Italy - Coemar and Lightconverse have reached an agreement in support of their distribution networks and customers who decide to use a combination of the two companies' products.

The two companies guarantee the full compatibility of their devices to simplify virtual show creation and reduce programming times.

Thanks to this collaboration between Lightconverse and Coemar, the virtual lighting effects of Coemar products can be simulated at the design stage and important information can be obtained from the light designers even before the product is available on the market.

"This joint venture by two leading companies points to the future," says Fausto Orsatti, Coemar sales and marketing manager. "Combining our strengths and skills to the advantage of our customers is a step in the right direction for those wishing to meet the ever more stimulating requests of th

Slovakia - The 2012 Miss Universe Slovak Republic was staged at the National Tennis Centre in Bratislava, and saw an aesthetic departure from previous years with a stripped back, streamlined, high-tech look onstage with multiple LED walls and panels and a shrinking perfective set.

Martin Kubánka was once again the lighting designer - his fourteenth year of Miss Universe SK! The lighting equipment included a substantial Robe moving light rig - supplied by Q-99, Slovakia's leading technical production and rental operation.

Kubánka was given an open brief as to how to light the show. He used Daniel Šichman's raw, stripped back set as the visual starting point, complimenting it's clear linear cuts and shapes with a futuristic styled lighting rig to match.

The set and all the high brightness LED elements also had an impact on how the show was lit. Bright lightsources were need

Australia - Channel 9 productions Today Show, Mornings and A Current Affair have recently moved into their larger Studio 22 at the Sydney Channel 9 premises to share the studio with Wide World of Sport, Sunday Footy Show, Australia's Funniest Home Video, The Footy Show plus other shows. This studio can produce between up to nine hours of live television seven days a week so with this in mind, the decision was made to upgrade of the studio control room.

As well as a new vision switcher, production area and studio floor upgrade, the studio control room now houses a new MA Lighting system comprising of two grandMA2 light consoles, a MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), a MA onPC command wing and a grandMA2 fader wing. The installation was completed in only a few weeks and training was given for those in the lighting department who had n

UK - Chroma-Q Color Force 72 RGBA LED battens were specified by award winning lighting designer Paule Constable for the new Cameron Mackintosh UK and Ireland touring production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of The Opera.

Paule's prolific design portfolio includes creating lit environments for the highest profile international theatre and opera productions, and her work is renowned worldwide for its experimentation, invention and creativity.

She had not used Color Force products before, but sought a powerful, well sized lightsource that could be utilised as an even spread 'soft light' tool to illuminate the numerous cloths and drapes that give Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber's classic musical its period flavour and ambience.

Paule was impressed with the information available about the Chroma-Q Color Force range, so initially contacted Chroma-Q's exclu

UK - Following another year of continued growth, Pharos Architectural Controls has restructured its management team with Simon Hicks promoted to technical director and Chris Hunt, previously commercial director, taking the role of managing director.

Hunt is a founding director of Pharos and his appointment as managing director reflects his current responsibility for the management of the growing international sales team and the day-to-day operation of the company.

Hicks joined the company in 2006 as a software developer, quickly progressing to technical product manager. As technical director, Simon has wider responsibility for steering the development of Pharos products and the management of the technical support team.

The other directors are Richard Mead and Nick Archdale, both founders who remain actively involved in the company.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - MT Pro Ltd launched their new LED based wash system at the ABTT show to great response, says ythe company.

The system is based on the successful MTC- BATTEN2 and uses 18x8W quadcolour LEDs combined with a specially coated barn door reflector to give an even wash of light up to 5m plus. It is designed for lighting cycloramas and large flats, making it suitable for use in theatres and corporate presentations.

The CycWash system has already been specified for installations by some of the leading installation and consultancy companies, having seen it in operation at the show.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Lighting professionals and retailers can get a firsthand look at Elation's latest products in the company's new 'real life settings' showroom during a special open house and 'road show' stop on Wednesday 18 July. The open house, which runs from 11 am to 4 pm for dealers and 4 pm to 8 pm for end users, features hands on demonstrations, programmed light shows, free swag and give-away raffles for some of Elation's leading products.

