Lighting

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UK - A petition has been launched urging the UK government to offer economic assistance to the events industry during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Instigated by Matt Rakowski of DBpixelhouse, the petition’s aim is: “For the UK government to provide economic assistance to businesses and staff employed in the events industry, who are suffering unforeseen financial challenges that could have a profound effect on hundreds of thousands of people employed in the sector.”
To-date, the petition has been signed over 131,000 times – surpassing the 100,000-signature threshold required for the issue to be considered for debate in parliament.
Rakowski comments: “The response has been phenomenal so far, we’re at just over 131,000 – whic

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World - Huntly Christie, CEO of Christie Lites, has released the following statement in light of the current COVID-19 pandemic: “Like every other company in our business, Christie Lites is not immune and at the end of last week I enacted some difficult measures to counter the effects of the ‘shock-stop’ the industry has endured as a result of the COVID-19 virus. Sadly, this included laying off approximately 200 staff globally. This has definitely been the most difficult situation I have experienced in the company’s 35yr history. We’ve worked extremely hard to build and assemble a great global team and it was a really painful process to see some of our people lose their jobs.”
He continues: “As such, I feel it is important to speak about this publicly and this past week have taken several interviews with mainstream media outlets in North America. I have given an

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USA - First created in 1943, New York Fashion Week (NYFW) is a semi-annual gathering of renowned and emerging fashion designers seeking to unveil their latest collections to buyers and media members from around the world.
As a featured participant in the event, the Australian clothing brand Zimmermann, led by designer Nicky Zimmermann, enlisted the assistance of fashion event agency Shades of Grey to create a guest experience that would leave a lasting impression.
Held at SIR Stage37, the event production team worked with the multi-discipline design firm Enlumen who created a lighting design using Robe Lighting PATT 2013 and picklePATT luminaires supplied by 4Wall.
“The original design brief was to create a hanging sculpture of light in a gold room that enhanced and warmed the tones of the treated walls and custom carpet,” began Shawn Kaufman, Enlumen. “Ove

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UK - Bristol’s oldest gallery, the Royal West of England Academy (RWA), sought the help of GDS to bring their Africa State of Mind exhibition to life for their ‘After Hours’ event. The exhibition featured photography from all over the African continent so the RWA wanted to use vibrant lighting to evoke the beauty of a Saharan sunset.
Having already worked with the Bristol-based lighting manufacturer to transform their gallery and workshop studio spaces in 2019, the RWA were keen to see the bespoke lighting design GDS could create to enhance both their external and internal spaces during the event.
In order to achieve the rich colour palette that the RWA desired over such a large-scale area, GDS chose FOS, Brick and X-Brick fixtures from Italian lighting manufacturer DTS to create a carefully-crafted, even wash of light over the entire façade of the impres

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UK - Supporting the Keifer Sutherland Band’s performance on their recently completed tour was an evocative Dan Williams designed lightshow that featured Chauvet Professional Rogue R2 Wash fixtures. Like the rest of the fixtures and towers in the touring rig, the RGBW moving wash units were supplied by Colour Sound Experiment.
Positioned on six towers that spanned the upstage deck, the Rogue R2 Wash fixtures provided stunning back washes that accentuated Sutherland and his bandmates on stage, in addition to creating mood-evoking aerial effects.
“Before I sat down and did some renders, I met with Kiefer’s music manager to learn about his vision for the show,” says Williams, owner of DanDoesLights. “Understandably, given his vast experience as an actor, Kiefer wanted a theatrical look, which I thought fit the driving concept behind this tour very well. There is

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UK - Merseyside-based Adlib has made a sizeable investment in Ayrton fixtures by adding Khamsin-S, Bora-S and Diablo LED profiles and wash lights to its inventory, purchased from Ambersphere, Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for the UK.
“Adlib’s policy is to look to the future of technology and be at the forefront of what’s coming next,” says head of lighting and video, Tom Edwards. “Over the past two years we have seen significant growth in both our lighting and video departments as the markets we operate in change and expand. We focus on lasting relationships with clients over many years, so it’s exciting for us that some of the fantastic companies and artists are developing along with us and we can support them across such a wide spectrum of live events and special projects.
“To facilitate this, we were looking to add some big, powerful LED fixtures t

