UK - Wireless Solution Sweden AB is celebrating all things Sweden during PLASA 2014 on stand E50. On Monday, 6 October, the Wireless Solution Swedish vodka bar opens at 16:00. The party spreads to the White Light Zone, where there will be a Sweden theme celebration beginning at 17:00, complete with Swedish vodka, beer and snacks. Representatives from Wireless Solution and White Light will be on hand to display W-DMX products and answer questions.
On display in the Wireless Solution booth will be the new W-DMX UglyBox MK2. This is a new tool geared towards rental and installation companies but useful for anyone. The unit is built in a compact size with a 4.3" Touch LCD Screen and includes a transceiver solution for 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz and 5.8GHz. It is a complete unit for testing t
UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will treat guests to three nights of themed receptions during the annual PLASA Show this October, held at ExCel London.
Each evening event will focus on White Light exclusive manufacturers, offering food and drink to represent different regions around the world. The London based company is the exclusive UK distributor for several well known brands, providing a wide selection of quality lighting, effects, and AV equipment for B2B sales through its White Light Distribution Network.
Themed events will be held each evening on the White Light stand - F40 - which anchors the well-known White Light Zone. Drinks and refreshments will be served Sunday 5 October, Monday 6 October, and Tuesday 7 October from 5pm each day.
The themed receptions are sponsored by manufacturers Altman Lighting, ArKaos Pro, CORE Lighting, JB Lighting, Look
USA - The hip new $415m 1613 room SLS Las Vegas hotel opened in a blaze of glory on the former site of the Sahara - one of the city's iconic gaming culture landmarks - complete with a special gala event staged in the pool area, headlined by rapper Iggy Azalea and lit by Axis deBruyn.
Axis and his company AxisLights Inc. are based in Las Vegas and work worldwide on a variety of shows and events across all sectors. He was engaged for this launch event by production companies Caravents, Inc. & Lone Outpost, and asked to create an appropriate lighting production design for the occasion.
The brief was to replicate the ambience of an A-list celebrity event with a hot nightclub feel for the 700 invited guests. Challenges included having to make last minute adjustments in the rig to deal with a changing line-up, and contending with searing temperatures of over 100 degrees in the outdo
UK - POLARaudio has announced that it has secured the exclusive distribution of MIPRO products in the UK. Established in 1995 in Taiwan, MIPRO has grown to become a major force in the manufacture of portable wireless PA and wireless radio microphone systems, both of which offer a wealth of possibilities to the education, sport and fitness and ecclesiastical sectors.
Key features of the MIPRO portable PA range include internal CD, USB and SD drives, with single and multiple receiver options available. Crafted with superb audio performance, easy portability and robust finish, the range can be applied to almost any indoor or outdoor gathering from a school hall to a street performance.
MIPRO's comprehensive range of analogue and digital radio microphone systems also possesses a wealth of innovative features, such as Auto Scan, ACT Synchronisation and interchangeable microphone ca
USA - With the opening of a thoroughly refurbished 1907-vintage Union Garage Building facility, the Los Angeles College of Music (LACM) in Pasadena, California, wanted to provide its students with a state-of-the-art live performance environment. The school's recent expansion includes new programmes and majors for students, new celebrity faculty, and an exclusive Let's Talk Music Series which provides students with on-on-one access to top professional musicians.
With ongoing performances from students, faculty, and alumni, the college needed a modern performance, rehearsal and event space more than ever. To meet the combined needs of excellent sound quality, ease of use, and cutting-edge technology at a reasonable price, the school chose a Line 6 PA system.
LACM executive vice president of academic operations Mike Packer, who also happens to be a drummer and an instructo
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.
Spain - D.A.S. Audio's YouTube channel has exceeded the impressive million-view milestone in recent weeks. The channel, created by the company in 2010, shares an extensive selection of videos on D.A.S. products, the company's manufacturing processes, D.A.S. seminars held worldwide, spectacular system set-ups at major international festivals and other company-related information.
The official D.A.S. Audio channel, DASAudioSpain, also boasts over 3,600 loyal subscribers who regularly receive the new videos the company uploads. D.A.S. Audio has invested heavily in promoting its YouTube channel, well aware that the massive popularity of social media in recent years makes the platform a tool for companies to publicize their technical, commercial and marketing news.
The extensive range of videos is available to both subscribers and the general public and is divided into various sect
USA - ETC's Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaire introduced an entirely new way of thinking about colour and LED light. Now ETC is stepping up the quality of broadcast lighting, by introducing two new Source Four LED Series 2 arrays: Daylight HD for variable cool (4000 to 6500K) light and Tungsten HD for adjustable warm (2700 to 4500K) light.
The Source Four LED Series 2 Daylight HD and Tungsten HD luminaires include special features that make them suitable for on-camera use. They operate flicker free, even at high speeds, so they won't be noticeable while filming. And the luminaires work quietly and dim smoothly, so they won't disrupt the action on the set.