Since the open house will be held in Elation's new showroom, visitors will have the opportunity to see the company's lighting and video products in realistic settings that mirror real world applications. The recently completed showroom has a full stage setting as well as a simulated broadcast studio and architectural display featuring our sister company Acclaim lighting products.

"Our new showroom has been designed to allow visitors to see h

Australia - Brisbane's Family Nightclub is one of Australia's largest and most enduring nightclubs spread out over four floors and five bars, including one made completely of ice. It has been host to some of the biggest names and best DJs from DJ Tiesto to Paul Van Dyk and Deepdish.

The venue regularly reinvents itself in order to keep on top of the city's club scene and the latest transformation saw a new Martin lighting system installed courtesy of Josh Frey Productions, the club's preferred lighting installer.

Production manager David Fairless received an all Martin lighting package consisting of eight MAC 700 Profiles, eight MAC 101 LED moving head wash lights and four MAC Aura compact LED moving head wash lights with zoom.

Every three months or so, Fairless changes the lighting set up but currently there are two circular trusses above the dance floor; the outside ring h

France - Wireless Solution Sweden was recently a quiet and unobtrusive contributor to an exclusive private event at the Opera Garnier in Paris, a historical monument built in the 19th century.

Audioscène supplied the lighting and the W-DMX for this event and managed by Paris-based W-DMX distributor CSI-France.

The client wished not to impinge on and distort the scene but highlight each relief and ornament of the palace and Audioscène co-manager Vincent Cognard was asked to provide discreet and quiet products. Two Wireless Solution W-DMX BlackBox F-1 transmitters were used to send signal to a subtle assembly of EventKolor Starway and Vari*Lite VL3500 fixtures. The result was a stunning reveal of the architectural aspects of the interior of the building.

"CSI is a very strong team," says Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution, "Our products fit in very nat

UK - Devon- based drapes, starcloth, LED and visual effects specialists S+H Technical Support again supplied its innovative LED Video Floor to the latest series of high profile television games show, The Cube - via producers Objective Television.

The series is recorded at Fountain TV Studios in Wembley, London, and broadcast on ITV 1.

Presented by Philip Schofield, contestants can win up to £250,000 of prize money by completing straightforward tasks within a 4 x 4m perspex cube, which becomes extremely challenging with the addition of disorientating visuals and sonic effects plus the pressure of being in front of a live audience. As such, the video floor has an integral role in the show's overall concept.

S+H's product was specified by set designer Julian Healey as a versatile, robust and cost-effective solution to run their floor based immersive visual effects.

Australia - The recent Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour, La Traviata, was Opera Australia's most ambitious project to date held on a purpose-built stage on the waters of Sydney Harbour.

Set designer Brian Thomson's minimal but striking stage design was dominated by a giant chandelier, measuring 9m x 9m, which sparkled with thousands of Swarovski crystals symbolising the world of Verdi's much-loved opera with its glittering Parisian salons. The chandelier was suspended from a 26m crane, blackened out so that it is invisible against the night sky.

The La Traviata chandelier took 720 man hours to manufacture and 240 man hours to assemble. Along with the beautiful 10,000 Swarovski Elements crystals, the chandelier contained 1,025 crystal shapes, 23,104 facets, 3,000 LED lights and 12 Vari*Lite VLX LED wash lights. The VLX were chromium plated especially for this product

Czech Republic - Anolis LED fixtures have been specified and installed to illuminate both interior and exterior of the impressive central feature at the Nová Karolina shopping centre in Ostrava.

The new 100 million euro development in the Czech Republic's third largest city is one of the largest inner-city development projects in the country and part of one of central Europe's largest urban revitalisations .

The spacious multi-level environment was designed by architect Har Hollands from Dutch company T+T Design, working with Czech architects K4 from Brno.

It includes hundreds of high profile premium brand and designer stores, quality food and drink outlets, a multi-screen cinema complex and sports and leisure facilities.

The frustum (truncated triangle) shaped centrepiece ('Komol? Jehlan' in Czech) creates a sense of drama and spectacle right at the heart of the busy spa

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied a substantial 'specials' package - including 170 moving lights, custom metal ribs inset with LEDs and a Kinesys automation system - for The Prodigy's hell-raising headliner performance at the 2012 Download festival, staged at Donnington Race Track near Derby.

The band's show visuals were designed by Andy Hurst. As it was also the band's only UK festival appearance this summer Hurst wanted to do something on an epic and grand scale.

