UK - "Since we secured representation for Robert Juliat we've been running a series of open days across the country," says a typically bullish Glyn O'Donaghue, MD of Ambersphere Solutions. "We've been showing products from the Robert Juliat range at venues like the RSC and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. The reaction has been amazing; we knew these lanterns were revered in the theatre world but we were still taken by surprise."

Ambersphere completed the deal with Robert Juliat in early June; days later they found themselves exhibiting their new brand at the ABTT show. "And what a successful show it was," said O'Donoghue. "ABTT has always been a favourite networking event with the back stage fraternity, a meeting on our stand with Tim Boyd the tec

UK - PLASA London 2013 has confirmed that Robe Lighting, Martin Professional Lighting, Clay Paky and Roland will sponsor this year's show. Over 12,000 people have already registered to attend PLASA London 2013, which takes place at the ExCeL Centre, London from 6-9 October 2013.

For the second year, the Platinum Sponsor is Robe Lighting, the Czech manufacturer of innovative, high quality moving lights and digital lighting products for the professional entertainment & leisure, architectural and themed environment industries. Josef Valchar, general manager, Robe Lighting said, "Our company philosophy is centred around working as closely as possible with our business partners and end users, listening to their needs, thoughts and wishes in order to understand their markets. PLASA London is an essential event for us as it provides the ideal opportunity to meet many of them in pe

Germany - The House of Delegates - or 'Stadthaus' - in Cottbus, Germany, is a historical building that is an important part of the local community, with its Grand Hall used for many purposes including meetings, events and theatre shows.

Since the Grand Hall is such an important space, it was decided that a new sound system would provide the degree of flexibility required. However, initial plans included a system made up of almost 20 loudspeakers - something that would have seriously affected the aesthetics of this historical venue.

Diego Noack, procurement manager of audio specialists G. Fleischhauer ing. Büro Cottbus GmbH, suggested Tannoy's award-winning digital beam steering loudspeaker array, QFlex. He had been aware of the architecturally sensitive profile and its ability to distribute smooth, even coverage in acoustically challenging spaces, and after some careful model

featured content

ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

UK - To help realise AEG Live's vision to completely transform the look and feel of the summer concert series in London's Hyde Park, Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) were contracted to supply stage and architectural lighting, reporting into production company LarMac LIVE, who co-ordinated all technical and creative production for the North Stages at Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.

This included three spectacular themed areas - The Village Green, Piazza and Carnival - all of which were hugely popular and a large part of the new look event staged by AEG. The event included Main Stage concert performances by The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez and Lionel Richie over 10 days.

The North Stages featured five intimate performance spaces - The Village Hall, The Bandstand, The Barclaycard Unwind Theatre, the Sony Music Unlimited stage and the Carnival 'Float'

featured content

New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story

When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage.
FIND OUT MORE >>>

UK - The Wireless Festival, now in its ninth consecutive year with headliners Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, will.i.am, Snoop Dog, A Tribe Called Quest, and Rita Ora drew record crowds to London's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. A Turbosound Flashline PA was deployed by Britannia Row Productions for the Pepsi Max Stage, which also saw appearances by Calvin Harris and Tinie Tempah.

Britannia Row Productions' Johnny Keirle was systems tech for the event and, despite arriving in the UK from New Zealand recently, has seen plenty of Flashline action. "I'm pretty familiar with Turbosound as I worked a lot with Oceania back in New Zealand, they have a large Flashlight and Floodlight rig that's one of the best sounding systems around. The very first time I heard Flashline, I loved it. Since then, the more I work with Flashline the more I like it," he says.

"Mechanically, the r

USA - Martin returns to the annual DJ Expo in a big way with an energizing booth, #615 featuring the popular new Rushrange of affordable effect lighting.

Held 12-15 August at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, DJ Expo an appropriate environment to showcase Martin's new range of installation effect lights before North America's most ambitious DJ and club professionals.

