UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd.'s dedicated new film & TV sales division will be showcasing the latest lighting, control, grip and associated technologies from leading brands in the company's extensive portfolio - including Chroma-Q, Jands, Fiilex, Mole-Richardson, Manfrotto, Avenger, Spotlight and LumenRadio - at the British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) Expo 2016 tradeshow, Battersea Evolution, London, on 29-30 January (stand 213).

Drawing on the company's many years of experience supplying to this sector, the new division was formed to offer a comprehensive one-stop inventory of lighting and related equipment solutions for film, television, studio and location applications. A.C. Film & TV's range of key brands - many of them exclusive to AC-ET in the UK -

UK - TSG Policing has recruited former Avon & Somerset and Metropolitan Police Superintendent, Kevin Instance, as a task commander.

Kevin Instance was a Gold and Silver firearms and public or-der commander. He oversaw policing at the likes of international cricket matches, Glastonbury Festival and Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, as well as leading the UK police delegation for England football matches overseas.

In his role with TSG, Instance is tasked with assessing risk and making sure the right resources from the company are properly deployed at events.

David Boswell, managing director at TSG Policing, says, "Kevin's wealth of experience as a senior police officer, looking at event safety, assessing safety officers and stewards and raising standards, is an absolute fit with TSG. I'm delighted to have him on the team."

(Jim Evans)

USA - When instrumental band STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9) began its US fall tour lighting designer Saxton Waller decided to add Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20s to the B-EYE K10 rig he deployed for the band's 2014 tour and sold-out concerts at the famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

STS9, which plays self-described post-rock dance music, are one of the nation's top-grossing tour acts with a heavy presence on the festival circuit. Waller obtained the Clay Paky B-EYES from Brown Note Productions, Inc., in Thornton, Colorado, which has been working with STS9 for the last 10 years.

"This was our first tour with the K20s," says Waller. "I was already using a different downstage wash light, so I figured if I replaced them with K20s I'd get two lights in one. I use six of them on downstage truss primarily as wash fixtures on the band then engage their pixel mode during jams to a

featured content

ETC Ministar

ETC introduces the High End Systems Ministar, a game-changer in our automated lighting product line. Ministar brings exceptional versatility and performance at an affordable price point; with a compact footprint, punchy output, and a professional feature set, Ministar fits the spec and budget for small to medium-sized venues.

UK - The British Safety Council's International Safety Awards recognise and celebrate organisations who have demonstrated a real commitment to protecting their workers from the risk of injury and ill health during the 2015 calendar year. The deadline for submission has been extends until 15 February.

These awards are open to organisations of all types, sizes and sectors in the UK and internationally - both members of the British Safety Council and non-members - and are independently adjudicated. What's more is that these awards help promote the social, economic and business benefits of employers maintaining a safe and healthy working environment for all.

Mike Robinson, chief executive of the British Safety Council, said, "Winning an International Safety Award enables organisations to share their achievement with their employees, clients, contractors, local community and

USA - Markus Burger, coordinator of music technology at Fullerton College, CA, is in no doubt that the recent installation of an Audient ASP8024 analogue mixing console in the studio is an important addition to Audio Recording programme. "The era of consoles is coming back," he declares with confidence.

"We decided to buy the Audient console to allow students to experience a real studio environment," he explains, citing the fact that ALL students benefit from the upgrade. "Having a real board is an integral part of the authentic studio experience. The console itself helps conjure up that extra magic, highlighting to the musician that they are in a special situation. Seeing and hearing a great console also makes sure everyone is in that moment together."

Burger's drive and dedication to the Recording Programme at Fullerton has had a direct effect

UK - RCF partner, Nitelites, has become the first UK company to acquire RCF's flagship TTL55-A active PA system, having invested in a complete arena/festival sized system.

This will not only give the sound and lighting specialists the capacity to provide sound coverage of the largest festival sites but at the same time provide them with a number of scalable options for smaller events.

