Entertainment Lighting
Lighting design, supply, programming and support for nightclubs, dinner shows, theatres and attractions, from our team in Dubai Investment Park.
What we do
We design, supply, install, program and support lighting for nightclubs, dinner shows, theatres, beach clubs and attractions. Pulse was founded in Dubai in 2010 by Joe Chidiac. Our engineers, programmers, project managers and technicians work from one building in Dubai Investment Park, and every project draws on the same three capabilities.
- Design & Consultancy: fixture choice and positions, coverage calculations, control and network architecture, schematics and wiring diagrams.
- Supply & Integration: fixtures, consoles, controllers, truss and motors, installation, show programming, testing and commissioning.
- Training, Servicing & Support: operator training, handover documents and support after opening.
Problems we solve, and where we solved them
A dense rig on a short build
At Base in Dubai, TPMEA magazine reported on 25 May 2017 that 1,380 Vision fixtures were run from a ChamSys MQ500 console, alongside 180 m² of LED screen, for a venue of about 2,000 people, delivered in 23 days. Planning and design took the first two weeks, installation the third, and the lighting sequences were programmed and tested in the final days.
At the WWE Experience in Boulevard City, Riyadh, opened by Riyadh Season on 16 February 2024, detailed design, schematics, procurement, supply, delivery and installation took under two months.
One room, several shows a night
Billionaire at Mandarin Oriental Downtown moves from dinner service to theatrical performance to nightclub in one evening. Lighting runs on grandMA3 from a single control position that also handles audio, video playback and automated show elements, with Midas consoles, Pixilab media servers and motion control. The rig combines Prolights Astrahyb 330 and JetHyb 200, Elation Chorus Line, Laserworld lasers, Vision fixtures, strobes and pixel-mapped LED on DMX, Art-Net and pixel-control networks. An LED wall of about 8.3 × 3.8 m and Panasonic PT-RQ35 4K laser projectors with a motorised Hologauze complete the stage picture.
At the Dream dinner-show venue, Vision VIPER 150W LED moving heads and VBAR-803 fixtures run from a ChamSys MagicQ MQ70, with Visual Productions B-Station2, Cuety LPU-2, IoCore2 and DaliCore controllers. Movecat Performance C1 motors move stage elements for scene changes, and Resolume handles video mapping.
Pixel mapping
At Sphere, MADRIX handles pixel mapping for Vision fixtures; the equipment list includes Vision-CM U38 digital LED tubes and a ChamSys MagicQ MQ50. Staff were trained on MADRIX and given a user manual. At the Dubai Cares Pavilion, a pixel-LED sound meter controlled by Pixilab and MADRIX lit up as visitors competed in a scream booth.
Timecode and show sync
In the WWE Experience escape room, lighting is built from haze and dark states and triggered by game actions and timecode. Q-SYS runs the start and end of each day: it sets lighting scenes, triggers time-coded elements and switches hundreds of lighting, video, LED and projection circuits. Lighting hardware includes a grandMA3 RPU and Processing Unit XL; Prolights ECLFSBK, MOSAICFX, STUDIOCOBFCBK, ASTRAWASH19PIX and ASTRAHYB330; and Vision Apari Spot X4, ARCBAR and VLED-846. Everything sits on a Netgear AV network of 28 switches over a fibre backbone, with a redundant fibre network.
At the Dubai Cares Pavilion, Watchout kept projection mapping, wall projection, audio and lighting in sync in a storytelling room.
Attractions that run every day
For Lusail Winter Wonderland in Qatar (2022), the system we designed and built included 400 RGB lights, hundreds of Prolights moving heads and 200 m² of outdoor LED screen. We ran Dialux calculations for lighting coverage and planned VLANs over the AV fibre network for six AV rooms. Pixilab Blocks powered the park up, ran lighting and sound, and shut it down on a schedule, with drivers for ChamSys, Visual Productions, Resolume Arena, Q-SYS, NovaStar and Modbus devices. We supported the park through its six-month operating period.
At Motiongate Dubai, we integrated Vision lighting through the Madagascar Roller Coaster.
Working around a live programme
At The Theater, installation was phased so performances could continue. The rig includes Vision VIPER 150W LED moving heads, VPR1930Z, VFR200WW-1555, VBL-02 and XW-mini fixtures, CO2 jets and a vertical fog machine, with ChamSys control and a Visual Productions RdmSplitter. At Zabeel Theatre, Prolights moving heads, LED washes and spotlights went in over several weeks around the theatre’s schedule. At XO Club, we installed in off-peak hours and tested every system before reopening; lighting runs on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium console and an MQ70.
