USA - Philips Vari-Lite reports that 4Wall Entertainment has made a significant investment in the new VL4000 Spot luminaire. With inventory now in stock at their five nationwide locations, 4Wall and Philips Vari-Lite continue their longtime partnership to provide high-quality automated lighting instruments that inspire designers and technicians to push the creative limits of their productions.

"Adding the versatile VL4000 Spot to our inventory was an easy decision" said Michael Cannon, 4Wall CEO. "Vari-Lite luminaires have been a staple of our inventory for many years now, and this newest addition to the line is a fixture we know our clients will be excited to use."

"One of the things I love most about this industry is the wonderful partnerships we are able to form such as the one we have with 4Wall," said Julie Smith, Philips Entertainment genera

UK - Manchester based lighting and rigging company, dbn Lighting, is no stranger to SGM products. Historically their hire fleet has contained large quantities of the popular Palco 3 and Genio LED fixtures to service their wide roster.

Now the Manchester-based rental company has brought its range up to date by acquiring 24 of SGM's new P-5 low profile LED wash lights from SGM UK; the unit was designed to replace the Palco series, and bring the concept of the powerful IP65 rated wash light into the 21st century.

According to dbn director and lighting designer, Stephen Page, the purchase was not made without first carrying out a critical review of other comparable fixtures. "We reviewed and tested lots of alternatives but the P-5s were the best, and they will be suitable across the diverse range of projects we work on."

The fixture's output-to-consumption ratio reveal

Italy - The historic Villa Cornér della Regina, which dates back to the 16th century, is surrounded by ancient grounds and a swimming pool. It has been completely restored to offer a warm unique atmosphere. The luxurious hotel Relais is a perfect place to spend your holidays, but also for weddings, business dinners, meetings and any other event that needs a special setting.

In July, the renowned textile manufacturing company Isko organized a big event at Villa Cornér, which included a show of next season's collections. Menabò, an all-round Forlì-based marketing and communications group, was asked to organize the event, which in turn called in SG Lighting for the lighting rig and design.

Menabò and SG Lighting have already worked successfully together at previous events, such as the illumination of the Castle of San Salvatore in Susegana, in the province of Tre

Dubai - The multiple Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter Lady Gaga kicked off both Dubai's live event season and the European leg of her global tour, artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball last week. Promoted locally by AMI Live and ATW Live in association with Live Nation Global Touring, the concert took place at Meydan Racecourse on the 10th September and marked the artist's first visit to the Middle East.

eclipse Staging Services was selected to provide all lighting, video and primary and secondary power distribution, while audio was supplied by Delta Sound. Martin Lubach, General Manager of eclipse Staging Services comments: "We are immensely proud to have been selected as event technology supplier for such a landmark show, the fact that so much of the production was able to be serviced locally is a real testament to the local market's ability to compete on a global stage.&quo

UK - The seventh Knight of Illumination Awards has once more seen record submissions for the title of outstanding lighting and video design in the sectors of TV, Theatre and Concert Touring and Events. Combined with the fact that industry sponsorship and support for the event is at an all time high, it's clear that the KOI 2014 will be the most coveted invite of the autumn season.

The KOI Awards, organised by Clay Paky alongside the Society of Television Lighting Designers (STLD), the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) and Ambersphere Solutions, will be held following the first day of the PLASA Show on the evening of Sunday 5 October at London's fabulous Art Deco Troxy Theatre.

Submissions for each sector are now closed and the shortlist of nominations for each of the sector categories have been agreed by the judging panels as follows:

Theatre Nominations:

Danc

Volume Control - New regulations should be introduced to protect live music venues from possible closure following noise complaints, the Musicians' Union has said. At the Trades Union Congress conference this week, the union proposed a motion, which was passed, demanding the introduction of new regulations that would help put a stop to the "worrying trend of long-established music venues being forced to close after only one or two complaints from neighbours".

Increasing numbers of residential properties being built close to venues has resulted in noise abatement notices from local authorities, said the union. It is calling for a new 'agent of change principle' law that would mean property developers are obliged to soundproof their accommodation, rather than the venue being responsible for reducing potential noise disturbances.

John Smith, MU general secretary, said,

Slovenia - Maribor's Lutkovno Gledalisce (Puppet Theatre) sits on the site of an old Minorite monastery dating back to 1271, nestling down by the Drava River in Slovenia's picturesque second city.

