Item List

The compact rig has been designed to make light work of load ins and dismounting for Ben Couch, ER’s laser operator and technician for the tour. The Tripan fixtures are operated using a Pangolin FB4 system and work seamlessly with the DMX controlled BB3 units, both of which are controlled and operated directly from ER’s lighting console.

To highlight the suite of lasers, Viper deLuxe and Unique Hazers provide the show with all-important atmospheric effects and are the perfect smoke solution for a large arena environment.
“It is a pleasure to be working with Sean Burke and PM Omar Abderrahman again.

Having been brought on late in the design process Sean and I had to work hard to get the lasers placed into positions that worked without altering any other show elements. Although it is a relatively small laser rig, the addition of ER Productions BB3 lasers makes it feel much bigger. Lawrence has done a great job on the programming, using multiple zoning to achieve an impressive laser look”, concludes Marc Webber.

Ariana Grande Tour

Ariana Grande
US Tour

After a month in rehearsals, ER Productions has gone on the road with 23-year-old singing sensation, Ariana Grande, for her Dangerous Woman world tour.

The former Nickelodeon star who recently worked with John Legend on a remake of the title song from Disney's upcoming live action, Beauty and the Beast, released her album Dangerous Woman in 2016.

Marc Webber, co-founder of ER Productions worked closely with lighting designer Sean Burke to create a bespoke laser design for the arena tour, which was painstakingly timecoded and automated during rehearsals. “This attention to detail during the rehearsal period always pays dividends when you’re on tour” comments Lawrence Wright, who programmed the show for ER Productions. “It results in a perfectly timed show night after night”, he continues.

Working closely with Lighting Designer, Sean Burke, Marc Webber was given creative freedom with the laser design. He specified twelve DMX controlled BB3 lasers, which are exclusive to ER Productions, and four Tripan scanning systems to create a striking geometric backdrop in hues of white, blue and acid pink for Grande’s performance.

“With such a stunning historic location, we couldn’t resist mapping effects onto the monastery columns using custom brackets fabricated by our friends at Mechanical and Ferrous. We also used single beam lasers to create a canopy above the main stage area”, continues Hagan.

In the courtyard performance zone, ER choreographed a range of geometric laser effects to an original sound design by Japanese artist Yuri Suzuki, complimenting Audi’s new A5 range and RS 5 Coupe. Viper deLuxe and Unique hazers were split over the venue’s two levels providing all-important atmospheric effects throughout the show.
Video highlights of the event can be seen on the Audi City Lab website.

Audi Milan

Audi City Lab
Design Week, Milan

Never one to shy away from a challenge, ER Productions pulled out all the stops to stage a last minute, large-scale laser installation in Milan during Design Week for event sponsors, Audi City Lab.

Set in the cloisters of an ancient monastery that has been hidden from public view for 300-years, ER Productions created a conceptual laser show to accompany a collaboration between La Scala’s Chamber Music Orchestra and the Teatro alla Scala Ballet on the theme of Artificial Intelligence.

Ryan Hagan, co-founder of ER Productions, comments “One of the project challenges was delivering such a detailed brief within a tight turnaround. However, with ample stock in our warehouse, we delivered the kit to site within a few days, giving our technical team just enough time to rig, programme and rehearse the show.”

With so many independent elements in the performance, ER Productions supplied thirty-six moving head lasers and nine Tripan scanning lasers, which were integrated with a Black Trax system enabling the laser and lighting operator to track several dancers at a time. Blue beam barriers were used to separate the attending guests from the physical performance.

“Not to get too technical, but the collective laser beams meet on the X and Y axis to create upscaled array effects, far beyond anything that can be created by a standard moving head light. Kinekt comes with an FB4 control in-built and works with DMX, Beyond and Art-Net, making it extremely user friendly”, said ER Production’s co-founder Ryan Hagan.

Another striking signature laser effect that has been used time and again by Hurst in his work for Axwell ^ Ingrosso, is the apparent teleportation of the duo onto the stage. To create the effect at Steel Yard, nine BB3 lasers were rigged onto Kinesys motors and focused down onto the stage, with the beams appearing to draw the DJs into their opening positions.

With Axwell ^ Ingrosso closing the 3-day festival, ER Production’s skilled 4-person crew rigged a total of 138 lasers comprised of over 100 Kinekts, a Phaenon Pro 30000, Laserblades and the BB3s on an overnight changeover.

The experienced crew pulled it off, delivering a visually impressive show that went without a hitch.

