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Mark Knopfler hits the road with Chauvet

Lighting designer Mark Henderson incorporated 22 Chauvet Professional Nexus Aw 7x7 panels within the lighting show

Details: 14 March 2016

Europe - Currently on the road until the end of October, the Mark Knopfler & Band tour brings all-time Dire Straits and Knopfler classics such as Sultans of Swing and Brothers in Arms to packed arenas throughout Europe and North America.

Not wanting to create a show any less than impressive for the multi-million-selling singer-songwriter - who also ranks 44th on Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of all time, lighting designer Mark Henderson incorporated 22 Chauvet Professional Nexus Aw 7x7 panels within the lighting show to stunning theatrical effect.

Henderson - an award-winning theatre lighting director - has worked on countless theatrical productions in London's West End, New York and Las Vegas. When he was asked to LD Kate Bush's 22-date sell-out comeback

A drink to remember Dave . . .

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Friends and colleagues of Dave Cartwright, who tragically passed away in July aged just 46, are organising a gathering in London this Friday to remember Dave and celebrate his life. The get together will take place this Friday, 21 August, in The White Hart, on Drury Lane, from 6pm. All those who knew Dave are welcome to attend.

Dave, a 20+ year veteran of the industry, passed away in July after suffering a massive stroke in late June. His employer, Stuart Gibbons of Le Mark, said: "To say that Dave will be sorely missed by many would be an understatement.

"His career in the entertainment industry had encompassed many skills and experiences from his early days with Stage Electrics through to his time at Lighting Technology, before joining Le Mark in 2010.

"Dave had enjoyed many successes during his career. To become a part of the London 2012 Olympics Openi

With the new software, all six Lucia amplifiers can access the full set of matrixing and DSP features

Lab.gruppen Lucia software now available

Details: 14 March 2016

Europe - Lab.gruppen has announced that the new version of its application browser configuration software for its Lucia range of compact power amplifiers is immediately available for free download on its website. Versions are downloadable for Mac or Windows.

With the new software, all six Lucia amplifiers including the two new 70 V models can access the full set of matrixing and DSP features, some of which were previously restricted to the premium M-suffix models that offer additional inputs and line level outputs.

The common harmonized feature set now includes custom EQ on inputs, custom EQ or preset recall for each discrete output, reconfigurable GPI ports, and Lab.gruppen's exclusive ADLC (Automatic Dynamic Loudness Contouring). Each model also offers matrix mixing of all inputs to all available outputs as determined by the model's available hardware I/O capability.

For u

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Cheltenham Town Hall illuminated with just 21 Core ColorPoints for a recent gala dinner (photo: Marie Randall Photography)

Core celebrates 4000th ColourPoint sale

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Wireless LED specialist and manufacturer Core Lighting celebrates the sale of its 4000th ColourPoint wireless LED uplighter as the demand continues for lightweight, long lasting, high output, shadowless wireless LED units that can be quickly deployed in numerous locations at all types of corporate and private events.

When Core's ColourPoint first hit the market in 2013, it made a big impact because at only 4 Kgs, it was a quarter of the weight and considerably more cost effective than its competitors - all attributes offered without any compromise on the quality or light output..

The first ColourPoint fixtures were sold through UK distributor White Light to busy south London based event production company, Presentation Rentals - now known as PR Live. The most recent sale - including the actual 4000th fixture itself - was to AV and lighting consultants DCLX.

The ColourPo

As one of the most celebrated tours in the illustrious history of Rush, the R40 Live tour had its final North American show at The Forum in Los Angeles

Philips Vari-Lites in Rush spectacular

Details: 14 March 2016

Canada - As Rush prepared to launch their latest tour, longtime tour lighting designer Howard Ungerleider of Production Design International Toronto was once again charged with creating the lighting spectacle that would be seen by the multitude of sold-out houses.

After a collaborative process with the production team, Ungerleider turned to Solotech to provide him with the innovative lighting technology to best accentuate the R40 Live tour which included VL4000 BeamWash, VL4000 Spot, VL3500 Wash FX and VL3500 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.

"Our designs always begin with a full production team collaboration and brainstorming session," began Ungerleider. "For this particular tour, an evolution concept was conceived about going back in time and deconstructing Rush from their earliest beginnings to present day. With our concept in mind we then turned to Sol

Royce Hall's master electrician Jessica Wodinsky (right) with associate master electrician Anthony Gutierrez

ETC helps University of California theatre go green

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Christmas came in July for the UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) Royce Hall tech team, when a recent shipment of ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr arrays was delivered, tested and stencilled with the Royce emblem. A compelling demo of the technology last autumn by ETC's outreach and training specialist Tom Littrell was enough to prompt an order for 18 Series 2 light engines, nine Source Four LED CYC adapters and nine Source Four LED Fresnels.

