Kenya - Following a large purchase of PR Lighting's premium discharge and LED automated lights, Nairobi-based rental company Homeboyz Entertainment Services has considerably broadened awareness of the Chinese company in east Africa.

Homeboyz, whose range of services includes turnkey event management, end-to-end event / AV production and hosting a famous urban FM radio station, has an outreach that includes other east African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Ethiopia.

Mainly specialising in rental/hire for the concert, corporate, theatre and club markets, they

USA - A team of professionals with notable backgrounds in commercial and theatrical lighting, new product development, industrial design, engineering, finance and manufacturing have come together to form Aquarii, Inc., a provider of engineered LED lighting solutions.

Aquarii designs and manufactures LED light fixtures that bring unprecedented flexibility to venues, from front-of-house operations and house lights for performing arts centres to overhead lighting for municipal arenas. Created to make versatile LED lighting both practical and affordable for a wide range of facilities, Aqu

USA - Emmy Award winning lighting designer Oscar Dominguez from Darkfire Lighting used Robe MMX WashBeams for the first time on the 2013 NCLR American Latino Media & Arts (ALMA) Awards.

The star-studded extravaganza which celebrates the best of Hispanic talent, creativity and contributions made to film, television, music and the arts in the US was staged at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and presented by Mario Lopez and Eva Longoria. Longoria was also the executive producer of the ALMAs and kept everyone on their toes this year sporting seven different and equally stunning dresses thro

World - Heavy metal icon Black Sabbath continue their Reunion Tour in Latin America, Europe and the UK with a grandMA2 light console. The tour celebrates the band's reunion last year and supports their album 13, the first with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. Baz Halpin is the tour's lighting designer and Michael Keller, lighting programmer.

Keller selected the grandMA2 for the tour since he's most comfortable programming that platform. "We're carrying the grandMA2 light with us now, but you can find grandMA2 in most places. grandMA2 does everything I need."

Keller

UAE - Wireless Solution Sweden AB is creating magic at the new MusicHall in Dubai with a system that provides an intelligent solution to a multi-use space. The venue is the second of a concept opened by brothers Michel and Jean Elefteriades who opened the original MusicHall in Beirut 10 years ago. It serves as a live entertainment hot spot as well as restaurant and nightclub.

The brothers found the popular Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel on The Palm in Dubai, which was looking to expand on their large event space and saw MusicHall as a good fit. The space already had an adequate stage, lo

Spain - Robe lighting has just launched the Spanish version of its complete website (www.robe.cz/es/ ).

Users from Latin America, Spain and other Spanish speaking regions will now be able to find all the main content available in their own language, including information on all the new and existing products and their technical specifications, plus the latest from the company's busy newsroom.

Regional sales manager for Latin America, Guillermo Traverso, comments, "It's really great news to have the official Robe lighting site in Spanish now! It is a great opportunity for everyon

UK - Richard Martin Lighting (RML) reports that it has recently added the Chauvet Nexus 4x4 to its already extensive inventory and they are available for hire here now.

The Nexus 4x4 is both a bold eye-candy and tour-ready washlight capable of delivering at once the sizzle of a pixel mapping display and a robust light output afforded by 16 20-Watt RGB COB LEDs. The combination of COB emitters and a clever reflector design yields a striking, diffused light richly drenched in saturated hues.

The units are controllable via Art-Net, Klings-Net and DMX protocols and feature interlocking

UK - As part of its on-going 30th birthday celebrations, Black Light is offering 30% off all pyrotechnic hardware hires (subject to availability). It is also running a '3 for 2' offer on all Le Maitre pyrotechnic sales. Both offers run throughout November and usual terms and conditions apply.

"These offers are perfect for anyone who wants to use pyrotechnics to make their stage show, launch or gig that much more memorable," says Black Light's events and hires manager, Calder Sibbald. "We are hoping to get more people switched on to the creative potential and technical b

USA - Leading moving light manufacturer Robe Lighting s.r.o. announces the appointment of Bob Schacherl as CEO of its US based operation, Robe Lighting Inc.

