Production News
ULA polls well at the Brownlow Medal Count
Posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
The Brownlow Medal Count is one of the most prestigious annual awards on the Australian sporting calendar. Staged at the Palladium Ballroom at Melbourne’s Crown Casino complex, the 2009 Brownlow dinner was attended by over 1000 sporting celebrities and VIPs and broadcast live on Australia’s Seven television network.
Clifton Productions supplied a large array of equipment at this years 2009 Brownlow Medal event. Robe moving lights, Anolis LED fixtures, VuePix P6 LED Screens and iLEDpro fixtures were all in full force, used on stage and throughout the venue.
The art direction of the Brownlow’s was by Designer Mal Nichols of Mal Nichols and Associates. “The design elements had to be 3 dimensional to allow lighting and texture to the back drop of the talent”, says Mal. “And the lighting had to be flexible to allow for subtle changes within the presentation incorporating the background. We also utilized LED down lights in the base of the 3D boxes to create a textured feel behind the talent”, says Mal.
In the Atrium of the Crown Casino 10 x Robe REDWashes, 8 x Robe ColorWash 1200AT’s and 4 x Robe ColorSpots 1200AT’s were used as guests entered the red carpet area. Lighting Designer Rob Coia says “This years telecast of the Brownlow was a great success for Channel 7 on the tail end of a huge year in AFL Broadcast. It was the first time that I had used the new Robe REDWash LED fixture that Clifton Productions have as part of their inventory. I was very impressed with its performance, I used the REDWash to dress the walls and columns in the Atrium for the red carpet arrivals to provide some colour and shape for the background surfaces which appeared in most of the camera shots.”
Rob continues, “They worked especially well in the Atrium , we usually have a great deal of difficulty getting the dark walls in this area to read on camera, but this year it was the best look so far, rich colours and bright! Richard Grenfell, who knows that space very well, programmed the lighting for the Red carpet arrivals and created a great balance between faces and walls. The REDs have an incredible light output, as well as a vast array of colours from full chroma saturation through to more subtle pastels, I found it a great tool for the task, especially when available power is an issue”
In the main Palladium room, Robe moving lights were used to accomplish the room looks, set and stage dressing. 48 x Robe ColorWash 700EAT, 44 x Robe ColorSpot 700EAT, 4 x Robe ColorSpot AT along with 18 x REDWash fixtures were used. “We are really happy with the newest additions to our Robe inventory – being the Robe REDWash. The feedback we are getting from clients is amazing!, says System Tech Aaron Humber from Clifton Productions. It was vital that the Robe’s provided even coverage across a large area as there were a number of wide camera shots within the broadcast. The ‘RED’ in the REDWash is short for Red Emitted Diodes, a unique LED lighting concept developed by Robe.
The Brownlow lighting was controlled by two GrandMA consoles, operated by Alex Saad and Andy Edis. A third “house” GrandMA was operated by Andrew Killengray to control the 140 Roboscans for tables, pin spots, and all the “house” architectural LED .” the lighting system was substantial in size and quantity , it proved to be extremely reliable with next to no faults“
One large VuePix P6 display was used on stage to run content through in conjunction with a second VuePix P6 screen behind the lectern for guest speakers. Andrew Edis from Impact Media Images supplied and operated Catalyst Show and custom images. The Catalyst was controlled via the GrandMA. This was incorporated in modules within the set of allowing direct vision on stage. Over 100 Visio color tubes were used for illumination on the set and stairs.
As early as Round 20 in the vote count, Gary Ablett Jnr had an unassailable lead and finally won the 2009 Brownlow Medal, finishing with a total of 30 votes.
ULA Group www.ulagroup.com
PR’s XLED 590 strikes with deadly effect
Posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
The 15th annual Deadlys awards at Sydney Opera House contained all the glamour, emotion, pride and excitement that has come to be expected from Indigenous Australia’s night of nights.
Production specialists Coastal Lighting rigged a spectacular display incorporating four of PR Lighting’s XL590 LED moving head washlights into the stage floor, as specified by LD, Aldo Fabrizio.
The light output of this fixture closely resembles that of a conventional wash light containing a 1200W discharge lamp, since it uses Osram’s Diamond Dragon LED, one of the world’s brightest single-chip SMT LEDs. Each head contains 90 high power 5W LED’s (30 x Red, 30 x Green, 30 x Blue) with the added advantage of excellent colour mixing and high uniformity of the white beam.
The clients were particularly impressed by these attributes, commenting on their surprising brightness and overall performance of the XLED’s.
The production was seen by a capacity crowd of nearly 2,000 people at the Opera House who helped celebrate the highest achievers and inspiring role models of Indigenous Australia.
Hosted by Luke Carroll, performers included Jessica Mauboy (from Australian Idol), the Doonooch Dancers, Street Warriors and Casey Donovan.
Source: Light & Sound International
Motley on the road with KISS
Posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
If any of you are wondering why you haven’t seen Australia’s renown lighting crew chief Motley recently it’s because he’s been living a childhood dream – working for KISS!
“I filled in for Bryan Hartley (KISS’s long time LD)on some KISS shown in the USA and Europe {07 & 08} after doing the Paul Stanley tour as LD in Australia,” Motley explained. “Bryan was / is busy with Aerosmith and Trans Siberian Orchestra so Patrick Whitley sent an email “Need KISS LD what you up to for 18month off and on?”. My reply “touring with KISS I guess”.
Motley has been getting great feedback from all industry types.
“I had Lenny Kravitz in NYC at FOH and I nearly got nervous but once the first 30 seconds of the show are over, I am in the groove and don’t realise what is going on around me until just before the encore.”
The rig is 64′ wide and made up of 7 trusses wit 2 x 8′ side trusses to give it a wider look. The stage is 106′ with scaff wings built in the seats at most arenas. The set and backline is set up at FOH on a rolling stage. Lights include 7k Syncro Lite x7, V*L3000 Spot x24, V*L3500 Wash x82, 4Lite DWE {Inline} x26 {Audience}, 4Lite DWE {square} x18 {Stage}, Atomic Strobe x34, CB12 LED Truss Toner x58, ETC Source4 Par NSP x4 {Gene Blood Gag}, Red Police Beacon x10 – all controlled by a grandMA.
