UAE - Dubai-based production supplier Protec supplied HQ Creative with lighting, video and rigging for the opening ceremony of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament 2015, held at NAS Sports Complex on 21 June.

The event was created using two d3 4X4 Pro servers which created the mask, blend and warp for the custom made screens as well as integrating the use of primarily Clay Paky lighting fixtures which included 24 Clay Paky Mythos and 14 Clay Paky K10 B-eye, working together alongside eight Sharpys, seven Sharpy Wash 330s and eight Super Sharpys.

The venue had to function as a sports arena post show, so the design had to take this into account, staying out of the way of overhead house lighting as not to form shadows for the TV sports broadcast and not interfere with the games being

UK - When lighting designer Owen Pritchard-Smith from Spirit Design was tasked with the light setting for Nobel Biocare's stand at EuroPerio 2015 in ExCeL London, he met a challenge that led him to test out many different fixtures on the market.

The design and production of the exhibition stand was carried out by Andreas Messerli AG. As part of their stand design, three light boxes were hung from the ceiling. With open top, the boxes were on all other sides covered with white fabric. They were to be lit from above with enough light to travel through the fabric to create an up-lit bar environment underneath.

Owen Pritchard-Smith explains: "With only a metre or so between the truss and the fabric, I needed to find a fixture with a very wide beam angle, and little or no hot spot. It also needed to be bright enough to fight against the general lighting in ExCeL and the MSR PA

Malaysia - Sixteen-time Grammy Award winner David Foster was the star turn at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands, the most prestigious performance venue in Malaysia, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. For the concert, Nexo sent a technical team to the Genting resort to provide a complete review and recalibration of the Arena's installed Geo T line array system.

The Hitman David Foster & Friends Asia Tour 2015 dropped into Resorts World Genting for a spectacular concert. Top vocalists performing with producer, songwriter and musician David Foster included Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera, Boyz II Men and Ruben Studdard, a demanding line-up for the house PA system in the Arena of Stars.

System specialist Mark Bollenberg worked with Nexo's Malaysian distributor Concept Audio to implement improvements to the Geo T sound reinforcement system, installed four years ago. The la

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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. 

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USA - PLASA has announced that Steve Terry will receive its highest honour, the Eva Swan Award, which recognizes exceptional long-term commitment to the association. The award will be presented at PLASA's Annual General Meeting on Thursday, 22 October, from 2:30pm-4:30pm at the Westgate Las Vegas Casino and Resort.

Steve, vice president of research and development at Electronic Theatre Controls (ETC), has made a significant impact on the Association during his many years of service with the Technical Standards Program, the Entertainment Technician Certification Program, the ESTA Board of Directors and the PLASA Governing Body.

Steve's unparalleled contributions to the lighting industry include leading the team responsible for the development of the original USITT standard for DMX512 and the formation of the original ESTA Technical Standards Program. He was a founding member of

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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.
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USA - Italian lighting manufacturer, Novalight, has introduced its latest moving light fixture - the NovaScope; now sold, supported, and serviced in North America by the entertainment equipment distribution company DNJ Pro.

Novalight's Nova-Scope is a weatherproof aerial effect light that can withstand all weather conditions. Using the HTI 2000W/D7/60 lamp combined with a different approach to reflector setup, the Nova-Scope provides a high output light, delivering stunning aerial effects.

This large scale effect light, while best suited for the largest entertainment environments, is still suitable for all forms of live performance, says the company.

The Novalight Nova-Scope can tolerate the harshest of production environments. The fixture boasts a seven option gobo wheel, a kaleido wheel effect, shutter, dimmer, and strobe effects, six colours, white, and CMY colour mixing,

Germany - Absen has announced that it reached a milestone of 5,000 X5 LED panels sold worldwide, less than six months after its first release at ISE2015.

"We are thrilled about the rapid global adoption of the X5 by the rental staging industry," commented Bluesking Zhao, global marketing and product promotion manager at Absen. "Despite a challenging economic climate in China, sales of X5 further boosted our performance this year, and the next six months look very promising."

Asia Pacific and Europe were two prominent regions to adopt the cable-less 4K LED solution which is equally suitable for indoor and outdoor applications. While the biggest sale was made in Malaysia with a staggering 500m², the 5.2mm pixel pitch panel was welcomed to much acclaim in many European countries including Germany, France, Spain, Ireland and Luxembourg.

With 560 cabinets sol

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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.

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UK - PSCo, the trade only AV distributor and rental specialist, is showcasing the latest innovations from its leading manufacturer partners at PLASA London 2015. Visitors will be able to view PSCo's must-see 3-2-1mm LED line-up of Absen products on its 70m² stand, alongside innovative LCD displays including the new Samsung High Bright and video wall displays, and the stunning new Samsung 105" display - the largest professional display available in the world.

"Following the success of last year's PLASA, we are excited to be showcasing so many new technologies from our rental and sales portfolio for system integrators and live events partners," says Stuart Holmes, managing director of PSCo. "We will have new technologies across multiple platforms, including our new LED display technology, our Ultra Large Format displays, as well as our Video Walls.

