UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has supplied Vari-Lite VL2600 Profile luminaires to lighting, sound & AV production services company, Limelite Lighting, for use on clients' theatre, concert, TV and corporate events projects in London and the South East. Limelite Lighting is one of the region's largest providers of full lighting, sound & AV design, installation, and equipment hire services, offering a vast selection of cutting-edge equipment for productions. After experiencing a massive increase in demand for LED Profile moving lights both for its own project productions and those of its equipment rental customers, Limelite Lighting project manager / director, Matthew Mountier decided to research the best options for fixtures with CYM and shutter capabilities. After shortlisting several models, Matthew approached Ben Steppenbeck in AC-ET's Li
USA - Claypaky has announced the opening of its US sales and operation centre. The company will now have a local team of American lighting experts providing a high level of customer service for Claypaky products. Leading the new team are lighting industry veteran George Masek and Dennis Knopf, former senior sales manager at Osram, the parent company of Claypaky. “Finally, our American customers can enjoy all the benefits of our direct presence in the United States,” says Pio Nahum, CEO at Claypaky. “We are going to offer them attractive sales options as well as US-based technical support after their purchase. We want to ensure that customers enjoy an exceptional return on their investment through the highest functionality of their equipment.” “The multi-decade experience of our American team, combined with the ability to innovate - for which our brand
UK - 4Wall Entertainment, a US-based provider of lighting and video rentals, sales, and services, has reached an agreement in principle to acquire the assets of HSL Group Holdings Ltd. of Blackburn, UK. As part of the agreement, the majority of HSL's staff would remain on-board and the facility and location would be rebranded as 4Wall UK, creating the first international presence for 4Wall. The company currently has 10 locations in the US. Under the agreement current HSL MD Simon Stuart would lead the sales team of the UK branch, assuming the role of VP of Business Development for 4Wall UK. The entirety of the HSL sales team is expected to move forward with the 4Wall branch as well, continuing to serve their current customer bases while also pursuing new business. Simon Stuart comments: "I've been very public about the financial stress HSL had found itself
UK/USA - Rising British rock band Don Broco have finished a UK arena and club tour, and now head to the States. Dominating their stage production have been impression X4 Bar 20 LED battens from GLP, specified and programmed by Ben Inskip. Ben was asked to join the band’s team in 2017 when they announced a one-off show at Alexandra Palace to kick off their new album campaign, which at the time was the biggest full production show they had done. “Since then we have done shows of all shapes and sizes, but this arena tour was another big step up for them and a fitting end to the Technology album cycle,” says Ben. In keeping with the Technology name, the LD set out to give the shows a futuristic look throughout the cycle “using a lot of straight lines to create interesting shapes”. “The design evolved over many revisions to a point where I
Germany – The Music & Lights stand design featured the company’s largest footprint to date and played host to over 400 luminaires in the popular Prolights arena, along with the 20 new lighting products in the touring, studio and architectural markets also on display which were launched during the event. The display area featured a new and innovative interactive touchscreen system allowing visitors to test fixtures at their own leisure, interact with the Music & Lights team and the dedicated global distributor network. The new luminaires from the Prolights, Tribe and ArchWork ranges were all available on show and connected to the touchscreen displays allowing users to integrate them into the demonstration. The demo show on the stand was visited by various international media outlets, renowned designers and worldwide customers, who conveyed their satisfactio
UK - Colour Sound Experiment collaborated with lighting designer Miles Weaver as the lighting supplier for the intimate soul-y funk sounds of UK singer/ songwriter Nao, who has just completed the first UK and European leg of her Saturn tour following the release of her second album last autumn. The tour was project-managed for Colour Sound by Alex Ryan, who comments: “It’s the first time we’ve worked with Miles as a supplier and it was an excellent experience. His design was original and interesting, and it is always exciting to be involved with an LD and artist with a great future ahead.” Miles took a floor package on the tour, stepping up to a full rig for the London showcase at Brixton Academy. The floor package had to offer max versatility yet pack down into a trailer, so Miles chose 12 x Robe Spiider LED wash beams for this. He wanted to achi