All air lights are in prerig truss except Syncrolites and inline Audience 8lites so not many cases to store. Lighting is supplied by Epic based in LA. Crew Chief Sean Kohl, Andy Figueroa is the KISS sign tech. 13 trucks 6 tour busses all pretty full up.
“The show design started with the band saying they want a set full of video and a big video screen {60′ by 20′),” said Motley. “We went to do a bunch of Festival shows in Canada and two in the USA so it was different lighting vendors and systems everywhere. The VL3500 with the beam blaster in was the only fixture that would cut over all the video. We took the big screen and the old set to see what would stick and ended up with the show.
“Then Patrick sent me a hand drawing and asked me to draw it up in 3D after a few bounces back and forth he went to the set company All Access and got it turned in to a reality.
“The strait truss look fitted with the big square set and video so I kept it simple. The joke is you can tell it was designed by a crew chief! The only thing I was asked was the band want Syncrolites, the rest it up to me.
“There are a few cues in a KISS show that must be done the rest is what I call a 80’s Ozzie pub rock rig on steroids. There is not a lot of movement in the rig until the end of the show. Drum riser goes up to 16′ and rotates, Paul flies to FOH and Gene flys up to the front truss.
“Its been a good buzz as I went to KISS in 1980 in Sydney and came home and told Mum I am going to be a roadie and make big rock shows. Somehow I have now gone full circle. At first it was a bit weird talking to band members in full make up and 8″ boots so they end up 7′ tall – twenty-nine years later who would of thought but after so many years of touring I have no problem with it at all.”
Tour is 3 months in USA / Canada Arenas & 1 festival in New Orleans. Date Highlights for Motley are September 18th Fly USA September 25 / 26, 2009 Cobo Arena DETROIT October 1, 2009 Bell Centre Montreal October 10, 2009 Madison Square Garden NEW YORK October 26, 2009 Philips Arena ATLANTA October 31, 2009 Voodoo Experience – New Orleans City Park New Orleans November 6, 2009 United Center CHICAGO November 14, 2009 General Motors Place Vancouver November 22, 2009 Oakland Arena OAKLAND November 25, 2009 Staples Center LOS ANGELES December 6, 2009 American Airlines Centre DALLAS December 18th Arrive home
Photos by Tony Dorman
Robe for Parklife
Posted on Friday, October 30th, 2009
One of the biggest moments on the annual dance music calendar finally ‘landed’ in October, with Parklife 09 officially signaling the start of the summer dance festival season. Tens of thousands of people got into the party spirit around the nation, with a massive line up with more music to choose from than ever before. Main acts included Empire of the Sun, Tiga, MSTRKRAFT, La Roux and Autokratz, along with local supporting DJs such as Art vs. Science.
Clifton Productions under took site wide lighting in Melbourne with stage designs by Fuzzy Events with Parklife’s National Lighting Designer, Davyd Williams. This massive production was managed by local Production Manger, Adam Gibson in conjunction with National Producer, Josh Chapman. Over 90 Robe fixtures were used throughout the event appearing across 4 stages. Parklife had its usual ‘nurtured’ stages of Fire, Air, Earth and Wind and definitely blew everyone away with sold out attendance at all concerts nationwide with over 20,000 + attendees.
The Water Stage housed many big names such as Empire of the Sun, La Roux, Kaskade and Chardy. 12 x Robe ColorWash 700EATs, 20 x Robe ColorSpot 700EAT and 2 x Robe 1500 Smoke Machines were rigged on Truss verticals, Front and Mid stage trusses. All fixtures were driven by a GRANDMA. 78 x VuePix P18 panels were rigged as a proscenium arch, mid stage arch and rear screen upstage of 35 panels with a set up as 3 independent screens, however for “Empire of the Sun” they were configured in to one massive screen. Lighting designs for “Empire of the Sun” were by LD Hugh Toranto. The rest of the festival lighting operating was by Matt Hansen from MPH.
The Air Stage was housed with DJ’s to the likes of MSTRKRFT, Crystal Castles, Tiga and Autokratz. Lighting was operated by LD Justin Ogge (aka netball skirt) for the whole of the festival and LD Jack Davies for “Crystal Castles” designed the stage layout. The Robe rig had wave shaped trusses with verticals consisting of 14 x Robe ColorSpot 700EAT, 4 x Robe ColorWash 2500EAT, Robe Fog 1500 and 16 x iLED ColorBank 54’s. 18 x VuePix P25’s were configured as a wall up the centre of the stage 3m wide by 6 meter high. All lights were controlled by a GrandMA.
System tech Matt Downs from Clifton Productions says “Parklife was a sold out crowd as we knew it would be as it is year after year. The Robe’s performance throughout the tour was ‘faultless’ and everyone was happy how reliable these fixtures are, even with how much they are being used!”.
ArKaos MediaMaster chosen for Australian Idol
Posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
Australian Idol, now in its eighth year is broadcast nationally and has enjoyed great success over the years. However, with such a well-publicised and popular format there is always pressure to improve on the previous year’s production. Lighting designer Francesco Calvi of Calvi Lighting Designs, explains:
“What started out as a light show with a central screen on the first series of Australian Idol has now evolved into a ‘big’ light show involving several video screens accessed by media servers all of which are linked to the lighting console.
“When ArKaos released its new version of MediaMaster this year I decided it had everything I needed to take this show through the 2009 season.
“I am using two Power Macs to give me three video feeds. The first Power Mac is feeding the 6-mm main screen and the 28-mm video floor. I decided to run these two feeds off one machine as they work very closely together: the content at times needs to flow from screen to floor as one image and, as they are different format screens, I needed to be able to control each screen separately.
The second Power Mac is feeding the side screens – 16 columns of 28-mm screens – which is treated for the most part as one screen. Both Power Macs are controlled via a grandMA.”
“ArKaos has obviously spent a lot of time on this version of its MediaMaster but, as good as any product is, it is only as good as the support it has from the company. The people at ArKaos have been very responsive to all my queries (even the stupid ones!) and special mention must also go to my local distributor, Show Technology. I am looking forward to working with MediaMaster for many more shows to come.”
