Australia - For the last 22 years Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat has been working with an old mobile scissor lift to move stage sets and equipment from street level to stage level, a distance of 6.3m. Not only was it an arduous task to have to wheel it into position, it was becoming an OH&S concern.

"In order to load it you were reaching above waist level and we had no facility to attach it to trucks so it was very difficult to load from them," remarked Liz Mundell, technical operations manager. "There was always a gap between the lift and the back of the truck. Also if the winds got above 15 kilometres an hour we theoretically weren't supposed to use the lift - and in Ballarat that's a gentle breeze."

Other issues included the size of lift and the amount it could carry so council made funds available for a new lift and the project was put out to tender. Pr

UK - PRG's Scottie Sanderson and Mark O'Herlihy are supporting The Script with a comprehensive lighting, rigging and video package for their # 3 World Tour.

This is the second concert tour by the Irish alternative rock band, launched in support of their third studio album, # 3. Lighting designer Jamie Thompson has taken the album name and developed that symbolism within his design concept to create an innovative and striking experience.

The first thing that strikes you about Thompson's design are the three 'fingers' of truss, each clad with a strip of Nocturne V18 LED, 1m wide by 16m long, running from upstage to over the audience. Three complementary runs of V28 are set into the stage and look as though they are a continuous part of the Nocturne V18 main screen, and in turn the main screen appears to continue through the stage.

All the Nocturne LED has been mapped to

UK - Philips Entertainment Lighting has supplied Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club (CUADC) lighting designer Mitchell Clarke with a selection of Selecon PL3 Wash lights for the respected theatre company's ambitious production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.

"I had recently used the Philips Selecon PLCyc fixtures on the Cambridge University European Theatre Group's (CUETG) production of The Merchant of Venice," explains Clarke "I really liked them. I was particularly impressed with the seamless and intense washes of colour they offered and which I used on the all-important cyclorama that transformed every venue on the tour. So successful was the show lighting that our theatre, the ADC, is now considering purchasing 12 PLCycs for its own stock."

Following his creatively liberating experience, Clarke says he was keen to get his hands

Germany - Prolight+Sound will see Philips Entertainment lighting's recently-launched brand, Showline, exhibit five of its powerful, already in demand, new luminaires designed specifically for the entertainment and touring market.

The vibrant range of luminaires can be found in Hall 11, Stand D73 and includes Philips Showline's 4-foot SL BAR 640 and 6-foot SL BAR 660 linear wash luminaires. Both deliver exceptional light output and can be used as a wash or as a direct-view linear bar.

Joining them will be the SL BAR 520 - a two-foot RGBW linear wash luminaire that produces over 8000 lumens of output with six standard 8° lenses. In addition high-resolution pixel mapping control and a unique locking system allows for quick connecting of multiple units both vertically and horizontally while retaining perfectly even pixel pitch.

Also on stand the SL PAR 150 ZOOM - an LED Par

UK - Fuerzabruta, the Argentine theatrical extravaganza was recently hosted at Camden's legendary arts venue, The Roundhouse. Directed by Diqui James and technical director Alejandro Garcia, Fuerzabruta, meaning "brute force" provided its visitors an immersive theatrical carnival experience.

This fast paced and interactive production required its audience not only to be nimble but standing as they transitioned from being spectators to becoming part of the show. The production presented the audience with iconic images such as a man running the wrong way on a treadmill to a women swimming for survival in a water pool directly above the audiences heads.

For this one month production, the Roundhouse Trust and the Fuerzabruta Company turned to technical events specialists Stage Electrics to supply and install a full event lighting and audio solution.

Stage Electr

South Africa - Durban-based rental company, Insane Sound and Lighting, have been in the limelight as they provide technical for some fantastic gigs over the last few months. They supplied technical for Skrillex as he played at the Wavehouse in Durban and also provided lighting for international DJs including Afrojack, Like Mike & Dimitri Vega, Steve Aioki and Gareth Emery. At the end of last year, Insane also worked on the famous New Years Eve Street Party with Pete Thong and local 5FM DJs Fresh, Euphonic and Gareth Cliff.

"We mainly relied on Clay Paky Sharpies and our new Robe MMXs when it came to beams and Robe LED 600 Washes for colour," said Vimal Rawjee of Insane. "All control was via an Avolites Tiger Touch and power via Avolites Power Cubes."

