Norway - Clay Paky Sharpys have dazzled up-for-it crowds across Norway during a series of mammoth We Love the 90s concerts. This year, German group Scooter headlined, alongside 90s stalwarts Haddaway, E-Type, and the Vengaboys.

LD Philip Lindhfelt racked the Sharpys up at the rear of the stage and used them to beam directly onto the audience, which provided some spectacular, 1990s scanner-style, mid-air displays.

Playing to packed houses in arenas in the Norwegian cities of Stavanger, Bergen, Ålesund and the capital Oslo, We Love the 90s was a sell out event. Lindhfelt used the Sharpy before but never quite like this, as he explains: "I used them primarily as an effects fixture. Bands such as Scooter are quite progressive in terms of their music. I needed a fixture that was fast to respond. While the speed and the brightness of the Sharpy make it an ideal

USA - Jean Lariviere has rejoined entertainment lighting manufacturer High End Systems (HES), part of the Barco group, in a new role as a regional sales manager. His assignment includes sales development for the Canada region and also select U.S. key business partner accounts. He is based at the Austin, TX headquarters.

For the past seven years, Lariviere worked with equipment brokers SHS Global, where as CTO he was responsible for sourcing product and also client technical services.

Lariviere previously worked at High End Systems from 1994-98 as a product support specialist on the Studio Color automated wash luminaire development team. Lariviere says, "The product innovation developed from HES co-founder and CTO Richard Belliveau's patents motivated me to return when offered the job. When I saw a demo of the recent products - the intellaspot, TechnoArc and TechnoSpot, al

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd has supplied a quantity of LED based lighting fixtures from leading entertainment lighting manufacturers Chroma-Q, PixelRange and GLP to the BBC's Radio Theatre facility at Broadcasting House in central London.

The BBC Radio Theatre is designed to stage recorded and live performances including comedy, radio shows, live music, televised and red button events such as concerts, plus shows broadcast across the BBC's network.

The 'house' lighting rig needed to be extremely flexible to take account of the diverse number of events taking place in the venue, and the need to embrace theatrical, broadcast and multimedia disciplines. It was important that the new LED units were also appropriate to light HD TV and its specific requirements.

Extensive research was carried out into all the LED lighting options and Radio Theatre Events Manag

UK - Robe Robin MMX Spots and LEDWash 600s were the main moving lights used by LD Phil Shaw for a recent high profile one off show at London's Alexandra Palace by indie rockers, The Maccabees.

The band are currently promoting their third studio album I>Given To The Wild, released in January and hitting the UK album Top 10 Charts.

Shaw has been working for The Maccabees since the start of the year. He brings a fresh and invigorating look to the stage, and for the Ali Pali show, worked in close collaboration with video designer Josh Bagnall to set the aesthetic tones.

Lighting equipment was supplied by Buckinghamshire based Siyan.

Shaw had used Robe's LEDWash 600s before and was keen to incorporate them into the rig for this one. He particularly wanted to use them on a larger stage and experiment with utilising the individual LED ring control for specific effects.

The

UK / USA - Jands has announced the winners of a high-profile competition celebrating the recent launch of its Vista L5 flagship media and lighting control console - the latest addition to the Vista range.

The competition to win a MacBook Pro running the innovative Vista v2 software was sponsored by Jands' distribution partners for Europe & the Middle East - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd. - and North America - A.C. Lighting Inc. - and open to industry professionals in these territories.

The competition proved extremely popular, with an overwhelming response from professionals in many countries and industry sectors. This reflects the high level of interest in the Vista L5, which received its official trade show launch at the Prolight+Sound 2012 exhibition in Frankfurt in March.

The lucky winners, who were selected at random from the entrants who correctly answere

UK - You Cannot be Serious!, a comedy show, hosted by Alistair McGowan reviews clips from the last seven days of televised sport and promises to deliver what Saturday night TV should be about - fun!

Martin Kempton designs the lighting show, which is aired on Saturday nights at 7.30pm on ITV and is supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML).

His chosen lighting spec includes Stage Zoom 1200, MAC TW1, MAC 600, VL2000 Wash, VL1000TS, Chroma Banks and Chroma Floods. Martin also used LED 12 Lights which were hung around the set and helped create an American sports stadium feel.

(Jim Evans)

Malaysia - Wireless Solution Sweden has announced the appointment of lighting specialists Acoustic & Lighting System to supply W-DMX to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, effective immediately.