Australian Distributor: Show Technology www.showtech.com.au
Vari*Lite & ETC Are Wicked
Posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009
You probably know someone who made the trek to see Wicked in Melbourne, but now the wildly popular musical has made its way to Sydney setting up home at the Capitol Theatre.
The spellbinding musical goes beyond The Wizard of Oz and tells the untold story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. The lighting design of Wicked is the work of Kenneth Posner who won a Tony Award for his effort. Kenneth opts for a Vari*Lite rig.
“I chose Vari*Lite fixtures for the design of Wicked because of the large number of pattern options and the colours, especially the warm pastel range,” Kenneth Posner is quoted as saying. “The colour of the set is actually gray and earth toned. All the colour you see the scenery bathed in comes from lighting.”
A total of ninety-three Vari*Lites are used, consisting of VL2500 and VL3000 Spots, a unit that Kenneth admits to being enamored by, because of its beautiful fading and colours. In fact the original Wicked premiered the first fifteen VL3000 fixtures off the line.
The conventional gear includes close to two hundred ETC Source Fours of various types.
Australian Outback Spectacular opens a new chapter
Posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
The Australian Outback Spectacular on the Gold Coast has begun a new chapter with the opening of an exciting new dinner show ‘Heroes of the Light Horse’ on September 22nd.
Since opening its doors in April 2006, Australian Outback Spectacular has entertained over a million people from all over the world, with its celebration of Australian stock men and women at work and play. The audience learns of their history, marvels at demonstrations of their riding skills, laughs at the gags and enjoys the songs and poems that are not only theirs but ours.
The new show ‘Heroes of the Light Horse’ retains all the fun, charm and skill of the original but with an important difference, this time it celebrates the link between our stockmen and the legendary Australian Light Horse.
The new show has been directed by one of Australia’s most celebrated film and television directors, Simon Wincer, who is best known for movies, ‘The Man from Snowy River’, ‘The Lighthorsemen’, ‘Phar Lap’ and ‘Free Willy’. In Heroes of the Light Horse, Wincer adds a new element to the show by blending extracts from his movie with the live light horse action in the foreground, further enhancing the show and introducing high definition movie vision to all scenes.
Aided by clips from the film, ‘The Lighthorsemen’, the audience follows Australian troops on the long, dry march to the outskirts of Beersheba in Palestine. Following the march, the audience witnesses the famous charge against entrenched artillery, machine guns and infantry, to take and secure the precious wells of Beersheba.
Back in present day, the Spectacular ends on a lighter note celebrating stockmen’s skills, but always aware of the debt all Australians owe to those heroes of the Light Horse.
Many technical upgrades have taken place in particular a new projection system. With the show changing, management took the opportunity to replace the aging PIGI technology projectors and go to a full high definition digital solution. After conducting tests in the venue, four Barco FLM 20 HD projectors were installed in two-double stacks to cover the massive 35m x 8.5m screen. The projectors are mounted inside custom built environmental enclosures which protect them from the harsh environment of the venue with its sand arena surface.
“After meeting with Show Technology’s Emmanuel Ziino and Vince Haddad we looked at the Coolux Pandoras Box system for our playback needs,” said Clint Dulieu, lighting designer. “The system does everything we need it to and at around half the price of anything comparable. One media Player Pro outputs to each projector stack with a third for backup. The Standard server acts as an audio server playing back any audio or music associated with the video output over Ethersound. A Media Manager ties the entire system together.
”We had all the systems built in the same robust server enclosures by Show Technology’s James Moore. The video is routed to the projectors via a Barco 8×8 DVI Matrix Switcher and transmitted over fibre. Each of the media Player Pro’s is fitted with a Decklink capture card and fed with SDI from an Image Pro HD to handle any unexpected live input requirements (or movie nights).”
For control Clint decided to upgrade the existing Avolites D4 console with the new MA Lighting MA2 in line with bringing in the new projection system and new show. Clint comments that whilst the old console had worked for them it was felt that it was really at its’ capacity and that they needed to take the next step to incorporate video control.
”There was no other consideration made but to go with MA and with the 2 series coming out, it was the perfect time for us to buy,” remarked Clint. “A major consideration was how well the MA consoles ‘play well with others’ in terms of integrating them with the other show control systems. The big thing for me was the ability to highly automate the console to make the show very friendly to operate for our techs. Something we had not been able to do in the past.”
The Coolux system is being controlled by both SMPTE timecode and DMX over Artnet from the MA, as well as utilising both internal timelines. This gives a lot of flexibility, especially when using sensors on the set to trigger projection masks via the MAs remote inputs.
Six Martin Atomic Strobes were added to the lighting rig to ‘plus up’ storm sequences and the JEM ZR33s are introducing the ability to do standard smoke as well as their existing low fog. The MA2 is controlling around fifty moving lights and a staggering 300 colour scrollers.
”The ELC Node 3 allowed us to change our feed to the dimmer room over to Artnet whilst also providing an OnPC connection for testing purposes in our workshop,” added Clint. “A rackmount PC running OnPC is our show backup which is fitted with an ELO touch screen, as is the console.
“Show Technology have been kind enough to supply us with an eight port ELC node during our changeover process – as we are still running the old show whilst installing for the new one – to allow our old console to continue to run the existing show over Artnet until we changeover to the MA2.”
Martin MACIII’s are Instyle
Posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009
The 2009 Instyle Women of Style Awards were recently held at the Exhibition Space, Australian Technology Park in Sydney. Lighting designer Josh Moffat from All Things Technical worked with Event Producers Production Stuff to design the lighting for the event.
There were fifty black dresses on mannequins used to create the entrance to the event space, each one lit with a Selecon Pacific, whilst hundreds of mannequins were used to form the main event space. The night was full of awards as well as a performance by upcoming classical act Aston.
The lighting system, supplied by Lots of Watts, comprised of three MACIII’s, ten VL3000 spot, twelve MAC2000 wash, two Look Solutions Unique Hazers, sixty-two Selecon Pacifics, eight Selecon 1.2k Fresnel, and a MA Lighting grandMA for control.
Jonathan Parker, Lots of Watts system tech, was very impressed with the intensity of the light output of the MACIII’s.
