage, handled the mammoth task of programming.

In addition, 700 GLP X4 Bar 20 were distributed across all stages, as well as 150 JDC1 and 24 impression FR10 Bars.

“Picking the right units for the job was vital,” explains Tozer.

“The products we purchased had to have the wow factor for this event but also be a product LDs would want in the future.

And I felt, as did most of the other LDs who visited our stages, that the [JDC] Line was one.

“I wanted a linear fixture that I could use to trace the architecture of the stage. In combination with the X4 Bars Set & Light | Spring 2022

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and FR10s we followed pretty much every line on the stage.

I also wanted a big strobe look, which they delivered on, but had the additional capability of creating pixel LED effects as well.”

As for the JDC1, these were split between the large UG1 and UG2 stages and the X4 Bars divided between these stages (in particular UG2) and UG3. But the biggest triumphs had been in the artistic programming. “We used the full pixel-mapping facility and had to work out a new way of programming them, as there were a lot of parameters on the desk,” Tozer observes.

The biggest challenge was creating a unique look for all stages but also having enough dynamic to keep audiences engaged visually for three days,” he explains.

From a production perspective the event had been a complete triumph. “Our brief was simply to create something that had never been seen before, and we managed to come up with these concepts. I think all the stages we were responsible for were loved by the locals, and the MDLBeast socials certainly expressed that,” Tozer adds.

In addition to Kris Goodman (UG1), Tozer was supported by a team of lighting directors including Alexander Hesse (UG2), Chris Scott (UG3) and Ryan Dennett (UG4), with Alex Wilson, Charlie Vincent, Will Burton and Matt Lee handling video respectively on those stages.

Due to the size of this event, along with significant demands from other shows in the region, Colour Sound has now opened a 30,000 sq ft warehouse in Jeddah – a rare alternative in the Middle East from the heavily populated rental hub of Dubai. Explaining the decision, Cruickshank says: “Soundstorm was a massive rave in a part of the world that hasn’t really seen it before. It’s good to be at the beginning of something culturally.”

GLP unveiled impression X5, impression X5 IP Bar and XDC1 IP Hybrid at Prolight + Sound

With the brand-new impression X5 series, GLP sets a new standard for LED wash moving lights. This new development is the prelude to a whole series of innovative luminaires and was on show at Prolight + Sound alongside the X5 IP Bar and XDC1 IP Hybrid, an exciting fusion of X5 Wash and untamed JDC1 strobe power.

The impression X5 is a “next-generation

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LED wash light” – a new workhorse that brings all the benefits of the iconic X4 series with cutting-edge technology and much anticipated new features. The fixture weighs only 13.3kg and is equipped with 19 powerful 40-watt RGBL LEDs that provide an incredible light output and an expanded colour gamut. GLP's new iQ.Gamut colour algorithm, for example, ensures that the impression X5 produces a clean white point at 6,500K with high colour rendering (CRI 90/ TLCI 90) as standard, plus the option to switch to other fixed and precisely calibrated white points. With the new super-fast zoom mechanism, the impression X5 offers a 16:1 zoom from 3.5° to 60° with homogeneous light distribution across the entire range.

The new design gives this LED wash light a fresh, modern look. The round shaped design allows for a variety of geometric patterns for great pixel mapping effects. The impression X5 also features a comprehensive effects package, including a virtual colour wheel with 64 colours from the LEE filter palette, tungsten emulations, magenta/green correction, a new colour quality control and effects channel, and double layer effects. GLP’s advanced technology enables near-silent operation as well as breakneck speeds at over 540° pan and 200° tilt.

XDC1 IP Hybrid combines X5 colour wash with strobe power of JDC1 The brand new GLP XDC1 IP Hybrid fixture was developed in collaboration with a top star of the UK lighting design scene. The innovative hybrid combines the impressive wash characteristics and powerful colours of the impression X5, with a narrow beam angle of 9°, with two extremely bright strobe lines borrowed from the JDC1, all in an IP65certified housing. The GLP XDC1 IP Hybrid can be aligned horizontally and vertically and effortlessly combined with other units to create seamless columns or lines.

GLP fixtures out in force on Idles’ UK tour

Multiple award-winning lighting designer Ed Warren called on a range of GLP’s groundbreaking products when it came to lighting Idles’ tour – despite the fact that this Bristolbased noise-rock band have historically kept their stage lighting to a minimum.

Warren has worked with the band since their first album, Brutalism, back in 2017, through to a landmark gig at Ally Pally and the Glastonbury live stream last summer. “Previously they only brought me in for the bigger shows as they wanted to stay true to their DIY roots,” he explains. “But now they recognise that lighting makes a big difference and are stepping up their game with every album.”

This time around they again played a number of O2 Academy-sized venues, moving to multiple nights at the larger capacity Brixton Academy,Victoria Warehouse Manchester and Cardiff Motorpoint Arena, where the basic house rig/floor package combination made way for a full production show, involving 20 GLP JDC Line 500, 28 X4 Bar 20s and 18 JDC1 hybrid strobes on the floor.

“I have used GLP since the initial Impressions as they make great lights; this time I wanted to give the JDC Lines a whizz,” continues Warren.

He contacted rental company LCR, and it supplied full inventory and support.

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

Photo: @lukedyson

Explaining his design rationale, Warren says: “When a band is playing various-sized rooms, I look at the venues we are going into and produce a rig that will work everywhere. By working from the ground up it gives the tour manager and production manager less of a headache.”

The last tour was largely tungsten-based, but the latest album, Crawler, with its sparser sound, required an augmented approach: “I wanted to complement that with something low-key but powerful – such as a big strip of lights behind the band to provide colour and replace the video wall from the last tour. That just wouldn’t have worked practically this time.”

Enter the JDC Lines, set on a crossbar at the rear of the band, while the remainder of the trusses are on Kinesysautomated motion control. The GLP X4 Bar 20 battens are fixed to a trapezium-shaped truss, while the 16 JDC1 strobes carry out a basic function on the floor. Additionally eight X4 Bars were placed horizontally and used as side light. “I didn’t want to over complicate things, so I programmed the floor JDCs in normal mode,” Warren explains, “whereas the X4 Bar 20s and JDC lines were set in full pixel mode. They were pixel mapped as there’s some jazzier stuff going on such as a full rainbow chase.”

However, the tour was not without a hitch, as Warren explained. “I was meant to be at Brixton for production rehearsals and the first four shows, but I tested positive for COVID-19 a few days before. As a result I programmed the whole show at home and sent the file to board operator David McIntyre. It was a squeeze to programme 32 songs in three days, but everything turned out oK. As I’m a ChamSys user, Dave agreed to use an MQ500 on tour, otherwise he would have needed to reprogramme on site. Everything was fantastic: the GLP fixtures, were bright, colourful, uncomplicated, perform well and are rock solid. The band and management was delighted.”

In closing, he gives full credit to LCR. “Ryan and Steve Bliss have been brilliant, with lots of suggestions on the best way to rig, and were very hands on. It’s the first time I’ve used LCR and I’m extremely happy.”

GREEN HIPPO Finnish rocker Lauri Tähkä’s arena tour wows with Hippotizer

Finnish rock star Lauri Tähkä is on a tour of his home county’s biggest venues with an inspired set design featuring visuals driven by Hippotizer Montane+ Media Servers.

The chart topping musician is wowing crowds at venues including Helsinki’s Bolt Arena, Seinäjoki OmaSp Stadium and the Nokia Arena in the city of Tampere.

Finnish design studio Visual45 was challenged with creating a standout show for Lauri Tähkä’s tour, based on the concept of a spiritual, temple experience. The company’s Mikko Linnavuori and Eero Helle have worked on visual design for Lauri Tähkä before, and understand his requirements for audience-pleasing visual production values to match his dynamic performance.

“Due to the style of the show, and the fact that the order of the songs can change as the artist sees fit, we needed a media server solution that would offer the ability to busk and push the parameters in real time to create a memorable, live show,” says Linnavuori. “We knew that Hippotizer’s wellknown ease-of-use and powerful features would allow us to change the visual looks on the fly, producing a dynamic show artistically but keeping operating as simple as possible.”

Linnavuori chose to use two Hippotizer Montane+ servers, one live and one as backup. On stage were seven screens rigged in layers to resemble epic church windows, fronted with an iron grid to create texture and layers. Risers extended the look and space for Lauri Tähkä and his band to perform on. The total pixel resolution was 1600x 832 pixels, allowing the team lots of space upon which to drive pre-shot artist images and stock footage and effects.

“The main idea was to create living background to every song,” adds Linnavuori. “The Montane+ made achieving big, dramatic looks simple but effective.”

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Accompanying Visual45’s visual designers Eero Helle and Mikko Linnavuori were Heba Rinkinen on screen content, with the visuals operated by Saku Väänänen. Technical production was delivered by Creative Technology Finland.

The Lauri Tähkä tour continues across Finland through to July 2022.

Green Hippo partners with Cast for Prolight + Sound 2022

Green Hippo, a specialist manufacturer of the award-winning Hippotizer Media Server range, co-exhibited with German distributor, Cast, at Prolight + Sound 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Green Hippo teamed up with Cast to showcase the new features of Hippotizer software,Version 4.7, as well as the latest version of Hippotizer Media Server hardware, Hippotizer V4+ MK2.

The newest Hippotizer software,V4.7, includes a host of new features, offering REST API, integration with TouchDesigner, and a new Mixed Reality workflow. Create custom web-based controls for Hippotizer Media Servers through the new REST interface, allowing you to Trigger Timelines and Presets, upload and manage media, and see the status of your Hippotizer Media Servers all from a simple web page or RESTful control system.

