Truth Nightclub in Midrand Johannesburg, South Africa, recently celebrated its official reopening with a state-of-the-art lighting setup from Elation. The Production Warehouse, Elation’s exclusive partner in South Africa, collaborated closely with the venue to select the ideal equipment for the upgrade.
The installation was completed under a tight schedule, just in time for the pre-launch of the revamped “The Terrace” dance floor. The new lighting rig was crucial for the club’s “25 Years of Truth” anniversary event featuring Township Rebellion on November 30th, and the New Year's Eve 2025 celebration with Pleasurekraft.
Truth, known as the “Home of the Underground,” is a regional landmark and one of South Africa’s most iconic nightclubs. With five dance floors, it has hosted world-renowned artists like Paul Van Dyk and Richie Hawtin, among many others.
The Terrace underwent a complete rebuild and upgrade after a fire damaged part of the venue. Elation was chosen as the preferred lighting provider for the newly reconstructed space, reinforcing the club's dedication to top-tier lighting.
Project designer Emil Lars explained the decision behind choosing Elation fixtures: “Essentially, the conceptual vision for The Terrace was one of flexibility and openness, which makes choosing a set of permanent fixtures quite challenging as they'd need to be extremely flexible. The Elation FUZE SFX LED spot stood out for its flexibility and ability to create dark techno floors with narrow beams and contrasts with extremely wide soft gobo washes that can feel quite dreamy.”
He added that the PULSE PANEL and PULSE BAR S were chosen for eye candy, flexibility, sheer brightness and impact with their small form factor making them easy to place the fixtures on various designs. “Exceptional quality, flexibility, and future-proofing is why Elation was a no-brainer.”
Designer Shaniel Laloo, tasked with commissioning the rig, commented: “We needed to create a very dynamic lighting package as the club caters to many different genres of music. We were looking for something that could be punchy one day and still do the ‘darker nights’ more effectively. This meant lots of pixels and a main fixture with an extensive feature set.
Laloo opted for a grid-based design for the FUZE SFXs to maximize their potential. “Whether in beam or wide spot modes the design just allows great looks with minimal effort. The most important feature for me is the ability to move between different zoom ranges with precision and speed, allowing the fixture to take on multiple roles in our programming.” Although the initial specification called for DARTZ 360 moving lights, the large, open-air layout of The Terrace required more power to cut through the LED screens, making the FUZE SFX the perfect solution, with sixteen units ultimately installed.
Regarding the PULSE fixtures, Laloo stated, “I wanted to make sure that one strobe fixture could essentially cover the entire venue. So when we do go into random strobing, you are completely immersed in white light from different angles, giving a euphoric feeling on the dancefloor.” Utilizing four PULSE PANELs and six PULSE BARs, Laloo and his team easily covered the entire space.
He added that they needed something to cover spaces behind the DJ without spoiling the aesthetic open-air feel. “The PULSE PANELs and BARs were placed on drop bars to create light from nothingness, allowing bright strobes, colors washes or just simple individual pixel effects. We also placed the PULSE PANELs around the LED screen to allow for NDI mapping through a media server. So it's not just a light; it's a video fixture as well when we want it to be.”
Lighting operator David O’Molony praised the setup saying, “The PULSE BARs are really fun to work with. The iris and zoom ranges on the SFX’s are great, and the colors are vibrant too.”
Marnus Nieuwoudt, owner of The Production Warehouse, concluded, “It’s an absolute honor to work at a venue of the caliber of Truth. It’s a national landmark that everyone knows and it’s really great to have played a role in the upgrade. We’re very proud of the results and eager to continue with future expansions and revamps on their other floors.”
Emil Lars – Concept Designer
Shaniel Laloo – Design and Commissioning
David O'Molony – Lighting Operator
Photos: Mike Bets
About Elation
At Elation, we represent the elite in the lighting industry. We design and manufacture a comprehensive range of best-in-class entertainment lighting products valued by production/rental houses and lighting designers the world over. Our dedication to extraordinary quality and creative solutions has established us as the go-to choice for professionals. With a storied legacy of brilliance, our influence extends from iconic stages to cutting-edge studios across the globe. We also offer an advanced line of lighting control products through Obsidian Control Systems, as well as a full range of dependable specialty effects called Magmatic. We invite you to take a closer look at www.elationlighting.com
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