Austria - Die Große Chance (A Great Opportunity) is one of Austria's leading talent competitions. The 2014 final staged in Studio 1 at national broadcaster ORF's HQ in Vienna was lit in great style by lighting director Thomas Kruder using nearly 300 Robe moving lights.

It was also Kruder's first chance to use Robe's new Bright Multi-Functional Luminaires (BMFLs) of which he had eight on the rig. "It's one of the most powerful fixtures I have ever used," he states.

In addition to the BMFL Spots, he utilised 133 x Pointes and 146 x LEDBeam 100s, all supplied by rental company Supporting Role, also based in Vienna.

Kruder has lit the last two editions of Die Große Chance. In 2011 the original concept of the show - popular throughout the 1980s - was reformatted and presented in a contemporary context, complete with tele-voting to decide on the winner ou

Czech Republic - Herbalife, the Los Angeles-based manufacturer of natural nutrition products, held its annual corporate 'Extravaganza' motivational event this year in Prague. A total audience of around 54,000 people attended the event in the city's O2 Arena, a modern multi-purpose facility inaugurated in 2004.

The production of 'Extravaganza' Prague was entrusted to event company Planet Service, long-time partner of Herbalife for its international conventions. Technical manager for the event was Alessandro Giangi; lighting design was by Luca Casadei and Claudio Tappi, and set design was by Emilia Covotta and Raffaele Persico.

The stage included a rotating circular stage, and an automated system to fly in a large chandelier during the launch of a new product line. To illuminate this design, Planet Service installed a lighting system consisting of over 350 DTS fixtures, includin

UAE - Gary Barlow, has premiered a one-off open-air show version of his recent Since I Saw You Last tour in Dubai. For the special event, lighting designer Tim Routledge specified an array of super-bright Clay Paky fixtures, including one of the latest additions to Clay Paky's product line, the SuperSharpy, from leading supplier Eclipse Staging Services.

Routledge specified 55 Clay Paky Sharpys, 12 Sharpy Wash 330s, 36 A.leda B-EYE K20s, 10 A.leda B-EYE K10s, 15 Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500s and 20 SuperSharpys to deliver versatility and impact to the diverse production by Louder Entertainment.

"The sheer brightness of the fixtures was the main reason for using the SuperSharpys this time around," says Routledge. "As we had moved to outdoors for the first time I needed something to make the show special. Whilst we played in darkness being in the middle of

UK - Lighting designer James O'Neill enjoyed working with rental company Entec so much when they supplied an Imelda May one off St Patrick's Day gig for him at London's Roundhouse earlier in the year that they were his company of choice to supply a dynamic floor lighting/specials package for the latest tour which has been out for six weeks around Europe and the UK.

"When it was clear that we would be taking production on this tour, I went straight back to Entec," explained James, who was delighted to be back working with Entec's Noreen O' Riordan and Pepper (Paul Schofield). "Once again they have been amazing," he declared.

James has worked with the popular Irish singer/songwriter since 2010, in which time her profile and fan base has grown steadily. The starting point for the lighting design on this tour was to make it look interesting and a bit quirky - a

UK - It was announced on Friday that the UK's first government-backed National College for the Creative and Cultural Industries is to be established at The Backstage Centre, High House Production Park, opening in September 2016.

Managed by Creative & Cultural Skills on behalf of a consortium of employers and industry organisations including Live Nation, Royal Opera House, White Light and the Association of British Theatre Technicians, the new National College will provide specialist training in the technical skills needed by the creative and cultural industries. This is in response to significant industry growth, with the creative economy growing at four times the rate of the national economy, and the value of the UK's creative industries exports standing at over £15 billion per year.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "The talent which brings plays, operas, and f

USA - Virtually every new club lighting project has its own challenges, whether they involve dealing with limited power draw or trying to accommodate some unusual architectural limitation. For Jay Krause of Sound and Lighting Solutions, the biggest challenge when working on the city's Hunter's nightclub was getting the 10 Rogue fixtures his client wanted in fast enough.

"As soon as our client saw demos of the Rogue R1 Spot and R1 Beam, they fell in love with the fixtures," said Krause. "They wanted them yesterday. They were super excited, because they saw what the Rogues can do in a bi-level club - which is create added depth plus all of these magical uplifting images in the air."

