South Africa - MJ Event Gear has made a bold step as the first South African investor of 24 Robe BMFL Spots. They celebrated by inviting some of country's top LDs to view the impressive lighting tool.

"It's a big winner," said Mike Jones, owner of the Johannesburg based rental company, MJ Event Gear. "With a bit of time and as more people use it, I believe it will be the number one specified light on riders."

Before making the final purchase Jones did his homework and also contacted a few designers for their respected opinion. "Everyone was very enthusiastic about the product and no one had anything negative to say," he said. "It is the brightest light in the world and there is a lot of hype. I think it will do very well."

Jones saw the Robe BMFLs for the first time when demonstrated by DWR Distribution, the South African Robe distribu

UK - Bristol-based lighting, visuals and rigging specialist Fineline supplied lighting and rigging equipment and expertise in a series of creative solutions for the world premiere of Walking The Chains, an ambitious circus / theatre production staged in the historic Passenger Shed at Bristol Temple Meads station.

Celebrating 150 Years of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Clifton suspension bridge, its spirit and impact as a landmark of Victorian engineering from conception to completion, the narrative also recalled how the bridge integrated into the community and industrial history of the region. The show was a collaboration between Bristol's Show of Strength Theatre Company and circus / physical theatre performance company, Circomedia.

The show's designer James Helps contacted Fineline on the recommendation of several others - to provide the solutions needed to stage the show

The Netherlands - Martin Professional announced at ISE 2015 the availability of the Rush Gobo Projector 1, part of Martin's comprehensive offering of new lighting fixtures. The new member of the install-oriented Rush family will be shipping at the end of February.

The Rush Gobo Projector 1 is designed for permanent installation in club, bar, restaurant and shopping mall applications. Gobos can be changed quickly easy adjustment of focus, speed and direction make running the static fixture smooth and intuitive. It's also non-intrusive thanks to its silent operation and compact size, measuring 215 x 135 x 152 mm and weighing only 11 lbs. (2 kg).

"We designed the Rush Gobo Projector 1 with ease-of-use in mind," said Mark Buss, product manager, Rush products. "Speed and direction are controlled by easy-touch buttons and it only takes a few seconds to change gobos wi

UK - If you find yourself in the London area next week, do drop-in to Ambersphere Solutions. Their newly refurbished showroom features all the latest products from Ayrton, Clay Paky, MA Lighting and Robert Juliat. The showroom is open from 16-20 February with snacks and refreshments available throughout.

Highlights include Robert Juliat's latest follow spots, the Merlin and Roxie which are coming straight from ISE in Amsterdam, along with the R range from Ayrton, the latest offerings from Clay Paky in the form of the Mythos, Super Sharpy and Stormys and the full line-up of MA2 Lighting consoles.

The days will be based around a relaxed format, with guests welcome to drop-in anytime between 11am and 5pm on Monday and 11am to 7pm Tuesday through Friday. The technical sales team will be on hand all week to discuss the products and offer help with any specific projects or challenge

France - Lyon's municipal council chose to set the opening of the magnificent Schuman bridge on the river Saone to music and lights, and asked the event agency Tetro to deal with the artistic direction.

The lighting designer Yves Caizergues and musician Christophe Goutes produced an astounding show with a lighting system consisting of 30 Clay Paky SuperSharpys provided by Magnum and expertly managed by the lighting designer himself.

The aim was to let all the citizens of Lyon know in no uncertain terms that there was a new bridge and strongly enhance the construction's image.

Yves Caizergues and his SuperSharpys were therefore there to "glorify the bridge by enhancing its architectural qualities and make sure the event was seen by the entire city." He worked together with sound manager Christophe Goutes to make the most of the lights. Caizergues integrated the surr

Czech Republic - Robe has announced that it is a sponsor of team Czech Republic in the 2015 Fed Cup tennis - the premier international women's tennis team championship.

Continuing its theme of 'Working With Winners' - first embraced with the Olympic spirit of 2012 - Robe is one of five major sponsors to the Czech team who are the defending champions, and have been hugely successful in the tournament, winning the Championship an impressive eight times.

Currently some of the Czech Republic's women's tennis players are ranked among the best in the world, and the quarter finals of the 2015 Fed Cup saw a robust performance by the team in Quebec City, Canada at the weekend, defeating the hosts without dropping a single set.

