LiteGear’s Auroris
LiteGear always looks to improve products as well as to build upon some of its previous products. In this case, they looked to improve upon their LiteTile, a bi-color white light softlight that was introduced in 2016. “People loved the versatility and unique properties of this textile light source,” says Mike Wagner, CEO of LiteGear speaking about LiteTile. “We’ve seen some amazing setups using this transformative product. LiteTile can easily create a large key source with lightweight rigs with the high density of LEDs. A soft quality of light is an inherent attribute of LiteTile, and its construction makes it easy to gang units together. It could be used to cover large areas and provide even illumination over an entire set. Low ceilings and non-traditional spaces are no longer a problem when using LiteTile. Of course, they can be used with a diffusion for an even softer quality of light in almost any configuration.”
The company saw a number of film sets with LiteTile combined to create large arrays. They began to experiment with a larger version, which they dubbed LiteTile XL. “LiteTile was used on some of the biggest film sets and TV series in Hollywood,” says Wagner. “With its large surface area, it was easier than ever to create large soft boxes. The concept was proven as LiteTile’s surface area was the perfect light source for massive lighting setups. But as we do here, we asked ourselves what comes next. After a lot of hard work in design, testing, and manufacturing we introduce Auroris, an evolution of LiteTile, but uniquely its own product.” Here’s a deeper look at the new Auroris softlight from LiteGear.
Color and Pixel Control in One Fixture
Auroris is a full-color overhead light source that combines high-quality color rendition and precision control in one sleek, easy-to-use package. Powered by LiteGear’s Spectrum technology, Auroris is an engineered textile built with 24 large format pixels, creating a pixel mappable source that can cover a 100-square-foot area with just one fixture. Designed to be light on weight and easy to rig, Auroris is one of the slimmest, most versatile soft lights. Auroris is currently available in two sizes—Auroris X measures 10’ x 10’ (3m x 3m) with 24 large format pixel areas and Auroris V that measures 5’ x 10’ (1.5m x 3m) with 12 large format pixel areas. Auroris X is ideal for overhead rigs and Auroris V is designed for floor-mounted lighting set ups and smaller overhead rigs.
Auroris uses LiteGear’s Spectrum color technology which consists of six LED colors—Tungsten, Daylight, Red, Green, Blue, and Amber. Spectrum color technology delivers cinema-quality color output with a massive selection of vivid saturated colors along with high color rendition white light from 2,000K to 11,000K and wide-gamut hue selection with full spectrum desaturation. This color control is spread over 24 individual large format pixels in the Auroris X model—each large pixel consists of 1,296 individual LEDs—and 12 individual large format pixels in the Auroris V. Auroris is an effortless way to create the perfect amount of pixel resolution for cinematic illumination in a lightweight and slim-profile package. From running video content over a full pixel mapped rig to creating a subtle CCT gradient, users have a lot of control options in terms of color and variable white light.
Save on Space and Time
With Auroris, low ceilings and insufficient rigging points are no longer an obstacle. They built LiteGear’s lighting quality into a low-profile system that weighs 30% less than other available rigs. This makes Auroris the ideal lighting solution for everything from a repurposed warehouse to a large sound stage and everything in between. At just 1” thick, Auroris can be used in softboxes that are only 12” deep, letting you recreate the light quality of a traditional softbox with just one-sixth of the space. Auroris is designed to be ultra slim and lightweight. When rigged on 12” ladder truss to make a softbox, the Auroris X weighs only 114 lbs. for a full 10’ x 10’ unit. It’s now possible to fill an entire production studio with Auroris units that easily join to create seamless ceilings or walls of soft, even light.
Set up is fast with the durable Auroris system as only two technicians can set up an Auroris X in less than 20-minutes. Simply unfold Auroris on the ground, attach it to your rigging structure with its integrated straps, hoist it into the air, and you’re ready to go. Plus, every Auroris is equipped with built-in heavy-duty webbing and locking buckles that make attaching and tightening to a rig faster than ever, without the need for zip ties or complex rigging hardware. And wrapping has never been quicker. Auroris can be uncoupled from your rig, folded, and stored in minutes.