”They had no issue shooting all the way down the hall of the venue,” he remarked. “They worked faultlessly through out the event.”
MACIII’s and MA2 are Bootylicious!
Posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009
Lighting designer for Beyonce’s “I am…” Tour is Justin Collie, partner of Artfag LLC, whilst Pat Brannon is on tour as lighting director. Artfag do more than just the lighting design; they are the ‘Performance Environment Designer’ incorporating set, lighting and video element design for the tour.
Beginning with her first ever solo tour in 2003, Artfag has been commissioned the performance environment design for every touring outing of Beyonce’s career including many TV and award show performances.
Justin decided to use the MACIII profiles on the tour because, he said, they were new, brighter and better.
”Due to the huge video screen, we needed to move the lighting elements into useful positions when required so we have most of the MACIII’s on ‘pods’ that can track, raise/lower and rotate within the three-dimensional area over the stage,” explained Justin when asked where the MACIII’s were positioned onstage. “The MACIII’s are nice and bright, the zoom range is good and the rotating effect wheel is a nice gag.”
Pat Brannon, the man on the road with the twenty-four MACIII’s is equally impressed by the fixtures.
“I love the optics of the MACIII,” he said. “It has the same features off the MAC2000 with much improved optics and brightness in fact I love their brightness. Of course the added animation wheel is awesome. I really like the speed at which it will go from zoom to tight beam.”
Each of the six pods holds two MACIII, there are three either side of the downstage truss and three either side on the floor. For wash light there are thirty GLP Impressions: twelve on the floor and eighteen in the air.
”I was shown the GLP Impression in 2007 by the guys from Ed & Ted’s who basically got the Impressions to light an arena from front of house all the way to the back corner,” commented Pat. “I went on to use them on a Bon Jovi tour and loved them so much I had them incorporated into this show.
“However the show is all about video and we have to watch the intensity of the lighting fixtures so as not to blow out the huge LED screen at the back. So really, as far as lighting fixtures go, it’s not really that a big of a system. The idea is to use the pods for different looks.”
Sixteen Martin LC Panels form the surface of the B stage whilst twenty Atomic Strobes with colour scrollers add flash to the show.
Out at front of house Pat has four MA Lighting MA2 consoles and he has been a grandMA convert since 2001.
“The grandMA is absolutely my favourite console especially for shows like this where you have to manipulate the video,” remarked Pat. “Of course there’s no fixture profile that’s default that you can load to control the “Control Freak Systems DMX Bridge” and we have to make all of our profiles custom in particular for the CFS media servers and bridge specialized video. That feature alone makes your life so much easier on a grandMA because you can basically just write profiles for whatever you want.”
Control freak systems DMX Bridge is an interface that lets you control a video processor via DMX which usually you can’t do. The system is made specifically for an individual system therefore no lighting console has a profile for it – the advantage of the MA is that you can quickly and simply write a profile on the desk so you can control any fixture in this case the Control Freak Systems DMX Bridge interface.
”Of course the whole view (personalized profiles) with the desk, laying out a console with a video aspect as opposed to a lighting aspect, is a big plus too, added Pat. “I could just go on and on……”
In fact the Beyonce tour was the first to take out the new MA2 console and initially there were a couple of hardware bugs which MA Lighting promptly sorted out.
”We don’t have the Series 2 software yet and I can’t wait to get my hands on that one!”
ETC and Vari*Lite Star in Jersey Boys
Posted on Friday, September 25th, 2009
Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30. And now their story is being told in Jersey Boys at Melbourne’s Princess Theatre, with the help of lighting designer Howell Binkley and Bytecraft Entertainment. In Australia Hugh Hamilton is acting as both Associate Lighting Designer and Production Electrician.
The star of the show, from a lighting point of view, is a giant ’stadium with six lighting towers’ made up of 144 ETC Source FourPARs. These hold custom donuts (gel frames that limit the size of the aperture of the light after the lens) fabricated to create an impression of perspective for the luminaires, which were placed upstage, facing the audience.
“The bank of 144 Source FourPARs, along with some strobes, looks amazing and is an epic look in the show. It comes at the end of the first act, as The Four Seasons, at the top of their popularity, are performing a live concert on stage. For this look, the stage has been transformed 180 degrees so that the back of the actors are to the audience, but they’re facing what looks like an entire stadium filled with people.”
The holes in the donuts get increasingly smaller, and combined with the placement of the Source Four PARs, give the illusion that the lights get farther away. With a painted backdrop, the effect produces a very convincing look of a huge space in front of the actors, as though the audience of the show was looking directly into the audience of the stage concert. The effect is further enhanced with the use of star strobes to simulate flashbulbs in the crowd.
The show is broken down into four sections, each symbolizing a season as in Four Seasons. Each section is announced with a title slide on a main centre projection screen in the colour tones that characterize each season. Although subtle, these colours are carried through each scene within the section, reflecting the characterization of that season, which also happens to aptly describe the period of time or situation of the band. During the bleak winter section, the band is down to two members with a harsh seeming outlook. All this is illuminated by the lighting, keeping to black-and-white colour tones and minimizing vivid colours.
This concept helped to shape the show around a very open set, consisting of a long, upper-level balcony built of steel, some chain link fences that fly in and out and a cyc backdrop. With the help of some props and smaller set items like tables and chairs that roll on and off, the set is really created by the lighting and projection.
”We also thirty-eight VL2500 wash and thirty-eight VL2500 spot in the rig and they work pretty hard throughout the show,” added Hugh. “It’s really a nice looking design using the colour temperature of the Source Fours against the Vari-lites quite a lot.
An ETC Obsession 2 with dual processor tracking is used to program and control the conventionals.
Eskimo Joe hit the road with Martin
Posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Click on images to enlarge
Perth band Eskimo Joe has just finished touring the country in support of their new album, Inshalla. Phaseshift Productions supplied the lighting system that included sixteen Martin MAC700 spots, eight MAC700 washes, eight MAC250 washes, eight Atomic strobes and nineteen LC Panels as well as various generic fixtures such as molefays and groundrows.
Lighting designer Dave Jackson was given a fairly free rein when it came to designing the show although the band did request a ‘clean’ stage. Dave came up with the idea of placing some LC Panels on the stage floor in front of the guitar amps thus hiding their clutter.
