UK - Event production specialist CPL started the year with some major investments in lighting and video products.
This includes the acquisition of the acquisition of Barco UDM 4K22 projectors – one of the first three companies in the UK to invest in these brand-new machines – plus Portman P1 Mini LED fixtures, Astera Titan Tubes and OXO Pixyline 150 LED battens.
This is in addition to the 40x new Robe LEDBeam 150 wash beam moving lights that joined the CPL lighting inventory in December 2019.
Eight Barco UDM 4K22s join the company’s already extensive fleet of Barco - and other - high-powered projectors, purchased for their quality, reliability and innovative features. CPL plans to use these projectors on several upcoming projects.
Also new for the ligh

Germany - In response to an increased worldwide demand for its staging products and solutions, Eurotruss Group has announced its expansion across Germany by adding the full NEXT Truss product line to the Eurotruss office and warehouse in Hövelhof.
Through this initiative, Eurotruss GmbH will have access to the full range of products in the Eurotruss Group portfolio including Eurotruss, Total Structures and the newest addition NEXT Truss.
Matthias Bohnenpoll, MD, Eurotruss GmbH states: “NEXT Truss is a great addition to our product range and we are now able to serve also clients who carry other truss types than Eurotruss. Our new offices and warehouse facility in Hövelhof, Germany, is strategically located to satisfy demand and allow for quicker delivery times and technical support to satisfy their demands.”
Martin Kuyper, CEO, Eurotruss Group comments: “N

South Africa - Vectorworks Spotlight Training workshops will be presented by Dylan Jones at DWR Distribution in Cape Town (15 -17 April) and Durban (20 - 22 May).
The three-day sessions will allow users to explore the power and flexibility Vectorworks Spotlight has to offer. Dylan will cover topics such as layouts and palettes, basic tools, classes and layers, Spotlight tools, intermediate tools, worksheets and reports, 3D modelling, resource management and file import and export.
Delegates are requested to supply Vectorworks Spotlight installed on a PC or MAC, a keyboard, mouse, screen and a valid ID. The cost is R2,100 and includes a light lunch and refreshments.
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

Taiwan - HK Audio has increased its presence in Taiwan by appointing Winly Corporation as its exclusive distributor in the state.
As of January 2020, Winly is responsible for the entire HK Audio product catalogue in Taiwan, covering everything from portable sound products such as Premium PR:O, all the way through to professional – like the Cosmo integrative line array – and install solutions.
Founded over 40 years ago and based in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, Winly has grown from a small office with only two desks into a corporation with over 50 employees covering sales and distribution as well as system integration and production services.
Andy Chen, CEO of Winly, said: “We were looking for a line of high quality speaker cabinets and HK Audio offers exactly what we wanted. Designed and manufactured in Germany to the highest quality standards, HK Audio’s p

USA - InfoComm’s organisers have issued a statement revealing that, at present, the show is ‘proceeding as planned, June 13-19, 2020 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.’
The statement, posted on the show’s website, continues: “The show management of InfoComm and the executive staff of AVIXA are continuing to monitor the evolving situation around the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on a day-by-day basis, and our thoughts continue to be with those affected across the world.”
Stay up-to-date with the very latest on InfoComm's status regarding coronavirus via this page on the show’s website.

USA - US-based trade show USITT has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event was was due to celebrate its 60th anniversary edition this 1-4 April.
A statement from the shows organisers reads: “The USITT Board of Directors, in an unanimous vote, has cancelled the 2020 Annual Conference & Stage Expo scheduled for April 1-4 in Houston.”
USITT executive director David Grindle said in a video message posted on the show’s website: “I have to let you know that we have cancelled this year’s annual Conference and Stage Expo. This is a very, very difficult decision. At USITT we talk a lot about safety and health and making sure our workplaces are safe spaces. Today, we had to make the hard decision to ensure the safety and health of our members.”
He conti

France - The first sponsors of Showlight Quadrennial (Fontainebleau, France – 22-25 May 2021) have been announced by its organisers. Joining Headline sponsor Robert Juliat, the 100-year old, family-run, French manufacturer of lighting equipment are: Platinum sponsor, Ayrton; Gold sponsors, Eyetidy, Robe and SFL Group; Silver sponsors, ABTT, ACT Lighting and White Light, and Bronze sponsor, PRG. Media Partner for Showlight 2021 is LSI, with generous support from LSA and PLASA. “We are extremely grateful to all our sponsors, partners and supporters, but this list is just the beginning,” says Showlight. "It is a little-known fact, but Showlight is organised entirely by volunteers and would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors. We are currently looking for more sponsors to make Showlight 2021 a success, so why not get involved? There are many ways to become a

