USA - Intensity is the name of the game at American Ninja Warriors. More of an athletic event than a reality show, the popular NBC programme, which is perennially number one in its time slot, treats its 6m viewers to a breathtaking display of physical power, quickness and dexterity. Lighting director Edward Motts brought forth similar qualities in the searing lightshow he created for the 2015 edition of the program, using Next NXT-1 and Nexus LED fixtures from CHAUVET Professional provided by Aspect Lighting.

Taking place at the USS Iowa battleship museum as a salute to the armed forces, the summer 2015 American Ninja Warriors set featured a daunting obstacle course made of gleaming aluminium truss. Accenting the imposing image of the course were a collection of Nexus 4x4 LED panels and Nexus 4x1 LED strips.

Motts positioned two rows of four Nexus 4x4 panels acro

USA - When The End Times tour kicked-off at the Concord Pavilion in California, it was the first official tour for the Smashing Pumpkins following the release of their latest album Monuments To An Elegy.

As the long-time tour lighting designer, Lawrence Upton of UV Lighting was once again designing the lighting rig for the alternative rock band, and the co-headlining line-up with Marilyn Manson presented a set of challenges. Working with tour lighting provider DPS, Upton created a festival-type lighting rig complete with 24 VL4000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite to give himself the creative freedom needed to surpass those challenges.

"Anytime you do a co-headlining tour you ramp things up a lot and as you get closer to the event people start to add more and more production elements," began Upton. "In the production design, we ended up with seven la

UK - The Barn on the Farm is one of the growing number of independent events that now populate the summer festival calendar. Since 2010, the event has grown year on year and now presents a broad spectrum of up and coming artists on multiple stages with pro-audio systems and professional lighting rigs. Lighting designer, Bryan Leitch was approached to submit design proposals for all three stages.

"My design was originally produced with a narrow beam LED unit in mind but then, quite by chance, I saw the Ayrton MagicDot R fixtures in action online and decided to contact Ambersphere Solutions straight away for more information. Lee House from Technical Sales was my consistent point of contact from then on."

"The festival's chosen vendor was Colour Sound Experiment," continues Leitch, "and between us we replaced my original choice with MagicDot-R units and

Switzerland / Germany - In June, German metal band Heaven Shall Burn used a barrage of effects from 36 Elation Professional Sniper 2R multi-effect lights to get the crowd going at Switzerland's biggest rock festival, the Greenfield Festival, then did the same in July at the With Full Force Festival in Germany.

Austrian-based rental and production company MartinKames.com, who worked with several bands at the two festivals, has worked with Heaven Shall Burn on their shows worldwide since 2008 and provided floor package lighting and stage effect lighting for the band at both Greenfield and With Full Force.

"The speed of the Sniper was the most crucial aspect of the Heaven Shall Burn rig," stated Nadine Horitani, head of events & sales at MartinKames.com. "The effect possibilities combined with the large quantity of fixtures made for a one-of-a-kind lightshow. Heave

South Africa - For many Land Rover enthusiasts, it was difficult to swallow the lump in their throat as they sat around the camp fire with Kingsley Holgate, a humanitarian and modern day explorer at the Landy Festival South Africa 2015, held on the 22 and 23 August at Soetdoring Vakansieplaas in Vereeniging.

Kingsley 'Greybeard' Holgate chatted around the fire. EPH Productions contributed to the setting by creating an intimate look using six Robe Robin 600s, two Martin 401s and control on a grandMA Lite. "We used the Robins, positioned on truss totems, to light the trees and to imitate the fire, creating warmth and ambience in the bush," said Andre Westraad from EPH Productions.

Kingsley has ventured through every country on the African continent and talked about his upcoming Heart of Africa Expedition, which is said to be his toughest exhibition yet. The aim is to r

Europe - Lighting designer Steve Bewley is the first to tour the UK and Europe with Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures, using over 100 units for British rock-band, Enter Shikari, in support of their new album, The Mindsweep.

Bewley has truss-mounted eighty-four MagicBlade-R fixtures behind the band in a curved wall which splits horizontally to adapt his design to fit any size of venue.

"My initial concept was to create a kind of 'fence' housing an LED framework in emulation of a brain and the neuropaths within it to emphasise the idea of The Mindsweep," says Bewley. "The LED strip needed more to bring it to life, so I supplemented it with MagicBlades which have really made it zing!"

