South Africa - For two days in November, Sandringham Farm was transformed into a village of worshippers as Christian bands from the UK, US, South Africa and elsewhere performed gospel.
Providing an uplifting visual backdrop to this celebration was a dynamic and ebullient lightshow of vivid colour washes and powerful aerial effects created by JP Willson of Unfazed Productions. Key to Willson’s transformative design was his collection of Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash fixtures.
Willson hung 11 of the RGBW LED washes on a mid and rear stage truss, using them to reflect the mood of the music. The Rogue fixtures were used to sweep the stage with colors as well as for backwashing performers and aerial washing. The fixtures’ wide 12° to 49° zoom range allowed Willso

China - TrueColor in Guangzhou City is the flagship venue of a chain of clubs created in 1995, currently owned and managed by Alliance Art Group.
TrueColor Guangzhou City recently sought upgrades to its audio system. After consultation with Mr. Tan who represents dealer Guangzhou EGG Technologies Company, Alliance Art Group called on DMT – Clair Brothers Chinese distributor – to help make the necessary improvements on behalf of TrueColor customers. Right on the heels of a complete upgrade and redesign of the layout and style of the club in June of 2017, the decision to call on Clair Brothers made sense.
TrueColor is a nightclub where music plays constantly, seven days a week with a full house, and permeates the entire establishment, so it has to sound awesome and perform reliably. After the redesign of the interior, the old system just didn’t fit the bill.

UK - Just like the fairy-tale glass slipper that glided effortlessly onto Cinderella’s foot uniting her and Prince Charming, lighting designer Andy Webb has designed a colourful and fitting lighting scheme for Cinderella, this season’s pantomime at Blackpool UK’s Grand Theatre, utilising entirely Robe LED products.
It’s the third year that Andy has been asked to light this popular panto for UK Productions. Returning to the same venue has some definite advantages he explains, both in terms of knowing the space and what you can and can’t achieve in it, and also having an ongoing relationship with the local crew and technicians.
As always, the challenge with pantos is having to do a massive amount of programming in a very short time to produce the intense, magical, high-impact visuals characteristic of the genre.
For the last three years, Andy had i
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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

Serbia - Philips Lighting reports that its newest stage lighting fixtures have helped to deliver a magical environment for the recent concert at Belgrade's Sava Center by leading Bosnian folk music artist, Bozo Vrećo.
To create this enchanted environment in the 4,000-seat Sava Center, Serbia's largest concert venue, lighting designer Nebojsa Milojevic required powerful lighting fixtures. They needed to be capable of delivering bright, crisp projections and striking beams and effects, and with enough presence to register even against the background LED screen. He settled on 60 lighting fixtures from the Philips Entertainment Lighting range, including VL6000 Beams, VLZ Spots and SL Hydrus 350 luminaires.
In bringing his critically-acclaimed show to Belgrade, the artist asked Milojevic to "paint with the lights and connect the eyes of the audience with the songs.". With

UK - The Royal Albert Hall rolled out the red carpet for the European premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Green Hippo technology was there in force. UK creative Digital Insanity provided content creation and playback solutions for the premiere of the latest in the Star Wars franchise, and the team again relied on Green Hippo to help it create a spectacular.
Having successfully used Hippotizer Media Servers on the European movie premieres of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Digital Insanity immediately allocated control duties to its Hippotizer Karst Media Server. In an environment, which was at times harsh – outdoors on the steps of the Royal Albert Hall and with temperatures registering barely above zero – the robust Karst performed its duties to the max.
Digital Insanity used Hippotizer Karst in con

UAE - ETC has announced the latest addition to its expanding sales team, with the appointment of Mark Larcombe as regional sales manager for the Middle East and India. He takes over from Darren Beckley, who was recently promoted to the position of sales manager for ETC Ltd.
In his new position, Larcombe will be responsible for the sales territory that includes the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and India. He will be based out of ETC's London office, with much of his time spent in the field, working in cooperation with ETC's distributors, dealers and integrators in his territory.
Larcombe joins ETC from the UK-based systems integration, sales and rental company Stage Electrics, where he most recently served as an international sales manager. During his eight-year tenure with the company, he was involved in many prestigious global

Germany - Jens Nilsson was appointed chief financial officer and managing director at d&b audiotechnik on 1 December.
He will work alongside CEO Amnon Harman and COO Markus Strohmeier and be responsible for finance, sales finance, IT and facility management.
Nilsson is replacing CFO Kay Lange, who will leave the post after 31 years with d&b. Lange will assist with the handover and has a commitment with the company until the end of 2018.
Harman comments: “We look forward to working with Jens Nilsson as new CFO at d&b audiotechnik. He has the right experience to strengthen the management team on its way from a loudspeaker systems manufacturer to become an audio technology and solution company.”
He adds: “Kay Lange’s contribution to the growth, successes and spirit of d&b audiotechnik can’t be valued highly enough. We plan a secure