Robe's CEO and general manager Josef Valchar was there and commented, "We are extremely proud to be supporting our world class women's tennis team. I witn

USA - The Lightconverse and High End Lighting Challenge continues until 31 March 2015.

The organisers comment: "We truly believe that the most creative and advanced lighting specialists deserve to be recognized and awarded for their hard work. In order to do so, we have created the Premier Challenge contest in which you can submit a video of your work created in Lightconverse.

There is no particular theme for the Premier Challenge except that the design must be original.

First prize is a High End HedgeHog4 N console and Lightconverse Unlimited; second prize is Lightconverse Trace, with Lightconverse Media packages for third place and Popular Choice winners.

The Contest Winner will be announced at Prolight + Sound, held from 15-18 April in Frankfurt, Germany.

(Jim Evans)

USA - There were plenty of good reasons for the people at NBC to feel good about Super Bowl XLIX: the ratings were astronomical, advertising sales were record breaking and the company's onsite party directly across the street from the University of Phoenix Stadium was nothing short of spectacular, thanks to some inspired event planning by Angel City Designs and a stylish lighting rig by James Schipper of Kinetic Lighting.

Schipper called on a plethora of LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional to strike a visually pleasing sense of casual sophistication at the NBC pre-game party tent. With 800 VIP guests, including a good representation of on-air talent, this was definitely not your typical Sunday tailgating party. Yet, Schipper's design conveyed a relaxed retro atmosphere while still emphatically stating that this was indeed a very special event.

"I enjoyed this project a

Australia - Sydney's Luna Park has a new ride that raises you 50mabove sea level for a bird's eye view of the magical city before unceremoniously dropping you over 80 km's an hour back to earth via an edge of your seat, white knuckle experience. Appropriately called the Hair Raiser, the ride has been lit in spectacular style acting as a beacon in the night sky.

Luna Park approached Show Technology for some ideas to light the ride in an innovative and creative manner, rather than just flood lighting the structure.

"They were also interested in the possibility of integrating the control of the lighting into the ride's control system," commented Mike Gearin, Show Technology's NSW technical sales manager. "We produced a few renders for them and they loved our concept."

It was decided that there was no better product than the Martin VC-Dot 4 lightweight string

Russia - London-based creative technology expert Realtime Environment Systems Ltd (RES) has provided the know-how for a spectacular visual event to mark one year since the Sochi Winter Olympics.

The ambitious event at Sochi's beautiful Ice Palace featured a dramatic ice show and was staged by Russian TV company Channel One.

RES co-founder and project manager Mark Calvert and established freelance Ai technician Martin Harvey used two S6 Ai Media servers to bring pixel mapping, video playback and realtime generative patches for LED screen media, with one DVI output controlling 70848 Pixels @ 328 X 216 to control the 41 LED stems suspended above the rink. The show ran from an S6 Ai Media Server, with master slave hot backup S6.

"RES was challenged with providing the technical know-how, creativity, and server technology to realise the stunning celebration, which is exactly

Singapore - Martin Professional reports that the MAC Viper family is now widely available throughout Southeast Asia via several of the region's largest rental houses. Singapore-based companies CSP Production, Trio AV and Highlight Systems as well as Malaysia-based Orange Events have added more than 170 MAC Viper fixtures to their portfolios, putting the latest in intelligent lighting at the fingertips of lighting designers throughout the region.

Designed for use in a wide variety of events and entertainment productions, Martin's MAC Viper family is a complete series of high-performance moving head light fixtures that features intense light output and a slender body for fast movements.

Singapore's Trio AV has been working with Martin Professional for more than 15 years, providing regular support for regional trade shows, government and corporate conferences and a host of other

UK - The UK's Lighting Industry received a boost this week as the Lighting Industry Association received a share of the Government's Regional Growth Fund to further develop its laboratory services (LIA Laboratories) and new Lighting Training Academy.

The funds will help the Lighting Industry Association create a new Lighting Testing Laboratory to cope with increased demand, which will house a unique R&D centre that will be available for UK manufacturers to use and develop new lighting products.

Alongside the new laboratory, the Lighting Industry Association will also build a Lighting Academy that will provide education, learning and awareness services for the whole lighting supply chain. Being sited at the Lighting Industry Association's HQ in Telford, means that the courses will have a distinctly 'hand-on' feel and will help drive the introduction of new lighting technology a

Sweden - Lighting company Aura Light has acquired Zobra, a Swedish lighting company that develops and manufactures luminaires for public areas. This acquisition is an important step for the company to become a complete supplier of energy efficient lighting solutions.

