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S+H helps stars glitter at Children in Need

BBC's 2015 Children in Need telethon helped raise £37m for the fundraising campaign (Photo: Ben Telford)

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - The main hub of the BBC's 2015 Children in Need telethon was again Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, where the marathon seven-hour live broadcast on BBC One united a glittering array of stars and a myriad of special collaborations all of which - along with thousands of activities taking place nationwide - helped raise £37m for the fundraising campaign.

Drapes, softs and special effects company S+H Technical supplied 350sq.m of its animation cloth and 50sq.m of its RGB Starcloth product to the event, which were an essential element of the spectacular production design created by Alex Craig.

Alex's studio set evoked fantasy images of both high-tech and retro fairground attractions and was based around multiple LED screens, surfaces and scenic decoration, with an impre

Behind the Scenes Happy Hour 2015 success

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - The Behind the Scenes Happy Hour, hosted by PLASA, took place on Thursday, 22 October, from 6pm-8pm at the Westgate Las Vegas. Over 400 guests attended the event, and were able to network, relax and let loose before the start of LDI. Due to the generosity of the sponsors and attendees, PLASA was able to donate over $18,000 to the Behind the Scenes charity.

Event co-chair Steven Way of ALPS commented, "We were very pleased with the success of this event in achieving its two primary goals, creating a comfortable networking experience for our industry professionals and supporting Behind the Scenes. We look forward seeing everyone at next year's Happy Hour event prior to LDI."

A big thank you goes out to all of the sponsors of the Behind the Scenes Happy Hour: Executive: Altman Lighting; Platinum: 4Wall Entertainment, IATSE, Nemetschek Vectorworks, Inc., Ultratec

The Frank Gehry designed New World Center

Merging Technologies at the New World Center

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - The Frank Gehry designed New World Center is not only a huge asset for New World Symphony audio fellows, it is also a world class performance space available for hire.

It would be a given that the designer of some of the world' best concert halls and a conductor with the stature and experience of Michael Tilson Thomas would make a fantastic design, but no corners have been cut in installing the latest media equipment to cover all requirements. The 756-seat Performance Hall and the smaller Sun Trust Pavilion are fully equipped for live performance and recording and share two multi-track surround capable control rooms. HD video recording and projection is also available for those hiring the spaces.

Originally set up to record 64 tracks at 24bit/48kHz, it became apparent that the majority of the major opera and concert venues had installed Pyramix and Horus/Hapi Networked

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Ed Kowalczyk played Johannesburg's Carnival City and the Grand Arena at Grand West, Cape Town

Up close and personal with Ed Kowalczyk

Details: 14 March 2016

South Africa - Within 48 hours tickets for An Evening with Ed Kowalczyk - Throwing Copper Unplugged 20th Anniversary were sold out at Johannesburg's Carnival City and the Grand Arena at Grand West, Cape Town. AMP Events and Polo Jeans Co presented the four shows, two in each city.

"The aim was to make this production more personal and special for the fans," said lighting designer Sean Caie who is also head of lighting at the Grand Arena. He programmed on a grandMA2 Light.

There was no specification for the lighting design and Sean made use of the in-house gear in each venue which largely consisted of a Robe lighting rig, to create a warm look on stage.

"No additional gear was needed for the shows as there was great equipment in both venues," he said. "With tight deadlines and turn arounds, I had to programme a large portion of the show off-line. A

The harbourside cranes came to life in a choreographed routine that was exquisitely lit and perfectly timed to music

SGM lights Crane Dance Bristol

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - SGM's low profile P-5 and P-2 IP65-rated wash lights have passed one of their biggest challenges ever - illuminating a synchronised 'crane dance' in front of 10,000 people on Bristol's harbourside.

Laura Kriefman, one of this year's Wired magazine Creative Fellows and a resident at the Pervasive Media Studio, approached Howard Eaton and Emma Chapman of Studio Three Sixty to design the lighting for her inaugural Crane Dance Bristol. With set designer Lucy Osborne the third member of the Studio Three Sixty team, this was their first project and it was an unqualified success.

Faced with sourcing equipment best fit for purpose on a limited budget, theatre lighting specialist Howard Eaton knew from previous experience that a combination of the ultra-energy efficient P-5 and P-2 heads would be the perfect complement to the 1km of LED ropelight that would be used to outline th

The MultiChoice Super Stars Year End event hosted at the Mosaïek church in Fairlands, Johannesburg

MJ Event Gear Robes at Super Stars event

Details: 14 March 2016

South Africa - MJ Event Gear used 12 of their Robe BMFLs at the MultiChoice Super Stars Year End event hosted at the Mosaïek church in Fairlands, Johannesburg. MJ have not looked back since purchasing the BMFLs and the fixtures have been booked out by other rental companies for various events around South Africa.

