UK - Nick Gray from creative lighting and visual design practice Renegade was commissioned by show producers Bacchus to light the main venue at the British Fashion Council's 'London Collections : Men AW 2013 menswear showcase, staged at the Hospital Club in Covent Garden.

Additionally, Gray lit two high profile off site shows - Aitor Throup's ground-breaking New Object Research at The Dog Eared Film Studio in Covent Garden and Jonathan Saunders' collection at Victoria House in Holborn.

Renegade also sourced and co-ordinated all the necessary lighting equipment and supp

USA - It may not have looked like your grandma's Empire State Building (ESB), but a grandMA2 full-size enhanced the dazzling pixel mapping of the New York City landmark that launched the building's new lighting system.

The world-famous ESB recently revealed its new, one-of-a-kind LED tower lights with a first-ever light show on the landmark, which was designed by noted lighting designer Marc Brickman. The stunning display featured six Hippo media servers, controlled by a grandMA2 full-size and operated in conjunction with the Philips Color Kinetics (PCK) LSM control system and its ass

New Zealand - Ten years ago, the first of many copies of LightFactory, the PC-based control system, was put on sale. Founder and CEO Martin Searancke developed LightFactory out of a passion for the industry and a knack for writing code. Today, the control system enjoys worldwide success, which is a credit to its power and economy, as well as to the hard work of its founder and employees (one of which is his wife, Helen).

Before LightFactory, Searancke had co-founded a dot com company and then invested the profits in what was then his hobby of lighting design. Before long, the new comp

UK - The Mayflower, Southampton, has chosen to replace much of its existing lighting stock with Philips Selecon SPX luminaires. The purchase follows an exhaustive testing and comparison process, which saw the SPXs benefit from a grueling 'destruction test' and shoot out against a number of other manufacturer profiles.

Neil Daykin, senior lighting technician at the Mayflower says: "We were looking to replace our old Strand Lighting Harmony profiles and had originally planned to replace them with the same fixtures that we already have FOH. When we received the demo SPX units to try

Germany - Robe CitySkape 48 and CitySource 96 and Anolis Inground 12 RGB LED fixtures have been specified and installed to illuminate an eye-catching collection of art and sculptural works by Volker-Johannes Trieb in an area including a huge garden, a gallery, an event location and the renovated old Railway Station in Sutthausen near Osnabrück, Germany.

The whole area is called Iktomia and consists of several beautiful and engaging art works in the grounds of the newly refurbished station complex. Many of them are large and constructed from ceramic and rusty metal, including a wall b

Denmark - Clay Paky Sharpys have helped Denmark celebrate its finest music with a stunning lighting design for the Danish Music Awards 2012 by Kasper Lange.

Lange specified an army of powerful, pure beam Sharpys to create an array of effects, including a semi-circle surround of bright, red beams to envelope Danish singer Aura as she performed her hit In Love with the World.

"The Sharpy has been my favourite profile fixture ever since it was launched, and has been in my designs for all my TV shows ever since then," says Lange, who has worked on many of Denmark's most

UK - The most creative and experimental use of new generation products is often found at the hands of indie/dance production designers. This has been proven recently by Rob Stanley, of ZEROdB Live, who has been using the entire inventory of 44 SGM XC-5 LED strobes newly purchased by Haydn Cruickshank's Colour Sound Experiment (CSE).

Formed three and a half years ago, and famed for their work in the Drum 'n' Bass and more experimental corporate sectors, ZEROdB Live have continually been placing SGM's low-profile, high output platform on their "dream kit list" for gigs since t

UK / The Netherlands - Artistic Licence Engineering is set to launch sunDial, a range of modular lighting controllers for smart illumination, at ISE 2013 (stand 8-R232). The display will highlight the mix-and-match versatility of the sunDial range, using DMX and DALI controllers to drive various sources, including mains-powered lighting and the latest in LED technology.

