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Ayrton Zonda 9 FX Fixtures Enhance High Energy Home Games For the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins fans are enjoying an even more dynamic game experience this season with the installation of Ayrton Zonda 9 FX LED moving head washes beneath the new scoreboard at the PPG Paints Arena.  ACT Entertainment is the exclusive distributor of Ayrton lighting in North America. Kevin Hogan, the Lighting Designer and Programmer for the NHL team since 2005 and the owner of Pittsburgh-based Process of Illumination LLC, chose eight Zonda 9 FX fixtures for the new scoreboard, which is part of an arena upgrade by the Fenway Sports Group (owners of the team since late 2021).  Designed and built by Mitsubishi Electric, the much larger, four-sided scoreboard features 50-foot LED panels around a hollow central core with two Zonda 9 FX positioned on the lower mounting rail of each panel.Read More »Ayrton Zonda 9 FX Fixtures Enhance High Energy Home Games For the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins

Vectorworks, Inc. Unveils 2023 Design Scholarship Winners, Selects Brenda Vaca Michan as Richard Diehl Winner

Global design and BIM software provider Vectorworks, Inc. has revealed the winners of this year’s Vectorworks Design Scholarship, naming Brenda Vaca Michan as the Richard Diehl Award winner. With over 1,000 submissions, scholarships were awarded to 21 students for 18 projects in the architecture, interior design, landscape and entertainment industries. The winning Richard Diehl submission Venus by Vaca Michan is a lighting design project for the play written by Suzan-Lori Parks that’s set in the 19th-century and directed by Mike Payette at the National Theater School of Canada. Vaca Michan utilized Vectorworks Spotlight for the lighting design to maintain consistency when working with the lighting plots for a diverse cast.Read More »Vectorworks, Inc. Unveils 2023 Design Scholarship Winners, Selects Brenda Vaca Michan as Richard Diehl Winner

ESTA Announces 2024-2026 Board of Directors Election Results

ESTA recently announced the newest members of the 2024-2026 ESTA Board of Directors: Ben Hague of IATSE has been elected as Vice President, Patrick Wallace of Encore Global has been elected as Secretary, Evan Williams of Riverview Systems Group has been reelected as Production Services Director, and Andy Shipsides of ARRI Rental North America has been elected as Rental Company Director.Read More »ESTA Announces 2024-2026 Board of Directors Election Results

Deal for Robe ESPRITES at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town, South Africa

Atlantic Studios, Cape Town, South Africa, is a cutting-edge multi-stage film and television production facility and a bustling hub of creative activity serving the Western Cape and far beyond. One of its current productions is the South African edition of ‘Deal or No Deal’, the popular risk-taking gameshow. Lighting Designer Daniel Louw is using some brand-new Robe ESPRITES which were purchased for this show and delivered by Robe’s South African distributor, DWR.

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Seamless Looks for Gryffin by Julien Reux with CHAUVET Professional and 4Wall

Blowing away crowds with his blasts of dubstep beats and trashing techno shreds at one turn, then picking up a guitar the next to venture forth into dreamy dance tunes, Gryffin is a one-person ensemble of diverse sounds. Keeping pace with him and reflecting his energy with stunning colors and motion was a compelling stage production by lighting designer Julie Reux, content creator/VJ Eddie Perez, and TM Jonny Stiegler.

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Proteus Excalibur and Proteus Maximus Shape the Look and Feel of Wacken Open Air 2023

As many know, real Wacken fans don’t let the weather stop them. It’s not for nothing that ‘rain or shine’ is the rallying cry of party-loving metal fans who travel to northern Germany from all corners of the world for Wacken Open Air (WOA). This year, metalheads had to be particularly strong. Days of constant rain had so softened the “Holy Ground” of the festival site that a travel stop had to be imposed for the first time in the festival’s history. Anyone who made it onto the grounds though still got the full Wacken experience, including knee-deep mud.Read More »Proteus Excalibur and Proteus Maximus Shape the Look and Feel of Wacken Open Air 2023

In Memoriam: Industry Trailblazer Richard Pilbrow, 90

Richard Pilbrow (1933-2023), passed away the evening of December 6, 2023. Pilbrow was a vital force in the theatre—a celebrated Broadway and West End lighting designer, a pathfinder in the theatrical consulting profession, and an innovator in countless other corners of the industry. He lived a life committed to expansive thinking and supporting others, co-founding multiple professional membership organizations and serving as mentor to consultants and designers across the globe. And his books on lighting and on his career in consultancy have become standard reads for fledgling creatives and industry professionals alike.

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