Singapore - From a humble beginning in 1986, Faith Community Baptist Church has grown into one of the largest and most dynamic houses of worship in Asia. The vibrant spirit of this church was very much in evidence this August, when it hosted the G12 Asia Conference. Held at the Singapore Expo Convention & Exhibition Centre, the three-day event draws worshippers and church leaders from throughout Asia.
Noted designer Nick Ho has been responsible for lighting G12 Asia since 2015. This year, he and his long-time collaborator Justin Poh took the event’s lighting to a new level of intensity and engagement with a 22-universe, multi-faceted lightshow that used over 500 fixtures. They ran the show on two ChamSys consoles: a MagicQ MQ500 Stadium and a MagicQ MQ100 Pro.
“Each year, I am excited to come up with different looks based on the stage design,” said Ho. “T

Czech Republic - Colours of Ostrava (COO / Colours), the largest and most popular music festival in the Czech Republic is also now ranked among one of the ‘majors’ in Europe, with 20 performance stages offering over 350 live music acts and plenty of other creative engagement across four days, attracting a population of 50,000 fans from all over Europe.
Each year, the Robe moving light count on this landmark event rises, and 2018 saw the most Robe on site to date. The organisers also invested heavily in the production and the basic festival infrastructure this year, upping the ante on every level and every stage.
Site-wide technical production was co-ordinated and delivered by Josef ‘Pepa’ Zenisek and his team from SMART Production, a massive logistical exercise which involved several rental partners for sound, lighting and video, more for rigging and sta

USA - Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2018, Showstopper is America’s largest and longest-running dance competition. Taking place across regional events in almost every state, and culminating in a series of large national finals, it provides dancers of all ages the opportunity to experience big stage competition with full on professional production.
And, for the event’s anniversary year, this production has been taken to another level thanks to an investment in 136 ADJ AV6X LED video panels that made their debut at the recent series of national finals.
Showstopper was founded in 1978 and has grown into a vast national competition that attracts teams and individuals of all ages from dance studios right across the US. Throughout the year over 100,000 dancers compete in front of professional judges at 45 regionals – taking place across the country from Fe

USA - As show lighting and video professionals prepare for the inaugural Knight of Illumination Awards USA (KOI-USA), to be held in Las Vegas on Saturday, 20 October, 2018, the organisers have revealed the shortlist.
Following the launch of KOI-USA back in April, nominations were received from across the US and around the world. Nominations fall into three categories - Theatre, Live for Broadcast, and Concert Touring & Events - and the shortlist includes some of the world's best-known names in lighting and video design:
Concert Touring & Events: LeRoy Bennett, Bob Bonniol, Gabriel Coutu-Dumont, Ben Dalgleish, Patrick Dierson, Cory FitzGerald, Bryan Hartley, Sarah Landau, Francis Laporte, Matthieu Larivée, Robert Long, Nico Riot, Sooner Routhier, Rob Sinclair, Tom Sutherland, Jim Tetlow, and Andi Watson.
Live for Broadcast: Yves Bélanger,

UK - PLASA has said the 2018 edition of the PLASA Show has been ‘the busiest and most vibrant’ show since it moved to London Olympia in 2016.
PLASA 2018, which took place on 16-18 September, saw a 4% increase in visitors with a palpable atmosphere that was reminiscent of its popular Earls Court days. The show welcomed a stream of exhibitors and attendees from around the world, primed to explore the leading edge of live entertainment technology.
The expo also confirmed its importance for networking and trade, with 63% of visitors being final decision makers or specifiers, and a quarter being business owners, managers and directors.
Jonathan Walters, UK sales and purchasing director from A.C Entertainment Technologies comments: “This third year back in West London has really confirmed PLASA’s decision to relocate to Olympia, each show here has worked consi

UK - Technical manager and vision engineer John Steele has joined Blitz, a GES company, as technical director.
Prior to joining Blitz, Steele specialised in providing engineering support, planning and technical solutions for large-scale, multi-camera mobile broadcasts.
Steele has engineered and managed in most areas of the video industry, including corporate presentations, concert tours and international sports coverage.
Steele is responsible for running the Blitz technical teams, including video, sound, lighting and set and staging, as well as the project management team. In this role, Steele is part of the Blitz senior leadership team and reports to Blitz managing director Mike Phillipson.
Phillipson commented, “As Blitz grows, we need to bring in the very best talent and John Steele certainly fits that bill. His wide-ranging technical experience an

UK - Robert Juliat was awarded a prestigious PLASA Award for Innovation for its SpotMe, a creative tracking system that works in association with followspots. The Innovation Awards took place at the PLASA Show (16-18 October) amid huge competition, with 47 entries and only eight Awards at stake.
SpotMe is Robert Juliat’s bespoke, 3D tracking system for followspots and the only performer tracking system to be driven via a real followspot. The SpotMe system communicates the X, Y, Z positions and the beam size parameters to the console. All parameters are then used by the console to control any automated or static lights, and coordinate stage lighting to follow performers, without the need for on-stage/performer sensors or cameras. It is a unique bolt-on system that can be added to existing followspots without the need to invest in complete new systems.
The judges consi

UK - Data Strategy says its stand was ‘buzzing with activity’ as it exhibited at PLASA 2018.
The company’s new VeriCal, which verifies that the Out Board PAT-4 testers are within their operational specifications, received particular attention. VeriCal is the latest Data Strategy product to combine hardware with intelligent software. The new product ensures the appliance test units within the QC-Check Workstation produce verified and accurate results.
Data Strategy MD, Iain Roche, comments: “We had a very busy show, seeing a combination of existing customers, contacts who have shown protracted interest and brand-new prospects. VeriCal attracted much interest especially from potential oversees customers who perceived its purpose, which is to ensure the Pat-4 remains in its operational specifications.
“Power-Check, the QC-Check distro test module, also a

France - Lighting design studio, LightLab, headed by lighting designer and art director Alexandre LeBrun, created a flexible and impactful lighting and stage design for French rapper Nekfeu’s summer tour based around mobile walls of light and used Elation Professional’s new multi-functional Smarty Hybrid CMY colour mixing moving head, supplied by Dushow, to realise the stunning look.
Nekfeu toured across France this past summer, playing a dozen concerts including festivals such as Lollapalooza, Solidays, and Marsatac. LightLab, who also worked with Nekfeu and his S-Crew on last year’s Zenith tour, developed what LeBrun calls a “very simple yet radical” design for the 2018 summer tour.
“I wanted to create a panoramic light design, horizontal and low,” he explains, “so I designed walls of light with the idea of only using it on the stage. The idea

UK - MDG enjoyed a successful PLASA London where it presented its latest products. These included the new IP55-rated Me2 WPE fog and ATMe WPE haze generators, a standard Me2 fog generator, theFAN digital fan, and the ICE FOG Compack HP low fog generator alongside two award-winning products theONE dual mode haze and fog generator, winner of the LDI Best Debut product in 2010, and the RFP (Round Floor Pocket) which won the ABTT Engineering Product of the Year 2018 in June.
Alongside its regular stand, MDG had two of its new ATMe WPE weatherproof hazer generators and an ICE FOG Compack HP involved in the spectacular dance and light show on the adjacent Robe booth.
Inspired by Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider movies, the show environment emulated tropical forests, caves and volcanoes. Here the ATMe WPE machines showed their true mettle as they stood for three days under torre

USA - Over 60 worship bands took to the stage at Soulfest in early August in Gilford NH. Not all of them were as famous as the festival’s headliners (a group that included for King & Country, Skillet, and Toby Mac.), but each was supported by a lightshow worthy of a star, thanks to a main stage rig that featured over 75 Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“We designed this rig to be complete so it could provide big looks for the opening acts, while also complementing the floor packages brought in by the headliners,” said Tim Messina of Events United, which also supplied a “world class sound system” for the event. “As Soulfest has continued to grow over the years, Events United’s role has grown with it - from first providing production for a few smaller stages, to this year providing full production (audio, video, lighting, and backline) for the lar

UK - The Alan Turing Imaginarium is a flexible event space in the BBC’s Dock House at Media City, Salford. It is used for conferences, meetings and as a presentation and studio space from which to broadcast coverage on events such as the recent Winter Olympics and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. Stage Electrics was contracted to install a lighting grid that would be able to meet the needs of such a multipurpose space.
“The grid and all its elements were carefully considered to make sure they were both aesthetically pleasing and in keeping with the room,” explains Stage Electrics project manager, Matthew Addison. “For the times when the room is not being used as a studio, a simple infrastructure of distributed production lighting power and DMX was installed to support event and mood lighting.”
The design had to take into account the shape of the room, which is

