The recent upgrade, originally planned before the pandemic and delivered once the restrictions started being lifted … comprised 14 x ESPRITES, 8 x PAINTES, 16 x LEDBeam 350s, 8 x LEDBeam 150s and four T1 Profiles.

P3 has two music halls – of 850 and 350 capacity – and a theatre space that accommodates 130. The venue opened on April Fool’s Day 2006, and the now head of technical and production, Ferry Veenman has worked there for 17 years, the first six as a bartender, and one of the regular lighting technicians, Edo van Randen, has clocked up 18 years. In that time, they have seen a constant stream of great shows and superlative music.

Ferry now looks after all things technical in three live music halls plus five rehearsal rooms, one of which is a studio. The venue features a striking functional modern architecture look compete with a super-cool hydraulic entrance door and is a well-known regional creative hub.

At least two or three shows and events are hosted each week and P3 also produces its own, so it’s a busy and dynamic environment requiring flexible lighting.

When P3 opened nearly 19 years ago, some Robe 575 ColorSpot and ColorWash moving lights were in the main hall rig. At the time they were among the first installed in the Netherlands, and impressively, they were still working when recently removed and replaced!

In 2012 10 x Robe LEDWash 300s were purchased from Controllux, Robe’s Benelux distributor, and at the time, these were again among the first in the country in a fixed installation.

Like many venues in the Netherlands, P3 is local government-funded and run via a foundation. The discussion about revamping the lighting started during Covid, partly prompted by the requirement that all venues nationwide transition to LED lighting to be more sustainable and consume less power.

Ferry – who also works as a freelance LD – consulted his crew including P3’s most regular freelancers, plus the management board and some external lighting professionals. He wanted to get a clear understanding of people’s opinions on the best fixture combinations from all their different perspectives.

Naturally, they looked at other brands as well as Robe. However, a primary reason they chose Robe again was that those old ColorSpot 575s were still going 18 years later. “If you can get THAT long out of a fixture, it represents excellent value for money,” commented Ferry, “it’s really not rocket science!”

Robe’s TE lightsource in the ESPRITES and PAINTES reinforced this thinking. “I’ve seen firsthand the potential longevity of the Robe hardware,” Ferry noted, “so being able to replace the LED engine is a definite bonus.”

Another plus is the great relationship and support they enjoy with Controllux, so taking all these considerations together, Robe was a clear winner.

P3 has had Avolites consoles in house since 2008 – initially purchased on the recommendation of Maikel Sakkers who was working as a lighting tech and programmer at the time, and is now one of Controllux’s key account handlers for lighting.

Ninety-five per cent of the shows at P3 will be lit by Ferry and his team. He recalled that the sheer intensity of the new fixtures and raft of creativity they unlocked took a little acclimatisation, but the new lights are making a massive difference to how shows can be lit, boosting the production values for all involved including, importantly, the audience.

Ferry loves the “power, punch and incredible optics” of the ESPRITES, and the brightness of the PAINTES, especially for their small size, was slightly more than he anticipated, and he also notes that they are fast and make great blinders in addition to working exceptionally well in conjunction with the LEDBeam 350s where they are installed in the small room and make a perfect fit.

The LEDBeam 150s are part of a floor package together with four of the ESPRITES, and this can shift between the two spaces as needed, while the T1 Profiles are used for outstanding front and key lighting in the larger hall.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland

Staged at NRG Stadium, Nathan has also created production lighting for the concerts for several years, with LD Systems as the lighting vendor.

Every five years a major technical upgrade takes place ensuring all the latest and best technologies are available for the benefit of all artists. Lighting is rigged on a bespoke TAIT-designed and built stage / roof structure, and this year Nathan and LD Systems made a major investment in Robe including the addition of 62 iFORTE, 70 x TetraXs and 16 x iBOLTS.

It was the first time iBOLTS had been used in the USA on a concert series.

Also, after successful testing last year, Nathan and the team changed up to be using a full RoboSpot system for remote follow spotting with 16 iFORTE LTXs running on 12 x RoboSpot BaseStations, giving fantastic 360-degree coverage from all around the stadium.

These new Robe products were added to the 128 x Robe Spikies and 49 x MegaPointes which were installed on the rig in 2018.

The 20-day Houston Rodeo event features a stellar lineup of artists for each of the nights and is the largest livestock exhibition and rodeo in the world attracting more than 2.7 million visitors, also making it Houston’s biggest event of the year!

Being the first to use Robe’s iBOLT laser source fixture – since FDA approvals were granted in late 2024 – was hugely exciting, and Nathan positioned four iBOLTS in each of the four corners of the stadium on the floor where they could be used for breathtaking aerial effects throughout the stadium and for texturing those corner spaces which so often get left in the dark on massive shows like this.

Nathan remarked that this was a perfect environment for iBOLTS!

Four years ago, they had been using another brand for a searchlight style effect, but were already on the lookout for something more modern that would surpass those, which had simply not been possible … until the iBOLT arrived on the scene!

He first saw the iBOLT when it was still a prototype and loved the big lens, the fat light source emanating from it, and its “beautiful, elegant” flat field which is ideal for cameras. “It was a very distinctive look and an absolute match for what we wanted,” especially the texturing effects in the corners which was achieved using the prisms and gobos.

Thirty new iFORTES were positioned in the overhead trusses and another 32 iFORTE on trusses over the audience.

These were chosen as a powerful, fully featured profile light to replace the previous ones, which struggled against the considerable ambient light output from the large upstage LED wall, so after extensive testing, iFORTE ticked all the boxes as the best option.

The IP rating was a factor here. While it is an indoor show, there’s copious amounts of dirt, dust and other detritus constantly floating in the air, so the sealed optical chamber was a big plus in that context.

The TetraXs are also on the overhead rig and looked nothing short of “awesome!”

They replaced a previous effects fixture. “We really wanted something to boost the texture of the bigger lighting picture and a light source that was highly flexible, as we have to maximise all the looks across all the performances, so the rig must be ultimately versatile,” Nathan explained.

He likes the linearity of the fixture, a disruptor in the ocean of round beams, the pan functionality opens many possibilities, especially having multiple TetraXs running together in sequences. “I like the look, it’s an extremely dynamic light that can be used in so many configurations, and it was that ability to produce so many contrasting looks that persuaded me to make the choice,” he stated.

They were rigged so that when oriented in a straight line, they mimicked the star shape of the stage, which looked super-cool and was an effect that riffed positively with the overall aesthetic.

Some of the RoboSpots were run in doubled-up pairs to cover the furthest 365ft throw distances from positions on the stadium perimeter to downstage center, with single iFORTE LTXs covering the slightly shorter 300ft throw positions along the shorter sides.

They provided all the main key light and were critical to how everyone looked onstage and on camera.

The Spikies are still looking good and impressive doing their super-fast movement and kinetic style effects, plus bringing an individual look to the space, and Nathan still totally rates the MegaPointes as “fantastic tools and rock-solid reliable workhorses,” which in this case were deployed on the deck around the star stage, as well as above the backdrop behind the band.

The main challenge of integrating lighting upgrades to this event rig is the scale of implementation and responsibility involved – basically making the right decisions and spec’ing kit that will work constructively for everyone’s shows.

The complete lighting control network was also new this year, with fiber running around the whole stadium.

The shows are run more like a TV production than a festival. Guest LDs rock up with their artists and give input beforehand, but the shows are all programmed and run by Nathan and his crew.

Working alongside him as lighting systems engineer / programmer was Lance Williamson, who took care of all the perimeter lighting. Rodeo’s lighting programmer was Carson Beckman, while Dan Barrett was the RoboSpot ‘wrangler ‘and tech. They were also joined by lighting techs Fred Deci, Wade Henry and Elijah O'Day.

Last but not least, LD Systems’ project manager was Rob McKinley.

LD Systems purchased its first Robe products in 2013 when the Pointe was launched. The company – part of the Clair Global Group – also celebrates its landmark 50th year throughout 2025, so it was a big deal to be able to make this investment and underline the commitment to the brand via a great working relationship with Robe’s North American team.

Photo Credit: courtesy LD Systems

The 1100-capacity large hall and 420-person small hall are both now fully equipped with Robe moving lights, with packages specified by the chief lighting technician Mathieu (Mat) Huveneers and his team to deliver full flexibility and high production values for all performers. During the pandemic, regular livestreams were broadcast from the studio.

Muziekgieterij initially opened in 2007 and has been on its current former “Sphinx” ceramic factory site on the outskirts of the city since 2013, with the large hall built from scratch in 2019. The venue now stages an average of 7 live shows a week including a full weekend programme, so it is essential for them to have dynamic lighting systems with plenty of creative potential.

The very first Robe lights associated with the venue had arrived back in 2009 – a set of ex-rental ColorSpot 575ATs supplied by local partner Demo Productions, located in nearby Ulestraten. This was way before Mat’s time, but the fixtures were only finally retired in 2023, impressing everyone with their reliability and longevity!

In 2019, with the completion of construction of the large hall, 12 x ESPRITES, 44 x LEDBeam 150s and 12 x Spikies were delivered by Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux again via Demo Productions.

The 12 x ESPRITES went into the main hall along with six of the LEDBeam 150s and the 12 Spikies which make up an excellent floor package, with the balance of the little LEDBeam 150s going into the small hall together with 6 x ParFects. “All these fixtures are a perfect physical size and had all the right features to offer great shows in both venues,” commented Mat, who has worked at Muziekgieterij for 10 years, starting as an intern whilst still at high school.

