UK - GoboPlus.com has announced its support for the #SaveStageLighting campaign by providing free #SaveStageLighting gobos to performance venues across the UK and Europe. A campaign initiative spearheaded by the Association of Lighting Designers’ Robbie Butler, encouraged theatres and other performance venues across Europe to project a ‘#SaveStageLighting’ gobo on the buildings’ exteriors to raise awareness of the controversial Ecodesign Working Plan 2016-2019. GoboPlus.com gifted 150 metal gobos to ALD members to project on Light Up day on 28 April. The #SaveStageLighting gobos were given to any venue which wanted to take part, and theatres, schools, opera houses and even television studios all over the UK and mainland Europe took up the challenge. The National Theatre, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, Brechin High School, West Yorkshire Playhouse
UK - Production equipment specialist VER has opened its new lighting showspace and pre-visualisation suites. The new facility houses VER's entire product range. It has been built as part of upgrade works at the company’s North London hub and is adjacent to VER’s equipment store. To help launch the new showspace, the company is running a series of open-house events featuring a variety of automated fixtures and lighting effects, including the Minuit Une M-Carré, an innovative new approach to scenographic illumination and effects that will change the way you look at light - exclusively available to rent from VER. Speaking about the new studio, VER’s director of lighting, Europe, David March says, “We’re delighted to be launching our new showspace. The facility allows us to provide crews with hands on testing of both the VER and Aurora product range plus
Greece - Asproulis Experience has become K-array’s distributor in Greece. The Thessaloniki-based company specialises in acoustic measurements, services and installations. It was formed in late 2017 by industry veteran Christos Asproulis. Asproulis comments: “From day one, I sought to work with K-array and become their point of reference in Greece. "K-array’s design and quality sound is something that no one can refute. Our goal is to offer high-end solutions and procure installations all over the Greek territory. With our close relations with our large network of dealers, we will be able to supply K-array in every part of the country.” (Jim Evans)
Slovakia - Green Hippo has appointed City Light Slovakia as its distributor in Slovakia with immediate effect. City Light Slovakia was established in 1993 and in addition to being a distributor, the company offers technology installation and post-warranty services and also has experience in providing operator training; an area in which it will work closely with Green Hippo’s highly regarded HippoSchool and in-house training division. Marek Plancar, owner of cityLight Slovakia, comments: “For us, the distribution of Green Hippo Hippotizer Media Servers opens the door of creativity and offers high-end hardware and software, for great shows. We are glad to become part of the Green Hippo family and its product line of Hippotizer Media Servers - it is the world’s best solution for real-time video playback. We hope that we can begin a positive cooperation as the exclu
USA - Austrian AV technology manufacturer AV Stumpfl has announced the launch of a US subsidiary - AV Stumpfl Inc. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, the office will be helmed by managing director Todd Liedahl and supported by a network of distributors, dealers and technology specialists. Fabian Stumpfl, AV Stumpfl GmbH CEO, comments: " The establishment of AV Stumpfl Inc. is a new chapter in our company’s history. Todd is without doubt the perfect choice for the role of managing director. Although our products are already well known in the US market, we feel that there is still a lot of growth potential for both our projection screen and media server systems. He adds: “The USA is obviously of major importance as a trend-setter territory. Professionals from all over the world look to the US for the latest technological trends in the AV and entertainment ind
USA - Theatre Projects is opening an office in Denver on 1 June, the company has announced. Principal Millie Dixon will lead the new office with support from other familiar faces including Aaron Wong and Ali Mignone. The location was chosen for being relatively central to western and mid-western US and for being easy to reach from Los Angeles, Portland, Minneapolis, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta by plane. With the opening of the new office, Theatre Projects will have five offices worldwide - Denver, Connecticut (South Norwalk), London, Paris, and Shanghai, as well as a representative in Chile. (Jim Evans)
