Gallery & Press Releases
2009
HSL Supplies White Lies
12 months ago
in 2009
Blackburn UK based lighting rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment and crew to the latest UK White Lies tour, which featured a spectacular, high-impact, edgy, lighting design – based primarily on white and near white light – by Chris Megginson.
HSL was brought in to work with White Lies by Darren Snape of Vertical Management right at the start of their meteoric career 2 years ago, which has since experienced a steep upwards trajectory. This was their largest production tour to date and included two sold out nights at London’s Brixton Academy. HSL’s project manager Mike Oates says, “It’s extremely rewarding seeing a talented band grow, and Chris’s designs, which are always exciting and innovative, evolve”.
Megginson began the creative process for this one by presenting some ideas to the band to get them energised about the lighting. They really wanted a massive wall of PAR cans to define the stage space, so they ended up with an upstage grid 8 high by 16 wide of lamps, utilising a total of 128 x 500W Ray-Lites.
The Wall PARs were hung on standard 6-lamp bars with 4 cans per bar to give a 600mm separation between all of them on both horizontal and vertical planes. The bars More >
HSL In The House for Swedish Mafia
12 months ago
in 2009
HSL supplied lighting and video equipment plus crew, and designed a bespoke DJ booth for two recent sold-out incendiary performances by The Swedish House Mafia at London’s Brixton Academy.
The shows were presented and produced by Cream and Loudsound Events and HSL was working for technical co-ordinators, BPM, who also supplied pyro and lasers.
SHM Management’s Amy Thomson’s brief to BPM was to have the ‘biggest and best’ show possible. BPM worked closely with HSL to design a full show based on a four section lighting rig, action-packed with strobe pods, moving heads, specialist LED products and three large video wall sections.
These high-energy-high profile performances underline the current trend for dance events to up the ante in terms of production values and show presentation, taking it to new levels. For HSL, this follows on from work for BPM in the summer, also for the Swedish House Mafia and other artists.
HSL’s Mike Docksey project managed for the Blackburn-based company, working closely with BPM’s Adam Murray. Dave Lee was asked to produce an exciting and fresh visual design concept which incorporated both lighting and video elements that could be run, improvisational More >
HSL Supplies Sting Holiday Special in Durham Cathedral
12 months ago
in 2009
Blackburn, UK based lighting rental company HSL supplied all lighting and necessary rigging – including 8 A&O 7K Falcon Beams and Flowers and over 100 Robe moving lights for a DVD and Holiday TV Special performance by Sting at Durham Cathedral.
Lighting designer for the two shows was Manfred “Ollie” Olma of Koln-based mo2 Designs. The show was presented by Sting backed by 35 guest musicians, including string and brass sections, and was staged in the heart of the magical site-specific environment of Durham Cathedral.
The Cathedral, dating back to 1093 is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture and is a designated UNESCO world Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle which faces it across Palace Green.
HSL project manager Mike Oates comments, “It was a great privilege to get the chance to work in such an amazing building and also with Ollie, who is one of the most respected LDs in the business. The project entailed huge challenges as this was the first gig of this scale that had been staged there, which produced some superlative teamwork between the production company, our crew and the Cathedral staff, resulting in a truly inspirational event”.
When Olma More >
HSL & Stereophonics are Kings of Cardiff Castle
12 months ago
in 2009
HSL supplied all lighting for the Stereophonics incendiary homecoming show at Cardiff Castle, Wales, UK last weekend – including 8 of the new Robe ROBIN 300E Beam moving lights, which made their UK show debut, specified by LD Tim Routledge.
The gig celebrated the band’s forthcoming album “Keep Calm & Carry On”, and Routledge was asked to light this and a warm-up gig at the Electric Ballroom in London following a TV special he designed for them last year at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, for which he won a Welsh BAFTA Award.
Blackburn-based HSL has supplied a number of Routledge’s recent work, and he was very keen for them to also do this one. “The variety of kit that HSL has available is really impressive, as is their attention to detail and willingness to customise gear and accommodate non-standard requirements,” he says. The project was managed for HSL by Mike Oates.
It was a daylight show, with the band onstage at 4.30 p.m., so Routledge’s design was based on bright, high-impact lightsources that would register enough to make it look and feel like an evening show. He also needed to transport and project the massive energy coming from the band onstage right out into the audience. More >
HSL Supplies Final Winter Snow
12 months ago
in 2009
Blackburn, UK based lighting rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment, a Kinesys automation system and crew to the final leg of Snow Patrol’s 2009 world tour, named “Snow Patrol Reworked”. This follows HSL’s servicing of all the band’s UK and European sections across the whole tour, which kicked off in January 09.
Mike Oates project managed for HSL, once again working closely with the tour’s LD Davy Sherwin, production manager Wob Roberts and tour manager Neil Mather. Mike Oates comments, “It’s been really interesting to see how Snow Patrol’s show has evolved and changed over the year. Each section has been unique and different, and of course it’s been excellent working with Wob, Davy and Neil again – they are a great team”.
Sherwin has been equally as happy working with HSL, commenting that “They absolutely rock” as an equipment supplier. Super-service with smiles has always been an HSL benchmark!
“Snow Patrol Reworked” was a departure from their standard 5 piece rock band set up, with 12 extra musicians onstage, bringing an orchestral feel to the show. These all had to be fitted into appropriate stage positions with due consideration for aspects like the separation needed More >
HSL Invests for Pussycat Dolls
12 months ago
in 2009
Leading UK lighting rental company HSL has made a substantial investment in Robe’s new Digital Series products – including 6 DigitalSpot 7000DTs and 36 REDWash 3192s along with 16 REDBlinder 296’s – primarily for the Pussycat Dolls European “Doll Domination” tour, for which they were specified by LDScott Warner.
