Germany - Robe moving lights - including 65 DL4 series luminaires in the form of 50 x DL4F LED washes and 15 x DL4S Profiles - were again selected as flagship fixtures for the four major entertainment areas aboard Mein Schiff 5, the latest cruise ship to be launched by German based operator TUI Cruises.

These were specified by Chris Moylan of Berlin based Optikalusion, who was the lighting designer and programmer for all the entertainment spaces, amounting to the theatre, AbtanzBar nightclub, the Studio and pool deck stage. This follows up his very successful Robe installation on Mein Schiff 3 in 2014 and Mein Schiff 4 in 2015.

For this latest vessel built in Meyer Turku Shipyard in Finland, explained Chris, the entertainment areas have been expanded. Klanghaus which was previously a very basic 'music chamber' has evolved into a full Studio performance space staging numero

UK - There is something completely different about to happen at PLASA 2016... A new experiment, The Exploratorium, is a maze where the participants show off both their technical expertise and their imaginations.

The simple, interactive, entertaining and educational experiments contained within The Exploratorium prove a concept, demonstrate a principle and wow visitors with a bit of science. There will be axe heads and horns, Virtual Reality and prisms, experiments on perception and even a 'Brain Transfer Machine'.

One highlight of The Exploratorium is The Sideshow, a bit of virtual and magical fun, hosted by Ryan Metcalfe from PreeVue, producers of photo-realistic 3D models for theatre productions and live events using the latest CAD and VR technology. "This is a fantastic opportunity for us to be able to demonstrate this brand new technology in a way that allows vi

UK - The Prolight Concepts Group has released the eLumen8 CYC 500. A powerful 150W quad-colour COB LED (RGBW) allows this Cyclorama wash the ability to deliver rich, even tones across large areas, whilst ensuring perfect colour mixing without any multi-coloured shadows, the company says.

"The CYC 500 is an ideal colour changing flood for studios, stages and theatres that fits within anyone's budget. The flicker free operation and long LED life ensure years of faultless operation," said Andrew Jeffrey, managing director of The Prolight Concepts Group. "The unit comes loaded with features including 5-Pin DMX & PowerCON inputs/outputs and has a built-in four-button control panel with an intuitive, full colour, 180° reversible menu display for easy navigation."

Adding to the CYC 500s multitude of features is the fixtures stand-alone mode: RGBW colour mixing, LEE compatible

USA - American rock band Chevelle, comprised of Dean Bernardini and brothers Pete and Sam Loeffler, have been making music and touring for more than two decades, but they aren't kicking back and looking towards slowing down. Rather than rest on their laurels, the band released their eighth studio album The North Corridor this July and have been touring the country with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites.

Lighting designer Craig Richter shared the band was looking to change up their look this year, with more set pieces and lighting fixtures, a challenge he was certainly up to accomplishing. "Nothing on the main set piece is symmetrical, so it makes it harder to make your generic positions," he said. "I really had to switch my way of thinking come programming time."

GLP X4s are placed on top of the set pieces to provide the main source of lighting and eye cat

UK - Sector-6 was a substantial new stage and performance area at the 2016 Boomtown Festival in the UK. A brainchild of Dan Borg, the crazy set design was created from several tonnes of reconditioned scrap metal and much ingenuity as a living, moving, breathing industrial sculpture inspired by structural components from steel works, power stations, nuclear reactors, etc. all united in "a post-apocalyptic masterpiece of madness".

Dan and Boomtown's production manager Robin Collins asked Dave Whiteoak of Video Illusions to be visual production manager and video designer and to co-ordinate the visual production elements including lighting and video content creation. Dave commissioned lighting designer Sam Tozer from Vision Factory - a regular LD on Video Illusions projects - to add some original lighting magic to Sector 6.

Video Illusions, who work closely with leading UK lig

Chile - A new world record was set for the Guinness Book of Records at the La Florida stadium in Santiago, Chile, on Sunday 22 May. A total of 2,357 players took part in a 120-hour soccer match and broke the previous record held by England, where a non-stop 105-hour game was played.

The match, which was organized by Entel and Huaweii, deserved an equally great closing show, and Clay Paky lights were used under the supervision of local producer Real Audio Sistemas.