The consignment of 144 premium RCF cabinets includes 56 TTL55-A high-power three-way enclosures, 24 x TTS56-A 2 x 21" subs and 24 x TTS36-A 2 x 18" subs. In addition, a further 24 of the smaller TTL33-A will be used as down-fill boxes at the bottom of each hang, as well as in-fill duties, while 16 TTL36-AS will provide further LF extension, boosting the dynamic range of the flown arrays.

Aside from the speakers themselves, Nitelites director Andy Magee confirms that the purchase wa

UK - Taking place in the tunnels beneath London's Waterloo Station, the annual VAULT Festival opened yesterday and will run for the next six weeks. Renowned for showcasing emerging talent across all art forms, the festival features theatre, dance, cabaret, live art, installations, puppetry and much more. White Light is once again providing the lighting equipment, along with the power, rigging and even the support of its apprentices.

VAULT Festival is now in its fourth year and with more than 200 shows in 2016, it is expected that up to 40,000 people will be in attendance. Andy George, festival director and production manager for VAULT Festival, comments, "VAULT was founded by myself, Tim Wilson and Mat Burt with one purpose: to provide a fair and equal platform for emerging artists to showcase interesting and risky work. A lot of what we programme would not normally be sta

featured content

Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

Qatar - The annual Qatar Marine Festival in Doha is built around the history of Qatar, which has grown at an extraordinary rate since the discovery of the country's oil and natural gas.

The Emirate devotes these resources to its economic development, the promotion of its marine resources, the cultural identity of the country, and the education of the new generations, thanks to the organizational efforts of the Qatar Marine Festival Organizing Committee (QMFOC).

Visitors to the festival take part in a series of attractions, which the organizing committee works to transform into educational activities concerning five different focus areas: training, culture, the environment, sports and entertainment.

Lighting designer Massimo Tomasino spoke to us about the most engaging moment of the Festival for him, the Clay Paky lights and the local and international audience: The Sec

The Netherlands - Attracting over 100,000 visitors every year, for three decades De Naald (The Needle) theatre in Naaldwijk has been a cultural hub for the region south-west of The Hague - since 2004 officially the Dutch municipality of Westland. The watchword for every aspect of the theatre's work is 'quality', which is why a QL1 has recently become its fourth Yamaha digital mixing console.

De Naald is truly at the heart of the community. As well as welcoming national and international performers and showing a wide range of films, the theatre showcases many performances by local groups and new talent. Around 10,000 primary school pupils visit annually, while secondary school students do work experience and stage performances.

The theatre's concept of 'quality' includes the shows, the audience experience/welcome, its service to the community and, of course, technical product

UK - Leading pro-audio provider The Warehouse Sound Services has reported a huge increase in footfall and interest during this year's PLASA Focus show in Glasgow. The company showcased a range of products from d&b audiotechnik, Avid, EM Acoustics, RCF, Shure, Allen + Heath, Yamaha and Sennheiser. The event provided the Scotland headquartered organisation an opportunity to exhibit in its hometown with feedback and enquiries surpassing all expectations.

With a significant increase in exhibitors and attendees, PLASA Focus generated two days of constant activity, high quality visitors and huge interest in The Warehouse's products and expertise.

At the event, The Warehouse showcased a range of quality audio products. Running alongside the main PLASA Focus show, The Warehouse hosted an Array Processing presentation at their Glasgow premises. The Warehouse is Scotland's only d&b au

The Netherlands - ISE 2016 will be showcasing a raft of Ravenna/AES67-enabled products from a number of different manufacturers as well as some exciting demonstrations of new applications. Ravenna partners present at the show include Lawo, Merging Technologies, DirectOut, Sennheiser, Riedel, Luminex, Cordial, Archwave and Genelec. There will also be product from Digigram on both the Ravenna and MNA stands.

