UAE / Latvia - Following the recent announcement of the IBS Group's partnership with theatre equipment designer, manufacturer and installer JR Clancy, the Group's IBS Solutions division has announced that it is partnering with Company NA, a Latvian company producing its own lighting and control equipment.

As the official GCC distributor for the Company NA branded products, IBS Solutions will offer the full range of LED fixtures, fluorescent floodlights, strobes, splitters and dimmers through its office in Dubai Investments Park to the region as a whole.

Founded in 1994 by Aldis Janevics and Normund Blasans, Company NA started out as a rental company which over the years has been involved in high profile events such as the Eurovision Song Contest, and only in more recent times developed into a designer and manufacturer of lighting equipment.

"One of the advantages

Slovakia - Wireless Solution Sweden AB and Kvant have announced an OEM agreement to offer the W-DMX technology factory installed into the Kvant line of Spectrum lasers designed for spectacular indoor and outdoor applications. Headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia, Kvant is one of the biggest high-tech laser manufacturers worldwide.

Director, Dr. Pavol Kubošek commented, "When it comes to lasers, offering the ability to operate them with wireless DMX is a huge bonus. Of all the systems on the market we found W-DMX to be the most reliable and robust available."

Shelly Li, sales manager for Wireless Solution said, "Kvant lasers are of superior quality and deliver spectacular effects to shows. With the addition of factory fitted W-DMX, users have even more flexibility in their installations. We're very happy to be part of this product line."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Lighting designer Oli Richards supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML) provide Pulsar ChromaPanel's on the long running comedy panel game show, 8 Out of 10 Cats which is back on Channel 4 with Jimmy Carr presenting.

The ChromaPanel is a square colour mixing panel that utilises high-power LEDs to create a vivid panel of changing colour making it suitable for suspended ceilings or decorative wall or set displays.

The show's title is derived from a well-known advertising tagline for Whiskas cat food which originally claimed that '8 out of 10 cats prefer Whiskas'.

(Jim Evans)

UK - This year the ABTT Awards were sponsored by Jelf Insurance who during the show launched their Public Liability/PI insurance scheme tailored to the needs of people who work in the entertainment industry.

The Lighting Product of the Year went to The Arc LED Houselight System from Global Design Solutions. The judges were impressed by the wireless dimming performance of these bespoke fittings manufactured to retrofit existing tungsten lighting in auditoriums and Front of House locations. Honourable mentions went to the LEDKO Reflection LED profile spot and the Robe Robin Wash 600.

Shure's new Axient Radio Microphone System took the award for Sound Product of the Year at the ABTT Product of the Year Awards. Axient was recognised by the judging panel for its clever frequency management, as well as its increased spectral efficiency, allowing large numbers of wirele

Austria - Lighting designer Helmut Krammer used over 100 Robe fixtures - a mixture of moving lights and units from Robe's LED series - for the 2011 Summer Night Concert, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra in the Baroque gardens at Schönbrunn Palace, which created a stunning backdrop.

The event was attended by 150,000 people and broadcast by ORF to approximately 60 other countries.

Krammer's challenges included lighting the area being used to stage the event, creating a sense of spectacle, illuminating the orchestra in an appropriate way for both broadcast and live audience, and generally bringing additional magic, and ambience to the performance with the lighting, some of which was required to cover very wide distances.

The lighting rental company for the event was film and TV specialists LGL Lichttechnik from Vienna, and the Robes were supplied by Q-99 f

Off Stage - Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies is to close on 27 August, it has been confirmed. The announcement comes a little over a year since Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical first opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End. The show opened to some poor reviews, and after substantial rewrites, was relaunched nine months later. Although the new version gained a better critical reception, it failed to perform at the box office.

A fresh production of the show opened in Melbourne, Australia, at the end of May with far more positive press. In an interview earlier this month, Lord Lloyd-Webber attributed the show's failure to his being treated for cancer during production, which meant he was unable to give it his full attention. "With hindsight we should have said, 'Let's put the whole thing on hold until I'm 100% again'. Frankly I wasn't feeling v

UK - A grandMA2 light was specified by lighting programmer and operator David Horner to control moving lights and media for the 20th annual British Academy Cymru Awards (Welsh BAFTAs) held at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The event was hosted by Sian Williams and Jason Mohammed and celebrated the best of the nation's television, film and interactive industry in 26 programme, craft and performance categories.