At around 7 pm the cup was raised to celebrate the new record, and the show started, which lit up the sky over La Florida. Twenty-four Sharpy Wash 330s were more than enough to colour the entire stage. Despite this, the power of six Alpha Spot HPE 1500s was also added, each with their own visual effects that harmonized with the colours of singer Américo's show. The lighting was handled by Chilean li

UK - Singer/songwriter Gladys Knight recently toured the UK and Blackburn based HSL delighted lighting equipment and crew to the production which was co-ordinated on the road for HSL by Lester Cobrin and designed by UK and Nashville based LD, Neil Scrivener.

Neil has been working for the artist for about two years. Knight tours the U.S. extensively, having previously had a five-year residency in Las Vegas and usually visits the UK and Europe each summer. This year, a high profile appearance at London's Royal Albert Hall was one of the highlights on the itinerary for the seven times Grammy and multi award winning artist.

The PAR can rig used by Knight in the U.S. provided a starting point for Neil's design this year. Taking into account the 13 people who needed to be lit, Neil decided that PAR cans were once again a good base option for the rig as well as adding a touch of

USA - Bandit Lites is once again supplying the lighting for The Band Perry as they tour the nation. The country music super group recently released The Comeback Kid, the latest single off their upcoming album Heart + Beat.

Lighting designer Jay Waddell based the design around an LED neon outlined heart shape, which had originally been a piece of artwork the band had used for branding. LED neon was also placed into stair treads that run the length of the risers for the band, with three steps high and eight sections across of neon in the stairs for 24 controllable steps.

"I love the looks of all the neon; there are really cool FX to run through the heart and stairs," said Waddell of the design. "I also love the backlit looks from the Nitro Strobes; I have two lines of nine units: one at the top of the cart and one at the bottom. The bottom line hits the band ri

UK - For Biffy Clyro's headlining appearances at Leeds and Reading this Bank Holiday weekend, set designer Misty Buckley established a new benchmark to what is possible with transformative stage sets on festival stages.

"The stage is a square walled tunnel, a series of four portals of LED that enclose the full stage, each smaller than the next as you move upstage, and with a large landscape LED screen across the back," was how video director Jack Banks described it.

"Looking at what Misty has come up with you can't just put flat pictures behind the band. This is something entirely different to work with, it was great to get away from the classic 'big slab of telly' look. The portal screens introduce an amazing perspective to the video element and it was a chance to really think about how I could make content travel in and out of the set."

The portals, rear screen, d3 s

Spain - Sonobalance dealt with lighting the all-nighter that Nikki Beach Marbella threw to celebrate the arrival of the summer season. They used 12 Clay Paky Mythos units and an MA Lighting grandMA2 ultra-light desk.

David Calero Vioque was in charge of managing the event lighting and accompanying the festive atmosphere the party-goers enjoyed. He used 12 Clay Paky Mythos units as spotlights and beam lights in his design. The Mythos is the first 470W light with this option in a single device: it produces a well-defined light beam with a 4°-50° zoom. Its optical unit allows you to switch from spotlight to beam light mode with a beam angle of only 0.5°.

All the equipment was supplied by rental company Sonobalance, which provided the Clay Paky Mythos units and the MA Lighting GrandMA2 Ultra-light desk, distributed in Spain by Stonex.

(Jim Evans)

UK - In what is being regarded as one of the biggest productions in West End history, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child recently opened at the Palace Theatre to rave reviews. The play is the eighth story set in the Harry Potter universe and takes place 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

White Light was approached to provide the lighting for this hugely-anticipated production and this included premium products from GLP.

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a new play by Jack Thorne and follows Harry Potter, now a Ministry of Magic employee, and his younger son Albus Severus Potter. The lighting designer for the show is Tony Award and Olivier Award-winner Neil Austin.

He comments, "My main aim for the show was to create something magical. With Ha

UK - DL7S LED Profile luminaires from Robe made their UK debut at the Coliseum in London's Covent Garden, as part of the lighting rig for the highly acclaimed English National Opera (ENO) production of Wagner's Tristan & Isolde directed by Daniel Kramer.

Lighting was designed by Paul Anderson, set and scenic elements were created by influential sculptor Anish Kapoor and the video was designed by Frieder Weiss.

The DL7Ss were chosen because an LED source was required to complement the video images that did not interfere with the infra-red light source illuminating the stage for a series of IR video cameras, also used onstage.

It was felt that the particular qualities of LED light would work best in this context.

The DL7Ss were supplied by technical production specialist White Light, who purchased them specifically for this production.