The transformation into the bustling performance space is a meticulously stylish integration of contemporary cool with ecclesiastical history offering a main performance space (Veliki Oder) for 273 children and 182 adults. It was completed four years ago and this summer a new exterior Letni Auditorium was added to the back of the building, complete with seating for 522 people.

In a streak of design genius, the outdoor auditorium and the indoor theatre share the same stage space - accessed via a large set of roller shutter doors that open up between the two spaces.

The venue also has a smaller performance space - Mali Oder - for 72 children or 48 adults.

The theatre's lighting rig

USA - Nemetschek Vectorworks has announced the new Vectorworks 2015 version of its award-winning line of software products, including: Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals and Renderworks. This marks the beginning of its worldwide rollout, which continues with the release of localized versions in nine additional languages in the fourth quarter of this year through the second quarter of 2015.

"With every new release, we concentrate on giving customers the enhancements and features they want, and, more importantly, what they need to make their visions come to reality faster, easier and with more precision than ever before," said Dr. Biplab Sarkar, CTO, Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc. "Vectorworks 2015 builds upon the functionality that is important to designers today, providing an experience that connects the dots between vision and realiz

USA - Since 1995, Rx Bandits has been blowing past musical boundaries, joyfully blending and twisting rock rifts here with reggae slants there, then adding a little ska or jangle to come up with a fresh exhilarating sound that's hard to categorize, but very easy to love.

Recently, for the group's highly anticipated Gemini Her Majesty Tour, LD Sohail e. Najafi returned the favour by helping the convention-defying band enter a new lighting realm with pixel mapped Nexus 4x4 panels from Chauvet Professional.

"Rx Bandits is always taking their music to new places, and they want this vision reflected in their lightshow too," said Najafi of Najafi Design Group in Los Angeles. "Originally when the band's manager first contacted me for this tour, she had the concept of a flat LED curtain to create a 'cool backdrop effect.' Realizing that their vision was limited by the t

Lebanon - La Production is one of the top rental and technical solutions providers in Lebanon. Headed by Roger Bakhos and based in Hazmieh a dynamic suburb of metropolis of Beirut, the company works all across the Arab states as well as parts of Europe including Greece and Spain.

They have recently made a new investment in 48 x Robe LEDWash 600s.

La Production has been operating for 14 years, eight of those headed by Roger. With 33 full time employees and a wider pool of regular freelance technicians, the go-ahead company has an extensive lighting inventory, LED screens, video projection systems and lasers and is involved in all types of shows and events.

The first investment in Robe moving lights was about six years ago when 60 X ColorWash 575E ATs were purchased for a job in Qatar. Roger is really happy with these and they are still working hard.

This year, the time was

USA - There may have been clouds looming on the opening day of Lollapalooza, but that couldn't stop fans from pouring into Grant Park.

Bandit Lites worked with 3SRcreative, the design firm comprised of lighting designers Seth Jackson and Nathan W. Scheuer, media/video director Brent Sandrock and project manager Jack Rushen to light the event, where more than 130 artists performed on eight stages over three days, culminating in a weekend of great performances by both up-and-comers, bonafide legends, and the most popular artists of today.

In its tenth year at Grant Park, and a massive 300,000 three day attendance record, Lollapalooza included performances from OutKast, Eminem, Lorde, Kings of Leon, Artic Monkeys, Skrillex, The Avett Brothers, Foster the People and Calvin Harris.

"C3 presents and their head of production, Brandon Sossamon run a tight and organized ship,&qu

USA - Philips Vari-Lite has announced the '1 on 1 with Vari-Lite' video contest designed to challenge lighting designers, technicians, and fans worldwide to produce a one-minute video featuring one single Vari-Lite luminaire. With prizes that include a paid trip to LDI or Prolight + Sound, GoPro Cameras, and Vari-Lite SWAG packs, the winners of the contest will be selected by an independent panel of judges and all entries must be received by 17 October 2014.

"Knowing the high level of creativity that exists with lighting professionals worldwide, we are very excited to launch the '1 on 1 with Vari-Lite' video contest," said Brad Schiller, Philips Vari-Lite product marketing manager. "With the only requirement to use one Vari-lite luminaire as the main subject matter in a one-minute video, we are eager to see how each entrant pushes the boundaries of their own imagi

The Netherlands - Clay Paky GlowUp fixtures recently illuminated the 2014 performance of the Leidse Koorboeken (The Leiden Choir Book) concerts in The Netherlands, a series of musical performances based around the six choir books that are kept in the Dutch Leiden Archives, made in the sixteenth century and written for church. They make up Europe's largest collection of its kind. The concerts run for four days across The Netherlands and always attract large audiences.

