UK - At the PLASA Awards 2014, the judges said, "The Mythos hybrid automated light works as a hard-edge spot, a beam light, or a wash light with a range of effects. It has excellent colours, incredible brightness, terrific optics, and a small housing. It's also very energy efficient and it has a patented and innovative cooling system. In the Clay Paky tradition, it's a real winner."

Since those auspicious words in October, Ambersphere Solutions have been busy fulfilling orders and shipping Mythos units to numerous clients across the UK. Its hybrid versatility and wide range of effects has attracted the attention of lighting companies and designers alike.

Ambersphere's sales director, Phil Norfolk elaborates on the market reaction to this latest Clay Paky unit, "The interest in Mythos is incredible. It's such a versatile fixture. Rental companies recognise the po

Moldova - Elation Professional's new Platinum SBX hybrid moving head showed both its brain and brawn at the King of Kings Eagles Series and King of Kings World Grand Prix kickboxing tournaments held 20 December at Manej Sports Arena in Chisinau, Moldova.

Broadcast live on FightBox HD and Eurosport HD respectively, Elation dealer Eventica Grup SRL, a regular staging and technical contractor of KOK tournaments, turned to the Platinum SBX for its multifunctionality as well as its power and dynamism.

King of Kings events are some of the most popular kickboxing events in the world. Intense affairs with pre-bout introductions a vital step in building up the exciting atmosphere, a powerful, dynamic light was need to match the emotion and adrenaline of the fighters themselves. Lighting designer Serghei Mosin of Eventica Grup turned to the Platinum SBX, lining the front edge of an entr

UK - Holo-Gauze, 3D display solution for hologram effects, is set to feature as part of the new series of Gadget Man for Channel 4 after wowing the show's producers, who were "hugely impressed" with its effectiveness, both on-set and on-camera. The ingenious, highly transparent metallic gauze was used to create a giant, revolving holographic vase of flowers during filming of a 'Date Night' episode. The show is expected to air sometime in the Spring.

Holo-Gauze is claimed to be the only gauze able to work with 3D polarised projection systems which use a minimum of two projectors - although it can also produce believable 2D hologram effects using one projector, as was the case for Gadget Man. Holo-Gauze screens can be produced to any dimensions, and hologram sizes are only limited by projector distance and power - assuming the correct lighting is used.

&q

France - Every year, Mairie de Paris (Paris City Hall) turns the square in front of the building into an ice rink for the citizens of Paris to enjoy ice skating during the winter. This year technical audiovisual specialist, Novelty Group, decided to add enhancements to the traditional Christmas animation on the ice rink, and after conducting stringent testing on the SGM G-Spot LED moving head, placing it under a shower for three days, they were convinced by the IP-rating of the luminaire.

Supported by Sonoss, SGM's local partner, this year's festive installation went very smoothly. "This is typically the kind of site where it would have been very hard and expensive to install waterproof domes to protect standard moving lights, and thus making advanced animation impossible," says Vincent Criulanscy, product & project manager at Sonoss. He further adds that domes do not

Poland - The National Theatre in Warsaw is one of the most important theatrical venues in Poland, dating back to the 18th century. So when the theatre decided to upgrade the old stage management system, Green-Go was the intercom system of choice chosen to create a party line network communication system.

Piotr Jankiewicz who is director of design and integration at Konsbud Audio, the company contracted to install the new system said, "The stage management system covers four stages located in two buildings which are separated by a street, under which is a mini stage located in the passage between the buildings. It was vital that we installed a system that guaranteed communication between all technical work stations. It had to be so much more than a straight forward intercom system."

The new system needed to be able to provide wired and wireless connection, party line

Germany - A few months ago, the walls of St Margaret's church in Munich, Germany, reverberated with "eternal light," or Lux Aeterna. Organised by Christian Bischof, organist and choir director for St Margaret's, the November event featured music from Claude Debussy, Morten Lauridsen, and Gabriel Fauré, and was accompanied by a modern light show controlled by ETC's Congo Kid lighting desk.

Prior to the event's official conceptualisation, Bischof contacted lighting designer Ludwig Hacker to discuss the look of the lighting. Says Hacker: "He wanted to make a special event where the music is supported by a live light show that emphasises the impression and understanding of the music." After Hacker saw the pristine white walls of St Margaret's, he knew it would be the perfect playground for a state of the art light show. A career long ETC control desk user,

UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000sq.ft store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the digital solutions provider appointed on this project, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Intevi knew it was going to need an impressive piece of technology to deliver on these requirements, leading them to super high resolution LED as the display choice.

Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said, "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew

USA - Elation Professional has announced the launch of two new powerful luminaires in its popular Cuepix series of LED lights powered by advanced Chip On Board (COB) LED technology, the Cuepix PAR 300, a bright and versatile full colour PAR wash light; and the Cuepix Batten, an LED strip light with flexible use as a pixel bar or wash light. Both luminaires are easy-to-use solutions for adding high-impact coloured light to productions of all types.

Both the Cuepix PAR 300 and Cuepix Batten house 30W 3-in-1 RGB COB LEDs for a broad selection of colours and smooth color mixing with no pixelated rainbow shadows. COB LEDs offer higher-density output and more even light distribution for superior all-around performance. Furthermore, each COB module is individually controllable for greater design possibilities. Both luminaires include variable dimming curve modes, as well as strobe and

Israel - Top Israeli technical production and rental specialist Argaman Systems from Rosh Hayain lost no time in investing in Robe's new BMFL Spot multifunctional moving lights, taking delivery of their first batch of 60 units to service a variety of ongoing and upcoming projects - one of which was the recent Israeli tour of Michael Flatley's Lord of The Dance's Dangerous Games show.

Dangerous Games started off at London's Dominion Theatre with a lighting design by Paul Normandale - well known for this inventive and out-of-the-box creative vision - before embarking on an extensive European tour which is still ongoing, as the mesmeric magic of Irish music and dance continues to enthrall audiences worldwide.

It played 12 sold out shows in four Israeli cities - Haifa, Beersheeba, Jerusalem - at the brand new 11,00 seater Arena - and Tel Aviv, where it played the 10,

Poland - The biggest live event in Polish Mixed Martial Arts history, KSW 29: Reload, took place this month at Krakow Arena in front of over 16,000 audience members, with thousands more around the globe tuning into the live broadcast in Pay per View. Lighting designer and director Pawel "Spider" Pajak therefore chose the power and effects of the Clay Paky Sharpy, SuperSharpy and A.leda B-EYE K20 to ensure the tournament packed a serious punch.

Pajak's company Fish Eye was also responsible for the whole technical coordination of the event, with Marcin Szczakiel working as programmer and operator and Tomasz Szwelicki leading the technical department.

Organised by one of the leading MMA promotions in Europe KSW Federation, Pajak specified 40 x SuperSharpys, 32 x Sharpys and 24 x B-EYE K20 fixtures from prominent rental operation Transcolor for the event.

"The key

Arts Education Funding - Youth dance and music schemes will benefit from an increased £109m in government spending in the coming year, after the Department for Education pledged its support for cultural education programmes. A number of projects - including the National Youth Dance Company and the BFI Film Academy - will be granted a share of £4m in the 2015/16 financial year. It was also revealed an extra £1.1m with be spent on In Harmony programmes - which aim to engage children in deprived areas with orchestral music - as well as National Youth Music organisations such as the National Youth Orchestra and Music for Youth's Schools Prom concerts.

The Music and Dance Scheme, which provides financial assistance to applicants for specialist arts schools, has also had its financial support bumped up by £1m - bringing its total funding to £29m. In addit

UK - Brazilian footwear brand Melissa's London store launch attracted a VIP guest list most fashion brands would dream of, so the pressure was on for the store design to impress. The 6,000 square foot store would follow the brand's 'Galeria' concept, found currently in the flagship stores in Sao Paulo and New York, where shoes are displayed alongside art installations and sculpture.

Melissa's brief to Intevi, the Digital Solutions Provider, was to blend their artistic designs with suitable technology to bring their creativity to life. Commenting on the project, Tom Scott, managing director of Intevi said: "We had previously worked with the contractors on another retail project and they knew we could deliver on the very distinctive brief Melissa had produced. In the large entrance hall, visitors would be surrounded on three sides by floor to ceiling LED screens. These screen

France - Award-winning French attraction Puy du Fou has become the world's first theme park to introduce a drone fleet with embedded intelligence to enhance the visitor experience.

France's second most-visited theme park (after Disneyland Paris) allows visitors to witness history being brought to life through over 60 shows - from the Vikings and Knights of the Round Table, to Richelieu's Musketeers and Gallo-Roman gladiator games.

