USA - Christie has announced the appointments of Francois Godfrey and Maz Zaeefjou to the Professional Services team as directors of sales and business development.
Christie Professional Services helps partners across the globe to prolong the life of their AV systems and get the most from their investment by proactively maintaining, troubleshooting, and resolving critical system issues. Francois and Maz will be responsible for new business development opportunities and partnerships across the Professional Services portfolio, which will be expanding to encompass a broader range of vertical markets, including largescale attractions, government and more.
“We’re excited to have both Francois and Maz join our Professional Services team,” says Josh Kolbeck, senior

The Netherlands - Visual Productions has expanded its presence in the architectural segment with the development of the DaliCore, a smart lighting controller for the DALI protocol.
From commissioning to daily control, the DaliCore takes care of the DALI lighting system. Targeting hybrid installations that comprise both DALI and DMX, the DaliCore also controls DMX fixtures including support for RDM communication.
The web interface offers a sophisticated commissioning tool for discovering ballasts, setting addresses and creating scenes. The DaliCore is fluent in controlling DT6 and DT8 fixtures. As an application controller, the DaliCore can work with DALI actuators like sensors and switches, making autonomous decisions and control DALI lights accordingly.
Although the DaliCore is capable to perform conversions between DMX and DALI, the DaliCore does offer ‘a sup

USA - Toby Keith kicked off his Country Comes To Town tour at the Denny Sanford Premier Centre in Sioux Falls, SD on Thursday May 20.
Stepping onto the stage, the country superstar became the first major artist to embark on a tour since the start of the pandemic 14 months earlier. For the happy fans in attendance that night, Keith’s appearance represented not only a chance to enjoy live music again, but a reunion with an old and treasured friend.
“The connection with the audience has always been a big part of who Toby is,” said Seth Jackson of Darkroom Creative, who along with his partner, Nathan Alves handled the lighting, video and production design for the multi-city tour. “From the earliest days of his career, Toby has developed an especially close rapport with fans, doing things like bringing soldiers on stage to express his gratitude for their service, an

USA - The fountain at Cary’s Downtown Park, in Cary NC, has quickly become a landmark in the town since its construction in 2017.
The fountain has served as a backdrop to lighting displays marking celebrations and causes that are important to townspeople. This has included being illuminated in the rainbow of colours symbolising LGBTQ+ Pride Month every June.
This year, however, the fountain was temporarily decommissioned as part of a larger park renovation project. Moving quickly, the city turned to another nearby landmark, the historic Cary Arts Centre. By the start of June, the centre, which traces its roots back to the 19th century, was glowing with a brilliant display of Pride Month colours.
“With the fountain shut down right now as part of a renovation, we needed to come up quickly with an alternate way to celebrate, which led to the selection of the Art

Czech Republic - The largest performance space of Brno City Theatre (Městské divadlo Brno), The Music Theatre, is a 680-seat venue that hosts a programme of current musicals and large-scale drama.
Technical manager, David Kachlíř, recently added a Robert Juliat SpotMe tracking device to the venue’s lighting inventory, thereby increasing its existing complement of Robert Juliat products of three RJ Ginger followspots, Dalis 864 coloured footlights and a number of RJ 600 and 700 series profiles. The RJ SpotMe device was supplied by Prague-based Prolight s.r.o., Robert Juliat’s exclusive distributor for the Czech Republic, as part of an improvement initiative to future-proof the Theatre.
SpotMe is Robert Juliat’s award-winning server that produces real-time tracking information with no emitters or cameras on stage or performers. It uses feedback from sensor
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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

UK -Following the government’s latest decision to delay lifting of restrictions, organisers of the remaining summer festivals have said that cancellation is inevitable unless Covid cancellation insurance is made available.
Several major festivals, including Glastonbury and BST Hyde Park, have already been axed for the second year running. Many more followed suit after the government announced lockdown restrictions would be extended until 19 July. Events like the Boomtown Fair and the Deer Shed festival said the lack of an insurance scheme was a key factor in their decision to cancel.
Peter Gabriel has warned he may have to cancel this year's Womad Festival, unless the government helps organisers get insurance, while Gareth Williams, organiser of Fairport’s Cropredy Convention says festivals have been put in “a very difficult position”.
“The increasing

UK - Registration is now open for PLASA Show 2021. The London-based trade event for entertainment technology is returning to Olympia London on 5-7 September - and for one year only, the ABTT Theatre Show will be co-locating with PLASA Show, bringing two popular industry event under one roof.
This year, PLASA Show is moving to Olympia’s largest space, the Grand Hall, which will allow for a more awe-inspiring show experience, wider aisles and larger social areas to ensure the safety of visitors and exhibitors.
Visitors will be able to connect with leading brands from the pro audio, AV, lighting, rigging and staging sectors, whilst the free seminar programme - details of which will be revealed in the coming weeks - will offer business advice, unpack technical topics, and present the latest creative achievements. There will also be various interactive offerings includi
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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