The LC Panels were hung sideways with three banks of three panels on the back truss, two banks of four Panels on the mid truss and one each on the floor in front of the guitar amps.
“The idea was to give the impression of a wall of LED,” said Dave. “So looking at the stage from out front the appearance was of twelve metres of video screen. I used fairly generic content with a little bit of the band’s current video clips. I also edited some of their old clips.”
During the show Dave was also running a remote Sony camera which was positioned downstage and controlled front of house by Dave with a joystick enabling him to run live shots through the LC Panels.
The back truss held seven MAC700 spots and four MAC700 washes with the mid truss holding four more MAC700 washes and five MAC700 spots. Four more MAC700 were placed upstage on the floor. There was no front truss.
The MAC250 washes were mounted on vertical trusses positioned behind the LC Panels.
”At the moment the MAC250 wash is my favourite light!” commented Dave. “It’s just a killer. It’s bright, has nice beam angles and is reliable. We’ve just purchased the beam upgrade kits for them and I’m looking forward to do a show with them.”
Robe ROBIN® 300E Australian Debut – QANTAS Darwin Gala Ball
Posted on Friday, August 28th, 2009
Total Event Service in Darwin is the first event production company to take delivery of the new Robe ROBIN® 300E Wash fixtures in Australia.
Head of Lighting, Rick Bishop had a lot to say when receiving these new fixtures, as this was the first time he actually had been able to get hands on with the new Robe ROBIN® 300E Wash.
Says Rick, “My initial reaction to these units was simply a surprise. The first surprise came when I picked up the first fixture – I’m use to hauling around heavier fixtures, so I was expecting something with a bit of weight to it, but these units are amazingly light at only 20kg! Finally we have a light light! Even the boss’s wife could easily pick one up!”
Total Event Services first gig with the Robe ROBIN® 300E Wash’s was for the Qantas Darwin Turf Club Gala Ball, Australia’s largest outdoor seated dinner event, with an attendance of 3,800 people. The Gala Dinner set beside the ocean, amidst tropical gardens and under the stars, “Setup with these units is very fast and painless,” says Rick, “Especially because of their very low power consumption. 4 units happily run off a 10amp 240v circuit with room to spare”.
The rig consisted of not only Robe Robins, but Robe ColorSpot 1200ATs, Robe LED Blinders, Anolis ArcLine 36 along with iLED Star drapes as a background to the stage. The Gala Ball featured an international main act with world class entertainment and a fantastic fireworks display.
Rick continues “I ran the self-test for about ten minutes , which was comprehensive enough to follow, but quick enough not to be boring, and then decided to point one fixture at a wall. Now, our warehouse has white perspex skylights, as well as the usual 400W highbays, but even from 20 metres away, the Robin cut through the ambient light in all colours and zoom ranges, and the wall was well lit”.
The Robe ROBIN® 300E Wash is a compact fixture with easy to use features. Rick says “The full colour touch screen display is an absolute pleasure to use, with it being very responsive and very forgiving of my pudgy fingers. The menu navigation is by far the easiest I have ever seen, with an absolute plethora of information at your fingertips. DMX addressing and lamp functions are directly accessible from the start-up screen, and everything is painfully obvious to suit every user.”
One of the features Rick loved was the zoom and speed of the Robin when operating, especially live. Rick says “The 4 degree zoom is extremely punchy, easily equalling any ACL, and it cut straight through the big LED wash and assorted other movers I had on behind them. At the 40 degree end of the zoom, there is still plenty of output for a decent stage wash and movement is very fast due to the light weight.”
“I was pleased with the usual gamut of features that Robe have put into these fixtures, says Rick. The CMY with variable CTO, the usual colour wheel, a very narrow 4 degree to a nice wide 40 degree zoom, and the lamp is nicely optimised for all zoom ranges with Robe’s new hotspot control and is a very fast shutter with a smooth dimmer.”
Rick concludes to say “Overall, the ROBIN® 300E Wash is an excellent fixture, and Robe have outdone themselves on this one. We absolutely love these fixtures, and given the choice, I would own nothing else. If the business plan allows it, we will definitely be buying more Robins. They are absolutely fantastic!”
LC’s Wake Up In Vegas
Posted on Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Click on images to enlarge
Martin LC panels were used to great effect for Katy Perry’s performance of her new single ‘Waking Up in Vegas’ on Rove recently.
LD Frank Racina utilized some custom content to push the Vegas theme of the song through Martin LC LED panels. Control was provided by Lachlan Sinclair operating a Hippotizer media server. “It was great to finally make use of the LC’s. They looked great for this and I can’t wait to use them again” commented Frank.
Resolution X supplied 8 Martin LC 2140 LED panels and the Hippotizer. This added to the MAC550 and VL500 used regularly on the program. Tim Hall, managing director at ResX comments “The LC’s are proving very popular in both the TV and events markets. The speed of set up, ease of use and reliability is simply amazing”.
www.resolutionx.com.au
Perth Truck & Trailer Show
Posted on Friday, August 21st, 2009
Click on images to enlarge
The Bi-annual Perth Truck & Trailer Show hauled its way into the Perth Convention Centre for three huge days in July, extending over all 6 pavilions at the venue. The 2009 event showcased a huge selection of brands from all areas of the related industries. Big names, legendary names, new names, accessory displays and competitions offering something for everyone.
The 2009 show attracted a crowd of over 8,000 and presented many opportunities for networking and generated many sales and leads for exhibitors. The comments and feedback from all parties involved were extremely positive.
Clifton Productions Perth was the official rigging and lighting contractor for the Truck & Trailer Show. Clifton Productions, contracted by Staging Connections, elected to visually enhance the Scania stand with a VuePix P25 Screen display. “This display certainly had everyone talking”, says Ed Matthews of Clifton Productions, of the P25 suspended over the stand featuring the ‘Scania’ logo and custom video animation.
Clifton Productions also exclusively lit up the Truck & Trailer gala dinner in the Convention Centre’s ballroom. All designs were by Michael Wood of Clifton Productions Perth. A projected screen was used in the centre on the stage and 42 VuePix P25 LED panels utilized for additional effects around the perimeter.