Germany - Large crowds visited the Chauvet Professional stand throughout Prolight + Sound. The brightest attraction that drew these visitors were the company’s new Maverick MK3 Spot and Maverick MK3 Profile LED fixtures. Supported by a marketing campaign built around a “take your breath away” tag line, the new fixtures are suited for even the largest arena and stadium applications. The new 820W fixtures also offer value in terms of their weight and dimensions, being lighter and more compact than many luminaires with a comparable output. Adding to their advantage is a wide range of performance features, including full-loaded static, rotation and animation effects. Both fixtures have a 6° to 54° zoom angle, the widest ever offered in the Maverick series. Other fixtures in the Chauvet Professional line (new and existing) were featured in the stand’s David Howard
USA - On 30 April, 2019, Elite Multimedia Productions and PixelFLEX LED will host a collective open house event showcasing a range of technologies available for the live production and permanent installation markets. Created to allow guests to network with other industry professionals, and technology experts from both companies, the event will also allow visitors to take a closer look at the latest LED video, lighting, and audio solutions for their next design. With food and drinks supplied by Hoss Burgers and Little Harpeth Brewing, the open house will take place from 5-8 pm at 700 Cowan Street in Nashville, Tennessee. “In an industry with so many talented designers and production personnel, this is a tremendous opportunity for us to showcase the breadth of design possibilities offered by both Elite Multimedia Productions and PixelFLEX LED,” said David Venus, chi
Greece - Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, has established itself as a leading entertainment centre in the eastern Mediterranean with a thriving nightclub scene, a highly regarded film festival, popular theatres and a seemingly never-ending schedule of live music concerts. Indicative of the city’s current entertainment panache was the winter concert series at the Pyli A Performance Stage. A highlight of the series was a concert by multi-platinum contemporary Laïkó singer Antonis Remos. Supporting the star’s passionate performance was a majestic George Porros-designed lightshow that immersed the audience with a stunning display of 144 overhead light tubes. Suspended over almost the entire stage and extending out over the audience stage left and stage right, the tubes created an impressive image. Constantly morphing into different configurations as di
Europe - Tears for Fears are back on the road in style, kicking off 2019 with a sold-out UK and European arena tour for which lighting designer Alex Reardon, from LA-based creative design practice Silent House, delivered the lighting scheme. Alex utilised 66 x Robe MegaPointe moving lights as a key element of the rig - among other fixtures - to imagine a memorable looking and flexible lightshow as the band delighted enthusiastic audiences - original and new - and fans with their diverse catalogue and multiple hits. He positioned the multipurpose MegaPointes everywhere in the rig. Thirty - 10 each - were rigged on three overhead trusses, some were positioned upstage behind a row of LED video pixel battens, there were three per side on the deck for low-level cross lighting and another six in the air each side for high-level effects. He described the MegaPointe as
UK - Event design and technical production specialist Maestra Group, run by Justin Hammond (London) and Tom Clements (Dubai), has doubled the size of its UK and European operation ready for a busy 2019. The east London HQ was bursting at the seams of its Victorian industrial building in Woolwich, where the Maestra mission started in January 2016. When the opportunity to take over the warehouse next door arose, it provided a convenient solution. Parts of the walls have been knocked through and the interiors completely re-designed so the two spaces operate as an efficient and continuous workspace. There are now new prepping and dispatch areas for projects leaving the warehouse, greater space for truck loading as well as enlarged storage and maintenance sections for all the different equipment sections. The extra space made available downstairs has been taken up alr
South Africa - Semi Soet is a new music venue which opened its door in Centurion in 2018. The owners turned to DWR Distribution for their audio and lighting requirements and the effective solution included Quest loudspeakers, a DiGiCo console and Robe lighting. Jaco Beukes from DWR recommended four Quest HPI110 Compact High-definition loudspeakers and two Quest HPI18BP Bandpass 18” Subwoofers as the main audio system. “We had to install a system that would offer quality, and it certainly helped that Quest comes at a reasonable price,” said Beukes. The audio installation also included two Quest QM450A Lightweight Active 12" loudspeakers for the monitor requirements. The centre-fill and out-fills comprise of two Quest HPI111 Compact Hight-definition speakers. To cater for the audio upstairs, three HP15 5” High Output Loudspeakers were added. Semi Soet deci
