Lighting

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France - A total of 232 Robe moving lights - including 80 x BMFL Blades, 70 x LEDWash 1200s, 84 x Pointes and 8 x LEDWash 300s were part of a colourful opening ceremony for the new 415m euro Grande Stade de Lyon.

Lighting designer Tony Anzalone was working for Lyon based GL events Audiovisual, who co-ordinated and supplied the high profile event's technical production.

The 60,000 capacity stadium will be the home of Ligue 1 football team Olympique Lyonnais (OL) as well as hosting concerts and other sporting events including the upcoming European Rugby Champions Cup Final in May.

The grand opening show featured a high energy son et lumi

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Denmark - SVT Swedish Broadcaster has awarded [LITE]COM Group the contract to be the official supplier of all lighting, control, truss, rigging and automation for Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The event will be taking place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on 10, 12 and 14 May 2016, hosted by Petra Mede and Mans Zelmerl

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USA - The Knoxville Chamber Partnership recently held the Annual Governor's Breakfast at the Knoxville Convention Centre, where Governor Bill Haslam addressed a record breaking crowd of 660. Bandit Lites, a member of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, provided the lighting for the event as the Governor covered his legislative priorities for this session, which included increased funds for education and infrastructure improvement projects.

To keep the lighting fairly simple due to the ballroom being scheduled for another immediate event, Bandit utilized Chauvet Freedom Pars along the convention walls. These battery powered fixtures allow techs to turn on the pre-programmed colour, set it, focus it and walk away, while Chauvet Colordash Blocks added dimension for the Governor's address upstage.

"The upstage was wall-to-wall pipe and drape which we lit with GRNLite LED Pars i

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UK - Curtain Up: Celebrating 40 Years of Theatre in London and New York at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, celebrates the extraordinary story of theatre in both London's West End and New York's Broadway. Created in partnership with The Society of London Theatre, the V&A and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Centre, it explores the craftsmanship that goes into creating award-winning plays, musicals and productions. With its strong reputation in theatre lighting along with installations and museum-based work, White Light was called upon to provide the production support on this ground-breaking exhibition.

Curtain Up opened just over a week ago as part of a year-long programme to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards, with every show on display having a story to tell in relation to the Olivier or Tony Awards. The exhibition was

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Mexico - The people of Mexico enthusiastically welcomed Pope Francis to their country with a warm reception that included traditional songs and dances, heartfelt tributes and richly coloured light from a collection of 24 Rogue R1 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Provided by Mexico City-based Kona Productions, the 15-watt RGBW LED Rogue fixtures were used to accent a variety of performances at Mexico's Papal visit welcoming ceremonies.

"When we were invited to collaborate on this project, a mixture of emotions swirled through us," said Andres Marroqu

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UK - Over 160 Core Lighting wireless LED fixtures were used to illuminate various areas in and around the Tower of London for an event attended by 200 guests and staged by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) to showcase the capabilities of their event spaces at the attraction.

The ColourPoint, PinPoint, StripPoint and Flood30 fixtures were used to highlight architecture and enhance the evening atmosphere of this premier historic site and London landmark where the Core units were exclusively used for the lighting throughout.

The creative lighting schemes were a collaboration between Core and its European distributor White Light, designed to illustrate how the dynamics of the different event spaces can be transformed with the application of visual layers - from lighting and projection mapping to floral arrangements and catering - all adding magic and value to the equation.

Core

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USA - The Miraculous Medal Shrine has been inspiring the faithful since it was completed in 1927. One look at this classic white statue of the Virgin Mary and it's easy to understand why visiting it has been such a moving experience for so many people. Nestled in a domed gold leafed alcove and flanked by engaged marble columns and mosaic murals, the life-like sculpture radiates a sense of peace and spiritual renewal.

Recently, the transformative elements of the Shrine were enhanced even further with the addition of a vibrant lighting system anchored by Chauvet Professional fixtures that add layers of depth to its surroundings and changes to reflect different times of the day.