There are six Rogue R1 Spots and four Rogue R1 Beams in Krause's rig at the club. He positioned the beams midway between the first and second levels. "They sort of hang out o

South Africa - Lighting designer Willie Bothma was honoured to once again light the Kings of Chaos on their latest tour to Sun City and at GrandWest's Grand Arena in Cape Town. The full technical was supplied by Gearhouse Group's Cape Town branch and supported by Gavin Taylor, Sean Caie and the team at the Grand Arena.

Kings of Chaos featured special guest Steven Tyler alongside Billy Gibbons, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Duff McKagan, Robin Zander and Nuno Bettencourt and was brought to South Africa by Andrew Mac of AMP Events.

"It was a great show to do," said Bothma from Gearhouse who also lit the performance in 2013. "The only request was that the band should be seen all times and this was done. At the end of the day it's about the band and that is why people come to the show."

The rig and design were the same at both venues. The main challenge was setti

USA - The 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards took place in a blaze of glamour at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, and was attended by some of the biggest names in Latin music and a sold-out audience of nearly 17,000. Almost 10m television viewers - the highest figures to date - tuned in for some or all the three-hour live broadcast on the Univision network.

For the fifth consecutive year, the lighting was designed by Carlos Colina, LD for all of Univision's major shows and events. After using Robe's Pointes for a successful show-stopping 'special moment' last year, he chose Pointes again this year to add extra elements of magic to key moments in an evening of great entertainment, collaborations and landmark live performances, plus a string of Awards.

Colina worked closely with set designer Jorge Dominguez to create the aesthetic for the show. They took full advantage of t

World - Since the beginning of the Arctic Monkey's last global journey in May 2013, lighting director Sam MacLaren estimates he must have had his hands on over 50 different grandMA2 consoles from rental sources across the world.

So he must have been a regular grandMA2 user before then? "Well, actually that wasn't the case," says MacLaren. "I used the MA1 a few times but more recently have been using a few boards from other manufacturers, all of which have had some issues with reliability. So when we were deciding on the specification for this tour, the choice of console was obviously high on my list of priorities. I knew I would be picking up boards from local companies as well as touring closer to home with a full rental rig so my choice had to have reliability and availability at the top of the tick list. Integral to the decision was the knowledge that we would

UK - Teatime quiz show Eggheads is currently filming a new series. The show, hosted by Jeremy Vine, sees two teams going head-to-head through five rounds of gruelling questions and brain teasers. The Eggheads teams consist of highly regarded quiz and game show champions, (rotating each episode) against a series of teams of five 'challengers' who in each episode attempt to 'beat' the Eggheads.

Lighting designer Martin Kempton continues to originate the show, supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML) and features their latest purchase the VL4000 Spot. The VL4000 Spot includes all the tools needed to create dynamic and useful lighting on any stage. Every aspect of the luminaire has been designed with performance in mind. To go with the rest of the set Martin chose MAC Auras, Chroma Banks and MAC 250s.

The show for 12 Yard Productions is filmed at the Pacific Quays, Glasgo

UK - A.C. Special Projects Ltd (ACSP) have supplied, installed and commissioned the LED lighting and control system for a high-profile Christmas holiday season display surrounding the iconic Eros statue at the heart of Piccadilly Circus in London's West End.

Based on a concept designed by Wildstone and approved by Westminster City Council, Wildstone developed an eye-catching 'Box of Christmas Presents' to surround the statue of Eros at Piccadilly Circus. Each side of the octagonal box features a 2.5m by 2.5m high definition LED screen promoting pre-Christmas marketing campaigns from a number of high-profile brand sponsors associated to West End retail.

ACSP were approached by Wildstone to tender for the supply of lighting fixtures used to light the 'Christmas Presents' boxes, which surround the figure around the top of the display.

Due to the harsh environment - which requir

USA - Lighting designer, Jason Bullock of Infinity Point Design Inc, brought a wealth of new Ayrton lighting fixtures to Wiz Khalifa's Under the Influence of Music Tour this year. Under the Influence of Music is an annual event which brings the biggest new names in hip-hop to venues across America.

Bullock was amongst the first to use Ayrton's MagicPanel 602 last year and has returned to it this year incorporating 48 of the units in his design. To these he has added fresh offerings from Ayrton's newly released Radical Series, employing 36 MagicBlade-R linear fixtures and 12 massive MagicRing-R9 fixtures.

Bullock, like Khalifa, is determined to expand the visual presentation of the tours using the latest technology to explore the unique design possibilities that new products present.

