1. No. 8 2015
SGM impact across London
skyline. See page 22
THE
SHARD
Going Green vith G-Spot
See page 6
Light Is Everything
See page 64
P-5 wows Swedish Opera
See page 29
New Intelligent Rail &
Down Lights See page 52
NEWBORN
BATTERY BABY!
G·1
See page 11
3. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
54
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
International
Year of Light
off to a bright start
with SGM
Extensive SGM package illuminates
UNESCO for the opening ceremony
The World Heritage Centre, UNESCO’s
headquarters in Paris, was bathed in light from
SGM for the two nights of the opening ceremony
of the International Year of Light.
Finnish lighting artist and designer Kari Kola
prepared a full concept design including light,
video and music for a spectacular light display
for the iconic Fontenoy building during the
ceremony. This launched an initiative intended
to raise global awareness about the importance
of light for the future and for the development
of society. 1500 people attended this ceremony
including leading diplomats, scientific societies
and technology platforms from around the
world for a multitude of lectures.
Light Is Here
For Kola’s installation, titled “Light Is Here”, no
fewer than 130 SGM P-5 wash lights and 14
G-Spot moving heads were deployed together
with another 70 LED based fixtures and 12 video
projectors.
“I wanted to reflect the most powerful elements
of natural light, Aurora Borealis (Northern light)
and sunrise, bringing in the North and the nature
to the opening ceremony,” Kola explains.
The 360 degree installation thus swathed the
building in blues and greens contrasting the
warm colours of the sunrise and accompanied
by music composed by the designer himself.
Unquestionably, the project presented a
comprehensive task, where Kola was faced with
a tight timetable as well a monumental building.
In his abstract light creation, the P-5 LED wash
light played the leading role, spiced up with
elements from the G-Spot moving head. “The
purpose was to break the surface with gobo
animation and video content,” he says, adding
his appreciation of the effects provided by the
SGM luminaires. “Everything had to be IP65
rated, and I needed lots of power and a good
saturation of colours, so these units were
perfect for the job.”
The smoothness of colours and dimming,
together with the powerful output of the SGM
fixtures, won Kola over in his selection of the
lighting equipment, and having completed
the project he is left with a beautiful piece of
work that has received nothing but positive
comments.
This could just be the beginning of Kola’s
relationship with SGM. “I aim to work with the
best units there are, so I think I will be using
SGM products again,” he reveals. “There might
be some really nice projects coming up in the
near future.”
G-Spot x 14 pcs
P-5 x 130 pcs
UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris
4. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
76
Going Green with G-Spot
control. Successfully achieving the objectives
and meeting the expectations of Greenpeace,
everyone was fortunate to meet with a starry
night for the photo shoot.
The G-Spot effect
“We are very impressed with the G-Spot moving
head. Being IP65, makes it much easier for us to
deploy outdoor for illumination of architectural
structures and urban spaces. It is remarkable
how precisely the patterns are defined with
sharp edges and without any corona while
the zoom effect and focus of the gobos runs
smoothly. Also, the colour mix is exceptionally
even,” Frederik W. Borello states, while also
eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new G-Profile
with framing shutters.
The green colouration of the windmills was
selected by Greenpeace to visualise the green
policy of Denmark, and the G-Spot helped make
this perfectly bright.
Esben Sloth was also very impressed with the
results from using the SGM G-Spot moving
heads. “The projection fully lived up to our
expectations.” He continues: “We were happy
that this could be done with LED light since it
consumes much less power than conventional
light and we always try to minimise our own
For the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s gathering in Copenhagen, Greenpeace
saw an ideal opportunity to emphasise the need
for the world to change into 100% renewable
energy in the future and demonstrate how this
is actually possible.
While the panel wrote and published the latest
research on impact of human made climate
changes, and their solutions how to mitigate and
counter these impacts, Greenpeace launched
a highly visible and eye-catching campaign,
projecting the official Danish targets of 100%
renewable energy by 2050 onto four wind
turbines, with the assistance of ÅF Lighting and
SGM’s LED moving head.
Greenpeace’s project leader Esben Sloth
explains: “We wanted the light projection to
be very accurate, with sharp lines and figures,
in order to make the wind turbines look like a
graph.”
The realisation
ÅF Lighting were optimistic in their acceptance
to carry out this project, despite having only
two weeks to realise it. Based on the specific
carbon footprint in our operations and projects.
We think that it is great that a company like
SGM prefers LED light above conventional light
and thereby also contributes to the necessary
reduction of CO2 when conducting light events.”
Both parties were highly satisfied with the
projection and overwhelmed with positive
feedback on the beautiful, futuristic windmills.
“It is amazing to see how little is needed to
completely change the character of a location
through light setting. We are going to progress
with this potential for future installations
especially for the permanent architectural and
urban installations we are currently establishing
in Denmark, Norway and Sweden,” says Frederik
W. Borello.
ÅF Lighting enjoyed their role in this project —
both for the realisation of this type of lighting
event and the participation in spreading
the message on green energy in a visual
interpretation of Denmark’s target for future
energy consumption.
Rounding up, Esben Sloth concludes: “We
succeeded in telling the story about Denmark’s
means of becoming 100% energy renewable by
2050 to the rest of the world.”
requirements from Greenpeace, ÅF Lighting
carried out project design, planning and
coordination, custom design of gobos as well as
installation and execution of the lighting event –
all in record time.
The Electrical and Lighting Engineer of ÅF
Lighting, Frederik W. Borello comments: “We
quickly reached out to SGM to conduct a lighting
test with two SGM G-Spot moving heads.” During
this test they established how to frame the light
output and how to design the gobos to obtain
the best result.”
For each of the four windmills three G-Spots
were deployed: one for the graph, one for the
year and one for the lines. And the custom-made
gobos for the 12 G-Spots were only delivered
just days before the project deadline.
“We are familiar with SGM fixtures after using
them on other projects and we are very content
with both the quality and the service of the
products. From the beginning, we had a clear
expectation that the G-Spot would be the right
fixture to solve this task,” says Frederik W.
Borello.
The tight time frame and the soft terrain were
the biggest challenges for ÅF Lighting, while
the weather conditions were out of their
G-Spot x 12 pcs
12 G-Spots for Greenpeace campaign
on renewable energy
Photos: Greenpeace/Christian Åslund
5. 8 9
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
The opening of ÅF’s new office building in
Gothenburg was marked by a spectacular light
show, putting the 66 metre high building on the
map. For one evening the façades of ÅF’s new
domicile were staged with a combination of
colours, graphical pattern and images expressing
ÅF’s values in a festive manner.
Being Skanska’s third most eco-friendly building
in the Gothenburg region and having received
Platinum environmental certification by LEED
(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design),
it was important to ÅF Lighting to further
communicate and demonstrate its green values.
Selected for this purpose as the newest and most
energy efficient LED fixtures on the market were
the P-5 wash light and G-Spot moving head from
SGM.
“Through lighting calculations in DIALUX, we were
able to determine the optimum placement of the
fixtures. The combination of the P-5 wash lights in
various beam angles of 15˚, 21˚ and 43˚ resulted in
a very strong setting with a uniform lighting level
on the entire façade”, explains Frederik W. Borello,
Electrical and Lighting Engineer at ÅF Lighting.
24 P-5 RGBW wash lights and six G-Spot LED moving
heads, plus another six luminaires were all that
ÅF Lighting needed for this grand display. “With
LED fixtures well suited for exterior architectural
lighting and with a high Lumen/Watt efficiency,
we were able to drive down the number of fixtures
to a minimum. At the same time, we utilised the
SGM luminaires’ integrated wireless DMX receivers,
which proved extremely useful and saved us a lot
of cabling,” says Frederik.
Together with his Danish-based colleague
Franziska Holmsted, Frederik was responsible
for coordination, planning and design of the
illumination of the Green Building, while Hampus
Sjöström from the Gothenburg office coordinated
tasks on location.
Live Media Group supplied lamps and video
materials and in addition to that also programmed
and executed the event. “We also received
professional assistance from both SGM in Denmark
and in Sweden, which helped ensure the great
result.”
Besides the appreciation of the nearly 1,300
engineers who work in the office building, and the
citizens of Gothenburg who could see the display
from afar, this festive project has become a solid
reference for ÅF Lighting, resulting in many new
local lighting assignments.
Green Building
uses LED from SGM
Taking green
to a higher level
with SGM
Photos:
FotogeNicco
G-Spot x 6 pcs
P-5 x 24 pcs
6. 10 11
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
“18 years ago, I presented what was to
become the biggest success in the history
of moving light; a luminaire that came
to set the standard as the world’s most
important and best-selling moving head.
Though I no longer claim ownership of this
fixture, I remain proud of the achievement.
