UK - A new lightweight lighting stand will take centre stage on the Doughty stand at this year's PLASA Focus Leeds. The prototype product, which has been designed with the events and conference market in mind comprises a flat, round plate and slim tube, slotted at each end to allow cables to run unseen inside it. Described as ‘extremely robust’, the stand has a sleeker appearance than the standard Tank Trap and comes with a stacking slot which allows for the stands to be stacked together as well as a carry handle.
Dan Phillips, project sales co-ordinator at Doughty comments: "We really encourage everyone to come and take a look at this piece of kit on stand N-C25 while it's still in its development stage. We take feedback extremely seriously and use it to fine tune the product so that it ticks all the right boxes. We think our customers will really like the Lightweight Lighting Stand - with all the principles of our popular Tank Trap but packaged into a neater, more aesthetically pleasing model."
He adds: "A 28mm receiver in incorporated in the top of the stand which will take an industry standard 28mm spigot. And, when used in conjunction with a spigot adapter, the stand can also be used to hold small speakers."
The Three Position Tank Trap will also feature on this year's stand. Following its debut in 2017, it went on to win the ABTT Engineering Product of the Year. This clever piece of kit enables rigging to be built close to a wall, in the corner of a room or near to an obstruction. It has a detachable receiver suitable for 48mm barrel, whic

UK - Eaton’s Zero 88 is looking forward to a busy PLASA Focus in Leeds next week, where the UK lighting control manufacturer will highlight its powerful FLX range of consoles, which will be running with the latest ZerOS 7.9.4 software on Stand N-B12, 1st and 2nd of May 2018 at The Royal Armouries in Leeds city centre.
The all new FLX S24 and FLX S48 consoles, the original FLX and the ZerOS Wing will be demonstrated at this event, which is also renowned for its conviviality, networking and being a meeting hub for industry professionals working and based in and around the north of the UK.
FLX S24 is a new console that runs up to 48 LED, moving lights and conventional fixtures and is easy to learn and straightforward to use, delivering flexibility and multiple features at an affordable price.
FLX S48, also new, has double the power of FLX S24, offering intuitive and hands-on control of up to 96 fixtures, and a touch monitor output for quick access to palettes / show overview. The quantity of available playbacks, groups and palettes are all also doubled.
Both FLX S24 and S48 are ultimately portable, powerful controllers with a small footprint and free apps available for wireless monitoring of the lighting rig, and support for a range of networking accessories.
Inbuilt tools include the award-winning RigSync, helpful step by step Guidance, and Auto Palettes to assist with the prep work. Colours can be quickly and accurately selected and applied via the multi-touch Colour & Image Picker or the encoder wheels or by selecting colours c

Germany - At the recent Prolight & Sound show in Frankfurt, Fantek and Work Lifters announced they will be incorporating an enhanced version of the existing Dynsys overload limiting system in their future products.
Dynsys is a patented safety feature developed to protect operators by preventing top-loading (telescopic) and front-loading lifters lifting under overload conditions, in accordance with the stringent requirements of the EU-wide safety regulation DIN 56950, an important part of the DGUV V17/18 Health & Safety (Industrial Accident Prevention) regulations.
Until now, if lifters incorporating Dynsys are overloaded, user control of torque is blocked. With the improved Dynsys v1.2 system, Fanterk and Work lifters will additionally be prevented from raising anything above Level 0. At the same time, the operator will be given immediate visual feedback to inform them that their tower is excessively loaded, making it impossible for them to miss the potentially dangerous state of their lifter and keeping them safe.
“We all need safety standards, especially in the realm of industrial lifting technology,” comments CSO of Equipson Juan Jose Vila. “The problem is that left alone, companies sometimes have a tendency to create their own proprietary standards. But here are two rival companies agreeing to jointly adopt a new technology in the interests of everybody’s safety. Far from this putting them both at a commercial disadvantage, everyone benefits - not least lifter operators, who will be safer using products incorporating Dynsys v1.2

