UK - Ambersphere Solutions has announced that Doug Kelly and Caz Williamson have joined its expanding team. Doug joins as in-house service engineer with a wealth of experience from working over two decades with some of the UK's leading major rental companies. Caz, a Rose Bruford graduate with seven years of production experience, is the new office administrator. Both be based at the new Ambersphere office, training and service facility in Park Royal, West London.

"Our company mantra is about ensuring that our customers benefit from total support from our team to complement the quality MA Lighting and Clay Paky products we exclusively represent in the UK', states Glyn O'Donoghue, managing director.

"The appointment of Caz and Doug reflects this by committing the right people to the right jobs, and utilising their superior industry experience. This begins at the point

USA - Once again this holiday season, El Paso is lighting up with a colossal synchronised Christmas light show that features products from Elation Professional. But this year, thanks to a new and extra bright addition to the lighting extravaganza - Elation's Platinum Beam 5R - the city of El Paso actually required 'search light' permits.

The block-long display at the home of Fred Loya, has become a holiday tradition in the west Texas town, with over 4,000 people gathering each weekend during the month of December to enjoy the lights of the massive Christmas show as they flash, chase and change colours in synchronisation to popular songs of the season.

This year's display is bigger and better than ever, featuring 12 Platinum Beam 5Rs, an extreme ACL beam effect powered by the new Philips MSD Platinum 5R lamp that blasts out the tight, narrow focus and ultra-brightness of a clas

Canada - W-DMX by Wireless Solution was one of the players at the 99th Grey Cup, the prestigious Canadian football game between the East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the West Division champion BC Lions to decide the champion of the Canadian Football League in the 2011 season. The game was held on Sunday, 27 November at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver in front of a live audience of 54,313.

The Pepsi Max Halftime Show was performed by the Vancouver-based rock band Nickleback, playing songs off their albums All The Right Reasons, Dark Horse, and Here and Now. The halftime show was produced by Patrick Roberge of Patrick Roberge Productions, alongside production designer Robert Sondergaard and TV lighting director Jason McKinnon of Electric Aura. System engineer was Jason Bolger and production electricians were Charles Arrata, Corey Proulx, an

UK - Adlib supplied a full technical production package of sound, lighting, AV, staging and crew for the recent John Barrowman tour.

It's the fourth JB tour that Adlib has supplied. Having the resources and flexibility to offer all the technical elements in a single source operation enabled a very cost-efficient package to be tailored to the client for the successful six weeks of sold out shows around the UK.

FOH engineer Walter Jaquiss once again specified a Coda Audio LA12 system, following its performance on the last tour. Systems tech Kenny Perrin explains that their standard configuration was 12 x LA12 cabinets per-side with a variable amount of LA8 down-fills.

For subs, they used two sensor controlled Coda SCPs per side for the standard set up, boosted to four columns of two SCPs along the front of the stage for the arenas. The in-fills were normally four LA8 speakers.

UK - After its successful debut last year, Brighton's Royal Pavilion Real Ice Rink and Restaurant is back. Once again Brighton-based lighting design and hire company, TSL lit the rink, café bar and skate hire tents.

Lighting designer and managing director of TSL, Sam Tamplin, chose to use the Philips Selecon range of conventional luminaires to deliver a festive atmosphere to this historic setting.

Viewed by many as the most romantic and beautiful backdrop for an ice rink in the country, Brighton Pavilion is evocatively lit with 'arctic' blues and deep 'ice' greens complemented by tinges of 'sunset' lilac and pink. In contrast, the 'après ice bar's comfortable leather Chesterfields and rustic seating arrangements are lit in 'candle- light' open white and 'fire ember' reds and ambers.

Tamplin is using a combination of Rama and Acclaim luminaires to create the intimate

UK - Manchester- based lighting rental company dbn is again supplying lighting and LED screen to The Warehouse Project (WHP) which is in its last season at the Store Street Car Park below Piccadilly Station in the city centre, before moving to a new location.

It's the fifth year that dbn has supplied lighting, visuals equipment and design services to WHP, which operates every Friday and Saturday night from the start of the new university terms in late September to New Years Day, and this year, it is being managed for dbn by Chris Phillips.

Three trusses are installed over the stage in the main room to facilitate lighting positions, together with four more trusses over the audience/dancefloor. The space is arched with a decent nearly 7m height in the centre, dropping to around 5m at the edges, so the trusses are placed to maximise and accentuate the shape of the room.