Now, 18 years later, I am presenting my
new baby to the world. The G-1 is nothing
less of a true revolution within moving
lights! However, I am not the only father
of this sensation; I have gathered my
team from back in the days. Thus, multiple
genes have been passed on to the G-1,
which has emerged from passion, know-
how and hard work and transformed into
a technology breaking moving head.”
Service First
At SGM we have a ‘Bible’. This states that the
customer is our most important asset. We know
the importance of receiving on-time and quality
customer service and we put much effort into
ensuring that this is indeed what our customers
take with them after having contacted SGM.
To enhance service consistently across the
customer base, SGM gives full priority to improving
areas within our service units. We follow our
products from in-house production to deployment
in the field, which includes servicing the fixtures
and offering constantly enhanced technical
documentation.
Support 24/7
At SGM we want to offer an exceptional
responsiveness. Therefore, you can contact us
24/7 on the European or US support phone for
an immediate handling of all issues, with a goal to
resolve the matters with in 24 hours.
SGM International Technical support:
Phone: 24/7 Hotline +45 3840 3840
SGM US Technical support:
Phone: 24/7 Hotline +1 877 225-3882
Spare Part Handling
When a spare part is needed, it is urgent. Therefore,
our goal is to handle and ship spare parts with 48
hours of your request. Sourcing of the best possible
spare parts at the most cost-effective prices is a
primary focus of ours.
Return Materials Authorization
Repairing products is a service we provide. Our
most qualified and experienced technicians carry
out thorough fault detection of our customers’
products.
Product Training
At SGM’s HQ we offer technical product training as
part of our International Training Academy. The
seminars are often related to a specific product
group; however, feel free to contact us for specific
inquiries or further information and dates.
Dedicated Team
SGM’s Service Team consists of dedicated people
with great experience within the industry as well
as within customer service. Our network is global,
our organization is solid and we focus on building
strong relations with our customers.
Your Feedback is Important
We want an open dialogue with our customers. We
want to know your priorities and wishes in order to
adapt our service performances to your needs. We
want to create value for you and achieve the best
possible customer satisfaction.
Contact us for any inquiry at
support@sgmlight.com
We Take Service
to the Next Level
G·1
Beam
7. Without the base,
the G-1 can be mounted
onto the ceiling or a rig.
12 13
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
The G-1 features a gobo wheel of 19 gobos +
oscillation effect + open and a colour wheel of 14
colours + open that add further dimensions and
dynamics to this compact moving head, which
is expanded by attributes such as gobo shake
function, split colour effects and continuous
clockwise and counter-clockwise pan rotation.
The gobo projection of the G-1 is outstanding
for a beam fixture as it is very crisp and detailed.
The G-1 is a lightweight luminaire, weighing
only 9.1 kg/20 lbs. including its batteries. It can
operate in extreme temperatures from -10˚C to
40˚C in all kinds of weather.
The movement operation of this moving head
demonstrates a stunning ongoing and speedy
performance with a smooth pan response
adding continuous bidirectional rotation and a
tilt range up to 240˚, which for example makes
it perfect as a supplement to any stage light set
where the sharp beams resemble laser beams.
Furthermore, SGM has introduced a patent
pending position pre-set programming for the
G-1 making it exceptionally easy to control and
programme.
• High power white LED light source
• Sharply defined beam in speedy operation
• IP65-rated and maintenance-free
• Noiseless
• Super narrow beam for punchy midair
effects or extreme range gobo projection
• Choice of on-board battery power with
a functionality of 10-12 hours or wired
mains power
• Choice of wired or wireless DMX
• Patent pending position pre-set
programming
• High contrast levels and extreme
brightness
• Fast and precise motorized focus
• Lightweight and compact design
• Infinite continuous bidirectional quick
rotation in pan and 240˚ in tilt
• Gobo wheel with 19 gobos + oscillation
effect + open
• Colour wheel with 14 colours + open
• Low power consumption of max. 60W
• 2.8˚ beam angle with an aperture zoom
adjustable down to 0.3˚
• Outdoor events
• Festivals
• Shopping centres
• Weddings
• Conferences
• Any event requiring gobo projections
• Concerts and tour productions
• Shops and showrooms
• Red-carpet shows
• TV productions
• Clubs
• Stages
With the ground-breaking G-1 Beam moving
head, SGM has succeeded in offering
numerous cutting-edge features in a
physically compact chassis.
A sharply defined, flat and uniform beam that
operates rapidly in every movement provides
intense mid-air beam effects through a high
power white LED light source and a colour
wheel as well as a gobo wheel. The results are
high contrast levels and an extreme brightness.
Adding to its uniqueness, this moving head is
not only IP65-rated and maintenance-free, but
also offers the exclusive choice of being either
battery-driven with an impressive 10-12 hours
operation in typical use or being connected
wired mains power.
It provides a staggering output of 61,910 lux at
a 3-metre distance and a colour temperature of
6,500K on pure white light. The G-1 is equipped
with a 2.8˚ fixed beam angle; however, it can
deliver an aperture zoom adjustable down to
0.3˚. Its motorized focus is both fast and precise.
Using USITT standard
DMX512, the G-1 can be
controlled via wireless
DMX or via cabling.
The G-1 comes in
two varieties: with or
without the base unit.
With the base, usability
is diverse as a battery
can be inserted and
thus positioning is
independent from any
power source proximity,
andtheIPratingensures
no need of bulky domes
for outdoor application.
Without the base, the G-1 can be mounted onto
the ceiling or a rig in e.g. a club environment
for that powerful and bright beam effect that
operates in high speed movements using an
external power supply.
The G·1 Beam
No strings attached:
200 mm
100 mm
3M
61910 LUX 22620 LUX 11620 LUX 5657 LUX
5M 7M 10M
2.86o0
100 mm
200 mm
LUX diagram 2.8o
IP65
G-1 Beam advantages High applicability
8. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
15
SGM’s P-5 wash lights demonstrated their
applicability as waterproof luminaires at the
International Festival of Light in Moscow in 2014.
Fountain specialist Aqua-Show was tasked with
installing two lines of fountains and creating
a 3D world of water for laser projection. They
needed to illuminate the fountains with water
reaching heights up to 30 meters; and for that
they selected the powerful RGBW P-5.
Water show lighting designer and design
engineer of the fountain system, Korzakov
Anton, explains: “This is our first experience in
using LED light for creating a wash effect on
the water. Previously, we have not found such a
fixture in our rental market with this huge light
output. All our previous attempts have been
unsuccessful and for many years we have only
used conventional lights.”
The multishow took place at the Ostankino
Tower, Russia’s national TV building for Channel
1, returning for the fourth time to the city of
Moscow. One fountain complex measured 18
meters in length, equipped with 16 P-5s and
installed on the stage, while the other was 52
meters, equipped with 26 P-5s and installed on
the lake 30 meters behind the stage.
Rental company Spin Music Service supplied the
42 LED fixtures matching all the requirements
of Aqua-Show. “The light weight of the P-5
influenced our decision as well as the huge light
output, but the main and favourite feature of
the P-5 is the IP65-rating, as they are exposed
to water from the fountains and the fixtures had
to work a full week in these conditions,” informs
Anton.
The lighting designer has previously seen the
P-5 in use for architectural installations, but
never before in connection with water, and the
result was stunning and received great reviews.
Famous lighting designer Yury Krasilnikov
undertook this entire grandiose event,
comprising water, laser and pyrotechnic shows
as well as artists and water performances,
culminating in a beautiful fireworks display.
P-5 washes water fountains
for The Circle of Light
14
P-5 x 42 pcs
Video
Photo courtesy of Aqua-Show (http://www.aqua-show.ru/)
9. 16
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
17
Every year on the first Sunday in Advent the
Christmas tree in Ostrava‘s Masaryk Square in
the Czech Republic is officially switched on.
The event proves extremely popular as it is
always combined with cultural events, while
an outdoor ice skating rink, situated next to
the stage, is a further incentive. Around 4,000
people attended the official illumination, and
after a short firework display they watched
a 5-minute long light show, programmed by
lighting designer Lukáš Kostřiba, and heavily
featuring SGM effect, provided by EOCELL
Investment s.r.o.
Once again, this company was deeply involved
in both the design and supply of the entire
architectural and decorative lighting system.
The design utilized no fewer than 1344 SGM LB-
100 LED Balls — an increase on last year. Each
LED Ball utilises RGB colours to give the designer
vast creativity, enabling him to develop millions
of different colour combinations, under the
command of four LED drivers. The entire DMX
set-up was programmed in MA Lighting software
MA on PC connected to 2portNode.
Everyone enjoyed the evening and joined along
with local popular artist, Martin Chodur, in
singing Christmas songs and carols.
SGM aids
EOCELL with
Ostrava’s
Christmas
tree
illumination
Belgian television show, D6BELS on stage,
welcomes various artists for live performances
combined with in-depth interviews hosted by
the famous French DJ Quentin Mosimann. Jean-
Jacques Marotte is the main lighting designer for
RTBF (la Radio Télévision Belge Francophone)
and for the show D6BELS on stage he is both
involved in the decision-making process
concerning the set and decoration design as
well as being lighting designer.