MJ worked with their client Edith Venter, and the lighting designer for the event was Gary Sam, a freelancer who programmed on a grandMA 2 Light.

"The evening consisted of two parts, a show and an after party," commented MJ's Theo Rood, project manager. "Prior to the show, staff from the MultiChoice Call Centre participated in auditions and a knock out system, something similar to an Idol's type competition. The top eight singers performed at the grand finale, hosted at the Teatro auditorium at the Mosaïek."

Gary Sam needed something that wo

The recording was made via monitor engineer Francesco Spadaccino's Yamaha CL5 console and Rio3224-D i/o units

Yamaha and Steinberg capture Al Bano live

Details: 14 March 2016

Italy - This autumn one of Italy's best-loved pop acts, Al Bano and Romina Power, released their first album in 20 years. The multitrack recording for The Very Best - Live aus Verona was made on Steinberg Nuendo Live, via monitor engineer Francesco Spadaccino's Yamaha CL5 console and Rio3224-D i/o units. It was the first time that a major label album release has been recorded in this way.

Released on Universal Music, the album was recorded at the duo's Arena di Verona concert in May. The show was also broadcast live on Rai 1, Italy's premier national television channel.

Francesco has worked with Al Bano for many years and has used many digital mixing consoles. His favourite is undoubtedly the CL5. "My job is to keep the artists on stage happy and the CL5 is always my first choice to achieve that," he says.

He continues, "This show was huge. We had a

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Gary Fallon assumes the role of regional sales manager for Elation's Eastern US region

Gary Fallon joins Elation team

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Elation Professional has announced the addition of lighting industry veteran Gary Fallon to the Elation team. Fallon assumes the role of regional sales manager for Elation's Eastern US region and is based out of the company's South Florida office and warehouse facility.

Fallon is a familiar face to many in the industry, having worked in product and sales management at Martin Professional for 12 years before leaving to establish his own business. "Gary comes to us with vast industry knowledge and experience and knows the value of hard work, discipline and supporting customers above and beyond," stated Elation sales director Eric Loader. "Gary will work to support and continue our growth plans on the East Coast, managing our sales reps and supporting our dealers in the region. I am confident he will fit well into our company culture and growth plans."

Davwinder Sheena joins API with a wealth of experience including studio management

API adds APAC region director of sales

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Automated Processes, Inc. (API) has announced the appointment of industry veteran Davwinder Sheena as the new regional director of sales, APAC. Sheena joins API with a wealth of experience including studio management and technical operations, as well as directing sales for several top professional audio manufacturers.

"API is committed to growing our presence throughout the Asia Pacific region. With large format consoles in Japan's largest scoring stages, along with our popular 1608 consoles in use from Jakarta to Seoul and on to Mumbai, Davwinder's experience will give us a bold head start in strengthening our distribution network and establishing new relationships throughout the region," says Dan Zimbelman, API's director of sales.

Sheena explains, "I've made a full circle in my career, from running world-class recording studios to working with some of

Kaskade played Pier of Fear on Manhattan's West Side

Chauvet Professional at Kaskade's Pier of Fear show

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - As an international superstar, Kaskade's gift to connect with his audience goes beyond pounding synths and tight reverbs. Kevin Mignone, owner of KM Productions, called on a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional to support this artist-audience bond during the dance maven's sold out Automatic Tour concert during the annual Pier of Fear on Manhattan's West Side.

Mignone positioned 24 Legend 330SR Spot moving fixtures over the audience section of the 135,000 square foot converted ocean liner terminal (officially called Pier 94) for the Kaskade show, which was produced by RPM Presents. All of the fixtures were directed at the crowd of 10,000 fans.

"Audience lighting is critical at any EDM concert because fans want to be engaged with the artist," said Mignone. "However, this is especially true with an artist like Kaskade because of the way h

Production designer Scott Moore created a video design using 140 FLEXCurve 8mm LED video tiles

PixelFLEX creates video design for Give Thanks 2015

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - To kick-off the holiday season, World Outreach Church, Nashville, created Give Thanks, a celebration designed to repurpose this season with hope and thanksgiving held at the Bridgestone Arena. Filled with inspirational speakers, a musical performance by Martina McBride, plus an energetic percussion display by Stikyard, production designer Scott Moore, Go Live Productions, needed a video backdrop that could highlight the unique performances onstage, but also capture the essence of the message being delivered. So working with Nashville-based Elite Multimedia, a PixelFLEX rental partner, Moore created a video design using 140 FLEXCurve 8mm LED video tiles.

