UK - Prolight Concepts Group has announced that it has completed the acquisition of Flightcase Juice. The addition of this brand ‘enhances the current umbrella of brands, and enables Prolight to continue to stock, supply and develop this popular consumable’.
This label cleaner and permanent market remover is developed and manufactured in the UK and is currently available in 0.75 litre spray bottle. A 5-litre version is also available which is suitable for refills or larger usage requirements. Mini sample bottles of Flightcase Juice will be given away at the upcoming PLASA Show in London.
Managing director Andrew Jeffrey comments, “I am pleased to welcome Flightcase Juice in our group. We will be looking at further expanding the range with the same dedication and passion that we have applied to our other brands over the years.”

UK - TSL has announced Matthew Quade has been named CEO of the company. Chris Exelby, who was named managing director in 2007, will remain on the company’s board of directors as executive chairman and will continue to work with TSL in a senior advisory role.
Quade steps into his new position after working with TSL on a project basis for over six years, including leading implementation of the company’s M&A strategy. More recently, he held the role of COO and is already a well-respected and valued member of the TSL team. Over the last six months, the TSL Board and Quade have been working on the transition into the new role, and he will focus on continuing the brand’s tradition of developing innovative broadcast solutions.
“With getting to know the TSL team and the broadcast industry over the last few years, the opportunity to lead the business through its nex

UK - Highlite’s UK sales representative Dave Hartley will be enjoying his well-deserved retirement from 15 September. Jeff Davenport will follow in his footsteps and be the new contact for Highlite-related matters and products in the North of the UK region.
Jeff Davenport will be taking over the UK sales representative position at Highlite from Dave Hartley. Jeff will start on 1 September. During the overlap period, Dave will bring Jeff up to speed on the current state of affairs. Jeff will dive right in at the upcoming PLASA Show at the Olympia London (4-6 September), where he will join the team on stand (B23) to introduce himself to the market and clients.
Jeff is already familiar with the market, as he has previously worked for several businesses that are active in the industry. From his hometown of Burton upon Trent, he can be contacted at Jeff.Davenport@highlite

UK - The ChamSys team will be at PLASA Show 2022 on stand C-16, where they will expand their popular Connect family of products with the world preview of the MagicQ Compact Connect and MagicQ Compact Mini Connect.
The new MagicQ Compact Connect products are PC / MAC / Linux based programming interfaces that offer programmers, operators, and LDs a convenient, ‘control-on-the-go’ solution. Simply by connecting to a PC or Mac via a USB-C Connector, the user can run up to 64-universe shows on the MagicQ Compact Connect or MagicQ Compact Mini Connect, either of which fits easily within airline carry-on limits.
Sleek and lightweight, the new products feature the same contemporary styling as the MagicQ MQ70 and MQ50 Compact Consoles. Both allow access to the powerful MagicQ software package. The MagicQ Compact Connect also features 10 Playback Faders, eight Attribute Enco

UK - Robe anticipates a busy and vibrant PLASA 2022 with the industry, shows and events back and working at full speed.
It will be the official launch of Robe’s potent and impressive iForte moving light, an IP65 version of Forte, the brand’s current highest-powered TETM LED luminaire.
Robe’s expanding i-series of weatherised products includes the iSpiider LED wash beam and iBeam 250 which will join the iForte on Stand C20. These fixtures will be integrated into a Robe signature live performance with a specially created lightshow presented in a purpose-built area together with ‘lots of water’.
Other current products will be the new Painte and TetraX – a 360-degree continuous rotation LED bar – plus Robe’s popular LEDBeam 350TM and the ABTT Award-winning T11TM series, a three-into-one generic lighting solution for theatres and venues.
Dedic

USA - Holy Redeemer Catholic Church near Grand Rapids, Michigan needed more light, more colour, and more control – but didn’t have the budget for a complete overhaul. With ETC’s flexible lighting solutions, they were able to get a whole new look without installing a whole new system.
To add more illumination, David Kolenda of West Michigan Lighting and Controls replaced incandescent fixtures with ETC Desire D22 fixtures featuring a Lustr+ colour LED array in the track surrounding the altar. ColorSource Spots and PARs added accents and highlights.
“They loved the D22’s and ColorSource fixtures – especially with the colour tuning,” says Kolenda. “All the fixtures output automatically calibrated colour so they get an even field from all the fixtures.”
The colour also offers them more possibilities in the space. When children present scripture pl

