Canada - CAST Group of Toronto has just released the latest version of its industry standard and pre-visualisation suite, wysiwyg R29. R29 is available to download from the Members ONLY section of the CAST website.

wysiwyg is the award-winning tool for professionals in the production industry that enables lighting designers to create previsualisations and renders of a planned event, without having to spend time and money making it happen at the venue in advance. The software is so named because what you see is exactly what you get. What's more, it encourages creativity because previsualisation means it is quick and easy to try out concepts and tweak ideas.

Version R29 builds on the considerable advancements in R28 launched by CAST earlier this year. Feedback from beta testing on R29 has been unanimously positive, says the company, with experienced users commending the multitud

UK - Event Projection specialises in one-of-a-kind productions - from product launches and museum exhibits to music videos and corporate events, the AV and lighting hire company has a history of unique and distinctly varied projects. So when they were looking to expand their lighting hire stock, they turned to entertainment lighting specialist White Light to find just the right equipment to suit their varied needs. The company chose the latest technology from Coemar - the LEDko P 3200K, available in the UK exclusively through White Light.

Event Projection is the first company of its kind in the UK to purchase the LEDko units, which use an innovative 120W 'Multi-LEDs' source to produce an even, uniform beam, creating huge energy savings over traditional 575W tungsten profiles. Now, several other companies have followed suit, purchasing the LEDko LED light engines for entertainmen

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) were officially announced as the exclusive UK distributor for Italian manufacturer Griven's LED lighting solutions at PLASA 2012.

AC-ET brings to the table its extensive specialist LED lighting knowledge, experience and customer base in the key entertainment, architectural and architainment sectors serviced by GRIVEN.

Their innovative product range further complements AC-ET's extensive portfolio of premium LED brands, enabling the company to offer an even wider choice of solutions to suit different applications.

In addition, sister company A.C. Special Projects (ACSP) provides bespoke solutions and installations for a whole variety of architectural projects ideally suited to the Griven product range.

Showcased on ACSP's stand was the new Powershine Ultra Spot RGBW, which features an ultra-narrow (4 degree), sharp projection of l

USA - A Jands Vista L5 media and lighting control console, running the latest Vista v2 software, was used by designer Geoffrey Platt to help deliver US telecoms company 5LINX Enterprises' corporate vision to over 8,000 sales delegates.

Platt, of Atlanta based Production People Inc. (PPi), used the Vista L5 with another of the family, a Vista T2, running in full tracking back-up to deliver a stunning stage production featuring video, lighting and LEDs.

The L5 was controlling over 100 moving lights - a mix of Vari*Lite V*L3000 spots, V*L3500 washes, Martin Professional MAC 250 washes and Clay Paky Sharpys - as well as conventional lightsources and 140 LED fixtures including Chroma-Q Color Block, Philips CK ColorBlast and ColorBlaze, Chauvet Colorado TriPAR and Alkalite Opto Strips. All lighting equipment was supplied by rental company 4Wall's Las Vegas facility.

Two Catalyst m

USA - Iconic rock bands Mötley Crüe and Kiss teamed for a North American tour and took a grandMA2 full-size along for the ride that is being used to programme and control lighting and video on 44 shows, which are drawing huge crowds coast to coast. Sooner Routhier, Robert Long (SRae Productions) and Patrick Whitley are the lighting and production designers for the tour.

Michael Cooper of Newfangled Lighting, the programmer and operator for Mötley Crüe, has been using the grandMA2 since it debuted. "I pulled grandMA2 serial number 2 off the pallet at Upstaging in 2009 and they have come such a long way with the new software. I love it," says Cooper. "I've used it pretty exclusively for the last few years - it goes around the world with me. Christie provided me with a grandMA2 light last year for the worldwide Motley tour, and now Epic has provided us with these

UK - The much talked about, 360-degree information screen atop the BT Tower in London, made up of Martin Professional LC Plus Series LED panels, gets a visit from the Martin Service Department each month, and has done so ever since debuting over 1000 days ago.

"Since its installation almost three years ago, Martin Professional have been invaluable in the smooth operation of the BT Tower display," states Jared Ruddy, group marketing & brand manager at BT. "It's the biggest of its kind in Europe and has become a familiar sight for Londoners."

Used to display a variety of visual content, the 59m long by 4.8m high information screen is visible across the city. A key visual landmark in London's busy 2012 summer of sport, the screen has endured harsh weather conditions since its installation in October of 2009.

