UK - Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013 saw Philips Entertainment brands - Selecon and Vari-Lite - work alongside leading venue producer C venues to increase the creative opportunities for over 170 of its international productions.

Philips Entertainment supplied a selection of the Selecon PL range of LED luminaires alongside Vari-Lite discharge and LED moving heads. All were delivered in tandem with onsite training and support throughout.

Enabling C venues to take full advantage of the creative benefits of LED in many more of its venues kit included the Selecon PLcyc1, the PLfresnel1 and the PLprofile1 augmented with the Vari-Lite VLX3 LED luminaires and VL440 Spot luminaires. In addition the VL440 Spot bought the energy efficiency of the super-bright 400-watt MSR Gold 400 MiniFastFit lamp plus a host of creative features including: powerful colour mixing, quiet and reliable strob

South Africa - An Avolites Titan Training Course was hosted at DWR Distribution's new premises in Laserpark, Johannesburg, from 21 to 23 October 2013. Due to high demand from rental companies in and around the Durban area, the same workshop will be held in KwaZulu Natal from 28 to 30 October.

24 delegates attended the Johannesburg event and DWR Distribution's Nick Britz, presenter of the Avolites Titan Training, was delighted with the response.

Topics covered included workspaces, patching, groups, controlling fixtures, palettes, playbacks, basic timings, chases, shapes and running the show.

Interest in the training event was heightened thanks to Avolites' Emma Thompson presenting a similar seminar in South Africa in 2012. As Britz and his assistant Gareth Chambers regularly train Avolites users on a one-on-one basis and provide daily technical support, the workshop was infor

UK - Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire UK based entertainment technology design, installation and sales specialist EMTO, headed by Wes Matthews, has been appointed as a UK and European distributor for Foreground LED screen displays, a high quality manufacturer based in Shenzhen, China. The deal was cemented at PLASA London 2013.

Wes Matthews began his industry career aged 14 and now has 20 years' experience and hands-on knowledge at the 'sharp-end' of the industry. EMTO was founded four years ago to facilitate the supply of lighting and visual design projects in which time Matthews has established a reputation for providing well engineered, high quality, imaginative and interesting solutions for all types of venues, spaces and circumstances.

"The time is right to diversify and move the company forward and our intention is to establish the Foreground brand as a good-looking, robu

Australia - A while back Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Catholic College in Alice Springs opened a large auditorium complete with a stage suitable for a variety of productions.

During the initial build of the auditorium, four Jands JLX lighting bars were installed; three in the stage area and one front of house. Jands also supplied winches, curtains, wiring and a Jands WM wall mounted patch panel system.

More recently Top End Sounds supplied an ETC Source Four package including eight Source Four Zoom 15-30Deg Profile, six Source Four Zoom 25-50Deg Profile and six Source Four Fresnel including gel frame and barn doors.

"The ETC fixtures have been excellent, absolutely fantastic!" commented Ian Clarke, property manager at the school. "They've made a huge difference to the professionalism of our performances."

For lighting control an ETC SmartFade compact co

South Africa - Johannesburg-based Digital Fabric has specified Philips Selecon luminaires to help bring the newly completed //hapo museum to atmospheric and theatrical life.

//hapo's vision was clear: to create an interactive exhibition space where the story of Southern Africa, dating back 3.6 billion years, unfolds in an engaging narrative and visual form. The museum is split into a number of zones and scenes, each telling a different part of the African story. Lighting is used to evoke the feel and atmosphere of each scene presented.

Designed by a collaborative team of South African architects from Mashabane Rose, MMA and GAPP, Johannesburg based Gavin Olivier of Digital Fabric conceived and managed the technological aspects of the project. In the process he called on some of South Africa's leading integrators including: TDC Africa and DWR Distribution to deliver the lightin

Switzerland - The Stravinsky Auditorium is part of the Montreux Convention Centre which sits on the shoreline of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. It hosts, amongst a wide range of events, the Montreux Jazz Festival. The key to the appeal of the auditorium is its modularity, enabling it to be adapted for the widest possible range of uses. With a partially modular floor the venue can be configured in classroom, concert and theatre configurations.

The Stravinsky strives to improve and develop its features at every turn and to this end commissioned GDS, through its distributor Swiss Light Consulting, to supply a new lighting system able to specifically adapt to the modularity of the stage area.

