Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

Business

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UK - After four years of being away doing other things, Paul O'Grady is about to turn your teatimes on their head as he is back with a new series of The Paul O'Grady Show. Starting this week, the new show will be aired on ITV Monday - Friday at 5pm.

The chat show will include celebrity interviews, music, stunts and previously loved games including the Organ Game where a member of the audience has to chance to win £5,000 cash.

This series guests will include JLS, Jackie Collins, Dynamo, Dido, Cliff Richards and various actors from Coronation Street.

LD Dave Davey returns to the light the show and Richard Martin Lighting (RML) have been appointed as the lighting supplier again. The simple yet effective lighting right rig includes VL1000TS, MAC 700s and MAC Auras.

The MAC Aura has fast become a favourite with our LD's and an Industry standard, so much so that RML

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UK - Samba Swirl has opened a new flagship frozen yogurt store in Camden Town, London using InStyle LED's new programmable DMX LED Tape.

Samba Swirl has opened its fourth frozen yogurt store located on Jamestown road in Camden. The new store has undergone a complete rebrand and has been fully fitted with InStyle LED programmable LED Tape through the floor, ceiling, signage and around the yogurt machines to create amazing chasing, pulsing and colour changing patterns.

The LED lights flow from outside the store to the yogurt machines inside and then on to the counter.

The store was designed by architect, Jonathan Mizzi from Mizzi Studios who contacted InStyle LED Ltd to create and program the lighting effect for the store. The InStyle lighting programmer worked with the Architect to create powerful combinations of colours and patterns to highlight the theme of the store. With

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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UK - The power and potential of global exposure in the star-making process was one of the many highlights at a recent You Tube Brandcast special event for 900 invited guests, staged in a large tensile structure at Syon Park, west London, with XL Video supplying LED screens, cameras / PPU and media server control to producers, Flourish Creative.

An exciting line up of musicians, performers and brands - in whose success the You Tube platform has been instrumental - celebrated the worldwide reach of the medium and its promotional possibilities.

XL's Project Managers Guy Vellacott and Andy Mayneord oversaw the event's video aspects, and original playback content was designed and supplied by US based companies, Obscura and M-Ocean.

Vellacott and Mayneord worked alongside Flourish Creative Director Guy Tremlett who conceived the event's overall production design. The space was div

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Australia - The recent International Fleet Review, which took place on Sydney Harbour, commemorated the centenary of the first Royal Australian Navy fleet entry into Sydney Harbour. Events culminated with a spectacular pyrotechnics and lightshow consisting of 30 minutes of complex, highly choreographed fireworks, projection, lighting and live action centred around Sydney's Harbour and Opera House.

Fat Sound was contracted to light structures for the event and after scoping the market for suitable outdoor lighting, director Ray Eberle came across the Chauvet Professional COLORado 4 IP. Believing that it ticked all the boxes in terms of suitable colour saturation, build quality, IP rating and most of all output (not to mention pricing), Ray claimed it was no brainer and that the COLORado 4 IP worked perfect on lighting the job at hand, lighting the exterior of the Royal Australian

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USA - Two customised Avolites Media Ai Infinity servers with 6 HDSDI inputs and 4 DVI outputs have handled extensive HD camera feeds and LED screen visuals for Maroon 5's US tour.

The American pop/rock band were headlining the 12th annual Honda Civic Tour, alongside support from numerous big name acts including Kelly Clarkson. The 34-date tour visited venues across the US and Canada.

US-based lighting design and media innovators DMD S7UDIOS (DMD) were asked by

Production Designer Demfis Fyssicopulos to provide a solution to feed an ambitious and dynamic show. The event featured LED screens, real-time content, and media files designed and directed by DFDesigns - and the unrivalled power of Avolites Media's Ai servers was the only choice.

"Ai was chosen for its ability to handle the automated and constantly changing set pieces, changing sizes and ability to have multipl

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Italy - A new international supergroup has been launched by Italian amplification specialists Powersoft. With all the swagger of Damon Albarn's cartoon group Gorilliaz, The Mosfets have invented their own universe, and will be central to a new marketing campaign being mounted by the electronics manufacturers.

Follow the activities of these allegorical amplification figures, with soubriquets like Roger Woofer, Jeff Porchetta, Lane RA and 'The Wedge' (each a nod to a famous musician or system) as this mythical rock band hits the media, says Powersoft.

"The idea of The Mosfets is to illustrate just how 'active' powered loudspeakers have become," says Powersoft marketing and communications manager Francesco Fanicchi, who is also the creative mind behind the campaign.