Europe - Ed Sheeran kicked off his Mathematics (+–=÷x) tour, his largest to date, on 23 April in Croke Park Stadium, Dublin. Since then, the singer-songwriter has been playing stadiums across the UK and Ireland, with further dates planned across Central Europe, Scandinavia, Asia, Australia, Latin America and North America as part of his mammoth 2022 / 2023 world tour.
Continuing its long-term relationship with the artist, Colonel Tom Touring (CTT) is once again supporting the production, supplying over 1100sq.m of a variety of ROE Visual LED panels, all powered by Brompton Technology LED processing.
The spectacular 360-degree stage design incorporates a giant circular ‘halo’ video screen, comprising 462m2 ROE Vanish V8T high transparency outdoor LED panels, fixed over a 90m2 revolving LED stage built from ROE BM5 panels.
The stage is surrounded by six 30-m

UK - Free registration for this year’s PLASA Show will end at midnight tomorrow (31 August). Taking place in Olympia London’s Grand Hall on 4-6 September, the leading entertainment technology trade show promises to deliver some of the latest technology, brand showcases and product demos. Alongside ample networking opportunities, visitors will also be able to take advantage of the show’s free-to-attend seminar programme of over 60 sessions, taking place across four show floor theatres. Meanwhile, the winners of the 2022 PLASA Awards for Innovation and the Gottelier Award will be announced at the show on Monday 5 September.
Don’t miss out – register for your free ticket by midnight tomorrow: https://registration.gesevent.com/survey/1ibtbcj5j6f10?actioncode=WB14

UK - Visitors to the upcoming PLASA Show at Olympia in London will have the chance to demo Obsidian Control Systems’ new portable yet full-featured NX1 lighting console. Obsidian invites designers, programmers and operators to Stand E-14 where personnel from Obsidian, as well as UK partner Entedi, will be on hand to demo a host of new Obsidian products.
The newest member of Obsidian Control Systems’ Onyx family of lighting consoles, the NX1 offers the complete Onyx experience without compromises in a full-featured yet low-profile design package. A compact, motorized fader wing, the NX P, as well as a small USB-powered control surface for Onyx, the NX K, both ideal companions to the NX1 console, will also be on display.
The Onyx user experience has recently been enhanced with release of Onyx 4.8 Version software. Several other new lighting control products under th

UK - “What’s new?” Unscientific research has shown those to be the most common words uttered by visitors when they first enter a trade show stand. Those who pose that question to the Chauvet Professional team at PLASA stand C-16 will be treated to some exciting answers, as the company continues to build on its recent impressive string of IP65 rated product introductions, particularly in regard to their class leading weight.
Among the highlights of the booth will be the Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash, the Rogue Outcast 2X Wash, and the Ovation Rêve E-3 IP. Each of these fully-featured outdoor ready fixtures will be making its international trade show debut at PLASA. Thanks to their IP65 rating, the new fixtures are also easy to maintain, as their insides remain dust and debris free.
The Maverick Storm 2 BeamWash is the first in the next generation of Maverick IP65 rat

UK - Elation is teaming up with technology equipment solutions provider Entedi to present an exceptional line-up of new lighting tools at the PLASA tradeshow at Olympia in West London. Visitors to Elation/Entedi Stand E-14 will be some of the first in the UK to demo the latest luminaires in Elation’s industry leading IP65 Proteus, high-performance/high-value Fuze, and broadcast-optimized KL ranges.
Highlights include the IP65 full-featured beam fixture, Proteus Excalibur, which has already seen service on several high-profile shows, plus the 70,000-lumen Proteus Brutus LED wash. The Proteus Rayzor Blade, a combination linear wash and FX light, and Proteus Rayzor 1960, a compact yet powerful LED wash effects luminaire, will also be available to demo.
Elation’s new Fuze MAX Profile full-colour LED moving head has garnered a lot of attention since debuting at the Pr

USA - Embarking on their first full-scale tour since the pandemic, the Black Keys were eager to get back to the basics, eliminating all distractions, and turning out rock infused blues with the free-flowing spontaneity that has made the duo from Ohio a powerful force in popular music. Patrick Carney, the band’s drummer described the experience as “feeling like a band’s supposed to feel”.
It was a sentiment that Michael Grant and Eric Cathcart of Bigtime Lighting Design understood well. Tasked with creating the set and lighting design for the band’s 32-date summer Drop Out Boogie tour, the Bigtime team focused on the fundamentals.
“For this design, it all went to back to basics; keeping things streamlined while still being exciting and creating a visual spectacle,” said Grant, who took the lead role in the design. “We believe that is what the band repre

