Namibia - For the past 14 years, the O&L Group has been connecting with their almost 6000 employees across Namibia through a special outreach called the Mwenyopaleka Employee Engagement Roadshow. Rental company dB Audio Namibia, a leader in the technical events industry in Namibia, has been associated with the roadshow for years and this year turned to Elation Professional’s dynamic ACL 360 Bar effect to give the show a more modern, futuristic look. “The Mwenyopaleka roadshow aims to remind all employees that regardless of the operating company they work for, they all belong to the greater O&L family,” explains Ernst Steynberg, corporate communication manager at dB Audio Namibia. “It’s all about personal realisation and development and how that translates into professional growth.” O&L is Namibia’s largest private employer and operates companies th
UAE - Event design and technical production specialist Maestra has launched a new scenic department in Dubai. It will operate from a dedicated facility close to their HQ in Investment Park. Maestra has been providing its clients with creative scenic services for the past few years in both London and Dubai, so this consolidates the business model, and brings a key division of the contractor services portfolio in-house. Already delivering lighting, audio, video, rigging as well as scenic elements including the fabrication of set and staging, it was a “totally logical step” confirmed Maestra Dubai’s managing director Tom Clements. The new department will be headed up by Jurgens Potgieter, who brings over 10 years of practical experience in the region, working for several leading fabrication contractors. Before then, he cut his ‘production teeth’ in the sam
Europe - A document has been published explaining what the latest draft of the Ecodesign regulations released by the European Commission could mean for the entertainment technology industry. Written by PLASA's Ecodesign task group representative Adam Bennette of ETC, the eight-page document (available in full here - PDF) lays out his views and interpretations of the contents of the second draft. The Professional Entertainment Lighting Products Ecodesign task group - the body that represented the industry during the public consultation - said the situation was "far more positive" following the Commission's
Canada - Solotech has announced the appointment of Jason Howard as director of operations for the Ottawa office, effective 5 September 2018. In this role, Howard will lead the operational activities, including the integration of advanced equipment and technology for clients for all the segments of expertise (government, business, cultural and sports facilities) of the sales and integration division. Jason has been working in project and operations management for almost 20 years and his areas of expertise include quality assurance, strategic planning and process improvement. (Jim Evans)
UK - At PLASA 2018, Artistic Licence will be launching daliGate quad, a product that integrates DALI with Art-Net and DMX/RDM. Also new is Rail-Split RJ45, a premium DIN rail splitter developed in response to high customer demand. And for powerful yet economical DMX control, we are proud to be showing the stylish matisse range. Artistic Licence CEO and product designer Wayne Howell will be present throughout the show to answer questions. Howell is also hosting a seminar on the latest news and views on industry control protocols at 1.30pm on Sunday, 16 September. daliGate quad is an ethernet-to-DALI interface providing four DALI circuits. It is compatible with Art-Net or sACN and can convert between DMX, RDM and DALI. This means that an Art-Net capable lighting desk can now directly control DALI gear in just the same way as DMX. Learn more about daliGate quad an
UK - Chauvet Professional will showcase some of the latest products from its Maverick, STRIKE, Ovation and COLORado series of fixtures at PLASA 2018 on 16-18 September at London Olympia. The ranges have been making their mark on the theatrical and touring scene this summer, being specified for shows on Broadway and concerts by bands like Counting Crows and Nine Inch Nails. Among the highlights at the Chauvet Professional stand J30 will be the Maverick Storm 1 Wash. The newest addition to the award-winning Maverick line of moving fixtures, the high-output (over 6000lm) Storm 1 Wash has an IP65 rating, making it suitable for outdoor festival use. Another fixture for outdoor use is the STRIKE P38, a compact IP65-rated blinder that delivers a punchy output from its 90W warm white LED source. An emulated “amber shift” warms the colour temperature of the light as it dim
