USA - ETC has released Unison Paradigm 4.0, the latest version of its lighting control system. Paradigm 4.0 incorporates energy monitoring options, including Demand Response integration, improved support for tunable white and colour-changing fixtures, extended support for Paradigm Inspire stations, including faders, and many software optimisations to simplify the system’s programming and customisation. Individual channels, groups of channels or whole spaces can be set to shed load when the system receives a demand response command from the utility company. Standard actions are defined in Paradigm and can be executed from contact closures, UDP, RS232, or BACnet. Paradigm 4.0 also features reporting options to help keep track of energy usage. Load Schedule import and export functions make it easy to enter load information, and Paradigm’s software automaticall
USA - Some of the biggest names in Latin music landed in Las Vegas in January for a night to remember at the Calibash mega-concert. Held at the 20,000-capacity T-Mobile Arena, the spectacular staging featured an array of 18 LED screens with content fed from by Avolites Ai Infinity RX8 Media Servers. YC3 Lighting Design supplied the Ai servers to VJ director Richard Vicens, who oversaw the visuals for Latin/Urban music stars including Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Ozuna, Maluma and Bad Bunny. "All of the artists wanted to give their audiences an awesome show," says Vicens. "As VJ director, it was vital for me to be able to design and create pixel maps and LED processing that worked for everybody and be ready to backup all of them with Ai media Servers. "The show's size meant it was certainly a challenge - I have to go through every detail to make sure the audience
USA/Europe - Marilyn Manson and his band embarked on a series of pan-European arena and theatre shows at the end of last year followed by a US tour with French LD Nicolas Riot of Chirac Design. Riot, also known for his work with French metal band Gojira, has been using LED fixtures from GLP, including 15 x JDC1 hybrid strobes and 35 of the award-winning X4 Bar 20 battens in the set design. All inventory was supplied by the band’s regular vendor, experienced UK rental company Entec Sound & Light, while North American supplier Delicate Productions provided the gear for the US leg of the tour. Entec’s MD (and head of lighting) Noreen O’Riordan confirmed that while this was the first time Entec has worked with the lighting designer, they have a long-standing relationship with Manson’s production manager Matt Doherty. They purchased the X4 Bars in response to th
USA - When Justin Preston was called upon to provide lighting for Budweiser Live during NBA All-Star Weekend, it really represented two projects in one. The brewing giant’s pop-up entertainment centre for the big game was the first event ever hosted at City Market Social House, a restored 16,000sq.ft industrial space opened in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles. Preston not only put together the ground package for the weekend extravaganza, he also created the permanent lighting system for the new event facility, loading in both rigs simultaneously in advance of the NBA’s big weekend. Meshing his own permanent design for the venue with a carefully chosen ground package for the event, Preston created a dazzling display for the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities, using over 400 Chauvet Professional fixtures. “I was super excited when VOX Productions, the AV
USA - Elation Professional has acquired the M-Series range of entertainment lighting controllers from Harman Professional Denmark ApS, formerly Martin Professional ApS. The asset-based acquisition, set to be completed before the end of Q1, will include a limited-term licence agreement to distribute current controller products using the name M-Series and provide continued technical support and warranty service for prior Martin M-Series sales. Elation already has in place key personnel with expertise in M-Series technology in order to provide on-going support and development of new products. This will ensure a seamless transition for the already established M-Series customer base, offering continuity and continued support by Elation on past sales of M-Series controllers by Harman Professional Solutions. Toby Velazquez, president of Elation Lighting, comments: “W
USA - Chauvet DJ has released BTAir, a free iOS and Android app that allows smart devices to control lights wirelessly via Bluetooth. Users can create, store and recall scenes, control colour fades, chases and more. SlimPAR T12 BT makes remote light control easy with its on-board Bluetooth wireless technology. SlimPAR T12 BT has 12 tri-color (RGB) LEDs, and its compact design easily fits inside sticks of truss. An optional IRC-6 remote can also be used for control, as well as DMX, automated and sound-activated programmes. In addition to Bluetooth wireless technology compatibility, SlimPAR Q12 BT features 12 quad-colour (RGBA) LEDs that generate a broad spectrum of colors and achieve natural-looking colour temperatures. Easily set static colours or automated programmes with the optional IRC-6 remote, or create eye-catching effects with sound-activated and automate
