Australia - To celebrate Australia's annual 30-night Brisbane Festival last fall, 3000sq.m of brilliant lighting, visible for over 10 kilometres, lit up downtown Brisbane's business district. Sponsored by Santos GLNG City of Lights and designed by John Rayment, the festival's spectacular lighting was provided and installed by Chameleon Touring Systems of Sydney and Brisbane.

The challenging urban venue of three skyscrapers, a 20x50m floating barge, and a freeway overpass constituted three distinct lighting and control domains. Eighteen Panther 7k searchlights blazed from the city's tallest buildings. The barge and freeway systems featured 18 additional searchlights, and 210 moving lights.

A LumenRadio system, recommended and supplied to Chameleon by TMB, distributed control data wirelessly to all lighting elements of the event. A lighting controller located on the barge linked

The Netherlands - The latest Robe moving light technology - MMX Spots, LEDWash 1200s and LEDBeam100s - were chosen by Robin van der Plas, head of lighting and media at Patronaat, a popular high-profile alternative music venue in central Haarlem, Netherlands, which has received a recent technical upgrade.

The Robes replaced the original moving light system that was installed when the building, designed by architect Paul Diederen, opened in 2005.

Patronaat has two concert halls - at 950 and 350 capacity - both featuring an action-packed programme of the latest sounds and contemporary music, from underground to jazz and dance and electronica to acoustic performance.

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - At ISE 2013, Artistic Licence Engineering (stand 8-R232) will be demonstrating Multi-Play Rack, a lighting show record-playback unit "with outstanding memory capacity and Ethernet protocol versatility".

Multi-Play Rack is a disk-based product that allows a show programmer to record up to 12 universes on any lighting console running Art-Net, then play-back through pretty much anything - thanks to the product's multiple protocol support, which includes Art-Net, ShowNet, KiNet and sACN. Output protocols can be selected on a per universe basis for even greater flexibility.

Multi-Play Rack incorporates an auto-stitch feature that allows a recording to be automatically edited for a seamless continuous loop. It can also playback multiple overlapping files in different, user-programmed zones.

The product offers advanced triggering functionality, with the

UK - Lighting designer and operator Ed Warren of Next Level Lights turned to Martin Professional's MAC Viper Profile for Mumford & Sons' Tour of Two Halves (first half theatres, second half arenas), which hit dates in the UK and Ireland in November and December as a leg on their extended Babel world tour.

The award-winning 1000 W fixtures were recommended to Warren by Rob Sinclair, who worked as visual consultant for the tour. "He'd used them previously and recommended them due to their tungsten abilities, and their general usefulness," said Warren, who has been with Mumford & Sons for almost four years.

"My show is very tungsten-heavy so it was important to achieve a warm CTO from the fixtures, which mixed perfectly with the many light bulbs on stage," Warren continues. "They were also very punchy with very clear beams as well as a decen

South Africa - Panalux has appointed Kenny Smith as managing director for its South African operations. Smith is a long-standing, highly regarded member of the Panalux senior management team and his appointment as managing director is a natural progression following many years of dedicated service, loyalty and the undoubted ability he has demonstrated during his time with the company, says Panalux.

Steve Smith, managing director Panalux Worldwide, comments: "I am delighted to announce Kenny's appointment and am certain that he will provide the kind of motivational management and direction that will ensure Panalux continues to deliver the very best in service, equipment and technology to our clients across Southern Africa".

He adds: "During his many years with Panalux, Kenny has demonstrated excellent leadership and a genuine passion for our industry. These quali

Europe - German electro pop pioneers, Kraftwerk will use the dynamic interactive and 3D features of Dataton Watchout multi-image and presentation software, for all on-stage digital scenography at their hotly anticipated tours and concerts' programme throughout 2013.

Watchout manages projected 3D content on a large stage backdrop creating a powerful abstract presence in front of audiences wearing polarized 3D glasses. Two more Watchout channels feed the flanking LED screens. To create the lighting effects on the four oversized illuminated keyboards, a Pixel-gate LED video controller uses an additional DVI output from the main screen using the Watchout 'Tier' feature. The main timeline in Watchout is chasing timecode from Kraftwerk synthesizers (MTC converted into SMPTE). The Kraftwerk synthesizers are also used for live visual interaction controlled via MIDI commands.