Rawjee has been impressed with the Robe MMXs. "It's an awesome fixture and especially with the air kit,

Serbia - Avolites' compact yet fully-featured moving light control system Titan Mobile has powered an inspired light show in Serbia to mark a year of celebrations marking 1700 years of the Edict of Milan.

Avolites' Serbian distributor Studio Berar Projekt, based in the city of Novi Sad, supplied the Titan Mobile for the opening ceremony, which featured a dynamic lighting design beamed onto the façade of the Serbia's National Theatre in the city of Nis.

Serbia will mark 17 centuries of the Edict - a document on tolerance and religious equality signed by Roman Emporer Constantine - over the course of the year with theatre performances, exhibits and concerts. The Opening Ceremony offered a reading of the Edict of Milan and a gala concert of spiritual music attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikoli? and hosted by Russian Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Chepurin.

"Avol

UK - Le Maitre is launching two new machines at this year's PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013.

Le Maitre's HazeMaster is their most advanced and powerful hazer yet. With its massive output capacity, high power variable fan and low power consumption, it really is a class act. Add to that the rugged construction and you have a true professional hazer engineered to withstand the rigours of the road when on tour.

Le Maitre have taken all their experience from HazeMaster's predecessors, the renowned Stadium Hazer and the MVS Hazer, and designed a completely new machine with a host of new features and benefits. Le Maitre's acquired knowledge and original investments have enabled them to produce a much more competitively priced unit, despite using higher quality, longer lasting parts.

The first thing that strikes you is the sleek modern design and robust steel casing, underneath which lies a

UK - The nominations for the Olivier Awards with MasterCard - the most prestigious event in the UK's theatrical calendar - have been announced, and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time leads the list with eight nominations, followed by Top Hat receiving seven, and the West End transfer of Chichester Festival Theatre's revival of Sweeney Todd in close competition with six. Other stand-out nominations include The Audience and Kiss Me, Kate receiving five each, and Constellations, The Bodyguard and Twelfth Night with four.

In the design categories, the White Light Award for Best Lighting Design nominees are Paul Anderson for The Master And Margarita; Paule Constable for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time; Lee Curran for Constellations and Mark Henderson for Sweeney Todd.

The B

Sweden - Chalmers University of Technology Students' Union in Gothenburg, Sweden has invested in 12 new Robe LEDBeam 100s to add to its existing stock of Robe moving light fixtures.

The university focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture and has 12,000 students, all members of the Student Union (SU) which has a modern multi-purpose building on the main campus with several performance and event spaces.

The SU stages anything from huge dance parties with nine dancefloors four or five times a year to concerts, dance and comedy shows, exhibitions, trade fairs and conventions in a busy schedule keeping their lighting and sound equipment in use every week.

The equipment is also available for dry hire to various student groups organizing their own events, and so it's important that they have kit which is very flexible and robust.

The SU's

Germany - Visual Productions will be launching two new products at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt this year, CueluxPro software lighting control and the B-Station, networked button interface. These two new products complement and enhance the current Visual Productions product line.

CueluxPro is an advanced and scalable software lighting control application. The software is designed to control medium to large lighting installations, for both architectural and live entertainment situations. CueluxPro works in combination with the CueCore and IoCore as its DMX and IO interfaces and with the new B-Station user-interface.

As with the popular Cuelux software, CueluxPro is cross-platform for Windows, Mac or UbuntunLinux, works with an industry-standard Cuelist system and is 100% touchscreen compatible.

CueluxPro is a scalable system. You can start by using a single CueCore and expan

Germany - Philips Vari-Lite is offering visitors to Prolight+Sound Frankfurt the opportunity to experience first -hand the creative potential of the extremely bright output of the new VL3015, VL3015LT and VL3515 luminaires.

Also on show will be the newly released software for the popular VLX Wash luminaire. This enables individual cell control of the seven powerful 120W RGBW LED light engines inside. Sparked by the success seen in the VLX3 Wash, the software update is applicable for all existing VLX fixtures and now gives lighting designers the creative freedom to deliver stunning multi-coloured effects with unique output capabilities, easily programmed from any lighting controller.

"Lighting designers really loved the individual LED cell control feature of the new VLX3 Wash and began asking for it to be available in the original VLX Wash," explains Brad Schiller, pr

Germany - At ProLight+Sound 2013, ACME will be showcasing its LED entertainment lighting and audio systems in a club/pub-themed exhibition booth. Drinks will be served at the booth during the show to enable visitors to grasp the influence of ACME's LED entertainment lighting and audio systems in a real context. This will also enable people to get to know ACME as a company and to relax while appreciating the surrounding ACME light show.

