Lighting

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14 March 2016

The director of photography Massimo Pascucci reports, "The concept of the lighting design stems from the need to strike a fair balance between the purely theatrical setting of the sets designed by Gaetano Castelli and the need to transform them into a sort of concert stage, in order to achieve spectacular effects during dances, acrobatic exhibitions and conjuring tricks."

The lighting consists almost entirely of Clay Paky units. In detail, 70 Alpha Profile 1500s are used for the orchestra, backstage and audience backlighting. Fifty Sharpys have been positioned vertically in mid-air on eight tubular structures behind the orchestra,

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14 March 2016

The venue has an eclectic programme of arts and entertainment including live music of all genres, dance shows, corporate events and parties and is both a producing and a receiving house. The average performance rate is about six shows a week throughout the year.

The venue recently made a large investment in Robe moving lights at the instigation of technical manager Charles Konings. The Robes were supplied by the Dutch office of Benelux distributor Controllux, which has had a healthy and happy working relationship with De Effenaar for some time.

The first delivery of Robes into the venue

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Baz Halpin added 30 Sharpys tothe US leg of the tour after having used them for Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum shows.

"Katy's tour was very theatrical. It was set in a 'Candyfornia' world that was very colourful and thematically-inspired, very much like Katy herself," he explains. "The show was divided into five acts with different colour schemes for each, ranging from pastel to dark to monochromatic."

Halpin found that he needed "very small but punchy" fixtures on the floor upstage and along the perimeter of the stage. "Since we didn't have rehearsals, I wanted a light I already knew abou

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14 March 2016

Kurt du Preez, owner of Pan Tilt, admits that he was a little concerned when he saw the size of the fixtures. This soon changed when he turned the VL880s on. "They were so bright," said du Preez. "The size of the beam is incredible."

He finds the gobos refreshingly new and different "for a change" and is loving the effects beam offering rings, multi-rings, lines, dots.

Pan Tilt have used the lights on some corporate gigs to wallpaper the venue with gobo designs and rich colour. The fixtures were also used recently to light an audience. "They were phenomenal," commented Kurt. "What speed, and even at full wide, they were quite bright."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

"I was really keen to give it a go on this show," he commented. "It allows you to have hard buttons, knobs and faders to control grandMA2 onPC software which is basically grandMA2 on your computer. Now, rather than trying to put in a 'large' console in a control room where there is no space, I've got the compact MA onPC command wing."

Wherever it is physically difficult to use a grandMA2 console, the MA onPC command wing, in conjunction with the grandMA2 onPC software, enables the customer to program or playback within the grandMA2 world.

Collison used a grandMA2 light to programme the show, switching to the MA onPC command wing for replay. "It's not too dissimilar to using an actual console and I was surpri

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14 March 2016

DB has bought the Sharp LED screens due to demand from clients and because it is this year phasing out its LCD and plasma screen stock. This latest investment takes DB's current screen inventory to over 1,500 screens of various sizes, from 22" up to these 80" models.

The Sharp screens are True HD 1920x1080 screen and, despite their size, weigh just 65kg, which is half the weight of an equivalent plasma version.

Oliver Richardson, DB's sales & marketing director, said, "LED technology is definitely the way forward for 2012. LED screens are lighter and thinner than the standard LCD and plasma screens, and have the added advantage of being more energy efficient. We expect this product to be in the 'what's hot' list for 2012.

"Our clients

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14 March 2016

For greater options in design and brightness, VC-Dots are available with one, four or nine LEDs per pixel (VC-Dot 1, VC-Dot 4 and VC-Dot 9) and come in an RGB colour mixing version or cool, medium, or warm white single colour versions. They are designed for integrating LED video technology into façades, stage designs, ceilings or any other structure (indoors or out).

Driven by Martin's family of award-winning P3 System Controllers, this is the first family of video dots to combine an incomparable level of simplicity with such a high level of quality, says the company.

The VC-Dots are sup

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14 March 2016

Pacific Lighting director Hugh Chinnick comments, "GLP is a growing company, with a track record for innovation and quality. We have been very cautious in entering the moving LED fixture market, but are confident that GLP will successfully fit into our existing bespoke product range."