The six DL7S Profile

UK - As soon as the Starlit Dance Floor Systems landed at Prolight Concepts' HQ, many were instantly shipped out to the company's customers including 'Light The Way', who have already used the system for two events, with many more pencilled in over the coming weeks. One of the installations was for a wedding organised by Kudos Music, a leading Asian Wedding and Events company.

Light The Way, a leading dry hire company, has expanded into wet hire with the purchase of a 20ft x 20ft White Starlit Dance Floor System. The LEDJ portable, Starlit systems have been designed to offer rental companies, installers and users alike the flexibility to create different sized dance floors.

John Edwards of Light The Way comments: "With the immediate success of the dance floor system we will be looking to purchase another four in the next six months".

With interlocking panels and cool w

UK - The 2016 Festival drew to a close after three weeks of action in and around the city, offering over 50,000 performances in over 300 venues showcasing thousands of shows.

Zero 88 lighting control was once again right at the hub of this vibrant experience.

Over 280 technicians were trained during the 2016 Festival Fringe, from around 130 performance spaces all running Zero 88 consoles. Products included the new FLX, Solution, Jester and even the Fat Frogs which have been running Festival Fringe venues since the turn of the millennium.

Eaton provided advice during the early planning stages for several larger venues, and Zero 88 product specialist Paul McEwan and product manager Jon Hole were onsite for the build and throughout the festival period to provide venue training and to support companies with more complex plotting requirements.

While performers returned

Through The Past Darkly - The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is hoping to replicate the success of its David Bowie exhibition with a major retrospective of Pink Floyd. The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, marking 50 years since the release of the band's first single, will include a laser light show and previously unseen concert footage. The "immersive" show will feature 350 objects and artefacts, including instruments and original artworks. It will run from May to October 2017.

The V&A promised "an immersive, multi-sensory and theatrical journey through Pink Floyd's extraordinary world" which will "chronicle the music, iconic visuals and staging of the band, from the underground psychedelic scene in 1960s London to the present day". The exhibition will also include items from stage performances, as well as instruments, handwritten lyrics, architectural drawings a

USA - Christmas concerts are a highlight on the calendars of many churches. However, although they're exciting, these events often involve elaborate stage productions and appearances by guest artists, both of which can create new sets of challenges for a church's tech team.

Chauvet Professional is addressing this issue at an upcoming WFX Conference panel session that looks at Christmas concert lighting from two different perspectives: the lighting designer's and the technical director's. Taking place at demo room SWC102 at the Kentucky Exposition Centre from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Wednesday 21 September, the session will feature lighting designers Andy Rushing and Craig Rutherford, along with Bobby Dennis, technical director of The Heights Baptist Church in Richardson, Texas, outside Dallas.

Rushing is the fulltime lighting designer for two Grammy Award winning Christian music

Australia - Every year for the past seven years, Sydney's streets and skyline have come alight with the beautiful, inspiring, interactive festival that is Vivid Sydney. The lights and installations of Vivid Sydney illuminate some of Sydney's most iconic landmarks, including the Sydney Opera House, Customs House, Maritime Museum and The Star casino.

For Vivid Sydney 2015, The Star temporarily installed 44 Clay Paky Sharpys and 10 Mythos fixtures onto their roof as part of an installation entitled Mission Control. The resulting light display was so stunning and popular, the venue realized there was potential beyond Vivid Sydney.

To celebrate Vivid 2016 a total of 36 Clay Paky Supersharpys were chosen for their enhanced optical design. Famous for its powerful beam, the Supersharpy produces clearly defined mid-air effects even at long distances. The Supersharpy's beam a

UK - Disclosure, the sibling electronic music duo from Surrey, UK, continue to work hard as they take their Caracal tour around the world. The Disclosure show returned to the UK last month, when the band headlined the Reading and Leeds festivals, before heading off to South America.

Show and lighting designer Will Potts has been with them every step of the way as the tour stopped off at venues and festivals in North and South America, Japan, Australia, Korea, mainland Europe and the UK. PRG XL Video's lighting account manager Roy Hunt and video account manager Paul McCauley take care of the band's event technology needs as they stride around the world, performing sell-out shows and whipping audiences into a Disclosure frenzy.

