UK - Last month White Light had its first opportunity to light the way for Fast Forward, a fundraising gala evening at the National Theatre. Featuring an auction for once-in-a-lifetime experiences and excerpts from forthcoming productions, the event raised proceeds for NT Future - a transformative project providing new facilities for audiences, artists and young people.

Fast Forward took place on March 4, 2015 and attracted a glittering guest list including: Simon Callow, Olivia Colman, Frances de la Tour, Anne-Marie Duff, Sir David Hare, Ian Hislop, Patricia Hodge, Tom Hollander, Jeremy Irons, Lesley Manville, Andrew Scott, Fiona Shaw and Anna Wintour.

Held in the Olivier Theatre, innovative event design saw the stage utilised for dinner service, keeping the vast auditorium space free for the plethora of entertainment. Performances included: Damon Albarn showcasing a song fro

UK - Following a hugely successful Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, ETC is getting ready to head to northern England, where its most popular new and updated products will be on display at PLASA Focus Leeds.

The new Source Four LED Fresnel adapter is set to take pride of place in the lighting area, alongside ColorSource PAR - the new addition to ETC's LED range which perfectly suits budget-starved venues without sacrificing the output quality or customer service levels that people have come to expect.

Source Four's miniature sibling, Source Four Mini, will also be on display, proving that bright, accurate light can come in a small package.

Meanwhile, an ETC Gio control desk will be joined by ETCnomad and ETCnomad Puck, each of which comes with powerful Eos-family software and provides similar lighting control features.

Gio is a compact control desk with big ideas: its fast, eas

UK - UK companies installing energy monitoring systems, such as the MeasureMyEnergy equipment offered by consultancy :entertaining sustainability, can now qualify for upfront financing from the Carbon Trust's Energy Efficiency Financing Scheme.

The scheme, which is run on behalf of the Carbon Trust by Siemens Finance, provides initial funding for the installation, with repayments made over a maximum of five years from the savings generated by working with the equipment.

The MeasureMyEnergy system - already installed at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio - utilises sensors on each circuit within a distribution board to log consumption, flag up anomalies and present real-time data via a secure web app.

Companies already working with the system - anecdotally report savings of between 10% and 20% through the ability to target the highest areas of consumption within a buildin

UK - Artistic Licence, the experts in lighting control, invite visitors to stand N-B23 at this year's PLASA Focus Leeds. Making its debut is versaSplit mini, a multi-functional modular DMX distribution system that promises to be the lighting control industry's equivalent of a Swiss Army knife.

versaSplit mini is housed in a compact metal case, suitable for desktop or truss mounting via an adapter. It comes with an inter-changeable input module, allowing the user to select between DMX/RDM, Ethernet (Art-Net, sACN & KiNET) or CRMX wireless DMX input.

The product features six splitter outputs, fitted with 5-pin XLR connectors. Moreover, all the input modules allow the user to switch to a 'fix mode' if any flickering is encountered.

The beauty of the product is that all the input modules (of which there are six types) can be purchased separately, making versaSplit mini an extrem

UK - Chroma-Q Color One 100 LED Pars made their debut at Worthing's Connaught Theatre beaming bright, primary colours for an all-star production of Aladdin.

Originally an early cinema called the Picturedrome, in 1935 the venue was turned into a theatre when the Worthing Repertory Company outgrew its own premises - bringing with it the name Connaught Theatre. Last year's pantomime, Aladdin, starred singer Jon Lee of multi-million selling band S Club 7, alongside Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists Kieran Sutcliffe and Sarah Jameson.

The Color One 100 LED Pars were purchased for use in the venue's Studio Theatre, but made their debut in the main auditorium for the panto, to provide bright and comprehensive stage coverage.

"The main attraction of the Color One 100s for me was the excellent colour mixing and replication along with the decent lens,"

UK - A special version of Robe's Robin LEDWash 800 PureWhite SW fixture was specified by lighting designer and broadcast lighting and visual media effects specialist, Manfred Ollie Olma, from Cologne, Germany based lighting and visual design practice, mo2 design, for the new state-of-the-art Al Jazeera broadcast studio in London.

The studio, located on the 16th floor of The Shard in London features 80 of these Robe moving lights.

mo2 design was commissioned by set design and constructor Studio Hamburg, Germany's leading production service centre for film and television, which installed the studio's set and infrastructure on the strength of their designs for other high profile TV studio installations. These have included Phönixhof in Hamburg (also using Robe lights) and Sky Sports News in Munich.