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USA - Bandit Lites recently made another investment in growing its touring inventory with a sizeable purchase of Elation Professional Proteus Maximus fixtures, Ayrton Khamsins and Robe BMFL WashBeams.
The Elation Professional Proteus Maximus is slated for the Reba McEntire’s upcoming tour featuring a lighting design by Gayle Hase and David Hare. With its ability to cut through great distances, hardy water and dust-proof design, the IP65 rated LED Profile fixture is a great addition to any tour.
“I spent a lot of time looking for long throw fixtures with a bold beam and kept coming back to the Maximus,” shares Bandit Lites director of technical services, Jake Tickle. “Coupled with its advanced feature set and the IP rating, the Elation Proteus Maximus fills a hole in our inventory.”
The newly designed Ayrton Khamsin was recently featured on Robb Jibso

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South Africa - As South Africa declares a national state of disaster in light of the current global pandemic caused by the coronavirus, DWR Distribution has issued the following:
“The measures that government has implemented, including preventing gatherings of more than 100 people, has enormous implications for the eventing industry in South Africa and across the world. It is fair to assume that the events industry will be hard-hit by the current situation - but it is important to remember that this is temporary, and we are not alone as every industry, sector and market will be under pressure due to the knock-on effects of the pandemic and our world governments are mobilising plans to mitigate these effects - South Africa included.
“What sets the eventing industry apart is that we are resilient, we are not afraid of hard work and most importantly, we look after

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Germany - Serving as the backdrop to an Emotional Moments performance of ABBA tribute act, ABBA Deluxe, was the facade of the 19th century Westerholt Castle, which was given subtle yet purposeful accentuation by Schallmeister's incorporation of 12 Chauvet Professional Maverick MK1 Spot and 16 Rogue R2 Wash fixtures.
With the large staircase in front of the facade acting as a stage for the four musicians from the UK, the audience was treated to an extraordinary concert setting from which to enjoy Abba's hits. Not wanting to waste the opportunity presented by the location of the show, Schallmeister went about utilising the entire facade as a projection surface upon which to create an all-encompassing visual spectacle.
“Although this was the third year of our involvement with Emotional Moments, the setting itself never ceases to amaze us," said Schallmei

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France - Classically trained French musician, DJ and electronic music producer Worakls is renowned for his melodic and experimental sounds. He toured his latest Orchestra album throughout 2019 to a series of 1000-1500 capacity venues and concluded the year by stepping up to three arena-sized shows - Zeniths in Paris and Toulouse and the Salle 3000 concert hall at the Lyon Palais des Congrès - complete a with a 31-piece orchestra.
To light these larger shows plus some additional European dates scheduled for early 2020, lighting designer Nicolas Galloux was asked onboard to add his visual magic into this musical collaboration.
Nicolas specified around 80 Robe moving lights to assist him in the task, including MegaPointes, BMFL Blades, Spiiders and LEDBeam 150s, all supplied by French rental company S Group who also provided the audio.
S Group’s technica

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Ireland - Over the last few months of 2019, one of Ireland’s largest technical production companies, PSI in Ireland, invested in a large stock of Elation Professional lighting, a purchase that included Elation’s award-winning Artiste and IP65 Proteus series moving heads among other lighting fixtures.
With offices in Dublin and Belfast, PSI in Ireland provides technical audio, lighting, and rigging solutions for the entertainment and installation sectors across Ireland and Northern Ireland. The company’s lighting inventory, already Ireland’s largest stock of professional lighting equipment, has expanded with the addition of Artiste Picasso LED profile moving heads, Proteus Hybrid IP65-rated moving heads, narrow-beam Dartz 360 LED moving heads, and IP65 Pixel Bar 60IP LED strip lights.
“After looking at many of the manufacturers out there I felt like Elation

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USA - Lighting/production designer Jon Eddy is using 38 Claypaky Sharpys to illuminate the Original Misfits reunion shows featuring Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only. He also incorporated his Misfits lighting design into 2019 Psycho Las Vegas, the massive metal/punk rock festival held annually in August. Eddy is marking his fourth year designing for Psycho Las Vegas.
The Original Misfits got back together for a series of gigs last year and continue to play selected venues in 2020. Their next appearance will be headlining Mexico City’s Domination Fest in May.
The reunion shows, which included dates in LA, Denver and Seattle, coincided with the band’s 40th anniversary; they sold out their date at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Eddy designed the shows with a huge fanned out finger rig; six of the long fingers feature 18 Sharpys, bottom hung. A