“The May bank holiday was a phenomenal first outing for Kinekt. Andy even used an additional 98 units on Sigma’s landmark live show at the Royal Albert Hall on the same weekend. We’ve put a lot of work into developing the system and couldn’t be happier with how it performed”, concluded Hagan.

Axwell

Axwell ^ Ingrosso
Creamfields Steel Yard

ER Productions has unveiled its latest innovation, Kinekt, at Creamfields’ Steel Yard festival during Axwell ^ Ingrosso's headline set.

The enormous 20-metre-high Steel Yard structure in London's Victoria Park is the perfect venue for immersive audio-visual productions. Axwell ^ Ingrosso's show designer, Andy Hurst, took full advantage of the expansive venue creating a supersized, highly sensory scheme of lasers.

A regular collaborator on Hurst’s diverse projects, ER Productions has created a range of defining laser designs for the Swedish DJ superstars, which have been seen across the world including the duo’s headline set at Miami Ultra.

A consistent visual theme in all Axwell ^ Ingrosso shows is the iconic inverted V logo, which was souped-up for the Steel Yard gig with 104 lasers converging to form the shape’s silhouette behind the DJs.

To achieve this show stopping effect, ER Productions used its newly launched Kinekt laser system. As the name would suggest, Kinekt’s highly innovative system design enables any number of units to connect.

A key area of focus for the laser design were the moving stairs, which incorporated almost all of the lasers. Despite the concentration of lasers on the stairs, none of the fixtures were visible front of stage during the shows, which is a testament to ER’s skilled technicians.

The show was fully timecoded by ER’s Alex Oita and Andrew Turner during the rehearsal period in LA. To ensure the safety of the Backstreet Boys and their dancers, a risk assessment was carried out and ER’s team worked extremely closely with the performers to ensure their routines were performed in safe zones.

Once the show moved to its permanent location in Las Vegas, Lawrence Wright, General Manager of ER’s US operation, programmed the show to perfection. “Two days and nights were spent mapping the proscenium with animation and effects to complement each song. Originally conceived as LED strips, this is the first-time lasers have been used to map an otherwise empty area in the Axis Theatre, which results in a unique look that simply cannot be achieved with other products. I am really proud of how it looks.”, Wright comments.

Key laser tracks included Incomplete, The Call, More Than That, EDM Dance Break and the band’s hit song, Everybody (Backstreets back), with laser mapping effects appearing during most songs in the show.
To highlight the lasers, four Viper deLuxe units provided all-important atmospheric effects, with 4 Unique Hazers filling the venue with haze.

Backstreet Boys

Backstreet Boys
Las Vegas Residency

Backstreet Boys, the enormously successful 90s US boy band, has staged an epic come back 20-years after they released their self-titled debut international album.

With a sell-out, 26-date residency in Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood's AXIS Theatre, ER Productions played an integral part in creating a wow factor for the Boys’ Vegas run.

Show designer Raj Kapoor and Lighting Designer Richard Neville provided ER Productions with a detailed brief and design earlier this year. Working with closely with Kapoor, Andrew Turner, Project Manager for ER Productions, designed a scheme for the lasers using ten Laserblades, ten of ER’s newly launched BB3s and six Tripans. A late addition to the show’s laser package, were six Excellent 21 laser systems, which were used to light, map and animate the impressive proscenium in the Axis theatre.

To achieve the feast of colour the band has become renowned for in their spectacular live performances, ER put together a rig comprised of sixteen BB3 units, sixteen Beambursts, eight Laserblades, five Phaenon Pro 30000 fixtures and four Phaenon AT full colour scanning systems with OPSL colour mixing. Together the lasers filled the length and breadth of the stage creating an awesome spectacle, which will not be forgotten quickly.

“Our fantastic team worked quickly, safely and with such professionalism, getting all of our kit onto the stage during a tight 8-minute change over. It’s was a real treat to choreograph the lasers for this performance using every fixture at our disposal”, said Turner.
Ryan Hagan, founding partner of ER Productions commented, "It’s always a thrill to work on the Brit Awards. The production team are fantastic and it’s a great show too. Although installing this quantity of lasers is no easy task, our Project Manager Andrew and his team delivered a well-executed, stunning job!”

Brit Awards

Brit Awards 2017
O2 Arena

Broadcast live from London’s O2 Arena on the 22nd of February, this year’s hotly awaited Brit Awards was bursting with vibrant lasers courtesy of ER Productions.

