Finland - Veturi shopping centre, Finland's sixth biggest shopping centre, was before its opening 13 September 2012 illuminated with new energy efficient and eye catching LED lighting.

LumenRadio's long-term Finnish distributor Sun Effects together with lighting designer Jari Vuorinen from Olof Granlund Oy, installed 82 Traxon Wall Washers and an e:cue control system with eight CRMX Slim receivers and one double universe CRMX Nova transmitter to light up a special oval-shaped suspended ceiling in the main corridors. Sun Effects also installed an extensive wireless CRMX system, containing one CRMX Slim and multiple CRMX Nova receivers on an advertisement tower located just right outside the shopping centre.

The barrier-free shopping centre is 48,000 m² and has stores from over 80 companies.

"A public project of this magnitude in the presence of thousands of visitors on

France - Working at the 'World's Largest Fashion Show' during Paris Fashion Week, event technical manager Bertrand de Saint Pern needed the right lighting for the extreme runway. As he says, "We fitted each of two lines of truss above the catwalk with 50 ETC Source Four Fresnel fixtures." Seven hundred models eventually graced the 50m stretch of catwalk, which was extended into the street for huge crowds to view.

The Source Four Fresnel combines ETC's HPL lamp technology with the special optics of a traditional Fresnel for far better light output and energy efficiencies than other-brand products. "We were impressed not only by the quality of the lighting provided but with the product itself," says Saint Pern. "It was immensely practical."

Working with ETC distributor Avab Transtechnik France, S Group of Paris installed the 100 ETC fixtures at the

Theatres of the Year - Shakespeare's Globe and Sheffield Theatres have been named as London theatre of the year and regional theatre of the year in The Stage 100 Awards 2013. Four other categories were also announced. The Union Theatre in Southwark won fringe theatre of the year, Glasgow-based A Play, A Pie and a Pint won producer of the year and ALRA North won school of the year.

Meanwhile, the Unsung Hero award returned this year with two winners. Anne McNulty was recognised for her work as casting director of the Donmar Warehouse, while Chris Isherman was recognised for his work as theatre manager at the West End's Duchess Theatre. The awards will be presented later this month.

Old Gold - Unpublished colour photographs of The Beatles during their first tour of the US are to be auctioned. The 65 slides include many stage shots, including George Harrison with his red R

Russia - In November of this year, American entertainer Jennifer Lopez gave performances in Moscow and St. Petersburg that won the hearts of Russians all over the country. Rental company Euroshow not only supplied all of the equipment for the concerts in both cities but gave lighting designer Sean Burke the chance to try out Martin Professional's new MAC Viper Profile.

For the show in St. Petersburg, Euroshow changed the preliminary specification to 1500 W MAC III Profiles and 1000 W MAC Viper Profiles (instead of 1200 W moving heads), as well as MAC 2000 Wash XBs and MAC Auras.

Burke got the chance to test the MAC Viper Profile for the first time, using them as main top beam effects and for side wash and audience work. He comments, "When we worked with Euroshow on the advance for the show they told me they had recently acquired some MAC Vipers. I'd not used them before b

Australia - A cast of Vari-Lite VLX Wash luminaires have been installed as part of a massive AUS$136m revamp of the iconic Australian theatre, Hamer Hall.

Adrian Sterritt, head of lighting at the Melbourne venue, says his team chose the VLX Wash luminaires following a shoot-out between the Vari-Lite fixtures and other brands.

"We were looking for a number of aspects from the lighting fixtures; speed, quality of light, operation modes," says Sterritt. "The VLX Wash zoom was better, its quality of light was similar to what we were used to, and in terms of colours we wanted to produce, it was more suited to our desired colour palette. There was also an environmental aspect to the project so 'green' products were favourable."

Harmer Hall is used for a wide variety of events from rock-and-roll concerts to orchestral and theatrical shows, and the VLX Wash lumin

UK - TV lighting specialists Aurora Lighting Hire were left fighting over the remote control on New Year's Eve. Aurora signed off "a phenomenal December" by supplying lighting facilities to multiple shows across BBC1, BBC2 and Channel 4.

First up for Aurora was C4's Alan Carr's New Years Eve Specstacular. Aurora supplied LD Chris Rigby with moving lights, set LED and crew. Warming up for the midnight hour, Rigby was back in action this time for the BBC's Graham Norton Show, Aurora was again on hand providing moving lights and crew to this New Year's special.

