UK - Aurora Lighting Hire has been working once again with award winning lighting director Chris Rigby on the latest series of Alan Carr's Chatty Man.

Now in its 14th season, the show has gained a host of industry accolades including wins at the National Television Awards and BAFTA. Continuing these winning ways, LD Chris was also recently honoured by the Royal Television Society with a Craft and Design Award for his work on the show.

For this latest season, recorded in front of a live audience at the ITV London Studios, Aurora provided an extensive LED package for ambience across the interview area. A selection of floor mounted Pulsar Chromabatten 300 and Chromastrip X3s light up the set pieces with additional wash added to the set flats using Martin Aura Wash units hung above.

Aurora also armed Chris with a more 'rock and roll' selection of fixtures including Martin

USA - Barry Manilow is in the midst of a memorable and extensive 'Farewell' US tour for which creative director Seth Jackson specified 12 x Robe BMFL Spots as part of an elegant and stylish design to help ensure the legendary artist exits an incredible performance career on a high note.

Manilow, one of the most prolific and successful singer/songwriters and producers is also celebrating 40 years at the top in show business.

Seth has enjoyed a long-standing working relationship with the artist dating back to 1998 when he started as a 'fill-in guy'. Over that remarkable 27 years, he's also taken on the lighting, set and production designer roles, and has enjoyed the various challenges of creating fresh and invigorating performance environments each time.

Knowing the tour was approaching, Seth 'auditioned' 10 x BMFL Spots during the Austin City Limits Music Festival towards the

UK - Central Hall Westminster has appointed White Light as its new production service partner following a competitive tender. The new contract will commence on 1 July 2015, following a three month transition period.

Central Hall Westminster (CHW) is central London's largest purpose built conference centre, combining historical elegance with cutting-edge technical capabilities. The Edwardian landmark building situated adjacent to Westminster Abbey has engaged high profile conferences, special events and local business meetings since 1912. The architectural features of the building include the iconic dome, spacious entrance foyers and hallways, marble flooring and a sweeping grand staircase, the design of which is based on the Paris Opera House.

Central Hall Westminster offers 22 event spaces, including The Great Hall which seats up to 2,200 delegates and features Europe's large

China - Software developer Nemetschek Vectorworks has released the Chinese-language version of the Vectorworks 2015 line of design software, including Vectorworks Designer, Architect, Landmark, Spotlight, Fundamentals and Renderworks.

The Vectorworks 2015 software contains more than 100 updates and new features in the areas of architecture, BIM, urban planning and entertainment design. In previous versions, the power of 64-bit was only available in the platform's photorealistic rendering engine, Renderworks, but has now been integrated throughout the entire Vectorworks 2015 product line, providing designers with the ability to handle larger projects, as well as better performance and stability. In addition, designers will observe a revolutionary graphical experience from advances made to the Vectorworks Graphics Module (VGM).

"Updates for the 2015 Vectorworks software hav

Germany - ArKaos PROwill exhibit at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt in Hall 11.0 Stand A49 and will introduce and demonstrate the latest version of its successful professional MediaMaster software.

MediaMaster 4.2 now adds an integrated cue player and 4K support to the many tools already offered by this ever-popular software.

The new Cue Player is an important addition for users who require reliable, accurate playback of visual sequences, for example, on shows or installations requiring repeated automated playback. The Cue Player is built on top of MediaMaster's Theater Mode interface and can also be driven by Time Code as required. MediaMaster 4.2 is available as a free upgrade to MediaMaster 3.x or 4.x

ArKaos PRO's complete range of media servers will be exhibited. Comprising the Stage, Studio and Stadium servers, this range offers up to two-, four- and six-outputs respectively

Germany - Laserworld has released a direct text show laser light system for easy text projections that can be controlled by a keyboard and an IR remote control.

The Laserworld EL-200G KeyTEX is a green colour laser projector especially designed for text projections. It can be operated in normal stand-alone mode or sound to light, where it plays preset patterns and animations. But the main feature is the live text feature and the laser countdown.

The text mode offers the possibilities to either type text live and animate it (scroll, rotate, flip, draw, etc.), or save text to cue keys so they can be played back later - triggered through the keyboard or though the infrared remote control. The EL-200G KeyTEX laser is a great tool for advertising purposes on a smaller scale. Mobile DJs could use this to congratulate the happy couple or birthday boy/girl. Nightclubs could project dr

Germany - Robert Juliat will be out in full force at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, where the company will exhibit alongside its German partners, Lightpower GmbH, in Hall 11 Stand D76.

