USA - Barbizon Lighting has appointed Tom Madden as president and CEO.
Madden has a proven track record of success at Barbizon Lighting’s Mid-Atlantic operation as the general manager of Barbizon’s Capitol location. His previous experience includes leadership on an international level in roles ranging from stage and production manager to senior general manager & executive vice president.
“Tom recognises and deeply values the Barbizon culture, something which initially drew him to the company and which he feels strongly about honouring and fostering,” read a statement from the Board of Directors. Madden’s appointment comes after Barbizon Lighting Company’s previous president and CEO, Jonathan Resnick, unexpectedly

Canada - Adamson Systems Engineering has announced the appointment of audio industry veteran Marc Bertrand to the role of managing director for Adamson Americas. In his new role, Bertrand will lead sales growth and network expansion in both the touring and installation markets in North and South America.
“The Adamson brand has delivered exceptionally strong growth in all aspects over recent years. Adamson has always been synonymous with premium quality sound and is already a leading brand in countries like France and the Netherlands. My mandate, in concert with the complete Americas team, is to build on this performance and create the same benchmark sales and brand presence throughout the Americas," comments Bertrand. "I’m also very excited to be able to draw on the support of this dynamic and entrepreneurial management team at headquarters as well as the experience of o

USA - Chauvet Professional has introduced its first variable white LED ellipsoidal fixture, the Ovation E-930VW. Featuring a six-colour LED system, the new fixture can match ambient natural light at different times a day, making it suitable for broadcast applications that are exposed to sunlight.
With colour temperature pre-sets from 2800 K to 8000 K, the Ovation E-930VW produces a flat even field of light with a very high CRI (88-92) and CQS. Each color temperature produced by the fixture can be further adjusted +/- green to fine tune the light.
“We engineered the Ovation E-930VW to give designers tighter control over colour temperature, because the more precisely you can dial into the colour spectrum with white light, the better people will look on camera,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “The Ovation E-930VW will excel when used for film, television, pop-
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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

USA - Visitors to the 2017 LDI Show in Las Vegas this November found ETC’s booth awash in colour, thanks to the new ColorSource CYC luminaire. Two 5.5m-tall cyc panels bookended the booth, each lit evenly and brightly in a range of tints and hues by the new LED fixtures. Show-goers were impressed – as were LDI’s judges, who honoured the ColorSource CYC with a Best Debuting Lighting Product award at a ceremony on Saturday night.
Technical product manager Dave Cahalane accepted the award on behalf of the development team. “With the ColorSource CYC, we tried to provide a fixture that had a broad range of beautiful colour in a compact size,” he explained in his acceptance speech.
The cyclorama light is the latest addition to the ColorSource family of products, which bring high-quality LED lighting and control to a more affordable price point. The ColorSource CYC

Spain - Amate Audio continues the rollout of its new NÍTID series of ultra-compact, high performance active speaker systems with the introduction of the N208 compact line array and matched N18W / N218W sub woofer systems.
In common with all NÍTID systems, these employ the latest digital amplification and signal processing technologies, in symbiosis with advanced electroacoustic research and design, to achieve exceptional levels of performance and versatility from compact speaker systems.
The N208 and N18W / N218W systems offer premium performance from a compact line array, together with new standards of operational versatility and ease of setup and use, that includes optimised ‘plug & play’ power and system control presets for virtually instantaneous operation, says the company. Economies of scale in developing the system on a well-proven acoustic design, mak

USA - Prompted by the welcome problem of a growing congregation, where it could build a 1,500-seat sanctuary. It is an older industrial park building, with characteristically low ceilings punctuated by numerous support columns. When its Winners Chapel in Lanham, Maryland recently moved to a new location initial DIY sound reinforcement system failed to deliver the kind of spirited, impactful audio that the church had hoped for, it called on Virginia-based A/V integration firm RTW Media.
Playing to the challenges of the unique space, RTW Media engineered a solution based on Danley Sound Labs SBH-20 column form-factor loudspeakers, which deliver point-source fidelity, excellent pattern control, and a clean aesthetic. Danley TH-118 subwoofers contribute low-end.
“They had big-name line array components in there, but they were misconfigured and not really in a line array,

Europe - Panasonic’s AV training academy has been accredited by AVIXA, allowing professional AV dealers and rental companies to gain renewal units inside the Certified Technology Specialist (CTS) programme.
AVIXA, formerly known as InfoComm International, has administered the CTS programme for more than 30 years, with more than 11,000 CTS holders – 500 of which are in the UK.
CTS holders are recognised as technology specialists within the industry, with part of the programme being a requirement for continuous learning.
As a result, CTS holders must regularly attend training courses to maintain their accreditation. From November 2017, attending Panasonic visual training courses will allow them to gain credits inside the programme.
“It’s a pleasure to welcome Panasonic as an RU Provider in Europe,” says Pamela Taggart, senior director of development