Also on show were two of the five new hardware platforms, Hippotizer V4+ MK2, including tour-ready and install-proof systems designed to deliver for even the most demanding productions, with up to 100% more processing power for seriously enhanced generative performance, 3D Mapping and Visualization. With the ability to drive up to 32x 4K clips, the next generation hardware is optimized for generative playback, smooth visualization, and up to 100% improved performance with no compromise on control. Delivering on highly requested hardware features,V4+ MK2 is designed for new and emerging workflows that depend on flexibility, generative, and quality playback performance.

Hippotizer Nevis+ tells a South African story

Team South Africa participated alongside 190 countries at Expo 2020 Dubai, which opened its doors on 1 October 2021, under the theme Identity: South African Culture.

Wilhelm Disbergen, a production designer for the past two decades who specialises in the set, lighting, and AV design for theatre productions, put his brand new Hippotizer Nevis+ to work for the musical theatre production Charlotte Maxeke, Mother of Black Freedom held on 16 October and presented

by The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and The South African State Theatre during the exhibition.

The aim of Dubai Expo 2020 is to create a platform where citizens from around the world can share ideas, come up with solutions, build bridges between nations and attract interest and investors. One of the stories South Africa told during this time was that of mama Charlotte Maxeke, a religious leader, political activist and the first black woman to graduate with a university degree in South Africa with a B.sc from Wilberforce University Ohio in 1903. Her legacy continues, and the former Johannesburg General Hospital is now known as the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

Charlotte Maxeke, Mother of Black Freedom, was written

by Aubrey Sekhabi and featured big names, Thandiswa Mazwa 48

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and Mafikizolo. Wilhelm Disbergen of Yellow Bunny Productions NPC, who created all the visual content and was responsible for the lighting and set design, took ownership of a Nevis+, supplied by DWR Distribution, only days before flying to Dubai. Disbergen already owns two Hippotizer Rackoons and a Boreal and was the first in the country to purchase the Nevis+, a compact (1/2 19" IU) media server that offers an extensive toolset to allow the creation, visualisation and playback of video content in real-time.

“Wilhelm is well known for his remarkable imagination and how he creatively uses his Hippotizer servers,” said Dylan Jones of DWR. “We’ve spent a great deal of time over the years discussing ways to implement technology to create the beautiful stages he is known for. While I knew the Nevis+ would not disappoint, with all the challenges Wilhelm faced on this production, it became more of a life saver in his capable hands instead of just a tool.”

“The initial idea was to set up the production in The Opera House at the State Theatre in Pretoria exactly as we would in Dubai, including cameras, lights and LED screens, so that when we landed it would just be a matter of setting up and programming the lights,” Disbergen describes. Rehearsals were mind-blowing and saw the narrator and main actress, Nondumiso Tembe, a South African artist based in Los Angeles, attending sessions via Zoom and singing alongside the band based in the venue. The intention was that she would ultimately perform live in Dubai.

Sadly, Nondumiso’s visa didn’t arrive on time. “The entire show is a tribute to Charlotte Maxeke and has pages and pages of monologue that tells a story,” said Disbergen. “It’s interspersed by song and dance, and suddenly we had an empty stage in between performances.”

With only two or three days to spare, Nondumiso approached a local studio where all her performances were recorded using a green screen. Disbergen, anxious about using the new Nevis+, was putting it through an arduous marathon, throwing things at it like 12 layers of video running at the same time, just to see how it would cope. “I added Nondumiso’s performances as another layer and cued it, block by block, to make it part of the overall show. It was super stressful as nobody else could do it, and I sat editing, not knowing if the Nevis+ would handle it. But it was amazing!

The Nevis+ didn’t freeze, stutter, or once give any problems.

We added clips where Nondumiso sings acapella alongside live artists on stage, and she was now larger than life, projected onto the LED screen. It was exceptional.”

JLLIGHTING Bill Peachment joins JLL Group

The JLGroup, the specialist lighting and production supplier for the television and events industries, has announced a brand-new collaboration with respected lighting industry guru Bill Peachment.

Peachment joins the team on a consultative basis as Client Relationship Manager and brings with him decades of experience as a lighting designer, programmer and operator,

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

working across broadcast, film, tours and live events.

Speaking about the partnership Jack Linaker, Group Director, the JLGroup, commented: “Bill has always been a friend and colleague to the JLL team and we’re thrilled to formalise thispartnership and bring his expertise into our businesses.

“Bill lives and breathes technical delivery and artistic lighting design. Like the JLL team, he is incredibly passionate about the work he does and we’re looking forward to working together to raise the bar for our clients.

“As challengers in the market, we pride ourselves on being ready to support our clients and exceed their expectations.

As a business we look do to this creatively, with the very best kit and by ensuring we are sustainable in our delivery.

“In 2022, we have been proactively investing across these three key areas to remain at the top of our game as technical specialists. Partnering with Bill takes our team creatively to the next level for both broadcast and live events.”

Speaking about his appointment, Peachment added: “Being part of the JLL team is a great opportunity to bring my insight and technical skill to an industry supplier.

“I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with many artists and creative talents throughout my years in the industry – this new partnership is the next step.”

KINOFLO Upgrade/trade-in offer from Kino Flo

Kino Flo are continuing their upgrade programme for a limited period. As before the deal is System for System or Kit (including case) for a Kit of the latest Kino LED range.

Put forward your proposal to Cirro Lite detailing the Kino Flo Kit you would like to return (the condition is not critical, but please state if it is working or not, however, it must be complete i.e., all parts to constitute a System or a Kit), then detail your preferred new equipment request from the Kino Flo LED range as detailed in the trade in offer.

If you have any questions regarding the trade in offer, please contact the sales team at Cirro Lite.

MARTIN BY HARMAN LD Isabella Byrd brings Martin MAC Ultra to the Cabaret

London’s Playhouse Theatre has been spectacularly transformed into the Kit Kat Club for an immersive, mesmerising new production of Cabaret, where Lighting Designer Isabella Byrd has taken the opportunity to incorporate the brand new Martin MAC Ultra into her Olivier Award nominated design.

“The MAC Ultras are the literal punchy centre of the in-the-round Cabaret light plot.” explains Byrd. “They often play solo in cues, and work in tandem with the Zactrack spotting system. Their clean colour mixing and speedy response enabled the design to gracefully tip the colour story – from a welcoming warmth, and later smash in with a

Photo: Marc Brenner

just-right terrifying white. A perfect big sister to the many Encores in the rig.”

“Truthfully, we were a bit worried they might be sluggish as automated spot lights, but they proved they were up for the task, and landed in the sweet spots, along the plots ‘equator’.”

The MAC Ultra Performance features Martin’s all-new 1150 W, 6000 K proprietary LED light engine, pushing an incredible 46,500 lumens in projection across the zoom range. The MAC Ultra also features a next-generation framing system, high definition optics and astoundingly low noise levels.

In conclusion, Byrd confirms, “I’m really looking forward to using them again, where I can explore the next layer of texture and movement effects.”

The lighting team for the production includes associate LD Rob Casey, associate LD Lucía Sánchez Roldán, assistant LDs Charly Dunford and Tom Turner, programmer Miguel Figueiredo, and project manager Matt Roper.

Co-produced by ATG and Underbelly, Cabaret is playing at the Kit Kat Club at The Playhouse Theatre now.

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Photo: Brad Kavanagh

Adlib’s new Martin MAC Ultra and MAC Aura PXL become instant live events’ favourites

Adlib’s rental inventory of new flagship Martin fixtures, including the MAC Ultra Wash and MAC Aura PXL, made an instant impression across a wide range of live events throughout the UK. At one of these events, experienced lighting designer Liam Tully looked after the front of the house for Adlib at TRNSMT. “We used 26 MAC Aura PXLs as washes, plus 22 MAC Ultra Washes on the front and side trusses.” explained Liam. “Out of all the bands and headliners that came through – and we had the likes of Liam Gallagher, Courteeners, Chemical Brothers and Snow Patrol – everyone came in and said, yeah, that’s perfect, that’s the kind of rig we want!”

The MAC Ultra is Martin’s new flagship fixture, available in Performance and Wash variants. Both feature impressive feature sets, including an incredible light quality, a 46,500-lumen output for the Performance, and 63,500 lumens for the Wash.

The MAC Aura PXL takes the Aura family to the next level, with 19 main beam LED pixels and 141 Aura backlight pixels.

It’s by far the highest output of the Aura family, and it is this that attracted it to Liam for festival use.

“All of the fixtures on that gig were friendly for daytime and evening artists," he explained. “That’s what I think is so good about having the MAC Aura PXLs on a festival rig. Compared to Aura XBs, they’re punching through that daytime slot so you can see that a wash is there, whereas, with other fixtures on the market, I just don’t think you can see that.”

In fact, on the very subsequent weekend, Adlib’s MAC Aura PXLs were also in-use at the Creamfields festival, with a total of 56 MAC Aura PXLs deployed by lighting designer Paul Abdullah.

Tom Edwards, Head of Lighting and Video at Adlib, concluded, “Our continuous investment into LED technology 50

Set & Light | Spring 2022

puts us on the front foot and ensures that we can service our clients well, even during the year’s busiest periods. Moving away from lamp-based fixtures means that we are more efficient and consistent when deploying large scale lighting rigs. Our fixtures spend less time in the prep and service department, and we don’t have to worry about uneven colour or additional power consumption. These fixtures just work, and I think the LDs we work with appreciate that.”

Sound Technology expands Professional Lighting Team

Sound Technology Ltd, exclusive distributor of Martin Professional in the UK, has appointed Joshua Wakley as Area Sales Manager in its professional lighting division.

