Russia - Lighting designer Roman Stolyarov has used a wide range of Clay Paky fixtures to create stunning lighting looks in celebration of global cosmetic company Oriflame's annual awards ceremony and banquet, which saw over 3000 employees attend.

Leading technical production house MAX'N'MAX created the concept for the event which was called Banquet of Oriflame Directors: What Dreams May Come and took place at Moscow's Gostiniy Dvor.

MAX'N'MAX designed an ultra-wide stage with dynamic LED screens at the end of the venue's large hall. To complement this, the team worked with Stolyarov to specify an impressive rig of 34 x Alpha Spot 1500 HPE, 28 x Sharpy Wash 330, 50 x Sharpys, 81 x Shotlight Wash and 24 x Stormy CC fixtures from Arlecchino Group.

"As the venue has a glass roof and part of the event happened during the day, we needed fixtures that would still perfo

UK - Orbital Sound added a new innovation for this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Gilded Balloon, supplying a Flare Audio X2A Compact Vertical Point Source Array system, complemented by the Q18 sub bass units. Marking its 22nd consecutive year at the Festival, Orbital Sound was once again responsible for supplying and installing the extensive line-up of high-end audio and communications equipment across Gilded Balloon's nine venues, with David Bartholomeusz at the helm.

For Gilded Balloon's 30th Festival year, Teviot Row House's rapid transformation from the University of Edinburgh's SU into a high octane multi-venue facility was overseen this year by newly-appointed head of sound Sean Quinn, building on his previous experience as sound operator in the main 350-seat Debating Hall.

For 2015, Sean and David elected to specify a brand new system for the Night Club, intro

Sweden - Mats Karlsson, an industry veteran with a string of successful products and positions with several major companies, has started Intendor - a product innovation consultancy.

"My mission is to help companies get ahead of their competition by helping them create useful, innovative, and differentiated products. Anyone who has visited a trade show in recent years can testify to the fact that you have to look long and hard to find something really new. As the competition heats up and product life cycles gets shorter, companies are becoming painfully aware of the need to innovate in order to stay competitive and profitable. But only a few know how to do it, Karlsson shares."

"After bringing successful products to life at several leading companies, I am now making my skills and experiences available to those who wants to succeed using true competitive advantage

Sweden - The Stadsteater in Borås - about 60km west of Gothenburg - is one of a number of high profile city theatre and cultural centres in the country which has invested in Robe moving lights.

The purchase of 19 LEDWash 800s currently sees 10 installed in the 500 capacity main house, with nine in the smaller 100 capacity studio space. The Stadsteater is located in a large facility - together with the culture centre and library - built in 1976 and featuring some classic 1970s retro architecture and décor.

They wanted to replace some of their colour scrollers explains Lighting Technician and house LD Michael Dimle - and are absolutely delighted with the results of the LEDWashes. The Stadsteater had some previous experience with Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs bought in 2008, and the reliability of these was one of the reasons they looked to Robe again.

Michael also works for

USA - The Bay Area-based band Primus is touring North America with a Meyer Sound LYON linear sound reinforcement system to deliver its quirky, bass-driven brand of alternative rock. Described by FOH engineer Jason Mills as a "really fast" system with plenty of punch, the LYON configuration is provided byPro Media/UltraSound of Martinez, California.

"LYON is a very snappy box," says Mills, who works triple duty as FOH engineer, production manager, and system tech. "It's responsive, punchy and clear. The fans have noticed, too - I'm getting more compliments after shows than ever before."

The full system for the tour includes 24 LYON-M main and 4 LYON-W wide-coverage line array loudspeakers, 12 700-HP subwoofers, and four UPJ-1P loudspeakers as front fills. Two CQ-2 and four MSL-4 loudspeakers are deployed as needed for corner front and out fill, whi

Turkey - It is a matter of fact that the human ear brain mechanism is a highly sophisticated system capable of identifying where sound comes from with amazing accuracy. Using this information, with even the slightest difference in loudness, the brain can clearly identify the change and thus locate direction. "This in essence was the challenge presented by the requirements for a new sound system in the Turkish Parliament building Ankara," explained Tayfun Konuralp of Atempo, Turkey's leading provider of professional audio.

"With a requirement for a major improvement in intelligibility over the previous installation made in 1996 as a given, the desire was added for any member of the Parliament to be able to easily identify who was speaking and from where, even during the most heated of debates."

