Lighting

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UK - S+H Technical Support supplied a large quantity of its LED Starcloth to be used as a complete wrap around the stage and audience seating for a one-off Christmas Special of the popular 1980's comedy games show Blankety Blank which was hosted by David Walliams and broadcast by ITV on Christmas Eve.

The show was recorded in Studio 1 of London Studios in Waterloo, central London in front of a live audience of 400, with a set design by Joshua Grace who specified the starcloth.

"We wanted the familiar, cosy feel of a starcloth background, something festive and Christmassy - and a little camp!" he explained, and the S+H ShowLED RGB product met all criteria with a flourish of style.

Having the cloth colour changing and twinkling brought that special touch of "perfect LE (light entertainment) Christmas magic" to the show commented Joshua. It gave the production team

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USA - Gareth Emery has been on quite a roll. Following his No.1 iTunes Dance hit Drive, which garnered over 26mYouTube views for its official video, the English house DJ/ producer launched Electric For Life, a weekly Trance radio show that's broadcast on Sirius XM and online. Recently, the multi-talented Brit has taken his programme from the airwaves to the road with a sold-out Electric For Life tour.

On 31 December, the EFL tour was in the place to be on New Year's Eve: New York City. Emery performed at the waterfront party and concert spot Brooklyn Hanger as part of RPM Present's Big Week NYC. Lighting up the concert and flowing with Emery was a massive, colourful and fast-moving light show created by Kevin Mignone of KM Productions that relied on a rig dominated by Chauvet Professional fixtures.

"There was a wide variety of Chauvet fixtures throughout the

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USA - At NAMM 2017, Sennheiser and Neumann will expand their live performance and monitoring portfolios with the introduction of several new products.

Sennheiser and Neumann launches at NAMM 2017 will see Sennheiser launch XS Wireless 1, a series of six wireless microphone sets for the budget-conscious user looking for exceptional ease of use and fast set-up. The audio specialist will also preview XS Wireless 2, which will become available later in 2017 and take the benefits of XSW 1 further.

Also, the renowned evolution wireless 300 G3 and 500 G3 series will be expanded with new A1 frequency variants (470 to 516 MHz) for the USA and Canada. For those who love to use their monitoring headphones for listening to music, too, Sennheiser will be launching an ideal and affordable solution - the new HD 200 Pro headphones.

Neumann.Berlin will launch the brand new KH 80 DSP mo

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UK - Camberley Theatre, a thriving performance venue in Camberley, southwest of London, has recently undergone extensive refurbishment, including significant additions to its in-house lighting. A new installation of Elation Professional fixtures, supplied by Yes Events Ltd, provides maximum flexibility for this multipurpose community space.

The 408-seat theatre has replaced its house lights with the high-power, colour-controllable Colour Pendant LED downlight. The 41-degree, totally silent LED unit provides rich saturated colour wash to the auditorium for show use, as well as bright white light for maintenance. Visiting shows now have full control of the colour of the entire venue, meaning they can more easily immerse the audience in the performance.

In addition to the Colour Pendants, the venue has turned to Elation for its on-stage colour too, where 16 SixPar 200 LED Par

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UK - Patrick Hamilton's Gaslight is currently being revived for a UK tour. The Victorian thriller opened last week at Birmingham's New Alexandra Theatre and is now visiting venues across the UK. White Light was called upon to provide the lighting equipment for this production.

This latest revival of Gaslight stars Kara Tointon (Pygmalion, Mr Selfridge, EastEnders) and the lighting designer is the award-winning Howard Hudson. "Somewhat fittingly for this particular show, the actual gaslight used throughout plays an important role in the overall narrative," says Hudson, "largely as it signals the movements of the main character as he journeys to the various spaces throughout the play. The conceit is that, as he turns up the gaslight to move around, the other lighting within the space dims. Therefore, achieving that genuine feel of gaslighting w

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The Netherlands - Light, both literal and metaphorical, plays a crucial role throughout the musical Hair, which plays out against the backdrop of the tumultuous and colourful 1960s in New York. Nowhere is this more evident, perhaps, than in the show's intense visual climax, which sees the ultimate prevalence of light over darkness.

Luc Peumans and his team at Belgian creative design practice Painting with Light captured the spirit of Hair's finale on the show's recent Netherlands tour, which was produced by Stage Entertainment, with an intense light display that featured 14 STRIKE 1 multi-formatted fixtures from Chauvet Professional. With their warm white glow, the LED fixtures were instrumental in evoking a natural sunrise for the thematic conclusion, which played out to the music of the iconic Hair anthem, Let the Sunshine In.

