PSI Invests to Supply Latest Riverdance Tour posted: 04/05/2016
There will usually be around three different Riverdance versions in circulation being performed by up to three touring companies
Production Services Ireland (PSI) - Dublin & Belfast based lighting, rigging and visuals production specialist - is supplying lighting and rigging equipment to the current UK and European tour of Riverdance, one of the most successful dance shows in the world.
It's PSI's fourth tour with Riverdance for which, on this tour, they have made a substantial investment in the new EXE-Rise 1000kg 8:1 double-braked electric chain hoists - the first off the production line in Italy, delivered to PSI by Area Four Industries through Adam Beaumont and are among a total investment in over 50 new motors.
PSI is committing now to make the switch over to double braked hoists. The EXE-Rise offers all the benefits of the increased safety factor including steel chain from Germany and compliance to the strictest DIN regulations - without increasing the size of the hoist. This looks set to become a general entertainment industry requirement for the future.
Riverdance's lighting is designed by John Comiskey, an element looked after on the road by lighting director Cormac Veale, who has worked with the company for around 8 years. Typically, they will spend 6 - 9 months on the road, such is the enduring popularity of the show which is still selling out arenas and theatres spectacularly over 20 years after its inception.
There will usually be around three different Riverdance versions in circulation being performed by up to three touring companies somewhere in the world. This one, currently touring Europe and the rest of the world is The Barrow Company. Touring simultaneously in North America and Canada is The Shannon Company.
The lighting is regularly updated and refreshed to keep it relevant and fluid, together with the content. The current show is vibrant and lively and also includes dance genres from other cultures like the Cossacks of Russia and a freestyle street dance section as well as the traditional Irish tap that everyone knows and loves.
The last full show re-light was two years ago, on which Cormac worked closely with John, with the supply contract awarded to PSI where the account handler was Ciaran Tallon.
John and Cormac programmed onto a grandMA1 full size console initially but updated this to MA2 in September last year. Other changes also made sure this version was fully tour-able after its long-standing summer run at Dublin's Gaiety Theatre.
PSI originally came into contact with Cormac and Riverdance production manager Brendan McLoughlin through servicing many of their corporate performances, and also as the lighting vendor for their Heartbeat of Home show. PSI approached Cormac with the possibility of an upgrade from the original Riverdance lighting specification. It was a huge leap forward in terms of fixtures and the new look has been received very well.
Ciaran comments, Myself and Cormac did a lot of testing on different luminaires from all manufacturers before choosing the Robe units. The versatility & reliability plus the small size and light weight of the luminaires really helps the show to be adaptable in the diversity of venues it visits .
They replaced 90% of generics and conventional sources with more moving lights effectively decreasing the amount of lights and physical work load for the touring crew but adding lots more creative scope and latitude.
PSI is extremely proud to be working with Riverdance as it's one of the best globally known Irish productions, continues Ciaran. John and Cormac make a great impression with the lighting for this version and it's great to see it constantly grow, evolve and stay contemporary, delighting audiences in new territories each time .
PSI purchased the fixtures new for Riverdance in 2014/15 - The rig went straight out on tour to China & Japan for 40 weeks and returned for one week before starting an 11 week residency at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.
On PSI, Cormac says, The service is absolutely brilliant . He has worked with the leading rental company on a number of occasions now, and makes particular reference to the fact that they have a seven star level of client support from anywhere in the world due to the benefits of being affiliated with the HSL group.
He operates the show using the grandMA2 Light with another for backup. A Catalyst media server running all the video content is also triggered via the grandMA2.
The moving lights are 18 x Robe Robin MMX Spots, 22 x Robe Robin MMX Blades and 20 x Robe Robin 600 LEDWash - not a huge amount of fixtures for the fast paced show which switches locations as fast as it encompasses different dance genres!
For generic lights, there are 16 x ETC Source Fours and 16 x Chroma-Q Broadway Scrollers and some Robe 500ft hazers & City Theatrical Aqua foggers and that's it!
It's a testament to both imagination and programming skills to get the plethora of different looks and ambiences from just over 80 luminaires! Much of it is static looks, rarely does a light move mid-scene, but the result is a beautiful collage of dramatic and colourful lighting which embraces all emotions.
The 18 x Robe MMX Spots are all rigged on the four over-stage lighting trusses, forming the backbone of the lighting. Six of the Robe MMX Blades are rigged on the FOH truss or at the venue's FOH positions and used for tightly shuttered precise pinpointing, with another 10 x Robe MMX Blades overhead and the remaining six on the side booms stage left and right.
Twelve of the Robe 600 LEDWash are overhead with another 6 in the booms both sides, while the 16 x Source Fours are at shin-buster level on the booms.
Cormack is working alongside two touring crew - Simon Burke (Syst
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
08/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. The International Data Corporation is predicting that worldwide spending on telecom services and pay TV services will increase by 1.4% in 2024 to...
08/05/2024
CUPERTINO, Calif. In a notable development for news and live video production, Apple has unveiled a number of significant upgrades to its Final Cut Pro software...
08/05/2024
Pliant Technologies has announced that it will be presenting its new SmartBoom LITE Headset at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C5116). The latest updates include enhanceme...
08/05/2024
SAN FRANCISCO Fox's ad-supported streaming service Tubi has launched Stubios, a fan-fueled studio for aspiring filmmakers and their fans that the company sa...
08/05/2024
SAN ANTONIO, Texas Five more stations have launched NextGen TV service, bringing to nine the number of local TV services on-air with ATSC 3.0....
08/05/2024
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has announced that Greg Retsinas has been named president and general manager at KGW, Tegna's NBC affiliate serving the Portland area...