During orchestral performances, for example, the depth of the stage and the position of acoustic baffles within the hall changes significantly. The system had to be flexible enough to accommodat

UK - The winning college or university of the National Railway Museums Locos in a Different Light event, which forms part of the Illuminating York festival and the museum's Autumn Great Gathering, will be announced on Tuesday, 29 October at 9.30pm.

Now in its fifth year, the annual Locos in a Different Light sees students from all over the country lighting up the A4s. Entries are judged by industry professionals and will be marked according to a number of categories including; safety and conservation, energy and efficiency, object communication and innovation and aesthetics. The winning team will get the opportunity to drive a locomotive.

The competition has been a huge hit with performing arts students in previous years with many going on to bigger and brighter careers in stage lighting. This year's event will be attended by students from across the UK, includin

South Africa - Johannesburg based Gearhouse South Africa (GHSA) - the largest full technical production facility in the southern hemisphere - has invested in 150 of Robe's latest moving lights including 54 x Pointes, 36 x LEDWash 600s, 24 x DLXs, 24 x DLFs and 12 x DLSs.

The DLFs and DLXs went straight on to the current series of So You Think You Can Dance which is being recorded at the Renaissance Centre in downtown Johannesburg and broadcast on national TV by SABC, with lighting designed by GHSA's Robert Grobler.

The LEDWash 600s join GHSA's existing rental fleet - which already contains a large quantity of LEDWash 600s. Stuart Andrews, Head of lighting at Gearhouse SA comments, "You simply can never have enough of these versatile fixtures."

GHSA services many top artists who are now regularly visiting South Africa on their world tours and so it's importan

Italy - Clay Paky has recently published photometric data relating to its lights on its website www.claypaky.it in IESNA and Eulumdat format (.IES and .LDT files), as laid down in standard EN 13.032 - LM 79 - .

The main advantage of these formats is they can be "imported" into design programmes so that the levels of light in the various areas that need illuminating may be rendered. The designer can therefore calculate the number of lights needed to achieve a certain lighting level, the distance between the lights and the area to be illuminated, and the spacing between the lights themselves.

In the past, this type of data was only requested by architectural firms, but today some lighting control desks (for example the GrandMA) and simulation programmes can import IES files. Lighting designers, directors of photography and installers can therefore now calculate in adva

UK - Birmingham-based Pre Production Services, which specialises in lighting console hire, is headed by Colin Wood who has been a professional lighting designer since 2005 and has worked internationally on a plethora of different theatre based shows including musicals, dramas and cruise ship based productions.

He first started using Robe in his work in 2010 on the P&O cruise ship Ventura, which had ColorSpot 700E ATs and DigitalSpot 7000s in the main theatre lighting rig. He was on-board for three weeks and in that time worked all of the lights extremely hard. He was impressed with the reliability which was spot-on.

Robe fixtures now figure regularly in Colin's designs. More recently, he has lit two shows at the Grand Theatre in Blackpool - Step Back In Time and Ooh La La, starring Canon and Ball.

The shows were a high energy fusion of dancing and international

Germany - Music producer Andy Lutschounig created his Adoro classical-pop crossover project in 2007, when he chose five young opera singers from among 200 applicants. Adoro's music combines elements of opera with German pop songs and a large symphony orchestra, as could be appreciated at their recent performance at the Lausitzhalle in Hoyerswerda.

Atlantis Audio provided the concert lighting equipment, which consisted of 22 Clay Paky Sharpys, 24 Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs and other lights.

Volkmar Kusch, the owner of Atlantis Audio, had this to say about Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs and Sharpys, "Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs are currently used on many occasions, as our case shows. We were particularly won over by the perfect image quality, compact size and wide zoom range. All this makes them suitable for many uses and, for this reason, we wanted them in

UK - South East-based TSL Lighting has added the iconic, retro Patt 2013 to its rental stock - and the fixtures have already been used on a wide range of the company's projects.

Lighting designer Tim Routledge, who designed the fixtures in association with James Thomas Engineering, commented: " I am delighted that TSL have taken the move to become a rental stockist of the Patt 2013, they are not only huge fans of the product but now have the very first units that were made earlier in the year, a little bit of history".

