USA - High End Systems has announced the launch of the SolaPix 7 and SolaPix 19 wash luminaires. The SolaPix family takes the traditional concept of a pixel wash and pushes it to its maximum potential. With a wide variety of looks to help set the mood and steal the show, SolaPix features an additive LED, RGBW colour mixing system for extremely powerful saturated colours and tuneable white control, a versatile 4.5° - 60° zoom range, FleX Effects Engine and Pixel mapping on all models.
HES national sales manager Sean Hoey comments, “We are excited to bring this new fixture range to market. SolaPix is truly an innovative wash fixture. It provides incredible wash capability with great output, and the face of the fixture brings a new, different look.”
Automated lighting product manager Matt Stoner adds, “Ever since High End Systems created the pixel wash with our Sh

UK - Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom provides an elegant setting for events. The 3,000-capacity venue also offers lighting designers a magnificent canvas on which to ply their art. Ollie Wilkinson of ArranPaul Audio and Lighting Design took full advantage of this recently when he lit the 2019 Enterprise Vision Awards at the century and a half old ballroom with a rig anchored by 22 Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures.
Drawing on the output, gobo capabilities, and zoom range of 14 Maverick MK2 Spot, and eight MK2 Wash fixtures, Wilkinson created an enchanting atmosphere in the cavernous room. "The thing about lighting the Empress Ballroom is that I like to let the venue talk for itself," he said. "Once we start lighting the beautiful pillars, the extravagant ceiling, and other aspects, such as the balconies, the venue really starts to come to life."
To ensure the larg

Turkey - Prolights has announced that distribution and project engineering company A+SF has joined the international distribution network.
A+SF - now the largest AVL company in Turkey, was the result of a merger between two leading AVL companies in Turkey: Asimetrik and SF. By working in all vertical markets and different market segments, A+SF have been highly successful in providing solutions from small scale events through to world class projects. A+SF have spent years developing solid relationships and a strong reputation throughout Turkey.
Paolo Albani, international sales manager for Prolights, comments, “I have known both Asimetrik and SF for years and have always been impressed by their reputations throughout the market and the calibre of project they would get involved in. Now that they have joined forces, I am sure that they are the perfect partner for Prol

USA - The Knight of Illumination Awards USA (KOI-USA), which celebrates the creative talents of local and international lighting and video designers across the United States, has revealed the nominees for the 2019 Theatre category shortlist, following long deliberation by the judging panel.
Dance critic Lauren Warnecke of the Chicago Tribune led the Theatre judging panel in her new role as panel chair. She was joined by journalist, dancer and founder of Black Dance Magazine, Norma Porter; critic and performing arts editor for the Independent (KC), Paul Horsley; editor in chief of Arts and Culture Texas, Nancy Wozny; theatre critic for Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones; lighting designer Clifton Taylor; and dance critic for Eye on the Arts, Celia Ipiotis.
The 2019 KOI-USA theatre shortlist is as follows:
The Notch Award for

USA - The epic Utopia concert by Latin American music superstar Romeo Santos broke the all-time concert gross record for a performance at the MetLife Stadium on 21 September. At the heart of the show’s rich visual design, Yamil Charif and Richard Vicens of YC3 Lighting Design specified more than 100 lighting fixtures from Vari-Lite.
Lining the wide stage and multiple walkways were Vari-Lite’s VL6000 Beam fixtures. These were partnered for the first time by the new VL6500 Wash fixtures, making their world debut on Utopia, positioned around the sides of the stage.
“We were very strict about the walkway and stage fixtures being the VL6000s and VL6500s,” said Charif. “They were the only fixtures in our rig that were non-negotiable. There is literally nothing else on the market will give us that effect.”
High power was essential as almost every surface of

Germany - The European summer music festival season wound up with a few notable events including Lollapalooza Berlin, which returned to the Olympiastadion site for the second year with a line-up including the Swedish House Mafia, UFO361, Kings of Leon, Rita Ora, Hozier, Twenty One Pilots, Billie Eilish and many more.
Robe moving lights were in evidence site-wide, supplied by a number of different companies including TSE AG (Main Stage North) and Black Box Music (Main Stage South) both from Germany and Colour Sound Experiment from the UK which delivered lighting and video for the dance-orientated Perry’s Stage.
For Main Stage North, a production design / top rig was created by Marco Hoch from TSE AG which allowed artists bringing in their own specials packages ‘underneath’ to be quickly and painlessly accommodated, and have a good, versatile all-round compliment o