USA - Rock band Halestorm is gearing up for a huge year, kicking off 2018 with a tour across North America with a lighting package supplied by Bandit Lites. The Grammy Award-winning band comprised of guitarist and vocalist Lzzy Hale, drummer and percussionist Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger and bassist Josh Smith are also wrapping up recording their next studio album and have already announced another tour for this spring. The expansive design by lighting designer Craig Richter features towers equipped with ClayPaky Sharpys and GLP X4S fixtures, offering versatile looks and striking beams. Bandit Lites also supplied Martin Atomic 3000 LED Strobes, Ayrton MagicBlade-R fixtures, Elation CuePix WW2 Blinders, Chauvet Rogue RH1 Hybrids, ClayPaky B-EYE K20 fixtures and a grandMA 2 lite console for control. “The system performed really well and under extreme cond
UK - The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) commissioned West Midlands-based Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) to design and deliver all the technical elements for their 2018 annual staff conference and awards, inclduing sound, lighting, video, staging and rigging. The high-profile event for 400 delegates was staged in Warwick Hall at the NAEC, Stanleigh and comprised a seated conference presentation that was transformed into a glamorous setting for the evening’s dinner and awards. The client wanted to use the width-ways orientation of the venue for sightlines, so CPL’s project manager Lee Gruszeckyj proposed a widescreen video blend as a striking visual starting point to align with the geometry of the space. The 30ft wide by 10ft high upstage projection screen was flanked by gauze panels designed to take lighting nicely and elongate the spac
UK - Working with lighting designer Stuart Pring, illumination rental and installation specialists LED Creative provided their Sigma Pulse Wand fixtures to add some neon colour to the BRITs Official After Party held at the O2 InterContinental in London. Pring artfully suspended a number of Pulse Wands to create a layered look to the ceiling at the venue. Talking about the installation, he comments: “For The Brits Official After Party we used around 170 Pulse Wands built into frames and hung over the stage and dance floor area. This created a ‘big’ look which was particularly effective during the ‘club’ part of the night, helping bring a wonderful dynamic to the room.” Pring continues: “The Wands offer lots of chase possibilities via their in-built effects. The range of colour possibilities are great too; especially the cold daylight and tungsten
South Africa - The new 8,500 capacity Sun Arena in Pretoria features a house moving light rig of 90 dynamic Robe fixtures. The multi-purpose venue is part of Sun International’s Time Square development and entertainment complex (read the report in LSi March 2018). The Robe units are integral to a complete turnkey technical package specified and supplied to the venue by Robe’s South African distributor DWR to operators Sun International. This encompasses a rider-friendly lighting system, trussing, rigging, follow spots and power distribution. The backbone of the lighting rig is 12 x BMFL Spots, six BMFL Blades, 24 x Spiider LED wash beams, 24 x Pointes and 24
UK - Dr James Green, former head of intellectual property at specialist technology development business Ilika, has joined Flare Audio in the same role. Dr Green has over 45 years’ experience in international technology commercialisation, having negotiated numerous agreements and licences with major corporations including US and Japanese multinationals. His new role includes managing and progressing Flare’s portfolio of patents, designs and trademarks, and advising management on competitive threats or potential patent infringements. Flare’s Davies Roberts comments: “Dr Green has an extraordinary wealth of experience and will play a key role in ensuring Flare’s proprietary technologies are recognised throughout the world.” “When I met Flare CEO Davies Roberts, I was very impressed with what he had created,” says Dr Green. “I like working with i
UK - Sound Technology, the exclusive UK distributor for Martin by Harman, has announced the addition of key personnel to its dedicated Martin UK team. Ritchie Reed (business development manager, professional lighting) heads up the sales and application team and is joined by Rob Beamer and Lauren Drinkwater as area sales managers for the north and south respectively, while Chris Hale joins as product and application specialist, professional lighting. Ritchie Reed has worked in the entertainment lighting world for over 20 years, including positions as key account manager for theatre and subsequently UK sales director at Martin Professional until April 2016. Lauren Drinkwater worked at City Theatrical for seven years and most recently was UK channel manager at Martin Professional specialising in theatre. Rob Beamer has been working in the entertainment industr