Unlike previous shows, ER Productions skilled team focussed primarily on the event production, creating a wow factor for hundreds of attending VIPs. Of the 93 lasers fixtures supplied to the Brits, at least half were used to dress the location. Most notably a cathedral inspired laser canopy formed using Tripan and Beamburst fixtures, which was projected across and over the gathered artists, label execs and managers in the audience.

ER Productions worked closely with the health and safety team at the O2 to create safe termination zones for the overhead laser projection of eight Tripan fixtures, which were focussed directly into the tiered seating areas before the audience arrived.

Andrew Turner, ER Productions’ Project Manager, created a feature laser design, which adorned a huge Brits sculpture on the B Stage with mapped effects using two Tripan systems from front-of-house. The sculpture was surrounded by a laser cage using twenty-six of ER’s bespoke built BB3s, which have an unparalleled clarity and beam quality.

The walkways either side of the B Stage were enhanced further using two full colour Phaenon Pro 30000 systems, which were rigged to the left and right above the stage. A final flourish of BB3 lasers were rigged on the main stage, creating a beautiful blue flat scanned back drop.
The remaining complement of lasers, were used in Coldplay’s colourful performance of their new single, Something Like This, performed with The Chainsmokers.

Crystal Maze

Crystal Maze
Channel 4

Essential viewing back in the early 1990s, The Crystal Maze is a cult British game show broadcast on Channel 4. Hosted by Richard Ayoade, the highly popular format relaunched last month and has proved to be a huge success with new audiences as well as fans of the original series.

Set in a labyrinth, a team of contestants take on a number of challenges, which are played out in four zones, winning a crystal for each successfully completed game they take part in.

Upon reaching the centre of the Maze, the team must collect as many golden tokens as they can from within a sealed Crystal Dome to win a prize. The amount of time they are given in the dome is determined by the number of crystals they retrieve during the show.

Having worked on several game show formats in the past, the team at ER Productions jumped at the chance to devise two laser based challenges for the revamped show. “We were originally approached by senior games producer, Anna Kid, having been recommended by the show’s lighting director, Gurdip Mahal”, comments Tom Lesh, Project Manager at ER Productions.
“Although the games were designed by the specialist production team, our role was to help realise their vision using our cutting-edge laser solutions”, he continues.

ER worked on two original games for the show including a laser maze, constructed of twelve 2-metre high laser gates, and a room full of sweeping lasers. Contestants must navigate and avoid the lasers for them to obtain the elusive crystals. If contestants come in to contact with any of the laser beams, they earn a strike, facing immediate disqualification if the beams are broken three times.

An additional static installation was created by ER Productions in a warehouse space on the Dark Park site, which was connected to the dynamic external installation using lasers. Four Laserblade systems and one Tripan laser were engineered into the shape of a cross and projected through the warehouse, eventually converging with the outdoor experience.
Mona commissioned three 25m tall triangular towers, which rose like pylons into the sky. Aside from being striking works of art in themselves, the structures housed a line array sound system and a number of precisely positioned laser fixtures. ER Productions positioned three GLP Moving Head fixtures, one ARC Regus and two high powered, full colour RGBB scanning systems onto each tower, which projected a huge aerial pyramid between the towers and created the alternative nebular skyline. Designed around the principles of natural geometry, the internal laser pyramid is the exact dimension of the Pyramid in Giza.

A huge smoke and haze package of Unique and Viper deLuxe was specified to highlight the lasers, which was further complimented by natural haze emitted by a number of bonfires that were dotted around the park.

Dark Mofo

Dark Mofo

Tasmania’s Dark Mofo winter festival is a ‘must see’ for anyone with a penchant for the avant-garde and darker spectrum of the arts. Fully funded and curated by the Mona museum, the critically acclaimed arts festival features a wide range of works from over 1000 contributors and is now in its 5th year.

Continuing the iy_project canon with renowned light artist, Chris Levine, and Eden Lab, ER Productions was thrilled to be part of the 6th iy_project installation at this year’s festival. The resulting piece, ‘iy_project 136.1 Hz’ is a breath taking, immersive laser and sound arrangement across two locations within Mofo’s Dark Park.
Chris worked closely with ER’s Tyler LeDent, programming and choregraphing the sound activated laser installation at the company’s studio in Dartford before the kit and crew left for Tasmania.

