South Africa - Lighting designer François van der Merwe of Wizardry Group chose Robe moving lights to be the central fixtures of his classy lighting scheme for the 2013 Metro FM Music Awards event, staged at the Durban International Conference Centre Arena in South Africa.

François was working for Dream Sets, commissioned to deliver the technical elements of the event for producers, Blue Moon Corporate Communications.

Dream Sets' Robert, Sean Hoey and Eben Peltz were technical directors and worked closely with leading SA rental company Gearhouse South Africa, whose Durban facility supplied most of the equipment used on the show.

Seventy Six Robe fixtures were used in total - 24 x Robe Robin LEDWash 600s, 24 x LEDBeam 100s, 12 x ColorSpot 2500E ATs and 16 ColorSpot 700E ATs - together with generic and LED lights, all programmed and operated by François using a grandMA2 ful

UK - The Knight of Illumination Awards has revealed details of this year's much anticipated glittering ceremony in London.

For the first time London ExCel's Platinum Suite will host the KOI Awards. The event will kick off at 18:30 on Sunday 6 October to allow plenty of time for networking between old friends and colleagues. As is traditional the Awards coincide with the opening day of PLASA London, which also takes place at ExCel for the first time this year.

"Last year, hundreds of top creative lighting professionals donned their finery and put on their dancing shoes to celebrate the outstanding creative achievements of lighting designers working on productions in the UK," says Pio Nahum, chief commercial officer for Clay Paky. "This year's KOI Awards have already seen a record number of submissions, so we will be showcasing an incredibly high level of talent f

USA - Orbital Sound reports that it is currently out on the road with the Big League Productions' US national tour of the hit musical Dreamgirls, with the 21-week show schedule ending up on another continent this August - in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Sound design on the show is by Matt Geasey and Mike Tracey, with Orbital contracted to supply and support the show's state of the art sound system.

Dreamgirls' big sound is delivered by the d&b audiotechnik V-Series speaker system, chosen for its compact yet extraordinarily powerful design, complemented by a Yamaha CL5 mixing console. The touring system comprises 14 V8 cabinets, four V12s, and four V-SUBs, which are designed to be flown or ground stacked, giving the show's sound crew complete configuration freedom depending on an individual theatre's requirement - all driven by d&b D12 dual channel amplifiers. The V-Seri

UK - Working alongside Creative Director, Oli Metcalfe, as well as Production Manager, Chris Vaughan, TAIT provided both custom and rental elements for Muse's stunning stadium tour which opened in the UK this week.

Tait provided a large 61m by 17.6m rolling main stage for the production, with a thrust extending out 26m to the B-stage. The main stage and thrust were finished with specially treated marine wood, paired with a quartz treatment to prevent water damage and provide texture. Two key performance areas were finished with a high gloss treatment for performer movement.

Tait also provided two custom designed technical bunkers with an integrated water protection plumbing system. Housing the backline and sound technicians, the bunkers kept the technicians close to the band but out of audience view during performances. Two front of house bunkers were also manufactured by Tait

Belgium - A key player in the European flight case market K-Teg, has recently agreed a new distribution deal with Dirty Rigger to stock an extended selection of the rigger gloves & accessories range.

"Over the past year we have received a lot of positive comments from our clients about the Dirty Rigger range," says K-Teg's Joeri Swennen. "Confident our customers would benefit, we decided to stock a much wider selection from Dirty Rigger's tool pouch, rigger gloves and accessories range and display them in retail store for customers to come in and view up-close.

"We supply clients in various professional industries throughout Europe and the diverse work glove range that Dirty Rigger and K-Teg now offer gives greater flexibility of choice, allowing clients to select a more suitable glove for their working environment. The Dirty Rigger range seems to constantl

UK - White Light's range of entertainment services made the company a suitable choice to supply production solutions for David Bowie is, the latest exhibition at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The expansive retrospective, which opened in March, is the fastest selling exhibition in the museum's history, bringing in crowds as diverse as the experience itself.

David Bowie is combines lighting, video, and physical elements with the dramatic and distinctive sounds of Bowie's music to create a larger-than-life sensory experience. For the exhibition, White Light provided lighting fixtures, lighting control and production services, including project management and console programming. The entertainment lighting specialist worked with electrical contractor Reed Engineering to achieve Adam Grater's immersive lighting design.

