USA - As part of the annual Major League Baseball All-Star Game festivities, the FanFest is an indoor baseball theme park experience dedicated specifically to the fans of the game. With opportunities to take photos with MLB Legends, get free autographs, plus pitch, hit and run on an indoor baseball diamond, the FanFest is an event like none other.
Continuing the implementation of technology enhancements designed to heighten the fan experience, the producers once again worked with BaAM Productions and MSI Productions at the 2017 event, and together they created an LED video tunnel entrance using 3.9mm FLEXLite Plus from PixelFLEX.
“Major League Baseball made it known three years ago that they were going to implement a tiered series of capital improvements to the annual FanFest experience at the MLB All-Star Game,” began Tom Bollard, technical director, MSI Productions. “They wanted to bring more technology into the show to make it more dynamic for our younger audiences. Last year, we implemented the LED tunnel walls during phase one of the capital project, and this year we implemented phase two with the integration of the LED tunnel ceiling, both of which used the FLEXLite Plus 3.9mm LED video.”
“The nice thing about our relationship with PixelFLEX is that they can pretty much do anything with an LED video design,” continued Bollard. “When BaAM Productions started designing the show, we knew with confidence that we could handle any design they wanted. When we received their sketches, we sent them over to the PixelFLEX design team, and i

USA - The Maverick MK Pyxis derives its name from a constellation of stars in the galactic halo of the Milky Way. True to its celestial moniker, the newest member of Chauvet Professional’s Maverick family can produce an endless array of out of this world looks, thanks to a unique design that includes an outer ring of RGBW LEDs, a powerful zooming centre pixel, 360° continuous pan and tilt movement and a host of other performance features.
“The Pyxis blazes a new path in design possibilities by incorporating a variety of different design features in ways that have never been done before,” said Albert Chauvet, CEO of Chauvet. “Designers who we’ve shown Pyxis to have been shocked that one fixture can produce so many different looks.”
At the centre of the Pyxis is a single homogenous 60W RGBW LED with a fixed 3° beam angle. Surrounding this pixel is an outer ring made up of nine 15W RGBW LEDs with a 7°-45° zoom angle. Working together, the centre pixel and outer ring are capable of creating a dizzying variety of captivating beam, wash, atmospheric and set piece effects.
A built-in virtual gobo wheel with background colours can be used to make the outer ring appear as if it’s spinning. This effect combined with the retractable motion of the centre pixel and the 360° continuous pan and tilt movement can fill a stage of any size with dynamic high energy looks. Readily accessible built-in colour effects add to this pixel mappable fixture’s versatility.
In addition to creating moving looks, the Maverick MK Pyxis can also do double

UK - Eaton’s popular Zero 88 lighting control brand continues its winning ways - collecting a coveted PLASA 2017 Award for Innovation for the inventive ‘RigSync’ feature, a feature available with the latest version of its powerful and flexible ZerOS console software.
RigSync demystifies the work of DMX addressing for console users, allowing them more time to focus on being imaginative - while the technical elements sort themselves out via the console communicating with the lighting rig.
The judges commented, “RigSync opens up lighting creativity opportunities for non-technical people in an entry-level environment.”
The PLASA Awards for Innovation aim to recognize and reward new product ideas, and are independently judged by a task-force of industry specialists.
“We live in a world where smartphones assist in accomplishing numerous complex tasks very straightforwardly on a daily basis” explained Eaton’s product manager for entertainment, Jon Hole.
“We adopted this same philosophy and approach to developing RigSync, which doesn’t just read the lighting rig or patch the console - it manages the set-up with no interaction required at all from the user - making the process simple, enjoyable and stress free!”
For a large percentage of small to medium sized shows and events and venues, technicians and operators do not need to be involved or concerned about specifics like DMX addresses - as long as their fixtures are functioning correctly. As any active practitioner in the performance and entertainment industry knows

