Lighting

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UK - The Royal Shakespeare Company is one of Britain's most renowned theatre companies. Based in Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare, it is dedicated to producing the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as developing new work from living artists.

The RSC has three theatre spaces: the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Swan Theatre and the recently-opened Studio Theatre at The Other Place. Wanting to replace the existing tungsten units in their main Royal Shakespeare space, they approach White Light to supply them with the very latest LED lighting fixtures.

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre is a 1040 seat thrust stage theatre which first opened in 1932. The theatre is a 'one-room' space which allows the actors and audience to share the same space, as they did when Shakespeare's plays were first produced. The space was renovated in 2010 as part

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UK - Robe's new Spikie fixtures - small, super-fast LED WashBeams - made their UK debut on a lighting rig designed by Paul Griffiths of Firebird Events for a UK sales conference staged in the Champagne Suite at the Novotel West London.

Twenty-four Spikies were installed by Firebird, the three-day event's technical solutions provider in the suite which served as the main plenary area.

The lighting brief for the dress jewellery and accessories company was to keep it up-beat with plenty of razzamatazz and drama, accents and big moments to match the tone and style of the presentation. This included lots of audience interaction as this season's new products were introduced to the enthusiastic and highly motivated sales force. A series of awards were also handed out to the last year's highest achievers and top sellers.

The stage was built at one end of the room which is a ch

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Europe - Working with the Ayrton MagicDot-R luminaires proved to be a rewarding and pleasurable 'Weekend' experience for Litecom's designer, Mikkel Samuelsen, at the recent Weekend (WKND) Festival.

This exciting northern hemisphere event took place in Sweden, Finland and Estonia on the same weekend, at the start of August, with MagicDot-R debuting at the Swedish Festival in Stockholm. Topline acts in the line-up included Fatboy Slim, Ti

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USA - Walk down North Jefferson Street in the historic district of Indiana's 'Lime City' and it's easy to become lost in time. Huntington earned its nickname because at one time it was a centreof limestone production, and the stately homes on Jefferson Street, many of which date back to the 1840s, bear witness to the city's solid traditions.

Not far from this historic district is another time-honoured part of Huntington's culture, College Park Church. Founded in 1897, the church's roots in the community run deep, but like the city of Huntington, which hosts a high-tech university and an acclaimed robotic auto parts plant, College Park Church has stepped into the future while continuing to honour its past. This spirit was at the heart of a recent remodelling project at the church that was done by CSD Group of Fort Wayne Indiana, using LED fixtures from Chauvet as key components

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USA - Bandit Lites' massive touring inventory continues to grow with the addition of Martin's VDO Sceptron 10.

The linear LED video fixture provides easy setup, configuration and allows lighting designers a wide variety of looks for both indoor and outdoor looks.

Lighting designer Sooner Routhier specified the Sceptron for Shinedown's Carnival of Madness Tour, with the fixtures integrated within the set pieces to provide video content for the multiplatinum rock band.

The ease to which the Sceptrons could be daisy-chained together provided lighting director Carter Fulghum the ability to adapt the rig to fit the various venues while on tour.

"When we put them on our set carts, we made them angled, and gradually they would get longer and longer," said Bandit Lites lighting technician Elizabeth Weller who provided support on the tour. "They're also sturdy. We never had

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UK - Rental company Fineline supplied lighting, video and rigging equipment plus crew to Duran Duran Live at Eden with BBC Music Day, staged at the Eden Project in Cornwall. The special concert was the finale of the BBC's 2016 Music Day - a nationwide celebration designed to unite different generations and communities through music.

Fineline was working with TAO Productions with whom they also regularly collaborate as a technical solutions provider for the annual Eden Sessions concerts. The concert was broadcast live on BBC Radio 2, aired a few nights later on the BBC 2 TV channel and available via The Red Button interactive channel.

Lighting for the band was designed by Vince Foster. He submitted a plot and a spec to Fineline who built the Eden production lighting rig based on this, with some fixture swaps related to their stock on consultation with Vince, explains Fineli

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USA - Dove Award-winning and Grammy-nominated Christian band Building 429 has enjoyed considerable success as recording artists. Their 2013 recording Listen to the Sound holds the record for the longest unbroken run at the top of the Billboard Christian Charts.

