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In this, the first in the series, MDG talks to award-winning French lighting designer, Pierre Claude, whose many credits include world tours with Gesaffelstein, The Strokes and Phoenix, and the ARTE Concert Festival 2020. Here he talks to MDG about his career and inspirations.

Pierre Claude © Matt West / ARTE Concert Festival, Paris © Pierre Lapin

MDG: The term lighting designer covers many aspects, what does your job entail?

Claude: I mainly work with indie bands so am very involved in their scenography. As a lighting director and designer, I’m involved in all the processes of a tour from design to programming - including timecode, art direction, visuals, and technical management - and of course I am on the road!

MDG: What route have you taken to get here?

Claude: I’ve wanted to be a lighting designer since I was young. At 14 years old, I went to a PA store with a friend to get his gear fixed. While I was there, I visited the showroom which was equipped with master / slave scanners playing a show – and it was love at first sight!

I studied industrial automation at high school and, at weekends, did various event jobs in my town. My first job as a lighting designer was at the age of 18, in a holiday club for two years. I then went to work in Paris’s legendary Le Queen nightclub on the Champs Elysees where I stayed for five years. The club was incredibly well-equipped with the latest technologies for the time: nine hours a day behind the lighting desk hosting the best DJs in the world during the early 2000s was a great education! However, continually working nights is destructive in the long-term, so I turned to events for five years, and finally reached my goal of working in live music in 2013 after meeting a duo of very talented designers, Franz & Fritz.

Gesaffelstein at Intersect, Las Vegas © Michael Drummond

MDG: This association led to your lighting Gesaffelstein's Requiem Tour which earned you the LDI 2020 Design Achievement Award for Club Lighting. Congratulations on this great achievement! Tell us more about your design process for the tour?

Claude: Gesaffelstein is very important to me and our careers have followed similar paths since we started together in European clubs and festivals. His Aleph Tour in 2015 was my first ‘big' tour working with Franz and Fritz which reached a climax at a packed Coachella Festival that year.

Gesaffelstein’s second tour, Requiem, in 2019 was eagerly awaited, his brutal and dark style and hyper-minimalist, violent aestheticism generating much talk.

Three of us worked on the Requiem show design: Mike Lévy (Gesaffelstein), Matthias Leullier, the show producer and very talented set designer, and I. We had a big budget for this new show, which began on Coachella's outdoor stage, the same place we had left off in 2015.
Inspired by Anish Kapoor, and designed to complement the dark atmosphere of Gesaffelstein’s music, the set was coated in Vantablack, a blacker-than-black paint that absorbs almost all the light. The set had no hard edges to reflect light and gave the illusion of a black hole. We then found ourselves working back-to-front, lighting a set so that it appeared not to exist, instead of highlighting it – that’s really unusual!

The design also included the latest video and automation system, but I kept their use as simple as possible, using only solid colours or gradients on the LED screens and almost entirely white light in the show lighting.
The effect was to make the technology and the set ‘disappear’, drawing the audience’s attention away from the distracting technology that surround festival stages and into the music. It was an expensive set up and something that we would usually want to show off, but instead, we wanted the audience to lose their minds… which was a certain bet!

I want to thank LDI, the judging team, the voters and the industry for recognising the challenge. I am extremely honoured!

MDG: What are the signatures of your lighting style?

Claude: Less is more! Minimalism is important to me, but also the music synchronization. I'm not here to prove something and show off trending technologies. I'm here to highlight a band that presents their music – that’s the most important!

Basically, and my crew will attest to this, I'm adamant about precision during the load in: we constantly tweak and adapt each lantern to ensure we rig the design as perfectly as possible, in a clean and simple way with perfect symmetry. I create basic rigs, which I program without unnecessary movements, without gobos, and using monochromatic colour schemes, so all the energy is focused on the music, and only triggered by complex intensities which have been carefully considered in the programming.

By contrast, there will always be a song mid-set that’s the complete opposite to the rest of the show, with exaggerated movements or colour, yet which makes sense within this chosen song. The contrast serves to give the audience more awareness of the minimalism chosen for the rest of the show.

It makes me happy that young people who have had a blast all day at an EDM festival, full of light and special effects, will be able to appreciate a different style of show and maybe focus more on the music.