Konuralp heads up Atempo's Ankara office. "We first became

Azerbaijan - Audiences were left enthralled and entranced by two dazzling opening and closing ceremonies staged in the National Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, for the first European Games - which saw Belgian based engineering specialist WIcreations involved in making some key elements of these innovative shows come alive.

WIcreations was approached directly by California based production company FiveCurrents who produced the Ceremonies. WI's team was led by Yves Vervloet and worked closely with FiveCurrents' senior technical director Nick Eltis.

The Heist-op-den-Berg based company was tasked with helping create some major visual moments, including the magic (flying) carpet during the opening ceremony, and design and construction of three performer stages for the closing ceremony, complete with a Temple of Fire rising up from beneath the largest one.

"It was a fantastic ev

Canada - Robe BMFL Spots and Blades were an integral element of the lighting scheme designed by Pierre Marleau of Orange Frog Productions Inc. for the Grandstand concert stage at the 2015 Calgary Exhibition & Stampede, arguably the world's most famous rodeo, exhibition and festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Pierre, based in the same city, has been a lighting professional for over 25 years, starting his career in the world of theatre and musicals, with which he has toured worldwide. He's been lighting the Stampede's Grandstand Show for the last 19 years which sees a line-up of international artists play in front of 20,000 people nightly for 10 days plus a preview evening.

The lighting equipment was supplied in collaboration with BML Blackbird of Secuacus, New Jersey and Stagelite from Winnipeg, Canada working a joint venture initiative project, managed by VP of

South Africa - Showgroup used four Robe BMFLs for Rocking the Koppies, an intimate event hosted on a farm in Potchefstroom. Control was on an Avolites Tiger Touch II. "This was a private function for a fiftieth birthday party and included performances by Prime Circle, Just Jinjer and Mean Mr Mustard," said Andries Liebenberg from Showgroup, lighting designer at the celebration.

Showgroup was the technical supplier and incorporated a Prolyte Roof Structure used for the stage, 16 Robe Robin 300s and four Robe BMFLs. Other lighting included six Martin MAC 600s, 30 Stage Color 48, 24 Longman LED Cans, 20 Longman Colourme 11, stage battens, 12 Parcans and six Source 4 Profiles.

"The BMFL is an amazing light," said Andries. He has since hired the units regularly from MJ Event Gear, usually four at a time, even incorporating them into smaller indoor shows.<

USA - Often, the owners of a club will select a name for their establishment, because it sounds good - or sells more beverages - but in the case of Passion, the multi-level mega club at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, there is real heat behind the bright moniker. The 15,000sq.ft club pulsates with passion from 10pm to 6 am Fridays and Saturdays, with non-stop simultaneous performances at its three DJ booths and the visual treats served up by 184 pixel mapped ÉPIX Strip 2.0 linear fixtures and other products from Chauvet Professional.

Opened on 1 December, 2004, Passion quickly established itself as a serious player in South Florida's buzzing club scene, making waves by booking talent like Lady Gaga and DJ Pauly D, as well as international EDM stars such as Dash Berlin and Latin sensations like Grammy-nominated Farruko. Still the club's owners have never been ones to rest o

Canada - The famed annual Calgary Stampede just concluded another successful season attracting over one million visitors to the 10-day event. A combination rodeo-exhibition-festival, the largest fair in Canada also featured a nightly Grandstand Show, which was illuminated by Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures.

Pierre Marleau of Orange Frog Productions Inc was the lighting and production designer for the grandstand show, a role he's fulfilled for the last 19 years. "It's an old-style review, a big outdoor mega-spectacle," he says. "It's got acrobats, circus acts, video, pyro, fireworks. It's one of the more complex projects we do." He obtained the Sharpy fixtures from a new joint venture between BML Blackbird of Secaucus, NJ and Stage Lite Manitoba Ltd. in Winnipeg, which combines a 30-year reputation for serving clients in the northeastern US with a professional team

Mexico - Mexican rock band Maná has earned four Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, five MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, six Premios Juventud awards, fourteen Billboard Latin Music Awards and fifteen Premios Lo Nuestro awards. The band's sound is inspired by Pop Rock, Latin Pop, Calypso, Reggae and Ska music genres. Recently the band started its new world tour 'Cama Incendiada' with a lighting design by Alain Corthout.

The tour used a grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 light consoles, two MA NPU (Network Processing Units) and eight MA 8Port Nodes for lighting control of over 200 Clay Paky moving lights.

