UK - Sunday's Offies saw Howard Hudson pick up the award for best lighting designer, sponsored by ETC.

Mark White, ETC's regional Manager for UK and Ireland, joined actress Linda Marlowe on stage at the Theatre Royal Stratford East to present the award to Hudson, for his lighting of Burlesque at Jermyn Street and both Ragtime and Hired Man at the Landor.

The Off West End Theatre Awards were launched in 2010 to recognise and celebrate the excellence, innovation and ingenuity of independent theatres across London. The awards help raise the profile and status of independent theatres in London by giving them greater power to promote their work individually and collectively and to reward the new talent that they nurture.

ETC also sponsored the award for best sound designer, which was awarded to Neil Alexander for Snake in The Grass at The Print Room.

UK - The London broadcast studio for last year's Rugby World Cup was brought to vivid, dynamic life by Shock Solutions, making use of some of the very latest lighting and media server technology from ArKaos, Christie and LSC - all supplied to Shock by entertainment lighting specialist White Light.

To provide a punchy yet versatile background to proceedings, the set design for the World Cup broadcasts replaced a conventional printed, brightly lit backdrop with a 20m wide rear-projection screen lit using four Christie L2K1500 15,000 lumenprojectors soft-edge blended together to create a 180 degree digital canvasthat wrapped around the rostra that housed the presenters and pundit team.

"The Christie projectors provided a lot of punch and incredibly vibrant colours, really bringing the background to life and ensuring that Stuart Gain, the lighting designer, didn't have to com

Canada - CAST of Toronto has announced the wysiwyg R28 Video Challenge, effective 6 February 2012 through 14 March 2012.

Create a lighting design with wysiwyg R28, then make a video using R28's Cue List and Camera Path features. Be as creative as you want, just make your video two minutes and use R28's features only. You get to be the lighting designer, the producer and the director for this challenge, says the company.

Entries will be voted upon by two groups: CAST's pick (a small panel chosen by CAST) and the People's Choice (where your peers and friends can Twitter their vote for you to CAST). Winners will be notified in advance and announced at Prolight + Sound 2012 in Frankfurt.

For a full list of rules and details, visit www.cast-soft.com

(Jim Evans)

USA - In Indianapolis on the weekend of Super Bowl XLVI, over 135 Elation Platinum Beam 5R ACL beam effects were lighting the night sky over the city's downtown.

Dodd Technologies of Pendleton, IN used the Platinum Beams and Elation ELAR 108 PARs to create a dazzling lighting design that transformed Georgia Street into "a magical Super Bowl Village experience" for the many visitors that descended on the city for the big game.

All in all, over 600 Elation Fixtures were used in Super Bowl and Super Bowl related events over the weekend. In addition to the Platinum Beam 5Rs and ELARs, these included the ELED Tri 56, the Design Wash LED 60, the Platinum Wash LED Zoom, the TVL3000, the Flex Tape and the EPV 762MH moving head video panel.

"This was a very exciting weekend," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional who was in Indianapolis duri

France - Brittany-based lighting manufacturer, Chromlech, has been awarded a prestigious 'Etoiles du SIEL' (Stars of SIEL) award at the newly-revived SIEL show at the Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris.

The award, one of only four bestowed for lighting, went to Chromlech's new Gleamer low-voltage dimmer, which was chosen from nearly 30 contenders to receive the coveted silver star. Originally launched at PLASA 2011 where it received the PLASA Innovation Award, the Etoile du SIEL is the second award for Gleamer.

Gleamer is designed to control all low voltage lamps in professional lighting environments from theatre and large scale music tours to architectural and fixed installations.

"The arrival of Gleamer enables Chromlech to access and develop new markets such as architectural and theatre lighting," says newly appointed sales director, Lionel Garraud. "Chroml

USA - Martin Professional will have "world premiere lighting and control products in its luggage" when it arrives at the inaugural PLASA Focus exhibition in Austin, Texas.

Showcasing for the first time will be Martin's new MAC III AirFX moving head along with two new lighting controllers in the M-series, the M2GO and M2PC.

Several other products will also be on display at Martin booth 707 including the award-winning MAC Aura and popular MAC 101™ moving heads, as well as Martin's high-performance EC-10 LED display panel and Jem K1 Hazer.

