Australia - Joseph Mercurio, lecturer in performance technology at the Victorian College of the Arts, is on a mission to ensure that his students have access to the latest in lighting technology and has invested in a Jands Vista console.

"Part of my purpose here is to teach people how to learn and Vista offers a very different way of approaching lighting control," began Mercurio. "With most consoles you type in numbers on a keyboard but Vista has a totally different mentality with which younger people are familiar. They are used to a visual, touch screen, interactive method. Older people have learnt to be digital natives but our students were born and raised this way. You don't need to know numbers; you're talking holistically around the design and getting lights to work.

"Vista offers a totally different paradigm and breaks new ground. It certainly shows t

UK - Leading European designed LED brand Pixled will show its new F-10 i/o tile product at PLASA 2012.

This latest innovation from Pixled is an 'all-round' 10.4 mm pitch screen surface, populated with three in one SMD chips that can be used indoors or outdoors, or be rigged horizontally - and covered - to become a dynamic dance-floor and under-floor stage effect.

The standard F-10 i/o tile is fully indoor use ready. It is a mesh surface and therefore transparent, and excellent for creative indoor work including scenic elements as well as for IMAG displays. The tile dimensions are 50 x 50 cm, each of which is super lightweight at only 7 Kg! (28 Kg/sqm)

For outdoor use, Pixled offers optional "clickable in/outdoor shaders" which are quickly fitted onto the mesh tiles and include blank panels to 'close' the modules and increase the contrast.

The tiles are IP65 rated

Belgium - Martin Professional has recently added Kris Van Hullebusch in the position of test and support engineer at its lighting controller development centre in Belgium, providing global support, training and service.

Van Hullebusch comes to Martin with an extensive background in live event production, lighting and media server programming and controller maintenance. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Electronics from Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp, Belgium.

With the success and growing popularity of the Martin M1, M2GO and other lighting controllers in the M-Series range, Martin has also launched a new, dedicated 24-hour controller support hotline to "offer its fast-growing user base a convenient point of contact and peace of mind around the world".

The new hotline is routed to carefully selected controller experts worldwide to help users and programm

Belgium - Pan European AV solutions provider AED Rent has announced it now has a stock of more than 2,500 Clay Paky fixtures.

AED Rent, which has headquarters in Willebroek, Belgium but also has offices in the Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK, now offers in excess of 566 Clay Paky Sharpys for rent, and nearly 2000 other Clay Paky fixtures, including AlphaSpot 1200 HPE, AlphaWash 1200, AlphaSpot 800 QWO, and AlphaProfile 1500.

"Two years ago we received a request from one of our major customers for high-performance profile fixtures. Following this we organised a shootout to make sure we would know what was available on the market," says Steven Mansvelt, light department manager at AED Rent.

"The Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500 was a really interesting fixture for us, comparing value for money, so we ordered our first batch and that was the start of a fast g

UK - On the eve of PLASA 2012, PLASA has announced a new home and dateline for the PLASA Show in 2013. The UK's only international event for entertainment and installation technology will take place at ExCeL London from 6-9 October 2013.

"After 21 years at Earls Court & Olympia, the time is now right for the PLASA Show to leave its current home," said PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths. "We have hugely ambitious plans for the future of the event, and the state-of-the-art facilities at ExCeL support this vision. ExCeL is a cutting-edge, purpose-built exhibition venue with the infrastructure to attract international markets; the world-class facilities are the perfect match for PLASA's planned investment in content and growth, and an exciting prospect for our technology markets worldwide."

The move represents a major opportunity for the PLASA Show to expand its inter

UK - Edinburgh Festival has seen Philips Selecon join forces with power monitoring company, Energeno, and one of the biggest venue producers on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe - C venues - to examine the positive impact LED lighting can have on power consumption in a fringe venue running 24/7.

Philips Selecon is working in collaboration with C venues' production manager Richard Williamson and artistic director (and international lighting designer) Hartley Kemp, to incorporate Selecon LED luminaires into existing lighting rigs at C venues newest hub venue, C nova, the largest pop-up venue on the Fringe.

"Our priority is to deliver a lighting system that allows C venues' users total creative flexibility and expression, yet is as low-energy as possible," says Grant Bales-Smith, sales manager for Strand Selecon Europe. "On this occasion we've supplied 18 Acclaim LED F

UK - This is certainly a product launch that will make people look twice: the new Soundcraft Si Performer range of mixers boasts integrated DMX functionality - thereby adding to the already impressive and powerful audio feature-set the existence of lighting control options . . .