HSL is supplying all lighting equipment and crew for the tour which also includes 60 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 2500E AT moving lights, 40 Martin Professional Atomic strobes, a 12 way Kinesys automation system with Vector control plus over 60 motors and rigging. HSL also designed and commissioned several pieces of custom metalwork that were fabricated by TFL for the tour which is project managed for them byMike Oates.
It’s a complex lighting system to build each day, requiring lots of precision and tight teamwork. Mike Oates comments, “The biggest challenge is getting it in and up in a reasonable time each day, for which we did serious pre-planning to maximize the efficiency of get ins and outs.”
The slick, high-energy show is a colourful and fluid amalgam of classic pop lighting with plenty of attitude and dynamics. Warner makes an expediently sized rig – in More >
HSL Goes Massive Again
12 months ago
in 2009
HSL continues its touring relationship with legendary Bristol-based electronic/trip-hop collective Massive Attack, supplying all lighting equipment and crew to the current UK and European tour, working with lighting designer Robin Haddow.
Says HSL project manager Mike Oates, “It’s great to be working with Robin and Production Manager James Baseley and Tour Manager Dave Lawrence and their team again. Massive Attack have been one of the UK’s most influential and creative bands over the last 2 decades, and their live productions are always inventive and interesting. This one is no exception”.
Robin Haddow worked closely with the band’s video and show designers United Visual Artists (UVA) on developing the look and feel of the show, for which they did a week of technical production rehearsals at HSL’s new space next door to their warehouse facility in Blackburn. They also received considerable input from Massive Attack founder 3D.
The result is a multi-layered integration of lighting and video elements into a tightly timed show which flows harmoniously with the music. The video content also includes the use of thought-provoking text information – a style that’s been continuous in More >
HSL Goes Global Again
12 months ago
in 2009
Leading UK lighting rental company HSL supplied site wide equipment for the main stage, 5 indoor arenas and 2 outdoor terraces at the 2009 Global Gathering dance extravaganza, staged at Long Marsden Airfield in Warwickshire.
Once again, HSL was working for Electric Fly Productions, whose Nick Jevons and Phil Winward created the lighting and show design for all these areas, working for promoters Angel Music. Mike Oates managed the project – which utilised over 200 Robe moving lights and 130 strobes – with Tim Fawkes representing the Blackburn based company on site. He worked alongside Electric Fly’s hand-picked crew of 14 lighting technicians/operators, and 8 riggers.
“The package and service from HSL was amazing as usual,” says Jevons, “All the kit was in great condition and they did everything possible in a great value deal that really enhanced our creative options”.
Tim Fawkes says, “Everything went incredibly smoothly. It was a real pleasure working with Nick, Phil and their team, who are all hard working A-Team crew …. and keep smiling throughout”.
All the designs were based on simplicity producing high impact lighting and effects, incorporating rigs developed for quickly and More >
HSL Rocks Well for Nordoff-Robbins at the O2
12 months ago
in 2009
HSL supplied all lighting and necessary rigging for the recent Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy “Rockwell” fund-raising event at London’s O2 arena.
Technical production was co-ordinated by Production North and the lighting design was by Peter Barnes.
The show united a galaxy of stars – including Tom Jones, Joss Stone, Robert Plant, Lulu, Hot Rats, Razorlight, David Gray, Ronan Keating, Gabriella Cilmi, Dan Gillespie Sells and others. It featured some amazing performances and unique collaborations that made it a very memorable and special evening.
Barnes’ rig consisted of 4 trusses – a straight one upstage and three chevron-shaped over-stage, staggered in length at 32, 20 and 12 ft a side, and raked at slightly different heights. This created an architecture for the space and a visually interesting view of the stage as well as increasing the scope and depth of the moving lights hung on the trusses, allowing them a really dynamic focus range.
It was a charity event, so the principal goal was to deliver a design that was cost effective and highly flexible, with enough latitude to allow a spectacular light-show for all the artists appearing in the two and a half hour performance.
The More >
HSL is a Winner at 0 ond 1
12 months ago
in 2009
HSL supplied moving and digital lights plus LED elements to the latest series of “0 ond 1″, a Welsh language travel quiz show produced by Boomerang for S4C. The rig was specified by lighting designer Martyn Rourke and the 8 shows were recorded in a week at Omni Studios near Cardiff, Wales.
Rourke’s rig included 30 Robe ColorWash 700E AT and 4 Vari*Lite VL 3000 Spot moving lights, CK iColor Tiles, ColorWeb LED panels and SoftLED cloths as well as 30 ETC Source Fours, i-Pix BB7s, JTE Pixel PARs, trussing and lighting control – all supplied by HSL.
HSL won the tender to supply the kit, and Rourke comments, “They offered all the kit at the best price – and along with that came the great HSL service as always”. The account was handled by HSL’s TV specialist, Sean McGlone.
The show was shot on a 360 degree set designed by Sid Scott. The 12 initial contestants where whittled down to 4 then 2 and during this process they continually moved between their own custom podiums – each individually backlit with a ‘window’ of MiTrix LED – a catwalk, the stage and the audience.
The original creative brief from Boomerang was to make it resemble an airline check in terminal – which gave Rourke plenty More >