Europe - To celebrate Aarhus as European Capital of Culture 2017, Danish artist and lighting designer Tine Bech from Tine Bech Studio in London developed We Believe, an interactive lighting project taking place in Denmark and the UK simultaneously over a period of 10 days. Using SGM wash and flood lights, participants in Aarhus controlled the facade lights at both Aarhus City Hall Tower and The Royal Danish Embassy in London.
“We have been very pleased with the corporation with Tine Bech, who, from the beginning, set extremely high demands to both colour mix and colour calibration. In Aarhus, we mixed P-5s with P-2s, and we could not see any difference in neither colourmix nor dimming,” said Christian Vigsø, CEO of VIGSØ, who supplied and installed the lights.
As part of the larger “playable cities” initiative, We Believe was chosen in relation

USA - Halsey has embarked on the North American leg of her Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour and Claypaky Scenius Profile lighting fixtures, provided by 4WallPA, are lighting her way.
The electro pop/synth pop singer-songwriter launched her arena tour at the end of September in Connecticut and will wrap up this leg in November in Cleveland. The biggest tour Halsey has ever done supports her eponymous second album and includes special guests Party Next Door and Charli XCX.
Production designers Sooner Routhier and Robert Long of S Rae Productions collaborated with the artist, who conceptualized and sketched out the original idea, to design the show, which incorporates lots of LED video. Craig Rutherford is the lighting director. “There are very large stairs with LED video on the risers, and there’s a large LED wall upstage comprised of two screens split at

Finland - Scandinavian lighting creative MOBB Helsinki counted on a legion of Notch-loaded Hippotizer Media Servers to help deliver Finland’s biggest domestic arena production.
Profeetat is the project of Cheek and Elastinen, Finland’s two biggest hip-hop artists. Formed in 2016, this year the duo marked their rapid rise by selling out three arena shows in their homeland.
First filling the Turku’s Gatorade Centre and then maxing out two nights at Helsinki’s Hartwall Arena, Profeetat’s shows stacked up to be Finland’s biggest domestic indoor arena production, one to be designed by creative outfit Mobb Helsinki, headed-up by the Finish firm’s Ari Levelä.
The gear and personnel required to run the nights mounted up, and the lighting tech armoury included two Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers and one Hippotizer Karst Media Server to run the main show, pl

Morocco - Lighting designer Chris Binks selected an Avolites Tiger Touch II and Tiger Touch Fader Wing to facilitate his authentic live control and design approach for the third edition of Oasis Festival, an electronic dance festival held at The Source Marrakech Private Resort Music & Spa in Morocco.
Chris, whose design method relies on live, intuitive control, selected the Tiger Touch II and Fader Wing to ensure easy access to all his programmable elements throughout the festival.
"When I was specifying a desk for Oasis one of the main things for me was ease of access," says Chris. "Avolites consoles are the only consoles that tick all the boxes for me, especially when busking a show. The line-up at Oasis is mainly DJs and they can change their set at any time. The Tiger Touch II has a clear layout and intuitive software features that make it perfect for m

Europe - DPA Microphones has acquired UK pro audio distributor Sound Network.
The acquisition was confirmed following the decision of Sound Network founders Pete Wandless and Ralph Dunlop to retire from the business. The two companies have had a close relationship for more than 20 years, with Sound Network distributing DPA products in the UK broadcast, live sound and theatre markets.
The UK company, which will be headed up by sales and marketing director Adam Pierce, will retain its name and staff structure and continue to observe its distribution arrangements with other manufacturers such as Sony Pro Audio, Meris, Bubblebee Industries, Quested Monitors, Smart Research and China Cones.
DPA’s CEO Kalle Hvidt Nielsen, comments: “Sound Network has been a marvellous ambassador for DPA for many years and has invested heavily in the brand. By acquiring the busines

France - Airstar has announced the appointment of Thierry Beynet as the new CEO of Airstar European Network. This strategic hire is a major step in Airstar’s plan to strengthen its presence in the European market, as part of the overall business strategy instigated by the company in 2016, says the company.
Airstar European Network (AEN), a commercial subsidiary of Airstar, represents 30% of the company’s turnover in lighting balloon solutions. Thierry Beynet recently took on the role, managing and extending the nine subsidiaries which form the European network. Indeed, AEN is responsible for marketing the entire range of Airstar lighting balloons in this region.
Beynet’s relationship with Airstar goes back many years. He worked his way up through the company, starting in 1998 as a technician, before taking on a commercial role. He then worked as AEN’s accountan

France - Chauvet has announced that Martin Fournier has joined the company as its European sales director. Fournier is an experienced lighting industry figure in Europe, having spent the last 22 years serving the professional lighting market in Europe. He comes to Chauvet from Harman International, where he most recently served as that company’s sales director for France and Benelux Professional Solutions. Fournier began his career in 1995 with Martin Professional.
“Martin is a very valuable addition to our team, and we are excited to welcome him,” says Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “He shares our passion for excellence and has spent 100 percent of his career focused on lighting.”
Michael Brooksbank, Chauvet’s managing director of Europe, adds, “Martin brings a diverse range of skills and experiences to the table. He has excelled in many facets of the l

