USA - As the exhibition season begins, innovative UK manufacture GDS reports a great start at the first North American PLASA Focus in Austin, Texas.

Chris Patton, GDS International Sales Manager for the Americas met with new and existing customers on the booth at the inaugural PLASA Focus: Austin. The first of its kind for PLASA in North America, the show proved to be a resounding success. The new style event took a different approach to previous regional shows, standardising the size of the booths in order to promote fair competition, to allow more companies to exhibit and attract more visitors.

GDS exhibited a number of products at the show including the acclaimed wireless battery operated LED range LiteWare and the award winning ArcSystem LED auditorium fittings.

Chris Patton commented: "The show has been a great platform for us to meet with our regional American cus

Germany - This year's ProLight + Sound exhibition will be a busy affair for Martin Professional with no less than 12 new product introductions including the world premiere launch of a new breed of moving head - the MAC Viper family.

Martin will be highlighting the first members of the new MAC Viper family at Stand A93 in Hall 9. Also on display will be new moving heads in Martin's popular MAC III family, an all-new VC series of creative LED video solutions, new portable lighting controllers in the M-Series, and a new compact hazer in Martin's Jem family.

A number of social gatherings top the agenda as well. In celebration of the company's 25th anniversary year, an informal 'Meet and Greet' will be held each day at 16:00 at the Martin stand, while on 22 March at 18:30, there will be a special 'Martin Welcome Party' at the Agora Stage, an evening of live music and lively convers

Israel - Compulite Systems (2000) has announced the release of a new Vector PC Wing to their flagship Vector family. The powerful portable unit brings flexibility by combining sophisticated features of the Vector platform with unmatched simplicity and size.

Weighing in at 3.5kg, the Vector PC Wing, when used with the Vector software, will deliver "cutting edge performance, advanced functionality and enhanced programming, making it the perfect portable unit for corporate events, cruise ships, trade shows, clubs, theatre and more".

The Vector PC Wing features up to 200 active playbacks, a dedicated intensity push wheel, five dedicated parameter push wheels, illuminated trackball, Grand Master with illuminated blackout key, 10 Playback faders, full tracking backup, MIDI and MSC support, two or four DMX-512 inputs/outputs configurable by using C-Net Manager software, 1

UK - If you want to add a colourful touch to your lighting designs then Elation's new Flex Pixel WP offers a fast, simple and affordable solution by adding extra dynamism, depth and colours to just about any application you can think of, says the company.

A 3m tri-colour SMD LED flexible tape with Pixel Control and a water resistant covering, each tape features 72 tri-colour (red, green, blue) LED pixels, spaced at 40mm (1.6") centres. You can cut and extend the tape every 100mm (4") to fit a wide variety of design applications.

The system can either be driven by the Flex Pixel Driver 1, a dedicated DMX driver for up to 144 pixels (two tapes) and up to 432 DMX channels of control or by using the Flex Pixel IR (FLE 755), Elation's infrared wireless receiver and remote driver, which offers stand-alone control and built in chase effects.

See Elation at PLASA Focus: Le

UK - ETC's new range of Source Four LED fixtures is set to receive its first ever UK public showing at this year's PLASA Focus: Leeds. Source Four LED produces a sharp, clean beam of focusable light or a smooth wash to give extra versatility to almost all lighting projects.

The luminaires will be initially available in three varieties: Lustr+, Daylight and Tungsten, bringing brilliant colours, low heat and even more energy-saving efficiency to all types of buildings.

Just like ETC's Desire Lustr+, the Source Four LED Lustr+ offers a complete palette of colours, thanks to the Selador x7 Color System. Meanwhile, Source Four LED Tungsten and Daylight produce maximum brightness at the respective warm (3000K) and cool white (5600K) colour temperatures. Each offers the same projection-quality beam.

Also on show will be ETC's Sensor3 Power Control system, which addresses the changi

UK / France - Sam Tamplin, lighting designer and MD of flourishing Brighton-based rental company TSL Ltd has just returned from a successful tour of France and the UK with the popular Church band 'Worship Central On Tour', accompanied by his recent purchase, the grandMA2 lighting desk.

The grandMA2, supplied by the MA distributor Ambersphere Solutions, made an ideal tour companion for Sam. He comments: "As a lighting designer, there is no doubt in my mind that the grandMA2 provides all the requirements I have for creative lighting design, and the demands of the show's networking needs, in a most effective and user-friendly way. It's been brilliant to have the grandMA2 on tour these past few weeks."