"Given that the conclus

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Germany - On 15 January 2017, German-speaking households discovered It Takes Two, the new show broadcast by RTL. In the new five-part music show series, nine celebrities compete in a singing contest. Supporting them are three professionals, who accompany the amateurs as mentors. The five-time jazz award winner Tom Gaebel, the Austrian pop rock singer Christina St

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UK - PLASA Focus Glasgow kicked off the 2017 show season unveiling exciting new product launches and UK debuts including: EM Acoustics' ESP-8 and IC range, Allen & Heath's new dLive C1500 on SSE's stand, RCF's TT45-CXA touring and theatre series, Area Four's EXE Rise 500kg electric chain hoist, and ETC's new AV version of the Color Source desk.

The show, taking place at the SECC in Glasgow, attracted a record number of visitors on day one, hosting packed seminar sessions - including Phil Ward's panel entitled Is Point Source Fighting Back - and the Riggers Forum.

Chris Toulmin, director of PLASA Events says: "PLASA Focus Glasgow has gathered fantastic momentum in the Scottish region, attracting industry support from likes of the BBC, Department of International Trade and The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The buzzing show floor is further testament for the thrivin

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USA - Mutemath's 2016 North American tour featured Solaris SoLED strobes, adding visual depth and intensity to the New Orleans alternative rock band's stage. Reflecting on a successful 2016, 44 Designs describes how the SoLED performed on the road.

For the better part of a year, SoLEDs worked flawlessly on Mutemath's headline dates, and co-billed gigs with Twenty One Pilots. "We've had zero problems with these strobes," says 44 Designs lead designer and owner Jeff Lava. "For Mutemath we put them at stage level behind the amps, creating a backdrop of stunning effects. Programmed to timecode, we used them in strobe and constant-on mode, as well as short bursts for additional pop."

Jeff adds, "Proving their worth again and again, night after night, SoLED is now our first-call strobe. With the look and 'feel' of xenon, the brightness in such a small footprint is unparalleled.

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Italy - Emma Marrone's Adesso Tour 2016 stopped off at all the major sports halls on the Italian peninsula, along with a dynamic stage installation and an interesting lighting rig put together by lighting designer Mamo Pozzoli.

The Claypaky A.leda B Eye K20s were most impressive and stole the show with stunning features. They are top performance wash lights, breathtaking beam lights, and spectacular, original visual effects generators. Their versatility makes them an extremely interesting creative tool for lighting designers.

"I used the A.leda B Eye K20 massively. Let's say they played one of the leading roles in the effects during the show," says the designer.

The classic requirements of a lighting plot were borne in mind, including the kinds of lights to choose on the basis of the primary roles they have to play, such as key lights for front-lighting the leading pla

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Slovakia - The annual gala Christmas TV show Hodina Detom (An Hour for Children) is organised by the Children of Slovakia Foundation to help raise funds and awareness for the charity, which works to empower children and young people nationwide who are living in and dealing with difficult circumstances.

Top lighting designer Martin Kubanka again brought his style and expertise to ensure it was a memorable live broadcast, and specified nearly 100 Robe fixtures including Spikies, Pointes, BMFL Spots and BMFL WashBeams, plus LEDWash 600 moving lights, together with the fabulously retro PATT 2013s. All helped bring extra special touches of seasonal magic to the mix.

The show - for which a host of celebrities and VIP devoted their time for free - was staged at the RTVS TV studio in Bratislava from where it was broadcast live and people could make donations online.<

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UK - When the latest Elvis Presley show took to the road, PRG XL Video supported production manager Peter Edmonds, supplying lighting, video and rigging for the tour. 2015's million selling album If I Can Dream, further strengthened The King's inimitable reputation by giving him a number one album in five different decades.

The tour used archive footage of Elvis, musical accompaniment by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a personal appearance by Priscilla Presley, and gave many fans the chance they had not previously had - to experience the man who changed the course of music and went on to sell over a billion records around the world and cement his position as the biggest selling solo artist in history.

Lighting designer Steve Sinclair reports, "The brief was straight forward, the main part of the show is the screen showing Elvis, and everything else has been de

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Israel - The Gesher Theatre has recently taking delivery of new Robe BMFL Blades and LEDWash 600s to add to their existing LEDWash 1200s as the Czech moving light manufacturer continues to make an impression in theatres and performance installations.

The theatre, in the southern Tel Aviv suburb of Jaffa, was founded in 1991 by new Russian immigrants including artistic director Yevgeny Arye and is now regarded as a key platform of Israeli culture. It is one of the only bi-lingual theatres in the world performing in both Russian and Hebrew, although most productions today are staged in Hebrew. It has won multiple awards and gained worldwide critical recognition.