For the fifth consecutive year Keylight has supplied the design and lighting hardware for the Leidse Koorboeken shows. Lighting designer Gary Yates of Keylight said, "Over the past two years Keylight has been fortunate to implement our stock of Clay Paky GlowUp fixtures to support our role as lighting supplier.

"The audience at each venue surrounded the stage 360 degrees for the "in the round"

Germany - An arsenal of three Avolites Media Ai S8 HD media servers have pumped out dazzling visuals for German rock band Böhse Onkelz (Bad Uncles) as they performed on arguably the largest stage ever constructed in Europe.

The iconic rockers performed a reunion gig at the world famous Hockenheimring race track, south of Mannheim, to 200,000 fans. On stage were four 35m high LED towers, spanning over one hundred metres, which were perfectly pixel mapped by Ai.

Roland Greil and Thomas Döhring of German visual production company Einstein and Sons supplied and controlled the Ai S8 servers, which were sending out multiple full 1080p HD feeds.

The three servers shared the management of live feed, pre-designed graphic content, IMAG feed, and pre-visualisation. Two further S8 servers were supplied by Einstein and Sons as backup. Lighting and set design was by Jerry Appelt.

&quo

USA - Vibiana, originally St. Vibiana, Los Angeles' first Archdiocese Catholic cathedral and one of the city's few remaining nineteenth century landmarks, was beautifully transformed into a stunning full service event facility in the late 2000's, and more recently has been outfitted with a state-of-the-art Elation Professional LED lighting system.

Located in the historic core of downtown Los Angeles, Vibiana is a much sought after venue for weddings and receptions, performing arts, and events of all types. Its historical atmosphere, refined architecture and elegant Main Hall form ideal surroundings for any special occasion.

Because lighting in Vibiana's Main Hall consisted of simple non-dynamic white light, the venue had to rent in lighting equipment every time there was an event that required something extra. And when you do that costs can be quite high, says Adrian de Pamphi

USA - Even by LA standards, the 2014 BET Experience Concert at the Staples Centre was a star-studded affair, with the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Grammy winners Maxwell and Jill Scott gracing the stage for three glittering nights.

Visions Lighting of Brea, CA created a lighting design that looked right at home with this on-stage glitz by using a visually powerful combination of video panels, strobes, and moving fixtures, along with some unique "light diamonds" created with 64 Nexus 4x4 LED panels from CHauvet Professional.

"We rigged the Nexus panels in diamond shapes to create a different look and project an image of glamour in keeping with the character of this event," said Todd Roberts of Visions Lighting, which built the lighting and trussing system for the BET concert. "This was a big stage with big stars, so the lighting had to ma

UK - Hastings-based lamp and LED lighting specialist CLD Distribution has taken a major shareholding in bespoke lighting manufacturer Iberian Lighting - also based in Hastings - in a merger that unites CLD's rapid expansion into LED lighting technology with Iberian's experience in the design of specialist commercial and architectural products.

Iberian, this year celebrating 50 years of successful business, is renowned for designing some of the world's largest lampshades and custom feature lighting elements.

CLD has a fast-growing technical department dedicated to the development of LED lighting technologies and producing an increasing range of LED luminaires aimed at a wide range of commercial and industrial applications.

CLD's MD, Rob Platt states, "The merger amalgamates both these specialities. With CLD's strong sales force and Iberian's talented and imaginative crea

The Netherlands - Leading Dutch technical solutions provider Ampco Flashlight Rental has made another major investment in Robe products with the purchase of 55 x CycFX 8 fixtures, which were delivered by Robe's Benelux distributor, Controllux.

Marco de Koff, Ampco Flashlight's operations manager explains how they were impressed by the functionality of the CycFX 8 and the fact that the fixtures are "unique and versatile" and therefore would be ideal to have in their rental stock.

Already several of their clients and various lighting designers are enthusiastically embracing the CycFX 8, and so far, the units have yet to be spotted in the Utrecht based company's warehouse as they have gone from one job to the other in a virtually unbroken sequence.

De Koff likes the zoom feature of the CycFX 8 and the fact that they can be used for cyc and set lighting as well as for

UK - The PLASA Professional Development Programme (PDP) is renowned as a platform for sharing ideas and showcasing industry expertise. This year, the PDP will occupy two spaces at Excel London - the Audio and AV Theatre and the Lighting and Stage Theatre.

