USA - Panic! at the Disco wrapped their spring tour with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites. The American pop/rock band known for their clever lyrics and distinctive sound released their fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor earlier this year, and is gearing up for a co-headlining summer tour with Weezer.

Lighting designer Alex Specht of Spechtrum Lighting created a multi-layered look using a floor package that symmetrically parted a centre drum riser with Martin MAC Vipers and Chauvet RH1 Rogues along the deck, road cases and four 6ft truss towers with alternately hung Chauvet Nexus 4x4s and Atomic Strobes.

"When travelling with only a floor package, I like to make sure I have all of the elements to create various layers," said Specht. By layering spot fixtures for colour saturation and gobo effects, beam fixtures to cut through with sharp aerial effects,

Italy - Founded in 1539, the Banco di Napoli (Bank of Naples) is the oldest bank on the Italian peninsular. Its historical archive is a remarkable time capsule of Italian history stretching back nearly half a century, part of which has recently been opened as a visitor attraction. A Yamaha audio installation plays a key role in telling the story.

Covering 14,000m2, the archive has 330 rooms and is filled with bank documents dating from 1539 to 1870, which feature 17m names. The Fondazione Banco di Napoli has now opened several of the rooms to the public, creating a high quality multimedia experience which explains how the archive was used and what historians have learned - and continue to learn - from its contents. Audio for the installation is supplied by Yamaha Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) products, supplied by Neapolitan system integrator Start Up Audio & Broadca

UK - A brace of Allen & Heath dLive digital mixing systems was recently employed for Live Stage performances and recordings at Gadget Show Live at Birmingham's NEC.

The company's flagship dLive S7000 surface took care of front of house duties in conjunction with a DM48 MixRack, while an S3000 surface and Dante-enabled DM64 MixRack was in place for a full 64-channel multi-track live recording for TV broadcast on The Gadget Show on Channel 5.

In addition, Allen & Heath's compact GLD-80 digital mixing desk and ME personal monitoring system also featured, catering for FOH and stage monitoring for Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt's live performance.

Head Of Audio for Gadget Show Live (and the man charged with FOH responsibilities during the event) Gareth Davies from Midlands-based Centrepiece Productions Ltd commented, "I've run all of the audio for Gadget Show Live

Switzerland - Two leading Swiss universities have equipped lecture halls with Meyer Sound CAL 64 column array loudspeakers to provide highly intelligible voice reproduction in challenging acoustical environments.

Identical CAL systems at ETH Zurich and the University of Basel apply advanced beam steering technology to custom tailor uniform coverage of two differently shaped lecture halls, greatly improving students' intelligibility of instructors' voices.

"Thanks to the vertical steering capability of CAL, we were able to precisely direct the beam angles to the seating areas in each room," explains Nicolin Salis, executive project manager for Thalwil, Switzerland-based consultant RGBP, which specified the two systems. "The beam-steering technology of CAL gave us astounding results. This was despite the fact that the mechanical mounting positions in each room were not optim

USA - Philadelphia-based lighting designer Michael Korsch selected Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 and Alpha Profile 800 ST moving lights as part of the rig for the world premiere of Don Quixote at the Pennsylvania Ballet.

A lighting and scenic designer who frequently works in dance, Korsch has many years' experience using Clay Paky products. A big fan of the Alpha Spot HPE 1500, he incorporated three of them into his lighting design for Alchemia, a MOMIX production that premiered in 2013 and has been touring internationally ever since.

Don Quixote was created by Angel Corella, artistic director of the Pennsylvania Ballet, with music by Ludwig Minkus. The new ballet features authentic Spanish-flavoured dance and comic interludes to bring to life a story based on Cervantes's classic novel. The production was staged from 3-13 March at the Academy of Music i

UK / USA - Lighting designer Steven Douglas is no stranger to the delights of Ayrton fixtures. When he was looking for a new way to showcase The Killers' logo of a 'K', his previous experience of Ayrton MagicDot-R proved a fertile ground for firing his imagination.

"We've had various incarnations of the logo over the years; I'd always thought it would be cool to build a giant 'K' out of moving lights but I was always put off by the size and weight it would inevitably end up being as well as the space needed between fixtures to allow to the head to move.