Spain - Twenty-four Astera AX1 Pixel Tubes were utilised for one of 20 site-specific lighting installations created by individual artists for the first UMBRA Light Festival in Vitoria-Gastiez, Spain. The vibrant and highly multicultural historical capital city and seat of government of the Basque Autonomous Community in Alava, northern Spain, came alive for three days, offering creatives, visitors and lighting enthusiasts from all over Spain, Europe and much further afield a chance to redefine the city and see it in some new, exciting and reimagined urban contexts. UMBRA was organised by ARGIA 3 Asociación Cultural and curated by a new collective comprising Rafael Gallego, the principal of Aureolighting, Joaquín Pérez-Goicoechea, founding partner of AGi Architects and stage lighting designer, light artist, and founder of Studio & Light Carlos Torrijos – three
Germany - Robert Juliat, which celebrates its centenary in 2019, presented its SpotMe system at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt. Robert Juliat’s award-winning SpotMe bespoke solution for followspot technology was demonstrated with a new interface, the SpotMe Maestro, developed in partnership with zactrack of Austria. SpotMe Maestro allows the SpotMe system to operate universally with all DMX lighting consoles on the market. “With SpotMe Maestro we have made the SpotMe technology more widely available to all venues and events, broadening the protocol possibilities,” says Claus Spreyer, Robert Juliat’s sales director. “We are proud to be associated with zactrack which is a major player in the field of position tracking, 3D-calculation and media control.” “As a young, high-tech company, zactrack is honoured to deliver our 3D knowledge to the best-known brand fo
UK - Leisuretec Distribution inspired the industry’s future bright sparks with a training day on Zero 88’s FLX / S lighting consoles. The event took place at Leisuretec’s HQ in February 2019, offering a group of home-educated students aged 13-18 the opportunity to taste the world of entertainment and theatre lighting. Zero 88’s FLX / S lighting desks provide a simple and intuitive solution perfect for applications where the user has little lighting knowledge but needs to operate their theatre, school stage, event or production. Each desk equipped with a visualiser, the group of young people learnt how to patch and set up their stage and how to use chases, groups, cues, playbacks, colour palettes and many other features to create an effective show with wash and intelligent lighting. “We recognise the importance of bringing young people into the industry to h
The Netherlands - TechPro, provider of video, audio and lighting services for the live events industry has announced its first site in Continental Europe, with the opening of a newly built 2000 sq. ft. warehouse and office unit in Ridderkerk, close to the city of Rotterdam. Although long in the planning, the potential for logistical disruption following Brexit helped TechPro’s management team with their decision to open up in the Netherlands and mitigate any impact on the company’s ability to meet growing demand for European-based live events. TechPro director Rob Stokes, commented: “UK-based event agencies rely on TechPro to deliver truckloads of AV equipment throughout Europe with smooth efficiency. “With over 60% of our work now taking place at event venues throughout the EU and beyond, our new branch in the Netherlands will allow us to continually mee
Company Stars - A revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical Company was among the big winners at Sunday night's Olivier Awards. It won four prizes at the ceremony. The West End revival of the 1970 musical saw the lead character, Robert, re-imagined as a woman. Accepting the award for best musical revival, the show's director Marianne Elliott explained her company's "main goal was to put female stories front and centre on our stages". Two other shows took home four prizes from the ceremony - The Inheritance and Come From Away. Other winners included: Best set design - Bunny Christie (Company), Best lighting - Jon Clark (The Inheritance), Best sound design - Gareth Owen (Come From Away) Mamma Mia! - Abba's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus made a surprise appearance as hit musical Mamma Mia! celebrated i
USA/Europe - Elation Professional has announced a new warranty policy that extends its standard limited product warranty to five years on LED light engine sources for some of its latest and most popular LED luminaires. In addition, warranty coverage on fixture components has been extended to three years for products used in registered indoor fixed installation projects. The five-year/three-year limited warranty applies to Elation’s Artiste, Fuze, KL Fresnel, Seven and Profile LED product series for indoor installation projects installed and maintained by an authorized reseller. Products used on temporary indoor rental projects also benefit from the extended five-year warranty on LED engine sources with warranty coverage on fixture components remaining at two years. All exterior-rated lighting products continue to be covered by Elation’s standard two-year limited product