ACME will be featuring a range of its high-quality LED entertainment lights, including: XP-15R Spot, CM-300ZS, CM150 and MTX-25B. The recently announced LED-MS700PE moving head light will also be showcased. In addition to its entertainment lights, ACME will also featuring a wide range of professional speaker cabinets. ACME's LED lights and audio systems are the ideal options for different contexts, ranging from smaller gigs and pub evenings to dan

UK - Equally at home on the big event spectacular, the Saturday night TV talent show or the touring stage production, lighting designer Peter Barnes has an enviable reputation amongst his peers. Having been lighting shows for nearly 40 years, it is safe to say that he knows more than a thing or two about what works well on a stage . . .

So how long has he been using the Clay Paky Sharpy? "It was the Capital Radio 'Jingle Bell Ball' in December 2011," relates Barnes. "Julian Lavender at Neg Earth asked me if I would like to use them so I opted to give them a try. My first impressions were extremely positive - they were both very bright and very reliable. Both these attributes were vital ingredients on the job I've just recently completed. I used 12 Sharpys outside the theatre as Hollywood search lights at the Laureus Sports Awards in Rio."

Barnes' most recen

France - Robe MMX Spots together with ColorWash and ColorSpot 700E ATs were used by LD Nicky Tisserand and DoP Encre Brune to light the final of the prestigious 2013 Haute Coiffure Française Trophy (HCT) event in Paris.

Organised by global hair brand L'Oréal, it was staged in the Carrousel du Louvre venue and recognises the talents of some of the best international hair stylists. The competition brought together over 100 competitors from 20 countries, which were whittled down to the ten finalists appearing before the jury and the public in Paris.

24 Robe Robin MMX Spots, 24 ColorWash 700E ATs and eight ColorSpot 700E ATs were used by Nicky in her lighting design, all supplied by rental company Impact Evènement based south of Paris.

Nicky has been using Robe products for some years. It's the third year she has lit the HCT Final show, and the third time she has used M

Estonia - Robe moving lights caught the action at a recent sold-out DJ set performance by popular UK dance / electro duo Chase & Status at the Saku Suurhall in Tallin, Estonia.

They were at the core of the lighting rig designed by Meelis Lusmägi for the event which was produced by Meedaekspress Ltd.

Lusmägi's brief was to produce a big, bold, dynamic and spectacular club style lightshow in the voluminous sports arena which is the largest such venue in Estonia. Lighting equipment supplied by locally based rental companies Cuuclub Ltd and E & T Light, both from Tallinn.

To help achieve the massive look and style required for the event he chose 24 x Robe Robin MMX Spots and 12 of Robe's new MMX WashBeam fixtures as key elements of the rig, together with 40 x Robin 100 LEDBeams and 12 x Robe ColorSpot 1200E ATs.

A single Robe DigitalSpot 3000 Mk II was used for beaming spons

Germany - With several blockbuster product launches, contests and special events on the agenda, this year's Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt promises to be both a busy and fun affair for Martin Professional.

Held April 10-13 at Messe Frankfurt, Martin invites all lighting professionals to Stand A93, Hall 9 where Martin will be showcasing new products across its entire product range.

Martin has chosen the leading international trade fair for event technology for the world premiere of its MAC Viper Family luminaires, as well as a completely new product range - RUSH. Other product launches include the final luminaires in the MAC III series, new products in Martin's creative video series, a new flagship lighting console, and much more.

Visitors to Martin's stand will have the chance to win their very own MAC 101 moving head or M2GO lighting controller in a special prize dr

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd will use the PLASA Focus show to unveil their new British made speakers and miniature LED screen to the UK entertainment industry.

David Faulkes, sales director commented: "We didn't want to spend any more money shipping boxes filled with air from China to the UK and decided to spend it on components and materials instead."

The new Blakite range of speakers will replace the highly successful TP range which has been a standard fixture in clubs, bars, schools and rental companies for the previous three years. A compact stage wedge fitted with concentric drivers will be added to the range.

A new concept in speaker design will also be launched at the show. The TP62 is fitted with 2x 6" drivers and a 1.7" compression driver. Interchangeable horn flares allow use as either a single source or a mini line array speaker. The optional flying ha

Germany - Chauvet will display an assortment of fixtures in stand 11-B27, at Prolight+Sound 2013 International trade show next month. In addition to a selection of new luminaires, highlighted in the show are Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 eye-candy LED wash light, Legend 230SR Beam moving yoke, Ovation series of theatrical luminaires, Q-Wash 436Z-LED zooming LED wash light, COLORado 4 IP pixel-mapping batten and more.