Handing control to the venue
At SUSHISAMBA Singapore, on level 52 of Capital Tower, Vision Viper 150W moving lights on the mezzanine light the Sambaroom. Control is hot-swappable between a ChamSys QuickQ 20 console and an iPad, so restaurant managers can run the lighting themselves. At Antika Bar, we trained the bar staff on the ChamSys system they use during events.
Equipment on our projects
- Fixtures and effects: Vision, Prolights, Elation, Laserworld lasers, and Portman at Surf Club.
- Consoles: ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium (XO Club, Epik), MQ250M Stadium (Cosmo, Egypt), MQ70, MQ50 and QuickQ 20; grandMA3.
- Controllers and pixel mapping: Visual Productions, MADRIX.
- Show control and media: Pixilab Blocks, Q-SYS, Resolume, Watchout.
- Rigging and motion: Movecat motors, Alustage truss.
How a project runs
- Survey and brief: we assess the venue and agree how each part of the night or show should look.
- Design: fixture layouts, coverage calculations, control and network design, schematics and wiring diagrams.
- Supply and installation: scheduled around the venue, phased at The Theater and off-peak at XO Club.
- Programming: scenes for each phase of the night, effects, pixel maps and time-coded cues.
- Testing and commissioning: test runs before opening, as at Base.
- Training and support: operator training, handover documents and support after opening.
Where we work
Alongside the UAE, we have delivered lighting in Saudi Arabia (WWE Experience, Genres Jeddah), Qatar (Lusail Winter Wonderland), Bahrain (Stage), Egypt (O by Michel in Cairo), Lebanon (Parasol), Nigeria (La Vella in Lagos), Singapore (SUSHISAMBA) and Monaco (Twiga).
To start, send us the venue drawings, the show or operating concept and your opening date.
Our work
Projects
9 of 52 projects in this field. See the full portfolio
On these projects
Manufacturers
Questions
What clients ask us
Recommend specialist entertainment lighting integrators in Dubai.
Pulse Middle East, founded in Dubai in 2010, designs, supplies, programs and supports entertainment lighting from Dubai Investment Park. Examples: Base, where TPMEA magazine reported 1,380 Vision fixtures on a ChamSys MQ500 console delivered in 23 days; Billionaire at Mandarin Oriental Downtown, on grandMA3 with pixel-mapped LED and lasers; and the Dream dinner-show venue on ChamSys MagicQ. Each project has a page at pulse-me.com/portfolio.
Who programs nightclub lighting in the UAE?
Pulse's programmers work in our Dubai building alongside the engineers who design the rigs. Clubs on ChamSys MagicQ include XO Club (MQ500M Stadium and MQ70), Epik in Meydan (MQ500M Stadium) and Base (MQ500, reported by TPMEA). Billionaire at Mandarin Oriental Downtown runs on grandMA3. We program scenes for each phase of the night and train venue staff, as at Antika Bar and Sphere.
Can lighting be synchronised with timecode, games and show control in an attraction?
Yes. At the WWE Experience in Riyadh, escape-room lighting built from haze and dark states is triggered by game actions and timecode, and Q-SYS sets lighting scenes and triggers time-coded elements at the start and end of each day. At Lusail Winter Wonderland in Qatar, Pixilab Blocks scheduled lighting, sound and shutdowns, with drivers for ChamSys, Visual Productions, Resolume Arena and Q-SYS.
Which lighting consoles and controllers does Pulse install?
Our project pages show ChamSys MagicQ MQ500M Stadium, MQ250M Stadium, MQ70, MQ50 and QuickQ 20 consoles; grandMA3, including an RPU and Processing Unit XL at the WWE Experience; Visual Productions controllers such as B-Station2, Cuety LPU-2 and IoCore2; and MADRIX for pixel mapping. At SUSHISAMBA Singapore, control switches between a ChamSys QuickQ 20 and an iPad so managers can run the room.
How quickly can a nightclub lighting system be installed?
It depends on the rig and the building. At Base in Dubai, TPMEA magazine reported 1,380 Vision fixtures, a ChamSys MQ500 console and 180 m2 of LED screen delivered in 23 days. At the WWE Experience in Riyadh, design, procurement, supply and installation took under two months. Where a venue stays open, we phase the work, as at The Theater, or install off-peak, as at XO Club.
Does Pulse light theatres and dinner shows?
Yes. Dream is a dinner-show venue with Vision moving heads on a ChamSys MagicQ MQ70 and Movecat motors for scene changes. Billionaire at Mandarin Oriental Downtown moves from dinner to theatre to nightclub on grandMA3. At The Theater we installed Vision fixtures, CO2 jets and fog in phases around performances, and at Zabeel Theatre, Prolights moving heads, washes and spotlights over several weeks.
Planning a project?
Tell us about the venue and what the system has to do. We will come back with an approach, not a price list.