MDG: You use a lot of haze in your designs, both on stage and in the audience - what differences are there in designing for different artist genres, and types of venue/festivals?

Claude: I mainly work with two kinds of artist who are total opposites of one another.
With indie rock bands, I know the audiences want to see them play, so my approach is going to be more for background, atmospheric lighting which doesn’t take the lead.
In this environment, the stage is very busy with musicians, equipment and energy, so the fog and haze needs to be homogeneous and present on stage in just enough quantity to give depth.

For the electronic music artists, I work in a more volumetric way where the artist is the centerpiece, surrounded by a much more elaborate universe. Fog is the essential element in creating this universe - thick or fine, on stage, but also front-of-house to prolong the volumetric aspect of the beams out into the audience.

For indoor venues I can use some of the fog from front-of-house to achieve perfect homogeneity. But in festival environments it is more of a fight against the elements, both on stage and front-of-house, where we have to do the best we can depending on the wind. It’s a constant battle, but that's the game!

MDG: How does MDG fit into this scenario, and why do you like to work with MDG fog and haze generators?

Claude: I like to compare lighting to painting, white canvas to smoke. The blank canvas will eventually be filled with paint, but if the canvas is of poor quality or has holes in it, the result will be bad. In the art of lighting, a beautiful fog is our blank canvas; if it is of such good quality that we forget about it, then it's perfect. Fog is there to sublimate the light, not to take the lead. MDG gives us this perfect quality – a homogeneous haze, that is fine and controllable and not too heavy, which allows us to express ourselves - our perfect blank canvas!

The Strokes © Jessica Saval

MDG: What tours and shows have you designed using MDG products?

Claude: Before the pandemic I was on tour with Gesaffelstein and The Strokes, and I had just finished touring with Phoenix a few months before the pandemic hit. Gesaffelstein’s show at Ultra Miami was cancelled, as was the summer tour in the US and a date at the Paris Arena in September.

I should have started the Boys Noize and SebastiAn tours in 2020 - SebastiAn’ tour was already programmed - but COVID closures led me, like many of us, to work on livestreams instead. I found I really liked this new aspect! I’ve worked remotely on Future Islands’ livestream, designed the ARTE festival in Paris with headliners, Sébastien Tellier, Yelle et Lous and The Yakuza, and I am currently working on a special livestream for Brodinski.

MDG accompanied me on all of these projects. While I am very flexible about the lighting fixtures offered by vendors - I understand the difficulty of constantly investing in high-end products under pressure from designers – I still ask for MDG as much as possible for the fog! It is the best haze on the market and easy for our techs to use and maintain on tour.

MDG: Which were your favourite shows and why?

Claude: My top moment was when I got the chance to work on the Phoenix World Tour from 2017 to 2019. This was an incredible technical challenge, involving a mirror that weighed several tons suspended above the band’s heads, tilted at 45 degrees. It was an amazing visual experience, as well as posing huge logistical constraints to replicate this all over the world, from small American clubs to the biggest global festivals. It was also a favourite because, for me, Phoenix are the best band ever, incredibly kind and passionate, just like their crew.

Other recent shows which have amazed me were The 1975 by Tobias Rylander, The XX by Michael Straun, Tame Impala by Rob Sinclair and Marilyn Manson by Nico Riot. All are perfect, from the music and lighting, right through to the set design. In all these shows the fog is extremely important and well managed. Agreed, all these tours have big budgets, but that doesn't take away the talent!

Phoenix at Shaky Knees, Atlanta © Alive coverage / Phoenix © Fujifilmgirl

MDG: What does the future hold for you?

Claude: It depends on the what happens with Covid of course, but I'm quite optimistic, and we all want concerts back! I may work on more livestreams because I really liked the new challenge, and the working conditions are better than a festival! But there is nothing better than the energy of the crowd during a live show. It has never occurred to me to change jobs. Lighting is my passion and I hope bands will always be there to give me the opportunity to continue expressing myself. There is still so much to do!

“Our clients trust us to specify the right products and we know that MDG produces the best haze for the television market,” says Nick Edwards, managing director of Version 2.

Edwards has 25 years of dedicated television lighting experience, having held technical, commercial and management positions at PRG, Panalux and Aurora, after his training at the flagship training facility in BBC Wood Norton, prior to founding Version 2 in 2016. This experience puts him in a strong position when it comes to choosing the best products for his clients, many of whom have worked with him for years and trust his technical know-how.