So just how did the band derive its name? A phenomenon of the late 1970s, the MOSFET (which stands for

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UK - Chart topping drum 'n' bass band Rudimental completed their first major UK production tour with a lighting design created by Jonny Gaskell, well known for his vibrant and lively work, who was head-hunted for the job by the band's production manager, Glen Pearson.

When it came to choosing a lighting supplier for the tour, Gaskell recommended west London based Colour Sound Experiment, with whom he has worked on many previous projects.

"I wanted a selection of good kit and great crew to fit the budget" says Gaskell, "H (Colour Sound's Haydn Cruickshank) has invested a serious amount of money in buying new kit this year and I have always liked the way the company does business."

The rig for most of the tour was a flexible floor based package which could be augmented with whatever house rigs they happened to find. For the sold-our Brixton Academy show, Co

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UAE - Creative Communication Group's (CCG) Abu Dhabi Office has just received its impressive purchase from Clay Paky the newest Clay Paky Arc-Lamp Moving Lights. CCG purchased their first order 36 units of Clay Paky Sharpy Wash 330.

"The Clay Paky Sharpy Wash 330 is one of the most important lights in the market now, where eventers are keen to have it in their technical riders, the colour temperature of this fixture is amazing not to mention the light weight and the speed", says Jalal Dudin, CEO Creative Communication Group.

Along with the Sharpy, CCG added 24 units of the Igloo (EASY version with no W-DMX), "Igloo Weather proof units are something that the market needs in this region due to weather conditions, we have decided to invest on these units to make sure that nothing will stop us from delivering to our client, in the past we

faced many obstacles beca

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UK - Providing production services on a greenfield site can be tricky at the best of times. The annual 'British Birdwatching Fair' takes this to another level!

Never a company to shy away from such a challenge, the power, lighting and audio delivery for the Birdfair is something that Pearce Hire has been engaged in since well before 1995, demonstrating yet another longstanding customer-client relationship which has evolved over the years as the event has gone from strength to strength.

2013 saw the event celebrate its silver jubilee of offering a wide variety of activities for birders and naturalists. Known by some as the 'Birdwatcher's Glastonbury' the event continues to grow, providing greater challenges for the production team year-on-year.

The Birdfair is run by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in partnership with the RSPB and takes place at Rutland Water Nature

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Australia - Scene Change in Tasmania has taken delivery of Philips Vari*Lite VL880 Spot luminaires primarily to service their busy corporate market. Compact and economical yet still loaded with powerful and useful features, the VL880 comes complete with all of the optical quality and functionality designers have come to expect from Philips Vari*Lite.

"We were most impressed by their whisper-quiet operation which is very important in the world of corporate events," remarked Steve Fraser, technical director of Scene Change Tasmania. "Plus they are compact and lightweight which is great for corporate set ups. However, despite their small size they really deliver a lot of punch with their intense and powerful beam."

The VL880's 800-watt MSR Platinum 35 lamp allows for a very impressive lumen output and there is a zoom range from 15º to 36º, plus a mechanical

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Italy - The inauguration of the new Science Museum in Trento was a great success: almost 30,000 visitors, 250 events including thematic meetings, talk shows, other shows, concerts and art installations, more than 450 people involved in the organization, 150 accredited journalists, 25,000 visitors to the new website in the first two days, and 40,000 views of the video Push to add Science. These are the extraordinary figures that document the success of the grand opening of Muse, an event "that projects the Museum and the city of Trento into the future," as manager Michele Lanzinger pointed out during the 24 hour non-stop inauguration.

The lighting and show designer Mariano De Tassis (who also produced the show together with Alessio Kogoy and Samuela Caliari) designed the lighting. "The customer's idea," Mariano explained, "was to put on a 24 hour non-stop

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USA - Having topped Pollstar's first quarter ticket sales charts for the past three years, the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular is playing 58 shows across the US through March 2014. Blackhawk Audio of White House, Tenn. is providing a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system for the contemporary Christian music concert tour.

"Winter Jam's music goes from hip-hop to hard rock, and from pure pop to spoken word," says Jerry Holcomb, production manager and FOH engineer for Winter Jam. "The clarity and performance of the Meyer Sound products, especially the LEO line arrays, allow for exceptional audio every night."

Winter Jam presents a demanding production challenge as most shows take place on consecutive nights, and tickets are only available at the door for $10. Ticket sales typically begin at 4:00 PM on the show day to accommodate the large c

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UK - A new theatre for The Arts Educational Schools, London (ArtsEd), designed by RHWL Arts Team, has been completed and opened last night in the presence of president and benefactor Lord Lloyd-Webber and with a performance of one of his most celebrated musicals Evita.

