Egypt - Ayrton has appointed Q-Light Egypt to its international distributors network. Q-Light will distribute the full portfolio of Ayrton’s LED profile, wash, spot and effects luminaires in Egypt.
The distribution company was founded by CEO Walid Bahnasy and partners. Bahnasy has over 10 years of experience with international production companies and TV channels, including as lighting designer, director of photography and cameraman, and has worked on productions such as Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Deal or No Deal and the Doha Debates.
He is a former supervisor and team leader of the lighting departments in the region’s biggest TV networks - MBC, Qatar Foundation, BBC, Aljazeera media network and BeIn Group.
Chris Ferrante, Ayrton CEO, comments: “We are very happy to welcome Q-Light into the Ayrton family. Knowing that Walid, an acc

UK - With support for DALI DT8 (colour), DMXtoDALI quad is specified for the new generation of DALI products coming to market.
Artistic Licence has extensive experience in DMX512 and DALI interconversion. Its popular DIN rail solution, Rail-DMX-DALI, was launched several years ago to serve customers needing to add DALI fixtures to DMX based lighting control systems.
With the continued growth of the crossover market, Rail-DMX-DALI is still very much in demand. However, the recent introduction of DALI DT8 (colour control) means that this product is not compatible with the very latest DALI technology.
Artistic Licence therefore took the opportunity to redesign Rail-DMX-DALI to incorporate the new standard, and to implement major product upgrades that greatly improve the performance and user experience. The result is DMXtoDALI quad.
DMXtoDALI quad retains the

Europe - With the success of the efficient Smarty Hybrid luminaire and the increasing popularity of the Proteus range of weatherproof fixtures, Elation Professional is now offering the Proteus Smarty Hybrid.
Housing the same feature set and using the same Philips MSD Platinum 200 Flex 280W lamp (6,000 hours) as the Smarty Hybrid, the Proteus Smarty Hybrid’s IP65 dust and water protection means this compact and versatile effect luminaire can be used exposed on outdoor stages.
Designed for the wide variety of professional stage applications, the Proteus Smarty Hybrid has flexible use as a beam, spot or wash luminaire with an output of 11,000 lumens. Fully sealed against dust, humidity and water ingress, the IP65 fixture is ideal for any outdoor environment while its impermeable properties and low maintenance design make it just as suitable for indoor use.
Outfi

UK - City Theatrical will be demonstrating new technology on stand K1 at ABTT Theatre Show 2019.
This will include wireless DMX technology with the award winning Multiverse family of wireless DMX/RDM products, extended DMX control with Pathway Connectivity controllers, gateways, and other solutions, troubleshooting with the multi award-winning DMXcat Multi Function Test Tool, bright and flexible linear LED lighting with QolorFLEX NuNeon, plug and play pixel control with QolorPIX, colour blending and control with QolorFLEX 5-in-1 LED Tape and QolorFLEX 5x8A Dimmers, and more.
Multiverse marks the fifth generation of City Theatrical's engineering development for wireless DMX technology. The Multiverse system can deliver more data while reducing the amount of radio energy required for wireless DMX by as much as 90%, enabling scalability never possible before.
The M

UK - ETC and High End Systems (HES) will showcase their latest product line-ups at 2019 ABTT Theatre Show on stands R1 and S1.
ETC will display its first integrated 3D programming environment: Augment3d on stand R1. The new Eos tool lets users control and design in a three-dimensional space as well as interact with their fixtures through augmented reality. Visitors are welcome to attend in-depth presentations on Augment3d in the Londesborough Room. Eos v3.0 will be available for use with all Win7 Eos family consoles, and will be shown on the flagship Eos Ti and Gio @5.
High End Systems' Hog 4-18 console will be on stand S1 during the tradeshow. The powerful console uses the very latest technology and is designed for the largest stadium shows, theme parks, concert tours and more.
The newest addition to the SolaFrame family - SolaFrame 1000 – will be on the booth

Australia - Rental company Creative Productions has recently added 50 Robe MegaPointes to its stock of moving lights.
The purchase follows the company’s move into a new a 3,000sq.m HQ, warehouse and office space in Molendinar on Australia’s Gold Coast
Creative Productions had first invested Robe lights around three and a half years ago. The inventory now includes BMFL Spots, Blades and WashBeams, Spiider LED wash beams and Spikies, soon to be joined by the MegaPointes in time for the winter season.
The latest units - most of the BMFLs, all the Spiiders and Spikies and now the MegaPointes - have been delivered by Jands, Robe’s Australian distributor.
The new MegaPointes will be for stock as well as some imminent festivals like Splendour in the Grass 2019, a music and arts festival set in the picturesque North Byron Parklands for which Creative provide

