UK - Lighting hire and technical event production specialists Blue Parrot have joined Martin Professional's UK dealer network, adding 12 new Martin MAC Quantum Profile moving heads to their Edinburgh-based hire stock.

The Quantum Profiles are the latest addition to Blue Parrot's large moving light inventory which includes 30 MAC Aura washes, 24 MAC 101 units and a mixture of the flagship MAC Viper series of products: Profile, Performance and Wash DX models.

"We've had a great experience with our Martin MAC Aura and MAC 101 fixtures over the last few years," says Dave Morris, head of hires, Blue Parrot. "They're reliable and versatile lights in diverse applications, so it makes sense for us to invest in the Quantum Profile to continue offering the latest and best equipment to our production and dry hire customers."

A number of high-profile technical produc

UK - Lighting designer Conleth White asked leading Irish technical production and rental company Just Lite to supply lighting for the Irish premier of Titanic Dance which was staged at the Millennium Forum Theatre in Derry.

The new production - due to tour in 2016 - has a narrative based around the world's most famous cruise liner, from its beginning at the famous Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, to its tragic end at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Conleth was given an open book when it came to the lighting design. He's been using Robe's Pointes frequently for lighting musicals and likes to integrate the myriad of beam options possible using these fixtures into the choreography, and this proved "A great opportunity to do the same with an Irish dance show".

For Titanic Dance, he utilised 24 Pointes, 12 600E Spots, 12 ColorWash 1200E ATs, fo

USA / Europe - Tom Kenny, production and lighting designer for the current The Who Hits 50! North American/European tour, has been designing for The Who, as well as Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey's regular solo productions, since 1990.

Kenny has used Chauvet Professional's Nexus panels on a number of his projects since the company first brought him some demo versions to try out. "I've used the Nexus products on a lot of my shows and always wanted to use them on The Who," says Kenny. "They have some very cool effects inside. They give me a great effect; they're very bright; and they can light the whole arena. They're just very powerful and they give lots of different variations."

For this tour, because it was the band's hits, Kenny wanted to go for a clean rock look. "Since I use a lot of the Nexus panels on my other projects, I knew for this design t

UK - Verbatim has launched two lines of LED track lights for impressive accent lighting in retail, museum and gallery venues. The non-dimmable product line - consisting of four different variants - is geared towards customers looking for easy track light installation and operation at low cost. The other line - which is dimmable - features six products delivering greater lumen output, efficacy and lifetime alongside enhanced luminaire housing design features.

Suitable for accent and spotlighting, the LED track light heads provide a white colour temperature ranging from 3000K to 4000K depending on which SKU is chosen. The products come with a range of accessories, including an anti-glare snoot for the dimmable line and a honeycomb louvre for glare reduction in the non-dimmable line.

Available in three power ratings (15W, 28W and 48W), the dimmable range of track lights delivers

UK - AED Distribution UK has enjoyed the intimate, lively and focused environment of PLASA Focus Leeds for the past three years and the 2015 show last week once again met the expectations of this favoured show. Spread across two separate stands, the new enlarged AED Distribution UK Team enjoyed a busy two days discussing the strong portfolio of bAV products now offered in the UK, all underpinned by the range of AED solutions.

The main stand was home to the lighting and rigging offering from AED Distribution that includes High End Systems, Prolyte, Columbus McKinnon, SRS Light Design, Swisson, AV Stumpfl, Doughty, Verlinde (Stagemaker) and MediaLas.

Prominent were the latest stage lighting luminaires from High End Systems under the LED RISING Banner, including the SolaSpot Pro 1500 with its 400w White LED engine providing a staggering 20,000 Lumens output and the Shapeshifter C

UAE - Robe continued its international trade show strategy at the Dubai International Conference & Exhibition Centre for PALME Middle East 2015, with the company presenting their largest booth to date at this show - and also the biggest booth on the show floor.

Robe's general manager for the Middle East, Elie Battah, and his team were joined by Robe International's Nathan Wan and Steve Eastham for the build period, and together they constructed the impressive stand which featured a special Lightshow, designed and programmed by Nathan.

As with other recent Robe exhibition stands, this proved a real magnet in attracting people as well as creating a great buzz and a talking point around the show floor.

