UK - Avolites is spearheading an alliance between major lighting console and media server manufacturers to combat the growing threat of counterfeiting. “We have a unique opportunity to join forces with our genuine rivals to form a united front against forgers who are reverse engineering our products and stealing our IP,” says Avolites’ sales director, Koy Neminathan. “We relish competition from other innovative, authentic manufacturers, as this drives forward new features and products - it’s great that we can team up in this way to stamp out those who are threatening not only our individual businesses but our entire industry. “However, we do not welcome competition from fake companies who produce substandard copies of our kit. When these fraudulent products make their way into the supply chain it’s not just the originating manufacturer that suffers, but a
France - Le Moulin Rouge, the emblematic cabaret of Parisian nights and entertainment since 1889, recently renewed its followspots and chose Alice, the latest in Robert Juliat's generation of LED followspots. Three new Robert Juliat Alice 600W LED followspots have recently joined the iconic Moulin Rouge revue, Féerie. This show, which has been on the bill for 19 years, tells the story of the Moulin Rouge over two hours of amazement and spectacle, mixing dance scenes and variety acts. Every evening, a dream world is invented on stage with 60 artists, 1000 feather costumes, crystals and sequins, exceptional performances, sumptuous sets and original French music, not to mention the famous French-cancan. Robert Juliat’s Alice followspots have found their place in this legendary venue, installed on a technical bridge, from where they cover distances of 15m to 30m across
UK/Italy - Goboservice by Sunland Optics has announced the appointment of Indira Metenova as technical consultant for the UK market. Indira was recently promoted from account manager of the Italian branch and has a background in customer relations, marketing and running social media platforms. Indira says: “I am delighted to be starting my new role in such a respected company dedicated to creating products that are both premium quality and best-in-class. I am looking forward to meeting and cementing relationships with all our existing and potential new clients across the UK.” (Jim Evans)
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will demonstrate its extensive and exclusive portfolio of leading theatrical technologies - including new lighting, audio, rigging, and video products - at the ABTT Theatre Show 2019, taking place on 5th - 6th June at London’s Alexandra Palace. Highlights from AC-ET will include Chroma-Q's multi award-winning Color Force II cyc, wash & effects and Inspire house lighting LED fixtures, featuring colour-mixing homogenised optics. Showing at ABTT for the first time will be the Vista 3 by Chroma-Q lighting and media control system. Prolights fixtures on stand will include the Pixie Wash XB, a 280W single source LED wash luminaire and the Jetspot4Z, which features full CMY colour mixing and a custom optical system. Meanwhile, the Luminex Luminode Ethernet & DMX processor, first unveiled at Prolight + Sound, will al
UK - Penn Elcom’s LED lighting division is now offering OSRAM’s new LR700S niche LED lighting product, the LINEARLight Rigid NICHE range. The LR700S is a versatile product for “ensconcing in any hard to reach or access place, corner, niche, nook or cranny and will provide LED solution for numerous scenarios like coves, cabinets, shelves and stair lighting in multiple sectors including offices and workspaces, retail environments, public buildings, leisure facilities and homes”. There are five colour temperatures available - 2500K - 4500K to suit / blend with other lighting and natural lighting conditions - and five different standard rigid lengths range from 102mm to 1194mm, all with a viewing angle of 120° so it can be fitted around corners and neatly under shelves. The ultra-slim strips of LED are easily inter-connectable and can be painlessly slotted
UK - GoboPlus.com, the one-stop, online shop for gobos and projection products, will be showcasing its new brand, FollowSpotSales.com at ABTT. The company is also delighted to have industry stalwart, Mandy Bullock, join them to lead this new division. Bullock, a well-known and respected figure within the industry, brings to FollowSpotSales.com, nearly 50 years of industry experience and an extensive background in sales and rental roles. “I am really excited to be joining this incredible team,” says Bullock. “By joining GoboPlus.com and heading up FollowSpotSales.com I am going back to my roots. I have a real passion for our industry and the creative and focused people we work with and have missed selling lanterns and consumables.” FollowSpotSales.com is a new UK distributor for LDR of Italy, one of the last remaining independent lantern and follow spot manufac