Ayrton's MagicBlade-R aligns seven individually controllable 15W RGBW LED emitters, each with a tight 4.5° beam, and provides continuous double rotation on the pan and ti

USA - Choreographers, actors and dance champions Derek and Julianne Hough have taken their Dancing with the Stars expertise on the road for a second year in a row with their dynamic show, Move Live on Tour 2015. Lighting designer Peter Morse of Peter Morse Productions in South Lake Tahoe, California is using Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 and Sharpy Wash 330 fixtures on the show.

Move Live on Tour 2015 opened in Phoenix and played 42 dates across the country before closing in Las Vegas 8 August. The spectacle features dancing and singing by the Houghs and the Move Dance Company; they also encourage audience participation.

"A lot of shows I do are rather large in scale. This tour plays mostly theatres and small arenas so it poses a bigger challenge: working with budget and truck space limitations while still making sure you knock it out of the park,"

Italy - An immense Phoenix spread its wings on the beach of the Red Rocks of Arbatax, in Sardinia. It is here that mythology has merged with the lighting technology in the heart of one of the most charming landscapes of Italy. The Red Rocks have a close relationship with the great music, having already hosted the likes of Patti Smith, Lou Reed and Eric Clapton.

In Arbatax, the Phoenix does not rise from its ashes, but expresses its special relationship with the sun, which enhances this wonderful place, giving beautiful reflections to the red of its rocks and the emerald sea.

At Red Rocks, the majestic Phoenix is the extraordinary setting for the Red Valley Festival - a giant DJ set which took place over two nights, on 5 and 6 August, with the participation of Italian and international DJs and world-renowned guest stars Steve Aoki and Deorro.

When the glaring sun gave way to

Money, Money, Money - The piano that featured in nearly all ABBA's recording between 1973 and 1977 is going to auction. Sotheby's expert Philip Errington said, "The opening piano glissando from Dancing Queen is one of the most distinctive sounds of the 1970s and we are delighted to offer the actual instrument used by the legendary ABBA in their major recordings. The piano itself is an instrument of real importance and with the added ABBA provenance we expect it will have worldwide appeal."

The piano was made by Swedish musical instrument designer Georg Bolin for the US jazz pianist Bill Evans. It was bought by Stockholm's Metronome Studios in 1967 and appeared on nearly all of ABBA's recordings between 1973 and 1977.The group's pianist Benny Andersson said, "The Bolin Grand is one of a kind and was a great source of inspiration while working in the recordin

UK - What colour is the voice of a deity? This was the synesthetic question faced by the design team at London's National Theatre in their production of Everyman, a new adaptation of the classic 15th Century morality play.

This isn't your medieval ancestors' staging of Everyman. Carol Ann Duffy's adaptation recasts the play as a critique of the prodigal present, as a modern Everyman (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is forced to confront his solipsism, materialism and wasteful ways in the face of imminent death. The National's production, directed by Rufus Norris with lighting design by Paul Anderson, set design by Ian MacNeil, video design by Tal Rosner and sound design by Paul Arditti, uses a synthesis of up to the moment technology to present its new interpretation.

At the beginning of the play, God - who takes the form of a cleaning woman - becomes fed up with the self cent

South Africa - A truly spectacular 'rose window' made up of 89 x Robe LED moving lights - was revealed during the new South African production of Sister Act at the Joburg Theatre, downtown Johannesburg

Production designer Declan Randall united all visual elements - lighting, video and set - in a colourful collage of finesse and visual imagineering to match the pace and vibrancy of the show. With a cast featuring some of the best South African musical theatre talent, directed by award winning Janice Honeyman and produced by Bernard Jay, it received rave reviews and sold-out audiences.

Declan - a South African now living in the UK - lit Starlight Express a couple of years ago at the same venue for the same production team, who loved his work and asked him back to add his magic to Sister Act.

He began working on ideas seven months before the show opened, ba

Italy - Giovanni Pinna has worked with Vasco since 1991. What is the secret of this alliance? "Vasco believes in people's ideas. Moreover, all the technical and creative workers who have been around him for years, from the stage design team (Gio Forma Studio Associato since 1998) to the stage director Diego Spagnoli, play an active role in the whole show preparation process.

"First of all we begin by working around various set design ideas. Then everyone says which one they prefer. This year, the choice was unanimous: a large covered stage, modelled on the keel of a ship. This is when you start processing the ideas yourself, while the activity of discussing and sharing the project goes on as it develops over six months. It takes a long time, but that is what it needs for a set of this size.