Bob Schacherl's exemplary high profile career has seen him work with two leading brands in the moving light field spanning the last 28 years - firstly as a co-founder of High End Systems and subsequently as vice-president of sales and marketing at Vari-Lite from 2001 to 2013. This career will now continue with Robe, as the company positions itself for further expansion and the strengthening of all its global markets throughout 201

UK - At PLASA London 2013 at ExCel, London, the Solaris LED Flare lighting and effects fixture was honoured with the coveted PLASA Sustainability Award. The eco-friendly concept behind the Flare's design was recognized by the PLASA Innovation Award judges, who asserted, "This multi-purpose, energy efficient product will save loads of energy by replacing and eliminating the massive power consumption of existing fixtures including strobes, audience blinders, and wash lights." The PLASA Sustainability Award is awarded at the judges' discretion for significant achievements in envi

Australia - Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour is a production that combines Michael Jackson's music and choreography with Cirque du Soleil creativity to give fans worldwide a view into the spirit, passion and heart of Jackson.

Lighting designer Martin Labrecque was required to design a rig that provided a decent amount of front and side light, as sometimes the stage can have forty-nine people on it, and that could also compete with the extensive use of LED video screens.

Another challenge was weight allowance with the space above the performance area already crammed with video

UK - The AED UK businesses including AED Rent, AED Distribution, AED Store and AED Second-hand are opening their doors on Tuesday 5 November for a Guy Fawkes themed Open Day. From 10.30 am to 6 pm, all visitors are welcome to meet the AED UK Team and have a look around their facility.

AED Distribution which enjoyed a busy inaugural PLASA, will be showing products from all of its partner brands including High End Systems automated luminaires, digital lighting and the HOG4 Family of consoles. Also, other brands such as SRS, Swisson, Prolyte, CM, GLP and MediaLas will be in action with m

France / Slovakia - After meeting at PLASA London, Leader Light has announced a new French distributor, Dimatec. From 1 November 2013, Dimatec will be strategic distributor of the full range of Leader Light's professional and architectural lighting.

"The deal is the next forward step for the company," said managing director Julius Szaraz. "We would like to increase the sales and after the meeting I was immediately persuaded that this is a good choice."

Dimatec distributes leading brands of lighting equipment and accessories for the film, television, video, photo

Australia - The Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review symbolised 100 years since Australia welcomed their first Naval Fleet into Sydney Harbour. It was Imagination Australia's job to celebrate that milestone in a way the entire city and the world would take notice of. The spectacular was created in seven acts, from introducing the original fleet, through 100 years of service to Australia, current capabilities, a moment of reflection for the fallen and a finale to rival Sydney New Year's Eve.

Imagination conceived, wrote, designed and produced every element of the show. For

Denmark - When the staff at Svalegangen, a theatre in the western Danish city of Aarhus, started looking for new control desks for their 200 seat main theatre and touring needs, they weren't expecting to make a quick purchase.

They wanted to find a control system with familiar syntax, in order to ease users' learning process on the new desks, and which would have great support and would be future proofed, with regular software updates keeping up with advances in lighting technology.

After browsing the market for a replacement control desk for about a year, head of lighting Anders Kj

USA - Leroy Bennett's lighting design for the current Nine Inch Nails Tension 2013 tour utilises the largest installation of Ayrton's MagicPanel 602 fixtures to date. Following a successful summer festival tour promoting their new album Hesitation Marks across the Far East and Europe, American industrial rock project, Nine Inch Nails, are currently bringing their show to North American arenas under a dramatic lighting rig that incorporates no less than 126 Ayrton MagicPanel 602 fixtures.