UK - When Craig David brought his TS5 gig to Brixton O2 Academy in November, he called once again on long-standing collaborator Stephen Abbiss to add his own creative touch to the accompanying lighting and set design.
Favouring live lighting control over playback, Abbiss selected Avolites and its Arena console, running the latest Titan V10.1 software, for the TS5 show. Abbiss used the Arena to control his geometric lighting design.
The TS5 show originated as a Sunday afternoon DJ party at the artist's Miami home, and now sees him DJ and MC and sing on stage. Abbiss says: "I based my design for this show on the cover artwork on Craig's new album, The Time is Now. The picture is of him and a large clock face, so I decided to reflect that circular image with my lights and truss."
Abbiss produced a series of three concentric circles of tru

USA - Lighting consultant Howard M. Brandston and artist Dan George created a light installation in the City of Syracuse featuring SGM’s i-2 White IP66-rated POI lights.
The permanent installation, part of the larger Connective Corridor project, was initiated to illuminate iconic buildings and public spaces between Columbus Circle and Armory Square.
Brandston explains: “The Jefferson Street project is really an investment in turning a typical motor-oriented roadway into a pedestrian-oriented city street. The installation reflects off people, making the installation essentially invisible until occupied; it takes people to show the light because the people become the light.”
The installation on Jefferson Street is the signature illumination under the larger Connective Corridor project, connecting Syracuse University to Downtown Syracuse.

UK - Backstage Academy, a training provider for the live events industry, will visit schools and colleges in England and Wales from 22 January to 9 February to talk to students about career opportunities in the sector.
Shure, d&b audiotechnik, VER, A.C. Lighting and Melody VR are supporting the tour, which will see a tour bus from Beat the Street visit schools and venues up and down the country from Cornwall to Newcastle to offer students a glimpse of life on the road and hands-on experience about safe load-in and load-out practices.
Glen Rowe, managing director, Backstage Academy says: “I’ve sustained a career in tour management for over 20 years and am now on the lookout for young talent to take over the reins. There are so many opportunities for people to develop careers in live events we just need to go out there and show them how to do it.”
Jörg P

UK - Audiotonix has acquired Solid State Logic (SSL) as part of its expanding group that already includes DiGiCo, DiGiGrid, Calrec and Allen & Heath.
James Gordon, CEO of Audiotonix, says: “We are growing the Audiotonix Group with professional audio brands that have exceptional technology, committed people and a real passion for what they do. With their incredible history and reputation, their enthusiasm and loyal customer base, SSL is ideally placed to be the next partner in the group. The whole group will benefit by having SSL as an integral part of the team going forward. Having their help to further expand our international reach, technology and customer base will be a lot of fun.”
Antony David, MD of SSL, adds: “I am very proud of the achievements our team have made to date with the expansion of SSL. To reach our full potential we need the support and

Germany - Laserworld has released version 6 of the Laserworld Showeditor professional laser control software. Several new features have been added and many other improvements have been made, says the company.
The Live window has become easier to use for beginners, as it automatically loads the default show, which can be customised and recalled any time. Several faders have been added to control master intensity, master speed and colour shift effects from the live interface or also external fader consoles (MIDI/DMX).
The Timeline programming window has been extended with pre-set fade effects to ease and speed up laser show programming with the Laserworld Showeditor.
All license owners of Laserworld Showeditor 2015 can upgrade free of charge.
(Jim Evans)

Latvia - The first Eurovision Choir of the Year contest took place in Riga, Latvia. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the Interkultur Foundation, the inaugural event hosted nine professional choirs, each representing a different European country.
The venue was the Arena Riga, a 14,500-capacity stadium, and Green Hippo technology was on hand to help deliver a live spectacular, in keeping of the EBU’s best known production, the Eurovision Song Contest.
Company NA and Latvian Green Hippo distributor, PRO 1 Stage, worked with Kristaps Skulte (stage design) and Maris Kalve (video content) to deliver the visuals. With two Hippotizer Boreals, and a trio of Hippotizer Karsts, the team had an impressive array of technology to work with. Andrejs Mefodovskis headed the Hippotizer set-up and configuration, with Ivars Vacers handling programming and control

Germany - They were the rock idols of the Munich ‘Schickeria’, and in the 80s and 90s were Bavaria’s hottest rock exports throughout the whole of Europe - step forward, Barny Murphy, Günther Sigl and the Spider Murphy Gang. Their recent 40th anniversary concert showed they had lost none of their fire, and Marc Lorenz from CUE Design provided an appropriate lightshow at the Olympiahalle.
The band and lighting designer are long-time companions. "In the mid-'90s, when I was still at the beginning of my career, I worked in Munich for the first time,” Marc recalls. "Later, at the band's 20th anniversary, I had my second engagement as moving light operator, and at the planning stage for the 40th Anniversary came the request for me to take over the lighting design for the Olympiahalle.
“The band is rock 'n' roll - and should always remain so. But of course, there m