UK - Orbital Sound returns to PLASA Focus Leeds this year on stand N-C28. Featured on the stand this year is the Nemesis range of audio tools for use in theatre, AV, live music and more.
Key featured product is the new ACS-1 Auto switch over unit that enables automatic switchover of the Nemesis range of Dante and MADI switches. A typical use for this unit is in computer playback systems enabling a dual redundant computer playback system to automatically switch to the Back-Up system should the Primary playback system fail.
Come and see the new option boards for the very popular Nemesis CCS-2 Computer Switch adding more versatility and options, whilst the TCR-1 Time Code Reader adds an impressive feature list to a simple but effective solution.
Full working demonstrations of these new products will be running on the stand daily.
Also on the stand will be products from Allen & Heath (dLive consoles and ME1 personal monitor systems), Clear-Com (Helixnet digital wired and Freespeak II wireless comms systems), DPA (New Core series microphones) and Nexo (Versatile ID Series, PS series & Geo M6 speakers)
Andy Simmons and the team from Orbital will be on hand to discuss all new developments.
(Jim Evans)

Germany - With the first live presentation of the new grandMA3 series the MA Lighting booths at Prolight + Sound 2018 were a popular draw.
Founded on the legacy of the previous grandMA consoles, the grandMA3 represents “a radical re-think of what’s possible from a lighting control platform”. The elegant new system-architecture incorporates new fixture, feature and effects-handling at its very heart.
The system features concepts from top industry visionaries, presented within a refined user interface, and is designed to make practical tasks more intuitive. The physical design detail of the grandMA3 range is focused on delivering “the best possible user experience, now and into the future”.
The interest of all visitors at the exhibition was very high, therefore all 13 grandMA3 hands on stations and the dedicated grandMA3 live demonstration auditorium were constantly packed with MA Lighting users from all over the world.
Additionally, the dot2 range was displayed on a dedicated dot2 booth. Four hands on stations as well as live demonstrations of tips and tricks attracted much interest.
Following the introduction of the new General Device Type Format (GDTF) in March 2018, a combined press conference with Vectorworks Inc and Robe lighting on the first day of the show was another important highlight for MA.
This new development for the entertainment design and production industry will change the way lighting designers, lighting fixture manufacturers, lighting console manufacturers and lighting visualizers will work together. T

Germany - Avolites experienced its most exciting Prolight+Sound show yet, with a series of product launches including the world premières of new compact media server, the Q3 and launch of light and video integration feature set, Synergy.
Avolites kicked things off on the eve of the exhibition by hosting its annual distributor summit and awards. The company introduced its latest product developments to the 68 sales partners who attended from around the world, and afterwards presented a number of awards to its highest-performing partners.
"The response from the international team was excellent," says sales director Koy Neminathan. "They were genuinely excited about the Q3 media server and what Synergy offers to their customers. The Avolites Academy was also an area of key importance as we are now rolling out certified Avolites training via our global distribution network."
Following this success, on the opening day of the show, sales manager Stephen Baird-Smith introduced Synergy at the company's packed press event. Key features of the Synergy platform include the ability for users to connect and configure their Ai media server from the Titan interface.
Synergy's Lightmap feature means that users can stream Ai video colour data through any fixture group, including both RGB and CMY fixtures, to instantly integrate them into a larger video canvas - meaning that everything from high-res LED screens to LED fixture groups can be controlled from one intuitive User Interface (UI).
"We were inundated with people asking us for more information abo

UK - PLASA has been invited as one of six European Associations to attend the upcoming EU Commission meeting to address the proposed updates to the Eco-Design Working Plan 2016-2019 that would require all stage lighting to meet efficiency targets in line with domestic and office lighting. The proposed changes to the Eco-Design lighting regulations would have a commercially devastating effect on the industry should it become legislation in 2020.
“The impact this law would have on the whole entertainment industry is huge: venues, manufacturers, rental companies, and indeed lighting designers would be greatly affected,” says PLASA's MD, Peter Heath. “Video projection has been granted an exemption - this is what we and other trade bodies are now pushing for - the same exemption for stage lighting.”
Adam Bennette of ETC will represent the interest of PLASA members at a meeting in Brussels on 17th May. The meeting will address the EU’s proposed Eco-Design changes and give representatives of affected parties an opportunity to request exemption.
Adam Blaxhill, PLASA’s Chairman and the director of Stage Electrics, comments: “In drafting these new regulations, they have clearly not considered the impact they will have on the entertainment industry. Venues, rental companies, and sales operations all have significant sums invested in lighting inventory, which will be devalued by these proposed regulations - the financial impact on the entertainment industry is potentially huge.’’
All sectors of the entertainment industry are urg