"What wowed us in the demo was the colour rendition on the Hawaiian shirt," says associate master electrician Anthony Gutierrez. "The lime green frequency is in the middle of the human spectrum and fills in colour gaps you didn't even know were there."

Jessica Wodinsky has been the master electrician at Royce Hall for 30 years and can chronicle the evolving technology - "When I came here in 198

STM was used as main PA for both the Main and the Second Stage at the massive Fruit Vibrations 2015

Nexo STM plays the big stages at Russian festivals

Details: 14 March 2016

Russia - In the hands of rental company JamTech, the Nexo STM Modular Line Array systems are having a busy summer in Russia.

STM was used as main PA for both the Main and the Second Stage at the massive Fruit Vibrations 2015. This two-day EDM festival featured over 30 headline acts, including Steve Aoki, Aly & Fila, Ummet Ozcan, BT, James Zabiela, The Chainsmokers, Brennan Heart, and Tony Junior.

Held in the Muzeon Art Park, in the centre of Moscow, this Globalclubbing event is the largest EDM festival in Russia, and draws thousands of fans from all across the country and the CIS states.

For the main stage, JamTech supplied a 11-a-side STM design, using nine STM M46 plus nine STM B112 with two STM M28 down-fill cabinets in each array 24x STM S118 subbass were used, together with extra RS18 subs. Another 12x M46 Main cabinets were used for out-fill.

Over on the B Stage, Jam

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Over the last two years HSL has pushed towards lighting the site and gardens with an increasing amount of LED (Photo: Louise Stickland)

HSL lights Opera Holland Park season

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Lighting rental specialist HSL supplied stage lighting, sub-rigging and trussing, architectural and site-wide practical and decorative illumination, electrics, power distribution, and full public address announcement PA - for the 2015 Opera Holland Park festival season in west London.

The three-month performance run included five cutting edge opera productions staged in the tensile structure erected by the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (RBKC) in its picturesque park, with the historical ruin of Holland House as an atmospheric backdrop.

HSL has been involved as a technical production supplier for the event for the last 12 years, in which time the lighting requirements and expectations have changed radically. What was once primarily a generic rig onstage now features nearly 90 moving lights with another 200 light sources supplied by HSL to light the surrounding and

AC/DC's Rock or Bust tour rolls into Wembley (photo: The Fifth Estate)

Philips Vari-Lites rock AC/DC at Wembley

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - For AC/DC's Rock or Bust tour, set designer Ray Winkler joined forces with lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe to seamlessly translate the distinct AC/DC sound into a grungy buffalo horned 'Mad Max' style stage, complemented by metallic, two colour classic rock and roll lighting primarily delivered by over 60 of the new Philips Vari-Lite VL4000 BeamWash luminaires.

"AC/DC has always demanded bold, bright, spectacular - yet uncomplicated - lighting and I think this time we gave it to them in spades," explains Woodroffe. "We were looking for powerful, bright lights that would work particularly well with no colour. We also wanted some more delicate effects, some tight beams and some hard edge source points. We chose a variety of fixtures including the new Vari-Lite VL4000 BeamWash and the VL3500 washes, which in combination gave us most of what we needed, in var

Rental Pro's Mario Held (left) with Andreas Putz

Musikverein Graz celebrates with DiGiCo

Details: 14 March 2016

Austria - Musikverein für Steiermark is the largest concert organiser in the Austrian city of Graz. It is currently celebrating 200 years of Musikverein Graz, and in mid June Rental Pro Austria deployed a DiGiCo SD8 for a spectacular performance, which featured Gustav Mahler's revered Symphony Number 8 as its finale.

The concert was performed by the Grazer Philharmonic Orchestra, one of Austria's best-known classical orchestras, plus 300 singers from the Choir of Opera Graz, Studio Choir of University of music and Performing Arts Graz and four smaller choirs.

"The concert at the Grazer Stadthalle was sold out," says Rental Pro Austria's Mario Held who, along with Andreas Putz, was also one of the two engineers working on this complex production. "We used a DiGiCo SD8 with a MADI Rack and Waves SoundGrid Server One to make sure that this world-class orche

An early booking rate of £158 +VAT for the conference is available until 4 September, for more details please visit http://www.plasashow.com/rigging-conference-programme

Sponsors and programme set for PLASA 2015 Rigging Conference

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - This year's PLASA Rigging Conference will be held alongside the PLASA Show 2015 at ExCeL, London, in the North Hall Gallery Rooms on Monday 5 October. This perennially popular feature of the show comprises topical sessions led by leading industry figures and offers a unique opportunity for the rigging community to share industry knowledge and network.