UK - Richard Ashcroft’s lighting has been designed by Jonny Gaskell since 1996 and the heydays of The Verve. Ashcroft’s fourth solo album and top 10 hit Natural Rebel dropped at the end of last year and he was back on the road recently in the UK with lighting and video once again supplied by Colour Sound Experiment.
At the start of each touring project, Ashcroft will present Gaskell with a series of ideas. “He’s a demanding client but in a good way,” comments Gaskell. “He knows what he wants and what he doesn’t like, so that’s always an essential starting point, beyond that, he trusts me to come up with an appropriate design.”
For this leg of the tour they were playing several academies, theatre and town hall venues, culminating in London’s Olympia, so it was decided to bring video in just for the London show. For the other gigs, the visual e

Belgium - For the past six years, Gala of Happiness has been operating on an interesting premise: to provide an uplifting explosion of musical enjoyment in the darkest depths of winter. At the 2019 event, which was organized by Vayamundo, an afterparty of epic proportions saw chart-topping Belgian band Please Don't Kill The Clown take to the stage at the Kursaal Oostende.
Brought in to create an uplifting visual backdrop for the performance were local production specialists Fluxx Eventing - Animatie, who specified 28 Chauvet Professional ÉPIX Strip IP as part of their lighting concept, all controlled via a ChamSys MQ80 console.
With the goal of the annual Gala of Happiness to foster feelings of well-being and enjoyment as an antidote to the long winter nights, Fluxx Eventing - Animatie utilised the ÉPIX Strips IP to develop an uplifting visual aesthetic. Thanks to t

USA - The ETC board of directors has appointed Dick Titus as president/CEO, reports the company.
Titus has led the management team at ETC for 17 years as president and five years before that as COO. He joined the company in 1990.
ETC says in a statement: “The company is dedicated to maintaining the legacy of its co-founder Fred Foster who passed away earlier this year. As ETC continues to grow and develop, Fred’s people-focused and high-quality leadership perseveres. The company remains privately held with an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) that helps to secure the business as an independent company for the future.”
Titus comments: “It’s an honour to lead the executive staff. Together, we have a vast amount of experience serving the people of ETC and our customers. We have a unique culture and I am committed to building that for years to come. We h

World - One of the most successful, if at times controversial rap/rock stars, Post Malone has shown on his current world tour his total command of arena stages as a solo performer. The multi-platinum artist has been assisted in no small part by his lighting designer Ben Dalgleish.
The LD showed his creative skill six months ago at PostyFest, the artist’s one-day festival in his native Texas, where he used 133 of his favoured GLP’s X4 Bar 20 battens at the Dos Equis Arena in Dallas. But on this latest arena tour, which began in February in Dublin, moved to mainland UK and Europe, and is presently in Australia and New Zealand, his approach was entirely different.
Explaining the conceptual background, the American-based New Zealander said that with beams intending to fire between an overhead ‘top box’ and a ‘runway’ on the ground, they had found they could rep

France - Creating an immersive environment at a music festival starts with the stage, but it by no means ends there. This was the guiding philosophy that Vincent Rautureau and his team at Giglam SA followed when lighting the Weather Festival, which returned to Paris’ La Seine Musicale on 27 April after a two-year hiatus.
Rautureau and his associates certainly endowed the stage with dynamic looks to support the pulsating sounds of international EDM and alternative music stars like Daniel Avery, OKO DJ and Ciel, but their creative vision also extended beyond the immediate performance area. Seeking to engage the festival crowd on multiple levels, they turned much of the event’s island venue into a vibrant panorama with help from 140 Chauvet Professional EPIX Strip IP fixtures, supplied by Alive Events Angers.
“We positioned the EPIX Strips on all of the festival s

South Africa - After a successful dot2 training course created, hosted and taught by DWR Distribution in Johannesburg, there was a demand for the same training to take place in Cape Town. The training was brought down to the Cape by Olebogeng Boinamo from DWR.
“It was booked out with 12 people and it filled our Cape Town offices,” says Olebogeng. Each student had access to the system as there were three dot2 consoles from DWR, three of those in attendance had their own dot2s and the rest worked on dot2 on PC. This illustrates the different levels that exist in the field and the impact of the dot2 console, with avid users and newcomers both attending the course to develop their skills, because the console and related PC platform are being used so frequently in the industry.
“The students reflected the Capetonian relaxed attitude as they were eager to talk and as