Germany - French lighting manufacturer Ayrton reported that the size of the crowds that surrounded its stand for the hourly lightshow throughout the four days of Prolight+Sound were “testament to the anticipation generated annually amongst visitors by Stephane Migné’s lighting design and the Ayrton products he used to create one of their most complete lightshows to date”.
The show incorporated over 300 fixtures and gave each product group a chance to shine. It showed off the qualities and characteristics of the full range of new wash and spot fixtures, some new product releases, plus a few old favourites. Swathes of MagicPanel-FX worked their geometric magic from the back wall, MiniPanel-FX performed in tight aerial clusters, and MagicBlade-FX showed off its capabilities moving between ethereal colour changes to dramatic club-style sweeps.
MiniBurst added drama with military precision followed by Merak gyrating to Indian style Bhangra music and Mistral bringing some atmospheric gobo work. Ghibli showed off its versatility and panache to some James Bond music before all were brought together in a finale which revealed all the drama, subtlety, fabulous gobo projection and superb colour renderings that these products are so capable of, moods-changing in a heartbeat before MiniBurst delivered a final dazzling ending with a lingering sparkly finish.
“We were delighted to hear rapturous applause after every performance,” says Ayrton CEO Chris Ferrante. “We are extremely pleased with the huge international attendance this year. There was near

Germany - New trussing and staging systems manufacturer Sixty82 only came into being on 1 March, and shortly after made its successful first public appearance at Prolight+Sound 2018. “The show was incredible for us and we have been bowled over by the phenomenal response we have received from the start,” says Sixty82’s sales & marketing director, Rainier Smeding.
Sixty82’s stand was built using some of its own products to replicate a pub. Complete with bar serving bespoke Sixty82 beer, meeting areas and a full complement of its products, it was a suitable setting for staff to welcome its many new clients. The arrangement reflected the friendly, approachable nature of the company whose team has a genuine enjoyment of their jobs and puts customer service at the forefront of their operations.
“Having good product is paramount of course, but we believe that giving our customers the best service possible is essential,” says Smeding. “We want them to be confident knowing we can be relied upon to deliver upon our promises, and will support them on their projects in every way possible, from advice in the initial stages through to the final supply.”
The stand was constantly packed with clients for the four days of the show: the company officially launched the new Sixty82 App and celebrated with an after-hours party with a live band. Sixty82 App allows users instant access to both unique and general data about the origin and safe use of the system through the use of unique Product Personalities obtained through each component’s RFID tag.

Germany - The RTI NEO ONE modular laser systems for professional applications and lighting designers debuted at Prolight + Sound last year. This year, they were featured on the PRG Stage in their Highlight show.
Simple, yet very effective DMX / ArtNET control makes the RTI NEO ONE compatible to existing control infrastructure, no other control system is required. The RTI NEO ONE is designed as a multi-projector-laser-system: Several units can be attached to each other with a quick-lock system. Due to the octagonal shape it is possible to create shapes built of laser systems. They can not only be mounted at uncommon positions, e.g. flanking the sound line arrays on big stages, arranged as circle or in other shapes, but can also be used as high-power laser array.
The RTI NEO ONE is a powerful white light full colour laser system. With a power of ca. 20W RGB per meter or 3.3W RGB per unit it is also well suitable for large scale applications: The RTI NEO ONE have 10 times more power per aperture than the RTI NEO SIX, proven multiple times to be sufficiently powerful for large stages.
Besides the DMX controllability, the RTI NEO ONE has a built-in controller that can either allow for direct control of the lasers through laser software, or provides additional playback features. It can be individually configured with custom patterns or animations (free software for creating ILDA patterns is included).
The high-speed scanning systems allow graphics and logo projections as well if required.
Up to six units of the RTI NEO ONE can run with

