Europe - Thirty-Six Robe BMFL Spots were workhorse moving lights on the recent Rolling Stones No Filter European tour, part of a spectacular and epic lighting design created by Patrick Woodroffe.
Patrick and associate designer Terry Cook of Woodroffe Bassett design (WBD) worked closely with stage architects Stufish on developing the show’s overall aesthetic.
With many moving lights on the rig, they sought a high-powered fixture to occupy four 'slots' just below the tops of four imposing 23m high by 11m wide monolithic video towers which define the performance space.
"Patrick and I needed a multi-functional fixture and knew the positions would be hard to access and given the complexity of CDM rules and regulations and the requirement that crew be able to ac

Turkmenistan - Internationally renowned lighting designer, Durham Marenghi used more than 800 Claypaky fixtures to deliver the two large-scale lighting designs for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG), produced by Balich Worldwide Shows, held this year at the Olympic Stadium in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.
The ceremonies, broadcast on the 17 and 27 of September to 57 countries worldwide, featured giant projection-mapped sets, pyrotechnics and sweeping light displays. For the opening ceremony, over 7,600 performers told the history of the Silk Road through music and dance, culminating in the lighting of the games' 'cauldron' which burned throughout the 12-day event.
Marenghi, the designer behind the lighting for the Rio Olympics last year, specified a large Claypaky lighting package for the AIMAG ceremonies. The rig com

South Africa - The country’s first strictly dry hire company, Guquko Technical Rider, has been established by a young entrepreneur, Phumzile Sibanyoni. Guquko is the Zulu word meaning ‘to turn around’ or ‘to reform’, a pertinent name for a company that hopes to bring a fresh wind of change to the industry.
Making an investment of 12 Robe Spiiders, 24 Longman 4 Ups and Prolyte stage decks purchased from DWR Distribution, the objective of the company is to rent out high ticket line items that are specified by lighting designers on a daily basis.
“Because we were just starting out, we looked at gear that would be beneficial to the growth of Guquko,” said Phumzile. ”The company has started trading and with the Robe Spiiders currently high in demand on shows, their units are out already creating revenue.”
Duncan Riley of DWR says, “Phumzile was wi

UAE - Audio-Technica has announced the opening of a new sales support office in Dubai, aimed at increasing the level of service to its distributors, integrators, consultants and corporate end users in the professional audio field across the Middle East region.
The office is located at Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA), well placed for business throughout the Middle East and well-served by world class infrastructure.
Technical product manager Ahmad Abuzannad (who began his Audio-Technica career in the company’s EMEA applications and support team) will head the office staff. Central to his activity will be increased levels of product training and demos – of particular importance to customers evaluating solutions in the conferencing market – in the Middle East and in conjunction with Audio-Technica distributors across the region.
Abuzannad will also sup

Swift Sales - After just four days, Taylor Swift sold more albums in the US than any other artist this year. The star's sixth album, Reputation, sold 1.04m copies in the US over its first four days on release, says Billboard magazine.
That puts her ahead of 2017's previous biggest-seller, Ed Sheeran's ÷, which has shifted 919,000 copies to date. Reputation also becomes Swift's fourth album to sell a million copies in the space of a week, following 1989, Red and Speak Now. In fact, only she and Adele have sold a million copies of any album in a seven-day frame since 2012.
Extended Role - Edinburgh International Festival has extended director Fergus Linehan's contract for an extra three years, meaning that he will run the festival until at least August 2022. Linehan joined EIF in 2013, directing his first festival
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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 - L-Acoustics will be exhibiting at CUE, held from 15-17 January at the Rotterdam Ahoy in The Netherlands, where it will welcome visitors to stand 122 to meet the L-Acoustics team and learn more about the L-ISA Immersive Sound Art platform, view the new Syva colinear source system and the upcoming P1 networked digital audio processor.
Established in London in 2014 by L-Acoustics founder Dr. Christian Heil, L-ISA is L-Acoustics’ immersive sound brand. L-ISA draws on extensive audio and psychoacoustic research to develop sound design and processing tools for live shows, creative events and private residences. L-ISA is the only comprehensive solution that integrates innovative sound design, loudspeaker systems, proprietary processing hardware and software-based audio tools, says the company.
Syva, meanwhile, is a new breed of speaker, blending L-Acoustic

