UK - Industry veteran Peter Maddison has announced the launch of a brand new company, PCM Distribution Ltd, at the PLASA Show next week (5-8 October, Excel, London). The company, a UK distributor of professional lighting, sound and accessories, has already been appointed UK sales agent for Amp-Pack Cases and for the Italian lighting brand, Studio Due, as well as UK sales agent for Mach Audio - and the company will be displaying a selection of the latest Mach speakers on the Amp-Pack Cases stand from Sunday 5 October.

(Lee Baldock)

Denmark - Martin Professional reports that the Rush Wizard "full-house" effect light for nightclubs, bars and other leisure environments is now shipping. As the latest member of the Rush by Martin line of affordable lighting solutions, the Rush Wizard is an extremely bright yet energy-efficient light providing high-quality mid-air effects.

The Rush Wizard is music-triggered and DMX-controllable with two independent color/gobo wheels offering seven colors (plus two whites) and 13 different gobos with an additional two open patterns. An advanced shutter system allows the Wizard to create fast strobe and pulse effects as well as blackouts and a unique instant open. The Wizard also delivers more than 80 agile light beams with each beam chasing the other while continuously changing colour and gobo pattern.

"Finding reliable effect lighting that is compact and bright

Sweden - LumenRadio has appointed Lars Fabian Paape as a part of their R&D team, where he will be working as senior research engineer.

Lars Fabian Paape comments, "I'm delighted to join LumenRadio. They have built such a strong reputation in the industry, not only for their excellent products, but also for their quality, reliability and also being really awesome people."

Having a Masters degree in Mathematics, Paape founded his own consulting company in 1998 and has ever since worked in the scientific field of mass spectrometry developing data evaluation algorithms for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Paape brings with him extensive experience and has been working in the lighting industry since 2001, by that time working for Spectrosoft GmbH. During this time Paape was highly involved in the algorithmic development of the first grandMA 3D application. Paape has been worki

USA / Canada - Clay Paky Sharpys illuminated the Journey and the Steve Miller Band along for the ride that took them to 30 cities across the U.S. and Canada.

The tour united two of the groups that helped define The San Francisco Sound. In careers spanning 40 years, Journey has sold 80m albums worldwide and the Steve Miller Band more than 30m records.

Tour Tech East Ltd. in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia provided lighting support for the tour supplying 34 Sharpys and 20 Sharpy Washes. Senior account executive Tracey Ploss has worked with Journey and the band's lighting designer Kevin "Deuce" Christopher for eight years.

"Last year Deuce used a couple of Sharpys, but this year he specifically wanted Sharpy Washes for the tour so we added them to our inventory," says Ploss. "We've made a significant investment in the Clay Paky fixtures." Sharpys are very p

World - Lady Gaga is on her tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, and Clay Paky's A.leda B-EYE K20 innovative, LED-based moving lights and Clay Paky Sharpys are along for the wild ride.

ArtRave marks Lady Gaga's fourth concert tour. It is in support of her third studio album, Artpop and kicked off in Fort Lauderdale with 78 dates scheduled in North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia.

PRG has provided 120 B-EYEs for the tour as well as a large complement of Clay Paky Sharpys. Lighting control is performed with three full-size grandMA2s and 10 NPUs.

"Production and lighting designer Roy Bennett's approach to the show was to make it an immersive rave that reflected Gaga's non-stop party aesthetic," says programmer Jason Baeri. "That means active, alive, vibrant and high energy -- it requires us to be just as active on stage as in the crowd. The audi

Tunisia - At age 71, George Benson is still winning over the audiences with his signature soft jazzy touch. GB played a beautiful concert in the historic context of the Roman Theatre of Carthage, Tunisia, last 16 July.

The music performed was excellent, with energetic renditions of timeless hits such as On Broadway and Give Me The Night, in front of an audience that would have liked to hear even more songs.

Everything was perfect, including the expressive light show. The lighting system - including Raptor and NRG 1201 moving heads from D.T.S. - was installed by Sybel Light & Sound.

(Jim Evans)

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the very latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of premium brands - on stand P40 at PLASA London 2014.

