World - One of the most successful advertising campaigns of 2014 saw multimedia designer Matt Button of Button Light use hundreds of Clay Paky Sharpys in his design for the Castrol EDGE oil viral advert. The ad, which was shown online and in cinemas, sees four cars race the lights in a stunning video that now has over eight million hits on YouTube.

With the concept created by Barney Steel, director of Marshmallow Laser Feast, Button was brought on board to bring the idea to life.

"I was first contacted by event producer Mark Logue who put me together with Barney," says Button. "We sat down and worked out that the best way to do it would be to use lights rather than hundreds of lasers. It was then I knew the Clay Paky Sharpy would be the ideal tool for the job with its fantastic brightness and pure beam."

Set in an old airfield east of Berlin in a dark for

Japan - Popular Japanese singer, voice actress and anime (animation) artist Yukari Tamura played two shows - Lantana in the Moonlight Live 2015 - for 20,000 devoted fans at the Nippon Budokan venue in Chiyoda, Tokyo. These were lit with around 250 Robe fixtures including 24 x Robe BMFL Spots in a design by Kenichi Taira.

Lighting was supplied by rental company M-Tech Style, and as well as being the LD and operator, Kenichi also project managed the event, which was staged with audience sitting 360 degrees all around the back of the stage.

Kenichi is one of the country's leading lighting designer / directors, and has used Robe products in his work for around 10 years. This was his first chance to use the BMFL Spots on such a major and high profile show.

The brief for lighting the shows was to enhance the feeling of moonlight, magic and special starry nights relating to

USA - Willow Creek Community Church has recently expanded its arsenal of Meyer Sound systems with JM-1P arrayable loudspeakers and 1100-LFC low-frequency control elements for two of its facilities. Following these upgrades, every major venue on Willow Creek's main campus in South Barrington, Ill. and three of its regional campuses are now equipped with Meyer Sound.

On the church's DuPage campus, the JM-1P loudspeaker system supports contemporary worship music services in an 800-seat high school auditorium. "The quality and clarity of the JM-1P system is like night and day compared to our old setup," says Stephen Kendeigh, technical director for the DuPage campus in West Chicago. "I had heard the Meyer Sound system at our main campus and was impressed with the sound quality - I knew using Meyer Sound would be a positive experience."

The portable system compr

Italy - Visitors to the Kazakhstan pavilion at the World Expo 2015, which opened its doors in Milan on 1 May, will be taken on a virtual journey through Kazakhstan's rich and varied landscape. Barco Audio Technologies, the Germany-based audio expert that Barco acquired in 2014, delivers the immersive sound system that helps envelope the audience in a fascinating 360-degree virtual experience.

Occupying a total area of 2,396 m2, the Kazakh pavilion aims to introduce visitors to the theme of protecting natural and agricultural resources, culture and the idea of sustainable development. The centrepiece of the pavilion is the Main Show, an immersive 3D stereo full dome theatre supplied by Munich-based dome technologies developer Sky-Skan Europe.

Under the 15m domed projection screen, visitors are whisked away on a virtual flight over Kazakhstan's vast and magnificent landscape, pa

South Africa - At the glittering Naledi Theatre Awards, hosted recently at the Lyric Theatre at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg, DWR Distribution sponsored the Best Lighting Design category, which was presented to Daniel Galloway from The Fugard Theatre for his innovative lighting of the hit production of The Rocky Horror Show. Forming part of the prize, Daniel Galloway in turn, will nominate a new up-and coming technician who will receive free mentorship and training from DWR.

Now in its eleventh year, the Naledi Theatre Awards has grown into a prestigious event that recognises excellence in professional theatre. This year's striking set was designed and built by Dream Sets

The awards have honoured over 60 lifetime achievers who have dedicated their lives to SA Theatre. This year, the Award was presented to Shaleen Surtie Richards. Naledi also pays tribute to people in

UK - Reachmaster is a robust, easy to use mobile scaffold tower, that is suitable for a whole range of jobs, from working on low ceilings or decorating internal walls, to maintaining the outside of tall buildings.

Available now, Reachmaster offers "more working heights than virtually any other aluminium scaffold tower in its class", from 2.5m to 8.5m.

Setting up the Reachmaster is made easy, thanks to its folding base frame, which can be wheeled into position even when it's closed. Opening out the base frame and locking the folding gate is quick and easy. Braces snap into place and are colour coded for identification.

Unlike many scaffold towers, Reachmaster includes a folding base frame (measuring 1900mm x 960mm x 360mm when closed), making it compact enough to store and transport easily.