The 600sq.m London studio is divided into two elements - the News Studio and th

UK / Belgium - As AED Master Distribution, with its HQ in Belgium, continues to expand to new territories with brands such as High End Systems and QSC Pro Audio, the company has recently added a couple of new profiles to its team.

The first new team member is Paul Young, who has been appointed as Brand Manager Rigging. Paul brings over 20 years' of the Live Entertainment sector and a wealth of experience gained in rigging and stage lighting to the position.

AED Distribution currently distributes some of the industry's leading rigging brands including the Prolyte trussing & staging range and Columbus McKinnon hoists, and wishes to add Young's experience to this rapidly growing area of their business. His role will primarily be to manage the brands and the link between manufacturer and the expanding AED sales team to ensure end users benefit from a truly focussed relationship wi

Germany - Power management company Eaton launched its new FLX lighting console - part of a new performance lighting control product line from Zero 88 - at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.

The Zero 88 team helped generate a great buzz and enjoyed a huge response to the FLX from the public as well as amassed international press and media.

A special press event on the Thursday was attended by a slew of industry journalists from around the world, and FLX demonstrations involving multiple consoles took place throughout the show on the stand of Zero 88's German distributor Ultralight. This was right at the heart of all the action in Hall 11 - arguably and consistently the busiest of the expo.

FLX has been designed to maximize the creativity and time of lighting designers working on medium sized shows across all sectors of the industry.

This powerful and compact console offers a clea

UK - Fresh off a successful Prolight+Sound show in Frankfurt, Elation Professional heads to the Royal Armouries in Leeds for PLASA Focus, where premiere launch products like the all-new ACL Series of LED lights and the powerful hybrid Platinum FLX moving head will be on display, and much more.

Join the Elation team 12-13 May at Stand N-D32 for the opportunity to talk in depth with qualified Elation personnel and get an up-close look at Elation's line of versatile lighting solutions.

The new ACL Series features a new highly advanced collimator lens optic, the largest single multi-chip LED lens optic to date at the same size of a PAR 20 lamp. Using the newest high-output Osram RGBW 15W multi-chip LED, its large-size optical design produces a laser-like homogenized 4-degree beam from each lens for extremely high output efficiency. Five models are available - ACL Par, ACL Bar, ACL

UK - From its award-winning venue, to its business only focus and change in opening hours, PLASA 2015 has its sights firmly set on providing a show that delivers on every level.

"This will be our third year at London's ExCeL," says Christopher Toulmin, director of Events Division at PLASA. "Relocating events is never an easy decision to make but the closure of Earls Court made it inevitable. Our move to ExCeL- the only venue in London that can fully support the technical requirements of our industry- has proved the right decision and has enabled us to pursue our exciting plans for development."

With a track record of hosting world-leading events such as PLASA London, ExCeL is the UK's largest exhibition and conference venue and a compelling destination for business professionals. Part of a 100 acre campus, ExCeL boasts easy transport links to central London

Mexico - They may be on a smaller scale than the Olympic Games but the 22nd Central American and Caribbean Games packed just as much glitz and glamour into their opening ceremonies in Veracruz, Mexico. Lighting designer David Grill, of David Grill and Associates, Inc. (DGA) in Mahwah, New Jersey, used grandMA2 lighting consoles to illuminate the festivities.

The Central American and Caribbean Games are held every four years with athletes from the region competing in a variety of sports, some of which qualify them for the Pan American Games. The Games were staged in the newly refurbished Estadio Luis 'Pirata' Fuente in Veracruz where more than a million people watched approximately 5,700 participating athletes.

Lighting director Paul Sonnleitner programmed the lighting using two grandMA2 full-size consoles, two grandMA2 light and a MA onPC command wing as well as a MA onPC fade

Italy - Creative technology expert Realtime Environment Systems Ltd (RES) has completed an 18-month project, working in collaboration with media agency Innovision and content creators Immersive, to design, install and pixel map 1000s of LEDs for two of four giant metal LED sculptures created for Expo Milano 2015.

Situated in the heart of the Expo, in the Piazza Italia sponsored by Siemens, the four 10m-high shimmering tree-like sculptures anchor the four corners of the central square.

Conceived by Polish-American artist and architect Daniel Libeskind, each structure's dynamic form spirals out of the ground and spreads into two branches spanning 10 metres above the square. Crafted from brushed aluminium and fitted with a grid of innovative LED technology, the sculptures' 'Wings' animate the public space with a constant flow of pulsating patterns and imagery that relate to the t

USA - Alternative artist Børns didn't just perform for fans who turned out for Lucid Candy in Culver City, a pre-concert event celebrating his Candy EP, he took them on a dream-like journey reminiscent of Alice's fantastical walk through the Looking Glass. Lighting designer Rachel Miller used a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional to add to the evocative power of the event, which was created by 72U and Mophonics Music & Sound.