“Apart from unlocking plenty of creativity,” he comments, “these Robe lights are all low on maintenance,” which is a great asset for a busy venue like this as less maintenance gives him and the lighting crew more time to spend lighting bands and being imaginative!

The small hall lighting rig was working very well for DJ shows and dance parties, but they still needed some hard-edged beam / spot lights for the space.

Just before summer 2023, Controllux’s Maikel Sakkers rocked up with some prototype Robe PAINTES, which the team – including lighting technicians Axel Moors and Petri Veerkamp – were able to test and evaluate in situ.

Shortly after came the decision to purchase eight PAINTES for the small hall. thu local partner Demo Productions.

“This was for all the same reasons that Robe had worked so successfully for us already,” said Mat, “Low maintenance, the AirLOC™ (Less Optical Cleaning) technology - also featured on ESPRITES - which keep the optical elements in good condition for far longer was a big plus, they are rider-friendly fixtures, and all the bands and musicians we host can work with PAINTES.”

Axel, also a big fan of ESPRITES which he “drives extremely hard” especially when lighting dance events and show shows in the big hall, particularly likes the compact size and speed of the PAINTES. Again, this is great for lighting and creating atmos for dance music events. “The zoom is fantastic – I can fill the whole room with light in an instant and the brightness is truly impressive for the small size of the fixture!” he declares.

He adds that visiting technicians are frequently commenting favourably about the Robe lights and their setup.

Mat remarks on the lack of hotspot in the PAINTE and indeed, on all the recent Robe product ranges “the intensity and the even spread of the source is fantastic, and that’s something that – clearly – much time and effort has been spent on.”

About 40 % of the incoming bands – all those who don’t bring their own LD or operator – are lit by the Muziekgieterij crew and Petri notes that it’s great to have all these Robe products in the rig as they really give the versatility to light all sounds and styles of music.

All of them enjoy working at the venue, a music lover’s dream, and a stimulating environment where there is always something interesting or cool happening. “It is a great place to learn the craft of lighting different types of music and live artists of all descriptions, and also be able to experiment a bit and discover the techniques and treatments that will work best,” concludes Mat.

Photo Credits: Louise Stickland, Harry Heuts

A stunning stage and production design by Florian Wieder included an impressive 750 square metres of transparent upstage LED screen, striking mountain set pieces and a fabulous 3-dimensional industrial scale video frame at the front which defined the space. This worked in conjunction with a 250 square metre black video floor, assorted other video and mapped surfaces including scenic mountains plus approximately 4500 lights … to deliver nearly 50 distinctive individual performance environments.

The Robe elements included 180 x SVB1 and 72 x iFORTE LTXs moving lights, plus 36 SVOPATT static multi-source units and 40 LEDBeam 150s which were ensconced in the set.

The lighting system was actually ground supported to gain height and additional weight loading, although you would never have thought that from watching the final show thanks to some slick work by Johannes Schau from BigRig.

The Robe iFORTES were all used for key lighting, with some running on 12 x RoboSpot remote follow BaseStations.

These Robe assets helped Tim ramp up the energy, glitz, glamour, and zaniness of an array of highly individually presented songs, meeting the ambitious visual demands of 37 competing delegations, whittled down to 26 finalists competing for the 2025 title.

On top of these, across the two televised Semi-Finals and Grand Finale were an additional 11 show openers and interval acts with full stage and lightshows.

Tim had previously lit Eurovision 2023 in Liverpool, a critically acclaimed show co-hosted by the UK and Ukraine who were the 2022 winners, and he was delighted to be back as part of the winning technical /creative production bid for this one.

The SVB1s were rigged prominently on the over-stage flying trusses, positioned closely together for max effect and utilised for a range of full-on whizzy pixel and strobing effects to gently undulating kinetic chases as well as contributing to the numerous beamy looks that dominated the night. “They look phenomenal especially when bunched up tightly like that,” commented Tim.

Twenty-four over-stage trusses were all on an automation system, allowing Tim to create different architectural looks for each artist, boosting the dynamics of the space, while the depth was further accentuated by the considerable number of lights rigged upstage of the screen. The surface could be revealed or melted away with lighting according to the overall visual look of each participant.

The SVOPATTs were rigged upstage, positioned for throwing blocks of high-quality light into this area below the depth. This new Robe product features nine individual modules each containing 7 x 40W RGBW multichips and a centre pixel also with a 200W white LED strobe. The modules can be used in beam, wash or effects mode and the fixture generates over 75.000 lumens output at the integrating sphere.

The units were hidden out of shot, but contributed some significant work behind the set, punching in volumes of light right behind the physical mountains. “It was more about getting a volume of light in the right place than it being flashy and in-the-face with them in this context,” explained Tim.

The SVB1 is a compact moving head version consisting of one single SVOPATT module and is also new, making it exciting to have them working on an event of this profile.

iFORTES were positioned all over the rig for multi-angle coverage and, as said earlier, they were used for most of the follow spot work and all the essential key lighting.

This has been Tim’s fixture of choice for the task since the product was launched in 2023. “They are bright, the CRI is better than any other fixture I've used, and they are reliable,” he confirms, adding, “Right now, there isn't a better key light out there on the market!”

He has also used RoboSpot remote follow systems on several major TV shows and he prefers remote follow systems that have a human physical operator controlling the light source.

The challenges of being part of the creative team on a show like this are complex.

While there is a good budget, the scale of the show and achieving – and managing – the multiple and very ambitious expectations need judicious decisions.

The required attention to detail is demanding and an immense volume of information needs processing methodically and practically. Multiple production disciplines are closely aligned and are working both interdependently and harmoniously; the schedule on site is very intense as is the pressure. “Doing a Eurovision Song Contest is a lot of hard work, so you must want to be there, teamwork is vital, and on top of that, we have fun as well as delivering our best imaginative ideas … because this is the spirit of Eurovision,” elucidated Tim.

This year, Tim managed a bigger core team of 14 people than he had in Liverpool as the lighting control department was also in charge of programming the playback video content for all the delegations.

Tim’s gaffer was Keith Duncan with Mark Henry as his best boy, James Scott and Morgan Evans were his two associate lighting designers.

The programmers were Alex Mildenhall and Tom Young on moving lights, with Marc Nicholson on key lights, working closely with overnight programmers Alex Passmore and Martin Higgins.

Louisa Smurthwaite co-ordinated and called all the follow spots co-ordinating with 14 professional operators from UK-based follow spotting specialist, Pro Spot.

Tim’s video department was led by producer Sam Lisher working alongside programmer / technicians Andy Coates, Luke Collins and Emily Malone.

Neg Earth’s lighting project manager was Lindsey Markham who managed the technical details and lighting crew working under Keith Duncan.

They were part of a 250-person show ‘run crew’ who ensured that the multicamera extravaganza – directed by lead Multicamera director Robin Hofwander – ran seamlessly and spectacularly on the night.

Eurovision 2025 – the 69th edition of this legendary song contest event – was a fabulous fusion of music, madness and magic enjoyed live by approximately 6500 people in St. Jakobshalle arena; with 36,000 watching on giant screens in the adjacent football stadium serving as an ‘overflow’ area for the broadcast that was seen by an estimated 170 million viewers worldwide.

The winner was Austria’s JJ (Johannes Pietsch) with “Wasted Love”, an all-action operatic style ballad set during a storm at sea, with a hugely cinematic presentation packed with moody contrasts and stark monochromatic moments – one of the most interesting and eccentric presentations from an evening of eye-popping scenographic surprises.

Photo Credit: Ralph Larmann

Equipped with three auditoriums – Berlioz Opera, Pasteur and Einstein – the venue has recently invested in Robe moving lights. In total, 46 x T1 Profiles, 20 x T1 Fresnels, 12 x ESPRITES and 10 x FORTES were supplied by Texen, a specialist in production technology integration and sales.

The 12 ESPRITES are permanently installed on the advanced catwalk of the 1995-capacity Berlioz Opera auditorium. They throw light over a distance of approximately 30 meters to the stage and are used for front and key lighting.

Built in 1990 from pink granite and metal, the venue hosts both entertainment events like concerts, operas, dance performances and one-person shows and professional gatherings such as congresses, conventions and gala dinners. Since opening, it has also served as a regular performance venue for the Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier. Shows staged there are renowned for their high production quality, and the auditorium is acclaimed for its exceptional acoustics.

Eighteen of the T1 Profiles are installed in the Pasteur auditorium (745 seats), while the remaining units are deployed on stage as needed.

A Transition to LED

Christophe Mora is the lighting manager at The Corum. He has worked there for five years in this position, and before then worked as a freelance lighting technician for 20 years, both in France and internationally. He was hired for his expertise in moving lights and modern lighting systems, with the mission of guiding a smooth transition to LED technology, now mandated by French regulations.

The replacement of older moving lights began in 2020. Christophe carried out this mission with Philippe Pujol, a lighting expert who has been working at The Corum for 20 years and has in-depth knowledge of the venue’s production requirements, configurations and technical practices.

High Standards for Equipment Selection

The two most important criteria in selecting these new lights were silent operation – a must for the Berlioz Opera auditorium, which hosts many opera and classical music performances – and colour rendering.