"When I saw the MagicDot-Rs for the first time it was exciting to think I had found a solution to the problem. Being able to mount the dots closer together because they are so small and do not move outside of the radius of the head itself meant that the concept was now a workable design. I spent a lot of time going back and

USA - Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas celebrated its 10th anniversary on 23 April 2016 with a fireworks and lighting show featuring Syncrolite XL Xenon searchlights that filled the sky over the resort in an eight-minute choreographed lighting, fireworks and audio display.

The 45 XL's were placed in three groups of 15 fixtures around the resort creating a huge stage for the aerial art. Veteran crew chief TJ Benton along with Travis Slater and Travis Braudaway were on hand to set-up and execute a flawless light show.

Syncrolite coordinated the performance with Fireworks by Grucci who designed and produced the show, which was billed as the largest fireworks display ever hosted by a single venue in Las Vegas.

(Jim Evans)

USA - During the recent NAB Show, two major European-based companies, Broadcast Solutions and Euro Media Group (EMG), joined AIMS (the Alliance for IP Media Solutions); respectively becoming the first International systems integrator and first technical service provider to join the alliance.

Rainer Kampe, CTO at Broadcast Solutions GmbH, signed the membership agreement on the AIMS booth at NAB, citing the "paramount importance, as an international and manufacturer independent system integrator, of offering future-proof solutions to our customers", and of "promoting open standards in accordance with major trade organizations such as SMPTE, VSF or AES".

Also signing the AIMS membership agreement during NAB, EMG CTO, Ronald Meyvisch said that his company was "proud to be the first technical service provider to join AIMS", stating that the move towards IP based technical produ

UK - Soulful, multi-talented vocalist and performer Leona Lewis has been on a 14-date tour of the UK with an SSL L500 console and K-array Slim Array technology, chosen by FOH engineer Dave Wooster.

Lewis' I Am show provides Wooster with around 65 inputs from the stage. "It's a full-on set-up," he says. "The drummer alone has two mics on the bass drum, three snares - each with at least two mics on, four toms, all the cymbals, electronic kick and snare - So he was up to about 20-odd channels on his own."

According to Wooster, the show absolutely benefitted from the L500's exceptional signal path - from the SuperAnalogue mic inputs, through the flexible channel path, and comprehensive internal FX Rack: "What really separates the L500 from the competition is the sound.

"The effect on Leona's vocal was very noticeable in the system," he continues. "I think the 96kHz operati

UK - On Saturday 23 April 2016 the world celebrated the life and work of William Shakespeare, on the 400th anniversary of his death. The commemorative events included Shakespeare Live! From the RSC - a live production including music, drama and comedy, which took place at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate who, as well as appearing together in Doctor Who Shakespeare Live! was also broadcast live on BBC2 in the UK, and was recorded for later screenings on TV and in cinemas worldwide.

Working with RSC production manager, David Tanqueray, production designer Robert Jones, llighting designer Vi

UK - Christopher Salmon, who steered Festival of Speed, Revival and the inaugural Vintage festival as events operations director at Goodwood, has launched his own creative agency.

Salmon Event Evolution (SEE) comes to market with vision and experience fostered from 15 years shaping headline attractions. A virtual network of industry experts, the company is designed to develop and deliver new ideas for promoters and organisers.

Proven across the portfolio of sporting events and festivals, SEE solutions range from developing commercial ideas, for partners, sponsors and increased ticket sales, through to complete event management solutions.

Christopher Salmon comments, "The platform and the people at Goodwood, across such a broad spectrum of activity, were the perfect inspiration. It's a mecca for autonomy, creativity and innovation, which has helped me realise a lifelong

Sweden - Moving head luminaires from Osram's subsidiary Clay Paky will be in action to provide a spectacular light show As pioneers in entertainment lighting, Osram and Clay Paky are once again being entrusted to provide exceptional lighting effects for the shows staged at the Eurovision Song Contest, which will take place in Stockholm from 10-14 May, 2016.

Around 1,000 moving heads equipped with state-of-the-art light sources will be used to present, in the best possible light, the contestants from 42 countries during the semi-finals and the final.

"We are really pleased to be back at this prestigious event with our lighting products", said Hans-Joachim Schwabe, CEO of the Specialty Lighting business unit at Osram.