(Jim Evans)

South Africa - A team from DWR Distribution entered The Jeep Warrior Race hosted by Advendurance at Hakahana Trails near Hatebeespoort Dam situated in the North West Province of South Africa on 10 May.

"It looked like fun," said Nicolet Britz, the only fearless female competitor from the DWR team. "And it was. The best part was the mud pit and jumping from a 6m high platform into the water."

The idea to enter the competition came from Robert Izzett and the team included Keith Pugin and his son Tyler, Eazy Moeketsi, Schalk Botha, Grant Joubert, Nicolet Britz and Duncan Riley.

The Warrior Race is an obstacle course racing series that spans eight events across four provinces. The event features three distances of increasing difficulties, sparking an obstacle-racing craze that has seen the event grow from 40,000 people in the first year to 80,000 since Jeep S

USA - A team of Avolites' powerful Ai EX8 media servers is driving spectacular visuals in Las Vegas's new superclub, Omnia.

Billed as "a new nightlife experience" and created by international lifestyle brand Hakkasan Group, Omnia is situated on The Strip in the world famous Caesar's Palace. Designed by the internationally renowned Rockwell Group, the club spans 75,000sq.ft and prides itself on offering state-of-the-art technology. The club launched with a star-studded party featuring Calvin Harris on DJ duty in March 2015.

Frank Murray from Audiotek supplied and oversaw the AV aspects of the project, working alongside Avolites' Ai developer Ciaran Abrams, who provided support for Ai as it was installed and programmed.

Three Avolites Ai EX8 servers are powering visuals in the opulent main room of the club, which features a huge chandelier as the centrepiece of the v

Russia - This Valentine's Day saw one of the biggest dance events in Russia's history hit its capital. Over 17,000 Muscovites partied hard throughout a three-hour dance mash-up marathon, with lighting designer Konstantin Gerasimov of 4DProject employing an array of Clay Paky fixtures to deliver an electric party atmosphere.

Organised by Russia's popular station Love Radio and Brothers Entertainment Production Company, the show took place at the SC Olympisky and was directed by Anastasia Sinelnikova, with executive producer Svetlana Voronova.

The event saw a record number of acts and sound and lighting equipment used on the night. Among these were a significant amount of Clay Paky fixtures, with Gerasimov specifying 92 A.leda B-EYE K20s, 71 Alpha Spot 1500s, 72 Sharpys and 36 Sharpy Washes from Arlecchino Techno.

"As the Big Love Show was a continuous mash-up of dance we

Mexico - Robe made a big impact at the 2015 Sound Check Xpo in Mexico City working closely with its Mexican distributor Vari Internacional, who this year swapped the space they had occupied in recent years for a larger, more visible booth in Olmeca III. This reflects the success that Vari has enjoyed generally over the last year.

Robe sent Nathan Wan and Steve Eastham to work alongside the Vari team including Hugo Patiño and Francisco Canales, Bruno Carranza, Allan Fernandez, Juan Fco Alvarez (Paco) and Uriel Sanchez.

For the first time, it also featured one of Robe's famous light-shows, created with all the latest products.

On the sales side, sales director Harry von den Stemmen from Robe International rocked up, together with Robe's regional sales manager for Latin America, Guillermo Traverso.

The Robe Stage was located prominently right at the entrance of Olmeca III. I

USA - Reminders of St. Albans' rich history are everywhere in this picturesque small town at the confluence of the Kanawha and Coal Rivers. There's a monument honouring one of the area's first property owners, George Washington, who worked as a surveyor here prior to the American Revolution and a plaque commemorating some of the oldest Native America artefacts found in the US. When visitors step inside the town's Maranatha Fellowship Church, however, they're instantly transported into a thoroughly modern 21st century worship environment.

Elite Multimedia of Nashville, TN worked closely with Kelly Casebolt, Maranatha's media manager, to give the church's worship centre a bold, more engaging new look using some of the latest technological tools available. At the centreof their design is a 40ft wide HD SDI video screen with triple wide projection and flanked by additional LCD scree

UK - Terry Murtha and the team at S+H Technical supplied a spectacular selection of starcloth, soft goods and video products - adding plenty of sparkle and razzmatazz - to the 2015 Herald Business Awards, which celebrated the brightest and best local business achievements in a glittering event at the Plymouth Pavilion venue.

S+H was contacted by the event's organiser Kate Nesbitt, who was recommended to the Ilfracombe, Devon based company by colleagues. It was the first year that Kate had organised the Awards, started in 2011 by the Plymouth Herald newspaper.