"You have to realize you are in a stadium, with an audience of 60 or 70,

USA - Rock and roll never dies; neither do rock and roll dreams, although sometimes they may take an extended hiatus while "adult responsibilities" are looked after. Such was the case for New York attorney Charles Bonfante. In the '80s and early '90s, the Long Island native was the drummer for a number of touring rock bands. Then adulthood happened; so did law school, followed by a successful career as an attorney. Now Bonfante has travelled full circle, forming a band and reliving his rock road warrior experience with help from something that wasn't available back in the day: a collection of high-output lighting fixtures (primarily LEDs) from Chauvet Professional.

Bonfante's group, Reservoir Dogs, is a Pink tribute band that has been wowing audiences with a dynamic lighting rig consisting of 32 Rogues and a variety of other Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Th

Canada - CAST Software has announced wysiwyg Student Edition lighting design and previsualization software for students and educational & training institutions. The new edition will "better prepare students for their future careers in live lighting, laser and video event design".

All the student's investment on the student edition licence, goes towards a wysiwyg six or 12-month lease or full professional version.

A newly added Perform Lease Student Edition enables students to programme lighting using up to 1,000 DMX channels including connection with media server or compatible offline editor, via protocols such as DMX, EDMX, Art-net, sACN, CITP, Motion Control Universes, Pangolin Laser System, Sollinger Laser Animation, Strand ShowNet or SandNet.

wysiwyg version R35 was recently upgraded to include unrivalled performance and functionality. Constantly evolving, wysi

Denmark - The RUSH MH 6 Wash, the newest moving head in the RUSH by Martin series, is available for pre-order and expected to ship late September.

The RUSH MH 6 Wash is adapted from the popular RUSH PAR 2 RGBW Zoom and utilizes the same LED engine and zoom system, while also featuring moving head capability. The RUSH MH 6 Wash offers a fully pre-mixed color system from 12 10 W RGBW LEDs with a spectacular 10°-60° zoom. It also features full electronic dimming, strobe effects and temperature-controlled fan cooling for quiet operation.

"After hosting a private preview event at this year's Prolight&Sound in Frankfurt I am confident in saying that the RUSH MH 6 Wash will be the ideal workhorse for night venues and small to medium events," said Mark Buss, product manager, RUSH by Martin. "With proven LED technology used within the RUSH Par 2 Zoom RGBW and the

USA - When lighting designer Steve Comer began working with Jackson Browne in 2008, the goal was to create a 100 percent LED system, and with the help of Bandit Lites, that goal is coming closer and closer to fruition.

Comer tackled the project with production designer Dennis Scrimo and chose a design that would be flexible enough for a 2000 seat theatre and a 10000 seat amphitheatre in addition to being cost effective, efficient on space, and load in and out times.

"I have smaller profile fixtures so they can mostly fit inside Bandit's Go-Go Truss, which has cut down time considerably in hanging fixtures or needed to have cases of fixtures in a truck or on a stage," explained Comer. "Once we decided on an idea we liked, I got with Dizzy Gosnell and we talked about how to streamline some things to make it work. The design has gone through a couple of modificatio

Czech Republic - The Vivaldianno Project - a sumptuous and ambitious combination of popular classics played in a classical rock style - is a successful crossover musical concept evolved by Italian violin virtuoso Jaroslav Sveceny and Czech rock keyboardist Michal Dvorak.

The latest touring version of the show played five large arenas in the Czech and Slovak Republics with a full Robe moving light rig supplied by rental company Q-99 from Slovakia.

The largest venue was Prague's 17,000 capacity O2. The concerts were so popular that extra shows were added in both Ostrava and Brno which immediately sold out. Lighting was designed by Martin Hruska.

The Robe fixture count included BMFL Spots and BMFL Blades, LEDBeam 1000s, CycFX 8s and 4s, Pointes and LEDWash 1200s - a combination that gave Martin the chance to create all the drama and intensity expected from the genres of rock an

UK - Long days in the sun and surf, long nights lost in music. That's the promise of Boardmaster, Europe's leading celebration of all that is surfing. Grown from small beginnings in 1981, Boardmasters has become the epitome of boutique festival going, an event packed day and night with a feast for all the senses; not least visuals. "We're doing something quite different at the Unleashed stage in the Big Top this year", said Rhodri Shaw of Video Design. "That's as well as provide the big IMAG screens for the main stage."

Shaw, as project manager for Video Design, has been instrumental in driving the development of LED at Boardmasters and it's not as straight forward as it sounds. "The Unleashed stage is a saturation situation with pumping music from the likes of Groove Armada and Roni Size. The designers asked that we provide great arches skinned with LED

China - When the 24th PALM Beijing Show was reinstated, after originally being cancelled, PR Lighting took every opportunity to capitalise.

On their large 252sq.m stand at the China International Exhibition Centre the company presented no fewer than eight new products, and was rewarded by picking up several 'Best in Show' awards.