In an interview with Creators online prior to Dark Mofo Chris said, “There is a tight core team involved in the production, development and logistics of the work. We're so excited that Rob Del Naja from Massive Attack has started working with us and his flavours will become apparent in Hobart.”

During the show, full colour lasers flooded the Hobart skyline giving it a nebulous covering that has become synonymous with iy_project’s evolving body of work. With sunsets at 4:50pm and approval from the Australian Aviation Authority, performances arced over an hour and were run back-to-back between 5pm and 10pm during the festival.

The BB3s are focused down on to the stage and out over the audience, creating a multi-level laser canopy overhead. Four Tripan scanning systems and six Beamburst fixtures were used exclusively in Pitbull’s set. We’re also using six Viper deLuxe smoke machines to ensure the lasers are seen at their best. All of the lasers and atmospheric effects are controlled using a High End Systems’ Hedgehog 4 and Pangolin Beyond.”
To create the canopy, ER Productions rigged fourteen BB3s onto a special truss featuring drop down brackets, which moved the lasers below the lighting fixtures when required during shows.

“We’re thrilled to be working with two of the world’s most prominent Latino artists on their massive joint tour! We were tasked with creating dramatic and passionate laser sequences that reflect the atmosphere on-stage and our team have knocked it out the park. I couldn’t be happier with how it looks”, he concludes.

Enrique Iglesias

Enrique Iglesias
& Pitbull Live!

Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull Live! is the second US concert tour from the suave Spanish singer and the equally smouldering American rapper, which went on the road in June.

Played out in two parts, the show opens with an hour long solo set by Iglesias or Pitbull, who alternate during the run. A second solo set occurs after the intermission, with the artists joining each other on stage for the finale.

Lawrence Wright, general manager of ER Productions US operation, worked closely with Iglesias’s lighting and show designer, Travis Shirley and Pitbull’s, Tom Sutherland, to provide a huge laser package for the ongoing tour.

“The brief for Enrique Iglesias and Pitbull Live! was simple, both designers wanted to punctuate key moments in the show with a range of dramatic, sexy laser looks. For example, we’re using diffraction effects to create mini laser solos, during which the lighting and video is completely cut”, comments Wright.
“To achieve each of the designers’ visions, we specified a versatile laser package comprised of twenty-two BB3 units, which were used during both solo performances and in the joint finale.

The pole rigged lasers were flown in to trim during laser numbers, creating a unique effect that could be pulled back to avoid a 24-metre video wall, which provided effects when the lasers weren’t in use. The remaining two Excellent 25 units were rigged onto custom brackets creating laser effects that terminated on stage around the Country music stars.

Finally, to frame the stage and achieve a lovely static focus, ER’s skilled technicians set the Laserblades in trays along the left and right downstage edge.
Turner concludes, “Raj, Rita Maye Bland and Lighting Designer Mark Butts gave us the freedom to throw our creative hats into the ring for the laser moments, which is always a dream for us and we are thrilled with the results.”

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw

Faith Hill & Tim McGraw
Soul2Soul Tour

ER Productions is touring with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on the duo’s Soul2Soul tour. The visually impressive two-hour show, which is on the road until October, was directed by Raj Kapoor and designed by Mark Butts and Raj Kapoor, who collaborated with ER on the Backstreet Boys Las Vegas residency earlier this year.

Project manager, Andrew Turner, said “we relished the opportunity to be involved in such a high-profile tour in the USA. This is the first-time ER Productions has been involved with a Country music act, which was an interesting creative opportunity from the outset.”

Once the laser concepts had been agreed with the design team, Turner devised a rig consisting of sixteen Laserblades, thirty-two BB3 units and eight of ER’s new Excellent 25 fixtures, which spanned the length of the stage. To integrate the lasers into the slick set, custom frames were fabricated by Tait Technologies for the BB3 and Laserblade units, which also simplified the load-in process for the technical team.

"We were lucky enough to join the show’s technical team at the Rock Lititz facility in Pennsylvania during the set building process. From there we went with the tour team and the artists to rehearse at Feld entertainment in Florida where we programmed the show."
Two Excellent 25 units were floor mounted out wide, while another four were rigged onto two, 5-metre long steel poles, which were operated using Tait’s automation software.

ER Productions also designed and manufactured two bespoke laser barriers to guide GE’s VIPs around a viewing courtyard during the show.
It took ER Productions’ skilled team of laser technicians five-days to set, programme and dismantle the one-off event for GE.
“It’s not often that you get free reign to create a design that relies solely on lasers. We loved working on the graphics and programming a show with blackout. The best compliment however, was the client running the sequence three more times during the evening. It’s certainly going to be a hard job to beat.”

