ALEXANDRA PALACE - JUNE 5th, 2025

Alexandra Palace

STUDENT VIRTUAL LIGHTING DESIGN AWARD

Sponsored by

AC-ET

Student Virtual Lighting Design Award

Sponsored by AC Entertainment Technologies

Awarded to Tom Lee (Rose Bruford) for ‘Exigence’

Andy Mahaffey of AC-ET and Tom Lee

“For me the standout here is Tom Lee’s Exigence. I thought the work contained a great variety of dynamic responses to the music, allowing for long slow builds and developments of themes alongside short, sharp accents.” – Guy Hoare

“I think Tom’s is a brilliant design the lighting events and effects align with the mood of the music perfectly.. As a result the design as a whole, flows wonderfully.” – Robbie Butler

“I think Tom Lee has utilised the given rig with dramatic breaks,  great form in his structure of the lights and timings to the music.” – James Tinsley

“I love the theatricality of the design, and the way it evolves as the music progresses whilst staying true to it’s original feel and colour palette.” – Simon Wilkinson

“I would like to pick Tom Lee, I thoroughly enjoyed the musicality of the piece and use of dark and light to full effect.” Lizzie Powell

“I enjoyed the simple use of two colours and how they allowed the lighting movement to shape the space and compliment the music.” – Jai Morjaria

Student Virtual Lighting Design Award – shortlist

Sponsored by AC Entertainment Technologies

Ed Frearson (Guildhall) for ‘Breathe’

“Ed’s visual has a dirty, vibrating energy to it, very modern, and on trend. The lights don’t just come on, they are angry and arcing. Love it!” Tim Routledge

“I think his use of time, colour and layering within the lights is very well done. The fact that he allows for some of the lights to evolve in what they can do, rather than keeping them in the same look, makes it look like he has more lights.” –Tupac Martir

“I really enjoyed how the visual developed. The use of distinct lighting themes to create a vocabulary was very clear and made the lighting very much act as a visual representation of the musical composition. Great work.” Ben Cracknell

Jake Joyce (University of Lincoln) for ‘Girl Like Me’

“All four designers created some very impressive shows and visual effects…” – Guy Hoare

I really liked that his lighting was clearly based around a performer, he had utilised different angles to great effect and there was a clear story to his piece.” – Emma Chapman

 “For my taste it would be Jake Joyce because he has made something that feels like it could be part of a bigger whole.  I also like his investment in a clear idea for the number which feels essentially theatrical.” – Paule Constable

Joseph Martin (CSSD) for ‘Hungarian Dance’

“The design really reflected the dynamics and the humour of the music and added some well-timed surprises into the mix with the bold use of colour” – Ali Hunter
 
“The lighting really highlights the music in a playful manner and in a way that would respect the performers and tease and excite the audience.”  Gavin Finney
“Great structure, symmetry and musicality within the programming. Very well executed and great storytelling.”  Tom Sutherland

“I thought Joe’s lighting of the music both followed the structure of the piece perfectly but also helped create and reflect the emotional side of the music.” – Oliver Fenwick

“Very elegant, suits the music and what I wish I could do with the Proms if the orchestra would put up with it – David Bishop
 
I enjoyed the colour contrast between red and white. Loved the dynamic drawing with white light lines and patterns.  I thought it was very dramatic and really played with the viewer/audience, I could really get a sense of being there, this is a difficult thing to do with visualisation. Aideen Malone

The winner was decided by the Professional Theatre and TV nominees