UK - The Claypaky K-EYE HCR has won the Plasa Award for Innovation. The award is assigned by a strict jury made up only of expert professionals in the field, who carefully analyse the various products. It is a highly significant prize specifically because it places great emphasis on product innovation, which is one of Claypaky's underlying key values, around which all the company's design efforts and products revolve.
The jury gave the following motivation for the award: “A new approach to accurate colour rendering starting at chip level rather than manipulating existing sources.”
Pio Nahum, Claypaky's CEO, welcomed this acknowledgement with great pleasure and illustrated the original specifications behind the K-EYE's design: "For years, our most demanding customers felt the need for a light that differed from the others not so much for the number of special effect devices, but also and especially for the 'quality' of the light it produced.
“This is a very difficult parameter to define, since it relates to perception: it is the sum of multiple factors such as diffusion uniformity, colour temperature, colour control features, and most of all a high colour rendering index. To meet these requirements, Claypaky and Osram have developed a technology named HCR, used in the K-EYE range and in ADB's Klemantis."
The heart of the K-EYE HCR wash light is a LED light source consisting of a module with six chips, each for a different colour: besides the three “classic” basic red, green and blue colours, Claypaky has added amber, cyan and lime. Th

UK - It’s hard to imagine how the 40th incarnation of the PLASA show could have gone any better for Elation Professional. Capping an exceptional show, the company’s new full-featured Artiste Dali LED moving head and IP-rated Proteus Hybrid discharge-lamp moving head were both recognized as exceptional innovation with a PLASA Award for Innovation.
On hand to accept the awards were Elation president Toby Velazquez and Elation sales director Eric Loader. “This PLASA will always be special,” Eric Loader said shortly after the ceremony. “We’re humbled and honoured to have won two PLASA awards for product innovation. We continue to listen to designers and rental houses about their needs and continue to break the glass ceiling of perception that quality must be expensive by bringing innovative products to market with excellent price-value ratios. The Artiste Dali and Proteus Hybrid are great examples of that. Congratulations to our entire Elation team who worked so hard on getting these new products to market.”
The Artiste Dali and Proteus Hybrid were acknowledged as ground-breaking innovation at a ceremony held Monday evening, 18 September at the Olympia Exhibition Centre in London. “This is the first time the judges have seen a diffracted laser in an LED spot luminaire, making for a very versatile product," the judging panel said of the Artiste Dali. Of the Proteus Hybrid, the judges stated, "The innovative approach to cooling has enabled this to be the first IP rated hybrid moving discharge luminaire."
Both products attracted a great de

USA - Country music fans got a glimpse of the future on a warm August Georgia night at the Lady Antebellum Pavilion. There on stage, performing solos and as a group, were six budding talents visiting from Nashville. Having written hits for some of country’s biggest names like Luke Byran and Florida Georgia Line, the sextet was there to chase the dream, as performers. Supporting them with some colourful, evocative star-worthy looks was a John Berret designed lightshow that utilized 35 Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Quest Sound & Productions.
“People familiar with country music know that quite a few stars got their starts writing music for established artists,” said Berret. “The musical talent on stage was pretty awesome. My goal was to give them a look that reflected their talent as well as their potential. I wanted to evoke the stardom yet to come.”
Berret accomplished this goal for the six writers (Ray Fulcher, Tyler Reeve, Cole Taylor, Trea Landon, Daren Racheals and Wyatt Durrette) with help from 19 COLORado 1-Tri IP Tours, eight Rogue R2 Spots and eight Rogue R1 Beams. His rig was controlled with a ChamSys PC Wing.
“I dispersed the COLORado fixtures throughout the stage to create warm colour washes that reflected the mellow sound of much of the music,” he said. “Of the 19 COLORados, 16 were on downstage truss spread out to create this nice back wash with blues, deep reds and other colours. Then I kept the other three COLORados in my back pocket so to speak to use as crowd blinders. They have the output (806 lux at