"Versatility, robustness and reliability are the main reasons I'm using a grandMA2", explained lighting programmer and operator Menga Cruz. "Versatility is needed because of the various ways in which we work with the system on shows. We have two users

Media Pressure - The producers of forthcoming musical Elf will introduce a £30 ticket band after bowing to "overwhelming public and social media demand" for more affordable tickets. The show, which runs for 10 weeks over Christmas at the West End's Dominion Theatre, has been criticised for its ticket prices, which rise as high as £240 for a top price seat.

The producers said that strong sales on more expensive seats allowed them to offer a limited number of £30 tickets throughout the run. "The producers acknowledge the show and the West End itself should not exclude families or anyone who cannot afford the higher priced seats, and have therefore used the incredible sales on the higher prices tickets to offset the cost of the new lower priced seats being introduced at all performances," a statement said.

Under Pressure - Foo F

UK - Flashlight Ltd, a leading UK supplier of lighting equipment to the broadcast, motion picture and theatre industries, has announced the opening of a London sales office and warehouse, headed up by sales executive Gordon Smith.

The new location will also provide showroom and demonstration facilities. Due to the rapid expansion of their southern client base and operations, the company feels the new location will better serve the demands of local rental and sales clients.

The new location will provide sales and support for the company's expanding range of leading lighting products - stocking the brands the company has become renowned for supplying, such as ARRI, Manfrotto and KinoFlo. The company will still have its headquarters at the existing location in Manchester.

Flashlight directors Andy Dodd and Rob Williamson commented: "We're delighted to open a London office;

Malawi - Mobile recording studio, Wired For Sound revisits Malawi this summer to record young musical talent in the region, this time with USB interface, iD22 and 8-channel mic pre and ADC, ASP880 as a part of the setup. Three weeks into this third phase of the project, and beset with power cuts and connectivity issues, they have still managed to record forty local musicians. Sound engineer, Simon Attwell reported back to Audient via email and a rare stable connection, confirming that their Audient iD22 "has been flawless".

Attwell explains how they have overcome the problems with the electricity. "We have done all the recordings using our solar set up built into the vehicle, powering a MacBook Pro, the iD22 and headphone amp. In fact, we are going solar all the way, using a Studer 200w pure SW inverter. It gives us excellent clean power free from clicks or interf

Germany - Martin Audio loudspeakers have been specified throughout two recently commissioned cruise liners, operated by German-based TUI Cruises - a joint venture cruise line between the German leisure/tourist firm, TUI AG, and American operator, Royal Caribbean Cruises.

The latest addition Mein Schiff 4 was commissioned earlier this summer, having been built at the Meyer Turku shipyard. It followed on from Mein Schiff 3, built the previous year, and will operate routes across the Baltic, Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, as well as the Canary Islands and Central America. Martin Audio systems have been fitted in all key areas across the 15 decks on both ships.

With these two 99,500 tonne, 2,506 passenger capacity vessels configured identically, installation specialists Funa International created the technical infrastructure, working with consultant Torsten Hirche, TUI Cruises'

USA - Lighting gaffer Matt Ardine is shooting a pharmaceutical industry commercial at DC Studios, a few blocks from Los Angeles' Skid Row. The camera tracks down a drab hospital corridor whose 'windows' are lit by eight ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr luminaires behind diffusion scrims.

Staring at the monitor, cinematographer Larkin Seiple calls for level changes barely visible to the human eye. Bringing a fixture down to 4% output, Ardine explains, "If I were using incandescents, I would start seeing colour shift at around 26% and my crew would be spending time putting in NDA or full blue to compensate for the tungsten effect."

On a set with skylights, windows, fluorescents and practical table lamps, setting the perfect colour temperature can be challenging. "We started out trying to shoot at 3200K, but now we have settled on 4400K. With the Lustrs, I can di

Hungary - Since its birth in 1993 Sziget Festival has become one of the most popular multicultural events in Europe, attracting fans from over 70 countries. The festival is hosted on an island in the heart of the Hungarian capital that has become known as the Island of Freedom and the whole festival is marked by joyous celebration. This year Martin Audio joined the party with MLA making an auspicious debut, its fifth new festival of the season, courtesy of Capital Sound.

Held on a 108-hectare (266-acre) island on the Danube in north Budapest, Sziget Festival broke all attendance records on an expanded site, designed to hold a paying audience of 90,000, and at one point numbered 100,000, including production crew, artists and guests.

For production company Capital Sound, now in their tenth year at the week-long event, the challenges were immense. Tasked with providing world cla

USA / Canada - Although electronic dance music festivals were few and far between only a decade ago, their numbers today easily rival those of their more traditional guitar-based counterparts. To best accommodate the ultra-wide sonic range and high-energy reinforcement that DJs and fans of the genre demand, a significant number of EDM promoters are turning to L-Acoustics loudspeaker systems.