The landscape of lighting is evolving towards a greener future, but the introduction of more eco-friendly sources such as LED is just part of the story. Only by using and controlling fixtures in a more intelligent mann

UK / The Netherlands - MilTec (UK) Ltd will be exhibiting at the ISE exhibition in Amsterdam. On show will be a selection of LED stage lighting and professional audio products, all designed by Miltec at their headquarters in Kent, England.

On the stand will be the highly successful LEDHead Batten2 which has become a major hit with installation and rental companies in the UK and Ireland. Fitted with 18 x 8W quad-colour LEDs it can be used as a conventional batten, pixel-mapped for stunning visual effects or employed as a cyclorama wash using the 'Cycwash' diffuser option.

Making its

- Alan Titchmarsh is back with a new series of his ITV tea-time chat show. Roger Williams designs the lighting show, with equipment provided by Richard Martin Lighting (RML).

To enhance the warm and homely feel of the set, Williams' specification consists of Alpha Spot 575, Alpha Spot 300, Martin MAC Aura, James Thomas PixelPar 90s and LED Par cans.

In each daily episode, Alan approaches topical news and debates. He also cooks meals with resident and celebrity chefs, chats to celebrity guests and enjoys music numbers.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Night arrivals at Edinburgh airport over the festive season will have seen a stunning example of Black Light's capabilities. To help kick-start the recent re-branding of the airport, the company's technicians installed an array of LED luminaires to colour the control tower purple, turning it into a striking new night-time landmark for the city.

"The project was designed for the airport's recent re-branding and was carried out on behalf of the award-winning design company Speirs + Major," explains Dave Moffat, one of Black Light's event project managers who oversaw the t

UK - Point Source Productions Ltd, the London-based hire company, has started the new year by investing in over £250,000 of new hire stock, expanding its inventory with equipment from manufacturers such as Chroma Q, Clay Paky, ETC, GDS and Selecon.

The investment comes on the back of an extremely successful year in 2012 for the company as it supplied events surrounding the multiple celebrations in and around the capital.

"The high-profile sporting and royal events - and the various spin-offs generated by them - during the summer kept us busy and has enabled us to expand o

Norway - This year's electrifying Nobel Peace Prize Concert saw Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 Spot luminaires, supplied by Norway's AVAB CAC, star as the power luminaire of choice for respected lighting director Nick Collier.

"The main challenge in lighting this particular show is the variety of performers," explains Collier, who took over lighting design duties from original designer, Al Gurdon. "The design has to bring out the best in Peter Bingemann's excellent set, and allow us the ability to deliver a unique look to each of the tracks. To this end, the VL3000 Spot is th

UK - The eco-conscious and budget-minded now have a new way to cut back on energy expenditures, according to manufacturer ETC. ETC's Paradigm Responsive Controls - the latest additions to the award-winning Unison Paradigm family of architectural control - are a sleek, convenient way to reduce wasted electricity in any space, the company says.

Paradigm Occupancy/Vacancy Sensors use passive infrared sensors (PIR) to detect vacancy, automatically shutting lights off when a space is unoccupied. They can also be configured to turn on when someone enters a room. ETC's architectural market m

Slovenia - Robe is the moving light of choice at the prestigious Cankarjev Dom in Republic Square, Ljubljana, Slovenia, which has over 100 Robe products in its inventory.

Named after writer and playwright Ivan Cankar, the building was designed by leading Slovenian architect Edvard Ravnikar and opened in 1982, complete with a large basement area that is fortified to withstand a nuclear attack!.

It is the largest Slovenian cultural and congress centre and features six venues - the biggest is a 1650 capacity concert hall - plus several galleries and studio spaces. It's both a producing

USA - Bandit Lites had the privilege of lighting the 31st Annual Texaco Country Showdown, the nation's largest and longest running country talent search. The event took place at The Ryman Auditorium on 17 January and was hosted by singer/songwriter Jewel.

California band Poor Man's Poison, one of five finalists, triumphed over the competition, which included Kassie and Ben, The Brothers Roberson, Deidre Thornell and Kate and Corey. The winning act was selected by a group of industry executives and artists, and was awarded a Grand Prize of $100,000.

