UK - Newbury based Skan PA has placed an order with SES for several of its second generation 19" rack mount distribution units for use on a major world tour.

Chris Fitch, MD at Skan commented, "We have always trusted the build quality and longevity that SES power distribution offers, and we needed to ensure that these racks worked first time every time on this lengthy tour. When Mark Cooper form SES offered me the newly announced second generation rack system, it was an easy decision to make".

SES says it strives to continuously improve its build quality, and the second generation is no exception. "With the inclusion of smarter metering, upgraded earth leakage sensors and our new engraving system, SES remain the market leader in 19" power distribution,&q

France - Robe's innovative new Robin MMX WashBeam moving light won a prestigious Etoile du SIEL (Star of SIEL) Award for Technical Innovation at the 2013 SIEL trade exhibition in Paris - France's leading international expo for the professional lighting, sound, video and entertainment technology industry.

The MMX WashBeam was entered into the Lighting Category. The fixture offers multiple features in one unit, and combining a Philips Platinum 35 lightsource with Robe's advanced optical system, provides an output exceeding most traditional 1200W products.

The Etoile du SIEL Awards were judged by an independent panel of industry experts, including lighting designers, technical and creative directors and representatives from top rental companies.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Bandit Lites is on the road with two of hard rock's top bands as Shinedown and Three Days Grace hit the road for a dual headlining February tour. The tour kicked off 1 February in Moline, Illinois at the iWireless Center.

Shinedown lighting designer Carter Fulghum and Three Days Grace lighting designer Mike Filsinger created two performances filled with throbbing lights that enhanced the high octane music and pyrotechnics.

With both bands co-headlining, Fulghum and Filsinger worked to reconfigure the rig to be more arena friendly, as the rig had previously been designed for amphitheaters. Additionally, fixtures and fixture placements were changed to accommodate both bands.

"Designing a rig for two artists can be a challenge," said Filsinger. "Keeping both bands happy both visually and financially can turn into a full on brawl but luckily in this case, it

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OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
www.cameolight.com

USA - Even at the supreme event of the biggest celebration in a city known for its huge excesses, the Ponchartrain Beach float takes bigness to new heights - or lengths. At 330'long, this tribute to the Big Easy's legendary Ponchartrain Beach amusement park is clearly the largest float ever seen in a Mardi Gras parade. Debuting at Endymion, Mardi Gras' premier event, the float is comprised of nine individual cars, each replicating a different historic carnival ride or attraction featured at Ponchartrain Beach, which closed in 1983.

The city's newspaper The New Orleans Picayune declared the float to be the best in the parade, noting that it was "indeed impressive, both for its size and the light display, which bathed the crowd in glorious color." Ray Ziegler of RZi Lighting (New Orleans) used a variety of products from Elation Professional, Acclaim Lighting and A

UK - PLASA's Technical Resource Office announces that the RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest returns for 2013 and will take place on the 25-27 April, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport.

This Developers Conference aims to provide a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users; and to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of interoperability and reliability.

The conference includes presentations in understanding, implementing and using the published PLASA control protocols suites. Discussions will also embrace the current protocol developments that form part of the PLASA Technical Standards Programme. The past 12 months has seen considerable advancement in the development of RDMnet - with various drafts of BSR E1.33 being offered for public revi

UK - Event production and audio-visual specialists Anagram used an Avolites Ai Media Server to replicate the atmosphere of the underground sewer lair of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Part of the relaunch of the cult TV series, Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) invited over 350 guests to Shoreditch, London to announce their plans for a number of their well-known characters including: Dora the Explorer, SpongeBob SquarePants and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Anagram used the first ever eight-head Avolites Ai media server, combined with three HD10k Christie M series projectors, to project images of the well-known children's characters onto the walls of the stage in the Village Underground.

In addition, a feed was sent from the Ai to all the HD plasma screens within the room. The server's projection mapping capabilities enabled lighting programmer Russ Grub

South Africa - A substantial range of Philips Selecon Spots, Fresnels, and Cyc luminaires have been installed at a brand new theatre space within a prestigious private college in Johannesburg.

Respected lighting consultant and designer Denis Hutchinson specified Philips Selecon Acclaim Axial Zoom Spots, Acclaim 650W Fresnels and Hui Cyc 1 A 500W Symmetrical floods along with Philips Strand 200 Plus 24/48 Lighting Control Desk and Monitor plus a number of six Pack 6/10 Amp Dimmer Packs for the co-educational Herron Bridge College.

Supplied by South African Philips partner DWR Distribution, Selecon and Strand Lighting made up the bulk of the order: "An essential part of the brief was to deliver a lighting system that is easy to understand and operate," explains Hutchinson. "However it also needed to feature a creative capability that surpasses regular school light

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

UK - London-based theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue is a new sponsor of The Off West End Theatre Awards (Offies).

Creative thinkers Charcoalblue is sponsoring the Award for Most Welcoming Theatre (Central, North, South East, East, North West and South West). The award is one of the few public nominations awards, allowing theatre fans to vote via the OffWestEnd.com website.