Several brands were evaluated. Christophe and Philippe, together with the full audiovisual team, conducted in-depth tests with each brand and consulted with their regular clients. They also analysed technical riders from hosted productions to identify the most frequently requested gear.

Sandra Vernier, CEO of Montpellier Events trusted her team’s expertise to recommend the most suitable fixtures for the venue’s needs.

“We took all these elements into account,” explains Christophe. “Robe stood out for its low noise levels and excellent colour mixing, which drove our decision. Additionally, we were impressed by the zoom range and the smoothness of the dimming curves.”

He adds: “It was a decision based on technical merit. These fixtures proved to be the best fit for our needs.”

An Optimised Setup

The T1s were also selected for their light weight, making them easier for technicians to handle. All flight cases were customised by Texen, allowing them to be moved easily under catwalks and rigged quickly, saving time and reducing physical strain.

One major challenge in the Berlioz Opera auditorium was introducing these new lights to its many users.

“A lot of people dislike sudden changes,” noted Philippe. “So, we phased them in gradually, taking into account everyone’s needs, from opera technicians to lighting designers and other professionals who are used to specific colour tones and lighting styles.”

The Robe fixtures were delivered in batches by Robe France to Texen.

Now fully installed and in use, everyone is delighted, reports Christophe, adding that Robe, as a recognised brand, carries a strong trust factor.

A Significant Improvement in Production

The arrival of the Robe fixtures has greatly improved how shows and events are lit, as well as the turnaround times between different configurations. Lights no longer need to be dismantled and moved – only the scenery and staging elements are adjusted.

It is now possible to host a plenary congress session in the Berlioz Opera auditorium during the day and follow with a concert in the evening, with lighting that seamlessly adapts to both contexts.

Previously, the Pasteur auditorium required a full day to change over different setups – today, just a few hours are enough.

Christophe has been using Robe products since 2007, both in France and abroad, and appreciates their quality and functionality.

“I believe the Berlioz Opera auditorium now has exactly the lighting equipment it needs,” he says, adding that working with Texen – also based in Montpellier – was a real advantage. “The project ran extremely smoothly. They were a fantastic team to work with,” he affirmed.

In fact, Texen established a base in Montpellier as early as 1998 specifically to support The Corum and its three auditoriums. Since then, they’ve handled all technical and stage production needs for the venue, offering expertise, experience and high-quality service.

A Near-Complete Transition to LED

Today, 90% of the lighting in The Corum's auditoriums has transitioned to LED. A few traditional fixtures remain in the Opéra Berlioz control room, but they’re scheduled for replacement soon.

“The Corum Congress Centre – Berlioz Opera is one of the most important venues in Montpellier and the region. It’s an exceptional showcase for us – and for Robe,” says Nicolas Bellini, Sales Director at Texen.

His team worked closely with Jean-Marc Farre, Regional Sales Manager for Robe France (Grand Sud area), who helped finalise the deal and adds:

“Texen has been an excellent partner for us – on this project and many others involving Robe. There’s a strong synergy between our two companies.”

Jean-Marc highlights the quality and versatility of the three types of Robe fixtures installed, which meet the demands of even the most complex environments, where advanced functionality is key.

Following the installation of the T1 at Berlioz Opera, several other major opera houses in France followed suit, including the Royal Opera of Versailles and the renowned Opéra Bastille in Paris, both of which have also invested in Robe lighting.

More information about MONTPELLIER EVENTS:

MONTPELLIER EVENTS manages and operates, on behalf of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, two major venues: The Corum, Congress Centre – Berlioz Opera and Zénith SUD, Live Entertainment and Convention Hall.

With over 30 years of experience and a team of more than 50 professionals, the venues host more than 300 congresses, trade shows, events and performances every year, welcoming nearly 500,000 attendees. Certified ISO 20121.

https://www.montpellier-events.com/en

Photo Credits: Louise Stickland & Courtesy Montpellier Events

Twenty-eight of these fixtures were part of a new lighting package which has been added to the theatre’s house rig, and, as Adrian needed a couple more of each type to complete the detail of his design, more were sourced through Robe’s Asia Pacific office, also in Singapore.

This was the third re-light of this Swan Lake production at the high-profile venue, the second time that the Singapore Ballet has been accompanied by the Metropolitan Festival Orchestra, and the first time that ESPRITES were used as the main workhorse lighting fixture.

Adrian has worked at Esplanade many times before using their previous moving light systems, and noise was often a battle, not so much with the Ballet, but certainly with opera productions, where fan noise was an issue as singers needed ‘pin-drop’ silence and no ambient distractions.

Through working with opera shows, Adrian’s ears are consequently hypersensitive to any environmental elements disturbing the acoustics, and the quietness of the ESPRITES was something he immediately noticed.

All the ESPRITES were positioned above the stage for Swan Lake, and the trim height of the fly bars was around 10 metres. Adrian commented that the fixture’s output was “amazing … I never needed to go to full, and they worked brilliantly as a top wash.”

This staging of Swan Lake was very classical, so the lighting needed to emulate this tungsten aesthetic using the latest technologies, which were never seen to move during the performance, but worked hard throughout.

As a designer, he appreciates the subtlety and texture of the pastel colours, and until this experience with ESPRITES, the warm tones of any LED fixtures were “never warm enough”.

So, he was very pleasantly surprised to find that the warm sunlight glow – at around 3000K – that he desired for this show looked “really nice”, and that generally he didn’t have to do so much colour mixing. Primarily the colour temperature whites covered the very specific tones that he wanted.

For the lake scenes, he arrived at a very satisfactory 5600K tone with all the right nuance and texturing, again without having to spend too much time producing the hue with the ESPRITES.

By his own admission, Adrian is “a stickler” for hyper-sensitive linear dimming and elegant refined pastels, cool steels and decent warm whites, “Most manufacturers can do a saturated blue or a red, but when it comes to pastels, colour mixing, especially using an LED source, it is a whole new art form.”

He noted that creating the beautiful and intricate gobo scenes required for this production was “substantially faster” using ESPRITES and moving lights than it had been previously, and that you had the additional benefit of being able to repurpose those same fixtures that were instrumental in building the gobo scenes, for something completely different just moments later as the story unfolded.

Adrian also likes the colour temperatures of Robe’s T1 range, with which he was already familiar, “Again, the dimming and CTO features are extremely good for an LED source.”

He lights a lot of opera, ballet and contemporary dance pieces, all among the most demanding performance genres when it comes to visual production.

He first used Robe products back in the early days with the ColorSpot E AT series, and even back then noticed the “outstanding” CMY colour mixing, He also does a lot of work at Singapore’s Gardens by The Bay which features installed architectural products from Robe’s architectural brand, Anolis.

“The kit is reliable, well designed and engineered and you know what you are going to get,” he commented.

He has also recently used more of the new Robe fixtures at Esplanade Theatres by The Bay including PAINTES in the Black Box space, and FOOTSIE2s and T32 Cycs when lighting a hybrid / contemporary dance piece.

These were all part of the same lighting upgrade featuring a total of 170 x Robe products among other lights.

Photo Credit: Bernie Ng

Tom was delighted to join the live show creative team for the first time, although he’s worked on the audition stages of the competition before. Award-winning director Phil Heyes approached Tom to bring his fresh modernist style to the bigger picture and he came in with a rock ‘n’ roll-style design carefully balanced for television.

He worked alongside some serious talent including creative director and co-executive producer Brian Burke – with whom Tom also collaborates on pop phenomenon Westlife – and set designer Florian Wieder, plus a trove of other smart and creative individuals with unique production skills including art director Steve Morden.

Season 4 of the show on ABC was the first time American Idol has been run without an audience – due to pandemic restrictions – although 50 x Covid-tested members of the public were allowed in for each live show broadcast, seated in club-style booths which add a touch of ‘classic ambiance’ to the aesthetic.

The video-based set was fully automated on 37 x moving points and hugely dynamic. The architecture of the space could be dramatically shifted at the touch of a button, and Tom’s main challenge was to accentuate the overall feeling of space and make the studio look as big, impressive and rock star-like as possible!

The lighting rig was designed at maximum width, expanding into the roof and right out to each side – above what would normally be the audience – with transformed the venue’s visuality.

The MegaPointes, all supplied by Felix Lighting together with around 1300 other fixtures, were rigged in eight large trussing pods forming a ceiling above the performance area. Then there were two rows of MegaPointes all around the perimeter (back and sides) of the upstage LED screen in a ‘goal post’ configuration.

Sixteen MegaPointes per side were positioned behind the left and right band risers onstage, with a final row of these workhorse moving lights running along the front truss.

To make the ‘global’ design work, the pods and horizontal trusses above them had to be millimeter-perfectly aligned as well as positioned specific to one another so the critical key lights rigged above could reach the presenter, performer, and judges’ positions below whatever the format of screens and lighting, unhindered by metalwork or other obstacles.

“It was a bit like piecing together a giant jigsaw!” stated Tom, “and all credit to Frank Dawson from Kish Rigging and Jesse Sugimoto from SGPS Showrig who coordinated all the production rigging and automation elements.” Automation was programmed by Daniel Sturman, and all the motion and lighting cues worked in unison.

The substantial upstage LED screen split horizontally and vertically into four segments and flew up into the roof, so more lighting was needed during these moves to fill the voids, especially out to the sides. Behind the back screens was a massive cross-shaped wall of light.