FredrikSv

Germany - PR Lighting's popular 5000 Series has been proving popular on the European tour of Australian new wave metal band, Parkway Drive.

Audiences of up to up to 4,000 recently witnessed impressive light show at 19 shows across the continent - designed without compromise by Austrian company, MartinKames.com. Along with lighting designer Gunnar Loose (www.revolutionlights.de), Kames and system technician Markus Fichtler, developed a technical setup that met all requirements of the show.

Multiples of PR Lighting's PR-5000 Spot and PR-5000 Beam were selected for their advanced featureset. But the intensive tour schedule, with long drives between the locations, challenged the logistics and this became a further reason for specifying PR Lighting's PR-5000 Series. Notes Jens Ottenhus from German distributors, Focon Showtechnic. "With its 1.5 kW discharge lamps and a weight o

UK - More than 1000 LED light sources from SGM have brought the new 1800-capacity Wonderland nightclub to life in Maidstone, Kent - turning it into "a Madison Square Garden type atmosphere".

From the moment clubbers walk up the escalators, edged with pixel-mapped LED's they are immersed in a surreal escapist world of SGM paper lanterns in the foyer and walkways. Turning into the 'Tomorrow' nightclub - the biggest of the three spaces, and designed like a rock 'n' roll arena - their senses are immediately assaulted by flown arrays of eight SGM SP-6 Six Pack blinders and four banks of four SGM X-5 white strobes, which pulse onto the dancefloor, punctuating the beam action from 24 SGM Beam 300 moving heads.

But the main focus of attention is the largest SGM centrepiece ever produced - a massive overhang comprising 225 of SGM's 1m length pixel tubes (LT-100), interspersed

Canada - Canadian new wave /indie band, Metric, recently completed a successful tour in support of their fifth album Synthetica.

Long-serving LD Ian MacDonald designed the lighting to be diverse - partly scaled to fit 1000-seat theatres, but sufficiently organic to upscale effortlessly into arenas and amphitheaters. In the case of Synthetica this involved five different set-ups, and each included GLP's new Spot One LED moving heads.

MacDonald's search for the Spot One was stimulated by his desire to have an all LED arena lighting rig. "This is becoming the norm these days ... less power and lighter fixtures are always a huge plus, especially when playing smaller venues with limited power," he said. "I was looking for an LED profile moving fixture that could be as good as, or better than a standard moving light fixture."

And GLP's spot provid

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) is providing lighting for Richard Hammond's Secret Service.

Filmed at BBC White City and aired on Saturday nights on BBC1, the entertainment show is packed full of big stunts designed to fool the nation. It's essentially a hidden camera series where Richard sends out his 'agents' aka actors and comedians to set up funny situations involving unsuspecting members of the public.

Roger Williams designs the lighting rig which comprises of MAC Aura's, Chroma Flood RGB, VL1000TS and GLP Impressions. The lights enhance the exciting lab set.

(Jim Evans)

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden has appointed Isac Alkstrand as operations manager and R&D engineer Anders Zellén as chief technical officer, effective immediately.

Alkstrand holds the responsibility of worldwide business development for the W-DMX brand. He worked for Wireless Solution in European Sales for two years from 2006 to 2008 during the start up of the company and has now returned as operations manager.

"I'm very excited to be part of the Wireless Solution team once again," says Alkstrand, "The W-DMX brand is well respected and has been involved in some very impressive events and installations worldwide, with a strong presence in many key regions around the world. I look forward to growing these relationships even more."

Zellén has worked with W-DMX products since 2009 but was moved to the role of CTO as part of a programme to inc

USA - A quiet revolution has been taking place behind the scenes on Broadway. An increasing number of lighting designers are choosing ETC's Eos desk to control huge rigs of conventional, LED and moving lights for the largest shows. Currently, Eos-family desks run the lights on more than three-quarters of Broadway shows.

Broadway's Bring it On is an energetic, acrobatic musical that gives a glimpse into the world of high school cheerleading. The show's high impact, high octane lighting design is also a highly ambitious endeavour. It features 29 DMX universes, more than 350 moving lights and nearly 1,000 LED fixtures, including six ETC Selador Desire Ice LED fixtures. An ETC Eos control desk is at the head of the massive lighting system.

