Archive for 2023

Ibiza Classics’ Live Show returned once again and we are proud to have supplied the lighting and rigging system for their Winter Tour in 2022. 

We worked alongside the Cassius Creative team to bring their lighting vision to life. The lighting rig featured Aryton Karif , ACME Pixel Line, Ayrton Bora and GLP JDC1 as well as a Robe Robospot system with Robe Forte.

The video wall was supplied by Video Design which complemented the lighting effects.  

Our Neg Project Manager Gavin Maze says, “We have been working with the Ibiza Classics Team for many years now and it was great to work with them again.” 

Credits:

LD- Cassius Creative 

PM- Paddy Hocken 

Photos- Dan Reid, Ash Youd 

Neg Earth Lights supplies lighting, rigging and control systems for Bon Iver’s 2022 European tour.  

American indie folk band Bon Iver toured Europe in Autumn 2022 equipped with lighting, rigging and control from Neg Earth Lights. Described by the industry as transcendent, artful and interesting, their unique use of lighting and stage set up caught the attention of fans across the globe.  

The rig consisted of 5 V-shaped flown truss equipped with (new this year) Ayrton Cobras, alongside Martin MAC Vipers, Martin MAC Aura XBs, Martin VDO Sceptron and more. Mirrors supplied by White Void were hung below the flown truss and were manipulated throughout the show to reflect light from the floor to create unique lighting effects.  

Bon Iver’s 6 band members were raised on platforms lined by LED battens Martin VDO Sceptron, creating the effect of highlighting each of them throughout the show. The floor package boasted 151 lighting fixtures, all of which were involved in reflecting light around arenas across Europe.  

The band played London SSE Wembley on the 25th & 26th of October, just a short distance from Neg Earth Lights, and a few Neg employees went to see and photograph the show. Taylor Swift unexpectedly took to the stage with Bon Iver to perform Exile and Skinny Love which caused further excitement to fans.  

Neg’s Digital Marketing Manager, Tanya Kanani, witnessed the event, saying “It was clear that fans had long awaited this moment. The energy in the arena was exhilarating. Each song evoked emotion and energy. The lighting was spectacular. The effect produced by the clever use of mirrors created reflections and an incredible glow as coloured light rays bounced around the room, dancing rhythmically to the beat.”  

Neg’s Project Manager, Damien Jackson, explains how great it was to see the tour happening, “The tour had been delayed twice previously due to COVID so it was great to finally work with Production Manager, James Dean and Lighting Designer, Michael Brown again.”  

Production Design: James Dean 

Lighting Designer: Michael Brown 

Photo Credit: Ruth Medjber 

Neg Earth Lights are thrilled to have been the supplier of the lighting, rigging for Lewis Capaldi’s 2023 European tour, where he performed his latest album ‘Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent’ released in May this year. Neg Earth had previously worked alongside the world-famous Scottish singer on his 2022 tour debuting his chart-topping single Forget Me. In this 2022 tour, Neg provided the lighting, rigging and automation. 

Neg Earth’s impressive fixtures joined Lewis Capaldi on stage during both his 2022 and 2023 tours. The performances featured the most innovative of fixtures within their categories, which were ingeniously intertwined with one another for a breathtaking back wall that left fans amazed. One of the features used for the back wall display was the Ayrton Karif LT, a 300W beam-spot luminaire that was alternated with the  JDC1 LED Strobe. This dynamic strobe, doubles as a high-powered blinder, making this fixture the perfect addition to a bold and beaming back wall. Neg Earth Lights also supplied GLP Impression FR10 Bars’ for the stage. This 60W LED bar was placed on trusses, controlled using a Kinesys automation system, and placed behind a digital screen showing ever-changing shapes for the audience to view. This was positioned above the singer, with the beams of light powering over the artist and the band, capturing the emotions of each song.  