The new MAC III AirFX is a highly versatile beam, effects and wash luminaire in one and is the latest high-performance 1500-watt moving head in Martin's popular MAC III family. Capable of projecting a dense, hard-edge beam with stunning mid-air aerial effects, the MAC III AirFX's unique optical system allows it to adjust from a

USA - Lighting designer Trevor Ahlstrand has been using a Martin MAC touring rig supplied by Christie Lites to help set the slightly macabre mood on hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold's last tour, which wrapped up in December.

In August, Ahlstrand created a new design for the American band's latest outing, a tour that saw them hit many of the same cities as the previous tour. "That's why we needed to change the design," Ahlstrand explains, who first started working with the band in late 2008. "We wanted to keep the look fresh so we incorporated some new looks using some new gear like the MAC III Performance."

Central to set designer Jordan Coopersmith's setup is a larger-than-life set piece of the band's logo, a 56' wide x 18' tall Death Bat. "There is a lot of pyro throughout the show and the Death Bat also catches fire in every way you could possibly i

France - Robe's new Robin DLX Spot LED moving light has won an Award for Technical Innovation at the 2012 SIEL trade exhibition in Paris - France's leading international expo for the professional lighting, sound, video and entertainment technology industry.

The DLX Spot was entered into the 'Lighting' category by Robe's French distributor, Paris-based Axente.

The Awards were judged by an independent panel of industry experts, including lighting designers, technical and creative directors and representatives from top rental companies - who closely examined each nominated product, before conferring and making their final decisions.

(Jim Evans)

China - Barco was the primary visual equipment provider for CCTV's 2012 Lunar New Year Gala. Both the stage art design and the audio-visual technology were praised in reviews of this biggest TV show for the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.

The premier stage application was a huge LED screen, comprising 1,326 Barco 6 mm ILite 6 BK LED boxes and covering 273 m2. The show also used eight super-bright, 20,000 lumens FLM HD20 projectors. HD images were shot on a second supporting screen, coordinating with the programmes. Working in close cooperation with audio-video technology companies such as Raysee, CTV Technology, Garwin, HPCL, Really AV, Huelead and Bright, Barco was able to deliver a fully integrated installation for the show.

In addition, the show used a large number of high-definition video display sources, and these HD signals (HD/SDI and DVI) were generated by Barco's

UK / USA - By Design Day, the annual fundraising day for Light Relief in the UK and Behind the Scenes in the US and Canada, takes place this year on Tuesday 24 April on both sides of the Atlantic.

The main fundraising event for these charities, By Design Day focuses attention on the various ways that individuals can support the two organisations that are dedicated solely to helping entertainment technology professionals in need. Many make personal donations, some hold collections at their places of work and often designers support the day by voluntarily giving a day's royalties to one or both of these charities. Light Relief assists those involved in the UK lighting industry while Behind the Scenes aids professionals based in the US and Canada working in any area of the entertainment technology industry.

By Design Day 2012 has the full backing of a host of award-winning design

Canada - grandMA2 has proved to be a good bet for Casino Rama, Ontario's only First Nations commercial casino, which stages 150 shows a year featuring top names in music and comedy. First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. Casino Rama invested in a grandMA2 full-size late last year, and it has quickly become their "console of choice," reports lighting designer and programmer Derek Noble.

"Casino Rama purchased a grandMA2 full-size because of the size of the shows they attract," says Andrew Beck, senior account executive with PRG Canada who sold the system. "They have an extensive amount of equipment, including all their own lighting and rigs, and many acts request a grandMA. They've had a grandMA full-size for a while but in the interest of keeping their facility as c

Norway - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden is currently being used for a rigorous show schedule at the Oslo Opera House, home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and considered one of the landmark modern buildings in Oslo.

Director Stefan Herheim has taken on the challenge of staging La Bohème in a modern-day interpretation of Puccini's masterpiece and the most performed opera production ever in Norway.

The technical crew at the Oslo Opera House currently has a total of 24 W-DMX G4 units that they use on a regular basis. They are currently rotating the operas La Bohème and Giselle.