"I've been involved with Give Thanks for the last three years, and each year the design process is entirely dependent upon what the programming material is going to be," began Moore. "I knew I

The Breeders Cup is run at Santa Anita Park

Santa Anita Park wins with Community

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - With its backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Anita Park is considered by many to be the world's most beautiful thoroughbred racetrack. It hosts some of the most prominent racing events in the United States including the Breeders' Cup and the prestigious Santa Anita Handicap.

The track's previous sound system, installed in the late 1990s, used four, pole-mounted loudspeaker clusters aimed back at the spectators. However, after a major renovation in 2013 along with a new press box and additional luxury suites, the pole-mounted loudspeaker clusters faced a wide expanse of newly-added glass causing unwanted audio reflections onto the seating and the track.

In 2014, Santa Anita asked AMT Systems of Santa Clarita, California to propose a new system to eliminate the reflections, add audio coverage in some of the newer areas and upgrade the overall sound quality to me

Fall Out Boy will return to North America next year for a series of tour dates through February and March

Jands Vista on Fall Out Boy's international tour

Details: 14 March 2016

Europe - A Jands Vista S3 console and two Jands D1 Playback Processors have been used by designer, Robb Jibson of So Midwest, Inc. to provide lighting and media control for American rockers, Fall Out Boy's recent 2015 international tour.

The high-profile US rock band have been touring in support of their 2015 album American Beauty / American Psycho, and undertook UK and European Arena shows throughout October, following a series of US dates over the Summer.

A long-time Jands Vista user, Robb took the S3 and D1 combination on the entire tour. The custom setup consisted of the S3 control surface, which was connected to an Apple i7 Mac Mini running the award-winning Vista v2 software, and a Wacom Cintiq Multi Touch pen tablet surface built into a custom case. The system ran with an identical back up and two Vista D1 Playback Processors, which were rack-mounted in a road-

The SolaSpot PRO CMY suits the Civic Theatre well

SolaSpot Pro CMYs perform civic duty in Townsville

Details: 14 March 2016

Australia - Seating a respectable 967 people in Lyric mode, Townville's hardworking Civic Theatre has been catering to touring companies and local groups since 1978. At the end of 2015, senior lighting technician Nate Leslie is busy with a full schedule of dance recitals, end-of-year presentations and Christmas concerts. Always a busy time of year, 2015 has been made a little easier by his lighting rigs recent expansion to include eight units of High End System's SolaSpot Pro CMY.

"What prompted me to look at the SolaSpot PRO CMY was how brilliant they are for theatre," Nate explained. "So many other fixtures in the same range don't offer nice variable colour correction and don't have a quality frost. The Pro CMYs are stunning in their intensity. They can match to a conventional halogen rig and give us that quality we need in theatre lighting, even with an LED en

Cassper Nyovest at the Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg (photo © Neil Van Schalkwyk)

grandMA2 in control on Cassper Nyovest show

Details: 14 March 2016

South Africa - Design company Formative was contracted by multi-award winning recording artist and record producer Cassper Nyovest to provide full creative direction, production & content design, show and technical production for his #fillupthedome show at the Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg.

The production design was based around his dynamic music and the creation of special 'moments', a process that built throughout the show, revealing different elements as the music called for them. For lighting and video control, Formative relied on grandMA2.

Formative ran two media servers and two grandMA2 full-size consoles, with an additional grandMA2 full-size at 'dimmer beach' as well as four MA NPU (Network Processing Unit). "We ran Art-Net from the media servers into grandMA2 for pixel mapping and split timecode between all the systems for full redundancy", Peters explained

The tour's massive success was mirrored by the popularity of the new album which hit number one in the UK album charts (photo: Louise Stickland)

HSL hits the road with Faithless

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Faithless hit on the road again in 2015 after a four year break, taking their infectious dance rhythms to an eager public celebrating 20 years since the formation of the band in the heady 1990s, when rave culture became a defining musical genre of the late 20th century. Faithless have left their stamp on the scene with rousing electro anthems like God is A DJ and Insomnia.

Andy Hurst was asked to create a visual concept and Blackburn rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment which included an investment in 300 Martin VDO Sceptron 10 LED battens, which were rigged on custom structures to form a giant '88' digital clock face.

