Belgium - Painting with Light's Luc Peumans energised a creative team to deliver video content for a striking 3D digital set and lighting design for the highly acclaimed Judas TheaterProducties staging of Helene Fourment, a new musical centred around Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens' young muse, which played at the Fakkeltheater, Antwerp, proving a big hit with both critics and the public.

Luc had previously worked with director Martin Michel, and was delighted to collaborate with Judas TheaterProducties whose award-winning work is recognised for its innovation and original style. Painting with Light's Michael Al Far created the video content and Jeroen Opsteyn was associate lighting designer and also programmed the lighting with Luc. All worked very closely with set designer Arno Bremers.

The production had already decided they wanted digital scenery, so needed th

New Zealand - The 53rd Halberg Awards - recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements - was a collaboration between the event's lighting, audio and LED screens supplier, Oceania, broadcast partner OSB and broadcaster SKY TV which runs the show and manages content for the three-hour live telecast.

Thirty Robe BMFL Spots and 20 x Pointes graced the lighting rig this year among other fixtures, all of which were rigged in the Vector Arena, Auckland.

The red carpet came alive with the great and the good of New Zealand's sporting community, 1,400 of whom rocked up for the occasion to see the All Blacks rugby team, cricketers Kane Williamson and Brendon McCullum, golfer Lydia Ko, all Blacks coach Steve Hansen and many more collect their prizes and accolades during a fun and emotion filled evening.

The BMFL Spots were right at the heart of the lighting scheme which in tu

Austria - The Vienna Konzerthaus is the latest addition to a select group of world-renowned European concert halls that have chosen steerable Meyer Sound CAL column array loudspeakers. The Konzerthaus will use its new CAL systems for voice announcements, concert narrations, and incidental music. Other venues installed with CAL include Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Konzerthaus Berlin, and another esteemed Viennese institution, the Musikverein.

"With CAL, we have excellent coverage of the entire hall with installation at one point," says Ingeborg Doblander, head of technical production for the Konzerthaus. "By placing both CALs behind the golden leaf grilles at the center of the venue, we solved the time alignment problems that were present in the old system. This resulted in in very good STIPA [Speech Transmission Index for Public Address] measurements."

The CAL systems were c

Romania - Prolyte Group, renowned manufacturer of trussing and staging systems, officially open its new purpose-built factory in Piatra Olt, Romania, with a series of opening ceremonies this week. Distributors, press, governmental authorities and stakeholders were invited to join the celebrations at the new, ultra-modern manufacturing location.

"Prolyte started to translocate all its manufacturing facilities to Romania as part of a long-term plan in 2010. The commissioning of the new factory is the final and most important phase of this plan, consolidating all its European manufacturing capacity into a 5.000sq.m facility, with scope to expand to 16.000sq.m," the company says.

The new production facility features brand new automated production equipment, new welding jigs and state-of-the-art product lines. In addition, the building contains industry-leading employee welfare

Germany - Contour Veranstaltungsservice has just invested in 30 Clay Paky 100 Show Batten AS units. Besides the AS units, the company also used 14 new Show Batten 100s, with symmetric optics, at Wirtschaftstag 2015.

The Wirtschaftstag is a business forum that takes place annually at the Frankfurter Jahrhunderthalle. It is considered the barometer of the German economy and this year's theme of Wealth - Freedom - Security: scenarios for a changing world brought together - once again - prestigious speakers such as Jean-Claude Juncker, Sahra Wagenknecht, Niki Lauda and others. The event was moderated by Sandra Maischberger and Udo van Kampen.

The moving Show Battens were used to illuminate the horizon of the highly original stage, designed by Contour for this event. Project manager Stefan Kevenh

USA - For members of the burgeoning computer and video gaming industry the highest honour is to win a D.I.C.E. Award. Founded in 1992, the award, which is determined by ballots cast by the 23,000 members of Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, has the likes of Super Mario as well as newcomers like Dragon Age Inquisition.

Its acronymous name stands for "Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain." The four words aptly describe the games that were up for D.I.C.E. Awards at this year's ceremonies. They also reflect the spirit of the lightshow created for the event by creative designer Chris Wu and lighting designer Chris Lose.