The 200-seat horseshoe theatre was created as part of a major programme of refurbishment made possible by a donation of £3.5 million from The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation. The theatre's design was conceived by RHWL Arts Team who was appointed as architect to deliver a contemporary performance space enabling students of the school to more closely experience West End conditions. The interior design aims to reflect the vibrancy of the School and the energy and enthusiasm of the students.

The new theatre has been completely remodelled within the old space and is now fully accessible at both stalls and

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USA - After a successful show in July 2012, the PLASA Focus event series is returning to Nashville on 18-19 February, 2014, at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

"We have decided to return to Nashville as the PLASA Focus event held there in 2012 was very well received well by both visitors and exhibitors, which is not surprising as the city is renowned for its vibrant music and entertainment scene. Visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest technology from the biggest brands, be provided with free access to a two-day education program, and network with industry colleagues." says Christopher Toulmin, head of PLASA Events.

Companies already signed up to exhibitor at the show include 4Wall Entertainment, DiGiCo, Altman Lighting, Barbizon, CAST, Chauvet Professional, Drape Kings, Elation, Martin Professional, Morpheus Lights and TMB. Space is limited so compan

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South Africa - Every year thousands of predominantly Afrikaans speaking South Africans embark on a two hour drive from Johannesburg to Sun City's Superbowl to attend Huisgenoot Skouspel. This year was no different as fans either stayed at Sun City for the weekend, or commuted on the day, to see their favourite performers on one stage during October 2013.

The production strongly embraced a theatrical feel, with carefully selected songs and nostalgic video content stirring emotions. A combination of Philips Vari-Lite and Robe fixtures were used to create clean looks, as LD Joshua Cutts painted in colour.

Starting from the set, designer Michael Gill of MGD proved that less is more. He used curved lines to create an eye-catching yet uncomplicated space which had staircases on either side of the stage going up to a balcony type platform. DWR Distribution's Eazy Moeketsie and Gideon

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Russia - Clay Paky has arrived in Russia this year with a stand chock-a-block with interesting new lights. "Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for Clay Paky," said Alberico D'Amato, Clay Paky area manager. "Thanks to the excellent work done by our CIS representative Slawa Gartung and our distributor DOKA Media, the sales recorded last year in the former Soviet region were the highest ever in the history of Clay Paky, making it one of our top three markets in the world."

The theme of Clay Paky's stand at Music Moscow was the 'bee world', an original concept design created to launch a light for which Clay Paky has high expectations for the future. The Aleda B-EYE is an innovative LED moving head with unique lighting effects.

The largest model in the family, the B-Eye K20, recently won the PLASA Award for Innovation. The judges said, &quo

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UK - Cambridge-based entertainment technology developers Out Board have reported record sales growth in their 2102/13 financial year. All product lines have seen significantly increased business, including the flagship TiMax SoundHub and Tracker audio showcontrol systems as well as Out Board-branded LV&DV Chain Hoist Controllers and PAT4/CAB5 automated PAT and Cable Test Processors.

Director Dave Haydon observes, "Overall we're up more than a third on last year. TiMax sales have been strong in Europe especially Germany, Austria and Switzerland where we have also had more rental jobs than in any previous summer. There has been a surge of sales in the USA and China and we're just starting to break into Latin America. We're also anticipating our new MADI64 and Dante64 Connectivity products will consolidate interest in TiMax and also help open new doors for us in the coming yea

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UK - Cadac has signed a licence agreement with Audinate to license its Dante digital audio networking protocol and develop integration solutions for the two companies' products.

The agreement will enable the two companies to develop an interface solution between Cadac's advanced proprietary MegaCOMMS networking technology and the Dante digital audio networking protocol.

"The development is part of an ongoing programme to allow Cadac users all the advantages of MegaCOMMS - higher bit rate, lower latency, greater bandwidth and significantly more channels - while interfacing with established industry standard networking and transmission protocols," says Richard Ferriday, Cadac brand development manager. "In the coming months there will be a Cadac designed and manufactured interface box which will enable MegaCOMMS to seamlessly plug in to Dante based systems."<

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Finland - Leading Finnish lighting & visuals designer Mikki Kunttu is putting his own creative stamp on the current season of Idols in Finland, for which he is lighting, visuals and set designer. Finnish Idols is in its seventh glorious season and also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first one in 2003 - which was also lit by Kunttu.

