USA - Portland-based Hollywood Lights have taken stock of the full Dirty Rigger Gloves range as part of a new Northwest U.S. distribution deal.

Dirty Rigger's product manager Steve Marshall says, "For more than 60 years Hollywood Lighting Services has been dedicated to providing the customer with exceptional service and superior equipment, for us to be working with them in the US is a great step forward."

As well as distributing the range, Hollywood Lights has also worked with the Dirty Rigger design and production team to specifically tailor the gloves for the US market. Enhancing the gloves to work better under the various environments they're subjected to and making subtle but hugely effective changes to their design.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Martin Professional will have "world premiere lighting and control products in its luggage" when it arrives at the inaugural PLASA Focus exhibition in Austin, Texas.

Showcasing for the first time will be Martin's new MAC III AirFX moving head along with two new lighting controllers in the M-series, the M2GO and M2PC.

Several other products will also be on display at Martin booth 707 including the award-winning MAC Aura and popular MAC 101™ moving heads, as well as Martin's high-performance EC-10 LED display panel and Jem K1 Hazer.

The new MAC III AirFX is a highly versatile beam, effects and wash luminaire in one and is the latest high-performance 1500-watt moving head in Martin's popular MAC III family. Capable of projecting a dense, hard-edge beam with stunning mid-air aerial effects, the MAC III AirFX's unique optical system allows it to adjust from a

USA - J. R. Clancy has announced the promotion of two of its top-performing employees: Bridget Cox is now the company's director of project management, and Patrick Finn has added product development to his responsibilities.

Bridget Cox joined Clancy in 2008 as a dealer project manager. In this position, she served as the project lead on some of the company's largest jobs, including the Palladium at the Carmel Centre for the Performing Arts in Carmel, Indiana, and the massive Civic, Cultural & Retail Complex (CCRC) in Singapore. In her new position, she will oversee both the contract and dealer sides of the business, working with a team of project managers to ensure the success of all of Clancy's major projects.

Patrick Finn joined Clancy in 2009 as a dealer project manager, handling projects including the renovation of the Paris Theatre in Las Vegas, the new Pirates Voyage att

USA - Lighting designer Trevor Ahlstrand has been using a Martin MAC touring rig supplied by Christie Lites to help set the slightly macabre mood on hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold's last tour, which wrapped up in December.

In August, Ahlstrand created a new design for the American band's latest outing, a tour that saw them hit many of the same cities as the previous tour. "That's why we needed to change the design," Ahlstrand explains, who first started working with the band in late 2008. "We wanted to keep the look fresh so we incorporated some new looks using some new gear like the MAC III Performance."

Central to set designer Jordan Coopersmith's setup is a larger-than-life set piece of the band's logo, a 56' wide x 18' tall Death Bat. "There is a lot of pyro throughout the show and the Death Bat also catches fire in every way you could possibly i

France - Robe's new Robin DLX Spot LED moving light has won an Award for Technical Innovation at the 2012 SIEL trade exhibition in Paris - France's leading international expo for the professional lighting, sound, video and entertainment technology industry.

The DLX Spot was entered into the 'Lighting' category by Robe's French distributor, Paris-based Axente.

The Awards were judged by an independent panel of industry experts, including lighting designers, technical and creative directors and representatives from top rental companies - who closely examined each nominated product, before conferring and making their final decisions.

(Jim Evans)

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China - Barco was the primary visual equipment provider for CCTV's 2012 Lunar New Year Gala. Both the stage art design and the audio-visual technology were praised in reviews of this biggest TV show for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.

The premier stage application was a huge LED screen, comprising 1,326 Barco 6 mm ILite 6 BK LED boxes and covering 273 m2. The show also used eight super-bright, 20,000 lumens FLM HD20 projectors. HD images were shot on a second supporting screen, coordinating with the programmes. Working in close cooperation with audio-video technology companies such as Raysee, CTV Technology, Garwin, HPCL, Really AV, Huelead and Bright, Barco was able to deliver a fully integrated installation for the show.

In addition, the show used a large number of high-definition video display sources, and these HD signals (HD/SDI and DVI) were generated by Barco's

UK - The reopened Islington Assembly Hall in London has selected an Allen & Heath iLive digital mixing system, comprising iDR-48 and iDR-32 MixRacks with two iLive-T112 Control Surfaces, to manage both FOH and monitors.

Originally opened in 1930, the fully refurbished 800-capacity Hall was reopened in 2010 having fallen into disuse for nearly 30 years. The venue now hosts a busy rota of live music, as well as a vast range of events from conferences and parties to vintage fashion events.

"We chose iLive for several reasons," explains Dan Turner, events operations manager at Islington Assembly Hall. "Firstly, it sounds great and much better than many other digital desks out there. Allen & Heath clearly spent a lot of time getting the preamps right. It is also an incredibly versatile system in the way it works, and pretty much any input or output can be configured

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With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

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UK - St Catherine's school in the picturesque village of Bramley near Guildford, Surrey, has been an independent school for girls since 1885. In celebration of its 125th anniversary, the school has recently inaugurated the most ambitious building project in the history of St Catherine's.