Robe also partnered with three dynamic complimentary visual effect companies at PALME ME this year - LPS Lasersysteme from Germany, MagicFX from The Netherlands and fog / haze ex

Scandinavia - As a result of ongoing expansion, SGM A/S has established a new subsidiary - SGM Nordic AB. This follows the increasing demand for products, projects, service and coordination across the Nordic Region, namely Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

SGM Nordic ab is located in Gothenburg, Sweden with warehousing and central administration, but also includes branches in Norway, Finland and Denmark. Heading SGM Nordic are SGM veterans Mikael Uddh and Steen Geertsen teaming up with well-known industry specialists around the region.

Mikael Uddh explains: "Multiple projects and increased communication on dealer and designer level, including cross boarder coordination, require an organisation that has a deeper regional insight, thus improving operational matters. Therefore, we have set up SGM Nordic."

Peter Johansen, CEO o

UK - No Making Your Mind Up! was necessary for EW Productions Ltd - the business arm of charity alternative-teaching organisation, Entertainment Workshops - when they were asked to manage the production of a 30-date UK tour for 80s group and Eurovision winners, Cheryl, Jay & Mike Formerly Of Bucks Fizz.

Indeed it was a chance for recently graduated Entertainment Workshops' apprentice, Phil Smith, to exercise his potential by designing and engineering the live shows for the wide spectrum of venues throughout the tour. Under the guiding eye of MD Paul Byrne, Smith specified lighting fixtures from Prolight Concepts new eLumen8 range as, having trained previously with the units, he knew them to be compact, bright, responsive and efficient.

The specification led Prolight Concepts Ltd, who work closely with EW and also support the Entertainment Workshops charity, to supply th

USA - It is not every day that families can make their way through an castle holding a spectacular mirror maze, but in Tennessee's mountain resort town of Pigeon Forge, thousands find themselves embarking on an adventure to rescue a princess in a space with more than 288 potential turns among hundreds of mirrored walls with lighting and effects installed by Bandit Lites.

With a new haunted attraction being installed on the first floor of the Castle of Chaos building at the Hollywood Wax Museum Entertainment Centre, Hannah's Maze of Mirrors moved to the second floor of the same building. Due to the complex nature of efficiently creating a maze of mirrors and since Bandit installed the lighting in the original maze, Kuvera Partners once again reached out to the Bandit Lites' system and sales solutions team for the reinstallation.

Bandit added new elements including video monitor

UK - New levels of colour and imagination graced the familiar landmark of the Halifax Transmitting Tower in a special one night light installation Ploughcroft Eco Northern Lights designed by James Bawn, which illuminated the 45.7m relay mast located on the top of Southowram bank, overlooking the Yorkshire town of Halifax.

Lighting equipment was supplied by Blackburn based HSL. The project was commissioned to help local roofing company Ploughcroft celebrate achievements in energy saving for numerous homes, schools and business across Yorkshire.

The tower, owned by Arquiva, is a broadcast and communication facility receiving TV and radio transmission signals from Emley Moor Tower and beaming these to areas in the north, east and centre of the town of Halifax which are blocked by the hill on which the tower resides. It also accommodates 3G and 4G cellular generators for se

UK - Leading Scottish lighting rental operation, Glasgow based S.M Lighting, is the first investor north of the border in Robe BMFL Spots.

The 24 x BMFL Spot fixtures were delivered by Robe UK to Scott Munro and his team, who regularly deliver equipment for a wide variety of music based shows and events.

SM wanted to replace their existing stock of large arena / outdoor stage moving spot fixtures with something that was new, of the moment and with a good future lifespan, and after narrowing down the options to a choice of two premium brands, they chose Robe and the BMFL Spot.

With Robe Robin 600E Spots, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s already in stock, Scott and his crew all knew that Robe's reliability factor and build-quality was excellent.

Scott comments that the Scottish market is generally tougher and less buoyant than south of the border, so any ROI takes longer, and p

Russia - Nightclub and karaoke bar Batyr has everything needed to turn an ordinary evening into a remarkable experience: a high-energy environment, talented resident DJs, a top sound system and Martin Professional lighting equipment. In November 2014, the club's resident lighting designer and winner of Martin's 2013 Russian Lighting Designer Contest, Artem Sagaidak, tested a pair of Martin MAC Viper AirFX lighting fixtures + Quadray kits over two nights with great success.