Completing a trio for Rigby, New Year's Eve finished for him with the end of an era. Aurora supplied an extensive moving light rig to BBC's Jools Annual Hootenanny, the last time this legendary show will be recorded at the BBC Television Centre.

Finishing off the festivities was C4's Hou

UK - Devon-based drapes, starcloth, LED and visual effects specialist S+H Technical supplied approximately 15,000 additional Pea Lights and other illuminated effects for the Christmas edition of the BBC's popular hit show, Strictly Come Dancing.

This was staged in studio TC1 and the BBC TV Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London.

The additional Pea Lights brought the total for the Final to around 21,000. S+H regularly supplied about 6000 Pea Lights to each show in the series which were integrated into the set walls of Patrick Doherty's impressive ballroom design.

(Jim Evans)

UK - OneBigStar has supplied production and equipment for the Chris Moyles Live tour. Moyles recently took to the road with his long-time breakfast show collaborators Aled Haydn Jones and Dominic Byrne, along with house band, Rockaoke.

Working with Accept Management who provided tour and production

management, OBS designed and supplied the scalable set, LED video / mixing, LX and control and mic / IEM packs, along with techs and operators.

The show's format was very much in keeping with the style of the breakfast show and so every night varied in content. Combined with the diversity in in-house

specifications, this ensured that flexibility was a necessity both in pre-production and on the road.

Amongst the production supplied by OBS, and making its UK debut, was the new Chauvet 7mm PVP SMD LED Panels [12m2 4: 3 format] fed with a Roland V800HD Vision Mixer. Other rental

The Netherlands - Artistic Licence Engineering will be demonstrating dVnet, its innovative new digital video-to-network converter, at ISE 2013. "Visitors to the stand (8-R232) are guaranteed an exciting visual display as dVnet drives Pixel Pad, the LED array product from Abstract," says the company.

The latest addition to ALE's Rack Pack range, dVnet is aimed squarely at retail and architectural applications in which a media facade or light sculpture is to be controlled by video, and the complexity of a media server is not required.

dVnet is all a user needs to convert a video creation to light, says ALE. The digital video input is in HDMI format. "Configuration is simplicity itself, with less than ten mouse-clicks required to render video to a media wall."

dVnet can also play-back video clips manually loaded onto its internal hard drive, or via the incor

UK - London based creative and technical solutions provider Presentation Rentals (PR) has invested in new Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and A.LEDA Wash K.10 moving lights - in both black and white.

This reflects a busy autumn and run-up to Christmas for the company, which provided technical production for a full range of shows and events.

Thirty CP units were purchased in total - 16 Spots, eight in each colour - and 12 washes, eight in black and four white. They are the first white versions of both types of fixtures in the UK.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Design, manufacturing and distribution company MilTec (UK) Ltd has experienced "unprecedented demand" for their latest LED batten, the LEDHead Batten2. The lightweight but robust batten has proved popular with both rental and installation companies for use in a wide variety of applications. Demand really took off after a very striking demo system was shown at PLASA in September.

The unit is fitted with 18x 8W quadcolour LEDs, PowerCon in and out connectors, five-pin XLRs and a versatile hanging bracket. A selection of operating modes allows options from simple four-channel control up to full pixelmapping of each LED for stunning visual effects. In addition, a barndoor type reflector allows the Batten2 to be used as a cyclorama wash up to 6m plus.

Thirty-six of the battens were used by Blinding Light for set lighting on the Proms in the Park concert as part of th

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment rocked into 2013 in great style supplying lighting, LED screens and lasers to two mega successful events at London's Brixton Academy venue.

On New Year's Eve the sold-out UKF Bass Culture by Lock & Loaded welcomed 2013, and on New Year's Day ... after a few hours break, the celebrations kicked in again, this time with Colour Sound working for the Circo Loco Coalition.

CSE's Haydn Cruickshank and Steve Marley designed a production rig that took into account the main requirements for both events. CSE was able to offer a versatile, dynamic and cost-efficient visuals package for both events.

UKF Bass Culture was headlined by a DJ set from Chase & Status and also featured some of the UK's best bass artists including DJ Fresh, Foreign Beggars, Shy FX & B-Traits, MistaJam, KOAN Sound and Delta Heavy ... while Circo Lo

USA - Lighting and set designer Tim Dunn from Gearhouse South Africa specified Robe Robin 600 LEDWash and PureWhite moving lights to illuminate award winning VR Steel's spectacular new booth, premiered at the recent Mine Expo International 2012 exhibition and trade fair at Las Vegas Convention Centre.