The two designers turned the D.I.C.E. Awards stage at Mandalay Bay into an all-embracing immersive environment that was evocative of a scene from the most transformative computer game. A collection of heavily pixel mapped ÉPIX Bar 2.0 LED fixtur

USA - When fire swept through the offices of Chicago's Second City comedy club in August 2015, it was no laughing matter. While most of the damage was front of house, the comedy club that gave a start to the careers of Tina Fey, Dan Aykroyd and Stephen Colbert was facing a long closure and loss of revenue.

Then came the serious business of restoring the lighting systems on the five stages that - while not directly damaged by the fire - suffered the secondary effects of smoke and water. DesignLab's CEO Larry Schoeneman reports, "We were already working on an architectural design for them, so we put a rush on bringing the stages up to code. After the shows closed each night, we would bring in new plugging strips."

"We needed to come up with dimmers in a hurry, and fortunately we now stock a lot of Unison packs, so we were able to come through quickly," says ETC Midwest regio

China - Powersoft amplifiers were recently installed at Wanhe Grand Theatre to power the EAW KF720 PA house system. Situated in the Wanhe Shopping Mall of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the theatre distinguishes itself as the first of its kind to be housed within a big shopping mall in China.

The 1500m

World - Folk-punk singer-songwriter Frank Turner is on a world tour in support of his latest album Positive Songs for Negative People with a punchy rock and roll lighting design by Shaun Moore using 30 Clay Paky Mythos fixtures.

Moore of Nitelites, who has worked with Frank and his backing band The Sleeping Souls since 2010, is using the high advanced beam and spot hybrid for large backlight gobo looks and dynamic aerial work.

"The Mythos was ideal for this tour as it's one fixture to do two jobs," he explains. "Its incredible zoom made it perfect for achieving the looks I wanted in varying sizes of venue."

The Mythos, supplied by Nitelites, are positioned on the mid and back truss and on the floor wrapped around the band. This set up provides Moore with three layers of beams to work with, adding great depth and perspective to his design.

For a special date

USA - Last month, the American National Standards Institute's Board of Standards Review approved four ESTA standards: two brand-new, safety-related documents and two control protocol documents that were reaffirmed. These and all of ESTA's published standards are available for free download to everyone, courtesy of ProSight Specialty Insurance, at tsp.esta.org/freestandards, or they may be purchased from ANSI or IHS.

ANSI E1.46 - 2016, Standard for the Prevention of Falls from Theatrical Stages and Raised Performance Platforms

The users of theatrical stages and raised platforms can suffer debilitating injuries from falls into orchestra pits, open stage lifts, and similar openings in stage floors. Health and safety regulations require action to prevent these falls by employees, but offer little guidance that is suitable for theatrical environments. This document provi

USA - Five documents are available for public comment, reports ESTA. The drafts, review forms, review instructions, and prior public review resolutions, if applicable, may all be downloaded at estalink.us/pr. Comments are due before the end date on the website. The documents will no longer be available when the date on the website is reached.

Control Protocols Working Group

BSR E1.33, Entertainment Technology - (RDMnet) - Message Transport and Device Management of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) over IP Networks

This standard describes a method of implementing ANSI E1.20 Remote Device Management messaging over an IPv4 network. The primary anticipated use of the standard would be to complement ANSI E1.31 on an IPv4 entertainment lighting control network. This project was originally described as offering extensions to E1.31, but in fact the messages work alongside E1.31 in the s

Russia - Last year Russian rental company, Marinov&Merkulov, decided to upgrade their lighting department with new fixtures. They set forth on a technology journey investing first in the SGM X-5 strobe, then the G-Spot moving head - and finally the SixPack blinder and more strobes.

Co-owners Oleg Smirnov and Eugene Merkulov first crossed paths with SGM eight years ago working with small moving heads and consoles. Rediscovering SGM years later, they were positively surprised by the new SGM. "A modern, well-organized company with a fresh perspective and perfect quality products", said Oleg Smirnov and added that SGM soon became their first choice of manufacturer for upgrading their inventory.

"We loved the new design and form factor together with the technical specifications of the fixture, which demonstrated the result of the philosophy and vision for the renewed SGM brand.

UK - Robe BMFL Spot moving lights created an impact for the arena section of Simple Minds' Big Music tour for which lighting designer Steve Pollard expanded and scaled up the stage set and lighting rig he used in theatre venues last year.