The Rush Series marks Martin's focus back on the exciting world of DJ and club effects with a comprehensive range that includes profile, wash, beam, strobe and pin spot luminaires.

"The response to ush has been overwhelmingly positive since its launch earlier in 2013, and momentum has only gathered throughout the summer," stated Brian Friborg, president, Martin US. "Martin looks forward to a great show and invites all lighting industry professionals to the Martin booth for a demo and a closer

featured content

AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head

Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.

AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.

READ MORE >>>

Germany - Sommer Cable is releasing a fully reworked and unified MonoCAT cable family. The different hybrid cables all contain network lines complemented by signal or power supply elements. This allows to connect digital sound, light or video control desks using only one cable and, as the case may be, with only one plug-in procedure. This is also suitable for applications on OB vans or in the installation or conference sectors.

Owing to the reworked internal Cat 7 construction in SFTP with a line gauge of 0.22 mm2 even greater transmission paths are now possible. This allows a trouble-free transmission of signals based on gigabit ethernet over distances up to 100 m. The power wires have a cross-sectional area of 2.5 mm2 to avoid problems with longer distances here, too. The highly flexible overall structure with our proven and robust S-PVC jacket (temperature range -20 ... +75&d

USA - The new compact Design Wash LED Zoom from Elation Professional is billed as "everything a lighting pro could expect in a colour wash and more -- and. . . less". Powered by 108 high-output 3-watt Osram Ostar LEDs (40 red, 28 green, 30 blue, 10 white), which put out up to 400 foot candles at 20' / 3,900 total lumens, this moving head fixture creates "stunning colour washes via RGBW blending, allowing you to use your DMX controller to dial up just the right hue for any live show, production, church, nightclub or stage wash application".

It also comes available in a Cool White model, the Design Wash LED Zoom CW, which contains 108 x Cool White 7,500k LEDs. Providing an extreme output of 8,300 total lumens, the Design Wash LED Zoom CW is designed for when a bright white light is needed for flood or key lighting at auto shows, exhibition booths and broadcast

UK - City Theatrical worked closely with UK specialist lighting contractor Howard Eaton to realize the demanding wireless DMX requirements for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

As well as using SHoW DMX Neo Transceivers and Receivers, the production marked the first use of the new D2 and D4 Dimmers.

Martin Chisnall, as well as being one of the show's production electricians, took on the role of wireless DMX consultant. He was brought on board by Howard Eaton Lighting to oversee the design and installation of the SHoW DMX Neo wireless DMX system.

Because of previous bad experiences with wireless DMX, the theatre had gained a reputation as a hostile environment in which to use radio DMX. Even before the theatre's previous show, Shrek, had closed, Chisnall conducted a 2.4GHz WiSpy survey onstage to discover what other competing wi

UK - Adding to the growing list of new exhibitors at PLASA this year is uTRAC, an online scheduler and workforce management software aimed at providers of short term labour onto projects in live events, security, hospitality and catering.

Born out of the event sector and launched to the market in January 2013, uTRAC is currently working with companies Aikens Promotions and Knight Rigging Services. The software has become integral to ensuring events runs smoothly, allowing clients to stay on top of the essential back office administration involved with assigning staff to jobs, greatly reducing errors and hassle. uTRAC streamlines all the financial and administrative functions including wages reports, client invoices, and business reporting.

Ronan Moore, managing director at uTRAC started out as crew member at Event Services Ireland (ESI) before launching uTRAC as an independent

Germany - The lighting department of the Bayerischen Staatsoper (Bavarian State Opera), under the direction of Michael Bauer, specified a new ETC Gio lighting control desk for their Open Air music festival in Munich.

The opening of this year's Opera Festival in Munich presented a spectacular opportunity: Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi and the Bavarian State Opera itself all celebrate their 200th birthday this year. As a result, the opera house staged Wagner vs Verdi, a playful contest in which the two great composers met each other as giant marionettes in the plaza outside the Bavarian State Opera house.

