International News

LONDON — In its 21st year, PLASA 2012 marks the final staging of the annual exhibition at Earls Court & Olympia before the show moves to ExCeL London (and the month of October) for 2013. Along with panel sessions on the industry’s involvement in this year’s Diamond Jubilee and London 2012 Olympics, there were plenty of new lighting and video products on display.

SCARBOROUGH, NORTH YORKSHIRE, UK – Qdos Entertainment is one of the largest single owners and users of Jem Glaciator low-lying fog generators. As one of the world’s leading pantomime producers, Qdos has 24 pantomimes staged in the current season and over 570 productions to its credit. To add effects, they stock 23 of the Jem units and recently added a comprehensive Martin service contract to keep the machines running smooth for years to come.

LONDON – Entec Sound & Light has worked for Britpop band Blur and their LD Dave Byars since 1990, when the emerging band were a small support group. Their production matured in the 2000s, and Entec has been with them all the way. Entec recently supplied audio and lighting for various elements of Blur’s recent shows, culminating in the band’s gig in London’s Hyde Park coinciding with the Olympic Closing Ceremony.

KRONACH, Germany – For 10 days in July, the old city of Kronach lit up with contemporary lighting for the seventh annual light festival, “Kronach Shines.” More than 80,000 visitors were drawn to the luminous creations around town, which used more than 1,000 light sources and 10 km of cable. Steinigke Showtechnic helped support the project with LD Andreas Jung.

South Kirkby, Yorkshire, UK – LS-Live has created a custom triple size DJ booth to boost the visual performance of A-list DJs for live music/dance hotel brand Ibiza Rocks. The 3m long DJ booth features a front wall of LED panels, which from an audience perspective, merges visually with the big LED screen behind the DJ, allowing the artist to become immersed in the show.

LONDON – Universal Event Productions (UEP) recently delivered full technical production to two major Nike events staged in London: the four-day World Basketball Festival in Brixton and the Nike Training Club at Old Billingsgate Market. Much of the rig for both events featured LED equipment for low power consumption.

SYDNEY, Australia – A new children’s theatre and performance space has opened as part of the new Darling Quarter precinct. The Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre is the home of the Monkey Baa Theatre Company as well. Jands completed the technical installation of the theatre as a turnkey project in partnership with The PA People. For lighting, the venue chose an ETC Ion 1000 console, along with a selection of ETC fixtures.

PULA, Croatia — The 59th Pula Film Festival, held in the ancient Vespasian’s Amphitheatre, set a new standard for outdoor 3D film presentation.The 3D projection setup achieved one of the longest throw distances ever recorded at 73.6 meters (242 ft). The setup, which included an 18.70 x 8.45m Stagelite Stereo 3D Screen from Harkness Screens, achieved a wide-viewing angle of 60º allowing the 3D presentation to be viewed at suitable brightness levels throughout the entire seating area.