"People are surprised that we have a show this size on Eos," says Bring it On's lighting programmer Tim Rogers. Lightin

USA - ACT Lighting has been named the exclusive distributor for Clay Paky lighting in the US and Canada.

Based on ACT Lighting's performance as a North American distributor of Clay Paky fixtures over the past two years, Clay Paky area manager for North and Latin America, Francesco Romagnoli said, "We felt that naming ACT Lighting as our exclusive distributor is the best step we could take to ensure our growth in this very important market. ACT Lighting has not only set sales records for North America but also provided the excellent after-sales service that Clay Paky has been known for."

Bob Gordon, president and CEO of ACT Lighting, affirmed his company's sales records with Clay Paky products and said, "We are proud that our sales records in North America have propelled us to the position of number-one Clay Paky distributor in the world by sales during the past

Germany - Silica, an Avnet company, and Philips Lumileds have signed a distribution agreement which comes into effect immediately. Under the terms of the agreement, Silica will support sales, marketing and support activities for Philips Lumileds full line of LED products in Europe.

The addition of Silica to the network of distribution partners will allow Philips Lumileds to meet the increasing demand for its lighting solutions and to further strengthen its service and support structure in Europe. Silica's existing and prospective customers likewise will benefit from in-depth technical support through dedicated lighting specialists across Europe.

Martin Bielesch, general manager lighting at Silica, comments, "Philips Lumileds is one of the world's leading manufacturers of high-power LEDs and a pioneer in the use of solid-state lighting solutions. Their Luxeon products are

Australia - Westfield's shiny new Sky Lobby in the 25-storey commercial tower on Castlereagh Street Lobby is the final part of Westfield's $1.2 billion redevelopment in the CBD, a development that has created a world-class retail environment and which incorporates 75,000sq.m of office space across three buildings. JP Morgan, Allen & Overy and Westfield Corporate are all tenants.

Rising above the retail podium of Sydney, the 25-storey tower is accessed by lifts from the Sky Lobby at the top of the retail precinct. The Sky Lobby also acts as a transition area for access to Castlereagh Street itself and the retail area.

The Sky Lobby has airport lounge-type meeting areas including cafés designed to create an environment where people can interact informally. In fact on any given day up to 3,500 people could be dropping in and out of that area from internal offices plus thos

The Netherlands - Popular Dutch comedienne and singer Tineke Schouten is touring with 24 Robe Robin LEDBeam 100s together with Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E AT moving lights, all of which form the core of a dynamic lighting rig designed by Danny den Bekker.

Schouten is one of the best known and loved comic artists in the Netherlands and tours the country extensively every year, from September to May, playing five or six shows a week - a format that has been highly successful for the last 32 years.

Danny den Bekker has worked as her lighting designer for the last nine years, and technical production and lighting rental company Locomotion from Boxtel has serviced her tours for 26 years.

Den Bekker has been using various Robe products in his designs for about the last seven years, starting with the ColorSpot and Color Wash 575 Series and then the 700 Series ColorSpot and Co

The Netherlands - Rotterdam based rental and technical solutions company Peitsman Licht en Geluid (Light & Sound) has purchased Robe's latest Robin DLX Spot and DLF Wash fixtures, in the process becoming the first DLF users in the Benelux region.

It is also their first investment into the Robe brand, prompted by Peitsman Licht en Geluid owner and founder Hans Peitsman's desire to keep moving forward, thinking of the future and offering his clients the latest technologies.

Peitsman Licht en Geluid was founded in 1994 and now has 15 full time employees. The company supplies full technical production packages to a broad cross-section of industry sectors - live shows and events, B2B and corporate presentations, theatre and television productions, parties and public entertainments.

The order for the new Robe fixtures - delivered by Benelux distributor Controllux's Dutch office -

USA - Alternative metal band 10 Years returned to their roots for a concert that combined new and classic elements for one show. Held on 29 December, 2012, the event featured two sets from the band: an acoustic set with a string trio and the fist-pumping heavy metal portion their fans know and love from their most recent album, Minus the Machine.

Lighting designer Will Twork has been designing concerts for over 40 years, almost 30 of which have been with Bandit Lites. Previous acts heralding Twork's designs include KISS, Aerosmith, Motorhead and Mötley Crüe. For 10 Years' concert at the historic Tennessee Theatre, Twork focused on the music for inspiration, drawing on dark musicality that pervades most of 10 Years' songs.