Lighting designer Mark Carver has

UK - Working with lighting designer, Petter Skramstad, PRG have provided an innovative lighting system to feature at the Topman/BFC show for Family Productions.

As part of London Collection Men's Fashion week, Topman's show took place at The Old Sorting Office in New Oxford Street.

The space featured a creative curved design with a 100m catwalk that weaved around the venue, designed by 42 Architects. PRG's Loz Wilcox, provided over 100 Chromlech Jarag fixtures, which in a break from their traditional use as a dynamic eye candy effect, were suspended above the catwalk and used as the

Sweden - Experienced Swedish lighting designer Henrik Lundin is discovering that SGM's new X-5 LED strobes are making an increasingly powerful contribution to his show designs.

A member of the successful Stockholm-based company Satellite Live, since touring with eight of the new white strobes from the newly set-up SGM Sweden (headed by Mikael Uddh), he has never looked back.

One of the latest dance extravaganzas to undertake an extensive club tour with the strobes has been electro/hip hop group Maskinen (The Machine). "Because we were often visiting clubs with limited access to

UK - A lucky student from Birmingham's top creative, digital and performing arts academy has landed the opportunity of a lifetime; lighting the stage at the star-studded BRIT Awards ceremony.

Devante Benjamin, 17, from Birmingham fought off tough competition to join two students from London's BRIT school to work alongside some of the best in the business; preparing, installing, operating and de-rigging lighting equipment at the high profile event hosted by James Corden at London's 02 Arena next month.

Currently in Year 13 studying Production Arts at Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA)

UK - Knight of Illumination Award-winner and lighting designer Cate Carter has harnessed the precise and powerful beam control of Philips Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash FX luminaires to create a beautifully focused, and surprisingly intimate, show for Elbow at London's 20,000-capacity O2 Arena, provided by Lite Alternative.

"The VL3500 Wash FX provides me with both a powerful beam and even coverage for the stage wash," explains Carter. "The range of the zoom allows me to use these fixtures in different capacities to fulfill multiple applications and also the quality of the color

UK - Leading UK lighting rental company Siyan invested in additional Robe MMX Spots to keep up with the demand for these popular fixtures and a busy autumn order book.

High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire based Siyan, headed by Nick Valdez, services numerous tours, shows and events including a healthy pick of exciting 'bands of the moment'. The company also has a reputation for nurturing and producing new and emerging young lighting designers, operators / programmers and technicians.

Half of the new 24 MMX fixtures went directly out on tour with Feeder, where they were specified by LD Ewan

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the hiring of Andy Reese as the newest technical assistant to its Technical Services Department. Reese will be coordinating with the both the technical services and the sales departments to ensure that all customers (internal and external) get the parts and supplies that they need.

Originally a Knoxville native, Reese received his bachelors of science from Middle Tennessee State University, where he majored in the recording industry with a concentration in music business. He has since relocated to Nashville after working in Tulsa, OK as both an event a

The Netherlands - LED screen designer and manufacturer Pixled is showcasing its latest products and innovations at the ISE 2013 exhibition in Amsterdam ... on booth in HALL 11 at Booth D41.

Showing alongside the 'standard' rectangular tile based Pixled screens - which will include F-4, F-6 and F-10 - new floor based modules will be on display plus the popular transparent and flexible Linx curtain modules - available in 9, 12, 18, 25, 30 and 37 mm pixel pitches.

Also highlighted are the inventive LED surface strips including the newly launched F-24 strip.

Lastly - but by no means l

UK - Not only is Irish comedian Dara O Briain charming and funny, he is also very clever it would appear! Perhaps it is his enthusiasm for things or our constant desire to learn more, but it would seem that something 'adds up' for us, as comedy game show School of Hard Sums is back for a new series.

Richard Martin Lighting (RML) provide the lights for the show which is designed by LD Michael Sutcliffe aka Sooty. The rig comprises of Pixel Par 90s, Chroma Floods, Alpha Beam 300's and 900mm Chroma Strips. The simple yet effective look ensures that you keep your mind focused on th

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