Wakley a has been working in the theatre and live events industry for 13 years starting out as a lighting technician for regional venues in the South West. As the Technical Manager with The Redgrave Theatre he oversaw investment and development into the venue, producing multiple in-house shows and attracting a range of commercial hires.

He joined the customer service team at SLX in 2018 before becoming Business Development Manager where he supplied and supported national venues, production companies and touring shows as well as event production companies & the corporate sector. Most recently Joshua has added tools to his portfolio as a Health & Safety inspector & Fire Risk Assessor.

“I’m looking forward to being part of the Sound Technology team, working with the Martin brand at such an exciting time” Wakley says. “The latest generation of fixtures like the MAC Ultra and Aura PXL are fantastic, and I can’t wait to get these incredible fixtures in the hands of designers and suppliers.”

Wakley can be contacted on 07741 145254 or Joshua.wakley@soundtech.co.uk

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

MATTHEWS

ROBE

Matthews Air Climber

Big Picture for 2022 Halberg Awards

The original grip manufacturer from Hollywood, Matthews is renowned for setting standards and creating innovative, rugged grip gear for location and studio work. From full size to Pocket C-Stands to set hardware, sliders, dollies and light modifiers; Matthews is a mainstay on productions worldwide. For the first time in Europe, Matthews premieres the Air Climber, ready to take lighting and camera support to new heights.

Air Climber is the first off-the shelf, modular pneumatic grip and lighting stand that reaches 25 feet/7.62 metres! Also new is the Veeboxx™, portable soft box and Claw which together transform Astera 40” Titan tubes into a diffused lighting source that's safe and easy to handle. Also for lighting, Matthews' BM1™ Bulb Mount is a quick, versatile and inexpensive answer for mounting E26/E27 battery-powered bulbs to grip equipment and hardware. For ultra low pan and tilt camera shots, MSE's rugged Cam Tank helps get dutch angles when mounted to a fluid head, on a tripod or jib.

For versatile grip work Matthews’ Infinity Arm is the strongest articulating cine arm on the market. Safe and reliable, this multi-use tool works as an arm for rigging, monitors, camera support, lighting support and more, including the new Mafer Cheese Plate accessory and VESA monitor mount Tips. To ease setups, check out Matthews Gobo™ Plates: original, XL, Baby Pin and Media Mount smart rigging solutions

The Halberg Awards is the most prestigious event in New Zealand that celebrates the country’s sporting excellence. The 2022 extravaganza was staged at the Spark Arena in Auckland, this time with a reduced live audience of 100 seated guests (usually 1000), a measure applied late-on as the country went to a COVID ‘red alert’ level. It broadcast live on Sky TV. The set, lighting and visuals were designed collaboratively by LD Jason Steel working closely with Simon Garrett of Big Picture. The company delivered lighting and visual equipment, including the nearly 100 Robe fixtures utilised on the show.

The starting point for lighting the diamond-shaped stage was a dramatic and elegant 25 metre wide cross-shaped 6mm LED video surface, curving gently round at the ends, a monolithic structure that set the aesthetic tone and look of the event.

The stage was built with wings at 45-degrees and featured a large ramped central runway, and this sculptural architecture and minimalist design was a big move away from the projection-based concepts that characterised the show over the past decade.

It brought a fresh, crisp, contemporary vibe that looked classy in reality, and epic on camera for the show directed by Matt Quin and produced by Scott Cleater.

Big Picture has recently invested in Robe ESPRITEs, MegaPointes and Tarrantulas, and this event was the first chance for Simon and Jason to properly use 20 x ESPRITEs on a major live show.

With only 16 tables in the vast arena space, lighting and visuals played a major role in enhancing the dynamics and energy of the show, and in ensuring that this translated on camera, and therefore to the hundreds of thousands of TV viewers.

The ESPRITEs were positioned on two chevron-shaped trusses above the stage, alternated with LEDWash 600s, and used for multiple tasks, from primary key lighting on the talent to washing the stage to illuminating two large banners down the room. They also worked well for creating cool gobo/ breakup washes and animations above the tables which filled the arena for wide shots.

“The light output is great,” enthused Simon. “It’s strikingly flat and even, which meant we could save time on programming all the front washes and specials. They are very bright for the size, and we found we could cover the entire stage with only six lights! They were also great for picking out the banners and other core set elements needing accurate shuttering, so basically, GREAT workhorse fixtures… that are also nice and quiet!”

With the trusses trimmed at 14-metres, with approximately a 20-metre throw distance, the ESPRITEs delivered an impressive 140 footcandles at 5,000K, which was pulled back to 80 footcandles for this telecast. Simon noted multiple features in addition to the quietness which make ESPRITEs ideal for broadcast, camera, and television environments.

Also in action on the 2022 Halberg Awards were 12 x Robe Tarrantula LED wash beams, 6 x BMFL Blades, 24 x Set & Light | Spring 2022

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Transcolor boosts rental stock with more Robe

MegaPointes, 16 x LEDBeam100s and 16 x LEDWash 600s, all running via a grandMA3 console programmed by Steele.

The 24 x MegaPointes were all on the floor, deployed in two offstage banks – left and right – and a linear row across the back, and utilised for power effects and beam work. The two angled banks of MegaPointes were each augmented by a row of little LEDBeam 100s further onstage mirroring the exact angle.

The Tarrantulas were on the back overhead truss where their fat beams and flower effects were perfect for reverse shot eye-candy. Together with the ESPRITEs, MegaPointes and LEDWash 600s, they formed the backbone of the rig with the six BMFL Blades on the back upstage truss providing additional strong back light.

Other lights on the rig included 80 x LED pixel battens which supported the clean digital look created by the LED cross and the space around it.

A thought-through less-is-more approach proved that using these powerful tools creatively and judiciously can produce a much higher impact visual than just piling on the numbers!

Simon has been involved with the Halberg Awards for many years. It is named after Olympic champion Sir Murray Halberg and the event is a major fundraiser for The Halberg Foundation charity which enhances the lives of physically disabled New Zealanders by enabling them to participate in sport and recreation.

He joined Big Picture, part of the NEP Live Events group, 18 months ago, and the parent company then acquired leading New Zealand rental and production company, Spot-light Systems, at the end of 2021, bringing more Robe fixtures to the inventory to which the ESPRITEs have just been added.

Simon has always liked Robe’s fixtures for being reliable, innovative, and cost-efficient.

The new lights were delivered by Jands, Robe’s Australian and New Zealand distributor, with Simon commenting, “We all know the challenges presented by the global supply chain due to COVID, and it was great to see Jands and Robe working together to get the stock delivered to us.”

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Leading Polish lighting and production rental company Transcolor has invested in new Robe moving lights and remained busy throughout the pandemic with its five full-size studios and rehearsal rooms which have been utilised for television and movie productions, promo and advertising shoots and other assorted events. Two of the studios are among the largest in Warsaw, and these have continued with regular TV productions and clients as well as hosting a range of new clients producing digital and streamed events.

Transcolor’s head of technical Szymon Kosicki explained that, like everyone, they have faced major challenges, but Transcolor has always been well run, with a relatively compact administration setup for such a large operation. Simon is responsible for the kit and its prep for the various projects and shows.

The demand for the studios has soared over the past two years as media and TV companies scrambled to meet the need for new and different content, and this led to the purchase of additional Robe LEDWash 800Xs. The LEDWash 800X – featuring 30% brighter LED chips and a removable beam shaper module with motorized rotation which produces an ovalised beam for precise positioning – is a perfect combination for theatre, TV, automotive exhibitions, etc.

“The continuity provided by this fixture for TV in particular is excellent,” commented Kosicki , adding they also contribute to the green footprint as there is increasing pressure on productions to be as sustainable and carbonconscious as possible.

It brings their total stock of LEDWash 800s to over 300, together with 200 x Spiider wash beams, 100 x MegaPointes and 12 x RoboSpot remote follow spot systems.

Company owner and boss Lucjan Siwczyk has insisted that Transcolor set trends by purchasing innovative equipment, in the process establishing new investment directions for other companies in the Polish rental market, and also helping promote given brands in Poland. He very much wanted to keep this process going throughout the pandemic.

“The LEDWash 800 is a Robe product that has worked very consistently for us in recent years,” confirms Kosicki .

“It’s a powerful luminaire with great colours,” he said, explaining that all the shows in the studios consume numerous washes – productions like “We Can Dance” which featured 60 x LEDWash 800Xs, and the most recent “Got Talent”, on which prolific Polish lighting designer Jacek Chojczak used 60 x Spiiders. He also lit the latest “Top Model” finale.

Kosicki elucidates that, for Transcolor, there are two essential elements to Robe in addition to the fact that all the LDs, lighting directors, DoPs and gaffers etc., are happy to work with the products.

Firstly, the company is owned and run independently.

“This ‘real person’ and people aspect is extremely important for us, and the fact that management is not faceless and interchangeable.”

The second point he makes relates to the Czech Republic’s geographical border with Poland and their physical proximity, which is extremely handy. There are also many parallels between Czech and Polish culture and life.

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

Kosicki has liked Robe products right from the start when the brand was officially launched in 2002.

“They were small then, and now they’ve grown to be very big and a world leader – all of it without losing the personal touch – which is very impressive,” he comments.

With high hopes and a cautious optimism for 2022 in terms of shows and events being able to restart, Kosicki thinks companies will be able to flourish once again and offer crew sufficient work.

Transcolor’s head of technical, He believes that there’s Szymon Kosicki going to be so much activity when things fully ramp up that there will be the usual peak time shortages of kit and crew, and plenty of competition over budgeting and clients. “I think we are all looking forward to this as it’s a good ‘issue’ to have to solve,” he concluded.

ROSCO The next generation of Miro Cube has arrived!

