Elation REBEL and PULSE Power British Music Embassy Stages at SXSW Elation supported the British Music Embassy (BME) stages at this year's South by Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival in Austin, Texas. Partnering with the Academy of Live Technology (ALT) at Production Park, Elation REBEL and PULSE series luminaires illuminated a diverse lineup of artists while giving the next generation of lighting technicians invaluable hands-on experience. The British Music Embassy champions British music internationally, providing emerging artists with high-profile exposure and meaningful career opportunities. Its stages at SXSW are high-profile platforms that have launched several artists who went on to global fame, including Amy Winehouse, Sam Fender, and The 1975. The Academy of Live Technology delivers specialist degrees and training for aspiring live experience professionals. With campuses at Production Park in Wakefield, UK, and Rock Lititz in Pennsylvania, USA, ALT equips students with real-world experience alongside world-class production facilities, supported by Elation's cutting-edge lighting technology. As an ongoing partner of ALT and Production Park, Elation supplied a creative lighting package for the BME stages at this year's SXSW, delivered from Elation's US office. The setup included REBEL WASH, REBEL LINE, REBEL DARTZ, and REBEL PROFILE fixtures, alongside PULSE PANEL, PULSE PANEL FX, and PULSE BAR luminaires, plus SoL BLINDER units and MAGMA PRIME TOUR fazers. Ant Forbes, studio and production manager at Production Park, led a professional production crew supported by ALT students from the UK and US campuses to build and operate the BME stages at SXSW. "The support from Elation has been absolutely integral to delivering the British Music Embassy stages at SXSW," Forbes says. "Access to high-quality, industry-standard lighting allows us to create a professional, dynamic environment for every artist and audience member. The Elation fixtures are not only reliable and versatile, but they give us the creative flexibility to respond to a wide range of performances across the program. Partnerships like this are essential -- without Elation's continued backing, bringing a showcase of this caliber to life simply wouldn't be possible." An integral part of the experience for ALT students is the opportunity to gain practical experience working with professional lighting gear, bridging classroom theory with real-world application. Emma Cook, director of student support and experience at ALT, highlights the impact: "We're incredibly grateful for Elation's continued support. Providing students with hands-on access to industry-standard lighting equipment is invaluable, equipping them with the practical skills and confidence they need to step straight into the live events industry. From supporting the British Music Embassy stages at SXSW to supplying the equipment our students use across their projects, this partnership plays a vital role in nurturing the next generation of live events professionals and helping to shape future talent." Bradley Nicholson, lead lighting designer for the BME stages, praises both the exceptional student talent and the gear they worked with. Nicholson's lighting team included Thomas Skinner as ALT stage lighting designer and operator, and Archie Baxter (ALT UK) and Presley Thurlow (ALT USA). "These students tackled every challenge that was thrown their way, and I can honestly say I was very impressed with every aspect of their work, from build to derig," he says. "I can't wait to see what they go on to do in their inevitably successful careers." Nicholson says he felt his creativity flourish this year, in part from designing with the new REBEL series fixtures. "The REBEL DARTZ were punchy and created some super cool beam effects on stage and over the audience. The REBEL WASH 4s and 12s flooded the whole space with light and the pixel effects made for some really nice eye candy. This year, in particular, I feel the addition of a downstage face light bar accompanied by the CTO flags in the REBEL PROFILE lit the performers perfectly and helped me to focus on creating awesome states while ensuring the artists were always seen." Renowned for networking, cross-industry collaboration, and launching emerging artists, SXSW draws lighting design professionals keen to experience both rising acts and cutting-edge gear. Terese Porterfield, lighting designer for Alanis Morissette, was on hand and shared her thoughts. "I had the pleasure of visiting the BME stage and seeing some of Elation's latest lights. The REBEL fixtures offered flexible programming and really smooth color mixing. I was impressed with the punch it packed and can easily imagine using them in the future when I need a small but powerful show with a lot of options." Noah Connolly, lighting designer for August Burns Red, was also in attendance and highlighted the design possibilities inherent in the PULSE fixtures: "The PULSE PANEL FX brings architectural automation to smaller scale touring. It is great to have a fixture that can allow parts of the rig to morph into something completely new. The integrated L-Track rigging on the PULSE BAR opens up interesting configuration possibilities with less hardware. This is great for complex setups in carts for mid-size touring." Cole Sanford, lighting designer for Alpha Wolf, Dayseeker, and Make Them Suffer, took in several acts on the BME stages and cited two major standouts of his evening. "The first is the PULSE PANEL and PULSE PANEL FX with its seamless blend of two plates of segmented RGB zones within the main strobe area. It has a higher output than many competing fixtures, and more features, and looks great for small or large venues. "The second is the REBEL LINE 16, a fixture that has some amazing features. You can do really cool things with the dual segmented heads with individual zoom and tilt. It also has very practical locking and connecting mechanisms and thoughtfully placed ports. It's easy to set up and pairs easily with the smaller REBEL LINE 8. It also has a very sneaky set of SparkX cold-white LED pixels to give you even more to play with." For more information:
www.thebritishmusicembassy.com
www.academyoflivetechnology.com
www.productionpark.com 
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