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UK - The hit musical and family favourite, A Christmas Carol, is arguably the indisputable Christmas classic. Charles Dickens' evocative tale, with its exuberant dance sequences and magnificent settings recreating streets, graveyards and buildings of 19th century London, excites and appeals to audiences of all ages.

Tasked with bringing the tale of Christmas to life at Blackpool's 3,000-capacity Opera House - a venue which also boasts one of Europe's largest stages - Arranpaul's Up & Coming LD, Oliver Wilkinson opted to include a selection of six Rogue R1 Spots and 16 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional, as well as Chauvet DJ PiXPars into his lighting design.

"The fixture plot I created allowed me to light any area of the stage with Chauvet's R1 Spots, PiXPars and 560Zs," said Wilkinson, who also handled video and audio for the pro

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USA - Chroma-Q Color Force 12 multi-purpose LED fixtures were recently specified by lighting sales and production company, E2i Design, for its seasonal White Christmas show at Michigan's Brighton High School.

E2i Design's Josh Holowicki passionately supports the school's theatre in a number of ways - as chairman of the board of directors, as volunteer technical director and scenic designer, and as producer. As the technical director, he's responsible for all audio, video and lighting.

Irving Berlin's White Christmas is a classic holiday show, based on the famous movie. It follows an army private and captain who were stationed in Europe during WW2 in 1944. They are performers and entertainers who do their best to keep up the spirits of the 151st division during the holidays. The show ran on the first two weekends of December 2015 at the school's 900-capacity Bri

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USA - Since premiering as an unassuming rave back in 1997 in LA, the adult playground that is today's Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) has spread across the U.S. and indeed the world.

Orlando has hosted its own version since 2011 and LD Steve Lieberman has been lighting it ever since. This year, he designed a remarkable megastructure for the Circuit Grounds stage plus the accompanying lighting scheme that was just as impressive, teaming Elation Platinum Spot 35 Pro moving heads with Colour Chorus LED strip lights, among other Elation gear and other lighting. Production was by AG Production Services.

Produced by Insomniac Events, the fifth incarnation of EDC Orlando took place at Tinker Field on 6 and 7 November with three different stages hosting 50 DJs, among them headliners Tiesto, Kaskade and Calvin Harris.

The combination of Platinum Spot 35 Pro's and Colour Chorus 72's

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UK - Manchester based dbn Lighting has returned to the Store Street car park beneath the arches at Manchester's Piccadilly station for the current Warehouse Project season, with a new lighting and visual design. The venue layout is essentially the same as for previous seasons, however the brief to dbn's project manager Pete Robinson was to give it a new vibe with a fresh design.

The main room stage still has a video truss at the back, but forward of that, Pete transformed the look and feel of the stage space by installing a 10m diameter half circle of trussing (open ends downstage) which fits really snugly into the width. It's also raked to harmonize it with the curvature of the arch. This has replaced the previous year's overhead trusses that were straight. Further segments of curved trussing have been flown above the dancefloor.

While the section over the stage is effectiv

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USA - Bands often inspire one another musically, but on some occasions their power of persuasion extends into the realm of lighting too. Such was the case recently on the popular coast-to-coast US tour co-headlined by post-hardcore heavies Senses Fail and Silverstein that featured a stage- transforming rig created by Squeek Lights using Chauvet Professional fixtures.

Prior to signing up for this joint venture, Senses Fail had never toured with their own light show before; though they certainly performed with some killer rigs on the Taste of Chaos Tour. Still when the band hooked up with Silverstein, they were lighting newcomers. After talking to their touring partners however, Sense Fail had a change of heart and decided that the time had come to engage their fans with lighting.

For their part, Silverstein felt comfortable recommending that their punk rock partners leap into

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USA - Syncrolite, LLC and Ballantyne Strong Inc. announced that the assets associated with Ballantyne Strong's lighting business have been sold to Syncrolite. With effect from 21 December 2015, Syncrolite will assume all operations, sales and support associated with the well-known family of followspots.

The Super Trouper and Gladiator products will now be manufactured at Syncrolite's headquarters along with the Skytracker family of outdoor advertising and architectural lighting products. Strong product support and repairs will be provided by Syncrolite's team of Xenon lighting experts while parts and replacement lamps will be shipped from their own centrally located facility in Dallas, TX.