"We counted down from 1000 days in the lead u

End of An Era - EU and US regulators have approved the takeover of UK music firm EMI by Universal Music, but it must sell some of the firm's most valuable labels. The European Commission said Universal would have to sell off assets including the Parlophone label, home to artists such as Pink Floyd and Kylie Minogue. The US Federal Trade Commission later approved the deal in its turn without imposing any conditions.

The £1.2bn ($1.9bn) takeover of EMI was announced in November. Although the European Commission said its ruling would allay competition fears, rival music labels have condemned the move. EMI, with a history dating back to 1897, is home to artists including the Beatles and Pink Floyd. Universal is a unit of French media giant Vivendi.

In EMI's 1960s heyday, it was one of four music companies that dominated the British charts. The others were Decca, Philips and

Russia - Few theatres around the world have such a long, rich and tumultuous history as the State Theatre of Nations in Moscow, Russia. It stands as a testament to the importance of the arts, having survived many challenges. A recent large-scale renovation means the theatre's tough times are a thing of the past, and an equipment upgrade - including a new lighting system starring an ETC Eos lighting control desk and Source Four luminaires - prepares the Theatre of Nations for a promising future.

In 2007, Russia began a campaign to modernize its theatres. The Ministry of Culture awarded the Theatre of Nations a grant to refurbish its Russian Revivalist building. The four year renovation project expanded the building by over 3,900sq.m, with new rehearsal spaces, offices, a restaurant and a blackbox theatre.

Included in the grant was €11m to upgrade the technical equipment, from

The Netherlands - The latest in a series of Lighthouse LED screens has recently been installed at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport. As the main international airport in the Netherlands and the fourth busiest in Europe, Schiphol's new high quality Lighthouse screen displays advertising to many thousands of travellers with pin sharp clarity.

Lighthouse's Impact 16 LED screen was chosen for the project. Designed specifically for the permanent installation market, this is the first SMD LED outdoor screen to feature at Schiphol and is the also the airport's first with full Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) compliance.

Installed by Hecla Professional Audio & Video Systems BV for leading Dutch outdoor advertising agency Interbest, the 15 x 8 panel (12m (w) x 9m (h)) LED screen is mounted on one side of an existing triangular advertising structure, facing the main A4/E19 motorway bisec

UK - The 2012 PLASA Show, Earls Court saw the teams from Philips Entertainment brands Vari-Lite, Strand Lighting and Selecon each introduce a number of new products to the industry. In addition Philips Entertainment launched Showline a range of dynamic feature rich, LED luminaires providing professional performance, exceptional feature sets and one common user interface.

"Showline is a range of super-efficient, professional entertainment LED fixtures created specifically for a broad spectrum of events from concert touring to Theatre and TV to corporate shows and cruise ships," explains David March, director of European Sales for Vari-Lite. "We had an excellent response at PLASA to Showline! The products were well received by designers and rental companies alike. Showline is destined to become a leader in entertainment LED Luminaires and will receive the same world

Germany - dB Technologies Deutschland, the SGM German distributor, has announced the sale of the first 300 SGM P-5 LED washlights to some of the country's leading rental companies.

Said MD, Michael Herweg, "We are delighted with the response, as this is before we take into account the architectural market for which the P-5 was designed."

Drawing just 450 watts, the IP66-rated P-5 uses 44 high power RGBW 10W LED's outputting a total of 23,666 lumens. Michael Herweg confirms that the groundswell of interest had begun in April at the Prolight+Sound Show in Frankfurt, where rental company customers were queuing up to see SGM's new LED technology embodied in a sleek chassis.

"There was also huge interest in the X-5 and XC-5 strobes, so we decided to create a series of starter packs," he said. "Each comprises 24 P-5, eight X-5 and eight XC-5 fixtures."

USA - Celebrating his fifth year of lighting the MTV Video Music Awards, experienced LD Tom Kenny kept up his pledge of always trying to use new lighting technology in order to animate Florian Wieder's other-worldly landscape set.

This year it was GLP's new impression X4 that was brought into focus at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where acts including Green Day, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Pink, Alicia Keys, Lil Wayne, Frank Ocean and One Direction all graced the futuristic stage, which was lit by a massive lighting rig containing over 5,000 light sources.