Visual Horizon Communications (VHC), a St. Paul, Minnesota-based boutique staging company, has taken delivery of Claypaky Axcor Spot 300 fixtures. One of the first in the US to acquire Axcor Spots, part of Claypaky’s new Axcor 300 family of moving LED fixtures, VHC has been looking to replace older spots in the company’s lighting inventory. “We needed to replace some ageing spots, and our last two purchases had been Claypaky equipment,” says lighting designer Bob Wynsteker. “We really like the quality we’re seeing from Claypaky. Their fixtures are built to last.” When VHC decided to invest in new spots the company staged a shoot-out with other LED fixtures of comparable size to the Axcor Spot. “The Axcor’s brightness, compared to our current spots, was right up there,” says Wynsteker. “Stacked up against the other units, the Axcor consumed less power and
Japan - Music club Live Roxy Shizuoka has added a permanent installation of Ayrton Ghibli, MagicDotR and CosmPixR fixtures to enhance the experience of the bands that play there and the audience who come to dance the night away in one of Shizuoka’s latest music venues. Live Roxy Shizuoka, which has a standing capacity of 882 people, opened in February after Live Roxy’s owner, Mr. Mitsuhiro Matsuura, invested in two Ghibli fixtures, five MagicDot-R, and a central CosmoPix-R for the stage lighting. “Since I was a teenager it has been one of my long-term dreams to open live music clubs,” says Matsuura, once a band member himself. “When I first discovered Ghibli, Magicdot-R and Cosmopix-R, I felt that they would make my 20year-long dream perfect because not only the artists, but also the Live Roxy audiences, would experience excitement from the effect of those fi
Estonia - Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) has recently invested in new Robe Spiider and DL7S Profile LED luminaries for their main studios in downtown Tallinn, where they are “making a big impact” in both of the principal studios, and across several genres of television, according to Mihkel Robam, head of AV at ERR. Robam and his team have been using Robe moving lights since the original workhorse ColorSpot 1200E AT range. More recently they went over to LED, initially with a purchase of LEDWash 300s and now with the latest - 16 x Spiiders and 16 x DL7S Profiles. Being a state-run organisation, investments go in line with the cap ex spending cycles, and they are also keen to reduce their carbon footprint as much as possible. The latest Robes were used in Ajujaht (Brain Hunt) a reality show that looks for the best new start up ideas. This was record
UK - Bristol Old Vic has enlisted Stage Electrics to supply lighting, AV and sound equipment for a redevelopment that will transform the Theatre Royal’s front of house, studio theatre and other public spaces. This is the biggest refurbishment the Bristol Old Vic has undergone since the renovation of its historic Georgian auditorium in 2012. Initially, Stage Electrics tendered for all the lighting equipment for the studio theatre’s redevelopment. On successfully winning the tender Stage Electrics’ Steve Woolley met with Tim Streader, chief electrician at the Bristol Old Vic, to finalise the details of the order. “The Bristol Old Vic clearly required LED profile fixtures that could accommodate extensive colour-mixing,” explains Woolley. “After demonstrating different fixtures, we helped the client settle on ETC’s ColorSource Spot. This fixture offers a combinati
Europe - Avolites’ Ai Q3 media server provided the video oomph for Finnish rockers Sunrise Avenue during their recent European festivals tour. The 2U machine, which supports lossless video playback via Avolites' AiM codec, was powered up by video designer Tim Hornung. The band performed at festivals including the Nova Rock Festival in Nickelsdorf, Austria and the Moon and Stars Festival in Locarno, Switzerland, as well as others in Germany and Finland. Sunrise Avenue were backed by a large LED screen, displaying a mixture of live camera feeds of the on-stage action and pre-created visuals, which were produced by Lightborne. “We wanted to reproduce the look of the band’s recent arena tour, where we had five separate, framed, LED screens hung above the stage,” says Hornung. “To achieve this, we needed to re-programme the visuals to create five virtual
USA - Singer-songwriter Sam Hunt has supported country music legend Luke Bryan on a series of stadium shows this summer (as well as undertaking solo dates), with a stage set conceived by production designer, Travis Shirley (of TSLD). To create a three-sided wrap-around, the LD used no fewer than 80 of GLP’s new JDC1 hybrid strobes, provided by Nashville-based Premier Global Production Company (PGP). Although this is the second tour that TSLD has handled the design for, Travis has worked with the artist for several years on a number of TV performances. Explaining the reasons for choosing the JDC1, the LD states, “When planning the concept a huge factor was the load in/set up time we would be allowed for the shows with Luke. I knew that we needed something that had definition to it and offered the fans an experience of what they’ve come to expect from a Sam Hunt sh