The new moving lighting rig was supplied - after a competitive tender process - by Danor Theatre & Studio Systems, Robe's Israeli distributor, and was specified by one of Israel's leading lighting designers Bambi (Av

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The Netherlands - LEDBlade - the new generation LED strip, visual technology system - is showcased at this year's ISE exhibition on stand K190 in hall 14. LEDBlade creates depth of space or three-dimensionality; it enhances edges, expands the visual area or links together to create any geometric design. LEDBlade adds extra dynamic to the video design toolkit.

In addition to the original LEDBlade Stripe, which will be available for demonstration on stand, LEDBlade has also announced the launch of the new LEDBlade Curve. ISE2017 will be the first opportunity in Europe to view the LEDBlade Curve, which expands the already vast creative possibilities of LEDBlade.

LEDBlade Curves can be used in any combination together, as well as in conjunction with LEDBlade Stripes. Both the LEDBlade Stripe and the LEDBlade Curve use the same cabling and power options and are IP-rated for ind

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USA - The past 12 months have seen Chauvet DJ introduce an array of new lighting fixtures like the Intimidator Hybrid 140SR, Intimidator Beam 140SR, Freedom Stick Pack and FX Par 9. This impressive string of innovations wasn't lost on the dealers who sell those products. They helped the company earn Lighting Line of the Year and DJ Line of the Year honours in the 2016 in the MMR Dealer's Choice Awards.

This marks the fourth year in a row that Chauvet DJ has been honoured with a MMR Dealer's Choice Award, which is based on voting by the magazine's dealer subscribers.

Chauvet DJ team was presented with their MMR Dealers Choice Awards at the company's NAMM booth in Anaheim. "This is a great honour and we are grateful for the recognition among our valued peers" said Chauvet DJ President Albert Chauvet. "It is confirmation that our constant efforts to provide the very best valu

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Germany - Bon Jovi tribute band Bounce has been on the European circuit for more than 10 years ten years. As 'Bounce & Orchestra II' they recently embarked on their Next Level tour in the beautiful city hall of Wuppertal.

Lighting designer and operator, Christian David, specified several of PR Lighting's patented XR 440 BWS fixtures for this show. "The flexibility of this hybrid moving head is really impressive as is its compact size," he said. "The colour-mixing feature and also the projection of the gobos is tremendous. The Beam range and 'old school wash light will rightly give this general purpose moving head the name of 'all round talent.'"

Christian further notes that the two independent prism sections, which can contra-rotate, also offer him "cool and pretty much unique" options. The PR Lighting portfolio is distributed in Germany by Focon Showtechnik.

(Jim Evan

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UK - As part of their European journey, Swedish band Opeth opted for a single show at Wembley Arena for their UK audience. Magnus Boyd has been lighting the band for the last 18 months. The show at Wembley was a part of the Sorceress World Tour.

"During the tour, we have done special extended sets (at Radio City and Belasco in LA) featuring songs from the Deliverance and Damnation albums before the third at Wembley. The final extended set will be at the Sydney Opera House in February. These are impressive spaces that really deserve a large production; the design didn't change much, we just doubled what we would normally have in the rig."

Boyd hooked up with High Wycombe based rental company Siyan Limited to deliver his touring and Wembley show lighting requirements which is an overwhelmingly Claypaky affair, with MA control and with a surprise appearance of A

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USA - January kicked off with the re-emergence of The Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, one of the country's largest Christian tours. Bandit Lites supplies the lighting package for the evening of music, worship and ministry, which has outpaced other tour attendance for the past four years.

This year's artists include Crowder, Britt Nicole, Tenth Avenue North, Sadie Robertson, Andy Mineo, Colton Dixon, Thousand Foot Krutch, Newsong, Tony Nolan, OBB, Sarah Reeves and Steven Malcolm.

Winter Jam has acquired a large, loyal following, meaning that lighting designer Jerry Holcomb has to coordinate a new look each year, all while staying within the parameters of the in-the-round design, budget and looks for various acts, who also can contribute to the design.

"Daniel Smallbone and Kurtis Wheat with Lumina Design are involved in the design, helping with fixture type and placements,

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Belgium - Creative lighting designer Thomas Boets loves challenges, so when production company Fast Forward Events asked him to light the iconic Reyers Tower in Brussels - a 73m high concrete broadcasting pillar, complete with 34 diameter upper section, in total standing 89m tall and dominating the local skyline - he jumped at the chance!

