Norway - Until recently, the lighting system at Oslo's Det Norske Teatret consisted of some 100 conventional and moving lights. But the theatre produces both musicals and plays, and the noise level from the lighting rig often became an issue: they were forced to turn off movers and keep scroller use to a minimum.

So when a lighting renewal was suggested, the managers decided to see what new technology was available. They already had Eos®-family control desks in each space, along with Sensor dimming and ETC Net3 networking, so they wanted to get the most out of the equipment they had invested in.

After having a shootout with various types of fixtures - both conventional and moving lights - they "fell in love with the ETC Source Four LED Lustr+ units" that had been brought along by ETC dealer Elektrik. Says resident lighting designer Torkel Skjærven, "The fan

USA - The organisers of The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival raised eyebrows when they announced that they were adding a second weekend to their iconic event. Would it be possible, the naysayers wondered, to sustain Coachella's well-known spontaneous sense of excitement over such an extended period?

As anyone who was at the 2014 edition of the famous festival can attest, the answer to this question was a resounding "yes!" With surprise appearances by Beyoncé and a parade of other stars, the festival was as fresh and bright as a summer's morning. The "bright" part was helped along by dynamic lightshows, like the one at the high-profile Outdoor Theatre anchored by 36 Nexus 4 X 4 panels from Chauvet Professional.

Todd Roberts and Brandon Dunning of Visions Lighting (Brea, CA) specced the Nexus panels for the Outdoor Theatre Stage rig, because

UK - Established lighting designer Richard Rhys Thomas of the Royal Albert Hall turned to the high-quality colour and reliability of Clay Paky fixtures to implement his richly layered lighting design for the Mountbatten Military Festival of Music at London's Royal Albert Hall (RAH).

Her Majesty's Royal Marines performed traditional marching songs alongside bespoke compositions and a soaring rendition of Swedish pop-group Abba's top hits. Thomas's lighting design wrapped the orchestra in swathes of colour, working in flawless harmony with the score.

"The brief was to create lighting that would seamlessly complement the music," explains Thomas. "The music ranged from film to classical, big band to traditional marches and the spectacular corps of drum displays. The standard of music was remarkable and so it didn't take much to create a spectacular show."

Tho

UK - Early March saw thousands of eager party goers shake off the winter doldrums and dance the weekend away at Outbreak Spring Festival at Ricoh Arena in Coventry. The all night dance party went on until the wee hours of the morning beneath an Elation lighting system supplied by live event equipment hire company MusicMann of Walsall.

Outbreak is the UK's fastest growing House Music festival and features a full list of top DJs and other artists.

Production manager for the event was Steve "Shaggy" Wright, lighting, video, and production pro at MusicMann, who speced an all Elation lighting rig for the event.

"We've carried a full line of Elation products for many years and they've proved very reliable for the variety of events that we do like this," he stated. "It's the first year they've held Outbreak on this scale; it's a real arena-sized show now an

Russia - Moscow's Arena Club played host to the Welsh band, Bullet for My Valentine, on 6 March 6 with Martin Professional lighting fixtures and the M1 Console, provided by Moscow's Euroshow Rental Company. Robert Coleman, the lighting designer for the tour and Moscow show, deployed Martin to bring out the most of his creative ideas.

The set of lighting fixtures included 10 MAC 700 Profiles (six on the middle truss, four on the back truss), 14 MAC 401 RGB Zooms (four on the side truss, five on the middle and five on the back), nine Atomic 3000 DMX strobes, six MAC Viper Profiles and the M1 Professional Lighting Console.

Coleman, who was introduced to the M1 console a few years ago but never previously had the opportunity to use it, worked with Alexey Zhuravlev, lighting designer, Euroshow Rental Company, to programme the Moscow show.

"I thought the design was good, and

UK - Hastings, Sussex- based lamp and LED lighting specialist CLD Distribution has added a comprehensive new range of Hytronik motion and lux sensor switches to its range of innovative lighting control options.

Utilising microwave technology, these are designed for wide ranging types of commercial, industrial and civic / public amenity applications - including offices, factories, retail outlets together with schools, libraries, hospitals, etc., plus transport hubs like stations.