MDG ATMe's beautiful televisual haze on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing © Strictly Come Dancing, BBC Studios. Lighting director, David Bishop

“All our equipment investments have been rigorously researched and tested, plus we have had years of experience with many manufacturers’ products, so we have a good idea of what works and what doesn’t,” he says. “This allows us to make better decisions on our capital expenditure and only invest in the best products for our market. In effect we are testing and processing on behalf of the client so they can be confident in our recommendations.”

Good haze is one of the most critical ingredients to a show, particularly for television. “Primetime television programmes are broadcast to millions of viewers and demand a highly polished result. A fine balance is needed between deploying enough haze to achieve the desired beam read on camera, yet not so much as to cause ‘noise’ or graininess in the image. To get this wrong can really spoil a good show and ultimately lead to complaints from the broadcaster!

“This can be difficult to achieve in live broadcast, and you cannot rely on guesswork. But MDG ATMe hazers give an extremely high level of control over the haze output allowing levels to be adjusted easily and accurately from the lighting desk. This amount of control gives lighting directors a lot of confidence in MDG and we find they are the only manufacturer whose hazers are specified by name!”

Precise control is not the only quality for which MDG was selected however: “There are many features which make the ATMe ideal for film and television studios,” continues Edwards. “They are whisper-quiet so we can leave them on during filming and broadcast and no-one – least of all the sound guys - will know. The haze has a decent hang time but a quick dissipation too. They are renowned for their lack of residue which keeps the venues, the rental companies, and the lighting directors happy. We are happy because it means less maintenance for the inside of the moving lights and other technology, and the lighting directors are happy because there is no residue on the lens to affect the output of the lighting rig, which is an especially important consideration on long-running shows.”

Strictly Lighting Team - Tom Young, Darren Lovell, David Bishop (LD), Matt Lee © John O'Brien

Studio technicians also like the new ATMe as they are easy to use and, like all MDG machines, reliable. “The last thing a technician wants is the stress of a haze machine breaking down just before or during a show! We’ve also found the use of CO2 can cause a little mystique and anxiety for some, but not now. The ATMe dispels any perceived complexity by handling all the CO2 processing inside the machine in a failsafe process. Any technician just has to connect power and DMX for a dependable, plug-and-play system, made even more convenient by the bespoke rolling flight case which is ideal in the fast turnaround studios for productions like The Jonathan Ross Show.”

Version 2 has also employed its ATMe generators on shows across the BBC, Sky and ITV networks, including blockbusters like Family Fortunes, Sky Arts Late Show, Don’t Hate the Playaz and BBC’s top-rating show, Strictly Come Dancing, (lighting director David Bishop), where ATMe generators are sited in a permanent ‘set standing’ install on the George Lucas Stage at Elstree Studios.

“MDG has always produced the leading machines and sets a really high benchmark,” concludes Edwards. “The ATMe is right at the high end of performance and undoubtedly provides the finest haze on the market, with all the added advantages of control and reliability. This is why we have invested in it and why technicians and designers love them.”

More information on Version 2 can be found at www.v2lights.co.uk/

Tellier created a new show especially for the online Festival, performing live from the Great Hall, while Prüdence, Ichon and P.R2B broadcast from La Gaîté Lyrique’s Historic Foyer.

The artists performed without an audience due to COVID-19 restrictions, but production values remained high, with lighting designer, Pierre Claude, highlighting his beautiful designs with haze and fog from MDG generators.

One MDG ATMe haze generator, supplied by MPM, was used in the Great Hall and one MAX 3000 fog generator, owned by La Gaîté Lyrique, provided the atmosphere in the Historic Foyer. “MDG is the only authorised brand in this listed venue,” states Claude who is the recipient of the LDI 2020 Design Achievement Award for his work with Gesaffelstein's Requiem Tour. “The MDG machines are fabulous appliances!”

Creative Team for the ARTE festival:
Production and recording: La Blogothèque
Director: David Ctiborsky
Technical Direction: R-Cube / Jean-Lo Latour
Technical service provider: MPM Audiolight / Marius Defaux-Vittone
Lighting operator: Jean-Maxence Chagnon
Lighting design: Pierre Claude

Photo credits: La Blogothèque

MDG Atmosphere haze machines - still reliable workhorses for Limelite Lighting after 13 years – prepped and ready for their next TV appearance.