"I spent a week prior to even setting up any lights listening to the music to formulate ideas in my head," said Twork. "I wanted to a

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light has announced that Sarah Cox has recently joined its sales team as European divisional sales manager. A well-known face within the industry, Cox brings to the role more than 10 years of experience working with stage entertainment technology, having previously held positions with Roland Hemming and TMB. Most recently, Sarah worked as business development manager for Stage Electrics.

"I am delighted to welcome Sarah to the White Light team" said Peter Threadgold, sales director at White Light. "I have known Sarah since her early days in our industry and have seen her knowledge and business acumen develop over the years. I look forward to working together as White Light continues to take up new opportunities for growth."

In her new role, Cox will focus on delivering White Light's innovative products and qualit

UK - Wallington County Grammar School in southwest London kicked off the term brightly following the installation of Philips Selecon PLCYC-1, PLPROFILE-1 and PLFRESNEL-1 LED luminaires in its main hall.

As part of a major upgrade to the school's performance space technology Oxford-based Lancelyn Theatre Supplies has supplied a comprehensive rig comprising luminiares from Philips Selecon's range of performance LED Luminaires.

"We're really impressed with the result," says Wallington's science curriculum support officer, Michael Curran. "We have a number of pupils who are technically creative and I firmly believe that the investment in such a flexible lighting solution provides a worthy match for their enthusiasm. Installing the Selecon PLPROFILE-1, PLFRESNEL and PLCYC-1s is giving students many more creative options than we've had before. In the past we were usin

UK - Buckinghamshire-based rental and technical design services specialist Universal Event Productions (UEP) has added to its already substantial LED lighting inventory with the purchase of i-Pix i-Line 6 fixtures and MilTec MTC Batten 2s.

The company's Video department has been boosted with a new Roland V800 HD vision mixer.

This reflects a steadily busy year, and a particularly active autumn season and festive run up. In 2013 the company celebrates its 15th year of operation, in which time it has established itself as one of the leading single-source technical production service providers for all types of shows and events.

Says UEP's Steve Butcher, "It's been a good year with a constant stream of high quality work, which has enabled us to make several key purchases and ensure our clients benefit from the latest and best technologies and options available in all discip

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL continued its energetic working relationship with lighting / visuals designer Steve Bewley and the band Enter Shikari, supplying lighting and video equipment to the latest shows on their Flash Flood of Colour world tour.

Bewley has worked for Enter Shikari for the last five years. They are among the hardest working artists on the live circuit, bringing their highly adrenalized electro-metal sounds and stage performances to a loyal and enthusiastic international fanbase.

Around 18 months ago, HSL came on-board to supply equipment for their UK and European work after Bewley was impressed by the people, equipment, service and attitude of the Blackburn based operation.

"We needed a complete solutions company for lighting and visuals ... and HSL was a great choice," he states.

HSL's project manager Mike Oates says, &

UK - British rockers Level 42 have been living up to their 1984 album Standing in the Light by performing under a rig of Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 700s at London's Royal Albert Hall.

Lighting designer Yenz Nyholm says they form a key element in his lighting design: "We're only transporting 12 spots in the rig, which is not a lot especially when you get into big venues. The output you get with a Clay Paky is really striking for a 700W lamp. The output and the optics were the main reasons for choosing the Alpha Spots HPEs, and also the fact that they move incredibly fast."

The strength, versatility and nimble nature of the Alpha Spots have enabled Nyholm to build a look for the show which really complements the band's image: "The main thing I'm using with the spots is the colour - I use a lot of very slow colour fades. Obviously it's got to be a CMY fixture,

UK - When Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (BOVTS) required an upgrade from their ageing prompt desk they turned to Stage Electrics who have successfully been building stage management consoles for over 30 years.

"When I joined BOVTS I realised that the students were using cue lights that would break and were not easy to programme. I felt the students needed the chance to work with exactly the same systems that they would be using once they graduated. This brought me to Stage Electrics," commented Louise Matthews, production stage management supervisor, BOVTS.

Working closely with Matthews, Stage Electrics designed and developed their new table top stage management console. Ideal for use in schools, touring shows and professional theatres; this flagship portable desk concept is proven to be a popular choice across a variety of venues such as East 15 Acting School and B

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