Cassius Creative, the design team, developed the style of the back wall, with Dan Hill from the team expressing, “Surrounding the contemporary, solid architecture of the video monolith which housed the array of FR10 battens, we wanted a surrounding environment that could both enhance and reinforce video content on the monolith and action on stage – as well as having the power and scale to silhouette the monolith; and create a void of negative space the column of light from the FR10’s could appear from.” He continued, “The curvature of the back wall allowed us to create a seamless array of fixtures to do this, the JDC-1’s maintaining the contemporary feel and shape of the monolith; with the Karif’s creating textural beams to cut through other stage lighting, and dynamically change the aesthetic of the stage as required.” The team and crew at Neg Earth worked closely in collaboration with Cassius Creative throughout to ensure that their desired vision incorporating a curve angle, fixture spacing, and atmosphere was brought to life.   

Credits:

Lighting Programming: Cassius Creative  

Lighting Director: Franki McDade 

Camera Director: Phil Woodhead 

Video Design: Studio Flint  

Video: 4wall 

Photography: Projoe Photography 

Automation Operator:  The Motion Labs 

Production Manager: Nick Lawrie 

Tour Manager: Scott Smythe 

Staging: All Access Staging 

Set Fabrication: The Next Stage UK 

Scenic LED: LED Creative LTD 

Do you need lighting and rigging equipment for an upcoming production? 

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Neg Earth supported Sinclair / Wilkinson with their vision for the lighting design on this tour. One of our favourite looks was the ‘starlight’ design in which the team at Sinclair / Wilkinson used a star cloth as a backdrop and placed Astera AX3s on a black hi-shine floor to create this look. Wirelessly powered and controlled, the AX3s were integral to achieving this effect. 

During conversations in pre-production, the need for an impactful, flexible but simple feature was discussed. Use of our prefabricated pods was quickly suggested to the design team and approved. In total, 4 pods were placed upstage of the band, forming an arc around them. Martin VDO Sceptron were rigged within the pods creating the linear effects we see throughout the show, with GLP FR10 Impression Bars placed at the base to provide additional lighting effects. The lighting pods not only satisfied the design criteria but also provided further opportunities for the design team to integrate them into the pageantry of the show. One example was the addition of a gauze to the front of the pods which was used to great effect to soften the output from the Sceptron at the beginning of the show. Once removed it revealed a more dynamic and defined look.

Working from the drawings from Sinclair Wilkinson, our Fabrication Team designed and built a touring solution that allowed for the lighting elements to be pre-rigged during prep and travel ‘ready built’ during the tour. This not only allowed us to replicate the look quickly and accurately at each show it also provided opportunities to add lighting in other areas.   

“A really exciting part of this job was working with fabrication to find an appropriate rigging solution for the Sceptron on the pods. It allowed for creativity and was a great example of the cohesion between all departments at Neg.  

It was quite challenging to fit these massive pods along with everything else into the designated truck space, but it was a good opportunity to see how a great truck plan is done.  

Goldfrapp was a really good example of the thought that goes into a design to ensure the integrity of the show is maintained in different venues that are vastly different in size, and how that extra thought pays off.” Says our Neg Project Co-Ordinator Jasmine Williams.  

Some of the other fixtures used included 18 Ayrton Diablos and Martin Mac Aura XBs.  

Lighting Operator Neil Holloway says, “Once Again Neg Earth pulled it out of the bag and gave us a great solution to touring this, while the pods were very large, the rest of the system and components were all kept fairly small for scalability as this tour went through many manners of venue.  

This tour I discovered Ayrton Diablo properly, and they’ve absolutely blown me away, such an incredible feature set and Output for such a small unit. 

The AX3 around Alison where a stroke of genius from Sinclair / Wilkinson and gave an immense amount of depth to the show, I worked very closely with SW and mainly Luke Rolls on this project and I think we were all very pleased with where it ended up.  

 Once again, a massive thanks to Neg for being fantastic as usual. 

Another big thanks to hard working techs Tom Bexon and Holly Brightman.”  

Lighting Design: Sinclair / Wilkinson 

Gauze: Alligator Dynamic Drapes 

Photography: Neil Holloway