Ideally placed in Goudhurst, Kent, within easy reach of television studios in London and Maidstone, Limelite has been an advocate of MDG haze generators since it was founded in 2007. Directors Ed Railton and Matthew Mountier, both with longstanding freelance careers in theatre touring and television lighting respectively, purchased 10 MDG ATMOSPHERE haze generators at the outset and are still using the same machines 13 years later.

“We both had extensive experience of MDG through our freelance careers and knew them to be the best,” says Railton. “We liked the level of control, the fineness of the haze and the smooth, even dispersion the ATMOSPHERE gives – it’s so fine you can’t see the haze until light is passed through it.”

Limelite Lighting’s initial engagements were with theatres and small television studios, but the bulk of its work today is in television, with the majority in outside broadcast, and many subhires to larger TV and film rental companies.

“Over the years we have seen a change from DOPs’ traditional requests for cracked oil hazers to the cleaner option of MDG ATMOSPHERE haze generators which have become the lighting directors’ hazer of choice,” says Railton. “The ATMOSPHEREs leave very little residue on lenses, gobos and accessories.” This has proved an important factor for cameramen, and for maintenance technicians who spend less time cleaning moving lights and cameras post-show.

“MDG has all the flexibility, control and reliability we need as a rental house,” continues Railton. “Every job is different: studios work within limits and are 100% controllable, but outside broadcast is more complex, wholly reliant on the weather, and changes by the minute. A DOP can call on you at any point with just a ten-minute window in the weather. But we can take advantage of the ATMOSPHERE’s 100% duty cycle and use the DMX controller to respond instantly to whatever is needed.”

All Limelite’s ATMOSPHERE generators are housed in bespoke flight cases with spare gas and fluid bottles as complete, transportable units for quick deployment wherever required. The company offers a choice of DMX and manual control generators to suit client needs. Recent productions employing MDG ATMOSPHERE include MTV’s Just Tattoo of Us and Simon Amstell’s latest DVD Benjamin.

“From a hire company’s perspective, our MDG ATMOSPHEREs have proved a good long-term investment,” concludes Railton. “The generators are never out of action so we need something reliable and strong, and easy and quick to maintain. Ours have been solid as a rock, the parts are readily available and they are very economical on fluid. Clients know what they are getting and like what they get.”

Limelite Lighting continued to film during lockdown No 1 with The Ranganation and Mo Gillingan’s All Star Happy Hour, while lockdown No 2 saw them busy with a new series of SAS Who Dares Wins, The Great British Sewing Bee and preparations for some of the pantomimes that are still lined up over Christmas.

More information on Limelite Lighting can be found at www.limelitelighting.co.uk

The new film, Lei Mi Parla Ancora (She Still Speaks To Me), is directed by Italy’s prolific, award-winning director, producer and screenwriter, Pupi Avati, who is especially renowned for his work in the horror genre, and is working with his long-time director of photography, Cesare Bastelli.

One scene called for a naturalistic covering of fog on a long stretch of road beside the River Po for a number of cars to pass through. Luckily, one of the cameramen, Carlo Molinari was familiar with MDG products, being the son of Giorgio Molinari, CEO of Molpass, and recommended an Me4 fog generator because of its huge output capacity and ability to cover the outdoor distance required.

To ensure a perfect, substantial supply of realistic fog along the full length of the road, the team at Molpass used an ingenious solution, suggested by MDG, of a 150m long inflatable plastic sleeve (what MDG calls a ‘bottine’) for outdoor fogging, and a single MDG Me4 fog generator.

“When we arrived on site at 7am there was the most perfect covering of natural fog from the river,” says Giorgio Molinari. “Unfortunately, this evaporated completely by 8.30am when the temperature reached 25°C! Our job was to recreate this beautiful atmospheric environment in the best way possible for the cameras.”

To achieve this, the Molpass team attached a fan to one end of the custom-made plastic tube which, being sealed at the opposite end, inflated in just 15-20 seconds and was then filled with fine white fog from the Me4 in only 20 seconds. The tube was then positioned on the embankment below the road level to conceal its eye-catching appearance from view of the cameras. Before filming commenced, a series of holes was punched at intervals along the length of the tube, allowing the fog to escape and drift across the road, successfully recreating that perfect fog of early morning. Molinari noted: “It confirms the MDG saying: ‘we produce the closest thing to the real thing.’”