UK - LED illumination specialists LED Creative supported scenic designer Andrew Gates, lighting director Stuart Pring and the team at Joe Lycett's Got Your Back.
Filmed in front of a studio audience at h Studio, London, the series features comedian Joe Lycett serving up a healthy dose of consumer justice as he exposes a variety of scams, appalling customer service and unacceptable consumer standards on behalf of the people of the UK.
Helping to acheive the show’s bright, playful look, LED Creative provided their Pulse Wands, Alpha 60 and Byte System to deliver vibrant colour and optimum control over the set illumination.
In building the boldly coloured design, the scenic designer cleverly integrated LED Creative Alpha 60 throughout the structural components and backdrop. Additional runs of Alpha 60 were concealed above and below the raised stage area to

USA - Robe North America has announced the appointment of Charlie Hulme as business development manager. He will focus on advancing systems sales and the coordination of installation projects.
Robe North America co-CEO Lorienn Cochenour comments: “As business development manager, Charlie will be a perfect partner with Tal Janowitz in managing the Robe Anolis architainment brand and representatives, and he will also liaise with our Robe regional sales managers on permanent installation projects.”
Hulme is based in Austin, Texas and will be travelling extensively in his new role. He has been involved in entertainment lighting for around 30 years, including working for two high profile American moving light brands in this time. He brings extensive experience to the Robe equation.
Josef Valchar, CEO of Robe s.r.o. states: “We offer a warm welcome to Charlie. He

China - PR Lighting took a fresh approach to their 558 sq.m. booth design at this year’s four-day GET Show at the Poly World Trade Centre in Guangzhou.
The company’s CEO Dave Liang reverted to an idea originally floated at the 2017 edition where they presented a united booth with other suppliers, in order to show customers a completely integrated, ‘finished’ solution. This year they collaborated with experienced Chinese LED display company, DGX, as well as laser company, Magical Laser and acoustics specialists, Lianhui Acoustooptical.
“These are all necessary facilities in most projects, particularly events, tours, club installs, and customers like to be able to see how a full project solution will look,” says international director of sales Ernie Armas.
On the other side of the booth, in anticipation of a strong international presence, there were th

Europe - eLumen8 has continued to expand its range of professional moving heads with the introduction of the 9RE Beam. This moving beam is powered by a MSD 260R9 (8000K) discharge lamp, allowing users to create sharp 2.5° beams and gobos.
Showcased at the recent PLASA Focus Leeds tradeshow, this latest addition by eLumen8 has been designed with the lighting designer in mind as it not only has top quality optics and motorised focus, it also features two prisms that can be used simultaneously, giving the user a host of options to create stunning light shows.
Andrew Jeffrey, Prolight Concepts Group managing director,comments: “This is the first of several new movers aimed at the rental and installation markets to be released in the coming months. The 9RE has been over 12 months in development but well worth the wait.”
Additionally, this moving head features 12

Austria - Event technology provider Technic Consult has been a satisfied customer of Elation products for years, relying on products like the Platinum Beam 5R and FS 15R followspot.
The company has recently opted to upgrade its inventory, adding the new Artiste Picasso LED moving heads and multi-functional Paladin effects.
Technic Consult has been active in event technology for over 25 years. Located in southern Austria, near Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, the company manages lighting, sound, video and staging for live events of all kinds, including theatre, handling everything from planning to implementation. “We have been working with Elation products since 2013,” says Stefan Schwarzl, head of lighting at Technic Consult. “The reliability and quality of the equipment and personal support provided by Karl Lager have made our decision to invest in Elation much easie

UK - Lighting designer Stuart Pring has used Chroma-Q Space Force LED soft lights to illuminate the JW Anderson February Autumn/Winter Fashion Show.
Pring has previously worked on The 2018 Teen Awards, a variety of television studios including for NBC/ESPN’s Wimbledon Studio, and TV series John Bishop in Conversation.
The JW Anderson Fashion Show was hosted on an 11m square catwalk, which required Stuart to deliver an even coverage of light across the entire area. For this, Version 2 - lighting rental specialists for the Television, Broadcast and Event industries - provided Stuart with 36 Space Force tuneable white LED soft lights.
Pring comments: “I needed to achieve an even wash of daylight white light, to faithfully reproduce the colours of the models' clothing. The fixture's output was flawless in creating a seamless coverage across the entire ca