UK - Stage Electrics has supplied the Lyric Theatre in Carmarthen, Wales, with a lighting control upgrade alongside additional staging. The theatre, part of the Carmarthen Theatres Group, was seeking a lighting control solution that offered professional grade programming power, along with the ability to integrate into other systems, making transitioning between desks simple. “ETC’s Ion Xe was the obvious choice for the Lyric Theatre,” comments Neal Tomlinson, technical sales consultant at Stage Electrics. “We sought out a solution that offered flexibility, whilst being able to work coherently with the grade of fixtures coming through the venue. This theatre hosts a number of touring shows, so compatibility was a must.” Looking to further expand their offerings to touring shows, in terms of space, the theatre has invested in a Prolyte LiteDeck staging
Israel - The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was hosted by Israel at the Expo Tel Aviv and boasted over 700 Ayrton fixtures in its massive lighting rig. Set designer, Florian Wieder, and Tel Aviv-based lighting designers, Ronen Najar and Dakar Azulay created individual looks for each of the 41 competing countries. Wieder’s stage design was based on triangles and the number 12 - important symbols for Israel - while Najar and Azulay chose a large number and variety of lighting fixtures which allowed them to create enough unique looks to handle a show of this size and diversity. Key to their enormous and extremely adaptable design were over 700 LED lighting fixtures from Ayrton. “Our main idea was to maintain the special stage design developed by Florian,” explains Najar. “We therefore chose to use a significant amount of Ayrton MagicBlades to create new geom
Belgium - ADC is a full technical production rental company based in Zaventem near Brussels airport in Belgium, and is a recent investor in Robe LED moving lights with the purchase of 20 x Spiiders, 24 Spikies and eight DL7S Profiles which were delivered by Benelux distributor Controllux. ADC was founded 27 years ago by Daniel van Ruyssevelt, specialising in large format projection back in the days of scrolling projectors. When this discipline went digital, they upgraded all the technology and became strong in corporate and special events, conferences, and outdoor spectaculars and performances. As the business developed, ADC found an increasing demand for providing lighting as part of a more comprehensive ‘visuals’ package, and then sound was also added to the production packages. The initial lights purchased were generics, followed by the first generation of
The Netherlands - Elation Europe will be holding a training day dedicated to Obsidian Control Systems’ Onyx lighting control platform on 3 July at the company’s European headquarters in Kerkrade. The Onyx foundation training, running from 9:00am to 5:00pm, will take users from console start-up through software layout to patching and running a basic show, with the objective to gain confidence in patching and running a show from scratch while acquiring a basic understanding of features. Features to be covered include software layout and philosophy, patching, creating, changing and deleting groups, changing and deleting pre-sets, cue lists and chases. The cost is €150.00 (excluding VAT if applicable) and includes a NX-DMX interface for every participant. Participants should bring a laptop to run w
UK - Following the release of their studio album Ephyra, Woman’s Hour brought their musical journey to a close with a final show in their hometown, before parting ways to work on separate projects. The band performed a farewell concert at The Dome in Tufnell Park, London, on Friday 22 March. Creating an appropriately ethereal vibe for the concert was a production concept that drew on simple, but impactful imagery, while it played with negative space. Created by David Howard, and based entirely on lighting, this design was controlled by a ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 console. Forming the foundation of the band’s entire stage aesthetic was an illuminated structure of a house. The aim of the house was to provide a softly-lit space that the dancers and band could interact with, perform inside and use to show contrast and progression over the course of the show.