The whole assembly of Me4 generator, fan and plastic tube was rolled into place on a trolley and powered from the film company’s power generator. It took less than 30 minutes to install and was easily lifted and moved to the opposite side of the road to optimise the effect of drifting fog according to the wind direction. The Me4 was used for two sessions of 1.5 hours each and the filming completed successfully in a 4-hour shoot, using two bottles of gas and less than 3 litres of MDG Neutral fog fluid.

“We are extremely happy with the whole system and result,” says Molinari who is very excited by this new development and its additional potential for live performance installations. “This is just one possible set up for a film shoot, but the potential for live performance is very exciting. It is an efficient, economical, and clean method of distributing fog to targeted points along the tube’s length or delivering fog to an output a long distance from an MDG fog generator.

“Under other circumstances, a distribution of this size would require 6-8 machines from other manufacturers, which would generate a lot of residue and dirt. However, the Me4 is powerful enough to handle this alone, eliminating the need for multiple, less efficient machines and the associated costs and cleanliness problems they would cause.

“By substituting a clear tube with a black one, this system presents a great solution for backstage, on stage and front of house, delivering output exactly where you want it in a very short time. It is very compact for storage or transportation, so good for touring. It is truly a simple solution that works well, and we are very happy with it.”

More information on Molpass srl can be found at www.molpass.it

This new partnership succeeds our collaboration with Spai. We would like to thank Carlos Drabben, its Managing Director, for his dedication throughout the years.

E.E.S. Entertainment Equipment Supplies
Donostia 118, 20115 Astigarraga (Guipúzcoa)


Phone: +34 943 33 71 50
Email: info@ees.es

The collections of 16 established designers, including Andrés Sardá, Devota&Lomba, Hannibal Laguna and Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada, and 9 young talents made up a 72^nd edition that alternated runway shows, performances and fashion films, all of which were available through the official MBFWM website.

Francesc Ten y Gaspar Ruiz Lindberg (Estudio de fotografía Estrop Barcelona)

This first hybrid format once again counted on designer Juanjo Saunier as master of ceremonies – MC for approximately 10 years now - to program, light and bring a spectacular appearance to the live shows and digital experiences of this innovative edition.

To meet Saunier's challenge of "bringing a valid lighting design for each of the shows and making each one of them look different," fresh requirements were added to suit this new era. To this end, Saunier called on 38 MegaPointe, 3 RoboSpot and 3 BMFL systems, 20 LEDWash 800, 17 Spiider and 4 PATT 2013 from Robe, 3 Merlin followspots from Robert Juliat, 2 ATMOSPHERE haze generators from MDG, a Road Hog 4 and 16 Jarag 25 from Ereimul, with all equipment supplied by Fluge.

As Saunier explained, "The choice of these lighting fixtures was determined by their versatility." The MegaPoints enabled him to combine a super-bright beam for some shows with a very precise spot for others. The LEDWash 800 made it possible to create washes of extremely varied colours, and to light a 'still life' or the stage with an excellent quality of light and colour temperature.

The Spiiders, of which Saunier emphasizes the powerful light output, provided the "wow effect in the stage area", both for colour effects and as a masterful look using only white light. The BMFLs, used as backlight followspots for the models’ exits, followed them along the entire runway, and were combined with the Base Station and controlled by 3 operators ready to react to any unforeseen event. The PATT2013 provided the "hot point of contrast" and counterpoint to the cold tones of the followspots. 

As far as Robert Juliat's Merlin 2500W HMI followspot is concerned, Saunier points out that it is his reference followspot for this type of event since "its zoom range and the fact that it is 'flicker-free' offers me much more versatility".

Finally, with his long experience at the controls of Hog 4, Saunier declares himself faithful to this lighting console because he feels very comfortable programming with its controls. That is why, after many years, it is still his favourite lighting desk.

The iconic pieces from the national designers, together with the new hybrid formula (live and digital) and the talent of Saunier resulted in a successful special edition of this year’s MBFWM .

Setup and development: Bochi, José Espín, JoseMi (team leader) and Fluge crew.