France - At the recent Dub Camp Festival on the banks of Lake Vioreau in the Loire Valley, minimalist sub-bass sounds and riddims filled the air over five stages supported by the subtle lighting designs created by the team at Ecom-Events.
Internationally acclaimed dub artists like Mighty Jah Observer and Martin Campbell who performed at the seventh edition of this annual festival did not “want much light cast on them” said Mathieu Simon of Ecom-Events. Instead, they preferred to perform in an ambient atmosphere, where light reflected their music in more nuanced, but still powerful, ways.
As production manager, Simon led the design team that created subtly evocative moods on stages ranging in size from 18x18m to 40x40m. Relying on ample use of shadows and dark space, punctuated by back and side lighting projected from off-center angles, the design team created an et

Czech Republic - The majestic former Vítkovice steelworks in Ostrava again resonated with the music, and animated carnival atmosphere of the Colours of Ostrava festival.
The four-day 2022 event is the largest music festival in the Czech Republic and one of the most popular in Central Europe, presenting multiple stages and a diverse line-up of mixed-genre local and international talent.
Technical production – staging, rigging, lighting, sound, video, audio, stage management and all associated infrastructure – for 18 of the 19 stages was co-ordinated by Prague-based SMART Production, with a team led by Josef ‘Pepa’ Ženíšek, and a Robe moving light rig made impact on the Liberty Stage.
The Liberty Stage was full of Robe moving lights provided by rental specialist AV Media Events, and tech’d and run by Kamil Kruźík and Martin Nakládal.
When

USA - Verge Aero took Chicago’s famous Lollapalooza festival to new highs in July as 300 of the company’s custom-built drones danced high above the site to elevate the experience.
Acts as diverse as Dua Lipa, Metallica and J. Cole performed over the four-day event, which took place at the city’s Grant Park. It was the first time that drones formed part of the Lollapalooza spectacle, and Dua Lipa’s Friday night slot was the setting for the specially created Verge Aero drone show, which was staged in partnership with cellphone network company T-Mobile and Google Pixel phones.
“We actually launched the drone show over T-Mobile’s 5G network, using a Google Pixel phone,” reveals Verge Aero’s Mason Hayes, who designed the drone show using the company’s unique software and piloted the drones on the night. “We have a Verge Aero-created app that we can load

Austria - The annual Summer Night Concert (Das Sommernachtskonzert) by the Vienna Philharmonic at the illustrious Schönbrunn Palace is the second biggest show every year in Austria, only outdone by the orchestra’s renowned New Year's Concert. This year, lighting designer and director of photography Jerry Appelt used 280 Elation Proteus series luminaires to light the summer show for 80,000 spectators in the Palace Park plus a worldwide television audience of millions.
Appelt has been part of the event for five years, lighting the entire space for a live audience and camera, which includes the orchestra and stage, the majestic backdrop of Schönbrunn Palace, and the surrounding park. This year, the designer had 124 Proteus Maximus, 92 Proteus Excalibur, and 64 Proteus Rayzor 760 at his disposal.
Over the years, the event has transitioned to more and more IP65-rated

UK - Artistic Licence is exhibiting at PLASA London, Stand D15. This year the company will be showing products across all its main areas of expertise, including splitters, gateways, control interfaces, test equipment and dimming technology.
Entered for the Innovation Awards is the Micro-Scope 3c upgrade kit - a low-cost item that scores highly in the sustainability category. The kit contains a microprocessor chip that allows any Artistic Licence Micro-Scope DMX tester to be updated to the latest specification – most significantly adding RDM support. Artistic Licence started selling these testers nearly 30 years ago and there are many in active service today. The addition of RDM support (via a simple chip replacement that the customer can carry out) means they should be good for another few decades
On a lighter note, Artistic Licence is holding a competition at the s

UK - ETC is set to return to Olympia London for the 2022 PLASA Show from the 4-6 September with the latest product innovations and seminars. The team will be on stand B29 to catch up and network with customers and visitors at the tradeshow.
ETC will present a variety of its newest entertainment fixtures and controls including its latest line of consoles: Eos Apex. This powerful, next generation of lighting control offers cutting-edge technology, a variety of new features, award-winning software and more.
The latest High End Systems moving lights will also be showcased at the PLASA Show, including the newly launched SolaPix 19 XT, an exterior rated version of the most popular SolaPix fixture, the compact Lonestar framing fixture, and the silent fanless SolaFrame Studio.
Visitors to ETC’s stand will also be able to explore the X8 array in the new Source Four LED