The grandMA2 is TSL's first purchase from Ambersphere Solutions and Tamplin has found it a powerful and intuitive control solution.

"There is a clear synergy betwee

USA - High End Systems will be showcasing an extensive line-up of innovative product offerings at the 2012 Nightclub and Bar tradeshow held 13-14 March 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

High End Systems will be demonstrating the capabilities of automated and digital lighting for club systems with an interactive display and hands-on opportunities. Several products will be on display including the new trackspot Bolt which is the modern version of the popular trackspot fixture used in club environments for over 20 years. Utilising new technology, trackspot Bolt offers "many exciting features at a very reasonable price and with no lamps to change, ever, the savings continue for years to come".

Continuing the development of digital lighting, High End Systems will show the new DLV Digital Light. This addition to the largest digital lighting portfolio in the industry represents th

UK - White Light is appearing on stand 340 at the International Outdoor Event Expo which runs until Thursday 8 March 2012 at the ExCel Centre in London. On display are products from White Light's exclusive brands: CITC FX, Core Lighting and i-Pix.

Products from CITC FX include the Little Blizzard SP DMXSnow Machine, a whisper quiet, high quality and industry standard which can run continuously without overheating. It has a flake size adjustment paddle, two-speed motor, remote control and DMX on-board. Full digital volume control adds precision to DMX or remote control with 25' cord (7.62m). The round opening increases output 20%.

The CITC FX Super Shotmax Confetti Cannon has a virtually continuous output without CO2 or loud bangs.

CITC FX Bubble Max Auto Fill System is also featured. This new product in the bubble machine industry can continuously produce bubbles for days, w

Italy - Jò Campana has been filling a number of roles for Italian rock band Negrita since 1998, among them lighting designer, lighting programmer and operator, set designer, and show concept designer. "I'm a one man band," he says affably.

Negrita has just played the six largest indoor venues in Italy on their Dannato Vivere arena tour beneath a Martin MAC rig that included the new MAC Aura, which provided a powerful surprise.

"I needed to hang some bright, light, small and fast fixtures over the 'breaking glass' trusses and I immediately thought of the Aura," Campana explains. "I checked the gear out during a demo with Paolo Albani (Martin Italy) and what stunned me the most was the powerful and top quality beam they can put out. Moreover, I appreciated the shape of the beam; it reminds me a kind of Super PAR64 effect, really compact and high-

UK - Stage Electrics has been awarded the contract for one of the largest UK installation projects of the year - the Guildhall School of Music & Drama's new £89m Milton Court site in the City of London. The year-long installation project begins this month and the grand opening of the school itself is scheduled for Autumn 2013.

Occupying eight floors at the base of a 36-story skyscraper in Silk Street next to the Barbican, on the site of an old fire station, the project's Foundation Donors, Heron International and the City of London, have contributed a total of £75.5m, with the remainder being covered via a public fundraising campaign.

Stage Electrics has been contracted to design and install the lighting systems, audio systems, distribution network, house and working light control, as well as a building-wide infrastructure for all technical theatrical elements. The

UK - Matthew Lloyd, managing director of GDS recently presented to an audience of Industry professionals at an event organised by Julies Bicycle. The not-for-profit organisation was established in 2007 by Alison Tickell. The company was set up to tackle the issue of climate change and promote sustainability within the music, theatre and creative industries. Julies Bicycle has brought together a coalition of scientific and industry figures to map the carbon profile of their industries and take practical steps to reduce it.

The event was held at Julies Bicycle headquarters, the Bush Theatre London and brought together a host of authorities including theatre technicians, consultants, venue managers and lighting designers and was sponsored by GDS distributors White Light and Stage Electrics. Matthew Lloyd was invited as a guest speaker to present the environmental attributes of GDS'

UK - The recent sold out UK and European shows by dynamic US singer / songwriter Nicole Scherzinger featured a lighting design by Scott Warner, who took a selection of the latest Robe technology on the road to all six high profile gigs in a floor specials package.

The performances follow up Scherzinger's chart-topping first solo album, Killer Love in an entertaining, high-energy performance, showcasing her singing and dancing talents and very accessible personality.

With a stripped back stage and minimal set - apart from the 'Nicole' backdrop and a set of grey voile stage drapes - and with no video or production rehearsal time - all eyes were on the lighting department to help enhance the drama and atmosphere of the evening in tune with Scherzinger's style and pizazz.