Michael Münz, general manager GLP Asia, adds, "I am very happy to have Pacific Lighting on board with us. They are a very experienced and well known player throughout Asia and the perfect match for GLP. Together with them we are looking forward to maintaining our rapid growing in Asia."

Since the opening of GLP's Asian Office little under two years ago, sales in the region have increased dramatically. "Recent

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14 March 2016

The one day course focuses on how - and why - the IET Wiring regulations and BS 7909 apply to temporary events and delves a little into why they are relevant and more importantly how compliance is not necessarily difficult. As well as looking at how to implement them correctly it also examples where current practice is not always best practice, showing where potential dangers exist in a typical event. It will also be of particular use to rental companies as the course gives the delegate a sound understanding of the importance of portable appliance testing.

The content is aimed at those with a reasonable appreciation of electrical systems and covers areas such as multiple sources of supply, RCDs, earthing and bonding, i

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14 March 2016

The event re-telling of the Crucifixion of Jesus was instigated by Preston Guild, directed by Mark Murphy and hosted by Fern Britton for the BBC on Good Friday at Preston Bus Station. The outdoor and live mass participation elements of the event were produced by innovative arts / performance company Walk The Plank,

Each crucifix was 9m tall with a 4m cross piece, and was constructed on the top floor of the multi storey car park above the Preston Station.

The crosses were clad in wood, painted black, and erected one at a time using an electric chain hoist and self-climbing tower methodology. This was choreographed to happen while three short sections of pre-recorded drama

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14 March 2016

This is following busy trading for the last two years and a healthy order book for the upcoming months. It's also part of an on-going commitment to providing greener and more eco-friendly lighting rigs to its varied client base.

This latest purchase involves six of Robe's Robin 600 LEDWash units to complement the 12 Robin 300 LEDWashes bought last year, plus 12 of the new Robin 100 LEDBeams - just launched at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt in March and already proving popular. Also new are six Robe Robin DLX LED Spots.

Says UEP's Steve Butcher, "Many events are becoming a lot more carbon-conscious, and, apart from that from a rental perspective, there are all the advant

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14 March 2016

Playing venues such as Alexandra Palace, MEN Arena, plus a raft of vast spaces in Europe and the USA, Bushell's lighting skillfully pulls the audience focus to the centre of the stage without losing the essential theatricality of the early Florence shows.

Lighting is ethereal with Bushell using it more as a statement than for big effects. He discusses, "The overall theme is based around 1920s Baroque fashion and architecture. While a great deal of thought and planning went into the set, I also wanted the presence of the lighting to complement and exploit the space around the set piece. The VL3000 Spots were perfect for this. With their wide angles and long th

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14 March 2016

The Company's technical director Niall Black explains: "ETC's associate regional manager for UK & Ireland, Jeremy Roberts, brought a range of different fixtures to Scotland in February to provide a demonstration to our technicians and others, including Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, freelance technicians, designers, and students from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

"Jeremy let everyone just play with the fixtures. We compared a 750W tungsten Source Four to the new LED version in a shoot out; inserted gobos; and got a chance to get a good all-round look at them. It was obvious that the Source Four LED is a fantastic unit.

"We've previously invested in some LED lig

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14 March 2016

White Light's sponsorship will support Julie's Bicycle's UK-wide theatre programme. Julie's Bicycle and White Light have already jointly promoted events for theatre professionals specialising in lighting, and have identified the challenges and opportunities presented by low carbon solutions for front o house and auditoria lighting.

White Light's sponsorship has contributed to the development of a new IG Tool for Production - the latest carbon ca

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14 March 2016

Northern Light Direct is the division of the company responsible for the supply of goods and services to theatres, educational establishments and other performance spaces right across the UK.

Ed Gamble, head of Northern Light Direct, said, "Northern Light Direct will offer customers a huge range of boxed goods and consumable items, delivered direct from our warehouse to their venues. We will also be a variety of aftercare services to Northern Light's installation customers, including lots of advice and provision of loose equipment to enhance their installed systems."

Additionally, the Northern Light Direct team will be offering tailored maintenance contracts to ensure that venue systems remain at the very peak of performance.

Colin Cuthbert,

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14 March 2016

The scope of Naked Eye's work encompasses all genres of visual design - from high profile rock 'n' roll world tours, to major events and architectural concepts. Conwell also programmes video and moving lights for a variety of high profile TV and game shows.