Legendary rock production/lighting designer Leroy Bennett, whose long line of collaborations inclu

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd, a specialist one-stop supplier to the film, television and broadcast studio markets, will showcase a selection of lighting and video solutions alongside their in-house Express custom cable, custom gel, and lamp services at BVE North. Also on display will be a selection of stands and grip from both Manfrotto and Avenger, as well as other consumables available for next day delivery (Stand C20-C10).

The stand will feature some of the many marques which AC-ET distributes exclusively in the UK, alongside other leading brands the company is

USA - New Orleans-based rental and sales company, RZI Lighting, has been intensifying its relationship with GLP Inc during the past year - partly based on the quality and popularity of new age LED heads like the impression X4 and budget-conscious Volkslicht Spot - but also as a result of the support he knows he can rely on from the Californian-based company.

Recently relocated to an enlarged 25,000sq.ft facility - a measure of RZI Lighting's own success - CEO Ray Ziegler expects to continue adding impression heads to the inventory.

"The new equipment from GLP is really very exc

USA - Love's Labour's Lost got a new musical treatment this summer at Central Park's famed Shakespeare in the Park, and Clay Paky Sharpy Washes helped give the show a new look, too. Popular for rock and pop music tours, the Sharpy Washes were the perfect fit for the six-week run of the innovative staging of one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedies.

The Public Theatre presents free Shakespeare in the Park at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre every summer. This year it paired Comedy of Errors with a spring break-style musical version of Love's Labour's Lost..

Eig

UK - Philips and the Society of Light and Lighting are again sponsoring Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance's successful 2014 Junior Ready Steady Light competition.

Held at the College's campus in Sidcup on Saturday 15th March 2014, 12 teams of students from School Sixth forms & Further Education Colleges are invited to light up the grounds and buildings, in a spectacular display of light and colour.

The day begins at 11.00am and finishes at 9.00pm; this year Rose Bruford College aims to attract 12 teams, made up of 5 year 12, 13, or FE students to participate in

USA - Nearly 90 contemporary works of light, sound, performance and projection art recently transformed the downtown Dallas Arts District into a new media art exhibition called Dallas Aurora 2013. Syncrolite, a Dallas-based theatrical and architectural lighting manufacturer, played a role as one of the lighting exhibits in this 19-square-block event.

Syncrolite provided a system of ten 8000 watt XL xenon lighting fixtures to illuminate the 1 Arts Plaza, one of the highlighted locations for the multi-sensory and participatory experiences.

On the 18 October event day, Troy Eckerman pr

USA - While the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards attracted press coverage for its outrageous performances, the show made headlines among professionals for its creative staging, too. Clay Paky Sharpys and Sharpy Washes lit up the stage at Barclays Centre, Brooklyn where artist and designer KAWS reimagined the VMAs' iconic moonman statuette.

"For the 30th anniversary of the VMAs and its first time in Brooklyn we were celebrating Brooklyn and Brooklyn artist KAWS, who redesigned the moonman as a 60-foot inflatable silver statue that towered over the main stage," says lighting design

Italy - Slovakia's Leader Light was used in a new cycleway in Pero in the Italian region of Lombardy.

The cycle path is a new installation which is situated near the Milan Exhibition centre in Rho (the Province of Milan) with a length approximately 1.5 km. The cycleway crosses the A4 Highway.

The Milano Province designed the original project with 66 pieces of LED lighting with total system power of 30 W. These luminaries were replaced by Leader Light's LED street lighting. They used only 56 pieces of LL STREET PS 20W 4000K GAG in 6 m height and six pieces of 6 PCS LL STREET PS 20W 4

USA - High End Systems is releasing today Hog 4 Version 2.0 software, with more than a dozen major new features that add further value for existing Hog 4 users as well as new purchasers going forward, the company says.

New features include a new window called the 'Media Picker' added to the Hog 4 OS which allows users to view and select slotted function values (gobos, colours, media etc) for the current fixture selection via thumbnail previews.

V2.0 also features support for Digital Media Server thumbnail previews using CITP - an advanced, network-based protocol that is now utilised

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