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12 April 2024

South Africa - Cape Town based Rainbow Lighting has invested in new lighting fixtures from Astera. The company was started by freelance gaffer Desmond Gqitekaya in 2020. At the time, he was working mostly on major movies and feature films being shot in South Africa and was lucky enough to also start picking up commercials and music video work through his contacts, for which there was always a demand for thinking quickly and ‘out-of-the-box’ when it came to lighting. This soon led him to Astera.

His first purchase was Astera Helios Tubes in 2022, and this has quickly expanded to also include Astera’s workhorse Titan Tubes, HydraPanels and NYX Bulbs.

He was first inspired to look at the wireless LED brand after seeing other film lighting professionals using them on set and in the studio, and observing how some lighting set ups struggled to make l

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12 April 2024

USA - When design group Lightswitch debuted Illumination: Tree Lights at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois, in 2012, not only did they curate a series of attractions, they ushered in a whole new kind of experience.

As one of the nation’s most beloved light displays, Lightswitch works with the arboretum each year to develop new lighting elements for the wintertime walk in the woods and all-weather Elation luminaires continue to form the foundation of the magical lighting scheme. Lightswitch works closely with Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) on the Illumination project and again this year the Illinois-based design and rental house supplied the lighting fixtures.

As guests journey along a one-mile paved walking path amid festive music and lighting effects, they pass through enchanting woodlands and landscapes filled with dramatic l

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12 April 2024

Spain - Brigada Tech is a new Spanish TV series presented by Luján Argüelles, directed by Eva Castillejo, and lit by Manuel Ricoy. The format sees ‘digital mentors’ and popular ‘Social Media influencers’ assisting people with limited access to the information superhighway in tackling assorted digital challenges that can benefit their day-to-day living.

Each episode was recorded at a different location around Spain, including Avilés (Asturias), Laguna de Duero (Valladolid), Tudela (Navarra), Canas de Morrazo (Galicia), Altea (Alicante), Torrelavega (Cantabria) and Puertollano (Castilla la Mancha) – facilitating a pop-up studio segment, for which Manuel was DoP and LD.

He chose a selection of Robe moving light products – 12 x Fortes, eight MegaPointes, 12 x Pointes, 16 x LEDBeam 150s and 12 x LEDBeam 350s – which were supplied

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12 April 2024

Europe - Last November, Obsidian Control Systems initiated Train the Trainer workshops aimed at training its European partners on the specifics of the intuitive Onyx lighting control platform. The sessions, specifically designed to springboard an Obsidian awareness campaign and grow the Onyx community, are bearing fruit as trainers across Europe amplify the platform’s reach by training other partners and end-users.

One of the youngest participants in the Train the Trainer sessions, held at Obsidian’s European headquarters in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, is 16-year-old Martin Pokorný from the Czech Republic. Martin completed the training sessions in February alongside Obsidian’s three-day Onyx course and is now training Obsidian users in the Czech Republic.

“For young people just entering the lighting control market, I think Onyx is the best pl

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12 April 2024

USA/Europe - TMB has launched an initiative to help production companies in Ukraine. As Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues, Zinteco Productions, a cornerstone in Ukraine's entertainment production community for over 25 years, needs help.

The ongoing conflict has brought the Ukrainian entertainment industry, like all normal life, to a standstill, and Zinteco’s operations have been severely impacted. TMB has collaborated with Main Light LLC to make some of Zinteco’s Solaris Flare Q+ fixtures available to cross-rent in the U.S. market. One hundred per cent of the rental revenue generated will pass on to Zinteco, whose principals, good friends of TMB for many years, still live in Kyiv and whose time is now 100% devoted to supporting Ukrainian refugees and defence efforts.

Events like the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, supported by

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11 April 2024

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11 April 2024

UK - The biggest night in the UK’s televised music awards calendar was supplied by Britannia Row for the 29th year.

The multi-artist live music event - which sits within a televised awards show - requires the audio team to ensure the overall production comes together cohesively, a task Britannia Row is well versed in.

Head of engineering – event support, Josh Lloyd, who also acts as the BRITs audio designer, comments: “People like to remain involved in this show as it has always been an annual milestone in the UK music calendar and has generated some special moments including Adele’s performance of Someone Like You which I was lucky enough to mix, Geri Halliwell's Union Jack dress and Santan Dave’s incredible rendition of Black. The production team is made up of an amazing group of people, so it’s a real pleasure coming

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11 April 2024

UK - TV, broadcast and event lighting rental specialists, Version 2 Lights has announced the promotion of Joe Marter to general manager.