Zobra develops, manufactures and markets luminaires for public areas. The company offers a wide range of luminaires and focuses on innovative product design. Zobra's head office is situated in Vimmerby in Sweden where they also have their production. The company has been growing rapidly the recent years and has received external acknowledgement for their performance.

"This acquisition is an important part of Aura Light's growth strategy and we have seen an increased demand of complete lighting solutions amongst our customers. This is important for us in being a complete lighting supplier, offering light sourc

China - The 135 year old Shanghai Symphony Orchestra now has a new home in the Shanghai Symphony Hall, which celebrated its long awaited grand opening in September. The Hall has a full complement of ETC equipment, including a Sensor 3 Power Control system with ThruPower modules, Source Four PAR fixtures, and an Eos family lighting control system.

The venue contains two separate performance spaces: the Main Hall with 1,200 seats, which serves as a performance and rehearsal space, and the 400-seat Chamber Hall, which is used for recording and broadcasting.

ETC Sensor3 power control racks dim both halls' stage lighting. "You can always expect a smooth and natural dimming curve from ETC dimmer racks," says Xingxing Dou, the lighting director at the Shanghai Symphony Hall. "They deliver maximum reliability with a minimal failure rate compared to most brands on the ma

USA - Masked rockers Slipknot are making headlines with a fifth album release, the addition of new band members, their Knotfest concert series and the launch of the Prepare for Hell tour - and Clay Paky Stormys are along for the wild ride.

The band just marked the debut of their fifth studio album, .5: The Gray Chapter which was quickly followed by performances 25 and 26 October at their own Knotfest in San Bernardino, California. They began headlining the Prepare for Hell North American tour afterwards.

Trevor Ahlstrand, lighting designer/production designer for Slipknot, is using a package of 30 Stormys CC, obtained from Christie Lights, on the shows. The new Stormy uses the latest LED technology while retaining all the charm of the classic strobe. He has positioned a few on each piece truss and several in a row on the floor.

"The show is very asymmetrical with

UK - Sheffield metalcore rockers Bring Me The Horizon played a one-off show at London's Wembley Arena closing a phenomenal year, celebrating the conclusion of their 18 month global Sempiternal album cycle ... and their 10th anniversary.

The band's lighting designer Ben Inskip chose 70 x Robe moving lights as the backbone of the show - because he knows the products and knew they would deliver the results he wanted. He needed multi-purpose lights that could perform several tasks and that all balanced well together as an integrated package.

Ben has worked with the band since 2009. He has a great rapport with them and they trust him implicitly to come up with interesting design concepts for their live work, which in this case also included upstage video projection. Being a one-off, possibly the most important parameter was that the design was practical and quick to load-in

USA - When designers are faced with the biggest lighting challenges they turn to the industry's brightest lights. This is just what Dall Brown Lighting, with the support of Chroma Designs, did when given the task to light the exterior of the University of Phoenix Stadium for this year's Super Bowl. Dall Brown and Troy Eckerman teamed up to tackle the job of bathing the aluminium skin of the stadium in colour for the NFL's annual week-long celebration and season finale.

As has often been the case Syncrolite LLC was the company relied upon to meet the huge task at hand. This year, for Super Bowl XLIX, Syncrolite supplied 19 XL 8K xenon moving lights with their patented OmnicolorTM system that allows for true additive or subtractive colour mixing and incorporates VFL lightshaping diffuser film lenses that provided the beam spread and control elements necessary to pull-off this supe

USA - Katy Perry's glittering halftime show at Super Bowl XLIX in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona was an eye catcher. Lighting designer Bob Barnhart of LA-based Full Flood chose a large array of amongst others Clay Paky Sharpy, Mythos and A.leda B-EYE K20 fixtures for the 12-minute show. Jason Rudolph, the lighting director in charge of the video system, used a grandMA2 light console to control the projection and inflatable, illuminated orbs.

Super Bowl XLIX marked Barnhart's seventeenth big game and his fifth as the primary or sole lighting designer. He served as lighting designer on last year's Bruno Mars halftime show at Met Life Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey.

