For the first time, lighting was designed by Robert Grobler who incorporated over 200 Robe fixtures on the rig which was supplied by Gearhouse South Africa for this high profile event staged at the Durban ICC Arena. The set was designed by Michael Gill from MGD and based on a collection of different sized LED screens, shaped into a multi-media environment giving everyone, wherever they happened to be seated in the auditorium, a clear and three dimensional view of the stage. Grobler’s challenge was to light all these different sections of stage separately so they could work as stand-alone elements…
Author: Stewart Hume
Popular South African rock band The Parlotones delivered a performance backed by a chamber ensemble, arranged and conducted by composer and musician Brendan Jury, at the Teatro at Montecasino, Johannesburg last month. For the first time in his career, LD Kevin Stannett from Crosslight had an entire Philips Vari-Lite rig at his disposal and programmed on a MA Lighting grandMA2 light. Gearhouse Splitbeam was the full technical supplier at the venue. “The look I wanted to create, because of the additional orchestra, was somewhat more theatrical than what The Parlotones are used to,” said Kevin. “The band gave me a…
March 2016 saw the launch of Dubai’s newest entertainment venue, the Autism Rocks Arena. TPMEA’s Ste Durham was invited to be among the first to explore the site and experience the inaugural performance, courtesy of US megastar, Nicki Minaj. Pulling a 20,000 capacity, purpose-built entertainment venue out of the sand dunes in a matter of months is no mean feat, but newly created events company 117Live has accomplished just that in the outskirts of Dubai with the Autism Rocks Arena. Despite the fact that the site is only a stopgap until a permanent amphitheatre is constructed, 117’s parent company, Al…
South Africa’s DWR Distribution has welcomed Michael Broderick to its team. Based in Durban on the country’s east coast, Broderick’s role at DWR will encapsulate consulting on theatrical and entertainment ventures, conducting training courses and conceiving novel ways of demonstrating new products to the marketplace. “There is so much we will learn from Michael,” said Duncan Riley of DWR. “He is a good friend, we’ve had great times together in the past and really are looking forward to the future.” Broderick described how “thrilling” it was to be involved in the entertainment industry: “We are all still children at heart and…
Following the success of the first LETPC in 2015, the south african roadies association (sara) held its second international live events and technical production conference (LETPC) at theSsunnyside Park Hotel in Johannesburg from 12 to 14 may 2016. The event was principally sponsored by the Department of Arts and Culture with additional sponsorship from Gearhouse, Dreamlenz Productions and Beautiful Creations Décor & Design. Delegates, who hailed from a raft of industry organisations such as TPSA, EXSA, IFEA, SACIA and SARA and included small businesses and professionals from the event, technical and production sectors, once again had the…
The eclipse Group today announces the regional rebrand of the Middle East’s answer to expert laser displays, Laser Grafix to Laser FX. Since 2003 eclipse has gone from strength to strength, growing both organically and by strategic acquisition, into a group of six unique companies encompassing all that there is to offer to the event and integrated technologies industries. Now, with the eclipse Group brand solidified in the industry, and as each of these companies has evolved within the Group, they each require a common brand identity. For the past 25 years Laser Grafix has been delivering top class laser…
The principal event in the Gauteng theatre calendar came to a dazzling climax in April, when the winners of the prestigious Naledi Theatre Awards were announced to a packed audience at the Lyric Theatre, Gold Reef City, Johannesburg. Set and Lighting Designer Robert Hoey from Dream Sets incorporated a Robe rig for a glitzy look and feel. This year Robe Lighting, DWR Distribution and Dream Sets assisted as sponsors for this worthy event. Executive Director, and Creative Director for the Event, Dawn Lindberg, said of this years 39th awards: “The standard of excellence gets higher and higher each year, making the judges’ job of selecting winners…
The Globestock range of PPE equipment is now available to riggers in the Middle East for the first time, following an agreement between Globestock and Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC. Customers of Unusual Rigging and Engineering will now be able to get their hands on the Globestock range of Fall Arresters and Load Arrestors. Denis Bramhall, Managing Partner of Unusual Rigging & Engineering said: “We really believe in the quality of the Globestock range of products and recommend them to protect personnel when working at height, accessing confined space and where there is a risk of falling. This is the…
Working as Project Manager for Afrikaans is Groot (AIF) since it’s inception four years ago, Denzil Smith from MGG had always hoped that Joshua Cutts would some day step in as lighting designer for this slick, large-scale production. A busy schedule with many other prominent shows had prevented Cutts from doing so previously…. that is until the client, Coleske Artists, approved his suggestion to involve Christopher Bolton as a joint designer and thus split the load. They could work simultaneously on separate MA Lighting MA2 desks on the same network using 24 universes. AIG is all about top Afrikaans artists…
A brand new business specialising in the delivery of safe, secure and successful events across all sectors of the entertainment industry has been launched in the Middle East. World Class will offer clients a complete event support package, from production and technical expertise to Health and Safety advice and guidance. World Class is headed up by Managing Director, John Adkins, a highly talented production director whose career spans three decades, including a six-year tenure within Birmingham City Council’s events division where he produced the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations in 2002 and the opening and closing ceremonies for the World Indoor…
The young LD, who got his first taste of lighting design at just 13 has spend the last few years honing his skills and recently purchased six Robe Robin 300 LEDWash fixtures from DWR Distribution, which he used as part of the rig when lighting Brescia House School’s matric dance in May. With the theme, a night under the stars, Sutherland used six Robin 300 LEDWash units, three Robin 300 Spot Classic, Chauvet fixtures and Martin M-PC lighting software to create a moonlit ambience for the memorable evening. “I used the spots with a prism to create stars and the Robin 300LED Wash units to…
Supporting the inaugural Love Music Your Way all-day event, eclipse Staging Services provided the brand new music festival with a high-quality, full technical package alongside the laser expertise of Laser Grafix. Co-headlining the last festival of the season were Rudimental and Disclosure with supporting performance from Bipolar Sunshine, Ms. Dynamite, Jasmine Thompson, DJ Charlesy and Hollaphonic to name a few. To accommodate the stage lighting, video, audio and lasers, the eclipse power department supplied three 350 kva synchronised generators. In addition, one 350 kva and two 200 kva generators were provided to power the entire Dubai Media City Amphitheatre site, which included the artists’…
