International News

[caption id="attachment_278866" align="alignnone" width="800"]Avolites_360Theatre[/caption]

UK – 360° Theatre was the immersive cinema event by fulldome mapping specialist, GaiaNova, held at London’s Cody Dock. The event used exclusively Avolites Ai R8 Media servers to video map the interior of one of GaiaNova’s 18m projection domes with a diverse range of speciality designed 360° video over the course of two days. Content was created for the showcase by a host of visiting artists, including new media artists Bertie Sampson and Michaela French and creatives from The Royal College of Art’s Fulldome Research Group (FDRG). The National Space Centre’s (NSC) planetarium film, ‘We are Stars’ was also screened regularly throughout the event.

Read More »

Lexair Entertainment is pleased to announce that they are the new Australian and New Zealand exclusive distributor for LDDE. LDDE specialize in the Theatre and Studio lighting markets, and have held an exceptional reputation since its foundation nearly 30 years ago. Their products are all manufactured in the company’s home of Austria, and enjoy excellent quality and performance.

Read More »

[caption id="attachment_278861" align="alignnone" width="800"] Event Lighting Jernej Gustin [/caption]

SLOVENIA – Event Lighting is Slovenia’s largest and busiest lighting rental specialist, based in the capital, Ljubljana. The operation is owned and run by Jernej Gustin, who likes to be setting the trends rather than following them! So it wasn’t a massive surprise that they were the first company in the country to purchase Robe’s new Spiider LED wash beams following a trailblazing purchase of BMFL Blades last year which also started the ball rolling in a country with a small but highly competitive and action packed market!.

Read More »

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Indian Independence Day holds a special meaning for the people of Lenasia Township. It was here in the early 20th century that a young Mahatma Gandhi staged a famous protest at the local railway station to advance the cause of civil rights for South Africa’s Indian population. Later, when he returned to India, Gandhi would employ the idea of non-violent civil disobedience that he had honed in South Africa to win independence for his native country, and in the process, change the world.

Read More »

GLASGOW, Scotland – Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes shot to fame via a clip he posted to Vine in 2014 and has quickly garnered pop royalty status with a social media fan following of millions. At the pinnacle of his career playing sold out arenas around the world, Shawn is currently embarking on his ‘Illuminate’ world tour – and leading French manufacturer and provider of lighting balloons for the event industry, Airstar, is helping to set the unique stage for the hottest ticket of 2017 with its Pendulair LED product.

Read More »

LONDON – Lighting and visuals designer Andy Hurst wanted to make a big impact for Chase & Status acclaimed Saturday night headliner set at the 2017 Lovebox festival in London’s Victoria Park, so he designed an impressive specials package which was supplied by HSL, together with crew, which was installed under the event’s production ‘top rig’. The ‘extras’ included 194 x SGM Q-7 LED flood / strobes, used highly effectively for the strobe-tastic onslaught that you expect  at a Chase & Status gig as well as super-bright floods  and audience blinders. 

Read More »

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Brazilian rental company LPL supplied over 150 Robe moving lights including BMFL WashBeams to the 2017 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational (MSI) competition staged in the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. (formally the Rio Olympic Arena) Produced by LoL developers Riot Games, professional regional champions from Asia, North America and Europe met in Brazil and battled ‘live’ to win large numbers of points counting towards the 2017 World Championship title for this hugely popular e-sport phenomena.

Read More »

[caption id="attachment_278806" align="alignnone" width="800"]AED joins the verto challenge[/caption]

FRANCE – With the appointment of AED France as Prolyte distributor next to its existing distribution partner Axente, Prolyte Group has guaranteed full distribution coverage in France, offering customers optimized access to the range of Prolyte products. Prolyte Group’s trusted partner Axente, who holds the position as Prolyte distributor and ProLyft Service Point in France for a prolonged period, made it possible to succeed to open the French market for Prolyte and grow a trusted and steady customer base.

Read More »

AUSTRALIA – Lexair Entertainment is proud to have been appointed the exclusive Australian and New Zealand distributor for American followspot giant Lycian Stage Lighting. Lycian followspots are found in venues and production rental houses the world over. As the industry leader with over 50 years’ experience in followspot design and manufacturing, Lycian have a well-earned a reputation for high quality, reliable and robust products. As North America’s largest followspot manufacturer, Lycian also boast the widest range of followspots to suit every venue from the largest stadium to the smallest school hall.

Read More »

[caption id="attachment_278801" align="alignnone" width="800"]Jeroen van Aalst (Controllux) on the left with Vorstin Production Assistant Robin von Zijl[/caption]

NETHERLANDS – Podium de Vorstin is a purpose built live music venue right in the heart of ‘media city’ Hilversum in the Netherlands. Its interesting modern neo-ecclesiastical steel architecture was created by Architekten Cie, and ensures that it stands out as an aesthetic landmark as well as a popular entertainment venue. Production assistant Robin von Zijl and technical manager Michael Sakkers were part of the team who chose Robe Spiider LED wash beams and DL4S Profile luminaires – 16 of each – in a recent technical upgrade.

Read More »

[caption id="attachment_278794" align="alignnone" width="800"]ProPlexDevices[/caption]

UK – BBC One’s musical show Pitch Battle recently completed a successful opening season with five pre-recorded episodes, plus the live finals.  Live broadcasts have zero tolerance for malfunctions (just ask Mariah Carey . . . or Janet Jackson) and gear must be 100% reliable.  For this reason, lighting designer Mark Kenyon insists on ProPlex Data Distribution Devices for all his show data networking.

Read More »

[caption id="attachment_278774" align="alignnone" width="800"]Clean Bandit appears at Glastonbury[/caption]

EUROPE – As Clean Bandit continue their touring progress towards a transatlantic sojourn in the USA in the fall, it seems an appropriate moment to consider the merits of Rob Sinclair’s production design. In particular, the unique constructions that inhabit the upstage area from left to right, manufactured by specialist show and event design house, Specialz Ltd.  These pods are four metres high with eight VDO Sceptron 10 fixtures in each pod. Each one is rigged on a stand that enables the pod to be rotated 360° to be either facing downstage or at 45° degrees making them all but invisible to the audience.

Read More »