He also chose Robe fixtures to accomplish the task which required a careful balance of spectacle and practicality to produce an outstanding lighting scheme for the heritage listed landmark frequently dubbed the 'flying saucer'.

The idea of transforming the Tower into a beacon of light for De Warmste Week (Music for Life) originated from advertising agency DDB working for VRT radio station Studio Brussels who organise the high-profile charity fundraising event.

Thomas - known for his designs for other events like the Ghent Floralien, p

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UK - Internationally-renowned lighting designer Durham Marenghi selected an array of Claypaky luminaires to enhance a number of stunning audiovisual installations across Hull as part of the city's 'UK City of Culture 2017' inauguration festivities.

Marenghi, who has previously designed lighting for such prestigious outdoor events as the London NYE countdown 2016, London 2012 Olympics Handover in Beijing and the Rio 2016 Olympic ceremonies, was assisted in the project by award-winning West-end theatre lighting designer and Hull resident Tim Lutkin.

Together, they specified 42 x Claypaky Mythos, 12 x Claypaky Alpha Spot QWO 800s and eight Claypaky Sharpy Wash 330s from Manchester-based lighting specialist dbn lighting to create architectural light shows at the city's historic Queen Victoria square, famous aquarium The Deep - as well as an installation in an underpass famous

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Puerto Rico - Since first going on air in 1954, independent television station WAPA-TV (Channel 4) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, has been a technology leader among broadcast stations in the island country. In 2016, WAPA-TV renovated its broadcast lighting in three of its studios, installing Elation TVL series LED lighting systems. Installation of the white light luminaires made WAPA-TV the first broadcast studio in Puerto Rico to transition to LED technology.

WAPA-TV replaced all of its conventional fixtures with LED in its largest studio (Cinema), as well as a separate broadcast studio plus a smaller studio. Puerto Rican production company Musique Xpress Lights worked with the station to supply all of the LED lighting fixtures to the network and worked with WAPA's in-house LD Juan Carlos on the lighting placement and design.

The new LED lighting was part of a complete renovat

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Forever Young - Petula Clark will make her UK festival debut at Fairport Convention's Cropredy Festival on Friday 11 August. "We're really proud to be the first British festival that Petula has played," says Fairport bassist and Cropredy co-organiser Dave Pegg. "I saw her show in Birmingham recently and it blew me away - she is a wonderful live performer. I was surprised how many of her hits I knew and her contemporary songs are really great too. Our audience will love her, I'm sure."

Also lined up for the Oxfordshire event is The Trevor Horn Band. The producer will front a 14-piece all-star band featuring fellow producers Steve Lipson and Lol Creme. The setlist will be packed with songs the trio have produced - between them they've had over 200 hit singles - and there may be guest appearances from some of the musicians they have worked with.

Dark Times Ahead - Gori

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USA - Since making his debut on social media and on shows such as X Factor and American Idol, RCA Nashville recording artist Kane Brown has seen a meteoric rise in the country music industry. Brown recently launched his first headlining tour in support of his self-titled debut album. Needing a production design to complement the Tennessee-native, his management team enlisted the assistance of designer Chris Lisle who got to work creating an exciting yet functional tour design which included PixelFLEX FLEXCurtain HD 6.25mm LED video supplied by tour sponsor Monster Energy.

"This is my first tour with Kane Brown as his production has now grown to a point where he needed creative direction, so I was contacted by his business manager and asked to come on board," began Lisle. "Since he would be playing a wide variety of venues, we had to create a tour design that woul

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USA - There is no shortage of theatrics in the annual series of El Monstero concerts that sweeps through America's mid-section every year like some tornado of light and sound. Formed by members of Stir in 1999, and currently made up of musicians from a variety of different bands, the group pays tribute to Pink Floyd with an immersive concert experience involving upwards of 75 actors.

El Monstero captures the evocatively edgy Pink Floyd sound with spot on renditions of songs from classics like The Wall, Dark Side of the Moon and more. A Pink Floyd concert was never just about sound, though. To recreate the complete concert experience in 2017, the band serves up a dazzling visual show with fantastical live characters in costume, all colourfully illuminated by a Chip Self-designed lightshow that features Rogue and Legend fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Self,

  1. White Light enlisted for La Cage Aux Folles
  2. Philips Lighting launches VL6000 Beam
  3. ETC et cetera blog goes live
  4. GLP goes back to school for Rent
  5. Penn Elcom makes LED waves for MS Braemar
  6. Claypaky illuminates the Starlight Pop Opera
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