Cheered on by about 10,000 visitors, the 9.5m high internally lit futuristic figures were moved by cranes like puppets, while the faces of two actors were projected onto the faces - creating the dialogue between the two composers.

The 'contest' began around 10pm as it became

Denmark - The Roskilde Festival, which dates back to 1971, is the largest culture and music festival in Northern Europe. Each year it provides a remarkable musical fusion of up and coming artists mixed with famous international acts.

With 195 performing bands playing on eight stages over eight consecutive days, the event was high on anticipation, with audience pitching their tents to compete for the Camp of the Year.

Renowned international names such as Rihanna, Metallica, Volbeat, Queen of the Stone Age and Kraftwerk ensured that Roskilde Festival 2013 lived up to its reputation with regards to performance, while lighting designers and suppliers ensured maximum dynamics, to bring the best out of the performances.

Three of the stages - Odeon, Pavilion and Apollo - were awash with LED fixtures from SGM. This initially took shape when head of stage technology at Roskilde Festi

Canada - Motion Notion is an annual event which has moved around various venues in the Canadian western province of Alberta before setting up base at the Beaverfoot Lodge in Golden, BC two years ago.

Around 4,000 people turned up to the 2013 event, including DJ's and VJ's from across the Calgary and Edmonton areas. After around 15 years or so the event is finally getting the recognition it deserves, according to Steve Burak of EA Systems, who provided lighting for the main Temple stage.

Contracted by promoter James Katalyst for the first time, Burak himself took on LD duties, working alongside Calgary-based audio company, PK Sound. At the core of his inventory were 13 of PR Lighting's XPAR 348 LED heads. Containing 48 x 3W high quality RGBW LED's this unit's attributes include low noise, low maintenance, energy saving and a weight of just 9kg.

The fixtures endured an arduous

Germany - Berlin-based Complete Audio recently provided sound coverage for a capacity audience of 22,000 at Berlin's Waldbühne, situated in the Olympic Park.

The PA company has worked with the singer songwriter for the past two years, but MD André Rauhut admits that this one off show - a curtain raiser for next spring's tour and a launchpad for the artist's new record, Am Seidenen Faden (Hanging By A Thread) - was on an unprecedented scale.

Providing even pattern control within an amphitheatre is taxing at the best of times, but Complete Audio was able to deploy its Martin Audio MLA system with confidence, given their vast experience of the system and knowing that its sound control is second to none.

Commenting on the topography of the bowl, André Rauhut notes, "The hill itself is very steep; the distance from the downstage edge of the stage to the highes

USA - When lighting designer Scott Cunningham first saw SGM's XC-5 LED RGB strobes, designed into Taylor Swift's touring set by Baz Halpin, he knew he had to have them for fast emerging country duo Florida Georgia Line (FGL).

The duo, who broke through late last year with their single Cruise, had been doing some support dates on Swift's Red tour. Recalls Cunningham, "Steve Richards, who is out as LD on the Taylor tour, introduced me to the fixtures, and gave me the inside scoop." Having also watched the Beyoncé videos, showing heavy use of the X-5 (white strobe) he immediately became convinced by the technology.

But it was the colour function that he could envisage working on the FGL tour, and he wasted no time requisitioning six from Theatrical Media Services (TMS) of Omaha. Owing to supply and demand this was the maximum that could be accommodated in

Poland - Tommex Zebrowscy Sp. J. has recently completed the design and installation of a Community loudspeaker-based audio system for the Ztotnicza Sports Park.

Ztotnicza Sports Park is the most modern stadium in the city of Jelenia Góra in Lower Silesia, southwestern Poland. In addition to the floodlit football pitch, the stadium has an athletics track and is Class 4A PZLA certified for European championships. The stadium has a total seating capacity of over 3,600, with a main grandstand accommodating 1,558 people.

