World - UK based A.C. Worldwide Group has announced a number of senior appointments as part of its strategy for continual growth.
In the UK, Phill Capstick, who has been with the business for 37 years, will step up to the role of CEO in UK based A.C. Entertainment Technologies and, following 25 years of success, Jonathan Walters becomes the company’s managing director.
In other UK news, Andy Dodd will be retiring from his executive role on the Board of Flashlight Ltd, but the Company says he has accepted a non-executive directorship so will still be helping the Flashlight team and their customers.
Across the Atlantic, the sales and distribution businesses operating as A.C. Americas (incorporating A.C. Lighting and A.C. Promedia) will be led by long-serving board member Phill Capstick who is appointed as CEO. Joining him on the board as president, after six yea

The Netherlands - Located at the heart of Amsterdam’s night life, the former dairy, Melkweg (Milky Way), is a popular music and cultural venue that hosts major concerts, acts and performances. With four spaces under one roof and embracing all music styles, Melkweg’s variety of artists and audiences is well-known worldwide.
Recently, Melkweg celebrated a major upgrade to its lighting grids, adding 52 Ayrton Diablo profile fixtures to its inventory, supplied by full-service consultant Airlight of Utrecht, headed by Ruud Pouwels.
Pouwels, with his rich experience as lighting engineer, has for many years served as a lighting consultant for theatres and clubs, and provides a full and worry-free package of lighting services that includes 24/7 technical backup. Assisting his customers in the selection, commissioning and servicing of equipment, Ruud explains his choice of

UK - More than 30 years after they became the first metal band to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 1991 with Slave To The Grind, Skid Row still has plenty of highly combustible fuel left in the tank. This was evident on the last leg of their 2022 The Gangs All Here tour in support of their new album, and their first with their new lead singer, winner of Swedish Idol, Erik Gronwall.
Wrapping up 2022 with 22 shows in seven countries, the tour coincided directly with the release of the new album and saw the sold-out London O2 Forum show being filmed for a 2023 DVD release. Reflecting Skid Row’s high-octane sound during this performance was a raw, intense and fast moving lighting design by the band’s LD Will Furze, who once again enlisted Fineline Lighting to supply the touring package.
Featuring a complete package, including networking, p

The Netherlands - Reflexion Evenemententechniek relied on products from Showtec and Infinity to bathe the Brand Weizen Pavilion at the Oktoberfeest in Sittard in light and support the artists in putting on an unforgettable show. The festivities and charisma of both national and international artists were given a lively energy boost by the professional lights and lighting design.
For the 2022 edition of the Oktoberfeest Sittard, the Brand Weizen Pavilion was rigged and taken care of by Reflexion Event Technology. T.Y.S was again responsible for the design on behalf of Reflexion. Building strongly on products by Showtec and Infinity, they put up lots of lighting fixtures to create a an unforgettable experience. Because Oktoberfeest Sittard is not only about beer, but also about music and performances, the quality of the shows is very important. And therefore, so is the lightin

Europe - Woodroffe Basset Design specified Follow-Me on a number of productions during 2022including the Rolling Stones SIXTY tour.
The show had a new set design by Stufish, customised for each venue yet clearly briefed to give the typical look, feel and experience of a classic ‘Stones concert with the original, 40 years long, lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe as creative director bringing Ethan Weber in as tour lighting director. Terry Cook, associate lighting designer at Woodroffe Bassett Designs oversaw the needs of this summer tour with fixtures and positions chosen for all staging and weather conditions.
Key to Woodroffe Bassett Design was allowing the show to feel real, as if it was being operated in an original follow spot way, they wanted flexibility with the system as they were not always in the touring roof meaning their overhead rig changed a lot and the

Italy - The Teatro Donizetti is an institution in the city of Bergamo. It was built in the late 18th century and was originally named Teatro Nuovo (new theatre). It has been the city's most important opera house for more than two centuries and hosts an intense schedule of plays, operas and symphonic music.
In November 2022, Claypaky signed an agreement with the Teatro Donizetti to supply the new Sinfonya Profile 600 moving heads, specially designed for use in theatres.
The Sinfonya Profile fixtures have enhanced the lighting stock at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo’s città bassa (the relatively more modern ‘lower town’) and at the equally famous Teatro Sociale in the città alta (the hilltop medieval ‘upper town’), which is also part of the Teatro Donizetti Foundation.
Lighting designer Emanuele Agliati of K 5600 Design relates how he used the Sinfonya