Thirty-six Robe Pointe moving lights are helping to make a big visual impact for the show, about which Kunttu comments, "We are very happy with them."

Idols is one of the most popular programmes on Finnish TV and follows the familiar Idols' format of seeking the best unsigned singing talent in the country. It's produced by FremantleMedia Entertainment Finland, recorded at Barona Arena in Espoo in front of a live audience of 1500 and broadcast on MTV3.

There are certain key requirements for lighting a show of this nature and one

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USA - Theatre Projects' founder Richard Pilbrow and senior consultant Steve Rust will speak during several panel discussions at the upcoming LDI Conference, 18-24 November in Las Vegas. The conference is the largest annual gathering of entertainment technology professionals in the country. LDI is also home to the PLASA Cocktail & Awards Reception which will feature the PLASA Rock Our World Awards, of which Theatre Projects is one of eight finalists in the projects category for its work on the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman.

The Rock Our World awards were created to honour groundbreaking achievement by PLASA members and to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment.

Rust is leading the session Performance Lighting Systems for the 21st Century- Magnitude of Change. This s

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UK - A two minute silence was staged at Trafalgar Square on Monday 11 November giving visitors the chance to unite in remembrance. The event marked the 95 year anniversary of the World War One (WWI) armistice, paying respects to members of the armed forces who had fallen in that war and in all conflicts since.

Star Event Group were contracted by SW19 to provide a front of house structure along with their 10m x 8m mobile stage which played host to live performances from actor Adrian Lester, X Factor group Next of Kin, tenor Paul Potts as well as The Poppy Girls, whose fathers are all servicemen.

The 10m x 8m mobile stage built in just three hours offered maximum time to load in and the quick de-rig of the stage ensured the Square was clear within a few hours of the event finishing.

Charles Ellery from SW19 said, "It's the right tool for the job. We only get from 6pm the

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UK - With an emphasis on increasing its presence within the UK AV marketplace, Vivitek UK's dealer showcase day brought its dealers, distributors and potential customers together to display its extensive range of projectors and display equipment.

Hosted at the Brooklands Museum in Surrey, the day saw a steady stream of industry professionals pass through the doors, keen to learn about some of the 40 Vivitek projector models now available in the UK.

Speaking at the event, Brian Grogan, regional sales manager at Vivitek Corporation said, "Vivitek has grown as a company extensively since it was founded five years ago as a subsidiary brand of Delta Electronics. With a range of products that cater not only commercial and office applications, but that now stretch through educational establishments, large venues, home cinemas and out 'on the road' with portable offerings, the Vi

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UK - Burton Town Hall has recently upgraded the sound in the main hall of its Civic Function Suite with a Community loudspeaker system, designed and installed by PAS Sound Engineering.

Centrally situated in the heart of the UK's Midlands, Burton Town Hall is an elegant Victorian hall built in 1894. A multi-purpose venue, Burton Town Hall plays host to a variety of events and provides an eye-catching backdrop for exhibitions, festivals, trade fairs, shows, parties and weddings. Excellent acoustics also make it an ideal concert hall with a seating capacity of 557. The main hall, with its stage and balcony, forms the heart of the Civic Function Suite, which also consists of the Dove Room, Lingen Room, Trent and Rangemore Bars, Green Room and a catering kitchen.

Bernie Boardman, PAS Sound's installations manager, met with Ian Boam, facilities manager and Lynne Allman, venue manage

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South Africa - Christie reports that Gearhouse, the largest rental staging company in Africa, have extended their relationship with Christie through their purchase of eight Christie Roadster HD20K-J 3-chip DLP projectors.

As well as their impressive rental staging credentials, Gearhouse are also the leading technical supplier to the live event industry in the region. They are specialists in all aspects of event staging - design, projection, lighting, audio, screens, rigging, power, sets and structures. Vision, passion and service excellence are key drivers for them. The company's head office is in Johannesburg with branch offices in Cape Town and Durban.

Christie and Gearhouse have a close relationship which spans almost 10 years. Over that time Gearhouse have built up a substantial inventory of Christie products, including Roadster HD10K-M, S+16K and HD18K digital projectors,

  1. CUE2014 scheduled for January 2014
  2. Traction Sound raves with Fatboy Slim
  3. Avolites Media celebrates summer of spectacular Ai Visuals at Ibiza superclub BOOOM!
  4. Robe technology hits the Gadget Show
  5. JoeCo appoints distributor for Australia
  6. Doughty Engineering restructures
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