Europe - Area Four Industries Direct UK has issued a clarification statement in respect to the continuation of supply of Lightspace deck & truss products supplied via Impact Products (Europe) Ltd who were placed into voluntary liquidation procedures at the end of last year.
Says the statement, “Contrary to recent reports, these products have not been discontinued. Milos, which is part of Area Four Industries has exclusively manufactured Impact OEM brands Spacedeck and Lightspace for the past five years from their production facilities in the Czech Republic.
“Area Four Industries UK owns the rights to Spacedeck and Lightspace products and will continue to provide full sales and technical support from their design and distribution centre in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. All truss & staging stocks have now been transferred from Northampton to Wisbech. Main product

New Zealand For the welcome event of the annual Conventions & Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) conference in Queenstown, local visual production specialist TomTom Productions provided a cultural and historical storytelling experience with the help of Hippotizer media servers.
The presentation, highlighting the lesser known cultural history of Queenstown and the story of Lake Wakatipu, used rich graphic content and soundscapes to relate the captivating story, which included traditional Maori legends of the origins of the lake and landscape.
TomTom’s Hamish Edh and his team collaborated with representatives from Destination Queenstown and event design agency, Watson & Wyatt Events, to deliver the story content for the opening session.
TomTom specified two Hippotizer Karst media servers, one as the main playback unit, with the second as backup. The main Karst

USA - Christian Life Assembly is a thriving church in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. Its pie wedge-shaped sanctuary seats approximately 2,000, a capacity that is met many times over during the staging of its regionally-famous Christmas pageant.
However, the church struggled to deliver high-impact services and feedback-free performances. Its 38-box distributed loudspeaker system couldn’t deliver the goods. Local AVL integration firm Emmaus Media & Design came up with a plan to replace those 38 loudspeakers with just five Danley boxes, including two Danley J2-96 Jericho Horns, as well as new Danley systems in the youth and the kids’ rooms – all for less than half of what other firms bid for the sanctuary system alone.
“Danley’s well-designed point-source loudspeakers can do the work of numerous line array elements, which makes a Danley system way less expensive t

USA - When Alaskan rock band Static Cycle found themselves in need of a location to shoot their latest music video, Boxes, Bandit Lites offered use of their rehearsal space, Venue One, a 10,000sq.ft facility equipped with the capabilities of hanging a rig, virtual programming rooms and more. The band, comprised of Jared Navarre, Andy Sheridan and Lester Estelle Jr. have been dubbed the “hottest rock band out there” by MTV.
Lighting designer Carter Fulghum configured a versatile plot using a box truss that could transition between big, concert moments and tighter, more intimate looks. The band started in the centre of the box with a mid truss above them outfitted with GLP Impression X4 fixtures. These not only painted the set but also supplied zooms for beams. GLP X4S lights were placed on floor-standing side trusses for a low side light as well as beams for the h

Belgium - Jan Van Lindt captured the power and complexity of singer Tamino’s music in light for a recent one-off the star performed at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp in advance of his upcoming North American tour. Drawing on a collection of over 90 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Splendit, Van Lindt created an appropriately transcendent mood on stage by balancing warm, intimate moods with intense theatrical effects.
“Because of the size of the stage, I tried to go for a more dramatic look,” he said. “However, the lighting also needed to be subtle and small to relate to the emotions of Tamino’s music. By balancing the right lights, we were able to be punchy and big at the appropriate times in order to fill the large arena, without losing that sense of intimacy.”
Anchoring this lighting concept were 36 Nexus AW 7x7 fixtures that were hung from nine ce

Canada/USA - A Kinesys automation system and Vector control system have been on the road with a new and updated North America touring version of the musical We Will Rock You, directed by JP Thibodeau and featuring the music of Queen, produced by Annerin Theatricals of Alberta, Canada.
This is the first time Annerin has used Kinesys products – two half-ton Elevation vari-speed hoists and the Vector – which is being supplied to the production by Christie Lights – and operated by Pippa Bagley who is also the video systems tech together with the tour’s production manager. The LX systems tech is Adam Volk.
The tour’s director of production is Bruce Hennel and Scott Christensen from Annerin Theatricals is the general manager.
Variable speed motors were needed to facilitate the lifting of a large centre stage video screen measuring 2.5M x 4.5M (8.2’

China - Roe Visual introduced a new processing platform at this years’ ISE exhibition. Showcasing its new Ruby LED panel on the Helios processing platform, the large display screen showed content in full 4K HDR.
The Helios processing platform is the result of a close cooperation between Roe Visual and Megapixel VR. Combining their forces and in-depth knowledge of LED- and processing technology the result is a future-ready processing platform that reimagines processing to support large-format LED displays for use in demanding pro AV, broadcast and installation applications. The Helios processor will be exclusively available for Roe Visual LED screens.
Designed as a flexible growth-system, the platform offers a versatile solution with modular slots. The inputs and outputs of the Helios LED processing platform utilize SFP+ ports, a compact hot-pluggable network interfac