Since its introduction in 2014, lighting designers have turned to Rosco’s Miro Cube to provide powerful output and beautiful colour from a compact LED fixture. With Miro Cube 2, a new generation arrives, including features that are sure to impress.

Miro Cube 2 features: • Ludicrous Mode™ – redistributes power to maximise output • Can be pre-tuned at factory to a specified hue or colour temp.

• Multiple control and beam shaping options • Learn more about these features in the Rosco Spectrum Blog

fantasy with a medieval period setting. The set lighting team used a number of Rosco’s DMG MIX® LED fixtures to light the interior of the Witcher’s fortress – Kaer Morhen. Shields shared with us one particular lighting effect he and his crew created for The Witcher inside British Arborfield Studios. He explains below how they used the MIX lights, plus some Rosco Color Filters, to create a vibrant, contrasty, sunset lighting effect for a pivotal banquet scene inside Kaer Morhen.

The Witcher was the first time I’ve had a chance to use Rosco’s DMG MIX lights on a production. We had several MAXI MIX fixtures rigged into the ceiling of the Morhen set.

This allowed us to light the great hall area in a variety of different ways depending on what was needed for the episode.

We also used a MIXBOOK® to look at various colours. The ability to preview our colour choices on set ended up being pretty helpful. Then, once we had the colours chosen for a scene, we could easily dial them into the MAXI MIX fixtures that rigged above. We also had a few MINI MIX and SL1 MIX fixtures on the floor that we could use for closeups, etc.

After discussing the look we wanted to create for the banquet scene with DP J. P. Gossart, we decided to create a warm sunset feel with an almost purple sky. The idea was to bathe the great hall in the orange and purple colours you experience just before the sun dips behind the horizon.

We mounted the MAXI MIX fixtures above the windows and used our DMX board to dial them in to R2009 Storaro Violet. This was the colour we chose to re-create the ambient evening sky light coming from the windows above. Then we used Rosco Double CTO gels on some tungsten Dino Lights outside the windows to create the ultra-warm, streaking sunset effect.

We wanted to keep the vibrant colours off the actors and play them only in the background. We felt it would get a bit busy if we lit the actors in those rich purples and oranges. So, to keep the inside of the room more neutral, we used a mixture of Skypanels to create the general illumination. Then we used MINI MIX and SL1 MIX fixtures to light the closeups.

The DMG MIX lights were great for colour-mixing and it was easy to dial in the colours from our lighting console. The fixtures were also great on skin tones and a very versatile lighting option. This production was my first time using Rosco’s DMG MIX lights and really enjoyed the experience.

I ended up buying a kit that I now use on every job I do.

The fixture’s sleek new design is packed with new technology that makes Miro Cube 2 easy to control and integrate. Lighting designers will appreciate how the Miro Cube 2 enables them to maintain their design with accuracy and consistency.

An inside look at a late sunset lighting effect for The Witcher

UK-based Gaffer and Rosco Ambassador Wayne Shields recently worked with Cinematographers Jean-Philippe Gossart, Romain Lacourbas, and Terry Stacey on season 2 of popular Netflix fantasy epic The Witcher. The filmmakers worked to create a distinct visual aesthetic that combined Set & Light | Spring 2022

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Filmmakers on The Colony reap the benefits of practical background visuals

The film takes place on Earth after a global catastrophe has wiped out nearly all of humanity. Much of the film was shot in the German Tidelands. This wetland area features several small mudflats that created the barren, postapocalyptic landscape for the film. The mudflats, however, only appear during low tide, which made it impractical to shoot the entire film on location. The filmmakers had to figure out how to recreate this unique landscape on a sound stage. Instead of using green screen or expensive LED walls, the filmmakers chose practical background visuals – including a Custom Rosco SoftDrop – to create the stunningly bleak world of The Colony.

The relationship between the wetlands and the sky made the German Tidelands the perfect setting for this particular film. Recreating those wetlands inside a sound stage, however, was a massive undertaking. Tons of sand and water were trucked into Bavaria Studios. Plus, the set was flooded and drained every night to wash away the prior day’s footprints and reset the mudflats to smooth. Luckily, recreating the sky was a little easier. The filmmakers surrounded their set with a 29.5’H x 295’L (9m x 90m) Backlit Custom SoftDrop to create 360 degrees of sky around their mudflats.

Markus Förderer, ASC, BVK was the cinematographer on the film. When asked why they chose practical background visuals instead of green screen, Förderer replied: “Shooting the story in ‘an authentic way’ was very important to Director Tim Fehlbaum. Shooting green screen would have led to a different aesthetic.” Förderer knew that capturing the reflection of the sky in the wet sand was key to making the stage scenes match the location shots. Having the practical sky in place gave the filmmakers freedom to explore as they shot.

“That’s the major problem with green screen,” said Förderer.

“You capture something assuming the final VFX composite will look great. But if it is not shot in the right perspective or with the right lighting, it will always look and feel artificial.”

The SoftDrop enabled the filmmakers to use haze and other practical background visuals in their scenes.

Förderer also shared how SoftDrop allowed them to shoot without the constraints that typically come with green screen.

“Shooting on a green screen would have also restricted the production to a very limited number of shots,” reported Förderer. With SoftDrop, the filmmakers were able to capture everything in-camera and they could see immediately if the lighting looked real or if anything looked amiss. “I was able to experiment with various elements – different levels of haze, different focal lengths, etc. – and know right away if they worked. The SoftDrop enabled us to see immediately what kind of shots worked well in this stage setting, which allowed us to adjust accordingly if we had to. Despite our limited budget, the SoftDrop enabled us to capture very dynamic shots that would have been too costly to create with VFX.” Because so many different scenes were shot in front of the same backing, the filmmakers had to figure out a way to vary the sky. The required SoftDrop was so huge that a second print would have been impossible, and the turnaround time would have been too long. Plus, it would have been impractical for the crew to physically swap out backdrops. Markus – relying on his prior experience with Rosco Day/Night 54

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SoftDrops – worked with Production Designer Julian Wagner to create two different sky effects. One version was printed on the front of the drop and the other version on the back.

This enabled the filmmakers to create a variety of different sky effects by simply changing the ratio of front and rear light on the SoftDrop.

In order to authentically recreate the reflection of the sky in the wet sand, the set lighting crew also had to re-create the lighting of the sky itself. During pre-production, Förderer collaborated with the production’s art department to build a small model of the set. The model had scaled set pieces and figurines – but, most importantly, it had a glossy bottom surface and a sky background. This allowed Förderer, to test out different lighting techniques.

Drawing on his previous experience shooting with SoftDrop, Förderer explained that “the best result is achieved if the source that is lighting the backing comes in at a steep angle from below or above. Since I wanted to create a hot horizon to give the illusion of depth, it made sense to place our lights in a long row on the floor behind, and in front of, the backing.”

Förderer and gaffer Uwe Greiner, ended up using 200 Arri SkyPanel S60s side-by-side on the floor to backlight the drop.

For the front light, they hid a row of ETC wash lights just below the horizon line of the sand floor. Uplighting the drop also saved the production a lot of rigging time and budget because the lights were literally just placed on the ground.

Perhaps the most striking effect that Förderer and Greiner achieved, however, was creating the sun on stage. They used an 18K ARRIMAX behind the SoftDrop to achieve the look of the sun piercing through clouds. “We had a fantastic lighting crew on this production,” Förderer recalled. “We were all on the same page to create naturalistic lighting that provided the actors a lot of freedom to move within the set.”

When it was all said and done, the filmmakers had created a set that perfectly matched the German Tideland location. The set design even earned Production Designer Julian Wagner a 2021 Lola German Film Award for Best Production Design!

The filmmakers did such a good job recreating the location that even they had a hard time differentiating between what was shot on stage and what was shot in the mudflats.

Förderer shared that the only way he could tell the difference is if the shot had specific details that gave it away. “The transition between location and stage is seamless,” he reported. “The printed sky reflections that the SoftDrop created in the wet floor made the setting feel so authentic that we were able to go back and forth between the location and stage shots many times within the same scene.”

UNUSUAL RIGGING Unusual de-rigs Thomas Heatherwick’s six-ton Materials House at The Science Museum

Thomas Heatherwick’s Materials House was commissioned by the Science Museum in London as an exhibit to show “everything that anything can be made of” for the Challenge of Materials gallery. The idea was that, instead of prioritising any one material to make the House from, and then exhibiting

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

small samples of all the other materials within it, the studio chose to make the House itself from all of the materials.

The result – six-metre-high pieces of each material bonded together into a single element of many strata was built in situ on the first floor of the museum in 1999 and remained a centrepiece of the gallery until December 2021, when Unusual Rigging was called upon to help the museum remove the exhibit from its long-time home, and lower it to the ground floor, ready for transportation to be held in storage.

Robin Elias, director at Unusual Rigging explained: “Materials House is a fantastic artwork made of 213 materials, bonded together in over 2,000 individually shaped pieces sourced from more than eighty suppliers and sponsors. Measuring 7mx4mx1.5m, it had been welded to substantial steel foundations beneath the floorboards at the museum. It was displayed at a jaunty angle and restrained by attachment to an overhead beam, but it had no useful fixing points and was of indeterminate weight but estimated to be between 4-8 tons.”

In order to be able to move Materials House in one piece, Unusual needed to remedy this – it was vital to know the exact weight of the exhibit and design and install a system to allow the team to move it.

Robin continued: “The first stage was to design and build a frame for the House, and a gantry to enable us to disconnect Materials House from the foundations and the roof beam of the venue before lowering it carefully onto its front face. We then assisted with crating the artwork, and at this point we weighed it and found it to be 6,000kg.”

With this knowledge, Unusual was able to move the crate as far as the handrail of the first-floor gallery.