"After the success of the MagicPanel 602, I met with Ayrton in Europe and

UAE - Dubai-based rental houses, Eclipse Staging Services and Delta Sound, both unveiled new equipment as Lady Gaga made her Middle East debut in Dubai.

Promoted locally by AMI Live and ATW Live in association with Live Nation Global Touring, artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball took place at Meydan Racecourse. Eclipse provided the lighting, video and primary and secondary power distribution, while audio was supplied by Delta Sound.

"We are immensely proud to have been selected as event technology supplier for such a landmark show, the fact that so much of the production was able to be serviced locally is a real testament to the local market's ability to compete on a global stage," said Martin Lubach, general manager of Eclipse Staging Services.

The main stage lighting featured many fixtures, including 67 Clay Paky Sharpys, 11 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1500s and 24 Clay Paky Sharp

Denmark - Copenhagen Central Station was recently equipped with 24 SGM P-5 wash lights with the goal of making it more welcoming for its approximately 100,000 daily visitors.

The contractor on the project was Matrix Sales ApS with Urs Friis-Alstrup as the project manager responsible for budgeting, product selection and programming.

The mission was to light up the arched ceilings of the more than 100-year-old railway station which consists of two 100-metre long halls - each with more than 20 metres to the ceiling.

The halls, bearing the architecture and craftsmanship of the early 1900s, are set in dark green and red, which cause the visitor experience to be very dark and gloomy, especially during the winter months. Therefore, the challenge was to create an installation that respected and preserved the original building construction, while bringing it alive.

Friis-Alstrup ex

Mexico - Vatel Producciones, founded and managed by Miriam Villalobos is celebrating its eighth birthday with a wide range of events utilising their Robe equipment in Mexico City.

Vatel's owner Miriam Villalobos was curious to learn about the production industry, and back in 2000 took a job in public relations at local company A1 Audio, during a show by Mexican band Molotov. The company was the main one in Querétaro and serviced all the major shows in the area, allowing her to meet professionals and engineers from many other places.

She says: "Audio became my passion! After four years, I met Héctor Alvarez - currently soft rock singer Camila's engineer - and he recommended that I move to Mexico City because the market was bigger, more dynamic and interesting. He said I would never get tired of learning and also seeing new technologies which often don't reach

China - In celebration of its 35th anniversary in October, Hong Kong Ballet presented three dance showcases, titled A Celebration of Dance, in the Grand Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Lighting designer and director of C'est Bon Projects, Kwok Fai Mak, employed numerous ETC Source Four LED CYC and Selador Desire luminaires to light up this ballet trio.

The showcases included George Balanchine's masterpiece Serenade, Nacho Duato's provocative contemporary ballet Castrati and Natalia Conus' staging of Swan Lake's third act, which is based on Marius Petipa's 1895 original.

Mak sought to maintain the original lighting mood of Serenade and Castrati, with a touch of his own interpretation, and he took a new approach for Swan Lake. When he discovered that the venue's new LED cyc lights didn't fit his initial lighting proposal

USA - LDI 2014 provided the perfect setting for Lightconverse to showcase its features with its release of version 56.

The ability to see your show in a highly realistic 360° virtual world was one of the highlights as a constant stream of visitors to the booth strapped on an Oculus DK2 virtual reality headset, stepping into an immersive experience that left them humming how Lightconverse can be used as an undeniable way to bring clients onboard quickly, while also bringing an innovative new tool to the design process.

Also creating a buzz at the show was the Lightconverse mirror feature which offers the ability to create beautiful mirrored surfaces - increasing the realism abilities to a whole other level.

Well known as the first 3D visualizer to offer automatic mapping edge blending via its patented process, 3D mapping enrichments for v56 included video zone output warp

USA - Each year, Fred Loya's Christmas light show in El Paso, Texas, is one of the holiday season's can't miss spectacles and each year he uses Elation lighting to give his light show extra impact. This year Fred was approached by ABC Television to take part in The Great Christmas Light Fight, ABC's Christmas lights competition, and came away the winner.

The Great Christmas Light Fight, in which families compete to have America's best Christmas display, proved a hit for ABC last year and returned this year for a second season, premiering on Monday, 8 December. Each episode features families from across America who have transformed their homes for the holidays in hopes of winning the $50,000 first place prize. Houses were judged on their elaborate Christmas light display, choreography and over-the-top design.