Germany - Batschkapp Frankfurt, one of the most famous clubs for rock concerts and alternative music in Germany, has turned again to Martin Audio for its monitor requirements, equipping its stage with LE200 monitors.
Founded in 1976, The Batschkapp moved to a new, larger location at the end of 2013, where concerts from rock to hip hop take place almost daily. The technology in the Batschkapp has to be particularly robust to withstand the constant strain, and also has to be suitable for a wide mix of music genres in terms of sound.
"Almost half of our bands and musicians still play with classical floor monitors,” explains Andi Kerl, technical director of the Batschkapp, "In order to keep the transport effort low, many productions nowadays rely on the in-house loudspeakers on location. Therefore, our monitors must also have a high rider acceptance.”
For more th

UAE - Genelec has appointed GSL Professional as its new distribution partner in the Middle East, covering the territories of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain & Iraq.
Based in Dubai, GSL Professional was established over 20 years ago with the aim of bringing the best in professional audio, video, lighting and control solutions to customers across the Middle East.
“We are extremely proud to represent Genelec as part of our premium product portfolio for distribution across the Middle East region. I am looking forward to building a strong relationship with our new partner, and extending Genelec’s business through our extensive channel partner network,” said Adrian Curtis, managing director at GSL Professional.
Arun Kumar, Genelec’s regional business development manager for the Middle East, added: “So much of our global business now is b

Greece - Technically Creative are in the midst of completing a project in Athens. The Xplore FEC just outside of the capital, is due to have the second phase of installation completed, with the Technically Creative project spanning five months from September of last year.
The family entertainment centre is split into three sections, the Exploratorium, Adventureland and the Aquarium. Children and parents have the opportunity to play a laser harp, or a giant piano. They can design and service a car, or race each other in the racing simulator. You can even feed virtual fish.
There will also be a new product debuting from Technically Creative at Athens FEC, Virtual Village. The product design and programming for this exhibit has taken the team nearly six months of preparation, and once installed visitors will use various transport types, such as boats planes, trains and au

Spain - Lighting designer Joan ‘Teixi’ Teixidó used 30 x Astera AX3s ‘Lite Drops’ on the most recent tour for singer Alfred García, who played over 50 dates around Spain.
Emerging from popular TV talent show Operación Triunfo, this was Alfred Garcia’s first full production tour to date and the first time that Teixi had worked with the artist, who headhunted him to be part of his creative team after the series’ 2017 season. Alfred Garcia’s first studio album 1016 was released at the end of 2018 and shot straight to number 2 in the Spanish album charts, and the tour campaign to support it ran from February to November 2019.
The lighting design was initially inspired by scenographer Lluis Danes’ set, and the brief was to bring a bit of extra ‘magical touch’ to the stage with the lighting. From Earth to Mars is one of Alfred Garcia’s

USA - ADJ has introduced the Vision Series of LED video panels. The new range offers a versatile modular system, with features including front serviceability, magnet-aided rigging, and fold-out corner protectors.
The ‘VS’ Vision Series of LED video panels offers a versatile modular solution that has been developed to make life easier for video professionals installing LED walls on either a temporary or permanent basis.
Each panel in the range features four individual modules, which are front serviceable, making it ideal for temporary hanging as well as permanent installation. Across the range, the modules are all mounted to the same frame, allowing panels of different resolutions to be used together and meaning that the same rigging bar and other accessories can be used for all VS models.
The VS5 offers a 5.95mm pixel pitch (84 x 84 pixel density), the VS3 ha

USA - Vari-Lite has announced that the Vari-Lite VL800 Eventprofile is now shipping. Originally debuted at LDI 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the VL800 Eventprofile is the newest member of the popular VL800 Series of event luminaires.
The VL800 Eventprofile brings the DNA of Vari-Lite in a compact profile luminaire designed for the event market. “The VL800 Series has already been embraced by designers on tours and installations alike,” says Martin Palmer, senior product manager, Vari-Lite and Strand Luminaires at Signify. “This latest member of the family is a compact framing profile with a high output and professional-grade features, making it the ideal tool for a variety of applications.”
With a tour-ready build and a small form factor, the VL800 Eventprofile was designed to look and feel like a Vari-Lite, with full CYM+CTO colour mixing and the signature “Vari

UK - GLS Lighting, based in Southampton, is celebrating 25 years of offering lighting solutions to all walks of the entertainment industry. Recently, GLS invested in Elation Professional Artiste Picasso LED profile moving heads, along with multifunctional Paladin Panel lights.
“Elation is, in my opinion, one of the most exciting brands out there today. They are charging to the front now, bringing products that are head and shoulders above the rest,” stated Ian Turner, one of two founding directors at GLS. “Everyone has been waiting for a product to do what Picasso does. We all need a bright workhorse spot fixture, LED, good framing blades, bright and crystal-sharp optics – simple! The noise level is also important, and the Picasso is so quiet.”
GLS worked with Elation's distribution partner in the UK and Ireland, Entedi, to evaluate and demo the Elation prod

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