Argentina - The Claypaky Scenius Unico made its official debut in Argentina at the Monsters of Rock (MOR) Argentina festival at Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires. The high-impact light-show for the outdoor festival, part of the global Monsters of Rock movement, was designed by lighting designer Bryan Hartley and featured the Scenuis Unico as the show's high impact workhorse fixture. Headlining MOR Argentina was heavy metal band Megadeth who were joined by acts including Rata Blanca, Anthrax and others at the day-long festival. Hartley was tasked with designing a versatile rig that could produce a wide range of looks for the international visiting bands. He selected the Scenius Unico for its ability to perform in three powerful modes, Spot, Beam and Wash, allowing him to craft a range of lighting looks for each band in the festival's line-up. Hartley rigged 36 Unicos on three
Germany - Motion GmbH, which specialises in dry hire, has added Elation Professional Proteus Hybrid and Artiste DaVinci moving heads to its portfolio of moving lights. The fixtures are available at the company’s facility in Fürth, Germany, near Nuremberg. The Proteus Hybrid, winner of the 2017 PLASA Award for Innovation, is an IP-65 certified 3-in-1 Spot/Beam/Wash floodlight that brings ideas to light under any weather conditions. The unit includes a sophisticated optical system with motorized zoom, CMY colour mixing and a revolutionary cooling principle. HG Dünkel of the Motion Group explains the decision to go with the two innovative luminaires: "We chose the Proteus Hybrid because the combination of a 470-watt hybrid with a weatherproof housing is truly a unique selling proposition. As far as the Artiste DaVinci, it proved the best option in direct comparison w
UK - Digital and live production specialist Really Creative Media has continued its investment in the latest Panasonic projection technology. Nick Dew, managing director of Really Creative Media, announced the company has recently completed the purchase of Panasonic PT-RZ21K 20k lumen laser projectors, ahead of a busy 2018 of high-end fashion events and summer touring with headline music artists. Nick explains: “The new units made a lot of sense for us. They complement our existing rental stock of equipment including the Panasonic RZ31K 30,000L projectors and all the existing lenses and accessories.” The projection can handle 360° install through any axis which makes it easy to integrate into rigs and set designs with less than favourable vantage points for to project from. Nick continues: “As a live production agency we take huge pride in deliverin
Belgium - Clouseau, one of the most critically acclaimed Belgian rock bands, delighted throngs of long-time fans recently with a string of concerts across Belgium, marking their 30th anniversary. Providing 30 tour with a fittingly memorable lighting and stage design was the band’s long-time creative collaborator, Luc Peumans of Painting with Light. Central to Peumans’ visual concept, which was based around creating a lounge-style environment, were 12 Maverick MK2 Spot and 18 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by Coruna Sound & Light. Much of Clouseau’s show was made up of acoustic renditions of hits the band has recorded over its illustrious history. Peumans reflected this intimate sound by carpeting the stage and adorning it with warm, welcoming scenic elements like Edison-style Lucenti bulbs and an upright piano. “It’s a
Sweden - Wireless Solution has recently expanded its team with the hiring of two new staff members to meet its continual growth rate and to keep improving its development and customer support. As part of the expansion, Wireless Solution has built an in-house assembly space, where Jonas Jonsson, W-DMX’s new production technician, has started full-time. This new space will allow for quick manufacturing turnaround, along with a stricter quality control over all components. Jonas will also be involved with RMA and second-line of support and repairs of all W-DMX products. Wireless Solution has also secured another in-house R&D engineer to support Anders Zellén in the development team. Dimitar Kolev, an electronics engineer with over 20 years of experience, brings wide knowledge of hardware and PCB design, allowing for a quicker turnaround within the department. Dimit
World - The 2018 version of Lightconverse Tools offers new features to the software, which is a specialised 3D design programme focused on stage design of all types and sizes. LC Tools 2018 is compatible with Lightconverse 3D Show Platform as projects built in LC Tools can be directly imported. From theatre spaces, corporate events and TV studios, to rock tours and awards shows, the software offers design, documentation and inventory options to quickly and effectively build shows from the ground up while decreasing the time and material expenses of implementation. It also can be thought of as an advanced paperwork platform which compliments Lightconverse 3D Show Platform. The new functionalities for LC Tools 2018 include: Imported images duplications (supported formats: JPG, PNG); Import AutoCAD files, in addition to other types; Flip command (Fixture arrangement