ETC has spent a lot of time researching and experimenting with LED colour, creating luminaires with the richest, brightest and broadest colour ranges. The Source Four LED Series 2 Daylight HD and Tungsten HD arrays ben
featured content
Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal
Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.
With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.
USA - At this year's AES show in Los Angeles, Lawo will debut its newest mc² series console. The mc²36 is an all-in-one mixing desk, with a comprehensive feature set that covers broadcast, theatre, house of worship, live and install applications.
Along with uncompromised sound quality and Lawo-grade mic preamps, it offers unprecedented value for money, says the company. The console comes completely self-contained including a powerful DSP processing core and all I/O connections and is available in 16, 24 and 40 fader configurations.
Ease of use is paramount, with large touchscreen displays that provide instant, touch triggered pop-up menus for fast access to all mixing and routing parameters. Natively equipped with RAVENNA/AES67 technology, the mc²36 integrates seamlessly into IP infrastructures.
Rear panel connections provide 32 mic/line in, 32 line out on XLRs, eight AES
USA - The new Platinum SBX from Elation Professional is an innovative, full-featured three-in-one luminaire with patent-pending dual optical system that has flexible use as a spot, beam, or wash fixture. Designed for a wide variety of professional stage and special event applications, it does the work of three luminaires in one.
The Platinum SBX uses an MSD Platinum 17RA lamp co-developed by Philips and Elation. Building on the success of the Platinum 5R lamp, which Elation has used previously in both spot and beam fixtures, the company has sought to keep the same arc gap to maintain the same quality and crisp sharp optics while generating more power.
Advances in optical design have resulted in higher performing, more versatile optical systems that offer several advantages over traditional systems. "We knew there would only be one way to get the optimum performance out of
UK - London-based White Light has added to its inventory of SGM's new generation of task specific LED products by making its first investment in the award-winning G-Spot platform.
The fixture, which picked up a PLASA Innovation Award soon after its launch, is the only IP65-rated LED spot on the market, and boasts enviable functionality and luminous output from an 850W high power RGBY LED light source.
White Light hire & technical director, Dave Isherwood, whose company last year became the first UK customer for the P-5 washlight, says, "We've been considering G-Spot for some time, and have been talking regularly to Ian Kirby at SGM UK.
"Because G-Spots function outdoors, and are incredibly bright and crisp, we could see the potential both for our own work and for cross-hire/sub-rentals. We decided to make the investment and promptly picked up three jobs in quick su
UK - Holo-Gauze, the 3D display solution from Holotronica Ltd, made its West End debut in September as part of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, a spectacular new staging of the traditional masterpiece. Premiering at the London Palladium with an exclusive and limited run starting on 3 September, ahead of a world tour,
Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games boasts serious holographic effects from Holo-Gauze, including a dance battle featuring a holographic triptych of Michael Flatley.
Other effects utilising Holo-Gauze include fire, burning trees, sunbeams, an exploding clock, giant floating head and The Matrix-style text appearing to float in front of performers. Holo-Gauze will be utilised for the duration of the world tour, with the producers looking into new and different ways of deploying the metallic, highly transparent gauze throughout the r
UK - Hoist UK have recently completed a full LEEA audit, and have been granted full membership of LEEA (Lifting Equipment Engineers Association) effective from 1 August 2014.
LEEA is the leading representative body for all those involved in the lifting industry worldwide, and has played a key role in this specialised field for over seventy years offering members advice and training on standards, regulations and health and safety within the lifting equipment profession.
"Becoming full LEEA members marks another step towards our commitment to the safety and training of our employees and assuring customers that they are our top priority, this goes hand in hand with our most recent accreditations in quality management (ISO: 9001) and environmental management (ISO: 14001)," says Louise Dickson general manager of Hoist UK.
Canada - Corey Hart hung up his sunglasses for good at an emotional sold-out farewell concert for 13,500 hometown fans at Montreal's Bell Centre, supported by an SSL Live console at front of house. A 1980s star, Hart has had nine consecutive Top 40 hits, with Sunglasses at Night being his most recognizable. Outfitted with sound services by Solotech in Canada, it was another local Montreal hero, Denis Savage, who mixed the show and the week-long rehearsal.
For Hart's Farewell concert, the band consisted of two guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, percussion, saxophone and backing vocals, plus a few guests. Since Hart hadn't performed live in almost a decade, the group spent a week in rehearsals to guarantee he gave audiences the show of a lifetime.
"I recorded the rehearsals in multi-track, so I had two Pro Tools® rigs," explains Savage, a long-time SSL user wh
UK - The 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was another great success for Black Light, with the company supplying over 700 light fixtures, 16.5 miles of cables and one kilometer of fairy lights to the Pleasance Theatre.
During the Fringe, which ran for three weeks during August, Black Light not only supplied the Pleasance with lighting equipment and staging, it also provided all Dancebase venues with lighting and rigging and provided staging to C Venues.