Hytronik sensors can be used in conjunction with CLD's range of LED lighting fixtures to help further optimise all the cost and energy saving benefits of using LED technology for environmental lighting by switching off lighting in unused areas.

Designed to offer the full flexibility, the Hytronik sensors can be programmed to react to specific patterns based on movement in a space, lux / light levels

UK - American R&B trio, TGT, played London's iconic Eventim Apollo (formerly the Hammersmith Apollo) on 27 March on their Shirts Off tour beneath an Elation lighting rig of Platinum Series and other Elation fixtures supplied by UK rental company MusicMann.

Handling production on the London show was Steve "Shaggy" Wright, lighting, video, and production pro at MusicMann, who speced an Elation lighting system that included Platinum Wash ZFX Pro LED moving heads, Platinum Spot 15R Pro discharge moving heads, Platinum Beam 5R ACL beam effects and Rayzor Q7 LED moving heads, along with warm white Cuepix Blinders.

"TGT play a lot of ballads and the lighting needed to reflect that slower, smoother pace," Shaggy stated. "So I used a lot of soft washes from the Platinum Wash ZFX Pro's, which I used as the main stage wash and for general stage lighting fr

USA - DJ and dubstep producer Excision, the champion of bass music and sensory overload, has begun his 2014 tour of the US and Canada with powerful Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20- LED-based moving lights and a cadre of Sharpys.

The Excision tour, featuring Dirtyphonics and ill.Gates, has been called a "virtual apocalypse of twisting and morphing sounds" that encompass a full range of genres. Excision is accompanied by a new 150,000-watt bass system from PK Audio and his Executioner video and light production.

The tour marks the first time that Light Action Productions has supplied B-EYEs, which have quickly become indispensible to lighting and laser designer Dave Hauss of Double Surface Designs LLC. "They're my go-to light right now," he says. "When I have to cut down the rig, B-EYE is always there. They are an all around great fixture, and artists love th

UK - White Light has been named on the exclusive cross-palace supplier list for Historic Royal Palaces. White Light is now approved to supply lighting and event production services across all five extraordinary venues managed by HRP including: Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, and Kew Palace.

Stuart Crane, Head of Events for White Light commented: "It's always a pleasure to deliver unique experiences for events at each of these incredible venues - bringing them to life with just the right production elements. We're thrilled to continue this work at the HRP venues, supporting HRP's in-house events teams and working with clients to achieve the highest standards in event production."

The appointment continues a long relationship between White Light and Historic Royal Palaces with White Light providing lighting sound, AV, staging

USA - Designed for the professional touring and production market, the new EPT9IP LED video panel from Elation Professional checks all the boxes rental companies require in a professional, touring standard LED display. Elation will be showing the new LED panel at the InfoComm trade show 18-20 June in Las Vegas.

Featuring outstanding image quality, the EPT9IP is an ultra-bright 9mm pixel pitch LED panel with 4,096 3-in-1 LED pixels per panel (64 x 64). It incorporates the latest dot correction technology for superior color and brightness uniformity and delivers an impressive 5,000 nits of brightness, more than sufficient for any indoor use and bright enough for virtually any outdoor application.

Integrated curving options from -15° to +15° allow designers to create a variety of seamless curved video displays, including convex, concave and even full circle designs, while

UK - London-based event design and production specialist Eclipse Presentations designed and co-ordinated all the technical production elements - set, lighting, video and sound - for the prestigious annual miaList awards lunch event, staged this year at Church House Conference Centre in Westminster, central London.

The mia is a rapidly growing association for the conference, meetings and events sector that has been created by a proactive group of hotel and conference centre operators and their booking agent colleagues to "make a difference".

The lunch event in the Assembly Hall was attended by 250 leading industry professionals and the miaList 2014 was revealed, naming 10 of the most dedicated and hardworking individuals from the world of meetings and events.

Being involved in the miaList 2014 event was something very close to Eclipse MD Robin Purslow's heart as an

Russia - The Arena Moscow Club recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Russian Internet - and the first registered domain name - with an extravagant concert event featuring an array of famous musical groups and musicians, such as Lyapis Troubetzkoy, Vasya Oblomov, Smyslovye Galljucinacii, Bravo, and Samsara. The event also marked the first official live performance of Martin Professional's MAC Quantum Wash LED fixtures in the world. Russian rental company Laser-Kinetics provided the lighting system.