Europe - Philips Lighting reports that its Philips VL6000 Beam luminaires are delivering stand-out visuals for American rock band Foo Fighters' current world tour, which heads towards Europe this summer.
Foo Fighters' long-term lighting designer Dan Hadley chose the powerful, retro-styled Philips VL6000 Beam fixtures for very particular reasons. With the diagonal square artwork of the band's ninth studio album Concrete and Gold as the inspiration for his basic motif, he wanted to incorporate its distinctive 45˚ and 90˚ angles into his lighting design.
"The main thing I needed from the ground row was a fat beam and a fixture that would keep a balance with the fixtures that hang above," says Hadley. "Once I saw the VL6000 I knew there was no substitute. There wasn't another fixture that I knew of that came close to offering the look of the fat beam and the big reflector and, since these are all used on the floor, the physical presence needed to pull its weight almost as much as the light coming out of it."
Hadley is happy with the output of the VL6000 Beam. He says, "I needed a fixture that could hold its own in terms of brightness in front of the two upstage video walls. That's always a challenge, and the VL6000s don't struggle a bit."
As the tour has progressed, Hadley has added further VL6000 Beam fixtures to his design. "We started with 12 placed in a V formation on the floor, upstage of the band and once we'd done a few arena shows I was excited to add another 12 under the side IMAG screens for the upcoming outdoor shows. We've now done a

Denmark - With the summer festival season just round the corner, bringing live productions from small to huge out into the open air, sales of Yamaha’s new Rivage PM7 digital mixing system have made a strong start throughout Europe. In Denmark three companies have already invested in four Rivage PM7 systems.
The first Danish company to take delivery of Rivage PM7 was Dansk Lyd og Lys A/S (Danish Sound and Light) in Odense, a company with 45 years at the heart of the country’s music and entertainment market. As one of Denmark’s foremost technical production companies, the company provides sales, dry hire and full productions to high profile national / international performers and corporate clients.
”We have been using Yamaha digital mixers since the LS9 and M7CL, through to the CL and QL series,” says Dansk Lyd og Lys chief operating officer and partner Kristian Kühnel. “We have been doing a lot of opera, theatre, symphonic music and musicals in recent last years and we look forward to integrating the RIVAGE PM7 into the heart of these productions.”
Three more Rivage PM7 systems are due for delivery in April - two to Unico Gruppen and another to PD Productions.
Vejen-based Unico Gruppen’s main business is rental and dry hire, as well as designing and installing fixed installations. “Our rental department specialises in audio, but we also supply and manage complete productions,” says the company’s Michael Henriksen. “We do not want to be the biggest but, with our motto ‘The best - on time - for the satisfied customer’

UK - KV2 Audio’s rise and rise within the Broadway, West End and UK touring theatre world has happened in no small part due to a band of sound designers willing to listen to products outside of the so-called established mainstays of the theatre market.
One of these designers reaping the rewards of KV2’s True Point Source approach to loudspeaker design is UK based Tom Marshall.
First exposed to KV2 in 2014, Tom has been specifying KV2 products with increasing regularity and currently has five UK-wide touring productions out with KV2 – An Officer & A Gentleman, Jungle Book, Sunset Boulevard, Crazy For You and Flashdance.
These are in addition to numerous other shows at Leicester’s Curve, pantos in Richmond and Glasgow and the recurring UK winter tour of Nativity! The Musical2017-2020.
“I was introduced to KV2 along with Richard Brooker by Ross Portway and after experiencing the active EX10 and EX12 boxes on a few shows I decided to start specifying them on my own productions,” Tom explains.
“There are many loudspeakers that I like and for me it comes down to using the right tools for the job, as well as what budget will allow. When listening in comparison to other manufacturers of similar specification I was very pleasantly surprised at the KV2 range.
“The beauty of KV2 is that all the products deliver a great transparent sound with more than sufficient power for boxes of their size. That plus the fact that they are very reasonably priced make KV2 a perfect choice for n