HSL's Mike Oates project managed with HSL's Tim Fawkes working as system and console tech on-site, and also assisting Hurst with the WYSIWYG pre-programming, completed in HSL's dedicated visualisation facility at their new warehouse in Blackburn.

The backbone of the rig was 16 custom 8m high curved 'ribs' which were all individually outlined with LEDs, flown across the full stage width on three

UK - The Hampton Court Palace Festival returned to celebrate its 20th Anniversary this June with another line up of world-class acts including Liza Minnelli, Van Morrison and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons. PRG supplied a comprehensive lighting and rigging package for the summer concerts.

In conjunction with PWR Events, PRG's senior account manager Dominic Sheerman worked with lighting designer Jonny Gaskell to provide architectural lighting around Clock Court, Fountain Court, The East Front and many public walk ways of the Palace as well as illuminating the main stage.

The outdoor concerts take place on an open stage in Base Court, allowing the public to appreciate the spectacular Palace setting, which is in view around the stage.

PRG's Crew Chief, Paul Makin and his crew loaded in the equipment throughout long periods of wet weather.

The stage featured three trusses wi

UK - With its warm, soft-edged beam, zoom and rich CMY colour mixing, Martin's MAC TW1 tungsten wash light has always been constant choice for live music touring shows. One recent example is Bombay Bicycle Club's recent UK tour, the English indie band's biggest headline tour to date.

Lighting and set design for the tour was by Squib and marks the second Bombay Bicycle Club tour he has used the TW1s on. Forming the bulk of the moving light aspect of the rig, Squib placed six TW1s each on front, mid and back truss for a total of 18.

Squib's lighting design made use of 160 dimmable fixtures including pendent light bulbs, space lights, Fresnels and Moles, which gave the show a warm tungsten look. Squib comments, "I wanted a wash light that fitted in with this aesthetic but one which I could also get a full range of other complementary colours out of.

"The TW1 fitted th

New Zealand - The new website for Dream Solution's flagship product LightFactory went live earlier this month, providing a significant improvement in functionality, resources and security. The new LightFactory website can be found at: www.lightfactory.net.

The new online web shop is seamlessly integrated, providing immediate license delivery for software purchases and is processed behind the scenes securely by PayPal. A community showcase section on the site allows user to share photos from their projects and the video tutorials section makes learning many of the advanced features easier.

The site was developed by Bill Kirby's team at Crescit Software (www.crescitsoftware.com).

Coinciding with the launch of the new site is a competition to win a 2 universe package valued at $800. Simply visit the new site before the end of July and create an account to go into the draw.

(C

Mexico - Clay Paky Sharpys took centre stage at the recent Espectáculo Conmemorativo, the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, held at Fuerte Guadalupe in Puebla, Mexico. The site was the location of the 1862 battle in which the Mexican army defeated Napoleon's soldiers during the French invasion. The Mexican victory is celebrated yearly on the fifth of May, Cinco de Mayo.

To commemorate the 150th Anniversary, the Mexican government hired creative and production firm Five Currents out of Monterey, California to create an elaborate stage production at the site of the fort. Under Executive Producer Scott Givens, Five Currents managed a production like no other, complete with massive lighting, video, pyrotechnics and a cast of 2000.

Lighting designer David Grill of David Grill Associates Inc. specified 44 Clay Paky Sharpys, with 20 lined directly behind the stage, providin

South Africa - The first in a series of follow spotter training courses was hosted at DWR Distribution on Monday, 18 June 2012 and was presented by Gerda Kruger and Philip Kruger.

This course, presented for the first time in South Africa, aimed not only to professionally train follow spotters, but also to raise the standard and enable follow spotting to become a full-time job.

"Good follow spotting is never noticed, but bad follow spotting can ruin a show," said Gerda Kruger, one of South Africa's most prolific lighting designers. "A good follow spotter should be acknowledged, be paid their worth and be an integral part of the show's lighting as the designer and board operator."

The first full-day course was attended by eight technicians from three companies, PanTilt, MGG Productions and Blackmotion Production.The morning was devoted to theory, covering t

UK - After the success of the first series, Alesha's Street Dance Stars is back. Dance crews of up to 12 young street dancers will compete in a series of auditions, rounds and finals with one crew winning both the title of Alesha's Street Dance Stars and a money-cannot-buy-prize.

