UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) will use the opportunity of its forthcoming Theatre Show (13-14 June), to present a seminar discussion on the future of industry training, at London's Old Truman Brewery, on Wednesday 13 June, 12:45pm-2pm, in the venue's Seminar Room. Speakers include: Robin Auld, operations director, National Skills Academy Creative & Cultural; Chris Parry-Jones, head of Gallowglass Training; and, Bryan Raven, managing director, White Light.

Throughout the last year, the Association has continued to develop and promote its Technical Access Passport (TAP) - launched at the ABTT 2011 Theatre Show - a scheme that creates an online repository for verified training, skills, insurance and other professional information.

Now, with TAP gaining

At The Cinema - The farewell concert by Irish pop band Westlife is to be screened live to cinemas in the UK and Ireland and across Europe. The group, who announced last October they were splitting after 14 years, are set to bow out with a final concert at Dublin's Croke Park on 23 June. The event will be screened at more than 200 cinemas in nine countries including Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Norway. There are also plans to screen the gig in Australia and South Africa. The band, whose 14 UK number ones include 1999 hit Flying Without Wings, have sold more than 44 million records worldwide. Organisers said tickets for the 23 June concert sold out in minutes, leading them to schedule another date at the Dublin venue on 22 June.

No Show - Lady Gaga has cancelled a concert in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, citing security concerns after protests by religious groups. The s

Australia - Lots of Watts Central Coast has recently installed a new lighting bar and an LSC dimming system into the auditorium of a local High School, replacing their aging 1980's dimming and patching system.

Two new LSC Redback wallmount dimmers, which sport a number of impressive features including optional relay channels, RDM, various output connector configurations, external wall-plate control and a 'slim figure', have been successfully installed.

A 48way Redback patch bay was chosen to cater for the 36 points as well as future needs and a Redback 6 way remote wall plate has also been installed to give simple control of the lights without the need of an operator or lighting console.

Jeff Morgan from Lots of Watts Central Coast said, "We have been able to give the school a safe easy dimming and control option. The Redback wallmount are perfect for this application 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

UK - Last week permanent show hosts Helen Chamberlain and Max Rushden kicked off the annual Soccer AM sporting event which included a host of special guests and performers, including Professor Green, to ensure the lucky football fans in attendance had a fun filled day.

Malcolm Reed designed the show which was supported by Richard Martin Lighting (RML). The almost festival rig consisted of LC2140 panels, VL3000 Spots, Chroma Floods, GLP Impressions and Sharpys.

Reed opted for a very patriotic colour scheme in places with strong emphasis on red and white, while the music numbers were packed full of colour, graphics and brightness.

(Jim Evans)

Croatia - This past March Zagreb played host to an exhibit entitled Bruketa&Žini? om: Exhibit held in the central Barrel Gallery of the hall of the Croatian Associations of Artists. European advertising agency Bruketa&Žini? OM created the installation where High End Systems, a Barco company, Axon Media Servers were used to deploy content on the 360 degree projection space.

On entry into the gallery, each visitor was photographed and the photographs were projected in real time circularly on gallery walls, on the LED screen on Croatian capital Zagreb's Main Square and on the web. The gallery functioned as a generator for the content that was then presented in places where there was a much larger audience than in the cultural institutions.

Local Zagreb system integrator company LMT (Laboratory of Multimedia Technology) specified and provided five Axon Media Servers to en

Spain - D.A.S. professional sound systems took centre stage during the recent remodelling of the Buesa Arena pavilion in the Basque city of Vitoria. The multi-use venue currently seats over 15,000 spectators and is home to Vitoria's basketball team Baskonia, which has taken Europe by storm after making it to either the Euroleague's semi or quarter finals for seven years running.

The audio visual equipment - which includes an impressive new scoreboard and a super-charged professional D.A.S. sound system - played a particularly important role in this large-scale remodel. The installation was carried out by Grupo Ingevision (Ekintza) in collaboration with the D.A.S. Sound Projects Department, led by Eva Argandoña. Víctor Catalá from the D.A.S. Audio Engineering Department was on hand for system adjustments and set up, and the project was coordinated by the northern zone manager,

UK - Flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has donated some of its Arena 600 cases to The Rig Scout Active Support Unit which is based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK, for their day-to-day use.

'The Rig' is a charitable organisation currently managed by Jason Robbins. It was originally set up in 2000 by parents of a local scout involved in the lighting and sound industry to help his group weather financial difficulties, and started off running local discos with some scouts on the crew.

Since then things have grown considerably. A team of 10 regular volunteers and others enable The Rig Scout Active Support Unit to provide a full range of technical production services for stage shows and events, in the process helping to support all scouting activities in the Huddersfield North District.

Robbins approached 5 Star's Keith Sykes - initially at the PLASA 2011 exhibition - aski

France - Dataton reports that its WATCHOUT multi-display and show-management software has been used as a core technolog yat a major new art installation in the south of France.