With more than two decades of experience in distributing professional solutions for the entertainment, architectural, and commercial sectors, Acoustic & Lighting System is an all-around leader in these fields in the South East Asian region. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; the company has since grown by leaps and bounds through its business expansion in Penang, Pahang, Melaka, Johor, Sabah, Singapore, Thailand and most recently - Indonesia.

The company offers an extensive portfolio of lighting, sound and accessories from leading manufactures including Clay Paky, MA Lighting, PR Lighting, Antari, Midas and Sennheiser.

Since Prolight and Sound 2012, Acoustic &

UK - Clay Paky Sharpys have provided the bedrock for a dazzling live video shoot for UK-based drum and base hell-raisers Chase and Status.

HSL supplied 24 Sharpy units to long term Chase and Status lighting designer Neil Carson of Enhance Production Ltd for the band's UK Autumn 2011 tour, which culminated in the live video shoot at Brixton Academy. Carson's show has since been submitted for a Knight Of Illumination Award 2012.

The show was energetic, video heavy and punctuated with Carson's high-energy, punchy light show. "As one of the top-selling bands of 2011, Chase and Status wanted to deliver a seriously dazzling show," explains Carson, who has worked on previous Chase and Status live shows. "I spread the Sharpys across six towers and rigged them at various heights so that I could really hit the audience with the onstage atmosphere from Chase and Status and

Australia - LSC Lighting reports that their first production run of Clarity LX300 lighting and media control consoles was oversold but if you're eager to secure one of these controllers for multi disciplined shows don't fret as production capacity has been increased to meet the demand.

A member of the Clarity LX-Series, the LX300 is based on the successful and stable Clarity software that has been in the market for over two years and used on thousands of major tours and shows worldwide. The LX-Series is split in three different sizes to scale every type of show or venue and provide the operator and lighting designer a clean ergonomic work environment where everything is only a push of a button away.

Queensland's Brisbane Sound Group were the lucky recipients of the first ever LX300 console and Sam Walter, professional lighting sales & support at BSG, is thrilled with the purch

Italy - "I needed something that could properly compete with its bigger neighbours in the rig in terms of brightness and presence and the MAC Aura didn't disappoint." So says lighting and show designer Jò Campana who teamed Martin Professional's MAC Aura LED wash with 1500-watt MAC III Profiles and MAC 2000 Wash XBs on Italian rock band Litfiba's latest tour.

In accordance with the band's wishes for the 2012 tour, more contemporary visual elements like LED video screens were avoided in favor of classic rock looks. "In the end, it's an old style rock 'n' roll show with big sound and strong lights," Campana says.

"I went for the MAC Aura because of their powerful and defined beam, besides its notorious distinctive aura feature. It is also very lightweight and with its speed I sometimes launched a very high-speed pan/tilt effect. The result was definitel

South Korea - Robe moving lights have been installed in the E&M TV studio in Seoul, Korea. Owned and operated by CJ Entertainment & Media, the studio is dedicated to producing music shows - both pre-recorded, live and often with live audiences - for the MNet broadcasting network's 24-hour music channel,

The Robe fixtures (30 x Robin MMX Spots, 24 x Robin 100 LEDBeams and eight ColorBeam 2500E ATs) were specified by Mr JaeWoo Choi, owner of rental company RGB, and supplied via Robe's Korean distributor, ArtTech Lighting Co.

RGB services all the lighting needs of the E&M Studio and the MNet music channel, and when the time came for new moving lights in the studio, Robe was an obvious choice. RGB has been using the brand for 10 years - ever since it was launched - and knows first-hand the reliability and creative potential of the products.

JaeWoo Choi comments: "After 10 y

UK - On Sunday 3 June, over 1,000 vessels participated in a flotilla on the Thames from Battersea to Tower Bridge in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. And while it may have been an awful day for the weather, live acts were the order of the day at Battersea Park, with everything from 1950s swing orchestras on the bandstand, to a host of exciting acts on the main stage.

On hand was Illuminate Design, who set up and managed the lighting for all five stages, with an anticipated audience of up to 90,000 - as well as a number of different craft areas with a small but functional lighting arrangement.

Project manager Robin Shephard-Blandy reports, "We have worked on the Mayor's Thames Festival many times before, so knew the organisers of the Diamond Jubilee Pageant already. They asked us to help with a number of different stages, with a finishing time of 7pm - which meant ev

UK - The Royal Albert Hall, London's landmark venue, has recently purchased Coemar ParLite LED fixtures as part of a major re-vamp of its auditorium lighting.