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) support LD Roger Williams in creating a very cool, edgy and urban look. 2 Lites and 8 Lites were chosen to create an almost Industrial look which complements the eye-popping routines and electrifying dance skills that are displayed throughout the show, which is aired on Saturday mornings on BBC2.

(Jim Evans)

USA - John 'Cheetoh' Chiodo, lighting designer, programmer and lighting board op for American alt metal band Chevelle, turned to Martin's mini but mighty MAC 101 wash light for the band's 2012 Hats Off to the Bull US tour.

"On the last tour with Chevelle I used MAC 700s," he stated. "On that tour the band and I discussed going with all LED fixtures for the next tour. This time I scooped up as many MAC 101s as the budget allowed."

Cheetoh spread 30 MAC 101s across the upstage edge between four trusses and pipes to create a full wall of fixtures look. "I chose the 101s because of their brightness and quickness," he says. "They also have a perfect degree beam, which helps make the light more of a spot than a true LED wash fixture."

Lighting vendor for the tour is Windy City Music out of Chicago whose role encompassed more than mere

Azerbaijan - Robert Juliat reports that 2012 is the tenth year in which RJ followspots have been used on the Eurovision Song Contest.

For the third year running, Lightpower of Germany supplied Robert Juliat followspots to this prestigious international event at the end of May, the two semi-finals and the finals of which were broadcast in three live televised events from Baku, Azerbaijan.

Lighting designer, Jerry Appelt, used 10 Robert Juliat spots in total - six RJ Aramis 2500W HMI followspots with DMX control and four of the mighty RJ Lancelot 4000W HTI followspots - to highlight participants from 42 countries.

"We chose Robert Juliat followspots for two major reasons," says Appelt. "Firstly because Robert Juliat spots are extremely reliable which is a priority on a show of this size. The Aramis' remote DMX control is an essential feature which gave me precis

The Netherlands - Dutch design, operating & video content company, Light Image, used Visual Productions' CueCore to great effect on the TV talent-show, Holland's Got Talent from RTL. Following on from the pre-recorded qualification rounds, Holland's Got Talent went on to broadcast a series of primetime live shows for the final stages of elimination and judging of the winning act.

Three judges would watch each performance and judge whether it should leave the competition by choosing to press the elimination button which in turn lit up a large red cross above the jury. If all three crosses turned red then the lights, video & audio would freeze and the act would be eliminated from the competition.

Light Image used the CueCore's MIDI-port to receive signals from the infamous large red crosses. The CueCore was positioned between the Audio control room and the three li

Norway - Popular Norwegian pop/rock group DDE is currently out on a 20th Anniversary summer tour with a rig that includes Martin Professional's MAC Aura wash light.

The band marked the anniversary earlier in the year with a special concert in Olavshallen in Trondheim, held exactly 20 years to the date that the band stepped on a stage for the first time. The special anniversary concert was broadcast on TV network NRK1 on 2 June with lighting design by 21-year-old Lars Kristian Mathisen who turned to a Martin rig of MAC Auras, MAC 700 Profiles and MAC 550s for the show.

Not your typical DDE gig, the concert featured numerous guest artists including The Trondheim Soloists and the celebrated Nidaros Cathedral Boys' Choir. Mathisen was responsible for all aspects of lighting including design, rigging, programming and control. He commented, "This was the largest project I had e

Germany - The first ever Mayday music festival in history took place on 14 December 1991 in Berlin (Halle Weissensee). The event was organised to help out the GDR radio station DT64 (today MDR Sputnik), which was on the verge of bankruptcy. From this initial aid event, the festival has gradually transformed into the largest indoor rave party in Germany, with about 20,000 to 25,000 participants each year. It has now entered its 21st year and Mayday has lost none of its appeal. Thousands of ravers were therefore again able to celebrate their music in 2012 in Dortmund (Westfalenhalle).

The lighting designer of this year's entirely German made Mayday was Thomas Gerdon who created a spectacular show together with Rando Lorenz (lighting operator), Philipp Schauer (video operator), Wadim Wall (media server/system), Tim Franken (laser operator), Bernd Görgen (project director) and Joac

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