USA - Australian electronic band Rüfüs Du Sol recently began their 2017 North America autumn tour playing two sell-out shows at Oakland’s Fox Theatre, along with headlining slots at CRSSD Fest in San Diego, CA and Austin City Limits in Austin, TX. LD Matthew Smith, of Australian lighting design team, Colourblind, provided the visuals to match Rüfüs’ style.
Helping to create these effects were the well-established impression X4 Bar 20 and impression X4 S from GLP - supplied by VER, along with all other lighting and audio requirements.
Smith was excited by the prospect of using the X4 Bars for the 2017 USA touring cycle; having used them for a previous tour in Australia, he was eager to push them to their full potential.
“I’ve been a big fan of the GLP X4 range since I took a number of X4 Wash lights on another Australian tour in 2014. They’re an incr

USA - Philips Lighting reports that the David A. Straz Centre in Tampa is enjoying significant savings in labour and power costs after upgrading its TECO Theater lighting rig with LED products from Philips Entertainment Lighting's Showline range.
The second largest performing arts complex in the south-eastern United States, the Straz Centre is home to the Patel Conservatory, one of the country's leading education facilities for theatre, music and dance. Because the 250-seat theatre is used exclusively by the Patel Conservatory's education programmes, it is important for its technical equipment to be as up to date as possible. In addition, the technical team was looking for the benefits of flexibility, ease of setup, low energy use and low maintenance offered by high-quality LED fixtures.
Joshua Young, technical manager for the theatre, says, "Previously, we used large,

USA - The Global Connect 2017 conference, held in April at Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando, Florida, was larger than ever this year, with over 3,000 attendees. For the third year in a row, Atlanta-based audio-visual rental company Technical Elements was hired to provide sound and lighting for the speeches and music in the 95,000-square-foot Gatlin Ballroom, as well as dozens of separate rooms throughout the facility.
In order to elevate the event’s production values to their highest level yet, Technical Elements deployed a complete Harman solution consisting of JBL Professional speakers, Crown amplification and Martin lighting.
“The Harman audio and lighting products helped us execute the production plan in a pristine manner,” said Winfrey Shields, owner of Technical Elements. “The clients were very pleased with the clarity of the audio system. We had some chal

USA - Fulcrum Acoustic has appointed Audio Source as its exclusive sales representative for Northern California and Northern Nevada. The appointment comes as Fulcrum is experiencing a significant increase in brand recognition and product sales in key markets.
"Fulcrum Acoustic's innovative loudspeakers provide technological advantages that are unrivaled in their price/performance category," states Audio Source president Richard Gibson. "We pride ourselves in providing high-quality representation for some of the finest brands in the AV industry, and are thrilled to partner with Fulcrum to help facilitate their continued growth."
"Audio Source brings considerable market knowledge and experience to the table, as well as a customer-centric attitude consistent with our own," explains Fulcrum Acoustic Western US sales Manager Jon Sager. "We are excited to have them on board

Austria - The Burgtheater - the Austrian National Theatre - is part of a group of three Austrian theatres, together with the Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera) and the Volksoper Wien opera house, and is generally considered to be one of the most important German language theatres anywhere in the world.
As part of a recent upgrade to its audio systems, the theatre has installed two SSL System T networked production systems along with a building-wide, redundant Dante Audio-over-IP network and SSL Network I/O. The system was specified by David Müllner (manager, sound & multimedia, Burgtheater), supplied by TSAMM Professional Audio Solutions, and installed by Klangfarbe GmbH.
Müllner started researching consoles back in 2012, looking for emerging technologies, technology trends, and workflows that might suit the theatre’s needs. The Burgtheater was an early inv

South Africa - DWR Distribution has scheduled the Robe Fixture Workshop presented by Steve Eastham, international customer support at Robe. Taking place in Johannesburg from 12 - 14 February 2018, the course will then be presented in Durban (5, 16 & 19 February), and Cape Town from 21 - 23 February.
Joining the entertainment lighting industry in 1992, Steve worked for 17 years for Vari-Lit’e Europe’s Technical Support team, managing the department through its transition to VLP after the sale of the Vari-lite brand. Thereafter he moved to PRG before freelancing as a touring technician in 2009. Steve joined Robe to take up his present position in 2012.
The two-day seminar consists of an introduction to the company and its manufacturing operation, the Robe Robin range and the important differences between Robe fixtures and those of other manufacturers. Steve has w


The Netherlands - Tens of thousands of Dutch music fans celebrated the national holiday of Koningsdag (Kingsday) in Breda with international EDM superstar Armin Van Buuren and over 20 other artists at the annual 538 Koningsdag festival. As usual, Dutch production rental powerhouse Ampco Flashlight was called on to provide the audio and lighting equipment for the hallmark event, and relied on a premium loudspeaker system from Adamson Systems Engineering to deliver a live music experience fit for a king.
“We had a lineup of leading national artists and DJs, a big crowd, and some of the world’s most skilled engineers asking for a premium PA, and that’s why we have a system like Adamson’s E-Series in our inventory,” comments Dennis van der Haagen of Ampco Flashlight.
The 538 Koningsdag event is put on by Holland’s 538 radio network and hosted by some of

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