Salesteams from AC-ET's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK reseller for, as well as over 200 leading brands available for immediate despatch from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

From AC-ET's Lighting division, the stand will showcase product highlights from the many UK-exclusive LED lighting brands available. Chroma-Q will unveil their new Color One 100 LED Par, which features an innovative fully homogenised beam virtually eliminating the colour separation and shadows synonymous with LED lighting - delivering above Par perfo

UK - Le Maitre's newly launched range of Coloured Ice Gerbs includes a spectacular and unique colour change effect. A deeply coloured flame enveloping the base of the gerb and a column of silver sparks shoot up to heights of 6-8ft. The effect which last for some 20 seconds has been achieved by Le Maitre's R&D team and is available in aqua, blue, green, orange, purple, red, yellow and pink or as a colour change version.

The Ice Gerbs are the latest in a number of great effects from Le Maitre and produced using their completely new production process which is greatly increasing factory production capabilities.

Other new products also just released by Le Maitre include:

New Large Intense Flames in blue, white, pink, yellow, red and green, which as the name implies produce an vibrant and intense effect in terms of both colour and heat with flames 10-12ft high and lasting 20 seco

USA - It was a sight those in attendance would never forget: more than 50 soldiers, some who served in World War II, marched their way through sabre arches into a room where a thousand people gathered to honour their acts of bravery and courage for which they had been awarded the Medal of Honour.

Michael T. Strickland, Bandit's chair and founder, found himself deeply touched. "I was moved in a way I will never be moved again," he said. "To be in a room with that much greatness... simply defies explaining."

As a sponsor of the event, Bandit Lites donated more than a year's worth of labour, equipment and funds to ensure these Medal of Honour recipients received the star treatment they so richly deserved.

"It's a labour of love," said Strickland of the work chairman Joe Thompson and his committee did to bring the event to Knoxville. "It's a hu

UK - Launched last month, new cloud based rental management system, Current RMS, is already setting high standards in the rental software market and can't wait to show all PLASA London visitors and exhibitors what it has to offer.

Built from the roots up for the AV, lighting, production and events sector by CEO, Chris Branson, together with a close knit team around the product, extensive research into industry requirements, and cloud technologies were identified prior to product development.

"It was at this point, a gap in the market was acknowledged - the industry needed an online, intuitive and modern rental management system," said Branson. "A system that wouldn't hold this industry back, removing accessibility issues that are present with Windows based systems, allowing every user to action and manage all rental processes from any device and location."<

Dominican Republic - The new Hard Rock Café in the chic heart of the Dominican Republic's bustling capital Santo Domingo offers all of the attractions that have made this chain so popular around the world. Aside from enjoying great food and a festive atmosphere, guests can also see Rihanna's famous dog tag dress, a sequin dress worn by Shakira, plus memorabilia from the likes of Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry.

This Hard Rock location also serves up something extra, however, in the form of two very special LED video walls created by Jhansen "Mangu" Reinoso of Word Up Sound and Lighting, using PVP S5 Video Panels from Chauvet Professional.

Measuring 16ft wide by 10ft high, the first wall is the largest LED video display in Santo Domingo. Set behind the large stage in the café's club, it lends a true concert atmosphere to the glittering mix of EDM, islan

USA - CCI Power Supplies, a specialist in the design, engineering and manufacturing of power supplies and ballasts for high performance power conversion in architectural, theatre, stage and studio lighting applications, has released a new, patent-pending power supply technology for high performance, full-range LED dimming.

Powered by CCI's new DimMaster LED phase cut power supply technology, the technology allows dimmable LED fixtures to match the dimming performance of incandescent fixtures, the company says. "Notably, the technology supports the transition of high performance lighting applications to LED, by seamlessly blending highly cost-efficient LED lamp fixtures into existing incandescent lighting arrays. Users can make this transition without investing in new dimmers or consoles, and without new wiring, because dimming is driven by the power supply within the LED la

UK - Creative Technology is providing the wide range of visual solutions seen in the dazzling Saturday night dance show, Strictly Come Dancing.

The art deco-inspired theme is visualised using two curved proscenium arches with CT's MiTrix LED display and Flyer LED back screens, and this year sees new side arch screens within the set. The studio floor comes alive with projected images using six Panasonic PT-DS20K projectors, enabling each dance performance to be perfectly synchronised with different visual themes.

