Europe - Ayrton has launched the latest in its series of IP65-rated fixtures, Domino – billed as "the Master of the Elements". Building on the success of Perseo, Ayrton’s first IP65-rated fixture, Domino delights in "dominating the most extreme environments while delivering the most stunning effects", the company says.
Delivering 51,000 lumens from its 1000W LED source, Domino is a versatile fixture that combines the output and optics of Huracán-X with the feature set of Khamsin, in an IP65-rated body. Designed to operate in "the most extreme situations", Domino can resist hot or cold temperatures, wind, rain, hail, salt fog, sand and dust. It can withstand arid environments, heavy rainfall, and sudden climatic variations.
Ayrton has included all the weatherproofin

USA - Digital signal processing specialist Xilica has announced a new hospitality industry installation with Carte Hotel, a boutique hotel nestled in the Little Italy section of San Diego.
J&E Pro Audio specified Xilica with the systems design, which called for a complete AV over IP infrastructure as part of the ground-up construction. While connected to the central IT infrastructure, J&E Pro Audio configured a dedicated LAN with managed network switches to separate all audio and video signals from standard IT traffic. The company selected the Xilica Solaro FR1 DSP to optimize quality and multi-channel performance over the network, while citing its modularity and seamless integration with Dante audio networking as other deciding factors.
“We ran our network on the hotel fibre infrastructure, with dedicated switches that run parallel to the hotel network,” s

New Zealand - Every year, Wellington’s Botanic Gardens is transformed into Gardens Magic featuring a free concert series with a mix of music from over 100 performers during 18 nights.
As the sun goes down, the Botanic Gardens transform into a wonderland of lights, with colourful installations and displays created by MJF Lighting.
This year, MJF Lighting deployed Firefly LED Festooning Lighting to add extra sparkle to the popular event.
“We did have some festoon lighting but it was the old school version so it was definitely time for an upgrade,” comments Blair McLaren, MJF’s Wellington operations manager. “Having festoon lighting with an outdoor rating plus LED technology makes all the difference.”
Blair added that an important factor when choosing Firefly LED Festoon was the fact that they didn’t have to lamp or de-lamp the strings of festoon
featured content

Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

Norway - Norway’s National Theatre has made a major investment in DPA’s 6000 Series of subminiature microphones because the sound team was so impressed with the tiny size of the capsules and their ability to withstand water, particularly in the form of sweat.
Kai Priddy, who for the last 14 years has been the theatre’s head of sound, says: “We started using the 6000 Series in 2019 and now have around 30 - mostly lavalier mics (6060 and 6061), but also some 6066 Headsets. We started gradually phasing out our stock of DPA 4000 Series lavalier and headset microphones, which we have been using for many years, and replacing them with the new subminiatures. The fact that the 6000 headsets are physically smaller is preferable visually, plus their resistance to water does prevent sweat droplets from getting onto the membrane. As most sound techs know, this can be very annoyi

USA - The Behind the Scenes Mental Health Initiative has rolled out a number of suicide prevention tools as part of joining the #BeThe1To campaign run by the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and its partners. These tools are available at btshelp.org/bethe1to.
A BTS survey of the industry revealed that most people want to help if they see someone at risk for suicide but they don’t know what to say or do, or are afraid they will make things worse or damage their relationship with the person. Evidence shows this is not the case and it is critical to reach out.
The first part of the campaign is called Know the Warnings Signs because the more familiar someone is with the warning signs of suicide the more likely they are to recognize them. BTS has created posters listing some of the key warning signs in English, Spanish and French and they are available for dow

LED lighting manufacturer Astera has launched the NYX Bulb - a name inspired by NYX, Greek Goddess of the Night.
NYX Bulb - the same size as a standard LED bulb - is billed as the first colour-tuneable LED bulb for professional film, stage, and event productions. It comes complete with a CRMX receiver for wireless DMX, plus RF and Bluetooth modules for control via the Astera App on a smartphone or Tablet.
NYX Bulb is designed for gaffers, DoPs, lighting and set designers, visual artists and anyone needing feature lighting bulbs. In addition to movie shoots and television studios, it is designed for theatrical sets and for scenic elements on tour shows and live events.
Sized like a regular LED bulb, NYX Bulb can be powered via an E27 socket (E26 in the US version) or with a standard power bank. Due to its compact form, it is the first Astera light source with external ba

France - Driving up from Paris on A4, one of the first things the visitor sees upon entering this ancient city of Reims is the Manège de Reims with its distinctive 16-sided polygon circus. Completed in 1867, the stone building is a bustling hub of cultural activity, serving the community by hosting theatrical performances, dance recitals, concerts and other events, including circuses, for which it was originally built.
Supporting the diverse mix of productions at the popular facility is a versatile lighting rig that features a collection of Chauvet Professional projectors supplied and installed by Avant-Scènes.
Working with Cédric Barbillat, lighting director of the Manège de Reims, who decided upon the specific fixtures, the Avant-Scènes team outfitted the 1,000-seat facility with 16 COLORado 2 Quad Zoom, six Maverick MK1 Spot, and 10 Maverick MK2 Wash units.