UK – Event production services provider, Ingram AV is one of the first UK rental companies to stock Claypaky’s Mini-B LED beam light - supplied by distributor, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET).
Based in the North East of England, Ingram AV offers equipment hire and full technical event production services for live, corporate and architectural events.
Ingram AV has recently made a significant investment in cutting-edge equipment for its rapidly expanding new lighting department, which joins an extensive audio-visual catalogue.
Following increasing requests from customers for a small, bright wash fixture, Ingram AV’s Reed Ingram Weir contacted AC-ET’s Northern sales office. Lighting sales manager, Ben Steppenbeck and Benjamin Taylor in the external sales team visited Reed to provide a demo of the Claypaky Mini B.
Reed commented: “I was rea

Singapore - Technical production company, J5 Productions of Singapore, has recently invested in 24 Ayrton Diablo-S 300W LED profile fixtures for its rental stock. The powerful little lighting fixtures were purchased earlier this year from Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for Singapore, Total Solution Marketing Pte Ltd., following a successful demonstration
Designed specifically for stage applications, Diablo-S is equipped with a monochromatic LED light source calibrated at 7000K that can generate up to 19,000 lumens. At just over 21kg Diablo is the smallest, lightest and most efficient luminaire of its category.
J5 Productions specialises in AVL event-related broadcast and media equipment rental across Asia. Its operators and technical engineers are dedicated to providing the highest technical consultancy services, utilising a variety of systems, for international even

Asia - To better serve its expanding market in the continent, Chauvet has appointed industry figure Desmond Kwan as its Asia business development specialist.
Kwan brings extensive experience in entertainment lighting to his new position, having served in various sales and management positions at Harman Professional for 15 years. During that time he acquired a reputation for his product knowledge and commitment to customer service.
“Desmond’s track record is extremely impressive,” said Stéphane Gressier, international sales director at Chauvet. “In addition to possessing an extraordinary level of expertise, he also has a genuine dedication to putting the customer first. This has earned him an excellent reputation throughout the markets he serves. It is also very much in keeping with our own philosophy at Chauvet, so he will fit in very nicely with our corporate

USA - Dancing with the Stars has been a mainstay of American reality television since 2005. For season 28, which premiered in September on ABC, lighting designer Tom Sutherland is using Elation Professional DARTZ 360 beam/spot LED moving heads as a principal luminaire in an immersive 360-degree lighting environment. Lighting vendor for Dancing with the Stars is Felix Lighting with Nicole Barnes as account manager.
After skipping its standard spring season - there are typically two seasons per year -the Emmy-winning dance competition returned this fall with changes designed to freshen up the format. A new creative director came onboard for the new season, as did Sutherland who works with set designer Florian Weider on a revamped set.
Filmed at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, Dancing with the Stars is a competition that is as much about drama and

USA - Award winning lighting designer Ken Posner’s palette for the burlesque world of Beetlejuice on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre included 29 Solaris Flare Rayzr fixtures, earning him a Tony Award nomination for his design. The hit stage adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton film opened in April this year and continues open ended.
“We use the Rayzrs primarily as a colour wash and toner idea for the Beetlejuice house unit,” explains Posner. “Their small size and versatility made them an ideal choice. They work in very tight spaces, where other fixtures simply couldn’t fit. Their very bright colour rendering is just incredible. A total game changer.”
The show’s associate LD, Anthony Pearson, adds, “I found the Rayzrs while sourcing compact fixtures for Disney’s Frozen. I love the high brightness from such a small form factor, allowin

USA - The latest incantation of Deep Purple are out on The Long Goodbye Tour with a lighting system supplied by Bandit Lites. The five-member group is promoting its 2017 album InFinite in addition to performing classics from their 51-year catalogue including Smoke on the Water, Highway Star and Speed King.
“I first met Lothar Strunk and Louis Ball when they co-headlined with Alice Cooper in 2017,” said Bandit Lites vice president Mike Golden. “Both Louis and Lothar visited our programming facility to kick off that tour. Lothar contacted me in early spring of this year to begin talk of the Deep Purple tour and to book our programming facility for Louis. We hung the system and Lothar brought in video so Louis could have the week to prepare the system and Lothar could work out production logistics.”
Venues for the tour vary from arena