UK - London-based Capital Sound Hire has added yet further to its Outline inventory with the addition of the Italian company’s latest multi-role processor, the Newton.
Officially launched at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt recently, the flexibility of Newton offers “a new level of convenience and system integration possibilities to professional users throughout the audio industry”.
Capital’s Paul Timmins reports, “We were introduced to the concept by the Outline team when we were buying into the Outline GTO C-12 system during late 2015 and early 2016. We took an immediate interest and, having then followed its development over the last two years, we are incredibly excited we have received our first production units.”
Robin Conway adds, “My interest was immediately piqued during my first introduction to the unit and the concept, then our internal team and some external staff saw it during our Outline array training at SW19 Studios. The right people in the room were immediately interested, at which point I knew it was a product we needed to add to our inventory.”
“These units were bought as an option for our drive systems in general, as they have the ability to run all four brands of loudspeaker system presently in our inventory - however, there are so many elements to this unit that are of interest, not least that the platform, being FGPA based, will allow the unit to continuously grow during its life span.”
Conway concludes, “We are trialling the unit in a live environment on the Sam Smith world tour. We felt it was

Portugal - A range of top Portuguese singers, such as Paulo Gonzo, Diogo Piçarra, D.A.M.A, C4 Pedro and Marco Paulo converged on Gondomar´s Pavillion for Radio Festival Party, the biggest such event in the country.
Brought in to energise the nearly 8000-strong crowd at this year’s Radio Festival Party in Porto were over 64 NEXT-proaudio’s loudspeakers supplied by Mega Ensaio Rental Company.
These NEXT-proaudio systems included arrays of 20 LA212x three-way enclosures for main reinforcement. For low-end, 16 NEXT LAs418 subwoofers stacked by pairs of two units below the main arrays. Two-way Active Line Array LA122A cabinets were deployed as both side-fills, in arrays of four enclosures per side with four LAs118A Active Subwoofers.
The monitoring included 12 active 14” stage monitors LAm114xA while the front-fill comprised four LA122A. The entire setup was powered and managed via NEXT-proaudio LA touring racks.
Mega Ensaio has worked with Radio Festival organiser on several previous high-profile events. “We have been working with Radio Festival for a long time,” says Antonio Fonseca, technical director of Mega Ensaio. “As technical director of this event, I can consider that the system has delivered a very consistent sounding show and was close to perfect. The bands, artists and Radio Festival were really satisfied at the end of the show with the sound quality.”
NEXT-proaudio sent a team to the venue to provide technical support and help with the final alignment of the whole system.
(Jim Evans)

USA - The much-anticipated new Broadway musical Mean Girls, based on the hit film, premiered at the August Wilson Theatre on Broadway in April. Responsible for the production's video sets is British video design team FRAY Studio, who worked closely with director and choreographer Casey Nicholaw and set designer Scott Pask to create the sophisticated, fast-paced and at times, surreal worlds of North Shore High's famous students.
"I love a gratuitously long fade but this was not the show for those," says Finn Ross, co-founder of FRAY Studio on Mean Girls' insta-fast scene changes. "Casey had an absolute stage vision for the show. He sees the video as part of the choreography, so that content moves and changes to the same beats and counts as the performers. The choreography on stage is very detailed, very fast and Tina Fey's script can change location in a beat. Our design approach had to be one to embrace and enable this speed."
Ross's creative partner and FRAY co-founder Adam Young explains: "During a number in the musical's first act we hurdle between present day, the past, fantasy locations, basements, school corridors, a swimming pool, a party, canteens and English classrooms! Using video, we are able to jump from place to place within a second, without disorientating an audience."
Ross and Young opted to use LED screens for the production's video display rather than projection to preserve the rich colours of the video content. Young explains, "Because the show's set is entirely LED, we could use colours and tones that we haven't bee