He has been using media servers for some time, and was an early adopter of the innovative technologies and mindsets fuelling the 'convergence' between video and lighting.

On the most recent Morrissey tour, he used the HippoCritter to playback video content for the pre-show movie, which ran for 25 minutes. The HippoCritter was al

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14 March 2016

The venue, the largest amphitheatre in the Middle East, played centre stage for a special concert by the Oscar-winning Greek composer Vangelis. A&O Technology implemented a spectacular light show by the late esteemed lighting architect Gert Hof for the special concert.

A&O was responsible as general contractor for the lighting and pyrotechnics including the provision of electrical power, control and programming for the light show. Only 10 days had been assigned to put together a multimedia show in which at times over 350 high-powered searchlights, a variety of lighting systems, fireworks and video projection were employed simultaneously.

The central section of the giant screen erected on the seaward side of the amphitheatre formed a g

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14 March 2016

Their brief included the provision of the band's backline which was sourced from John Henry Enterprises, and specialist video which came via Bluman Associates. All necessary rigging was also supplied by Entec.

Entec's project manager Noreen O'Riordan worked closely with Mayday's LA-based production manager Jeffrey Soon to ensure that all their needs were met, and brought Simon Tutchener on-board as their overall production and site manager.

Tutchener started work on the gig about two weeks in advance. The challenges were all the usual ones of a large one-off - a pressurised time frame, the logistics of remote co-ordination .... and only one cha

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14 March 2016

The new warranty term covers all of Coemar's products, including the Infinity Mrange, which can take either discharge or tungsten lamps, and the Reflection range of spot and wash LED fixtures.

"Coemar makes a wide range of products, offering fantastic output as well as remarkable versatility," comments Peter Threadgold, White Light's sales director. "We hope that these new two-year warranties will provide everyone - rental companies and end users alike - with one more reason to buy into Coemar. The capabilities of Coemar products speak for themselves. The warranty should just provide re-assurance that they will continue to perform night after night, show after show."

"In the UK, w

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14 March 2016

The Metropolitan Opera has a reputation for carefully selecting gear to add to its equipment roster. Only the highest quality, most reliable products will meet its strict requirements.

"The Met liked a number of features of the Alpha Profile 700," reports Brian Dowd, vice president of sales at A.C.T Lighting. "Among the attributes that most appealed to them were the fixture's compact size, even optical field, quiet and precise shutters, smooth dimming curve and silent movement."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, the full-day event opens at 11am with an address by George Katodrytis, RIBA, Associate Professor of Architecture, College of Architecture, Art and Design, American University of Sharjah.

It will then go on to discuss a series of topics including: New Technologies and Products in Lighting Design (with Ivar Krasinski, design director, STR-EDGE), followed by The Development of Standardisations for Lighting: Abu Dhabi's Sustainable Lighting Policy (with Martin Valentine, Municipality of Abu Dhabi City). This will lead into a debate session a debate session which asks: Are LEDs for Everybody in the Lighting Profession? (moderated by George Katodrytis a

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14 March 2016

For their Legend, their latest spectacular production, Circus Zapashny - in cooperation with Imlight - they decided to add the XR3000 Spot CMY and XR3000 Beam moving heads as a major upgrade of their light rig.

Legend is staged in the Luzhniki sports arena, Moscow. In 2002, the arena experienced a major reconstruction andtoday it can seat 11,500 people.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

The theatre will be operated by Nimax which already runs five others in London, including the Apollo and Lyric. Nimax chief executive Nica Burns said, "Our new theatre won't compete with those already in London. It will be a different - very intimate - space, in a great location, where cutting edge shows can be performed." The London Astoria most recently occupied the site before it closed in 2009 when it

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14 March 2016

Over the past year PLASA has embraced a completely different governance structure, expanded its portfolio of events in North America, and introduced a range of new services and benefits. Members at the AGM will also learn more about PLASA's proposed global strategy and the crucial role played by the respective Regional Boards and Governing Body in the planning process.

The PLASA Members' Lunch will be followed by a very special guest speaker in the form of Iron Maiden front man, Bruce Dickinson. Well known as the lead singer of one of