UK - A newly-formed entity, 3LR Group, will combine the operations of 3LR Lighting in the UK and 3LR Design in the USA into a multi-faceted international service provider.
Announced by co-founders Josh Allen and Matt Lloyd, the new group will encompass both these distinct but complementary businesses under a single umbrella. At the same time, the group has announced that Josh Allen is relocating from the USA to further develop the group’s range of services as its UK-based global director of design.
Named for the recently discovered third light receptor in the inner eye – responsible for our circadian clock and other non-visual responses to light – 3LR Design started as a design consultancy in the USA, formed by Allen 2016. It was followed by Lloyd opening 3LR Lighting – as a UK-based rep agency and brand manager – in 2019.
3LR Design is a brand agnosti

Europe - Full-service video and lighting company 4Wall Europe continues its expansion of equipment dedicated to the broadcast world with purchase of Elation Professional’s KL Fresnel 6 FC PO and KL Fresnel 8 FC PO lighting fixtures, both pole-operable units optimised for the specific requirements of on-camera productions.
Darren Poultney, managing director EMEA at 4Wall Europe, commented on the investment: “With their outstanding performance, versatility and reliability, the new KL Fresnel fixtures are the perfect solution to support the growing demand for high-quality lighting in broadcast projects, from commercials and TV shows to film production, product reveals and corporate events.
“Whether we're working on location or in the studio, the KL Fresnel FC POs deliver amazing results, giving us the flexibility to adapt to any situation and create stunning visual

Europe - As the final step in creating one common standard for all wireless DMX needs, LumenRadio and Wireless Solution have now consolidated their product offerings.
One combined portfolio of Wireless DMX for all end users and manufacturers is now available from LumenRadio through one common distribution network. Since LumenRadio’s acquisition of Wireless Solution in 2020, the two technologies CRMX and W-DMX have been combined to create one common solution for Wireless DMX. By adding both CRMX and W-DMX support in end-user products from both brands, followed by the same in all OEM radio modules, this consolidation is the next step in creating one common standard for all Wireless DMX needs.
As a result, from 1 May, LumenRadio will become the sole supplier of Wireless DMX and all products from both brands will be available through one common distribution network. The

USA - Among the most watched and anticipated entertainment and broadcast moments of the year - the Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show - saw superstar Rhianna rock back to live performance at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, USA, in a showstopping performance accompanied by a slick, elegant and super-epic production.
The set was defined by seven flying platforms on which the artist and dancers started the show, mirrored on the pitch below by a striking red runway dancefloor where the action shifted for the latter half of the 12-minute segment.
Choreographed by Parris Goebel, this piece of art was lit by Al Gurdon, who has sprinkled his magic on the event for several years, with cameras directed by the legendary Hamish Hamilton.
Al needed to ensure that all performers on the moving platforms were evenly and consistently lit for the whole time as w

Germany - LMP Lichttechnik, distribution partner for Follow-Me, has been working to support the sales of the new scalable Follow-Me Track-iT system which is now available in Germany with both design and production companies Essen-based Rocketchris, and Virtual&Live in the Munich region.
Both companies have become avid users of Follow-Me 3D as their go-to follow-spot system.
Christian Glatthor, owner of Rocketchris has been using Follow-Me since the beginning of Follow-Me 3D and the LMP Partnership with Follow-Me. Well known to the Follow-Me team, Chris’ invaluable knowledge of Follow-Me has often been used for testing of beta features and also strength testing for Follow-Me Track-iT for outdoor production use. He uses Follow-Me widely across his companies work, for design, rental and operation.
Recently Follow-Me 3D SIX Systems were used by Rocketchris, de

South Africa - With LED Video walls evolving in pixel pitch, brightness, application, and popularity, Magnimage provides by-products that include video processors, switchers, video wall controllers and accessories. South African rental company MGG recently purchased a Magnimage MIG-680 and MIG-EC90, and freelancer Marothi Morathwe (aka Dickey) is happy to have these units on shows.
Marothi is a Front of House AV technician, running both video processors and video playback software and a system tech, responsible for setting up LED screens and projectors.
“I’ve worked on shows with MGG for over a decade, initially on a full-time basis and now as a freelancer,” Marothi explains. “It’s where I learnt everything, and I like to call them the ‘School of Excellence’ because if you are willing to push yourself you will grow. I started as a casual and I left as a