Entertainment lighting specialist White Light, Coemar's exclusive distributor in the UK, supplied the hall with 54 ParLites, which have now been installed to uplight the columns that encircle the iconic auditorium at gallery level.

The Royal Albert Hall's team, led by senior technical manager Ollie Jeffery, chose theParLites after carrying out an extensive set of auditions encompassing a wide range of lighting fixtures. They ultimately opted for the ParLites because of their colour consistency, silent fan-free operation, and energy saving compared to traditional tungsten lighting fixtures. The ParLites now allow dramatic transformations to the mood and feel of the hall to be made quickly and easily from the lighting cons

Serbia - ETC's Serbian distributor, Studio Berar, has installed and commissioned the latest generation of lighting at the Palilula Cultural Centre and theatre in Belgrade - complete with ETC lighting, dimming and control.

Studio Berar's marketing manager Lazar Josanov, says, "The theatre's managers were looking for a complete new lighting system which would last them well into 21st century, and which would come with the backup and support that they would need.

"Studio Berar has a long relationship with ETC, and we were quick to recommend them - ETC has always provided an efficient and helpful service, with 24 hour customer support where necessary."

Studio Berar project manager Aleksandar Kruscic, who designed the system, explains, "We supplied ETC's latest update to the Source Four range, the Fresnel, as well as Source Four Zoom, Source Four jr Zoom and S

Mexico - Mexico City-based Representaciones de Audio have been appointed territorial distributors for SGM Lighting.

The agreement was reached with SGM's Antonio Parise during the recent Sound Check Expo in Mexico and the appointment will help the distributor to develop its lighting portfolio.

According to Rep. de Audio's Jaime Celis, the company had first been introduced to the lighting manufacturer whilst it was under the ownership of RCF Group, since they are also distributors for RCF's sister brand dB Technologies.

"SGM already has a good profile in Mexico, largely through its Giottos - which are very popular in rental companies and on TV sets," confirms Celis.

He believes that Rep. de Audio's core markets of rental, installation and broadcast will prove to be fertile ground for SGM's evolving portfolio of LED products - in particular the X-5 and XC-5 strobes.

USA - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will this week be at PLASA Focus in Nashville, showing the latest LED lighting technology from i-Pix and Core Lighting.

For the last seven years, i-Pix has been creating LED lighting fixtures that have immediately become the favourites of lighting designers working across the full spectrum of entertainment lighting, from concerts and live events to theatre productions. At PLASA Focus, staff from White Light, i-Pix's distributor, will be showing the new i-Line 600 and i-Line 1200 battens. Building on the success of i-Pix's renowned BB range, the i-Lines are six-cell or t12-cell colour-mixing fixtures offering high light output in a beam that is completely blended. The i-Line fixtures deliver over five times the output of the original BB range. The new fixtures have already been put to use lighting the Queen's Diamond Jubilee con

Music in Schools - Violinist Nicola Benedetti has attacked the spending squeeze on music tuition in schools. She said young people needed a cultural identity to replace their obsession with celebrities and in becoming a celebrity. Benedetti began violin lessons at the age of five and went on to attend the Yehudi Menuhin School in Surrey. The 25-year-old told the Radio Times, "I'm fiercely furious about the provision of music in schools."

Benedetti secured a £2m, six-album record contract after winning BBC Young Musician of the Year at 16 and has risen to international fame. She has also been involved in supporting the Big Noise orchestra in Raploch, Stirling - inspired by the Venezuelan El Sistema scheme to help poorer children. The violinist said: "So many people up and down the country are trying to create a better foundation for musical education.

China - The Volkswagen Group presented an exclusive preview of its latest models at the first Volkswagen Group Night in China, which was held recently during the Auto China 2012 exhibition at the Beijing Olympic Swimming Centre. Over 1700 guests turned up for the one-hour event, which took place the evening before the opening of the motor show. The event was planned and coordinated by Filmtec Media GmbH, on behalf of Volkswagen Kommunikation, and technical direction was entrusted to Martin Kuhn.

Seventy-eight Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1500s, 24 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s, 14 Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500s, 32 Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700s and 18 Clay Paky Sharpys were used at the event together with other lights.