Denmark - SPOT, an annual music festival in Aarhus showcasing up-and-coming Danish and Scandinavian talents, saw 300 artists and bands perform across 25 stages throughout the city.
Lighting designer and programmer Heiða Kristín Ragnarsdóttir used a grandMA3 light console to run lighting on her stage, reserved for WILM (Women In Live Music) a European non-profit organisation that supports women working behind the scenes and backstage. For the first time, this stage was run by an all-female tech crew.
Ragnarsdóttir reports: “The MA system is my first choice for everything from theatre to concerts. It is very important for me to be able to personalize the setup to fit my needs of the moment which the grandMA2 software does easily. It is highly reliable, has intuitive controls and a lot of flexibility in programming which makes it ideal for ‘busking’ festivals.

USA - Established in 1968 and sponsored by the Olympic Committee, the longstanding International Children’s Games branched out in 1994 with the launch of the Children’s Winter Games. This year the competition was held in Lake Placid, New York, giving young athletes from across the globe the chance to compete at the highest level in a wide range of winter sports.
While the Games are all about exceptional sporting achievement and fostering the exchange of ideas between athletes from different countries and cultures, it’s also about putting on a memorable show for the spectators. And that’s where ADJ comes in.
Having worked with the historic Olympic Centre on countless competitions, lighting designer Eric Wilson was brought in to deliver an epic lightshow for the Children’s Winter Games opening ceremony, jumping at the chance to work on a prestigious sporting ev

Europe - Hayden Borgars has covered a broad spectrum of shows during his career as a lighting designer, including a wide range of music genres, corporate, dance and theatre. Most recently he joined forces with American rap artist, Hoodie Allen (Steven Markowitz) for a British and European tour, at venues ranging from the 700-capacity Garage Glasgow to 2,000-capacity Shepherds Bush Empire.
Travelling with him throughout was an inventory of 18 VDO Sceptron 10, four MAC Encore Performance Colds and two AURA XB, which combined as the cutting-edge Martin Professional lighting package, supplied by rental company, Siyan.
The tour was set up essentially as a pre-album promo tour in advance of Hoodie’s next album release.
Given the nature of the venues, Hayden drew on his vast theatre experience where he’d deployed Martin fixtures previously, generally the MAC 250’s

UK - GoboPlus.com, the one-stop, online shop for gobos and projection products, exhibited at PLASA Focus Leeds 2019 where the team showed off its new, high resolution glass gobos.
“The new glass gobos render images in much finer detail than has been previously possible,” explains CEO Paul de Ville. “The exquisitely fine resolution allows much greater detail to be produced on smaller gobos, and has been created in response to the huge improvements in optical quality of most modern lanterns. The resultant HR gobos give the lighting designer more scope, not only allowing for more detailed images, but also enabling more accurate adaptation of standard gobo designs to fit on the new generation of smaller gobos used by many moving light fixtures.”
In a further development for the company, GoboPlus.com chose PLASA Focus Leeds to introduce an additional brand into the

UK - Jamie Kluckers has joined the technical sales consultant team at Stage Electrics. Based on the South Coast, Jamie is responsible for developing new business and maintaining existing relationships with customers in this area.
With over 20 years’ experience as a technical and production manager, Jamie had a long-standing relationship with Stage Electrics as a customer. “As a freelancer, Stage Electrics were my go-to supplier, it’s great to now be part of the team,” comments Jamie.
“Jamie’s appointment falls in line with our continued expansion,” says commented Paul Roughton, national sales manager at Stage Electrics. “Having Jamie join us with his knowledge and background is a real positive and he is a perfect addition to the team.”
(Jim Evans)

USA - Bob Schacherl, co-CEO of Robe North America, has announced that he will be stepping down from his post on 30 June 2019.
“After nearly six fabulous years working with one of the most innovative and inspiring moving light manufacturers, which has included amassing a sales ‘dream team’ covering all regions, helping to take the brand to the very top of the entertainment lighting industry, it is time to spend more time with my family and in developing several ongoing projects,” he stated.
Bob joined Robe at the end of 2013, just prior to the launch of the BMFL range of powerful high brightness fixtures that have become one of the Czech Republic based brand’s signature products.
His career began in the 1980s with Blackstone Audio-Visual also based in Bob’s hometown of Austin, Texas.
This became Blackstone Productions / Lightwave Research and the

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