USA - NFL players are some of the toughest people anywhere, but they weren’t the only ones exhibiting true grit and determination around Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday 29 January when the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFC Conference Championship game. Outside the big football field, Gerry Dintelman and the crew from Midwest Music Supply were showing their own rugged character as they braved below zero Fahrenheit wind chills to set up a 24’x 20’ mobile stage for the KC Tailgate District, a pre and post-game party and concert.
Like the victorious Chiefs themselves, Dintelman and the production team delivered a performance that left fans happy as they supported a variety of music acts from rap to country with hard-hitting light shows that utilised the colour rendering prowess and intense output of Chauvet Professional fixtures from Midwest Music Su

Spain - Lighting designer Antonio Arrabal (AAI, Lighting Designers Association of Spain) used Astera NYX Bulbs to illuminate a series of scenic spheres that were an integral narrative element of the Índigo Teatro company’s latest production, Viaje al Planeta de Todo es Posible which premiered at the Cánovas Theatre in Malaga.
The production – aimed at children aged between 5 and 12 – is fun and adventure filled, but also with plenty of appeal and massaging for accompanying adults - and unfolds a story about the importance of kindness and friendship.
It was created by Indigo Teatro’s artistic director Celia Almohalla with whom Antonio collaborated closely on evolving the show aesthetic, together with set designer Isabel Soto. “There was a lot of teamwork which is a very satisfying way to realise a production,” he commented.
Lighting plays a fu

USA - Elation Professional has announced the promotions of Eric Loader to global vice president of sales & marketing and John Dunn to director of sales – U.S.
ADJ Group President, Toby Velazquez, has worked closely with both Eric and John over many years in building the Elation brand. He comments, “Eric and I have a successful history spanning over three decades and John's contribution to Elation's ascent as a premier brand in the industry over the past decade has been extraordinary. We couldn’t ask for a stronger team to drive the company's growth and keep Elation at the forefront as an innovative, reputable, and leading brand in the industry.”
Eric Loader, with 17 years of dedicated service to Elation, has been instrumental in driving the company's growth and expansion. In his new role, he will continue to lead the company's strategy and growth vision th

Indonesia - Ayrton has announced the appointment of PT Inti Megah Swara (IMS) as its new, exclusive distributor for Indonesia. IMS will be responsible for the sales and rental of the entire Ayrton product range in Indonesia. The appointment takes place with immediate effect
Established in 2000, IMS is the official distributor of many international brands of audio equipment, with a strong retail presence of approximately 40 Desound and JBL stores located across Indonesia. The company also has branch offices in Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, Malang and Bali.
2022 saw a strategic decision from IMS to expand into professional lighting to better facilitate its customers in all aspects of production. Since this date, IMS has made both professional audio and professional lighting the main focuses of its business. This, in addition to its retail lines, enables the team

Italy - In response to environmental and energy sustainability challenges, the city of Formia turned to the power of Christmas architectural projections as the most effective way to illuminate its urban landscape over the recent holiday season.
Six of the city's landmarks and community gathering places were dressed up with a light show, utilising Prolights Mosaico L projectors and personalised gobo images supplied by Prolights. The image-mapping technique was used to adapt the projections to the specific buildings, creating a different and dynamic display at each location.
The Mosaico L projectors proved to be the ideal tool for this project, with their flexibility and remote-control capabilities allowing for dynamic scenes to be displayed in sequence. The 300W LED source and efficient optical system of the projectors also significantly reduced energy consumption, resu

New Zealand - George Ezra’s lighting director Chris Taylor and production manager Jake Vernum were very happy to see Robe on the lighting specs for the recent Australia and New Zealand legs of the UK singer / songwriter’s Gold Rush Kid tour.
Eleven Robe MegaPointes on the upstage truss have been present throughout the whole tour which kicked off in Spring in the UK and Ireland, then extended into a lengthy festival section as Ezra and his band delighted audiences across Europe.
The original show and lighting / set design by Cate Carter is being overseen and co-ordinated on the road by Chris Taylor, and the earlier sections of the tour have also featured two Robe RoboSpot systems running with two Forte moving lights.
The Auckland show, staged at the Spark arena, was an all-Robe rig – apart from the strobes and 10 2K fresnel ‘specials’ on stands – wit