Building on the successful Si Compact range, to which it bears a likeness, this is a feature-packed audio console, boasting almost twice as much DSP power and increased functionality, with an input capacity of 80 inputs to mix on all models. The built-in I/O does not disappoint - the Si Performer 2 has 24 mic and eight line inputs, and the Si Performer 3 has 32 mic and eight line inputs, plus the four FX return channels. Plus there are two option card slots for I/O expansion via any of the Soundcraft stageboxes and option cards from the ViSi Connect range, giving the possibility of patching up to 80 inpu

UK - The Jands Vista range once again proved its flexibility and power when lighting designer and programmer Steve Heywood chose to put Vista consoles, running the next generation Vista v2 software, in control at two recent UK music festivals.

For Meadowlands 2012, a diverse and vibrant event staged at Glynde Place in the picturesque village of Glynde in East Sussex, Heywood and Dan Williams, the lighting designer for the event's main stage, shared operating duties on a Vista T2.

An eclectic line-up included acclaimed LTJ Bukem, who closed the festival with an entrancing four hour DJ set, as well as Lamb, Fink, Speech Debelle, Portico Quartet and many others.

With the usual limited programming available for a festival rig, which included moving lights, conventionals and the latest LED fixtures, Heywood and Williams needed to be able to work extremely fast and "bu

USA - The Dave Matthews Band is back on the road this summer with a North American tour preceding the release of their album, Away From The World, due out in September. Accompanying the band are two grandMA2 full-size, one grandMA2 light, two MA NSP (Network Signal Processor) and two MA NPU (Network Processing Unit).

The equipment was specified by the band's longtime lighting designer Fenton Williams and supplied by Theatrical Media Services Inc. (TMS) of Omaha, Nebraska.

Williams, who is also the overall visual designer for the tour, acts as co-lighting operator for the shows running one grandMA2 full-size while Aaron Stinebrink from TMS runs the second desk. "Fenton is very active and likes to augment on the fly during the show," says TMS's Pete Franks who serves as system crew chief on the road. "That's why there are two consoles always operating front

UK - The Summer Series at Somerset House has established itself as one of London's must-see music festivals. With an eclectic programme to support, in-house lighting designer, Petter Skramstad decided that Clay Paky Alpha 700 HPEs would make the ideal backbone for his super-flexible rig.

This summer the venue hosted a diverse line up that included: comedian Tim Minchin, neo-soul queen Jill Scott, pop-dubstepper Katy B, Paloma Faith and indie lads The Enemy.

With such a varied programme Skramstad had his work cut out: "Key decision maker for me was brightness, plenty of functions, lightweight, and totally reliable," he explains. "The Clay Paky 700 HPEs were a godsend. They are the smallest 700W spotlight available, and weigh just 22 kilos, which means I can get enough fixtures into the rig to satisfy everyone without going over the weight loading limits. This ens

Italy - D.T.S. recently strengthened and integrated its logistics chain by expanding its production facilities, and reinforced its plants by purchasing a series of new hi-tech numerical control machines, including a computer controlled 5 KW laser cutter, and a thermoplastic polymers 3D printing machine.

D.T.S.' current streamlined production cycle and its extensive automation have been fully employed in the production of one of its most innovative products, the high-power compact moving head Jack.

D.T.S. has just issued a video clip titled The Art of Manufacturing, to illustrate this new phase of development. This can be viewed at www.dts-lighting.com/Company

(Jim Evans)

USA - Calvary Chapel, a non-denominational church in Broomfield, CO., offers contemporary style worship and music every Sunday for their devoted congregation. Pastor Richie Furay, a past member of the nationally recognised bands - Poco and Buffalo Springfield, has made music a big part of the church's ministry, with a modern professional band performing exceptional music to enhance the worship experience. Until recently, the sanctuary stage lighting was not all it might be.

With one bar of four 100 Watt and two 75 Watt incandescent can lights to illuminate the stage, it was time to update the lighting and renew the atmosphere to harmonize with the excitement, which was happening on stage every Sunday. The decision was made to install 12 Cygnus 100 Watt LED Colour Wash luminaires, completely replacing the outdated incandescent system. The Cygnus fixtures were hung to light the st

Europe - Bruce Springsteen is a rock star that loves to play live. For his lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, keeping the visual excitement real can be quite a challenge. Although Springsteen has sold more than 120m albums worldwide, he is notorious for his unofficially extended concerts and it is Ravitz's job to stay one step ahead of his, sometimes unpredictable, programme.