USA - Christie Lites has added Elation Professional’s new Paladin Panel to its extensive inventory of lighting gear. The versatile flood and effect light is available for immediate rental from Christie Lites locations across the US and Canada.
“Once again, our partners at Elation have come up with an innovative, durable and economical fixture which will support our mission of providing lighting designers the highest value available in the industry,” comments Ken Alexander, VP rentals at Christie Lites. “Christie Lites is proud to continue our long-standing relationship with Eric Loader and the Elation team and to deploying our new stock of Paladin Panels on a multitude of different events over the months to come.”
As an increasing number of shows are staged outdoors, Elation has again expanded on its line of multi-environmental IP65-rated products with the m

Argentina - Buenos Aires-based AV services company Mediapro Argentina has recently turned to IP for a comprehensive technical upgrade of their facilities, where ESPN broadcasts sports-related programming for the region in Spanish.
The new IP infrastructure has been integrated by Unitetecnic, the Mediapro Group systems integrator and engineering company, and is based on solutions and knowhow from Lawo.
Lawo’s video, audio, control and networking solutions were chosen to ensure interoperability and maximum use of resources across the facilities.
In a first upgrade stage, Mediapro Argentina and Unitecnic have installed a V__matrix IP video system for edge conversion and signal processing as well as an mc²-based audio infrastructure featuring six mc²56 production consoles, Nova a

Austria - The new production of the award-winning musical theatre extravaganza Black Rider at the Theater Bielefeld in Wallern uses Pixera media server systems, 4K projectors and tracking technology for realising a unique stage experience.
Since its original premiere in the year 1990, The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets has managed to combine classical culture, postmodernism and a music soundtrack to entertain audiences around the globe.
Robert Wilson's artistic vision, coupled with the narrative skills of William S. Burroughs and the music of Tom Waits, laid the foundation for the enduring popularity of this avant-gardist work.
The Theater Bielefeld's latest production by Michael Heicks uses cutting edge AV technology that helps Sascha Vredenburg's evocative video content come to life on stage.
Within record time, the theatre de

Australia - DiGiCo consoles are finding additional life in the world of serious live stream events. One such place is in Australia for The Cube, a premium live streaming event space which is gaining serious traction in the world of live DJ streaming.
The Cube can be compared to an entire festival stage, crammed into a compact streaming space. Its design is the combined effort of Melbourne AV retailer Concert Audio Visual, lighting and visuals specialists VizFx and Melbourne-based online radio station LESH FM.
A DiGiCo SD9, supplied by DiGiCo’s Australian distributor, Group Technologies, was chosen for mixing pre-broadcast audio, as well as handling the stage monitor mix, DJ Booth audio and Front of House mix.
Anthony Graziani, Concert AV’s sales manager and one of The Cube’s primary team members, says DiGiCo was the logical choice for the setup.

France - Eventlive-Group, an AV equipment and service supplier in Biarritz, has added a complement of Claypaky Mini-B fixtures to its extensive lighting inventory.
Eventlive-Group has a wide range of clients from seminars of all sizes, public events and big music festivals to permanent installations in bars, clubs, shops and sports venues. “Clients come to us for our technical skills as well as our creative mindset,” says Hugo Malatray, lighting designer with Eventlive-Group.
The company recently invested in 16 Claypaky Mini-Bs, which Hugo calls “small, silent, bright, fast and precise”, adding, “There hasn’t been a small wash light like it for the last decade.”
Mini-B is the smallest LED moving light ever made by Claypaky for the professional market. Although it weighs just 7 kg and measures only 34 cm, Mini-B features advanced, modern optical and

UK - Robe UK worked with a number of companies, organisations, venues and individuals to light 10 significant buildings and landmarks in and around its hometown of Northampton for the #LightItInRed lighting action campaign on Monday 6 July.
Robe UK’s head of marketing Theresa Gibson coordinated all the permissions required to light these key Northampton sites as well as dealing with logistics and sourcing fixtures for which Robe UK partnered with rental and production company Clearsound Production from Shipston-on-Stour.
MLE Pyrotechnics lit the town’s famous National Lift Tower, a 127.5m former test tower for Express Lifts which is the tallest building in the town and is now grade II heritage listed.
The front façade of the magnificent stately home of Althorp House - home to the Spencer family for the last 500 years - was illuminated in striking scarlet wit

UK - Trending in Twitter’s top 3 on the night, the #LightItInRed campaign saw over 670 buildings, monuments, landmarks and structures all over the UK illuminated in ‘Emergency Red’ on 6 July (Monday) to highlight the vast challenges facing the live events, music and performing arts sectors.
The action was organised by Steven Haynes from Clearsound Productions and Phillip Berryman from The Backstage Theatre Jobs Forum. It energised theatres, arts centres, live music venues, technical production and rental companies and associated individuals and freelancers everywhere, who were able to enjoy the camaraderie of working together once again on a massive national event with real purpose, after many months of the industry being closed and shuttered.
On the eve of the event (Sunday) the government announced a £1.57bn financial assistance package for arts and culture in

