Jamaica - John Dacosta is fortunate enough to have been the lighting designer for the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival for the past five years. Not a bad place to spend a late January. For this year's festival, a kick-off celebration as Jamaica celebrates 50 years of independence, Dacosta turned to the design ease of Martin Professional EC-10 LED video panels.

"It was a simple choice to use the EC-10," he states. "I had used the EC-20 panels for last year's show and loved it. When I was presented with the option to use the EC-10, I jumped at it."

A large EC-10 wall upstage centre provided a stunning backdrop while graphics spilled onto surrounding columns of Martin LC Series LED video panels with MAC 101 LED wash lights mounted under each. Dacosta also had EC-10 panels mounted around FOH for IMAG.

"It worked out great. I love the look of the video, th

Denmark - Lighting designer Benjamin la Cour has been using his own Jands Vista T2 lighting console, running the next generation Vista v2 software, on a busy schedule which includes the Musical Silkeborg's production of the Victor Hugo classic, Les Misérables.

Benjamin decided to invest in his own console as he feels that programming shows himself allows him to get the most out of his creative designs. To achieve this he needed to have a desk that he could easily get to know 'inside out'.

To ensure he was making the right choice, Benjamin trialled three major brands of console for one month each. At the end of the period his decision was very clear - Jands Vista.

"I learnt the Vista T2 with incredible ease" he states, "I really love the interface, it makes programming exceptionally fast and enjoyable!"

Benjamin has been running Jands' next

Germany - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will be showcasing lighting solutions from their exclusive product line at Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt this week on stand A61 in Hall 9.0.

On display will be the White Light Family of products, which will include those from i-Pix, Core Lighting, Prism Projection, Interactive Technologies, Galaxia and CITC FX.

On show from i-Pix will be the Satellite Mk. II. Building upon the success of its highly successful predecessor, the Mk. II Satellite has been completely redesigned. Eight 10 watt high powered RGB and daylight white light engines provide a high light output, whilst saving energy. It is capable of fitting within a 1' square truss for truss toning, or as a wash device. The newest products in the i-Line range will also be on show, featuring linear battens whose configurations include 6x40 watt and 12x40 RGB & White LE

Germany - City Theatrical will be demonstrating their SHoW DMX Neo and SHoW DMX SHoW Baby products at Prolight + Sound Frankfurt (Hall 9, stand C61) this week - and giving away a free pair of the LDI Award Winning SHoW Babys to a lucky visitor

These two products are the latest innovations in City Theatrical's 10 years of wireless DMX development and manufacturing. City Theatrical's SHoW DMX is the wireless DMX of choice for lighting professionals on Broadway and West End shows, permanent entertainment installations, architectural landmarks, and major music tours such as the U2 360 Degree Tour.

SHoW DMX Neo has advanced Ethernet gateway functions including dual Ethernet ports and accepts multiple show protocols such as sACN, Art-Net, and KiNet.

SHoW DMX SHoW Baby takes the same wireless DMX radio and puts it into a small, inexpensive, simple to operate package. Each box is a

USA/Singapore - High End Systems has announced the addition of Jamie Boey as a regional sales Manager for APAC. Boey comes to High End Systems after spending the last two years working as an area sales manager for Robert Juliat where he established and managed the sales activities in Asia regions. In his new role at High End Systems, he is responsible for sales within territories throughout Asia and the South Pacific.

Boey says, "I'm delighted and extremely excited about being part of High End Systems family. HES is always perceived as an innovation company with quality lighting worldwide. I'm passionate about the future of Digital Lighting along with the automated product road map and the continued development of Wholehog consoles."

"The Asia markets are a key segment for the entertainment lighting industry," said Bill Morris, CEO of High End Systems. &quo

Norway - Philips Selecon has appointed AVAB CAC as its authorised dealer for Norway. With offices in Oslo, Bergen and Lillehammer, AVAB CAC is a single source provider of stages, audio lighting, image and rigging solutions to the entertainment industry.

Already an exclusive distributor for Philips Vari-Lite, AVAB CAC will now offer the complete range of products from Philips Selecon, backed by its skilled sales and technical personnel.

AVAB CAC provides services to customers working in theatre, TV, live production, exhibitions, events, architects, sports arenas and concert halls throughout Scandinavia.