Recordings for the music television program
takes place at an old farm around Louvain-La-
Neuve and it is Jean-Jacques’ role to transmit
and underline the atmosphere – conveying the
feeling to the viewers in the privacy of their own
living rooms. “I want to visualise the coziness
and intimacy of the old farm and yet create a
special ambience for every performing artist,”
Jean-Jacques informs.
The lighting designer is no novice in deploying
the SGM LT-200 2-metre LED tubes, which he
has previously utilised as ceiling centerpiece for
another television show among other events.
However, for this production he took a new
approach to the 3D graphic tubes and floor
mounted them. This idea came from supplier and
fellow lighting designer Christian Stenuit, and
immediately Jean-Jacques loved the concept.
Besides the 60 LT-200, he also uses the new
and small footprinted P-2 wash lights and Q-2
flood/blinder/strobes. “I used the P-2 for the
first time in October 2014 – they came straight
from the SGM warehouse. For the second set
of recordings, I used the Q-2 which amazed me
even more. I love working with SGM products,
especially the LT-200. You can do so much with
them and they look really cool on a television
set and through the camera lens,” he concludes.
SGM high lumen for
the great decibels
Video
Video
LT-200 x 60 pcs
P-2 x 20 pcs
Q-2 x 10 pcs
LB-100 x 192 pcs
Photos: Kmeron
10. 18
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
19
On the beautiful banks of the River Seine,
between the bridges Pont de la Concorde and
Passerelle de Solférino, and close to Musée
d’Orsay, lies a part of Paris that is always buzzing
with pedestrians, day and night. In this urban
centre, Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) organised
a special Christmas lighting installation, which
ran from mid-December until the end of January.
Lighting designers from LightLab were looking
for a solution evoking a permanent vertical flow,
to create a unique ‘city life’ impression. They
introduced rental company, Lumière et Son,
who last year brought the Hermès flagship store
at Champs Elysées to life during Christmas using
LB-100 LED Balls from SGM. Their suggestion
to create a 3D graphic volume to inspire city
movements was met with great enthusiasm by
the client.
Lumière et Son prepared a full set-up consisting
of pre-drilled wood risers to vertically mount
108 SGM LT-200, 2-metre LED tubes, in a 12 by
9 metre matrix, hiding all cabling and Art-Net
drivers underneath. The matrix was positioned
onto a ground mirror to extend the dimension
and depth of the display.
SGM’s French distributor Sonoss worked closely
with LightLab and Lumière et Son to create
picture-perfect effects, reflecting exactly what
the concept intended to inspire. Sonoss used
Madrix to programme the show and achieve the
goal of the designers.
Passers by have been able to enjoy three
different shows prepared for daytime, night-
time or festive season for Christmas Eve and
New Year’s Eve.
“The LT-200 was definitely the best choice
to meet these requirements with their high
luminosity, bright and crispy colours and the
easy setup, thanks to a good pre-engineering.
3D lighting is also very attractive, as it is quite
unusual to find in the townscape,” says Vincent
Criulanscy, Product & Project Manager at
Sonoss.
Criulanscy noticed that many people stopped to
shoot photos and video, taken by surprise by the
intensity of the effects. “They sometimes stay
outside in the cold to observe the full 15-minute
show.”
LT-200 3D luminosity
at Berges de Paris
Video
Video
LT-200 x 108 pcs
Every year, Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) turns
the square in front of the building into an ice
rink for the citizens of Paris to enjoy ice skating
during the winter. This year technical audiovisual
specialist, NOVELTY Group, decided to add
enhancements to the traditional Christmas
animation on the ice rink, and after conducting
stringent testing on the SGM G-Spot LED moving
head, placing it under a shower for three days,
they were convinced by the IP-rating of the
luminaire.
Supported by Sonoss, SGM’s local partner, this
year’s festive installation went very smoothly.
“This is typically the kind of site where it would
have been very hard and expensive to install
waterproof domes to protect standard moving
lights, and thus making advanced animation
impossible,” says Vincent Criulanscy, Product
& Project Manager at Sonoss. He further adds
that domes do not protect against moisture
and thereby corrosion inside fixtures, and why
permanent maintenance would have been
required, which could only have been achieved
at night time. This costly affair is avoided by
deploying of the only IP65 moving head on the
market.
“It is very noticeable that the 850W LED engine
performs so remarkably in a very bright white
environment, with a colourful output and gobo
animation,” Criulanscy concludes.
The six G-Spots have been running flawlessly
now under cold winter conditions, and both
Paris City Hall and the many daily visitors are
more than satisfied with this new LED solution.
G-Spot animation
for Paris ice rink
G-Spot x 6 pcs
11. 20
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
21
Russian hard rock band Alisa recently released
their 21st studio album Circus. This was launched
in grandiose style with a performance at the
Palace of Sport in St. Petersburg, effectively
simulating a circus tent experience on stage.
These legends of Russian rock attracted around
8,000 fans to this special concert, and naturally
the scenic dynamic had to be extraordinary.
For their stage lighting set, the design crew,
consisting of lighting designer Andrej Lukashov,
production manager Anton Gerasimov and
performance designer Aljiona Morozova,
selected the LB-100 LED balls from SGM as their
lighting centrepiece.
Each LB-100 string is 0.85m long and composed
of seven RGB LED balls with a pixel pitch of
120mm. Rental company Euroshow supplied
the 864 strings of LB-100, creating a large-scale
graphic LED curtain comprising a total 6,048 LED
balls. This grand setup was run off 18 drivers.
“With the ability to control the lighting effects,
we could create saturated and bright colours
for a vibrant graphic element of the show,”
comments Alexandr Blednykh, director of
Euroshow. System engineer and console
operator Alex Evstifeev deployed the principles
of pixel mapping via DMX.
“A lot of people and colleagues, who had the
opportunity to evaluate our work personally
or by photo and video, were impressed by the
implementation of the equipment – particularly
the LB-100, which made it possible to produce
such beautiful scenery and mid-air dynamic
effects.”
LED Ball Ambience
for Rock Band Alisa
LB-100 x 864 pcs
British sales and rental companies are
systematically falling under the spell of SGM’s
groundbreaking IP65-rated LED portfolio.
High up in the north east of England, Graeme
Sewell first started lighting local bands around
the Durham area more than 30 years ago,
and after setting up Vortex Lighting was an
early investor in ‘intelligent’ products. Today,
Vortex Lighting supplies major hire companies
and venues throughout the UK, specialising in
concert touring.
In the early Nineties, Graeme developed a
relationship with Ian Kirby and Clive Bailey, who
now head up SGM UK, and news that Peter
Johansen had taken over the lighting company
and relocated it to Denmark quickly ignited his
interest.
After making an initial investment in X-5 white
LED strobes he was soon captivated by the
P-5. “It was a combination of the compact form
factor and high power output that impressed me
and my customers — as well as the quality of the
colours,” he said. “We use them for up-lighting
buildings, with the standard 43° lens, but they
also find regular use indoors on conferences.
They also look sleek, with their low profile design
— very different from the large ugly fixtures we
have used in the past.”
Sewell also adds that a further bonus is their
wireless DMX support. “We like any products
with Wireless Solutions built in, and with the
impressive IP rating and support we know we
would get from SGM UK, we are delighted with
the investment.”
But the journey with SGM is far from over as
Graeme Sewell’s appetite was whet further
— as with the announcement of the IP65-
rated G-Spot, he could immediately see huge
application potential.
“SGM brought one up for us to test and we ran
it against a 700W discharge; it was substantially
brighter, beating it on open white as well as the
colours.”
“Aside from its obvious use outdoors without
dome protection it is perfect for nightclub use,
in smoke filled environments, since it’s a sealed
unit and does not require any cleaning.”
After placing his first order for G-Spot, the
enquiries he received from customers in the
north-east has resulted in him immediately
doubling his order.
Vortex lighting joins SGM’s
growing UK rental portfolio
12. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
2322
With an impressive and unprecedented light
spectacle within the top 40 storeys of Western
Europe’s tallest building, Shard Light demonstrated
the countdown to 2015 – the UN’s International
Year of Light.
Every evening from December 19th culminating in
a ground-breaking New Year’s Eve celebration, The
Shard displayed a daily-changing lighting design
across the London skyline between 5pm and
midnight, utilising a substantial SGM LED product
package composed of 64 units of the world’s first
the extreme brightness and powerful output
needed to create the required impact which made
it visible right across London.
Leading the project for PRG was Loz Wilcox, while
PRG’s Head of EU Asset Management Paul Weaver
confirmed that this installation required another
substantial acquisition of SGM fixtures by the
global company.
