UK - Around 500 industry family, friends, acquaintances and business associates hit HSL’s Blackburn HQ to enjoy two social open days to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary.
The event included an exhibition space which was dedicated to 32 of HSL’s key suppliers and partner companies including high profile brands and manufacturers like Avolites, Chauvet, High End Systems, J&C Joel, Martin by Harman, Robe, SGM, Philips Vari*Lite, Unilumin and many more, who showcased their latest technologies and enjoyed the general conviviality.
HSL’s Simon Stuart worked closely and tirelessly to make HSL30 happen with a short lead time, just before the autumn touring season kicked in. He worked alongside Jeff Demain as the co-show producer to get the building prepared wh

UK - Stage Electrics has announced the appointment of Adam Blaxill as operations director. His responsibilities include managing Stage Electrics’ engineering workshop, service department, purchasing function and sales warehouse. He continues with his marketing responsibilities.
Maria Townsend, Stage Electrics’ group CEO, commented, “Adam was the obvious candidate for this role. He has a great deal of knowledge of the Stage Electrics operation, as well as the technical entertainment industry. His appointment strengthens the team and allows us to continue our plan of further sustainable growth.”
(Jim Evans)

USA - ADJ is proud to announce will use the 2018 LDI trade show to unveil its latest technology breakthrough: IP65-rated moving head beam fixtures. The new Hydro Beam X1 and Hydro Beam X2 will bring weatherproof moving heads within the reach of production companies and installers working on projects with budgets that up until now would not have allowed for IP-rated fixtures.
With robust construction and IP65-ratings, the Hydro Series fixtures are designed for both indoor or outdoor use. Their durable casings protect them from dust, sand, moisture and liquids, making them ideal for use in all situations from dusty deserts in California to rainy fields in England. Suitable for festivals and outdoor events, as well as installation in open-air clubs and other outside entertainment spaces, the fixtures offer an extended operational life and reduced maintenance requirement due to

USA – At LDI 2018, ETC and High End Systems will join forces in one large-scale, combined booth to “showcase lighting solutions for every show and venue”. In addition to new fixtures, controls and rigging options, both companies will debut new moving lights on the tradeshow floor.
The booth showcases several new automated fixtures this year, among them are Relevé Spot fixtures, a mover that combines nearly a decade of LED optical engineering with forty years of theatrical experience. This affordable automated fixture includes impressive colour mixing capabilities, a perfectly subtle theatrical frost, and a unique Ani-gobo wheel that was designed with your theatre in mind.
The latest and brightest additions to the Sola Series, SolaSpot 3000 and SolaFrame 3000 will light up High End’s side of the booth. For a more compact frame option, the SolaFrame 1000 will be

USA - Doughty Engineering is set to launch the new Fifty Clamp at this year's LDI. The clamp which will make its debut on booth 1827 has TUV approval, a safe working load of 50kg and has been designed to fit tube diameter 38mm-51mm. Made from pressure die cast aluminium ensures it prevents damage to thin wall truss. It is captive with M10 or M12 bolts and comes supplied with an M10 fixing kit.
Mark Chorley, design engineer at Doughty commented: "We've been working on the Fifty Clamp for a little while, so we're very excited to be launching it at LDI this year. Our Twenty Clamp is one of our best-selling pieces of kit and we realised that a clamp which could take a safe working load of 50kg would be a welcome addition to the range."
Doughty's Omega Space Saver will also make its debut at the show. Mark continued: “We actually brought the prototype version with us to
featured content

ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

The Netherlands - Ayrton has appointed Ampco Flashlight Sales as its latest exclusive distributor in its expanding international sales network. Based in Utrecht, Ampco Flashlight Sales will be responsible for the distribution of the entire portfolio of Ayrton products across The Netherlands, with immediate effect.
With a history that stretches back 30 years, Ampco Flashlight Sales is a distributor, systems integrator and project house for both professional lighting and audio products. Its rental division has recently invested in Ayrton Ghibli and MagicBlade-FX to add to its hire stock.
“To be a distributor for Ayrton is a gift,” says Ampco Flashlight Sales general manager, Peter de Fouw. “We have been looking at Ayrton with interest for a couple of years. Then came the release of the new progressive fixtures which really spurred us to talk to Ayrton and progress

Europe - On Tuesday 9th October, the EU released a revised version of their proposed new Ecodesign and Ecolabelling Lighting regulations. These are the intended final versions of these regulations.
The full texts are available to read via the links below.
From an entertainment lighting perspective, this version is almost entirely unchanged from the draft published in July. There is a minor addition of a new exemption for some specialist fluorescent lamps used in the film industry. And the exemptions established in the July draft, which cover many areas of entertainment lighting, remain in place.
However, this draft does not address any of the issues that the entertainment lighting industry’s Ecodesign Task Group have been trying to raise with the EU since the publication of the July draft.
This means that some key issues remain:
- requirement for lig
featured content

Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

UK - After a successful year of headline festival slots and TV appearances, Rob Broderick, a.k.a. Abandoman recently embarked upon a sell-out tour to take his comedy hip-hop around the UK. Like his multi-talented client, LD Robbie Butler also went outside the box to create something original. Helping him in this endeavour were 21 Chauvet Professional Rogue R1 FX-B and 21 Maverick MK Pyxis fixtures.
Although lighting for a live music venue tour, Butler followed his client’s wishes and created the kind of “stadium looks” more commonly associated with large rock concerts.
“Rob (Abandoman) is a big fan of Kanye West, so he wanted the show to rival a Kanye concert in terms of production value,” commented Butler. “All this had to be achieved on a modest budget, and the show had to be able to turn around within the space of a half hour, so there were significant

Canada - Lighting designer Robert Sondergaard of Electric Aura Projects and Solotech recently deployed Martin by Harman VDO Sceptron10 LED lighting fixtures to create a dynamic and innovative stage design for Toronto’s Veld Music Festival.
Now in its seventh year, the annual EDM and hip-hop music festival was held in Toronto’s Downsview Park. The line-up featured Marshmello, Martin Garrix, DJ Snake, Benny Benassi, Lil Yachty and more. Each year the festival strives to create an ambitious and eye-catching stage design, and this year they wanted to incorporate the VELD logo as a dynamic centrepiece.
Festival organisers hired production and lighting designer Robert Sondergaard, who collaborated with video and sound provider Solotech to create an ambitious design using Martin VDO Sceptron10 LED Fixtures and custom-fabricated set pieces.
“The big thing they wa

UK - Monitor engineer Gavin Tempany has been out on tour Kylie Minogue. He has chosen a Solid State Logic L500 Plus for the shows, supplied by UK tour and events company Capital Sound Hire.
Kylie's latest world tour follows the release of her new album, Golden. It's a project heavily influenced by the Nashville country scene, which follows through onto the stage via set, costume, and narrative in a typically theatrical set. Kylie is joined on stage by five musicians and two backing singers, and all are supported at monitor world by experienced engineer Gavin Tempany (Dave Gilmour, Hans Zimmer, Will Young, OMD) and a Solid State Logic 500 Plus console.
While Tempany describes the 50 or so instrument and vocal inputs from show as "not too much compared to my usual madness", the aesthetics and design of the show have created a few side challenges. First, the moni

Argentina - Microphones from Audio-Technica are being used to capture both live and broadcast audio at Youth Olympics Games, taking place now in Buenos Aires.
The Youth Olympic Games, held every two years (Winter and Summer games staggered in years opposite the adult games), are an international multi-sport event organised by the International Olympic Committee. Buenos Aires 2018 is the scenario for 32 sports and 36 disciplines.
A wide selection of Audio-Technica microphones are being employed, including BP4071 Line + Gradient (Shotgun) Condenser Microphones, BP4073 Line + Gradient (Shotgun) Condenser Microphones, AT899 Subminiature Omnidirectional Condenser Lavalier Microphones and BP4001 Cardioid Dynamic Microphones (handheld, for interviews).
“We are pleased to be participating in the technical setup at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games,” stated Audio-

UK - Green Hippo, in partnership with Kinesys, is running a two-day Automation Masterclass. Held in Kinesys’s London demo room – just 20 minutes’ drive from Heathrow airport and fully-equipped with chain motors, rotators, trolleys and truss – the course is designed for anyone looking to explore integrating moving elements with Hippotizer. No prior knowledge of Kinesys automation systems is required, though a good understanding of Hippotizer and basic SHAPE functions will help attendees get the most out of the sessions.
Course content includes: Classroom component to comprehensively cover all aspects of automation, including connecting to an automation system, to visualising and pre-programming your show; Hands-on sessions in Kinesys demo room where students will work with hardware, practicing object alignment, parenting and automation scripting; Use of Kinesys Vector

USA - Obsidian Control Systems will be showcasing the first three lighting control products under the ONYX lighting control platform. Designers, programmers and operators are invited to Obsidian Control Systems Booth 1135 for a first look and hands-on demo of the powerful NX 2, the portable NX Wing and the convenient NX DMX.
The NX 2 is a compact yet fully-integrated lighting controller with all the connectivity and power the ever-increasing size of shows demands. As a member of the innovative ONYX platform from Obsidian Control Systems, the NX 2 is feature rich and never restricted in its capabilities.
Utilizing the latest in industrial components, the NX 2 contains a powerful Intel Hexa-Core processor, high-speed NVMe SSD drive and 16GB of DDR4 RAM. Fast boot times, instant operation and the ability to process 64 Universes right inside the console without the need f

USA - Following a very successful LDI last year and substantial growth in its American market, Kinesys returns to LDI to meet industry influencers, decision makers and movers & shakers - creative and technical - who will visit over the three days.
Kinesys will be highlighting its innovative new Apex hoist system, as well as its industry standard Elevation 1+ system and will be getting interactive on the stand, where visitors can control both Apex and Kinesys converted CM Lodestar hoists running with Elevation 1+, side by side. This is designed to provide a real hands-on and tactile experience, so people can appreciate what the two different systems can offer in terms of performance and smoothness of operation. It will also provide an authentic comparison between these two versatile platforms of chain hoist control.
Attendees can also check out the Kinesys’ DigiHo