Now in CT's fourth year of providing equipment and services to the show, Project Manager, Nic Maag, is heading up the operation with his dedicated team.

Nic said, "It's fantastic to be back on the Strictly set; three months of weekly glitz and glamour! This show only gets better each year, and it's great to be a part of it."

(Jim Evans)

UK - This summer saw an eclectic mix of pop and rock legends take to the main stage at Godiva festival in Coventry. Lighting designer for the project, Yenz Nyholm, chose to specify an array of Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700 fixtures as he felt they would provide the ideal festival lighting solution on account of their robust technology, brightness and portability.

Nyholm specified eight Alpha Spot HPE 700 fixtures supplied by Siyan Ltd, to complement performances from artists including: Happy Mondays, We Are Scientists and Funeral For A Friend.

"We needed fixtures that would be able to hold their own against the sunlight during the day as well as providing plenty of colour and effects in darkness," says Nyholm "They also needed to be versatile to cover everything from punk and rock to orchestra, which is why the Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700 fixtures provided the i

USA - E3, the leading trade show for computer and video games, provides groundbreaking new technologies to over tens of thousands of professionals. Held at the Los Angeles Convention Centre in June, this event has representatives from over 100 countries. This year, Martin Professional helped bring the Ubisoft event to life providing premier lighting for the introduction of this year's newest games, including Assassins Creed French Revolution.

Featured at the Ubisoft event were 64 MAC Quantum fixtures, 10 MAC 2k Performances, five MAC 2k Washes, eight MAC Viper Profiles and 22 MAC Auras.

Chris Collins, Yeager Design, along with Elizabeth Harper, E. Harper Design, described the amount of work that went into finding the appropriate lighting for the event, including the creation of a waving French flag from Martin lights. One of the biggest challenges was finding lighting t

UK - Wireless Solution Sweden AB is celebrating all things Sweden during PLASA 2014 on stand E50. On Monday, 6 October, the Wireless Solution Swedish vodka bar opens at 16:00. The party spreads to the White Light Zone, where there will be a Sweden theme celebration beginning at 17:00, complete with Swedish vodka, beer and snacks. Representatives from Wireless Solution and White Light will be on hand to display W-DMX products and answer questions.

On display in the Wireless Solution booth will be the new W-DMX UglyBox MK2. This is a new tool geared towards rental and installation companies but useful for anyone. The unit is built in a compact size with a 4.3" Touch LCD Screen and includes a transceiver solution for 2.4GHz, 5.2GHz and 5.8GHz. It is a complete unit for testing the signal, testing the DMX and housing a built-in DMX Console as well. The unit is run by Lithium ba

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will treat guests to three nights of themed receptions during the annual PLASA Show this October, held at ExCel London.

Each evening event will focus on White Light exclusive manufacturers, offering food and drink to represent different regions around the world. The London based company is the exclusive UK distributor for several well known brands, providing a wide selection of quality lighting, effects, and AV equipment for B2B sales through its White Light Distribution Network.

Themed events will be held each evening on the White Light stand - F40 - which anchors the well-known White Light Zone. Drinks and refreshments will be served Sunday 5 October, Monday 6 October, and Tuesday 7 October from 5pm each day.

The themed receptions are sponsored by manufacturers Altman Lighting, ArKaos Pro, CORE Lighting, JB Lighting, Look

USA - The hip new $415m 1613 room SLS Las Vegas hotel opened in a blaze of glory on the former site of the Sahara - one of the city's iconic gaming culture landmarks - complete with a special gala event staged in the pool area, headlined by rapper Iggy Azalea and lit by Axis deBruyn.

Axis and his company AxisLights Inc. are based in Las Vegas and work worldwide on a variety of shows and events across all sectors. He was engaged for this launch event by production companies Caravents, Inc. & Lone Outpost, and asked to create an appropriate lighting production design for the occasion.

The brief was to replicate the ambience of an A-list celebrity event with a hot nightclub feel for the 700 invited guests. Challenges included having to make last minute adjustments in the rig to deal with a changing line-up, and contending with searing temperatures of over 100 degrees in the outdo

USA - ETC's Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaire introduced an entirely new way of thinking about colour and LED light. Now ETC is stepping up the quality of broadcast lighting, by introducing two new Source Four LED Series 2 arrays: Daylight HD for variable cool (4000 to 6500K) light and Tungsten HD for adjustable warm (2700 to 4500K) light.

