ELC Lighting is instrumental in André Rieu’s World Tour

Netherlands-based lighting company ELC has a history of developing networking products for the events industry, but not from the comfort of a remote laboratory. ELC’s founder Joost van Eenbergen said, “We started the company nearly twenty years ago by making the equipment we needed for live shows we were working on, and that philosophy continues to this day.”

A member of Joost’s software team, Bart van Stiphout, has been honing his skills on the recent André Rieu gig in Amsterdam. Bart was responsible for managing the extensive lighting network infrastructure, and his work in the field has led to the development of ELC’s dmXLAN v4 network management software.

André Rieu is a highly-respected violinist and conductor who performs large rock- and arena-style classical music events with his orchestra all over the world, particularly Europe and the Americas. Bart works on Rieu’s shows in Europe, designing and hooking up the Ethernet networks and then managing the system during the shows. In Amsterdam, Bart also integrated ELC’s Green-GO digital intercom system into the network, which won the PLASA awards in London and the USA when it was launched in 2011.

Bart explained, “In this show there are approximately 550 DMX-controlled fixtures, mostly moving heads!” It’s easy to see why the Ethernet network needs specialist hardware and a specialist to monitor it. What’s even more special is the specialist for the job is also one of the team responsible for ELC’s product design. No stress there then.

This leg of the tour took place in Amsterdam’s Museumsquare, with a complement of eight lighting towers in addition to the over-stage lighting rig, all connected using a mixture of ELC’s high-speed nodes, 2 into 10 DMX splitters (with RDM), and five Ethernet switches.

This gig also provided Bart with the opportunity to test the newly-released version of dmXLAN software. Joost said, “dmXLAN v4 is the tool our guys needed to do their job, so they created it themselves and we think this software is the best in the business.” Developed for use with both Windows and Mac OSX, the software is free to download from ELC’s website and can be used to configure and monitor a dmXLAN network, and also to control and test lighting fixtures connected to the network, independent of the brand of consoles and lighting fixtures used. The latest v4 version has a completely new look with many improvements, performance enhancements and new functions such as triple universe merging, new softpatch features, full RDM commands and feedback, DMX history, fixture patch importing, and the ability to export and print lists of data.

And how did the Green-GO intercom system connect into this arena-scale network? “We just needed reliable comms between the FOH control and ‘dimmer city’. So I plugged one Green-GO beltpack into a PoE switch by the desks and another into a similar port by the dimmers. Simple.” Instant communication using the lighting rig’s Ethernet network, that’s harmony.

– ENDS –

For editors:

ELC Lighting <www.elclighting.com> is based in Elsendorp in The Netherlands. It was founded in 1994 by Joost van Eenbergen, who worked on many live events and saw an opportunity to use this experience in the design and manufacture of lighting products for the theatre, concert, TV and the live events industry in general. His development team is still closely involved in live events, and all ELC products are developed and tested ‘in the field’. Sales and Marketing are managed by Silvio Cibien <mailto:sales@greengocom.com> of Anima Lighting, based in Switzerland.

Further details about dmXLAN v4 can be found on the ELC website < http://www.elclighting.com/download-software/software/27-dmxlan-software> and information about Green-GO is available from the website <www.greengocom.com>. Details of André Rieu’s tour schedule here: <www.andrerieu.com>.

All equipment supplied by Rent-All Netherlands in Bemmel

Kit list

ELC Equipment:

6x Node8 GB

4x Node4

5x Switch 8 LX

12x DT2210

2x Green-GO Beltpack

Control Equipment:

3x Hog 4

1x Hog 3 Rock wing

3x DP 8000

Fixtures:

67x Mac 3 Performance

14x Mac 3 Wash

18x JB Lighting A12

96x Mac Aura

242x Mac 2000 Wash

60x SGM P5

23x Xilver Droplet

Conventional lights:

DWE Sets

12-Lights

4-Lights

Par 64 Outdoor

Followspots:

2x RJ Lancelot

2x 2.5K

Press release prepared and distributed on behalf of ELC Lighting by
Technical Marketing Ltd <www.technicalmarketingltd.com> Tel: 020 8878 6626 acollier@technicalmarketingltd.com

       

                                                                                Caption: André Rieu concert in the   Museumsquare, Amsterdam. 

 Caption:  View from the stage with 5 of  the 8 lighting towers in view.

Caption:  ELC’s Bart van Stiphout keeping an eye on the lighting network with the latest version of dmXLAN management software.