Warner enjoys working with such challenging parameters. "There was a lot of pressure on lighting

USA - Commissioned to illuminate Super Bowl XLVI Village, Dodd Technologies, Inc. (Pendleton, IN) faced a challenge nearly as formidable as defending against the Giants' pass receivers: making a three-block area in downtown Indianapolis look exciting in the dead of a Midwest winter.

The idea was to transform the heart of the city into a family-friendly 10-day festival of fun and football, featuring attractions like food and beverages, concerts, interactive games, and an 800' zip line that took riders soaring above the Super Bowl crowds. To give the planned village some colour - figuratively and literally - Dodd Technologies worked closely with Super Bowl Committee CEO Allison Melangton.

"(Melangton) had some definite ideas about what she wanted to bring to this Super Bowl," said Andy Meggenhofen, lighting designer for Dodd Technologies. "One of the big challenge

USA - As musicals begin their journey to the bright lights of New York City, they often begin the trip with an initial production run at a well respected regional theatre. Such was the case with the Dallas Theater Centre's production of GIANT, a new musical with music and lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa and book by Sybille Pearson. Co-produced with The Public Theater, GIANT will relocate to New York City after the initial production run, but it was in Dallas that the new musical about a transitioning ranch family would get its start under the direction of three-time Tony Award-nominee Michael Greif with a lighting design by Tony Award-winner Ken Posner.

"I have had a long relationship with Michael working on projects in the past, and I have also worked previously with The Public Theater, so it was through those relationships that I first became involved in the

Germany - CAST Software of Toronto, Canada is bringing some racing excitement to the show floor at Prolight+Sound 2012.

CAST's stand design will feature a slot-car racetrack that pit two people against each other in a head-to-head race: both racers will try to beat the realtime speed of BlackTrax. The racetrack itself is projected from above and the entire stand will be bursting with BlackTrax-filled interactivity involving lighting, spatial audio, projections, automated scenery, and giving the audience a fully immersive entertainment experience.

The racetrack will be controlled by a 22" touchscreen mounted on a podium. You control all of the action and BlackTrax will determine the race time of each car, and the winner. Each race winner will be entered into a raffle for prizes, and the fastest racer each day wins a daily grand prize. Every racer will be given a link to a

Qatar - On 9 December 2011 dancers, musicians, athletes, and falconers both on foot and on horseback paraded through the Khalifa Stadium in Doha, which had been transformed into a huge screen for the opening ceremony of the 12th Arab Games.

Conceived by the British event production agency David Atkins Enterprises on a commission for the Organising Committee of the Pan Arab Games, the opening ceremony entitled Journey to Light relied on the expertise of its French technical services provider ETC and the Christie Roadster series of projectors purpose-designed for event production.

Christie's partner ETC is an experienced event manager thoroughly familiar with the creative challenges David Atkins Enterprises can pose: its project manager Patrice Bouqueniau describes the opening ceremony of the 12th Pan Arab Games as "a totally original installation, even more ambitio

China - LumenRadio's CRMX distribution technology, was employed for lighting up the first ever Gregorian calendar New Year's countdown and celebration at the majestic Temple of Heaven park in central Beijing.

When the city government decided to use the countdown to the year 2012 as an opportunity to promote Chinese culture, and the city of Beijing in particular, it did not spare any effort to make it an event to be remembered. BeiAo Festival International Culture Development Co, the event and production company renowned for its central role in the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, was in charge of all logistical and technical aspects of this gigantic production.

The large size of the site and the stated ambitions of the organisers, to match or surpass similar international events in New York, London, Tokyo, and Sidney, demanded large-scale sol

UK - The A.C. Entertainment Technologies' (AC-ET) stand at PLASA Focus: Leeds will feature a selection of the leading brands for which AC-ET is the exclusive UK wholesaler - and will witness the first UK trade show unveiling of the new Jands Vista L5. The L5 includes a 21" HD Wacom pen tablet display, which makes it easy to manage today's lighting rigs of moving lights, media servers and LEDs. To celebrate the launch, enter the competition to win a MacBook Pro running the Vista v2 software and find out more about the L5 at www.jandsvista.com/L5.

Also showing is the Chroma-Q range of LED lighting solutions. Latest additions include the new Studio Force D (6,100K CCT daylight) and V (3,000K-6,100K CCT variable) white light sources.