Jaros?aw Kraszewski of Tommex, the designer and project manager for the system, explained, "The sound system was required to cover the grandstand, ground seating and competition zones and for such large areas we naturally choose Community R-Series. Their all-weather durability, outstanding intelligibility and high efficiency combined with the wide range of co

Germany - Twenty thousand excited FC Union Berlin fans packed into their An der Alten Fösterei Stadium to watch a specially commissioned show to officially inaugurate their new grandstand.

The 20 minute spectacle was creatively directed by Gerald Ponesky and Uwe 'Leo' Auerswald for producers the Compact Team, a Berlin based event agency and followed a friendly match with Scottish giants, Glasgow Celtic. It featured a jaw-dropping visual / set design and lightshow concept created by Gerd Helinski from Berlin based HELICON-Media - featuring 60 Robe MMX WashBeams - together with a special soundtrack compiled by Mathias 'Matze' Mantzke.

It was a landmark moment for the legendary FC Union Berlin, popularly known as the Eisern Union (Iron Union). The club has a colourful and interesting history, an international cult following and a hugely devout and somewhat unconventional fanbase

UK - Miltec will be showing the production versions of their Mini-Map miniature LED screen. The Mini-Map is a miniature LED screen measuring 155mm x 155mm with 36 pixels and is controlled via DMX512. Two versions are available, one for touring and one for installation.

The touring version has a steel case, PowerCon in and out, 5-pin XLR in and out and an M10 mounting point. Optional extras include a hinged mounting bracket and a flush mounting adaptor for building into flat sets. The idea behind the product is to allow small and medium sized companies to produce effective pixel effects on a budget and using standard cabling.

Other pixelmap products on display (Stand F10) will include the 3D-Tube, the successful Batten2 LED batten and the EPW2 and EPW 3 moving heads, recently seen at Glastonbury.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Pearce Hire was involved in the recent launch of Princess Cruises' latest addition to their fleet - the Royal Princess.

The cruise ship's naming ceremony and christening took place in June in Southampton, and was the Duchess of Cambridge's last solo official engagement before the birth of Prince George in July.

Pearce Hire was contracted to provide all the production and show power for the event, including a pair of synchronised 300kVA sets for the audio, screen, lighting and requirements for outside broadcast from a significant press contingent.

Pearce Hire also supplied a 40kVA generator for the outside production offices and temporary workshops which were set up on site specifically for the ship's naming ceremony.

Security was of paramount importance given the VIP guest list, and security and late night working were all managed under tower-lights provided by Pearce

UK - Black Light now has one of the largest hire stocks of ETC LED lighting in the country. The company has recently invested in over 100 pieces of ETC's technically-sophisticated range which offers incredible performance, exceptional flexibility and low energy consumption.

"LED is the way forward," says Calder Sibbald, Black Light's head of hires. "We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible choice and the latest technology and we think that ETC's range offers an unbeatable combination of features."

The new additions to Black Light's stock include Source Four LED Lustr+ and Studio HD Profiles, Desire D60 Vivid, Desire D60 Lustr+ and Desire D40 Vivid luminaries.

"We bought some Lustr+ Profiles last year and they have been out on hire almost constantly ever since," says Sibbald. "We know that this range is perfect for

Sony Withdraws - Sony has dropped its sponsorship of the annual Radio Academy awards after 32 years. The ceremony, seen as the radio equivalent of the Baftas, has presented awards to the likes of Chris Evans, Sir Terry Wogan and Christian O'Connell. This year John Humphrys took home the journalism award for his grilling of former BBC boss George Entwistle over the Jimmy Savile scandal. Sony said it was time to "move on" but gave no other reason for its decision.

The organisers of the event said it would be renamed The Radio Academy Awards and that a new sponsor will be announced soon. Ben Cooper, chairman of the academy, said the ceremony would "continue to celebrate the very best of the UK radio industry". "It is now time for Sony to move on and focus on other areas of the business," said Chris Bowen, from Sony United Kingdom and Ireland. We wish T

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline