USA - Free registration is now open for the PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops, running alongside PLASA Focus: Austin, on 22-23 February, 2012.

The programme has been designed by some of the industry's leading names and presents an opportunity for visitors to broaden their specialist knowledge and contribute to discussions about innovative projects and techniques, say organiser PLASA Events.

"Giving people the opportunity to develop their professional knowledge is key to the success of PLASA Focus: Austin 2012," comments PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths. "We're creating an opportunity to talk about the choices behind major projects in the region, from the Austin City Limits studio and The Long Center for Performing Arts, to seminars as broad and far-reaching as the use of lightin

Australia - When scheduling conflicts prevented US lighting designer Don Holder from travelling to Australia to re-create his intricate design for The State Opera of South Australia's production of Moby Dick he quickly called on long time friend and associate Gavan Swift to oversee the process. One of Australia's most respected lighting designers, Swift first worked with Holder on the Australian production of Disney's The Lion King and later spent some time with Holder in New York as part his Mike Walsh Fellowship while he lit A Streetcar Named Desire.

Jake Heggie's Opera Moby Dick was originally commissioned by the Dallas Opera to commemorate their inaugural season in the Winspear Opera House in Dallas and consequently the production was first plotted on the house's new ETC EOS console. To make the transition as easy as possible the logical step was

Belarus - Russian rock group Bi-2 recently returned to their native Minsk, in Belarus, for a one-off sold-out show at the Sports Palace indoor arena, in front of 6,000 adoring fans.

FE-Belimlight provided a large number of PR Lighting automated heads for the band's LD, Dmitriy Movlev, as well as technical support.

The lighting designer selected 24 PR lighting XL 1500 spots and 16 XL 1500 wash lights as the mainstays of a dynamic rock rig. "It was a true rock and roll show with a mixture of fast, dynamic songs, interspersed with slow and lyrical ballads," confirmed FE-Belimlight's Ilya Piatrouski, who was supporting the production. "The flexibility of the lighting rig needed to reflect this."

As a result, the XL1500s were distributed across the front-, mid- and back-trusses as well as on the stage - operated by Dmitriy Movlev himself from a Wholehog 3 desk

Russia - After six years of construction, Russia's Bolshoi Theatre has finally reopened its doors. The renovation project was focused on preserving the architectural and artistic features of the building while adding modern necessities and installing state-of-the-art technology in the theatre's historic main hall, including a completely new lighting system controlled by an ETC Eos lighting control system.

The reopening marks the beginning of the Bolshoi's 236th season, with a schedule bigger and busier than any in the theatre's history - 365 performances, with a staggering 319 shows at home. To keep up with the hectic performance schedule in the main hall, and to ensure that the lighting is as stunning as the building itself, the Bolshoi chose ETC Eos control desks to control the new lighting rig. The system consists of three Eos desks - one main board and two backups - and a fu

Belgium - MDG has announced the appointment of AED Distribution as its official distributor in the Belgian and Luxemburg markets, with effect from 1 October 2011.

Through this partnership, AED Distribution (part of AED group), will supply and support MDG's portfolio of fog and haze generators to resellers, installers and rental companies, which will now benefit from easier access to MDG's reliable quality products.

"MDG is proud to partner up with AED Distribution for the Belgian and Luxemburg market and welcomes AED Group to the MDG family," states MDG president & CEO Martin Michaud. "AED's perpetual quest for excellence, their personalized service and the quality of their team and organization reflects values shared by both our companies."

"We are very pleased to be partnering with MDG, which is a world leader in professional fog and haze generator

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light was the lead sponsor of TheatreCraft 2011, the annual free workshop and open day that provides anyone aged 17-25 with an introduction to every possible aspect of working backstage in the entertainment industry, from writing to stage management, to wig making to - of course - lighting.

Held on 28 November at the London Coliseum, the popular event kicked off with a welcome speech from leading international theatre designer William Dudley. During the day the hundreds of visitors were able to learn more from those already established in their field, and had the chance to meet representatives from organisations including the ABTT, the Almeida, English National Opera, the National Youth Theatre, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, the Royal Opera House, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Society of British Theatre Designers, the Society o

UK - Flight case manufacturer 5 Star has supplied well over 1000 cases to West Midlands-based AV rental specialists Central Presentations (CPL) in the last seven years, which have ranged from audio equipment, 19" racks, projector, plasma and LCDs and video production cases.

5 Star's Keith Sykes says: "Clients like CPL are invaluable. They are extremely busy year-round, their work is always varied and interesting and they are constantly expanding the equipment and rental stock, all of which needs flight casing for on-going road work. Consequently, we are involved in supplying a full range of standard and special cases."

The latest CPL 5 Star case project has involved a custom designed set of road cases for CPL's newest series of 'fly away' portable video production units (PPUs).

This is a smaller PPU specifically designed to service the proliferation of project

UK - Karen Monid became the first sound artist to present a stand-alone acoustic artwork for York's annual Illuminating York digital arts and lighting festival. Contours brought a fresh, provocative and highly entertaining medium through which visitors to the 2011 Festival could explore and enjoy the city's rich cultural history.

The decision to stage the piece - exploring the poetic, religious and musical culture of ancient York's Viking settlers and Anglo-Saxons - in the city's Dean's Park received great critical and popular acclaim. It was experienced by over 50,000 visitors across four evenings.

This year's Festival theme of Voices from the Past - the first time it has had a content signature - enabled the Festival event to broaden into some new platforms and parameters whereby the public could explore, interpret and understand the city as a place with

World - Le Maitre's Multi-Venue System (M.V.S.) Hazer is the only haze machine that rock band Uriah Heep will use. Currently on their Into The Wild Tour, with dates around the globe, the band's lead singer, Bernie Shaw comments: "With Uriah Heep playing on the world stage now in excess of 40 years, we've worked with most effects companies' hazers and smoke machines at our concerts all over the world. We've found Le Maitre's MVS Hazers to be the best, and now have them on our technical rider.

"With five singers in the band, we need a product that does not dry your throat, is tasteless, odourless but efficient and reliable enough to make the light show look good, but not hinder our performance. A very tall order that Le Maitre hazers handle with ease."

Playing as close to home as London's Shepherds Bush Empire, to as far afield as Vladisvostok and Venezuela

UK - Black Light gave an explosive finale to the launch of the latest product from Scottish drinks company AG Barr, when it provided a spectacular pyrotechnic display for the unveiling of Fiery Irn-Bru. The launch event was in George Square, Glasgow. It featured former AG Barr chairman, Robin Barr, putting on a pair of oven gloves to pull the first ever bottle of the new drink out of a giant furnace. As the drink was held up to the cheers of the crowd, Black Light's team unleashed columns of fire and fountains of sparks behind him.

"Black Light has a wealth of experience in the field of pyrotechnics and with flame-based effects," said Black Light's head of company development, Phil Haldane. "So we were delighted to help out with this high profile product launch. Many of us at Black Light are fans of Irn-Bru so that gave us added motivation to put on a great show.

Germany - The MA onPC command wing paves the way for mobile use of the flexible grandMA2 control system. In combination with the free-of-charge grandMA2 onPC software, the MA onPC command wing is a portable 2,048 parameter control solution that can be used nearly in any location - and all for an affordable price, says the company.

Designed as the hardware expansion to the grandMA2 onPC software, the MA onPC command wing enables the look and feel of the software to be as close to a real grandMA2 console as possible. With a simple USB connection between the MA onPC command wing and the computer running the grandMA2 onPC software, all inputs and outputs of a grandMA2 console are available to the user. DMX, MIDI, Timecode and Analogue Remote are all on hand directly at the MA onPC command wing.

Wherever it is physically difficult to use a grandMA2 console, the MA onPC command wing

USA - Cree Inc has announced that it has granted five LED lighting manufacturers licenses to select Cree patents through its recently launched remote phosphor licensing program. By making fundamental remote phosphor patents available through license, Cree is further enabling LED lighting adoption, as Cree innovations facilitate the development of LED lights combining remote phosphor optical elements with blue LEDs.

"Cree is committed to the development of innovative, energy-efficient LED lighting technology and this program provides access to important technology developed by Cree," said George Brandes, Cree director of intellectual property licensing. "The remote phosphor licensing program is designed to provide rights under the relevant Cree patents that our LED customers need to develop and commercialise leading-edge LED luminaires and bulbs, accelerating the L

UK - Mike Glover of Essex Sound & Light (ESL) has spent 2011 engaged in installation projects as far afield as Delhi and Spain - but he saved one of his best creations for a nightclub right on his own Southend doorstep.

Chameleon has been a landmark venue since it first opened as Mr. B's Discotheque in the mid-80s. The venue subsequently underwent many iterations and corporate ownership changes before falling into demise following the collapse of CanDu Entertainment three and a half years ago.

As a result, enterprising local entrepreneur Dick De Vigne (whose eponymous 500-capacity Dick De Vigne's nightclub is the lynch-pin of the burgeoning Warrior Square scene nearby), snapped up Chameleon on Lucy Road from the receivers.

Not only does Lucy Road provide the traditional nightlife heartbeat of Southend but De Vigne also owned this place previously (first as Discotheque Buzz a

UK - December is a time for panto, as Britain's theatres stage their annual Christmas entertainments, all using lighting technology to create the magical effects these shows demand - many turning to entertainment lighting specialist White Light to supply the gear they need.

White Light will this year be supplying 27 pantomimes - including nine Cinderellas, four Aladdins, four Peter Pans, four Sleeping Beauties, three Dick Whittingtons ,one Snow White and one A Christmas Carol. All of these shows, plus many other festive entertainments produced by professionals, schools and amateur companies, are drawing on not just White Light's comprehensive ranges of conventional and moving lights, but also a diverse selection of effects including smoke, haze, UV light, snow, bubbles and pyrotechnics.

White Light is also once again supplying t

UK - MilTec is undergoing a major re-structuring of its manufacturing and distribution operations. The existing company, MilTec (UK) Ltd will control the manufacturing and export businesses of the LEDHead and MT Pro Audio ranges of products. A new company, MT-Pro Ltd, will distribute these products within the UK and Ireland along with their existing ranges of conventional lighting and special effects. The changes will take effect from Tuesday 3 January 2012.

Sales director David Faulkes explains: "We have been increasing our export business over recent months and the time is now right to separate the business into two definable operations. This will enable us to improve our services to our existing and future customers around the world. We will now have better control of design, quality control, availability, export and service functions.

"Continuity is very importan

UK - Following the announcement yesterday (20 December) of Westminster School's purchase of Lawrence Hall from the Royal Horticultural Society, organisers of the ABTT 2012 Theatre Show moved swiftly to announce the event will be transferring to a new venue.

The Show's director, Roger Fox, spoke to assure both exhibitors and visitors that the 2012 Show would be going ahead, explaining: "This announcement has come as a surprise to us today and at a time when planning for the 2012 Show was well advanced. Discussions to secure an alternative venue are already in progress, which we see as also an opportunity to offer improved facilities for our exhibitors and visitors."

At present it is unsure if the Show's previously published June 2012 dates will be available at an alternative venue, but all effort is being made to avoid changes to the timing of this important annual ev

Germany - Kaiser Showtechnik recently purchased Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500 lights. When first used to illuminate the iconic Augsburg building, the town hall, the Italian company's moving lights provided proof of their wide performance range.

Managing director Maxx Kaiser explained, "We used 20 of our Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500 lights for the project. The city of Augsburg fully supported us in the project, turning off the Town hall's lighting and street lamps. In return, we lit up the Town Hall with the FC Augsburg football team colours since they were playing the last game valid for promotion, which they won."

Kaiser continued, "The installation was created after the Town hall closed. At around midnight we recorded the first videos and snapshots, and the entire production set was fully removed from the Town hall square before the beginning of the next work

Norway - LumenRadio's CRMX is now a trusted member of the touring ensemble at Ostfold Teater in South-Eastern Norway.

This regional theatre organisation develops performances with specific appeal to children and youth and also co-produces many productions with talented independent theatre groups. Part of their mandate is to bring dramatic theatre out to the people and that is done in the form of touring productions that play in local schools and performing arts centres.

The challenge is that most of these venues are not equipped to accommodate the sometimes-elaborate productions. Many of the venues, in particular the schools, also have Wi-Fi networks that need to be functional at all times and interference from visiting wireless systems is not acceptable.

The solution came in the form of a portable LumenRadio CRMX Nova system. Performing in a variety of venues without adequa

New Zealand - Lighting designer Ben Cooper utilised 24 Robe Robin 600 LEDWash moving light fixtures - amongst others - for the 2011 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards (VNZMAs), which honoured the very best of established and emerging talent spanning a diversity of genres.