6 x iLed Star Curtains were used as a featured wall behind the VuePix screens. A full Robe Rig was used to project vast array visual colours and washes consisting of 8 x Robe ColorSpot 1200AT, 8 x Robe ColorSpot 700E AT and 8 x Robe ColorWash 1200AT. 12 x iLed ColorBank HO 108 were also added and used to illuminate the underside of the stage.
“Although the ball was only for 400 people, we had rave reviews from those who attended” says Ed. “Our Robe and VuePix products continue to impress!”
www.ulagroup.com
Clifton Productions Lights Up Hilltop Hoods
Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2009
Australia’s premiere hip hop crew, the acclaimed Hilltop Hoods hit the road in July for what promised to be one of this year’s most highly anticipated tours. The shows bringing together the best of local and international hip hop artists with special guests ‘Classified’ and ‘Briggs’.
Clifton Productions were employed to supply the lighting and rigging for the Australian tour supporting the release of the new album “State of the Art’, which not only debuted at #1 but also achieved Gold Sales status in the first week. On top of that, “State of the Art” is the fastest selling Australian album this year. The Hilltop Hoods are renowned for their live shows having toured extensively throughout Australia.
The stage featured a large VuePix display covering the back of the stage wall. At 7.2 metres by 3.6 metres, 100 x P25 LED panels were used on a 5 metre high truss arch. The design of the VuePix P25 panel gives the screen a semi-transparent effect. Strobes, Moving ACL’s and Blinders on verticals were positioned upstage behind the VuePix screen to great effect.
A full Robe ColorSpot 700E AT and Robe ColorWash 700E AT rig hung over the mid and rear of the stage. This created behind, through and all over stage looks projecting through the band to the crowd.
The overall effect was “Massive” said System Tech Matt Downs of Clifton Productions.
All the custom made animations that ran through the VuePix screen was all in sync with the audio, creating a combined visual auditory impact bringing the entire show together.
Matt expressed how everyone was amazed at the speed of the Robe 700 fixtures and their overall performance with further comments on the quality of zoom and colours produced. “For the last leg of the tour we had to ditch all spares due to lack of truck space, but we never thought twice about it…. we knew they would stand up to it!” says Matt.
Lighting Designer and Operator Paul Owen, used an Avolites Diamond 4 to control the entire show. Matt says “I had to talk Paul into using the D4 and he absolutely loved it, having good experience with Avolites Pearls previously. Matt continues, “ There are some quirky things you could do on an Avolites Pearl, however I showed him how Avolites have really improved so many more features on the D4, offering more choices and options on so many usable features. He is a huge fan now, and impressed on its reliability!”
www.ulagroup.com
Martin MACs for Evermore
Posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009
Evermore has just finished their ‘Truth of the World’ national tour of Australia with GRB Lighting supplying the lighting and rigging.
The rig comprised of eight MAC600 wash, eight MAC250 Entours, six Atomic strobes, four Molefay duets, thrity-two Par 64 nsp and six 26 degree Kupo profiles.
“The tour was extremely A-class and our Martin fixtures went hard for six weeks proving to be reliable at every one of the twenty-two shows,” commented Greg Butt, managing director of GRB. “The LD Jason Steele did a fantastic job of lighting the band without drawing away from the 8m x 5m fast fold screens which had a huge nine Gig of content per song.”
Lighting designer Jason Steele has been working with Evermore for the past 2 years. The brief he was given for this tour was that he had to work around the three massive video walls while still delivering an impressive light show. Jsaon was required to enhance the video content but still give them a very punchy rock look.
“To do this I used MAC250’s because of their great range of gobos and the rich colours,” he remarked. “They’re also nice and light and easy to rig in some of the smaller venues. The MAC250’s helped heaps with the theatrical side of the show highlighting band members and also giving lots of ‘Pink Floyd moments’. I used the eight MAC600’s on the ground to achieve big silhouette looks of the band and to splash colour around when I needed it. The pars and strobes they were there to add a bit of old school to the rig and fill in were the movers left gaps.”
As well as really liking the rich colours and great gobo selection of the MAC’s, Jason was amazed by their great reliability - going the whole tour with out any faults – and that they fit into such a small footprint on the stage and into the truck.
www.showtech.com.au
Bjorn Again again but with LC Panels!
Posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009
Doing their part to keep to keep the music of Abba in the forefront of people’s minds and wallets, Entertainment Installations supplied production to Bjorn Again for their three sell-out shows at the State Theatre in Sydney.
“The rig featured the usual Bjorn lighting spec with some extras, as 60 Minutes was on-site doing some filming for an up-coming feature,” explained Neale Mace, managing director of Entertainment Installations. “Alex Saad is the LD / ringmaster for Bjorn Again and he runs a tight ship – in fact his lighting cues are perfect.”
Eight Martin LC Panels were the dominant feature of Alex’s rig, forming a staggered backdrop of images. Eight Martin MAC700 Profiles also played an important role situated on the floor behind the band from where they could fan out in a stunning array.
The rest of the rig comprised of 16 x Kupo Par64, 32 x Kupo MultiPar NSP, 8 x 1k Kupo Fresnels, 8 x Kupo Molefay Duet, 8 x Kupo Profiles, 1 x Martin Atomic and the show of course wouldn’t be complete without a 24″ mirror ball. Essential to the lighting crew was a container of home-made banana muffins.
www.entertainmentinstallations.com.au
Phaseshift go Greek
Posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009
You may never have heard of him, but Notis Sfakianakis is apparently like the John Farnham of Greece! In June he played to adoring audiences at Sydney Entertainment Centre and Melbourne’s Hisense Arena with a fabulous production supplied by Phaseshift Lighting and Johnston Audio.
Notis Sfakianakis’ LD Alex Petraj liaised closely with Phaseshift to ensure a spectacular show using sixty-four Martin MAC700 fixtures, twenty-two Martin Stagebars and plenty more all controlled by a MA Lighting grandMA.