USA - ASTC and USITT have announced the fifth collaborative project between university students and ASTC member theatre consultants. Projects will be presented at the USITT 2019 Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky on 20-23 March 2019.
By working together with a professional theatre consultant as a mentor, students will learn more about how venues are designed or renovated. Additionally, students will see performance spaces differently and therefore will be exposed to other available career paths within the entertainment industry. Teams may consist of undergraduate or graduate theatre students and should be under the supervision of a faculty advisor.
Working together, the teams will select a theoretical project of a building that is on, or accessible, from the team’s campus. They will survey and study the current conditions and develop a plan to transform the su

Belgium - De Bijloke in Ghent is home to a number of local cultural institutions including the Ghent City Museum, De Bijloke Ghent Music Centre, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Ghent Conservatory College.
The Music Centre is housed in the building of a medieval hospital, carefully restored to include modern galleries, rehearsal rooms, offices and a lobby. The main concert hall lies within the original 700-year-old construction and seats 960 audience members, primarily but not exclusively, for classical concerts and recitals.
The management at De Bijloke wished to significantly improve upon the lighting provision in the Music Centre. In the past, the stage for classical concerts had been lit by way of 1kW and 2kW spotlights to meet the demand for the musicians to be able to clearly see their scores. Every concert was very labour-intensive and consumed large amou

USA - The Bryant Park Winter Village, a five-month winter wonderland located at a 9.6- acre park in Midtown Manhattan, has a lighting display created by Diana Kesselschmidt and featuring a collection of over 130 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by PRG.
Kesselschmidt, who is lighting the Bryant Park Winter Village for the first time, used 116 COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP fixtures and 18 Ovation E-260WW IP ellipsoidals to bring an added level of warmth to the popular attraction. “Coming here is a tradition for many New Yorkers,” she said. “We wanted to use lighting to create an immersive atmosphere that reflected this connection between the people of the city and this spot.”
COLORado 2-Quad Zoom IP fixtures units in Kesselschmidt’s rig wash the 17,000sq.ft ice skating rink, as well as the interiors of its first and second floor pavilions, which house a skate

Italy - Italian rental company Agorà supplied an L-Acoustics audio system for Ennio Morricone’s 60 Years of Music world tour.
One of the world’s most celebrated composers and conductors, Morricone has written over 500 film and television scores and is the only film composer to have received the honorary Academy Award for lifetime achievement.
Early in the tour, Morricone’s long time recording and FOH engineer Fabio Venturi and Agora project manager Giulio Rovelli heard about the new L-ISA immersive sound system and visited the L-ISA headquarters in London for a presentation and to test the mixing platform with Fabio’s own recorded material.
“Our normal L‑Acoustics configuration works extremely well. But in places such as arenas, it’s difficult to achieve exactly what we want, and since the very first concert, we’ve been looking at ways to

USA - Bandit Lites teamed up with the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree programme and Knoxville’s Angel Tree to provide some holiday cheer to the local community.
Bandit has provided the local communities with Angel Tree assistance for many years. Knoxville’s Angel Tree programme has been working to make sure Santa visits every local child, no matter their circumstances since 1975, and the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Programme delivers gifts to over one million children each year.
In a combined effort by HR coordinator Cori Link, director of philanthropy Allison Burchett and controller Shay Simpson, each Bandit team member across multiple Bandit locations had the opportunity to shop for an underprivileged child. Individual paper angels held children’s wishes, ranging from toys and games to practical needs that so many can take for granted, such as toothbrushes and

UK - Adlib supplied full production, including sound, lighting, rigging and large format video projection, for a special one-off event at the SSE Wembley Arena in London, DreamWorks Animation in Concert which was presented by DreamWorks Animation, CineConcerts, and The MJR Group. It featured music and many memorable moments from DreamWorks Animation’s numerous hit films like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon and more with music performed live by The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
Adlib project managers Dave Eldridge and Richard Nicholson co-ordinated all the technical elements working closely with tour manager Barry Jepson, MJR’s production manager Leanne Powell, technical manager Curtis King and creative director Nathan Stone.
It completes a hattrick of recent noteworthy orchestral works serviced by Adlib including

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) awarded Dr David Wilmore an ABTT fellowship at an event backed by ETC and Really Useful Theatres Group and held at the New London Theatre on 8 December.
ABTT fellow Iain Mackintosh paid tribute to Wilmore, who is a leading consultant for historic theatres and the only person in the UK to hold a PhD in 18th & 19th century Stage Machinery.
On receiving his fellowship, Wilmore said: “This is fantastic. It’s been an extraordinary journey from geology to being here today, being involved and meeting so many fantastic people in theatre. Words fail me and I’m really moved to have this honour - and thank you, ABTT.”
The other ABTT fellows are David Adams, Ian Albery, Peter Angier, Jason Barnes, David Blyth, Tony Bond, William Dudley, John Faulkner, Tim Foster, Roger Fox, Chris Higgs, Geoffrey Joyce, I

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