Lighting technician Audun Bull-Hanssen explains, "On La Bohème we use an F-1 G4 transmitter and six receivers for 5000W and 2500W HMI DMX dowser and scroller, plus it's used for the star wall. For Giselle we use an F-1 G4 transmitter and six receiv

Denmark - Philips Selecon and Strand Lighting has appointed Gobo - Highlight A/S as its new distributor for Demark. Gobo - Highlight A/S, which has a main office and warehouse in Copenhagen and a sales and administration office in Aarhus, is well respected in the region for its sales and projects in the theatre, television, architectural and rental markets.

Bob Roos, himself recently appointed as Philips entertainment brands' key account manager for Scandinavia and Benelux comments, "Philips Selecon and Strand Lighting is delighted to welcome Gobo - Highlight A/S as an authorized dealer for Denmark. The company is renowned for the top class service it provides in supplying entertainment technology equipment to rental companies, theatres, venues, architectural installations and television production companies.

"It's also well respected for its participation in public

UK - In a new initiative to introduce the latest MA Lighting and Clay Paky products to their customers in a 'hands on' environment, Ambersphere Solutions have announced a series of regional showcases in performance venues throughout the UK.

The first of these will take place in the Brighton Pavilion Theatre on Wednesday 29 February from 11am - 4pm.

Philip Norfolk, sales director for Ambersphere Solutions, says: "This is an opportunity for us to take to the road with the latest additions to our product portfolio from our partners Clay Paky and MA Lighting. By going to where our customers are, we are offering them the chance to see the products in a real venue environment and on a handy, localised basis. It will also be a chance for those who may not currently source Clay Paky and MA Lighting kit to drop into the local venue to see what Ambersphere has to offer".

He

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will be featuring new broadcast lighting innovations from Chroma-Q, Mole Richardson, Manfrotto, Avenger and Gekko Technology at the BVE South Show at Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London, UK, on 14-16 February (Stand K24).

AC-ET's stand will be exhibiting the leading brands that it distributes to these sectors. It will also highlight services like AC-ET's Cable Express, which is among the most comprehensive custom cable assembly facilities in the industry, with instant access to massive stocks of cables and connectors and super-quick turnaround times.

AC-ET is the exclusive UK dealer for the Chroma-Q range of LED technologies and will be showcasing the latest Chroma-Q Studio Force daylight (D) and variable (V) white light sources.

Mole Richardson has a long history dating back to 1927, as a premium equipment manufacturer in the f

USA - Elation Flex Pixel WP, a 3m (10') tri-colour SMD LED flexible tape with pixel control and a water resistant covering. Each tape features 72 tri-colour (red, green, blue) LED pixels, spaced 40 mm (1.6") centres. You can cut and extend the tape every 100mm (4") to fit a wide variety of design applications, says the company.

A variety of mounting options opens more creative possibilities to designers when using Flex Pixel WP. You can mount the tape on just about any surface using the optional Flex IP Clip kit, or simply use double stick 3M adhesive tape or Velcro (sold separately).

Flex Pixel WP can be driven by the Flex Pixel Driver 1, a dedicated DMX driver for up to 144 pixels (two tapes) and up to 432 DMX channels of control. The compact size makes it easy to conceal and mount the driver anywhere.

Another option is to run the tape remotely using the Flex Pix

UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd started the new year by exhibiting at ISE in Amsterdam. Items on display included lightweight multi-channel amplifiers, signal processing and mixing products from the MT Audio range.

The LEDHead LED lighting products included the LED Batten2, fitted with 18 x 8W quadcolour LEDs and LED tapes with tricolour and white LED options.

Directors David Faulkes and Graham Gosden were at the show looking to increase their overseas distributor network. "This was a very successful first show for us," said David Faulkes. "We have picked up a number of companies from different parts of the world looking to distribute our range of UK designed audio and lighting products. However, we still have work to do, finding distributors to complete the network."

Based in Kent, England, MilTec is responsible for the design and manufacture of LEDHead LED Lightin

USA - Chauvet has announced that its "ultra-bright and versatile" wash luminaire COLORado 2 Zoom Tour is now shipping. The fixture employs 61 3W Cree LEDs (RGBW) for high output and colour mixing capabilities, from intense hues to subtle pastels. A 6-35° flexible zoom precisely sizes the beam, while built-in colour temperature presets from 3,200K to 10,000K provide predictable colour. This is a silent and flicker-free fixture suited for noise-sensitive environments and on camera, the company says.

