
Vari-Lites star at the heart of Romeo Santos' record-breaking Utopia posted: 22/10/2019
The epic Utopia concert by Latin American music superstar Romeo Santos broke the all-time concert gross record for a single performance at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on 21 September. Produced by Live Nation, the sold-out concert saw Santos joined by guest artists including Raul n Rodr guez, Elvis Mart nez, Luis Vargas and rapper Cardi B.
Yamil Charif and Richard Vicens of YC3 Lighting Design took charge of the entire design for the four-hour show, at the request of Santos' Production Manager, Javier Rolo. The artist had an idea of what he wanted, but he gave us a lot of creative freedom to interpret that, says Charif. Between Javier, Richard and myself, we created a concept and presented it to the artist. He loved it and we took it from there.
At the heart of the show's rich visual design, Charif and Vicens specified more than 100 lighting fixtures from Vari-Lite among their extensive lighting rig. Lining the 260ft wide stage and multiple Runways' were Vari-Lite's unique VL6000 Beam fixtures. These were partnered for the first time by the new VL6500 Wash, which made its world debut on Utopia. Sharing the same large format body as the VL6000 Beam, the 50,000-lumen output VL6500 Wash fixture features the distinctive radial diffusion blades and advanced CYM+CTO color mixing. In addition, Vari-Lite VL4000 BeamWash and VL3500 Wash FX fixtures were also specified for their distinctive, powerful output and effects capability.
To achieve their concept, lighting fixtures were carefully selected to fulfil specific purposes. We chose the VL6000 Beam for the Runways because of its unique look and its intensity, says Charif. We knew it was going to look great on camera and have the punch that we need in a stadium like the Metlife.
This punch' from the fixtures was essential not just because of the scale of the venue, but also because almost every surface of the enormous stage - walls, ceiling and floor - was covered with bright LED screen. Lower powered beams would have been lost against this background.
Making the most of their looks and output, Charif and Vicens positioned 48 VL6000 Beams across the stage's Runways, with 24 of the new VL6500 Wash fixtures lining the sides of the stage. Being the first to use the VL6500 Wash was very exciting, says Charif. It's similar in size and output to the VL6000 Beam, but looks like the old school VL5, with those blades. It's a super-cool look, but at the same time we have the output we need in a stadium to create beams and shapes.
He adds, When the artists walked on the runways, the way the VL6000s and VL6500s would surround them made the stage look even bigger than it was.
For Charif, the Vari-Lite fixtures were essential elements of the design. Those lights were the most important fixtures for us, he says. We were very strict about the Runway and stage fixtures being the VL6000s and the VL6500s. They were the only fixtures in our rig that were non-negotiable. There is literally nothing else on the market will give us that effect. And they work together very well - they really exceeded expectations for us.
Working alongside Charif and Vicens in achieving the show visuals were scenic engineer Gustavo Perezlindo, and lighting programmers Elian Charif and Tomas Villanueva. It was a team effort, says Charif. My brother Elian, as lead programmer, and Tomas programmed the entire show, making Richard's vision possible. They did an impressive job, took every detail into count and worked non-stop to get every single punch and hit recorded. We are lucky to have such a good team of passionate, energetic professionals.
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
25/11/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, an investigative journalist from Kenya is the winner of the Thomson Foundation's Young Journalist Award 2025.
The 26-year-old-sele...
25/11/2025
The best playlists, podcasts, and audiobooks bring a little extra magic to your daily routine. With new features and offerings, Spotify Premium delivers even mo...
25/11/2025
Comprehensive new research confirms what we already knew: Australian music fans love the quality, quantity, and access they have to new and local music on strea...
25/11/2025
Applicable Products
Objectives The purpose of this application note is to give a brief background on 5G (NR) wireless communication an explain the reason a SN...
25/11/2025
25. November 2025 Cecilia Pierron
Last week, we took part in OnDAM 2025, an educational conference fully dedicated to DAM, hosted by Activo Consulting. The ...
25/11/2025
25 Nov 2025
VEON's QazCode and MeetKai Sign Agreement to Power National LLM...
25/11/2025
UKTV has acquired a high-profile slate of US dramas from Paramount Global Conten...
25/11/2025
A symphony of genius, rivalry and vengeance, boldly reimagined from Peter Shaffe...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Cinematography World
Read the article
FilmLight has finalised the prestigious 2025 FilmLight Colour Awards jury and welcomed award-winning...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Prensario
Read the article
La serie fue dirigida por Juli n de Tavira, Rodrigo Santos, y David Leche Ruiz, con direcci n de fotograf a a...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
The awards, celebr...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Televisual
Read the article
Already live in Los Angeles and rolling out in New York and London, Nara gives producers, colourists, conform ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Digital Media World
Read the article
ARTONE post-house in Tokyo is the first facility in Japan to integrate Baselight M, choosing its prec...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter
Read the article
Once hidden in post-production suites, the artists who make movies and TV shows look the way they ...
25/11/2025
Article courtesy of Deadline
Read the article
The Brutalist' & Bad Bunny's Nuevayol' Music Video Among 2025 FilmLight Colour Award Winners - Cam...
24/11/2025
Robyn made her long-awaited return to the stage this week, as Spotify and Acne Studios brought friends and top fans together for an unforgettable evening at the...
24/11/2025
After more than two years of redevelopment, FC Barcelona returned to its spiritual home on November 22, hosting Athletic Club in the first La Liga match at the ...
24/11/2025
24 Nov 2025
Kyivstar Launches Starlink Direct to Cell Satellite Connectivity in Ukraine Today's Launch Makes Ukraine the First Country in Europe Where Star...
24/11/2025
Ahead of the new ninth series of Dancing with the Stars, kicking off in January 2026, RT and Shinawil have announced the arrival of three new faces to the hit ...
21/11/2025
Fans have been counting down the days until the final theatrical chapter of Wicked is revealed. To celebrate the highly anticipated release of Wicked: For Good ...
21/11/2025
Last week, Spotify turned up the volume in Seoul with the return of Spotify Hous...
21/11/2025
Wiesbaden, November 21, 2025. The SGL Carbon site in Meitingen has reason to celebrate as one of its trainees received a special award. Elias Stemmer was honore...
21/11/2025
Sky Media's £2m award-winning sustainability initiative crowns its first charity as this year's standout changemakerFriday 21 November 2025
GoodGym nam...
21/11/2025
As COP30 draws to a close, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), ...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...