Robert Juliat will celebrate the official launch of Roxie, its new 300W LED followspot. Roxie was previewed at JTSE 2014 and LDI 2014 and is the first LED followspot in the Robert Juliat portfolio.

At the opposite end of the scale, the rugged Merlin 2500W HMI touring spot - launched at PLASA 2014 - will be shown for the first time at Prolight + Sound. The first shipments of Merlin will soon be delivered to customers across the world through RJ's international distributor network.

Robert Juliat will extend its popular ZEP Fresnel range with the presentation of the new 360LF 300W LED Fresnel, a complement to its 150W little sister, the 340LF.

Finally, Robert Juliat will introduce a completely

Germany - MDG, manufacturer of fog, haze and low fog generators, will celebrate its 35th anniversary at Prolight+Sound.

Serving entertainment, industrial, fire-fighting and military customers since 1980, MDG will mark the occasion with the release of limited edition models of a new product line.

Throughout its history, MDG has developed the MAX Series of fog generators, the world-famous Atmosphere haze generator, winner of LDI's Best Lighting Product in 1997, and the award-winning theONE digital atmospheric generator, LDI's Best Debuting Product in 2010. These were followed in 2013 by the e-series which brought increased efficiency and total electronic control to the product range. Now, Prolight+Sound 2015 will see the launch of three new products, the latest in MDG's evolution of fog which will expand the range still further.

MDG's anniversary will also be marked by the lau

Germany - Ayrton will be "pushing the envelope once again at Prolight+Sound 2015" with the release of "a truly new innovation in LED luminaire design".

Code-named the A61 Project, the details of this new product are a tightly kept secret until the first day of the show when all will be revealed to visitors to Ayrton's stand (Hall 11.0 Stand D67).

A foretaste has just been released by Ayrton and can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/123426064. More details will follow soon.

"We are enjoying the speculation around our latest development and will be very excited to hear the reaction of our customers when we finally spring this surprise on them at the show," says Ayrton's Valère Huart-Gyors. "We believe that it is destined to be a real inspiration to lighting designers."

Following its successful launch at PLASA 2014, Ayrton's NandoBeam S9

Portugal - Elation Professional's Portuguese partner, Apogeu, was chosen to provide a lighting and sound solution for Evolution Hotel in Lisbon and turned to Elation LED lighting products to dress the hotel's spacious lobby area in atmospheric colour and visual excitement.

Evolution Lisboa, part of the SANA Hotel group, is located in the central part of the city (Saldanha) and markets itself as a new generation of hotel. Relaxed and tech-savvy yet still upscale, the hotel clearly caters to young, active and independent urban professionals. Apogeu's client sought a dynamic lighting solution for the lobby that mirrored that spirited energy while depicting the hotel as cutting edge and modern.

Far from being a traditional hotel lobby, the spacious two-story space at Evolution includes a reception, lounge, restaurant, bar, relaxation and meeting spaces, and even a DJ booth. It's n

UK - London-based technical service company Lightwave Productions this month joined the growing number of rental houses worldwide who are finding SGM's P-5 LED wash light an indispensible part of their production inventories.

A lighting technician since his days at Bristol University, the company's founder, Henry Clarke, hopes that the P-5s - which were supplied by SGM UK along with standard 43° lens - will help build profile for his company as the summer season beckons.

"I realised we needed IP65 rated products for the outdoor events and it seemed pointless looking at old style 400W floods when the industry is moving towards LED," he said.

As a freelance lighting tech, whose new company is now into its second year, Henry recognised that the P-5 had all the attributes required after seeing them at the PLASA Show. "I had also used them previously with anoth

UK - Unity Works is aptly named. A grass roots initiative started by a community that came together with a shared goal in mind has given this historic building a new lease on live. This rebirth is reflected in the structure's cutting edge fittings, including its lighting system, which features the new Rogue R2 Spot moving LED spot and an extensive collection of other technologically advanced fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Well known in an earlier time as Unity Hall, the stately building is a Grade II listed Victorian landmark with all the installation challenges to match. The community based Unity House (Wakefield) Ltd. venture managed to find £200,000 in private capital to begin getting the old pile back on its rocking feet - a benchmark that then enabled the successful application for over £4m million in national renovation awards, which set the building on it

UK - Panalux, a leading provider of lighting rental equipment for film, television and media production, recently announced that the company's Broadcast & Event division, Engineering and Product Development departments will be consolidated in a customised facility in Perivale. Allowing for greater operational flexibility, the 48,000sq.ft warehouse and offices located in the Perivale Park can accommodate a greater number of projects and allow future business expansion.