The magic Miller worked with lights was evident in the event's mesmeric tunnel entrance, which visitors walked into after being presented with intriguing pill vials filled with M&M candy. With dry ice produced fog rising from the ground and flowing fabric covering the walls and ceiling, the tunnel gave visitors the feeling of walking into a dream. This effect was accentuated by Miller's use of COLORado 1-Quad Tour RGBW LED wash fixtures

USA - Passion plays, traditional theatrical depictions of the life and death of Jesus, have been an Easter season staple for centuries and the modern-day touring production The Thorn with a full Elation lighting and LED video package, is arguably one of the best.

The Thorn,which has been staged yearly since 1998, breaks from ritual and adopts a more dramatic form, fusing Cirque du Soleil-type aerials, martial arts and state-of-the-art entertainment technology with emotionally powerful performances.

This year, the play raised the visual drama even further through use of a dynamic package of Elation Platinum Series and LED-based moving heads, LED Par and effect lights, and LED video displays with haze and special fog effects from Antari.

Illuminate Production Services of Sacramento provided nearly all of the lighting equipment, labor and production management for

UK - Since Ambersphere Solutions welcomed Ayrton into its family of quality distributed brands, the proliferation of Ayrton fixtures has been one of the company's many success stories.

A dozen of Ayrton's Magicpanels can currently be seen on the lighting rig for Olly Murs' latest outing. Famously just the runner-up in the X-Factor of 2009, his current UK tour includes four nights at The O2 in London before heading to Europe and then on to Australia. At the recent Manchester Arena show, the set list was put on hold to accommodate filming Olly and his audience by the X-Factor team in preparation for his debut on the show as a judge. Not a bad result for a performer many thought would be consigned to the Butlins summer season after losing out to Joe McElderry.

Production designer Paul Normandale has combined a set, video and lighting rig that places the audience focus firm

UK - London's Royal Albert Hall is the first live performance venue in the UK to invest in Robe's BMFL Spot moving light, with a purchase of 17 fixtures for its in-house lighting rig.

The decision was taken by the Hall's senior technical manager, Ollie Jeffery, and the venue's award-winning lighting design and systems manager, Richard Rhys Thomas. The units were delivered by Robe UK in conjunction with TSL Lighting where the process was co-ordinated by Ashley Lewis, Robe UK's key account manager for touring, TV, theatre & film.

The venue stages approximately 400 performances per year in the main auditorium, which has a capacity of over 5,000 (variable according to configuration) and is known for its splendid environment and famous organ, built in 1871 and comprising 9,999 pipes.

In addition, there are about 400 events in other spaces around the building, encompassing all typ

The Netherlands - Coemar Lighting has announced the appointment of Fairlight BV has its exclusive distributor for the LEDko products in The Netherlands and Belgium.

For 25 years Fairlight has been known for innovation, customer satisfaction and reliability. They are a leading distributor of quality equipment for the entertainment industry, representing many major brands such as Martin, Eurotruss, Avolites, LSC, Prolift, Chainmaster, De Sisti and Wireless Solution.

Michel Arntz, director of Fairlight says, "We are glad to start our cooperation with Coemar. Coemar is an historical brand with a long heritage and the LEDko products are outstanding and a great tool for the professional lighting. We are confident that our customers will be happy by providing new, innovative and good solutions with Coemar with the service customers know from Fairlight."

He adds, "We

Opera on the Road - Opera is to be toured to theatres around the UK by a new production company that aims to bring more diverse audiences to the genre. HighTime has been founded by Felicity Green and Benjamin Hamilton, who met while studying at the University of Warwick, and is aimed at staging productions for people who would otherwise not have access to opera. Its first production, supported by Arts Council England, will be Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, in a new translation by Kit Hesketh-Harvey. It will run at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, with plans to tour the show around the UK next year, engaging young people from each location to perform in the chorus.

Green Day - Amelia Lily will star in a new London production of Green Day musical American Idiot. The X Factor runner-up, who is currently starring in a tour of Joseph and the Amazi

USA - Fort Lauderdale-based lighting and video rental company Paradigm Lighting once again delivered a fabulous production, lighting design and kit for the Live Stage at this year's Ultra Music Festival in Miami, with Robe Pointes and MMX Spots at its core.