The park's flagship show Cinéscénie - which, at over 23 hectares is also the world's largest night show - provides a look through the ages and utilises the latest advances in technology and artistry. It was for this show that the drone technology was created.

Nicolas de Villiers, President, Puy du Fou, says: "The team was searching for a way to incorporate new heights to Cinéscénie. We wanted to create the biggest c

UK - Lighting designer Ewan Cameron joins an increasing list of LDs to specify Robe's new BMFL Spots. He caught the BMFL fever on UK rockers Status Quo's most recent 'Status Quo Live 2014' tour.

Status Quo's distinctive 'boogie rock' sound has earned them over 60 chart hits and a Brit Award for 'Outstanding Contribution to Music' in a career spanning 45 years. They are still going strong, with more energy than ever, delighting their very loyal original fanbase as well as at least two generations of new - and equally enthusiastic - younger Quo fans.

Ewan took over the LD slot at the end of 2013 when Quo's previous LD - almost as legendary as the band - Patrick Marks - decided to retire after 25 years in the 'hot seat'.

When it came to creating a lighting design for this tour, Ewan wanted to retain a continuity with some of the classic Quo aesthetics that Pat had evolved over

UK - GDS, alongside project partners Haworth Tompkins Architects, Charcoalblue, White Light and Skelly and Couch, were closely involved in the refurbishment of the Chichester Festival Theatre in Sussex.

In refurbishing Chichester, it was essential to preserve the magic and warmth that had cast a spell over audiences for years, whilst at the same time replacing outdated and unsustainable technology. GDS was to address all aspects of auditorium and backstage lighting. The catenary lighting above the thrust stage at Chichester Festival Theatre lies at its very heart and soul and its upgrading, without any loss of original character, was crucial to the entire project.

GDS's award-winning LED ArcSystem was installed for all aspects of house lighting, including emergency lights (around 200 fixtures in total). In this case fully wired and dimming seamlessly from 100% to zero, this aw

Australia - Light Tonight has launched on YouTube as a video news magazine for the English speaking professional lighting industry worldwide. The show runs less than 30 minutes, is "fast paced and loaded with news, reviews, interviews, techniques and equipment".

Produced by CX Network, the show caps 25 years industry publishing experience for the network which until now has produced publications and internet TV in Australia.

"When we started CX-TV in 2010, YouTube had a seven minute clip limit and was standard definition," CX chief Julius Grafton said.

CX Network established several successful internet TV shows, including Gearbox, CXtra and most recently The Hump. They have been broadly viewed on the website cx-tv.com and are specific to the Australian market, whereas Light-Tonight is intentionally global.

A team of presenters from

UK - A series of music insert packages with Welsh singing sensation Caryl Parry Jones and her band were recorded on the grounds of the St Donats Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, in South Wales recently. The Caryl inserts were recorded and packaged to be inserted into a variety of transmissions and programmes shared across BBC Wales and S4C broadcast. Boom Pictures and Alfresco TV produced the Caryl series, which engaged their regular lighting director Steff Jones onto the project.

As the packages were to be used and to be fitted in a multitude of formats and programmes, the brief was to keep it simple, and to create a "stripped back" cozy look, which was also unbranded.

The set consisted of a simple four towers of Barco Mistrip, rigged vertically, with even spacing between each. The Mistrip had been used to create low resolution abstract moving graphics in the

UK - dbn Lighting provided lighting, visual design and equipment for the most recent season of Manchester's famous Warehouse Project (WHP 2014).

Among the UK's most popular club experiences, a line-up including Richie Hawtin, Alesso, Annie Mac, Jamie XX, Fatboy Slim, Fac51 The Haçienda, The Martinez Brothers and literally hundreds more top artists, made the beats move and groove back at WHP's spiritual home, the Store Street arches underneath Piccadilly station

dbn's own WHP team was project managed by Pete Robinson.

The company has provided lighting design and equipment to the WHP phenomena since it first hit the scene nine years ago. The Store Street venue has a capacity of 1800 and the entire season from October to New Year's Day usually sells out in a matter of minutes.

The biggest technical challenge as always was getting all the production ready in the three hour ti

Brazil - UK based lighting designer Sam MacLaren was happy to be using Robe moving lights on his rig for two high profile back-to-back shows in Brazil which concluded the UK indie rockers Arctic Monkeys AM world tour, which had been on the road for 18 months.

