Lighting

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14 March 2016

The report was the culmination of an inquiry which was launched just over a year ago with a call for evidence from the Committee, which is made up of MPs from across all political parties. PLASA made a detailed written submission as to how the creative industries can be better supported, with a particular emphasis on the value and importance of the Entertainment Technology sector. PLASA's evidence focussed on issues around allowing companies to promote their involvement in the Olympics, tax relief for apprenticeships, improving protection for intellectual property and helping SMEs in the sec

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14 March 2016

The Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review symbolised 100 years since Australia welcomed their first Naval Fleet into Sydney Harbour. It was Imagination's job to celebrate that milestone in a way the entire city and the world would take notice of.

The spectacular was created in seven acts, from introducing the original fleet, through 100 proud years of service to Australia, current capabilities, a moment of reflection for the fallen and a finale to rival Sydney New Year's Eve, the show was a once in a lifetime project.

Imagination conceived, wrote, designed and produced every element of the show. For the first time ever, fireworks were launched from seven warships, combi

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14 March 2016

All four days proved to be busy with inquiries from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, with clients eager to learn more about the screens, along with all the other LED products in the MilTec range. The Mini-Map has 36 tricolour pixels, controlled via DMX512. Two versions are available- the touring module has PowerCon and 5-pin XLR connectors and an M10 fixing point. The installation module is a low-profile product, and comes with a backplate and IDC connectors for quick and easy fitting.

The busy show has turned into a busy month with orders for Mini-Maps from the UK and Canada now being processed along with continued demand for the Batten2 LED batten. The Mini-Map screens are built by Miltec at their HQ in Kent, England.

"We

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14 March 2016

The Robe student 'PLASA experience' scheme was initiated last year by Ian W Brown, sales manager from Robe UK in conjunction with Stuart Green, course leader from Prifysgol De Cymru (University of South Wales). It is designed to give successful applicants a taste of the high-pressure, rough-and-tumble world of trade shows and first-hand experience of this lighting industry element.

The four lucky 2013 students - Owain Jones, Heather Kirby, Greg Westwood and Beth Mae MacDonald - were selected after submitting a CV and engaging in a phone interview with Ian who comments, "They were all really high calibre." Havin

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14 March 2016

"Originally St Mary's wanted lighting solutions for three venues, namely, the school hall, a studio which is used as the drama practice room and an outdoor auditorium," explained Nick Barnes from DWR who headed the installation. Michael Broderick, a lighting specialist, consulted to ensure the correct equipment was specified. Due to pricing and budget constraints, it was decided to commence the project with the school hall only.

DWR took out the outdated lighting infrastructure and replaced this with two stage lighting bars, one FOH Lighting Bar, four

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14 March 2016

Ten Clay Paky Sharpys were rigged in a circle high in the disused main hall of the Welsh Church on Shaftesbury Avenue for an interactive art performance entitled Nest. The fixtures' beam was used to create an acute criss-cross prism of clean, directed light around the space. The innovative performance was based on Homer's epic poem The Odyssey and featured cutting-edge dance troupe New Movement Collective.

Robin McNicholas, one of the directors of MLF explains why the fixtures were so valuable to the performance: "The production itself was a holistic collaboration where costume would inform choreography, which would in turn influence the

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14 March 2016

New in Luminair 2.5 are improved Timing FX options, including Global Timing, Tap Tempo, and Sound Active modes, which allow users to easily create automated, fully-customizable playlists of their lighting scenes.

The new Sound Active mode can detect sounds from the built-in microphone and other audio-input hardware, to trigger automated light shows. Sound Active mode also supports Inter-App Audio on iOS 7, allowing users to send audio directly from supported 3rd-party iOS apps like Algoriddm's djay 2 and many more.

Also new in 2.5 is the ability to control Philips Hue lights right alongside professional DMX-controlled lighting on stages, in !lm and TV production, architectural lightin

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14 March 2016

The annual Tecnópolis exhibition runs for three months and is focussed on new technologies, techniques and advances to stimulate creativity.

Buenos Aires based lighting design and service company Pampin Luces designed the ornamental, environmental (encompassing the different spaces and rooms) and landscape lighting scheme, which is based on a different concept each year.