All contributed to the layers of searchlights,
sparkling strobes and dynamic colour wash, which
added dimension to the lighting display, the design
of which was renewed for each of the 12 days of
Christmas that the spire on the façade of London’s
most iconic tower was illuminated.
Irvine Sellar, The Shard’s developer and joint owner,
explained his vision: “The Shard has become
a beacon for modern London, and is globally
recognised as an emblem of our capital. We wanted
to create an unprecedented installation that takes
an architectural icon and turns it into a piece of
public art as a gift that every Londoner can enjoy
during the festive season.”
Visible across London ‘Shard Lights’ capturing the
energy, dynamism and colour of the city, building
to a climax on New Year’s Eve. The installation is a
gift to Londoners and its visitors as a celebration of
the festive period.
The massive scale of this project can be put in
perspective by the 310 m high (1,016 ft) building
comprising Europe’s first vertical town of 72 floors
holding over 30 acres of space rising up from a
mere 1 acre of land.
Bruges acknowledges the challenges he and his
team faced. “Creating Western Europe’s highest
IP-rated moving head LED lamp – the G-Spot, along
with 185 Q-7 RGBW flood/blind/strobe luminaires
and 180 P-5 wash lights. These were supplied by
Production Resource Group (PRG), specialists in
large-scale theatrical and stadium events, who
managed the complex installation.
The Shard commissioned the award winning art
collective, Jason Bruges Studio (JBS), to create the
astonishing ‘Shard Lights’, with Jenni Pystynen
and Adam Heslop taking lead design roles. For this
celebration each of the SGM luminaires provided
art installation is an enormous challenge. We were
dealing with high winds and heavy equipment, but
the opportunity to create something on this epic
scale was worth the effort.”
“Shard Lights created a theatre in the sky, and
project,” he continued. “This kind of architectural
scale art installation represents the type of project
we thrive on at Jason Bruges Studio.”
The project also represented a huge challenge for
PRG, who had a crew of 60 people deployed at load
in. “JBS had a good idea of where they wanted to
take the creative,” confirmed Wilcox. “With G-Spot
being the first light of its kind that can be used
without additional waterproofing — along with all
the other IP65 fixtures that Peter Johansen is now
developing — to have this weather-resistance over
1000 ft was vitally important. As a result, we have
made a significant investment in SGM.”
He said that having carried out the site reccy, they
needed to have the right risk assessments to fulfill
both their own safety requirements and those
of the venue, which required a robust method
statement.
“As the building is 87 storeys high this required
a significant infrastructure, that was not only
about the lights, but data, power, access and
logistics — and the last thing you want to be doing
is troubleshooting over 40 floors.” The lighting
console itself was driven by another media server
— all run via satellite GPS.
But all the investment had proved well worthwhile.
“We thought the whole show was fantastic — it
looked great and most important, it happened
safely,” he concluded.
The Shard celebrates
New Year with light
spectacle in the sky
More than 400 SGM LED luminaires provide
dynamic impact across London skyline
G-Spot x 64 pcs
P-5 x 180 pcs
Q-7 x 185 pcs
13. 24
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
25
ILLUMI RUN is the first event of its kind in Asia.
Taking place in Singapore, participants are
splashed with ILLUMI glow water as they set out
on their race route, passing through different
colourful glowing zones before ending up at
the finish line. An after-party dance area then
features a massive assembly of DJs.
For the recently held second consecutive run,
event production house Showmakers Pte. Ltd.
supplied P-5 wash lights from SGM, adding
brightness and intensity to the party zone.
Technical Director from Showmakers, Louis
Wong informs: “These lightweight, versatile
and waterproof luminaires make working in the
outdoors a breeze.”
The P-5 wash lights were placed all around
the main stage in the crowded dance area,
which accommodated 18,000 people over the
two nights, and Louis Wong reported positive
feedback from an exhilarating outdoor party
experience.
With its 44 RGBW 10W LEDs, the P-5 offers a
powerful output of 23,500 lumens in a small
physical footprint. With its robust IP65-rated
chassis, the P-5 will have a major impact on
Showmakers’ future projects. “We anticipate
many requests for the P-5 at outdoor fashion
shows and concerts,” he predicts. “Most of
our events are in open air, so the P-5 is a very
suitable product for all our applications.”
The Ultimate
Party Run with
the Ultimate
P-5 Light
Left to right - Louis Wong and SGM’s Hanslee Lim
Established by Russian Radio in 1996, the Golden
Gramophone Award is the most prestigious
music award show in the country. Recently
celebrating its 15th annual event at the Ice Palace
in St. Petersburg, rental company (and technical
partner) Euroshow played the leading role
developing a design conceived by the company’s
Alena Morozova.
Incorporated in the set were no fewer than
480 strings of SGM’s pixel product, the LB-100
LED balls. Each string contains seven semi-
transparent balls with a sphere of 28mm and a
pixel pitch of 120mm viewable in 360˚, creating
alluring 3D graphic displays.
Demonstrating the magnitude of this show, the
award itself is a golden gramophone statue,
comprising gold and silver mounted onto a
platform of optical glass with laser engravings.
Experts estimate the cost of a “gramophone”
to be around 1.4 thousand US dollars. On top of
this, the Golden Gramophone ceremony usually
utilises 36-40 tons of decorations, 500 lighting
fixtures and dozens of LED screens covering 320
sq. m. — and thus it is the biggest social event for
celebrities in Russia.
The 7,000 people who attended this year’s
Golden Gramophone were able to appreciate
the lighting design of Dmitrii Shmelikov and
Aleksej Evstifeev operating the SGM LB-100s via
a grandMA full-size desk.
“The SGM LB-100 LED balls were chosen as
the only equipment on the market that would
allow such an elegant and airy decoration. The
flexibility of the system and the possibilities of its
programming and management provide a wide
scope of creativity,” says Alexandr Blednykh,
director of Euroshow.
Rental company Euroshow sees the clear
advantages in deploying LED solutions for its
installations. States Alexandr Blednykh: “LED is
modern, colourful, compact and cost-effective!”
Therefore, the LB-100 has quickly proven to be
a favourite product in his stock. “On all projects
where we use the LB-100, expectations are met
and we are extremely satisfied.” He adds that
the ease and the usability of the pixel product as
well as its originality are key factors in selecting
it for shows and events.
A close cooperation between SGM and Euroshow
is of key mutual benefit and Alexandr Blednykh
appreciates the responsiveness of SGM’s local
area manager Constanta Gorgan Rasmussen
for any questions and support issues. Ms.
Rasmussen comments: “We are happy to see so
much activity on the Russian market. SGM offers
an intelligent light suitable for a wide range of
applications. Many thanks to Euroshow for
their professional cooperation and for exploring
SGM’s LED effects lighting.”
Euroshow is now steadily reaping positive
feedback from enthusiastic artists, musicians,
organisers and viewers. “Even staff members
from the Ice Palace were discussing from the
sidelines this unusual and beautiful scenic
decoration,” Alexandr Blednykh says in
conclusion.
Golden Gramophone
goes LED with SGM
LB-100 x 480 pcs
Video
14. 26
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
The contractor on the project was Matrix Sales
ApS with Urs Friis-Alstrup as the project manager
responsible for budgeting, product selection
and programming.
The mission was to light up the arched ceilings
of the more than 100 years old railway station
which consists of two 100 meters long halls;
each with more than 20 meters to the ceiling.
The halls are carried out in architecture and
craftsmanship of the early 1900s in dark
green and red colours which causes the visitor
experience to be very dark and gloomy –
especially during the winter. Therefore, the
challenge was to create an installation with
respect for and preservation of the originality
of the building construction.
Friis-Alstrup explains the reasons for choosing
SGM’s P-5s: “We wanted to use a product with
a high IP-rating, as the environment inside
Copenhagen Central Station is rather rough in
relations to dust and droppings from the many
pigeons inside the halls. At the same time, the
client also prioritised a Danish solution and the
fact that we could enlighten so many square
meters, using relatively few units due the latest
LED technology.” He adds; “Personally, my
own favourite feature of the P-5 is its simple
construction and design. This in itself has made
many prefer the P-5 compared to other wash
lights on the market.”
The key focus was to keep the lamps themselves
invisible so that it was only the lighting effect,
the visitors would actually be able to see. The
solution was to mount the P-5s on the rooftops
of the shop buildings that are located in four
areas inside of the halls. All 24 units are
individually mounted on a floor stand, which is
provided as an accessory, and screwed onto
the foundation through the four holes in its
base. This placement means that the fixtures
themselves are almost hidden to the daily
visitors who can now enjoy the beautiful ceilings
and their construction patterns and rafts.
For daily lighting primary colour use is white.
However, several colours are programmed into
the system for the client to choose between
different mood settings for instance during
Christmas or for special events.