Paradigm's owner and founder Jorge Valdez has been involved in lighting this stage at the US's premier EDM extravaganza for the last 12 years. The Live stage, located at the 7500 seat outdoor Klipsch Amphitheatre at Bayfront Park, was a major hotspot of the event, and hosted up to eight live artists a day for three days. This year included jaw-dropping sets from Krewella, Netsky, Kygo, Porter Robinson, Bassnectar, Royksopp and Chromeo.

Jorge received a brief of what the organizers wanted to see in terms of a visual concept - Paradigm also supplied video for the Live Stage - and then oversaw its technical realization, which

UK - The recent gala evening for Alice's Adventures Underground saw team White Light venture down the rabbit hole for Les Enfants Terribles' extraordinary new show, nestled deep in the Waterloo Vaults.

Now open for a strictly limited season, the multi-sensory production fuses puppetry, story-telling, music and spectacle with stage technology for an immersive experience. Inviting intimate groups to choose their own adventure, different interactive elements re-create memorable scenes from Lewis Carol's novel, which has just celebrated its 150th anniversary.

The White Light team led by Gary O'Donnell - hire coordinator, worked closely alongside Paul Walmsley - chief electrician for the project, utilising our inventory to fulfil the extensive kit requirements. The design incorporated eight different rooms, all with an entirely bespoke set-up and experience within. Fully net

USA - At the sold out Invasion Del Corrido concert at the Staples Centre, keeping pace with the swirling passion, colour and intensity of the music on stage was a dynamic lighting design created by LD Brandon Dunning of Visions Lighting. At the heart of Dunning's design was a series of truss structures energized by bright pixel mapped Nexus 4 x4 LED panels from Chauvet Professional.

Dunning used 20 of the Nexus panels controlled with an ArKaos LED Mapper. (He ran the rig using a grandMA 2 Light console.) Eight of the Nexus panels were hung inside a 30' x 25' upstage circular truss structure. The other 12 Nexus units were arranged three each on the four 10' truss towers that accented the stage.

By displaying pixel mapped breakout patterns on the Nexus panels and varying the intensity of their output (he ran a mixture of 110v and 208v), Dunning was able to reflect the diverse ra

USA - It is the hope of every museum to help make history come alive, and with an 11,000 year old history as rich as the Cherokee nation, the Museum of the Cherokee Indian had no shortage of inspiration. In 1998, Visual Terrain, Inc. designed lighting for the newly renovated space, and was awarded the IESNA's prestigious Edwin F. Guth Memorial Award for Interior Lighting Design.

In 2014, the museum called when they could no longer get parts for the 1998 dimming and control system. Upon visiting the museum, Visual Terrain CEO Lisa Passamonte Green noted, "They had started to upgrade to LEDs, but it was early technology, and the light output and colour consistency was not what we can achieve with the newest sources. The museum was darker, and our original design was no longer evident.

"It's rare we get an opportunity to completely re-do a project that we did many years

USA - With spectacular staging, big-screen displays, theatrical lighting, all-encompassing sound and close to 20,000 spectators at every event, this year's Passion Conference - Passion 2015 - looked more like a major rock concert than a religious event. But the Passion 2015 event is actually three full days of music, inspirational speeches, video, lights and stagecraft designed to bring 18 to 25 year olds closer to Jesus Christ.

An annual event since 1997, the Passion Tour has grown exponentially, with this year's conference presenting three separate events this winter to sold-out crowds at Philips Arena in Atlanta over the course of two weekends, and the Toyota Centre in Houston. The Houston event was also streamed over the Internet, allowing roughly 40,000 more viewers to virtually attend this high profile, influential Christian event.

Passion 2015 leveraged world-class stag

Belgium - Earlier this year, Elation partner Fratuer near Antwerp, Belgium, supplied and installed a new Elation lighting package in Red&Blue, the city's largest gay club and the biggest in Belgium. Red&Blue, which has stood as a pioneering nightclub in Antwerp for more than 17 years, hosts crowds of partygoers each night, as well as a slew of parties throughout the year. The club sought to create a new experience for its customers and chose to upgrade its existing lighting system.

"Together with Frateur and Red&Blue management, we started out with some drawings to get our thoughts and demands for the lighting down on paper," commented Tim Torfs, who manages the club together with Nourdin Bens. "After several brainstorm sessions we came up with a fantastic idea, which Frateur then put into action. It resulted in the magnificent piece of lighting design we have tod

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