International News

LONDON – Cover It Up are finishing one of their busiest years to date. Their diversity of projects for drapes, soft goods and dressing for events ranged from the AEGON Masters Tennis tournament at the Royal Albert Hall to the Red Bull F1 Racing End of Season Party at Silverstone’s The Wing.

GHENT, Belgium – The 2011 I Love Techno (ILT) event needed lighting that could stand up to the non-stop, fast-paced 12-hour techno dance rave for 35,000 attendees. Event LD, video and production designer Thomas Boets of LD Productions specified more than 100 Robe ROBIN 600E spot and LEDWash moving lights to illuminate the Blue Room, one of five arenas. The ILT took place at the Flanders Expo in Ghent, Belgium.

AUCKLAND, NZ – New Zealand LD Ben Cooper chose 24 Robe ROBIN 600 LEDWash moving light fixtures for the 2011 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. This was Cooper’s second year to handle the award show design, and his first time to use the LED fixtures in a major event – the first being a charity gig in a hotel ballroom. Spot-Light Systems Ltd., of which Cooper is co-owner, supplied all the lighting equipment.

AARHUS, DENMARK – Nickelback performed the halftime show for this year’s Canadian Football League championship game. The Grey Cup took place Nov. 27 using a large Martin lighting and video package to accommodate the crowds at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium. Christie Lites Vancouver supplied the moving lights, while Epic Production Technologies supplied the LC panels with P3 upgrade. Robert Sondergaard designed the lighting and production for this, one of Canada’s biggest annual sports and TV events.

MUNICH, Germany – German company mo2 design GmbH was designed the complete illumination and lighting control in the studio for Germany’s first 24-hour sports network, SKY Sports News. Mo2 system integrator Thomas Mrozek says coolux’s Widget Designer is the main tool for the complete lighting control, the idea being that just about anyone would be able to easily select appropriate lighting mood without much training.

MINSK, Belarus – Bi2, Russian rock legends since 1985, recently returned to their native Minsk for one sold-out show at the Sports Palace indoor arena. LD Dimitriy Movlev specified 24 PR Lighting XL 1500 spots and 16 XL 1500 wash lights as his mainstay of the rig. FE-Belimlight provided the gear as well as technical support.

QUEENSLAND, Australia – The Empire Theatre’s technical staff wanted to upgrade their aging Martin MAC 500 fixtures with newer models. It needed to provide more output, be small in size, and fit within a certain price range. After looking around, they decided on six Clay Paky Alpha Profile 700s, chosen not only for their requirements, but because of the framing shutters it provided.

BELARUS – LD Ilya Piatrouski and his team from Blackout Studio are embarking on a new season for the show, Pride of The Nation, broadcast by Belarus’ Second National TV channel. Piatrouski says when it’s time for a new design, he turns to the PR Lighting catalog, distributed in Belarus by FE-Belimlight, to fulfill his lighting needs.

ORLANDO –  Alcorn McBride, manufacturer of show control and A/V equipment for themed entertainment, appoints SF Marketing (SFM) as the exclusive distributor for Alcorn McBride products in Canada.  Alcorn McBride COO Jeremy Scheinberg wanted to establish a local presence in Canada to better serve its customers, and decided that SF Marketing would be an extension of their brand.

WISBECH, UK – European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has created its newest series of “fly away” portable video production units (PPUs). The smaller PPUs were designed for Central Presentations Ltd., which needed something smaller, more portable and quick and easy to install and rig for small to medium events. Basically, all that’s needed is power and the video equipment in the case is ready to go.

WEXFORD, Ireland – LD Declan Randall decided to incorporate LED technology into his rig this year. The Wexford Opera celebrates their 60th anniversary season with three distinctly different operas, and the Philips Selecon P3 LED luminaires gave Randall a range of features that he needed for a range of shows.