Germany - Ahead of the Sturmfahrt tour to promote their new album, hardcore fans of Eisbnrecher (Icebreaker) flocked to their own festival under the name Volle Kraft Voraus ‘Full Force Ahead). Billed as Eisbrecher and Friends, the band invited artists like Lord of the Lost, Combichrist and And She Came into the Ratiopharm Arena in Neu-Ulm to join them for the occasion.
Rain Age was technical service provider for the high-profile event, while LD Martin Heining is also one of the long-time associates of Eisbrecher. "I've been supporting them for a long time and am responsible for the set and lighting design as well as for the special effects at the shows,” he reports. “It was only logical to work together with them on this festival as well.” In fact, it is becoming almost a full-time job for Heining, because the upcoming Sturmfahrt tour and his commitment to VNV Nation will occupy almost his entire time in the coming months.
At the Volle Kraft Voraus Festival Martin Heining faced a very special challenge. "On the one hand, I wanted to translate the set of Eisbrecher as authentically as possible into a festival design. On the other hand, all other bands should also have the opportunity to present themselves in the best possible manner." This was only possible with a clear line in the design. "You cannot become too complex with such little time for programming, but you need to create a lighting design that quickly produces a result," he explained.
At least as important for Heining is the reliability and flexibility of the fixtures - which led hi

UK - Philips Lighting has announced that its support of London's Arcola Theatre in staging the popular Grimeborn opera festival helped the venue with its ambition to become carbon neutral. At the same time, the lighting rig also providing lighting designers with a dynamic, beautiful and consistent quality of light.
Arcola Theatre aims to become the world's first carbon neutral theatre, so being able to use low-energy, high-quality LED stage lighting fixtures from Philips Entertainment Lighting contributed a significant advantage to the production of Grimeborn. Arcola estimates that the inclusion of Philips Lighting's LED technology in the Grimeborn lighting rig delivered a 36% power-saving.
Philips Selecon PLprofiles and Philips SL BAR wash lights augmented Arcola's existing lighting equipment. "This dramatically reduced our power consumption," says technical manager Geoff Hense. "Currently, our older lantern stock is a major obstacle to our efforts towards being carbon neutral, due to the high-power consumption and lamps that regularly need replacing. The Philips Selecon PLprofiles do not have these limitations. We see this partnership as a bridge to converting entirely to LED lighting."
Hense, along with assistant technical manager Michael Paget, created a fixed lighting rig for the festival, with some additional 'specials' available to meet individual requirements. "Some companies may bring their own lighting designers or programmers, but all have to work within these limitations," says Hense.
Based on the feedback from

UK - SLX has announced the launch of its new student bursary scheme. The scheme is aimed at second and third year lighting design, technical and event management students across England and Wales, providing five successful candidates with equipment, support and opportunities throughout the academic year.
SLX has supported and sponsored students in many ways through its history, employing student casuals, offering sponsorships and apprenticeships across the business.
Jo Sunners, business development manager at SLX describes the inspiration behind the scheme: “We’ve decided after a few months of consulting with drama schools and industry professionals to launch a new way of supporting the next generation of talent in our industry, something myself and SLX are extremely passionate about. I’m really excited to work with and support the successful applicants in the coming months.”
The bursary will be awarded annually going forward and will help the students who can best display a passion, dedication and enthusiasm for the industry, to grow their network and increase the tools at their fingertips.
Applications are already open for the bursary and the deadline is 11 October, after interviews of the shortlisted students have taken place, the recipients will be announced. The application form is now available at www.SLX.co.uk.
(Jim Evans)

UAE - Dubai Opera, located in what is claimed to be 'the most prestigious square kilometre in the world' in Downtown Dubai, has recently purchased 37 x Claypaky A.leda B-EYE K10s as part of a technical upgrade to the event space's lighting rigs.
Dubai Opera is considered a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. The 'dhow-shaped' building, designed by architect Janus Rostock, houses a flexible, 1900-seat venue which can be transformed into a theatre, concert hall or 'flat-floor' event space.
"Dubai Opera is a first-rate venue and we present and produce top-quality performances," explains Geoffrey Wheel, technical director of Dubai Opera. "Our audiences expect a high standard, and as such we always strive to be the best. We therefore invest in the very best equipment and this is demonstrated in our stake in the Claypaky brand. Its products are of an excellent quality."
The B-EYE K10 is a popular workhorse fixture for many designers across the globe, and the fact that it is widely available to hire in the Middle East market ensures that, alongside Dubai Opera's recent stock purchase, the venue can easily make additions on a production-by-production basis.
"Versatility is a key factor for us when investing in new fixtures," says Wheel, referring to the B-EYE K10's three modes of functionality - Wash, Beam and FX. "The fixture had to suit our main-stage concerts, meet the lighting and colour standard demanded by theatrical productions and adapt for use in our studio room and foyer for the more decorative lighting needs. Low power consumption, comb