“The client is very happy with the result and is
already considering to implement additional light
installations. With the P-5’s we have definitely
achieved the desired effect to the fullest”, Friis-
Alstrup concludes contentedly.
Copenhagen Central Station was recently equipped with 24 P-5 wash lights with the goal to
make it more welcoming for its approximately 100,000 daily visitors.
P-5s help improve the
visitor experience
Photos: Peter Brinch
15. 28
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
29
Lighting designer Jean-Jacques Marotte was the
go-to guy for event agency DDMC, when they
were tasked with the production and creation
of the inauguration of the new railway tunnel in
the north of Antwerp.
The tunnel interconnects the left and right
banks of the Harbour of Antwerp, making it a
very important occasion to mark, which was
celebrated with a spectacular opening ceremony
in December. The train arrived at the station with
prominent Belgian ministers and VIPs on board
to experience a live show with performers and
lighting effects adding new dimensions to the
outdoor railway environment.
PRG Belgium was the technical supplier of video,
light, sound and rigging for this impressive
project and Jean-Jacques Marotte put the
equipment into perfect action.
“Westartedtheinstallationoneweekinadvance.
It was extremely cold during the build-up period.
These extreme weather circumstances were
the reason I chose SGM products, besides their
excellent output and performance,” informs
Jean-Jacques.
The extensive SGM package consisted of 50
P-5 wash lights, 90 Q-7 flood/blind/strobes, 60
SixPack blinders, 12 G-Spot moving heads and
24 LT-200 LED tubes. Jean-Jacques explains:
“The Q-7s and P-5s were used at the exit of
the tunnel due to their wide reach illuminating
the background, the setting and creating the
ambiance. I used SixPacks in the tunnel to create
the chases alongside the train, and G-Spots
on the containers outside because they are
perfectly IP65. This was simply the only option
for a moving head without having to use a
dome. And then last but not least the LT-200s
were used as decoration on the platform.”
With the security of the IP rating of the SGM
luminaires, the setup went smoothly and the
execution was well-received by all attendees,
the event agency and the end-customer. This
is the second Public-Private Partnership for
the Belgian railways and it represents a total
investment of 873 million euros.
Visual Effects for
Infrastructural Opening
P-5 wows
Swedish
Opera
The Göteborg Opera has become hooked on SGM
P-5 technology. Since purchasing their first units
18 months ago, they have kept adding to their
inventory and now own 34 P-5 wash lights.
Production Lighting Manager Kent Hellberg
explains: “Since I acquired the first P-5, every
production in the house seems to want them.”
Currently being deployed for the production of
Mozart’s Le Nozze de Figaro by lighting designer
Giuseppe di Lorio, the luminaires are washing the
backdrop as an essential part of the opera. But
Hellberg has other lighting designers also queuing
up to utilise the P-5s. “Every lighting designer
that I’ve shown the P-5 to has been impressed,”
Hellberg confirms.
The P-5s have therefore been used for different
projects — for instance for a dance company,
where the Japanese choreographer wanted a
strong even colour output; and that he certainly
received, according to a smiling Hellberg, adding
that the brightness of the saturated blue light, so
appreciated by the choreographer, almost gave
everyone a little overdose on the retina. Another
lighting designer responded matter-of-factly to a
demo with “How many can I have?”
“The main reason for us to choose the P-5 was,
and still is, its power and the ease of handling. I
was amazed at the first glance of it and still haven’t
found any other product that can match the P-5
in output and uniformity. The P-5 is really the
exact ‘tool’ we wanted with all the benefits of an
LED fixture plus wireless DMX control,” Hellberg
concludes.
Extensive IP65 SGM
package makes great
impact in Belgium
P-5 x 50 pcs
SixPack x 60 pcs
Q-7 x 90 pcs
G-Spot x 12 pcs
LT-200 x 24 pcs
P-5 x 34 pcs
Lighting Manager Kent Hellberg
Video
16. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
3130
of LED-lit grave stones leading up to the old Celtic
style train station, and for this purpose Blue Haze
produced custom gobos for the G-Spots to carry
through the Banshee theme.
Carowinds: Nine G-Spots are used for the Snoopy
StarlightSpectacular,whichisaneveningexperience
light show composed of popular trending music.
The G-Spot moving heads are spread out along the
trail in the park for dynamics in the classic Peanut
character theme.
IP65 as a powerful asset
Andrew comments: “For Blue Haze, and the theme
park installations, IP65 is a very powerful asset.
These installs, whether they are up for three
months or three years, are considered permanent
installs and having such a feature in a light definitely
affects our design perspective and quoting. We
love to push the boundaries of design, but we also
want to push the best and most reliable products
for our clients.”
Weather conditions have always been the overall
challenge and concern for outdoor event providers.
Aside from its impact on visitor attendance, adver-
se weather conditions impose huge additional
costs on lighting equipment deployment – or
rather it did. SGM’s LED G-Spot moving head, is not
only IP65-rated, making it weather resistant, but
also includes an active dehumidification device.
This reduces the risk of internal condensation
while allowing lighting designers to unleash their
creativity to the fullest — in whatever weather is
thrown at them during an outdoor event.
In recent months, three major amusement parks
in the USA have all installed the G-Spot for their
main attractions: Cedar Point in Ohio, Kings Island
in Ohio and Carowinds in North Carolina. Behind
these installations is Andrew Strain from Blue Haze
Entertainment, whose passion is the entertainment
business.
As a specialist in event planning and design work,
Blue Haze keeps growing and adding young and
enthusiastic members to its team, enabling the
company to provide the best support in their field
of expertise. To assist in this mission, the company
needs the most reliable lighting equipment.
“Outdoor events are a popular and high grossing
business. We believe that IP65 will be, if not already,
a necessity for the installation and architectural
lighting designers,” Andrew concludes.
“The first thing that caught my eye about the
G-Spot was its name and catchy slogan,” says
Andrew Strain. “After seeing what it was capable
of, I realised that it was more than just a gimmick.
The G-Spot provides the full capabilities of a moving
light while still being able to withstand harsh
weather conditions. It can survive a storm - literally
not figuratively. It has proven to be an extremely
reliable fixture and we could not be happier. When
working in installation and architectural lighting,
having the advanced features of a moving light is
huge, but the IP-rating is always a must.”
Cedar Point: The G-Spots are used principally for
luminosity — with a live family entertainment show
performed outdoor nightly on a massive stage by
aerialist acrobatics and singers, transforming into a
dance party at the end of the night.
Kings Island: The G-Spots illuminate the cue line of
the new roller coaster Banshee, which follows the
story of a Banshee ghost. The cue line is composed
G-Spot takes in
the Roller Coaster
Capital of the World Photos: Edward Pottorff
17. 33
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
32
SGM PIXEL TUBES ENTER
BRAIN SCIENCE INSTITUTE
SGM’s award winning LED technology can be found
in a diverse range of applications around the world
— with its eye-catching 3D pixel tubes typically
found zipping across dancefloor ceilings.
But in a completely unique deployment, 68 of the
LT-200 2m tubes now form a pulsating sculpture
in a brain science institute. This is at the heart
of designer Bob Crowley’s set for the new Tom
Stoppard play, The Hard Problem at the Dorfman
Theatre, part of the National Theatre on London’s
South Bank.
It was a YouTube video of a spinning cube that first
set Crowley’s creative juices flowing, and faced
with the task of emulating this effect in order
to represent brain pulses, the theatre’s lighting
operations manager, Marc Williams and control
supervisor, Daniel Murfin tracked down SGM’s 3D
pixel tubes after visiting the PLASA Show, and
seeing them displayed on the website of Madrix
LED software, the system which they use to
control it.
Hired from SGM customer, Blueprint Events, the
LT-200 tubes are brought to life by a collaborative
team which also includes lighting designer Mark
Henderson, lighting programmer Kate Greaves
and lighting supervisor, Paul Knott — who was also
instrumental in programming the effect.
The ‘brain’ graph itself is divided by 20 ‘nodes’
which are made up of SGM’s tiny LD-5 LED Light
Domes — supplied by SGM UK.
Stated Marc Williams, “This is the first time we
have used the pixel tubes — and it gives us the 3D
effect we wanted. We needed a reliable plug and
play system and the LT-200 is all self-addressing.”
But so eye-catching is the effect that the
production team can only use it for around 30
second bursts during the 10 or 11 scene changes
for fear of it interfering with the main thrust of
the complex abstract play, which deals with the
serious subjects of consciousness and evolution-
ary biology.
The lighting therefore had to be sensitive to
this, as Williams explains: “The [brain sculpture]
is controlled in two ways — as a series of LD-5
nodes, and as pixel-mapped LEDs which we use as
synapses to represent abstract ‘thoughts’ firing
across the brain; this represents the content of
the preceding scene.”