Germany - Digital solutions company HTFmediserv & Co has invested in Vari-Lite VL5LED Wash luminaires from Signify to provide high intensity lighting capabilities and eye-candy effects for its tradeshow and events customers.
The move follows a change of direction for the company after the Covid pandemic, with the new business focusing on high-quality lighting and AV solutions for clients, in addition to digitisation processes implementation. HTF already holds a series of Vari-Lite VL3500 luminaires and the VL5LED Wash fixtures will complement the offering.
“We have experience with the Vari-Lite brand, which still enjoys a good reputation,” says HTF’s managing director, Thomas Füllengraben. “The VL5LED Wash attracted me with its proven design, its high intensity and new additional functions. On the one hand, we can use it specifically to illuminate exhibit

UK - SLX has announced it is providing lighting, control and power to the theatre adaption of Virginia Woolf's novel, Orlando.
London's Garrick Theatre welcomed the debut of this captivating play in November 2022, with its star-studded cast, visuals and directorship stealing the show according to critics' reviews.
"As specialists in supplying long-term kit to theatres all over the UK, our team is driven to overcome whatever challenges transpire to help ensure every performance is a success," says Ruari Cormack, business development manager at SLX. "It's been an honour to support Howard and his team design this rig, bringing the play's journey through four centuries of gender-defining history to life in the historic Garrick Theatre."
Working with lighting designer Howard Hudson for the first time, SLX’s Ruari Cormack supported the design team in develop

UK - VDC Trading has moved to a freshly renovated warehouse, five minutes’ walk from Tufnell Park station in North London.
Formerly at VDC House in Kings Cross - which has now made way for a modern life science facility - the firm has relocated to Unit 5, Bush Industrial Estate. The newly refurbished HQ includes custom-designed office space and purpose-built warehousing, providing a good platform for future growth.
In conjunction with this move, VDC has also acquired a large satellite warehouse in Hampshire to house non-urgent cable stock.
Niall Holden, CEO of VDC Trading comments: “After six long months of late night planning, pulling our hair out and drinking wine, we finally nailed the layout of our new home. For the past 26 years, we have been operating from a large ramshackle office block that didn’t really lend itself to our operations, so this time

UK - Contacta Systems, UK-based specialist leaders in assistive listening technology, has appointed Prosound Pty as their South African distributor to help manage and drive growing demand for their products in the region.
With a near 40-year history in the supply, design and integration of AV technology, Johannesburg-based Prosound will supply integrators, installers and venues across the country, and parts of central Africa, with Contacta’s hearing loops, RF, IR and window intercom systems.
Prosound is one of the longest-established audio specialists in the region. Founded in 1973 to support the live events scene, they were South Africa’s first dedicated audio specialists. They supplied AV equipment to the country’s biggest events including Nelson Mandela’s homecoming and the 2010 World Cup, and now focus solely on the installation of high-quality audio, AV, l

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced the latest addition to its annual ABTT Awards, the ABTT Award for Environmental Sustainability.
The award will be presented to someone who over the past 12 months has made a significant contribution to furthering environmental sustainability within the theatre industry.
The award will sit alongside the established ABTT Technician of the Year Award and Award for Emerging Excellence which recognise the achievements of individuals both starting out and well-established in their backstage careers.
The ABTT Awards are one of the Association’s flagship events which this year will take place on Wednesday 7 June Alexandra Palace and the ABTT would like to extend an invitation to those in the industry to attend the ceremony and Theatre Show social, which will take place following the first day of

UK - Peerless-AV has announced the schedule of Tech Talks at this year’s AV Showcase at Lord’s, 16-17 May 2023. In these technical sessions, showcase vendors will present key innovations and complete solutions with forward-looking market insights, product competencies and real-life examples of successful installations. Those registering and attending the two-day event will be in with the chance of winning Ashes tickets at Lord’s this Summer.
The event is focused on leveraging and building valued partner relationships and delivering all-important training and networking opportunities to ensure a successful, productive two days for end user and reseller visitors.
“The demand for technical knowledge and information is on the rise, which is why we’ve worked closely with our exhibiting brands to bring a compelling and varied line-up of professional speakers and in