UK - Wakefield-based Backstage Academy recently presented a graduation showcase, which saw third-year students assessed across five presentations. The students were assessed in a project-based environment, with each team working under a project manager. The event was supported by many industry partners, some of whom had arrived fresh from attending PLASA Focus Leeds. Vice-principal Rachel Nicholson explained the idea of designing real world concepts - effectively transforming black box studio/stages into coruscating jewels - had grown out of the Live Visual Design & Production course. “It’s the first time we’ve presented the work in this fashion,” she confirms. “The team looked back at last year and decided they wanted more scope to visualise. Our live visual design course has always been project based, so we adapted that to the other courses - which seem
Ireland - AC-ET Ireland has been supplying Prolights StudioCOB FC LED PARs across the country following demand for eco-friendly, yet high quality, lighting solutions. This full colour LED PAR has become an increasingly popular fixture amongst a variety of venues, including the Dunamaise Arts Centre and Siamsa Tíre. The Dunamaise Arts Centre, situated in Portlaoise, is comprised of workshops, a gallery, a café and a 240-seat theatre. The centre hosts a range of national and international performances including live music, theatre productions and dance shows. Siamsa Tíre, in Tralee, is home to the National Folk Theatre of Ireland. Across the summer the centre hosts a variety of folk theatre productions, leaving the rest of the year for a wide range of different events including touring drama, classical music, comedy, dance and opera along with productions by lo
UK - White Light has recently supplied new LED lighting packages to two ATG venues: Aylesbury Waterside and the Grand Opera House York. When Stuart Graham, head of technical operations at Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), was looking to begin an LED upgrade at the group’s venues, he contacted WL. WL’s business development manager Jonathan Haynes comments: “Stuart got in touch saying that ATG wanted to implement an LED upgrade and had chosen two theatres as a starting point: Aylesbury Waterside and Grand Opera House York. The organisation wanted to upgrade its offering to support its diverse range of productions, as well as reduce the energy consumption of the house equipment in order to make the rig as green as possible.” WL was asked to put together an LED upgrade package. This meant substituting the tungsten rig with LED, replacing the overhead and cyc li
UK - London-based technical event specialists Light Fantastic Production Services supported Voxburner with a full design and technical solution for YMS London. YMS LDN is Europe’s largest youth marketing festival, part of a series of global events demystifying the changing trends, habits and attitudes of the consumers of the future. Held over two days at the Old Truman Brewery, YMS19 LDN was the largest Youth Marketing Strategy event to date, welcoming almost 2,000 delegates and over 150 speakers. Working closely with Voxburner to deliver an engaging visitor experience, Light Fantastic Production Services provided a comprehensive equipment and support package covering all technical elements, including lighting, audio, video, set and staging. Commenting on the show, LFPS project manager Andrew Maxted says: “Handling all aspects of the technical requireme
France - Printemps des Vins de Blaye is more than a celebration of fine wines, it is also an event that offers visitors an opportunity to savour enchanting sights of natural beauty and historical significance. Located north of Bordeaux on the banks of the Gironde estuary, the village of Blaye traces its roots back to pre-Roman times and is the home to evocative ancient ruins. It provides an idyllic setting for this popular festival, held in a region that is known for its Côtes de Blaye red wine. Contributing to the sense of splendour at this year’s wine-lover’s event was the richly coloured light from Chauvet Professional Rogue R3 Spot fixtures, supplied and installed by Societe ALS (Animation Loisirs Sonorisation). The company, which has been lighting the festival for the past three years, decided to use its recently acquired Rogue units to add colour and vibran
USA - Matchbox Twenty frontman Rob Thomas just kicked off his solo Chip Tooth Tour with an all Elation lighting rig specified, designed and programmed by Benoit Richard. Richard, who has worked with Matchbox Twenty since 2000 and has designed Rob Thomas’ first two solo tours, serves as production and lighting designer on the outing. Lighting vendor is Bandit Lites of Nashville with lighting direction and additional programming by Patrick Hayes. “My goal has always been to deliver a visual experience that is very 'clean & classy' and also offers forward thinking ideas by using new and exciting lighting technologies,” comments Richard, who has created plenty of visually stunning moments in the show, reinforcing hits from Thomas’ solo career as well as a few songs from Matchbox Twenty. “The toughest part is to avoid repeating key gags and effects more