The MegaPointes in the pods were used to ‘wrap’ the room in a layer of stunning lighting, cross-referencing with the fixtures around the screen and on the deck.

Tom enjoyed the many challenges of lighting this forever changing space including always keeping focus on the artists, even though they were surrounded by a vast amount of technology and a succession of visual WOW moments.

The versatility of the MegaPointes, the big video set presence and the automation combined unleashed an ultimately adaptable environment ensuring each of the approximately 170 songs and performances – across the run of live shows – looked completely different.

While the MegaPointe was a valued “workhorse” fixture for this production offering a near-infinite range of looks, Tom is the first to credit his programmers Joe Holdman and Nate Files for their skills in crafting the array of intricate and colorful looks. “In scenarios like this, it is essential to have multiple lights and a core fixture that is a good spot, wash and beam in equal measure,” he summed up.

Six Robe BMFL Spots on six RoboSpot systems were also utilized, three for back spots, three for fill spots and one positioned at FOH for low-level spotting when the ceiling pods were in / down.

grandMA2 was the lighting control platform. Tom’s FOH included associate designer Hunter Selby and media server programmer Scott Chmielewski. The gaffer was AJ Taylor and the best boy Danny Vincent, both working closely with lighting techs Dom Adamé and Brian Karol.

Nicole Barnes was the account handler at Felix Lighting. She enthused, “This was the first year Felix Lighting has been involved with the American Idol Production. Tom’s designs presented us with exciting opportunities to grow and ride along with someone who we admire and respect.

“Tom's collaboration with production designer Florian Weider has produced some next-level stuff. Rigging, automation, camera work and video content choreographed with lighting were all executed flawlessly by the onsite production and design teams. I was excited to tune in each week to see what happened next!”

Working with Tom has been “a highlight” of Nicole’s career so far. “In addition to his obvious talent, he is one of the most gracious, humble, and delightful people I’ve had the pleasure to know.” She confirmed.

Nicole further explains that being a part of this season has been vital to all at Felix, helping pave a way for the industry’s return to a post-pandemic world that is getting people back to work, keeping others safe, and contributing to the overall health of the economy, “all of which have been top priority for us personally and professionally.”

American Idol’s live show production / broadcast period ran from March to May and was extremely well received.

Hosted by Ryan Seacrest, with Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan as judges. the executive producers were Trish Kinane and Megan Wolflick … and the 2021 winner was Chayce Beckham.

Photo Credits: Hunter Selby, Jasmine Lesane

Meg graduated from Guildford School of Acting in 2017 and has pretty much been on the road since then. She is normally a Deputy LX, and up until the start of the UK lockdown on 23rd March … was working on We Will Rock You!

Robe: Where are you right now?

Meg: Currently I am residing in Watford, England, waiting for this virus to blow over so that I can get back to doing what I love.

Robe: What are you doing to fill the time whilst isolating / on lockdown?

Meg: I managed to buy a couple of puzzles before the shops shut, and I'm on call for the family as I am fit and able to collect prescriptions and shopping for relatives and friends. Being able to drive has its perks as I can drive around the countryside to find new walks for my exercise routines.

Robe: What’s the most creative thing you’re able to do in isolation?

Meg: I am in the middle of decorating my mum’s living room for her! Including painting old ornaments to fit the new colour scheme and making cushion covers out of curtains!

Robe: Are you looking after anyone else during the Covid-19 crisis?

Meg: I'm living with my mum and brother who are both fit and well, but my grandparents are unable to leave their house due to recent operations and their age, so I'm going to the shops when they need me to!

My uncle and his family have gone into isolation as they are showing symptoms so I'm also doing prescription runs for them too … and taking lots of precautions to avoid being in close contact!

Robe: Has anyone inspired you since this started?

Meg: Those on the front line – they're relentless! I thought our industry was tough as nails, but we're nothing compared to them!

Supermarket staff (including the drivers) dealing with angry customers and working round the clock to keep the shops stocked, and the NHS which is dealing with an insane amount of illness, plus all the other emergency services and first responders … just being incredible as always.

Robe: Favourite book / movie / Netflix series / viral video?

Meg: I'm trying not to watch too much TV, I don't normally when I am on tour so I'm trying not to change that routine. If I had to pick one, it’s Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. That was amazing!

My movie would be The Lion King. (acclaimed 2019 American computer-animated musical directed and produced by Jon Favreau)

Book… that's a tough one. I like an easy read as they let me escape reality!

Robe: What’s the first thing you’d like to do when we are through this?

Meg: GO TO THE THEATRE! I really miss it. I miss working too, and I never thought I'd say that!

Robe: Own question / answer / message of solidarity or something you’d like to say?

Meg: Just keep hanging in there. We'll be back on our feet in no time, enjoying and appreciating our jobs like never before!

An extensive tour – currently in the U.S. is re-igniting the enthusiasm, passion and commitment of their loyal fanbase who have rocked up to show their continued appreciation and enjoyed intense performances with an eye-popping production design to match … created by Dominic Smith from Neon Black.

Dominic – who is based internationally in the U.S. and the U.K. - started working with the band in April and Neon Black delivered the full production design for the tour – lighting, video and set. The lighting rig includes 40 x BMFL Blades which are being supplied by VER.

It’s the first time Dominic has toured with Robe’s highest powered BMFL moving lights and he thinks they are “a great light – bright, reliable and do everything I need in terms of effects and functionality.”

The rig has an interesting architectural appearance and shape comprising a series of interconnecting concentric diamond shapes, and the lights are arranged over a series of trusses.

Twelve of the BMFL Blades are used as key lights on the front of the band, and the rest as high-impact back lighting and effects.

Dominic likes the quality of light coming out of the BMFL, the sharp focus and the strong and vibrant colors, which are in keeping with the punky essence of Blink-182’s music. He also finds the shutters smooth, accurate and easy to use.

The lightshow features lots of bold blocks of strong color, manic movement and animated moments with lots of stab-and-accent cues to match the bold spikey attitudinal vibe of the performance.

“It’s great fun to light a show like this, there are multiple things happening all the time and you really have to be fully concentrating” he elaborated, saying that the lighting will follow the hues and texturing of the video that was produced by his Neon Black business partner, Bertrand Paré.

The upstage video screen is a 15 mm pitch LED product 60 ft. wide by 13 ft. high and there is also 3 mm LED surface cladding the front of the risers ... so the lighting has to hold its own against this mass of brightness, which is an ideal live environment for the BMFL because of its incredible power.

The creative challenge of crafting the show has been getting all the visual components to work harmoniously explained Dominic … it’s not just about lighting as a stand-alone medium, but how it works with video and set as a coherent and appropriate visual platform.

He thinks Robe products have definitely developed and become more innovative and interesting in recent years. “Robe has always been an acceptable brand,” he says, but he feels it’s now moved up several notches.

This also reflects the great success of Robe North America in the last two years in establishing the brand and the BMFL in particular as one of the go-to choices for designers of major tours and events.

Photo Credits: Dom Smith, Neon Black

It was in fact the first live show in SA to use Robe’s brand new LED washbeam product launched last month!

The 12 x Spiiders were part of a rig containing over 100 other Robe fixtures provided by technical suppliers C&S Audio who were working for event technical producers, Bad Weather Productions. Both companies are based in Cape Town.

Alan worked closely with technical production manager Andrew Bosman from Bad Weather who produced the original stage designs and the video content with his team and Pierre Smith, production director of Every Nation Church Somerset West.

The conference ran over four days, and that action at the Grand Arena included two speakers per day, worship sessions, live bands and performance plus activities for all delegates. It was streamed live and also recorded for a DVD, all of which had to be factored in for lighting … but as  Alan observed, using 6 x Robe BMFL WashBeams … “this was a pleasure”.

The creative brief for the stage design was to make the space intimate even though it is a large venue, so hanging a series of trusses at 45 degrees accentuated the grandeur of the overall design and focussed attention on the main presentation area. Four over-stage trusses provided the main top-lighting positions with a symmetrical backlight design.

The design included a large ovular centre LED screen upstage flanked by three levels of LED strips rigged as truss borders left and right, finished with a pair of side screens – so there were multiple pixels for the lighting to work with and be harmonious.

At the front of the stage was an ovular thrust mimicking the screen shape which was a cut-out of the Every Nation logo which was the main speaker / presenter position, and a great surface for taking gobo texturing that featured brilliantly on the overhead job shots.

The 12 Spiiders were initially intended to be used as side wash fill, but “their AWESOME tight beam” swayed Alan to use them as effects.

“They are SOOOOO bright” he declares, “Even using them as LED rings – the pixels are mappable - they delivered so many lumens, and I loved the fact you can find the zoom sweet-spot where the pixel is perfectly focussed”.

He goes on to say that the zoom angle is “so versatile”, and as for the flower effect … he used this unapologetically as a Power Toy … from narrow white strobing ‘shafts of energy’ to “breathing dots” in some of the more dramatic songs.

It wasn’t just Alan who was blown away with the power and punch of the Spiiders – “Everyone was,” he confirms.

“The power and the beam quality are exceptional,” underlines a super-impressed Alan!

In addition to these, he used 12 x BMFL Blades for top and back light, stage texturing and specials for strategic cues, keyed in over 16 x LEDWash 300s. The 6 x BMFL WashBeams were primary key lights, while 6 x LEDWash 600s toned the set elements.