Lighting equipment includes 36 x Robe LEDWash 1200s, 30 x LEDWash 600s, 20 x Actor 6s and eight MMX Spots all from Robe's ROBIN series, plus 120 x LEDForce PAR 18s, four CitySkape Xtremes, 40 x CityFlex 48s and 20 x Anolis ArcPad 94

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14 March 2016

LumenRadio's CRMX product line is increasingly becoming a standard feature in professional fixtures. Their patented Cognitive Coexistence continuously monitors and adapts to the wireless environment to deliver a durable wireless link in even the most challenging environments.

SGM were one of the first manufacturers to launch wireless connectivity within their fixtures, originally using another wireless technology. As part of their continuous strive for improvement, head of development Finn Kallestrup evaluated the available wireless products in early 2013 before settling on LumenRadio's CRMX technology for all SGM produc

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14 March 2016

Philips Entertainment supplied a selection of the Selecon PL range of LED luminaires alongside Vari-Lite discharge and LED moving heads. All were delivered in tandem with onsite training and support throughout.

Enabling C venues to take full advantage of the creative benefits of LED in many more of its venues kit included the Selecon PLcyc1, the PLfresnel1 and the PLprofile1 augmented with the Vari-Lite VLX3 LED luminaires and VL440 Spot luminaires. In addition the VL440 Spot bought the energy efficiency of the super-bright 400-watt MSR Gold 400 MiniFastFit lamp plus a host of creative features including: powerful colour mixing, quiet and reliable strob

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14 March 2016

24 delegates attended the Johannesburg event and DWR Distribution's Nick Britz, presenter of the Avolites Titan Training, was delighted with the response.

Topics covered included workspaces, patching, groups, controlling fixtures, palettes, playbacks, basic timings, chases, shapes and running the show.

Interest in the training event was heightened thanks to Avolites' Emma Thompson presenting a similar seminar in South Africa in 2012. As Britz and his assistant Gareth Chambers regularly train Avolites users on a one-on-one basis and provide daily technical support, the workshop was infor

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14 March 2016

Wes Matthews began his industry career aged 14 and now has 20 years' experience and hands-on knowledge at the 'sharp-end' of the industry. EMTO was founded four years ago to facilitate the supply of lighting and visual design projects in which time Matthews has established a reputation for providing well engineered, high quality, imaginative and interesting solutions for all types of venues, spaces and circumstances.

"The time is right to diversify and move the company forward and our intention is to establish the Foreground brand as a good-looking, robu

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14 March 2016

During the initial build of the auditorium, four Jands JLX lighting bars were installed; three in the stage area and one front of house. Jands also supplied winches, curtains, wiring and a Jands WM wall mounted patch panel system.

More recently Top End Sounds supplied an ETC Source Four package including eight Source Four Zoom 15-30Deg Profile, six Source Four Zoom 25-50Deg Profile and six Source Four Fresnel including gel frame and barn doors.

"The ETC fixtures have been excellent, absolutely fantastic!" commented Ian Clarke, property manager at the school. "They've made a huge difference to the professionalism of our performances."

For lighting control an ETC SmartFade compact co

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14 March 2016

//hapo's vision was clear: to create an interactive exhibition space where the story of Southern Africa, dating back 3.6 billion years, unfolds in an engaging narrative and visual form. The museum is split into a number of zones and scenes, each telling a different part of the African story. Lighting is used to evoke the feel and atmosphere of each scene presented.

Designed by a collaborative team of South African architects from Mashabane Rose, MMA and GAPP, Johannesburg based Gavin Olivier of Digital Fabric conceived and managed the technological aspects of the project. In the process he called on some of South Africa's leading integrators including: TDC Africa and DWR Distribution to deliver the lightin

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14 March 2016

The Stravinsky strives to improve and develop its features at every turn and to this end commissioned GDS, through its distributor Swiss Light Consulting, to supply a new lighting system able to specifically adapt to the modularity of the stage area.

During orchestral performances, for example, the depth of the stage and the position of acoustic baffles within the hall changes significantly. The system had to be flexible enough to accommodat

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14 March 2016

Now in its fifth year, the annual Locos in a Different Light sees students from all over the country lighting up the A4s. Entries are judged by industry professionals and will be marked according to a number of categories including; safety and conservation, energy and efficiency, object communication and innovation and aesthetics. The winning team will get the opportunity to drive a locomotive.