UK lighting and visuals rental company HSL invested in 50 x new Robe BMFL Spots just before the tour went out, 24 of which were used by Steve.

"I basically needed a bright, big, light that would cut thought everything - including video - and BMFL was it," says Steve.

Much of the show was about beam-work so the BMFL Spots were ideal for creating beam 'structures' and frameworks as well as for those all-encompassing gobo sweeps, for which they were fitted with custom gobos tailored to Steve's design.

"The saturated colours are amazing," commented Steve. "Saturated reds, greens and all those hues that are hard to get a properly brigh

Germany - TARM Laser Technologioes, which has been established in the laser industry for 35 years, has become a member of the Laserworld Group.

The history of show laser lighting and the TARM brand are closely linked together: Not forgotten is the era of the famous TARM Centre in Bochum, Germany - a nightclub mainly equipped with laser show lighting effects - over 25 years back, at a time, when laser show technology was far more complex and resource demanding than modern systems.

Richard Krumhus, CEO of TARM Laser Technologies, comments, "Joining the Laserworld Group, the largest manufacturer and distribution company of show laser light systems worldwide, offers us completely new possibilities in terms of synergies in product development, logistics, marketing and sales. Several development projects have already been initiated."

With TARM becoming a Laserworld company,

India - DPA Microphones has appointed Ansata Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd as its new distributor in India, with the responsibility of representing its entire range of products for the live sound, recording, broadcast and installation markets.

Based in Bangalore, Ansata has 26 years of experience in managing regional distribution for industry-leading manufacturers, all of whom are recognized and respected worldwide for their high-quality products and philosophy of capturing, processing or reproducing exceptional audio. Among the brands it currently represents are Avid Audio, RME, d&b audiotechnik, Barefoot Sound, API, JDK Audio, Shadow Hills Industries and Inward Connections in India.

"We are delighted to introduce DPA Microphones to our valued customers as a significant add-on to our current distribution portfolio," says Leslie Lean, CEO of Ansata Computer Systems.

"DPA c

USA - The Church at Brook Hills, in Birmingham, Alabama, was established in 1990 and grew quickly, establishing a strong membership, and an impressive Campus and Worship Room that seats up to 2000 people. The church currently runs three Sunday services every week, as well as quarterly mid-week prayer services and other special events such as monthly choir appearances.

Recently it has invested in a major audio upgrade through the full-service production and integration company Morris Light and Sound, installing two Solid State Logic L300 digital live consoles at front of house and monitors.

A typical on-stage input count consists of the main band - drums, bass, two electric guitars, acoustic guitar B3, piano, and several singers - plus the pastor and other worship leaders. The production averages around 48 channels from stage, including wireless channels. There are a total

USA - Known as America's Digital Goddess, Kim Komando helps people across the U.S. and Canada understand all things digital on The Kim Komando Show, broadcast live each weekend on nearly 500 stations by the WestStar TalkRadio Network and streamed to a growing online audience. The popular technology talk show is now airing from a new modern facility in Phoenix outfitted with over 100 LED lighting fixtures from Elation Professional and Acclaim Lighting.

Scenic and lighting production design firm Innovative Show Design (ISD) was contacted about the need for a new lighting scheme by a Kim Komando team that had clearly put some thought into lighting concept ideas, even coming to the table with its own lighting renderings. ISD subsequently designed, installed and programmed a new all-LED lighting system, working closely with lighting vendor CYM Lighting Services. ISD also des

USA - Peter Frampton stripped down his legendary rock sound with a special acoustic recording session taped for an Audience Music Special, which aired 4 March on DirecTV and U-Verse.

Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the production which featured performances of Show Me the Way, Baby I Love Your Way and Lines on My Face. Lighting designer Victor Fable divulged he brought the show to Bandit with less than 48 hours' notice, but Bandit's team rose to the challenge and delivered the desired results.

"We had a very short schedule, load in at 7am and shoot the show at 1pm," said Fable. "I got a huge amount of help from Mark Carver, my lighting director, and Bandit's vice president Mike Golden to dial in a package."

The performance took place in the Peter Nappi Shoes shop, a massive brick space (and former meat packing warehouse) filled with s

UK - Penn Elcom has supplied specialist LED lighting for the retail areas of The Source, a new skate and BMX park just opened in Hastings, Sussex, on the site of the former municipal White Rock swimming baths.