Frederik J

UK - The current tour by Jeff Lynne's ELO features show design by Tim Routledge. "To create a beautiful show you have to have balance," he says, "and a big part of that, in technology terms, is the critical relationship between all the visual elements of the show and the music."

The video system for the tour is supplied by Video Design. "Unusually for an arena tour, all the video is LED; not just the twelve-metre circular central screen and the large floor surface ellipse, even the two IMAG screens to the sides are LED," explains company MD Alex Leinster. "Tim has commissioned some beautiful graphical animation from Ben IB, that's one good reason why Richard Shipman, an expert in running content for live shows, was engaged for the tour."

For this tour Shipman's skill was in working dynamically throughout the show to ensure the balance Routledge desired. "The key is output

Australia - Canberra Theatre Centre (CTC) is a lively and proactive arts and cultural hub at Australia's capital city / territory, comprising three main venues - the 1244 seater Canberra Theatre, The Playhouse which holds 614 people and The Studio, a black box space with 100 capacity.

Around 150 shows covering a wide array of performance genres are staged annually, an eclectic mix ranging from rock 'n' roll to choral music, shows to drama, musicals, stand-up comedy and dance - a massive cross section involving a host of one-nighters to much longer runs of two or three weeks.

Last year, the CTC invested in its first moving lights - which were Robe.

These were specified by head of lighting Andrew Tweedie and delivered by Canberra entertainment rental and production specialist, Elite Sound and Lighting.

Andrew has worked at CTC for six years, and the lighting upgrade

New Zealand - New Zealand's theatres, venues and hire companies have enthusiastically embraced the High End Systems Hog platform, with multiple units installed around the country by NW Group.

The latest addition, a Road Hog 4 in Auckland's SKYCITY Theatre, joins a flagship Hog 4 in Tauranga's Baycourt Theatre, a Road Hog 4 in Auckland's Bruce Mason Theatre, multiple Hog models across the seven council-run Positively Wellington Venues, and Hogs for hire across the country.

The 700 seat SKYCITY Theatre has had the same lighting desk since it opened in the late 1990s - a Hog 2. With the console at the end of its working life, it was more than ready for replacement. "SKYCITY Theatre is a flexible, multipurpose theatre that's doing everything from bingo, to theatre, to comedy acts," explains Simon Garrett, general manager of lighting at NW Group. "They do a lot of 'one-day-wond

UK - Soulsound is teaming up with Birmingham City University to deliver a four-day seminar programme that will explore Calibration & Design Techniques for Modern Sound Systems. The programme, which is aimed at intermediate and experienced sound engineers, will be held at Birmingham City University, Millennium Point.

Presented by experienced sound and system engineer, Merlijn van Veen, the seminars are intended to remove the 'magic' surrounding sound systems. They will provide participants with the means and physical insight necessary to create predictable sound system designs, regardless of brand and type of speaker, and then verify the results using the dual channel FFT analyser (SIM 3, SMAART v7, SysTune, etc.).

Merlijn will thoroughly investigate the complete transmission path from source to receiver in the acoustical, electrical and psycho-acoustical domains. He

USA - Lumileds and Arrow Electronics have announced a strategic agreement for the global distribution of Lumileds comprehensive portfolio of application optimized LEDs including high power, mid power, low power, CoB, colour and UV LEDs as well as the infinitely configurable Matrix Platform. The agreement aligns with both companies' dedication to providing customers with responsive, accelerated service and reliable, high performance solutions.

"Lighting is an extremely dynamic market and today's lighting producers expect timely delivery of the right LEDs where and when they are needed," said Emmanuel Dieppedalle, senior vice president of marketing and sales at Lumileds. "Arrow is a technology leader that is known for connecting customers with the right comprehensive solutions, quickly. We are confident that this agreement will expand our market coverage, and with Arrow, custome

Germany - GLP recently completed its most auspicious theatre installation at the hands of experienced theatre lighting designer Rick Fisher.

In taking the Santa Fe Opera production of Madame Butterfly, which he first lit in 2010, to the much larger, 3000-plus capacity Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at LA Opera, he found a dynamic role for GLP's versatile impression X4 Bar 20, from GLP's range of battens.

"There were challenges in relocating this production from the relatively small stage in Santa Fe that is also open to the elements upstage," he explains. "The night sky is their back drop and that gives a depth that completes the stage picture and in many ways allows for a simpler stage design than you might choose for a traditional venue."