08/05/2024
08 05 2024 - Media release Olivia Colman and John Lithgow Star in Sophie Hyde's New Project JIMPA
Olivia Coleman and John Lithgow in JIMPA. Photo credit: ...
08/05/2024
OpenDrives Joins AWS Partner Network
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Atlas software-defined platform now available via AWS trusted partner network...
08/05/2024
Animate AI Matte Paintings in After Effects
Graham Quince May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Arguably the best video use for AI generated images is Matte Painting...
08/05/2024
Throw Expression in Adobe After Effects
Andy Ford May 7, 2024
0 Comments
The Throw expression is a time-saver in After Effects. It allows you to mov...
08/05/2024
Join FilmLight in Toronto: Baselight 6.1, Nara and more
Brie Clayton May 7, 2024
0 Comments
Thursday 30th May, from 2:30PM, Hosted by Alter Ego 488 ...
08/05/2024
Gray Television reported a first-quarter profit as advertising revenues rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 levels....
08/05/2024
The Today show shared the performers on its summer concert series, which feature...
08/05/2024
Lewis Dodley, longtime anchor for Spectrum News NY1, will retire at the end of May. He's been on the air at the Charter Communications-owned local news chan...
08/05/2024
Scripps Sports said it plans to air a new studio show when a new season of WNBA Friday Night Spotlight starts May 24....
08/05/2024
Advertisers are looking to reach the right audiences and tell their stories inside compelling content, Karen Kovacs, president of client partnerships at NBCUniv...
08/05/2024
Professor emeritus John (Jack) Johnson elected to the National Academy of Sciences Johnson's multi-disciplinary research has been instrumental in shaping ou...
08/05/2024
zweiB updates to latest version of R&S CLIPSTER Specialist in deliverables for cinema, events and trade shows
Rohde & Schwarz, a global leader in broadcast...
07/05/2024
NAB Show 2024
Utah Scientific rocked the 2024 NAB Show in Las Vegas, unveiling two new game-changers in video signal management.
Our primary focus this yea...
07/05/2024
7th May 2024 The nations favourite comedy channel Gold has teamed up with the ma...
07/05/2024
There's something special about summer. We're not sure whether it's the warmer weather, the longer days, or something else a bit more magical, but s...
07/05/2024
NITV appoints Michael Rennie as Presenter and Senior Producer for NITV News
Media releases
NITV has announced the appointment of Michael Rennie as Presenter...
07/05/2024
The ability for line-of-site tactical voice and data networks to seamlessly traverse over Satellite Communications is an emerging requirement to assure warfight...
07/05/2024
On April 5, 2024, the L3Harris Avionics Products Repair Station (NN2R037L) in Gr...
07/05/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
07/05/2024
Share this article
width=32 height=32 loading=lazy data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
wid...
07/05/2024
BURBANK, Calif. The Walt Disney Company has finally delivered some from profits from its hefty streaming investments, with the second quarter of its fiscal year...
07/05/2024
Bonnie Hammer, vice chair of NBCUniversal, and Jen Psaki, MSNBC host, read from their new books at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan Wednesday, May 8. Hammer's...
07/05/2024
Paramount Plus has ordered the series Crutch, a comedy that is a spinoff of CBS comedy The Neighborhood. Tracy Morgan stars....
07/05/2024
Edward J. and Melody Thomas Scott and Lidia Bastianich will receive Lifetime Achievement honors at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards in June, the National Aca...
07/05/2024
The 2024 Giants of Broadcasting & Electronic Arts luncheon and awards ceremony happens in New York November 12, and the honorees are Al Roker, weather and featu...
07/05/2024
Dabl Network has added The Wayans Bros., The Jamie Foxx Show, Living Single and Everybody Hates Chris to its weekday and weekend lineups. Those shows join the l...
07/05/2024
After winning a proxy fight, The Walt Disney Co. said its entertainment business turned a profit and added subscribers in its fiscal second quarter....
07/05/2024
NBA Entertainment is closing out the second season of its series Pass the Rock with a look at Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, the league's rooki...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, which provides stations with streaming capabilities, said it is rebranding as Zeam Media....
07/05/2024
Samsung has made a deal with Magnolia Pictures that will bring titles from Magnolia to the Samsung TV Plus free streaming platform....
07/05/2024
Amazon, which has added commercials to Amazon Prime Video, is rolling out new interactive ad formats that will enable advertisers to engage streamers and sell s...
07/05/2024
Syncbak, a 15 year-old provider of streaming tech for local broadcast stations has rebranded itself, adopting the name of its streaming service launched in Febr...
07/05/2024
POST Luxembourgs journey with TAG Video underscores how finding a vendor who und...
07/05/2024
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Entertainment Research provides extensive data showing that the majority of consumers will opt for lower cost ad-supporte...
07/05/2024
NEW YORK The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) has announced th...
07/05/2024
CBS News has named Lindsey Reiser an anchor and correspondent for CBS News 24/7, the network's live, streaming news service. Reiser, who was most recently a...
07/05/2024
NEEDHAM, Mass. After more than two years of decline, worldwide tablet shipments posted modest year-over-year growth of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q24),...
07/05/2024
ESPN is reporting that April was a record-setting month as the network delivered its best April prime time audience on record, dating back more than 30 years....
07/05/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced that Kirsten Donaldson has joined NAB as vice president of public policy. Donaldso...
07/05/2024
The Bulls are back home again this week from May 7-12! Don't miss out on any...
07/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Mampho cautions Maria against making a move on IsaacDon't miss Tuesday, 7 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Hous...
PSI Invests to Supply Latest Riverdance Tour posted: 04/05/2016 
