Germany - Philips Entertainment's four premier brands - Selecon, Showline, Strand Lighting, and Vari-Lite - will debut a raft of exciting new products at this year's Prolight + Sound - stand 11.0 D71..

Vari-Lite will debut the much anticipated feature rich VL4000 Spot luminaire. The VL4000 Spot represents the first in a new generation of Vari-Lite luminaires designed to provide designers, rental companies, venues and productions with luminaries that offer even more creative possibilities without compromise on quality. The VL4000 Spot includes all the tools required to create dynamic, artistic lighting for any application. Featuring low ambient noise, high lumen output, precision optics and a full feature set, the VL4000 Spot has been designed with high-expectation performance in m

USA - The Super Bowl Halftime Show always glitters, and Bruno Mars's stellar performance at Super Bowl XLVIII was no exception. This year 330 Clay Paky Sharpys and a dozen Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20s were on hand to illuminate the show.

Lighting designer Bob Barnhart opted to have "a more rock 'n roll vibe in the rig than the stylized, choreographed shows that we've seen in the past. Bruno wanted this to be more of a live rock show."

Barnhart was challenged to capture that rock 'n roll sensibility as well as prepare for winter weather conditions that might envelop the open-air MetLife stadium in New Jersey. "It was a question of what we could design that could survive severe weather," he says. "Another factor was the limitations of rigging positions in the building and how we could symmetrically lay out the rig. We had to cover as much of the full stad

France / UK - French loudspeaker systems manufacturer APG has announced the appointment of experienced pro audio professional Scott Fraser to head up APG's UK sales operation. "The fact of going direct will ensure that UK clients benefit from exactly the same support as customers in France, in addition to having access to a significant stock of demo equipment," say APG.

The move is indicative of APG's broader international strategy throughout the EMEA region. According to APG's VP global sales, Bruno Garros, the decision to go direct has been maturing for some time. "It is clearly the best solution for APG in the UK," he commented. "The traditional distribution model puts too many obstacles between us and the customer. We felt very strongly that the best way forward for us was to have a direct link into the UK with someone who is actually employed and tr

USA - Sacramento Production & Lighting (SPL) supplied both LED and discharge lighting gear from Elation Professional for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's State of the City address held at the historic Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on 12 February.

The 3800-seat multi-purpose venue is over 80 years old and after reopening in 1996 after a thorough renovation maintains all the charm of a building listed on the National Historic Register. SPL chose to light the historic stage, curtain and columns using Elation Platinum Wash ZFX Pro and Platinum Spot 15R Pro moving heads, as well as Elation Design LED Strips and Opti QA PAR lights.

"We are an Elation house primarily because of cost and road durability and used the Elation gear on the State of the City address to augment the venue's existing house lighting system that consisted of a front truss only," stated SPL's Dion Coo

USA - Audio-Technica microphones and headphones are used by SXSWfm, the dedicated online radio portal of the South By Southwest (SXSW) festival, which takes place each year in Austin, Texas.

This year's festival, which will be held 7-16 March, will encompass film, media, technology, and of course music, with over 1700 showcasing artists playing live. The channel is now live at www.sxswfm.com and currently features artists that have showcased during the SXSW's 27-year history and all other aspects of the festival.

"The goal of the channel is to reflect the wide spectrum of sounds you can hear when you attend the SXSW Music Festival," stated Kevin Connor, SXSWfm programming manager. "It's all kinds of music from all over the world. As the SXSW 2014 season progresses, we will be introducing you to the artists who will be joining us in Austin in March for five night

Mexico - Mexico City's Teatro Telcel is hosting the first Spanish adaptation of the musical Wicked, with a record-breaking 50,000 tickets sold in its first five weeks. As with eight other Wicked productions worldwide, renowned Broadway sound designer Tony Meola has chosen Meyer Sound as the audio foundation, this time including Mexico's first Constellation acoustic system.

"Constellation works amazingly well with amplified musicals in houses like Teatro Telcel," observes Meola. "Amplified sound in a dead acoustical environment makes it sound like the room doesn't have any dimension to it. But with Constellation, all of a sudden the sound is given dimension, and everything sounds much more real. I was surprised when I heard the effect, and I imagine it would be very welcome in many of the road houses where Wicked tours will play well into the future.&

The Netherlands - On the eve of the ISE in Amsterdam on 4 February, Bosch Communications Systems invited its international distribution partners to a distributors' meeting at which Kamil Swobodzinski, vice president sales communication EMEA, and his sales team were pleased to welcome to the Pakhuis de Zwijger more than 150 business partners from Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The agenda included an update on business developments, a look ahead to the coming year, and the unveiling of new products. An effective multimedia presentation was chosen this year as a means of introducing the latest innovations from Dynacord and Electro-Voice. Since the official launch of the new products is scheduled for the Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt in March, this part of the programme was followed with particularly keen attention.

Another highlight of the distributor meeting was the present

UK - Popular folk-punk singer Frank Turner has taken Europe by storm with an energetic arena tour featuring bold, atmospheric lighting controlled by Avolites' Sapphire Touch console.