Second stage was to install the system that Robin and the team had designed, for lifting and tracking the crate, changing its orientation in mid-air before finally landing it on the ground floor in a relatively confined space. It was then handed over to the transport company to safely deliver it to its temporary storage place before being displayed at another gallery sometime in the future.

Robin concluded: “We know the science museum extremely well, having installed and decommissioned a number of challenging artworks there over the years, but Heatherwick’s Materials House was certainly a real brain teaser. Having been built entirely in situ, there was no guarantee that it could be removed from its home in one piece. Challenging? Yes. Impossible? No – with special thanks to Unusual’s Leon Ingram and the design team who made it happen on site."

Come what may… Unusual gets it done!

Moulin Rouge opened at London’s Piccadilly Theatre last month to rave reviews. Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film has been brought to life onstage – described as a theatrical celebration of truth, beauty, freedom and – above all – love. The intimate theatre has been transformed into a world of splendour, romance, eye popping excess of glitz, grandeur and glory – with Unusual Rigging brought on board to help create a world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment.

Jeremy Featherstone, senior design engineer, Unusual Rigging explained: “We were contacted by production manager Matt Towell to help bring this extraordinarily heavy show into a relatively small venue. The idea was always to

Photo: Matt Crockett

create the feeling that the audience is involved in the show – a recreation of the intimate feeling of being at the actual Moulin Rouge. The production weighs in at over 23 tonnes, but the Piccadilly’s grid was only really equipped to deal with half that weight – so we needed to come up with a workable solution.”

With Unusual’s Emily Egleton managing the project, the result was the installation of six aluminium trusses bolted into two walls of the theatre both up and down stage. These have been fitted with hangers which take a load out of the grid and into the walls of the theatre. “We have done this with temporary truss rather than a system bespoke to the venue as we needed it to happen quickly, and the building didn’t lend itself to massive steel work. It also had to happen during fit up – there was no pre-rig or quiet time.” said Featherstone.

As the Piccadilly’s flying system is relatively old, it can only pick up 250kg per set and as such a lot of Moulin Rouge’s scenery is flown on big winches which are picked up directly, rather than counterweight. Unusual installed spreader beams which hang off the trusses and turn it into a solid structure to pick the pieces up. However, to support the winches the team had to install a massive platform on legs to the back wall. “We put four big winches on a platform, ten metres above the stage, each weighing half a tonne to prop the stage,” added Jeremy. “More compression trusses as upthrust would have lifted everything off the ground so we turned the grid, stage and substage into one structural compression beam.”

On top of this, the counterweight flown scenery uses up 36 of the 38 available counterweight sets with a lot of that diverting at grid level. “We pretty much filled the grid,” said Featherstone.

When Unusual was working on Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre last year, the venue was dark due to COVID. This wasn’t the case with Moulin Rouge which proved to be significantly more challenging. Structural work took 3-4 days with the Unusual team installing brackets, then grid work, and finally the aluminium trusses once most of the grid was down. Before anything could be flown, Unusual had to check the aluminium was just right – a balancing act with tensions and springs – to make sure all elements were working together.

In addition to the flying system and grid work, there is also some side lighting sitting on separate trusses that go above the fly floors, another set of winches and diverts and lighting ladders which come out of the fly floor. “We were unable to Set & Light | Spring 2022

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use chain hoists as there was simply not enough room, so they sit on truss with winches on top with pulleys etc sitting inside.” Featherstone continued: “ Part of the brief was to create a nightclub atmosphere in the Piccadilly theatre so there is a grid of truss over the auditorium too with seven tonnes of weight in it which houses various lighting and effects. The famous swing is achieved front-of-house over what would normally be the orchestra pit. We also helped with lifting the elephant and the windmill to get them into the boxes of the auditorium.”

VARI-LITE/STRAND/XERO88 National Mariners’ Museum ships in Strand NEO to add dynamism to exhibit lighting

Virginia’s famous Mariners’ Museum has upgraded its lighting control to a Strand NEO CONSOLE from Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, to enhance the colors and effects within its theater and exhibits.

The Museum, situated in the city of Newport News,Virginia in the USA, holds one of North America’s largest maritime history collections and is designated America’s National Maritime Museum by the US Congress. It has a wide range of fixtures in place ranging from incandescent stage and theater lights to LED indirect and accent lights.

“One of the key areas within The Mariners’ Museum is our theater performance space, and we use a lot of cues that sync with timecode to create dramatic lighting effects that help tell the stories we share,” explains Tim Kines, AudioVisual Exhibit Technician at the Museum. “We needed to upgrade our control console to add dynamics and effects via a simple-touse interface, and the NEO fit perfectly.”

In the exhibition areas, Kines and the team use gobos and gels to create mood lighting and cast effects on surfaces. “The level of control we now have with the NEO is impressive,” Kines continues. “We are in the process of training people to became power users of the software, and then the sky's the limit for creativity.”

In addition to extra control capabilities, one of Kines’ key considerations was the ability to transfer show files from the old system to a new one with minimal fuss: “NEO was able to take the original show files we had and translate them to work on the new system. We had to do some tweaking, of course, but it was better than having to do a complete rebuild of the files.”

Kines and his team are looking to upgrade as many fixtures as possible to LED in the near future and, as Kines says, they know that NEO will enable them “to do some more creative lighting setups”.

A dedicated Web UI was created for the Museum’s team by Bobby Harrell, Systems Business Development Manager, Vari-Lite and Strand at Signify. This HTML page was designed to enable triggering control from outside the NEO software, and allows Kines to program or operate the NEO remotely from any web browser and even using mobile devices. “That way, non-technical users can trigger events without having to know the console software,” says Harrell. “Both our NEO console as well as our Vision.Net architectural control 56

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platform have the ability to enable a web server. That is all you need for access. In terms of content, it can be as simple or complex as needed for the facility.”

Kines adds: “This is a simple interface that we have trained up several staff members from various departments on,” Kines continues. “That way, we have some redundancy if AV staff are off site or otherwise occupied.”

Kines worked closely with museum and special events lighting design company Available Light to ramp up the looks within the Mariners’ Museum and control options.

The Mariners’ Museum holds an array of precious maritime artefacts, including ship figureheads, engine equipment and navigation instruments.

Dallas’ AT&T Performing Arts Center upgrades all main venues to Vari-Lite and Strand

The magnificent AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas has invested in Vari-Lite and Strand luminaires from Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, in five of its world-class main show spaces to transform their lighting and reduce power consumption.

The $360 million multi-venue centre, designed by worldleading architects, upgraded its fixtures with more than 200 Vari-Lite and Strand products to reflect its status as one of America’s foremost cultural institutions.

At the heart of the complex is the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House – called ‘America’s finest’ by Opera magazine – which is home to the principle 2,200-seater Margaret McDermott Performance Hall. This huge space is now lit by 32 Vari-Lite VL2600 PROFILE, 40 VL800 EVENTWASH and 24 Strand Leko LED Profile Full Color luminaires, supplied by Houston-based Bell & McCoy. “I have been involved with the AT&T Performing Arts Center since 2011 and their lighting team had previously purchased Vari-Lite fixtures from us, including the SL BAR 660,” says Bell & McCoy’s Mandy Stockhausen. “This time round, they were looking to expand what I like to call ‘Vari-Lite quality’ throughout the Center, and we were able to offer them a complete range of LED fixtures that out-perform their previous lighting package. The VL800 EVENTWASH blew them away with its powerful brightness, rich colour ranges, Vari-Lite quality movement, size, and price point.”

Lee Terry is Head Electrician at the centre, focusing on the opera house’s McDermott Performance Hall. “Our gear was outdated, and we needed to take a big leap in technology to be current. In addition to that, we wanted a more homogenous inventory that we could share and care for more easily. We needed new lighting equipment that had the capabilities to light every kind of show, allow us to easily maintain the equipment, and not have a dozen different fixtures.”

Terry highlights that the Hall hosts a wide variety of productions, ranging from local community groups right up to The Dallas Opera, with Broadway tours, regional theater and stand-up comics in-between. This is just one of the reasons he says he’s happy to now be working with the VL800 EVENTWASH in the space.

“The VL800s have become my favourite fixture,” he says.

“My designs are bold and saturated with colour, and that’s what this fixture does best. It’s fast, has a great zoom range

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

we will always work tirelessly to support them in any way we can. The whole process has been fun and exciting!”

“I would say we have a lot more flexibility now,” adds Amanda West, Director of Production at AT&T PAC. “One rig with this variety of instruments can get us through a variety of styles of shows without rehanging or making modifications in between. For one example, in a backlight system where we used to have conventional pars, the VL800s open up color changing and moving heads options we never had before. Lee Terry is designing quite the spectacle for productions, and for me, the color and intensity is the most dramatic difference. It looks like a different stage when everything’s on. For AT&T PAC it means we will have reliable equipment that meets our artists’ expectations for years to come.”

Strand and Zero 88 add Vision.Net, Color Kinetics KiNet and Philips Hue support in ZerOS consoles and, speaking as the house electrician, I love the low power consumption. I always need more back light on stage to compete with 20k projectors and video walls, and for some events I have to cover 15,000 sq. ft of space with light. I can now do that easily with the VL800s.”

Although the Hall is used for many different productions and events, The Dallas Opera is in situ for much of the year, and there are regular ballet and modern dance performances.

To ensure that the right Profile fixture was chosen to complement The Dallas Opera, Terry invited their Lighting Director for a consultation.

“The Vari-Lite VL2600 PROFILE is the only light that won her over,” says Terry. “In the demo it was bright enough, quiet enough, had good CTO correction, good gobos, and shutters that could go full swipe. Finally, we had found a light that could work for theatrical events as well as rock & roll!”