UK - Stage Electrics Group CEO Maria Townsend and marketing director and PLASA chairman Adam Blaxill met with Ashley Fox MEP for the South West to discuss the proposed EU Ecodesign regulations. At the meeting, Blaxill outlined the potential implications, not only for specialist lighting companies like Stage Electrics and their sister company SLX Hire & Events, but also for theatres, social clubs and schools all of whom own equipment which will effectively become obsolete. He comments: “The UK and Europe are world leaders in entertainment lighting, these regulations are a direct threat to our ability to deliver world class entertainment.” Fox, who had already responded to the consultation before meeting the Stage Electrics team, offered insight into the legislative process and promised to continue to raise concerns with the European Commission and lobby for an
China - MA Lighting and Avolites had blocked alleged infringing companies from exhibiting certain products at the recent Guangzhou Entertainment Technology (GET) exhibition after a number of product copyright infringements were identified by both companies and the GET organisers. The move comes shortly after the two stage lighting solutions manufacturers joined forces in a similar action against an alleged counterfeiter at Frankfurt’s Prolight+Sound. Franco Zaghini, director of business development for MA Lighting, and Avolites’ sales director Koy Neminathan led the team to negotiate with alleged counterfeit manufacturers on the show floor and asked them to withdraw all displayed infringing products. Zaghini comments: “On the first day of the show, we sat with the GET organisers to show them all our patents, trademarks and IPs and their authenticity. At t
Stage Invasion - The anti-media campaigner who interrupted SuRie's performance in the Eurovision final managed to invade the stage after climbing into the venue's camera run while being pursued by security. Organisers the European Broadcasting Union said the man - believed to be a so-called "philosopher, activist and DJ" who goes by the name of Dr ACactivism - made his way to the stage via a bridge. "He climbed into the camera run and reached the main stage via the bridge, pursued by security," said a spokesman. "He was removed off stage after seven seconds and was questioned by police. We take security very seriously and an investigation into what happened is already underway." The man previously stormed the stage during the final of The Voice in 2017 and the National Television Awards in January this year. Autism Friendly - The Prin
UK - Keeping up with a hectic workload being experienced across all companies, Blackburn based lighting and video rental specialist the HSL Group has again increased its investment spend to keep up to speed with the newest technologies. “This will help service ongoing and upcoming projects across all sectors - rental & staging, theatre, television, sporting events and concert touring. The rapid pace at which the technology is changing and the fact we want to keep ahead of the game is driving this, together with an increase in demand. It’s vital that we can continue offering our clients the very best options for all of their shows, events and creative projects,” commented HSL’s Simon Stuart. Fixtures like the.Robe MegaPointe and the Martin MAC Encore have really made their mark, together with products from GLP, SGM and Vari*lite. Other top brands on the re
Europe - Lighting control manufacturer Visual Productions has concluded a distribution deal for Belgium with Audio Visual Lighting. Audio Visual Lighting technical manager Luc Buytaert approached Visual Productions to discuss distribution. The timing could not have been better for Visual Productions. For the past months Visual Productions account manager for Belgium, Maarten Donath, has been successfully developing the market working directly with installers, designers and local resellers. It was clear that the interest in and usage of the core products in Belgium was rapidly growing. A full distribution deal was exactly the required next step. AVL is a well-established distribution company serving both the Dutch and French speaking markets in Belgium. Alongside sales manager Yolanda Eliano, Buytaert has built a successful distribution company which has gained an outs
USA – For nearly two decades, ETC’s LDI Student Sponsorship has given students a way to gain experience, make connections and launch a career, and to attend the LDI tradeshow with all expenses paid. Applications for this year’s Sponsorship are available at www.etcconnect.com/LDISponsorship, and due by 8 June 2018. ETC’s LDI Student Sponsorship includes roundtrip airfare to the LDI tradeshow, which will be 19 to 21 October this year, along with hotel accommodation, all meals, a full conference pass, a student reception to meet people in the industry, and exclusive ETC swag. Students in their final year of undergraduate study, graduate students, and students from outside of North America who are studying at the university level at the time of the LDI show, and who are studying lighting design, theatre technology, stage machinery, or closely related fields, are eligible