The 650 plus guests entered through a 12m long starcloth entrance through which they entered the venue. The tunnel was fully wrapped in S+H's red velvet Pea-Light Starcloth - the same product that has featured on Strictly Come Dancing.

As they exited the tunnel into the main Pavilion auditorium, people the

UK - Avolites aficionado Jamie Thompson has been out with Irish pop-rockers The Script on their European tour controlling 'maximum impact' lighting with his very own Avolites Sapphire Touch console, plus an Avolites Quartz and x4 Avolites Titan Net Processors.

In addition, a second Sapphire Touch was used a backup. All front-end Avolites control equipment was supplied by global lighting and show design company Mirrad.

"The brief for this show was: 'make this look like the biggest show we've done, with loads of light, visuals and energy'," says Thompson. "This was, of course, music to my ears."

With venues including Liverpool's Echo Arena, the Phones 4U Arena Manchester, and London's O2 Arena, Thompson was challenged with creating a huge show to fill large spaces. To achieve this, he specified a rig which included the powerful Clay Paky Mythos and A.leda B

UK - Genelec 4000 series active loudspeakers feature prominently in the latest refurbishment project at the University of Derby. A total of 30 new classrooms and a courtroom have been upgraded at the university's impressive campus, with Genelec's installation-friendly speakers providing crystal clear sound to complement the new audio visual equipment installation, enabling cutting-edge collaborative teaching methods to be used.

The University of Derby is a modern education provider with more than 28,000 students attending a diverse range of courses. The main campus located in Derby city centre is accompanied by its Buxton and Chesterfield campuses. The upgraded classrooms at the main campus feature Genelec 4020 and 4030 Series speakers.

Scott Bradley, of the University of Derby's IT Networks team, first realised the benefits of Genelec speakers at the Integrated Systems Europe

Australia - Danny Rose, the award-winning Paris-based art and design collective, celebrate their return to the seventh annual Vivid Sydney festival, the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas, with "the true synaesthesia of Mechanised Colour Assemblage".

The group's latest large-scale digital art installation will transform the sandstone façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia into a series of sound and colour 'machines' to create "a truly stunning, continuously morphing listening and viewing experience".

This work, a close collaboration between the creative team at Danny Rose and Australian artist Rebecca Baumann, will be one of the centrepieces of the 18-day festival of light, music and ideas that is Vivid Sydney.

Rebecca Baumann is a Perth-based artist working predominantly in kinetic sculpture, installation and performance. Her

USA -- The first College Football Playoff (CFP) was marked by a series of exciting events, including the weekend's premier concert series, AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! headlined by Lenny Kravitz and Sting. Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures played a key role during back-to-back nights of shows at the American Airlines Centre, Dallas.

New Orleans-based Solomon Group produced and designed AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! providing a full array of live event services for the first-of-its kind concert series.

"For organizers at CFP and ESPN, it was crucial that the events taking place during the inaugural College Football Playoff weekend be just as exciting as the game itself," says Matt Foucheaux, director of production design at Solomon Group. "It was also crucial that the CFP brand play front and centre. We chose a production design for the stage that drew heavily

USA - XS Nightclub at Encore at Wynn Las Vegas knows success and has every intention of retaining its title as the top-grossing nightclub in the United States. Its latest recipe for success in the ultra-competitive Las Vegas nightlife scene involves a multi-million dollar production re-design with lighting design by Steve Lieberman of SJ Lighting and a serious technology package that includes Platinum SBX, Platinum Spot 15R Pro, Protron LED Strobe, and Lumina Strips from Elation Professional.

Although Steve has a long-standing relationship with the operators of the venue, this is his first time doing design work for XS. There are multiple reasons why the club has been successful for so long, he says, one being the fact that it's located in one of the most well-known, most successful casino hotel properties in Las Vegas in Encore/Wynn. "Another is the fact that everything at

USA - Philips Vari-Lite reports that the award-winning stage lighting and theatrical supplier Kinetic Lighting is now carrying the VL4000 Spot luminaire as part of its lighting inventory. Based in Glendale, CA, Kinetic Lighting offers event lighting services, lighting rentals and sales, plus lighting design services to clients around the world, and they are eager to now provide their clients with the 1200W luminaire from Philips Vari-Lite with unlimited creative possibilities.

"We're thrilled to have the VL4000 Spot in our rental inventory" said David Rosen, president Kinetic Lighting. "This fixture is packed with features and offers a whole range of FX, which are two of the reasons client feedback has been so positive. From an investment standpoint, I appreciate that Philips Vari-Lite incorporated different effects into a single model because it makes cross-renta

USA - Former Static-X bass player, Andy The Kid (ATK), is preparing to kick off his first solo tour using Allen & Heath's Qu-Pac digital mixer.