"The Strong name is familiar to everyone in the entertainment lighting industry and Syncrolite is proud to be in a position to carry that tradition forward and take Strong lighting pr

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied lighting kit - over 300 fixtures - and crew to the UK arena leg of big beat hard-dance electro rockers Prodigy's The Day is My Enemy tour, working in close collaboration with lighting and show designer Andy Hurst, and also with live video specialists Video Illusions who supplied cameras and LED screens.

The set and visuals have maintained some base common elements as they have evolved throughout the tour which started in Australia in February 2015 shortly before the album dropped, and continued with festivals and headliner shows worldwide, culminating in this sold-out UK arena spree.

Andy wanted a bit of an abstract and urban look to the stage, one that was open to interpretation in a number of different ways. "I didn't want something that was too literal and certainly not too predictable," he explained, "a

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UK - Next-generation wysiwyg R36 lighting design and previsualization software from CAST, is now shipping. After a user interface makeover, extensive beta testing and customer feedback, R36 is now available with many new features and enhancements.

In addition to the list of features previously released for beta testing, CAST has just added a couple of enhancements including support for 4K resolution and 4K image export in Shaded View for big picture thinking.

The Shaded View feature now exports image views of up to 4,096 by 4,096 pixels ensuring previsualization looks great on the big screen as well as in real life!

wysiwyg R36 has increased compatibility with the latest Sketchup 3D modelling software SDK and associated file formats. Users can import drawings directly from Sketchup into wysiwyg, and textures, layers, surfaces and object groupings are now preserved as they

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USA - Most houses of worship also strive to remain relevant to the people in their immediate communities. For the Sunnyvale Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is located less than a 15-minute drive from the world headquarters of Apple, Google, Intel, Cisco and a host of other Silicon Valley powerhouses, this commitment helped prompt a technological upgrade that included the installation of LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"Being located in Silicon Valley, the church serves people who are surrounded by technology every day," said Matt Gordon of Legend Theatrical (Scotts Valley, CA), which managed the lighting and video upgrades of the remodelling project. "The new lighting system and other enhancements have given the church a more contemporary look, which connects to worshippers."

Sunnyvale Seventh-day Adventist's technical director Greg Richmond d

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USA - Chicago-based production company Intelligent Lighting Creations has invested in Elation Professional's Volt Q5 uplight, a versatile go-anywhere RGBW LED wash light that runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

Scott Falbe, founder and CEO at Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC), explains the reasons behind the purchase. "Several of our productions occur in older venues with very few power receptacles and outdoors where there is no power run out to the grass. This product gives our clients a level of flexibility that was not possible in the past. In addition, the costs are reduced since personnel do not need to be hired to run cables from other locations to the fixtures. They can roll the powered cases to a convenient receptacle for recharging."

An all-weather IP65 housing and built-in battery that lasts up to 12 hours between charges allows the Volt Q5 to

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France - Four nights of enchantment were planned in December for Lyon's most famous festival to date, broadcasting the heritage of the city. However, due to the recent tragic events in Paris, the Festival of Lights was cut short to a one-day tribute to the victims of 8 December, inviting people to stand united and light candles while the city became illuminated for that one evening at La Colline de Fourvière.

Rental company GL events Audiovisual was tasked as supplier of lighting, while also being an official partner of the light festival. "We were very surprised and honoured to be the only company selected for this year's edition. Both the project and the site has worked wonders in our favour," says project manager Frédéric Fuentes.

Together with lighting designer Daniel Knipper, the two men used solely SGM LED lighting equipment for the show. A mix

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Germany - Danish electro rockers Carpark North are on the road most of the year and have just finished a recent stint playing German clubs, taking their fusion of the raw edgy rock and cerebral electro beats to their many fans.

Creating an ever interesting, evolving and innovative lightshow is LD Johnny Thinggaard Lydiksen from CMY, based in Arhuus, who has worked with the band since 2013. He loves Robe's Pointes and BMFLs - among other fixtures.

Both types of fixture have been at the heart of the various versions of the lighting design to stem from Johnny's central concept, which was created to be flexible and scalable.

Underpinning the aesthetic was the goal to make the band look powerful and dramatic for which "Darkness and timing is a key" explained Johnny.

Pointes first appeared on the Carpark North lighting rig in summer 2014 when Johnny specified 40 to

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World - Continuing its tradition of celebrating sci-fi motion picture premieres, ETC closed down its offices worldwide and smuggled some 1,000 employees off to see Star Wars - The Force Awakens as it opened in the US, Europe and China.