To make this work in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion an impressionistically painted scrim and rear projection screen were added by

UK - PLASA Focus 2016 sees Yamaha sharing a stand with loudspeaker manufacturer Nexo and highlighting the interconnectivity of the company's professional audio systems for installation, broadcast and live production.

A focal point of Yamaha's presence will be the MRX7-D open architecture signal processor, the RMio64-D Dante/MADI conversion i/o unit and the RSio64-D Dante/mini-YGDAI convertor. In addition, the latest V4 software for CL/QL series digital mixing consoles will be on demonstration.

Complementing the Yamaha Commercial Installation Solutions (CIS) range of MTX series fixed architecture matrix processors, the MRX7-D delivers simple yet outstandingly flexible control for complex, high-capacity sound systems in hotels, ballrooms, houses of worship, schools, libraries, theatres, convention centres, conference rooms and many other applications.

Featuring eight mic

USA - Norwegians Ketil Jansen and Ulrik Denizou Lund, better known as Lemaitre, can be considered a two-man melting pot of music. In the tradition of bands like Phoenix and Daft Punk, the red-hot duo effortlessly blend dance, indie, pop and even heavy swing brass into a fast smooth electro tinged sound that's all their own. Their most recent release "Closer" already has 12 million streams.

Expectations were high when Lemaitre performed at this year's Coachella festival, and the pair didn't disappoint, blending their eclectic sounds with a mesmerizing lightshow created by LD Michael Sheck of L7 Productions. A key component of Sheck's show was the 'sizzling pixel-mapped eye candy' served up on Chauvet Professional Nexus Aq 5x5 LED panels, supplied and installed by Kilroys Lighting and Production of Las Vegas.

The RGBW Nexus units were rolled out quickly on the Gobi Tent stag

USA - Video display manufacturer PixelFLEX has announced a West Coast open house designed to showcase of its innovative line of LED technologies.

Highlighted by the FLEXLite Plus, FLEXLite NXG, reFLEXion, trueFLEX, and FLEXCurtain HD, the open house will take place at INVENT (Institute of Venue and Entertainment Technology) in Los Angeles, CA, on 26-27 May, 2016. The event is free and open to all video designers, integrators and production rental houses throughout the area who may be interested in taking an in-depth look into the latest in LED video technology.

"With Los Angeles being at the epicenter for touring on the West coast, we know how important this market is for our continued growth," said David Venus, PixelFLEX Director of Marketing. "Through our headquarters in Nashville, we are able to routinely visit with clients on the East coast, but we also understand how

UK - DPA microphones played a key role in delivering exceptional sound quality to the Comhaltas National Folk Orchestra of Ireland, which made its London debut over Easter with a special concert at the Barbican.

Formed by Comhaltas Ceolt

USA - Sean Palmer, Front of House engineer for US rock band The Used, has been mixing audio for almost two decades. He has recently discovered the delights of DiGiCo's new S21 digital mixing console, supplied by Clair Brothers, PA rental company for the band's current album celebration tour. It has, he says, changed everything for him...

"I haven't used DiGiCo consoles much before," says Sean. "I've always loved the sound of the consoles and thought they were incredibly capable, but I just couldn't get my head around the workflow.

"Then I went and did training with Tom Williams at DiGiCo HQ. I learned how to create the workflow I wanted and there's nothing I haven't been able to do with the S21 since."

Sean had been using what he describes as 'an insane amount of plugins' on previous consoles. "They were all great, but there's this sterile tone to them and still a lot

UK - Arena Group supplied 59 temporary tower structures and 2,031 temporary tiered covered seats to the Virgin Money London Marathon.

Along the 26.2 mile route through the UK's capital city, Arena Group installed all the mile and kilometre marker towers, beginning at Blackheath Common's start line right through to the last marker before the finish line on The Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace.

Each tower measured 1.077m wide by 2.115m deep, stood 6m high and was cladded with Virgin Money branded Mile Marker boards. The towers that stood on opposite sides of the road were adorned with red and white helium-filled balloon arches.

Arena Group installed a total of 2,031 temporary seats across the course, with 579 seats within two covered grandstands lining either side of the Start Line. A further 1,452 seats in 12 grandstands lining The Mall offered optimum views of runne

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