The eve

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment, LED video screens and crew to the recent UK leg of the Chase & Status No More Idols tour, where Neil Carson's high energy lighting was much appreciated.

Carson has worked for Chase & Status for the last two years. The band shares the same management team as Pendulum, another artist to whom HSL provides lighting.

However, this is the first time Carson has used HSL to supply both lighting and video - a process likely to happen increasing frequently following a recent major investment in Martin EC10 and EC20 LED screen product. "It makes things very straightforward dealing with one source for all these elements," says Carson.

The Chase & Status project was managed for HSL by Mike Oates, who says: "We always enjoy working with Neil. He has great imagination and flare and the Chase & S

UK - Nick Gray of Renegade has blended "cool, contemporary and classic" in a massive lighting and set design for Kasabian's Velociraptor! world tour, which is currently playing UK arenas, with a large, no-compromise, full-on rock aesthetic to the delight of fans.

Gray is known as one of the most innovative 'new generation' UK visual designers whose work is intelligent and original. On this he collaborated closely on the stage look with the band's creative director Aitor Throup, who also designs the stage clothes through to the merchandise on sale, ensuring a creative - but flexible - coherence.

The stage design is highly architectural. Upstage is a massive ellipsoidal shaped LED dome, which is made up of nearly 100sq.m of BT-12, a 12mm LED screen product which has been custom manufactured for suppliers Colour Sound Experiment.

In front of this is an impressi

UK - Ambersphere Solutions is hosting a festive office-warming celebration at its brand new premises in Park Royal - having enjoyed an impressive first three months of business since changing its name from MA Lighting UK, the company reports.

The 'Open-House' will be on Tuesday 20 December from 2-8pm and Glyn, Philip, Chris, David, Caz and Doug would like to welcome you for a glass or two, a mince pie and some festive banter with industry colleagues. Come and meet the new team and see their fabulous new facilities. The Ambersphere team also hints there may be a few exciting new products to tell visitors about . . .

Ambersphere Solutions is located in Park Royal, the heart of West London's lighting industry hub, a stone's throw from the LH2 Production and Rehearsal facility, just off the A40, and close by the public transport links of Acton and Ealing Broadway. There is parking

Italy - LSi received the sad news yesterday of the passing of Enrico Caironi, long associated with the marketing of the Clay Paky lighting brand. The epitome of the Italian gentleman, Enrico had a warm and infectious personality, and was an extremely popular and much-loved man.

Clay Paky's announcement of the news said: "It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Enrico Caironi, a man whose professionalism, integrity and humanity will be remembered by all Clay Paky work associates and friends in the industry. In the show-lighting industry, Enrico had for years been ambassador of Clay Paky and a model representative of Italian passion and quality.

"Born in Bergamo in 1947, Enrico Caironi joined the Clay Paky team in 1995. As commercial director, he immediately became a key figure in company business, always fighting at the forefront with relentless motivation

Finland - ETC has completed installation of three separate ETC Unison Paradigm Control systems at the new Helsinki Music Centre.

There are seven performance spaces at the centre, seating up to 1,704 people. The first Paradigm system controls the main concert hall; a second controls three of the rehearsal halls (Rehearsal Hall, Organo and Camerata); and a third controls the Sonore, Black Box and restaurant stage halls. All were supplied, installed and programmed by Studiotec Oy of Finland.

Project manager for Studiotec, Oskar Krogell explains: "Paradigm was chosen by the music centre for its integration with lighting control desks, dimmers and DMX. They also wanted non-technical personnel - including orchestra organisers, stage managers and even music students - to be able to use the show lighting in the halls for rehearsals and concerts. The Music Centre has seven stages

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light has announced that Richard Saunders has joined its growing events team as a project manager.

"With both a theatrical and corporate background Richard brings a wealth of experience to the role," says Stuart Crane, White Light's head of production.

"In addition to project managing the usual mix of events that White Light currently supplies he will also be available to support our existing corporate lighting designer clients, helping to ensure that we deliver the highest standards of pre-production on their larger or more complex projects."

(Jim Evans)

USA - Chauvet reports that the first episode of We TV's My Fair Wedding features 12 SlimPAR Pro Tri wash lights.