Expo International is the mining industry's premier showcase for companies specialising in every facet of mining - open pit, underground, processing and preparation, mine site development, exploration and surveying, smelting and refining and reclamation. VR Steel is a global leader in the manufacture of cutting-edge products for dragline mining.

Dunn took a brief from VR Steel's CEO John van Reenen and created a radically elegant new stand for the South African company which will tour to international mining expos worldwide over the next two years.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Bandit Lites recently wrapped up another successful New Year's Eve show with rock band, Widespread Panic. The second annual event took place at the Time Warner Cable Arena and included a canned food drive.

While New Year's Eve is typically a night of expectancy for the coming year, lighting designer Paul Hoffman had a different kind of anticipation at the event: the set list selection. With a repertoire of over 350 songs, Widespread Panic's concerts can go many different directions musically.

"I don't get a set list until maybe five minutes beforehand, so I have to interpret the music in real time and set the lighting to it on the fly," said Hoffman. "It is kind of an unusual way to run lights. The material ranges from dark and moody, to ballad-like, to whimsical, to full on raging rock - and sometimes those transitions happen very fast - so you need lots

Australia - Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has taken delivery of a MA Lighting grandMA2 light console which will become the venue's main, large show lighting console. "It was time we upgraded and the grandMA2 is an awesome console," remarked Brian Nash, AV & production services manager.

Michael Hughes, senior lighting operator at the BCEC, took delight in taking the grandMA2 out for its inaugural run and he was thrilled with its performance. "I've used the classic randma light for many years but the grandMA2 light is great," he said. "I found the transaction between the randma 'series 1' and the grandMA2 very easy. After a few hours on the new board I knew I was going to be confident using it for the first time on one of our larger shows for the year.

"I really like the layout of it: a screen that's stacked vertically, flat fader

UK - Philips Selecon dealer, Lancelyn Theatre Supplies, has installed a selection of Philips Selecon PLCYC-1 LED luminaires in The Corn Exchange Wallingford. The installation will provide a super flexible, intuitive to use Cyc solution for the volunteer-run arts venue, which operates at the heart of the community in Wallingford, Oxfordshire.

Technical manager of the venue, Oliver Hemming, discusses, "Our existing cyc lights were old and falling apart. We'd heard a great deal about the creative potential the features of the new LED fixtures offer, but we weren't sure which fixtures to buy. We enlisted the advice of Reg Berry at Lancelyn Theatre Supplies, Oxford. Following a trip to the PLASA show we decided on the Philips Selecon PLCYC-1 luminaires and we've been delighted with the outcome."

Reg Berry, branch manager at Lancelyn continues, "We felt the PLCYC- was

USA - Prism Projection's recently introduced RevEAL Profile Junior, a compact version of its industry award-winning RevEAL Profile LED luminaire offers 10,000 lumens and equally impressive optics.

The Profile Junior is a compact 10,000 lumen LED profile spot; in fact its size and weight are similar to conventional tungsten-sourced ellipsoidals, yet its output exceeds conventional 575W ellipsoidals. This new compact design of the Profile Junior is offered in three versions; a tunable 2,800-6,500K, 3200K and 5600K white light. As with all Prism LED products, the Prism Junior utilizes the patented TrueSource technology along with its advanced thermal management system.

The Profile Junior, along with the original Profile, is ready right now for use in a wide range of applications including long throw front of house lighting positions

"The RevEAL Profile Junior caught my eye

USA - Chauvet Professional took on the stage during the exuberant halftime show of the 2013 Discover Orange Bowl, organised at Sun Life Stadium and broadcasted by ESPN. Nexus 4x4 eye-candy wash lights accompanied country singer Jake Owen, who entertained the large audience as the halftime headliner.

Randy Taylor, lighting designer and founder of Design & Productions Dallas-based full-service design and creative services company, specified 36 Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 pixel-mapping fixtures for the show. Taylor placed three arrays of Nexus 4x4 on stage right behind Owen: a central wall of 20 fixtures, flanked by two smaller walls of two-by-four wash lights.