"2014 has seen yet another successful year working with Black Light as our lighting and staging supplier," said Matt Britten, technical operations manager for Pleasance Theatre. "They fulfilled all of our requirements, some of which were very last minute, on time and in good humour. Supporting two sites and 23 temporary venues for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is no small feat, and Black Light proved
USA - Tom Kenny specified over 500 Robe moving lights for the popular 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival, staged in the 15,000 capacity Ballroom of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for two consecutive days.
With a glittering line up of stars - Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Usher, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, Bastille and many, many more including some show-stopping collaborations, the high profile spectacle was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and broadcast live on over 150 iHeartMedia radio stations across the country.
It was also video streamed live over the internet reaching an estimated 2.5 billion additional viewers ... with edited highlights aired as a special two night exclusive on the US's CW network a week later.
It was the first year that Kenny was available to create a production lighting design for the event, for which he also designed the set based on classic
UK - The Chroma-Q range of premium performance solutions is designed and built to exacting standards in North America, and has been adopted by many leading designers and specifiers for some of today's most demanding and prestigious lighting applications - including opera, theatre, TV, venues, touring, events, or other sectors. As a result of this, the brand has received awards from several industry associations.
Chroma-Q's PLASA London stand (P60) will feature models from their LED lighting ranges illuminating various surfaces to demonstrate the LED brand's premium performance and precise theatrical grade dimming.
Making its show debut is the new Chroma-Q Color One 100 LED Par, which features an innovative fully homogenised beam virtually eliminating the colour separation and shadows synonymous with LED lighting - delivering above Par performance from one source.
USA - Audinate, inventor of the market leading digital media networking solution Dante, will be the talk of many at this year's 137th International AES Convention in Los Angeles, says the company.
Audinate is conducting multiple educational workshops on basic IT principles for audio networks. Landon Gentry, director of global support services for Audinate, will be kicking off the Networked Audio Track Thursday October 9, at 9:00 in room 404AB, with a Primer on Fundamental Concepts of Media Networking. This session will cover an overview of the OSI model and how data travels through network layers (a "networking stack"); Layers 1, 2, 3 and 4; Cables, MAC Addresses, IP Addresses, and networking protocols. Landon will also include an introduction to IP data networking as well as a brief discussion of IP networking standards and protocols that can be leveraged for m
UK / USA - With effect from 1 September, SGM has appointed Filippo Frigeri as senior area sales manager of the United Kingdom and the United States.
The many activities in both UK and US has called upon a further strengthening of the sales force to maintain the high level of service and support for SGM clients.
Frigeri has eight years of industry experience working with business development and international sales with a profound insight into, and understanding of exactly these markets, assisting him in expanding the company's product reach. His European roots, combined with a complete US college education, provide a cultural background that makes him the perfect link for the Danish company to reach out to its growing market.
Frigeri says, "It is exciting to join one of the fastest growing companies in the entertainment lighting industry. SGM is investing highly in prod
USA - Located in Palm Beach County, the 19,000-capacity Cruzan Amphitheatre is South Florida's premier open-air concert venue. Managed by Live Nation, which presents approximately 30 productions annually at the venue, Cruzan recently installed 24 L-Acoustics KARAi loudspeaker enclosures to deliver improved audio coverage to its lawn, which seats 12,000 concertgoers.
"With modern long-throw line arrays, the nature of the delay system has changed," says Andre Serafini, owner of Miami Gardens-based Beachsound & Lighting, Inc., which designed and installed the new system. "Most touring engineers will use their own main production PA to cover at least a portion of the lawn area at an amphitheater like this, so the 'delay' system has become more of a 'relay' system, complementing and extending the performance of the main PA.
UK - Young lighting designer Elliot Griggs is named as the inaugural winner of the New Talent in Entertainment Lighting Design competition.
In May 2014 the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, in conjunction with the Association of Lighting Designers, announced the creation of an annual award as part of their support for education and training in the field of entertainment lighting, for those Lighting Designers who are at the start of their career.
The first winner of the prize is Elliot Griggs who will be presented with his prize at PLASA London 2014. He will also be invited to attend one of the Lightmongers' dinners where award recipients are acknowledged.
The judging panel of professional theatre lighting designers was impressed by the overall quality of the work submitted by all of the entrants, but Elliot was chosen as the unanimous winner.
Worldwide - This year sees Philips Strand Lighting celebrate its 100th birthday with festivities at PLASA London this October, including a cocktail hour at the special Strand Lighting bar on the Philips Entertainment stand.
"All are welcome to enjoy exclusive celebratory cocktails and nibbles every day at 5pm, alongside some very special VIP guests. So make sure to join in raising a glass or two to a century of lighting innovation!"
It's undeniable that Philips Strand Lighting's 100-year milestone is a momentous occasion as since inception in 1914, Strand Lighting and its product family has continuously evolved, playing a significant role in shaping the century's entertainment lighting and lighting control technology landscape.
The company's founders, Arthur Earnshaw and Philip Sheridan, were two private electricians who unwittingly established themselves as the fo