UK - Blackpool Illuminations was first held in 1879. Stretching for six miles along the resort town’s Promenade, Blackpool Illuminations bathes the esplanade in light from over a million bulbs while interactive installations explore the concept of light as art.
4Wall Entertainment contributed to this year's event by transforming the city’s Theatre D'Amour into an experimental art installation that incorporated effects from Elation Artiste Monet LED moving head luminaires. Called the 4Wall Theatre of Light, the installation features a 12-minute light show that runs four or five times an hour and continues throughout the festival’s 30 August to 3 November run.
Blackpool Illuminations manager Richard Williams and 4Wall UK’s Simon Stuart developed the concept with Theatre D'Amour designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen to bring modern technology into the theatre, a visio

The Netherlands - The Festival de Nederlandse Dansdagen (Dutch Dance Festival) is recognised internationally as a leading event for dance in the Netherlands and 20 ETC Source Four LED Series 2 luminaires were used to light the performances during the festival this October.
The six-day event invites dance companies from all over the country with styles varying from ballet to urban, avant-garde to modern dance and performance art. It welcomes a national and international audience and also presents its own productions including Bloedbanden, dansMuseum and Club Tweak.
Theater aan het Vriithof, based in the south east city of Maastricht, hosts performances such as the National Ballet as well as a youth dance day that caters for all ages and audiences throughout the festival.
The venue traditionally used 10 booms with conventional tungsten profiles as side lights but t

Belgium - Group-PDA, which provides sound, video and lighting rentals for the events industry, has become the first company in Belgium to acquire Claypaky Mini-B LED beam fixtures. Group-PDA purchased the Mini-Bs from AED Distribution.
The Mini-B is the smallest LED beam light ever made by Claypaky for the professional market. It weighs in at just 7Kg and measures only 34cm but the Mini-B features the most advanced, modern optical and electronic technology.
Group-PDA quickly put its new Mini-Bs to work on an elegant 90th anniversary party for H.Essers, a logistics service provider headquartered in Genk, Belgium. Group-PDA provided eight Mini-Bs, 18 Claypaky Sharpys and eight Claypaky Alpha Spot HPE 300s for the stage in an old factory venue, which was outfitted for a gala sit-down dinner and evening of entertainment and dancing.
Positioned above the stage to lig

Portugal - A High End Systems Hog 4 lighting console was already declared a winner while contestants battled it out on Portugal’s Game of Games TV show.
Lighting designers Marco Silva and Ricardo Maia and lighting director Miguel Valerio shared duties on the Hog 4 with the first taping of a premiere season of Jogo De Todos Os Jogos for Warner Bros. Portugal. Based on the American version of Ellen’s Game of Games, the show is taped at the Valentim de Carvalho’s Studio 3 in Lisbon, and premiered 12 October on nationwide TV.
Silva chose the Hog console as he’s been using the platform since 2000. “I love it.” he declares. “Hog 4 is an easy and fast console to program. Just think: Source, Mask, Action, Destination.”
Each game had a customized logo, which was displayed on the LED screens. “That was our guidance in terms of colour.

UK - Technical production specialist Adlib supplied lighting for two arenas at Creamfields 2019 and audio to four arenas, plus lighting and sound for the hospitality zone.
Creamfields attracts 70,000 dance fans each day for three days with a DJ line-up representing the diversity of dance culture and sounds. Merseyside-based Adlib worked directly for creative production specialist LarMac LIVE and their team led by Ian Greenway.
The logistics and planning of the lighting side of this highly detailed project were coordinated and project managed by Adlib’s Jordan Willis. The designs for arenas CF07 and CF09, for which Adlib supplied the full lighting packages, were created by Ian Tomlinson from High Scream.
A curved layered structure clad with LED video panels set the aesthetic tone for CF05, making a complete curve but with some strategic gaps left in between th

Canada - Julien Clerc is currently on the Canadian leg of his his 50th anniversary Piano et Voix tour. Supporting him is a powerful Eric Lapointe lighting design that features Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures supplied by LSM.
The Quebec-based Lapointe’s theatrical background has played a prominent role in his design for Clerc’s Canadian shows.
“This tour is held in leading theatres, most of which have massive stages, so we wanted to trim high, as high as 30ft,” said Lapointe “Thus, I needed an instrument with the output to cut through the haze and still deliver gorgeous texture even in saturated colours. The saturates are essential to this show. Each song has its own flavour and visual mood with the lights only moving in two of the more than 20 songs performed. Instead of movement, we treat the audience to incredible colour fades and quiet textured zoom