A Scalable Solution That’s Easy to Transport and Store
When using the Auroris accessory system, you can effortlessly mount fixtures, reducing setup time. A grid of 10 Auroris X fixtures can cover 1,000 square feet, unlike competing overhead products that require 40 units for similar coverage. With high LED density and 24 light engines, one Auroris X unit can replace four or more comparable lighting fixtures.
Auroris can light a large area, but that doesn’t mean it’s hard to pack up and transport. Designed to fold up into a package that is a fraction of its size when fully deployed, an Auroris X unit can be quickly folded into a 21” x 21” x 32” storage bag, making packing convenient and taking the guesswork out of transportation. An optional road case can hold the complete Auroris X system and is designed to be easily transportable while offering a high level of protection for Auroris.
LiteDimmer Spectrum AC600 Control
The LiteDimmer Spectrum AC600 was built specifically with Auroris in mind. Complete with local control and new communication protocols, this dimmer can control 12 large format pixels, making pixel mapping large overhead areas easier than ever. Specially designed with advanced processing power, an integrated Ethernet switch, expanded memory, and a faster processor, this new hardware allows for Ethernet-based communication protocols such as Art-Net and sACN, as well as DMX, RDM, and LumenRadio’s wireless CRMX protocol, advanced color control, and cutting-edge software features. An integrated USB-A port allows for easy updates of software.
LiteGear has worked with film lighting professionals to build a collection of accessories that work perfectly with Auroris. The key with Auroris is its flexibility to be utilized and rigged in any way you desire with its wide range of accessories. Choose from components such as ladder truss, diffusion and skirt, teaser, SnapGrids, road case, safety accessories, and more. Use Auroris without diffusion or select the level of light control you desire. Whatever you choose, LiteGear has what you need to make your perfect light box.
Founded in 2006 by Al DeMayo, Mike Bauman, and Jeff Soderberg, LiteGear is an LED lighting equipment company for professionals in cinema, TV, and HD video industries. What started as a provider of flexible LED lighting for use in cinema and TV lighting applications, grew into a major supplier of a wide range of advanced motion picture LED lighting to suit on-set needs. Auroris builds on LiteGear’s years of innovation and if you need a large, color changing, high-quality soft light source, we recommend you get a demo of Auroris for your lighting needs.
Learn more about LiteGear’s Auroris at www.litegear.com
HIVE Media Player Range
On March 1, 2022, UK-based HIVE Media Control Ltd launched a new generation of media playback and control systems positioned to actively disrupt the market. Four brand new hardware video media players are now available, which aim to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of media player solutions. HIVE is founded by video industry heavyweights Dave Green, Trey Harrison, and Mark Calvert—all well-known and respected innovators in the field of high-performance media control. Together, they have delivered video systems for global projects including the London Olympics, the Tokyo Olympics, Dubai World Expo, Eric Prydz’s HOLO, Coldplay, and the National Museum of Qatar.
“As the AV market demands higher and higher resolutions, the cost and complexity of the media control systems required to drive displays has become unmanageable,” says Green, who has been inventing media servers and video control for decades. “With HIVE, we have taken an alternative approach. The days of Heavy Metal are over. Instead of huge racks of expensive, power hungry hardware and complex signal distribution systems, we have a new generation of pocket-sized computers. These are also specifically designed to be more environmentally friendly, using less energy, as part of HIVE’s commitment to reducing carbon footprints.”
Range of Products
The HIVE product family has been designed from the ground up to deliver exceptional video quality and ease of use for AV integrators, architects, event producers, show designers, and brand activations. The four products are known simply as Player_1, Player_2, Player_3 and Player_4. They deliver HD, 4K, 4K SDI and 8K SDI respectively. The SDI models also support genlock from a reference sync source.
