Elation Professional and Obsidian Control Systems are proud to be partnering with Backstage Academy, the UK’s premier institution for the education of the next generation of live event professionals. Both Elation and Obsidian are providing the latest in cutting-edge products to Backstage Academy for use in educational courses and training purposes.

Backstage Academy is located in the heart of Production Park, a live events and entertainment technology campus near Leeds that combines industry, education and innovation. It features production studios, businesses and educational facilities, where creatives, technicians, designers, and engineers collaborate to advance the live events industry. Backstage Academy offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, short courses and bespoke training programs that involve getting hands on with cutting-edge equipment and technology used by the entertainment industry. 4Wall Entertainment, TAIT and ROE Visual are onsite and entrenched in the fabric of Production Park as well as other industry leading companies. 

Backstage Academy students will have access to Elation lighting and Obsidian lighting control products for their studies for both on-campus and off-campus projects. The gear will also be utilized in training courses with industry professionals. The package includes Proteus and KL series luminaires from Elation, Magmatic atmospheric effects, as well as NX control solutions and NETRON data distribution devices from Obsidian.

Rachel Nicholson, Head of Institution at Backstage Academy, said, “We pride ourselves on being a place where we equip the next generation of live industry professionals with all the necessary skills and experience for an evolving and changing industry. Partnerships with industry-leading companies such as Elation Professional are key to our students’ personal and professional development. They will gain hands-on experience, training and confidence using the latest cutting-edge lighting and control technologies. We are delighted to be working with Elation Professional and look forward to a long and successful partnership.”

Graham Hill, Business Development Manager at Elation Professional, adds, “The live events industry needs education facilities like Backstage Academy like never before and we are thrilled to be adding our latest lighting and control technologies to their training curriculum. Production Park has quickly established itself as one of the leading training and research centers for our industry and for Elation and Obsidian to be there at the start of a young professional’s career in live events is quite significant. We are proud to be supporting the next generation of users, designers, hirers and specifiers.” The partnership with Backstage Academy also includes use of Production Park facilities for product demonstrations and Open Days events.

The partnership also sees Elation lighting products used within XPLOR, a research and innovation centre delivered by Backstage Academy that opened in 2022. It features spacious design and prototype areas for testing, modeling, and building physical and virtual environments. XPLOR conducts pioneering research and development as well as custom services for clients. Elation's KL Panel™ and KL Fresnel 8 FC™ luminaires are used in XPLOR's Centre for Virtual Production.