Lighting designer Shaun Moore utilised the Sapphire Touch's dual wide screens and intuitive layout functionality to provide him with easy access to and integration of all the fixtures in the extensive rig.

"With the console giving the user full freedom to define the layout, I am able to create windows of fixture type, and then fixtures per song," says Moore. "This makes finding fixtures within the interface a breeze. Also, each song is programmed as a cue stack and there are no more than four faders per song, which is amazing as it makes running the show stress-free, allowing me to enjoy my work.

"I just love everything about the console. With each software update it makes my

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 - Describing UEP's equipment inventory as both "quirky" and "eclectic", Steve Butcher, founder of the technical event production company, can draw on many years' experience providing top-level support across premium lighting, sound and staging components.

He regularly reviews his hire stock to ensure it remains at the cutting edge and this month invested substantially in SGM's new generation of LED lighting effects, ordering substantial quantities of SP-6 SixPack pixel blinders, XC-5 RGB colour strobes and P-5 wash lights from SGM UK. UEP had barely taken delivery of the low-profile strobes before they were requisitioned for The BRIT Awards 2014 at the O2 Arena.

Having set up Universal Event Productions (UEP) back in 1998 and watched it rapidly develop, Steve Butcher can reflect on many high-end corporate projects featuring not only leading multinational

Germany - Robe Lighting is celebrating its 20th glorious year throughout 2014.

The company first made the pilgrimage to Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt in 1994 when there were seven full time employees.

That number has now grown to 470 who are engaged in manufacturing in the Czech Republic and sales and support teams in four wholly owned subsidiaries in the UK, USA, Singapore and Dubai.

Following several years as a successful OEM manufacturer, 'Robe' was launched as an own brand in 2002, and is now one of the world's leading moving light brands, distributed globally in over 90 countries.

Robe is once again using the Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt to showcase a raft of innovative new products.

LEDBeam 1000TM is a new strong and powerful fixture that will be launched at the show. It utilizes the latest LED technology and can be used as a beam or a wash light.

With flex

UK - The eyes of the music world were on London in mid-February as the annual BRIT Awards brought together many of pop music's brightest stars at the O2 Arena. Sennheiser was much in evidence, the high quality of the company's equipment and support ensuring that the RF-heavy show enjoyed crystal clear sound throughout.

The company's 9000 series digital microphone system was used at a BRITS ceremony for the first time, with host James Corden and all awards presenters using SKM 9000 handhelds with Me 9004 heads.

Broadcast live on television, the show featured performances by an array of stellar names, all of whom used Sennheiser 2000 series/G3 in-ear monitors.

Most also used Sennheiser microphones - Beyoncé and Katy Perry using custom SKM 5200s with MD 5235 heads, Bruno Mars an SKM 5200 with 5235 head, Bastille SKM 2000s with 965 heads, Rudimental SKM 2000s with 935 hea

UK - Already owners of an MLA System 30, Manchester-based VME Ltd have extended their commitment to Martin Audio's premier platform by investing in a further 28 x MLA, six MLD down-fills and 12 MLX subs - bringing their inventory up to 76 enclosures.

This not only gives them a powerful and award-winning front-line system with which to pitch for new business but positions them as the second largest MLA rental company in Europe.

Managing director Dion Davie said the new round of investment just before the turn of the year was the result of meeting increased broadcast requirements for Sky Sports and the prospect of a busy summer season. Large amounts of their stock have already been requisitioned for use at outdoor events this summer, including their own stately home classical concerts.

"We had so many big boxes going out and we wanted to remain self-contained," he sa

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd. have been appointed as the exclusive UK distributor for James Thomas Engineering (JTE) Ltd's innovative, retro-styled Patt 2013 tungsten-source softlight.

JTE and lighting designer, Tim Routledge, collaborated on the new project to create a range of vintage-look lighting fixtures with a modern twist. Combining old school aesthetics with a modern output and build quality, the JTE Patt 2013 is the first of this range to be released.

The fixture is a 750W tungsten softlight housed in a beautifully sleek spun aluminium body which maximises its curves to look as good on stage as the performers it illuminates. Taking inspiration for its appearance from vintage broadcast lighting, the JTE Patt 2013 is designed around an easily available, reliable, HPL dimmable light source.

Featuring a 550mm OD spun parabolic aluminium reflector, th

UK - Blackout used its draping expertise to transform Earls Court Two, making it match ready for the World Tennis Day Showdown, 3 March 2014.

Launched by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as part of its ongoing campaign to endorse the sport and increase participation, the second-ever World Tennis Day recreated history as iconic tennis pros including Andre Agassi vs. Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray, took to the court.

With sister events taking place simultaneously in New York and Hong Kong, this was the first time the event was held in the UK. The one day sporting spectacular also featured various interactive workshops and coaching sessions for guests to try out their tennis skills.

Working with long-term client Earls Court and event organisers Star Games, Blackout installed 2,500m2 of black wool serge drapes carefully shaped around the perimeter of th

Germany - Core Brands will showcase the latest innovations in its Furman line of power management products at Prolight+Sound. Exhibiting with Trius Vertrieb GmbH & Co. in Hall 8, Stand C40, Furman will display its new F1500-UPS E, PS-8R E III and an array of the company's 230V rackmountable Pro products.