Singapore - Adam Hall Asia hosted an APAC distributor summit at the company's showroom in Singapore on 23-24 August. Just the second summit of its kind for Adam Hall Asia - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Adam Hall GmbH Germany - the event welcomed more than 20 partner companies from 16 countries, with distributors from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Republic of Fiji attending for the first time. Members of the product managers and business development teams from Germany, alongside Adam Hall Group COO Markus Jahnel, were also in attendance. Jahnel comments: “I would like to emphasise how important the partners who attended this meeting are for the international growth and success of the Adam Hall Group." Chandan Mahtani, managing director of Adam Hall Asia, adds: “The whole meeting was characterised by a fantastic team spirit. It was evident how essential
USA - For many youth in America, summer is synonymous with summer camp and for thousands of Christian youth that means a stay at a Student Life camp. Student Life has operated a variety of week-long interdenominational summer camps across the U.S. since 1993 and this past summer saw 35,000 students participate. Elite Multimedia Productions of Nashville served as lighting, video and audio vendor for this year’s Student Life Camp, providing an Elation Professional touring lighting rig that included Artiste DaVinci LED moving head luminaires. Student Life camps start in late May and run through early August with five traveling teams working hard to put on each camp. “We take care of all of the details at camp, i.e. housing, meals, programming, worship, etc, so that the Student Pastor can focus on ministry,” says Jake Brantley, director of production for Student Life
UK - Standing only a stone’s throw from its original site on the south bank of London’s river Thames, the new incarnation of Shakespeare’s Globe opened in 1997. In the two decades since, it has seen visitors from around the world pass through its doors, taking part in workshops, lectures, staged readings and, of course, watching the bard’s plays. Recently, Northern Light was contracted to replace its house light system with LED fixtures. “This is a very unusual project,” says the Globe’s project manager, Paul Russell. “Because this is a reproduction of the original Elizabethan building, modern technology needs to be inconspicuous. This means that sometimes, we need to do things in a way that may not seem logical or be the simplest solution to ensure we maintain the authenticity of an ancient structure.” Northern Light’s relationship with the Globe
Slovakia - SRS Group, lighting rigging and power distribution specialist, has recently moved its production and offices into a larger facility. The new base, in Rybnicna 38/B, 83107 Bratislava, is just across the street from the company’s old location. The larger premises will enable SRS to hold a larger stock of products, have more space for the R&D department, assembly and metal-work production. The building also features its own 600A transformer that gives an opportunity for PDU testing under full load. SRS Group believes their customers will benefit from this step ahead by having better delivery times, more organised production and even more developed R&D. Customers are advised that despite the move, SRS Group’s billing address has remained unchanged. (Jim Evans)
UK - Robe, a platinum sponsor for PLASA 2018, will launch a major new product at the trade show taking place on 16-18 September at London Olympia. The Czech manufacturer is keeping all details under wraps until 10.00AM on Sunday, 16 September, when it will reveal all on stand D40. Also highlighted at the show is Robe’s modular RoboSpot remote followspotting system, now available with the latest Multi Device Control (MDC) software. RoboSpot comprises several different elements which can be used in a variety of combinations to control up to 12 units of Robe’s newest fixtures including the BMFL range, MegaPointes, Pointes, DL7 and DL4 series luminaires. The BMFL FollowSpot LT is another new fixture to be shown at PLASA for the first time. It’s a brighter long-throw version of the standard BMFL FollowSpot, with all the same as the standard BMFL FollowSpot, how
USA - Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the third annual Black Music Honours. Hosted by Rickey Smiley and LeToya Luckett and held at the Tennessee Performing Arts Centre, 16 August, the show’s honorees included Bobby Brown, Dallas Austin, Faith Evans, Whodini and Bebe and Cece Winans. “On this show, the award winners/honorees are the true stars of the show,” says lighting designer Mark Carver. “The idea is to showcase their body of work through various musical artists, and both work hand in hand so that the music and the award fit the genre of each particular honorees, giving them a true honor for their body of work.” Bandit Lites supplied nearly 200 fixtures for the soirée including GLP X4S, Elation ACL 360 Bars, Chavuet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, Robe BMFLs, Claypaky B-EYE K20 and Bandit’s exclusive GRNLite Moving Washes. Carver utilized the B-EYE K20