(Lee Baldock)

Jamaica - In the beginning the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival was targeted at jazz and blues enthusiasts and was held in November each year. Various factors, including heavy rains at that time of the year, encouraged the organisers to move the festival to the end of January.

Over the years the festival has become very successful, attracting crowds of over 30,000 and is now a three-day event. It encompasses a range of musical genres, including jazz, R&B, blues, Latin, Reggae, Soca, and various types of musical fusion.

For the 2012 edition lighting designer, lighting director and programmer John Dacosta voted for two grandMA2 light consoles to control more than 140 Martin Professional and Vari*Lite moving lights, two media servers and multiple LED-screens.

"It was simply the best solution for the job because of the seamless integration of lighting and video", said D

Belgium - The popular Belgian children's television shows Piet Piraat and Mega Mindy were recently turned into hugely successful stage productions involving state-of-the-art 3D projection technology.

Studio 100, one of Belgium's most important TV production companies, had to face the challenge of trying to do justice to the excitement of the series' popular characters' adventures. In the case of the super heroine Mega Mindy and the charming Pirate Piet, the actors were able to interact with a combination of traditional set pieces and 3D projections live on stage.

coolux Pandoras Box's brand new Version 5 Broadcast Servers proved to be the ideal tool for the production, due to the available HD SDI outputs. The coolux Widget Designer was an essential component when it came to creating interaction between the audience and the animation on display. The combination of

South Africa - Promoting the album Journey Through The Shadows, The Parlotones have been playing a series venues including The Lyric Theatre, Emperor's Palace and Barnyard Theatre (Cresta & Menlyn).

LD Travis Yeatman programmes on his Avolites Tiger Touch. "Everything is still fine," he said. "The new software is nice, the desk travels well and as a whole is good. I also don't have hardware hassles. I'm still having fun and the gigs fill up most of my months."

Something the fans may not know is that the band is training in the hope of climbing Kilimanjaro in March this year. They are joining celebrities, civil society and public sectors as well as the media from 54 African countries to highlight the Africa-UNiTE Speak out Climb up to end Violence against Women and Girls campaign.

(Jim Evans)

Canada - CAST has announced the addition of over 25 of the latest fixtures from the most popular manufacturers in the lighting industry to the wysiwyg library, complementing the December release of wysiwyg R28.

Over the last 20 years, the CAST Library has grown to over 24,000 fixtures and accessories available in the industry and it continues to grow with the advent of every new product available. Before any object goes into the Library, each and every piece is tested, measured and certified in-house to ensure 100% reliability so that what happens with a light in the virtual world happens exactly the same on the stage. The brightness and colour of a particular light are exact and moving heads will move like they would when controlled by the actual motors and servos in a live situation.

The latest fixtures available to current wysiwyg Members include the High End Intellaspot XT

USA - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden AB will be showing the latest products in the W-DMX G4 range during PLASA Focus in Austin, Texas, February 22-23 on the A.C.T. Lighting booth 123. New products on display include the ProBox F-2500 G4, the BlackBox G4 MK2 and the BlueBox RDM Controller.

The ProBox F-2500 G4 is the flagship of the W-DMX range of products and is a transceiver solution with three functions in one. It is capable of transmitting or receiving two DMX universes with support of RDM and Ethernet protocols like Art-Net II/III and s/ACN. In addition, the unit is also a one DMX universe repeater with a built-in RDM controller that supports one universe with RDM over DMX or Ethernet. In addition, the ProBox F-2500 G4 also contains a built in RDM controller (BlueBox), all packed inside a 19" rack unit that supports both three-pin and five-pin XLR, Powercon and Ether

USA - Lee Rose, of the Los Angeles-based lighting design firm Design Partners, has been handling the lighting for America's time-honoured Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve show more than 25 years. Over the course of that quarter century he has developed a reputation for incorporating some of the latest dynamic lighting gear into his designs.

For this year's 40th Anniversary show, he turned to Martin Professional's new and award-winning MAC Aura wash light to give New Year's Rockin' Evethat something special.

"I chose the Auras after seeing a demo of them at the Martin Professional offices in Los Angeles," he says. "Their small size and quick movement along with the zoom feature led me to specify them for this design."

The MAC Aura LED moving head wash light with zoom that uses two independent color systems to offer new visual possibilities

Latest Issue. . .