UK - The Great North Star performance in Newcastle was the culmination to the Great Exhibition of the North. Televised on the BBC, this ambitious outdoor performance celebrated pioneering woman through sporting history. The event took place outside The Sage Gateshead, with the Tyne and cityscape providing the backdrop to the night time performance.
IPS provided all the lighting and sound production, along with the production structures for a long-standing client, with Andy Marshall heading up the IPS onsite team, working with production manager Nigel Mousley and director Bradley Hemmings.
Over 400 lighting fixtures were used on the production, almost all of them from the IP-rated range of the IPS hire inventory. A 100m running track provided the performance area for the event, with scenic specialist Stage One suppling the stage structure and impressive set pieces (incl

UK - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) has now announced its Sponsored Student Scheme for 2019 is open for applications.
The scheme offers students who have not previously been members of the ALD to enjoy free ALD membership until the end of March 2020.
Student members benefit from the increased opportunity to network with lighting and video production professionals at insightful events organised by the ALD, such as their monthly members’ socials and visits to shows and theatres.
Member benefits for students also include complimentary copies of the ALD magazine, Focus, as well as full access to the ALD web site and the members’ own micro-site. Members also receive a 25% discount on the monthly or annual premium subscription fee for Mandy.com.
Rory Beaton, of the ALD student and awards sub-committees, comments: “The ALD’s sponsored studen

Norway - Ayrton has appointed Bary AS as its exclusive distributor for Norway.
Bary AS is one of Norway’s largest suppliers of technical solutions and equipment for concerts, festivals, events and other productions with many years of experience and expertise.
Jerad Garza, Ayrton international sales manager, comments: “Bary is made up of passionate professionals whose ambition for excellence appear in their every undertaking. We embrace their values and love their energy, which make Bary and Ayrton a great fit. We’re excited to have Bary AS join the Ayrton family.”
Morten Bakke, business development manager for Bary AS, adds: “We are delighted to start our journey as Norwegian distributor of Ayrton. This is the result of three months of intense effort from our development, sales and lighting departments during which time we thoroughly researched the lig

UK - Dan Ryan has been promoted to commercial manager for Stage Electrics’ and Northern Lights’ testing and inspection division.
Previously the company’s electrical compliance and quality manager, Ryan is now responsible for ensuring the provision of compliance and maintenance services enabling customers across the UK to enjoy peace of mind about the condition and safety of their technical performance systems.
Dan Aldridge, commercial director at Stage Electrics, comments: “After a demanding 12 months with levels of business continuing to grow significantly, we have appointed a commercial manager to focus on leading the commercial, engineering and quality aspects of our testing and inspection offering. Dan has recently achieved professional recognition as an incorporated engineer from the Institution of Engineering and Technology. It’s great to be able to o

Serbia - Belgrade is currently enjoying a cultural and clubbing renaissance, which is reflected by the annual Belgrade Foam Fest. Now in its ninth year, the event draws clubbers from throughout Europe, many of whom come radiantly adorned in full costume.
This year’s Foam Fest, which included an all-female line-up of DJs including Metzker Viktória, Una Andrea and Mimi Mercedez, was supported by a Predrag Djordjevic lightshow that was anchored by a collection of 40 Chauvet Professional Maverick fixtures supplied by AVL Projekt in Serbia.
While the sea of foam provided a unique aesthetic element to the party, it was the vibrant colours and punchy wash effects of the Maverick MK2 fixtures, powered by 12 (40W) Osram RGBW LEDs that created the solid luminous base within the arena upon which the visuals could be constructed.
Placed at either side of t

Europe - Robert Coleman, lighting designer for Iron Maiden, specified six Robert Juliat Lancelot 4000W HTI followspots for the band’s current Legacy of the Beast World Tour, which commenced with a 38-date European leg in May.
This is not the first time Coleman has used Robert Juliat followspots, having also specified them for the band’s 2017 The Book of Souls world tour. “I’ve always found Robert Juliat incredibly reliable,” says Coleman who, first and foremost, takes advantage of Lancelot’s 2°-5° zoom range. “Despite Lancelot being a long-throw followspot, it can easily handle the great variety of throw distances involved in touring different venues.
“Sometimes we have outdoor shows where the FOH position can be quite close to the stage; other times we can be somewhere the size of the O2 Arena with the spots mounted on the backwall. The

