Tag Archive: Selecon Fresnels

1. White Light Returns to London Fashion Week 2017

   5 October 2017 13:26 Comments Off on White Light Returns to London Fashion Week 2017

   London Fashion Week made a triumphant return to the capital last month. Taking place between 15 – 19^th September, London Fashion Week showcases the very best in British design with catwalk shows, presentations, designer showrooms and a range of bespoke events. The Week was held in prestigious venues all across London and WL was called upon once again to provide the technical support on a range of events.

   WL has worked on London Fashion Week for more than ten years now. This year was one of the busiest yet, featuring more than 100 designers including Giorgio Armani, who was holding a catwalk event for the first time in London for more than ten years.

   WL worked on a variety of events across the week; all of which were overseen by Senior Account Manager Dominic Yates. He comments: “London Fashion Week is always a fantastic event to work on, due to the fact that it is so high-profile and the entire fashion world is watching. Working closely with WL’s Head of Production Stuart Crane and Senior Project Manager Martin Strods, we wanted to ensure that we provided the very best support possible and that each showcase achieved its potential.

   Dominic adds: “We worked with a range of lighting designers on a variety of shows; each of whom had a very particular feel that they were trying to achieve. Our role was to offer the equipment and technical advice both in the pre-rig stages and during the show’s themselves”.

   Some of the events that WL worked on included Joseph at Bloomsbury B1. The show was produced by OBO with a lighting design by Alexandre Lebrun. Alexandre drew on a large range of generic fixtures to achieve his design, including Selecon Fresnels and ETC Source 4 Profiles and Pars.

   Another includes the Simone Rocha showcase which took place at the historic Middle Temple Hall, where WL is an approved technical supplier. The iconic fashion label presented its new collection in a showcase produced by Karlo Otto and featuring a lighting design by Tupac Matir. Dominic adds: “With the Simone Rocha showcase, we supplied a combination of GLP Impression X4 RGBW LED, GLP Impression X4 Bar 20s and ETC Source Fours. We also supplied the audio for this show drawing on our range of EM Acoustics loud speakers, and a Yamaha QL1 for control.”

   Other events that WL worked on throughout London Fashion Week include Natasha Zinko at Somerset House, Alistair James at Fitzrovia Chapel, Gucci at 180 The Strand, DAKS at The Langham and the COS Party at the National Gallery.

   Dominic adds: “This year’s London Fashion Week was extremely busy and saw us working in multiple venues across the capital; a lot of the time simultaneously. That said, our extensive equipment inventory and technical staff ensured that every event we worked on ran extremely smooth and we look forward to returning once again next year”.

   It’s been an exciting few months for WL’s Production team, with the appointment of Caz Caddick as Crew Co-ordinator, Martin Strods as Senior Project Manager and Harry Greenfield and Steve Burnham as Account Managers. The team has also appointed Rachel Condon as a dedicated Account Handler to manage the department’s internal kit logistics. WL’s Head of Production Stuart Crane comments: “We’ve added five highly-skilled and passionate individuals to our already established team. We want to ensure our clients continue to receive the very best service possible and the growth of our Production team will ensure that this happens on every single project”.

   Photos courtesy of Martin Strods.

2. White Light Supports Rose Bruford Graduate Exhibition

   20 June 2017 15:32 Comments Off on White Light Supports Rose Bruford Graduate Exhibition

   

   One of the performances during the Graduate Exhibition.

   Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance is London’s International Drama School. Students from over 40 different countries study on the 15 different vocational and professional degree courses, with notable alumni including Gary Oldman, Hayley Squires and Tom Baker. Every year, the College hosts a Graduate Exhibition in order to give its graduating students a launchpad into the industry. Having worked with the College for over ten years now, White Light was called upon to provide the complete technical solutions.

   This year’s Graduate Exhibition was named Beginner’s Call and took place at the Ugly Duck in central London. The Head of Production was Anthony Sammut, the Production Manager was Toscane Luckett whilst Sam Jackson was the Technical Manager. Sam states: “My role on the exhibition was to work closely with Ollie Brennan (Technical Supervisor) and oversee the technical elements. This was one of most ambitious showcases we’ve ever held, with the upper two floors showcasing our technical students’ work and the ground floor being used for four performances in rep. We chose the Ugly Duck as it’s quite an open venue and would allow us to showcase all of the students’ work”.

   

   Sam had to create a technical infrastructure including a power and network system design that would not only work practically within that space but highlight the work on display. Sam comments: “We made several site visits down to the space to see how we could use it. It took us around six weeks of planning to finalise a design along with a kit list which we knew would be ideal for the exhibition. It was at this point we approached White Light”.

   Working closely with WL’s Senior Hire Co-Ordinator Dan Last, Sam drew on an extensive range of WL’s technical equipment. Sam states: “We approached WL as we knew they were an organisation who could offer the complete technical solutions. As the showcase is attended by industry professionals whom our students are hoping to impress, we need the standards to be as high as possible”.

   

   The students speak to industry professionals.

   
   For the lighting, WL supplied Chroma Q Color Force 72 LED Battens, Rainbow Scrollers, Selecon Fresnels, Minuette Fresnels, ETC Source Four Juniors and Coemar Silver Parlites. These were all programmed on an ETC Ion 1K Console. Sam adds: “It was important that we had enough lighting for the actual exhibition itself and that we could highlight the work on display. However, we also had to ensure that the lighting designers working on the performances on the ground floor had enough options to achieve their vision”.

