Lighting & Staging: Putting on a show

Putting on a show

ISE 2023 will showcase tools and technologies for everything from the biggest stadium concerts to temporary venues and pop-up installations

Production/show designer Travis Shirley used Elation Professional’s new Proteus Rayzor Blade linear light on Bad Bunny’s recent sold out tour

At ISE 2023, you’ll find performance, entertainment and live events solutions concentrated in the Lighting & Staging

Technology Zone in Hall 7. Covering sectors such as entertainment, sport and business, companies here aim to put the audiovisual experience first and foremost. It’s not just major stadium concerts either: solutions are on hand for small temporary venues and pop-up installations.`

With live events getting bigger and more spectacular, you’ll see advances in lighting quality and colour fidelity, as well as enhanced control and distribution methods. Exciting technologies such as motion tracking, video mapping and holography are presented alongside the essentials of rigging and staging which provide the foundation for the whole live experience.

It’s likely to be a big draw. According to AVIXA’s 2022 Industry Outlook and Trends Analysis (IOTA), it’s expected that $2.2 billion will be spent on lighting fixtures in EMEA in 2023. Meanwhile, as live events come back after Covid, AVIXA expects to see the staging component experiencing rapid growth. There are rapidly developing technologies in this zone, including trusses made of specialised high-strength steel alloys, ideal for huge ground supports and roof systems with high loads. There have also been great advances in lighting technology, concentrated in the field of LED for both illumination and effects. Colour mixing in the light engine of LEDs has replaced the need for colour wheels, while tuneable white lighting technology offers the ability to control a light source’s colour temperature output. Fine pixel-pitch LED screens are increasingly used in live events and experiential installations. Holograms, delivered via local networks or the cloud, are popping up in installations and live events to entertain, inform and even interact with the audience. Additionally, many companies are releasing programmable fixtures that offer full-colour control.

The time-tested DMX control protocol is being enhanced and superseded by Remote Device Management (RDM), the IP-based distribution protocols Art-NET and Streaming-ACN, and wireless DMX (W-DMX). The goal is to provide more flexible, seamless and speedier integration between lighting and staging components and scalable, simplified interfaces for complex interconnected systems.

Where to find lighting & staging technology at ISE 2023

Big names in this sector are exhibiting at ISE 2023, particularly in the Lighting & Staging Zone in Hall 7. Adam Hall Group contains 30 event-oriented brands, offering everything from flight cases to LED lighting, from audio and sound technology to stands and stage systems; ARRI is well known for its vast range of lighting fixtures and accessories; MA Lighting is an international leader in computer-controlled lighting consoles and networking components; Elation Professional Europe is known for its IP65-rated outdoor moving heads, luminaires, controllable LED lights and lighting control products and speciality effects; Area Four is an expert in rigging and staging; and Equipson specialises in audio systems and speakers but also delivers design and control for AV installations through its Work brand.