Marter joined V2 four years ago this week as a project manager, and has since worked on a number of high-profile productions, most notably the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

"Interestingly it was also this week, 10 years ago that Joe joined Aurora as a technician," the company says. "The progression is a testament to Joe's hard work, dedication, broad skill set and attention to detail which has seen him come through the ranks. Joe’s new role at V2 will see him assume full day to day internal responsibilities at our Childs Court Farm Campus. Joe will continue to project manage a small number of long-term clients, with Simon Perrott taking on a senior role within the rental team."

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11 April 2024

UK - Designed to meet the demanding need for robust yet flexible content visualisation at exhibitions, concerts, conferences, sporting events, and other commercial activities, the new Leyard LN Series LED displays deliver quality visual effects and information to any temporary event or occasion. With a user-friendly design, ‘effortless’ maintenance, and swift setup, the LN Series flexible LED displays boast a modular and lightweight structure. They are easily assembled and disassembled, offering hassle-free transportation and setup for diverse events and venues.

The displays can be tailored to support specific application requirements and seamlessly integrated with other equipment and systems, enhancing functionality and effects. 

Addressing the diverse requirements of Leyard’s clientele, the LN Series offers a range of sizes, shapes, and reso

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11 April 2024

USA - Audinate Group has announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based Dante audio transport solution for broadcasters. New features and capabilities include remote contribution options, native Dante software integration, cloud deployment platform options, and new resellers.

Dante Connect is a suite of software applications that facilitate cloud-based broadcast production and is a powerful platform for A1s and mixing engineers, combining the familiarity, ease of use and tight synchronization of Dante audio with seamless connectivity to centralized production tools running on cloud instances.

Dante Connect adds WebRTC-powered remote contribution functionality to the existing uncompressed Dante audio transport streams. The remote contribution feature allows Dante sources connected to the internet worldwide to be captured as an a

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11 April 2024

Portugal - 512 LiveDesign, a prominent lighting design studio specialising in live events, dance, theatre, and live performances, has announced its continued dedication to using CAST Group’s WYSIWYG in their creative process.

Led by Rui Daniel and Marco Dias, the company has been at the forefront of innovative lighting design for the past decade in Portugal and abroad, consistently relying on WYSIWYG as an indispensable tool in their projects. WYSIWYG technology has significantly streamlined the workflow at 512 LiveDesign, empowering their team to deliver immersive lighting experiences to audiences worldwide.

Rui Daniel, founder and lead designer at 512 Live Design, comments, "For the past decade, WYSIWYG has been an integral part of our design process. Its intuitive interface and powerful capabilities have enabled us to bring our creative visions

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11 April 2024

France - Things do not always go as planned with outdoor affairs, and the Kandahar, Chamonix FIS World Ski Cup was no exception. Unseasonably warm weather caused the cancelation of the widely anticipated downhill competition that was scheduled to take place over the first two days of the three-day event.

However, not all was lost. Those who stayed for the entire three-days got to enjoy the breathtaking scenery of this resort, located at the base of Mont Blanc, the highest summit in the Alps. They also enjoyed a breathtaking bit of skiing history, at the La Verte des Houches slope, as Switzerland’s Daniel Yule became the first FIS Alpine skier ever to win a slalom race after staring out in 30th (last) position.

Another thing that generated excitement and raised spirits at this famed resort (the first Winter Olympics took place here in 1924), was the

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11 April 2024

Italy - Viola Park, a new modern sports centre and home to ACF Fiorentina football club, recently underwent a full AV system integration including comprehensive K-array audio systems. Nestled amidst the rolling Florentine hills, Viola Park is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of professional footballers at what is thought to be one of the best training facilities in the country.

With 26 hectares of sprawling landscape, Viola Park is the largest sports centre in Italy and one of the largest in Europe. The facilities at the site include 12 regulation pitches and stadiums, gyms, accommodation and medical, media and wellness centres. To complement its world-class amenities, Viola Park sought out a top-of-the-line audio system to enhance the experience for players, spectators and visitors alike.

Systems integrator, Professional Show partnered wit

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11 April 2024

Austria - Currently riding high in the Bundesliga - the top tier of Austrian football - Linzer Athletik-Sport-Klub (LASK) recently relocated to Linz’s futuristic new Raiffeisen Arena. Constructed as a UEFA Category 4 venue, LASK’s new ground is now among the largest and most modern sports facilities in the country, with over 80 Genelec Smart IP loudspeakers delivering quality sound to the fans.

Key players in this project were Saw IT Consulting, Genelec distributor Audio Pro, and local integration company Contech – who were responsible for the central distribution of all audio-visual equipment, as well as some of the stadium audio.