The Netherlands - Dutch rockers Kensington brought their double platinum Control album cycle to a close with a show-stopping performance for around 50,000 fans at Amsterdam Arena.
Belgian based lighting designer Michiel Milbou of Never Fear Shadows was asked by technical and show production co-ordinators Bush Cherroud and Albert Deltour from Nexxt Technology to come onboard and create a light show; he spec’d over 200 Robe Spiiders and BMFL Spot moving lights to be at the core of an epic visual extravaganza.
Milbou worked closely with Jop Kuipers, the band’s lighting operator, set designer Ronald van den Bersselaar from BEEO and graphic designer Mo Assem from Mr Beam, and together they devised the look and aesthetic of the show.
It was the first time that Milbou - well known for his flair and imagination in the television and live music sectors - has w

Australia - John Matkovic’s lighting design for a recent concert by Australian rock legend Ian Moss at the Griffith Regional Theatre relied on subtle colour washes to support the artist on stage.
This is not to suggest that his show was bereft of texture and colour. Far from it; utilising a collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures supplied by Showtools International, Matkovic employed a combination of background beams, washes, gobos and out of focus prisms along with some haze to reflect the moods of the music in a subtle, but powerful fashion.
Matkovic deployed eight Rogue R1 Spot fixtures, four evenly spaced on his most upstage bar and four on his most downstage bar. The four upstage fixtures were tilted at a 45-degree angle to emphasize their beams and gobos when backlighting the artist. The four downstage units were called upon to wash the stage backdrop

USA - On 29 July, San Diego Padres pitcher Trevor Hoffman was inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame as one of the most dominant closers of all time. The celebration continued a few weeks later at the Padres’ home field, Petco Park, when the star pitcher was honoured after a game with a pitcher’s mound spotlight courtesy of the Padres, Meeting Service. and Elation Artiste Picasso LED moving heads.
Meeting Services (MSI) handled the AV work at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Trevor Hoffman in Cooperstown, New York, and then returned to San Diego for the special event celebrating Hoffman’s return to San Diego, part of a four-day long celebration at Petco Park that also included the unveiling of a Trevor Hoffman statue.
Lighting designer Leonard Delgado and the team at MSI were contracted to spotlight the famed pitcher for a final 10-second so

Germany - Michael Häck, a respected freelance German system technician, discovered this summer the numerous advantages offered by Outline’s new processor, the Newton.
One of Häck’s recent projects included the Jazz Open Festival in Stuttgart, this year celebrating its 25th anniversary. It is one of the largest jazz festivals in Europe, taking place in five locations throughout the city, entertaining around 45,000 people and its diverse bill this year included Gregory Porter, Jamie Callum, Jamiroquai, Joss Stone, Lenny Kravitz, Meshell Ndegeocello, Pat Metheny, The Stanley Clarke Band and dozens more international artists.
Häck was responsible for two of the performance spaces, the Altes Schloss with an audience capacity of around 1,000 and the festival’s main stage, the Schlossplatz in the centre of the city which can accommodate 6,500.
He takes up the s

UK - Avolites’ video and lighting control integration system Synergy has won a coveted PLASA Awards for Innovation.
Picked by an expert panel of judges, Synergy stood out because it “opens up the creative opportunities for visual effects on stage as well as providing time-saving opportunities in production workflow.”
Koy Neminathan, Avolites sales director, says: “We’re all thrilled that Synergy has won a PLASA Innovation Award. Synergy is the product of years of experience and innovation as we continue to push forward what’s possible for total visual creative control. To have this recognised by the judges is a testament to the forward-thinking attitude at Avolites and the hard work we put in to achieving our vision of the future - which is empowering our users to achieve even more incredible things.”
Synergy was launched at this year’s

UK - The leading lights of the entertainment production industry descended on London's Eventim Apollo on Sunday night, where the winners of the 2018 Knight of Illumination Awards were announced.
A record number of people attended the glittering ceremony this year, which brings together entertainment technology professionals from around the world. The Knight of Illumination Awards celebrate the achievements of lighting and video designers working in the fields of theatre, television and concert touring & events.

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