"Panalux Broadcast & Event have experienced consistent growth over the past years; as a result, we've outgrown our current location," explains Ed Pagett, Panalux Broadcast & Event managing director. "We're looking forward to settling into our new building, which will provide our different teams with the space they need to continue to expand on our services."

In the move, Panalux Engineering an

South Africa - Rental company MGG supplied over 200 Robe moving lights for a recent indaba at Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg for a high profile financial industry client.

LD Kevin Rieck made the bold move of using front and back rigged Robe LEDWash 600s for all his key lighting, following a great success with this methodology during a press conference by US President Barak Obama in Soweto last year, which he also lit. He also seized the occasion to use four of Robe's new BMFL Spots for the first time.

The stage and set design for the main plenary session of the major two day conference was originated by MGGs Denzil Smith - who also project managed and co-ordinated all things technical. The overall room aesthetic was based around an 80m widescreen projection that brought a dramatic filmic ambience to the setting, staged 'side-on' across the room.

Kevin Rieck has li

UK - Behind the Scenes UK, the new industry charity, has just issued its first grant to a technician who suffered severe injuries from a fall while at work. Dealing with multiple surgeries and a long recovery process was hard enough, but trying to take care of his young family with no income during this critical time proved overwhelming. Then someone suggested he apply to Behind the Scenes UK.

Behind the Scenes UK is modelled after Behind the Scenes in North America which has issued over half a million dollars in grants since its inception. Each application is carefully reviewed by a committee and each grant is tailored to assist with the recipient's most pressing needs. Funds may be used for basic living expenses such as rent or mortgage and utilities, transportation such as car insurance or repairs, medical related expenses, retraining, or funeral expenses.

In this particula

USA - Following Widespread Panic's larger-than-life New Year's Eve performance, the rock band has returned to the road for a 25 date spring tour. On the road with them is long time lighting designer Paul Hoffman, who again trusted Bandit Lites to provide the gear for his exceedingly mind-blowing psychedelic looks.

Due to the wide ranges of venues that Widespread Panic plays, Hoffman is always conscientious of designing a flexible rig that can be utilized in both tiny theatres and expansive arenas.

"We want to use as much of the production every night as we can - so that is a significant design goal," explained Hoffman. "It has to expand and contract without looking sparse or scrunched."

For design inspiration, Hoffman says he tends to look at his surroundings, from architecture, to sculpture and art. The result is an evolution from tour to tour, rather th

USA - ARRI Inc has announced the hiring of Randy Read as specifications sales manager for lighting, reporting to John Gresch, vice president, lighting products. Read's primary focus will involve building and managing a network of representatives to support the design and installation of ARRI's renowned lighting products in educational and broadcast television studios. His initial territorial coverage is North America.

Read comes to ARRI with over 20 years of experience as a lighting director, designer and manager in both theatrical and broadcast operations. While working for Christian Broadcast Network in Virginia Beach, he designed and managed one of the first complete broadcast studio conversions from conventional lighting to a total LED solution. Read will work closely with Michael Keppler, manager, lighting systems, who will continue to provide design and engineering support

Mauritius - UK singer songwriter James Blunt recently played his first show on Mauritius at the 3500 capacity Swami Vivekananda Centre (SVICC) just outside capital city Port Louis in a show promoted by Music Machine & Immedia. Lighting was co-ordinated by his long term lighting & visuals director, Glen Johnson, and delivered by the country's leading rental and sales company, Impact Production.

Eight Robe BMFLs featured prominently on the rig together with eight MMX Spots, six ColorWash 1200E ATs and 14 LEDWash 600s, plus some beam lights, Molefeys and LED PARs, all making up a festival / B-rig variation of the touring show.

The 15 month Moon Landing world tour is now drawing to a close. Having started in China in December 2013, it's been another major selling album for Blunt and has been supported by his longest and most successful tour to date.