For the halftime show, the Chauvet team operated the wash lights through Kling-Net control on the ArKaos Mediamaster software. The cues were triggered via DMX from the grandMA lighting console, using the Enttec DMX USB

UK - West London-based technical solutions company Entec Sound & Light continued its long working relationship with The Bootleg Beatles, the most successful and widely recognised tribute band to the legendary British musical group.

Entec has provided technical production for the band since 1994 - testament in itself to the artist's satisfaction with their production - in which time the band has regularly toured worldwide, playing to old and new generations of Beatles enthusiasts.

Entec's lighting crew chief Pete 'Pepper' Schofield ensured that all lighting designer Brendan Albrey's requirements were met.

It was Albrey's first tour with The Bootleg Beatles. He was chosen from several applicants who initially answered an ad to submit concepts that was circulated in the Association of Lighting Designers' (ALD) E-Newsletter. It was also his first time working with Entec.

The l

Australia - The National Institute of Dramatic Art has taken delivery of Jands HPC12 dimmer racks to be utilised in their new atrium performance space.

"We needed dimmers that had a "rock and roll" approach to allow for quick and easy setups," explained Adrian Wright, lighting supervisor at NIDA. "This is especially good as a learning tool for our students as they also get an understanding of the use of the Jands Power Distribution System and mains cables.

"Having already purchased the HPX dimmers for one of our larger venues, the purchase of the HPC dimmer racks were a very good choice on value for money, the ease of operation and most importantly the reliability."

(Jim Evans)

Uzbekistan - The newly built Bunyodkor Stadium was inaugurated at the end of August in conjunction with the celebration of the 21st Uzbekistan's Independence Day, recurring on 1 September 2012. On this occasion, Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, was enlivened for several days by numerous sports events, folk shows, musical happenings and craft fairs enhanced by amazing fireworks and breathtaking city lighting.

As a part of this newly conceived metropolitan illumination concept, the Bunyodkor stadium - now the biggest sports facility in Uzbekistan giving home to the local football team - demanded a well-framed lighting plan that would be able to overcome the many structural obstacles this pioneering arena involved.

Supported by 64 columns, the three-dimensional sail-like canopies that embellish the entire exterior perimeter of this bowl-shaped stadium, were identified as

Serbia - The National Driving Academy (NAVAK) just outside Belgrade was the venue for a four day Serbian VW dealers event which focussed on the Golf Mk7 Series. Robe's LEDBeam 100s were certainly in the driving seat as far as lighting the main presentation was concerned.

This was designed by event producer Aleksandar Kukanjac, with equipment - lighting, LED screen and PA system - supplied by the leading Serbian entertainment technology specialist, Studio Berar Projekt.

The event, attended by around 300 people in total divided into three groups per day, was staged in 'The Balloon' - a stylish tented structure that is permanently installed at NAVAK and used as a multi-purpose event space.

The 24 LEDBeam 100s were positioned on the floor and either side of the LED screen. They were rigged to the Balloon's integral trusses and positioned around its sides, used to enhance the atm

The Netherlands - Martin Professional is heading to the ISE show in Amsterdam, with its latest line of LED video products in tow, the VC Series of Strips, Grids and Dots.

The VC Series of LED video products combines an all-new level of simplicity with a high level of quality. Instead of relying on DMX, these new creative LED video elements are driven by Martin's award-winning P3 System Controller family for true video control with superb ergonomics and easy set up. So no need to worry about stuttering, uneven dimming or lack of synchronization (as with many DMX-driven solutions). VC-Strips -Grids and -Dots are ideal for integrating LED video into a façade, stage design, ceiling, lobby or any other structure (indoors or out), says the company.

The new VC-Strip family of narrow LED video strips features a pixel-pitch of 25 mm and is available in various lengths up to 400 mm. Th

USA - During the recent Annual General Meeting, two Bandit Lites employees, JR Sander and Steve Hoover, celebrated milestone anniversaries, having been with the company for 20 and 30 years, respectively.

Sander had been on the road for 12 years with another production company when he joined Bandit Lites' staff in 1992 as the warehouse manager. From there he evolved from developing an inventory system to general manager. Today he has settled into his position as a client representative.

After amassing memories that include Aerosmith, Garth Brooks, Queen and ZZ Top, Sander is quick to quote the old saying, "Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life."

"After 20 years, I feel like I'm just getting started, as every year brings on new relationships and challenges," said Sander. "But that's the best part of working at Bandit: We are on

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