Brand new feature, The PLASA Lab, will be captured by RED Digital Cinema
PLASA Show’s new live lighting experience, The PLASA Lab, will now be captured by RED Digital Cinema as it makes its debut at Olympia, London this September.
PLASA Show has announced that professional digital cinema camera manufacturer RED will join its new lighting feature, The PLASA Lab, captured by RED, at Olympia London from 6–8 September 2026.
Making its debut this year, The PLASA Lab will give lighting professionals, venue and production teams, and students the opportunity to examine professional lighting fixtures side by side in a controlled, real-world stage environment, without branding, sales pitches or an overall winner.
Now, RED will bring another dimension to the experience, using its cinematic camera technology to capture the light, detail, and atmosphere inside the dedicated space in Olympia’s West Hall.
RED will provide both a Cine-Broadcast solution and traditional cinematic set-up for The PLASA Lab, demonstrating the cameras’ capabilities in capturing dynamic lighting displays.
Peter Heath, PLASA MD comments:
“There’s a natural connection between what we’re trying to achieve with The PLASA Lab and what RED does. The whole experience is about looking more closely at light, how fixtures behave, the subtleties between them, and what those differences mean creatively and technically.
“Having RED come on board gives us the opportunity to capture that in a completely different way and create a lasting record of a feature that is fundamentally designed to be experienced live. We’re delighted to welcome RED to the project.”
Independently facilitated by lighting professional James Simpson, each one-hour demonstration will take comparable fixtures through a carefully designed series of pre-programmed lighting states.
Participating products and brands will remain hidden throughout the demonstrations, allowing visitors to concentrate on characteristics including output, colour, beam quality, movement and other criteria relevant to each fixture type. Product identities will only be revealed at the end of each session.
Following the reveal, visitors will be able to access the consoles and put individual fixtures through their own tests before speaking directly with the participating manufacturers.
The programme covers five fixture categories: High Output Spot, Low Output Spot, Beam, Big Wash and Small Wash.
Capturing light in a different way
RED’s cameras are ideally suited to capturing and sharing live event video. RED’s Cine-Broadcast solution brings cinematic image quality into live production environments while integrating seamlessly into broadcast workflows. It has recently been used by companies including Fuse and Epic Cinema on international touring productions.
RED’s global shutter is particularly suited to the dynamic lighting displays that will form the heart of The PLASA Lab, crisply capturing live event lighting and pyrotechnics without the strobing or motion blur that cinema cameras with rolling shutters can experience.
Together, the Cine-Broadcast and traditional cinematic set-ups will allow visitors to see how RED technology can be used across live and cinematic production environments, while the live feeds and highlights footage will extend The PLASA Lab experience beyond the demonstration space itself.
Technical support will be provided by CVP, RED’s premium UK partner.
Andy Newham, Head of Sales, EMEA at RED Digital Cinema, comments:
“PLASA provides the perfect opportunity for RED to connect with the UK live events and touring community. Participating in The PLASA Lab allows us to demonstrate how our cameras capture the artist’s performance in true cinematic style, helping creative teams capture every event with the quality, flexibility and reliability needed to deliver an exceptional experience for their audiences.”
The PLASA Lab forms part of PLASA Show’s continued investment in giving visitors more opportunities to experience entertainment technology working beyond the exhibition stand.
The feature is also supported by LSi, which will provide editorial and media support around the project, including post-show coverage.
Experience it at PLASA Show
The PLASA Lab, captured by RED will run across all three days of PLASA Show, with demonstrations taking place at:
Sunday 6 September
13:30–14:30
16:00–17:00
Monday 7 September
10:30–11:30
13:30–14:30
16:00–17:00
Tuesday 8 September
10:30–11:30
Visitors can find the feature upstairs in the West Hall, with entrance from The Gallery.
Register now
PLASA Show 2026 takes place at Olympia, London from 6–8 September 2026.
The PLASA Lab, captured by RED experience is included with a PLASA Show ticket. From 1–5 September, visitor registration will cost £15 + VAT, with registration priced at £20 + VAT from 6–8 September.