The lighting and visuals package for the show was co-ordinated by gaffer Gafin Riley who is based in Wales, assisted by Bernie Davis. The lighting designer was Andrew Cottey, and programmer David Horner was asked onboard to plot and operate the moving lights and Hippo Critter media server feeding content to an upstage LED wall.

The grandMA2 light was supplied by MA Lighting UK, and Emma Ralphs, the main lighting programmer from Cardiff's St David's Hall venue which has

UK - Creative lighting and rental company Colour Sound Experiment kicked off a potentially record breaking summer festival season run by supplying lighting equipment and crew to four major festivals - Rockness in Inverness, the re-launched Glade in Norfolk, Get Loaded In The Park in Clapham, London, plus the VIP areas at the Isle of Wight Festival.

Some of Colour Sound's latest purchase of 32 GLP Spot One LED moving lights from A.C. Entertainment Technologies also had their first outing at Rockness.

For Rockness, Colour Sound produced a production lighting design for the main stage of this popular event staged on the shores of Scotland's most famous Loch, which was based on the spec's of the three headline acts - Kasabian (LD Nick Gray), The Chemical Brothers (LD Paul Normandale) and Paolo Nutini (LD Jason Hyne). All three also bought in their own specials packages, of which N

UK - Lighting, control and dimming manufacturer ETC has reported "a great response" to its new and updated products at this year's ABTT show in London.

ETC's theme of Layers of Light struck a chord. Part of the stand was devoted to the new range of ETC luminaires, including the Selador Desire LED line, Source Four XT - specifically designed for external use - and Source Four Fresnel. ETC staff were on hand to demonstrate products.

ETC's new Selador Desire range allows users to experience the quality and power of ETC's x7 Color System in a PAR shaped housing. Desire is a selection of wash lights including Lustr+, Vivid, Fire, Ice and Studio variants which complement the linear Selador Classic LED range. Each is optimised for specific lighting needs.

Also new in ETC's lighting range is the Source Four Fresnel, which offers the controlled washlight and soft foc

UK - Comedian Dara O'Brian this week returns to BBC2 screens to host the tenth series of the topical panel show Mock The Week! The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedians, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.

Richard Martin Lighting supports lighting designer Dave Davey's design. The design brief set out for Davey when he first joined the production, was to "make the set look colourful without spill onto Projection screens". To achieve this he opted for VL1000TS' "All hanging, focussed on to backing flats".

When asked about his choice of fixtures Dave said, "The VL100TS is the right tool to apply colour and texture to the Mock The Week! set to enhance all of the backings and the main desk."

(Jim Evans)

UK - The joint celebration between Northern Light and White Light to mark their fortieth anniversaries was enjoyed by hundreds of industry players on Wednesday 15 June.

Held during the ABTT Theatre Show, the party took place at a pub close to the exhibition venue and was well attended by the two companies' customers, suppliers and manufacturers alike.

John Simpson, White Light's chairman, said, "As we suspected, our industry pals were all too happy to have a drink or two provided for them to celebrate our fortieth birthdays! It was great to see so many customers and colleagues in one place, helping us to toast our four decades of success."

John Allen, director at Northern Light, added, "Having known John since we founded our respective companies in 1971, I very much enjoyed reminiscing about our early days and observing the next generation of the entertainment

Germany - At the 56th Eurovision Song Contest 2011 Final against a rig of over 5500 fixtures, lighting designer, Jerry Appelt, chose a total of 15 Robert Juliat followspots to pick out the performers against the dynamic set during the rehearsals, two semi-final shows and the all-important Final.

Six Robert Juliat Aramis 2500W HMI DMX and four Robert Juliat Lancelot 4000W HTI followspots highlighted the main performers from front of house positions during each number, with five Robert Juliat Victor 1800W MSR followspots used as backlight from truss seats suspended behind the stage.

The show needed followspots that were powerful enough to pick out the performers amid the quantity of light put out by over 2000 moving lights and vivid video backdrops. All the Robert Juliat followspots were provided by Cape Cross of Cologne.