He said that due to the challenging concepts,
director Nicholas Hytner had been “absolutely
specific” with his requirements, which resulted in
Daniel Murfin creating mostly bespoke content to
achieve a wide range of graphic representations
— playing 2D video files through the display. All
content was made in sync with the music which is
MIDI triggered.
“I have taken it right back to 2-3%, using vertical
transitions — making it very ‘ripply’, in a way that
has not been used in theatre before,” said Murfin.
“You can read images better at a low intensity.”
“By using mapping techniques we can create lots
of different layers with underlying colours and
pass lo-res video through it, which with a pitch of
just 227 pixels across is virtually nothing!”
All the nodes and synapses are triggered from
an ETC Eos lighting desk piloted by Kate Greaves,
which in turn triggers the Madrix effects generator,
while the video itself is programmed in Catalyst.
In summary Marc Williams says, “The sculpture is
proving to be a real conversation piece, there’s
been a real buzz about it.” He adds that Nicholas
Hytner is said to be extremely happy with the
effect. “He feels the audience really gets it!”
Mark Henderson adds his own endorsement.
“The effect works really well, and produces a nice
combination. The lighting team had done a lot of
research — and there is nothing else like this 3D
effect on the market.”
But the final word comes from Ian Kirby. “This
imaginative installation proves that the tube
concept has applications way beyond light
entertainment and we are already talking to
customers in the public sector who are waking
up to the creative way that these can be used
architecturally.”
3D LED sculpture at
Dorfman Theatre for
new Tom Stoppard play
LT-200 x 68 pcs
LD-5 x 20 pcs
Photos: Johan Persson
Lighting Team
18. 34
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
35
that they were able to scale down the amount
of fixtures to half, so that only 20 P-5 TW and 20
Q-7 W were necessary for their program,” Ibrahim
explains. He continues: “As an added bonus, the
total power consumption of the studio is also much
lower than the initial calculations. Consequently,
there will be huge savings on our monthly electrical
bills.”
D’Six Studio is currently renting out their facilities
for TRANS TV’s popular TV quiz SIAPA DIA, which
aired with the new settings on October 20th.
TRANS TV designers were so impressed by the
performance of the SGM units that they have
added a rental of 8 P-5 TW and 10 Q-7 W for
another popular TV quiz, HITAM PUTIH/My Games.
The trend soon transmitted to another TV station,
TV One, whose fascination with the brightness of
the SGM lights resulted in the deployment of 12
P-5 TW and 10 Q-7 W for their hit program called
GESTURE, ROUNDTABLE and RESPOND.
Thus, the acquirement of the 80 SGM fixtures has
had a great blastoff. “We have now rented out
our entire inventory of SGM lights and are looking
into further expanding our SGM product range
during the next couple of months,” concludes an
enthusiastic Lemmy Ibrahim.
SGM sets the trend for
Indonesian TV programs
No less than 40 units of P-5 TW (tunable white
wash lights) and 40 units of Q-7 W (white flood,
blind and strobe) inclusive 8-way Barndoors and
Accessory Holders were recently acquired as
part of the light inventory for the Indonesian
D’Six Studio, which is owned and operated by
PT. Prima Global Indomedia.
Technical & Operations Director of D’Six Studios,
Lemmy Ibrahim says; “I carried out intensive
research online and I discovered SGM’s LED
products.” He then contacted SGM’s Indonesian
distributor Goshen Electronics, and Area Sales
Manager Hanslee Lim from SGM A/S came to
conduct a demo with the P-5 TW at Goshen’s office.
“I was very impressed by the small size, along with
the bright light output of the P-5 TW during the
demo”, Lemmy Ibrahim states. He immediately
arranged for another demo at the TRANS TV
studio, who had requested to use the D’Six Studio
for one of their programs. Equally impressed by the
demo, they quickly agreed to use the SGM fixtures
for their program.“The lighting designers of TRANS
TV were very surprised that the lumens output was
more than double – 2.4 times brighter – of the LED
Fresnel fixtures that they previously used.
Using a lumens meter, we confirmed
this fact. Due to the high output,
this actually meant
P-5 TW x 40 pcs
Q-7 W x 40 pcs
In December, a charity show by Swiss Solidarity
in Lucerne, Switzerland, set out to raise funds
for families on the run. The donations reached
6,127,355 Swiss Franc for to benefit families who
had to leave their homes and flee because of
armed conflicts. In 2013, more than 50 million
people worldwide were on the run out of fear for
their lives and of that of their loved ones.
Many musicians and bands supported the
fundraising with a stage performance including
world-renowned house and electro DJ and
producer, DJ Antoine. His live act was accompanied
by a lighting show of 12 LED G-Spot moving heads
providing a bright and powerful dimension to the
stage.
The 12 IP-rated moving heads from SGM, which
were perfect for the outdoor event at River Reuss,
were supplied by event technology specialist,
Stagelight AG Showtechnik from Herisau.
In the light of the
G-Spot…
G-Spot x 12 pcs
19. 36
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
37
Renowned lighting designer Kasper Lange
last year amazed a television audience of 120
million Eurovision Song Contest fans with his
groundbreaking design for Eurovision 2014,
followed by multiple TV productions.
Always with a crowded work roster, one of
the LD’s subsequent prime time shows, live
transmitted in Denmark, was the DMA – Danish
Music Awards, the largest national award show,
which has been paying tribute to Danish artists
since 1989. For this show Kasper deployed 50
X-5 white LED strobes and 112 SixPack LED
blinders.
Speaking of his vision for the design concept,
Kasper explains: “The goal for this year’s DMA
was to create a more analogue expression. For a
number of years, the mainstay of the production
has been lighting and video, but this year we
wanted to achieve a more ‘old school theatrical
design’ look for the show. Our inspiration was
the entrance of an old 50s Hollywood theatre.”
Three stages accommodated the multiple artist
performances and the 19 award presentations,
as Kasper incorporated the uniqueness of
each act into his design. “This is always the
big challenge on shows with many different
artists,” he explained. “Normally you create one
recurring design theme that all performers use,
but this time we chose to design eight different
stage settings, tailor-made for each individual
artist.”
For the singer MØ, a specific request for
a minimalistic white universe, with lots of
stroboscopic lighting, was met with the
powerful X-5 LED strobe. In contrast, the pop
and R&B singer-songwriter Medina aspired to a
tight and digital look with clean lines. “For this
design, we chose the SGM SixPacks. I used the
SixPack for the first time at the Eurovision [2014]
in Copenhagen and was very impressed as to
how powerful this luminaire is. It is an extremely
efficient compact product with an enormous
output,” he concludes.
Danish Music Awards meets
50s Hollywood Theatre
In connection with Christmas and New Year, Danish
Broadcasting Corporation celebrated the season
with two big televised shows transmitted from
Koncerthuset in Copenhagen. For both occasions,
the scene was packed SGM 3D tubes. LT-100 and LT-
200 LED tubes were suspended from the ceiling using
extension cables, and thus created a beautiful drizzling
effect resembling colourful icicles.
Both shows included stage performances from big
national/international artists such as MØ, Barbara
Moleko and Eurovision Song Contest winner Conchita
Wurst, combined with interviews with different
interesting personalities such as Prime Minister Helle
Thorning-Schmidt and actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
LED tubes ensure
a winter wonderful
stage for Danish
TV shows
-with an extensive lighting package from SGM
X-5 x 50 pcs
SixPack x 112 pcs
Video
20. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
38 39
CST Production was commissioned by event
management company Fabulous Moment to
lead the lighting design and production supply.
Lighting designer and owner of CST Production,
Christian Stenuit, explains: “The aim was to create
a strong visual signal — to magnify the building,
to enhance the building’s architecture in general
and to reinforce the visibility and beauty of the
architectural and decorative features.”
Inno building’s façade stands 100m in width and
23m in height with three roof domes from 25m
up to 47m, while including several architectural
dimensions such as statues, pediments, vertical
sections and symbols. With the objective of
ensuring a lighting installation invisible to the
outdoor spectator perspective, the lighting
In the city of Antwerp, in Belgium, lies the
luxurious shopping street Meir, connecting the
town hall with the central station. Bringing in
the highest rents of any street in Belgium and
known to be the most expensive shopping street
in the Benelux, Meir embraces the monumental
department store, the Inno building consisting of
two units dating back to 1901 and 1903.
designer selected equipment consisting of
SGM LED products. According to Stenuit these
luminaires checked all the boxes: most effective
and reliable tools, resistant to extreme weather
conditions, advanced low-power and high-
performance devices, impressive output and
high-quality colour mixing, good ergonomic
character and wireless integrated fixtures.
Installing 158 SGM LED luminaires
Thus, 20 G-Spot moving heads, 108 P-5 wash
lights, 8 Q-7 and 22 Q-2 flood/blind/strobe lights
were deployed in this magnificent display of
light, which took place in the cold Flemish winter.