Other exclusive brands represented at the show include GLP and PixelRange LED lighting solutions, the Green Hippo media servers range, CM Entert

UK - At the upcoming PLASA Focus: Leeds show, PixelRange will highlight its new range of fixtures featuring quad RGBW high intensity LEDs and new optics which provide exceptional colour mixing from the vast palette of colours achievable - from pastel shades to deep saturated hues. The fixtures are robust units, built to withstand the most harsh touring conditions, the company says.

Also on show will be the SmartLine battens - available in 4 and 6ft lengths and featuring individually mappable LEDs - and the PixelLine battens, available in 2, 4 and 6ft lengths, and fully programmable in blocks of 6 LEDs. Both SmartLine and PixelLine feature the brand new, space-saving fold flat yoke.

Also on display will be PixelSmart - a new generation PAR can-style fixture featuring 12 quad LEDs plus 13 XPGs, all individually controllable; QPar is a PAR can-style fixture featuring 12 quad LEDs

UK - Following the success of last year's event, the 2012 Black Light Open Day promises to be bigger and better than ever. The Open Day brings together all the latest AV, sound, lighting and stage technology under one roof. It will take place on 30-31 March at Black Light's headquarters at the West Shore Trading Estate in Edinburgh.

"We've already got over 30 of the biggest names in the industry confirmed," says Black Light's head of company development, Phil Haldane. "That means that this year's Open Day will be our most exciting yet. It will be a great chance for everyone to come and see the hottest new equipment in action, quiz the experts and, of course, meet friends and colleagues."

As in previous years, the day will feature a wide range of exhibitor stands at which visitors will be able to talk to manufacturers and suppliers and see their products 'in

UK - Nick Gray of UK creative lighting design practice Renegade once again designed lighting for the main British Fashion Council (BFC) Courtyard Show Space at Somerset House for London Fashion Week (LFW) 2012.

Working for his client Bacchus, he also lit the new Embankment Gallery Space at Somerset House and the Portico Show Space. Offsite, Gray designed lighting for the high profile Burberry show in Kensington Gardens.

This is the sixth season that Gray has lit the BFC Space, which features up to six shows a day for the five day LFW event including some of the highest profile designers like Marios Schwab, Bora Aksu, Mark Fast, Jasper Conran, Issa London and many more.

His imaginative input has brought a fresh and new look which is flexible and adaptable to accommodate a dynamic selection of shows, simultaneously giving the all-important runway light coverage for the photogr

USA - Recognising the growing importance of video in lighting design, Elation Professional is sponsoring a seminar on the subject conducted by internationally acclaimed lighting designer Dave Maxwell. Entitled The Fusion of Lighting and Video, the seminar will be held on Monday 23 April at Sound Check Xpo in Mexico City, Mexico.

"The convergence of lighting and video has been one of the major developments in our industry and it touches virtually every aspect of lighting design in stage, touring and display applications," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "We can't think of a timelier topic for a seminar, and we can't think of a more qualified and respected professional to conduct it than Dave Maxwell."

Maxwell has been widely hailed for fusing a diverse mix of elements into his work, including lighting, video, graphics, co

Austria - High End Systems equipment aided an annual event in Austria that kept the artists and the audience alike up much of the night. The benefit concert, Let's Spend the Night Together, was held just days before Christmas in the town of Graz. It featured the coming together of the theatre, Orpheum Graz, promoter Vojo Concerts and event supplier Preworks to financially help those organizations in need with donations from the show.

Preworks has over the years supplied High End Systems equipment, and because they are an HES Authorized Reseller, they usually can provide the newest technology in the HES line of luminaires and control products available.

For this event on 17 December, LD Rolf Schreiber specified seven Technospots along with two DL.3 Digital Light fixtures and two Axon media servers. For control, he chose two Road Hog Full Boar consoles with four Road Hog

UK - Multi award winning lighting designer Andrew Bridge used the Royal Albert Hall's (RAH) arsenal of automated luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite to deliver the stunning lighting on Raymond Gubbay's production of Verdi's classic opera Aida.

Bridge's dramatic design emphasizes the grand scale of the Royal Albert Hall, without losing that all-important intimacy of a scene when required. Staged in the round, the workhorses of Aida design are the Vari*Lite VL3000 and VL3500 Spot and Wash luminaires, provided by PRG and account director Peter Marshall.

Bridge's sculptural design bought life, dimension, time and atmosphere to distinguished director Stephen Medcalf's staging and Isabella Bywater's striking set design. No stranger to large scale production, Bridge is all too aware that lighting a show on such a grand scale, in the round, can present its own set of challenges a

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