TSL's MD, Sam Tamplin, added: "We have already used the fixtures on McFly (pictured), Gloria Estefan, BBC Radio 2 In Concert with the Stereophonics and have several other shows and tours in the remainder of the year where they will be making an appearance. The fixtures look great on camera and the Patt 2013 is truly becoming the defining look of 2

UK - Just days after HM The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were taken on a guided tour of the National Theatre, members of the ALD also went to see behind the scenes of Liolà at the Lyttelton.

Twenty ETC Source Four LED fixtures with attached CYC unit are in use on Liolà, with 10 above the 15m x 7m elevated cyc, and ten below, not dissimilar to the demonstration on ETC's stand at PLASA London.

Lighting supervisor Steve Binks told the visiting ALD members that whilst he and his colleagues realised they were taking a risk in using a new product still in final development for their lighting, the result was nonetheless a resounding success. "My initial fear was that the comparative output of the LED would not be enough," he said. "But the LED output was great, even with tricky pastel colours at low levels, and the optics meant that cover

UK - Aurora Lighting Hire have relocated to a new purpose built warehouse facility in Greenford, West London, perfectly situated to reach the A40 into London and nearby national motorway networks.

The facility offers extended storage space alongside modern equipment preparation areas. The move also sees an expansion to the company's project management offices.

Nick Edwards, managing director comments, "The whole team here at Aurora are extremely excited to have moved into our new premises. The move has allowed us to relocate multiple storage units to one combined modern facility. This will allow us to grow not just our inventory but also enable us to recruit more personnel."

Along with the move Aurora has also announced the recruitment of TV electrician Charlie Smith, who joins the company from the BBC production team of Eastenders.

Aurora Lighting Hire's

UK - Love Beyond - a new musical telling the Bible's story from start to finish and written by Richard Haley - premiered this month in Brighton. South East-based TSL Lighting were approached to provide lighting equipment and design, rigging and LED screens for the show. The company also provided custom content creation and an integrated show control system for the production.

TSL Lighting's MD, Sam Tamplin, commented: "We have recently added the M-Box Media Server to our rental stock and this show was our first opportunity to use two of our systems on a high profile production. We have used an MA network to trigger Lighting and Video cues and also Sound cues and the band click track via the M-Box. This show has been especially effective for us, as we are also preferred technical suppliers at the Brighton Centre, where the musical's debut was staged."

Producer

Europe - Italian rock singer-songwriter Gianna Nannini is currently touring Europe on her INNO tour 2013. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe and lighting director Roland Greil chose Clay Paky lights and MA Lighting control systems for the tour.

Patrick Woodroffe had this to say on the lighting design, "I wanted to create something elegant, which reflects the Gianna we know today. However, at the same time, the show had to be intense and energetic to show her rock 'n' roll side. There are no video projection screens on stage. For this reason, the show stands out from many others where the use of videos plays an important role."

Thirty-three Sharpys, 32 Alpha Profile 1500s, 6 Alpha Wash 700s, 28 Chromlech Jarag-5s and one Robert Juliat Aramis are being used for the tour. The equipment was provided by Agora from Italy, while Danilo Zan and Live Nation Italia are

Belgium - Lighting design firm Radiance35, in collaboration with the ZimmerFrei artists' collective, created Through the Walls, an award-winning, artistic lighting installation in the Saint-Jacques district of the city (near Brussels' Grand-Place). The key idea from the artist was to project imaginary openings onto the facades of the buildings in order to engage the curiosity and imagination of those walking by and help them envision present-day spaces, interiors and places of life and work inside the district's beautiful medieval structures.

The Saint-Jacques district of Brussels is characterised by its urbanism and is one of the best preserved medieval communities in Europe. The designers at Radiance35 projected 20 Rosco custom glass gobos throughout the neighbourhood to highlight the district's architectural identity, attract attention and encourage visitors to explore

Germany - Based on the award-winning impression Spot One, GLP has produced a smaller, lighter and less expensive version, known as the Volkslicht Spot - aimed at a wider fixed installation and rental customer base.

Explaining the design rationale, GLP GmbH CEO, Udo Kuenzler, states, "The Spot One has proven a big success in long throw applications but we believe the Volkslicht Spot will appeal to entertainment venues, corporate event spaces, cruise ships, theme parks and houses of worship who don't require the same throw distance. With a single fixed beam of 15 degrees, the Volkslicht Spot has been able to maintain a powerful output despite its compact footprint and reduced price."