“We have been experiencing extreme weather
conditions during the whole production process,
so the IP65 rating of the SGM fixtures has been
crucial for the light show,” says Stenuit.
16 G-Spot were suspended on vertical truss
attached to the public lighting poles projecting
onto the façade utilising seven different
customised gobos, while another four units
enhanced the highest architectural features from
the rooftop.
Spread across the four floors of the building, 84
P-5s of both 15˚ and 43˚ beam angles illuminated
the façade; 24 of the same units accomplished
the task from the three roof domes; six Q-7s lit
specific areas calling for a large aperture angle
on the third floor; two of the same units lit the
interior of the dungeon of the main dome; and
finally 22 of the smaller Q-2 illuminated the
several small architectural elements.
“The Q-2 is a powerful and versatile tool with
top-of-class ergonomics,” says Stenuit about this
recent addition to the SGM product portfolio.
Weighing only 6 kg, the Q-2 demonstrates a
very small and robust chassis, however, with an
output of 12,000 lumens and an efficacy of 60
lumen per watt, it offers a wide flood of flicker-
free coloured light.
Adding the G-Spot to his design was for Stenuit an
obvious choice. “It is the only IP65 spot luminaire
on the market,” he affirms.
Public interest was high on this winter night in
December as not only were 300 of REDEVCO’s
invited guests present but also the 500,000
citizens of Antwerp were able to witness the
façade of Inno building, brought to life in Stenuit’s
creation of several architectural dimensions.
REDEVCO, one of the largest investors in
European retail property, recently carried out
the restoration of this architectural heritage of
Flanders. For the celebration of the completion of
this considerable project, a special event was held
in December putting the spotlight on the façade
through an astonishing light show accompanied
by a contemporary musical selection.
Massive SGM LED Package
for Renovation Celebration
Architectural illumination marks completion of
Inno building’s restoration
G-Spot x 20 pcs
Q-7 x 8 pcs
P-5 x 108 pcs
Q-2 x 22 pcs
Video
Photos: Alain Dereymaecker
21. 40 41
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
Vail Beaver Creek in Colorado recently hosted
this year’s FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
2015, with athletes representing 68 nations
participating in this grand event, which was
viewed by an estimated television audience of 1
billion.
A full programme of events was preceded by
a magnificent opening ceremony, for which
Theatrical Media Services Inc. (TMS) provided a
full service package. For this, they selected 37 Q-7
flood/blind/strobes and 16 P-5 wash lights.
SGM fulfils the operational requirements
Lighting designer and operator from TMS, Aaron
Stinebrink, explains: “The idea for the opening
ceremony was to make a very inviting space
for the audience that also showcased [Solaris]
Plaza and Vail.” The key factor for Stinebrink was
to deploy luminaires with an IP rating of 65, as
they were to be placed outside in the elements,
exposed to snow and sometimes rain — but also
the operating temperature was essential. “With
being in the mountains, we also had to apply units
of a low operating temperature. At that point
we really narrowed down the field of available
LED fixtures, and the Q-7 and P-5 checked all the
boxes.”
TMS customised truss and bases for the Plaza,
allowing for additional lighting positions to be
installed on the second floor. “The wide beam
angle of the Q-7 allowed for an excellent coverage
of the shops behind, which created a lovely
background in the Plaza,” says Stinebrink.
The P-5s, fulfilling the same weather requi-
rements as the Q-7s, were installed on top of
the Plaza’s second floor pergola, from where
truss was extended 15 feet into space for
proper TV angle, while at the same the structure
offered the challenge of being 40 feet in the air
without any easy access. “We decided to deploy
the P-5s in this location as TV lighting and as
general stage wash. With the fixtures’ IP rating,
it allowed us to put them to use in this hard to
reach area without the concern of having to
change lamps as you would on a conventional
fixture,” the lighting designer explains.
Broad application
Additional 10 Q-7s formed part of the concert
stage equipment, while the 16 P-5s were also
utilised for the award ceremonies.
“The P-5 provides a beautiful even field for lighting
video. By having RGBW available in the fixture,
I was able to colour mix to the proper colour
temperature that the camera required. The TV
crew was very happy with that and the coverage
supplied,” Stinebrink comments. “The Q-7’s
output and beam angle made this fixture ideal for
lighting the Plaza’s shops. It is a great fixture with
a lot of punch. We also included an additional 10
Q-7s as strobe lights for a mobile stage for nightly
concerts. The fixture has a high impact and is
great as a strobe fixture.”
Successful production setup
TMS’s role in the Alpine World Ski Championships
2015 has marked a successful journey, and they
can now relish the positive feedback in the
aftermath of their efforts.
Working with the SGM lighting equipment eased
the process for Stinebrink. “The ability to have
RGBW colour mixing at my fingertips, while at the
same time being able to provide proper lighting
for TV, is fantastic.”
Alpine Ski Championships
profit from SGM versatility
Q-7 x 37 pcs
P-5 x 16 pcs
Nature,
Bring It On!
IP6X IPX5
No ingress of dust permitted
Specialized in IP65 LED luminaires
Protected against jets of water
from all directions
IP65
22. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
43
For this year’s three-day Finnish Cross-Country
Ski Championship in Jämi, the organizers were
looking for a special starting gate for the sprint
day providing a nice visual appearance for the
TV transmission.
Opo’s Sound delivered a truss gate and
used SGM LED luminaires for perfect winter
illumination during the dark hours. Thus, four
SixPack blinders and two P-5 wash lights were
placed at the starting gate, while additional P-5s
were used to illuminate Audi’s Promotion Arc.
Selected for their powerful output; the SixPack
containing six 40W RGBA LEDs and the P-5
with its 44 high power 10W RGBW LEDs, the
SGM luminaires also provided that one special
feature required for this outdoor winter event:
an IP rating of 65.
More than 3,000 daily visitors could enjoy the
excitement of the ski race in the beautiful
cold Finnish winter further brightened in the
early twilight by the SGM lights for the ideal
atmosphere. During the event, the SGM fixtures
were exposed to around 0 degrees Celsius in
the daytime, dropping to -5 degrees Celsius at
nighttime.
Distributor of SGM light in Finland from Noretron
Communications Ltd., Timo Kunnas, witnessed
the skiing activities and was pleased with the
light set. “This truly put the SGM LED fixtures
to the ultimate IP testing, and yet again they
passed with flying colours,” he confirmed.
SGM lights up Finnish
Ski Championships
SixPack x 4 pcs
P-5 x 2 pcs
When Martin Schulz was re-elected President of
the European Parliament and Jean-Claude Junker
for the EP commission, DB Video was tasked with
illuminating the seat of the European Parliament
in Brussels (Belgium), indoor for the Hemicycle,
Passerelle, Agora set and Forum set as well as
outdoor for the main entrance & Protocol entrance
at rue Wiertz.
Lighting designer Thomas Boets was in charge of
the light setting of this event, creating atmosphere
in the several venues which also targeted the live
broadcast for international television.
For the outdoor illumination Boets deployed SGM’s
P-5 wash light: 4 matrixes of each 16 x P-5 on
scaffold towers and 24 luminaires to uplight the
flags of the member states. In a different section,
another 64 x P-5s washed the trees and some PVC
signs.
“The idea was to create an atmosphere in the alley
and at the main entrance, where all the Members
of Parliament entered during the evening of the
election. We made 16 different looks, changing
every 8 minutes resulting in a loop of 128 minutes,”
inform Boets, who was assisted by lighting operator
Joeri Diddens.
This was Boets’ first experience working with the
powerful P-5 — and he says he was pleasantly
surprised. “I was searching for a fixture with the
new LED technology, something with a powerful
output and not too big, and also with the IP rating
for outdoor use. PRG had these in stock, so we
conducted a test and I was really surprised by the
output,” the designer explains.
He continues: “The RGB colours are really nice, but
adding the feature of white LEDs gives the fixture
so much more potential to use in many different
ways. It is in fact an all-in-one fixture with a high
output!”
After this deployment and the many positive
reactions to his work at the European Parliament,
Boets can truly be said to be a big fan of the P-5.
P-5 elected for
European
Parliament
P-5 x 152 pcs
42
Photo: Juha Levonen
Photo: Juha Levonen
Photo: Jari Vaara
23. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
4544
When the PWA (Professional Windsurfers
Association) Indoor World Cup took place in the
National Stadium of Warsaw, the games lasted
for 3 days and more than 40,000 spectators
came to cheer.
Adam Tyszka prepared the hands-on light set-up
for this event, implementing his and Sebastian
Pachciarek’s lighting design vision. Sebastian
Pachciarekelaboratesonthisvision:“Ourgoalwas
to create a show that displayed the windsurfing
competition in a new and unexpected way. This
type of event is most commonly held on coastal
areas, but in this case it was in a pool, specially
built for the purpose.”