For example, just this summer an over run in Hyde Park, London saw Springsteen unceremoniously switched off. This however did not deter him from concluding his 2012 European leg in Helsinki in true Springsteen style playing a personal record-breaking four hours and six minutes. Such capricious behaviour means Ravitz has to be quick thinking, focused and have a lighting design and system that offers maximum flexibility, power, and of course subtlety.

Forming the backbone of his lighting rig is a battalion of P

France - Hugh Masekela (South Africa), Manu Dibango (Camerun), Roberto Fonseca (Cuba), Sly & Robbie (Jamaica) were among the international acts appearing at Fiest'a Sète 2012.

The 16th edition of the festival featured seven evenings of music in the fascinating setting of the Théâtre de la Mer, an amphitheatre with a breathtaking panorama of the Mediterranean right behind the stage.

Fiest'a Sète stage was lit with the new Jack and NRG 1201 high-power compact moving heads by D.T.S., provided by ESL. Lighting designer was Sebastien Serra.

(Jim Evans)

On The Fringe - Ticket sales for the Edinburgh Fringe are down by about 1%. It is thought the London Olympics - which clashed with the first nine days of the Fringe - was a major factor in the fall in sales. The Fringe remains the world's largest arts festival, with 2,695 shows performed in 279 venues.

Kath Mainland, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said it was "in fantastic health", with more than 1.8 million tickets sold. She said there were also more than 800 free shows at which attendance could not be measured. However, it is only the second time in more than a decade that ticket sales have fallen from the previous year. Sales fell in 2008 due to the disastrous implementation of a new ticketing system. Mainland said, "The Fringe has shown its resilience in responding so positively to the unique challenges of 2012."

Viva La Vi

UK - The Olympic Games in London may have come to an end, but the London 2012 Festival - also known as the Cultural Olympiad - continues to draw in crowds from across the UK. As part of that, the puppeteers responsible for War Horse created a stunning show at the Borough Halls in the south London Olympic borough of Greenwich - with production management by Illuminate Design.

Crow is based on a series of poems by the late poet laureate Ted Hughes, with the Handspring Puppet Company accompanying the telling of their stories through the medium of puppetry. Says Illuminate Design's co founder Ben Payne, "Handspring did such an amazing job on War Horse, that we all knew we had a lot to live up to. The poems can be quite dark, and so we wanted something suitably intimate."

Illuminate began by reversing the Borough Halls' traditional layout, with bleach

UK - Philips Entertainment Group brand Selecon is launching a new range of professional LED luminaires at PLASA 2012, Earls Court (9-12th September). Selecon will join Philips Entertainment brands Vari-Lite, Strand Lighting and new range - Showline - in Hall 1, stand BV 1-F50 to showcase some of the latest developments in lighting and control technology.

Debuting at this year's show will be the Selecon PLFRESNEL-1 and the PLPROFILE-1. Both fixtures are designed to complement Philips Entertainment's existing range of LED luminaires - the Selecon PL3, PL1, PLCYC1 and the Vari-Lite VLX ranges. "Together, this comprehensive range of lighting tools will offer a higher level of creative expression to designers working in the theatre, small studio and display lighting sectors," says the company.

General manager for Selecon, Graham Eales comments: "The PLFRESNEL-1, whic

UK - ETC's stand at PLASA 2012 is set to be better than ever before, with a range of new and updated products on demonstration

For the first time in the UK, the Layers of Light theatre space will offer a short presentation every hour.

ETC market manager Erik Larsen says, "We'll set up a series of coloured fabrics to show how colours can balance, 'pop' or appear dull by adjusting each of the different colours in an LED fixture. We'll then show how each of the company's different ranges of fixtures can work well either together or separately. ETC staff will demonstrate how LED can be mixed with conventional incandescent light sources, and how that works with a Sensor3 Power Control system.

"While we recognise that no single fixture is perfect for every kind of use, ETC's goal is to provide designers with tools that stand out on their own but also enhance the a

USA - Israeli dupstep producer DJ Borgore recently debuted his 2012 tour at the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, mixing rhythms from inside a custom-made ice cream truck built of Chauvet Professional MVP 18 video panels. The Borgore Cream Machine made its big entrance at EDC entertaining enthusiastic crowds, and will go on tour again in the fall in cities throughout the U.S. The event was spiced up by pole dancers on picnic tables and big custom-made ice cream cones placed on stage that shot cream at the audience.