As visitors journey through Bowie's career

Australia - The P.A. People have been discovering the benefits of their Clear-Com Tempest Wireless Intercom System on a couple of recent major gigs: Sydney New Year's Eve Celebrations and the How To Train Your DragonAustralian / New Zealand and US tour.

For Sydney's New Year's Eve Celebration, The P.A. People provided data and communications including Clear-Com Eclipse Matrix, V-Station Panels, and Tempest Full Duplex for communications, network time-code, audio transport and much more.

Throughout the various key sites Clear-Com's Eclipse Matrix systems were deployed, including one Omega, two Medians and a Pico. Paul Barrett, communications manager for The P.A. People for the event, used Clear-Com Eclipse Matrix units in a distributed fashion to allow easy deployment of over twenty-five Clear-Com V-Series key stations. These were deployed and connected either directly o

UK - Turbosound's Flashline speaker system delivered the sound for Emeli Sandé's Hammersmith Apollo show at the conclusion of her warmly received seven-date UK tour.

The Flashline line array system - designed to deliver hi-fi sound to large audiences using paper cone midrange transducers to deliver beautiful vocal frequencies - was specified by Sandé's live sound engineer Darren Connor, and supplied by Mansfield-based Entertainment Sound Specialists (ESS) via Britannia Row Productions.

Connor deployed a configuration of 11 Flashline TFS-900H flown per side, six TFS-900B subwoofers per side on the floor, two Aspect TA-890H in-fills, and two TQ-308 passive two-way front-fills for the show.

This is a system that has been really well thought out, from the flying system right down to the amplifier features," says Connor. "I was impressed with the contained

Germany - More than five million viewers followed the second Helene Fischer Show on television during the Christmas season. Andrea Bocelli, David Garrett, Ricky Kam, Loreen, Unheilig, Andreas Gabalier and others performed during the show, produced by Werner Kimmig GmbH TV Produktion. It goes without saying that such a line-up of artists requires a professional set, which LD Jerry Appelt created with a lighting design he put together in part using equipment from the Lightpower stock.

The lights he used included 20 Clay Paky A.leda K20s and 20 Clay Paky A.leda K5s. PRG also provided 72 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s, 72 Clay Paky Sharpys, six MA network processing units and two MA network signal processors.

Jerry Appelt reports, "I used the A.leda K20s as an alternative to conventional gas-discharge-lamp washlights, and they performed their task in a truly extraordin

USA - As some of music's biggest names came together for the fourth annual Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Professional Wireless Systems (PWS), a Masque Sound company and experts in supplying and supporting wireless systems for live and broadcast events, was busy providing frequency coordination for all the artists and media outlets in attendance at the event, the nation's largest beach bash.

Billed as the first and only event of its kind, the Hangout Festival is a three-day music party staged on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores. For this year's event, the PWS team of experts was responsible for monitoring the RF spectrum to ensure there were no issues with the more than 600 frequencies in use. This marks the second consecutive year PWS provided frequency coordination for the festival.

"From an RF coordination standpoint, one of the great things about

USA - On the second week of May, thousands of students walked across an iridescent stage to receive the culmination of hard work: a degree from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Bandit Lites, a longtime supporter of the university, provided the lighting for the momentous occasion.

While some graduation ceremonies may consist of a stage, house lights and a crackling PA system, Bandit created a stunning production complete with illuminated backdrops, moving lights and GRNLite technology in sync with the university's green initiative.

With 14 ceremonies occurring over four days, lighting designer Will Twork streamlined each event into a cohesive design consisting of MAC 2k Profiles, MAC 600 and Bandits' GRNLite 3-36 LED par. Rick Munroe and Gavin Lake provided additional support during the ceremonies.

"Bandit Lites' contribution of state-of-the-art equipment and li

UK - The Award-winning Broadway musical, Rent, was first workshopped in New York in 1993. To celebrate this 20 year landmark, a new concert production under the direction of Daniel Wood recently toured around the UK. With packed houses and standing ovations nightly, it's no surprise that additional dates are already set to take place in the Autumn.

The production, designed by Ben M Rogers, included LED display solutions from XL Video, used to frame the performance as well as the option to integrate live camera footage and original work from video content designer Zoe Hitchen.

For the scenic pieces, XL Video supplied 16 small 2 x 1 tile screens of semi-transparent Pixled F-40 LED. During the show these were used both separately and together to form a complete screen.

