Lite Alt Invests in Kinesys

UK based lighting rental company Lite Alternative has consolidated its commitment to Kinesys automation technology with the recent purchase of 15 x Apex half ton hoists and a Mentor 4 controller.

Lite Alt is one of a number of UK customers transitioning from their existing Elevation systems, choosing to continue investing in Kinesys for their future automation needs.

Lite Alt’s new Apex system has already been used to great effect on tour with the Arctic Monkeys and Niall Horan.

Both productions were designed by Lite Alt’s Paul Normandale who put automation at the heart of the show visuals. Paul is known for his innovative show designs and for thinking out of the box when creating lively and interesting performance environments.

Having invested in Kinesys for at least the last 15 years with the Elevation series, both Paul and Lite Alt’s technical and automation manager Andy Scott wanted to stay with a brand that has been super-reliable for so long, “We definitely wanted the continuity and also the service that comes with Kinesys” commented Paul.

Andy added, “The Kinesys system works extremely well. Vector control is user friendly, easy to programme and flexible, the movement is smooth and above all, Apex complies to all the current EU safety requirements for flying objects above people.

The Arctic Monkeys set included two 4 x 8 metre pods were filled with some specific custom car head lamps from a classic Italian sports car that lead singer Alex Turner especially likes. The pods were each lifted using 5 of Lite Alt’s Apex hoists, three on the upstage edge and two on the downstage, allowing them to pitch and tilt in various ways in addition to moving up and down.

The lamps were fed with video sources and used as a pixel effect synched to the music, and the pods moved up / down and pitched constantly throughout the show changing the look, feel and architecture of the performance space.

The two pods were constructed by TAIT together with the rest of the set, and Paul also used a 4ft diameter custom mirror ball – complete with the band’s name in LED lettering – flown on a single Kinesys Apex hoist, which came in and out at strategic moments.

Automation was operated on the road by Ameer El-Eryan, also the production rigger, and it was tech’d by LX crew chief Scott Owen, who also knows the Kinesys system well.

The Apex hoist range offers maximum speeds of 500mm/s (100ft/min) and 200mm/s (40ft/min) in compact packages with the highest safety standards and completely silent braking systems. The ability to ‘hover’ (zero speed) enables use in specific environments where chain hoists previously may not have been an option.

Ultra-smooth movement is possible via this precision speed and position control, all factors contributing to achieving complex and graceful of geometric movements.

On the current Niall Horan “The Show” tour, most of the ceiling area is filled with a set piece containing 180 LED festoon bulbs inspired by classic art deco movie house facades. Weighing 1.8 tons and flown downstage of a spectacular Austrian curtain, the light box is lifted on five Apex hoists, and it also moves into different positions as the show unfolds, all of this making the space more dynamic. The Vector control system on Niall Horan is being operated by Chris Taylor, working closely with Graham Feast who is running lights.