As an essential ingredient in the lighting design
for this project, the two designers chose SGM’s
popular SixPack pixel array with a powerful RGBA
LED light source. They allocated no less than 100
pieces of the fixture in two different locations.
The first grouping formed the so-called line-
athletes and presentation area on the plate of
the stadium. The second grouping of the SixPacks
were located very close to the pool, underlining
the advertising space on the stadium disc. “The
IP65-rating was crucial in the decision to use the
SixPacks in such an exposed area”, Pachciarek
explains.
As to the fact that the SixPacks are LED-based
rather than conventional, Sebastian Pachiarek is
very convinced about the benefits: “They have
less power consumption, are more durable and
widens the opportunities for lighting design.”
SixPacks as essential ingredient
in Indoor Windsurfing World Cup
SixPack x 100 pcs
Photos: Sebastian Pachciarek
Check out PWA’s
impressive video
from the show
24. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
4746
other lights being drowned out by the output of
the LED screens, when at the same time trying
to conceal the lamps. I have reduced the screens’
output intensity to only 35%, and even then the
lamps at times struggle to keep pace when the
full video surface is brightly lit” notes Hauge.
While still aiming for perfection by continuously
correcting minor details, Hauge is very satisfied
with the result and the balance he has
accomplished between ease of handling, ‘rider-
friendliness’ and value-for-the-money. Great
praise has gone out to the technical skills behind
this show, overwhelming the audience with the
massive use of video, making the comedian a
constant ‘actor and co-actor’ on stage.
Hauge has been very satisfied with the SGM LS-
4.6 LED screens. “It is an extremely lightweight
and elegant LED module, providing space and
atmosphere to the scene image. Furthermore,
the pixel pitch [of 4.6mm] is ideal even for the
first row to have a good image without the use of
a canvas in front of the screens”, he concludes.
When lighting designer and technician Malte
Hauge became involved in the preparation of
comedian Andreas Bo’s Original set design at
an early stage, he was able to participate in the
perfect format and scenography; at the same
time he could meet the technical challenges in
order, to achieve the vision of technical consultant
Thomas Scharling and the artist himself.
“I’m a fan of surprising the audiences,” explains
Hauge about his refined yet downplayed design.
“Instead of having one big LED screen, we have
divided the screen surface into three equally large
segments to generate new opportunities for
interaction between Andreas Bo and the video
content.” Between the three screen surfaces
are beams of light, adding to the depth of the
scenography.
With 80 expected performances, it is essential for
the designer to feel confident in the gear. “These
modules are reliable and solid, making me feel
secure with the product during transportation
and execution of the show,” says Hauge.
The 45 LS-4.6 LED screens are mounted in 3x5
modules (144x240 cm) yet are driven as one
screen from a Mac Pro running QLab, and pre-
mounted on three movable podiums for quick
and easy setup. Through each podium top,
two vertical aluminium tubes carry the screens
secured by half couplers. This results in a physical
slimness, adding a refined option for costume
changing behind them.
It is Hauge’s most accomplished task to ensure
correct light setting on Andreas Bo and add punch
to his comic timing and the atmosphere of the
show. The integration of the LS-4.6 screens on
stage builds the illusion, effectively adding more
persona to the one-man show. Photographer
and editor Per Dreyer has facilitated this illusion
in the finest manner, making the audiences
almost forget that only Andreas Bo and a video
projection are in front of them, when met by a
fully equipped rock band or three opponents in
Greenlandic drum dance.
“My biggest challenge has been to avoid my
SGM LED screens provide
ease and elegance
for comedy tour
Creative deployment of LS-4.6
LS-4.6 x 45 pcs
Lighting designer
and technician
Malte Hauge
25. 48
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
49
SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
Impact Production Services (IPS) have joined the
growing list of top-flight hire companies who
have added SGM’s powerful P-5 wash light to
their inventory.
Owner James Mason, who set up the Milton
Keynes-based company 16 years ago, took the
decision after sub-hiring in some of the high
output heads for a project, which also gave him
the chance to evaluate them. As a result, he
placed the order for 24 P-5 RGBW fixtures with
SGM UK.
“We had been looking at various IP-rated
outdoor washes and P-5 had come up a few
times on specs,” he explained. “For us it’s the
next generation; it’s compact, neat and you can
use it indoors, whereas other IP-rated washes
are often big and bulky.”
In order to get the maximum impact from the
fixtures he purchased 21° and 43° lens options.
Mason said the decision to back the Danish
brand followed the recognition that SGM’s
penetration of the lighting industry was rapidly
increasing. “The company has come back as a
major force and the P-5 certainly works in terms
of our portfolio. We are presently expanding our
product range, and the brands we support … and
this is one of the keys!"
“The P-5 has many advantages, not least being
the ease of transportation and ease of set up
and address — plus the colour is great and it
operates flicker-free.”
IPS’ MD anticipates that the addition of SGM’s
premier wash light will lead to more work. In fact
the new head is already in high demand, and
has been earmarked for several film premieres
in London’s Leicester Square prior to Christmas.
Impact joins the
growing roster of
SGM P-5 customers
IPS Managing Director
James Mason (left), with
Senior Technician Ian Brown
… and the new P-5s
The recent SGM Demo Tour in Germany enabled
Vorlights, the nationwide multimedia production
company, to test some of the products at the
conclusion of the annual Moonlight Shopping
Show. Tens of thousands of customers and visitors
enjoyed the event in the Osnabrück indoor and Old
Town areas. The Vorlights team ensured once again
a spectacular finale against the beautiful backdrop
of the historic City Hall lasting 13 minutes.
"Despite the very limited budget, we try each year
to create a completely different look with the
staging," said Thorsten Vorkefeld, the creative
head and owner of Vorlights. Therefore, the team
of lighting, sound, video projection and fireworks
specialists consists of just six employees.
Astunningshowlikethisgenerallyrequiresweather
protection for the respective devices, as well as
the use of domes for the lighting. Alternatively,
some things are just not possible under certain
conditions.
"And so we were extremely impressed from the
very beginning with the performance of the SGM
products,” states Michael Flottemesch, who was
responsible for the lighting design and video
content. "We were able to freely position the
fixtures and they delivered a full-on performance,
despite the adverse weather conditions — and the
enormous light output was just great!" Thorsten
Vorkefeld provided his own endorsement,
adding that in the company’s upcoming AQUApro
Watershows the IP65-rated G-Spot would be a
great addition.
In fact for the Moonlight Shopping finale Vorlights
knew they were able to fall back on 12 of the
G-Spots, along with four Q-7 and two X-5 strobes,
which harmonised perfectly with the two video
projection screens.
The G-Spots lit the façades of the historical area
with powerful abstract colours, while the City Hall
façade was also treated to panoramic projections.
While the SGM fixtures demonstrated an
outstanding performance, the fact remains that
the show would have been exactly the same had it
been pouring with rain — since all SGM gear is fully
weather proofed.
SGM conquers the elements
at Osnabrück Moonlight
Shopping Finale
G-Spot x 12 pcs
X-5 x 2 pcs
Q-7 x 4 pcs
26. SGM NEWS No. 8 2015 SGM NEWS No. 8 2015
5150
SGM was not only able to introduce a number of
new products at the years LDI Show in Las Vegas
but attracted equal interest by announcing
the restructuring of their sales and service
operations in the Americas. The opening of SGM
Inc. in Orlando, FL. highlighted this fact.
As a result, the SGM booth proved to be one of
the hottest destinations at this premier expo.
The show floor was permanently busy and they
reported incredible interest in both the now-
established G-Spot and new G-Profile (with
framing shutters), the world’s first and only
IP65-rated, maintenance free moving heads.
Thus, SGM presented not only a new portfolio of
ETL-certified, IP65 LED products but also the new
Technical Support Team and established sales
force. At the same time, well known Spanish
lighting designer Ben Díaz, has been appointed
SGM’s new Area Manager for South America,
and he will also be handling product training.
Technical Support
Also (literally) turning heads were the new P-2
and Q-2, compact versions of the big selling, high
output and IP65-rated P-5 and Q-7 respectively.
SGM CEO Peter Johansen underlined his
commitment to the US market by announcing
that he will be steadily expanding the team
going forward. “We are looking to hire industry
professionals as we have many open positions.”
Candidates are invited to send in their resumes.
SGM announces stronger presence
in the AMERICAS at LDI
Contact details:
Matthew Huffman
Phone: +1 (561) 213-7622
Email: mhu@sgmlight.com
Skype: UStechsupport.SGM
SGM US Technical Support 24/7 Hotline:
Phone: +1 877 225-3840
Email: us.support@sgmlight.com
The US Technical Support Team will be based
in Florida and led by Matthew Huffman,
who brings several years’ experience in
the entertainment lighting industry and in
management.
CEO Peter Johansen and Business Development Manager of SGM Inc. Filippo Frigeri.
Photos: Todd Kaplan