Glen enjoys opportunities lik

South Africa - With an estimated 20 visits to the country, international lighting designer Liz Berry is no stranger to South Africa. In fact, she says that when she stepped off the plane recently, it felt like coming home. While her adventures have included trips to Namibia, Botswana, and forming a good friendship with the team at Gearhouse SA and many other South Africans over the years, this stopover was different as Liz presented a lighting workshop at DWR Distribution, aimed at upcoming lighting designers and operators in Johannesburg from 25 to 27 March.

Having a mother who taught French and a father who was a lecturer, it would seem this Berry did not fall far from the bush. She has presented lighting design courses at Rose Bruford College, London's esteemed International Drama School of Theatre and Performance as a result of being a world-renowned LD.

"I met Liz ye

USA - Elation is once again be lighting American blues rock musician George Thorogood and his Delaware Destroyers band, who continue to surprise after four decades. George Thorogood found chart success in the '80s and continues to tour extensively after 40 years.

Out on a Badder Than Ever spring tour through April, lighting designer William Bennyhoff needed a rig that could complement Thorogood's high-energy boogie-blues style and found it in Elation Platinum Beam 5R Pro, Rayzor Q7 and Cuepix Blinder WW2 fixtures.

"Five years ago we were looking to have an ACL look for our show without having to carry ACL bars," explains Bennyhoff, who works for Toucan Productions of Oklahoma City, provider of lighting, truss and control for the tour. "We looked at all the options out there, which wasn't many, and decided to use the original Platinum Beam 5R."

Last year w

UK - This month, the Teenage Cancer Trust marked the 15th anniversary of their annual concert series at London's Royal Albert Hall, where leading names in music and comedy come together to raise money to help young people facing cancer. Closing out this year's event, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls headlined at the venue, with LD Shaun Moore trusting the Avolites Sapphire Touch for the occasion.

Moore, of North-East based rental company Nitelites, has been working with Turner for five years. He designed a lively and dynamic show reminiscent of the band's recent UK tour. He used the full house rig, plus additional PRG provided floor cans for drums and keys, which provided some stunning low level key light, matching the front line.

Having operated their consoles since he started lighting, Moore has used Avolites for his entire career to date. "I followed in my family's

UK - Excelling in gymnastics requires a high level of adroitness and flexibility, two qualities that the Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving RGBWA wash from Chauvet Professional has in abundance. Perhaps that's why the fixture proved to be so popular at the 2015 Men's and Women's British Artistic Gymnastics Championships held at Liverpool's Echo Arena.

Lighting designer Stephen Jolly arranged eight Q-Wash 560Z-LED fixtures provided by Novum AV on either side of the podium, where Olympians and other top gymnasts from throughout the world participated in an array of competitions covering the power horse, rings and floor exercises. Spaced approximately 7m apart, the wash fixtures filled an important dual role during the event, serving as color washes at some points, then working with high output aerial beam effects at other points.

"The Q-Washes enabled us to create some simple colour ac

Germany - ETC's stand at this year's Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, 15-18 April, is set to be their best yet. With so many products to display, ETC will have two stands (B65 and B66 in Hall 9), giving visitors the opportunity to see and try the company's newest products.

On display will be ETC's two console families, with Eos Ti and Gio, and Cobalt 20, Cobalt 10 and Congo jr powered by Cobalt.

A range of fixtures from Selador Desire washlights to the Source Four LED Series 2 range will also be available to demonstrate. The Source Four LED Series 2 comes in the full-colour Lustr array, as well as the two new white-light specialists of the family - Tungsten HD and Daylight HD. ETC will also show the variety of accessories and adapters that the Source Four LED system accepts, including the brand new Source Four LED Fresnel adapter.

The new ColorSource PAR fixture will also be dis

Germany - UK wireless LED manufacturer CoreLighting will launch its new StripPoint wireless LED batten at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt next week on Stand A65 in Hall 9.0.

Core will also show a selection of its other best-selling wireless LED products including the new PinPoint, the workhorse ColourPoint Mk 2 and the highly practical Flood30.

Core and White Light, exclusive distributor for the brand, have also just announced the appointment of Keylight as a dealer in Holland and Belgium, and will use the popularity and strategic positioning of Prolight to seek other potential partners in Europe and further afield.

The StripPoint expands Core's current range of robust products, as the trend and demand for good quality wireless LED fixtures for all types of events continues to grow apace.

The 1m long StripPoint unit features 18 mappable RGBW LEDs which emit an impressive 4000 lu

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