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UK - Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre - the largest theatre in-the-round in the country - has recently upgraded its lighting rig to incorporate SolaFrame fixtures from High End Systems.
The glass-walled space, seats up to 750 people on three levels and is a seven-sided theatre suspended from four large columns. Although most of the theatre’s work is self-produced and bespoke for the space, its current programme requires a luminaire that can meet very different challenges; from straight plays, to musicals and even live music events.
“We were looking to replace our existing moving lights with a high-quality LED unit and had waited a number of years for the right fixture to become available,” says Mark Distin Webster, head of lighting. “Following much consideration, we felt the SolaFrame 1000 was the moving light that gave us the best spectrum of choice whilst

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Germany - Prolight+Sound will not be held in 2020. A statement from Messe Frankfurt, the show’s organisers reads: “On 12 March, the Hessian Ministry for Social Affairs and Integration issued general decrees prohibiting large-scale events expected to attract more than 1,000 visitors. At the present time, it cannot be assumed that the current situation will have changed by the time the postponed event was to have been held. Therefore, Messe Frankfurt has decided to cancel the event.”
The event was originally scheduled to take place 31 March - 3 April but was postponed to May due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).
Detlef Braun, a member of the executive board of Messe Frankfurt, comments: “We did everything we could to hold Prolight+Sound 2020 as soon as possible after the original dates and would like to extend our thanks to the response and support from n

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Europe - ACME Lighting and Highlite International are the latest companies to announce that they will no longer be exhibiting at the postponed Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt this May, due to the health risks posed by Coronavirus (COVID-19).
“At this moment, the entire entertainment industry is experiencing huge challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the response to the virus,” says Marco Galli, EMEA sales director at ACME Lighting. “We take the health of our staff and customers very seriously. Well-being and containment of COVID-19 is our duty and priority, and therefore, regretfully, we are forced to cancel plans to participate in Prolight+Sound 2020.”
Meanwhile, a statement from Highlite reads: “We have decided not to participate in Prolight+Sound 2020. The new dates after the postponement of the fair do not fit within our plans and vision of the industr

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USA - Under the direction of New York state governor Andrew Cuomo, Broadway shows in New York City will suspend all performances immediately in support of the health and well-being of the theatre-going public, as well as those who work in the theatre industry, in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Performances will commence the week of April 13, 2020.
"Our top priority has been and will continue to be the health and well-being of Broadway theatregoers and the thousands of people who work in the theatre industry every day, including actors, musicians, stagehands, ushers, and many other dedicated professionals," said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League. "Broadway has the power to inspire, enrich, and entertain, and together we are committed to making that vital spirit a reality. Once our stages are lit again, we will welcome fans back with open arms so th

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USA/Canada - Solotech expanded its lighting inventory last summer with the purchase of 150 Ayrton Khamsin-S LED profile luminaires and 108 Ayrton MagicBlade-FX fixtures from ACT Lighting, Inc., Ayrton’s exclusive distributor in North America.
The Khamsin-S units selected by Solotech are designed for scenic applications. The fixture is equipped with a new LED module delivering powerful metallic white light with a record-breaking output of 40,000 lumens and a colour temperature of 6500 K. The MagicBlade-FX is the latest iteration of the popular MagicBlade-R. It features seven next-generation RGBW high-output LEDs than can be individually controlled to create airborne virtual scenery or to illuminate sets and performers.
“Ayrton is a well-known quality brand with impressive fixtures that are industry accepted and requested,” says Lee Moro, vice president of live pro

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Ukraine – Chinese fixture manufacturer Acme’s Dotline360 LED battens are adding powerful, pixel-mapped colour to some of Ukraine’s biggest shows following an investment by one of the country’s largest rental and lighting production companies, Alight.
The one-metre Dotline360 units, which are equipped with 12x 30W RGBW LEDs, landed in stock at Alight in autumn 2019 and have been out on projects almost continuously ever since.
Most recently, they have been seen in action on the popular Ukraine TV show Dancing with the Stars, and a gig by Ukraine pop duo Vremya i Steklo, who performed to a capacity 10,000 crowd at Kiev’s Palace of Sports arena.
“We discovered Acme’s Dotline360 at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt in 2019 and were immediately impressed by the brightness, colour mixing and smooth output with great linear dimming,” says lighting des

