UK - Since its inception, Pinewood MBS Lighting has remained committed to investment in LED and low energy lighting. By sourcing products from leading manufacturers and creating innovative illumination solutions via MBSi’s in-house product development team, PMBS has steadily grown to become one of the world’s largest energy efficient entertainment lighting resources.
Supported and governed by the BAFTA albert Consortium, albert is the UK’s leading environmental sustainability initiative for the visual-arts. The project aims to educate and provide industry colleagues with the necessary expertise and opportunities to reduce the environmental impact of the production process and to create chances for audiences to effectively engage with the climate agenda.
Having rece

Australia - The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts is on-par with NIDA in the east as the wellspring of the next generation of Australian talent across the entire spectrum of the live arts. With its original technical fit-out dating to the early 1980s, the entire lighting rig was due for an upgrade. Lighting coordinator Jon Davey had presided over a project that has seen the auditorium go 100% LED, with 24 Elation Sixpar 300s making up the majority of the stock.
With a mass of LED pars on the market, what was it about the Elation Sixpar 300s that stood out from the other fixtures Jon auditioned? “We developed a specification based on what was important to us – noiseless, flicker-free operation, and colour rendering giving us a high level of visual acuity. Went through a shoot-out process that covered a range of products, and the Elation units were the right c

USA - As a boy in Broadalbin, New York, Keith Truax loved listening to the CD of Jekyll & Hyde the Musical. While being swept up by Frank Wildhorn's bold, unabashedly passionate score, he often found himself dreaming of one day being involved in a production of this theatrical take on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale of good and evil.
Dreams do indeed come true when you grow up to become a talented lighting designer. Truax has been earning widespread praise for his current work lighting Jekyll & Hyde The Musical at Long Island’s popular John W Engeman Theatre. Fittingly, his dramatic contrast of colours is endowing the stage with a transformative dream-like quality that underscores the musical’s good-evil dichotomy. Helping him achieve this powerful effect is a collection of Ovation, Maverick and Rogue fixtures from Chauvet Professional.
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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

Trinidad - Inspired by the record-breaking batsman Brian Lara, many young cricketers in Trinidad and Tobago dream of playing their national sport at international level. This dream has been brought a step closer to reality for many by the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (UDeCOTT) with the completion of the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, a state-of-the-art competition venue and training facility for the development of world-class cricketers.
Just north of the city of San Fernando, the Brian Lara Cricket Academy is the first state-of-the-art cricket training facility to be constructed by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Academy includes a 15,000 seating capacity stadium, club seating, lounges and executive boxes as well as exhibition space. The Academy also incorporates 12 outdoor practice pitches, official and team locker rooms and a gymnas

UK - Northamptonshire-based PA Rental company Sound4Hire has recently added Linea Research 44M20 networked DSP amplifiers into hire stock.
Formed in 1995 Sound4Hire has become one of the UK’s most trusted professional audio suppliers. Providing solutions for events of all sizes, from a speech to 20 people to the largest music festivals, celebrity polo matches or prestigious firework extravaganzas at historic castles, Sound4Hire specialise in delivering only the best solutions for their partners and audiences alike.
“Following several months of research into advancing the sound quality and phase correction of our loudspeaker systems, as well as the ability to explore Beam Steering, we set our criteria and started to see what was available to us – with no limits,” explains Sound4Hire’s Brett Masters.
“During extensive listening tests of both separate D

USA - Billed as Hoboken’s premiere ultra venue, the Hudson Ultra Bar is a state-of-the-art music, dance, and entertainment facility. VIP booths surround the dance floor, offering a high-energy experience for table guests who wish to be at the centre of the action. This venue defines what DJ music and entertainment is all about.
To ensure the best music reproduction capabilities, the Hudson Ultra Bar deployed loudspeaker equipment specifically designed for this type of environment. That’s why they chose Sound Force Series loudspeakers from Valencia, Spain-based D.A.S. Audio.
Global Audio Systems of NY, NY, a full-service provider of audio, visual, DJ, lighting, staging, and related entertainment services, was contracted to handle the design and implementation of the Hudson Ultra Bar’s sound reinforcement system. Company owner Jason Ojeda, who oversees system consu

UK - Triple E beat the odds and the clock to provide Illuminate Design with a custom-built, motorised track for the Centre Stage venue at Butlins, Skegness.
AV specialist Illuminate called in Triple E Ltd when an existing tab system failed just before the start of a new Centre Stage show.
To follow the shape of the stage, Triple E Ltd’s design had to incorporate a double S set of curves. Illuminate sent a sketch across late Thursday evening and MD David Edelstein quoted it immediately. On Friday, Triple E drew the design up, assembled the Erail system and the 25m TDRIVE six-curve track was collected just after lunch.
Robin Shephard-Blandy, Owner/Director at Illuminate Design, comments: “The deadline was particularly tight because there had been difficulties with other ideas for the replacement track. Triple E’s solution enabled us to carry out the install

