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02 September 2024

UK - DirectOut is the creator of multi-function audio processor PRODIGY.MX, currently in use across a range of Gareth Owen Sound (GOS) Productions. These include the recently opened production of Starlight Express at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, and The Devil Wears Prada, which is currently showing at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, and due to open at the Dominion Theatre in October 2024.

Gareth Owen is one of the world’s most successful theatrical sound designers. Not only is he responsible for multiple award-winning shows, he is also a pioneer in immersive theatrical sound design. Owen was co-founder of Fourier Audio and still holds the title of CCO, after the sale to DiGiCo in 2023. He is also CEO of software house Show Control, creators of EnSnap and other software/hardware tools for use exclusively on Gareth Owen Sound pro

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02 September 2024

France - In partnership with Leap Creative Studio, PixMob technology lit up 70,000 fans at the Stade de France for the Paris Games closing ceremony. PixMob’s X4 LED wristbands were distributed to each person in attendance, both fans and athletes alike.

With these bright LEDs, each person represented a pixel on a massive human-resolution TV screen. On this screen, PixMob’s Moving Visual technology cast animated effects that illustrated the long and epic history of the games, from ancient chariot riders to a modern animation of the symbolic rings painted across the audience.  

PixMob’s Moving Visual Transmitter technology transforms audiences into interactive canvases. By seamlessly connecting fans to the action, the MVT allows for the projection of moving graphics onto crowds, turning the audience itself into a video screen that seamlessly ble

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02 September 2024

Mexico - Based in Mexico City, Simplemente is one of the country’s pioneering virtual production studios. The company was founded by Mónica Reina and Rune Hansen in 2000 and has always operated on the forefront of technological innovation, embracing digital film, live streaming, VR, and virtual production early.

Simplemente’s clients range from independent artists and creatives to production houses and film schools to major television networks across Mexico and Latin America. The studio also offers production services, integration, training, and rentals.

Simplemente just celebrated the one-year anniversary of its LED stage located at the historic Estudios Churubusco. The volume features 200sq.m of high-density LED panels arranged in a 270-degree immersive screen. There are 782 AOTO RM 2.3mm LED panels for a total resolution of 14252 x 2582, prov

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30 August 2024

UK - Serious Stages’ Stellar Stage featured headliners The Prodigy, Sonny Fodera and Skrillex at Leeds and Reading Festivals’ new Chevron Stage earlier this month.

Designed and manufactured in 2024 at Serious Stages Wells HQ, the new 20m wide roof, with 8m screen and PA goalposts, was flanked by 12 6m high scaff towers supporting giant chevron LEDs, supplied by Colour Sound Experiment. Completing a distinctive arena design, a striking LED net curtain roof was suspended over the audience in front of the stage, creating a spectacular light show, supplied by Special Structures Lab and Colour Sound Experiment.

Serious Stages supported Festival Republic’s desire to create a new-look Chevron stage, with the introduction of the Stellar Stage. Its angled sides not only gave the crowd a different aesthetic, but also accommodated the technical production

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30 August 2024

France - Musée de l'air et de l'Espace, a 150,000sq.m museum located next to the Paris-Le Bourget airport, sparkled during Cercle Festival 2024. Created by Cercle, an artistic movement that produces experiences, events, festivals, and immersive musical journeys that showcase artists on ‘unique stages’, the festival delivered an absorbing tapestry of sights and sounds.

At the centre of the festival was a stage set up under the fuselage of Air France’s prototype Concorde, supersonic jet airliner, with the dancefloor located in the museum space around the aircraft. Enhancing this immersive setting on a multitude of levels was an inspired lighting design by Steph Viallon that featured 55 Chauvet Professional Color Strike M motorised strobe washes provided by Magnum.

"I wanted to work on both height and depth, and to obtain reflections under the Co

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30 August 2024

USA - This summer, Wonderland Forest, a campground and concert venue by GFY Entertainment, transformed the rolling hills of Central New York's Apple Valley into a hub of musical performances. The venue hosted a series of concerts and festivals all season long, powered by a 1 Sound audio system for the outdoor festival-style stage.

Upstate Stage & Lighting, a live production and installation company with a focus on music venues, selected 1 Sound for the Saloon Stage. The versatile system accommodated various musical acts, from full rock bands to DJs, with travelling sound engineers consistently impressed by the clarity and sound of the 1 Sound system.

For this outdoor system that was set to be installed for three months, Upstate Stage and Lighting deployed two Contour CT212s a side as the main left and right. These robust, three-way horn-loaded po

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30 August 2024

UAE - Pulse Middle East has completed an audio-visual installation at the Epik Club, situated in Dubai’s Meydan Grandstand. Based in the UAE and serving clients across the MENA region and beyond, Pulse ME specialises in AVL Integration for nightlife, museums and places of worship.