Tyler Hoffman, the owner and principal designer of Spire AVL created the new lighting system, using COLORado 1-Quad Tour pars, an Ovation C-640FC cyc light and Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidals, as wel

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South Africa - Lightship Productions, owned and run by the enterprising Ni-Lou Breytenbach, is the latest South African lighting production, design and delivery specialist to invest in MA Lighting control with the purchase of a grandMA Command Wing, delivered by SA distributors, DWR.

Lightship works across all industry sectors including corporate and live events, TV productions and theatre shows, the latter hailing back to Ni-Lou's industry roots. His varied workload includes designing and programming his own shows, providing operating and FOH co-ordination / support services for others and working as a lighting systems engineer.

Ni-Lou owns some control kit himself - to keep the business agile and flexible - and has developed symbiotic relationships with other rental and equipment suppliers, a main one being Pretoria based Stage Effects run by Theo Papenfus - to help deli

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USA - In a brief that's pure music to any LD's ears, progressive rock Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) founder and producer Paul O'Neill's instructions to award-winning production and lighting designer Bryan Hartley regularly includes getting 'as many lights as possible' on the rig.

The latest Letters from the Labyrinth tour by the maverick prog rock band - which saw two TSO troupes simultaneously play the east and west coasts of America, eight shows a week reaching up to 45,000 people per day for two months - featured over 100 Robe moving lights on each rig - 60 x Pointes and 44 LEDBeam 100s.

These were part of design number 19 by Bryan for TSO, who are well known for their spectacularly visual live performances which have always enthusiastically embraced lighting, video, lasers and pyro. Bryan has been on-board with TSO since it started touring in 1999 and had also previou

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New Rules Please - New rules have been announced for the Eurovision Song Contest in the biggest change to voting since 1975. In previous years each country's jury and public votes were combined and announced in one go. Now the votes will be split with each country's jury vote cast first, and votes from viewers in all countries combined and announced at the end. Organisers say this will create a "dramatic finish" as the winner will only be revealed at the very end. In previous years the winner has been known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting. "This format change will inject a new level of excitement into the finish of the Eurovision Song Contest," said Martin Osterdahl, executive producer for this year's show.

Beatles For Sale - A lock of John Lennon's hair that was cut off as he prepared for a film role has sold for $35,000 (£24,298). The four-inch pie

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Mexico - Mexico's Banda el Recodo has been making its distinctively engaging brand of music since 1938. Like every band that's enjoyed long-term success, this collection of 17 musicians is constantly evolving with the times, not just in terms of its musical offerings, but also in its stage presentation. This much was made vividly clear recently by the group's new high impact lighting rig, which features over 140 fixtures from Chauvet Professional.

Not only is Banda el Recodo ranked among the world's longest running bands, it's also one of the most successful (20m albums sold) and most eclectic with a repertoire that runs from traditional Mexican Banda and Latin Dance, to Jazz, Swing, Classical, Pop and more. A key goal in acquiring the new lighting rig was to provide a rich and electrifying visual backdrop to the group's sweeping and far-ranging musical expressions.

"When

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USA - When leading Broadway theatre lighting designer and Tony Award winner, Donald Holder, was invited to design the lighting for the new production of Fiddler on the Roof at New York's Broadway Theatre, he turned to GLP's new multi-faceted X4 Bar 20s to meet a number of different challenges.

Holder had been approached by the show's director Bartlett Sher, with whom he has a long-standing relationship, to be part of the revival of this hit musical. "It was a huge deal for me," he said. "I saw the original Broadway production as a child and still remember how deeply affected I was by the experience."

The Broadway is one of the largest proscenium theatres in New York, and this production used almost every square inch of it. Sher wanted to create a production that was "raw, rough-hewn, and poetic" accord to Don Holder. "There's a sense of vastness and a spare, unadorn

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UK - SGM joined forces with creative technical event production company Hawthorn for the fourth time to sponsor the annual e-Luminate Cambridge Festival.

The week-long festival, which features a series of events, workshops and artistic projections and installations, saw the festival return to the Great St Mary's Church following an absence - and it was here that the event kicked off with a grand concert featuring the 100-piece Dowsing Sound Collective choir and an opening address from the Mayor.