France - APG will unveil APG Live Manager at the 2017 JTSE (Paris, 21 - 22 November, stand 94). The new software will be presented alongside the successful Uniline Compact loudspeaker system, which is currently proving a resounding success in fixed installations as well as staging applications, both in France and overseas.
A result of the combined work of both the Active Audio and APG R&D teams, the new APG Live Manager remote control and monitoring software offers increased performance in a new user friendly graphic interface, allowing the user to control the entire APG range of products, from the DMS26 and DMS48 external processors to the DA50:4 and DA15:4 DSP amplifiers, says the company.
APG Live Manager allows the user to work offline in order to remotely prepare for any type of project, even those which require a complex configuration, and perform a number of
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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 - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD)’s latest event took place at the Arts Theatre, courtesy of Chauvet and White Light, suppliers of the event’s lighting. ALD Members were invited to see cult rock musical The Toxic Avenger and to hear from the show's lighting designer, Nic Farman, and programmer / production electrician, Clancy Flynn.
Over the summer, events have included an evening with Ambersphere at London’s National Theatre, alongside insight tours to the West End’s latest rock musical, Bat Out of Hell Olivier Award-winning Jesus Christ Superstar at London’s Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, and to 42nd Street at the Drury Lane theatre.
Matt Cowles, Ambersphere’s technical sales manager, stresses the importance of meeting ALD members in this environment. “For us at Ambersphere, the chance to chat with technici

USA - On Tuesday, 14 November, the Atlona On Tour road show rolled into Boston for a special two-day Visual Systems Show in Marlborough, MA, where more than 75 dealers, distributors and systems integrators took in live presentations focused on Atlona’s Velocity networked control solution, OmniStream R-Type AV over IP platform, and a variety of HDR products. Seth Powell, Atlona’s resident AV over IP training expert, led most of the presentations.
Sponsored by the D.L. Henderson Company, a regional manufacturer’s representative, the event also included a three-hour Atlona Certification Course on how to configure, deploy and maintain OmniStream and Velocity systems. More than 20 attendees were certified. Atlona offers these trainings free of charge, and has been granted CTS certification for them due to providing a thorough and complete curriculum.
The road show con

France - Aeroscopia is a museum which celebrates the contribution that the Midi-Pyrénées region has made to French civil and military aviation. As well as aircraft and themed exhibition areas, the museum features spaces for hospitality events, meetings and presentations. In all of them, Yamaha audio systems deliver smooth, turbulence-free sound.
Toulouse is known globally for Airbus, but the area around the city has witnessed over a century of aviation - from France’s first powered flight by Clément Ader, via the Caravelle (the first French jet airliner) and Concorde, to the mighty Airbus A380. Appropriately, Aeroscopia is connected to Toulouse-Blagnac airport - where many French aircraft made their maiden flights - and is within easy reach of the city.
At the heart of the museum, the 506m² l’espace évènementiel (event space) can host up to 400 guests in a co

UK - The multi-cellular controllability of Martin Audio’s MLA was put to the test recently at the notoriously difficult Alexandra Palace, when The War on Drugs played to a 10,000 sell-out crowd.
The American indie six-piece rock band, fronted by Adam Granduciel, were promoting their fourth album A Deeper Understanding - and fortunately their FOH engineer Bob Strakele had prior experience, not only of the venue but also of MLA.
“I have mixed at Ally Pally before,” he confirmed. “So when I heard that we would be doing a show there, I immediately asked our production manager [David Scheid] to get in touch with Capital Sound about getting an MLA system.”
Capital’s operations & development director, Paul Timmins takes up the story. “We have worked with Bob on a number of shows over the past 10 years, including Billy Talent, Erasure and James.

