USA - UK-based production design company, Okulus, chose a bank of 40 Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures to back the up-and-coming American rock band, PVRIS, on their first-ever televised appearance. The band appeared in January on the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show, the longest-running late night chat show on America's ABC television network, where they were watched by over 2m viewers.

PVRIS may still be in its infancy, but the band recognized the significance of this prime exposure, and were keen to invest time in ensuring their appearance was memorable. They turned to Okulus' lighting designers and programmers, James Scott and Louis Oliver, to bring their ideas to life.

Scott and Oliver decided the unique appearance and reliability of Ayrton's MagicBlade-R fixtures were a sure-fire way to achieve this and used them as a dynamic backdrop to the band's equally dynamic performanc

UAE - Maestra Group has provided a complete turnkey technical solution to the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Saeed Bin Hamdan Al Nahyan (SMK) Emeriti Ladies Tennis Tournament in Abu Dhabi for the second consecutive year. The competition was staged in a private residence in the city.

Central to this year's event was a 23m x 5m 10mm outdoor LED video wall provided by Maestra and run on the company's new Dataton 6 Watchout servers which were linked with Hawk-Eye Innovations software to provide real-time game feedback, analysis and results to spectators.

Maestra designed and produced a range of custom video content that played during the opening of the tournament each evening.

Inside a private pool-house also on the property, Maestra provided a further 6 x 6mm LED screens running from a separate Watchout Server. This was used to show stunning visuals and more custom content around on

UK - PSCo has announced that they will be distributing Samsung's much anticipated portfolio of LED in the UK and Ireland. PSCo has placed the first order for Samsung's 1.5mm ultra fine pixel pitch LED as a demonstration unit for its Reading showroom, demonstrating its commitment to both Samsung and channel partners.

Mark Taylor, LED business development manager at Samsung is responsible for the 'go to market' strategy on this product line. Announcing this news, Mark commented, "PSCo has been extremely successful in LED, and are the first distributor with a full product and support offering for the channel. We have strict criteria for our LED distribution partner to meet and I am delighted that PSCo met it all! We are very much looking forward to the future with the team at PSCo."

"We've always prided ourselves on the levels of operational and technical support we can offer

USA - PixelFLEX has introduced the reFLEXion LED video display. The freestanding and WI-FI enabled reFLEXion is a lightweight, portable and customizable LED video display solution that allows you "to promote your message wherever needed throughout any commercial, hospitality, retail or entertainment environment".

"Understanding that our clients often need to relocate their messaging to better serve their business and promotions, we are very excited to announce the reFLEXion LED video display," said David Venus, PixelFLEX director of marketing. "A breathtaking addition to our line of award-winning LED video products, the reFLEXion LED video stand is a truly redefining product for the consumer retailer, restaurant and entertainment industries. By giving our clients the opportunity to move and customize their messaging wherever needed, we have created complete, indoor mobile mark

USA - In 1807, New York Governor DeWitt Clinton proposed an audacious plan: to build a 363 mile (584 km) canal that connected New York City's Atlantic port to America's burgeoning Great Lakes. Despite a chorus of initial scepticism (President Thomas Jefferson dismissed the idea as "a little short of madness"), Clinton's vision became reality 18 years later with the opening of the Erie Canal that ran from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany on the Hudson.

The canal turned New York City into a great metropolis and transformed Buffalo into a centre of commodities trading, as evidenced by the proliferation of grain elevators that lined its canal side. Although Buffalo's grain trading days have long since receded into history, one remnant of its past, the Connecting Terminal Grain Elevator, has taken on new life as a popular attraction, thanks to an ever-changing lightshow that draws on

UK - PLASA has 39 years of experience in providing business events for the live entertainment technology industry, attracting a high calibre of attendees with more than £3billion spending power for the PLASA Show, £340m for PLASA Focus Leeds and £130m for the newest edition, PLASA Focus Glasgow.

PLASA prides itself on delivering a targeted audience for each show highlighted by the small audience crossover between events, with only 350 Leeds visitors and 52 Glasgow visitors attending the flagship London show. This unique audience is not just limited to shows organised by the PLASA Events division, but also includes competitor shows with 41% of PLASA Show 2015 visitors not having attended any other show in the past year.