As Furman's first BlueBOLT-compatible 220V-240V product, the F1500-UPS E uninterruptible power supply is specifically designed for A/V installations within EMEA countries. The battery backup and power conditioning device provides 1500VA of true sine wave battery backup to prevent data loss and allow the orderly shutdown of connected equipment in the event of a power outage.

Featuring Furman's advanced non-sacrificial SMP surge/spike protection circuit, Extreme Voltage Shutdown (EVS) and Linear Filtering Technology (LiFT), the F1500-UPS E provides professional-level protection,

The Netherlands - Lighting designer André Beekmans from Eindhoven, The Netherlands based creative lighting practice The Art of Light specified Robe Robin Pointes and Robin LEDBeam 100s to be a major visual feature of his stunning designs for the A State of Trance 650 (ASOT) event, staged at the Jaarbeurs, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Beekmans - who designs lighting for a number of superstar DJs including Armin van Buuren, Hardwell and Afrojack - is one of the best known designers in the Netherlands and has an imaginative and innovative approach to lighting EDM events and all the specialist aesthetics this genre requires. He has lit ASOT in multiple countries on every continent ... however, with Utrecht being on his own home turf, this required some extra special treatment!

Part of making the Utrecht show special for the 32,000 EDM fans who packed into the venue to i

USA - When Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Ben Rector embarked on a 34-date autumn tour of the USA to promote his The Walking in Between album, lighting designer Ryan Burton employed a Jands Vista S1 to provide portable yet powerful control.

Ryan's lighting concept for the tour was to create a warm and natural vibe, reflecting the feel of the songs, whilst contrasting with blasts of colour when the music reached more dynamic levels. To achieve this, Ryan specified a lighting rig including Martin MAC Auras, Thomas 8-Light Blinders and Altman 1500W 18" Scoops, all controlled by the Jands Vista S1 console connected to a MacBook Pro running the Vista v2 software.

"The Vista S1 is very flexible," says Ryan. "I really like the programming interface, which is intuitive and visual, as well as the controllability I get with the timeline. It makes it very e

USA - As all eyes were fixated on the actors who graced the stage of the 86th Annual Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre on Sunday night, audience's ears were tuned to the musical accompaniments of the show's orchestra, which performed remotely from Capitol Records.

Since the piano was positioned among the noisy percussion instruments, the show's orchestra mixer and orchestra setup coordinator needed a way to isolate its sound. To accomplish this for the piano, the duo used a combination of DPA Microphones' d:dicate 4011A Cardioid Microphones and d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones. He also positioned a pair of d:dicate 4011E Hanging Microphones for the orchestra's drum kit.

By using the combination of d:dicate 4011As and d:vote 4099s, the duo was able to close the lid of the Steinway Grand Piano, giving live and television audience members a full appreciation of the pristine i

USA - Multi-platinum recording artist Kip Winger has always had serious musical chops, as he demonstrated during his first high-profile gig, playing bass with Alice Cooper, and for six years fronting the glam-metal band Winger. But aside from occasional shows with the reformed Winger band, his fans most frequently see him at his solo acoustic shows, at which he often performs using an L1 Model II portable loudspeaker system, B2 bass module and T1 ToneMatch audio engine from Bose Professional Systems.

Winger generally takes only a single L1 system on the road for his solo acoustic shows. But he actually has two complete systems because he is also using a stereo L1 rig as studio monitors at his private home-based facility in Nashville.

Winger has long used Bose QC15 headphones during the final stage of mixing. "The last three records I've made, I'll mix my album and then th

Known for its wide range of entertainment, Leeds University Union operates three popular live rooms, including the 1200-capacity main Stylus as well as subsidiary Mine and Pulse (with respective capacities of 450 and 350).

Having installed a new sound system two years ago, it has always placed high priority on keeping its technical infrastructure at the cutting edge.

However, it was with their burgeoning hire business in mind that they recently purchased a Soundcraft Si Expression 2 mixing console, opting for the 24 mic input capacity in order to be able to service a range of events - from conferences to big warehouse dance parties - on both a wet- and dry-hire basis.

The purchasing decision was taken by LUU's technical manager, Sam Ryder, who joined the University last summer, and who was already familiar with the Soundcraft topology and operating system from his experience using

Poland - GigantSound Letus recently deployed a large number of Powersoft amplifiers to drive their JBL VerTec PA rig, at a special concert in Warsaw welcoming in 2014.

According to owner of the company, Jurek Taborowski, the concert, which was organized by Stoleczna Estrada, saw the sound specialists provide a system, driven by Powersoft K Series amplifiers, to satisfy an audience of 200,000 people on the square near Stadium Narodowy in Warsaw.

"We decided to use 64 Powersoft K10 amps to drive a 96 JBL Vertec cabinets (low, mid, high) and 32 Powersoft K20 amps which powered 88 (2 x 18") subs. That's a gigantic amount of power - but the concert was performed live, and the Square is a huge space.

"We knew that the 15-minute firework show would bring in a lot more people, so we had to have an adequate supply of power."

In the event around 200,000 people tu

Latest Issue. . .