UK - Audio specialist tube UK returned to the familiar urban territory of Manchester’s Albert Square to help deliver the city’s 2017 Christmas Switch On ceremony, which officially fired up the city’s Christmas lights for the run up to a fun-packed festive season.
tube has been involved with the Switch-On since 2001 and has seen it grow massively in that time, so the audience now fills the entire square and the event involves multiple road closures and the traditional hoisting of Manchester’s own huge LED clad Santa onto the front of the Town Hall to oversee the proceedings!
The d&b sound system spec’d for the show was designed by tube’s John Redfern and based on the required crowd coverage and the needs of the multiple acts appearing onstage in the hour-long entertainment extravaganza headlined for the first time by a DJ – Sigala. He was joine

Canada - Radio Active Designs (RAD) Canadian manufacturer rep Zimbel Audio Productions has had a busy couple of months placing RAD UV-1G wireless intercom systems with the Canada 150 Celebration, Canadian Country Music Awards, Toronto Pride and Caribana parades and at historic Massey Hall in Toronto for the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame inductee ceremonies.
The four-day Canada 150 Celebrations at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square benefited from a six- drop UV-1G system that covered site-wide communication needs for the stage managers with just two antennas. The event featured more than 40 music acts including Drake, Belly, and Barenaked Ladies.
Another six-drop system was used at the Canadian Country Music awards broadcast in Saskatoon. Technical producer Neil Staite says, “The RAD comm system supplied flawless communications between our floor and stage manag

Hungary - A range of Mojo Barriers aluminium crowd safety barriers are now based in Budapest with the announcement of a new Mojo distributor giving convenient, cost effective barrier rental for festival organisers and tours coming to Eastern Europe.
A stock of Mojo Barriers will be permanently located in Budapest for rental and it has already been hired out to create the front of stage barrier for the Gorillaz concert, in Budapest, Papp Laszlo Arena.
Mojo’s project and touring manager Stanley Jilesen states: “With the expanding live events market in Hungary and Eastern Europe, Mojo Barriers is proud to support organisers with local resource to help keep their events safe. Having worked with Sziget Festival for several years we are delighted to work with the innovators in this region pushing for higher standards.”
The new Hungarian distributorship is the co

France - The second edition of the Fun Radio Ibiza Experience, organised in association with Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel, took place on 14 April 2017 at the Accor Hotels Arena in Paris. Around 17,000 people gathered at this huge EDM event which transformed the venue into a massive dance floor to the sounds of top DJs Robin Schultz, Nervo, Sam Feldt, W&W and headliners, Afrojack and Hardwell.
“The Paris show is a little taste of resistance,” says show director, and founder of High Scream, Romain Pissenem. “To stand up and dance and have fun is the only response we can show to the threats to which our city has been subjected.”
Helping Pissenem bring the spirit of Ibiza and the Ushuaïa vibe to Paris were over 200 Ayrton lighting fixtures, including over 100 MagicBlade-FX, 50 MagicPanel-FX and 50 MagicDot-XT. The fixtures were supplied by Ayrton as part

Brazil - Four Robert Juliat Lancelot 4K HTI followspots took pride of place front-of-house at Brazil’s Rock In Rio Festival this summer. Held over two weekends at the Cidade do Rock at Rio de Janeiro’s Parque Olímpico da Barra, this festival saw headliners Aerosmith, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Maroon 5 and the Red Hot Chili Peppers play to over 700,000 across seven nights.
The Lancelot followspots were supplied by Robert Juliat’s Brazilian rental partner LPL Lighting Productions Ltda, whose Caio Bertti worked in association with Daniel Ridano of Robert Juliat’s Brazilian distributor, Lighting Bits Ltda and the festival’s lighting designers, Patrick Woodroffe and Terry Cook of Woodroffe Bassett Design.
The Lancelot fixtures were rigged in full view of the audience on stylish, modern lighting and sound towers - skilfully designed for minimal impact on audie