A collaboration between the town of Les Baux de Provence and the specialist French venue management company Culture spaces, Carrières de Lumières'('Quarries of Light') is a hi-tech re-purposing of the Carrières du Val d'Enfer- a network of abandoned chalk-mining tunnels close to the historic Provençal village.

With a subterranean feel, the Carrières de Lumières is a labyrinth almost 200m long that varies in height between 10 and 15m. In its newly re-invented form, the space provides the perfect backdrop for large-scale video projection- a place where visitors can view images close to or from a greater distance away, while the texture of the chalk surfaces adds further visual interest to whatever a

USA - Skrillex rocked the house as 16 Chauvet Professional Legend 412 moving heads projected powerful beams and striking pixel-mapping effects during the South By Southwest 2012 AM Only Showcase.

The AM Only Showcase featured a performance by Grammy award-winning artist, Skrillex, as well as performances by Laidback Luke, Kill the Noise and Knife Party to name a few. Several thousand fans gathered at Mohawk, an outdoor, live-music venue, to see some of the biggest names in electronic dance music take the stage. Justin Jenkins, lighting designer for Creative Production and Design, specified 12 Legend 412 moving heads for backlighting while the remaining four fixtures created audience pixel-mapping effects and downlit the high-energy show.

"We chose Legend™ 412 fixtures because of their RGBW LEDs and quadrant-control capability," Jenkins said. "As far as what

South Africa - The Jesus Culture Conference came to South Africa from the 2 - 9 March 2012, visiting Johannesburg, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The focus of this conference is "to encounter Jesus through worship, equip a generation for revival through preaching and ministry and then to send people back to their cities and campuses to bring Kingdom transformation through a supernatural lifestyle".

Black Coffee were sub-contracted by Kingston Sound in Durban to supply the lighting equipment which included 46 Robe fixtures. A relaxed atmosphere prevailed, especially thanks to enough time to tour from city to city as the team visited the Rhema Church in Randburg, City Hill Church in Hillcrest and His People Church N1 City, Cape Town. In Port Elizabeth, the full technical was supplied by Magnetic Storm.

"Apart from the rented truck having a blow out on the w

USA - With eight stages of electronic music scattered around downtown Miami Florida and an estimated record attendance of 165,000 over a weekend, the Ultra Music Festival (UMF) is North America's second largest electronic music event. Since 2008, Miami's Beachsound & Lighting have facilitated the performance and production duties for the main live stage.

This year for the first time, Beachsound slotted a DiGiCo SD8 into FOH duties to handle a majority of the headliners over the 3-days-over 100 DJs from David Guetta to Tiesto - with FOH engineer/crew chief Neil Rosenstock at the helm aided by systems engineer Harry Brill.

"All the DJ's and vocals went through the SD8," offered Beachsound president, Andre Serafini, "and the sound quality was superb. There were over 30 sets performed over the three-day span from artists including Tiesto, Skrillex, Benny Benassi, Av

Australia - The world's largest permanent interactive light display, named Luminous at Darling Quarter, has been turned on in Sydney, Australia.

Luminous at Darling Quarter represents an important investment in green digital art by the Darling Quarter joint stakeholders, Lend Lease, Commonwealth Bank and Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority.

The project, which has taken 12 months to complete, establishes Darling Harbour's vibrant new precinct - Darling Quarter, as the new face of digital arts in Australia.

Bruce Ramus, creator of Luminous at Darling Quarter stated, "The digital façade adds radiance and playfulness to the precinct and brings people together in the spirit of creating light and art for others to enjoy."

Ramus says Luminous at Darling Quarter has been the collaborative effort of many, resulting in a unique approach to urban space that aligns public ar

South Africa - Clay Paky has appointed Johannesburg based DWR Distribution as its exclusive distributor for South Africa.

The appointment is a direct response to the continued growth in the creative and entertainment industries in South Africa, a sector that, according to the Department of Trade and Industry, is valued at around R7.4-billion per year.

Commenting on the appointment, DWR's Duncan Riley says, "I'm delighted to be adding the Clay Paky range of lighting fixtures to our portfolio of professional lighting products. Clay Paky is spearheading some of the most innovative and exciting developments in lighting technology design and the resulting products respond directly to the needs of end users.

"It's undeniably one of the most exciting brands in the entertainment lighting arena. We're looking forward to bringing Clay Paky products to all the sectors we oper

Sweden - Martin Professional Exterior 400 and Exterior 1200 image projectors are helping bring a legendary Swedish epic tale to life on the slopes of Åre Ski Area in central Sweden. Beginning with last year's 2011/2012 ski season, skiers at Åre can experience In the Footsteps of Giants, a night-time guided ski tour for children - or kids of all ages - that retells the local legend of the Giants, the legendary creators of the Norse gods.

In the Footsteps of Giants was conceptualized by Kai Piippo of Ljusarkitektur of Stockholm who has integrated dynamic lighting on a family slope as an integral part of the story telling. Besides creating an after-dark activity for children when entertainment possibilities are limited, the tour continues a tradition of centuries of storytelling, spoken-word folklore that combines with the surrounding landscape - including lighting

Italy - Clay Paky illuminated the opening ceremony of the America's Cup World Series in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples. The Cup consists of a series of match race regattas that bring the competition to some of the most famous places in the world, including Naples, Venice and San Francisco.