"The show itself has become a social network event and a focal point of fashion - and so it was a fabulous place to show off this stylish new light," remarked Kenny. "It's always a policy of mine to try out new technology and styles of lighting on the VMA's and every year we have a standalone product that catc

USA - The Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Labour Day Telethon is a time-honored television tradition in the U.S. The 2012 edition, renamed MDA Show of Strength, featured a new format with LD Lee Rose of Design Partners turning to the Martin MAC Aura as a key element of the lighting design.

This year new producers revamped the benefit with a three-hour taped show that featured significantly more contemporary talent like Alanis Morissette, Hot Chelle Rae, All American Rejects, will.i.am and more. The show aired on 2 September on the MDA 'Love Network' of stations across the US.

Lee Rose has employed the MAC Aura in his designs since its launch in 2011 and chose them for the MDA special for their extremely bright and focusable beam, as well as their quick movement and small size, which made vertically hanging them easy and visually attractive, he says.

Lee moun

UK - Event Projection specialises in one-of-a-kind productions. From product launches and museum exhibits to music videos and corporate events, the AV and lighting hire company has a history of distinctly varied projects. So when they were looking to expand their lighting hire stock, they turned to entertainment lighting specialist White Light to find just the right equipment to suit their varied needs. The company chose the latest technology from Coemar - the LEDko P 3200K, available in the UK exclusively through White Light.

Event Projection is the first company of its kind in the UK to purchase the LEDko units, which use an innovative 120-Watt 'Multi-LEDs' source to produce an even, uniform beam, creating huge energy savings over traditional 575-Watt tungsten profiles. Now, several other companies have followed suit, purchasing the LEDko LED light engines for entertainment an

USA - The 2012 Teen Choice Awards buzzed with extra excitement and anticipation this year ... complete with an impressive live line-up including Flo Rida, No Doubt, Justin Bieber, Carly Rae Jepson and many more joining hosts Demi Lovato and Kevin McHale at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

The challenge of lighting the fast-paced, action-packed environment was taken on by Tom Kenny, and included some of Robe's latest moving lights in the visual mix.

The event was aired live nationwide on FOX to huge ratings, and attended by a star studded array of almost everyone who's hot in teen entertainment, including the cast of cult motion picture series Twilight, all in an equally fabulous array of sizzling outfits.

The pace and complexity of staging the 2012 Teen Choice Awards was a serious challenge to Kenny and everyone else on the production crew and

South Africa - Carefully orchestrated from the invitations to the final classical rock production, the EOH Spring Ball was an outstanding banquet held at the Sandton Convention Centre's Pavilion Venue in Sandton. For the second consecutive year, AVL Productions supplied the technical including set and AV content while Keystone Productions provided the lighting requirements including 16 Philips Vari-Lite VLX fixtures.

Johannesburg based EOH, who provide business and technical solutions and systems, annually host a Spring Ball for their valued staff and clients. Sam McGrath from Jam Events was pivotal in putting it together and featured songs of Queen with a classical twist.

The master of ceremonies was South African Idols judge, Randall Abraham. The performers were outstanding and included Joseph Clark who does a remarkable impression of Freddie Mercury, Lauren Laing and

Denmark - In a newly released video, Martin Professional reveals how the company has solved the persistent problem of uneven colours across LEDs. Product manager Jonathan Meineke explains how Martin achieves colour consistency straight out of the factory using LED colour calibration.

The problem of uneven LED colour is well known - LED video screens with patchy, uneven colours or 12 LED wash lights with 12 different versions of the 'same' colour. Despite advances in LED manufacturing, even LEDs in so-called 'tight' bins have noticeable differences in colour and these differences get exponentially worse when mixing colours. Martin uses colour calibration across its entire LED product line to eliminate this problem.

(Jim Evans)

South Africa - Philips Selecon is to sponsor this year's Stage Lighting Master Class (SLMC) event in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Grant Bales-Smith, sales manager for Strand Selecon Europe, will join event host and international lighting designer, Declan Randall, South African lighting designer Mannie Manim with renowned New York-based lighting designer Richard Pilbrow completing the expert panel.

The two-day event, due to take place on 27-28 September in Johannesburg and 2-3 October in Cape Town, will celebrate the art and craft of stage lighting.

SLMC, which was first held in 2001 and then again in 2004 and 2007, returns this year with a number of interesting and informative seminar sessions as Randall explains. "This year the event will focus on new lighting technologies, including LED and energy efficient lighting design. I think that it's important that we embrace thi

USA - LSC Lighting Systems has opened a fully-staffed office in the United States of America. The move is a step in its on-going commitment to customer support from both a sales and technical perspective demanded by this vital market sector, says the company.