Unusual Rigging is confirmed as the conference's Platinum sponsor for the third consecutive year, while Outback Rigging makes a welcome return as Gold sponsor.

"Rigging is an essential aspect of almost every event but, as productions increase in scale, size and complexity, so do the consequences of getting it wrong," says Alan Jacobi, managing director at Unusual Rigging. "Unusual Rigging wholeheartedly supports conferences such as this. It's imperative that we, as an industry, keep the debate fresh in order t

The Week in Lighting & Sound

Details: 14 March 2016

Why Why Why Delilah? - Sir Tom Jones has accused senior executives on BBC's The Voice of "sub-standard behaviour", claiming they unceremoniously sacked him just a day before announcing his replacement. Sir Tom, the long-serving judge on the BBC talent show, said he had pencilled series five of The Voice into his diary, expecting to continue his role. Instead, he claimed, he was "told with no consultation or conversation of any kind" that he would not be returning. A new line-up was announced just one day later, comprising Boy George, Paloma Faith, and returning coaches Will.I.Am and Ricky Wilson.

Sir Tom was immediately inundated with messages from angry fans, telling him they would be switching off the show in protest. A spokesman for the BBC said, "The final decision on the coaches' line up for series 5 of The Voice was only taken

Thomas Rhett's upcoming album, Tangled Up, is slated for 25 September release

Thomas Rhett tours with Bandit Lites

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Country star Thomas Rhett is out on tour with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. The mutli-Platinum singer is currently lighting up the music charts with the Top 10 and climbing hit Crash and Burn, the first single of his upcoming album Tangled Up, slated for 25 September release.

Bandit worked with lighting director Andrew Hunt and tour manager Logan Kornegay, supplying 14 Chauvet Legend Beams which span the top of the set, with four downstage on the right and the left, and another six in the middle of upstage to add depth. Additionally, 16 Martin MAC Auras are on the lower part of the set as eight fixtures light the drums and keys, while the other fill the outer parts of the set.

"I love the punch these beam fixtures pack, and they stand out really well, whether they are shooting out over the crowd in an arena, hitting Thomas Rhett on a cat

The Psychedelic Furs have never shied away from making sharp musical turns

The Psychedelic Furs go Rogue on the fly

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Since their inception in 1977, the Psychedelic Furs have never shied away from making sharp musical turns. Much to the delight of their fans, the legendary UK rockers have weaved like a speedboat from austere art rock to new wave, to rhythmic tunes like their mega-hit Pretty in Pink to hard growling sounds, leaving an impressive body of work in their wake that has influenced a generation of musicians. Apparently, the group applies their daring creative spirit to lighting as well, as evidenced by their sudden decision to enhance their stage presence with an LED rig that features Rogue R1 Spots and COLORdash Batten-Quad 6 linear fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

"The band decided pretty last minute to spice up the show with lighting, so we had a bit of a rush to get things together and get the show cued out," said LD Victor Zeiser of Squeek Lights (New Yor

The studio incorporates a range of different video elements

XL Video screens for Mock The Week series 14

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Working with designer, Jonathan Paul Green, XL Video has supplied a package of video projection, screens and LCDs for the latest series of the topical panel game, Mock The Week, produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two.

The show, which is hosted by Dara O Briain and features panellists Hugh Dennis and Andy Parsons, is filmed before a live studio audience shortly before its air date. This ensures that the topics for improvisation are relevant to current news subjects.

The studio incorporates a range of different video elements. The show logo incorporates a world globe, inspired by the show's theme tune, News Of The World, by The Jam. This is recreated using a 6ft diameter Repro H screen, located behind O Briain, which is built into the set and rear-projected via one of XL Video's Panasonic 10k projectors.

Upstage of the main improvisation area, a 16ft x 9f

First Baptist Church in Claremore, Oklahoma

Danley Sound solution for Claremore church

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - By offering both a "classic" service and a "connect" service every Sunday, First Baptist Church in Claremore, Oklahoma has been successful in building its congregation. Both services are big productions. The "classic" service requires sound reinforcement for primarily traditional orchestral instruments, whereas the "connect" service delivers a modern-rock vibe with high-energy music, video, and lighting.