   Sam also worked closely with Oscar Cotran, who was Head of Sound for the performances and drew on WL’s extensive audio inventory. Sam states: “We employed a Dante system which drew on EMS 51, 61 and 81 Loudspeakers, EMS 115 Sub Bass along with Shure Wireless Mics. This had a particular importance for the musical performances and it ensured that there was even audio coverage throughout the space”.

   WL also supplied the entire rigging system, which included Prolyte X30D and H30X trusses, along with Doughty Clamps, scaffold clamps and even sand bags!

   

   From left: Bryan Raven (WL), Sam Jackson (Technical Manager), Andy George (VAULT Festival) and Nick Hunt (Rose Bruford).

   Beginner’s Call ran from 14^th-17^th June and the work on display came from seventy-nine students graduating from seven courses. With the Ugly Duck being in constant use, this meant that Sam and the team had a limited time to prepare for the event – despite the vast amount of equipment involved. He states: “We literally had two days in which to build the infrastructure, set up the equipment, drape off the dressing rooms, install the emergency lights along with a thousand and one other things! That’s why it was so vital to plan beforehand and assure that we had drawn on the most reliable technology”.

   This marks another student showcase that WL has supported, having worked with Rose Bruford since 2004. Sam adds: “What was so great about WL is that they supplied all of the technical equipment. From the largest lighting fixtures to the cables to the speaker stands, they had absolutely everything we required. The service they provided was fantastic, the staff were extremely friendly and their equipment allowed our graduates to get the most out of their work”.

   Photos courtesy of Alec Brand, Ben Wilkin, Michael O’Reilly and Sam Jackson.

3. White Light Oversees Lighting Installation for Pink Floyd Exhibition at V & A Museum

   24 May 2017 01:38 Comments Off on White Light Oversees Lighting Installation for Pink Floyd Exhibition at V & A Museum

   Now open at the V & A Museum, The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains is the first international retrospective of one of the world’s most pioneering and influential bands. The exhibition offers an immersive and multi-sensory journey through the career of Pink Floyd, chronicling their music, design and staging, from the 1960’s through to the present day. Following the company’s work on last year’s EXHIBITIONISM, the Rolling Stone’s exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, White Light was called upon to oversee the lighting installation and supply the lighting equipment on this occasion.

   Produced by Concert Productions International, Their Mortal Remains was curated by Aubrey ‘Po’ Powell, the Creative Director of Pink Floyd, who worked closely with band members Roger Waters, David Gilmour and Nick Mason. It is designed by Stufish Entertainment and the lighting designers are Woodroffe Bassett Design. WL’s Special Projects Director Simon Needle comments: “We were approached by Terry Cook, Senior Designer at Woodroffe Bassett, back in November 2016 about us coming on board. After working with them on the hugely successful EXHIBITIONISM, they asked us if we would be able to fulfil a similar role on this project”.

   WL was asked to supply all of the lighting equipment, install the fixtures and provide on-site crew. Simon adds: “This was a huge exhibition taking up three spaces at the V & A Museum. Having the experience of working on similar projects in the past, we knew we had both the staff and technology to deliver this”.

   Alongside Woodroffe Bassett’s Project Manager John Coman, WL made several site visits to the V & A in order to assess the different spaces. Working closely with Terry Cook and Rob Casey, Associate Lighting Designer at Woodroffe Bassett, WL invited them down to its London base to talk through their plans and the practicalities of installing the equipment. Simon states: “There are more than 350 artefacts on display so it was important that what we provided was not only practical for that space but also offered the right amount of coverage for every single feature”.

   For Their Mortal Remains, WL invested in a range of lighting fixtures specifically for this exhibition. These included ETC Source Four Minis, ETC Source Four Irideons, ETC ColourSource LEDs, ETC Source Four Fresnels, Chauvet Ovation LED Profiles, Philips Color Kinetics iW Fuse Powercores, KKDC Global TiMi 504s and Selecon Fresnels. The company also supplied a series of track-mounted LED birdies, industrial floodlights along with more than 250m of its own LED tape.

   

   Simon comments: “When we’re approached to work on a project like this, our role is to provide every element of the lighting; something we are in a position to do. Thanks to our close relationship with the leading lighting manufacturers, we were able to call upon them to supply us with the latest equipment for Their Mortal Remains; all of which we knew would be able to deliver WBD’s design”.

   With the previous V & A exhibition closing on 8^th March, this meant that WL had less than two months to prepare for the opening of Their Mortal Remains, which took place on 8^th May. Simon adds: “We were on site solidly for two months, working closely with Media Powerhouse, who supplied the AV, and Set Square, who supplied the set. The schedule was extremely tight with a definite deadline so we had to use our time as resourcefully as possible”.

   

   Following their work on the main exhibition, WL was then asked to provide lighting equipment for The Laserium; an area independent of the main exhibition which recreates the legendary Pink Floyd laser shows.

   Their Mortal Remains has now opened to rave reviews and will run until 1^st October 2017.

   Terry comments: “We are delighted with WL’s work on this exhibition. They were able to fulfil our brief, supplying both state-of-the-art equipment and the expertise to oversee a very specific installation. WBD are extremely proud of the exhibition and we hope the thousands of people attending feel they have experienced a little bit of the illuminated world of Pink Floyd.”

   Photos courtesy of LD Communications.

   For Woodroffe Bassett Design:
   Creative Lead – Patrick Woodroffe
   Lighting Designer – Terry Cook
   Associate Lighting Designer – Rob Casey
   Project Manager – John Coman
   Programmer – Warren Letton