The Anniversary Halls, now in full daily use, is a spectacular modern building housing a major new set of facilities for sport and the arts including a 320-seat auditorium for drama, music and dance productions. Consultancy firm Theatre Projects were called in to design the theatre systems for the main auditorium, for which TPC consultant John Riddell specified an EM Acoustics PA system.

The brief was to create a versatile space that can serve multiple uses efficiently, while being simple enough to be transformed and operated by just a couple of key staff members at the school. The auditorium

UK - ShowTex is sponsoring the 2012 TPI Awards which take place in London on 13 February. 2012 marks the second year in a row that ShowTex will sponsor this annual gathering.

The awards ceremony, hosted this year by BBC 6 Music's Stuart Maconie & BBC 5 Live's Danny Baker promises to be an entertaining show honouring the hard work of companies represented in the 30 award categories as well as a great opportunity to network in a relaxed atmosphere with some of the best in the industry.

Sponsoring the awards is also a fun and easy way to support the live production industry that ShowTex is an integral part of, says the company. The drape, tracks, and motion systems specialist supplied custom manufactured stage curtains and one of a kind flameproof fabric constructions over the past year for performances of Take That, Iron Maiden, Prince, Sting, Batman Live, designs by Es Devlin a

UK / USA - By Design Day, the annual fundraising day for Light Relief in the UK and Behind the Scenes in the US and Canada, takes place this year on Tuesday 24 April on both sides of the Atlantic.

The main fundraising event for these charities, By Design Day focuses attention on the various ways that individuals can support the two organisations that are dedicated solely to helping entertainment technology professionals in need. Many make personal donations, some hold collections at their places of work and often designers support the day by voluntarily giving a day's royalties to one or both of these charities. Light Relief assists those involved in the UK lighting industry while Behind the Scenes aids professionals based in the US and Canada working in any area of the entertainment technology industry.

By Design Day 2012 has the full backing of a host of award-winning design

Denmark - The Danish arm of KPMG, a worldwide accounting and consulting firm, makes a bold statement through its new 33,000sq.m headquarters building in Copenhagen designed by architects 3XN. As part of the building architecture characterised by three interlocking polygons, KPMG's auditorium features a virtually invisible system of Meyer Sound MM-4XP miniature self-powered loudspeakers to ensure intelligibility for company presentations.

"It was a challenging room because the architects did not want any loudspeakers visible, not even colour-matched ceiling grilles," states Anders Jørgensen of Kastrup, Denmark-based Stouenborg, the firm responsible for the A/V systems. "The only place allowed for speakers was in angled lighting slots built into the ceiling design. And the only systems available that could provide the power and clarity we needed inside that s

Canada - grandMA2 has proved to be a good bet for Casino Rama, Ontario's only First Nations commercial casino, which stages 150 shows a year featuring top names in music and comedy. First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. Casino Rama invested in a grandMA2 full-size late last year, and it has quickly become their "console of choice," reports lighting designer and programmer Derek Noble.

"Casino Rama purchased a grandMA2 full-size because of the size of the shows they attract," says Andrew Beck, senior account executive with PRG Canada who sold the system. "They have an extensive amount of equipment, including all their own lighting and rigs, and many acts request a grandMA. They've had a grandMA full-size for a while but in the interest of keeping their facility as c

UK - Events crewing firm Gallowglass has entered into a joint venture with Kirsten Henson, managing director of KLH Sustainability. A new company, Gallowglass Sustainability, has been launched to assist clients, suppliers and contractors in making cost savings and improving public relations through events planned with environmental and social considerations.

Gallowglass managing director Nick Grecian said, "Clients such as the BBC and Eve Trakway have already pledged to embed sustainability throughout their organisations' working practices, and we are committed to sharing their values. As a company, we have already achieved BS8901 and ISO14001, but we need to take this to the next level. Kirsten Henson is ideally-placed to ensure that sustainability policies convert into practical reality throughout the supply chain."

Kirsten Henson has been providing consultancy in

UK - With their new album Mylo Xyloto having already hit the number one spot in 19 countries, Coldplay are promoting it with live dates through 2012. Hire company Wigwam Acoustics is providing a DiGiCo SD7 mixing system and three XTA DP548 processors, which have been specified as part of the sound system.

Unlike many bands, Coldplay aren't playing a conventional 'tour'. While there are strings of dates arranged, the band is apt to play one or two dates at different places in the world at comparatively short notice. As a result, a close relationship with their audio supplier, Wigwam, is vital to the smooth planning and execution of the shows.

"It's fairly fast and furious with Coldplay at the moment, they jet off here there and everywhere," says Wigwam's Alex Hadjigeorgiou. "They do a pretty good job of moving their kit around, but they do get to the point

UK - POLARaudio in conjunction with Stage Audio Services recently provided the trackside sound for the Top Gear Live Expo at the Birmingham NEC and London's Excel.