Utilizing the latest embedded GPUs developed by NVIDIA, the HIVE team say they are proud to be able offer outstanding performance at a fraction of the cost and footprint compared with the current systems on the market. “To put it simply, HIVE is less expensive,” says Calvert. “The quality of our video output is often better than systems that cost much more. This is one of the gaps in the market that we have identified over the last 15 years of working on some of the world’s best video-based projects. We have also designed a system that is very easy to use, simplifying the process of what can otherwise be complex video playback tasks.”
Harrison adds: “HIVE products deliver flawless playback of industry standard video codecs at the highest quality and highest resolutions. With the integrated warp and blend features, large seamless multi-projector installations can be realized at a fraction of the cost. HIVE networks are highly scalable and coordinate well with other media systems, with hundreds of devices synced together or synced to external timecode — there is no comparable solution at anywhere near this price point.”
Multiple Codecs
HIVE supports up to 8K H265/HEVC, H264, the Notch LC codec, and Avolites AiM codec. In addition, the team has designed HIVE to utilize a revolutionary web browser user interface. This intuitive UI allows the user to operate the system from a phone, tablet, laptop, or any device with a modern web browser.
“You can upload video files directly from your device,” Green explains, “edit your playlist or timecode cue list directly from your device and build a custom User Interface which runs on your client’s portable device. It’s all done through the simple web browser UI, and we’re thrilled to have made this happen.”
In addition to a dedicated Discord group, HIVE also launches with an expert-ready support subscription service, details of which are available online on the www.hive.run website. This will provide technical help with all aspects of using the HIVE media control systems.
Support from Pixel Addicts
“We would like to say thank you to our existing clients who have trusted us with their important projects, enabling us to thoroughly benchmark and finish HIVE before we launched it publicly,” Calvert comments. “Also, we want to thank our immediate team and dedicated freelancers ‘the Pixel Addicts’ for the endless patience and guidance they have given us on our next quest. HIVE development began three years before the pandemic, on a myriad of custom projects. However, the last two years gave us more time to question not only what we need to change and how we must adapt, but also how we should grow. Personally, we each focused on our immediate families, we relocated homes, we sold beloved offices, and spent a lot of time within nature trying to reconnect and ground ourselves. From this time our new project blossomed. We are proud to have created products befitting the times and suitable for the changing market. We have developed HIVE to have less impact on the natural world. All of our components are recyclable, and our power consumption is a small fraction of previous generation hardware.”
The HIVE team pointed out some of the projects that use the HIVE products, including Dubai World Expo UAE and Qatar Pavilion, the Dugong Exhibition at the National Museum of Qatar, the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne with Jananne Al-Ani, Davide Quayola in Rome, BICEP LIVE, National Museums Liverpool—Aquarium, and Sub Focus Live, to name but a few.
Insights into HIVE products, the many advantages of its software and hardware, and special features are being demoed via HIVE’s website, Instagram, and Discord group. If you push pixels for a living and need a simpler, more cost-effective media player, we suggest you reach out to HIVE and get a demonstration of the HIVE media player range or view their many demo/tutorial videos available.
Learn more about the HIVE Media Player Range at www.hive.run
GLP impression X5
The global launch of GLP’s highly anticipated impression X5 wash light is occupying one of the most unique stages in American TV history this spring, with the launch of the eight-part American Song Contest (ASC), airing on NBC. Based on the EBU-organized Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), which has been running for 65 years, and is the longest-running annual international televised music competition, ASC is operating in a different format. Some 56 states and territories submit a song over the course of the series, leading up to the final on May 9, where they will compete to win the vote for the best original song. The show includes solo artists, duos, DJs, and bands from a variety of styles and genres, both well known and up-and-coming, and is co-hosted by Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg. ESC’s long serving technical director Ola Melzig, has been named as one of the executive producers (working alongside overall production company Propagate). Julio Himede is production designer, with lighting design by televised live event specialist Full Flood, spearheaded by designer Noah Mitz. The event is being shot across two vast sound stages at the Universal Studios lot in Los Angeles.