With assistance from SGM's Ian Kirby, who essentially designed the lighting at the church, Hawthorn Cambridge orchestrated the lighting display that accompanied the concert, with project manager, Richard Clarke-Hill undertaking programming duties.

Calling on 14 of SGM's award-winning IP65-rated P-5's, fitted with 43° lens, to wash the outside of the imposing monument, the H

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UK - In addition to welcoming visitors and clients to its stand at the recent PLASA Focus in Glasgow's SECC, Ambersphere Solutions took the opportunity to offer a programme of training for the dot2 console, MA Lighting's newest and smallest addition to its renowned range of control desks. Using the extensive seminar facilities of the SECC, Ambersphere ran a series of ninety-minute training sessions throughout the show and each one was enthusiastically attended.

The training course was devised and delivered by Ambersphere's head of training, Chris West, ably assisted by Thor Andre' from sales and support technician, Sam Parsons. "The dot2 training at Ambersphere is a one-day course," explains West, "teaching the console to such a level that the attendees can easily go straight out and run a show whereas these training sessions at PLASA necessarily offered more of an introductio

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USA - Country music star Vince Gill may have a career that spans more than 40 years, but he is showing no signs of letting up as he returns to the road with his new album, Down to my Last Bad Habit with a lighting package provided by Bandit Lites.

With only available truck space limiting him, lighting designer Dylan Mire was given complete creative freedom regarding the reinvention of the look of the show, but remained mindful that due to Vince Gill's renowned status as singer-songwriter and musician, most audiences would be familiar with his extensive song catalogue.

When programming the look of the show, Mire explained, "I wanted to subtly tie into the mood and emotion that the audience associates with these songs rather than to try and introduce something new and potentially detract from the experience."

Using VL 2500 Spots, Robe CycFX8, Martin MAC Auras, GRN

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UK - West London based lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment is supplying lighting equipment and crew to the current European tour by synthpop duo Hurts, riding high on the success of their third album Surrender with an innovative production design by Rob Sinclair.

Colour Sound invested in 100 x new Martin VDO Sceptron 10 LED battens for the tour for which lighting is being directed and operated on the road by Matt Arthur.

Says Colour Sound's Haydn Cruickshank, "We've supplied the last few Hurts tours, and you know that anything in which Rob is involved is always going to look interesting. This is no exception."

Rob and the band's initial inspiration for the band-in-boxes set design came from several operatic references to capture the essence of the unique 'classic but dynamic' look they wanted.

The addition of a set of four-position -

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UK - As Bristol geared up to host the BBC Radio 6 Music Festival, Utopium was selected as lighting and rigging supplier for Colston Hall's weekend of live music, 12- 14 February 2016.

The third BBC Radio 6 Music Festival headed to Bristol and saw over 50 acts deliver live music, comedy, film and food events across the city.

Utopium supplied all lighting and crew to Colston Hall as it hosted performances from a range of emerging and established artists, representing the very best in alternative music. Tasked with supplying all the interior and exterior festival lighting, Utopium provided 25 MAC Quantum Profiles, 14 MAC 2000 Washes, 30 Chauvet Q Wash 419s, 12 Chauvet Legend 230SR Beams, 12 SGM S5 Strobes, 20 Chauvet COLORado 1-Quad IP's, 30 Thomas 2 Cell Molefays, four Thomas 4 Cell Molefays, 10 Howie Battens and 12 Source 4's, all controlled from GrandMA Lighting control de

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Belgium - Painting with Light has created a stunning 3D mapped projection artwork for the Hangar 58 event space at Bokrijk in Limburg, one of the region's most important historical landmarks and a popular open air museum.

The permanently installed show was the brainchild of Hanger 58's owner Wim Grommers, who approached Painting with Light's Luc Peumans to create storyboards, video artwork and a library of standard content to be made available to various clients renting the space, with custom material available on request.

He wanted something spectacular and eye-catching to set the venue apart and add value to the events hosted there.