USA - At the end of every school year, college students in Providence, Rhode Island, mark the occasion by gathering at the Strand Ballroom & Theatre for a day-long celebration of EDM music and culture. Project Mayhem, as the event is called, more than lived up to its name this year, with nonstop bass growls thundering, an exuberant crowd dancing boisterously, and a searing lighting and visual display, created with Chauvet Professional fixtures, supplied by JDI Productions. Lighting designer Freddy Thompson added to the firepower of the Strand’s already substantial house rig for the event by bring in a floor package that included six Maverick MK1 Spot and eight Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures. “A show like this demands a creative, energized environment to keep the audience engaged and on their feet,” says Thompson. “So, we wanted to up the excitement level this
Austria - Each year, the Festival of Light at Swarovski Crystal Worlds in the Austrian town of Wattens attracts thousands of visitors. The entire park shines and sparkles in a magical interplay of light, music, and crystal and as a recurring highlight guests are treated to a special 15-minute light show. Swarovski Crystal Worlds allows visitors to experience the wonder of crystal in all its facets. The annual Festival of Light is a spectacular show in which the seven-hectare garden is transformed into a magical luminous atmosphere. This year's event took place from 18 January to 17 February with technology having to endure four weeks of frosty, snowy conditions. With Elation’s IP65 Proteus Hybrid made for environments of this type and a record of reliable performance behind it, the all-weather moving head was chosen as the main beam effect in the light show for the s
UK - In addition to being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, The Hollies have never disbanded. For the recent German leg of their ongoing world tour, the Hollies turned to lighting designer Chris Taylor to create a visual concept on which to perform hits such as Just One Look, Look Through Any Window and I Can't Let Go. Responding to the design brief, P2 Veranstaktungstechnik supplied Taylor with 50 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK3 Wash fixtures for his stripped back lighting rig. "I wanted to achieve a show which complemented the Hollies' music while putting focus upon the band," commented Taylor. "What's more, as the band travels with very little kit, it was of paramount importance to come up with a versatile and practical solution. The Mavericks were the perfect solution." Positioning the Mavericks from front and rea
Italy - Claypaky, in conjunction with Iren, entirely redesigned the lighting of the Mole Antonelliana. Turin's iconic monument was designed by Alessandro Antonelli and built between 1863 and 1889. Iren took part actively in all stages of the design process, and took charge of the installation and operation of the entire system. It consists of 43 new Claypaky Odeon lights: 24 Claypaky Odeon Flood Maxi RGBW units with 15° beam angle, three Claypaky Odeon Flood Maxi RGBW units with 25° beam angle, and 16 Claypaky Odeon Flood Medium RGBW units with 25° beam angle. One of the mandatory conditions of the project was to re-fit the already equipped system installation points. The number of fixtures needed to distribute light on all four sides with a minimum illuminance of two candles per square metre (10.76 sq. feet) was calculated. On the basis of the simulations car
Czech Republic - Robe is involved as a supporter of the 2019 Prague Quadrennial which is being artistically directed by scenic lighting and costume designer Markéta Fantová and runs 6-16 June at the Vystaviste Praha (Prague Exhibition Grounds) and locations in and around Prague. Robe is supplying moving lights and technical expertise for some of the event’s key installations at the Expo Grounds, including Blue Hour designed by artist Romain Tardy, Fragments curated by Klára Zieglerová, as well as for the Opening Ceremony on 5 June. The Czech-based lighting manufacturer will additionally be hosting its own community evening on 13 June. PQ2019 will see over 800 artists from around the world participate in a lively, invigorating and thought-provoking programme of over 600 performances and installations plus workshops, lectures, debates and discussions,
Egypt - Ayrton has appointed Q-Light Egypt to its international distributors network. Q-Light will distribute the full portfolio of Ayrton’s LED profile, wash, spot and effects luminaires in Egypt. The distribution company was founded by CEO Walid Bahnasy and partners. Bahnasy has over 10 years of experience with international production companies and TV channels, including as lighting designer, director of photography and cameraman, and has worked on productions such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal and the Doha Debates. He is a former supervisor and team leader of the lighting departments in the region’s biggest TV networks - MBC, Qatar Foundation, BBC, Aljazeera media network and BeIn Group. Chris Ferrante, Ayrton CEO, comments: “We are very happy to welcome Q-Light into the Ayrton family. Knowing that Walid, an acc
UK - With support for DALI DT8 (colour), DMXtoDALI quad is specified for the new generation of DALI products coming to market. Artistic Licence has extensive experience in DMX512 and DALI interconversion. Its popular DIN rail solution, Rail-DMX-DALI, was launched several years ago to serve customers needing to add DALI fixtures to DMX based lighting control systems. With the continued growth of the crossover market, Rail-DMX-DALI is still very much in demand. However, the recent introduction of DALI DT8 (colour control) means that this product is not compatible with the very latest DALI technology. Artistic Licence therefore took the opportunity to redesign Rail-DMX-DALI to incorporate the new standard, and to implement major product upgrades that greatly improve the performance and user experience. The result is DMXtoDALI quad. DMXtoDALI quad retains the