USA - A little over two years ago, lighting designer Peter Spadaro III dropped in at a local pub outside New York City. He left with a future client, one who would help push his career in new creative directions. His new friend was Matisyahu, a fiercely independent artist who has blazed new paths since he arrived on the music scene in 2004 by blending his Orthodox Jewish heritage with a mix of reggae, beatbox and alternative rock sounds.
Matisyahu, who reached the Billboard Top 40 with his single King Without a Crown, happened to be looking for a lighting designer at the time of their meeting. Spadaro, who was designing an upcoming show at the iconic Capitol Theatre, was seeking a new creative challenge. The two hooked up. In March, the latest chapter in this history was on display, as Spadaro unleashed an intense razor-sharp lightshow for his client at the New Orleans House of Blues with help from Chauvet Professional Rogue fixtures.
The stop was part of Matisyahu’s US tour in support of his fifth studio album. Spadaro has been travelling with eight Rogue R1 Spot fixtures as the foundation of his floor package on the tour. He paired these with the Rogue R1 Wash and Rogue R1 FX-B units that were already in the House of Blues rig.
“I travel with and depend on the Rogue Spots,” says Spadaro. “They’re extremely versatile, real workhorses that allow me to create a variety of looks, so I can keep up with the musical directions that Matisyahu and his band take. It was nice when we walked into the House of Blues and found all these other R

USA - Over the last two years, American rock band Kansas has toured the country performing their five-time platinum album Leftoverture in its entirety in honour of its 40th anniversary. Following more than 80 tour dates and on the heels of its impending closure this summer, the band has now thrilled fans with the announcement of The Point of Know Return anniversary run.
“We have been blown away by the positive fan response,” comments Kansas guitarist and original member Richard Williams in a press release announcing the tour. Our hope is that fans will enjoy this tour just as much, and hopefully even more.”
Bandit Lites has supplied the lighting for the Leftoverture anniversary tour, crafted by lighting designer Scott Pearson, which features Martin MAC Viper Profiles as the primary spot fixture with half in the air and half in the deck. Pearson
Pearson explains: “I have 14 GLP X4S fixtures in the air as my downstage colour wash and pick-ups, with six more uplighting the backdrop and 32 LED pars provided locally. That emulates a standard par rig . . . with lots of punch.”
As the concert consists of a two-and-a-half-hour production, special attention was given to programming the show.
“Scott is very creative, and it is apparent with how much attention to detail is in his programming for each song,” says Bandit client representative Shawn Lear. “I have been fortunate enough to see his shows and I appreciate Scott’s timing and patience holding looks and effects so as not to reveal everything in th

India - Slash Enterprises in Hyderabad has recently invested in a DiGiCo SD9 digital mixing console. It was purchased through India distributor HiTech Audio Systems Pvt.Ltd, New Delhi.
“We were looking for something compatible for our line of work and were introduced to DiGiCo SD9 by HiTech,” says Ronald Daniel, owner of Slash Enterprises. “I was awestruck by the features of the console and instantly loved everything about it.”
Slash Enterprises was found by Francis Daniel, who used to handle DJ events for weddings and corporate shows. The company has now expanded its sphere of work by adding mixing for live bands, as well as church events. Francis’s younger brother Ronald Daniel, an experienced sound engineer, then joined the team and gave the company a new vision. With his help and that of advanced technology and cutting-edge equipment, Slash Enterprises has joined the big names of Hyderabad’s audio rental industry and has added a variety of clients in the live music industry to its portfolio.
“I mix for both indoor venues and open air, live shows,” says Ronald. “The audience footfall varies and the needs of artists are increasingly demanding. For such a diverse array of shows, ease of use is a prime consideration in my console choice and the DiGiCo SD9 is a perfect fit for my scope of work.
“The console also offers 155 Dynamic EQ processors, all of which can be assigned to any of the input or output channels,” says Ronald. “Moreover, using snapshots feature, engineers can now switch between complete configurations i