The PDP made its debut in 2010. Since then over 300 speakers have taken part in its panels, which have welcomed thousands of attendees. The programme's aim is to test theory, inspire debate and positively impact the different strands of the entertainment technology industry.

The Lighting and Stage Theatre is preparing to welcome a wide range of expertise and talent, from companies like Martin Professional, Theatre Projects, Marshmallow Laser Feast, IQ Magazine, The Backstage Centre and Avolites Media, and from organisations including ABTT and the Association of Lighting Designers.

Leading lighting manufacturer, Martin Profe

UK - Battersea Power Station was the iconic background for part of this year's Totally Thames festival organised by the Thames Festival Trust featuring Carabosse, a French Fire Art company who deliver picturesque installations for audiences and passers-by throughout the world.

Illuminate Design hasworked with the Thames Festival Trust for the past eight years, helping to deliver a variety of events, predominantly the annual Mayor's Thames Festival in London.

This year, Jonathan Bartlett, production manager for the Trust contracted Illuminate Design to provide a complete service for the Fire Garden by Carabosse at the Battersea Power Station. The project brief included Site management, PA, and lighting the famous chimneys.

To tackle the task, Robin Shephard-Blandy, director for Illuminate Design chose the new SGM G-Spot. Robin said, "The G-spot was a perfect solution for

USA - Recently, the EtherCAT Technology Group (ETG) invited its members to attend the annual North American EtherCAT Plug Fest - held at the North American headquarters of Beckhoff Automation in Savage, Minnesota, USA.

For a period of two days, participants subjected their EtherCAT masters and slaves to rigorous interoperability testing, discussed open questions, and prepared the devices for future marketing. Additionally, the ETG shared exclusive information about prospective EtherCAT device test developments to the members.

The 2014 North American EtherCAT Plug Fest was also highlighted by the location of the two-day event. The Savage, Minnesota facility of Beckhoff Automation LLC also houses the North American EtherCAT Test Centre (ETC), which was accredited by the ETG at the beginning of 2014. The goals of the event were to test EtherCAT devices from the 35 participants fo

UK - In 2013 Le Maitre invested in increasing productivity at its pyrotechnics factory in Peterborough UK, in order to cope with demand. The pyrotechnic manufacturing process is a very labour intensive process and Le Maitre had reached almost full production capacity the year before.

The company therefore researched alternative methods, exploring different industries before subsequently identifying a completely new production process which can output a phenomenal 24,000 to 26,000 units per hour, regardless of diameter, and is now resulting in a terrific increase in capacity.

Moving from the previous moulded stars method to the new format has been far from straightforward. The production process greatly affects how the pyro behaves and the Peterborough team have had to spend a huge amount of time and resource in the careful adjustment of product composition.

Le Maitre confirm

UK - There has been a theatre on the site of Sadler's Wells since 1683. Christian Wallace is the technical manager for this, the sixth incarnation to bear the name of the original proprietor along with a nod to the health giving spring that still lie beneath the theatre. He explains the theatre's current remit: "Sadler's Wells presents all sorts of dance from Britain and from international companies, including tango, hip hop, ballet, flamenco, and contemporary dance. We present high profile and internationally recognised works so we need to provide the best possible equipment, which of course includes our lighting stock."

The current building was opened in 1998 and the majority of the lighting stock is now 16 years old. Wallace freely admits that, despite sustaining a rigorous maintenance programme, it was time to explore the newer, more advanced fixtures now on the ma

South Africa - As the worldwide launch of Robe's new long-throw 1700W BMFL Spot luminaire continues apace across all continents, two South Africa launch events staged in Cape Town and Johannesburg attracted nearly 200 people from multiple industry sectors, including all the major industry players in SA.

The two SA events were organised by Robe's SA distributor DWR, whose team of MD Duncan Riley and director Nic Britz was joined by Robe's sales director Harry von den Stemmen and technical sales manager Ond?ej Hegar. For the first launch event in Cape Town, Robe's CEO Josef Valchar also jetted in.

The Cape Town event took place at the Grandwest Arena, a venue chosen as it was important to demonstrate in a large space so guests could appreciate the power - a staggering 250,000 lux at 5m - and throw capabilities of the BMFL Spot.

A constant stream of visitors all day heard a bri

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