Francesc Ten y Gaspar Ruiz Lindberg (Estudio de fotografía Estrop Barcelona)

The final date took place in January 2020, narrowly avoiding the lockdown measures introduced by the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Victorien Cayzeele, a gifted young lighting designer, was determined to obtain the best possible interpretation for his artist, so he specified - without hesitation - an MDG ATMOSPHERE haze generator to materialise the light within his design.

"I had mostly washes and very few spot sources in my kit, so I needed a density of haze that was strong enough to materialise the colour that bathed the set. And, on this tour, we wanted to maintain a uniform and stable level throughout the show.”

Etienne Daho - Eden tour ©Victorien Cayzeele

Etienne Daho's music, with its electro-pop tendency, required a great deal of work to match the light to the rhythm. Victorien confides that Etienne works a lot on creating an amazing audience experience and, to realise this, Etienne doesn't hesitate in allowing the visual impact to take centre stage and be the star. "There are some saturated colour effects and particular angles that don't put the artist in the limelight, but instead suggest a creative proposal linked to the album or the set.”

This beautiful collaboration between Étienne Daho and Victorien Cayzeele began during the Blitz tour in 2018. Victorien describes it this way: "We established a real relationship of trust. Étienne is someone with vision and taste. He's able to make requests, and at the same time let me express my own interpretations. There is a real exchange between us.”

Victorien, conscious of the vocal effort that a tour can represent for a singer, was also mindful of the quality of haze produced by the ATMOSPHERE. Deprived of glycol, MDG haze does not dry out the vocal cords, which is a major factor when artists play a succession of dates over a short period of time. Victorien explains: "MDG haze does not cause irritation, and that is very important for some artists. We have played dates using other machines - when abroad for example - but Etienne became aware of this very quickly and objected to it!”

Most of the Eden tour took place on stages 14m by 10m deep, but with a stage volume generally measuring 25m x 20m and a ceiling height of 18m to 25m. "The difficulty with haze is anticipating what will be enough to fill the space,” explains Victorien, “but with a single ATMOSPHERE we were able to obtain a good quality coverage in less than an hour and a half.”

This was a saving not only of time but also of weight because, for this tour, a 15kg CO₂ bottle was enough to supply 5 or 6 concerts. This low consumption resulted in reduced logistics for transportation, which in turn had a lower impact on the over-all show budget.

Etienne Daho - Eden tour ©Victorien Cayzeele

MDG haze is renowned for leaving practically no residue on lighting fixtures, which is particularly important on tour when compared to other machines: "The particles from MDG products are dry compared to those of other machines on the market," says Victorien. "Consequently, the MDG unit doesn't dirty the ground like other machines that leave an oil stain by the end of the concert which can be carnage! In addition, the haze leaves very little residue on the lighting equipment, which is very important as this reduces the frequency of which the lighting fixtures need to be cleaned. In fact, this tour was too short to require a thorough cleaning,” confirms Victorien.

The lack of residue becomes even more important when the lighting inventory includes a large number of multi-source LED washes, as it did on the Eden tour: "The problem with this type of wash is that it is made up of multiple small plastic collimators that are almost impossible to dismantle,” explains Victorien. “On tour, we can clean the outside surfaces but, to remove the dust and grease that seeps inside them, the spotlights would have to go back to the depot, which wasn't necessary on this tour.”

The lighting supplier for the Eden tour was French service provider, S-Group which supplied:

• 1 x MDG ATMOSPHERE
• 70 x Multi-source LED wash fixtures
• 1 x Profile fixture
• 12 x LED bars for cyclorama lighting
• 16 x LED motorized bars

Technical Team

• Jean Maxence Chagnon: Lighting console
• Antony Etienne: Chief Electrician
• Paola Picasso: Lighting Technician
• Pascal Meley: Production Manager

It comprises the Royal Festival Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery and has recently seen the installation of 2 MDG ATMe haze generators in its larger venues, the 2700-seat Royal Festival Hall and the 916-seat Queen Elizabeth Hall.

“ATMe has a much finer particulate so they leave no residue or slippery oil deposits, which is especially important when hosting bands and singers and the many dance productions we have here. ATMe produces a fine haze in rapid and substantial quantity, so one generator is enough to fill the Royal Festival Hall or the Queen Elizabeth Hall, each of which previously required two of our old units.”