South Africa - Noot vir Noot (Note for Note), a long-running popular and successful Afrikaans language TV music-based games show produced by Stemmburg TV and broadcast on SABC 2 has returned to screens after a two-year break due to Covid, with edition 40 featuring a slightly reimagined version of the new set designed by Michael Gill and built by SDS for the fully visually revamped 2019 season.
Lighting is again designed by Ryan Lombard from Blond Productions – the company also supplying the lighting kit – and he specified Robe Esprites for the first time on this show, together with two of his trusty favourite moving lights, the Robe LEDWash 300 and the miniPointe.
The series was filmed at Urban Brew Studios in Johannesburg, and while some features remained constant from the last edition, the set lighting and video are now fully integrated, and Ryan

UK - Adam King captured the powerful, punchy and uplifting spirit of the musical Legally Blonde when lighting a recent Franny Rafferty directed production of the Olivier Award winning musical at Mountview’s The Mack Theatre.
“Given the nature of the story, vibrant pink was the major colour theme for Elle Woods, so it was important that we be able to transition to it when necessary,” he said. “However, we also had to lean away from this palette when the scenes were not so linked to the character in order to make it more effective.”
At its core, Legally Blonde is a story of transitions. In this Mountview production, Elle’s transformative journey is supported by well-timed and placed lighting changes that King executes with a rig anchored by Chauvet Professional Ovation fixtures.
“There were lots of different locations that we needed to

UK – Multi-genre English musician Jacob Collier is back on the road for a grand world tour to celebrate his DJESSE album series. The show features an energetic lighting design harnessing the rich colours of the VL2600 range of luminaires from Vari-Lite.
The design was put together by Luke Edwards, specification sales specialist at Signify. Edwards, who was a full-time lighting designer before joining Signify earlier this year, took the opportunity to push the boundaries of his lighting design dynamism, to match five-time Grammy Award-winning Collier’s enthusiastic performing style.
“Jacob’s concerts are as much about the audience as they are about him and I find working with him hugely inspiring,” says Edwards. “His high-energy approach to every moment is infectious and I wanted to create a design that would reflect that and embrace the natural colou

UK - This year marks the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II and in honour of the historical anniversary, the UK is holding several events celebrating her 70-year reign. At The Royal Windsor Horse Show in May, Elation Professional had its own workhorse on display albeit not of the equine variety. PRG provided a full lighting rig for the event that incorporated 171 Elation Proteus Maximus IP65-rated LED moving heads as the key luminaire in the design.
The challenges of creating a dramatic and theatrical lighting rig on an arena scale with a daily horse show running concurrently are vast, but PRG has a long and successful history with the event and has provided lighting rigs for the illustrious equestrian show for over 12 years.
This year, the company made the decision to update to a more sustainable LED option and much needed waterproof protection. Richard Gorrod, v

USA - ETC has introduced the High End Systems SolaPix 19 XT wash luminaire, an IP 65-rated SolaPix 19 designed specifically for indoor and outdoor events. It utilises a weatherproof housing and sealed glass front lens to deter the ingress of dust, water, and other liquids.
The SolaPix family takes the traditional concept of a pixel wash and pushes it to its maximum potential. With a wide variety of looks to help set the mood and steal the show, SolaPix features an additive LED, RGBW color mixing system for extremely powerful saturated colors and tunable white control, a versatile 4.5° - 60° zoom range, FleX Effects Engine, and Pixel mapping on all models.
Automated lighting product Manager Matt Stoner commented, “The SolaPix family has given users around the world the opportunity to utilize a bright fixture at a great size and price. Now with the SolaPix 19 XT,

USA - City Theatrical is expanding its line of QolorFLEX LED Tape and Accessories with a ninth type of QolorFLEX NuNeon, which brings the brightness and flexibility of QolorFLEX NuNeon linear lighting to the film and video world by combining it with City Theatrical’s HiQ High CRI LED Tape technology.
QolorFLEX NuNeon, Tunable White HiQ High CRI (P/N N914-H27006500-5) is a sealed LED linear product that is extremely flexible and IP67-rated for indoor or outdoor use. It offers exceptional on-camera colour rendition with a Color Rendering Index (CRI) greater than 94, allowing lighting professionals to meet the needs of high-quality film and video lighting.
QolorFLEX NuNeon, Tunable White HiQ High CRI has a colour temperature ranging from 2700 K to 6500 K, beam angle of 120°, brightness of 600 lm/m, power consumption of 70w/5m (4.27 w/ft), and density of 240 LEDs/m. Qo

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