USA - My Name’s Not Indian Joe, the Elizabeth A. Davis blues-tinged musical about the unlikely bond formed between a homeless Native American man and a young aspiring Texas beauty queen recently played Manhattan’s Davenport Theatre. Zach Blane’s lighting design utilised over 70 Chauvet Professional fixtures. Working with Emmy Award-winning director Don Scardino and set designer Ann Beyersdorer, Blane used lighting to convey the passage of time and place as well as the current of emotions that run through the play. “There are actually more than 20 locations in this cinematically written musical,” says Blane. “The story takes place in ‘Grandpa’s South Field’ in Texas, a homeless shelter, under the I-35 bridge, on a park bench, in a ratty dirty motel room, and in a car during an eight-hour drive, among other settings. The list goes on. All of these wor
USA - Church of the Highlands recently updated its main Birmingham, Alabama, facility with a complete lighting package by Harman Professional Solutions comprised entirely of Martin fixtures. Founded in 2001 by senior pastor Chris Hodges, Church of the Highlands is a non-denominational multi-site church with headquarters in Birmingham and 16 additional satellite campuses across Alabama. With technology playing an integral role in creating meaningful worship experiences for the church’s thousands of members across separate locations, church leaders wanted to ensure high production standards for the video simulcast Lighting director Patrick Hentz made the decision to upgrade the church’s aging lighting system with a state-of-the-art lighting solution. Hentz selected an extensive range of Martin fixtures to ensure premium image quality for the video simulcast, i
Russia - Astera has announced Martin Rus LLC as its new exclusive distributor for Russia. Martin Rus will be distributing and servicing the German brand’s battery powered entertainment and film lighting, the X-series. The enterprise includes management team, regular stock of different brands in Moscow and the service-centre authorized by international manufacturers. “We are very happy to start cooperation with Astera and become the first company who will bring these terrific solutions to the Russian market,” comments Mikhail Kuznetsov, CEO of Martin Rus. “We met at PL+S in Frankfurt this year and have been greatly impressed by Astera products offering so many interesting possibilities. As a company, Astera has already proved to be highly customer-oriented and they have an absolutely correct business approach. They have a very big potential and we are lo
Columbia - Nearly 200 Robe moving lights graced the spectacular lighting scheme devised for the Opening Ceremony of the 2018 Central Americana & Caribbean Games, staged in the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, in the key Colombian port city of Barranquilla. LD John J Orduña Sarmiento was part of a highly talented team involved in the show’s technical production, for which lighting equipment - including all the Robe fixtures - was supplied by leading Colombian rental company, Línea Estratégica based in Medellin. The vibrant and highly visual OC included stunning projection mapping onto the field-of-play with the images also appearing on a large video wall at the back of a large stage built at one end of the stadium. A cast of several hundred dancers thrilled the crowds along with several special collaborations and music performances by top artists embrac
Germany - Housing 22,000 plant species within its 43-hectare complex, the Berlin-Dahlem Botanical Garden and Botanical Museum stands out as a verdant oasis in midst of Germany's bustling capital, just as it has for over a century. A highlight of the year at this world-renowned facility is its Summer Festival, which features botanical exhibitions and a specially crafted Botanische Nacht live show. This year’s show, which featured 160 artists, musicians and other performers, was built around the theme The Light of Nature. Lighting designer Denny Arndt helped to bring their performance to life by using 150 Chauvet Professional Épix Strip IP fixtures, supplied by TLT Event AG, to create a vibrant and flexible lighting panorama at the Botanical Garden’s central greenhouse. With the performances leading visitors through various botanical themes in the main
UK - Over three days in early August, 22 volunteers from event production specialists Light Fantastic Production Services transformed the outdoor space at Somers Court, a supported home in Edgware, North London. Managed by Norwood, Somers Court provides assisted living to help children and adults maximise their potential at home, at school and throughout their lives. Taking a break from their ‘day job’ supplying production services and equipment to the event industry, the LFPS team endured the August heatwave plus severe torrential downpours to create a bright and inspiring garden for residents to enjoy. Handling every aspect of design, build and installation, LFPS also covered the full cost of both time and materials to ensure delivery of the completed project. Inspired and functional, the revamped gardens now include accessible high-level planters, a shade
