When two new films, The Running Man (2025) and Nuremberg, announced their West End premieres at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on successive days, the pressure fell on production lighting company Limited Edition Events and its creative director, Richard Godin.
In addition to the logistical challenges of the set-up and meeting the various broadcast, photography and press requirements, he also faced an added creative challenge: while one of the films was a futuristic, adrenaline-fuelled action movie starring Glen Powell, the other, featuring Russell Crowe, was far bleaker and more monochromatic, requiring a completely different lighting approach.
The solution was largely found in GLP’s extensive LED portfolio, within the inventory of hire specialist IPS. Thus, Limited Edition Events’ on-site equipment —rigging, screens, power and lighting— included 27 units of GLP’s new JDC Burst 1 and a pair of the imposing MAD MAXX, powerful wide-beam skytrackers.
Temporary staging in Leicester Square comes with its challenges, as equipment deliveries can only take place at 10:00, leaving very limited time for installation. Even so, Limited Edition Events is an expert in producing spectacular red carpet movie premieres, generally in collaboration with PR agencies. “We bring everything together for live events, and have done so for many years”, says Rich Godin. He also highlighted the fact that his company is a fully IP-rated kit supplier down to the last nut and bolt. “I’m glad GLP has created the JDC Burst 1 with an IP65 rating”, he comments. “It has really elevated it”.
What we value most is the white light module: it features a white strobe line divided into 12 controllable segments, as well as two RGBW LED plates. For us, this is a major advantage. The more segments a fixture has, the more creative possibilities it offers, allowing dynamic and varied effects across different sections of the unit, adds Godin.
Using the JDC Burst 1 in nine clusters of three units, mounted horizontally at the rear of the site for The Running Man, the designer knew he would need a different configuration for the following night’s premiere —a psychological thriller. The shift from horizontal to vertical lighting was a genuine logistical feat.
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For The Running Man, the Bursts were installed horizontally on long structures at the back of the venue, generating intense pulses of red light. However, Nuremberg demanded a more restrained and nuanced approach, “with a more subtle visual effect”, so the units were rotated and mounted vertically.
I was able to take advantage of the tilt function by placing them on their sides. We programmed them in maximum capacity mode (Mode 8 – Full Segment 48), with fast zoom and dynamic movement: the white plate travelled in one direction, while the top and bottom plates moved in the opposite direction. The result, with that deep and intense red, was impressive, and it worked perfectly, explains Godin.
Godin was also pleased to learn, thanks to GLP’s Paul Fielder, that IPS already had MAD MAXX units in stock. This fixture is GLP’s LED version inspired by the classic 7K searchlights: a powerful skytracker capable of projecting a wide 750 mm beam into the sky. “We were looking for something bold and different”, he comments. “I had seen MAD MAXXes at trade shows, and they are imposing”.
Once the best positioning was determined, taking into account the surrounding Christmas markets, he achieved the wow factor he was hoping for. “We chose to place one at each end of the main viewing structure and project them over the heads of the crowd in the special access area”, he continues. “We used the colour wheels to ripple from white to red. They looked incredible from a distance, and thanks to the defined edges of each MAD MAXX cell, they cut perfectly through the ambient light in Leicester Square”.
Since Nuremberg is a period story, Godin wanted to explore the possibility of vintage tungsten emulation in the searchlights, recreating traditional seesawing movements. MAD MAXX comfortably achieves the tungsten effect —a warm yellow-orange glow between 2,500 K and 3,200 K— via its CTO (Change to Orange) dial on the built-in variable colour temperature wheel. “That way I could vary the temperature and add warmth to the lighting”, he explains. “As for the Bursts, I used the RGBW LED plates to create warm white tones and mimic the tungsten look. It made it more authentic for the period”.
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The speed of the overnight turnaround was made possible thanks to GLP fixtures being compatible with RDM. “We configured everything through RDM, a system that allows remote control and addressing of fixtures, as well as managing power and data, which saved us a huge amount of time”, he confirms.
At this kind of event, we work with many different types of media, so the lighting has to look flawless on camera. It’s a great credit to GLP that their fixtures meet the demands of filming and photography so well. In addition, the units performed perfectly from the very start: they were robust and reliable. I would definitely use them again, and I’m now looking for new ways to incorporate MAD MAXX into future events, concludes Godin.
Image credits: Giles Anderson