The competition has been a huge hit with performing arts students in previous years with many going on to bigger and brighter careers in stage lighting. This year's event will be attended by students from across the UK, includin

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14 March 2016

The DLFs and DLXs went straight on to the current series of So You Think You Can Dance which is being recorded at the Renaissance Centre in downtown Johannesburg and broadcast on national TV by SABC, with lighting designed by GHSA's Robert Grobler.

The LEDWash 600s join GHSA's existing rental fleet - which already contains a large quantity of LEDWash 600s. Stuart Andrews, Head of lighting at Gearhouse SA comments, "You simply can never have enough of these versatile fixtures."

GHSA services many top artists who are now regularly visiting South Africa on their world tours and so it's importan

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14 March 2016

The main advantage of these formats is they can be "imported" into design programmes so that the levels of light in the various areas that need illuminating may be rendered. The designer can therefore calculate the number of lights needed to achieve a certain lighting level, the distance between the lights and the area to be illuminated, and the spacing between the lights themselves.

In the past, this type of data was only requested by architectural firms, but today some lighting control desks (for example the GrandMA) and simulation programmes can import IES files. Lighting designers, directors of photography and installers can therefore now calculate in adva

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14 March 2016

He first started using Robe in his work in 2010 on the P&O cruise ship Ventura, which had ColorSpot 700E ATs and DigitalSpot 7000s in the main theatre lighting rig. He was on-board for three weeks and in that time worked all of the lights extremely hard. He was impressed with the reliability which was spot-on.

Robe fixtures now figure regularly in Colin's designs. More recently, he has lit two shows at the Grand Theatre in Blackpool - Step Back In Time and Ooh La La, starring Canon and Ball.

The shows were a high energy fusion of dancing and international

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14 March 2016

Atlantis Audio provided the concert lighting equipment, which consisted of 22 Clay Paky Sharpys, 24 Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs and other lights.

Volkmar Kusch, the owner of Atlantis Audio, had this to say about Clay Paky Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs and Sharpys, "Alpha Spot QWO 800 STs are currently used on many occasions, as our case shows. We were particularly won over by the perfect image quality, compact size and wide zoom range. All this makes them suitable for many uses and, for this reason, we wanted them in

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14 March 2016

Lighting designer Tim Routledge, who designed the fixtures in association with James Thomas Engineering, commented: " I am delighted that TSL have taken the move to become a rental stockist of the Patt 2013, they are not only huge fans of the product but now have the very first units that were made earlier in the year, a little bit of history".

TSL's MD, Sam Tamplin, added: "We have already used the fixtures on McFly (pictured), Gloria Estefan, BBC Radio 2 In Concert with the Stereophonics and have several other shows and tours in the remainder of the year where they will be making an appearance. The fixtures look great on camera and the Patt 2013 is truly becoming the defining look of 2

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14 March 2016

Twenty ETC Source Four LED fixtures with attached CYC unit are in use on Liolà, with 10 above the 15m x 7m elevated cyc, and ten below, not dissimilar to the demonstration on ETC's stand at PLASA London.

Lighting supervisor Steve Binks told the visiting ALD members that whilst he and his colleagues realised they were taking a risk in using a new product still in final development for their lighting, the result was nonetheless a resounding success. "My initial fear was that the comparative output of the LED would not be enough," he said. "But the LED output was great, even with tricky pastel colours at low levels, and the optics meant that cover

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14 March 2016

The facility offers extended storage space alongside modern equipment preparation areas. The move also sees an expansion to the company's project management offices.

Nick Edwards, managing director comments, "The whole team here at Aurora are extremely excited to have moved into our new premises. The move has allowed us to relocate multiple storage units to one combined modern facility. This will allow us to grow not just our inventory but also enable us to recruit more personnel."

Along with the move Aurora has also announced the recruitment of TV electrician Charlie Smith, who joins the company from the BBC production team of Eastenders.

Aurora Lighting Hire's

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14 March 2016

TSL Lighting's MD, Sam Tamplin, commented: "We have recently added the M-Box Media Server to our rental stock and this show was our first opportunity to use two of our systems on a high profile production. We have used an MA network to trigger Lighting and Video cues and also Sound cues and the band click track via the M-Box. This show has been especially effective for us, as we are also preferred technical suppliers at the Brighton Centre, where the musical's debut was staged."

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