Iceland - Robe moving lights are making a big impact at the Icelandic National Theatre (Þjóðleikhúsið) in Reykjavík since they became an integral element of the available house lighting rig, a process that started in 2014 and has recently been continued with the addition of DL7S Profiles, LEDBeam 1000s and Actor6s.
The Robe fixtures were specified by Head of lighting Halldór Örn Óskarsson (Halli) and his team of colleagues.
Halli is an award winning LD and also a primary production lighting designer for this high profile venue which has five separate performance spaces and a busy and diverse programme of shows and events. This includes new Icelandic and international works, Icelandic and foreign classics, musicals, dance pieces and children’s productions. The theatre creates around 10 new productions each year and also collaborates with independent theatre

Canada - AV Stumpfl, the Austrian AV technology manufacturer has announced Theatrixx as their exclusive media server and show control distributor for Canada.
The Montreal based company distributes and manufactures technical equipment for the performing arts industry. Theatrixx Technologies also designs custom equipment that offers solutions for video, lighting, audio, power and cabling challenges.
AV Stumpfl CEO Fabian Stumpfl comments: “Coming from a country with a lot of mountains ourselves, we have always had a soft spot for Canada and its majestic landscapes. However, it was obviously not just the beauty of this country that made us look for a direct distribution partner, it was the vibrancy of the Canadian creative scene. Canadian companies are among the best in the whole world when it comes to finding innovative ways for using media server and show control solu

USA - Christie has announced that industry veteran Brian Claypool has returned to the organisation to propel the company’s continued dominance in the cinema-technology field as VP, product management global cnema. He will report to Jennifer Smith, Christie’s executive vice president, global market solutions and engineering, and be based in Cypress, California.
The appointment of Claypool, effective immediately, sees his return to Christie to help direct the creation of advanced products and services that further support Christie’s legacy as the leading provider of advanced cinema exhibition technologies and solutions since 1929.
“Brian’s cinema pedigree is impeccable, since beginning in the industry as a projectionist in the 1980s and successive roles with Lucasfilm’s THX division, Avica Technology, Christie and Barco, Brian has an extensive history being i

UK - Penn Elcom has launched a new range of wall mounting brackets … designed to house popular audio and video streaming devices in stylish, understated and practical enclosures.
The initial three products that have been manufactured by Penn Elcom in the UK are for Sonos Connect devices, Sonos Connect Amps and Sky Q Mini boxes, keeping pace with innovations at the forefront of facilitating trends in commercial and domestic entertainment consumption.
These are the first of a whole range of stylish and straightforward-to-fit products designed to look elegant and provide a neat solution for the distribution of streamed live entertainment around any building or space.
Currently the range covers two Sonos products, the standard Connect box and the Connect Amp which turn existing audio systems into wireless set ups; and the Sky Q Mini Box which allows Sky TV and vide

UK - Petersfield Festival Hall, the versatile multipurpose venue in Hampshire, can now create a truly immersive colour experience as well as white light for its audiences, events, and galas thanks to its new Chroma-Q Inspire lighting system installed by A.C. Special Projects Ltd. (AC-SP).
Because of the wide range of productions held at the Festival Hall, the venue wanted new colour changing LED house lighting that could provide a full range of colours, from deep saturates to smooth pastels, all with smooth, theatrical grade dimming. Similarly, it was important to provide quality white light for day to day use and corporate functions. Ultra-quiet running, low energy consumption and low heat generation were other important considerations.
Having enquired about Chroma-Q’s Inspire fixtures to meet these criteria, John Tucker, the Festival Hall’s technical manager, was

Australia - The Australian TV industry’s biggest night, the 59th annual Logie Awards, were held at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium on Sunday 23 April 2017, broadcast live on the Nine Network.
Always a great opportunity for the broadcaster to show off its tech capabilities, visuals were spread across three huge screens onstage, a wrap-around screen surrounding the audience, and pixel mapped to onstage fixtures and LED chandeliers. Helming the mission-critical media server and console operation was Lynden Gare, director of Melbourne-based lighting and production company Colourblind, who relied on Green Hippo’s Hippotizer media servers to ensure that the show went exactly to plan.
Green Hippo is no stranger to the world’s biggest televised events, with their media servers used on The Eurovision Song Contest and The Academy Awards. At the heart of Lynden’s set-up for

South Africa - Peter Rieck of Rieck’s Lighting and joint owner of rental company Event Lighting, was selected by Red Pepper Pictures for the second year running, as lighting designer for Lip Sync Battle Africa. This televised lip sync showdown, filmed at Urban Brew Studios, returned for its second season in April 2017, premiering on MTV Base, a DStv channel.
“It’s a dynamic show and funky looks have to compliment the entertainment, interviews and bantering between contestants,” said Peter, who controls the Robe lighting rig with a MA dot2. While each new episode opens with a generic look Peter holds back, only adding colour and pulse moments to the first song of the night. Then, with guns blazing, he lunges with explosive and vibrant lighting effects as the show heats up to complement the massive prop changes.
The set, an adaptation from the international form