Kristian Heder CEO for AVAB CAC says, "We're thrilled to be working with the Philips Selecon range again. After the successes we experienced with these products through the 90's and 00's, it is a pleasure for us to re-launch Selecon as a complementing brand in the AVAB CA

MTV Awards - Frankfurt will host this year's MTV Europe Music Awards. It will be the second time the ceremony has been broadcast from the city since 2001. The event will be aired live from the city's Festhalle on Sunday 11 November. Belfast in Northern Ireland staged the event in 2011 with performances from the likes of Justin Bieber, Coldplay and Lady Gaga, with Selena Gomez hosting the ceremony.

Olivier Awards - Lyricist Tim Rice is to be honoured for his outstanding contribution to musical theatre at this year's Olivier Awards. Rice, who penned the lyrics to shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita and collaborated with Elton John on The Lion King, will be given the Olivier Special Award at the event, on 15 April 15 at the Royal Opera House. The nominations for this year's ceremony, which will be hosted by Michael Ball and Imelda Staunton, w

UK - PG Stage has worked for over 30 years designing, supplying and installing performance facilities and equipment in venues across the UK. Their most recent project, in association with LCC Lighting and Sony Broadcast, was for Middlesex University who were in need of a flexible and dynamic television studio for their Film, Media and TV students to work in.

There were various demands to fulfil for the television studio. The first requirement was that it needed to maximise the floor space available, which was 150sq.m. It also needed to allow for the quick and easy set-up and de-rig of studio lighting.

PG Stage used their team of professional technicians to design and produce technical drawings which were then used to define a specification for the University and, as a result, PG Stage designed power distribution and DMX systems to fully meet the University's needs.

PG Stag

Germany - Wireless Solution Sweden is showing both new products and some innovative advancements to their product range during Prolight + Sound this week.

The company has been working on a completely new software platform since October 2011 that is prepared for future hardware functions as well as many new features and updated functions. The W-DMX G4S software platform includes:

A much improved adaptive frequency hopping algorithm that improves the plug and play use in crowded radio spectrum situations and better avoids interference from Wi-Fi, DECT Phones, Intercom and more.

A new Invisi-Wire MK2 with support for wireless software updates, which in the future will make it possible to perform wireless software updates to all your receivers, with an easy connection to your transmitters with all receivers updated at the same time.

Data-Safe MK2 is much improved that now supp

Belgium - ARRI Lighting Solutions and ADB-TTV Technologies have entered into a cross marketing agreement "with the double objective of exploiting the synergies between their product ranges and exploring opportunities for rationalising their product spectrum".

In the field of lighting, ARRI's strengths lie primarily in TV studio and location lighting systems, while those of ADB are in stage lighting. The agreement makes provision for each party to source from the other those complementary products needed when bidding for specific lighting projects. Beyond this, each party will retain its total commercial independence.

Sigrid Müller, managing director of ARRI Lighting Solutions and Christian Léonard, CEO of ADB-TTV Technologies, jointly stated, "We strongly believe that this agreement will be a win-win deal, strengthening each party's competitive position

UK - The Kaiser Chiefs are back on the road again with a hard-working four week sold-out UK tour just behind them.

Lighting designer Richard Larkum has worked with the band for the last seven years, since the release of their seminal debut album Employment in 2005, and this time he is using Robe's Robin 600 LEDWash fixtures as part of a Kaiser Chiefs lighting rig for the first time.

Larkum describes the tour as "Classic old school" in terms of the 21 dates being run almost back-to-back, taking in the more intimate atmosphere of the theatre and concert halls circuit with a few more off-beat venues. It's been very successful and great fun.

The look and feel of the lighting for this leg was based on the slightly retro guise of 1990's lighting rigs, and getting 'back to basics ' in terms of producing lots of big beamy looks and plenty of movement, flashing and s

UK - White Light has spent the winter helping lighting designer Phil Supple bring light to the dark winter nights at forests around the UK as part of Culture Creative's Electric Forest project. This saw lighting transform the Bedgebury Pinetum & Forest in Kent during October, High Lodge at Thetford Forest in Suffolk during December and the Moors Valley Country Park & Forest in Dorset this February.

The Electric Forest was born out of the Northumberland Lights project with which White Light was closely involved some years ago. Lighting designer Phil Supple explains, "In the winter of 2007, the Northumberland Lights production team staged an illuminated night-time walk through the beautiful landscaped woodland of The Cragside Estate's Victorian Pinetum.