(Jim Evans)

UK - PLASA's recent AGM and Members Lunch drew over 170 members and guests to Kings Place Concert Hall in London for a day focusing on developments since PLASA merged with ESTA and the wider issues of product copying, radio spectrum and Technical Standards.

The AGM featured presentations from PLASA's Acting Chair Ed Pagett, Treasurer Martin Hawthorn and CEO Matthew Griffiths, covering the early stages of the merger and operational and financial reviews of the past 12 months. In the year since the merger was first voted for by members, PLASA has restructured its membership, run new-style elections, introduced a more representative Governance structure with Regional Boards and an international Governing Body and launched new services and research projects.

Whilst the merger was a key focus of the day, it was not the only subject under discussion and in a lively Q&A session follo

UK - Northern Light's ongoing 40th birthday celebrations continued at the ABTT Theatre Show with a raffle to win a bottle of 1971 vintage single malt whisky.

Many, many people entered the draw to be in with a chance of going home with the 1971 Speyside single malt from the Macallan distillery, but there could only be one winner.

At 4 pm on Thursday 16 June, PLASA's Ruth Rossington kindly did the honours and drew the winner - who was Anne Valentino, ETC's EOS product line manager.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Chroma-Q has launched the new Color Block Plus Replacement Engine for the Color Block DB4 LED fixture.

Designed to be fitted by authorised Chroma-Q service agents, the Color Block Plus Replacement Engine provides "a cost-effective alternative to replacing the whole Color Block DB4 fixture - so it's kind to the environment as well as users' budgets".

The Color Block Plus Replacement Engine utilises the latest generation of LED and optics, resulting in over two and a half times the output (750 lumens) of the original Color Block DB4 (290 lumens) when the internal switch is set to full power.

For maximum convenience, it also features a Color Block DB4 emulation mode, to simulate the lumen output of the original LED engine when used alongside other first generation fixtures.

London based hire company White Light is one of the first customers to take advantage of

USA - PLASA Events, an operating division of PLASA - the lead international membership body for those who supply technologies and services to the event, entertainment and installation industries has announced its first regional event in North America. PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 will be held 22-23 February, 2012 at the Renaissance Austin, Texas.

Modeled after the highly successful PLASA Focus: Leeds (UK), which recently broke previous attendance records in its third year, Focus: Austin will bring together members of the entertainment technology community to do business and network in a relaxed and friendly setting.

The two-day show will be reasonably priced for exhibitors and free to registered visitors. A unique hard wall booth package-including furniture, power and lighting-will level the playing field and give exhibitors a simple and affordable exhibiting experience. The show'

China/Sweden - LumenRadioreports that it is starting a CRMX wireless revolution campaign in China. After the successful launch of LumenRadio's CRMX at PALM Expo Beijing 2011, and with the completion of several prestigious government installations, the time has now come to bring CRMX to the larger and rapidly growing Chinese lighting market, states the company.

"CRMX has been recognised worldwide as the premium brand for wireless lighting controls, and has recently proven its superior reliability in the most challenging of installations," says Steven Cai at Leafun. We are proud to bring the benefits of the CRMX technology to the greater Chinese market. We have numerous new government and other high profile projects in the pipeline and will have three dedicated sales and support people working to drive the CRMX wireless revolution in China. We will also immediately start

UAE - The Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi has been illuminated in spectacular fashion using Martin Professional colour changing luminaires. The bridge, which soars to a height of 60m and stretches 842m, connects mainland Dubai to the island of Abu Dhabi and acts as a gateway to the city.

Ideas for illuminating the Sheikh Zayed Bridge began over a decade ago when colored illumination was promoted by Nour Assafiri, CEO of Martin Middle East, to the Municipality of Abu Dhabi. They liked the idea and accordingly asked the bridge's prestigious architect Zaha Hadid to consider the concept.

Named after the country's former president, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the bridge features a captivating illumination of dynamic lighting from 204 Martin Exterior 600 and 130 Martin Exterior 200 colour changing luminaires, as well as 956 Martin Cyclo 01 linear fluorescent luminaires.

A

UK - The Backstage Academy is launching a new foundation degree in Live Events Production in partnership with the University of Bolton.