The Source Four LED Series 2 Daylight HD and Tungsten HD luminaires include special features that make them suitable for on-camera use. They operate flicker free, even at high speeds, so they won't be noticeable while filming. And the luminaires work quietly and dim smoothly, so they won't disrupt the action on the set.

ETC has spent a lot of time researching and experimenting with LED colour, creating luminaires with the richest, brightest and broadest colour ranges. The Source Four LED Series 2 Daylight HD and Tungsten HD arrays ben

USA - The new Platinum SBX from Elation Professional is an innovative, full-featured three-in-one luminaire with patent-pending dual optical system that has flexible use as a spot, beam, or wash fixture. Designed for a wide variety of professional stage and special event applications, it does the work of three luminaires in one.

The Platinum SBX uses an MSD Platinum 17RA lamp co-developed by Philips and Elation. Building on the success of the Platinum 5R lamp, which Elation has used previously in both spot and beam fixtures, the company has sought to keep the same arc gap to maintain the same quality and crisp sharp optics while generating more power.

Advances in optical design have resulted in higher performing, more versatile optical systems that offer several advantages over traditional systems. "We knew there would only be one way to get the optimum performance out of

UK - London-based White Light has added to its inventory of SGM's new generation of task specific LED products by making its first investment in the award-winning G-Spot platform.

The fixture, which picked up a PLASA Innovation Award soon after its launch, is the only IP65-rated LED spot on the market, and boasts enviable functionality and luminous output from an 850W high power RGBY LED light source.

White Light hire & technical director, Dave Isherwood, whose company last year became the first UK customer for the P-5 washlight, says, "We've been considering G-Spot for some time, and have been talking regularly to Ian Kirby at SGM UK.

"Because G-Spots function outdoors, and are incredibly bright and crisp, we could see the potential both for our own work and for cross-hire/sub-rentals. We decided to make the investment and promptly picked up three jobs in quick su

UK - Holo-Gauze, the 3D display solution from Holotronica Ltd, made its West End debut in September as part of Michael Flatley's Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games, a spectacular new staging of the traditional masterpiece. Premiering at the London Palladium with an exclusive and limited run starting on 3 September, ahead of a world tour,

Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games boasts serious holographic effects from Holo-Gauze, including a dance battle featuring a holographic triptych of Michael Flatley.

Other effects utilising Holo-Gauze include fire, burning trees, sunbeams, an exploding clock, giant floating head and The Matrix-style text appearing to float in front of performers. Holo-Gauze will be utilised for the duration of the world tour, with the producers looking into new and different ways of deploying the metallic, highly transparent gauze throughout the r

UK - The 2014 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was another great success for Black Light, with the company supplying over 700 light fixtures, 16.5 miles of cables and one kilometer of fairy lights to the Pleasance Theatre.

During the Fringe, which ran for three weeks during August, Black Light not only supplied the Pleasance with lighting equipment and staging, it also provided all Dancebase venues with lighting and rigging and provided staging to C Venues.

"2014 has seen yet another successful year working with Black Light as our lighting and staging supplier," said Matt Britten, technical operations manager for Pleasance Theatre. "They fulfilled all of our requirements, some of which were very last minute, on time and in good humour. Supporting two sites and 23 temporary venues for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is no small feat, and Black Light proved

USA - Tom Kenny specified over 500 Robe moving lights for the popular 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival, staged in the 15,000 capacity Ballroom of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for two consecutive days.

With a glittering line up of stars - Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Usher, Nicki Minaj, One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Calvin Harris, Bastille and many, many more including some show-stopping collaborations, the high profile spectacle was hosted by Ryan Seacrest and broadcast live on over 150 iHeartMedia radio stations across the country.

It was also video streamed live over the internet reaching an estimated 2.5 billion additional viewers ... with edited highlights aired as a special two night exclusive on the US's CW network a week later.

It was the first year that Kenny was available to create a production lighting design for the event, for which he also designed the set based on classic

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