Pulse’s long-standing relationship with Martin Audio dates back to the team’s touring days. The journey began with the W8L Longbow while the LE1500 wedge monitor, with its unparalleled clarity, further cemented the preference for Martin Audio products. This time, Pulse’s team chose to work with the Wavefront Precision WPS system at a venue that is set on 25,000sq.ft of space – a decision driven by several compelling factors.

The WPS system’s clarity and natural sound quality immediately impressed them. What stood out was the midrange clarity that required no add

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30 August 2024

Finland - Kuopio’s Panorama Landscape Hotel sits at the top of Mountain Tahko ski resort overlooking a landscape that could have been hand-painted by Monet. Some guests sit in the clouds absorbing the natural beauty of the forest, while others choose to relax in their suites or in the traditional Finnish design of the spa.

Built by local entrepreneurs Harri Jokela and Katja Kuulusa, Panorama Landscape Hotel is a celebration of Nordic architecture, from the detailed wood interior to the RAW Genelec Smart IP loudspeakers located across the site.

Original planning started in 2018, with construction of the hotel made possible through investment by former rally champion Tommi Mäkinen and former Formula 1 titleholder Kimi Räikkönen – both legends of Finnish motorsports. Taking inspiration from Japanese onsen spas, the idea was to build a hotel that

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30 August 2024

UK - Backup is always excited to be at the PLASA Show and this year is no exception. Meet the Backup team at the Backup Support Hub, part of the #WeMakeEvents Stand A18.

Trained Mental Health First Aiders from Backup and Music Support will be available for the whole show to share information and signpost, with specific support again being offered by EventWell in the Safe-Space for anyone who needs it, at any point during the show. This is also a chance for companies and individuals to learn more about the services Backup provides and find out how they can get involved and support the industry charity. 

Tuesday sees the first Backup Interactive Wellbeing session, coordinated by PLASA. Starting at 2:30pm in Theatre 1, the session has been designed to offer a much less intimidating, more personalised environment and will be chaired by Peter Heath, PLAS

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30 August 2024

UK - Having appeared to great acclaim and huge popularity last year, Classic Gear Live, which presents some of the key lighting and sound products that have shaped the entertainment industry, is back for 2024 at this year’s PLASA Show.

This year’s display builds on the success of last year, with some returning favourites and a whole bunch of ‘new’ classics besides.

On show this year: the Vari-Lite VL2, VL4 and Artisan for those who missed them last year, but alongside them the Vari-Lite’s rivals from back in the day, the moving mirror lights – GoldenScan and RoboScan, controlled by a Wholehog II console, marking the 30th anniversary of its PLASA debut.

Stepping back a generation: Avo’s QM500, or for a complete contrast in size, Zero88’s Sirius, the console that introduced so many to memory lighting control. Many would then gra

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30 August 2024

UK - Robe is using the buzz and hustle of the 2024 PLASA London expo to launch four new products – the iForte Fresnel, the Painte Fresnel, the SVOPATT and the SVB1.

The new Robe Liveexpo production performance extravaganza will be premiered on stand A70 – The Fifth Dimension, featuring three live performers, lots of tech and heaps of imagination.

Robe’s other businesses – architectural and LED lighting manufacturer Anolis, networking and control specialist Artistic Licence, UK-based console manufacturer Avolites and Australian-based power distribution gurus LSC – will all be located on adjacent stands.

The Fifth Dimension will feature a diversity of Robe fixtures like iBolt, iForte LTX, T32 Slim, Footsie1 and Footsie2 Slim, iSpiiderX, TetraX, Tetra2, the ever-popular LEDBeam 350, the RoboSpot remote follow spot sys

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30 August 2024

UK - Avolites plans the UK debut of the Diamond 7 (D7), the newest addition to the Diamond collection of consoles, at this year’s London PLASA show on stand C28 within the Robe village. Two variants, D7-330 and D7-215, positioned as “the ultimate travel and performance console”, that can be packed in a standard Peli Air case and checked in as hold luggage to fly anywhere with you, will be on the Avolites stand for demonstration.

Other hardware available for demonstration on the stand includes the flagship lighting control console the Diamond 9, with both variants D9-330 and D9-215, along with the T3 and T3-W – Avolites’ smallest footprint professional lighting control product, where portability, compactness and performance are crucial.

Plus, the tried and trusted Essential Collection Sapphire Touch, Arena, Tiger Touch II and Quartz consoles

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30 August 2024

UK - The Obsidian Control Systems team is attending the upcoming PLASA Show with new devices in its award-winning Netron data distribution range, including the world's first line of IP66-rated data signal products for entertainment.

Despite the immense amount of IP-rated entertainment technology on the market, lighting professionals have lacked IP-rated data distribution devices to provide the required infrastructure. Obsidian has changed all that. On display at Stand C26 will be a six-port RDM Splitter (RDM6 IP), six-port EtherDMX Node (EN6 IP), and an eight-port managed POE Network switch (NS8 IP), all IP66 rated and in stock and shipping.

