msonic hosted a stage lighting demo workshop and training day at Ääniwalli on January 28, 2025 in Helsinki, Finland. The event’s name in Finnish, literally translated as ‘hands in light,’ is a wordplay referring to getting stuck in or getting one’s hands dirty – in the sense of hands-on engagement. This free event brought together leading manufacturers, industry experts, and the latest products, offering a deep dive into the world of stage lighting. Professionals from theaters, youth organizations, design studios, integrators, rental companies, and media houses attended—along with freelancers and students eager to expand their knowledge.
Industrial-style Ääniwalli as the Event Venue
The choice of the industrial-style venue was no coincidence. Ääniwalli, which was renovated last year, is both stylish and spacious enough for a diverse event day. It provided an authentic environment where participants could explore and test lighting fixtures in real conditions. Lighting designer Anna Myllyluoma walked visitors through how the venue’s lighting setup was designed in dialogue with its industrial architecture.
For many, Ääniwalli was a new experience. The club’s lighting setup includes Chauvet COLORado PXL Curve 12 fixtures, whose visual effects were showcased throughout the day.
Chauvet Professional – Lighting Innovation, Guided by Experience
At the Chauvet Professional booth, participants had the opportunity to meet Amy Kerr, an experienced lighting designer and product support specialist. With extensive knowledge of various brands and applications, she was more than happy to share insights on touring and theater productions.
Featured products included:
✔ COLORado Solo Bar 6
✔ Maverick Silens 1X Profile
✔ Maverick Silens 2X Profile
✔ COLORado PXL Curve 12
Amy had brought a piece of London with her—a unique backdrop that helped visualize how, for instance, the quiet and sophisticated Silens profile fixtures behave in different set environments. Silence has become an increasingly important factor in lighting design, and a visit to the Chauvet booth proved that it is entirely achievable.
Minuit Une – Captivating with Effect Lights
Minuit Une’s IVL lighting revolution was among the event’s biggest talking points. IVL specialist and user experience manager Denis Yachmenyov and export sales manager Moncef Ait Fora showcased the IVL Dice and IVL Photon fixtures through an immersive, pre-programmed light show. The performance, tailored specifically to Ääniwalli’s space, was a fresh experience for many attendees. Again and again, spectators found themselves captivated, describing the show as truly impressive. The presentation demonstrated just how well these fixtures perform in a club setting—no wonder Ääniwalli’s own inventory includes IVL effect lights.
The IVL Range of fixtures is a great creative tool, making it easy to come up with magnificent stage designs.
– Denis Yachmenyov
IVL is more than just an effect—it’s an entirely new way of thinking about lighting design. As Denis put it: “You have to start by asking yourself, what do I want to achieve with light?”
Many were also surprised by how versatile the IVL programming capabilities are, without requiring an overwhelming number of channels on the lighting control console.
Moncef also introduced the Service Extension Kit, which allows users to replace IVL light modules on-site. This package extends the warranty to five years and includes unlimited replacement modules, ensuring that spare parts are always available on the road.
Claypaky – From Theater to Touring
At the Claypaky booth, one of Finland’s top industry professionals, Pekka Olava, provided a comprehensive overview of fixtures suited for both touring and theatrical applications. Tambora Batten and Tambora Linear 100 drew significant interest from both markets. Meanwhile, in the theater sector, the Rhapsodya and Sinfonya profile fixtures earned praise for their silent operation and impressive light output.
Silence is clearly one of the biggest trends in stage lighting right now.
– Janne Engeldahl
MDG – Spicing Up the Air for Lights
To make light truly visible, the right atmospheric conditions are essential. MDG’s theONE and ATMe ensured that just the right amount of haze and fog were available at Ääniwalli to bring out lighting effects at their best. TheONE touring version is specifically designed for rigorous touring conditions. It comes with a robust truss-mount frame, ensuring safe and durable handling and industry standard rigging.
StageSmarts – The New Standard in Power Distribution
Power distribution in event technology is a world of its own, and StageSmarts’ highly reliable top-tier C12 and C24 distros were on display, presented by business and customer support manager Tristan Brouwer. He also demonstrated the HMI monitoring app, which provides a user-friendly way for technicians to remotely monitor StageSmarts’ intelligent power distribution systems in demanding environments.
StageSmarts’ solutions provide:
✔ Best-in-class electrical safety – Protects against electric shocks, overloads, short circuits, loss of neutral, and other hazards for maximum safety.
✔ Superior breaker choice – Uses hydraulic-magnetic RCBO’s instead of Thermal-magnetic breakers for enhanced safety and reliability.
✔ Elimination of nuisance tripping – Optimised to handle inrush and earth leakage currents (e.g. LED screens and amplifiers) for ensuring uninterrupted operation.
✔ Real-time monitoring & diagnostics – Advanced load monitoring detects irregularities and prevents issues before they escalate.
Learn about StageSmarts’ technology in this fantastic short blog, guaranteed to help you understand the challenges and importance of reliable power distribution, as well as the ways in which StageSmarts addresses them better than other manufacturers.
Luminex & Swisson – At the Core of Lighting Networks
In professional-grade lighting systems, IP-based protocols such as Art-Net, sACN, KiNET, and RTTrPL are now standard alongside or in place of traditional DMX. Luminex’s networking solutions were prominently showcased, with Juha Kiuru introducing the GigaCore 18t switches, LumiNode 12 nodes, and Araneo software, which simplifies network management. Even users with basic knowledge can set up VLANs (called “Groups” in Araneo) for different product or traffic types (think AoIP, video streaming, TCP/UDP, Multicast).
New in Araneo: MA integration for visualizing the entire lighting network and MA lighting consoles in a single interface.
Swisson’s Ethernet DMX solutions were also up and running at the Chauvet booth, where the lighting desks and fixtures were connected via the XND-8R5 node and XSP-5R-5R splitter. Also on display was the XMT-500 DMX tester—a tool that has become a must-have in every lighting professional’s kit. Most who test this “Swiss Army knife of DMX” on gigs never want to give it back.
Human Networking & Live Connections
The event wasn’t just about technology—for many, the highlight was reconnecting with colleagues and exchanging ideas in person. After years of pandemic-related disruptions, this kind of event was long overdue in Finland, and the demand for more is clear. The most enthusiastic attendees stayed from the very first minute until the load out.
A big thank you to all attendees, and special thanks to Hodarifillari (The Hot Dog Cycle) for keeping everyone fed with delicious snacks! Finally, we are grateful to all our partners who contributed to a most successful day.
See you all at the next event!
(Left to right: Mikko Korhonen, Amy Kerr, Anna Myllyluoma, Pekka Olava, Denis Yachmenyov, Mikko Skyttä, Janne Engeldahl, Juha Kiuru, Tristan Brouwer and Moncef Aif Fora)
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