Tom Sutherland was back on the set of Dancing with the Stars recently, lighting his second season of the American reality dance competition for the ABC network. Lead designer at DX7 Design, Sutherland, who used Elation lighting on last season’s show, again turned to Elation fixtures to light the myriad of dances while finding a unique visual solution to fill empty audience space. “There were some challenges this year as there was no audience, which usually plays a big role in the show. Nobody, especially in television, likes black holes,” said Sutherland, stating, “When you have an expensive set that looks like a million dollars, you don’t want to sacrifice that by a few dodgy shots. With HD cameras and 360-degree looks we have to make sure we have all our bases covered.”

Visual design studio PXLFLD recently deployed Hippotizer Media Servers from Green Hippo, the specialist creator of tools for the real-time manipulation of video for the AV industries, to provide the visual backdrop for a top-secret party and live performance by singer-songwriter Veronica Maggio. Conceived by Red Bull, the exclusive event, staged at the Nobis Hotel in central Stockholm, was available only to fans who completed a treasure-hunt-like series of tasks.

Pixel Artworks, the award-winning specialists in light and pixel technology, lit up the skies above London’s Greenwich with the colours of the rainbow as it harnessed cutting-edge creative technology to fly London’s very first drone light show above a regal residency. Additionally, the trailblazing company now holds exclusive permissions to hold further drone displays over additional iconic venues across the capital.
 

Greek football club Olympiacos celebrated the 45th championship title in its history by sending a message of hope and optimism to its supporters in Piraeus, all of Greece and around the world.  A spectacular televised show, filled with light and music, was staged in the empty G. Karaiskakis Stadium where the team demolished a coronavirus pandemic “wall” and fans joined players virtually to raise the championship trophy.  Claypaky Mythos 2 fixtures contributed to this “Lights of Hope” ceremony and its theme of overcoming obstacles to emerge triumphant.
 

The iHeartRadio Music Festival marked its tenth anniversary virtually this year recording its headline artists live, with no audiences, in Los Angeles and Nashville.  Lighting Designer Matthew Ardine handled the LA portion of the show, which hosted Miley Cyrus, Migos, Alicia Keys, Swae Lee, Khalid and Usher at the iHeartRadio Theater.  He utilized an array of Claypaky fixtures, which are part of the theater’s rep plot.

Emmy-award winning production company, 7 Cinematics, celebrates an epic weekend of shows and livestreams at Denver’s legendary Red Rocks venue Sept. 24-27 with Tiësto, Fitz and The Tantrums, and Lotus, with a pay-per-view only livestream for Billy Strings. Shot via a live drone, 6K REDs, and Blackmagics, each artist simultaneously had a 4K livestream available to fans via Nugs.net, opening up the viewership of each concert to a worldwide audience. With a pre-pandemic capacity of 9,595, Red Rocks scaled down the tickets to a maximum of 175, allowing fans to safely attend Tiësto, Fitz and The Tantrums, and Lotus in person while abiding by socially distant guidelines.

It’s approaching a year since Spanish lighting designer Juanjo Llorens first enthusiastically compiled his design for Circo de Hielo 2, the latest winter show from Madrid-based Productores de Sonrisas (Smile Producers), creators of large scale multidisciplined extravaganzas like Circo de Los Horrores and many others. The newest arena show, directed by Suso Silva, played in a bespoke 1800-capacity circular tent that was erected for the run of shows at IFEMA Madrid that combined premium ice skating with acrobatics, breath-taking stunts – including a skater fighting with a violinist playing live – and heaped with theatricality, pumping live music and incredible visuals!

disguise’s latest software release, 17.4 combined with its new RenderStream software, rx and vx hardware bundle creates the complete solution for hosting real-time content from render engines, Unreal Engine and Notch. A proven leader in xR workflows for experience creation, disguise designed the vx, rx and RenderStream bundle as a complete toolset for delivering real-time content into unique physical spaces. Be it a stage, a set, studio or stadium, rx and RenderStream support a robust and integrated delivery platform for managing complex setups.

A unique Luton van conversion for singer-songwriter, Olivia Dean, featuring a Martin Audio sound system, has enabled the East London based recording artiste to tour her local area during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Masked Singer – TV singing competition with celebrities concealed in fantastic elaborate costumes and full face masks, in this case depicting the Wolf, the Dragonfly the Queen and several others to keep their identities secret whilst performing cover versions – hits Belgium for the first time this autumn! Presented by Niels Destadsbader and recorded at NEP Studio in Londerzeel, a judging panel and the audience are drip-fed with clues as to their real identity … which is revealed when one is voted off at the end of each episode.

Verge Aero, the leader in high performance drone shows, recently took to the skies together with partner Strictly FX for a celebratory light show marking the launch of the 2020 NFL season for the Philadelphia Eagles. The company, which is based in Philadelphia, deployed a fleet of 200 drones to deliver the large-scale aerial performance, which played out above Philadelphia’s Mann Center for the Performing Arts. 

Presenting theatre and performance in the pandemic is a truly challenging space, but it’s also no surprise that our hugely talented and resourceful entertainment industry worldwide is responding with some truly imaginative and ingenious solutions for offering the public much needed opportunities for engaging with thrilling and emotional dramatic experiences! “Fiach” is a fantastic example! This unique new work by Philip Doherty unites the disciplines of theatre, cinema and comedy in a seat-edge live onstage and in-car drama, accompanied by vibrant large format video visuals, a thumping sound system, intense theatrical lighting … all in a Covid-safe drive-in viewing environment.

TV singing contest The Voice continues to dominate global viewing habits, and The Voice Kids in Colombia on Caracol Television is one incarnation of the phenomenon. Like its sister shows around the world, the spectacle demands ever-better visuals as each season ups the one before.
 

A full complement of Elation luminaires gave a spectacular closing to Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra's tour earlier this year in Mexico City, where he shared the stage with several artists, including Mexican singer Carlos Rivera. Chris Penso, an experienced lighting designer who has worked with Latin stars such as Franco de Vita, Carlos Vives, Chayanne and Marc Anthony, was responsible for lighting Yatra's tour.

The long, hot summer of COVID-19 saw live music safely come back to Chicago’s lakefront with the new Lakeshore Drive-In venue.  Artist management company AudisBliss spearheaded the project working with LEC Event Technology, Inc. (LEC) to transform a parking lot just west of the Adler Planetarium into an in-person concert venue that keeps the safety of the attendees, artists and employees in mind.  LEC provided Ayrton Perseo-S fixtures for the stage, the first compact, multi-function luminaire with an IP65 enclosure rating developed for intensive outdoor use.