Eighteen ColorSpot 700E ATs were arranged in two squares either side of the oval LED screen and utilized for side texturing, with five ColorWash 700E ATs providing low back light behind the band risers.

Six totem trusses upstage were loaded with bars of PAR 64s and strobes for tungsten glows, chases and blinding moments, and 20 x Pointes were used for multiple beam work and effects all over the stage.

Over the audience were another 20 x ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E ATs, profiles and LED blinders.

C&S Audio is headed by Donald Clark and strive to keep at the cutting edge of the industry. It was the first rental company in South Africa to invest in Robe moving lights and now has close to 300 Robe fixtures in their rental inventory, all delivered by Robe’s distributor, DWR.

The Showgirl concept saw the artist delivering material written / performed by around 50 iconic female vocalists – from Dua Lipa to Celine Dion – in their style and voices, backed by six dancers and four musicians.

Matthieu proposed a harmonious and integrated set, lighting and video design which featured Robe moving lights at the center, with 28 x MegaPointes and 12 x Spiiders, plus six BMFL Blades and two BMFL Spots being used with a RoboSpot remote follow-spotting system.

The stage architecture was defined by five distinctive LED columns onstage, a central flat-plane LED surface flanked by four 3-sided columns with the four musicians in the middle, which allowed them to be concealed and revealed as desired. This highly effective visual trickery also preserved the form and structure of the performance space.

Working closely with the artist herself and her creative team including show director Josée Fortier, choreography / stage director Geneviève Dorion-Coupal and artistic director Patricia Ruel, Matthieu developed the lighting and video content together into a coherent aesthetic treatment for each segment of the show.

“Véronic was extremely clear that she wanted more abstract visuals and a fluid lighting and video design to support her performance,” he explained. With no wigs or costume changes, the different characters and their songs are all identified by the changes in her voice, and the audience needed to get the message in a few short seconds, so the production visuals keep the focus on DiCaire.

Matthieu has worked with DiCaire on some TV shows and specials previously, but this was his first tour design. He also collaborated closely with Pierre Martinez (lighting director on the last tour) and asked him onboard again in the same role.

The basic starting point for lighting the show was the band on stage. Each musician was positioned on an 8ft x 8ft riser, which DiCaire wanted visible – or not – throughout the set, so the first task was integrating these risers slickly into the stage design. Utilizing blow-through screen with no PSU was the first phase of dealing with the ‘invisibility puzzle’.

DiCaire’s mood boards for the show demanded graphic-style lighting, with LED appearing in dramatic bold strips at times, contrasted, combined and enrichened with matching lighting looks.

“MegaPointe was an ideal choice because it’s a nice multipurpose fixture with multiple features” stated Matthieu, all of which he needed to produce a diversity of new and fresh looks for the pool of around 80 songs on which she drew each night!

The MegaPointes were mainly positioned on the overhead rig in a V-shaped configuration, and on two vertically hung drop-bars either side of the center screen.

They produced the desired looks either by pointing directly downwards or being zoomed out very wide to light the screen structures. No gobos were used, but the beams and colors were fully maximized.

Six of the 12 Spiiders lived on the most downstage overhead truss or LX fly bar, with 6 on the floor in the offstage footlights position for front lighting and washing across the stage in a range of colors.

The BMFL is one of Matthieu’s go-to fixtures choices for key lighting and follow spotting.

On this show, all six BMFL Blades were rigged on the downstage truss where they doubled for front lighting and could be swung round to illuminate the audience. The two BMFL Spots on the RoboSpot system were also on the front truss.

Each song had its own colors, character and choreography, and as DiCaire is very particular about her spot operators, running a RoboSpot system enabled them to concentrate fully on following her movement accurately … while Pierre changed other parameters like color, iris and intensity via the grandMA console on which he ran the show lighting.

Matthieu has been utilizing BMFLs, MegaPointes and selected other Robe fixtures in his designs for some time and thinks they are a reliable and versatile option.

His challenges for this show design included imagining something that was adaptable and practical to tour that would fit into two trucks and look equally good, dramatic and vibrant in a cozy 800 capacity venue or an 8000-seat arena.

Some interesting custom fixtures were added to help create specific effects, including wireless gloves with lights held by the dancers during the opening sequence. Matthieu also had some special 2-meter mappable LED tubes built which are fully seamless and were carried, lightsaber-style, by the dancers during one of the medleys.

Lighting and video equipment for the tour was supplied worldwide by Solotech.

Photo Credit: Claude Dufresne

This fantastic achievement has been co-ordinated by the Belgian office of Robe’s Benelux distributor, Controllux, led by Mattias Ternoot in conjunction with Guillaume Canart of Nivelles-based integration and installation specialist, Inytium.

It is the biggest single deal for lighting fixtures delivered by Controllux Belgium, and the project is part of the drive to convert all venues in Belgium from conventional light sources to LED to enhance sustainability and reduce operational overheads and power consumption.

Six of the venues are in Brussels – Les Tanneurs, La Raffinerie, Le Botanique, Le Varia, Theatre National and Les Halles De Schaerbeek; three are in Liège - L’orchestre Philarmonique Royal, Le Manege Fonck and Le Forum, and the tenth one is Le Manege in Mons.

The lighting upgrade tender for all venues was handled by public authority La Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FW-B) which owns and operates all these spaces.

Open demonstrations were held at each theatre, with several manufacturers present, allowing lighting heads and technical teams to independently compare the available options, and a seminar was also organised, addressing all aspects of transitioning from tungsten and halogen to LED lighting, illustrating the huge benefits.

The Robe fixtures delivered are T1 and T2 Profiles, T11 Profiles and PCs, LEDBeam 150 and 350s, ParFect 150 FWQ RGBWs, Tarrantulas, Spiiders, PAINTE Profiles, ESPRITES plus Tetra2s and TetraXs.

The venues vary from small and intimate with 200-seat studios to the most prestigious stages in the country at the National Theatre in Brussels.

A major reason Robe was selected was for the quality and consistency of the colour mixing between all the different products. This is something that Robe has long worked on and refined for a long time across all its product families which can be seamlessly and perfectly mixed and matched.

Another plus for Robe was that its theatre portfolio is also already very strong in Belgium.

The T11 specifically proved hugely popular with all the various lighting professionals involved in the selection process. They loved the versatility brought by this static fixture’s 5 - 50-degree zoom, so no more lens changing! Furthermore, everyone was impressed with the brightness and quality of the light output, making the T11 an ideal modern replacement for traditional 2K luminaires.

A third reason shaping everyone’s choice was that these theatres also all receive touring productions, so they need to be savvy about what’s-hot-and-what’s-not on riders. Robe being a popular rider-specified brand also helped.

The National Theatre in particular is frequently accommodating large international companies most of which will also have Robe on their specs. Here, the late and much-missed lighting specialist Romain Gueudré was instrumental in choosing Robe.

Furthermore, if any of these venues need more Robe luminaires for a production than they now have in their house rigs, the rental markets in Belgium, The Netherlands and France are all well stocked with additional fixtures.

So, with quality kit, additional rental availability and Inytium – one of the major and well-respected integrators – onboard to provide service and support, the combination proved to be a winner. On top of that, Controllux supplied excellent product awareness and training for all the crews receiving the fixtures.

Robe made up approximately 60% of the total of this order for re-equipping the venues, with the deliveries taking place over a 3-month period at the start of 2025.

Guillaume comments on the “excellent” support from both Robe and Controllux and underlines the importance of that fundamental long-term relationship between suppliers and manufacturers, especially in fulfilling a contract of this magnitude.

Belgium is also known for its stunning medieval towns, waterways, Renaissance architecture, distinctive gastronomy and as headquarters of the European Union and NATO. The country has several unique regions including Dutch-speaking Flanders to the north, French-speaking Wallonia to the south and a German-speaking community to the east. It is a truly dynamic multi-lingual melting pot of cultures and creativity with a compact 11 million population and constantly punches ‘above its weight’ on the world stage.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland

Delivered by Robe’s Asia Pacific office, the Robe equipment includes PAINTE & ESPRITE Fresnel and Profile moving lights, FOOTSIE LED footlights and T32 Slim Cyc lights, all of which join the lighting inventory which encompasses a range of lighting brands to cover various requirements.

“These new Robe products contribute to the diversity of our lighting resources,” commented Esplanade’s Head of Lighting, Technical Production, Heryadi Yusof (Yadi).

The purchase was the culmination of a collaboration between Robe Asia Pacific and the Robe R&D and production teams in the Czech Republic, especially with the development of the PAINTE Fresnel.

Yadi added that all the fixtures were selected “based on their ability to meet our evaluation criteria, with specific considerations given to optical performance, control capabilities, and suitability for multiple production demands.”

Each fixture type was also chosen based on how they could enhance Esplanade’s overall flexibility and ability to offer a diversity of staging configurations.

The Robe products have been allocated across different venues within Esplanade, including the 1,600-seat Concert Hall and 2,000-seat Theatre, which are housed under two uniquely designed dome structures fitted with double-glazed glass ceilings and aluminium sunshades.

The other performance spaces include the Concourse, DBS Foundation Outdoor Theatre and Recital Studio, plus a Rehearsal Studio that can also be utilised for entertainment and events.

Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay is a busy and lively venue with a year-round schedule of approximately 4,000 arts performances and activities embracing a vibrant mix of cultures, languages and genres including dance, music, theatre, and more.

As Head of Lighting, Yadi is a key part of the technical production team. He’s worked with the organisation for 23 years, overseeing the planning, implementation, and maintenance of lighting systems to support the various programmes and performances.

Yadi has been a lighting industry professional for 30 years, having worked on a wide range of performance and technical production projects. He and his lighting crew team made the decision to pick these specific Robe products after a thorough tender evaluation process.

The final selection was based on many core factors, including cost and performance efficiencies, versatility, and how well the fixtures address the breadth of the venue’s technical requirements.

The evaluation assessment also considered how easily and efficiently the new luminaires would integrate with the existing lighting infrastructure.

Both PAINTE and ESPRITE feature Robe’s trailblazing TE (TRANSFERABLE ENGINE) technology which allows LED engines to be replaced or swapped out – in approximately 5 to 7 minutes – for another or an engine with different characteristics appropriate to the application. This can significantly increase the lifespan of the fixtures.

The FOOTSIE2 is a cool product taking foot lighting to new levels, while the T32 Cyc™ Slims are low-laying, easily inter-connectable and populated with powerful RGBBAL multi-chip LEDs that generate high light levels. They also faithfully reproduce the rich full-spectrum colours and tints favoured by LDs worldwide.

Robe Asia Pacific is also based in Singapore. Solid, reliable technical support was another “key consideration” for Yadi and the team when making this decision, as this underpins continued operational efficiency and minimises potential downtime.

Robe Asia Pacific’s Jens Poehlker commented, “This collaboration of various Robe teams across the globe has been extraordinary in order to meet the Esplanade team’s exact requirements for a Fresnel, aware that meeting expectations and deadlines would be a challenge.

“It was all extremely tight from the get-go, and I was delighted to receive the green light from our CEO Josef Valchar.

“After that, getting the nod of approval from Yadi and his team was the next objective. The clarity and attention to detail in their specifications were very helpful, and of course, huge applause to Robe’s Product Management and R&D team working with Ondrej Hegar, Tomas Andrys and Tomas Malina to make all of this happen.

“Finally, a big ‘Thank You’ to Yadi, Ismahadie and the whole Esplanade team for their trust and for adding the PAINTE Fresnels to their 170 Robe fixtures.”

Photo Credit: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Founded and headed by the charismatic Kagiso Moima Wa Masimini – KG – to those who find the pronunciation a little complex – this is a busy, innovative, and well-respected technical production and rental company based in Kew, Johannesburg, South Africa.

KG’s passion for lighting has driven the company’s successful path since 2005 and there are now over 100 Robe moving lights in its inventory, which has been part of the success, and these fixtures are constantly busy servicing a range of high-end corporate, business, and social events.

Backmotion invested in Robe right from the start.

In 2005, and for the next four years KG was initially focussed on lighting design work. The trajectory shifted around 2009 when he started purchasing kit, and the first moving lights – six Robe ColorSpot 250E ATs – joined the company then.

Delighted with the purchase, KG continued investing in Robe over the years, the latest acquisition being additional LEDBeam 150s, and through all this business and interaction, he has forged a great partnership with Robe’s southern Africa distributor, DWR.

Robe products currently in the Blackmotion inventory include LEDWash 300s, Pointes, Spiiders, Robe LEDBeam 100s and PATT 2013s in addition to the LEDBeam 150s, and KG is really looking forward to getting his hands on some of the new LedPOINTES, stating, “of course everything going forward will be LED”.

With power and load shedding often an issue in South Africa, reducing electricity consumption is a constant goal as well as a practical and socially responsible action, with most events striving to be as carbon neutral as possible.

When asked ‘why Robe?’ KG again underlines the excellent relationship with DWR and their “incredibly quick, efficient and friendly service,” which ticks all his boxes. On top of that, he chose Robe for its reliability, sustainability, and ROI.

“It’s a premium brand, with which you can never go wrong, especially in TV where you need camera-friendly lighting that guarantees the delivery of fantastic results for any production.”

He believes that making Robe a Blackmotion ‘house’ brand has helped boost the company’s growth, development, and reputation.

He has visited the Robe factory in the Czech Republic, which was “super impressive,” mentioning that he especially loved the demo theatre so much: “I really want one in my house!”

KG still spends around 40% of his time designing lighting shows for Blackmotion Designs, and as part of that detail key lighting is an art he particularly loves. This is another reason he enjoys working with the Robe fixtures so much … for the great range of “proper whites” and the “excellent” colour mixing which traverses all of Robe’s product ranges.

“I appreciate the most recent luminaires all being powerful and multifunctional. As a designer, it is great to have the latitude to do several things with one light source, and Robe has always thought out-of-the-box like this.”

KG’s career as a lighting professional started in television and film lighting, and much of Blackmotion’s work is still in this sector, together with a mix of agency work for business events and corporates to whom they offer slick and innovative technical solutions. In addition to lighting, they offer audio, LED, rigging, staging and streaming services, so they can cover all production aspects.

KG and his team work throughout South Africa, and in several other African countries via a network of partners, a business model that allows them to scale up and innovate as needed.

For specific shows, they will bring in other LDs, a setup that KG also enjoys in addition to being able to facilitate their ideas and creativity with the kit that he can offer.

Approximately 12 or 14 shows and events per month go out the door, meticulously prepped by 13 full-time staff plus 24 or so regular freelancers, and this is a dream that’s come a long way since KG first became fascinated by lighting aged 13 when he ended up onstage at a Lucky Dube concert in Mpumalanga!

“I remember being transfixed by this red light on his dreadlocks, like a celestial glow,” he says recalling the eureka moment that made him want lighting to be an integral part of his life.

From that day onwards, he single-mindedly decided to make production his career and his life, first studying Performing Arts Technology at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) then working as an intern with MJ Events Gear, one of SA’s original major lighting rental companies, which proved his stepping stone into the fascinating world of film and TV lighting from which he’s not glanced back, and that helped him cultivate a work ethic that sees him enjoy every second of every day.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland

Eloise is based in the UK and will be travelling extensively both nationally and internationally in her role for the Czech Republic-based manufacturer, which will include streamlining the design support and tender processes for clients and boosting the Anolis profile within the architectural lighting community, and as an essential element of the wider ‘Robe Group’ of premium brands.

Eloise’s extensive knowledge and experience in this specialist area of lighting is matched by her energy, sparkling personality and fantastic communication skills, which Anolis is “thrilled and excited to have on the team,” commented Product Designer Manager, Martina Mičkalová.

Eloise was in turn inspired by Martina’s technical and aesthetic acumen, savvy management style and passion for teamwork and inclusion which have contributed to Anolis’ outstanding portfolio of products and reputation for bespoke design and customised solutions as needed in addition to their excellent array of standard products.

Australian-born Eloise’s own journey into the lighting industry started at WAAPA (Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts) in Perth, a well-known melting pot for creativity and independent thinking, where she graduated with a Performing Arts degree equivalent, majoring in lighting.

Whilst studying, she also designed lights for raves and warehouse parties, working quickly and imaginatively in improvised and found spaces, designing lighting ‘on-the-fly’ as well as programming and operating, all essential skills that prepared her for a dynamic career in professional lighting.

Simultaneous to all that fun, Eloise was also working at rental companies learning day to day routines and broadening essential technical knowledge.

She moved to Melbourne and crewed for theatres and touring shows, became venue supervisor at Marriner Theatres and worked as a lighting and conservation technician at The National Gallery of Victoria. In 2004, a stint as a tour guide in Asia helped with interpersonal proficiencies, then a period in Latin America led to her arrival in the UK in 2008, where she has since remained.

This wealth of lighting and travelling was a learning curve for embracing numerous cultures and working practices, and these were among the key experiences that Anolis sought for this position.

Since being in the UK, Eloise worked as an architectural lighting designer before joining Martin Professional’s architectural division and for media server specialist Disguise, then landing a role lighting art at TM Lighting. Most recently she was at SGM, also in specification, and now brings her great work ethic and network of global contacts to Anolis.

This impressive breadth of experience with all things visual, enthusiasm for travelling and people and deep understanding of how technology and lighting can impact all built environments, urban and other public spaces is a great asset to the Anolis team.

Eloise was keen on working for Anolis as she was already aware of the product quality and that it is a European manufacturer championing sustainability and environmental responsibility. She was also struck by the size, stability and creativity of the company.

She appreciates the pace, ambition and foresight of Anolis. “There is a lot of interesting work to be done and a great team of people in place to whom I look forward to collaborating with as we take the brand to the next levels.”

Eloise feels this is “a highly opportune time” to be part of the Anolis journey, as the true potential of its current and developing LED lighting products plus the synergy and crossover between the Robe Group’s other brands starts to play out.

Many attractions drew visitors to the Robe booth including the final performances of “The Fifth Dimension”, Robe’s 2024-25 live expo show concept – together with two innovative new products launches, the T31 Cyc and T31 Cyc Slim, half-length versions of Robe’s existing T32 Cyc and T32 Cyc Slim range.

A host of other just-launched Robe technologies stood out prominently on the stand and its two public demo areas, including the retina-burning WTF! moving strobe-wash, the new LedPOINTE – the first LED version of Robe’s famous and best-selling Pointe family of products – and the iESPRITE LTL.