Switzerland – The LIT Lighting Design Awards is now accepting submissions for its annual event, recognising and celebrating the best in lighting design from around the world.
For the 7th edition, the LIT Lighting Design Awards is now featuring a new section dedicated to entertainment lighting design. This award is a billed as a cross-disciplinary platform from which to promote your designs to a truly international market’.
With 31 categories in architectural lighting design, 15 categories in entertainment lighting design and 44 categories in lighting product design represented, the programme aims to ‘unite creativity, and innovation’.
In 2022, the programme received over 650 submissions from 51 countries. L'Observatoire International was awarded the Lighting Design of the Year title for the Hermès’ collections at Milan Design Week 2022 and Expolight w

USA - Eliminator Lighting’s Vortex is a compact and lightweight entertainment lighting fixture that offers an impressive output. Combining a potent gobo flower effect with a rotating mirror barrel, it generates a myriad of sharp pattern projections that together produce a room-filling effect. It is suitable both for permanent installation in all kinds of entertainment venues as well as for use by mobile entertainers and performers.
At the heart of the Vortex is an efficient 80W white light LED engine, which is positioned behind a combined colour and gobo wheel. This offers a selection of 10 colour and gobo pairings – including open white, a beam reducer and a multicoloured pattern – which have been carefully selected for generating both stunning aerial beam effects and intricate surface pattern projections. A manual focus knob is located on the rear of the fixture, whi

Hungary - What started as a two-employee TV and projector repair business has grown into a global pro AV operation, as Lightware Visual Engineering turns 25 years old in 2023. The manufacturer celebrated this milestone at ISE 2023 by introducing new corporate and several other vertical market AV solutions.
Lightware will also strengthen its lines of educational, defence and intelligence market solutions throughout the year, with many on display in Barcelona last week.
The celebration comes at a time of rapid company growth, with Lightware strengthening the security profiles of its product range as collaborative AV over IP applications continue to soar in popularity across the globe.
New advanced security features incorporated into Lightware’s products - like isolated ethernet networks and data diode technology – promise unidirectional signal data flow while m

USA - Christie has announced the 4K22-HS, the newest addition to its HS Series of laser projectors. “With 22,500 lumens, the new 4K22-HS sets a new industry standard for brightness in 4K UHD 1DLP® projection,” the company says.
The Christie 4K22-HS narrows the gap between 1DLP and 3DLP projection, making it suitable for live events and venues that require high brightness, incredible colour performance, and professional features, including museums, auditoriums, and attractions, in a budget-friendly projector.
With Christie BoldColor+ technology, the 4K22-HS delivers natural and realistic colours, deeper blacks, and enhanced colour uniformity. For applications that require multiple projectors, the new model features onboard Christie Twist for warping and blending, and quick and easy set-up and alignment of multiple displays.
“We’re excited to demonstrate

France - Christie Mirage 4K40-RGB pure laser projectors have formed the centrepiece of a new extension to a research centre at IRCAD (Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l'Appareil Digestif) located within the University Hospital of Strasbourg, France. IRCAD 3 is the latest addition to the globally recognised surgical research and training institute, and the 2,400sq.m (26,000sq.ft) hub building dedicated to robotics.
AV integrator DEYA installed a pair of Christie Mirage 4K40-RGB projectors in its 237-seat auditorium, delivering 3D and leading colour reproduction required for specialist learning. A Christie Terra SDVOE-based AV-over-IP solution is used to power content at the auditorium, and the building features a host of IP-connected AV elements throughout, including speakers, microphones, digital signage and video conferencing technologies.
“The aims of t

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the promotion of Mark Scherer to client representative. Scherer is the latest addition to the leadership team at Bandit where his recent adventures on the road will ‘offer a fresh perspective to clients as well as practical applications of the latest in lighting technology’.
Scherer joined Bandit Lites fresh out of college and quicklyestablished himself as a vital team member, working as a lighting tech on Chris Young, the dimmer tech for Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty Tour, crew chief on Alanis Morrisette’s Jagged Little Pill Tour, dimmer tech on Shinedown’s Revolution Live Tour, and most recently as the lighting director on Maren Morris’s Humble Quest Tour, as well as many other roles over time.
“I am excited to step into the role of Client Representative at a company that has taken care of me from the beginning,” said

