Stage FX has grown its special effects inventory with a significant investment in Universal Effects Europe, with a band of ten new Jet-Bubbles 500, bubble machines. “The decision to purchase these machines was a no brainer considering the increasing popularity of events featuring bubble effects,” said Stage FX General Manager Arran Hopkins. With two wheels for a variety of bubble sizes, the high output bubble machine generates hundreds of glistening bubbles every minute, meaning it can cover large areas in a short time. This portable machine with its easily accessed fluid tank is ideal for any event wanting to evoke…
Author: Stewart Hume
Home to the world’s tallest building, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is accustomed to doing things big. The extensive festivities marking the 44th UAE National Day were no exception. The official National Day event at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi was a high-end production featuring Clay Paky and Robert Juliat lighting fixtures, MDG atmospheric generators and grandMA2 consoles. A.C.T Lighting is the exclusive distributor of those brands in North America. UAE National Day commemorated the Emirates’ 44-year union with fireworks, concerts, heritage attractions, regattas, and art and theatre festivals across the Emirates. The official National Day show at Zayed…
The Splashy Fen Festival is aptly named. Starting on a trout farm in the spring of 1990, South Africa’s longest running music festival serves up giant helpings of outdoor fun in and out of the water for thousands of visitors every year. There are also arts, crafts, games and, of course, plenty of music, from folk, rock, and techno, to mbaqanga (the up-tempo jive music of the townships), and the wonderfully distinctive Zulu style of isicanthamiya. Over 1,500 different groups have performed on the Splashy stage over the past quarter century. This year, the venerable festival got a bold new…
Lebanese rental firm, QDB, recently purchased Allen & Heath’s dLive digital mixing system to add to its hire stock, making it the first PA company in the country to invest in the new system. Supplied by Seebeck Audio through Allen & Heath’s distributor, PAXT, the system comprised the flagship S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack fitted with a Waves networking card. Samer Atallah, General Manager/Sound Engineer at QDB, said: “We were in need of a large format digital console, and after a long and extensive search we were introduced to the dLive system by Seebeck Audio. Like any…
Solid Rock Event Technical working with Blue Platinum Events to provid the full technical production for a massive son et lumière at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg. The event was part of a special invitation event for the key sales teams, dealers and clients of Daimler Truck & Buses, a division of Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA). Twenty-four Robe BMFL Spot moving lights were on the lighting spec for filling the voluminous environs of the 95,000 capacity venue. The performance was a complete immersive audio visual experience with high-powered projections mapped to the large pitch area supported by lights shooting around the…
OVER 500,000 PEOPLE ATTENDED THE EXPERIENCE – A MEGA CONCERT AT THE TAFAWA BALEWA SQUARE IN LAGOS, NIGERIA. THE SHOW IS AN INTERDENOMINATIONAL GOSPEL CONCERT ORGANISED IN NIGERIA BY THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK, A VIBRANT, MULTI-ETHNIC CHURCH. Organisers chose an Outline audio system, Yamaha for control and an upgraded lighting rider that included Clay Paky and Avolites to ensure that the spoken word and music performances by artists such as Don Moen, Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond, Micah Stampley, Kim Burrell, Hezekiah Walker, Jessica Reedy and Sonnie Badu were all heard and seen by the huge crowd who enjoyed 11…
THE SPECTACULAR EVENT, HELD AT SKY DIVE DUBAI, INCLUDED COMPLEX PROJECTION MAPPING, EYE-WATERING PYROTECHNICS AND IMMERSIVE STUNTS – ALL DELIVERED BY A TRULY INTERNATIONAL CREW. Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai International Marine Club (DIMC) ushered in the 4th FAI World Air Games (WAG) at an impressive and colourful opening ceremony on 3 December 2015 in front of an audience of nearly 5,000 spectators, which included officials and contestants from over 50 countries. Event promoter and creative driving force Dynamic Motion hired Protec to provide the projection, media servers, processing and tracking system for the…
The year 2015 saw After-Race Concert goers treated to four nights of entertainment, with an all-Arabic night on the Thursday, Latin crooner Enrique Iglesias on Friday, festival favourites Florence + The Machine on Saturday, and Britpop legends Blur, who closed the celebrations on Sunday. Produced by government-backed promoter Flash Entertainment, the four consecutive shows each required a distinct look and feel, and this meant that the stage had to be reset each night to accommodate the incoming artists. The After-Race Concerts were realised under the watchful eye of Flash’s Lee Charteris, along with the consultation of Lighting Designer Steve Shipman.…
Manchester UK based dbn Lighting was commissioned by People, to provide lighting design and on-site lighting direction service. The festival narrates the ongoing conservation of Abu Dhabi’s most historic Fort, and through a series of highly interactive elements, hosted a celebratory programme to reinstate the Qasr Al Hosn site as the cultural heart of Abu Dhabi. Qasr Al Hosn, which has stood as the symbolic birthplace of the Emirate and home to Abu Dhabi’s ruling Al Nahyan family, is undergoing a comprehensive process of preservation, restoration and rehabilitation. Based around the historic Qasr Al Hosn Fort, the Qasr Al Hosn…
DESPITE ONLY BEING IN ITS THIRD YEAR, REDFEST HAS ALREADY MADE ITSELF A MAJOR PART OF THE UAE’S MUSIC FESTIVAL CALENDAR. TPMEA’S STE DURHAM RETURNED TO DUBAI’S MEDIA CITY AMPHITHEATRE TO MEET THE CREW. Initially put together collaboratively by Done Events and Virgin Radio, RedFestDXB was conceived as a hit music festival, designed to showcase the stars of the station’s current playlist. The 2016 manifestation of the two-day music festival saw acts such as The Vamps, Steve Aoki, Rita Ora, Adam Lambert and DJ MistaJam play to thousands of adoring (and intimidatingly youthful) fans. As well as the main stage…
In the early days of entertainment technology, Mark Brown’s ‘can-do’ attitude made him stand out from the crowd. Since then, he has amassed a wealth of experience, allowing him to stay at the forefront of the events industry for over 25 years. Entertainment technology writer and PR guru Jerry Gilbert interviews Mark with affection reflection to discuss his career – from his first move into the industry with Tangerine Productions, providing lasers for HRH Prince Edward’s 21st birthday party, through to his move to Dubai, where he is now the Group Chairman for eclipse Staging Services… When Mark Brown noticed…
Terry Miranda and Dubai based Lighthouse Productions designed and supplied another elegant set and lighting design for the 2016 Al Burda Islamic Art Awards staged at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre in the UAE. Nearly 100 Robe fixtures graced the rig, including 16 Robin 300 Beams, 12 ColorWash 575 ATs, 12 MMX Spots, 24 PARFect 100’s, 12 Pointes and 16 CycFX 8’s. Lighthouse, known throughout the region for its fresh and inventive designs, has invested in Robe since 2004 and currently owns a large inventory of products. The annual Al Burda Awards is open to artists of calligraphy, poetry and…