As First Baptist pushed its offerings into exciting new territory, they inevitably outgrew their decade-old sound reinforcement system, which they pushed to the point of chronic equipment failure. With a media-driven worship service, FBCC needed a reliable upgrade to deliver the gospel within its 1,500-plus seat sanctuary. The church called on McClelland Sound, Kansas, Oklahoma, and western Missouri's family-owned and operated audio/

This is the first time in the IKOF's four-year history that the team decided to record the event

DPA keeps the tempo at keyboard festival

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival (IKOF), an annual competition dedicated to promoting the next generation of pianists, tasked the recording engineer and producer Mirko Canji with recording the intensive five-day event. The engineer recommended the high-resolution, Direct Stream Digital (DSD) in simultaneous 5.0 multichannel and stereo formats, and turned to DPA Microphones to ensure the most accurate recordings.

Seeking the most accurate recording of the master classes, evening concerts and semi-final and final rounds of the event, Canji, who specializes in chamber and orchestral music arranged a combination of DPA Microphones powered by Grace Design's m802 remote-controlled microphone preamplifier to do the job. He employed DPA's d:dicate 4006A Omnidirectional Microphones in stereo and surround setups, respectively. He also selected the company's d:facto Vocal

At the Lighting Designer Sessions – Giovanni Zucchinali (Clay Paky), Durham Marenghi, Paule Constable and Massimo Bolandrina

Clay Paky sessions are a sell out at Mediatech Africa

Details: 14 March 2016

South Africa - One of the most popular and well-attended events during the biennial Mediatech Africa 2015, held in July, were the Lighting Designer Sessions, sponsored and organised by Italian lighting manufacturer Clay Paky.

Presented by multi award winning theatre and opera designer Paule Constable and large-scale arena spectacular lighting designer Durham Marenghi, both sessions were quickly over-subscribed from the moment they were announced and two further sessions were quickly scheduled to absorb the overflow.

Constable, who is also associate director of the National Theatre, London, talked passionately about her preferred collaborative approach to the design process and illustrated this with images of her recent designs for shows including the award winning Warhorse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

In contrast, Marenghi focused on t

Peter Wolff Elektroakustik is now representing the BlackBox range of multi-channel audio recorders and players

JoeCo appoints PWE for Germany

Details: 14 March 2016

Germany - JoeCo has announced that Peter Wolff Elektroakustik is now representing the BlackBox range of multi-channel audio recorders and players in Germany.

Based in Recklinghausen, PWE has distributed a range of professional audio and communications products since the 1980s, playing a key role in establishing brands such as Midas and ASL Intercom in the territory. At the helm is industry veteran Peter Wolff, whose early experiences of renting and supplying DASH digital recorders during the 1980s laid a firm foundation for the digital recording technology expertise he has amassed over subsequent decades.

"We're very pleased to be taking on distribution of JoeCo products and look forward to supporting customers involved in a range of projects," says Wolff. "Thanks to their highly reliable operating capabilities, JoeCo BlackBox Recorders and Players have proved t

PLASA Technical Standards Programme public reviews

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Eight PLASA draft standards are in public review. The draft documents, review forms, and instructions for submitting comments may be downloaded from the Technical Standards Programme website at http://tsp.plasa.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. Anyone with a material interest is invited to submit comments through the end of the day 28 September 2015. Listed in order by working group, they are:

Control Protocols Working Group

BSR E1.31 - 20xx, Entertainment Technology - Lightweight streaming protocol for transport of DMX512 using ACN

This standard describes a mechanism to transfer DMX512-A packets over a TCP/IP network using a subset of the ACN protocol suite. It covers data format, data protocol, data addressing, and network management It also outlines a synchronization method to help ensure that multiple sinks can process this data concurrently w

Train continue their Bulletproof Picasso tour with the current two month US leg playing a major arenas and sheds (photo: Todd Kaplan)

Robe proves Bulletproof for Train Tour

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - San Francisco rockers Train continue their Bulletproof Picasso tour with the current two month US leg playing a selection of major arenas and sheds, for which LD Brock Hogan has specified 90 x CycFX 4s, 40 x Pointes and 15 x LEDBeam 1000s.

The CycFX 4s and LEDBeam 100s were both new purchases for Orlando based lighting vendor, LMG.

A prominent feature of the design are 10 lighting pods - that move into different positions during the show - providing an interesting, fluid and ever changing geometric element to the stage space.

The LEDBeam 1000s are used as wash fixtures due to the excellent zoom. Their individual ring control also opens up a whole range of new effects, together with the smooth dimming and color mixing, explained Brock who positioned them all over the rig. "The output is amazing," he stated.

The upstage truss is made up of five individual sec

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