First was Wisconsin, where 19 buses were brought in to transport 800 people from Middleton and Mazomanie to fill 10 screens at a local cinema. An exhilarating buzz permeated the rumbling buses as employees, many adorned in Star Wars costumes, chattered about their hopes and expectations.

"I've been waiting for this movie since before I was born," said Mike Tarman, a lifelong Star Wars enthusiast from ETC's marketing department. "I've kept my expectations in check, but I'm feeling something I've not felt since." Tarman, an aspiring filmmaker, helped create a Star Wars-themed video to announce the company outing at ETC

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The Netherlands - The world famous Royal Concertgebouw Concert Hall in Amsterdam has become the latest concert hall to update its lighting system to LED, with help from ETC and their Dutch dealer Ampco Flashlight Sales.

The decision on which fixtures to specify was not taken lightly: it took around a year of testing and discussions before deciding on 84 Desire D60XTI Studio HD fixtures, controlled by an ETC Unison Paradigm system. Says Flashlight Sales' lighting sales manager Bas van Schelven, "In such a prestigious venue, maintaining its famously superb acoustics was a huge concern for the staff and performers. So even though the XTI fixtures were designed for external use, we specified them since they have no fans to make a noise."

Other tests included making sure the orchestra and choir members could easily read their music sheets under an unfamiliar light; and

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USA - Created to showcase the most talented new musical acts from across the United States, Music City Big Break recently launched its inaugural competition inside the Mercy Lounge in Nashville, Tennessee.

With one of the largest prize packages ever offered in a new artist competition, Music City Big Break founder and producer David Bell worked alongside co-founder and producer John C. Davis to bring together a production that could capture the full attention of artists, managers, agents, and music fans everywhere. Needing a reliable production partner to assist them in creating a lighting and video atmosphere ready to take on such a competition, they called upon Elite Multimedia to bring in the most expansive production rig the Mercy Lounge has ever experienced.

"As an entertainment consultant, I am close with the management team at Mercy Lounge where they host the mus

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Europe - LED technology not only turned the industry on its head, it also created new complications in power-control system design. ETC has developed the ColorSource ThruPower cabinet for 230V lighting systems with this concept in mind. ColorSource ThruPower gives customers a relay and dimmer on every one of the cabinet's 12 or 24 circuits.

Changing settings from switched to dimmed power, or vice versa, can be done locally with the cabinet's user-friendly interface, while remote configurations are possible with integrated Remote Device Management (RDM) functionality. Customers can also expand the cabinet's capabilities by adding DIN-rail accessories - such as Ethernet, Echo Control Stations or Mosaic Show Controllers - for added system functionality.

ColorSource ThruPower is a solution for transitioning lighting systems between tungsten and LED on a daily or weekly basis. &q

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UK - Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting and LED screen to a series of recent UK concerts by Public Service Broadcasting, supporting the release of their Sputnik/Korolev EP via lighting designer Francis Clegg.

Francis, part of creative visual design and programming collective MIRRAD, produced a lighting design for the short but popular and much anticipated UK tour which followed on from summer festival work. A completely new live show concept was evolved for this, with production based on the Brixton Academy gig and adaptable to fit the other venues.

The band plays instrumental music, taking samples from classic public service information films, archival footage and propaganda material to (in their own words) "teach lessons of the past through music of the future" with a satirical and humorous edge.

Visuals are fundamental to the performance, and wi

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USA - It was a record-breaking evening for Jack Daniel's Bash on Broadway: New Year's Eve in Music City where 143,000 people lined the streets of Nashville to ring in 2016. Performances included Kings of Leon, Chris Stapleton and Kelsea Ballerini while Bandit Lites once again provided the lighting for both the Music City Stage and the 150ft tower adorned with the massive music note that ushered in the New Year.

Lighting designer John Lucksinger focused his attention for the evening on that quintessential tower which utilised Martin Atomic strobes, Aryton Magic Panels, and Robe cycfx 8s being controlled by a MA2 console networked with a MA NPU.