Showcasing New Technology
“We were honored to be approached to design the American debut of the show,” states Full Flood lighting designer Mitz. “We have followed the European event for ages as all entertainment lighting designers do. They asked if we would join the production and laid down the gauntlet and said they wanted an arena-scale show.” One aspect ESC has been famed for over the years has been the showcasing of new technology on its expansive sets. ASC was determined to follow that tradition and this year it was the new GLP impression X5 that took pride of place.
Describing the scenography as “a forced-perspective set, like a road trip through America with a giant sculpture at the end”, Mitz could immediately foresee this giant, sun-like structure, set upstage center, being populated with over 90 of GLP’s new X5… if they were available in time. “So, we immediately contacted [GLP Inc. President] Mark Ravenhill to ask the status of the new X5.” Ravenhill rushed to get prototypes of the new wash light, which incorporates 19 powerful and exclusive 40W LEDs, ready in time, and to ensure that production could meet the timeline by delivering the full complement via GLP partner Volt Lites. Additional lighting was supplied by PRG. Other members of the lighting production team include Assistant Lighting Director Tyler Ericson; Gaffer Matt Benson; Best Boy Mark Marroquin; and System Techs David Russell, Janos Bode, Ben Lewis, and Jeff Geisser.
A Bright Sun
“Julio [Himede] had produced some early conceptual designs and dreamed up the lighting sculpture [the custom steel fabricated by Scenic Express] and at that point we made the decision to populate it with all 90 X5s,” says Mitz. Dan Norman of Evolve Lights joined the project to consult on the design of the sun sculpture and “helped ensure that our centerpiece had the various layers and could live up to the necessary multifunctionality as required by the show.” A field of circular wash lights was always in the design plan. “We wanted the power you could only get with larger wash fixtures, and we wanted pixel control of each cell—with all the features we needed to be contained in one wash light,” explains Norman. “So, it was an easy decision to make.”
The light source at the heart of the impression X5 was developed specifically to offer an expanded and more comprehensive color gamut. Incorporating a brand-new algorithm called iQ.Gamut, the impression X5 is able to deliver accuracy, quality, and consistency, with white points calibrated perfectly to the black body line, while the expanded gamut can be accessed via three different color control modes.
“The color gamut was extremely important,” Mitz admits. “We are always looking for a delicate pastel range and saturates. Being able to make a tight beam was also key… getting a narrow zoom [from the wide 1:16 range, running from 3.5° to 60°] and we are using this in various configurations. We are running it in individual pixel mode as well as a traditional light source. We did a longer pre-viz than usual, to make sure we got it right, and GLP supported us.”
Summarizing, Mitz says: “It’s not hyperbole to say that this has exceeded our expectations—it’s a huge piece of impressive lighting scenery and marks the start of a new era.” Full Flood lighting director Will Gossett agrees. “Looking at elements of the show it’s rare to get such a reaction from members of the production team when they saw it; their reaction was unique,” he explains. Another member of the Full Flood team to give the new impression X5 the thumbs up was Patrick Brazil, who has programming duties along with Rob Koenig and Darien Koop. Brazil notes: “The X5 looks great flooded out as eye candy, but when zoomed in it is one of the brightest and tightest beams I have seen from a wash fixture. That, combined with the pixel mapping and fast zoom, has allowed us to get lots of dynamic looks out of a single fixture type.”
Specifications of the impression X5 Wash Light
The GLP impression X5 boasts 19 40W RGBL LEDs with high output and increased color gamut. Features include GLP’s new iQ.Gamut calibration algorithm, which ensures the impression X5 creates clean white points with CRI 90 at 6,500K and the ability to switch to other fixed color temperatures instantly, all calibrated exactly to the black body line. The 16:1 zoom range from 3.5° to 60° with homogenous light distribution across its entire range. It also has a tungsten simulation channel, magenta / green correction, virtual color wheel with 64 referenced LEE Filters and variable CTC, along with twin layer effects with plenty of dynamic pattern macros. Its front face with a circular design offers a fresh modern look, a round aperture and has been designed to include geometric patterns for great looking Pixel mapping effects. GLP’s trademark baseless design brings the impression X5 weight down to just 29.3 lbs. (13.3 kg). Its design also allows static front accessories or even electromechanical effect modules to be attached. The impression X5 can be controlled via DMX, Art-Net, or sACN and can be easily set up using Near Field Control.