USA - UK lighting control manufacturer Zero 88 will have a strong presence at the 2018 LDI expo, for the first time in several years following on from the success and buzz of their FLX range of lighting consoles, first launched in 2015.
Zero 88 product specialist Jon Hole, commented, “LDI is well known for the high-quality of its visitors which includes a big percentage of lighting designers, directors and programmers. In addition to all those from North America, Canada and Latin America, we are also expecting to see people from Asia and the Pan Pacific regions. It should be an excellent chance for us to get the brand and products in front of new contacts and a completely different audience.”
An international Zero 88 product specialist team will be demonstrating the FLX and FLX S ranges of powerful and intuitive lighting desks on Booth 962 (co-exhibiting alongside

USA - At LDI 2018, TMB will again show a wide selection of new technology in a comfortable, social atmosphere on booth 1568.
The new ProPlex IQ Tester LV, Ethernet/DMX tester/analyzer, recognised with a PLASA 2018 Innovation Award, is a must-see. The first Ethernet tester designed for entertainment production, this tall-in-one device easily performs many functions essential and useful for setting up and trouble-shooting today’s show networking. A short list includes: Wireshark for analysis of any Ethernet protocol, plus network troubleshooting; PoE tester; SMPTE Timecode, LTC receiver/analyzer and LTC transmitter; full DMX analysis, control, and testing; RDM controller; and bidirectional Ethernet-DMX gateway. Also, update Solaris/ProPlex firmware without a PC! Extremely compact and rugged, the ProPlex IQ Tester goes anywhere.
TMB will also introduce ProPlex Cat 6a e

USA - DiGiCo’s AES stand at Manhattan’s Javits Convention Centre this month will feature the highly-anticipated SD7 Quantum engine, which is now shipping to SD7 owners around the globe.
Developed with seventh generation Super FPGA devices that further increase audio processing power, Quantum 7 expands DiGiCo’s flagship SD7 to over 640 channels of processing in 96kHz operation that can be connected in the outside world to approaching 3000 potential I/Os. The engine is also equipped with eight newly assignable MADI connections and two DMI slots (DiGiCo Multi-Channel Interface) for AoIP and other connectivity options from the complete family of DMI card options. There are other powerful enhancements, too, including Nodal Processing and True Solo.
Nodal Processing means that for the first time processing can be applied to any node on the auxiliary section of the con

Portugal - Following a series of recent meetings with distribution companies at international exhibitions including Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt, WORK PRO has concluded new distribution arrangements for its LightShark lighting console.
Effective immediately, the following companies are exclusively responsible for LightShark sales, support, training and marketing in their respective territories: United States of America — Blizzard Lighting; Canada — AVL Media Group; France — Freevox; Switzerland — Plus Music; Colombia, Panama and Venezuela — Audio Concept.
“LightShark was something of a bold departure for WORK PRO, going way beyond the capabilities of any lighting control products we’ve released in the past,” explains Juan Jose Vila, WORK PRO’s chief sales officer. “Awareness of the console and its advantages and impressive price point has spre

Italy - Music & Lights celebrated the official opening of their new headquarters, dedicating a day of exclusive celebration for customers, partners and international distributors.
The new base represents a further phase of development, with its over 40.000sqm surrounded by greenery and with a covered area of 10'000sqm, which brings together offices, research and development, production, laboratory and logistics.
An organisation that has acquired over the years a growing international reputation, with its brands that today are at the top of the professional entertainment industry.
This innovation played a central role in the distributor conference, held on the morning of the event and reserved for the international sales network.
Then, in the afternoon, the doors of the new exhibition areas opened up; a complex of over 1000sqm, including a stage set up

USA - GLP will sport a new booth display and location (#573) at this year’s LDI Show.
Sharing their largest booth to date with their distributed brands, Scenex Lighting and Cosmic Truss, GLP US is taking a twist away from their consecutively award winning ‘black box’ presentations in favour of a customer-centric experience with a free flow of information and hospitality.
With the impression E350 supercharged LED moving head, GLP has “moved its development programme into the next generation”. The advanced LED engine offers “unprecedented output in its class, making the fixture perfect for any type of showcase event or installation where dynamic, articulated lighting is a key component”. At the same time, this quiet, flicker-free luminaire also meets the stringent criteria required by the broadcast / TV world.
The impression S350 is characterised by i

USA - LDI 2018 will be all about originality for Elation Professional with a string of premiere product launches set for display at the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
Showing at LDI Booth 931 for the first time anywhere in North America will be two all-new visual effects that feature TwinkLED, a novel, patent-pending LED twinkle effect that uses dedicated high-brightness pixels inside large front lenses to provide additional layers of creativity for the lighting designer. Both the RAYZOR 760 and IP65-rated Proteus RAYZOR 760 incorporate the TwinkLED system.
RAYZOR 760 is a compact yet powerful LED wash effects luminaire with 5 to 77-degree zoom projects intense, well-defined mid-air beams, as well as an exceptionally wide and even wash coverage.
The RAYZOR 760 is available in a compact and lightweight weather and dust protected IP65 version, the Proteus RAYZOR 76

Latest Issue. . .