The lighting design featured 37 MAC Quantum Wash lights that were placed on the web of trusses to provide the main wash effect with wide, powerful and bright beams, and to create decorative effects throughout the show. Twelve of Martin's MAC Viper Profiles were also hung on the background and worked in tandem with 20 Martin MAC 700 fixtures that were placed on the top trusses

UK - Award winning lighting designer Andy Bridge has utilised a range of Philips Vari-Lite luminaires, including VL3000Q Spot, VL3500Q Spot, and VL3500 Wash luminaires, to create his sumptuous lighting design for Italian classic La Boheme at London's Royal Albert Hall (RAH).

The show, which was staged in the round, presented some challenges in terms of lighting design.

"Working in the round at the RAH is a fantastic experience," says Bridge. "However, not only are you very near the action but in the gallery you are dealing with a long distance picture. My premise was to work on big bold strokes in all three directions with different colours, which gave the audience a guaranteed shape of cross light, backlight and front light."

Bridge mixed old with new to light the show, using VL2000 Wash and VL1000 T/S luminaires in addition to the VL3000Q Spots,

Brazil - Over 500 Robe fixtures were in action for the stunning opening ceremony lightshow designed by Patrick Woodroffe to celebrate the official re-opening of the refurbished 56,000 capacity Estádio Beira-Rio (Riverside Stadium) in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Woodroffe - who needs no introduction as a creator of internationally renowned lightshows - brought his vast experience of producing stadium events to Brazil where he collaborated closely with Sao Paulo based Lighting Designer Cesio Lima on the project.

The 531 Robe moving lights were specified and supplied by leading Brazilian rental company LPL.

The stadium - the second biggest in the south of Brazil, home to the Sport Club Internacional team and legendary in the history of Brazilian football - has undergone massive redevelopment at its picturesque location beside the River Guaiba to bring it in line to host key matches

UK - The anticipation that preluded the sixth PLASA Focus: Leeds delivered everything it promised, with two-days of packed show floors and seminar rooms. A total of 2107 visitors flooded into the Leeds' Royal Armouries, drawn by a showcase of professional sound, lighting, video, trussing and staging companies, plus an education programme that spanned the industry's expertise.

A mixture of quality, variety and enthusiasm combined to create the unmistakable atmosphere that the show has become renowned for. "We really enjoy PLASA Focus," says Michael Brooksbank, European General Manager, Chauvet Professional. "It's a small, intimate, networking show, it doesn't cost us a significant amount of money, which always helps, and we get instant returns."

Martin Professional's UK Sales Director, Mike Walker, adds: "It's an important show for us. The international

UK - The Savoy Theatre in London recently embarked upon a programme of works to address its environmental impact whilst at the same time improving its customer experience. It should come as no surprise, given its status in history that The Savoy chose a pioneering way ahead.

The theatre wished to replace its existing house-light system, which comprised traditional 40-60W tungsten candle-lamps and cold cathode tubing, with an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly system. The new system was to be retro-fitted with no impact on the fabric of this historic site.

Given the spectacular nature of the interior, the installation was to replicate as closely as possible the way in which the auditorium had traditionally been lit, in order that the detailed architectural features could be seen to best advantage. The original requirement was for a wireless system throughout and to this

South Africa - Tucked away in a suburb in Randburg are the studios of Stark Films, an independent television production company where the popular series Binneland and many other longstanding dramas are filmed. Stark Films have purchased a Philips Strand Lighting 250 ML Control Console, which is an ideal desk for their daily requirements.

Stepping inside the Stark Film studios can be compared to an architect environment as enormous windows overlook an entire eco garden. While Stark Films was established in 1985 by Friedrich and Elsje Stark it was only four years ago that they left the inner city of Johannesburg to their new quarters which has become an oasis for those working day in and day out on soap operas and morning shows. It's a setting that allows for creativity and serves as a home away from home.