World - Following on from the inaugural Virtual Showlight event, which took place on 25 May 2021, the Showlight Committee have announced that all papers and video shorts are now available to view online on the Showlight website.
Speakers Hamish Jenkinson, Mike Bauman, Ken Billington, Aaron Porter, Rob Halliday, Isabel Nielen, Floriaan Ganzevoort and Mike Evers, and David Bishop spoke on topics that included the illumination of a lighthouse on an island in the Bahamas, lighting a comic book movie, the remote lighting of a stage musical from half way around the globe, transforming a shipyard into an art gallery, and taking a spin on the Strictly Come Dancing dance floor.
Also viewable online is the panel discussion on the subject of diversity in the industry, chaired by Paule Co

UK - Cleanfeed, a collaboration tool for high definition, live audio and recording, in your browser - has announced their latest product feature - Aux Outputs, designed specifically for the TV, film and broadcast industries.
The feature opens up new non-linear workflow possibilities for recording, live performances and more, says the company. It allows you to assign a unique audio output device for each remote guest connected to your studio. Now you can route your remote audio wherever you want to.
Marc Bakos, founding partner, Cleanfeed, comments: “We're excited about the new possibilities Aux Outputs opens up to creatives working with remote audio, especially broadcast producers. We have already seen production houses taking advantage of this new tooling, and the results have completely blown us away.”
During the lockdown, Cleanfeed Aux Outputs has helped m

Germany - LED lighting specialist Astera has added another dimension to its portfolio of lighting products with the PixelBrick.
This flexible luminaire is billed as ‘a multi-functional light source with the power and finesse of Astera’s Titan LED engine coupled with the practicality of its popular AX3 LightDrop product, all in a completely new and fully adaptable housing’.
Suitable for concerts, events, filming, or broadcast scenarios, PixelBrick is compact, light (1.1kg) and handy as an up-lighter - like an AX3 - or it can be hung anywhere and become a universal light for accenting and texturing buildings or facades. For exterior use, it is IP65 rated and therefore resistant to rain and other elements.
The PixelBrick has 450 lumens and 1,200 lux at 2m - both at 3,200K and can also be used like a PAR as a general-purpose fixture complete with a bracket.

Italy - RCF and Midland, a historic radio transceiver earphone systems company from Reggio Emilia, have developed a new intercom called BT Rush.
RCF has brought its know-how inside the motorcycle helmet to offer ‘a custom, carefully designed and technically sophisticated project’, which the user can appreciate through parameters that are easy to spot.
Features include: better defined bass, thanks to a new custom speaker, driven by power and processing; professional sound, achieved through a DPS (Digital Sound Processor); 40mm round speakers with Peek diaphragm, designed to support maximum sound clarity and definition.
Ear cushions enable improved sound performance and low frequency feeling, thanks to a memory foam heart and protein leather lining.
“The excellent work carried out together with the Midland team resulted in a precise fine-tuning of the

Germany - At the Department of Music (Institut für Musik – IfM) of the German Kassel University, prospective music teachers are being trained to teach at all kinds of schools. The department also has its own concert hall, which is used for concerts of all musical genres as well as lectures and examinations. Plain concrete walls and a high proportion of glass elements characterize the room - and place special demands on the sound system.
After a PA workshop with Rolf Dressler - probably Kassel's "longest-serving sound engineer" in 2018 - instructors and technical assistants were enthusiastic about the sound of his Alcons system which he set up in the IfM concert hall in addition to the house system.
"Whenever we switched back from the Alcons to the house system during Rolf's workshop, I kept thinking that our speakers had just been broken," says Roman Beilharz, a le

The Netherlands - The 65th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest at Rotterdam’s Ahoy arena, marked the first major live event to take place in the Netherlands since the pandemic. The event was powered by disguise.
The official technical supplier for the contest, Faber Audiovisuals, relied on a complement of disguise vx 4, gx 2c and 4x4pro media servers to power a total of 55 scenes on a giant LED video wall and floors, used across all 39 competing performances, the opening ceremony, the flag parade and all interval acts, such as the impressive Power of Water. The six-week production period was led by ESC head of production Erwin Rintjema and head of video Hand Cromheecke.
Faber’s Eurovision team included disguise workflow specialist Jo Pauly (of Visual Solutions) as media server operators for the show. The two share a long history of successful live projects power

UK - Jakarta-based Mola TV introduced Chill Fridays an interactive weekly livestream that features stars playing mellow music in an intimate setting and, every once in a while, taking questions from fans.
Many of the episodes are filmed at Mola’s London TV studio, where artists like Jacob Collier, Tom Misch and Bruno Major have performed in a set that evokes images of the kind of hotel bars where friends gathered for a pre-weekend happy hours back in the day.
Key to creating this ambience is a warm, inviting lighting design that works hand-in-hand with scenic elements like potted plants and table lamps to engender a homey feeling. Fold Sound owner Tristan Finn, who supplies lights, sound gear, recording equipment and cameras for the show called on Martin Dudley of Martin’s Lights to handle lighting duties, something he’s done skilfully with his ChamSys PC