The Strand Leko LED Profile luminaires are mainly rigged in the Hall’s balcony rail to light its impressive proscenium arch.

“I enjoy the flexibility they've added to the space,” says Terry.

“It’s nice to have one more tool in the tool bag for lighting the space and we’ve already used them on a number of operas, as well as rock & roll concerts and dance events. With all these new lighting options we can operate more cost effectively and jump from show to show without missing a beat.”

The Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is also within the main AT&T PAC complex and is widely considered one of the most versatile theatrical performing spaces in the world. Its Potter Rose Performance Hall can be shaped into various configurations, including thrust, proscenium or flat floor. In here, further Vari-Lite VL2600 PROFILE and Strand Leko LED Profile Full Color luminaires are installed. The smaller Hamon Hall 200-seater venue in the opera house is mainly lit by VL800 EVENTWASH luminaires, as is the Studio venue.

Over in the Strauss Square outdoor space, named after the late former mayor of Dallas, Annette Strauss,VL800 EVENTWASH luminaires are complemented by ten VL5LED WASH fixtures.

“We are happy to say that we have built a great relationship between Bell & McCoy, AT&T PAC and Vari-Lite and Strand,” says Mandy Stockhausen. “We are involved in training all their technicians to service and operate their new luminaires and

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) entertainment lighting brands Strand and Zero 88 announced that they were previewing a new version of the popular ZerOS console software at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt. The update adds integration with Strand Vision.Net, Color Kinetics KiNet, and Philips Hue, making it easier for small to mid-sized theatres, houses of worship and schools to connect to other lighting systems in the facility with minimal infrastructure impact.

“Most theatrical spaces have multiple systems to control the various luminaires inside and outside their facility, and because these systems don’t talk to each other, there is typically no way to initiate a single lighting cue for an event, such as a show start, across all the systems at once,” explains Jon Hole, Global Product Manager, Strand and Zero 88 Controls and Systems at Signify. “Instead, lighting adjustments need to be made on each system separately. ZerOS 7.12 is designed to address that.” The new update allows Strand and Zero 88 consoles running ZerOS to natively connect with other Signify lighting systems in the facility, ensuring multiple systems from a single manufacturer can work together.

ZerOS 7.12 includes the ability to accept input from a Strand Vision.Net control system via Ethernet. Users can press a button on Strand Vision.Net user interfaces such as touchscreens, control stations, or the web-based Gateway-onthe-Go Interface to recall or adjust a cue on a ZerOS-based console without needing to interact with the console itself.

Thanks to integration with Philips Hue, designers can also use Philips Hue Smart Plugs and Smart Light Bulbs using the lighting desk. “Smaller theatrical venues want to add functionality to their system without a lot of additional cost,” explains Hole. “They want to adjust the ambience of house and lobby lighting, or control practical lighting or set elements on stage. With Philips Hue integration in ZerOS, facilities can have these capabilities with their existing house lighting fixtures rather than undergoing expensive refits or losing functionality.”

ZerOS 7.12 also includes support for Color Kinetics KiNet, ensuring users can control their architectural lighting systems with KiNet, but then connect the system to the console for control during certain applications. Designers can control Color Kinetics luminaires from the console when they need to, while retaining the remote maintenance capabilities and Interact Landmark integration that KiNet provides.

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“Prolight + Sound marked the first time Zero 88 joined Vari-Lite and Strand in a global tradeshow. So, it’s fitting that they demonstrated yet another expanded integration between Signify brands,” adds Hole. “The new update builds upon previous updates that improved support for Vari-Lite and Strand fixtures, such as expanded fixture libraries and added support for multicell and multichromatic luminaires, among other advancements. We are continuing to look for ways to better integrate with Vari-Lite, Strand and the rest of Signify.”

VERSION 2 Version 2 strengthens management team

Version 2, the television lighting rental specialists, have announced a management reshuffle at their Reading operation with Emma Gale now as General Manager, Sam Crook as Technical Operations Manager and Joe Marter as Sales Operations Manager.

Adding Gale’s experience to the team strengthens Version 2’s internal human resources and accounting procedures.

Emma has a strong track record in management and was instrumental in the transformation and growth of an independent transport company.

“I am new to the lighting industry but can apply my skillsets in the various aspects of running a business to Version 2. I have always been responsible for vehicles being in the right place at the right time. Here it’s about delivering lights to a studio or location on schedule – the logistics are the same and I’m fast finding out about TV lighting!”

Long serving Version 2 stalwart Sam Crook, Technical Operations Manager, will continue to oversee equipment preparation procedures, equipment specification and procurement plus health and safety.

Crook sums up his role as working with “anything that has wheels or gets plugged in.” He has a strong engineering background and is constantly looking to enhance the equipment offering.

“If we see something that can be improved we do it” adds Crook, “we have the in-house ability to design, prototype and fabricate solutions to customer problems.”

Joe Marter has been promoted from within to the newly formed role of Sales Operations Manager and will assume responsibility for commercial aspects of the operation, including heading up a team of Account Managers. “This fast-paced industry presents challenges to which we strive to find solutions to daily,” says Marter, “It’s great working with an expanded yet tight team as we continue to grow.”

The trio will assume responsibility for all day-to-day aspects of operations at the Company’s HQ with immediate effect.

VLeading TV Gaffer Sam Healey joins Version 2

Sam Healey, formerly of PRG, has joined Version 2 as Lighting Gaffer, bringing extensive knowledge of the entertainment and events industry built up over 24 years.

Healey has lighting in his blood, with father Mick, retired Account Director at PRG UK, introducing him to the industry 58

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back in 1999. Starting in cables at Vari-Lite, Sam worked his way round the departments from lanterns and follow spots to moving lights and rigging and in the early days would take his holidays and weekends to go out on site.

When PRG acquired Vari-Lite, Healey became full time crew member as Events Co-ordinator touring extensively and has enjoyed working on countless rock and roll gigs over the years, notably the legendary Led Zeppelin 2007 gig at the O2 Arena, and more recently as Event Manager on TV productions and red-carpet events. All-time highlights include the BAFTAs, the BRITs, The Wall and especially The MTV European Music Awards.

He acknowledges his father and Rich Gorrod, Head of Event Services at PRG, among his mentors and looks forward to new challenges at Version 2, run by long-time colleague and friend Nick Edwards.

“I’m excited to be part of Version 2 which although relatively new is expanding fast.” says Healey, “The company has a great reputation in the Business for its attention to detail and taking pride in what they do and I hope to have some influence in keeping it going on the up and up.”

Healey’s strength is in maintaining good relationships with production and end clients and his focus at Version 2 will be seeing the job through from concept and design to the warehouse.

Healey will see the job right through from concept and design stage to the studio/location.

“I’m predominantly field-based ensuring the tech runs as it should on site but the prep at base is crucial from the plans to the patching – with everything addressed beforehand you can hit the ground running.”

As Lighting Gaffer at Version 2, Healey will be working from both their Reading HQ and at customer’s sites on a growing number of prime-time TV shows and live events.

Version 2 MD, Nick Edwards comments: “When the opportunity arose to bring Sam into our team we jumped at the chance. Sam will play a key part in shaping Version 2’s future, not only in establishing our on-site production team, his experience will also be drawn upon for all areas of our operations”.

Kelly Cornfield joins television lighting experts Version 2

Television lighting specialist Version 2 has appointed Kelly Cornfield to the position of Sales Director at their Reading operation.

Graduating with a degree in Live Event Technology, Kelly began her career at the Vari-Lite warehouse in 2002 (later VLPS). After a year out travelling in New Zealand, she returned to the warehouse, since acquired by PRG, and moved to an office role, working under Project Manager Mick Healey on prestigious events from the Robbie Williams’ 2006 World Tour to the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest in Moscow.

Cornfield went on to focus on the TV market covering numerous “amazing” shows including the Brit & MTV Music Awards, X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and more recently The Masked Singer which was “a total joy to be involved with.”

Over the past 20 years she worked her way up the ranks throuh Assistant Account Manager, Account Manager

Compiled by Emma Thorpe ~ email sponsornews@stld.org.uk

(L-R) Lighting gaffer Sam Healey and sales director Kelly Cornfield, two new additions to Version 2

then Account Director and ultimately Head of TV and Film at PRG. It was Kelly’s love of live music that kicked off her interest in working in live events.

It’s rare she doesn’t fit a live gig into her week.. “90s music usually, old school bands like The Charlatans and Ocean Colour Scene!” But it was watching REM at Glastonbury that sealed the specific tech decision. “The lighting was so brilliant to me at the time that I switched from a sound engineering to a live performance technology course at Derby University.”

The choice, she confesses, had practical advantages too, “I was so short I could never see anything on stage – but I could see the lights!”

At Version 2 Kelly is looking forward to focusing on the market she is most experienced in and more, “Version 2 has a really good feel. I’m excited about helping grow the company and working as part of a tight team on TV productions and it will be great to be involved with live sports too.”

But at the end of the day, says Cornfield, it all comes down to good relationships. “Everything is about people.”

As Sales Director at Version 2, Cornfield will be working at their Reading operation on a growing number of prime-time TV shows and live music and sporting events.

Version 2, MD Nick Edwards comments “We are delighted that Kelly has chosen to join the Board of Directors. For me, without doubt Kelly is the leading Account Manager in the light entertainment television sector” An enthused Edwards concludes: “Following on from Nigel Wray’s investment, our recent appointments represent another significant milestone in the continued evolution of Version 2”

WHITELIGHT ELP is welcomed into Justin’s House

Having first appeared on our screens in 2011, Justin’s House is a children’s TV series set in the fictional home of presenter

Justin Fletcher as he finds himself in several chaotic situations with housemates Robert the Robot, Little Monster as well as a host of recurring guest characters. Last year, the show entered its fifth series and moved to its new home of Manchester Studios Studio 8. Having worked on the show’s previous seasons, coupled with its reputation of supplying high-quality broadcasts, ELP, a trading division of White Light, was called upon to provide the lighting for this latest series.