USA - When Thievery Corporation, played a month-long tour last autumn, lighting designer Luke Stratton turned to Elation Professional’s Platinum FLX hybrid moving head to visually complement the band’s innovative music with a variety of dazzling textures and graphics. Stratton, owner of Luke Stratton Designs, who designed lighting for rock band Dopapod for seven years, punts all his shows, a hands-on approach that allows him to better customize looks for a creative band like Thievery Corporation. Calling himself an ‘old Elation user’ and ‘a big fan of hybrid lights’ and the versatile design options they provide, Stratton has been using Elation gear for years, including the Platinum FLX on festivals. On Thievery’s fall tour, Stratton alternated the Platinum FLX hybrids with 1000W short-arc discharge fixtures across up- and mid-stage trusses with more fix
UK - Experienced lighting designer Davy Sherwin has been turning increasingly to GLP’s X4 Bar 20 battens to provide stage dynamics for popular British bands including Foals, Wolf Alice and Sundara Karma. The KOI award winner admits to having used them on his last four stage designs after he was introduced to them when planning his production design for Foals back in the summer, when seeking a row of LED pars for a low-level curtain effect. "I have been using them all quite differently with each band," he says. "What I have been trying to do is replace conventional moving lights instead of having rows and rows of wash lights and strobes." As for the recent Sundara Karma tour, to bring the best out of the Reading-based indie band, with the exception of a few strobes, he ran the entire show with the X4 Bars
UK - Liverpool-based installation and production specialist Adlib is supplying video and audio for an exhibition featuring China’s Terracotta Warriors being staged at the city’s World Museum. China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition is now open and running until 28 October 2018. Featuring 10 life-sized figures, the exhibition includes a terracotta cavalry horse from the burial site of China’s First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (221-206 BC) and over 25 smaller warriors from the Han Empire, China’s second imperial dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD). The exhibition opened in February and has already received worldwide acclaim and is exceptionally popular, attracting people from all over the UK and Europe, with visiting hours having been extended to accommodate the demand for tickets! Adlib’s head of video, Tom Edwards, is project managing and oversa
Singapore - February ended on a high note for Chauvet in Asia. The company’s first open house in Singapore drew an enthusiastic crowd of close to 50 lighting professionals, who came for a first-hand look at the latest Chauvet Professional, Chauvet DJ and ChamSys products. This followed an open house with the company’s distributor ASIIS that drew over 100 lighting industry professionals to the large Neo Soho, Keluarga Allah Church in Jakarta, which recently had a full Chauvet product install. Visitors to the Singapore event enjoyed hands-on demonstrations of the company’s Maverick and Ovation series fixtures as well as the ChamSys line of consoles, including the Magic MQ500 Stadium. Those who attended the Soho, Keluarga Allah open house got a first-hand look at how the 30,000-member church is using its extensive collection of Ovation, Rogue and COLORdash fixtures from
USA - High End Systems has launched HogFactor USA 2018, the company’s annual two-phase collegiate lighting programming competition held in conjunction with major trade shows in North America and across the globe. Universities are now invited to enter teams of up to three students. The submission deadline is 30 June and over 20 collegiate teams have already signed up to participate in Phase One. To enter, each team is required to provide a performance lighting piece programmed on a Hog or Hog 4 PC that can be downloaded for free with a special demo version of Light Converse visualisation. Three teams will be shortlisted by 31 July to participate in Phase Two and programme a performance lighting piece based on High End Systems’ 2018 LDI booth design. The teams will then be invited to perform their shows live at LDI on 19 October (Friday) at the High End Systems boo
UK - Film, TV and theatre lighting supplier Flashlight has announced the appointment of Danny Tomkins, who joins the company's UK sales department as a business development manager. Tomkins will provide field-based sales and support for the company's expanding range of leading lighting brands. He has grown into the industry over the last eight years working with Rosco (UK) focusing on the LED solutions for the film and TV market. Danny says: "I'm looking forward to the exciting challenges and learning from two of the best in Andy and Rob." Flashlight directors Andy Dodd and Rob Williamson comment: "We're delighted to welcome Danny to the company. His enthusiasm and hunger in the film/ TV lighting market allows us to continue to be in front of end users and support new business with a strong presence." (Jim Evans)