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Canada - The French concert version of the hit musical Phantom of the Opera has debuted in Montreal and Quebec City where lighting designer Jean-Francois Couture, of Montreal’s La Boîte à Lumière, utilised grandMA3 full-size console for lighting control.
The new production, featuring 20 singers and a 40-musician orchestra, enchanted audiences at the Théâtre St-Denis in Montreal and the Grand Théâtre de Québec. It was presented by Spectra Musique through a special arrangement with The Really Useful Group.
Couture has used grandMA lighting consoles for the last two decades. Phantom of the Opera was his first experience with the grandMA3, which he ran using grandMA3 software. The system was provided by Francis Giguère of Omnison, Montreal.
During the Christmas holiday Couture taught himself the grandMA3 “using the same process as when I s

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Europe - Regular users of GLP solutions, 30 Seconds to Mars, spent last summer playing festivals and indoor arenas across Europe, including two special ‘Mars Island’ shows on a private Croatian Island. Piloting their lighting and visual show was production designer Tom Campbell of MIRRAD, himself a regular user of GLP’s award-winning fixtures over the years.
“The original impression series was one of the fixtures I had used regularly back in the day and it’s great to see how far GLP has evolved ever since,” he says.
Campbell joined the technical team last May after finding himself unexpectedly being contacted by the band’s leader, singer/songwriter and actor, Jared Leto.
“I received a random phone call from him about lights, having already spoken to the production managers, Pete Abbott and Ed Slaney,” he confirmed. And the designer quickly learn

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UK - Event production specialist CPL started the year with some major investments in lighting and video products.
This includes the acquisition of the acquisition of Barco UDM 4K22 projectors – one of the first three companies in the UK to invest in these brand-new machines – plus Portman P1 Mini LED fixtures, Astera Titan Tubes and OXO Pixyline 150 LED battens.
This is in addition to the 40x new Robe LEDBeam 150 wash beam moving lights that joined the CPL lighting inventory in December 2019.
Eight Barco UDM 4K22s join the company’s already extensive fleet of Barco - and other - high-powered projectors, purchased for their quality, reliability and innovative features. CPL plans to use these projectors on several upcoming projects.
Also new for the lighting department is the Portman P1 Mini LED from Polish manufacturer Portman. The P1 Mini comprises s

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South Africa - Vectorworks Spotlight Training workshops will be presented by Dylan Jones at DWR Distribution in Cape Town (15 -17 April) and Durban (20 - 22 May).
The three-day sessions will allow users to explore the power and flexibility Vectorworks Spotlight has to offer. Dylan will cover topics such as layouts and palettes, basic tools, classes and layers, Spotlight tools, intermediate tools, worksheets and reports, 3D modelling, resource management and file import and export.
Delegates are requested to supply Vectorworks Spotlight installed on a PC or MAC, a keyboard, mouse, screen and a valid ID. The cost is R2,100 and includes a light lunch and refreshments.

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USA - US-based trade show USITT has been cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The event was was due to celebrate its 60th anniversary edition this 1-4 April.
A statement from the shows organisers reads: “The USITT Board of Directors, in an unanimous vote, has cancelled the 2020 Annual Conference & Stage Expo scheduled for April 1-4 in Houston.”
USITT executive director David Grindle said in a video message posted on the show’s website: “I have to let you know that we have cancelled this year’s annual Conference and Stage Expo. This is a very, very difficult decision. At USITT we talk a lot about safety and health and making sure our workplaces are safe spaces. Today, we had to make the hard decision to ensure the safety and health of our members.”
He conti

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France - The first sponsors of Showlight Quadrennial (Fontainebleau, France – 22-25 May 2021) have been announced by its organisers. Joining Headline sponsor Robert Juliat, the 100-year old, family-run, French manufacturer of lighting equipment are: Platinum sponsor, Ayrton; Gold sponsors, Eyetidy, Robe and SFL Group; Silver sponsors, ABTT, ACT Lighting and White Light, and Bronze sponsor, PRG. Media Partner for Showlight 2021 is LSI, with generous support from LSA and PLASA. “We are extremely grateful to all our sponsors, partners and supporters, but this list is just the beginning,” says Showlight. "It is a little-known fact, but Showlight is organised entirely by volunteers and would not be possible without the generosity of our sponsors. We are currently looking for more sponsors to make Showlight 2021 a success, so why not get involved? There are many ways to become a
  1. Static Cycle brings Boxes to life at Bandit
  2. Chauvet creates ethereal visuals for Tamino
  3. Technically Creative complete Athens project
  4. Astera goes intergalactic with Alfred Garcia
  5. Vari-Lite expands VL800 series Event line
  6. GLS Lighting invests in Elation
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