One of the most exciting demonstrations to feature Ravenna-enabled product is the "immersive audio experience" taking place on the Merging stand (7-C160). The set-up combines Merging's newly released Ovation 6 software for their media server/sequencer with Genelec's pre-production Ravenna/AES67-enabled 4420 loudspeakers in an 18-speaker array. Backed by Merging's Horus and Hapi networked audio interfaces and Pyramix 10, Ovation 6 offers the power of an integrated 3D

Germany - Modeon Cultural Centre in Bavaria recently purchased an Allen & Heath GLD digital mixing system to manage all its audio requirements across several rooms and involving a varied programme of events.

The centre has several performing spaces, and runs a variety of different events, including theatre productions, panel discussions and conferences.

Selecting a GLD-80 mixer with AR2412 remote IO rack, the centre also installed a patch bay to change the expander port on the AR2412 or the console from one room to another, and enable the centre to run simultaneous events, all routed and controlled via the mixer, or an iPad with the GLD Remote app to alter the levels in the specific room. Furthermore, the system provides playback and recording capability via a Dante network card, offering up to four stereo playbacks and up to 64 recording channels.

"For Modeon, the p

USA - Architectural lighting design firm and custom lighting fixture manufacturer LIGHTfaktor has opened an events design and rental division, in response to growing demand for experiential environments. The new division will be headed by lighting specialist Amy D. Lux.

To enhance both its fixed install and rental services, LIGHTfaktor has also become a dealer for Czech-based lighting manufacturer Robe. Both divisions will operate out of LIGHTfaktor's headquarters and showroom in Austin, Texas.

The rising popularity of its experiential, interactive, engaging environments led to the formation of this new division, said Wes Lane, principal and lead designer. "We specialise in creating environments for permanent and one-off spaces, as well as designing custom lighting fixtures. The demand for both of those services has increased dramatically in corporate branding events, p

USA / Europe - The new ADJ Magna Tube utilises a magnetic adapter and a lightweight design to offer users a new column lighting alternative to standard uplighting and PAR effects, the company says.

The Magna Tube is a lightweight but durable acrylic tube which combines with ADJ par cans to form a distinctive glowing-tube effect. Using its four strong magnets, the Magna Tube can be secured firmly to the metallic housing of any Flat Par or WiFLY Par fixtures, slotting easily into the included magnetic gel-frame adapter.

Ideal for mobile lighting users, the Magna Tube weighs just 1.6kg and each tube is 39in tall and 5.9in diameter (1008x208x208mm), making them easy to store in the back of the truck, while the included rubber covers ensure protection during transit.

The Magna Tube is available now from ADJ USA and ADJ Europe.

(LSiOnline)

The Netherlands - PC-based control technology specialist Beckhoff is exhibiting its versatile product portfolio and range of automation solutions at ISE, in Hall 10, Booth N136.

The company's versatile interfaces, supporting multiple protocols for media and building services, are shown at ISE now with added support for Open Control Architecture (OCA). OCA is a media networking system control standard for professional applications. The standard has seen implementation by several professional audio and AV companies, and has now been published as public open standard AES70, by the Audio Engineering Society Standards Committee.

Beckhoff's PC-based control technology enables optimum integration of media technology, lighting control, building automation and control logic. The consistent, highly scalable automation platform offers all relevant interfaces for integrating AV multimed

The Netherlands - Powersoft arrives at ISE 2016 (Booth #7K-182) on the back of successful year spent raising market share in global markets.

Aside from their successes in concert touring, the release of the Dante-supporting Ottocanali series of multi-channel amplifiers (12K4, 8K4, 4K4) has given them a platform for installers that in turn has enabled them to raise their profile exponentially at this show.

Fittingly, the journey through 2015 ended with two Powersoft 12K4 amplifiers being specified and installed at global flagship brand the Ministry of Sound London, to drive the newly enhanced Dolby Atmos system in the main room, while across London at the same time Old Barn Audio were installing Powersoft at the Olympic White Water Centre and sister venue the Lee Valley Ice Centre, which also hosts several London Ice Hockey teams.