UK - White Light has recently added new ETC fixtures and consoles to its rental inventory including 50 Halcyon Titanium moving lights with Ultra-Bright engines.
The Halcyon range – which consists of the Gold, Titanium and Platinum – is the powerful, latest addition to ETC’s family of automated fixtures. Engineered to fit into any design, these new framing luminaires offer increased output at a reduced cost and weight. Halcyon Titanium outputs at 40,000 lumens and is packed full of features, a big zoom range and a best-in-class colour system. It was selected as a good all-round fixture for WL’s hire stock, meeting a broad range of their client’s requirements for a modern LED moving light.
WL has also invested in ETC’s ColorSource Spot V and Source Four LED Series 3 fixtures as well as Eos Apex 10 consoles and Eos Apex 24K Processors. The Apex consoles are ET

UK - Marsh McLennan, insurance broker and risk adviser, made the decision last year to move their office out of Norwich city centre to create a more flexible working space to meet the needs of evolving hybrid working patterns.
Since the pandemic began, workplaces are adapting to meet these new requirements, and in this case Marsh McLennan approached Insight Visual Systems to lead the project. The space was completely refurbished with furniture, and audio-visual technology equipment, sourced from Audiologic.
Matthew McGill from Insight says: “We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver a bespoke service that reflects our client’s identity, whilst also resonating with their values. For this project we needed to provide a seamless AV experience that met Marsh McLennan’s global AV standards to ensure consistency across their regional offices. As our audio supplier,

Germany - Known for her spectacularly acrobatic shows, Helene Fischer kicked off her 71-date Live 2023 tour on 11 April at Barclays Arena Hamburg for a 15-city run through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and the Netherlands. Although Solotech has long provided technological solutions globally, this is among the first times Solotech’s Live Productions Division, Europe, provides a complete 360-degree solution in Germany.
Produced by Live Nation and created by Cirque du Soleil, the tour comprises multi-night mini-residencies, with audio, lighting and video production needs provided including L-Acoustics’ new compact and powerful L Series line source array. Additionally, Solotech provided Avid S6L and Yamaha consoles, wireless in-ear/microphone packages, Roe Visual Vanish 8T LED panels, robotic cameras, a full lighting rig, and other related infrastructure.
Significa

Singapore - Located 11 floors above the Vista Exchange district, atop the celestial inspired Star Performing Arts Centre, The Star Loft offers breathtaking views from its interior space and enchanting rooftop terrace. This panorama, however, was not the only impressive site that visitors to Chauvet’s Singapore Open House got to enjoy in early April. The two-day event treated guests to an array of innovative, new products from Chauvet Professional and its sister brands, including Kino Flo and ChamSys.
Featured in this lineup was the Color STRIKE M motorised strobe, along with the Maverick Storm 4 Profile and Storm 2 Profile, COLORado PXL Bar 16 and PXL Bar 8, the STRIKE Array 2, STRIKE Array 4, the Rogue Outcast 3 Spot, and more.
Kino Flo was represented with products such as the Free Style Air, while ChamSys showcased the MagicQ Stadium Connect, MagicQ MQ70 and QQ2

Europe - French loudspeaker manufacturer, Focal, continues its push into the custom installation (CI) and commercial sectors by partnering with specialist AV distributor, CUK Group, to supply and support its full range of integration products in the UK.
Focal's integration offering has expanded significantly in recent years, with the launch of the Littora outdoor and marine range, and the growth of its in-wall loudspeaker line, which now mirrors the performance levels of its hi-fi offering, through to the 1000 Series Utopia models, which feature signature Focal technologies such as 'W' composite cones and beryllium tweeters.
Although the ink is still drying on the partnership agreement, there is already a wealth of Focal knowledge within CUK Group as CI channel manager, Phil Roe, explains: “In my previous life as an integrator, I have had the pleasure of demonstratin

UK - By 2027, more than 100m AA batteries will have been saved from landfills, according to Shure. The number is based on data calculations from customers worldwide in music production, theatre, touring, education, business, government, houses of worship, and more.
With previous technology, disposable batteries were used to power microphones and transmitter packs. And audio engineers would frequently replace batteries – even when those batteries still had power – to ensure an uninterrupted performance with fresh batteries.
However, new innovation from Shure has converted those products to rechargeable options, creating significantly less waste. In fact, for David’s Byrne’s American Utopia Broadway show, the monitor engineer estimated they saved about 21,000 AA batteries from being disposed of in landfills because they used Shure’s rechargeable system