The idea is that guests can view the show through the large glass walls of the modern Hanger 58 in the winter and enjoy the large format show standing outside in the summer evenings.

When running, the projection images measure approxi

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Denmark - Comtech, based in Copenhagen, one of Denmark's leading rental companies decided to invest in new Robe fixtures - Pointes and BMFL Spots - for two consecutive years. The initial purchase, and the company's first in Robe, was for 40 x Pointes in 2014, which were such a success that in 2015 they made a further investment with 50 x BMFL Spots, which have been equally as well received, explains project manager Jes Christiansen.

Comtech supplies lighting, sound and video to concert tours, festivals and music shows and corporate events of all types in Denmark and internationally. "We already carried some other brands and were really looking for something that was genuinely innovative," explains Jes, talking about the decision to go with Robe, "When the Pointe was launched, that was our cue."

The Pointes went straight out on tour with Danish rockers Carpark North, where

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Australia - Lexair, currently the exclusive master distributor for High End Systems, Green Hippo and TMB in Oceania, has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Elation Professional, both for Australia and New Zealand.

Alex Mair, managing director of Lexair, comments, "Adding Elation to Lexair's portfolio is strategic for the company. It is the recognition of Lexair's growing brand recognition and fits in the vision to offer our customers in the region a much wider breadth of quality products, offering the 'one stop shop solution' our customers expect in the current market. We are very excited and proud that Elation has chosen us as a long term partner in Oceania and we guarantee that we will present Elation with the regards it deserves."

Chuck Green, international sales manager at Elation, adds, "We are very pleased to be working with a company of the calibr

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Belgium - Back in the late '90s, the Flemish all-girl band K3 burst on the scene and quickly became Belgium's answer to the Spice Girls. Now, after almost two decades of countless successful singles, tours and television appearances - including representing Belgium in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest - the group's members have decided to move on to the next phase of their careers.

Capping off a great run, they have embarked on a farewell tour. Sending them off in spectacular visual style is a dynamic lightshow featuring Chauvet Professional Strike 4 LED fixtures supplied by PRG Belgium.

Luc Peumans of Belgium's Painting With Light created the captivating lightshow. Having worked with K3 for the last decade, Peumans took pride in designing a show that captured the upbeat spirit, daring spirit and high-octane energy level of the beloved girl group.

"During the 10 years i

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UK - West Midlands-based Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) supplied full technical production - video, sound and LED lighting - to the 2016 SEMTA Awards, staged in the Ballroom at the Park Lane Hilton hotel in London.

The Senior Skills Council for Science, Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies (SEMTA) is a not-for-profit organization specializing in engineering training in the UK, and this prestigious annual Awards event recognizes excellence within their various nationwide apprenticeship schemes.

CPL worked for the third consecutive year alongside Redditch based production company Eclipse Communications. The production design was a collaboration by Lee Gruszeckyj from CPL and Dave Bowring from Eclipse. This year's host was business journalist and BBC Breakfast co-presenter Steph McGovern.

"It was great to pool forces and work together with Eclipse," commented Lee.

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Germany - One of Germany's most accomplished lighting designers, JoJo Tillman, has turned to GLP's new X4 Bar 20s for the first time as a vital part of his stage concept for the annual Stunksitzung alternative cabaret at the Cologne E-Werk. This has formed part of the Cologne Festival for more than 30 years, and comprises around 50 shows which run up to the day before Lent begins.

The designer requisitioned 16 of the battens, which have brought about a paradigm shift since their launch last year. This is largely due to the density with which the 20 LEDs are packed into the 40-inch long bar, generating a broad pallet of pastel and saturated colours which allow for subtle graduated fades, and a 7:1 zoom range which enables it to be deployed equally as a narrow angle light curtain or a wide angle back- or wash-light.

Such versatility has allowed JoJo not only to animate the s

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  2. Robe becomes a key player in French theatres
  3. Philips Entertainment Lighting gears up for Frankfurt
  4. Elation LED displays on the slopes at Fenway
  5. Clay Paky fires up Mana's Cama Incendiada tour
  6. Robot Chicken and ETC in tandem in Burbank
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