We caught up with double Knight of Illumination winner Will Potts when Disclosure played three sought-after nights at London's Alexandra Palace at th

South Africa - Event Lighting is a new rental company based in Johannesburg. It is a joint venture between Peter Rieck of Rieck's Lighting and Henry Jenkins of Eventech, who together have invested in 12 x Robe Pointes, 24 x Robe Spikies, 48 x Longman F4 Up LED Parcans, all supplied by DWR Distribution.

"Rieck's Lighting will operate as normal," explained Peter Rieck. "I am still a consultant, a project manager and have my own clients to look after, while Henry remains the owner of Eventech, a rental company which supplies sound, staging, backline, structures and power." Event Lighting is a new and separate company.

The collaboration came about after Eventech, who do not own any lighting gear, were continually hiring in equipment for events. "We were on the point of buying our own lighting fixtures when Peter and I started chatting," said Henry.

The idea to start a sepa

UK - As the PLASA show consolidates its position as one of the premier events in the international tradeshow calendar, it is pleased to announce the last of its free-to-attend educational sessions.

Completing this year's educational and informative offering, are Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Lessons Learnt, The art of creating impactful artist performances, Investigating the Intangible - When Lighting & Sound Interact, Apprenticeships - A new approach to employer-led schemes, AV Installation Strategy for Venue Owners and Inventing The Future: The Story of the National Theatre's Lightboard.

Scott Willsallen has been one of the leading audio designers for major international and outdoor events since 2004 and has been involved in the majority of the Olympic Ceremonies since then. In Sound Design for Olympic Ceremonies - Les

USA - Bandit Lites is continuing to increase its ranks with the hiring of Steve Feathers and promotion of Jeff Vogt at its corporate offices.

Jeff Vogt joined Bandit 14 years ago as the network administrator, and was recently promoted to director of computer resources, making him responsible for the global information technology of all operations of Bandit Lites. "I'm very grateful and honoured for the promotion and the trust Michael Strickland has giving me," said Vogt of his promotion.

"Being with the company for almost 15 years as network admin has given me the knowledge to succeed in my new role with Bandit Lites, and I'm looking forward to the bright future that I can bring the company in my position."

With Jeff Vogt's promotion, Bandit hired Steve Feathers at Bandit's Nashville office as the network administrator, where he maintains servers, security solutions an

UK - Richard Martin Lighting has announced that Steve Finch will be joining the team as operations supervisor. A familiar face in the industry, Steve joins from his position as project manager at Siyan, a well-established stage lighting hire company and brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise.

Commenting on his new role, Steve says, "I'm really looking forward to working with RML, their fantastic team, getting involved with the Studio 24 and all of the new challenges."

Steve will be helping RML to support its continuing development as well as overseeing Studio 24, and assisting operations manager, Steve Wells, who comments, "We're thrilled to have Steve join the team at RML. Aside from having a spectacular name, with over 15 years in the industry, his vast experience and knowledge will be a key asset as RML moves forward."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - Taking place every year in Karlsruhe at the end of July since 1985, DAS FEST is one of the largest open-air events in Germany with more than 250,000 visitors.

Over the years, well-known artists such as The BossHoss, Silbermond and Die Fantastischen Vier have performed on the Mount Klotz site. This year, musicians and bands such as Rea Garvey, Moop Mama, Wanda, Max Giesinger, Milky Chance and Fettes Brot helped set the music festival alight.

Karlsruhe-based company Crystal Sound was responsible for the technical equipment on the main stage. The service provider covered all areas of event technology and added GLP's GT-1 and impression X4 L to the main stage inventory this year.

In total, 34 GT-1 and 48 X4 L were used in the set up - deployed as backlights on the main stage and to provide stage colour. Mark Metz, Crystal Sound's project manager, commented. "We w

USA - Although it has locations across the US, the Red Lion Hotel chain isn't ranked among the giants of the hospitality industry. The Spokane-based chain is, however, second to none when it comes to customer service. This much is evident from the many accolades the chain has won, including multiple Number 1 ratings for customer satisfaction in the prestigious Metrix Hospitality Index.

Since good service depends on motivated employees, Red Lion is also focused on recognizing its team members. This year, the chain's employee appreciation efforts were given a big boost by a giant video wall created by AMP'D Entertainment using PVP X6IP tiles from Chauvet Professional.

Justin Haas of AMP'D used the 6.9m pixel pitch panels to build a 35' long and 7.5' high wall behind the stage at Red Lion's President's Award Ceremony, an annual event recognizing team members for their achieve

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