"PLA

USA - When frequent and heavy storms hit Texas recently, causing flooding and widespread damage across the Lone Star state, Omar Dawoud, promoter at live music venue, The Marc in San Marcos, felt he needed to do his part to help the community. So he organised Band Together Texas, booking headliner Blue October - with all proceeds going to the United Way of Hays County Flood Disaster Recovery Fund.

In order to provide relief as quickly as possible, the event came together in short order, and Dawoud called on Colorwave Lighting and other rental houses for gear. Colorwave Lighting owner Erik Johnson didn't hesitate to volunteer his equipment, made up of PR Lighting fixtures, for the charity event. "When Omar asked if we would want to be a part of this it was a no brainer," he stated.

The company provided an inventory to The Marc's house lighting designer Alex Soto, know

World - It's an old truism that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. It's also true that Yamaha digital consoles rarely go wrong, which is one reason why Steve Weall, monitor engineer for Jungle and Crystal Fighters, has stuck with Yamaha throughout his career. He has spent much of 2015 touring the world with Jungle, a journey which included stepping up to the CL5.

Steve has enjoyed a progressive journey through virtually the whole range of Yamaha digital consoles, starting in 2007 when he manned an 01v96 mixing small shows and events for a local PA company. This was followed by mixing monitors for alt-rock duo Blood Red Shoes on an LS9-16.

"I used the LS9 on well over 100 shows, pushing the console's i/o and capabilities to their limits," he says.

In 2013 Steve moved to the M7CL for monitor duties with Crystal Fighters and has also frequently used PM5Ds at fly-in sh

USA - Focus on the Family, one of the largest Christian ministries in the US, put out a request for bid to upgrade the lighting system in its Chapelteria, a 750-seat large multi-functional conference and event space at its headquarter campus in Colorado Springs. Focus on the Family's AV team had a set of lighting products in mind and worked with Ben Gleason of LVW Electronics, the local systems solutions provider that won the contract, to ensure their needs were met.

LVW reached out to Elation lighting who in turn put them in touch with Jay Cid of Professional Sound and Lighting Products, who was integral in determining the best Elation lighting products for the space. In response, a turn-key solution was created that provided Focus with an outstanding and cost effective lighting system.

Ken Toal, Focus on the Family's audio visual services manager, recently reflected on the p

USA - A small spec on the map in the western part of America's 46th most populous state is hardly the type of place where one would expect to encounter a traffic jam. However, anyone who journeys to little Sturgis, South Dakota (population 6,900) during the first week of August will find that every street has been turned into a virtual parking lot, not of cars, but of motorcycles.

From 3-9 August this year, Sturgis was transformed into America's eleventh biggest city, ahead of such stalwarts as San Francisco and Boston, as an estimated 1m bikers and friends descended on the town for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. At the centre of it all was a Sturgis landmark, The Knuckle Saloon, decked out for the occasion with a lightshow that featured close to 40 fixtures from Chauvet Professional supplied by Blue Seed Entertainment.

Erich Meitzner, the lighting director for the Casey Donahe

USA - A long-established major player in the cable TV, internet and phone services sectors in the US, Comcast recently decided to create a new showcase store in Chicago. To ensure that the audio processing and distribution for the multi-zone outlet was of the highest possible quality, Comcast enlisted the services of New Jersey-based design and integration firm Diversified Media Group.

Among the priorities for the system design was to enable flexible signal processing and distribution throughout the Comcast store, which incorporates three 'studio' spaces devised to showcase Comcast services including cable TV and OTT (over-the-top) content. "The client was very specific about being able to switch sources quickly and easily, and as a long-time Symetrix user we were aware that their DSPs could provide the basis of a sufficiently robust system," says DMG senior systems en

Austria / UK - The high-performance AV Stumpfl SC Master from Austria's AV Stumpfl acts as a central control system inside 4D theatres delivered to clients worldwide by Simworx.

"We are using SC Master to control show effects and ride functions such as seat drops, air blasts, water blasts and special effects, many of which run simultaneously and involve live audience interaction. SC Master runs independently of the system, so doesn't rely on software. It is purely engineered, bullet proof in design, and is robust," explains Andy Bates, project delivery manager at Simworx.

Simworx deployed SC Master Controller at Angry Birds The 4D Experience, the centrepiece of a new, 4,000sq.m Angry Birds Zone at Thorpe Park, UK. Owned and operated by Merlin Entertainments, the experience captures the fun of and humour of one of the world's most iconic games. The family frien

China - The first Infinity Summer Festival took place on 8 August in Shanghai, being the first interactive carnival themed music festival there. The festival was EDM oriented, with a lot of house and trance music.

The laser show was a central visual element of the event, so the organizers decided to go for high end laser gear from Swiss and German manufacturers. Ten SwissLas PM-10.000RGB lasers as well as six RTI PIKO RGB 18 were used to make this festival more than spectacular.

This whole laser setup had an overall laser power of more than 200W laser power and worked well with the video walls and conventional lighting, as the power was more than sufficient to cover the whole festival area.