Adding Strobes to the Rig
The ASC lighting rig also deployed additional GLP products including JDC and JDC Line hybrid strobes, as well as more than 100 atoms and X4 Bars. The Full Flood team was particularly impressed with the JDC Line, opting to edge the perimeter of the vast sun wheel with some 46 elements of the recently introduced JDC Line 500, which combines a powerful strobe line with an LED pixel mapping stick; these have since been topped up with the longer JDC Line 1000. The Full Flood team had previously only experienced this fixture briefly—on a single performance of America’s Got Talent. “This is the first time we have had a big display, with 46 on the sun, as well as 130 JDC1 hybrid strobes,” states Mitz. “Having used them once we now find they tick every box, and we will use them on all our shows. It’s great to have a linear product that is so skinny… we definitely didn’t want a fatter face strobe. And because all the elements—the color and the white strobe—are set behind the acrylic it reads beautifully to camera.” The other aspect of the GLP pieces that made them so specifiable was their sheer versatility. “With 56 individual and unique performances from 56 territories there’s a need for variety with the stage set. So that drove a lot of the designs.”
Finally, Mitz said that all the creative teams had meshed superbly. “We’ve enjoyed great collaborations. Everyone wants it to be a new experience and the fact [the producers] were willing to invest in new technologies bears that out.”
Learn more about the GLP impression X5 at www.germanlightproducts.com
Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash
Happily, as has so often been the case in society, inclusiveness and understanding seem to grow stronger with the passage of time. Such evolution can be seen in the story of British Sign Language (BSL). And now on March 28, this vibrant form of communication will reach a broadcast milestone with the debut of Sign 2 Win, the first game show done entirely in BSL. Hosted by acclaimed, deaf actor Fifi Garfield, and produced by Drummer TV Ltd., production support is supplied by PYTCH to create the first 10 episodes of the breakthrough series. PYTCH provided a state-of-the-art virtual venue for the show, along with a complete range of production services, including a dynamic, camera-friendly lighting system that featured Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash fixtures.
Vibrant Washes of Color
The show’s lighting, which was designed by Dan Giddings, Lighting Lead at PYTCH, endowed the set with vibrant color combinations from the Rogue R2 Wash and PAR fixtures mounted overhead. Giddings often relied on bold primary colors, notably blues, reds, and greens to create an aura of excitement and anticipation. Sometimes splitting the set into two distinct color patterns, he added visual variety to the program in addition to creating a sense of depth for the camera.
To texturize the set’s backdrop, Giddings used colored light at varying intensities to accentuate different parts of the geometric patterns on its wall. By focusing light more intensely on one section of the backdrop rather than another one moment, then switching the next, he created a sense of movement. The interplay of light and patterns was fittingly representative of the dynamic evolving nature of BSL, which is constantly expanding.
Specifications of the Rogue R2 Wash Light
The Chauvet Rogue R2 Wash has an output of 5,800 lumens and a wide zoom range of 12° to 49° along with five zones of LED control to pixel map its 19 (15W) RGBW LEDs. The IP20 rated luminaire can produce color temperatures from 2,800K to 10,000K and the Rogue R2, which can pan 540° and tilt 230°, offers smooth color mixing along with strobing, six distinct dimming modes, and a range of DMX channel profiles. For control, the Rogue R2 has both 3- and 5-pin DMX input /output connections with Neutrik powerCON® input and output connectors for power. The Rogue R2 Wash measures 8.58” x 12.05” x 15.67” (218 x 306 x 398mm) and weighs 20.4 lbs. (9.25 kg).
Learn more about the Rogue R2 Wash at www.chauvetprofessional.com