The first four series of Justin’s House were performed in front of a live studio audience full of animated children, with the show largely driven by this interaction and embodying an almost panto-like quality. However, when pre-production for Series 5 began last year, it became clear that the format would require a rethink in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ELP’s Sales Director Darren Fletcher explains: “Having a live audience in the studio, whilst an important trait of the series, would have caused numerous problems given the restrictions that were in place back in early 2021. As such, the show’s creative team decided that the fifth series should be shot in a more sitcom-style, in the sense that we were in the room with these characters and that the audience was the one watching at home, as opposed to in the studio”.

Once this was the decided format for the new series, Darren and his team were approached by lighting designer and the show’s DOP Jared Clayton. Darren explains: “Working on the show previously meant that we knew the zany and colourful style that needed to be implemented. Jared came into our Manchester office, which is local to the studios, and talked through his plans, from which we put together a rig”.

Part of ELP’s task was to provide Jared with a range of tungsten and LED lighting that would not only accommodate the needs of the set but also the content of the episodes.

There were five sets in total, including the living room, kitchen, garden, Little Monster’s Den and Robert’s Shed. Similarly, the show takes place across all different times of day and even includes various disco sequences so the fixtures had to be flexible to fulfil these requirements.

Darren explains: “We decided to draw on the ARRI SkyPanel S60s which acted as general wash lights yet also had the ability to offer the bright colours needed across the set.

Similarly the Arri L7-Cs provided us with additional colour as and when required. The ETC Source 4 Lustr Series 2 with Fresnel Lens Adaptors provided key and back lighting and added to this was a nearly 360 degree Tungsten cyc lighting system for the brightly painted scenic cyclorama. We also provided the cyc rail trussing system, along with lots of grip kit and even a mirrorball!”.

Gaffer Stuart Drummond and his team were on-site for three days in which they rigged all of the fixtures. Filming then took place over a three-month period and the series premiered late last year. It is currently shown everyday on the CBeebies channel and is also available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.

Darren concludes: “Working on Justin’s House is a further example of the variety of broadcasts we are apply to supply as a company. It’s also an example of a long-standing relationship with a client and how they have the confidence to approach us and know we will be able to adapt to their ever-changing needs”.

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society committee Chairman + Sponsors’ Liaison Bernie Davis 07860 662 736 chairman@stld.org.uk

Deputy Chair David Bishop 07971 796 742 davidbishop@stld.org.uk

Hon Secretary Stuart Gain 07774 161 996 secretary@stld.org.uk

Treasurer (Co-Opted) John Piper johnpiper@stld.org.uk

Magazine Editor + Sponsor Administration Emma Thorpe 07850 709 210 editor@stld.org.uk

Publicity Andrew Harris 07973 745 583 publicity@stld.org.uk

Membership Administration Susie Tiller 07786 253 857 members@stld.org.uk

Student Liaison Nathan Mallalieu 07805 461162 nathanmallalieu@stld.org.uk

Admin & Data Officer Paul Middleton 07720 446 9214 paulmiddleton@stld.org.uk

Membership Secretary Bruce Wardorf 07702 741 338 brucewardorf@stld.org.uk

Exhibitions Alan Luxford 07867 536 522 alanluxford@stld.org.uk

Committee Member John King 07860 759 294 johnking@stld.org.uk

Committee Member Ian Hillson ianhillson@stld.org.uk

Website Manager (Co-Opted) Oliver Lifely 07977 530 145 oliverlifely@stld.org.uk

Committee Member Matt Maller 07901 724 487 mattmaller@stld.org.uk

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sponsors directory

Please mention Set & Light when contacting sponsors

A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd (Jonathan Walters) Centauri House, Hillbottom Road, Sands Industrial Estate, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 4HQ Tel: 01494 446 000 ~ Fax: 01494 461 024 ~ Email: sales@ac-et.com ~ Web: www.ac-et.com/film-tv Anna Valley (Mark Holdway, Tim Oliver) Unit 13, Mount Road Industrial Estate, Feltham, Middlesex TW13 6AR Tel: 020 8941 4500 ~ Fax: +44(0)1932 761 591 ~ Web: www.annavalley.co.uk ARRI CT Ltd (Siobhan Daly, Lee Romney) 2 Highbridge, Oxford Road, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 1LX Tel: 01895 457 000 ~ Fax: 01895 457 001 ~ Email: sales@arri-gb.com ~ Web: www.arri.com AYRTON (Matt Hallard) 2 Rue Vitruve, 91140 Villebon sur Yvette, France Tel: +33 1 8375 1200 ~ Mob: +44 7388 014 003 ~ Email: matt.hallard@ayrton.eu ~ Web: www.ayrton.eu B360 (Barry Denison) Gaddesden Home Farm Business Centre, Bridens Camp, Hemel Hempstead HP2 6EZ Tel: 0203 9534 360 ~ Email: info@b360.tv ~ Web: www.b360.tv CAST Group of Companies (Stuart Green) 35 Ripey Avenue, Unit 1. Toronto, Ontario, M6S 3P2, Canada Head Office: +1.416.597.2278 x 237 ~ Email: Stuart.Green@cast-soft.com ~ Web: www.cast-soft.com CHAUVET Professional (Sam Bowden) Brookhill Road Ind. Estate, Pinxton, NG16 6NT Tel: 01773 511115 ~ Mob: 07714 487121 ~ Email: sbowden@chauvetlighting.eu ~ Web: www.chauvetprofessional.eu Chroma-Q (Jonathan Walters) Centauri House, Hillbottom Road, Sands Industrial Estate, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire HP12 4HQ Tel: 01494 446 000 ~ Fax: 01494 461 024 ~ Email: sales@ac-et.com ~ Web: www.chroma-q.com Cirro Lite (Europe) Ltd (John Coppen, David Morphy) 3 Barrett’s Green Road, London NW10 7AE Tel: 020 8955 6700 ~ Fax: 020 8961 9343 ~ Email: j.coppen@cirrolite.com ~ Web: www.cirrolite.com Claypaky S.p.A. (Davide Barbetta) via Pastrengo 3/B, 24068 Seriate (BG), Italy Tel: +39 335 72.333.75 ~ Fax: +39 035.30.18.76 ~Email: davide.barbetta@claypaky.it ~ Web: www.claypaky.it Dedo Weigert Film GmbH (John Coppen, David Morphy) 3 Barretts Green Road, London NW10 7AE Tel: 020 8955 6700 ~ Fax : 020 8961 9343 ~ Email: info@cirrolite.com ~ Web: www.dedolight.com DeSisti (Nick Mobsby) 25 Rowtown, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 1EF Tel: +44 (0) 7785 233073 ~ Email: nick@desistilighting.co.uk ~ Web: www.desisti.it Doughty Engineering Ltd (Julian Chiverton, Mark Chorley) Crow Arch Lane, Ringwood, Hampshire BH24 1NZ Tel: 01425 478 961 ~ Fax: 01425 474 481 ~ Email: sales@doughty-engineering.co.uk ~ Web: www.doughty-engineering.co.uk Elation (Larry Beck, Marc Librecht) Elation Professional B.V., Junostraat 2, 6468EW Kerkrade, The Netherlands Tel: 00 31 45 5468566 ~ Mob: +44 (0) 7495 051413 ~ Email: info@elationlighting.eu ELP Broadcast & Events (Darren Fletcher) Unit 3A, Space Studios,Vaughan Street, Manchester, M12 5FQ Tel: +44 (0)161 300 2922 ~ DDI +44 (0)20 8254 4622 ~ Mob +44 (0)7900 055314 ~ Email: info@elp.tv ~ Web: www.WhiteLight.Ltd.uk