"We're delighted that Charcoalblue, with such an impressive track record for transforming spaces, has thrown its weight behind helping us champion the most welcoming London theatres off the beaten track," says Sofie Mason, Director of Off West End. "Independent theatres, wonderfully scattered across London, can have strong personalities that are memorable in a way you would rarely find in the West End. Often theatregoers fall in love with the venue as much as the performance and return b

UK - Black Light's Open Day is now established as a key event for anyone in the Scottish AV, sound, lighting and stage industry.

"Our Open Day brings together all the latest AV, sound, lighting and stage technology under one roof," says Black Light's head of company development, Phil Haldane. "We're inviting everyone to come along and help us celebrate 30 years in the business."

Black Light has already got over 30 of the biggest names in the industry confirmed. That means that the 2013 Open Day will be the most exciting yet, says the company. It will be a great chance for everyone to come and see the hottest new equipment in action, quiz the experts and, of course, meet friends and colleagues.

The Open Day will take place on 15 March. As in previous years, the event will feature a wide range of exhibitor stands at which visitors will be able to talk to ma

USA - Designed by leading architecture and engineering firm, Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, with Corgan Associates, the Dallas City Performance Hall has been described as a 'lyrical and elegant' addition to the Dallas Arts District, promising to be a 'unique and delightful village for the arts' for Dallas audiences.

Located in the Dallas Arts District, the first phase of the venue opened in September 2012 and includes a 750-seat multi-purpose proscenium theatre, public lobby, and support space.

GDS was asked by Texas Scenic Company (TSC) to supply a zoned, DMX-controlled, working light system to be used across the stage galleries, auditorium catwalks and followspot booth to allow technicians access to technical areas under dark performance conditions without drawing audience attention.

Working in conjunction with Schuler Shook Theatre Planners, TSC installed GDS' award winnin

UK - The TPi Awards, was a night of double celebration for LS-Live, which won two titles.

The stage, set and studio company based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, picked up awards for Favourite Rehearsal Facility (sponsored by Showcase) and Favourite Staging Company (sponsored by Sunbaba). LS-Live was also nominated for Favourite Set Construction Company (sponsored by J&C Joel Limited).

The annual TPi Awards has celebrated the most talented individuals and service companies working in the live production industry worldwide for over a decade. Presented by Radio DJ Lauren Laverne at the Novotel London West in Hammersmith on Monday 11 February, the 2013 event attracted 1,500 people.

Director Ben Brooks collected the awards and commented after the event, "We are very proud to be judged favourite rehearsal facility and staging company, and I'd like to thank everyone who voted f

Albania - Eagle Square, at the entrance of Tirana in Albania, was renamed in November of 2012 in celebration of the country's 100 year anniversary. Standing majestically in the city square is a 10m tall, double-headed eagle, the symbol on the Albanian flag. Made of steel and weighing some 12 tons, it was created by Albi Cifligu of Podium Sh.p.k.

Saturating the monument in Albania's national colour of deep red are Exterior 430s from Martin Professional's award-winning Exterior 400 range of outdoor LED luminaires. Eight Exterior 430s, supplied by local Martin distributor Prosound Audio and Light, are used to uplight the eagle.

Lighting aspects of the monument were also handled by Albi Cifligu who turned to the Exterior 430 after a recommendation by Prosound sales manager Kliton Gjika.

"The only lighting fixture that can turn black metal red is the Exterior 430 so I sugges

WarChild Benefit - Muse warmed up for their appearance at this week's Brit Awards by headlining an intimate benefit gig in aid of WarChild UK. The band performed for almost two hours in front of 2,000 fans at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire. Speaking from the stage, front man Matt Bellamy said: "This is a nice vibe, we should do a tour like this."

The concert - an intimate affair compared to Muse's usual stadium-headlining shows - saw them tone down their show to fit the theatre surroundings. Before the gig bass player Chris Wolstenholme told BBC's Newsbeat, "You don't want to be spending all the money on pyramids and flashing lights - that's money that could be going to charity."

Awards News - Opera magazine is to have its first annual international awards, presented at a ceremony in London on 22 April. The Operas, the brainchild of th

Australia - Currently playing at Sydney's Lyric Theatre, Legally Blonde The Musical is lit by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller with Hugh Hamilton acting as associate for the Australian tour. The set and lighting design for the Australian production comes from the London production of the musical held at the Savoy Theatre.

The rig houses only Vari-Lite moving lights: forty-four VL2500 Spots, twenty-two VL2500 Washes and five VL3500 Spots whilst conventional lighting consists of over 200 ETC Source Four fixtures. It's a fairly straight forward rig that was, according to Hamilton, expertly prepped at PRG, easily hung and there were very few problems to overcome.

"The overhead trusses go spot, wash, spot, wash, spot, wash and the ladders are all VL2500 Spots," explained Hamilton. "It's a great rig because you can put anything you need where you need it, plus it

UK - Philips Selecon's lightweight, smooth colour changing PLCyc LED luminaires are facilitating fiercely felt mood and atmosphere for The Guildford Shakespeare Company's production of Macbeth.