The set was designed with multiple small screens to enable easy lightweight rigging and assembly across

Jordan - The success of Jordanian Dynacord and Electro-Voice partner Advanced Solutions continues apace, the latest instance being an installation in a newly built house of worship in Aqaba. The Stella Maris church in the coastal resort on the Red Sea has been fully equipped by Advanced Solutions with sound reinforcement systems from Dynacord and Electro-Voice. Two years in the construction, the church was dedicated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem in mid-December.

The nerve centre of the multi-zone installation in the Stella Maris church is an Electro-Voice NetMax N8000 controller that can be controlled remotely from a TPI-5 touch panel. Using IRIS-Net software, twelve different channels can be supervised and controlled individually and remotely. By this means, the loudspeakers in the hall and on the balcony as well as near the main and rear entrances can be turned on and off and

USA - Inside the Caesars Windsor Hotel and Casino in Ontario, Canada, is the state-of-the art venue The Colosseum. As 5,000-seat, multi-functional performance house with the largest retractable seating configuration in North America and approximately 500 fixtures in the air, The Colosseum is the largest of all Caesars venues in both Canada and the United States.

Behind the scenes, production supervisor Dan Leroux has at his disposal an arsenal of creative tools to bring to life the myriad of performances. So when he was looking to bring in a new lighting instrument that would take his rig to the next level, he could have his choice of any automated luminaire he wanted. What he chose was the high-powered and full featured Philips Vari-Lite VL3015LT Spot luminaire supplied by PRG.

"I first saw the VL3015LT Spot via an online demo and once I saw it in person, there was no ot

USA - On her recent North American Hundred More Years tour, Christian singer/songwriter Francesca Battistelli and supporting act The Afters played venues of all shapes and sizes. Big Thrill Productions of Weatherford, Tex. and Athens, Ga. provided a Meyer Sound system based on M'elodie line array loudspeakers and 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements that were successfully adapted for varying room configurations.

According to the tour's production manager and FOH mixer Anthony Martinez, the system easily adapted to any challenges that were presented. "I love the versatility," he says. "We often play wide churches with wrap-around seating, and for those I can take two M'elodies from each side hang and reposition them as outfill. I can also use them for front-fills. I don't have to run a lot of extra cable or rework a rack. I simply tap into the Galileo [lo

USA - ArKaos' North American distributor, A.C. Lighting Inc, has supplied an ArKaos Stage Media Server with Media Master software and Video Mapper feature, to theWit, a AAA Four Diamond Hotel in Chicago. The new system has been installed to facilitate customised visual experiences for the hotel's newly-opened, state-of-the-art 3D mapping installation, the Wall.

Located in its roof-top bar and cocktail lounge, ROOF, theWall is the first of its kind, being a permanent 3D mapping installation that provides immersive visual and optical illusion entertainment to the corporate hospitality world.

Measuring approximately 20ft wide by 12ft tall, theWall integrates the ArKaos Stage Server with sophisticated robotic cameras and intricate stage lighting on a custom designed and built 3D projection surface with motion production capability and a retractable flat screen.

The custom ArKaos

Brazil - With the help of trade bodies, PLASA and MIA, the APRS assembled 10 British companies, including eight sharing a national booth called the Great British Audio Embassy, who presented their wares at the annual AES Convention at the Expo Centre Norte.

Participants from the pro-audio, broadcast and sound reinforcement industries shared a specially designed booth at the heart of the show, creating a great first impression and receiving the glowing attention both of visitors to the show and of the host of local distributors and manufacturers with whom they were looking for local partnerships.

Console and auxiliary stalwarts SSL and AMS-Neve re-launched their Brazilian presences along with first time appearances from CB Electronics, XTA/MC2, Martin Audio, Sonnox, JoeCo, Sonifex, Sonic Distribution and Resolution magazine.

The Great British Audio Embassy booth also p

China - Throughout the week-long 15th annual Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, more than 200 Meyer Sound loudspeakers provided quality, visually unobtrusive reinforcement for such leading automobile manufacturers as Ferrari and Maserati, among others.

Shanghai Huelead AV Equipment Co. deployed Meyer Sound systems for the stands of Shanghai Volkswagen, Škoda, Chery, BYD, Fiat, and Toyota, with a total of 147 UPA-1P loudspeakers and 42 M'elodie line array loudspeakers dominating the specifications. Low-frequency reinforcement was supplied by four 600-HP and 10 700-HP subwoofers.