USA - In Netflix’s new reality TV show Hyperdrive, car racing meets obstacle course in a type of American Ninja Warrior with cars. Lighting is in the capable hands of two long-time industry pros and Warrior lighting veterans, Ed Motts (lighting director) and Adam Biggs (director of photography).
Motts says it was through their work on Warrior that the team was brought onboard to light the new reality competition. “We’ve really developed a niche reputation for doing outdoor TV shows,” he says of the lighting team. “Whatever Mother Nature can muster we’ve been through it. Hence we’ve gone with Elation gear because the IP rating is tremendous for us.”
The inaugural season of Hyperdrive was released by Netflix to a worldwide audience in August. The series was filmed at the Eastman Business Park in Rochester, N.Y. The complex was transformed i

Czech Republic - The opening ceremony of the 2019 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) featured a gravity-defying vertical dance performance with large-format projection and eight aerialists from Jednotka Rychlého Nasazení (Rapid Action Unit) who were creatively directed by brothers Michal Caban & Simon Caban, universally known as ‘Cabani’.
To light this choreography, they chose 24 x Robe MegaPointes, which were installed, together with custom trusses, motors and a bespoke people flying system into the Great Cinema Hall at the Thermal Hotel in the Czech spa city.
The MegaPointes were delivered by Prague-based rental / production company, AudioLight Service and operated by LD Ladislav Horak.
Cabani is an innovative boundary-challenging dance and physical theatre group founded by the brothers whilst they were at college 25 years ago. Since t

USA - When creating the lighting design for Killswitch Engage on the band’s co-headline North American tour with Clutch, Cody James had a simple goal in mind. “I wanted to go back to the KSE’s roots,” he said. “My plan was to give the guys much more solid colours and bold looks.”
James’ plan was well-founded, given the retrospective nature of his Grammy nominated client’s most recent (and sixth) studio album Disarm The Descent.
James’ design included eight multi-functional Chauvet Professional Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures that were used to transform venues of widely different sizes and configurations.
“The idea was to create powerful looks that fit any location, whether it was a live music venue or a festival,” said James. “There were four different layouts for the floor backstage, and we would decide which design we would use for

UK - Having already won industry awards and being used on some extremely high-profile projects in its beta stage, Avolites reports that its new software control system, Synergy, is being released worldwide.
Effectively a free V12 software upgrade to both its lighting console and media server ranges, Synergy unites them, allowing lighting designers full visibility and fine control over both the lighting and video components of a truly multi-media performance.
Synergy allows users to quickly and simply pull control of pre-created screen surfaces and layers into a Titan-based lighting console at the touch of a button, or, vice versa, create surfaces in an Ai media server from within the console interface. All operations occur seamlessly using Avolites’ proprietary Titan Net protocol and take place on whatever hardware the user is running, from Titan USB interfaces all t

USA - Kansas have announced the fourth and final leg of The Point of Know Return Anniversary Tour, with a lighting system supplied by Bandit Lites. With the third leg of the tour currently traversing the country, the group is performing the eponymous sextuple-platinum album in its entirety to near capacity and enthusiastic audiences through Spring of 2020.
“It’s exciting how popular the Point of Know Return Anniversary shows have been,” comments Kansas lead vocalist Ronnie Platt. “When we wrap up this fourth and final leg, we will have played nearly 100 of these shows over nearly two years. We have worked hard to give audiences a memorable musical experience with this tour. We are excited to continue it with the final leg of the tour, then see what we come up with next.”
Lighting designer Scott Pearson had no boundaries when building the lighting for the sh

USA - This summer, Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry unveiled a new daytime backstage tour based around the new, purpose-built Circle Room theatre. Hosted by Opry members Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, a 14-minute long immersive media experience takes fans on a journey through nearly 100 years of Opry history, seen through the eyes of the musicians who played on the famous stage, and features archival footage and concert-like special effects.
The Circle Room serves as the centrepiece of a $12m Opry House expansion and renovation project aimed at enhancing the guest experience. This production marks the opening of the new backstage tour, which continues into the renovated Opry House Lobby, featuring a custom lighting element made with Gibson guitars and a special media presentation.
As the introduction for the new tour, The Circle Room experience is dominated by LED conce

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