UK - Based on the book by James Hindman and with original music by Patrick Brady, Pete ‘n’ Keely is the story of a famous musical couple, now estranged, who are persuaded into doing a TV reunion.
The current production of Pete ‘n’ Keely at London’s Tristan Bates Theatre, produced by Wallflower Theatrical, and directed by Matthew Gould, includes a colourful glitzy set. Designed by Emily Bestow, it’s reminiscent of classic 60s American TV variety shows, featuring bright colours and a kitsch style.
Tasked with designing the lighting for the show, BRIT School alumni Mitchell Reeve explains how he became involved: “Matthew Gould and I have worked on a few productions together now. I first met him a year ago when I was asked to light I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It On The Road. As a lighting designer, it is vital to have a good

Argentina - For the more than 90,000 fans who attended Lollapalooza Argentina 2017, the two-day festival served up a musical smorgasbord that satisfied their every taste. In addition to traditional Argentinian sounds like the highly danceable folk music of El Plan de la Mariposa, this South American version of Chicago’s famous Lollapalooza festival featured a rich mix of international superstars from EDM and alt rock, to metal and iconic pop rock on its four stages.
Metallica, The Chainsmokers, Rancid and The XX performed on day one, followed by The Stokes, The Weeknd, Martin Garrix and Duran the next day. Although the musical mix may have been a swirl of diverse voices, the festival’s grounds welcomed visitors with a unifying message, helped by a collection of 50 Chauvet Professional WELL Fit fixtures installed by Buenos Aires-based Descableados and supplied by NASH Ing

Turkey - Turkey’s national horse racing TV channel has invested in a new audio system as part of a digital upgrade based around Allen & Heath’s dLive S Class and GLD mixing systems.
Established in 1950, Turkey Jockey’s Club (TJK) is based in Instanbul, founded and endorsed by the Ministry of Argriculture as the only official horse breeding and racing organisation in the country.
“We really needed to upgrade our current analogue mixing desk to improve total system latency, network audio options and expandable input/output options,” explains Mr. Nizamettin Korkmaz, sound director at TJK.
The dLive system comprises a S7000 Surface with DM48 MixRack fitted with a Dante network card, plus a DX32 expander rack for AES inputs and another one for AES outputs. The Club also has two GLD-80 mixers with AB168 Racks for smaller studios, which are also Dante-enab

UK - Created as a space to “celebrate artistry and indulge the senses”, Spiritland’s bespoke sound system makes it one of London’s most exciting new venues. Combining café, bar and radio station with an in-depth musical programme seven days a week (already featuring the likes of guest DJs Jarvis Cocker, Andrew Weatherall and La Roux), Spiritland has quickly established itself as a paradise for lovers of music, from the aficionado to the curious.
A recent collaboration between Spiritland and Audio-Technica UK has seen a variety of the company’s brand product portfolio installed in the venue to help deliver the diverse offering of interviews, Q&A sessions, DJ sets, album playbacks and radio output.
The heart of Spiritland is its sound system, featuring a pair of Living Voice loudspeakers, valve amplification from Italian manufacturer Atelier du Triode and

UAE - Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins tour continues. With sell out dates across the UK and in Zurich, the perfect nanny has just landed in the United Arab Emirates where the musical will play to a full house until 25 May.
Eighteen sea containers were loaded with set and stage equipment in order to bring the show to Dubai - except for the rigging and a truss frame for new front of house scenery, which has been supplied locally by Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC.
Chris Boone, production manager on the show, explained: “The Dubai Opera House is a truly massive venue – bigger than anywhere else we’ve ever staged Mary Poppins. Because of this, we decided to have extra proscenium scenery – essentially creating a false proscenium - soI contacted Denis Bramhall at Unusual Rigging and Engineering LLC, who subsequently supplied all the rig

India - St. John the Baptist, a Portuguese style Christian church situated in the Indian city of Thane, north of Mumbai, can trace its origins back 500 years. Having been declared a heritage site by UNESCO, it recently underwent a massive restoration project spanning 18 months, including a complete sound system upgrade.
The older system had consisted of multiple speakers that were spaced along the wall of the church, and neither provided suitable intelligibility nor venue coverage. With the extension to the church (enabling it to expand the congregation size to around 5,000 for Sunday mass), the parish priest had initially requested a demo from another vendor to provide coverage for the growing number of people.
“We were not very impressed with the sound,” admits Cleo Pereira, from Martin Audio partner Zoodio, who has been specifying the British brand for the past

UAE - Shaking off the economic uncertainties that challenged companies in the Middle East in 2016, the regional audio visual (AV) market is once again showing steady growth, reports Sennheiser.
The company has announced a healthy 20% Year on Year (YoY) growth of its business-to-business (B2B) and prosumer segments driven by an increase in market confidence, greater demand for feature-rich, cost-effective solutions, and renewed investment in large projects within the region. The sectors that present the biggest opportunity to the AV industry include hospitality, retail, education, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions).
“It’s no secret that 2016 was a challenging year for business in the Gulf region, but we are a little more optimistic this year, especially here in the UAE and in the verticals of broadcast, corporate AV and education,” said Mig

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