Lighting designer Declan Randall is harnessing the diverse colour palette and rapid colour changing abilities of the PLCyc fixtures to dramatically enhance the shifting ambience during the production at Guildford's Holy Trinity Church.

"I'm treating the ceiling of church as the cyclorama, up-lighting the roof and using the PLCycs to throw shadows of scenic elements and the cast up onto the roof," says Randall. "The show varies from intense colour to more natural, gentle, skin tones and the PLCycs offer us speedy colour changes and an amazing palette to work with. What's great about the PLCyc LED luminaires is that they deliver both the natural and unnatural colours

The Netherlands - Adjoining the famous Escape Club on Amsterdam's fashionable Rembrandtplein, and also owned by experienced entrepreneurs, Ton and Dick Poppes, the new Kitchen & Bar Van Rijn has opened in the style of a grand café, with a terrace and upstairs area.

Inspired by the beauty and the masterpieces of Rembrandt van Rijn, following a substantial investment, guests can enjoy authentic Dutch cuisine in a cosmopolitan atmosphere with open kitchen, whole listening to music through a premium RCF sound reinforcement system.

In fact premium is the watchword, since installer Mike Ho, of locally based service company 24/7 Audio, specified a TTL11-A active steerable column array, requiring only two systems with two presets to service all the requirements - literally 24/7 (including live music and a DJ on weekends).

"I first heard this system under demo at RCF's he

UK - Inaugurated in 1886, the old People's Palace, as it was formerly known, was originally built to provide cultural activities to its local population but tragically burned down in 1931. Rebuilt in 1936 to the west of its original site, the new People's Palace is now owned by Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). This historic Grade II listed building has recently undergone a £6.3m facelift to restore it to its former 1930's style interior beauty.

Located in the heart of London's East End and home to the 770 seat Great Hall, the theatre's transformation included a lighting and audio solution supplied and installed by specialist integrators Stage Electrics.

"Queen Mary, University of London is delighted with our newly refurbished venue and we're now getting a huge amount of interest from external hirers and promoters who are discovering this hidden gem in east Lo

UK - Lighting designer Jonny Gaskell has harnessed the laser-like beam of Clay Paky's Sharpy fixtures to deliver a high impact, three-dimensional lighting environment for electronic dance music duo Orbital on their UK tour, which culminated with a spectacular and hard hitting show at Brixton Academy.

Gaskell, of Pinnacle Productions, combined the razor sharp beams of the Clay Paky Sharpys, supplied by rental operation Colour Sound Experiment, with laser bounce mirrors to deliver a three dimensional prism of super bright almost architectural effects around the band. This worked as part of a layered lighting concept that combined evocative video, moody washes and striking effects during the dynamic, content rich show. The result was a dramatically striking, 3D world of light and images that worked as one with Orbital's music but at the same time also reached out and engaged the li

The Netherlands - dnp denmark provided a compelling product showcase for its latest screen solutions at ISE 2013, occupying an open booth in their own right for the first time since 2009.

The showstopper was the new InvisiBezel LCD panel cover, demonstrated (with and without the bezel cover) via a 2 x 2 display of 46" LCD panels. Passers-by, captivated by the display, massed to witness how this media could be reduced from a standard 5mm bezel width to a virtually seamless 1mm with the help of the dnp 'super narrow bezel' panels. These can be mounted on top of standard LCD screens and at the same time protect the panels from scratches.

According to global sales & marketing manager S°ren Kraemmergaard, there were several differentiators embedded in the dnp system which give it a competitive edge.

"The pixels can be optically stretched at the edge of the panel via

UK - Hawthorn celebrated their 25th Anniversary by welcoming over 500 clients, guests and staff to its Leicester Head Office, 16 February 2013.

Hawthorn applied its own event expertise to transform their facility into a swanky party venue, where guests enjoyed a night of food, drink, networking and revelry. Giant video screens, sizzling catering points, glitzy dancefloors created a vibrant ambience in the main event room; then if guests walked through a giant logo structure they entered a series of 'games rooms' with Karaoke, 'drive simulators', and familiar computer games.

Founder and Managing Director Martin Hawthorn cut the birthday cake and thanked all present:

"It's great to welcome everyone here as we celebrate our achievement bringing the company from the humble beginnings to where we are today supplying an incredible range of events. We have developed some great

Austria - With a huge opening ceremony the 2013 Skiing World Championships recently started in Schladming, Austria. Associate LD Jeffrey Goes and associate LD Daan Oomen relied for the show on an MA Lighting system, consisting of two grandMA2 light, one grandMA2 fader wing and two MA NPU (Network Processing Unit).

Jeffrey Goes commented, "The grandMA2 offered the best solution in networking and stability for this outdoor event. Especially in bad weather conditions it proofed to be a solid, stable control system. This was essential. Furthermore it offered us a perfect back-up solution as well as great network possibilities."

Daan Oomen continued, "We had to deal with pretty harsh weather conditions. Also some lighting positions were only accessible by helicopter. Furthermore the venue had a quite unusual shape unusual shape and an extremely steep slope. Making a

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