Switzerland - Thunerseespiele is well-known for its beautiful scenic location, providing the most stunning backdrop to the high-energy performances gracing the stage every summer. The energy is fully matched by the immersive spatial audio delivered by award-winning sound designer Tom Strebel, using TiMax Tracker stage tracking and object-based TiMax SoundHub spatial reinforcement to deliver transparent vocal clarity and intelligibility.
As usual, Strebel’s seasoned audiopool engineers also crewed the production and Out Board’s Robin Whittaker provided TiMax spatial tuning and programming support on-site.
In previous years, lavish performances have included Jesus Christ Superstar, Titanic and Aida – and unforgettably, Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet performed in a massive half-pipe with a cast of BMX stunt bikers and skateboarders. Th

Romania - The Timeshift festival in Bucharest was the debut for the largest roof ever engineered and sold by Milos. The massive MR5 Heavy-Duty roof measured 31 x 18m and covered the main stage of the first edition of Timeshift Bucharest Music Festival - an event where technology and music come together.
The festival was a four-day event held from 20-23 July and featured a total of four stages, with the Milos MR5 roof covering the main stage. Featuring international artists such as David Guetta, DJ Snake and Bloc Party, Milos helped Timeshift ensure its mission of providing the means for its audience to “step into another dimension”.
The client for this project was A.S.C. Systems Sound & Light, based in Bucharest. A.S.C. Systems has been in operation for 17 years and is one of the leading rental companies in Romania for stage, light & sound equipment.

USA - Work Pro introduced a new range of hardware lighting consoles, LightShark, at LDI. Billed as the first DMX-based hardware lighting console range to offer wireless, browser-based control from a multi-touch smartphone or tablet, with support for up to three connected devices simultaneously, LightShark sets a new standard for features and usability at its price point, says the company.
The LightShark range comprises the LS-Core and the LS-1 console, both developed and designed entirely within Work Pro's lighting division. The LS-1 “brings together the best features from the world of innovative software-only lighting control and marries them to an intuitive, ergonomic assignable hardware control surface”. The LS-Core omits the LS-1’s hardware control surface, but offers exactly the same lighting control software, processing power, and smartphone/tablet-based software

USA - SGM released an all-in-one IP65-rated LED luminaire, Q-10, at LDI.
With an output of 60,000 lm, this RGBW unit has the functionalities of a strobe light, a flood light, a pixel light, and a blinder with a non-fading continuous output. At the same time, the powerful and low-noise Q-10 is practically maintenance-free and comes with a user-friendly display, wireless control, and integrated handle making is easy to operate, transport, rig, and to focus, says the company.
As with all the other IP65-rated luminaires in SGM’s product range, the Q-10 comes with the SGM thermal management and is kept free of externally induced particles on internal optics and light sources. The internal built-in patented SGM dehumidifier further protects the fixture from moisture, smoke fluid, pollution, humidity, and any other factors that can generate corrosion.
With an expecte

USA - Czech manufacturer Robe Lighting showcased its MegaPointe fixture for the first time in the USA at LDI 2017 in Las Vegas.
The moving light was presented with a 2017 PLSN Gold Star Product Award for Best New Hybrid Light and was the focus Robe’s lightshow which featured 42 x MegaPointes and a number of LEDBeam 150s, onePATTs, Divine UVs, Spiiders and pixelPATTs, while a freestyle mirror suit dancer performed hourly at booth 715. The stand design and the show’s choreography were conceived by Robe’s creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb.
Robe North America CEO Bob Schacherl described the show as “our busiest and most energised LDI to date”, adding: “The turnout of clients was amazing and validates our sales and marketing approach for the North American market.”
Robe’s architectural division Anolis had its own dedicated space on the boot

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