UK - Wayne Howell, founder of Artistic Licence and the inventor of the Art-Net ethernet lighting protocol, has been honoured with the 2017 Gottelier award at the PLASA London show.
Named in memory of Tony Gottelier, the renowned industry innovator and commentator, this annual award recognises product developers who have made significant long-term contributions to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology.
Wayne Howell founded Artistic Licence in 1988. He was a major contributor to the development of DMX512-A in the 1990s, and released his free, public domain Art-Net protocol a few years later. Art-Net is now in its fourth version and has been adopted by hundreds of manufacturers worldwide.
Wayne has continued to expand and diversify the Artistic Licence brand, and is well known for his books, articles and seminars.
Artistic Licence enjoyed a cracking show at London Olympia, with a hugely popular set based around a Van de Graaff generator to demonstrate the electrical resilience of its splitters and gateways.
Visitors were entertained as company mascot Captain DMX was repeatedly edged towards the generator, creating a 400,000V surge directly into the company's new product, DMX-Protect. On the output a DMX controller and fixture continued to function happily, and the DMX-Protect itself easily survived three days of continued abuse!
Also on show, the moody programmable LED controllers made for an eye-catching display, having been updated with a choice of cover plates in contemporary material finishes

Europe - Depeche Mode’s Global Spirit Tour sees the band crossing the globe in support of Spirit, their 14th studio album. During the European leg alone, the boys will play to 1.5m fans in 32 cities in 21 countries. And at each venue a pair of Hippotizer Boreal Media Servers will provide the technology required to manage the show’s video playback.
SRae Productions, the full-service design and production company owned by Sooner Routhier and Robert Long, takes charge of the tour lighting direction for Anton Corbijn’s production design. Commenting on the Global Spirit Tour, Sooner described some of the duties she and her team demand of the Hippotizer gear: “For Depeche Mode, the Hippotizer is a playback machine. We used the system for IMAG effects on the rear wall. We also used the colour block system in some way, shape or form. We trace the screens to give them the look of being lined in modern, neon-esk lines. We also were able to use each LED tile as a lighting fixture, taking a bit of pressure off the content team.”
Key to the success of this world tour’s video & lighting show is Hippotizer, Green Hippo’s award-winning proprietary software, including its ZooKeeper user interface. ZooKeeper talks to ‘The Engine’ (the core of the Hippotizer system) and the latest version enables best-ever real-time control. Sooner is a ZooKeeper fan: “We love the new layout and its workflow,” she said. Evaluating the latest version of Hippotizer V4 with previous release, Sooner added: “It’s still similar to V3, but with a bit of added f

South Africa - Visiting South Africa, and in fact the African continent for the very first time, Oliver Ronshausen, service manager from MA Lighting, presented an elaborate three-day Advanced Service Training session to the DWR Distribution technical and support team.
Oliver joined MA in 1994, and with only a four-year interruption in between, really is part of the family. “I love the MA team, the product, being around the users and distributors and making friends in the industry,” said Oliver who in August last year started pushing service training to new and more structured level. “The training is to educate and enable people in the field to do repairs but the important thing, really, is maintenance. The feeling I have is that many MA owners don’t realize that they have to maintain their consoles in order to operate shows with a reliable product.”
The complex course went right down to component level and included fault-finding, quick fixes, replacing parts, PC boards, screens and a wealth of other information.
“We have learnt a great deal and our sincere thanks to Oliver,” said Bruce Riley, head of the DWR Technical department. “Our knowledge on tips and tricks and prompt problem solving has increased. We have learnt about support, how to listen to problems over the phone and how to swiftly get to the bottom of issues.”
An added benefit was that the entire DWR technical team, from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, received the same training at the same time. “That was the beauty of it all,” added Bruce. “On many o