Kuhn explained the advantages of using Clay Paky moving heads for this Night, "The Clay Paky range has been highly successful at this type of event in recent years, an

Australia - "The Prime Minister's Olympic Dinner has become the signature lead-up event in preparation for the Games - to recognise and support those who have been selected to represent Australia in London by raising vital additional funds to support our Olympic team" says Julia Gillard, Prime Minister of Australia.

The Prime Minister's 8th Olympic Dinner, produced by Multiple Award Winning producers -Peter Jones Special Events, held at the Plenary, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, raised over $2m dollars for our Australian Olympic Team, competing at next month's Games.

VIP's included former Prime Ministers, Over 60 past and present Olympians, along with corporate guests.

Entertainment for the evening included a star studded line up featuring Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Philharmonic Choir, Delta Goodrem, Todd McKenny, David Hobson, Silvie Paladino, Mar

Hong Kong - As the finale to its 2011-12 season, the Hong Kong Ballet opened Turandot, a neo-classical ballet inspired by Puccini's internationally-renowned opera at the Grand Theatre Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

When Puccini passed away, his final opera Turandot was left unfinished, but now in the hands of Australian choreographer Natalie Weir, this work has been transformed into a dramatically alluring and riveting ballet. Accompanied by Puccini's original music, audiences are now taken on a captivating journey of intrigue and spectacle.

Behind the scenes, lighting designer Mak Kwok-Fai utilized more than 40 Philips Vari-Lite automated luminaires for the show in order to enhance the intense emotions and sensations behind Puccini's music and Weir's passionate choreography. The luminaire rig included the VL3000 Spot, VL3500 Spot, the award-winning VLX Wash and the

UK - As booking opened at 9am this morning, strong exhibitor numbers, record breaking pre-registration figures and a new focus on content provision were creating a buzz about PLASA 2012. With four brand new theatres and 80 free-to-attend sessions split into nine new themes, these exciting developments underpin PLASA's commitment to providing an unparalleled experience for visitors and remaining a leader in the provision of education, professional development and knowledge sharing across our industry.

PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths comments, "PLASA runs events to provide quality business opportunities, education and thought leadership. The PLASA Show in London is the only entertainment technology event to reinvest its revenue back into the industry it serves - anything that is not invested back into the show is used to help develop technical standards, certification and qualifi

UK - Architainment Lighting has announced it is now a Value Added Reseller (VAR) for Philips Dynalite, adding the controls solutions range to its portfolio of high quality LED lighting and controls.

As a specialist lighting solutions provider of LED systems, controls and lighting accessories, Architainment Lighting is already a value added reseller for other Philips brands including Selecon and Color Kinetics, and has a longstanding relationship with the global leader in lighting. By introducing the Dynalite family of energy-efficient intelligent lighting control solutions Architainment Lighting is looking to further its ability to provide designers and specifiers with a complete solution.

Philips Dynalite has already installed the systems in some of the world's best-known venues and public spaces, including the tallest building in the world, Dubai's Burj Khalifa. John Preston

South Africa - For almost two decades, Johan Stemmet has presented the much-loved South African music game show, Noot vir Noot. When he contacted technical company Blond Productions, it was to tell them of a new thought - the creation of a fresh game show called Musiek Trivia which would be aired on Kyknet, DSTV.

The quiz show would have two contestants competing against each other not unlike the popular Weakest Link, but strictly focussing on music trivia. It was important to have a polished production with a 'wow' factor.

Blond Productions' Pieter Rieck and Christian Ballot worked on ESP Vision to present three potential designs. In fact, Blond were requested to come up with the technical and set design. They worked on their faithful grandMA.

The television studio at ZSE from which Musiek Trivia is broadcast, is a small, compact area. Blond Productions

UK - Prolyte Group has announced the launch of the latest incarnation of its LiteConsole - the XPRS. The performance platform, which previewed at Musikmesse/Prolight + Sound, is now available to consumers through a network of Prolyte partners.

LiteConsole is a versatile podium structure that offers a portable and high-visual-impact solution for any number of applications from live musician and DJ performances, to corporate AV presentations, exhibitions, conferences and retail environments where it makes an eye-catching stand.

This new version "combines all the most desirable features of LiteConsole in a sleeker, lighter package". The design makes the system even easier to assemble - it now takes one person just a matter of minutes. The innovative folding frame design means the LiteConsole XPRS will flat pack and fit into an average car, thus leaving plenty of room fo

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