Senior technician, Cressy Klaces, agrees and is especially impressed with the aesthetic of the MDG haze: “ATMe gives a beautiful quality of haze, much nicer than before. It is so light in the air that it is barely perceptible until you shine a light through it. It feels like it has been created to enhance the light and atmosphere rather than be overtly noticeable to people. It is perfect for lighting and so subtle.

“The major advantage, however, is ATMe is totally controllable, which is great. It produces anything from light to heavy haze, precisely as and when you want it. I love the fact I can point it at the back wall behind a curtain and it just permeates through to the stage so beautifully and evenly. The generators are also extremely quiet so we can site them on stage in the RFH or QEH and noise is not a problem. This was just not possible with our old units.”

The ATMe generators are housed in two customised rolling flight cases that also incorporate a DMX fan which aids haze distribution throughout the venue, a large CO₂ bottle, and power and DMX connections. “This means the whole arrangement is a portable plug-and-play unit that is ready to roll at a moment’s notice,” says Hennigan. “This is invaluable because we run a ‘clear stage’ between concerts so there is no space to site them permanently, and with such a varied and ever-changing programme of contemporary music, dance, theatre, concerts and rock & roll that we have at Southbank Centre, we can simply roll them to wherever they are needed.”

The decision to use larger CO₂ bottles was taken to keep the system as simple as possible across the large team of technicians: “We buy in larger pre-filled canisters of CO₂ and keep three on site for each generator, and have instituted an efficient plan to ensure stocks of CO₂ are maintained,” says Hennigan. “Our electrics team has put measures in place to monitor the CO₂ levels and the bottles are refilled with a weekly delivery from a local gas supplier whom we share with the National Theatre next door, which has also invested in ATMe. This has given rise to a very useful reciprocal arrangement with the NT should there ever be an unexpected demand for either of us!”

The MDG ATMe haze generators were supplied to Southbank Centre by White Light whose Anthony Vine was the main point of contact and support.

“We are very happy with the new ATMe generators,” concludes Hennigan. “I know that MDG produces great machines because I used to service them 20 years ago! Now we can see that quality in operation every day. Whichever position they are in, they give us exactly what we need – great haze that looks good and is controllable directly from the desk.”

"We needed great products from a reliable company who could offer not just the quality but the essential support required, and immediately thought of MDG,” says Baker.

The company purchased 4 MDG ICE FOG Q HP low fog generators with DMX interfaces, and 4 pneumatic Round Floor Pockets with remote control boxes. The ICE FOG Q HP is the quietest low fog generator on the market which it produces a thick, low-lying fog with zero residue. The award-winning Round Floor Pocket is DMX/RDM operated and can be embedded in the stage floor or set wall to conceal a fog output and deliver low fog or fog to precise locations.

“The ethos of our company is to make effects more accessible and give our clients the best products for their money. The only way to do this is to offer the best,” says Baker. “We have worked with many different brands of fog and haze machines over the years, and as we are not tied to any one brand, we can choose which we want to go with.  When we started the company we were in a unique position of having no pre-existing stock, so could make a fresh start by investing in the best, and latest, products on the market.”

Baker and Earles have very definite reasons for their faith in MDG: “We believe the ICE FOG Q HP is one of the best-built units we have seen. The volume and consistency of the output is incredible. It’s the best looking effect I’ve seen and it doesn’t rise up when you move around in it. Other low fog machines’ output tend to flick up and get wispy, but MDG just sticks to the ground and is solid, no matter what you do to it.”

The ICE FOG Q HP units and Round Floor Pockets were instantly put to work in BBC1’s current series of The Greatest Dancer which is filmed at LH2 studios in West London, with lighting director, Tim Routledge.

“The products we’d used for the previous series were OK, but not the best quality, and with a such big stage and lots of movement from the dancers, we found the low fog was getting thrown up into the air,” says Baker. "For this series we swapped to the ICE FOG Q HP and sunk the Round Floor Pockets into all four corners of the stage. This instantly made the stage look a lot cleaner as the space is just an open dance floor where you can’t hide ducting. Then, because of the ICE FOG Q HP’s high output, we got really dense low fog, with the floor pockets ensuring an even distribution and sharp cut offs. They are just incredible. We were very happy with the result and it’s the perfect opportunity to showcase an excellent product on six weeks of prime-time national television!” 