Chris Gardner has been with Stark Films for the past nine years an

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd had another busy PLASA Focus show this year with a stand in the New Dock Hall and an audio demo room in the Holiday Inn hotel next door. Both positions were themed to promote MilTec's increasing British manufacturing base. Visitors to the demo room had the opportunity to try out a traditional Kentish ale or a G&T made with London dry gin.

As well as promoting fine British ale and spirits, the company also used the additional space to demonstrate their Blakite range of British speakers along with their own signal processing equipment. New products on show included a 6" speaker and 12" compact stage wedge, both fitted with dual concentric drivers. These speakers and two subs were being powered by a prototype class-d amplifier. The amp has six channels giving 2x 2,500WRMS and 4x 800WRMS into 4 Ohms. It also includes an updated version of MilTec's DNP2

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Royal Record - London's Royal Albert Hall enjoyed a bumper year in 2013, posting record audience numbers of 1.71 million and operating income of £18.6m, up 10.4% on the previous year. The figures represent the most successful year of trading in the venue's 143-year history with 390 events driving a 7% increase in audiences. The venue recorded its highest ever operating surplus of £5.3m. The Hall's own promotions - which included performances of Carmen, Swan Lake and live orchestral accompaniment to films including Fantasia and Singin' in the Rain - generated £600,000 more in ticket sales than in 2012. The figures were released to coincide with the unveiling a new large-scale mural by artist Peter Blake featuring more than 400 artists who have performed in the hall since it opened in 1871.

Eurovision 2014 - The first of the Eur

Denmark - The Danish city of Ishøj is implementing the four basic elements as part of an exciting renewal of its urban areas. SGM fixtures are playing a key role by illuminating the town centre building.

As one of the world's largest lighting design offices, ÅF Lighting is experienced in creating holistic lighting solutions manifesting the right balance between functionality, aesthetics and sustainability. With more than 30 years in the industry, ÅF Lighting was offered an opportunity to develop an overall lighting concept for the urban areas surrounding the town centre in Ishøj, revolving around the four elements: earth, air, fire and water.

The first part of the concept, implemented in 2012, was based on the element water. The square in front of the train station near the coastline has been furnished with feature and scenographic lighting in blue and green sh

USA - "Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn," wrote Benjamin Franklin. Chauvet Professional subscribes to this theory wholeheartedly, which is why the company sponsored a highly personalised hands-on lighting workshop recently at its new southern California showroom and learning centre.

The Chauvet Professional Concert Lighting Workshop gave students from four colleges in the Los Angeles area an opportunity to design a sequence to music of their choosing on the Chauvet Professional demo rig, working with GrandMA2 programmer Joe Spangler. Each student group got to work one-on-one with the programmer to light his or her song on an impressive rig that featured a variety of Chauvet Professional products including Nexus panels, different COLORado fixtures, Legend 230SR Beams, Q-Wash 419Z moving yoke washes and the entire new Rogue series.

Slovakia - Rental and technical production company Q-99 has added Robe's new multi-functional Robin Pointes to its hire stock - bringing their full stock of Robe moving lights to nearly 500 fixtures.

Headed by the country's top TV lighting designer Martin Kubanka, Q-99 - which also provides video and audio solutions - has always been committed to making the very best technology available for all its clients and their events.

"We eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Pointe," explains Kubanka. "We all had high expectations, but when the Pointe was actually launched and we saw it in action for the first time ... it absolutely surpassed everything in all criteria."

Q-99 services numerous high profile light entertainment TV shows and events as well as concerts, theatrical productions and corporate projects. "We like to offer the latest technologies to o

UK - The original production of the hit musical Billy Elliot, still running at London's Victoria Palace Theatre almost a decade after making its debut there, has moved the show's lighting to a new control system based around ETC's popular Ion control console.

The new desk has replaced a Strand desk that ran the show since it opened, continuing the trend of long-running shows updating their control systems to ETC products to ensure continued trouble-free performance night after night.

"Our previous desk served us well," comments the show's lighting designer, Rick Fisher, who won a Tony Award for his work on the show on Broadway and a Helpmann Award for the production in Australia, "but with the show continuing to enjoy success in London, and with new productions planned elsewhere, it seemed to make sense to move the show onto a newer platform that was rece

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