Christopher Toulmin, director of Events Division says: "Engaging face-to-face is still the fastest and most effective way to build relatio

Canada - Richard LaBerge has joined Calibre, the British manufacturer of audio and video scaling and switching technology, as VP international sales.

LaBerge has more than 20 years' experience in business management, leadership and product development globally. LaBerge co-founded Sensio Technologies Inc., where as VP he spearheaded the company's success in licensing, business development and delivery of technologies to market. Prior to this LaBerge developed commercial marketing and lending at Desjardins. He started his career in computer programming.

Based in Montreal, Canada, LaBerge will expand Calibre's business into new markets. He will focus on increasing market share and presence in corporate AV and Calibre's existing customer base as well as growing OEM and own-label business particularly in Asia.

"LaBerge has the perfect mix of talent to lead Calibre's interna

Europe - Epson and German based LANG AG have announced their collaboration in the professional projection system rental market. Epson installation projectors will be added to LANG's product portfolio, including the new Epson EB-L series of laser projectors. These will serve new sectors and projection applications thanks to a light output of up to 25,000 lumens from an innovative laser light source.

A showcase of Epson's technological capabilities, this new 25,000lm laser light source product marks the culmination of extensive research, development and testing. The result is a range of products packed with advanced engineering, innovative technologies and flexible features to provide a number of potential applications within the installation market.

Neil Colquhoun, business director for visual instruments at Epson Europe, comments, "With our broad range of professional inst

South Africa - Media Film Services is offering a reward of R10,000 for the recovery of a quantity of camera equipment including a number of specialist High Speed Zeiss lenses (see list) which were stolen in December 2015.

Should you have any information regarding the whereabouts of the equipment, contact Sean Sims at seans@mediafilmservice.com or +27 (0) 21 511 3300.

(Jim Evans)

UK - West Midlands-based Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) supplied full technical production - video, sound and LED lighting - to the 2016 SEMTA Awards, staged in the Ballroom at the Park Lane Hilton hotel in London.

The Senior Skills Council for Science, Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) is a not-for-profit organization specializing in engineering training in the UK, and this prestigious annual Awards event recognizes excellence within their various nationwide apprenticeship schemes.

CPL worked for the third consecutive year alongside Redditch based production company Eclipse Communications. The production design was a collaboration by Lee Gruszeckyj from CPL and Dave Bowring from Eclipse. This year's host was business journalist and BBC Breakfast co-presenter Steph McGovern.

"It was great to pool forces and work together with Eclipse," commented Lee.

Germany - Market-leading Finnish media playback experts, Picturall Ltd., are gearing up for a busy Prolight+Sound 2016 in April. The company will be presenting a range of media servers including their flagship Octo server as well as the all-new Duo media server. In addition to their own displays, visitors can also witness Picturall products in action on the Panasonic stand where the Japanese electronics giant has elected to use a Picturall Octo server to run a number of screens.

First launched in 2009, Octo was the first media server in the world to have eight physical dual link DVI outputs, ten optional Full HD inputs and to fully control sixteen Full HD displays. Still going strong at the heart of the Picturall range, the latest incarnation of Octo - as shown at ISE - raises the bar still higher with up to sixteen physical outputs (DP 1.2/HDMI/Dual DVI) and the ability to pl

Saudi Arabia - Held recently in the Saudi Arabian coastal city of Jeddah, the International Book Fair attracted more than 440 international publishers from 25 countries. This significant cultural event saw thousands of visitors attend lectures, seminars, story-telling and poetry sessions, as well as sample new work by young writers over its ten day run.

The event was opened by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal of the Saudi Royal family; greeting the prince for this occasion, and to run throughout the show, was a spectacular projection mapping installation which lit up the entire front of the tented pavilion with calligraphy using Christie Roadie HD+35K and Roadie HD20K projectors.

Measuring 165m wide by 11.5m tall, the installation was the work of BrightStar Events a local event engineering and management company. BrightStar was approached by ACE Creative, the organiser of the show,

Germany - Avolites will be on Booth E80, Hall 3 Level 0, at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt from 5-8 April to exhibit its 'supercharged' Ai R Series of media servers and officially launch the new feature-rich Titan V10 and Ai V9 software.