A concept of VJ Morgan Lavery, owner of Infinight Productions, the idea of the Borgore Cream Machine is to make Borgore look like he is driving inside an ice cream truck, equipped with real 30-inch rims that move and spun around on motors.

Forty-seven MVP 18 panels cover the main façade of the truck and 18 make up the rear screen behind the DJ booth, while two

USA - Bring Elvis to life - That was the main video projection mission for Pete's Big TVs for the Elvis 35th anniversary concert, 16 August at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. The event was a fan favourite at the end of Elvis Week, a weeklong celebration of The King and on the 35th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death in 1977.

Pete's Big TVs has worked on many past Elvis in concert tours and anniversary shows - again with producer Stig Edgren Productions.

This year, Pete's Big TVs supplied 324 panels of the new digiLED MC7 high resolution video tiles to comprise all video screens in the show. The MC7 emit no radio frequency interference, making them a popular rental item in Pete's Big TVs' inventory.

The panels were split up into four screens. A screen over the stage displayed the show's EP 35 logo and IMAG. Of the three screens on the upstage, measuring 18ft tall,

USA - Over 250 Chauvet Professional LED fixtures are part of the stage design for the 60-minute worship services held at North Point Community Church, one of five churches in the Atlanta area that make up the North Point Ministries. Arrays of ÉPIX Strip linear pixel mapping fixtures - 112 to be exact - anchor the stage's backdrop. Placed in vertical lines from stage floor to the trim height of 16ft, they resemble raindrops falling from above animated by motion graphics generated by ArKaos MediaMaster Pro.

Positioned at the top, smoothing out the colour, are 14 COLORado Batten 72 Tour linear wash lights while 44 COLORado 1-Tri Tour and 19 COLORado 1 Tour static wash lights light up the wider set pieces found between the ÉPIX Strip fixtures. For dramatic flair, studding the ÉPIX array, are simple incandescent work lights clipped into place. As side lighting fo

Germany - Robe moving lights helped create the dynamics for the two stages in the Bullhead Circus tented arena at the 2012 Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) Festival in Germany.

Among the biggest, best known and most popular metal fests in the world, over 80,000 rockers gathered over three days to enjoy a wide selection of metal genre artists which included headliners The Scorpions, Machine Head, Sepultura and many others.

Lighting for the double-staged Bullhead Arena was supplied by Crystal Sound based in Karlsruhe.

An impressive cityscape set was designed by Thomas Bartz from Konzeptsache Berlin.

The two stages were positioned side-by-side with a mesh-clad Layher scaffolding structure in the middle, complete with a boxing ring coming out into the audience. Artists used this to tease the crowd and strut their stuff.

The stages were operated in 'flip-flop' style to ensure that the

UK - Lighting and visuals rental and solutions provider HSL continued a massively busy touring season supplying lighting, LED screen, rigging and a Kinesys automation system to Production North for street dance troupe sensation, Diversity's first major arena tour.

HSL has worked with Production North on many different projects. Once again, Mike Oates project managed for the Blackburn based company, with set, visuals and lighting designed by Peter Barnes, working in close conjunction with Diversity's creative director and leader, Ashley Banjo.

On the road, lighting was looked after and operated by Neil Trenell. An HSL crew of six took care of lighting and video and the Kinesys system, together with rigger John Ashton, who put in the 58 points each day.

Sarah Hollis, production manager for Production North, remarked that it was "Excellent" to deal with one company an

UK - Show sponsor Martin Professional is celebrating its 25th Anniversary at PLASA 2012 and will be holding a number of celebratory and VIP events at stand 1-F44 including prize draws for the chance to win Martin products.

"We look forward to celebrating with all our friends in the lighting industry and invite everyone to our stand for a chat and a celebratory drink and not least the chance to get an up-close look at the new MAC Viper series and other innovations as well," says Martin UK sales director Mike Walker.

"The feedback we've received on the Viper series has been unprecedented as our pre-sales numbers attest to. It is truly a ground-breaking moving head and contains all of our accumulated knowledge over the past 25 years. It is nothing short of spectacular and we are confident that lighting designers will feel the same."

Martin will be showing a

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