“Genelec was chosen for three main reasons,” says Friedrich Mühlböck from Saw IT Consulting. “Firstly, because of their undeniable quality thanks to their heritage as one of the most respected players in the

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10 April 2024

UK - Audiences are being treated to ‘an immersive visual feast’, thanks to RCM’s approach of combining real-time 3D generative content, utilising Epic’s Unreal Engine, with live cameras.

The creative content for James Arthur’s Bitter Sweet Love World Tour, which hit the road in March 2024, was fashioned by RCM’s team, headed up by Video Designer Alex Vipond. They collaborated closely with the artist, along with Pete Hutchison and Edd Croft of design collective Mangata to bring the client’s aspirations to life. The visuals add energy to the show, combining a nostalgic Nashville aesthetic with a dynamic that nods to James Arthur’s rise from the X-Factor.

Pete said: “We worked closely with RCM to utilise the screens shape. The original mood board they sent captured everything we were looking for from the visuals and l

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10 April 2024

UK - Brompton Technology has appointed Sebastian Kanabar as technical sales consultant, focussing on the broadcast and film industries.

Based at the company’s headquarters in Chiswick, Kanabar brings over two decades of experience in senior technical, sales and product management roles at Prokit Europe, Holdan (part of the Midwich Group), NM Productions, and Pixel Engine.

He has had the opportunity to work with many well-known companies including Panavision, Sky, NBC Universal and CNN, as well as leading lighting and camera manufacturers like ARRI. Most recently, he was technical director at a UK-based VFX company, handling projects for high end technology and automotive brands. 

“Working in a variety of roles has given me an understanding of the entire production cycle,” he explains. “I wanted to delve deeper into product management

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10 April 2024

USA - Disguise will showcase its latest broadcast and virtual production (VP) solutions at this year’s NAB. Show visitors will be the first to get an early preview of Disguise’s latest release of its Porta broadcast graphics controller, which has been upgraded for Unreal Engine 5.4, and get hands-on with Disguise’s end-to-end xR and VP technology at six exhibition stands across the show floor.

Disguise and its Creative Services division, Meptik, will also be part of several speaker sessions on topics including digital twins, AR graphics, virtual production and ST 2110 with partners such as WWE, NVIDIA and the Portland Trail Blazers.

“From the Olympics to the elections, this is a big year for broadcasters. Teams need to tell data-driven stories more efficiently, while still increasing audience engagement figures,” says Disguise’s general m

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10 April 2024

USA - RDL has announced its latest creation, the RU-NMP44, a cost-effective, network mixing processor that delivers ‘the flexibility of network audio for any system size or budget’. Designed to be versatile, and to support a wide range of system designs, the RU-NMP44’s performance specifications make it suitable for the most demanding installations.

The RU-NMP44 can add volume control, mixing, switching, and ducking to existing network audio systems. The digital signal processing offered in the RU-NMP44 often fulfills all the requirements for an audio system design, such as in classrooms, meeting rooms, restaurants/bars, fitness centres, and retail stores.

“This is a remarkable product that was developed through a combination of our deep expertise in network audio, signal processing, and manufacturing,” says Erik Tarkiainen, president at RD

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10 April 2024

UK - DiGiCo has announced the release of its latest software update, Version 1742, designed for all SD and Quantum consoles. Now available for free download from the Info and Downloads section of the DiGiCo website, found under the Support tab at www.DiGiCo.biz, V1742 replaces previous version V1619, which was rolled out a year and a half ago.

Of particular note, the installation of V1742 enables Quantum338 and Quantum225 owners to purchase and harness DiGiCo’s optional new Pulse software extension, revealed this January, increasing their number of input channels, busses, and Mustard and Nodal Processors. V1742 will also offer Quantum7 and Quantum5 customers a bump in Mustard processing numbers for free.

The new software release enables DiGiCo users to benefit from KLANG’s also-new KOS 5.5 upgrade, which permits standalone console integration wit

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10 April 2024

Portugal - Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe recently held a workshop on lighting at the Teatro Ibérico in Lisbon.

In the tenth edition of the seminar Lighting The Stars, Patrick Woodroffe, who has designed the lighting for the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, the London Olympic Games and numerous other events of international significance, shared his most notable and thrilling experiences, including a touching tribute to Michael Jackson, with whom he was preparing a tour mere days prior to Michael's early demise.

He then proceeded with a live practical exercise, in which he created a lighting design for a musical piece chosen without his knowledge, revealing some of the secrets of his art and technique.

The event was organised by SLS, Claypaky's distributor for Portugal, with the support of Claypaky itself, which was present with an extens