This transformation of the 130-year-old baths originally opened in 1878 on land reclaimed from the sea right underneath Hastings' Victorian promenade was the brainchild of Rich and Marc Moore, owners of The Source BMX a highly successful BMX online and e-commerce operation.

The resulting £1.25m subterranean project is one of the largest skate parks in Europe, 600 ft. long and kitted out with a variety of state-of-the-art ramps and obstacles for skaters and BMX enthusiasts of all abilities and levels of experience.

Funded by The Source in conjunction with the local borough and county councils and the Regional Growth Fund, it's been an instant success with th

USA - Only two places in the US recognize St. Patrick's Day as an official holiday: Suffolk County, Massachusetts, (which includes Boston), and Savannah, Georgia. Still, this hasn't stopped millions of Americans in every corner of the country from turning out to celebrate the day of Ireland's patron saint in style. New York may have the biggest parade on this day, but it's the nation's capital that hosts the largest St. Patrick's Day festival. This year, over 40,000 people crowded into Washington's RFK Stadium's festival grounds for the 17th annual National ShamrockFest to enjoy carnival rides, food, copious amounts of beer and nonstop music from 50 acts performing on seven stages.

Like the revellers themselves, the Shamrock festival's musical performances represented a diverse mix. Irish music dominated the festivities with groups like Dropkick Murphys and the Fighting Jameso

Europe - Green Hippo is an official technical event supplier for the 61st Eurovision Song Contest. The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest will take place in Stockholm, Sweden, on 10, 12 and 14 May, 2016.

Green Hippo will be supplying 11, V4 Boreal and 4, V4 Karst Media Servers (including back-ups) for the set. Previous Eurovision song contests in Finland and Sweden have been run by Hippotizer V3 media servers.

In addition to supplying the equipment as an official technical event supplier, Green Hippo will be presenting its servers at the ESC cafe during LLB Trade Show which takes place alongside the show and gives an opportunity to meet potential clients not just from Sweden but around the world. Swedish distributor SSR Beacon will also have a stand and represent Hippotizer products at LLB.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Jason Derulo wowed viewers at the 42nd People's Choice Awards with a high-energy performance that featured Clay Paky Scenius moving head spotlights as the main effects lights for the dynamic singer/dancer. A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of Clay Paky fixtures in North America.

Honouring the best in popular culture for 2015, the People's Choice Awards were held 6 January, 2016 at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on CBS. Emmy-winner Allen Branton was the show's lighting designer; Felix Peralta, Kevin Lawson and Darren Langer were the lighting directors.

A.C.T Lighting gave the team the opportunity to demo Scenius fixtures prior to the show, and they felt the new lights would work well with Derulo's medley of Get Ugly and Want to Want Me performed with a complement of backup dancers. The deployment marked one of the

USA - San Francisco Opera's new Dianne and Tad Taube Atrium Theatre features a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system, custom designed to provide the showcase venue with a range of acoustic environments to support the adventurous exploration of operatic programming for new audiences.

San Francisco Opera (SF Opera) is the first opera company to rely upon Constellation. Located in the newly renovated Diane B. Wilsey Center for Opera, the 299-seat Atrium Theatre is designed for multiple configurations, providing both performer and audience members with a very personal approach to opera. Constellation's ability to shape acoustics on demand allows SF Opera to expand from traditional theatre-style seating to cabaret settings with café tables and in-the-round performances, or even edgier configurations.

"If we really want this to be a gateway for new audiences and an ex

Belgium - Nearly 250 Robe moving lights helped shape the drama and magic at the high energy 2016 Reverze spectacular produced by Bass Events and staged at Antwerp's Sportpalais in Belgium, which was packed to its 20,000 capacity with hard dance music fans.

The theme for Europe's largest indoor hard style event this year was Deception (nothing is what it seems) - and an ingenious show design ensured that the guest experience met the brief in all dimensions.

A spectacular lighting, set and visuals design was imagineered by Kristof van Mensel, Patrick Bellens and others from Belgian visual design practice, TCF. Playing on the theme - which offered some serious latitude for invention - their starting point for both lighting and video designs was having lots of unpredictable visual tricks up their sleeves .... which could be revealed as the night unfolded.

The lighti

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