Even before the halftime talent is selected, the venue sets the scene for the production and lighting design. "It all depends on what creative options the stadium offers," says Bar

UK - To mark the end of 2014's F1 season Sky Sports created a film called The Ballad of the Duelling Drivers that told the story of the intense battle between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. To enhance this special project, lighting director Richard Bowles chose Clay Paky Mythos and Alpha Beam 700 fixtures to deliver stunning effects and sharp beams of light throughout.

Bowles specified three Mythos and eight Alpha Beam 700 fixtures from Richard Martin Lighting for the film, which was created and directed by Sky Sports F1's Alex Rodger, performed by talented composer and pianist Tokio Myers and narrated by actor Peter Guinness.

"My original brief was to recreate the look I'd previously come up with for a live music show earlier in the year, with a mixture of strong beams of light and large format tungsten lights against a strong black background" explains Bow

France - The World Heritage Centre, UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, was bathed in light from SGM for the two nights of the opening ceremony of the International Year of Light.

Finnish lighting artist and designer Kari Kola prepared a full concept design including light, video and music for a spectacular display at the iconic Fontenoy building during the ceremony. This launched an initiative intended to raise global awareness about the importance of light for the future and for the development of society. 1500 people attended this ceremony including leading diplomats, scientific societies and technology platforms from around the world for a number of lectures.

For Kola's installation, titled Light Is Here, no fewer than 130 SGM P-5 wash lights and 14 G-Spot moving heads were deployed together with another 70 LED based fixtures and 12 video projectors. "I wanted to r

Finland - For this year's three-day Finnish Cross-Country Ski Championship in Jämi, the organisers were looking for a special starting gate for the sprint day, to provide a rivetting visual appearance for the TV transmission.

Opo's Sound delivered a truss gate and used SGM LED luminaires for perfect winter illumination during the dark hours. Thus, four SP-6 SixPack blinders and two P-5 wash lights were placed at the starting gate, while additional P-5s were used to illuminate Audi's Promotion Arc.

Selected for their powerful output, the SixPack contains six 40W RGBA LEDs while the P-5 boasts 44 high power 10W RGBW LEDs; the SGM luminaires also provided that one special feature required for this outdoor winter event - an IP rating of 65.

More than 3,000 daily visitors could enjoy the excitement of the ski race in the beautiful cold Finnish winter further brightened in the ea

China - PR Lighting's new XR 1000 Framing, which begins shipping next month, promises a brighter output than a conventional 1200W discharge lamp from a 1000W metal halide lamp source - thanks to its superior optics.

The fixture has been built with an advanced feature-set that includes a wide beam angle of 11°-51°, which is linearly adjustable in 16 bit, an excellent framing system (with four framing blades offering 0°-90° rotation, with different size and shape graphics to produce a curtain effect.

Other features of the XR 1000 Framing include smooth CYM colour mixing, with CTO and macro; colour wheel with seven colour filters; linear colour temperature correction; seven rotating high speed gobos and seven fixed gobos (all replaceable); DMX control; linearly adjustable focus; DMX linear zooming; linearly adjustable dimmer from 0%-100% and linearly adjustable ir

Japan - The Nippon Budokan arena in central Tokyo played host to the Fumiya Fujii 30th Best Special Countdown Live on New Year's Eve 2014. The show was the spectacular culmination of a two-year tour by popular Japanese music artist Fumiya Fujii, in celebration of his 'double anniversary' which marked 30 years since the recording of his debut album and his 20th year as a solo artist.

Pivotal to Keisuke Nishi's design for the evening was a bank of 90 Ayrton IntelliPix-R LED panels supplied by Ayrton's Japanese distributor, First Engineering Japan.

IntelliPix-R is a modular beam projection panel of 25 independently controllable 4.5° LED emitters arranged in a 5 x 5 array which project graphics and media far into the air. Panels can be connected together to form a semi-transparent wall, screen or ceiling or be placed under specially designed glass using its dedicated floor ins

UK - School Stage, the performing arts installation company offering exclusive provision to schools, colleges and universities, recently completed a project using Chauvet Professional fixtures to add colour and 'wow' factor to a multi-functional assembly hall in the newly built Lees Brook Community School in Derby.

The new school building was commissioned by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) because the school buildings were in poor shape, but no provision had been included for sound and lighting systems. Sensing this was a real opportunity to create the hall as a spectacular performance space, the school's former head teacher came out of retirement to project-manage the rebuild for the school.

Having sourced quotations and designs from other companies, the school governors awarded the contract to School Stage, who scrutinised the proposals and made sweeping changes to the bu

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