Germany - Rapper Luciano had six albums chart in the Top 10 and sold out Germany’s leading concert venues. Last year, in September, he became the first German rapper to reach over seven million Spotify listeners. But through it all, musical phenom Luciano hasn’t lost touch with the creative forces rising from the streets of the Schöneberg district of Berlin; they continue to drive his music today, just as they did when he burst upon the scene in 2012.
“I come from the street. I have characteristics from the street, and the streets can teach positive lessons as well,” Luciano once told an interviewer. However, as his career has flourished, the irrepressible rapper has enlarged his musical footprint and stage charisma, creating a uniquely powerful style. His impressive presence was on full display on his recent Majestic Tour of Germany and Austria.
Reflecting th

USA - Pixellot has announced the appointment of Connor Thinnes as the vice president of sales in North America.
Connor brings considerable sales and marketing experience to Pixellot, with over 20 years of accumulated knowledge in these fields. He has worked in sales for 10 years and marketing for an additional 10 years. Prior to joining Pixellot, Thinnes held the position of VP of marketing at HomeTown Ticketing, a provider of digital ticketing services primarily for the high school market. In his new role, Connor will be responsible for leading both the club sales team and the Vidswap analytics sales team in the US.
"We are thrilled to welcome Connor to the Pixellot team," said David Shapiro, president of North America, Pixellot. "Connor's background in both sales and marketing, combined with his deep understanding of the High School and club sports market, make him

Lithuania - The open-air production of the Wagner opera The Flying Dutchman in the historic Paul Willy Lindenau shipyard in Lithuania was was broadcast live on the OperaVision streaming platform. Lighting designer Andrius Stasiulis and event technology service provider Baltic Production Service relied on more than 200 outdoor-ready Cameo spotlights for the lighting production of the spectacular stage.
The Wagner protagonists performed on a 50m stage, and often moved far from one another on the ship and the laterally rigged superstructures, sometimes being up to 40m apart. In addition, Andrius Stasiulis and Baltic Production Service were faced with the challenge of creating a lighting setup that was equally suitable for live and camera use. The team used a total of 38 Opus X Profiles for spot and front lighting, while the 32 Opus H5s were primarily used for show eleme

USA - The multi-generational Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, Texas, ramped up atmospheric looks and festive lighting effects for a series of concerts in December, rigging Vari-Lite VL1600 Profile luminaires from Signify.
The church’s lighting director Matthew Hughes worked with Tyler Gannaway, Vari-Lite business development manager Central and Eastern rental & touring at Signify, to source the VL1600 fixtures. Hughes’ aim was to utilise the VL1600’s VL*FX wheel to add movement to the textures projected on the walls, and the tuneable white engine and wide colour range to create the perfect atmosphere for the concerts.
“I wanted the service to have a delicate feel, as Advent services are often full of reflection and preparation and require a bit of theatrical finesse to pull off in a tasteful manner,” says Hughes. “Many of the songs we did were very slo

France - “We think of our creations as an invitation to dream,” Jean-Baptiste Duperray, founder and artistic director of La Compagnie des Quidams has said. This invitation was eagerly accepted recently by all who visited the historic Château des ducs de Bretagne on the banks of the Loire in Nantes to see the street art group’s Fiers à Cheval performance. There, as the show’s large, self-lit inflatable horses floated in the air, flowing in harmony with metamorphic human artists, the imagination of spectators took flight.
Like all Compagnie des Quidams performances, Fiers à Cheval (Proud on Horseback) is an enchanting and colourful open air presentation, where music combines with the swirling, synchronized motions of humans and large (3.5m high by 2.5m wide) self-lit inflatables to transform any public spaces into a dream-like wonderland.

UK - For the past several years, White Light (WL) has worked closely with Culture Creative and Sony Music to supply the lighting and technical support for their Christmas trails. Taking place at locations across the UK, the trails feature trees and woodland drenched in Christmas colour, shimmering waterside reflections, tunnels of light as well as fire gardens. WL once again supplied the Trails in 2022 and not only invested in several new fixtures for the illuminations but also helped develop a new unit that is now part of the company’s extensive hire stock.
The 2022 Christmas Trails featured a more expansive list of locations than ever before, ranging from Kew Gardens and Blenheim Palace to Leeds Castle and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh. As always, WL’s role was to work closely with Culture Creative, Sony and the designers involved to bring their vision to life.

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