Featured artists included Roger Shah, Dzeko & Torres, Alvaro, Genix and Ben Nicky.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Production Resource Group (PRG), the world's leading provider of entertainment and event technology solutions, today announced it will extend its branding in Germany and the UK to integrate the brand of the recently acquired XL Video Group. The integrated companies will be known as PRG XL Video for a transition period while the operations are being merged.

PRG will continue to use its brand name in all other countries across Europe and North America. XL Video teams in those territories will be immediately transitioned into the PRG family.

"Part of our decision to acquire XL Video was the premier value of its brand in many of our markets," said Jeremiah J. Harris, PRG's Chairman and CEO. "We recognize that the XL Video name and logo are synonymous with outstanding quality, customer service, and technical expertise in some of our territories, equal to that o

Canada - Toronto-based contemporary dance company, Ballet Creole, marked its 25th anniversary with many events and performances, including their annual spring season at Harbourfront Centre's Fleck Dance Theatre. A.C.T Lighting, Inc., the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky fixtures in North America, helped lighting designer Brad Trenaman obtain a complement of Alpha Spot QWO 800s, which were not yet available from local rental houses. Trenaman also deployed Clay Paky A.leda Wash K10 and K20 fixtures during the season.

Ballet Creole's spring season featured world premieres of Agua Como Vida, Myth of Atlantis and Reflekson. It also included a remount of the company's very first piece, Fete.

"The theme for this year's season was water," says Trenaman, who has been with the company for just over half of its 25 years. "So I wanted a fixture

Israel - High profile Israeli rental company KolOr Eli - based in Ceasaria and owned by Linda and Eli Avitan - are delighted with their investment in Robe BMFL Spots, 14 of which were supplied by Robe's Israeli distributor, Danor Theatre & Studio Systems.

The BMFLs were the company's first Robe purchase. However via Danor Rental, they have regularly used different Robe products over the last two years, all of which helped in making the decision to choose BMFLs when seeking a powerful and versatile multi-purpose light source.

KolOr Eli was founded as a lighting and sound specialist in 1988 by Linda and Eli and with business booming, a few years later became a limited company. By this time they had a well-established client base and were looking after the technical requirements of several major artists including vocalist Shlomi Shabat, band Caveret and singer Gidi Gov.

"W

Asia - New dates and locations have been announced for Nexo's ETC training seminars, which are open to all interested engineers, system integrators and contractors. The confirmed dates are: Singapore 7-8 October; Japan 26-27 October and Vietnam 29-30 October.

ETC 2-day seminars progress from theoretical classes in general acoustics, line array theory and the case for point-source systems, to practical hands-on training with Nexo's different line arrays. Designed to help engineers and technicians achieve optimum performance from Nexo systems, the programme includes an in-depth look at networking and control software.

Anyone who would like to attend can contact their national Nexo distributor, or email training@nexo.fr for a full agenda and location details.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Colour Sound Experiment has provided lighting kit to LD Alan King for his illumination of the castle at the antithetical theme park wonderland of Dismaland, a temporary, pop-up art intervention that turns the safety of simulacrum on its head - at the site of Tropicana, a derelict seafront lido in Weston Super Mare, UK . The experience is curated by graffiti artist and provocateur, Banksy.

The mangled, rusting, mean, grimy steelwork of the castle is a sinister visual centrepiece for the dystopian experiment, and has been constructed by art collective Block 9, known for their detailed, raw, edgy urban environments created at festivals and music events.

Alan regularly lights Block 9's scenic spaces, so they invited him to add some special hard treatment to their version of the sacred saccharinity of Anaheim's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

In keeping with the mean overall spirit

Germany - The Domicil jazz club in Dortmund is regularly listed in the top 100 jazz venues in the world by New York jazz magazine, Download. It recently hosted two sold-out evenings to experience a live CD recording and video production for two young jazz bands: the six-piece instrumentalists, Filou who describe their music as a fusion between funk, jazz and hiphop, and the groovy string trio, Duck Tape Ticket whose trademark is jazz improvisation.

Producer Julian David took the very deliberate decision to ditch the PA in favour of wireless headphones in order to provide a completely immersive experience for the audience as well as the best possible conditions for audio capture and recording. The event was supported by DirectOut who provided much of the equipment to make the event possible.

In total, DirectOut supplied two Andiamo.MC microphone amplifiers, five B

South Africa - Established in 2010 by Brian Chigwendere, rental company Puredeal is making waves in the entertainment industry and have taken ownership of a new Avolites Tiger Touch II to keep up with demand.

"We started off with an Avolites Titan One," says Chigwendere. He started the company after working at Gearhouse South Africa for eight years. "When I left I had a month's salary and my garage from which I operated," he says.

Hard work and good service has seen Puredeal grow in reputation and earlier this year saw Kgomotso Malbye join the team. "We were the first black rental company to do work at Vodaworld," commented Kgomotso Malbye.

The Avolites Tiger Touch II was purchased from Schalk Botha at DWR Distribution.

(Jim Evans)

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