Belgium - For the recent incarnation of the infamous Nacht van de Schlagers, organisers decided upon a ’90s music theme marrying ’90s pop hits with performances from the biggest pop musicians and bands of the decade. Having provided production and set design for the Nacht van de Schlagers since its inception, Creative Rental Solutions was tasked once again with creating a memorable visual backdrop for 2018’s ’90s extravaganza. Aiding them in this endeavour was a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures that included 12 Maverick MK2 Spot, 32 Rogue R2 Wash, 120 ÉPIX Strip Tour, 60 STRIKE P38, 6 MK2 Profiles, 22 Rogue RH1 Hybrids and 56 COLORdash PAR H12IP units. In order to reinforce this central focal point while adding to the grandeur of the stage setting, Thomas Vandekerkhove, CEO of CRS incorporated the ÉPIX fixtures within the architecture of the comple
UK - ITV Studios Global Entertainment unveiled their spring drama slate to a packed audience of international buyers at its second annual Drama Festival. Held at London’s Roundhouse on 20 February 2019, the event saw 330 delegates experience a range of new titles from ITV Studios’ production labels and leading independent producers. Creative technical event production company Hawthorn supported the ITV Studios team to showcase dramas soon to launch to the international market. Featuring a 360-degree projection, the Hawthorn team delivered full technical production for the Drama Festival including lighting, video, sound and draping. With the event showcasing programmes such as World War Two drama World On Fire and screen adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses, content was key. Designed to immerse the audience in a world of storytelling an
UK - GDS has announced a new partnership with Italian lighting manufacturer DTS, that will see the two companies work together to bring products to the UK. Since 2004, Bristol-based GDS has been providing innovative and practical lighting solutions for a range of clients across the globe, with their focus primarily on entertainment venues and protected historical sites. This year, the company has broadened its approach to include the architectural sector in order to bring their expertise, ighting products and quality control systems to even more spaces worldwide. Established in 1980, DTS has created a diverse product range, thanks to its extraordinary in-house expertise and authentic Italian craftsmanship. The partnership between these two forward-thinking companies has been welcomed on both sides, with international sales manager for DTS Rafaella Scaccia sayin
UK - The newly installed d&b audiotechnik permanent sound solution in London’s Royal Albert Hall made its public debut with last weekend’s Olivier Awards show (see LSi April). Driven by a vision to provide its audiences with life enriching, unforgettable experiences, the hall has installed the world’s largest single room audio system with over 450 individual loudspeakers from the d&b audiotechnik range. The Olivier Awards, celebrating British theatre, served as an appropriate showcase for the system’s coverage and flexibility, significantly enhancing the overall listening experience inside the auditorium. “Previously, our control over the audio experience was limited and often didn’t meet our high standards,” explains Oll
France - PlugFest 2019, the event for lighting connectivity, was recently held in Lille, France for the first time. The event, which sold out well in advance, was celebrated by attendees and organisers alike for its productive programme and thriving atmosphere. The annual event aims to improve the connectivity of lighting products and provides a unique opportunity for manufacturers to test the interoperability of their products. The move to mainland Europe enabled even more professionals from across the continent to convene and collaborate. “We’ve been coming to PlugFest for many years” says Jon Hole from Eaton, “as it allows us to discuss protocols that are still in development and test our software with newly developed protocols before we release them to our customers.” 38 representatives from 16 leading manufacturers, hailing from 10 different count
Germany - One year after the release of MADRIX 5, the first major software update was previewed at PL+S 2019, alongside the full range of hardware products for modern lighting control. Version 5.1 will bring native support for Blackmagic Design, NDI, and Spout to the award-winning pixel mapper. Operators around the world are already looking forward to these flexible new ways to work with video. With Blackmagic Design, using capture cards from the professional equipment manufacturer, such as DeckLink and Intensity, is now even simpler and faster. Capturing live video signals can be a valuable addition to any artistic LED project. Based on the widely available IP technology, NDI makes sending and receiving video or output streams over standard network easily possible. As such, NDI promises to be an extremely useful addition to any Ethernet-based production environ