The much anticipated Titan V10 OS features a wealth of new features. One of the most striking additions is the full 3D visualiser powered by the Capture engine, which allows the user to create and edit shows right inside the Titan interface and lay out fixtures in the space using the console's encoder wheels. V10 also allows the user to view intensity values in one place via the Intensity Grid. This clearly shows levels, source of information, whether increasing or decreasing and tracking information.

Ai V9 features an all-new Audio Engine, a Dynamic Content Page, a new User Interface, and 58 new and updated effects.

The Ai R Series, wh

USA - LED video technology manufacturer PixelFLEX has introduced the FLEXLite NXG, the next generation of their already successful FLEXLite product line. With improved pitch resolution options, higher refresh rates and a new die-cast frame, the FLEXLite NXG now provides designers with even more freedom to push the creativity of their video designs using the multi award-winning PixelFLEX, says the company.

"From the time we first introduced the FLEXLite product line, it has excelled as one of our most successful LED video solutions," said David Venus, PixelFLEX director of marketing. "When we saw that there were opportunities to make the product even stronger, we were excited to continue the evolution of the line into FLEXLite NXG."

With one of the highest resolution displays on the market, the FLEXLite NXG is now available in two sizes (500mm x 500mm and 1000mm x 500mm) to

Germany - The European management team at Creative Technology has been reinforced with the appointment of Dieter E. Gross (MBA) as Business Development Director. He will take on the responsibility for business development and sales for Creative Technology's German operation.

Gross has had many successful years and experience in the industry, most recently as managing director of Gahrens+Battermann (Media Event Solutions) in Bergisch Gladbach. He previously held the position of managing director of the Berlin broadcast and concert production company EuroArts, and prior to that was head of media entertainment agency, E-Media in Berlin, part of the Docdata Group.

Gross comments, "Creative Technology, is a provider of sophisticated and creative technological solutions and works in an industry which is characterised by dynamic, rapid and constant change, and of course, fierce c

UK - At an exclusive screening at London's independent Genesis Cinema in Mile End, Philips Lighting brought one of the world's hottest bands to the silver screen as never seen before.

Philips Lighting, a Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX, PHIA) company and global leader in lighting, hosted the immersive concert event with an exclusive screening of the critically acclaimed Imagine Dragons: Smoke + Mirrors Live concert powered by Philips LightVibes.

Philips LightVibes creates a unique experience for fans in cinemas by adding dynamic, lighting effects and video imagery synced to the on-screen action.

The Imagine Dragons: Smoke + Mirrors Tour features a striking light show. The creative director behind the tour, Moment Factory, supported Philips to create the light show for this exclusive event from the original live performance.

At the screening Philips LightVibes LED med

UK - Calibre's first ever-combined video & audio 4K scaler-switchers are in the form of four new models: HQView620A, HQView625A, HQView630A and HQView670A.

Enabling access to a greater range of applications which can benefit from Calibre HQUltra 4K technology, the new models are designed to reduce the level of equipment in installations, the multi-function units being suitable for lecture theatres, boardrooms, meeting rooms, house of worship and more.

HQUltra uses Calibre's in house developed video processing algorithms to deliver best in class solutions providing a seamless interface between the worlds of HD and 4K. Calibre HQUltraFast is the world's fastest input switching technology that changes inputs in typically 0.25 seconds, or a quarter of a second.

"This new product type brings Calibre technology to the mainstream audio visual market. It includes analogue and

USA - Tim Ottley, lighting director for Asbury United Methodist Church, Tulsa, is a great advocate of ArKaos MediaMaster PRO which he uses on an ArKaos PRO Stadium Server to create his stunning environment projection mapping within the interior of the church.

Following on from the success of the Easter presentation last year, Ottley is already planning more superb visuals to enhance the upcoming Easter celebrations.

"Environmental projection in church is such a leap forward from the more usual form of presentations on a screen or series of screens," says Ottley. "Before we started using projection mapping, we used a centre screen and two white curtains either side to show our visuals, but this looked boxy and square, and gave the congregation a passive experience, rather like watching television.

"But church is not a passive environment. It is a gathering place which b

UK - BroaMan has announced a new version of its Route66 video router, now offering AutoRouter and smart fibre patch bay. This additional functionality is powered by sister brand Optocore, making it suitable not only for Installation (where there are multiple connection points, including mobile devices) but equally for live events or broadcast.