Tim Routledge, lighting director for The Greatest Dancer, agrees: “We’ve never quite cracked low smoke at LH2 during live TV shows but with the new investment by Encore in MDG we have gorgeous low smoke that lasts and sits low for an entire performance. MDG are by far the go-to company for haze and fog.”

“Anthony and I spent a long time looking at other units, but MDG was the obvious choice by a long way,” explains Baker. “When The Greatest Dancer came along for the second year running, we knew it was the ideal opportunity for us to initiate the investment we’d been wanting to make.  Working closely with the production team we had a clear choice of which route to take. Why would you opt to put together combinations of products from other manufacturers when MDG does the full package in one?”

Encore SFX chose the Q version for its high output and ability to fill much larger areas, as it now runs on regular HP (high pressure cylinders) that can be sourced easily from local gas suppliers. “I prefer to have the bigger output units in our stock to give us more options on the many, varied jobs we have lined up for them in future. We can be in a TV studio one week and an arena show the next and anything in between. The ICE FOG Q HPs give us maximum flexibility.”

But Encore SFX’s investment in MDG goes beyond the quality of its products: “The service we got from MDG, in particular Matt Wiseman, was incredible. This is a big investment for Encore SFX but an exciting prospect for us, and Matt was there to advise us every step of the way. We are the only SFX company to have MDG in their stock, and aim to develop our relationship with MDG further.

“We like to work with people who support and help us right from our beginning, and keep working with those who have proven, not just to provide the right product, but also the support. It’s very important for us to know the service is there, and the danger is from companies who just want to sell you a product rather than invest in you as people or as a company. With Matt and MDG, I know I will get the best service and a straight answer with every call. We want to invest in MDG to the same level as they want to work with us.”

As usual, the 2019 event was enhanced by haze from MDG generators which showcased the spectacular lighting and laser shows that accompanied the artists.

Transmission is held annually in the Czech Republic at the O2 Arena and attracts thousands of fans from over 70 countries to the beautiful city of Prague who come to enjoy performances from the genre’s most prestigious talent.  The line-up for Transmission 2019 included trance legends such as Blastoyz, Cosmic Gate, Darren Porter, Ferry Corsten presents System F, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Key4050, MaRLo and Thomas Coastline.

The acts are knitted together by Transmission’s unique, themed storylines that take the visitor on a journey throughout the night, with each artist introduced by their own bespoke ‘show movie’ and visuals, all of which are accompanied by spectacular lighting, laser and special effects. To showcase the lighting and lasers to peak effect, Transmission’s lighting designer, Bas Kemper, needed to fill the huge 15,000-capacity venue with large quantities of smooth, pure white haze. He knew exactly which manufacturer to turn to which would give him precisely what he needed. He invested in an ATMe haze generator from MDG and three MDG MAX 3000 generators, supplied by Rudo Tucek of Slovakian rental company, Ministry.

“The venue is huge and filled to capacity for the festival – the stage alone is 48m x 24m and the floor space covers approximately 80m x 80m, with the hall stretching - with the tribunes included - to something in the region of 120m x 120m,” says Kemper. “To bring the full experience to everyone in the hall, we created lighting and laser shows with an immense reach across a wide-open forum, so we also needed haze that could fill that space, on stage, in the hall and right up into the rafters!”

Kemper positioned the three MDG MAX 3000 generators onstage at left, right and upstage locations, and placed the MDG ATMe haze generator front-of-house. The MAX 3000 units were all controlled manually as stand-alone units, with the ATMe levels controlled directly from the console by lighting operators, Zis Ankone and Martijn Deenen.

“I was confident that the MDG units would be able to handle the dimensions and the result was fantastic,” says Kemper. “The haze was as smooth and pure as expected which highlighted the colours of the lighting design – each act is identified by its own colour – to perfection. And I couldn’t be happier with the extent to which the haze spread and showed off the huge laser shows and each individual beam of light. Yet, at the same time, we were able to control the levels so the haze never got out of hand or obscured the audience’s view of the artists, and we never have complaints about the amount of haze – it’s just invisible without light passing through it.

“It’s simple - MDG generators can be relied upon to produce great haze throughout the whole evening – they really are the best for lighting in halls like these.”