Slovenia - Cankarjev Dom – Slovenia’s leading cultural and congress centre - has added Robe Spiiders, plus more BMFLs Blades and CycFX8s to its already extensive stock of Robe moving lights which also includes Pointes. They now have around 150 units. The largest of five performance venues in the Cankarjev Dom complex is the 1650 capacity Concert Hall and in addition to these are the foyers and two galleries and conference rooms also used for events. It’s both a co-producing and a receiving house staging a wide variety of shows, events all year round, from opera to dance, popular music to choral, orchestra to drama and everything in between. Some venues and spaces are also hired out for corporate events and conferences. Each venue has its own lighting rig and all of them need dynamic and flexible lighting to deal with the diverse programming, however some kit is a
UK - Full technical service provider Hawthorn has added Barco’s UDX-4K32 large-venue laser projector to its already extensive inventory of high-end projectors. Representing an investment of over £500,000, the company has added six of the units - the flagship of Barco’s UDX laser projector platform - to its fleet. Launched last year, the UDX-4K32 provides 31,000 lumens of light output, 4K resolution, and the specification and performance of high-end laser projection in a compact and easily-transportable chassis. By featuring Constant Light Output (CLO) functionality, the UDX-4K32 also guarantees peace of mind by providing constant brightness and colour reproduction over time. On top of that, the UDX platform offers the widest colour spectrum in the industry. Without compromising on brightness, the UDX colour quality matches the renowned Xenon quality and outperforms the
Mexico - Ganesha Producciones is one of the latest rental and production companies in Mexico to invest in Robe Spiider LED wash beams, which were recently delivered by distributor Showco and much anticipated by owner Gerardo Hernández and his team. The company was founded in 1996 by Gerardo and is based in central Mexico City. They are involved in technical production for many prestigious cultural events including government organised and sponsored shows and expositions, and also supply lighting, video and sound to corporates, music concerts and other shows. The company also has an architectural lighting division. Gerardo has kept Ganesha tightly focussed on its core business. There are currently 20 full-time employees and they work with up to 80 regular freelance designers and technicians during the busy periods. Gerardo has been a loyal Showco client for some
UK - The #SaveStageLighting campaign continues to gain momentum, following a busy open-forum event held today (11 May) at The National Theatre in London. The event was a chance for those involved in entertainment lighting to learn more about the proposed 2020 EU Lighting Regulations, and the impact they will have on every level of the industry, from lighting designers and end users, to manufacturers, suppliers and installers. Under the proposed new legislation, due to come into effect on 1 September 2020, there will be a minimum efficiency of 85 lumens per watt and a maximum standby power of 0.5W on all light sources (lamps or self-contained fixtures) to be sold in the EU. The result would be that most of the light sources used for entertainment lighting - from tungsten to even the newest LED fixtures - would not meet the regulations. At today’s event, key figu
UK - The call for papers deadline for Reproduced Sound 2018 - Putting Sound in its Place is fast approaching. Abstracts (150 words) for papers plus a short biography of up to 150 words should be sent to linda.canty@ioa.org.uk by Friday 18 May 2018. Organised by the Electroacoustics Group of the Institute of Acoustics in collaboration with ABTT, AES, APRS & ISCE, the event is staged at The Bristol Hotel, Princes Street, Bristol, 27-29 November 2018. The 34th Reproduced Sound Conference will focus on all aspects of electroacoustics. Authors are encouraged to include practical elements in their presentations and could be allocated extra time if required. (Jim Evans)
UAE/Kenya - The region got its first look at the much-anticipated evolution wireless G4 series of wireless mic and in-ear monitoring systems at events recently conducted by Sennheiser in the United Arab Emirates and Kenya. The seminar in Dubai centred around the company’s audio for business solution range, while in Kenya, the event took a more technical approach, with detailed workshops covering all aspects of wireless audio capture. Hosted by Sennheiser’s long-standing UAE distributor Venuetech, the event in Dubai was attended by over 60 industry professionals from systems integrators and consultants. The key presentation, titled Wireless Microphones for System Integration was delivered by Kai Tossing, portfolio manager for Sennheiser Business Solutions and outlined the digital workflows for deployment of multi-channel wireless systems in education and corporate