The one-year foundation degree, which is the only one of its kind in the UK, focuses on the artistic, creative and practical use of technology for live events.

According to Creative & Cultural Skills, the Sector Skills Council for creative and cultural industries, by 2017 there will be a need for 30,000 skilled backstage and offstage technical theatre staff to support live events. The Backstage Academy is aiming to train students who can help meet this demand.

Students will gain hands-on experience at the Backstage Academy thanks to its base at the LS-Live Studios in South Kirkby, Wakefield. LS-Live is one of the largest purpose-built rehearsal facilities in Europe and has hosted some of the world's biggest music stars, including Lady Gaga,

USA - The ESTA Foundation has announced its 2011 Behind the Scenes Holiday Cards, created by an impressive line-up of all-star designers - Andrew Hefter, Seth Jackson, Derek McLane, and Jim Youmans.

Seth Jackson has designed tours for two decades for Don Henley, Jason Mraz, Hilary Duff, Melissa Etheridge, American Idols Live, Barry Manilow, Carrie Underwood, and Toby Keith, to name a few. He's also a two-time Parnelli Award winner, and has received the Illuminating Engineering Society?s Award of Distinction.

Derek McLane is one of today's most sought after designers, with designs seen on Broadway in this year's How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Anything Goes revivals on Broadway. His design for 33 Variations won him a Tony Award, and his Ragtime and Pajama Game revivals each earned Tony nominations.

Jim Youmans has design

USA - Anyone who walks into the Amazon Room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where the 2011 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is being played, immediately turns their gaze upward to a captivating glowing circular object. Positioned above the featured final table at the world's premier card-playing tournament, the stunning saucer-like object is actually a giant structure of circular trusses designed off the WSOP bracelet, created by Innovative Show Design.

Its purpose is to "provide a 360° jumbo tron view above the poker table, just as you would find in any sport venue," said Justin Garrone of Innovative Show Design (ISD). Illuminated with bright LED lights, the structure features a wraparound row of EVLED Video Panels from Elation Professional to provide added special effects.

The truss structure is one of many innovative design and lighting concept

The Netherlands - Philips Digital Cinema Xenon lamps are specially designed to meet the demands of today's digital cinema projectors. Each lamp is customised by projector model to maximise projector performance and to provide the required light output for 3D presentations.

In addition to large-screen applications, digital projectors are now also increasingly being used for small screens and/or 2D applications. In order to respond more effectively to the specific requirements of those applications, Philips has extended its current Digital lamp range. The new Digital Cinema Xenon lamps make it possible for small-screen and/or 2D applications to enjoy the benefits of Digital lamps in a cost effective way, says the company.

With these latest additions, Philips now offers an extensive Digital lamp range that minimises total cost of ownership, no matter which projector, screen or fi

USA - The 27th annual WrestleMania, the Super Bowl of sports entertainment, took place on 3 April at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta and featured an immense Martin Professional package of LED video and dynamic lighting gear supplied by production company Upstaging.

With a pay-per-view broadcast to 35 countries and an in house audience of over 70,000, WrestleMania is serious sports entertainment. Produced by WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), the yearly show has become the pinnacle event in sports entertainment.

Long time production designer for WWE is Jason Robinson who taps into his years of experience to light WWE events year long. Robinson works with WWE executive producer Kevin Dunn on design and themes for WrestleMania events with this year's look less thematic and more from the world of high tech.

Playing a major role in this year's set design were Martin Professional LC

UK - Al Murray - aka The Pub Landlord - is hosting his own pub quiz on UK comedy channel Dave. Compete For The Meat - a parody in which contestants compete for the grand prize of a £3.99 frozen chicken - features lighting designed by lighting director Chris Kempton and supplied by Richard Martin Lighting (RML).

Chris Kempton's lighting specification relies on a wide and varied selection of equipment including a range of Clay Paky Alpha Beam 700s, Alpha Wash 1200s and Alpha Wash 700s.

In use for the first time was a new chrome version of the Alpha Beam 700. Developed for TV sets and interiors, the shiny chrome finish is designed to help the luminaire become less visible to the eye by reflecting light and blending into its surrounding environment.

The Alpha Beam 700 has become one of the most popular tools for television lighting work in the UK and abroad.

(Jim

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