This is because the fixture features a 300W RGB LED engine which offers high output through an efficient optical system with clear gobo projection, even field distribution and smooth dimmi

West London based lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment is supplying lighting for the first full production tour by chart-topping indie rockers Bastille, who are rapidly ascending stars with their first album Bad Blood and lighting designed by Will Dart.

Earlier in the year Colour Sound provided a specials package for the summer festival season and as soon as this UK leg of the tour kicked in, the production requirements increased to include supplying a full system. Dart has worked with Colour Sound for the last couple of years and comments, "They are an excellent supplier in all aspects."

Dart sat down with the band ahead of the tour and they talked through several ideas - of which there were plenty!

Projection was a large element of the show for the UK leg- although used very judiciously - so the lighting had to compliment this and also t

USA - When LeRoy Bennett started specifying SGM's X-5 LED strobes early this summer, he not only had Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in mind but also the hard industrial sounds of Rammstein and Nine Inch Nails.

The deployment of 144 heads on NIN's world arena and festival shows, he believed would contribute to a production that was "visually high art minded". Returning to the stage after a long break the band's mentor for the last 25 years, Trent Reznor, introduced a new line-up to promote the band's eighth album, Hesitation Marks.

During production rehearsals at the LA Sports Arena Bennett had worked alongside production manager Chris Fussell, art director Rob Sheridan and conceptual artist Jon Morris, with the intention of "beefing up" the festival production and creating an interactive set, with video walls - adding the SGM strobe

UK - PRG (Production Resource Group UK) has become the latest high profile lighting hire company to invest heavily in SGM's new generation LED fixtures.

They have purchased 46 of the P-5 RGBW wash lights for their busy Autumn and pre-Christmas outdoor season, as part of a general LED inventory upgrade.

Paul Weaver, head of EU asset management, says the company has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with SGM over the years, and this marks the latest chapter. "We have had SGM in stock for the last eight to ten years, using the Palco 3 as our standard weatherproof LED flood but it was time to update our stock."

Says Weaver, "Since the introduction of the new SGM, and Peter [Johansen] coming on board, the company has become really interesting again and there are exciting products coming through such as G-Spot. We see the P-5 as an investment for the long t

Germany - PR Lighting's PR 5000 Framing fixtures have been adopted for the Autumn season opera productions of the famous Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Germany, which combines both the Opera Düsseldorf and Theater Duisburg.

Ordered from Focon Showtechnic, PR Lighting's German distributors, the PR-5000 Framing fixtures were chosen as offering the best quality to price ratio, comparable with the leading professional models in terms of performance.

Specified by lighting and video director, Volker Weinhart (and used by other guest lighting directors), the fixtures, driven by 1500W discharge lamp, will also form part of the theatre's opera and ballet touring inventory, where they will be used on all productions across the world, 300 days of the year. In fact the Opera and Ballet company is one of the largest in Europe with 870 employees including two symphony orchestras with 220 musici

UK - The MTFX Snow Tower is the latest and most versatile snow making machine in the MTFX winter effects range. Featuring two MTFX mini evaporative snow blowers mounted on a height adjustable tower, this machine is perfect for creating amazing and realistic outdoor falling snow.

The snow tower is mounted to a towable trailer making for easy transportation and can be raised to a maximum height of 9m. The unit is completely self-contained as it is powered by an internal hush-quiet generator.

It is designed for TV snow effects, Christmas light switch on events, outdoor attractions, product launches and so much more.

(Jim Evans)

USA - From the people who created the entertainment industries first powerful UV (UltraViolet) based effects and powerful UV lighting in Hollywood in the late 1980's, the first day to night, dual image and complete invisible scenery and scenic effects in the mid 1990's, now comes the next generation of UV based signage. Welcome to the latest venture from Ultra Vista Systems.... interior signage for brands in need of serious attention!

The first product in a series of planned products is ISIS 3D (The Illuminated Suspended Image System). This sign systems allows for glowing brand names, logos and art to shine in a slim, low voltage, lightweight profile that has never before possible before, says the company.

UltraVista Systems is the latest collaboration between Leslie Pringle and Richard Green, a collaboration that began in the 1988 when they brought Wildfire over from Europe,

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