Fifth Dimension Finale

A show-stopping production design – including lighting, staging, video and soundtrack – was devised and delivered by Robe’s in-house creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb, using over 360 of Robe’s latest moving light and LED luminaires to light some serious anti-gravity antics from acrobat Oskar Skrypko plus two dancers.

Designed to show off the capabilities of the different lighting products, each batch of lights was also integrated into the show’s narrative arc with a section that “concisely illustrated their capabilities in meaningful ways,” explained Nathan & Andy.

These ranged from the most refined key lighting and subtle texturing to spectacular eye-popping effects, all of which pulled visitors onto the booth every day at showtime to engage with the drama, showmanship and lighting.

The 10-minute main show also bounced effortlessly through 5 decades of music, embracing multiple genres in a visual extravaganza complete with effervescent choreography by Jaye Marshall.

The story follows Oskar who has been separated from the rest of the group – and appears via a portal where he has been trapped in the 1980s – complete with reference to Spielberg’s epic sci-fi movie ET the Extra-Terrestrial!

Remembering that he needs to activate the Cpulser (gold stereo – reference to Robe’s amazing Cpulse technology) and reset the portal, he is sucked back into the familiar locations of the previous two Fifth Dimension chapters (PLASA 2024 London & LDI 2024 in Las Vegas). The rest of the gang then arrive into the same time zone and desperately attempt to break into the portal and rescue Oskar so they can all be together again.

With all their energy drained by the evil portal, it’s up to Oskar to now harness the portal by building up a massive electrical charge to bust through to “The Fifth Dimension”. This feat is achieved by charging up and then releasing from the trapeze, falling into the deep void that eventually destroys the portal trapping them all! Cue the party celebrations as all are reunited in an ecstatic happy ending.

60 of Robe’s new SVB1 – a versatile, pixel-mappable moving head – were central to the show design. These were distributed above and behind the stage and as part of the floor package lining the ramp up to the stage. The multiple levels and layers of SVB1 properly showed off its adaptability and dynamics.

As you might expect, the new WTF – Wash Twist Flash – arguably the most dynamic moving multi-zoomed strobe on the market right now, was also prominent!

Deployed in rows of 6 either side of stage, the WTF! fixtures were rigged to demonstrate how they can be used for washing, FX, strobing, blinding and general flash-bang-WOW moments, accents and excitement. Among countless other possibilities, the show illustrated how the WTF!’s linear strobe element can be colour corrected using the amber chip, one of a wide range of features making this seriously more than ‘just’ a strobe!

18 x SvoPATTS were utilised both as a scenic element and a source of captivating effects via the unit’s 9 individual modules each containing 7 x 40W RGBW multichips plus central pixel that also contains a 200W white LED strobe! SvoPATTS were positioned upstage early in the design process, grouped to show off their power and punch.

Forty-eight LedPOINTES – Robe’s ‘next generation’ Pointe family fixture – made a massive impact!

Their speed and excellent wide and narrow optical projection capabilities were brilliantly highlighted. Packed with creative potential and outstanding performance, the LedPOINTE stands out as a superlative example of LED spot, beam, wash and FX technology.

Many other Robe fixtures were involved in the show: ESPRITE LTL, a new super-bright workhorse fixture; iBOLTS which can be used indoors with ‘Stage’ mode enabled for additional safety features; iFORTE LTX, currently Robe’s brightest multipurpose moving light; the 360 rotating TetraX LED battens and the popular Tetra2 battens utilised for impressive ‘sheet’ lighting and mesmeric eye-popping patterns; assorted T-series fixtures including T11 and T15 utilised for set dressing and in the demo rooms, plus iSpiiders that were used for washing parts of the set and stand as well as for pixel patterning.

The 10-minute main show was programmed on an Avolites D9-215 console and played 5 times a day throughout Prolight+Sound.

The showfile comprised 2030 cues, 723 individual effects cues across 16 separate timelines utilising 108 cue lists and the lighting fixtures consumed 64 x DMX universes. All of this was programmed by the team during a pre-viz period and a short amount of time on site.

And while it might be a lighting designer’s dream to have all these fixtures at their disposal to create and integrate into a show, the challenge was to show how each of the different technologies and product groups might be used in real-world situations in engaging and practical ways.

Combining backgrounds from live shows, concerts and touring with theatrical experience helps drive this great production, a collaboration which is supported by a highly talented team helping to stage these eye-popping shows and exhibition experiences.

Teamwork

Continuing the whole teamwork theme, after a period of business expansion and acquisition in 2023-24, the synergy and integration between Robe’s core brands is clear to see and will continue to be a feature of the exhibition circuit.

Avolites presented its D7 console, the latest addition to the ‘Diamond’ collection of consoles, with two variants, D7-330 and D7-215, offering an ultimate travel and performance visual console, which is packable into a standard Peli Air case for checking-in as hold luggage to fly anywhere.

Other featured Avo hardware included the flagship D9-330 & D9-215 lighting control consoles along with the T3 and T3 Wings – Avo’s smallest-footprint professional lighting control products. New-look versions of Tiger Touch II and Arena consoles turned heads! Shown some love, these were highlighted complete with improved performance, increased memory capacity and are now optionally available in slick, modern grey & black finishes … seen at Frankfurt for the first time.

LSC Control Systems showed a range of their power solutions including UNITOUR which gained lots of attention as a premium portable – with patented technologies – unit designed to power video, audio and lighting systems at events, touring and on film and TV productions. Available as 24 or 48-channel modular systems, UNITOUR essential features include per-channel earth leakage monitoring, staggered start-up, dropped neutral protection and loads more.

The Artistic Licence team met existing and new colleagues and customers and showcased the first in a brand-new range of compact control products including artPlay – A 10” Art-Net touchscreen controller for intuitive scene editing and recall, and artCore, a compact scalable control and integration solution to expand the artPlay touchscreen capabilities for larger installations – perfect for facades, landscape and fixed installations requiring robust and reliable control.

Anolis, Robe’s high-quality architectural LED brand focused on three of its principal product ranges – Agame, Lyrae and Eminere – and Agame in particular caught visitor’s attention with its IP67-rated fixtures for enhancing windows and arches complete with a seamless 180° beam angle. Emphasising the importance of precise colour temperatures to create the perfect ambience, the new Agame family is currently offered in RGBW, RGBA, Pure White and Tuneable White versions. Pure White Agame options in 2.200K and 3.000K and Tuneable White – for seamless adjustment between 2.200K and 3.000K – are recent expansions to the range, widening flexibility and creative possibilities for lighting professionals.

Robe Showtruck - Taking advantage of some glorious spring sunshine, Robe’s famous Show truck was parked outside Hall 12 and utilised as an additional meeting and product demo area ahead of its busy summer festival schedule, with the AVOStream positioned right next door.

Photo Credit: Louise Stickland, Marko Polasek

Their area of operation has now been extended to embrace the entire Balkans region – adding Bosnia & Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro to their list.

Avolites and LSC Control Systems – also Robe businesses – have chosen to go with LSD distribution to stimulate their presence throughout the Balkans and additionally in Albania, together with all the strategic advantages this will bring to LSD’s customers.

LSD is a stocking distributor, and for speed, efficiency and quick turnaround will always aim to have a large stock of Robe moving lights in the warehouse, ready for immediate dispatch. The reason for this ‘classic’ structuring, Milan explains: “We serve multiple territories and believe in a hands-on approach, so we like to be able to show what exactly is being proposed to clients, so they can test, see and feel for real what each product is and how it performs. Also, our clients appreciate us doing the education and training, and having everything in stock, ready for immediate delivery.”

Business in the region tends to involve short lead times, so it’s important to be proactive and be able to respond quickly. LSD’s 4000 square metre – with 15 metres of headroom – HQ offers full testing facilities in addition to holding the stock ready for immediate action.

Being centrally located in the Balkans is another advantage, as LSD is ideally geographically placed to supply efficiently throughout the Balkans, and on the other hand, customers can visit for demonstrations very fast.

LSD has boosted Robe sales in the region since 2023, and Milan observes that there is great enthusiasm for pushing up show and performance production values with so many international artists and tours now visiting, as well as local engineers and technicians working more frequently across wider Europe.

“This movement in both directions is partly driving the demand for high quality products and reliable well-respected brands,” he noted.

To achieve the initial goal of boosting sales in Serbia, LSD made a major investment in Robe products and organised two highly visible and successful open days, one in 2023 and one in 2024. The last one was amazingly well attended by 650 visitors from 7 countries and 3 schools/faculties. Thirty-three brands were exhibited during these events, together with their representatives covering over 1100 products on display and demo. On top of that, there were 19 presentations on two parallel stages and 12 hands-on workshops. Basically, a first fair in the Balkans aimed at production professionals.

This was free to visitors and financed by LSD with the goal of presenting premium brands to interested parties from across the Balkans in their native languages.

Additionally, the LSD crew undertook many case-by-case on-site and in-situ product demos over the years to communicate and get brands in front of people.

With the success of Robe in Serbia, Robe’s sales management team saw real potential in LSD’s ability to open up and develop other Balkan markets.

Robe’s PAINTE is currently the most popular product in the region for sales. “It’s like a Swiss Army Knife,” says Milan, “It simply does so much, and people love the expedient size, the number of features, the CMY colour mixing, the shutters, amazing gobos and of course the great reliability and overall potential of such a compact unit.”