Sagaidak first encountered the AirFXs at a Martin seminar in Moscow. As a fan of mid-air effects, he immediately wanted to test these fixtures in a club. He reached out to Martin product manager Anton Anufriey and with his support, a short-term loan was arranged for the following weekend - a disco night and a party titled This City Does Not Sleep. Sagaidak also regularly uses his personal M2GO during sh

USA - Dolly Parton may have become one of the world's most widely recognized superstars, but through it all the Locust Ridge, Tennessee native has remained steadfastly true to her Smokey Mountain roots. The American country music legend's down home devotion was on full display at her recently concluded My People musical, which celebrates her brother Randy, sister Cassie and other family members who inspired her celebrated career.

As deeply rooted in family tradition as she is, however, Parton is a consummate entertainer who understands that even an old-time country show needs to make a bold theatrical statement to reach today's audiences. This is why the director of My People called on lighting designer Susan Rose to add an extra visual dimension to the show's stage. Rose drew on the power of two stalwart LED moving fixtures from Chauvet to accomplish this task des

Austria - A selection of Avolites gear including Tiger Touch II and Expert Pro consoles with Titan Wings hit the slopes of Mayrhofen, Austria for the mountain-top mayhem of alpine music festival Snowbombing.

Known as the greatest show on snow, the festival was a week-long whirlwind of world-class electronic DJs and bands, across 17 venues in a magnificent mountain setting.

Stephen Abbiss got the party swinging for Fat Boy Slim on main stage, The Racket Club, using a Tiger Touch II and Fader Wing. The console was controlling a house rig featuring Sharpys, Robe 100 LED beams, Mac 700s and PC beams as well as Sunstrips and Atomics.

"I always use an Avo for Fat Boy Slim shows", notes Abbiss. "The shows are so hands on, I need a desk with great live access.

"We've got set looks for set songs which we try to do on the fly. It was a bit more free-rein than nor

Europe - Lighting designer Tom Campbell has used Showline's powerful LED strobe, the SL Nitro 510C, to add vibrancy and punch at key moments on Australian progressive rockers Karnivool's European tour.

For the run of shows which saw the band play dates in countries such as France, The Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, Campbell specified just four of the Showline strobes from Siyan. "The units are bright and impressive enough for this amount to be ideal," he explains. "I would normally have used at least double that with older fixtures."

The tour was an amalgamation of Karnivool's first three albums with Campbell's concept reflecting this. It saw big strong white/tungsten rock looks for album one 'Themata', darker, moody looks for album two Sound Awake and asymmetrical looks with maximum impact for the band's latest offering Asymmetry

USA - Vividly dynamic lightshows weren't the only thing only on display at the Second Annual Student Lighting Showcase. Also shining brightly was the creative bond that connects generations with a shared passion for lighting, as students from four colleges got the opportunity to have their designs evaluated by some of the most respected LDs in the industry.

Held at the Chauvet Professional Showroom in Burbank, the one-day event drew students from California Institute of the Arts, the University of California Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts, LACC Theatre Academy, and the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. Groups of two or three students from each school collaborated on designing a lightshow for one song chosen by them. Lighting designer Joe Spangler programmed the one-song shows for the students.

When the student lightshows were completed, they

Germany - Rental company Headroom Media Service GmbH has recently acquired a large number of Elation Professional Cuepix Panels and has used the versatile RGB matrix luminaires on several outings in Germany and elsewhere.

After their first live tests, including productions with UK pop sensation Jessie J and US megasellers BoyzIIMen, as well as some corporate shows, Headroom Media CEO Andreas Adelhofer stated that he is very pleased with both the quality and versatility of the latest addition to their lighting rental pool.

"We were able to include the Cuepix Panels in the lighting design of some of our more prestigious shows and got great feedback from both the lighting designers and operators," Adelhofer commented. "This is a product just to my liking, well thought through and crafted, scalable with high light output. It seems like designers are thinking of new

Germany - Lighting designer Manuel da Costa has chosen to use a significant number of Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE and Sharpy fixtures on the latest series of hit TV show The Voice of Germany.

Spanning four seasons, the talent show is extremely popular with viewing figures in the millions. To make sure season four packed a huge punch with fans, da Costa specified 99 x Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20 fixtures and 108 x Sharpys from Cologne-based supplier Magic Light and Sound.

"The biggest challenge this series was to find a set-up that allowed me and my team to change the stage visually so it stayed diverse and exciting over the course of about 80 titles," says da Costa. "My design therefore comprised various fixture blocks. This block system worked individually, in combination and as a whole."