The Australian born bass player, who is also a part of the rock band We Are The Riot, knew he needed to upgrade his mixing equipment for his solo tour in order to travel internationally to promote his new album Linchpin. It is something he wasn't able to do when he was a band member of Static-X.

"With Static-X we just didn't have the budget to send a big monitoring rig to other countries. The weight and size of the equipment made it a huge barrier for us to get overseas. However, now on my solo tour, I will be travelling with my Qu-Pac that allows me to go anywhere on the planet because of how compact it is. It makes a world of difference," said ATK.

When touring begins ATK doesn't plan on bringing a bass or guitar r

UK - Ambersphere Solutions continues to enjoy strong sales of the Clay Paky Mythos. Since its UK debut at PLASA 2014, the Mythos has established itself as another 'must have' Clay Paky fixture for a variety of applications, from television studios to corporate trade launches, theatrical performances and live touring productions.

Among the first to order its Mythos was Lightwave Productions, a small London-based company that provides a full technical production service across a broad range of events. Its hire stock needs to be able to service the needs of everything from a corporate awards dinner or a press launch to a full festival production.

Company director Henry Clarke saw the Mythos being demo'd by Ambersphere's Lee House and felt that the Mythos was an intelligent light that was equally as adaptable as it is clever, and therefore essential to the Lightwave stock sheet. &

UK - Leading pro audio provider The Warehouse Sound Services has been inundated with sales requests following this year's PLASA Focus Show in Leeds. The company showcased an exclusive range of products from d&b audiotechnik, Audio-Technica, Sound Devices, EM Acoustics, Midas, Shure and RCF. The event provided the organisation the opportunity to exhibit a number of new products.

At the event, The Warehouse showcased a range of quality audio products from d&b audiotechnik. The Warehouse is d&b audiotechnik's onlysales partner in Scotland and the North of England, so PLASA Leeds provided the opportunity to showcase the d&b's newest products including the four channel, two rack unit (2RU) amplifier: the D20 and the MAX2 wedge monitor.

The Warehouse also launched d&b's MAX2 wedge monitor. The MAX2 is a flexible 15" stage monitor, which can be pole mounted on a d&b subwoofer an

USA - Ever since the group's 2011 victory on NBC's The Sing-Off, Pentatonix has been making a name for itself. Now, with a 2015 Grammy Award and nearly a billion cumulative YouTube channel video views, the five-piece a cappella troupe also recently wrapped up a completely sold-out 21-date tour of North America.

California-based Sound Image served as the sound reinforcement provider for the trek and supplied an L-Acoustics K2 system at the request of Chris Aman, who did double-duty as both the group's FOH engineer and production manager.

Aman had his first opportunity to mix on K2 last year when Dispatch, the band he was touring with at the time, headlined the final night of Bridgeport, Connecticut's Gathering of the Vibes music festival. "I had heard good things about K2, but when I actually got the chance to turn it on for myself, my reaction was, 'wow . . . yes!'

UK - International lighting designer Tom Kenny has enjoyed an illustrious working relationship with The Who, dating back to 1989. Tom frequently uses different Robe products on his various projects, and for the current Who tour - a celebration of 50 years at the sharp end of rock 'n' roll - he chose 60 Robe LEDWash 1200s to be on the rig.

A major challenge in designing lighting for The Who in recent years is that no smoke or haze can be used, which immediately rules out certain types of lights.

Tom has been using LED sources increasingly in his designs, and decided to continue that theme on this current tour. A large video system features an upstage LED screen, so any lights had to be potent enough to punch through the ambient lighting levels. He also decided to incorporate LED pixel panels in his design, which amplified the need for a very strong LED wash light. The LEDWash 1

Australia - Located on the southern bank of the Brisbane River and built on lands which were the traditional home to the Jagera and Turrbal Aboriginal people, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) is the premier Arts Centre in Queensland, Australia.

The team at the Playhouse Theatre, which opened in 1998, recently took a decision to replace its existing dimmers. Phil Viney from Design Stage was engaged to prepare a specification that would directly replace new for old dimmers in the 850-seat venue.

Due to space limitations and the existing dimmers' footprint, any replacement dimmer ideally needed to be a small footprint unit that could easily be distributed around various locations in the venue. The only alternative available at the time was to use rack-mounted dimmers - however, such a solution would occupy valuable floor space, be more expensive and more difficult to

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