"This was a great event for us, and all of our end-users were satisfied with the performance of the Meyer Sound systems," says Richard Du, senior sales manager of Shanghai Huelead.

On both the Maserati and Ferrari stands, Superb Oriental Exhibition Service Co. deployed m

France - "The most majestic French musical ever" is currently on tour after four months at the Palais des Sports in Paris. Its lighting equipment is based on Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500s.

The producers Dove Attia and Albert Cohen have set their work against an exceptional historical backdrop. It is centred on the most intense period of French history, the storming of the Bastille, which marked the beginning of the French Revolution. In the middle of this storm, the two leading characters, a young enthusiastic revolutionary and a lady-in-waiting loyal to the Queen, embark on an impossible love affair. This is the underlying theme of a story full of twists, and a wonderful excuse for a series of catchy electropop tunes.

Always eager to use new show technology, the producers entrusted the set design to Giuliano Peparini, who is famous for having worked several times wi

The Netherlands - Wireless Solution Sweden reports that Fairlight BV has been named distributor for W-DMX products in The Netherlands.

Michel Arntz, director of Fairlight says, "We are happy to start our cooperation with Wireless Solution. Wireless Solution is a strong brand. We are confident that our customers will be happy by providing new, innovative and good solutions with Wireless Solution with the service customers know from Fairlight."

He adds, "We very much look forward to exploring the mutual benefits and continuing to develop our business relationship with our customers and partners in The Netherlands. Our goal is to solve the problems for our customers and find the right solutions. With Wireless Solution, we found the right partner for the future and a brand with a lot of opportunities for our customers."

"Fairlight is an incredibly knowle

Korea - ARX Systems, the Australian based designer and manufacturer of digital and analogue interface and signal processing products has announced the appointment of Seoul based AVIX Tech as their new distributor for Korea.

ARX managing director Colin Park said, "Avix Tech are a well known and established company in the Korean professional audio industry. We're looking forward to working with director Jay Chung and the Avix team, they're enthusiastic about the possibilities for the ARX product range among their extensive client base."

Established in 1992 by Mr Joo Hong Chang, Avix Tech adds ARX to a distribution portfolio for Korea that includes Meyer Sound, Calrec, Optocore and Mogami.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Robe takes their policy of listening to what lighting and visual designers are requesting to new levels of commitment with the new Robe Robin Cyclone product, which made its US debut at the PLASA Focus exhibition in Orlando, Florida last week, following a worldwide launch at Prolight+Sound 2013 in Frankfurt

Robe collaborated with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based lighting designer Scott Warner on this highly innovative product - featuring an integrated fan in the centre of a moving head, surrounded by a ring of 24 high powered individually controllable RGBW multichip LEDs.

Warner was in Orlando on the Robe booth to see the production model Cyclones for the first time ... and was delighted. "It's very special to have something you draw and dream about brought to life in this way," he enthuses.

Warner originally hit on the idea when touring with a client in the UK

Free Theatre - Jersey Boys and Les Miserables have been announced as shows performing free songs to the public to coincide with 350 years of West End theatre. West End Live - the annual festival of musical and theatre, now in its ninth year - will be staged in Trafalgar Square on 22 and 23 June. Performances will coincide with 350 years since a theatre was built on the site of Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Sir Tim Rice's new musical From Here to Eternity will be previewed at the show.

West End Live, organised by Westminster City Council and the Society of London Theatre, attracted over half a million people last year. London Mayor Boris Johnson said, "West End Live brings the roar of the greasepaint to the heart of the capital and all for free. From curtain up, to the encore, London Theatreland is unbeatable and this is a fabulous way

Sweden - CAST Group's revolutionary 6D live tracking solution, BlackTrax, made its big show debut at the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö. BlackTrax performed "flawlessly" in the first high-profile demonstration of its creative and practical potential for the realtime automation of lighting and video content.

Working in conjunction with Martin Kuhn of Switzerland's Moodbox, CAST deployed BlackTrax for two major performances at the event - the opening act of the semi final, Urban Orchestra, and the return to the Eurovision stage of 2012's winner, Loreen.

Technical director Ola Melzig comments, "Thanks to BlackTrax, we were able to do things that no one has ever done before - it took the show to a new level. With over 1200 lighting fixtures and almost 30 of the largest, brightest video projectors in the world, we clearly don't make equipment decisions casual

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