This summer, two more of North America's top multi-day festivals called L-Acoustics' flagship K1 system into duty: Spring Awakening, which took over Chicago's Soldier Field, and Toronto's Digital Dreams, staged at The Flats at Ontario Place. With each festival drawing more than 50,000 attendees, Clearwing Productions supplied the gear and crew for the Chicago production, while Solotech did likewise in Toronto.

According to Clearwing's Jamie Earle, chief engineer of audio, Spring Awakening,

UAE - Dubai-based production supplier Protec supplied HQ Creative with lighting, video and rigging for the opening ceremony of the Nad Al Sheba Sports Tournament 2015, held at NAS Sports Complex on 21 June.

The event was created using two d3 4X4 Pro servers which created the mask, blend and warp for the custom made screens as well as integrating the use of primarily Clay Paky lighting fixtures which included 24 Clay Paky Mythos and 14 Clay Paky K10 B-eye, working together alongside eight Sharpys, seven Sharpy Wash 330s and eight Super Sharpys.

The venue had to function as a sports arena post show, so the design had to take this into account, staying out of the way of overhead house lighting as not to form shadows for the TV sports broadcast and not interfere with the games being played below. The rig needed to be light weight but still pack a punch for such a dynamic and fast

UK - When lighting designer Owen Pritchard-Smith from Spirit Design was tasked with the light setting for Nobel Biocare's stand at EuroPerio 2015 in ExCeL London, he met a challenge that led him to test out many different fixtures on the market.

The design and production of the exhibition stand was carried out by Andreas Messerli AG. As part of their stand design, three light boxes were hung from the ceiling. With open top, the boxes were on all other sides covered with white fabric. They were to be lit from above with enough light to travel through the fabric to create an up-lit bar environment underneath.

Owen Pritchard-Smith explains: "With only a metre or so between the truss and the fabric, I needed to find a fixture with a very wide beam angle, and little or no hot spot. It also needed to be bright enough to fight against the general lighting in ExCeL and the MSR PA

Malaysia - Sixteen-time Grammy Award winner David Foster was the star turn at the Arena of Stars in Genting Highlands, the most prestigious performance venue in Malaysia, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. For the concert, Nexo sent a technical team to the Genting resort to provide a complete review and recalibration of the Arena's installed Geo T line array system.

The Hitman David Foster & Friends Asia Tour 2015 dropped into Resorts World Genting for a spectacular concert. Top vocalists performing with producer, songwriter and musician David Foster included Natalie Cole, Peter Cetera, Boyz II Men and Ruben Studdard, a demanding line-up for the house PA system in the Arena of Stars.

System specialist Mark Bollenberg worked with Nexo's Malaysian distributor Concept Audio to implement improvements to the Geo T sound reinforcement system, installed four years ago. The la

USA - When frequent and heavy storms hit Texas recently, causing flooding and widespread damage across the Lone Star state, Omar Dawoud, promoter at live music venue, The Marc in San Marcos, felt he needed to do his part to help the community. So he organised Band Together Texas, booking headliner Blue October - with all proceeds going to the United Way of Hays County Flood Disaster Recovery Fund.

In order to provide relief as quickly as possible, the event came together in short order, and Dawoud called on Colorwave Lighting and other rental houses for gear. Colorwave Lighting owner Erik Johnson didn't hesitate to volunteer his equipment, made up of PR Lighting fixtures, for the charity event. "When Omar asked if we would want to be a part of this it was a no brainer," he stated.

The company provided an inventory to The Marc's house lighting designer Alex Soto, know

World - It's an old truism that 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. It's also true that Yamaha digital consoles rarely go wrong, which is one reason why Steve Weall, monitor engineer for Jungle and Crystal Fighters, has stuck with Yamaha throughout his career. He has spent much of 2015 touring the world with Jungle, a journey which included stepping up to the CL5.

Steve has enjoyed a progressive journey through virtually the whole range of Yamaha digital consoles, starting in 2007 when he manned an 01v96 mixing small shows and events for a local PA company. This was followed by mixing monitors for alt-rock duo Blood Red Shoes on an LS9-16.

"I used the LS9 on well over 100 shows, pushing the console's i/o and capabilities to their limits," he says.

In 2013 Steve moved to the M7CL for monitor duties with Crystal Fighters and has also frequently used PM5Ds at fly-in sh

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