OBA's story is typical of many global inte

USA - Emanuel Lutheran Church on Santa Barbara's Modoc Road, recently decided to upgrade its audio system, and asked Brian Thompson of TNR Electronics in Ojai, and Ed Simeone of Dedicated Marketing in Westlake Village (both in California), to provide the upgrade. They wanted improved voice intelligibility and music quality, flexible configurations for their various services and a "hands-off" user interface for most services with the option of operator control when needed.

Simeone chose Allen & Heath's Qu-Pac digital audio mixer to fill these needs. It offered the hands-off, automatic-mixer operation the church wanted and an iPad interface for operator control when needed. The rack-mount Qu-Pac could be hidden in the church's equipment closet and had ample DSP for everything from house equalization to reverb for the choir mics.

As part of the upgrade, Simeone added

USA - Sandals, a three-campus church in California's Inland Empire, has a new lighting system that includes a collection of Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"The Rogue fixtures give the church the flexibility to create a variety of different looks and do different things that engage people in new ways, not just at worship services, but also at youth events and concerts," said Duke DeJong vice-president of systems integration at CCI Solutions, which installed the fixtures. "Dynamic lighting has been a big part of the Sandals worship experience for years, and Chauvet's Rogue spot, wash, and beam fixtures fit the bill perfectly."

CCI installed a total of 28 Rogue moving fixtures at the church: eight R2 Washes, twelve R2 Spots and eight R2 Beams. While the fixtures will move around on a regular basis, at the time of opening a group of four R2 Washes

Romania - Every year the Romanian city of Ploiesti, situated 60 miles from Bucharest, celebrates the arrival of the new year in style with a concert and firework display in the main town square. Local company (and PR Lighting partner) Temple Media are contracted by the Municipality of Ploiesti City to create a dynamic show on the 16x14x10m outdoor stage - testing the artistry of freelance LD Cristian Simon.

This year he and Temple Media CEO Dan Chiorcioiu created a new lighting design and video set-up for the event, lighting the stage with nearly 100 LED fixtures. These comprised 20 x XR 200 Beam, 10 x XR 230 Spot, 16 x XLed 1061 Wash, 16 x XLed 2007 Beam and 30 x XLed 3007 Wash. They also added some other effects on the side wings, all under Resolume control.

The XR 230 Spots and XLed 1061 were located on the upstage centre and downstage trusses, and the XR 200 Beams were r

USA / Europe - Electronic metalcore five-piece Bring Me The Horizon recently completed a tour of the USA and Europe in support of their latest album That's The Spirit with a high-impact and punchy lighting design by Ben Inskip using Philips Showline SL Nitro 510C LED strobes.

Inskip - who has served as lighting designer for the Sheffield band for the past five years - employed the strobes to cut through the brightness of the show's significant video element.

"In terms of output the SL Nitro 510C is great," says Inskip. "It is bright enough to still have impact during the video heavy parts of the set. In addition, the strobes' great color mixing meant that they worked well with the content on the video wall to create an overall look instead of fighting to be seen."

Inskip positioned 12 units upstage tucked in between video strips that made up the

Europe - The new Holiday on Ice show, Believe, directed and choreographed by Olympic and world ice skating champion Christopher Dean, takes the concept of ice musicals to a new level of production and presentation.

Belgian design practice Painting with Light has created the set, lighting and video designs for this vibrant show, a contemporary take on Romeo and Juliet. Painting with Light's Luc Peumans imagined the set, working alongside his talented team of Paco Mispelters who created the lighting and Michael Al-Far who designed the video.

"It was a fantastic opportunity to show what Painting with Light can do as a full live show production resource," commented Luc, whose original ideas for the scenic were chosen from a competitive pitch.

Luc and Painting with Light have worked on previous Holiday on Ice productions for Dutch producers Stage Entert

Latest Issue. . .