The AutoRouter is compatible with Optocore and DiGiCo fibre loops, creating a redundant 'star' out of the advanced ring topology.

It was developed based on customer's needs, especially in the installation market, where mixed ring/star or star topology is more desirable due to a star based fibre cable layout.

The Route66 AutoRouter automatically finds mobile and remote devices and closes the Optocore loop even when unconnected wall boxes are found. It always switches the links automatically to establish redundancy. New I/O units o

UK - Following a long break from the live scene, The Corrs returned to touring in the UK with arena dates in January 2016. The tour supported the release of their latest album, White Light.

For the tour, Henry McGroggan and Ian Calder contacted PRG XL Video to supply lighting and video, having worked with both teams separately in the past. Both worked with the band's new lighting and video designer, Steven Douglas, to satisfy his design brief.

Steven's design was a multi-layer design which featured a shimmering semi-opaque metallic drape forming the backdrop to an array of Orbis-Fly LED spheres. These were used to great effect throughout the show - starting from a flown position above the stage, and then lowering to create a variety of multi-coloured effects including wave patterns.

"The brief from management was very simple, 'clean and theatrical'," said Steven

USA - Barco, the official projection provider for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, brings to life several key virtual reality and art installations at the New Frontier exhibition with its large venue projectors and presentation switchers. The world's largest independent film festival also uses Barco digital cinema projectors in all 23 of its movie theatre venues for official screenings.

For more than 30 years, Sundance Institute and its Sundance Film Festival (SFF) have served as a springboard for independent filmmakers. Its New Frontier exhibition showcases innovative installations that explore the expansion of cinema culture and new forms of storytelling in today's rapidly changing media landscape. At this year's Festival, New Frontier delivers an engaging exploration of the intersection of art, film and multimedia technology, relying on Barco projectors and image processing

Belgium - Painting with Light's Luc Peumans energised a creative team to deliver video content for a striking 3D digital set and lighting design for the highly acclaimed Judas TheaterProducties staging of Helene Fourment, a new musical centred around Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens' young muse, which played at the Fakkeltheater, Antwerp, proving a big hit with both critics and the public.

Luc had previously worked with director Martin Michel, and was delighted to collaborate with Judas TheaterProducties whose award-winning work is recognised for its innovation and original style. Painting with Light's Michael Al Far created the video content and Jeroen Opsteyn was associate lighting designer and also programmed the lighting with Luc. All worked very closely with set designer Arno Bremers.

The production had already decided they wanted digital scenery, so needed th

Germany - Creative Technology (CT) has appointed Michael Grabinski as new business development manager for broadcast, event, sport and live entertainment. Grabinski will take responsibility for CT's new office in Berlin-Brandenburg which is located on the Filmpark Babelsberg site in the Babelsberg FX Centre.

Grabinski has had many successful years and experience in the media industry, most recently as business development manager of media event solution provider Gahrens+Battermann in Berlin.

He comments: "I am glad to contribute to the success of Creative Technology and to establish a new local office in Berlin-Brandenburg. I am convinced that CT can continue to expand the company's activities and that we can develop new regional markets with a strong local and personal presence. For Berlin this is especially important as more and more international clients choose Berlin a

Europe - Green Hippo is an official technical event supplier for the 61st Eurovision Song Contest. The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 10, 12 and 14 May, 2016.

Green Hippo will be supplying 11, V4 Boreal and 4, V4 Karst Media Servers (including back-ups) for the set. Previous Eurovision song contests in Finland and Sweden have been run by Hippotizer V3 media servers.

In addition to supplying the equipment as an official technical event supplier, Green Hippo will be presenting its servers at the ESC cafe during LLB Trade Show which takes place alongside the show and gives an opportunity to meet potential clients not just from Sweden but around the world. Swedish distributor SSR Beacon will also have a stand and represent Hippotizer products at LLB.

(Jim Evans)

Latest Issue. . .

Save
Cookies user preferences
We use cookies to ensure you to get the best experience on our website. If you decline the use of cookies, this website may not function as expected.
Accept all
Decline all
Analytics
Tools used to analyze the data to measure the effectiveness of a website and to understand how it works.
Google Analytics
Accept
Decline
Advertisement
If you accept, the ads on the page will be adapted to your preferences.
Google Ad
Accept
Decline