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sponsors directory

Encore (Sam Hooper) Crown Business Park, Old Dalby, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire LE14 3NQ Head Office: 01664 821101 ~ London Office: 020 8955 6900 ~ Email: Sam.Hooper@Encoreglobal.com ~ Web: www.encore-emea.com ETC (Rory Frazer-Mackenzie, Jeremy Roberts) Electronic Theatre Controls Ltd, Unit 26-28,Victoria Industrial Estate,Victoria Road, London W3 6UU Tel: +44 (0)20 8896 1000 ~ Email: uk@etcconnect.com ~ Web: www.etcconnect.com 4Wall Entertainment (Adam Artus, Sales Director) 5 Central Road, Harlow, Essex, CM20 2ST Tel: +44 (0) 1279 624 840 ~ Mob: +44 (0) 7837 912 798 ~ Email: aartus@4wall.com ~ Web: www.europe.4wall.com FTVS (Film & TV Services) (Joy Brennan) 86-87 Bestobell Road, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 4SZ Tel: 020 8961 0090 ~ Web: www.ftvs.co.uk GLP German Light Products UK (Simon Barrett) Unit 23 The IO Centre, Salbrook Road Industrial Estate, Redhill RH1 5GJ Tel: 01293 228 660 ~ Email: s.barrett@glp.de ~ Web: germanlightproducts.co Green Hippo (Tom Etra, David March, Abi Roberts) Suite 1, 1 Rochester Mews, Camden Town, London, NW1 9JB Tel: 020 3301 4561 ~ Fax: 020 8889 9826 ~ Email: tom@green-hippo.com ~ Web: www.green-hippo.com JLLighting (Jack Linaker) Unit 6 Verda Park, Wallingford, OX10 9SJ Tel: +44(0)20 3790 7859 ~ Email: team@jl-lighting.com ~ Web: www.jl-lighting.com Key Light Hire Ltd (Alex Hambi) Unit 24, Sovereign Park, Coronation Road, Park Royal NW10 7QP Tel: 020 8963 9931 ~ Fax: 020 8961 236 ~ Mobile: 07949 686 802 ~ Email: alex@keylight.tv ~ Web: www.keylight.tv Kino Flo Lighting Systems (John Coppen, David Morphy) 3 Barretts Green Road, London NW10 7AE Tel: 020 8955 6700 ~ Fax : 020 8961 9343 ~ Email: info@cirrolite.com ~ Web: www. kinoflo.com LCC Lighting (Lee Rickard) P.O. Box 78, Guildford, Surrey GU3 2AG Tel: +44 (0)1483 813 814~ Email: sales@lcc-lighting.co.uk ~ Web: lcc-lighting.co.uk Lee Filters Ltd (Nathan Bailey, Kim Brennan, Emma Sherman) Central Way, Walworth Business Park, Andover, Hampshire SP10 5AN Tel: 01264 366 245 ~ Fax: 01264 355 058 ~ Email: marketing@leefilters.com ~ Web: www.leefilters.com Limelite Lighting (Ed Railton) Harpers Farm, Summer Hill, Goudhurt, Kent, TN17 1JU Tel: 01580 239844 ~ Web: www.limelitelighting.co.uk Vitec Videocom Lightpanels (Andrew Woodfin) William Vinten Building, Easlea Road, Moreton Hall Estate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, IP32 7BY Mob: +44 (0)7860 785 046 ~ Email: andrew.woodfin@vitecgroup.com ~ Web: www.litepanels.com LSI Projects (Russell Dunsire, Richard Bunting) 15 Woking Business Park, Albert Drive, Woking, Surrey GU21 5JY Tel: 01483 764 646 ~ Fax: 01483 769 955 ~ Email: richardb@lsiprojects.com ~ Web: www.lsiprojects.com Luminosity Lighting (Chris Rand) The Vatches, 49 Aylesbury Road, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, HP22 5AQ Head Office: 020 8432 2255 ~ Email: chris@luminosity.lighting ~ Web: www.luminosity.lighting

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Set & Light | Spring 2022

Please mention Set & Light when contacting sponsors

Martin by Harman (Nick Hansen) Westside Two, London Road, Apsley, Ground Floor, Hemel Hempstead, HP3 9TD Tel: 01462 480 000 ~ Email: nick.hansen@harman.com ~ Web: www.soundtech.co.uk Matthews Studio Equipment, Inc. (John Coppen, David Morphy) 3 Barretts Green Road, London NW10 7AE Tel: 020 8955 6700 ~ Fax: 020 8961 9343 ~ Email: info@cirrolite.com ~ Web: www. msegrip.com MEMS Power Generation (Mark Diffey) Beechings Way, Gillingham, Kent, ME8 6PS Tel: 08452 230 400 ~ Fax: 01634 263666 ~ Email: mark.diffey@mems.com ~ www.mems.com MULTI-LITE (UK) Limited (Martin Carnell) 15 Airlinks, Spitfire Way, Heston, Middlesex TW5 9NR Tel: +44 (0) 208 561 4501 ~ Mob: +44 (0) 7970 224313 ~ Fax: +44 (0) 20 8561 8041 ~ Email: MCarnell@Multi-Lite.co.uk ~ Web: www.multi-lite.com OSRAM Ltd (Emma Woolf) 450 Brook Drive, Green Park, Reading, RG2 6UU Tel: +44 (0) 7932 159535 ~ Email: e.woolf@osram.com ~ Web: www.osram.com/pia Panalux Ltd (Mark Furssedonn) 12 Waxlow Road, London, NW10 7NU Tel: 020 8233 7000 ~ Web: www.panalux.biz PLASA (Sonja Walker) Redoubt House, 1 Edward Street, Eastbourne, Sussex BN23 8AS Tel: 01323 524 120 ~ Fax: 01323 524 121 ~ Email: sonja.walker@plasa.org ~ Web: www.plasa.org PRG XL Video (Jeff Bailey, Caroline Kelly) The Cofton Centre, Groveley Lane, Longbridge, Birmingham B31 4PT Tel: 0845 470 6400 ~ Email: jbailey@prg.com ~ Web: www.prg.com/uk Richard Martin Lighting Ltd (Steve Wells) Unit 24, Sovereign Park, Coronation Road, Park Royal, London NW10 7QP ~ RML Admin: Lantern House, Old Town, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 0LW Tel: 020 8965 3209 ~ Email: info@richardmartinlighting.co.uk ~ Web: www.richardmartinlighting.co.uk Robe UK Ltd (Ashley Lewis, Mick Hannaford, Steve Eastham) 3 Spinney View, Stone Circle Road, Round Spinney Industrial Estate, Northampton NN3 8RQ Tel: 01604 741 000 ~ Fax: 01604 741 041 ~ Email: info@robeuk.com ~ Web: www.robeuk.com Rosco (Dan Wheeler) Blanchard Works, Kangley Bridge Road, Sydenham SE26 5AQ Tel: 020 8676 6877 ~ Fax: 020 8659 3151 ~ Email: cristian.dan.wheeler@rosco.com ~ Web: www.rosco.com Signify (formerly Philips Lighting UK Ltd) (Stuart Dell) Philips Centre, Guildford Business Park, Guildford, Surrey GU2 8XH Tel: 07774 122 735 ~ Fax: 01296 670 956 ~ Email: stuart.dell@signify.com ~ Web: www.signify.com Stage Electrics Partnership Ltd (Dan Aldridge, Adam Blaxill) Encore House, Unit 3, Britannia Road, Patchway Trading Estate, Patchway, Bristol BS34 5TA Tel: 03330 142100 ~ Fax: 0117 916 2828 ~ Email: sales@stage-electrics.co.uk ~ Web: www.stage-electrics.co.uk TMB (Lauren Drinkwater, Tim Obermann) 21 Armstrong Way, Southall UB2 4SD Tel: 020 8574 9700 ~ Fax: 020 8574 9701 ~ Email: tmb-info@tmb.com ~ Web: www.tmb.com Unusual Rigging (Mark Priestley) The Wharf, Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire NN7 3QB Tel: 01604 830 083 ~ Fax: 01604 831 144 ~ Email: mark.priestley@unusual.co.uk ~ Web: www.unusual.co.uk

Set & Light | Sprimg 2022

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sponsors directory

Please mention Set & Light when contacting sponsors

Vari-Lite / Strand Lighting (Iain Quinn) Strand & Vari-Lite Centre, Unit 24 Sovereign Park, Coronation Road, Park Royal, London NW10 7QP Tel: 07867 536522 ~ Email: ian.quinn@signify.com ~ Web: www.vari-lite.com Vectorworks UK Ltd (Tom White) St. Peter’s House, Oxford Square, Oxford Street, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1JQ Tel: 01635 580318 ~ Web: www.vectorworks.net Version 2 Lights Ltd (Nick Edwards) Version 2 Lights, The Old Grain Store, Childs Court Farm, Ashampstead Common, Reading, RG8 8QT Tel: 020 3598 6938 ~ Email: info@v2lights.co.uk ~ Web: www.v2lights.co.uk White Light Ltd (Dave Isherwood, Bryan Raven) 20 Merton Industrial Park, Jubilee Way, London SW19 3WL ~ Tel: 020 8254 4800 ~ Fax: 020 8254 4801 ~ Email: info@WhiteLight.Ltd.uk Web: www.WhiteLight.Ltd.uk ~ Hire Tel: 020 8254 4820 ~ Hire Fax: 020 8254 4821 ~ Sales Tel: 020 8254 4840 ~ Sales Fax: 020 8254 4841 Zero88 Zero 88, Usk House, Lakeside, Llantarnam Park, Cwmbran NP44 3HD Tel: +44 (0)1633 838088 ~ Email: enquiries@zero88.com ~ Web: www.zero88.com

education members Exeter College (Atila Mustafa, Lecturer for Film & TV Production) Victoria House Learning Centre, 33–36 Queen Street, Exeter, Devon EX4 3SR Tel: 01392 400500 ~ Email: info@exe-coll.ac.uk ~ Web: www.exe-coll.ac.uk

The STLD’s interactive Sponsors’ Directory is a useful tool, both for the STLD and, we hope, for those of our sponsors who use it. Its main advantage is that it enables the society to display up-to-date and accurate information about your company on its website. In doing so, it helps us update our records and ensures that we have accurate mailing and invoicing details.

STLD sponsor companies can make use of this facility by contacting Bernie Davis at sponsors@stld.org.uk with the name and email address of the person who will become the company’s ‘sponsor user’. They will be registered on our secure database and will then be able to modify their company’s information within the Sponsors’ Directory.

Please note that the directory enables company searches by category and area.

Bernie Davis – STLD Sponsor Liaison

index of advertisers Ayrton 31 B360 29 Elation 21 ELP 68 Limelight Lighting 2 Litepanels 67 Martin by Harman 27 Showlight 2023 17 Unusual Rigging 19

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Set & Light | Spring 2022

membership application

Set & Light | Sprimg 2022

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membership application

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Set & Light | Spring 2022

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Unit 3A Space Studios, Vaughan Street Manchester, M12 5FQ T: 0161 300 2922 E: Darren.Fletcher@WhiteLight.Ltd.uk

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ELP Broadcast Lighting

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BROADCAST LIGHTING EQUIPMENT MANCHESTER & LONDON

20 Merton Industrial Park, Jubilee Way, London, SW19 3WL T: 020 8254 4800 E: Ian.Charlampowicz@WhiteLight.Ltd.uk