It is at live concerts, though, where the quartet really shines, as their anthem-like choruses, heartfelt melodies and raw, honest devotion create a powerful connection to fans. On their 2016 tour, the band forged an even stronger fan bond with a new lightshow that includes 18 Chauvet Professional Nexus Aw 7x7 LED panels supplied by Theatrical Media Services.

Well-known lighting designer John Hansen of EnHansen Design created the new lightshow for the band's 2016 tour after they retained him earlier this year. "This is my first year designing and programming for Building 429. After working on several differen

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USA - Wanting to get back to a bigger lighting look for country music star Luke Bryan's current Kill the Lights tour, lighting designer Justin Kitchenman of FadeUp Design Group created a spectacular upstage wall of lighting effects using 100 Elation Professional ACL 360i narrow-beam LED fixtures.

"We chose the ACL 360i after a shootout with other similar fixtures," Kitchenman explained. "We felt the beam was a bit more defined, performance was comparable, and the price of the fixture allowed us to get the amount of fixtures we desired without blowing up our lighting budget."

In Kitchenman's design, the ACL 360i fixtures are mounted to the back of a video wall that is comprised of (10) 1m wide by 5m high columns. Each column is on an automated system that tracks side to side with full rotation capabilities and has 10 ACL 360is mounted to the back of it.

Kitchenman, who

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UK - Opened in 1997, Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan Playhouse in London where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed.

For the first time, the venue has installed a theatrical lighting rig for the summer season - with GLP's multiple award-winning impression X4 Bars playing a crucial role. Previously, performances have used only natural daylight, similar to the original productions, during daytime shows, and a wash of tungsten floodlighting in the evenings.

Designed by Malcolm Rippeth, who has also masterminded the lighting for two of the shows in the opening season, the new inventory has been supplied by White Light, and installed as part of Emma Rice's first season as artistic director.

"The trickiest part of the rig was finding a good overhead backlight, as these units are most prominently in the audience's sightlines,

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UK - The National Theatre's (NT) River Stage Weekends festival has returned to London's Southbank, with chief lighting designer Huw Llewellyn choosing an Avolites Tiger Touch II and Fader Wing running the latest Titan v10 to deliver versatile, power-packed control across the month-long programme of weekend takeovers.

A free festival, River Stage plays host to a diverse range of artists and acts from family friendly workshops to energetic riverside raves. Throughout August, the festival has seen numerous National Theatre partners from across the country tread the boards of the outdoor stage, painted red to mirror the NT's Temporary Theatre (previously affectionately known as the Shed).

"We chose an Avolites console for River Stage because it's what we know and love - it's so versatile whilst being quick and easy to programme," says Llewellyn. "We're operating and programmin

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Namibia - The first Robe Spikies to be purchased on the African continent have gone to Windhoek, Namibia based rental company Mikel-Jes which purchased eight units from Robe's distributor DWR in Johannesburg.

The events market in Namibia is currently buoyant, and Robe - thanks to the hard work of DWR and the leading Namibian rental companies' willingness to invest in premium products - is well established as a moving light brand amongst the top production companies in the country which is most definitely 'emerging'.

Michael Vermeulen founder and co-owner of Mikel-Jes already has around 80 Robe fixtures in hire stock and has been a steady investor in the brand - along with other quality names in the entertainment technology world - since founding the company in 2008.

When he saw the Spikie in action at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt this year ... he knew it was a suitable

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Called to the Bar - Fans of Motorhead frontman Lemmy raised more than $22,000 (£16,600) for a life-size statue at his favourite bar in Los Angeles. Dozens of fans turned out to see the unveiling of the 6ft bronze sculpture that will immortalise him at the Rainbow Bar and Grill on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip. Cheryl Keuleman and Motorhead's long-time manager Todd Singerman were among those who paid tribute to Stoke-born singer who died in December. Singerman, who managed Motorhead from 1992 until the group disbanded after Lemmy's death, said he thought the Ace of Spades singer would have been "extremely proud" of his statue.

It's for You - A long-lost demo disc recorded by Paul McCartney that was given to Cilla Black has sold for £18,000 at auction, the Beatles expert who found it has said. Black, who died in 2015, had a UK top 10 hit in 1964 with It's f

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USA- Since its introduction in 1993, Student Life has been running inter-denominational Christian summer camps and conferences for young people. The camps travel with a production team striving to set the stage which will foster an environment of worship and praise.