Fred incorporated 12 Elation Platinum Beam 5R beam effe

The Netherlands - International superstar, Dutch DJ and music producer Armin van Buuren played two spectacular sold out shows at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome as the culmination of his year-long Armin Only Intense world tour. Central to the show were 174 Robe moving lights, part of the lighting specification for a design created by Marc Heinz, who was asked on-board by the show's creative director Jos Thie to bring a theatrical slant to the look and feel of the lighting.

He worked closely with The Art of Light, designers and specialists in the world of EDM lighting, who have been involved from Armin's very first live show. The results were a truly immersive visual and sonic experience as Armin unfolded his five-hour set - including an hour of warm-up from inside a giant inflatable ball. While absolutely centre stage, Armin was joined onstage by numerous guests including vocalists, musi

UK - The BBC Children in Need annual marathon TV spectacular is vigorously supported each year by local outside broadcasts spanning the breadth of the British Isles. This year, wanting to stand out with extra pizzazz, BBC Bristol appointed TV lighting director, Paul Middleton, to bring the 'wow factor' to the outside broadcast from the West Country's Wookey Hole Circus School, near Wells. Middleton's first thought was Chauvet and turned to the manufacturer for assistance with the high profile fundraising event.

Middleton bolstered the in-house lighting rig with 10 Chauvet Professional Q-Wash 419Z-LED fixtures, seven Chauvet Professional Next NXT-1 moving head LED panels, complete with 25 pixel-mappable quad-colour RGBW LEDs, and six of the feature-packed Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 Beam units.

The Q-Wash 419Z-LED moving yoke wash units provided a wide angled beam for general

Sweden - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB is currently controlling a beautiful display of holiday lighting at Stockholm Concert Hall in downtown Stockholm. The installation includes 32 SGM P5s equipped with W-DMX OEM boards. The lighting is controlled from a grandMA PC Wing located inside the hall.

The W-DMX gear consists of one WhiteBox F-1 and four WhiteBox F-2 units working as repeaters. Jonas Nilsson was on site for the installation and explains: "The WhiteBox F-2s are placed around the Concert Hall on the same poles as the fixtures, and are working as repeaters. This was the only way to solve this installation since we were not allowed to cause any damage to the building. Both omnidirectional and directional antennas were used." All gear was supplied by Lagom & Gott AB.

Stockholm Concert hall, inaugurated in 1926 and designed by Ivar Tengbom is home to the R

USA - Apollo Design Technology has announced the appointment of Jeff Salisbury as laser/gobo technician. In this role, Salisbury will operate the high precision laser machines to produce metal and glass gobos. Prior to joining Apollo Design Technology, Salisbury worked in various sales and customer service positions. He is also a freelance theatre arts instructor / director and works extensively with local theatre groups.

Dan Boldt has joined the CNC team as a machinist. In this role, he will operate the CNC lathes, CNC mills and laser machines to create the precision parts used in the Averre fixtures and other products.

Jeanine Usher has joined the team as as QC technician and will work with the production teams to insure both purchased and manufactured parts and products meet quality standards.

(Jim Evans)

Germany - The InLED AT10 from Litecraft was developed as an indoor spotlight based on the successful OutLED AT10. A high IP protection class is not absolutely necessary for many events if they are held indoors or fixtures are placed under a stage roof. The InLED AT10 does not need certain components, reducing costs and improving handling. The indoor version does away with permanently mounted cables and instead integrates XLR and PowerCon connectors in the original Neutrik quality expected from Litecraft. Wiring and rigging of the lights can be completed in less time.

The InLED also is equipped with an RJ45 EtherCon jack. This makes it possible to easily update the software at any time. The optional accessory holder for attaching colour filter frames and barndoors is also new. An omega bracket for mounting hooks or clamps is also available. The omega bracket can be attached witho

UK - When lighting designer and technician Malte Hauge became involved in the preparation of comedian Andreas Bo's original set design at an early stage, he was able to participate in the perfect format and scenography; at the same time he could meet the technical challenges in order to achieve the vision of technical consultant Thomas Scharling and the artist himself.

"I'm a fan of surprising the audiences," explains Hauge about his refined yet downplayed design. "Instead of having one big SGM LED screen, we have divided the screen surface into three equally large segments to generate new opportunities for interaction between Andreas Bo and the video content." Between the three screen surfaces are beams of light, adding to the depth of the scenography.

With 69 scheduled performances (which are expected to reach nearly 80 with extra shows throughout the cou

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