The high profile event - produced by J and A Productions for the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) - was staged in the Vector Arena in Auckland. It is the largest and highest profile Awards show in the country.

This 46th edition of the VNZMAs featured live performances from a host of stars including Brooke Fraser, The Naked and Famous, Ladi6, Six60, Tiki Taane and Avalanche City and legendary Kiwi band Supergroove. It was telecast live on national Channel FOUR.

Cooper was lighting it for the second year, bringing a fresh and innovative style to the visuality, with all the lighting equi

Canada - The Canadian Football League championship, the Grey Cup, is Canada's biggest annual sports and television event. Held at Vancouver's BC Place Stadium on 27 November, halftime of this year's game featured a performance by Nickelback using a Martin lighting and video package of 98 MAC 101, 30 MAC 2000 Beam XB, 20 MAC 2000 Wash XB and six MAC III Profile moving heads with supporting graphics on two large Martin LC Series LED screens.

The moving light package was supplied by Christie Lites Vancouver with the LC panels with P3 upgrade coming from Epic Production Technologies. Production and lighting design for the event was by Robert Sondergaard who incorporated a large amount of Martin's compact MAC 101 wash lights into his design.

"Since the 101s have come out they have become integral to the shows we do," he says. "Because they are inexpensive to rent, we

Russia - Established in 1885, Moscow's historic Theatre of Nations reopened in September following a four-year reconstruction period. The theatre offers a rich variety of experimental drama, international theatre tours and festivals.

Clay Paky distributor DOKA Center was actively involved in the renovation of the theatre. "We have never performed such a large and varied amount of work in supplying for a theatre before", said DOKA's director Alexander Fokichev. "We were involved in all aspects from designing the scenic technology to supplying, installing and implementing the stage lighting equipment."

DOKA Center supplied 10 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 575s and 14 Alpha Wash 575s for the main stage. The fixtures give the theatre's lighting designers free rein to create limitless graphic lighting effects. The prestigious nature of the project required extremely

UK - Lighting rental company HSL supplied all lighting equipment to the 2011 British Military Tournament at Earls Court in London - for LD Steve Sinclair's dynamic design which helped showcase the action presented by a cast of 700 troops, 100 horses, massed bands and featuring the famous 'field gun run'.

HSL tendered and won the contract for lighting contractor, which was project managed for them by Thor-Andre 'Spantax' Saether. "It was a great honour to be involved in a project with such long traditions and we are proud to have picked up the ball on this contemporary version," he says referring to its origins as The Royal Tournament, a spectacle that ran from 1880 to 1999 returning to the live event calendar last year in this new format.

Spantax adds that it was also good to be working with Sinclair again following HSL's recent supply of lights to Top Gear Live

Malaysia - When Indonesian singer Ruth Sahanaya celebrated her 25th anniversary, lighting designer Bernard Chew from Jakarta, was challenged with creating a lighting design for the landmark event, which he faced with a grandMA2 full-size control console on his side.

Staging a night to remember in the Plenary Hall of the famous Kuala Lumpur Convention Center, Malasia, right underneath the Petronas Twin Towers, Sahanaya was easily able to convince her audience that there are many more years to come. Best known for her ballads, Sahanaya has won several national awards and is well recognised internationally, frequently touring and playing music festivals as far afield as Finland and the Netherlands, in the process winning many fans across the globe.

Working together with Jeffry Waworuntu, Ruth Sahanaya's husband and manager, Chew came up with a lighting design fitting for the occa

South Korea - The Gaya Theatre in Seoul, South Korea, recently hosted a spectacular hologram performance called VR BreakOut.

Zenex Wave, a Korean design and production company, used Medialon Manager Show and Media Control Software with an iPad to give a chance for the audience to enjoy and experience a 3D world of virtual reality on stage.

The performance is a musical and dance story about prisoners who lead a routine life, isolated from the outside world, and dream of freedom through a mysterious Bi-guep (a book with supernatural power), which happens to fall from the sky.

In VR BreakOut - selected for the 2010 Virtual Reality Content Support Project of Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), Zenex Wave applies holograms to a commercial stage for the first time in Korea, realizing virtual reality on the stage by combining technologies like 3D projection mapping

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