Final Curtain - Andrew Lloyd Webber has warned that the days of original shows opening on Broadway "ended long ago", with the composer calling on the industry to work together to secure a future for new work in New York’s theatre district. The composer, writing in the New York Times as his musical The Phantom of the Opera played its final performance on Broadway after 35 years, warned that the costs of running musicals in New York were so high that it was forcing producers to find shows with "small casts and minimal sets" and leading to an increase in jukebox musicals.
Writing in the paper, he said: "The era of the big original Broadway musical ended long ago. Massive hits such as Hamilton and Phantom did not originate on Broadway, unlike West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof.
"Who is taking a risk, as Hal [Prince] did so w

USA - At the 21st Parnelli Awards in Anaheim, Bandit Lites was once again named Lighting Company of the Year and Michael T. Strickland accepted the honour.
“Bandit is again humbled to be so honoured by the industry we love so much,” stated Bandit founder and chair Michael T. Strickland. “To have our peers bestow this honour upon us is amazing. Everyone at Bandit works tirelessly each day to allow our clients to ‘experience excellence’, and that is what drives us.
“The number of great firms in this industry makes the win even more special,” he continued. “Bandit will always go to extra lengths to assure the highest quality of service and people in the industry. And speaking of people, I wish to thank the entire Bandit family for making this happen. Without them, there is no Bandit.”
This is the eighth Parnelli Award for Bandit Lites, who has bee

USA - There are things you will always see at a Parker McCollom show, like the rising young country star getting down close and personal to interact with fans. From the moment he walks out on stage, the ACM’s New Male Country Artist of the year, puts things in high gear with his melodic voice, rolling out a welcome mat for fans, inviting them to get up to dance and sing-along.
Such a warm, embracing mood lends itself to being supported by an inviting tungsten-like glow of light, believes McCollom’s lighting director, Alex Sanchez. And that’s precisely what the Texas-born star is getting on tour with a Chris Lisle lighting design that often immerses the star and his band in an evocative amber glow created with Chauvet Professional fixtures.
“I personally love using ambers,” said Sanchez. “They warm up the stage beautifully and looks great in photos. This yea

South Africa - Cape Town-based Oakhill Church, formerly known as Durbanville Family Church, has invested in a Waves eMotion LV1 and DiGiGrid portable desk from DWR Distribution. The church was established 20 years ago by Louise and Lizette Du Piesanie and has become a place people call home. The volunteer-driven worship ministry is part of the glue that creates community, and Oakhill Music released its first single in 2022.
Chris Truter is a software engineer and volunteer at Oakhill Church, and as part of the audio industry from a young age, he has always kept his eye on DiGiCo which is how he discovered Waves in the first place. For some years, Chris had been using Waves in his studio, but wanting to keep up with technology, he pitched the idea of Waves eMotion and received a resounding "yes" from everyone on the team.
The church technical team, mostly volunteers, ar

UK - A celebration of Mike Oldfield’s landmark debut album Tubular Bells, the Tubular Bells 50th-anniversary tour has recently finished up its UK concert circuit.
Released in 1973, Tubular Bells gained critical acclaim, going on to become the highest-selling instrumental album of all time following its use as the instantly recognisable soundtrack to The Exorcist. The concert tour, conducted and arranged by Oldfield’s long-term collaborator, Robin Smith, featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who performed the entire album in sold-out venues across the UK in the Spring of 2023.
A full EM Acoustics system, consisting of HALO and EMS series loudspeakers accompanied the tour and was deployed in a total of 32 venues over the course of two months.
AV installation and rental company Show Works became involved in the project during the initia

USA - Having upgraded the MARC Theatre in Salt Lake City with a Martin Audio Wavefront Precision system in time for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, cinema specialists DBPC again turned to the Martin Audio catalogue this year to find a solution for another of the event’s theatres.
Due to the pandemic, 2023 marked the event’s first staging in front of a live audience since 2020, the year that DBPC was formed by Dan Beedy, a long-term member of the event’s technical crew (and latterly project manager), and another Sundance veteran, Ben VanDonkelaar. They have been tasked with systematically upgrading sound systems used in the event’s theatres to keep pace with the fast-moving advances of digital screen technology.
While the Boston, MA-based specialists were tasked with fitting out all Sundance cinema spaces this year (working with Sundance Institute technical dir

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