UK - Sundown Festival returned to Norfolk Showground for the seventh year this September and Hawthorn once again supplied lighting for the main stage. Attracting a 40,000 crowd, the three-day festival was the biggest ever and featured Craig David, Pendulum, Rag’n’Bone Man and You Me At Six.
Hawthorn supplied the Main Stage flown lighting system, including rigging, drapes, FOH control systems and followspots. On top of this, the company also provided a custom designed lighting package for Saturday’s headline act Craig David and another for Pendulum, who brought the festival to a spectacular close on the Sunday night.
Hawthorn’s head of concert touring, Mick Freer, led the project and consulted with the lighting designers for this year’s headline and supporting acts to produce a design that brought together all their precise requirements.
“The LDs provided a festival/touring plot in their rider and from this I picked out the key fixtures they wanted; in this case these were Martin Mac Viper Profile, Clay Paky Sharpy and Atomic Strobes” said Freer. “Once I’d pinpointed these, I then incorporated them into my design for the flown rig. The key with this was to ensure that any floor lighting packages the acts were touring with could seamlessly merge together with the flown rig to achieve the best possible visual effect for both artists and festival goers.’’
Following several weeks of discussions and meticulous planning, the final drawings were then submitted to the Sundown production team and staging company for their structura

USA - “Magic is what we do, Music is how we do it,” Jerry Garcia once told an interviewer. Had the Grateful Dead frontman been around to see the fantastical transformation of his namesake forest at the recent Lockin’ Festival, he undoubtedly would have agreed that there can be quite a bit of magic involved in lighting too.
S. Jeremy Peters turned the thickly wooded ‘Garcia’s Forest’ around Lockin’s Terrapin Station Stage (named after the Grateful Dead’s mystical 1977 album) into a transcendental canopy of colour with 150 pixel-mapped IP65 par fixtures that he controlled with his ChamSys PC Wing and Playback Wing.
Peters, the owner of SJP Productions, hung between three and five lights on over 30 trees in the forest. The glow from these fixtures radiated throughout the woods, colorizing other trees and creating a wonderland around the stage. Using modified hunting stands to set up his rig without harming the trees, he positioned his pars high over the ground. This not only aided in spreading the light, it also kept the fixtures safely out of the reach of festival goers.
The glowing forest provided a colourful backdrop for the music on the stage, which featured a life-sized replica of the Terrapin Station Porch that graced the cover of the Grateful Dead album. Peters lit the stage using only six par fixtures.
“We wanted very minimal stage lighting to keep the ‘porch’ vibe, so we just used a basic front wash and a coloured wash on the tent ceiling,” he explained. “The idea was to make sure the porch façade was well lit

UK - PLASA 2017 proved a lively, energetic and vibey hub for meeting the UK’s lighting and visual designer community and other creatives commented Robe UK’s MD Mick Hannaford, words echoed by the moving light manufacturer’s CEO Josef Valchar, stating, “We have enjoyed seeing many individuals, companies and organisations from all over the UK as well as several from Europe – the quality of the visitors and the networking opportunities were really excellent this year!”
The annual trade show was again staged at the Olympia exhibition centre in west London over three days, with Robe’s large, high-impact stand right at the heart of the domed ceiling hall, attracting massive attention with a specular dance / light performance live show.
This year, the product focus was on Robe’s just launched MegaPointe multi-functional moving light.
Another stunning booth design complete with elaborate draping and dressing continued the theme of theatrical spaces around the world in which to showcase Robe’s diverse range of products.
The stand design and the live show’s direction and choreography was conceived entirely by Robe’s own creative team led by Nathan Wan and Andy Webb. The show starred Jake Stephens - a talented freestyle dancer who has auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent - together with 42 x MegaPointes.
The hourly live show, with a robot-brought-to-life narrative and an elaborate post industrial stage set - was complete with dynamic soundtrack which took the global launch MegaPointe video presentation as its starting