Specified and installed by Lights Incredible, based in Kansas City, Mo., the flicker-free fixtures are part of a special episode called Make a Wish Bride.

Specified for their on-camera suitability as well as their compact size and low profile, SlimPAR Pro Tri fixtures added flexibility and precise colour temperature to the setting.

"They're sturdy, take up no room and look fantastic," Carol Rosenstein of Lights Incredible said. "We placed [the fixtures] around the perimeter of the room uplighting each of the fabric panels as well as around the back. They gave the ceiling a colorful glow throughout the reception and their output got more intense as the sun went down. The view from outside was beautiful."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The latest Bryan Adams tour is the first major one in the UK tour to feature Robe lighting's new Robin MMX Spots, as specified by lighting designer Ewan McRobb and supplied by the tour's lighting contractor, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK based Siyan.

McRobb - who has worked for superstar rocker Adams for the last five years - has used some Robe fixtures on rigs in the past, but has not actually integrated any into his designs until now. He was shown the MMXs when initially discussing the tour with Siyan's Nick Valdez, who had just taken delivery of some of Robe's newest technology. McRobb liked what he saw and decided to spec twelve MMXs onto the tour.

As a photographer of some repute, Adams takes a keen interest in lighting and therefore also his stage lighting. "He has multiple ideas and knows exactly what he wants," explains McRobb, adding that Adams also

UK - Christie reports that its 12,000 lumen Christie LX1200 and the full HD 1080p Christie LHD700 projectors are now shipping to meet strong demand for 'no compromise', affordable 3LCD options for rental staging applications, boardrooms, higher education facilities, houses of worship and more.

"One of Christie's advantages is its wide selection of 3LCD models in the 4000 lumens range and above," notes Frank Anzures, senior product manager, business products. "Customers needing mid- to high-brightness options know that they can come to Christie and find what they need to meet their application and budget requirements. And, with innovations like Christie's 4DColor technology, their displays can be created with vivid, dynamic colours that go beyond standard 3LCD projectors."

When bold, detailed images are required for presentations, the Christie LX400 (XGA) an

UK - Hawthorn has recently become one of five exclusive GDS (Global Design Solutions) distributors in the UK.

Stocking the full range of GDS products Hawthorn is now able to fulfil most orders for next day delivery and also has large stocks of regular and high powered up lighters as well as the new Satellites available for hire.

With a notable increase in the hire of the LiteWare battery up lighters, Hawthorn's hire manager, Dave Slater commented, "Being one of the key GDS dealers gives us a fantastic opportunity to build on our commitment to the GDS product range, which has proved to be very popular with our customers.

"From the LiteWare products which we've had in rental stock since their initial release, through to the Blues System, used extensively by our installs teams with the Arch system, and their new LED houselights, the whole range gives us an important a

UK - Ian Kirby turned exclusively to the SGM catalogue for all his automated beam effects for Wonderland.

The lighting needed to be sufficiently versatile to cater for an entertainment programme ranging from comedy to burlesque, contortionists and acrobats to high-octane dance within a multi-role venue targeted at a slightly older age demographic. At the same time guests needed to feel they were interacting within a TV reality-type set.

"I think this was one of the reasons Steve [Thomas]contacted us," noted Kirby. "We have worked extensively in TV studio lighting, and it's programmes like X-Factor that audiences these days are used to seeing. SGM heads are perfect because they are quiet running, fully featured and produce beams of saturated colour."

Leading the charge are 10 new SGM X-5 white LED strobes - a revolutionary break from the traditional

The Netherlands - Rotterdamse Schouwburg, which plays host to a wide variety of performances from every major Dutch theatre, dance and opera company, has recently increased its inventory of Robert Juliat zoom profiles with the purchase of 34 RJ 614SX 16° - 35° fixtures from distributor, LightCo, of the Netherlands.

The 879-seat venue's stock of aging profiles needed to be replaced so, knowing the Robert Juliat reputation for optical excellence, Joost van den Hil, lighting specialist for the Main Auditorium, organised a shootout and approached LightCo's Bas van Schelven who took along the RJ 614SX 1kW fixtures.

