For Live, Amersfoort (2023)
For Live
For Live is a
focused, proactive and talented production design and rental company covering
technical and scenic aspects for a diversity of live events – sound, lighting,
video, rigging, décor and scenic – based in Amersfoort in the province of Utrecht, The Netherlands, with over 200 Robe moving lights in rental stock.
The company was
founded in 2014 by Ruud Van Den Berg, who has been passionate about the
industry since he started DJ’ing seriously aged 12. Spinning the dex still remains
his hobby while For Live has become renowned for delivering dynamic
multi-site sporting events and broadcasts and servicing a range of corporate
and B2B clients and brand activations plus live televised and streamed events.
Starting with building
up a ‘dream team’, For Live first invested in the human capital needed to work
creatively and constantly, then started purchasing specialist technical
equipment, a process that accompanied quick and steady growth and ensured that
the best and most appropriate brands and kit were applied to the job.
ROBE investments
This investment
process started in 2016 with Pointes, and to date includes MegaPointes, BMFL
WashBeams, LEDBeam 150s and, most recently, 60x LEDBeam 350s and 25x FORTES,
currently – respectively – the most popular and most powerful Robe LED light sources,
and 25x ESPRITES.
“From the start
it was important to stick with a single moving light brand,” explained Ruud, elaborating
that as they originally required a beam light, the Pointe was easily the best
option, so that’s the direction it took! “We soon realised we’d made the right
decision,” commented Ruud.
As For Live
expanded, they needed more lights, so more Robe luminaires joined the
inventory.
“LDs in the
Netherlands were just constantly asking for Robe,” he explained, “the brand is
very well liked and respected.” Next came the BMFL WashBeams as a lot of their work
involves large sporting events which need the power and lumens.
The first BMFL
project was for De Coolste Baan van Nederland organised by House of Sports in
the old Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, when a large ice
rink (with 400m of track) was created to coincide with the 2018 Pyeongchang
Winter Olympics for six weeks to help celebrate the event.
This venue also hosted
the 3-day World Allround Ice Speed Skating Championships in 2018 for which another
60x BMFLs were cross rented to create a great atmos for the skaters and the tournament’s
between-competition entertainment segments.
The 80x LEDBeam
150s were acquired to cover numerous events including at the Thialf Ice Arena in
Heerenveen, where they made perfect key lighting for ceremonies, running in
combination with 12 x BMFLs beaming gobo projections and texturing onto the ice.
Time for new innovations
Emerging from the pandemic, For Live
again started to grow. They were looking for more lighting power tools, and
decided the hugely popular LEDBeam 350 was exactly right, ordering 60 fixtures,
which have been delivered.
The order for FORTES soon followed to
facilitate sporting events which restarted strongly, and they needed lumens and output to combat the
usual high levels of LED signage in arenas. “Only the most powerful lights can
be effective here, and the FORTES look great even in the darker colours,” noted
Ruud.
One of the first shows for the new
FORTES was the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship, co-hosted by
The Netherlands and Poland with key matches played at three major venues in the
Netherlands, the GelreDome in Arnhem, Rotterdam AHOY and the final at Omnisport Apeldoorn
(LD Costa Jouzy).
For
Live supplied a full technical package – lighting, audio, LED screens, rigging
and décor – to the Invictus Games last year staged at South Park in Den Haag.
The All-rounder: ESPRITE
Furthermore, For Live has invested
in 25 x Robe ESPRITES, as a really “great all-rounder of a fixture” for a
variety of sports and corporate events.
Robe
offers an “excellent ROI” stated Ruud, adding that the products work well
across their range of events, technicians like working with the brand and “the
kit is well engineered with practicality and maintenance in mind.”
As a
rental company, committing to Robe has been “a great move” he confirmed. They
need products with decent lifespans and, naturally, going forward, they want to
invest in only LED, where Robe is a clear market leader.
The distribution
setup is another instrumental factor in choosing a brand, and For Live enjoys a
great relationship with Benelux distributor Controllux and are very happy with
the levels of support.
When
Ruud first started in the industry, Robe was not well known, so he’s seen the
star rise and rise, watching with interest, “It has always been a strong brand
with good marketing tools and very nice product lines.”
Ready for summer!
The
heart of For Live’s success is its desire and ability to create nice
environments in which people can enjoy sports, entertainment, etc. for which
Ruud has built an innovative and imaginative team to deliver all elements. The
company is also part of a group with CreaPlan, a Belgian based expo stand and
event streaming building specialist, and European expansion is on the horizon.
In
August, For Live will provide a full technical package – lighting, audio, LED
screens, rigging and automation for Gymnaestrada,
the
largest gymnastic event in the world with over 20,000 participants, organized
by TIG Sports, held at the RAI Amsterdam. There will be over 300 Robe fixtures,
including For Live’s new Robe FORTES, LEDBeam 350s and ESPRITES.
Photo credits: Louise Stickland, Jorrit Lousberg
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