The rig was comprised of a front truss and two mother trusses over the stage from which were sub-hung seven finger trusses. On each one of the fingers there were three MAC700 washes and three MAC700 profiles. The front mother grid truss there were six bars of ACLs and more MAC700 profiles whilst the rear mother grid truss had four bars of Studio Due CS4’s and two bars of ACLs. On the front of each mother truss there were a 4-lites.
The front truss held seven MAC700 wash, twelve 4-lites and twelve Source 4 profiles. On the stage floor were twelve MAC700 profiles and six Martin Atomic strobes.
“The opening was the highlight of the show for me,” commented Lawrie Videky, managing director of Phaseshift. “Notis appears on top of the riser where there’s a treadmill placed so he can do this walking thing to the ‘Eye of the Tiger‘ song! It’s very Eurovision.”
Leading down from the riser was a two-metre wide staircase which Phaseshift retrofitted with sixteen Martin LED Stagebars using custom brackets.
Sydney crew: Lawrie Videky, John Bamford, Matt Spiker, Rob Oswald
Melbourne crew: John Bamford, Matt Spiker, Rob Oswald, Troy Brown, Tim Beeston
www.phaseshiftproductions.com
Martin in the Pink!
Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009
The Pink Funhouse Tour is currently winding its way around the country half a dozen times as she plays a record breaking 58 shows. With a stunning set designed by Mark Fisher and show direction/lighting by Baz Halpin, the show is a roller coaster ride of visual treats.
Trent O’Connor, ex pat and one-time Bytecraft employee who has resided in London for several years, is operating the lighting for the entire world tour using his favourite console – a Martin Maxxyz.
”I believe that the Maxxyz is basically what the Hog 3 should have been,” commented Trent. “It’s easy to program, the cloning on it is brilliant and just operating it is really easy. Everything is laid out in front of you.”
Trent went on to say how he particularly favours the surface layout of the console which makes programming such a breeze.
“All you have to do is click and type to change any value. It’s simple. It’s not as many button presses to do what you want. It’s powerful and fast. You can run a lot of universes of it so it’s ideal to run a big show like this.”
Trent pointed out that the double processors now installed in the Maxxyz make the speed of it fantastic.
Trent regularly supplies Martin with feedback on the console and being a company that listens, Martin takes his comments seriously. In fact Trent reports that Martin is currently working on some of his suggestions.
Also in the show are Martin MAC2000 washes which Trent describes as a reliable light that are great for touring as they never seem to break. Martin Atomic 3000’s, the best strobes in the world according to Trent, are also in the rig.
www.showtech.com.au
Phaseshift having a laugh
Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009
It’s been a comedy start to the year for Phaseshift Productions – Going Danny Boy to Wayne Brady and now on to Ross Noble in Australia’s first comedy in the round at large arenas.
Phaseshift was asked to supply a great looking rig that was easy to put up and take down every day. Another stipulation was that all of the Stage, Video and Camera gear had to fit into one truck – no easy task .
The crew on the latest show was LD Dave Taylor, systems techs Michael Corbett and Harley Parker who was out on his first tour which he passed with flying colours and praised by all.
The gear toured was 8 xRobe 1200 washes, 8 x Martin MAC2000 profile, 8 x 4lite, 16 x 2k Castors and 20 x Multipars. Phaseshift also toured a new MQ 100 Chamsys Console with a Hog 1k as back-up. Dave was very impressed with the MQ 100 and the ease of how easy it was to use.
www.phaseshiftproductions.com
Lighting Avenue Q
Posted on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
The Tony Award winner, Avenue Q, has finally hit Australia making its debut in Melbourne courtesy of Arts Asia Pacific and Power Arts.
Described as “Sesame Street on crack”, Avenue Q is a quirky adults-only musical that aims to shock and entertain.
The Australian production of Avenue Q is directed by talented director, performer and Helpmann Awards host, Jonathan Biggins. Other members of the creative team include: David Skelton as Musical Director, Nathan Wright as Choreographer, Set and Costume Design by Richard Roberts, Technical Direction by Richard Stuart, Sound Design by System Sound and Lighting Design by Richard Pacholski.
Richard Pacholski designed a rig that utilised the power of Martin MACs including 1 x Martin MAC2000 performance, 9 x Martin MAC700 profile, 8 x Martin MAC700 wash, and 6 x Martin TW-1 80v narrow lens units.
“The MAC700 profiles and washes proved themselves with great functions and reliability,” he commented. “We had no swap-outs during the whole tech period and their quiet operation was important in a small venue like Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre.
“Again, I was impressed with the MAC TW-1 narrow lens unit. It’s a great light for theatre use….great colours and fade profile….and quiet.”
Effects include 2 x Look Solutions Unique DMX hazers, 2 x Look Solutions Viper DMX smoke machines, 2 x JEM Magnum smoke machines and 3 x JEM AF-1 DMXsmoke fans. Control is a MA Lighting grandMA console plus a grandMA lite and 2 x ELC Nodes.
According to Richard, all units were supplied and expertly prepped by Chameleon Touring Systems.
www.showtech.com.au
Robe Hits Doll Domination
Posted on Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Click on image to enlarge
The Pussycat Dolls hit Australian shores mid May stirring up a bang with their Worldwide tour – Doll Domination, supported by Lady GaGa. Touring production services were by Bytecraft Entertainment and Robe fixtures supplied by Clifton Productions.
LD Scott Warner exclusively used a full Robe rig including fixtures from the new Digital Series for the Pussycat Dolls “Doll Domination” tour, a Robe spec for the entire world tour. He added 28 REDWash 3•192 LED wash lights to the design. The rig also included 60 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 2500E ATs.
Warner first used Robe fixtures on a PCD show in St Petersburg, Russia last year. The performance, brightness and features impressed him so much that Robe has now become his moving light of choice. The PCD performance is a highly visual, all-action extravaganza encompassing the genres of pop, hip-hop and cabaret, for which Warner’s light show needed to cover the wide range of lighting requirements. His creative scope has to cover all avenues and keep the new looks coming and the excitement and anticipation pumping right to the final chords. He achieves all this with a relatively expediently sized rig in terms of fixtures.