The large digital figures were an idea that Andy and Sister Bliss from the band had thought about in the quest to have something different from conventional video with large screens and content onstage. When the dialogue with Andy

CORE Lighting at Sky Garden (© Sky Garden)

CORE Lighting on point for White Light

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Following recent purchases by industry-recognised rental companies, the versatility and usability of CORE Lighting's products means that they are now being utilised more than ever before. As CORE's exclusive European supplier, White Light is able to offer their full range of wireless battery products to production companies and rental partners as well as conference centres and venues.

WL stocks a full range of high-quality CORE products, all of which are available for purchase. Amongst these is the ColourPoint, of which more than 5,000 units have now been shipped worldwide. The ColourPoint is a lightweight, lithium battery-powered LED event uplight which uses the latest Wireless DMX Control.

Phil Ion, founder of CORE, comments, "What's great about the ColourPoint is its versatility. It is ideal for outdoor use and can be used for lighting up trees, three storey bui

Classic Martin Audio keeps Huntingdon Hall ticking

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - When freelance sound engineer Stu Hunt took over Worcester-based Insert Audio from its owners in January 2014 he not only inherited classic Martin Audio equipment but also a contract to service the technical requirements of 355-capacity local venue, Huntingdon Hall, which is also equipped with Martin Audio components from yesteryear.

"This installation was completed 15 years ago by John Brown's Limit Audio and all the equipment - including W3P, S218, EM15 and LE12JB - is still going strong," says Stu. "We maintain it every year, but have never had a single fault with any of the gear to date. 'Service' generally amounts to little more than cleaning the amp rack, or repairing the occasional pin on the EDAC."

As a rental company Insert Audio also holds a vast inventory of Martin Audio components, including W8C, WSX, WS2A, W3, F12, LE12JB, LE400 and LE20

Clockenflap sets stage against the iconic skyline of Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Clockenflap festival goes all Nexo

Details: 14 March 2016

China - Now in its 8th year, the Hong Kong music and arts festival Clockenflap has turned into one of the biggest events in the region. Staged in a picturesque waterside location in West Kowloon, this three-day festival brings together a diverse bill of international performers and musical styles.

With over 60,000 music fans attending, the 2015 event was the largest to date. For the first time, Clockenflap invited French loudspeaker manufacturer Nexo to be the festival's audio partner, a huge undertaking which meant supplying PA systems to seven separate performance stages (monitoring included) as well as a number of lounges, VIP areas and band common rooms.

The festival was the ideal showcase for Nexo's modular line array system, the STM Series, allowing the four-module system to be configured in four different ways to suit the main PA requirements of four different princip

Contributing to the immersive experience is a lightshow anchored around a collection of Nexus fixtures (photo: Paul Guthrie)

Nexus dazzles on Dead & Company tour

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - While the Grateful Dead celebrated their 50th anniversary last summer with five Fare Thee Well stadium shows, true Deadheads knew that in real life The Music never Stops.

This has been demonstrated loudly and clearly by the sold-out shows being put on throughout the fall and holiday season by Dead & Company, featuring original band members Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann. Playing to sold-out audiences, the 10-stop coast-to-coast tour is serving up some tasty new arrangements of classic Dead songs with renowned rock guitarist John Mayer filling the role of the departed Jerry Garcia on the guitar and vocals.

Contributing to the immersive experience is a beautiful lightshow anchored around a collection of Nexus 4x1 linear fixtures from Chauvet Professional provided by Upstaging.

Jon Pollak designed the lighting rig, but all the looks were fabri

The conference commemorated the 35th Anniversary of Stonex

Al Gurdon and Peter Canning Madrid masterclass

Details: 14 March 2016

Spain - Matadero de Madrid welcomed the first Spanish masterclass with lighting designers Al Gurdon and Peter Canning, who have illuminated shows like Eurovision, the halftime of Superbowl or the opening and closing of the Sochi Olympic Games. The event was organized by Clay Paky and its Spanish distributor Stonex.

Javier Latorre, Stonex CEO, opened the conference commemorating the 35th Anniversary of Stonex. "We are happy to share with all of you this seminar. Al Gurdon and Peter Canning's Masterclass is the best scenario for sharing knowledge and experience in the lighting field."

Francesco Romagnoli, area manager for Clay Paky, presented their latest products including Scenius, Spheriscan and Mythos, among others.

Al Gurdon opened his speech by highlighting the importance of a good light. The tours of Madonna, Kylie Minogue and Beyonce were some of the shows