The De Montfort University, in Leicester, has recently undergone a major investment in its lighting and staging capabilities for one of its largest on-site venues, ‘The Venue’. With the help of industry leaders Stage Electrics, the university now possesses more trussing and some of the most up-to-date lighting kit available.

Created to host a wide range of events, ‘The Venue’ is often used for music events, conference work, performances and celebrations. As the university holds all its graduation ceremonies here, it can now give each graduate the moment in the spotlight they deserve.

The university has invested £5 million into transforming the building. After installing a number of improvements including retractable bleacher-style seating and a full sound rig, it has now added the lighting equipment to truly showcase the capabilities of this space.

Stage Electrics was approached by the university to supply lighting and truss. “We have a long history with this client, so we were thrilled when they got in touch with us to upgrade their lighting and truss solutions,” explained Andy Elsegood, Stage Electrics account manger “Knowing this particular venue is multi-purpose I knew the client would require a very flexible solution,” He added.

With lighting being a key part of this project, Andy arranged for the client to see a range of Chauvet fixtures. “The client already had several fixtures from Chauvet installed and were looking to add hybrid-type units to their rig, we worked with them to evaluate the options available,” he commented.

Andy and the client met with Simon Cox, Chauvet’s key account manager, who demonstrated a wide range of the Chauvet DJ and Chauvet Professional solutions. “We took the opportunity to look at the range of Chauvet Hybrid fixtures which offer the greatest flexibility and functionally for any venue, with the ability to create narrow beam effects, clean gobo projection and wide stage washes when required, these fixtures offer solutions the university would certainly put to good use.”

Andy Elsegood added: “The customer also expressed a need for further trussing to supplement their existing rig. We hold in-depth stock of Prolyte trussing and staging systems, the client was already familiar with the brand so Prolyte were the obvious choice. We supplied a variety of H30V and ladder truss along with accessories, such as base plates and half couplers. This investment has given ‘The Venue’ more flexibility as they no longer have to hire in trussing solutions.”

“We have only just begun to use the new fixtures, but already we can see that the Maverick MK1 Hybrid is really impressive. We already have some Intimidator Hybrid 140SR fixtures which have worked hard for us; I would recommend to those on a tight budget,” commented James Thompson, the AV services leader for the University. “It’s nice to finally get our hands on some of the Maverick range; we increased our stock of R2 washes. These get used on every event mainly due to their punchy colour mixing capabilities and good zoom range,” concluded James.