"Ideas for a technologically and creatively enhanced forest experience were further developed in 2008 on the shores o

UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has recently purchased 24 Robe Robin 600 LEDWash fixtures which debut on the comedy series Live At The Electric which will be aired on BBC3, and hosted by Russell Kane.

Chris Kempton designed the show (supported by RML) which featured a variety of Alpha Spot 700's, VL1000TS's, Alpha Wash 300's and VL2000 Wash's alongside the new Robin's.

"Arranged in three concentric rings these Robe Robin LEDs offer great possibilities for creating stunning colour and pattern audience blinding effects as well as for providing comprehensive perfectly even wash coverage, says RML's long-term technician, Shaun Burnett.

(Jim Evans)

World - ETC has expanded its Source Four range with the addition of the ETC Source Four LED, featuring "brilliant colours, low heat and even more energy-saving efficiency".

ETC's product manager for the Source Four LED, Matthew Armendariz-Kerr, explains, "We knew that if we were going to build a profile fixture powered by LEDs, it had to be worthy of the Source Four name. When you think Source Four, you think beauty of light, efficiency and industry standard appearance.

"We had to achieve all three. Our engineers and designers went to work on it and delivered - in a big way. They were able to package our exclusive Selador LED x7 Color System in a bright fixture that is shaped and sized like a Source Four and offers the quality and functionality designers expect."

The Source Four LED produces a sharp, clean beam of focusable light or a smooth wash, to

UK - i-Pix has launched the first in a new line of LED Pixel Matrix fixtures - the Matrix 25 (M25) - a super high powered 5 x 5 LED unit that "delivers real punch with a dynamic 'daylight visible' array of colours and multiple other features".

The i-Pix Matrix 25 is a multi-tasking lightsource. It can be highly effectively used as a low-resolution video wall or become a powerful, map-able array of LEDs in a wash device that is capable of arena scale illumination, says the company.

It utilises homogenized 8° optics spaced at 150 mm / 6'' centres, coupled to 25 super-bright 40 Watt RGB and daylight white light engines - ensuring that users get the most out of their pixels. All this and it is also flexible enough to be used as a very smooth wash lightsource with no hotspots.

The product has been developed in response to the growing demand by creative, visual and s

UK - Audio Light Systems now in its ninth year has purchased new premises in Edinburgh to allow for their ongoing expansion.

Trevor Cross, director Audio Light Systems comments, "We have devised a programme of steady growth which included the opening of our Belfast office at the start of 2011. The natural progression was to purchase a large office and industrial space for the Edinburgh head office with a large land bank to allow for future expansion.

"The backbone to our continued success is providing lighting, AV, audio & specialist systems (plus much more) all from one Installation company. We now have around 20 staff and the move cements our position in the UK market as a major installer."

"This move allows us to price the larger £1m plus jobs now we have the space to manufacture & build the equipment required. It also allows me to have the baske

Singapore - Madagascar: A Crate Adventure at Universal Studios in Singapore, the first attraction in the world based on DreamWorks Animation's film, has been nominated for the About.com 2012 Reader's Choice Award. The award honours the best new achievements for theme parks, amusement parks and water parks worldwide, with the winner picked by voters on the About.comwebsite.

Entertainment lighting specialist White Light, which supplied all of the lighting equipment to the ride, congratulates all involved with creating the ride, particularly lighting designer Jeremy Windle of Lighting Design Alliance.

White Light were contracted by Resorts World Sentosa as lighting supplier, working closely with Jeremy Windle and his team and with local specialists Ptarmigan Integration to ensure that extensive rig was delivered and installed on schedule for the ride's opening last year.

Germany - UK LED manufacturer i-Pix launches two new i-Line range products at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt - a 600 mm / 2' six cell unit and a 1200 mm / 4' twelve cell.

These can be seen on the stand of i-Pix German distributor Focon Showtechnik in Hall 9 at Booth D51A where members of the i-Pix team are also be on hand giving demonstrations and answering queries.

UK and Ireland distributor and i-Pix global stockist, White Light will also show the full range of products on their Booth A61, also in Hall 9.

This latest technology from i-Pix builds on the success of the renowned BB range. As is characteristic of all i-Pix products, the i-Lines are incredibly bright for their size, offering a beautifully smooth output.

