Everything about our lightning rig and Tomas

Berns has upgraded its lighting rig to deliver even better events. Join our Head of Technology, Tomas, as he talks about the lighting and what this upgrade has made possible.

What sets this rig apart from the previous one?

It’s a major upgrade from our earlier rig. We now operate at a higher industry standard that works seamlessly with TV productions. Last year, for example, when the Swedish Childhood Cancer Gala was hosted here, we had to remove certain fixtures because they weren’t TV-compatible. This year, that wasn’t necessary—they were able to use the entire rig. That felt like a real confirmation that we made the right choice.

We can now create truly refined lighting productions for everything from live performances to stage shows and TV productions. We’re able to handle many cues and use a wide range of dramatic effects that fit the production. We’ve upgraded with several moving head fixtures—specifically 12 ERA600 units. They feature a powerful 550W LED engine with a color temperature of 6500 Kelvin, which delivers an impressive amount of light for an LED profile fixture: 19,000 lumens of actual output. With a 1:8 zoom and a zoom range from 6 to 45 degrees, the flexibility is outstanding.

The fixtures combine CMY mixing with a separate color wheel, providing a rich color spectrum in both saturated tones and soft pastels. There are 7 rotating gobos and 8 static gobos, offering great versatility in patterns. We’ve also added 36 MAC One fixtures installed around the balconies, each with a 120W LED engine featuring red, green, blue, and lime—resulting in even better color mixing and light quality than traditional RGB.

Another important update is that we now provide a dependency file for visiting lighting designers. The file includes the patch, positions relative to the room, and all the information needed to run a simulation before arriving at Berns. This means visiting lighting designers can do all their programming off-site, then upload the file and have almost everything ready within minutes once on-site.

We have to ask—what are the dimensions of the rig?

It measures 9 × 8 meters.

What’s the most common question you get from clients about the lighting?

There’s one question that always comes up: can we change the colors? Simple question, simple answer: yes, we can—haha!

Why should someone book their event at Berns?

Berns is one of the most unique venues in Sweden—note, not just Stockholm. You can truly feel the weight of history here. We have skilled, experienced technicians and staff who run several events every week, often with hundreds of guests at a time. We also have a dynamic and reliable in-house technical setup that has proven it can meet the very high demands we’re frequently given.

Tell us a bit about yourself—how long have you worked here?

Since August this year, and it’s been a fantastic challenge that’s helped me grow a lot. Beyond that, I co-own and run Threshold Audio together with two partners. We’re a technical partner for several Stureplansgruppen venues, including Arnoldshuset and Sturehuset.