To create these worship environments, director of production Jake Brantley understands that the gear chosen must have the ability to adapt to several locations across the country, so he once again turned to Nashville-based tour provider Elite Multimedia to help him create a cohesive and modular lighting, audio and video production design.

"Each Student Life Camp lasts one week with both morning and evening worship services, so at a typical camp our production crew will run eight services," began Brantley. "One of the most challenging aspects about putting the designs together is that we have to be modular becau

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USA - With the US elections intensifying, The Democratic National Convention took place in July, while SGM fixtures lit up landmarks and historical monuments in the host city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Lighting Practice of Philadelphia was approached by Amtrak to highlight the 30th Street Station during the DNC 2016 event. The Lighting Practice commissioned Starlite Productions of New Jersey to form a collaboration in order to create a lighting spectacle.

Furthermore, the Centre City District of Philadelphia commissioned the team to light up the iconic clock tower of Philadelphia's City Hall - equally for the duration of the DNC.

The initial brief for the 30th Street Station project entailed lighting up the large windows on the east and west side of the station but the scope elaborated to include the east portico, which is highly visible from the city center. A

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China - Foster and Partners have refurbished the business and first class lounges at Chep Lap Kok, Hong Kong International Airport. This is the home of Cathay Pacific and the new upgraded lounges make a clear statement - "this is how we treat travellers in our home port, the best airport in the world".

The new lounges are not opulent. They are smart, elegant spaces devoid of superfluous distractions that are irrelevant to the guests. There is everything you need and nothing you do not.

The signature theme in all of the lounges is the ceiling to floor glass feature wall illuminated by LED lighting found at the reception and within the overall space. The reception walls are neutral white. The inner wall changes colour, subtly.

Hong Kong International Airport is full to capacity. There is not a millimetre to spare in the lounge and any additional elements will compete wit

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South Africa - DWR Distribution welcomed the founder of ArKaos, Marco Hinic and colleague Benjamin Bauwens to South Africa for the very first time in August. They visited clients in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town and also presented training at DWR's offices.

"Although we have worked remotely with DWR for a few years now, it was our first physical contact with South Africa," said Marco. "I had a feeling that we were in for a nice surprise and indeed we were overwhelmed by the warm welcome and hand of friendship from everyone. I was thrilled I could take a day at the end of the trip to explore the beauty of Cape Town. All we can think of is now is when can we plan to come back."

A day's training was hosted in Johannesburg and presented by Benjamin Bauwens and Marco and both were encouraged by the good attendance. "I took a group picture of everyone to bring back to our o

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USA - Barco and High End Systems, a Barco company, are providing their AV solutions to help create a mind-blowing visual spectacular for rap artist and songwriter Drake's current North America concert tour. The company is part of a team led by world-renowned lighting designer Guy Pavelo and tour director Steve Kidd of GP-SK Design & Production.

Now traveling across the United States, the Drake Summer Sixteen tour represents a massive undertaking in audiovisual theatrics, with the design and programming expertly directed by Pavelo and GP-SK. The artist came to the table with some highly imaginative show elements in mind, requiring a mammoth production effort: an expansive stage and set design, an 86' curved video wall, and a Kinetic system comprising hundreds of custom LED spheres.

Pavelo specified a significant amount of Barco and High End Systems gear to augment the exten

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USA - The Frendly Gathering in Windham, VT is to music festivals what the nearby Ben & Jerry's company is to ice cream makers: iconoclastic, slightly eccentric, wildly creative and flower child sweet. How else to describe a music festival started by two champion snowboarders to commemorate Frends Crew, a group formed to take the ego out of the sport? (Hence the removal of the "I" from the word friends.)

Along with morning yoga and skateboarding, the festival features nonstop performances from bands covering the gamut of rock, jam, reggae and bluegrass styles. This year a total of 26 acts, including Big Gigantic and Smooth Antics, took to the stage at Timber Ridge, an old ski resort tucked in the Green Mountains. They were backed by a lightshow that featured a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures and an impressive video wall created by Tristan Rudat using the company's P

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Europe - German rock legends The Scorpions celebrate 50 glorious years of being ultimate heroes of heavy metal. 2015 actually marked the anniversary of their formation and they continue to tour.