USA - Alcons Audio has announced the addition of Spoiled By Technology, Inc to its US network of representatives for the professional audio industry, covering the northern Illinois and Wisconsin region. Describing itself as ‘a professional sales organisation providing integrated solutions in a continuously evolving world’, the team at Spoiled By Technology (SBT) has over 50 years of collective experience within the professional audio/visual industry. The company has won many manufacturer and industry awards over the past two decades, highlighting its core values of open and honest communications, trust, respect and a determination not to rest on its laurels. On the subject of Alcons’ Audio products, SBT is clearly excited about bringing the many benefits of the company’s pro-ribbon technology to live sound suppliers in the region. "There is a lot of oppor
UK - The International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference is now less four weeks away and the daily timetable is revealed, showing where more than 30 sessions have been placed in the three-day schedule. Since the first programme announcement and with Mark Rylance and Graham Vick as confirmed keynote speakers and the news of the Bridge Theatre session and visit, the Editorial Board has been working hard to confirm the speaker line-up. Hot industry topic of the moment, lamps for stage lighting and the threat posed by new EU regulations, will be discussed in Bursting the Bubble: LED, Regulation and the Future of Lighting, when the question of how specifiers deal with a rapidly changing world in which environmental and regulatory factors are becoming ever more significant, will be investigated. On the flip side, Raising the Standard will re
UK - Stage Electrics has been awarded the £2m technical contract to provide the infrastructure for production lighting, sound reinforcement and audio-visual services for the new £83.7m International Conference Centre Wales (ICCW). Set in the Coldra Woods just outside Newport, the ICCW is a joint venture between the Welsh Government and Celtic Manor Resort. The project features a state-of-the-art auditorium, main exhibition hall with capacity for around 5,000 delegates and associated meeting room as well as breakout facilities and will be capable of staging major party-political conferences. Being built by John Sisk & Son and scheduled to open in July 2019, it will be the largest facility of its kind in Wales and the South West of England. Stage Electrics has been working on the project since 2016 to develop the schemes and ensure allocated budgets are met. It wil
UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ltd (AC-ET) has agreed to provide technical equipment and run training courses for live events industry education provider Backstage Academy. The partnership is part of a long-term strategy to offer Academy students the most up-to-date practical experience through AC-ET’s latest technologies from brands including ProLights, Chroma-Q, Green Hippo and BroadWeigh. Jonathan Walters, AC-ET's UK sales director, comments: "We are delighted to be able to support up and coming generations of backstage technicians and creative people. The future of the industry is all about fostering the talent of tomorrow and letting them use the technologies behind today's live events productions. “The partnership will give the Backstage Academy's students access to the latest LED lighting from popular brands such as Chroma-Q and ProLights, indust
Europe - Broadcast technology innovator Lawo has appointed the AVC Group as its agent for Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Slovenia. Prior to agreeing this new partnership, AVC had employed Lawo Nova73 routers, mc² audio mixing systems and VSM system control in a number of system integration projects at the request of the clients, proving the quality and reliability of Lawo technology and equipment - a key factor for AVC’s clients. AVC Group is a leading provider of audio, video, multimedia, lighting and telecommunication solutions in the Southeast Europe market, and has been the main supplier to the public and private broadcasting, and television stations in the area for the past 25 years. AVC - Audio Video Consulting - was founded in 1990 as a multinational group supplying and supporting the most modern au
Ireland - Entertainment equipment supplier A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has launched a new sister company, A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ireland. Registered in Dublin, the Irish branch will be helmed by County Limerick-based MD Aaron Cripps, who previously acted as AC-ET's representative for Ireland and has also worked as an account manager in the international sales division of AC-ET. AC-ET’s managing director Phill Capstick comments: "I'm delighted that Aaron will be heading up A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ireland. With his extensive local experience and contacts, and strong relationships with key suppliers, he is well equipped to oversee the development of A.C.'s Irish business." Cripps adds: "I am really looking forward to building the A.C. Entertainment Technologies Ireland business. The company has access to a fantastic portfolio of cutti