Robe fixtures were supplied for the shows - Anhembi in Sao Paulo, an open air space famously utilized for their Carnival, and Rio's HSBC Arena - by leading Brazilian lighting rental company LPL, project managed for them by Erich Bertti.

Robe has been one of the 'preferred manufacturers' on the Arctic Monkey's rider throughout this tour which was originally designed by the innovative Paul Normandale, and has been lighting directed on the road by Sam.

Sam has also worked with LPL before - first on a Placebo tour and most recently at the start of 2014 with David Guetta.

"Knowing the high quality of the Robe products

USA - Emmanuel Baptist Pastor Wade Burleson described the results of Paragon 360's recent renovation project at his church in Enid, Oklahoma - by saying "Paragon hit a homerun with this one". To extend the baseball analogy a step further, one impressive result of that renovation is that Emmanuel Baptist can now make the transition from a traditional service with a choir to a band-led contemporary service in about the same time it takes Major League teams to complete one innings of play.

Springfield, MO-based Paragon 360 accomplished this feat at the 35-year old-church by adding new architectural elements and upgrading the audio, video and rigging system, in addition to installing an impressive collection of lighting fixtures from Chauvet Professional. As a result of these changes (and the hard work of church staff) Emmanuel Baptist is now able to change its sanctuary s

UK / The Netherlands - Lighting and visual control expert Avolites has appointed South Holland-based Improve as its new Digital Media Reseller in The Netherlands.

The announcement comes just weeks before Avolites and Improve team up at the Amsterdam tradeshow Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) to exhibit Avolites' range of control consoles and servers and unveil the new features of its Ai V8 software.

In May 2014, Avolites appointed Fairlight as its sole distributor for The Netherlands, and they will also be represented at ISE by Menno Appelhof, who will be on the Avolites stand. Improve will act as Avolites' exclusive Dutch dealer.

Improve's core business is the design and implementation of integrated lighting and video concepts for the corporate and cultural events market, sourcing industry-leading control consoles and media servers push the boundaries of what can be achieved

Switzerland - The merger between the HB-Laserkomponenten GmbH and Laserworld (Switzerland) AG, which concluded in mid 2014, has been awarded Deal of the Year for Europe by Acquisitions International, a magazine specializing in the analysis and evaluation of company mergers and acquisitions worldwide.

"We're very happy to have received this award," says Norbert Stangl, sales and marketing director of the Laserworld Group. "The potential that arouse from this deal for the whole company group is huge and we already see the significant synergies and benefits.

"The Laserworld Group is continuously expanding, and there are more deals to be expected in our industry soon. There are already many other companies where Laserworld is involved in one or another way, especially the US market which has high potential."

(Jim Evans)

Mexico - Elation Professional's Mexican partner, Adimsa, is involved in a large variety of projects throughout the course of a year and often turns to Elation products to fulfill the demand for dynamic lighting. Recently, dimsa has supplied Elation LED lighting fixtures to several top clubs in Mexico including Republica-DF in Mexico City and Press Club in Monterrey.

Last fall, Adimsa supplied and installed Elation LED lighting in one of the bustling city's newest hotspots, Republica club. The 800-capacity club, inspired by the old house design of the Republica age, features a colonial style with chic explosions of colour, yet with delicate touches. Architect Filipao Nunes designed the space with the interior concept completed by Javier Díaz Ceo from Fortuna Lab in cooperation with Adimsa. Adimsa's's Edson Rivera was responsible for the lighting design.

One of the club's outst

Australia - UK based folk singer / songwriter Passenger's recent Album tour campaign, Whispers, is drawing to a close with the acclaimed penultimate leg of the tour in Australia, featuring a show design by James Scott of UK based visual design collective Okulus, a new collaboration with LD / Visuals designer Louis Oliver.

In Australia, James was able to take advantage of Robe's latest BMFL Spot moving lights for the first time as part of the rig, which were supplied by MPH Australia, a leading lighting rental specialist. The rig contained 22 x BMFL Spots and 12 x Robe LEDWash 600s.

The BMFLs were used extensively throughout the performance for key and back lighting, with some positioned on the floor for eye-catching 'aerial sculpture' moments.

It was the first time that James had used BMFLs on one of his own shows - having first seen them demonstrated by Robe UK's Amy

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