UK - Outdoor venues, including open-air theatre, opera and music venues, can reopen from 11 July and host socially-distanced performances, the culture secretary Oliver Dowden has announced this afternoon (9 July).
This will mean venues will be able to host performances for the first time in 115 days since they were forced to shut on 18 March.
"This is an important milestone for our performing arts, which have been waiting patiently since March," Dowden said. "We are taking various measures to make these places safe as they reopen. Venue capacity will be reduced and organisations will be encouraged to move to electronic ticketing to help Test and Trace. But our performing arts deserve an audience and they will be getting one."
He added that the government is working to usher audiences indoors as soon as possible and is funding scientific studies to find ways to mit

UAE - AO Drones, specialist provider of drone light shows, recently played a key role in an unforgettable event to thank Dubai’s frontline workers for their heroic service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conceived and produced by AO Drones’ producer, Marco Niedermeier, the event combined a stunning aerial display from AO Drones’ sophisticated drone fleet, plus a special message from emergency services vehicles arranged to spell ‘Thank You’, in both English and Arabic. The whole event was captured in a short film, shot in the style of a dramatic action movie, and shared widely on social media.
To realise the event, Niedermeier called on the help of friends from Dubai’s event production network, including Done Events, GTV Film Productions and Brand Dubai. Together they secured support from Government of Dubai and authorities including the Dubai Police Force, th

UK - The interactive installation, Scream the House Down by artist Marcus Lyall is going down well with the public around the world: London, New York, Hong Kong, Russia and beyond - so due to demand it has been extended it by a week, to 11 July (Saturday).
With social distancing still in place and tensions continuing to rise, London-based artist Marcus Lyall and not-for-profit arts organisation Illuminate Productions, have transformed a soon-to-be-demolished office block in London Bridge into an interactive public artwork.
In this new site-specific work, Lyall invites you to join a Zoom call where you can scream or otherwise vocalise your feelings. A monumental light installation instantly illuminates the building in response to your voice.
The louder and longer your outburst, the bigger the response from the building. The building interprets every voice a

USA - Bandit Lites returned to the picturesque countryside of Blackberry Farm for Boards and Boats, where guests of the resort could spend a weekend partaking of wakeboard, wakesurfing and boating. In addition to tips and demonstrations from MasterCraft, the weekend concluded with a dinner and a concert featuring Americana artists Chatham Rabbits.
Bandit Lites supplied a lighting package comprised of Chauvet Freedom Pars, GLP X4 Atoms, and Gantom lights as well as the event’s staging complete with Edison bulbs, conjuring a mood of rural elegance.
“The Chauvet Freedom Pars were used to control the colour of the room environment itself by placing them along the walls of Bramble Hall,” explained Bandit Lites Nick Brown. “The GLP X4 Atoms were used as our front light, and the Gantoms served as a low backlight.”
Even with the fickle Tennessee weather of t

Germany - Düsseldorf’s 240m high Rheinturm tower was the setting for a sky-high laser projection and light show in June to promote Deutsche Telekom’s extended 5G network. The telecommunications company worked with German event management agency DO IT! to realise the show, and they in turn commissioned AO Creative to help conceptualise, design, supply the fixtures and technology, and execute the display.
Overseen by AO Creative’s Marco Niedermeier in collaboration with JALD Jerry Appelt Licht Design and Beacon, the project brought together AO’s team of design and technical specialists based in Germany. The team included lighting designer Jerry Appelt, who created a detailed scheme to light the concrete Rheinturm in a beautiful wash of magenta - Deutsche Telekom’s brand colour. Alongside, Laserfabrik facilitated laser-projected branding on the ‘trunk’ of the to

Austria - A new exhibition by sound artist Bill Fontana entitled Primal Energies opened 1 July at Kunsthaus Graz. Occupying the museum’s vast ovoid dome Space 01 Gallery, Primal Energies pays homage to the future of renewable energy through a mesmerising mix of video imagery and evocative soundscapes that portray our planet’s expanding wind, solar, hydroelectric and geothermal resources.
While viewing images on the eight large screens, visitors are immersed in a blend of energy-related sounds reproduced by 64 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers. The impact of the installation is further enhanced by dynamic spatial sound movements created and automated using a beta version of Meyer Sound’s soon-to-be-released Spacemap Go technology.
Sounds and images for the work were recorded on location by Fontana with assistance from Scott George of London-based

UK - TSL Lighting joined the Light It In Red campaign on 6 July (Monday), bathing its Gatwick and Basingstoke premises with light as part of the ‘red alert’ initiative lobbying the government to ramp up support for the arts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Light It In Red galvanised the entertainment technology industry to come together to warn that without financial aid, the supply chain for live entertainment and events is threatened.
The initiative took place as the government announced a financial aid package worth £1.57bn for the arts after months of pressure.
“It’s vital that we show solidarity with industry and raise awareness of the dire situation,” comments TSL’s Loz Wilcox. “The supply chain does so much for theatre, TV and events and it

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