In addition to meeting the all-important optical criteria, the Robert Juliat profiles also excelled with their build quality and mechanical superiority: "The mechanics are solid, the shutters stay straight, even after long term use, and the shutter lock work

Germany - The total donated at this year's Wolkenschieber (Cloud Pusher) charity ball held in Bremen's Maritim Hotel & Congress Centre exceeded the record set by the 2009-event. Following a five-course dinner, the 600 generous attendees were treated to a sophisticated entertainment programme.

The high point of the evening's festivities was the Flash & Flow laser show put on by tarm Showlaser, in collaboration with the Extra Energy dance ensemble, under the artistic direction of Wolfram Lenssen.

The team presented an audio-visual interpretation of the evening's theme, illustrating the motivation and history of the Wolkenschieber initiative in a series of scenes involving varied moods and dark clouds that finally disappeared and were replaced by the sun.

The Wolkenschieber initiative was founded by Joke Event AG in 2007 and supports local charitable organizations and as

USA - Open house receptions are nothing new at Gemini Light, Sound & Video. The Dallas-based lighting and production company holds them annually to showcase its inventory and services and educate its customers. But this year's event, held 16-17 November, was extra special for a couple reasons: it marked Gemini's 30th anniversary in business; and it gave many customers their first view of the company's recently expanded 76,000sq.ft warehouse.

Nearly 250 existing and prospective clients attended the two-day open house, which took place in a section of the warehouse set up to replicate a theatre.

"Back by popular demand, we set up a 'black box theatre' demo area to achieve an actual production space within our working warehouse," said Cassidi Cain of Gemini. This allowed customers to see some of the company's newer lighting and video products in action as they would app

UK - The Coemar Infinity ACL beam projector made an appearance on a recent edition of the BBC's Later with Jools Holland, backing the Mercury- and Brit-nominated band Friendly Fires for lighting director Chris Rigby.

"We gave the units a gentle run on Later, where they performed very well." Rigby comments. "The most striking thing about them, to my eyes, was the bright and vibrant colours they offered. They were more than bright enough for High Definition studio cameras. We liked the iris feature, which makes the Coemar unit more versatile than others in its class, and obviously we liked the gobo selection, which makes the fixture a lot less one dimensional. In short, we liked them."

The Infinity ACL is Coemar's moving-light re-invention of the classic, intense ACL beam effect. It offers CMY+CTO colour mixing plus a five-slot colour wheel that

USA - When Northern Kentucky University (NKU) decided to implement a school-wide 'green' initiative, lighting designer Terry Powell leapt at the opportunity, and worked with Adam Hayward at Vincent Lighting Systems to overhaul his lighting rig with 24 PL3 Wash luminaires from Philips Selecon and a Palette VL control console from Philips Strand Lighting.

"In the past, my boss and I had been talking about LED technology and all the benefits we would get by using it in the theatre," began Powell. "So when the University established a pool of money that was to be used for sustainability, we jumped at the opportunity to put together a proposal, and contacted our longtime friends at Vincent Lighting Systems to get the project going."

"Vincent Lighting is very proud to have been involved with NKU for a number of years," added Hayward. "We first beca

Germany - As the indie rock band Incubus prepared to launch their 2011 world tour in Berlin, Germany, lighting designer Robb Jibson stood ready to unveil both some old and new tricks. Having been the band's designer since 2005, Jibson was familiar with how the music and lighting should blend together, but this year he also had a new look that no audience had seen before. To help him achieve his latest design, Jibson relied upon Vari*Lite automated luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite, supplied by Upstaging and HSL (Europe).

"Having worked in the industry as a designer and technician, I am familiar with the complete product line and I have always been a fan of the Vari*Lite colour," began Jibson. "I mostly default to Vari*Lite fixtures on my projects because of their optical clarity and color systems, but on this tour I chose them for a few other reasons as well.

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Norway - Barco reports that entertainment equipment rental company AVAB CAC selected 17 Barco's event projectors and 100 MiSTRIP creative LED strips to support the Nobel Peace Prize Concert on Sunday, 11 December. This year's edition was co-hosted by Helen Mirren and Rosario Dawson and featured artists such as Evanescence, Ellie Goulding, Jill Scott and many others.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the world. Every year, the ceremony takes place on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, and is followed by the Nobel Peace Prize Concert the day after. Featuring an international selection of musical artists and celebrity hosts, the concert honours the Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

The concert is held every year at the Oslo Spektrum Arena in the centre of Oslo. The customized three-tiered stage was able to host 50 singers and musicians a

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