The AC World Series allows teams and their sailors to prepare for the Louis Vuitton Cup, the Defender Selection Series (if necessary) and the finals of the America's Cup. At the same time, the various events are designed to bring the America's Cup to fans around the globe, giving thousands of people the opportunity to follow the action close up.

The ceremony in Piazza del Plebiscito took the form of a spectacular party and played host to a series of live music and dance acts. Filmaster Event's organization ensured a quality occasion. This production company was responsible for the success o

South Africa - DWR Distribution presented grandMA2 training sessions at their Johannesburg offices from 2 - 11 May 2012.

The training covered all bases from MA2 basic training to advanced user training for live events, theatre training, grandma 3D and networking.

Nick Britz from DWR Distribution, having visited MA Lighting on various occasions and always keeping up-to-date with the latest courses, presented the sessions. "I really enjoy the training," said Britz. "There was certainly a need, and the more the industry know about the console, the better for everyone."

The course was split into different categories, and while delegates could decide on which days they wished to participate, many attended all the set days offered.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Rapper and singer/songwriter Example has kicked off his first ever arena tour with a stunning lighting system designed by LD Graham 'Grum' Leesmith.

Over 100 fixtures have been supplied by Ambersphere Solutions to leading rental house Neg Earth for what has become a showcase tour for the latest generation of Clay Paky equipment.

Featuring heavily are more than 50 of the new QWO800 fixtures, a luminaire which can stand up to the most demanding of lighting applications. "I've been blown away by the QWO800. Initially I had specified the Alpha Spot 700 but Neg Earth invited me to go and check out the new QWO800, which had literally just arrived in their warehouse. The optics are amazing, the light output is fantastic and the speed with which this fixture moves is phenomenal," observes Leesmith.

Complementing the QWO800 is the increasingly popular Sharpy extreme be

UK - Entertainment equipment engineering company Triple E will unveil its newly designed and enhanced acoustic banner at this year's ABTT trade show.

Triple E says it believes that its latest version offers significant advantages over the original design. Simpler mechanics and an improved slat design have reduced weight, and enabled a much smaller stacking distance. The new design incorporates an enclosure for both the lifting system and the stacked fabric with the bottom tray forming a closing panel.

"Our new variable acoustic system, Varibanner is the result of 15 years of experience in designing products that not only absorb sound but are also visually and architecturally pleasing," says David Edelstein, managing director at Triple E. "We're hugely excited to be introducing the industry to our new version at ABTT, which confirms our edge in this market."

UK - At The ABTT Theatre Show, the team from Philips Vari-Lite will be on hand to show off its recently launched, super bright range of Spot and LED Luminaires and catch up with end users and dealers.

The Philips Vari-Lite team will present a showcase from the latest1500W platform of Spot Luminaires, launched earlier this year at Frankfurt ProLight and Sound. They include the VL3015and the VL3015LT, as well as the VL3515 Spot luminaire. With the VL3015 andVL3515 Luminaires, Philips Vari-Lite has substantially increased light output while maintaining the popular features of existing Vari-Lite fixtures.

"The VL3015, VL3015LT, andVL3515 Spot luminaires each use an OSRAM 1500-watt short arc lamp," explainsDavid March, director, European sales for Philips Vari-Lite. "The VL3015LT,Vari-Lite's first luminaire developed specifically for long throw applications,also feat

UK - London- based automation specialist Kinesys has announced June and July dates for its on-going product training programme, consisting of two day courses and workshops.

The next two General Technical & Vector Control training courses will take place on 13 & 14 June and 11 & 12 July respectively. For full details, please visit the Kinesys website: www.kinesys.co.uk

The training provides both theoretical and practical tuition covering the fundamentals of Kinesys' innovative motion control systems under the banner Technical and Vector control.

It will be held at Kinesys' new dedicated training facility at the company's HQ in Hampton, Middlesex. This includes a special classroom set up with individual computers allowing attendees to work at their own pace, and a full practical training rig.

These latest courses, co-ordinated by Kinesys' training manager Andy Hicks,

UK - Hot on the heels of its success at PLASA Focus Leeds and ProLight and Sound, Frankfurt, the team at Philips Entertainment Lighting is gearing up for yet another high-energy trade event in the form of the annual ABTT Theatre Show in June.

Philips Selecon and Philips Strand Lighting promise to deliver "an exciting showcase of pro-lighting products". These include the recently released PLCyc1 LED, which combines LED source technology with an asymmetrical reflector, which delivers consistent light distribution without having to compromise performance with spreader lenses.

Visitors will also be able to examine the benefits of the LED Studio Panel, a variable colour temperature soft light that, by using a mixture of amber and white LEDs, offers a range from 2,700K up to 6,000K and draws just 60 watts. Powered via a PowerCon connector from the mains or a four-pin XLR t

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