He adds that PAINTE is doing well for TV productions, concerts, festivals, and numerous events.

“We have had zero service requests after 2 years of constant sales… PAINTE packs a lot of punch for a compact light that is so easy to set up in the studio or a hotel conference room.”

PAINTE is closely followed by LEDBeam 350 and 150, T1 Profile and ESPRITE in sales. Robe’s legendary MegaPointe is still much in demand here as elsewhere – and Spiider LED wash beams are another favourite.

Recent sales include to rental company Prosound in Belgrade, now in their third consecutive year of Robe investment, making them currently the biggest Robe house in the Balkans with their latest purchase of 12 x iFORTES, 18 x iESPRITES and two RoboSpot base stations and cameras.

Production Pool from Ruma have just invested in PAINTES and ProMotion moving light/video projectors, and Inovations from Belgrade has purchased PAINTES and iSpiiders.

Photo Credit: courtesy LSD

The company is based in Copenhagen and has a branch in Stockholm, Sweden, and works extensively across the two countries and throughout Scandinavia.

2024’s purchases include 50 x FORTE Profile moving lights, 60 x PAINTE Profiles and 136 x Spiider LED wash beams, all delivered by Danish distributor, Light Partner. This was followed by a further investment of 24 more FORTES, another 50 x PAINTES plus 3 x BMFL FollowSpots.

“This decision was based on boosting our inventory with reliable stage lighting products that are universally useful across all our projects,” explained Litecom lighting designer Martin Wallin.

Martin has been with the company for 19 years and oversees all the major broadcast projects which have included supplying lighting to the Eurovision Song Contest four times and rigging for the 2024 event in Malmo.

This opinion on the new lighting products was echoed by project manager Andreas Christensen who added that they also wanted fixtures that were cross-rentable and in general circulation and therefore sourceable for shows requiring more units.

Before these latest Robe fixtures, Litecom had purchased large stocks of BMFLs and Pointes for both Danish and Swedish operations and the Pointes are still in active service, and before the FORTE investment they had used older profile fixtures from another brand.

“We knew we needed to upgrade, and we really needed multifunctional kit,” emphasised Martin. Shoot-outs and comparative sessions were staged in their studio, testing aspects like mid-air effects, key lighting and general features. “FORTE does all this extremely well which was a great bonus,” he said.

Martin has designed the Danish version of X-Factor for the last few years, and his artistry and experience as a lighting designer further informed the choice of Robe moving lights.

For X-Factor, he generally needs luminaires with much dynamic scope to light around 90 different songs across the seven ‘live final’ shows, making each contestant look individual and interesting.

Sometimes it’s left entirely up to him to choose the treatment, while other times he will get input from the judges as to how their mentored bands / artists should look, and the artists themselves can also have input.

For X-Factor Denmark 2024, Martin utilised 50 x PAINTES positioned all over the stage area, 24 x FORTES for key lighting and three BMFL Follow Spots, plus other fixtures.

The Spiiders were run in mode 3 so they could additionally be used for pixel mapping effects, and having the Robes on the rig really made a noticeable difference. He found himself using a lot of gobo and colour options on the artists this year, saying that transitioning from Pointe to PAINTE was a “super smooth” process.

X-Factor 2024 was recorded in Litecom’s own studio space, located around 500 metres from their main warehouse just outside Copenhagen.

One of the largest studios in Denmark, it is an old industrial building once used as a testing facility for undersea cables, and now busy with band and production rehearsals and other TV shows.

Some of the Robe pre-purchase tests they did took place in the studios. It was in here that Martin realised that PAINTES would provide the great effects that the Pointes had done in previous years AND most of what the old other brand profiles had also accomplished.

“I was really amazed at first that one compact fixture like the PAINTE could fulfil both functions so effectively and well.”

Martin has worked on X-Factor since series two (2024 was number 17 and they are now on 18). His X-Factor journey started as a lighting technician, progressing up to programming and running key lights before taking over as the series’ main lighting designer. Last year, he worked with graphics and video producer Katja Forup - who created all the screen content – to present a full visual picture for each contestant. The series director was Jesper Hvenegaard.

Andreas is equally happy with the new Robe fixtures, and the benefits of having fewer fixture types to deal with in rental stock and on shows, although he mentioned that – thanks to Robe’s excellent engineering and build quality – the service department rarely must deal with any malfunctioning lights!

Litecom now has around 800 moving lights available in the Copenhagen warehouse including the new Robe luminaires, and all their main fixtures above a certain size are now Robe.

Martin has liked Robe’s products for some time and is constantly in touch with Johan Kvartborg and the team at Light Partner team about what’s cool and what’s new in the Robe universe and highlights the importance of a good relationship with and information flow from the distributor.

Photo Credits: Louise Stickland, Lasse Lagoni

A large proportion of these were Robe moving lights – with 54 x MegaPointes, 54 x Spiiders, 24 Pointes, 12 x FORTES and 14 x Tetra2s on the rig – all delivered by Slovenian rental company, Event Lighting.

Crt added these to all the fixtures that were available from RTV’s studio in-house rig which also included two Robe BMFL Blades used as rear spotlights for the main artists.

Crt’s lighting design was developed in close collaboration with set designer Greta Godnic, an elegant diagonally orientated square LED stage – allowing it to change shape and texture – located in the middle of the space.

Behind this were two ‘upstage’ walls created from LED strips and set in a V-shape aligning with the angle of the sides of the diagonal stage … with the audience seated all around.

Above the stage were two box trusses, one inside the other, the outer one was populated with the 24 x Robe Pointes to give a cage effect. The inside square truss was also rigged with beam lights for a tighter cage, and Crt was able to create some excellent effects flipping back and forth between the different cage looks.

“I wanted this very precise, clean and well-defined overall look,” he explained, “and I needed super flexible fixtures to achieve the goal of producing some truly unique looks and settings for the 12 competitors and five guest artists.

Crt works with Robe products a lot. They are readily available in Slovenia thanks to the hard work of Robe’s distributor there MK Light Sound, and Event Lighting has one of the largest Robe inventories in the country.

Eleven of the FORTES, partially concealed, were positioned on the floor around the stage – beside the Tetra2s they were only ground based units – and looked spectacular utilised for eye-popping low angle gobo shots and other effects.

The remaining FORTE was rigged centrally in the front of the stage and controlled via a RoboSpot system, and this was the main key light.

The 54 x MegaPointes and 54 x Spiiders were all rigged on ladders in between the gaps in the LED columns across 6 levels, giving an 18 x 6 matrix of effects lights behind the stage, which looked spectacular. The combination of these two fixture types enabled Crt to produce an unlimited array of looks, scenes and effects.

It included some moody back-lighting and silhouetting of artists and back-highlighting of the lighting kit on the square trusses above the stage.

Underlining the lowest level of the wall of Robe moving lights was a line of strobes.

This is the 10th Eurovision pre-selection that Crt has lit for Slovenia, and every year he keeps imagining fresh and different ideas.

The wall of lights was something he had wanted to do for some time. “This was my lucky year in that respect, getting the chance to build this into the design and freely use prisms, gobos, flower effects, pixels, etc. I could have lit 100 different songs using this set up and still had headroom for more,” he noted.

The Tetra2s were initially intended to be integrated into the wall of Robe lights in the back, but once the site build started, Crt found a more optimal position for them behind the stage with the FORTE army.

Matching CTOs across all the fixtures was one of the crucial tasks for the lighting department – although quite straightforward on all the Robe fixtures – in addition to making it look spectacular. Another challenge was ensuring that everything was not too overwhelmingly bright but still filled the space nicely and looked balanced.

Crt commented, with a grin, that he could easily have added more lights into the space if the budget had allowed, but also noted that having some limits is good for creativity!

The challenge, as often the case with big high-pressure-high-profile TV shows … was in the programming. Crt worked with his Blackout colleague Anze Trstenjak who took care of the key lighting while he worked on the effects lighting. They spent 10 days pre-vizzing in WYSIWYG, followed by 10 days of rehearsals in the studio before the final event, which was broadcast live.

Thanks to Crt and others on the creative team – including Greta, director Tina Novak, LED content creator and playback video operator Andrej Inithar (VJ Rasta) – TV viewers and the live audience were treated to a stunning production.

Slovenia will be represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, by Klemen Slakonja with the song "How Much Time Do We Have Left", written by Klemen, Maja Slatinšek and Ryan Small.

Photo Credit: Crt Birsa

This step-up confirms the high technical standards and ambitious vision of this French company dedicated to technical service providers in the entertainment and events sectors.

This new acquisition includes the brand's most coveted references :

iESPRITE®, the IP65 LED Spot reference, iSpiiderX®, the powerful and creative IP65 version wash, PAINTE®, the compact spotlight that combines precision and versatility, T1™, T2™, T11™, the spearheads of the ROBE theatrical series, RoboSpot™, the remote tracking system acclaimed by tours and TV sets.

Bruno Garros, Managing Director of Robe Lighting France, states:

“MOG is a sharp team, a clear vision, a well-constituted stock. We have full confidence in them to provide a premium service to the many service providers who now have a local, Made in France rental solution.”

Today, MOG.rent offers its customers one of the most modern and coherent equipment inventories on the market, while guaranteeing rapid availability and impeccable service quality.