Associate LD and lighting operator Manfred Nikitser from MANIK Show Lighting, Vienna, is running the lighting for the current touring schedule together with Rainer Becker. The summer shows are a mix of festival and own-headliners, 90% of the time using local productions matched as closely as possible to their generic spec.

Robe's BMFL Spots are among a number of primary moving light fixtures on the rider that Manfred is happy to accept from local vendors.

The biggest challenge of the current leg of the tour - with all the lighting, rigging and LED provided locally - is the need for good pre-production and advancing to still make a show happen in countries with radically differe

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UK - British image processing expert, Calibre has appointed Peng Wu to sales & marketing manager, APAC.

Wu reports directly to Richard Laberge, vice president, international sales at Calibre. The appointment coincides with Calibre's first presence at the upcoming LED China event where the sales and engineering team will be present to meet with local manufacturers as well as visiting organizations looking brand their own equipment inventory.

Based at Calibre's global headquarters in Bradford, Yorkshire, UK, Wu joins Calibre from several years in the local manufacturing industry, working in senior management where he acted as the service point between clients and suppliers.

CEO Tim Brooksbank says the appointment results from Calibre's increased presence in the Asia Pacific region and China in particular. "Wu's great knowledge of Chinese business culture and internationa

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Singapore - Jens Poehlker has joined the Robe Asia Pacific team based in Singapore as managing director, where his industry and commercial experience, personality, communication skills and large network of contacts will pave the way for the Robe's next stage of development in the region.

Robe Lighting s.r.o. CEO and co-founder Josef Valchar said, "We welcome Jens to the Robe Family. He is very well respected and liked in our industry, his passion for the business and can-do approach is a perfect fit with our core values, and we are really excited about the future that lies ahead in the Asia Pacific region".

Jens opened and ran the Singapore office of MA Lighting for the last nine years. He knows about the demands, expectations and pressures of heading up a pivotal regional sales operation for a global brand and premium European based manufacturer that is also a market lead

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UK - The splendid and ornate surroundings of the Blackpool Tower Ballroom were recently home to the Lancaster University Student's Union 2016 graduation ball, an evening marked by celebration and reflection.

Lighting designer Oliver Wilkinson contributed to the festive mood, creating a memorable and colourful lightshow that was anchored by 10 Rogue R1 Spot and 22 Q-Wash 560Z-LED moving fixtures from Chauvet Professional, as well as six MotionOrbs and 12 PiXPar 24 par fixtures from its sister company Chauvet DJ.

Having designed the LUSU grad ball twice previously, Wilkinson - who is a fulltime designer and chief LX for local production company Arranpaul - understands the expectations of the students all too well. "From previous years, I know that these students want to go out with a bang," commented Wilkinson. "For this reason I needed to create the most impressive lighting

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USA - Bandit Lites has opened its newest office in Charlotte, North Carolina, with the office focusing primarily on fixed installation projects.

"Because of our proximity to North Carolina, we had already done a number of projects in the area, so the opening of our office simply makes it easier to continue those relationships and support those projects," explained Chris Barbee, Bandit's national director of sales.

Senior system integrator Andrew Fisher, who joined the Bandit Lites sales team in 2013, brings his extensive knowledge of both lighting design and system installations to the growing Charlotte market.

Bandit also recently hired Emily Eudy as the installation project manager. Eudy's background in theatre lighting design and her decade in the industry working at Barbizon and Rosco LA makes her an invaluable addition to the team, where she will be assisting with

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Mexico - Just opened, My Way has become one of the most prestigious clubs in Mexico City, and a reference for the sophisticated level of audio, video and lighting systems installed.

The My Way project undertaken by Ricardo Flores, director of Leds4Skys company, integrates five zones - the bar, the 'cube', the disco, the terraces and the VIP area, each with its own distinct 'personality' and specific lighting equipment.

A wide range of DTS moving heads is used in the dynamic lighting of the main areas - 30 JACK are fixed to the wall along the perimeter of the so-called 'cube' and allow to create with their projections a series of luminous geometries of great effectiveness.

Twenty-three MAX and 10 NICK NRG 1201, hanging above the discotheque, colour the entire area and the dancefloor below.

(Jim Evans)

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  3. Tom Wilkes joins White Light
  4. PLASA 2016: GLP brings inventive solutions to London
  5. PLASA 2016: ETC premieres ColorSource Linear
  6. Osram solutions for G20 Summit in Hangzhou
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