UK - Chroma-Q has appointed Paul Pelletier as global brand manager for Chroma-Q. Pelletier is a 30 year veteran in the performance lighting industry working for industry leaders, most recently Martin Professional in the role of solution manager. Bringing with him extensive experience working with key brands, Paul has been an integral asset in brand development and marketing. He has worked closely with product development, sales, marketing and technical support to develop products, as well as to promote and sell these products within the lighting marketplace.
Reporting to Jean-François Canuel, managing director for the Canadian Operations, Paul will provide the direction to promote and continue the growth of the Chroma-Q brand, with support and training for clients and users. He will also work closely with Chroma-Q’s R&D team to create forward-looking, successful product development efforts that anticipate and fulfill end-user lighting design needs.
Paul will be based near Chroma-Q’s North American manufacturing operations in Toronto, Canada.
Paul commenced his new journey for Chroma-Q attending IBC2017 tradeshow in Rai, Amsterdam, and PLASA 2017 international tradeshow in London, to discuss highlights from the Chroma-Q LED product range at the brand's dedicated stand.
(Jim Evans)

UK GDS announced at PLASA 2017 the creation of GDS Korea, a GDS manufacturing and design office in South Korea.
Following its creation, GDS has secured leading lighting supply and integration company, Hansam System Co Ltd as its exclusive distribution partner.
Richard Cuthbert commented: I am extremely pleased to be working with Hansam System and the team in South Korea. With an unparalleled system integration knowledge, it is the right choice for GDS theatre and lighting products. I very much look forward to improving the technical quality of theatre spaces in South Korea, and driving standards higher, as GDS has a long-standing reputation for doing.”
(Jim Evans)

UK - Sunday 17 September marked the 10th anniversary of the prestigious Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards, held at the Eventim Apollo in London. During the dazzling evening event, 24 respected designers were 'knighted' - and bestowed with the iconic KOI sword.
The event was skillfully compered by the inimitable Ola Melzig, an internationally renowned technical director perhaps best known for his tireless work on the annual Eurovision Song Contest - the world's biggest televised music event.
More than 500 entertainment technology industry professionals gathered together to celebrate the achievements of the many international lighting and video designers whose work on shows across the UK earned them a coveted place on the shortlist for this year's KOI Awards. The winners are as follows:
THEATRE
Winner of The ADB Theatre Award for Plays:
Richard Howell for Guards at the Taj
Winner of The ETC Theatre Award for Dance:
Fabiana Piccioli for Echoes
Winner of The PRG XL Video Theatre Award for Musicals:
David Hersey for Fiddler on the Roof
Winner of The Hawthorn Theatre Award for Projection Design:
Lysander Ashton for City of Glass
Winner of The Robert Juliat Theatre Award for Opera:
Simon Corder for The Queen of Spades
TELEVISION
Winner of The Light Initiative Television Award for Events:
Bernie Davis for BBC1's Festival of Remembrance
Winner of The Philips Vari-Lite Television Award for Drama:
Domini

USA - Millions of fans got their first taste of Dropkick Murphys’ potent Celtic punk musical brew watching Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award winning film The Departed To Boston. The Quincy, Massachusetts-based band’s platinum hit I’m Shipping Up To Boston ran through that dark and edgy gangster drama like a red-hot wire. Although the movie may be 10 years in the rearview mirror, Dropkick Murphy’s fires are burning as brightly as ever. This intensity is on full display in the group’s current tour, co-headlined with the equally potent punkers Rancid, in support of its ninth studio album.
Along with the relentless energy, non-stop crowd surfing, and big explosive sound, the tour is serving up some searing visuals for both groups courtesy of a Cody James designed lightshow that features Chauvet Professional Maverick and Rogue fixtures supplied by JDI Productions. “There’s a great amount of energy on this tour,” said James. “Neither band ever takes its foot off the pedal, so our goal is to create a continuous flow of punchy looks for two 90-minute sets.”
Meeting this challenge can sometimes get complicated, since the two bands alternate opening for one another. This means that James has to fight the sun for one of the two groups at every venue. The intense output of the six Maverick MK1 Hybrids in his rig has made this task easier.
“The Maverick Hybrids are my go-to fixture for this tour,” he said. “I begged for them. Their power is first and foremost what stands out. I can use them as a beam that cuts through the