With the event now needing two stages to accommodate the seven musical guests, Lucksinger found he could simply not be in two places at once, and after designing the lighting for the Music City stage, he handed the controls to Bandit l

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South Africa - The Uthungulu Last Dance festival in Richards Bay includes picnicking and partying on the beach on 1 January, after enjoying a sizzling series of concerts to ring in the New Year the night before. This year, in addition to enjoying the South African summer sun, visitors to the festival got to bask in the warm white light of STRIKEs 4 fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Lighting designer Shaniel Laloo of Sounds Ideal (Pietermaritzburg, South Africa) used the STRIKEs 4s and a collection of Legend 230SR Beam moving fixtures to engage the massive crowd at the celebration. The high output of both fixtures was essential to the designer achieving this goal, given the large size of the outdoor uMhlathuze Multi-Purpose Sports Complex, where the festival performances took place -- and the size of the crowd, estimated at 40 000.

"The STRIKEs are nice for eye candy e

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Theatre Funding - Arts leaders have warned that cuts to local funding will be the biggest issue facing the theatre industry in 2016. This comes after the government announced a total reduction to local authority grants of £6.1 billion, which will be implemented between now and 2019/20. David Brownlee, director of theatre consultancy firm BON Culture, said pressures on council funding would mean the difficulties faced by regional theatre move "from a drama to a crisis". He added that mid and small-scale venues would be most at risk, especially those run directly by local authorities.

It Was 25 Years Ago - On Christmas Day 1990, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Robert Cailliau (in collaboration with CERN) communicated between a web browser and a webserver for the first time - thus the world's first website went live.

Honours List - The music world is repre

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Belgium - d3 Technologies has named FACE, Foundation for Audio-Visual Commerce & Engineering, in Boom, Belgium, as its new reseller in the Benelux region. FACE recently supplied an exciting 3D mapping project in Bokrijk, Belgium with d3 gear and hosted a d3 open house last month.

A full-service provider for the entertainment industry, FACE was formed in 2010 to supply audio, lighting and video hardware, software and services.

"d3 and FACE share a lot of the same values - We both believe in innovation through technology," says Karel De Piere, CEO of FACE. "d3's solutions are a great addition to our existing portfolio and fit right into our catalogue of professional solutions. We are confident that both parties will benefit from this new partnership, and we look forward to working with d3. With our established sales and installation team we expect to create some

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Croatia - Hrvatska Radio Televizija - Croatian Radio Television holds the largest stock of W-DMX devices in Croatia. The lighting department is now stocking 14 Blackbox series transceivers and receivers, used across different TV shows and outside broadcast assignments. These wireless systems are also used on the popular show .

Local distributor Georges Toutounji, CEO of Scen-The comments: "The Voice, which premiered the first season in January 2015 and is currently in production for a second season is such a global brand that it needs very little introduction. The exciting part is showing people how limitless the system is, and then seeing how they use it on their shows. We have seen a lot of young adopters and now setting the standard in Wireless DMX transmission in the Croatian market. This was exactly the case with HRT."

For The Voice, a Blackbo

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UK - The full programme for London's first Lumiere light festival has been revealed, a "brand new event that is set to transform the city's streets and buildings across four evenings this month".

Developed by creative producers Artichoke and supported by the Mayor of London, Lumiere London runs from 14-17 January 2016, 6.30-10.30pm. Free to attend, the festival will re-imagine London's urban landscape and architecture in 30 artworks across four main areas: King's Cross; Mayfair and Grosvenor Square; Piccadilly, Regent Street, Leicester Square and St James's; and Trafalgar Square and Westminster.

With founding support from Atom Bank, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Heart of London Business Alliance, London & Partners and King's Cross, plus additional support from a host of partners and sponsors, including Westminster City Council, Lumiere London will "transform parts

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UK - One of this year's festive television highlights was the ABBA Party which was aired on Christmas Eve and what a party it was!

Stars from across music and TV performed their favourite ABBA song and shared personal Abba memories. The show was set in a special Scandinavian Christmas lodge, as ITV helped celebrate 41 years since the release of the band's Greatest Hits album.

Chris Kempton designed the lighting with help from Richard Martin Lighting (RML). Chris's list included MAC Aura's, Alpha Wash 700's, Pointes, Pixelline 1044, Sharpys, VL1000TS, VL4000 Spots, B-EYE K20's, Nexus 4x4 panels, Robin 600 LEDWash.

Despite there been a lot of blue lighting used (think snow, ice, all things Scandinavian) there was still a real warmth to the look of the set. That was probably a combination of the trees, sparkles and presenter Paddy McGuinness

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  3. SGM's Q-7 provides versatility for TZN tour
  4. PLASA re-focuses with fresh aims and initiatives
  5. Obituary - Jimmy Page Henderson
  6. Bandit backs Widespread Panic on New Year's Eve
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