Based in Knoxville Tennessee the office will be headed up by well-known industry icon Rob Steel. "Most people will know Rob from his days running Avolites America and his industry knowledge and experience as well as his impeccable reputation are widely known," says LSC.

Rob commented, "I am so excited to be involved with LSC. I have had dealings with them in the past and have found them to be a great bunch of guys with a fantastic product range. They have been manufacturing products for the industry for the last 30+ years and selling those products worldwide. That experience shows in their product designs a

South Africa - Johannesburg- based rental company AV Unlimited supplied full technical production to show producers VWV for the finale of the recent Red Bull Beat battle competition.

This was staged at the Bassline, downtown Johannesburg's hottest live music venue, right in the heart of the City's buzzing Newtown district, with eight top dance crews battling it out for the title, and Robe LEDBeam 100s providing a perfect lightweight lighting effects solution.

Several challenges faced the technical production. One was a very low weight loading in the venue's roof - and another was delivering the high show production values demanded by one of the world's leading brands - in a relatively tight space.

Robe's new Robin 100 LEDBeams were a complete winner with their ultra light weight, power, intensity and wide array of eye-catching effects.

AV Unlimited's technical production m

UK - Visual Connection (VCL) has announced it is expanding its operation with a move to new premises in Butler Works, Lancaster, UK. VCL supplies specialist lighting and media equipment, as well as being a leading designer and installer of visual technology for its entertainment clients all over the world, including cruise lines, TV networks and stage shows.

VCL will be relocating to share office and workshop space at Mainstage Ltd, cementing its long-standing relationship with the firm, one of the UK's foremost suppliers of stage equipment and effects.

The two companies have already worked together extensively, collaborating on projects for existing VCL clients, with Mainstage engineers building bespoke equipment to VCL specifications for cruise client Holland America Line. With VCL's move, the two firms look forward to working on future projects where clients can benefit fro

UK - The festival season drew to a close recently after a disastrous summer when many of the major festivals were cancelled due to the terrible weather. Luckily the rain stayed away for the final two major events in London's Hyde Park- the Proms in the Park and Radio Two's Festival in a Day.

Blinding Light Ltd, based in Reading, was chosen to supply lighting for both events. Part of the requirement was to light the huge windows in the Proms set. For this, they used 32 of MilTec's LEDHead Batten2 units (two mounted in the base of each window). Fitted with 18x 8W quadcolour LEDs and Powercon mains connectors and weighing only 6kg each, they proved a very effective yet lightweight and low powered solution.

Tony Hall, Blinding Lights' lighting designer commented, "The MilTec battens have proved to be extremely reliable, and pack a great punch for their size. I was extremely p

UAE - After initial enquiries and a visit to the PLASA trade show in London in September, Dubai-based event production supplier Eclipse has made an investment in the new Martin Professional MAC Viper Profile, winner of a PLASA Innovation Award.

Eclipse is the first in the Middle East to purchase the Vipers and are confident they will become a sought after item by event organisers and promoters.

The purchase of the Vipers increases the already large range of Martin lighting stocked by Eclipse which includes the MAC Aura, MAC 2000 Profile and Wash, MAC 301 Wash, MAC 401, MAC 700 Profile and Wash, Atomic 3000 strobes, Atomic Colors scrollers and popular Martin LC Plus LED screens.

Nour Assafiri, CEO of Martin Professional Middle East, says: "Martin Professional UAE LLC started collaborating with Eclipse since it was first launched in the UAE. The Eclipse team is known for

UK - West Midlands- based technical solutions provider Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) supplied a lighting and camera/visuals/projection package for the 2012 Boomtown Fair's Lion's Den Stage.

The event was staged at Matterley Bowl near Winchester - a location kept secret until the last possible minute - all part of the boutique style festival's aura of anticipation and surprise.

The Lion's Den was a large tented arena with a capacity of nearly 5300, supplied by A&J Big tops. Line up wise, it featured the very best of reggae, roots dancehall and dub music and culture all under one roof.

The eye-catching lighting for Lion's Den was designed by Rob Barnaville together with CPL's project managers Nick Diacre and Jimmy Smith. It was based around maximising all the available stage space and the variable headroom, providing eye-catching and 'buskable' lighting.

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