Chauvet's architectural and architainment brand Iluminarc is represented by outdoor and indoor lighting solutions such as Ilumipanel 40 IP, Ilumipanel 180 IP, Ilumipod 18g2 IP, Ilumiline 36 IP, Ilumiline Inground Tri 12 IP, Ilumiline Logic 12, Ilumipod Logic Tri 4 and more.

Chauvet Professional Nexus 4x4 is both a bold eye-candy and a tour-ready wash light that uses RGB COB LED technology, combined with a reflector that delivers a soft and visually pleasing light

UK - PRG's Andrew Strachan supported Roy van den Brink, technical producer and event productions to supply a full AV package of lighting, video, sound and drapes for the Glory 5 World Series Kick Boxing at Excel London.

Stefaan Michels and Jeff Bailey also worked alongside Strachan to supply a 18m x 6m V18 Nocturne screen and two Barco HD20k projectors onto 2 x 21ft x 12ft side screens resulting in spectacular images throughout. The V18 Nocturne screen was a key feature of the production design and was used mostly for fighter's entrances for their video stings.

Strachan commented, "The speed in which the Nocturne screen went up was a real help with the time restraints of the schedule, fantastic."

Bill Martin was overall project manager with Ian Jones heading up the video element and Cameron Bannister the lighting.

Working with Delta Sound, Ben Milton (account man

Italy - The opening ceremony of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in the Fiemme Valley was an exceptional event, organised by Studio Festi, an Italian team specialized in large international outdoor events. Acrobats, dancers and climbers created a magical atmosphere in the already charming setting of Piazza Duomo in Trento.

The show was directed by Monica Maimone with the technical cooperation of Ezio Maffei and the highly experienced staff from his company, Maffei Service, based in Levico Terme. In particular, the lights were divided into two different blocks. The first block was devoted to white lights, which are essential for live TV, and the second to lighting effects and moving lights, with the task of livening things up and making the event even more exciting.

Marco Spagnoli was lighting director for white lights, while Mario Zanella took care of the effects and the

USA - Since it was introduced over a year ago, Acclaim Lighting's ART SSC controller has been praised for providing an easy, flexible solution for total solid-state lighting control, appearing in some very challenging applications such as the 2013 Mardi Gras parade. Now Acclaim is offering ART SSC users the added flexibility of being able to control larger, more demanding projects that require a greater number of inputs and outputs, with the new ART IO digital/analogue expansion module.

Suitable for use with the ART SSC, the ART IO is an input/output interface module that is equipped with eight digital/analogue switchable inputs and eight relay-switched digital outputs. Designed to offer great versatility, it supports a number of different protocols, including DMX, RS-232, OSC, UDP and Art-Net.

Each of the ART IO's inputs can be individually configured as digital or analogue,

USA - Chauvet had a dramatic presence at the recent USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo in Milwaukee. Chauvet Professional Ovation series of theatrical luminaires generated great interest, next to the wash lights from the COLORado series, attracting hundreds of visitors at the booth. Highlighted in the innovation gallery and in the Light Lab, Ovation E-190WW ellipsoidal-style luminaire also delivered a great performance in the 'Incandescent Profile vs. LED Profile' session conducted by presenters Hideaki Tsutsui, Steve Shelley and Richard Cadena.

Chauvet Professional Ovation E-190WW and Ovation F-165WW luminaires are designed specifically for theatre and stage. Powered by 19 10W LEDs, the E-190WW - styled after the ellipsoidal spot fixtures - delivers over 3,446 lux at 5m (using the 26° lens tube).

The F-165WW - the line's Fresnel-style fixture - delivers over 1,730 lux a

UK - Rosco, the world's largest manufacturer of colour filters and one of the biggest producers of gobos, has now joined forces with The Black Tank and is proud to introduce the innovative MIRO Cube series of LED wash lights.

These luminaires, designed and engineered by The Black Tank, pack 48W outputting more than 3000 lumens into a compact and portable 10cm cube, say Rosco. They will be on display at PLASA Focus Leeds 2013.

Available in units that offer full colour mixing, tuneable colour temperature white light or even high powered ultra-violet light for stunning black-light effect, the MIRO Cube luminaires are a welcome addition for applications ranging from architectural to theatrical to zoological, and everything in between, the company says.

(Jim Evans)

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