The Netron IP66 range blends the proven chassis and connector technology of Elation’s established IP65 Proteus lighting fixtures with the Netron data platform. The Netron IP66 range utilises a custom-designed d

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30 August 2024

UK - LDR’s Lisa and Marco will be present at the trade show, thanks to the support of distributors Gobo Plus (Stand E80) and Prolight UK (Stand G28). They will be available to anyone who wishes to learn more about the new Astro Followspots or any other product showcased at the event.

“Our products, particularly the entire range of followspots, are considered the best in their specific category, and we are very keen to illustrate their excellent features and clearly explain the technical features,” says Lisa Papi, managing director of LDR. For this reason, we always strive to be present at significant events.”

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29 August 2024

UK - A new partnership has been announced by lighting designers Ross Chapple and Nick Jevons. Auratecture brings together the combined creative talent of these two lighting and production designers to offer a “design house” with a bold artistic vision for clients seeking “dynamic, unique, and innovative lighting and stage concepts”.

“We have a historical friendship stretching back over a decade, during which time we have admired each other’s creativity and work ethos. Our individual artistic visions are contrasting yet complementary, and we felt the time was right to bring our thinking, skills and resources together to build something really special – a design partnership where our creativity could nurture exciting new collaborations,” explains Jevons.

“Nick and I are both musically driven people,” expands Chapple. “Creating imp

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29 August 2024

Europe - Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres world tour has received widespread acclaim since launching in 2022, not only for the band’s celebrated music and engaging onstage presence, but also for their efforts in ushering in a new era of sustainable touring. Award-winning lighting designer Sooner Routhier has been working with Coldplay since 2019 and, keeping with the environmental ethic, she chose to light the shows using greener, more eco-friendly fixtures. The lighting vendor for the tour is a long-time partner, Upstaging.

Routhier’s original tour design launched in 2022 in support of the Music of the Spheres album, and the band is continuing the current stadium tour with the same design. For this summer’s European leg, which launched on 8 June at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, she was looking for the most effective way to add a se

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29 August 2024

UK - Production Light & Sound, a provider of production equipment hire in the live events industry, has announced that it has become the leading supplier in the North of England for Green Voltage's sustainable power solutions.

From its headquarters in Leeds in Yorkshire, the company is taking a significant step forward in providing environmentally conscious power alternatives for events of all sizes.

Its recently expanded offering includes a range of portable battery power systems with solar panels, making it easy to support clients seeking clean, silent and sustainable power sources for events, live broadcasts, film productions and festivals.

Sarah Buckmaster, company director and technical manager at Production Light & Sound, said: “Our commitment to reducing carbon footprint and embracing eco-friendly practices has led us to this

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29 August 2024

Romania - The Sibiu International Theatre Festival, which is put on by The National Theatre Radu Stanca Sibiu, has just celebrated its 31st year.

This year the June festival featured indoor and outdoor theatre, music and dance, as well as street acts, and drew more than 100,000 international visitors who enjoyed over 830 performances, involving 5,000 artists from 82 nations. Among those performers was American actor John Malkovich, César Award-winning French actress Isabelle Adjani, and Romanian theatre director Silviu Purcărete.

Adding to the magic of the 2024 edition of the festival, which was built around the theme of ‘friendship’, was a massive collection of over 250 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied and installed by Andrei Popea and his team at Backstage Production Group.

The Backstage team deployed 106 of these fixtures, as w

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29 August 2024

Germany - Open Beatz is the largest open-air festival for electronic music in southern Germany and attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the 50-hectare site in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, every year.

Performers on the five creatively designed stages in 2024 included Afrojack, Nicky Romero, Felix Jaehn, Lilly Palmer, and many more. Eventures GmbH was responsible for the lighting, sound, and video equipment on the three largest stages. Tobias Reinartz (visualprime) was responsible for the lighting design, working with the new Cameo Oron H2 Hybrid Phosphor Laser Moving Heads for the first time.

The Oron H2, which Eventures sourced entirely from NicLen’s dry hire stock, was the central element of the lighting design this year. “The Oron H2 is the brightest and most powerful beam moving head I’ve seen to date,” says Reinartz. “It offers everyth

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29 August 2024

Germany - For more than 20 years, the Airbeat One festival has entertained fans with the harder side of electronic music with an event that features cutting-edge stage design, epic light shows and leading international DJs. 

Airbeat One 2024 was recently held at Flugplatz Neustadt-Glewe, where lighting designer Christopher Rostalski, CEO of CR Lichtdesign, used 130 Claypaky Tambora Linear 100 LED pixel-mapping bars designed for versatile lighting effects and artistic set decoration. 

The annual event is one of the largest EDM festivals in Germany, drawing some 100,000 visitors. Every year has a different country theme with France being highlighted in 2024, and the stage designs and presentation of the festival reflecting that choice: the main stage was a faithful replica of the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre in Paris.

Rostalski selected 130