The XR 470 Beam won the first prize and three further PR Lighting products - XLED 3019, XR 1000 Spot and XR 130 Beam - took runner-up awards in the 24th PALM Expo Exhibitions Products Technology Progress category. In addition, PR Lighting walked away with the Exhibition's Intellectual Property Award.

According to international sales director, Ernie Armas, response to the new products from the market was equally positive. "The lighting professionals, specifiers and consultants who visited our booth were extremely bullish about all our new produc

Europe / USA - Utilizing a proprietary Philips technology, Philips Selecon has introduced the PL Series Mark II LED luminaires.

"As we listened to our dealers and clients worldwide, we found that what they desired most in LED luminaires was colour consistency," said Julie Smith, Philips Strand Lighting general manager of the Americas. "Working with our engineers at Philips, we have found a fantastic solution with the PL Series Mark II LED luminaires and we are very excited to introduce them into the market."

The PLPROFILE1 MKII LED luminaire is a variable beam profile with precise beam control and pattern projection from a high output beam using only 140 Watts. An innovative combination of LED source technology and precision optical design, the PLPROFILE1 MKII is available in 18-34 or 24-44 degree beam angles while offering the performance of a 500 Watt pro

Spain - The latest addition to Ibiza Town's extensive nightlife platter is a club cum restaurant named Heart, perched idyllically at the foot of the Marina next to the Ibiza Grand Hotel. The club, which provides guests with a three-pronged experience of food, dance and musical performances and DJs, is the brainchild of Albert and Ferran Adrià - the world-famous chefs renowned for their Michelin three-star restaurant elBulli - and Guy Laliberté, founder of Cirque du Soleil.

Belgian-based Arf & Yes were responsible for coming up with a lighting concept for the main part of the experience, and called upon the services of 112 Rogue R1 Washes supplied by Spanish distributor Stonex Show Lighting.

"The concept is nothing like a normal club," commented Ignace D'Haese, one half of Arf & Yes. He continued: "It's more like a Vegas show in a way, with many evolving

Slovenia - Leading Slovenian lighting designer Crt Birsa was asked to create a dynamic production lighting scheme for the main stage at the 2015 Schengenfest event, Slovenia's largest festival, staged at Vinica, Bela Krajina and attracting up to 10,000 music fans each day. They enjoyed a series of rousing performances from a selection of top international artists and local heroes including Rudimental (DJ set), Asian Dub Foundation, Magnifico, Siddharta Stahlzeit and Guano Apes.

Crt chose to use close to 80 x Robe moving lights which were mostly supplied by rental company Intralite. This included 20 x Pointes, 16 x Robin 600E Beams, 20 x ColorSpot 1200E ATs, 20 x ColorWash 575E AT Zooms and three ColorSpot 700 E ATs all right at the centre of the design, which also utilised a number of other lights.

Crt and programmer / operator Nikola Podlesnik worked closely on creating a ran

UK - Quick fire comedian Lee Mack is back on prime time screens with a new series of the popular fact finding panel show, Duck Quacks Don't Echo. Filmed live in front of a studio audience, lighting director Oli Richards is taking care of the lighting installation, with assistance from crew chief David 'Frankie' Francis.

Set designer Markus Blee has created the backdrop to the show using an array of pictorial acrylic blocks arranged to form a cascading effect. Aurora worked closely with the designer to populate the boxes with hundreds of metres of LED ribbon, adding colour and depth to the set pieces.

Elsewhere, to wash the set Aurora supplied Martin MAC Auras augmented with a selection of Viper Performances that add versatility with their framing and focusing capabilities. Martin Rush Pars are also included in the installation to keep the audience illuminated during ca

Germany - The Airbeat-One festival happens annually since 2002 on the private airfield of Neustadt-Glewe in North Germany and is held by the rental company Music-Eggert. There are several floors where a lot of EDM fans can listen to several styles of their favourite music.

The Main Floor this year alone was equipped with the following material: 108 x Clay Paky Mythos, 28 x Clay Paky B-EYE K20, 20 x Clay Paky B-EYE K10, 16 x Alpha Spot HPE 1500, 66 x Laser Imagineering Sunbeam 100 4C Zoom, 34 x Laser Imagineering CLED 1000, one grandMA2 full-size, two grandMA2 light, with lighting design from Sebastian Heise.

Heise, who is also CEO of Laser Imagineering, explained, "The base design idea of the different dance floors is to get an impressive feeling to all festival guests. The lighting fixtures themselves should be part of the decoration and shall not dominate the total opti

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