South Africa - Ayrton has announced the appointment of Zane Cretten as the latest member of its expanding sales team. Based in South Africa, Cretten will take on the position of regional sales manager, with responsibility for sales across Africa and the Middle East.
Cretten brings with him 11 years’ experience in the live events industry, specialising in video and lighting. During this time he has worked with major global brands including High End, Barco, Pandora’s Box, d3, CreateLED, Wings and Caliber.
“When the opportunity arose to join Ayrton I jumped at the chance,” says Cretten. “I am very excited to be joining such a highly-specialised, innovative lighting company. I’m really looking forward to working with such a creative manufacturer and growing the market share in Africa and the Middle East.”
“Zane will be a valuable addition to Ayrton’s international sales team with a key role representing the company in this fast-developing region,” says Ayrton’s global sales director, Michael Althaus. “We are delighted to welcome him to the team and ensure customers across Africa and the Middle East benefit from the full Ayrton service.”
(Jim Evans)

UK - As the PLASA Show’s second year at London Olympia and its 40th anniversary approaches this Sunday, 17 September, there is much to look forward to. It may be 40 years old, but the show has moved with the times, adapting its offering to accommodate the shift in how companies want to exhibit.
There will be over 200 brands on the show floor this year, displaying the very latest pro audio, lighting, AV, staging and rigging technology. New audio products on show will include: Adamson’s IS-Series of loudspeakers; d&b audiotechniks’s 24S and 24S-D and 21S-SUB point source loudspeakers; FBT Audio’s VENTIS and Shure’s Axient Digital Wireless System. New lighting releases include: Chauvet’s Maverick MK2 Profile; Elation’s Artiste Dali; Eaton’s Zero 88 FLX S and Robe’s brand new MegaPointe.
This year’s enhanced seminar programme, will see more than 100 industry experts giving key-note talks, live demos, interactive workshops and panel discussions. Sessions will cover hot topics in the industry such as 3D audio, preparing for the loss of 700MHz, using video design to support theatrical lighting, and familiar favourites, such as the annual Rigging Conference and Forum, and Dante training workshop.
In the Audio & AV Theatre, sound designers Gareth Fry and Pete Malkin will talk about their incredible work to build a shifting world of sound on The Encounter, Simon McBurney’s solo performance at The Barbican; veteran industry journalist Phil Ward is hosting two panel sessions - 360 Degrees of Sound, which will

Czech Republic - Robe moving lights made a major contribution at the 2017 Colours Of Ostrava (COO) festival with nearly 100 fixtures utilised to light the ArcelorMittal Stage in a stylish and flexible production design created by Kamil Kruzik. The lights were supplied by oneAVteam, the largest audio visual rental group in Central Europe. Three companies cooperated on this project – AV Media, RentalPRO and Yventech.
The annual four-day international multi-genre festival is staged on the site of the former ironworks at Dolní Vítkovice, Ostrava, Czech Republic. The site was inaugurated in 1830 and was a major hub of metal production activity in the area until 1998. It now provides an impressive and highly charismatic backdrop to the event with its unique industrial architecture. The lively festival includes some 20 performance stages with over 350 live music acts, plus discussions, debates, theatre productions, films and workshops, and is enjoyed by around 50,000 people.
Colours of Ostrava’s technical production is delivered by SMART Productions, a company run by Josef “Pepa” Źenišek who has been technical director of the festival since 2011. He and his team co-ordinate all the technical elements site wide, which will often include an overnight de-rig and re-rig on the main stages to accommodate requirements from the headliners together with their ‘specials’ packages.
RentalPRO has been involved in supplying lighting, sound and video to the ArcelorMittal Stage for the last 7 years, and this year received a brief from SMART Productions w