Romania - Based in the Romanian port of Navodari, Alezzi Yacht – a 42m x 18m, 1,000-capacity catamaran - offers cruises along the Black Sea coast, complete with fine dining, cocktails and glamour along with breathtaking views of the lively beach resort of Mamaia and Constanta City.
The afternoon is dedicated to an experience aimed at the whole family, whilst the evening cruise is reserved for those looking for a full-on party atmosphere. Any good party requires great audio, and Alezzi Yacht is no exception - Constanta-based AV specialists, AudioVision, were asked to design, supply and install a comprehensive AV system throughout the catamaran. AudioVision selected KV2 Audio for the project.
“We were fortunate to have been involved from the early stages of construction, which made AV integration much more efficient,” observes AudioVision general manager, Vasile Ma

The Netherlands - The Grand Final of the 65th staging of the Eurovision Song Contest event took place at the Rotterdam Ahoy in May, where winners Italy triumphed over the other 25 finalists with their song Zitti E Buoni performed by Måneskin.
Utrecht-based Ampco Flashlight were the ESC’s official technical supplier for audio, lighting and rigging, working with Erwin Rintjema, ESC’s head of production, who was responsible for the whole technical production this year and Jeroen ten Brinke, ESC’s head of live sound.
Ampco Flashlight’s Remco Verhoek was their project manager, audio, for the event and he describes the role which Newton played in their system design: “Newton was used as matrix mixer to sum all the mixers to the PA feeds. There were two DiGiCo Quantum7's and two Yamaha CL1's, matrixed into a number of feeds outputting over Dante - on the oth

Europe - The inaugural Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) event - a European Union initiative to reform its policies and institutions - took place in May at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The hemicycle debating chamber sits inside the striking Louise Weiss Building designed by Parisian-based Architecture-Studio and opened in 1999. It includes a 60m high tower which is left looking deliberately unfinished and was inspired by Roman amphitheatres and the mythical Tower of Babel.
The event included a welcome speech by French President Emmanuel Macron and contributions by other high-ranking politicians and EU officials. As CoFoE was aimed primarily at a younger audience of under 40s, production company Nimblerr asked lighting designer Dimi Theuwissen of Belgium-based creative practice ID2Q to energise the distinctive hemicycle ensuring it looked dynamic and diffe

Austria - 4youreye and Rezac employed Pixera media servers for this year’s most anticipated charity fund raising event in Austria, Austria for Life, which involved complex media playout and advanced projection mapping setups.
The Stephansdom Cathedral in Vienna, was beaming not just with the enthusiasm of the countless helpers on the 28 May, but also due to the impressive usage of modern media playout display technologies.
The 90-minute-long live TV charity fundraising show was broadcast on ORF 2 and Krone.tv. The project, which had been initiated by the LIFE+ chairman Gery Keszler, supports the aid organisations Caritas, Diakonie, Hilfswerk, Red Cross, Samariterbund and Volkshilfe.
LIFE+ itself supports socially relevant projects that fight epidemic diseases and helps people impacted by them.
A variety of well-known Austrian artists invited the Austria

China - Following the success of the 1 June online event, LED manufacturer Absen has extended the availability of its virtual booth showcasing its product portfolio and its online event, accessible to anyone who wishes to attend.
The online experience stages Absen’s products, all within a fully interactive and free-to-navigate virtual booth. The online event covered the advantages of LED in immersive experiences and featured a live Q&A for audiences across the globe.
The booth, split into sections such as corporate, virtual studios, retail and MicroLED, enables visitors to see Absen’s products up close and personal from the comfort of their homes. Each section of the booth features a voiceover explaining the section for visitors, and features Absen’s latest products, such as the AbseniCon3.0, Aurora Series and Jade Dragon series, for each market. The products

USA - A mad scientist locks his daughter in a garden full of beautiful but deadly flowers. An earnest medical student spies her and falls in love, but her surroundings have made her poisonous to the touch. Will their romance bloom or wilt? This is the question posed by La Hija de Rappaccini, a contemporary opera based on a Nathaniel Hawthorne story composed by Daniel Catán and live-streamed by the Chicago Opera Theatre this past April.
Drawing on Mexican musical influences, the performance streamed from the Field Museum of Natural History in keeping with the botanical theme. Chicago Opera Theatre’s audio and video production partner Valhalla Media teamed with location audio experts Second City Sound on A/V support, choosing Lectrosonics’ D Squared line of digital wireless. DBSMD transmitter-recorders fitted to the cast members were picked up by a pair of DSQD fo

USA - Christie has announced the launch of Core Series II LED video wall tiles, available in a range of pixel pitches, including a new 0.9 mm pixel pitch. Designed for easy installation of near-seamless video walls of any scale, Core Series II is suitable for corporate spaces, like lobbies, meeting and conference rooms, and various digital signage applications to engage, entertain or collaborate with your audience.
Core Series II takes the original Core Series LED video wall tiles and improves them, making them lighter, and easier to install. Tiles in the new Core Series II are 23% lighter than the original, weighing 14.3lbs (6.5kg). Featuring a slimmer form factor, with a scant 38mm depth, and along with a new ADA-compliant direct-mounting structure and concealed cabling, Core Series II video walls are easy to install, and completely front serviceable.
Available in fi

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