Hire company Stage Audio Services were commissioned to provide the on track audio for the popular event, held in November last year. Top Gear Live developed an indoor track extravaganza in partnership with Group Lotus Motorsport, designers of the original Top Gear test-track. The tracks were the central feature of the all-new Top Gear Live event at NEC Birmingham and ExCeL London and were configured to enable all manner of driving disciplines during a full programme of incredible action.

The Renkus Heinz IC Live series was chosen for the event and took centre stage around the track. Eight IC Live R with IC215S-R subwoofers were positioned in front of the audience area.

Mark Bromfield, business develo

Bali - Requiring a modern conference system, the Holiday Inn Resort Baruna Bali has chosen Bosch conferencing technology for its banquet hall and its five conferencing rooms which can accommodate up to 350 people. For the luxurious five-star hotel located directly on the picturesque waterfront, both aesthetics and top quality standards play an important role. The building management chose the Digital Congress Network (DCN) Wireless Discussion System by Bosch.

The DCN system enables stable and secure communication, has capacity for interpretation in ten languages and is immune to mobile phone interference. It also suits the hotel's preference for stand-alone integrated systems for different, flexible conference room set-ups.

PT.Multi Sistem Komunikasi and Smart Technic, two local system integrator partners of Bosch Security Systems, consulted the client onsite and set up the de

Norway - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden is currently being used for a rigorous show schedule at the Oslo Opera House, home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and considered one of the landmark modern buildings in Oslo.

Director Stefan Herheim has taken on the challenge of staging La Bohème in a modern-day interpretation of Puccini's masterpiece and the most performed opera production ever in Norway.

The technical crew at the Oslo Opera House currently has a total of 24 W-DMX G4 units that they use on a regular basis. They are currently rotating the operas La Bohème and Giselle.

Lighting technician Audun Bull-Hanssen explains, "On La Bohème we use an F-1 G4 transmitter and six receivers for 5000W and 2500W HMI DMX dowser and scroller, plus it's used for the star wall. For Giselle we use an F-1 G4 transmitter and six receiv

Denmark - Philips Selecon and Strand Lighting has appointed Gobo - Highlight A/S as its new distributor for Demark. Gobo - Highlight A/S, which has a main office and warehouse in Copenhagen and a sales and administration office in Aarhus, is well respected in the region for its sales and projects in the theatre, television, architectural and rental markets.

Bob Roos, himself recently appointed as Philips entertainment brands' key account manager for Scandinavia and Benelux comments, "Philips Selecon and Strand Lighting is delighted to welcome Gobo - Highlight A/S as an authorized dealer for Denmark. The company is renowned for the top class service it provides in supplying entertainment technology equipment to rental companies, theatres, venues, architectural installations and television production companies.

"It's also well respected for its participation in public

UK - Innovation Productions and Merging Technologies, eMerging UK have announced a joint demonstration day in order to showcase the new Ovation 3.0 show control and playout software and Yamaha, Martin Audio and Sennheiser Products.

Merging Technologies has over 20 years' of experience in building complex mix engines and audio DSP to the broadcast and music world. "In that time they have developed and built some of the world's most advanced and powerful mix engines and audio systems, for applications ranging from theatre playout, live events, fixed installations, exhibitions and much more. Sequencer and Controller is the ultimate choice when performance and quality is a necessity," says the company.

Ovation 3.0's features include: support for different file types: WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC; Optional hardware control with theatre-style 'go' button; Full integration with Pyra

UK - In a new initiative to introduce the latest MA Lighting and Clay Paky products to their customers in a 'hands on' environment, Ambersphere Solutions have announced a series of regional showcases in performance venues throughout the UK.

The first of these will take place in the Brighton Pavilion Theatre on Wednesday 29 February from 11am - 4pm.

Philip Norfolk, sales director for Ambersphere Solutions, says: "This is an opportunity for us to take to the road with the latest additions to our product portfolio from our partners Clay Paky and MA Lighting. By going to where our customers are, we are offering them the chance to see the products in a real venue environment and on a handy, localised basis. It will also be a chance for those who may not currently source Clay Paky and MA Lighting kit to drop into the local venue to see what Ambersphere has to offer".

He

Canada The Rose Theatre in Brampton, built in 2006 in the very centre of the city, is a confident combination of glass and brick that boldly reflects the city's pride in itself.

The new theatre came equipped with a new loudspeaker system but, as Trevor Nash, technical co-ordinator explains, all was not rosy in the garden. "Plans on paper don't always successfully translate into real world situations. There were coverage issues in several areas of the auditorium. Although adding ground stacked subwoofers and two-way cabinets provided some acoustic improvement, sightlines were compromised as a result."

Nash had worked with a rented d&b audiotechnik loudspeaker system from APEX Sound and Lighton Jesse Cook's Canadian tour in 2010 and was in no doubt it would be the right choice for The Rose.

"Having mixed on just about every type of speaker system around the worl

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