Da Costa rigged the B-EYEs in these blocks all round the studio,

UK - Northern Stage Services Ltd has unveiled a new corporate brand following the acquisition of the business of Lancelyn Lighting and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies in February this year.

Now operating as National Stage Technology Ltd the company is able to offer UK-wide services for specialist lighting, sound and stage solutions for the theatrical, architectural and construction markets. National Stage Technology, based out of Manchester, Wirral and Oxford, boasts access to world-class manufacturing, highly trained and experienced lighting specialists, sound and stage engineering experts.

Patrick Colin, managing director at National Stage Technology, commented: "Northern Stage's acquisition of the business of Lancelyn Lighting and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies earlier this year has added strength and depth to our company, and our new unified approach is certain to benefit all of

USA - In Lewis Carroll's classic Through The Looking Glass, Alice steps into a mirror to enter an incredible world where flowers talk, chess pieces come to life and characters like the Red Queen tickle the imagination with enchanting feats. The 257 guests at the JCC New York's White Hot Night Through The Looking Glass fundraiser didn't have to do anything nearly as dramatic as Alice to be treated to a magical evening.

They simply walked into a gym-turned-ballroom on Manhattan's upper West Side and were dazzled by a menagerie of ornamental zebras, lions and fanciful creatures not found in nature, as well as ornamental gardens, garlanded gates, glittering centrepieces and a multi-faceted lighting display created with Next NXT-1 moving LED panels from Chauvet Professional, provided by WorldStage.

Liron David, founder and CEO of Eventique, the visionary team behind t

UK - Thorpe Park, one of the UK's largest theme parks, has decided to use White Light's services to upgrade its audio infrastructure. The entertainment production supplier was approached by Thorpe Park to provide both advice and ultimately the equipment required to ensure that their sound system was not only cost effective, but helped to achieve maximum impact.

Further to a long standing relationship with White Light, Thorpe Park has now invested in audio equipment that can be tailored to their specific future event needs. Thorpe Park's entertainments technical coordinator Martin Swain comments, "We required some equipment for our upcoming Ministry of Sound event along with the Island Beats concerts we'll be hosting all summer. Prior to this, we used to hire equipment but recently had the opportunity to purchase it instead."

White Light business development manager J

UK - Lighting manufacturer GDS has re-structured its UK distribution network to widen access to market for its products.

Existing partners, Hawthorn, Stage Electrics, and White Light have become GDS's stock-holding, main distributors, supplying the GDS range on a large scale across the board.

Alongside the distributors, GDS continues to work with installation partners LSI Projects and Push the Button.

As part of the review of its distribution network, the company has appointed Black Light, Enlightened, National Stage Technologies (formerly Northern Stage Services and Lancelyn Theatre Supplies) as committed, non-stock-holding dealers, who hold demonstration kit and are able to supply GDS products.

GDS managing director Matt Lloyd comments, "The success of GDS products like ArcSystem has been brought to wide attention by their presence in many large scale and extremely

UK - West London rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment supplied lighting and video for the latest leg of Glasgow alt rockers Twin Atlantic's ongoing Great Divide album tour, working with lighting and visuals designer Paul McAdams who has evolved an edgy and vibrant show to match the band's massive energy.

This latest run of gigs - which included London's Brixton Academy and their largest headline show to date at hometown Glasgow's Hydro Arena - saw Paul build on the design he had created for the autumn 2014 tour - also supplied by Colour Sound.

The concept evolved around a core floor 'touring' package which was scaled up for the larger venues on the itinerary, which have increased in line with the growing profile of the band, complete with a local-promoter supplied 'top' rig. At Brixton this was also provided by Colour Sound.

The starting point for the touring des

USA - When working in the world of live television production, the lighting rig stands at the forefront called upon to provide a wide variety of creative looks. Nowhere is this more important than on two of television's most-watched events, the Grammy and Academy Awards, where both productions showcase a number of artists with individual lighting needs. As a veteran of both productions, lighting director and programmer Andy O'Reilly knows exactly what it takes to bring all these performances to life, and this year, he and his team got to do so with the assistance of VL4000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.

"During the shows, we may get a request from an artist about the approach to their performance so in terms of instrumentation, we design a plot to provide a wide variety of looks for situations we know we will come across," began O'Reilly. "In the producti

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