“The 2500s are fantastic,” says Warner, as the core elements of his design, “They’re proving really reliable, very bright and offer all the flexibility I need”. The lights are distributed all across the rig. This features an innovative trussing design based on 4 Octopods – two static underneath the front truss and two moving ones over-stage left and right, plus a 4.5 metre circular truss stage centre, and a smaller semi circular truss. In the upstage left and right corners are two 20ft runs of SwingWing truss, flown diagonally and there’s also a back truss running the full width of the stage.
On the floor are 6 REDWashes used as footlights across the front of the stage and 4 ColorSpot 2500E ATs in ‘shin-buster’ positions stage left and right. The idea was to keep the floor clear as possible of lights and accentuate the clean lines of the set, a co-design between Warner and production manager Bryan “Froggy” Cross.
Warner uses the REDWashes to cover the stage and set with numerous lush and striking colours. He comments, “They are really brilliant units! The coverage and the colour range are both amazing, and they also have a proper white which is very useful”. Warner adds that the technical service and support from Robe in Australia and worldwide is “Excellent” and also feels they really have their fingers on the pulse in developing digital lighting technologies for the future.
Robe’s REDWash 3•192 is the first in a series of new moving head wash lights based on RED (Robe Emitted Diode) technology. The fixture features 192 Luxeon Rebel LEDs and provides a rectangular light field with manual control of beam spreads. Supplied with a 25º “egg crate” lens module, with 15º, 45º, and 15ºx45º options also available, the unit’s LEDs are tightly arranged for optimized homogeneous colour distribution and uniform shadow behaviour.
Clifton Productions are the first in Australia to purchase the new technology featured in the Robe REDWash 3•192. Managing Director Cuono Biviano says “It’s great to see such enthusiastic early adoption of the new technology so quickly and a thrill to see Australia’s first tour using the REDWash technology. It’s also great to see two industry leaders working together on such a high profile world tour to produce a first class production.”
Warner concludes to say “The REDWash 3•192 is a fixture I will definitely be adding to all my future designs. Its bright, fast, has fabulous rich colours, is compact and highly reliable – true to Robe’s form. This is my new favourite light, hands down!”
www.ulagroup.com
Vari*Lite & ETC Razzle Dazzle Chicago
Posted on Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Click on image to enlarge
Chicago is one of the world’s most popular and thrilling smash-hit musicals. After a decade of decadence Chicago has returned to Australia and is currently playing at Sydney’s Lyric Theatre.
Chicago has been honoured with 6 Tony Awards®, 2 Olivier Awards®, a Grammy® and thousands of standing ovations. An estimated 17 million people around the world have seen Chicago which has played over 15,000 performances worldwide.
The legendary lighting designer Ken Billington lit the original Chicago on Broadway many years ago using Vari*Lite VL6 fixtures. Since then he has overseen numerous productions and the moving lights have changed with the times. The Australian production has a rig consisting of ten VL2500 spots and over 250 ETC Source 4 fixtures, supplied by Bytecraft Entertainment.
“We went from VL6 to VL6C on Broadway, in London from VL6 to VL2000 spots and VL1000 Arc,” he commented. “The original Australian production used VL6 and for this production we went to VL2500 spot.
“The show moving light wise is simple and I do not use many gobos and don’t do colour mixing. The few times we use colour it is from the colour wheel. I have not re-designed the show I have just upgraded the equipment. Over time the lighting has gotten brighter; the theatres are bigger for touring productions than the Broadway and West End theatres, so an increase in intensity was necessary.
“The Vari*Lite is the moving light I always request for Chicago. They are efficient, reliable and a work horse in the industry. When Chicago was done in 1997 it was one of only two moving yoke spots made in the world. I guess I am loyal and why change a good thing?”
Ken reveals that Chicago on Broadway was the first complete ETC Source 4 show done in New York.
”When we opened thirteen years ago the PAR had just come out,” he said. “The show worldwide is all Source 4’s. In some country’s it was the first Source 4 they had ever seen! It was also the first all Source 4 show on the West End.”
Photos by Jeff Busby
www.jands.com.au
Bliss N Eso get the trafficlight treatment
Posted on Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Click on image to enlarge
Paul Lim from trafficlight was engaged as the Production Manager and Lighting Designer for Bliss N Eso’s Melbourne leg of the Flying Colours Tour. Their Melbourne shows at Festival Hall were not only the largest venues of the tour, but incredibly the 10,000 punters who saw them over two nights set a new record as the fastest selling Aussie Hip Hop show in Australia. Event equipment supplied the bulk of the rig, with Resolution X and Johnston Audio supplementing the rest and Element Rigging providing truss and motors. The show was operated by the Band’s touring LD Chris Quinliven, who got to use his biggest rig yet on a Bliss N Eso show.
Equipment:
1 x Hog 1000, 3 x Dimmers, 1 x DTS Wireless DMX transmitter, 3 x DTS Wireless DMX Receiver, 18 x DTS Delta R Wireless, 4 x MAC700. 6 x MAC500, 4 x MAC250, 4 x Atomic Strobe, 6 x Molefay Duet, 10 x Par64 LED, 32 x Multi Par HOG, 6 x Selecon 1200w PC, 4 x Slecon Acclaim profile and 2 x Unique Hazer.
www.trafficlight.com.au
Perth’s Central Park goes Red for MS week
Posted on Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
Perth’s Concert & Corporate Productions has been helping the MS Society of WA increase public awareness of this disabling neurological condition that affects around 18,000 Australians. As part of MS week CCP were asked to light up Perth’s tallest office tower Central Park.
The building, completed in 1992, stands 224m to the peak of the spire. The challenge of lighting this prominent landmark was handled by CCP’s Sean McKernan for the second year.
“We tried to do something different this year to make the building stand out even more than last year,” explained Sean. “The spire was not prominent last year so this year we decided to install Pro Shop LED Honeycomb 72’s up the spire for added effect.”
CCP installed twenty Honeycomb 72 fixtures up the 12m spire and these were focused straight out to allow for 360 degree viewing and visible from up to 30km away. Adding extra colour to the base of the spire and lower level support beams are sixteen Kupo 575w Arc MultiPARs and four Studio Due CityColor 2500w.
“The HC72’s and MultiPARs are awesome and we use them a lot, we have custom Dichroics made for the MultiPARs to prevent gel burning out,” remarked Sean.
www.ccpwa.com
www.showtech.com.au