General Electric launch

General Electric
LM9000 Launch

When General Electric launched a super-efficient gas turbine at the 2017 Annual Meeting in Florence, the engineering giant called upon ER Productions to create a stunning laser feature to bring its innovative design to life.
A key element of the show was an incredible 4-minute graphic sequence of the engine, which included a fly through visualisation of the engine’s inner workings. The lasers were also used to highlight critical manufacturing data on the screen.

To create the effect, six Tripan scanning lasers were projected onto laser gauze using 3D Studio Max and modelling software. Six further Tripan systems were used to create a light show either side of the laser gauze. Laserblade units flanked the huge viewing screen and lined the guest walkway in the indoor environment.

A total of 71 laser fixtures were selected for the job, which included two of ER’s newly launched Cyclone lasers. Highly versatile in a variety of applications, the unit’s multi-directional head casts a range of geometric shapes and cage effects. The Cyclones, which were positioned stage left and right of the screen in the wings, animated the engine’s spinning capabilities and provided aerial effects during the showcase.

All three projection sites were connected to FOH using via 1.2km fibre optic cable. With 48 projection zones located on each side, Hagan and his team could adjust the lasers to follow the curves of the building.
Hagan went on to say, “The software we use is so versatile, programming is less challenging than lining-up each individual fixture, which took 3 nights to complete.

When it came to programming, we used the Universe feature in Beyond to knit all the projection zones together and create 1 large projection surface, which enabled us to run shapes, colours, and even video content across the building’s entire surface.”

Generali tower inauguration

Generali Tower
Milan

It’s not the first time ER Productions has been called upon to map lasers across architectural structures, but the monolithic Generali Tower in Milan, part of Zaha Hadid Architects’ CityLife development, is the biggest structure the award-winning laser company has worked on to date.

Ryan Hagan, co-founder of ER Productions, who designed the system and the creative programming platforms comments, “Mapping a Skyscraper with lasers was a first for ER productions and for the laser Industry as far as we know, and we are delighted with the result.”

Due for completion in 2020, Generali is the second of three towers on the site which will eventually crown the expansive shopping, residential, and business district. With a stunning architectural form, the 185-metre tall, 44 storey tower twists as it rises into the sky, which required extra attention during the planning and design stage.

To bring the huge structure to life, ER Productions designed a laser system comprised of twenty-four 30-Watt RGB Phaenon Pro 30000 units. At FOH, 12 fixtures mapped the linear steel structures on the exterior of the building’s façade; with 6 units located on the lower curved portion of the structure and 6 at the upper end, all focussed to create a single projection surface.

On the reverse side of the building, the laser mapping followed the same principle as the front of the building but had a slightly different projection set up with two individual focal points.

ER Productions specified ten BB3 fixtures and twenty-four Kinekts, with four Viper deLuxe smoke machines and two Unique hazers providing all important atmospheric effects. The show was controlled using Pangolin’s Beyond software and a Road Hog 4 console from High End.
With an impressive lighting heavy scheme, it was a challenge for Webber and his team to find space for the lasers. To get around this, ER’s technician Ben Couch positioned the lasers on tank traps upstage, which were supported by the company’s custom designed interlocking wheel boards.

Marc concludes, “Although we used a relatively simple laser rig, we wanted our design to be versatile enough to deliver a range of different effects and looks throughout the show, which I think has been achieved. As always, it was a great pleasure to work with Jamiroquai and Vince.”

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai
Automaton Tour

ER Productions has just finished working with Jamiroquai on the band’s Automaton album tour of the UK. This is the first time the band has toured in 7-years and the set list included a mix of its most iconic hits next to songs from its eighth studio album.

Bought on board by the Lighting Designer, Vince Foster, ER Productions was asked to create a laser design that complemented his overall lighting scheme. Furthermore, having worked with Jamiroquai in the past, Marc Webber, co-founder of ER Productions, wanted the laser design to differ from the band’s previous tours.

“I wanted to create a 3-dimensional performance space using lasers, which would appear to come out of no-where. To create the effect, we installed a row of our new Kinekt lasers along the downstage edge, which we focussed and terminated onto the roof. With this wall of lasers in place, we rigged a row of BB3 lasers at roof level, projecting the beams back onto the down stage edge, which intersected with the Kinekt beams”, explains Webber, who project managed the installation.