Each fixture has a custom 40 Watt RGB and daylight white light engine which is coupled to an 8 degree homogenised optic.

Together, these combine to provide a v

The Netherlands - Royal Philips Electronics has announced the appointment of Eric Rondolat as chief executive officer of lighting and member of its executive committee, effective 1 April 2012, succeeding Frans van Houten who has led Philips Lighting on an interim base.

Eric Rondolat joins Philips from Schneider Electric. "I am very pleased that we have been able to attract Eric to lead our Lighting sector," said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips Electronics. "Eric has an impressive international career in the technology industry covering both established and fast growing emerging markets, most recently Asia Pacific based in China. He is a real entrepreneur with a clear strategic vision who will be able to lead the industry transformation to energy efficient LED based lighting solutions. Eric has a strong track record in delivering results and is a great addit

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has been appointed as the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the full range of lighting products manufactured by US-based High End Systems, a Barco company.

This new partnership was announced on the High End Systems stand at the Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt, which debuted the new TechnoArc fully featured, soft edged, competitively priced moving light, amongst several recent innovations from the manufacturer.

Says Brad Schiller, High End Systems' product marketing manager, "High End Systems is very excited to be partnering with A.C. Entertainment Technologies to provide UK and Irish customers with a local distributor. Their excellence in customer support, combined with an impressive sales force, will offer High End Systems products to a broad range of customers. With new products like the DLV, trackspot Bolt, Tec

Germany - Robe lighting enjoyed its "busiest and best Prolight+Sound" exhibition to date in Frankfurt last week, with a record number of deals closed, plus "a phenomenal interest in its progressive, forward thinking Robin product range" - as well the launch of five new fixtures at the show.

The stand took on a very distinctive appearance. No-one could miss the giant set of Newton Balls suspended above the reception area. Nathan Wan's vibrant and lively lighting design for the booth utilised nearly 300 of the latest Robe fixtures and featured a 'wall of death' effect, with some serious metalwork in the roof and serious impact on anyone walking Hall 11 - who could not fail to catch the action. Over 60 Robe representatives were present on the stand from all over the world.

The five new LED-based innovations in the Robin series all received serious interest, sa

Antarctica - Rain, snow, ice and heat are no match for the ETC Desire XT LED fixtures - or so the marketing says. Paul Slater, director of Channel 7's popular breakfast show, Sunrise, decided to put this to the ultimate test by taking one with him to Antarctica. "It was the first time an Australian television programme had done a live, broadcast quality transmission from Antarctica," explained Slater.

Fortunately the lighting team at Channel 7 had an ETC Desire XT LED fixture on order to replace a broken HMI fixture and they took delivery of it the day before departing for Antarctica.

"It's an all-encompassing, weather-proof light that enables us to dial in different colour temperatures, whether it's daylight or tungsten lighting," remarked Slater. "You also have full dim control; to have all those features in a light without the need for a ball

UK - Elstree Light & Power has recently invested in a significant number of Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s, supplemented by a healthy order of Sharpys. The Alpha Spot HPE 1500s were immediately specified on some high profile live and broadcast events.

Working closely with lighting designer Nigel Catmur, ELP took delivery of 26 of the Alpha Spot HPE 1500s which Catmur specified first on S4C's Rhydian shows and the Only Men Allowed TV special. He subsequently featured them on the lighting rig for the Royal Variety Performance.

"Having first seen the impact of the Alpha Spot HPE 1500 on Eurovision last year, I knew it was a light I wanted to work with," says Catmur. "Simultaneously ELP had the same idea and so we collaborated and made it happen on the projects we were working on together at the time."

"We recognised that we needed a

Germany - Jands gave their new flagship Vista L5 media and lighting control console its first European tradeshow outing at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.

Jands CEO, Paul Mulholland, unveiled the Vista L5 while reflecting on the 10 year journey the company have taken with their Vista range. Explaining that while the original Vista concept was very well received, their work over the past few years has been to refine that concept to deliver a second generation software that is "the perfect integration of Jands's original concept and the industry's demands for it," encouraging those who may have dismissed it in the past to take another look, now it has truly reached its potential.

With the Vista L5 offering "the definitive work surface" for the Vista v2 software, he concluded that, just like outside of our industry, embracing new technologies and interfaces deliv

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