International News

SERIATE, ITALY – The 360-degree staging of Pietro e Lucia, based on the 1920s anti-war novel by French novelist Romain Rolland included Clay Paky's Alpha Beam 1500. Focusing on the impact of the First World War on the lives of two lovers, the show is a monumental multimedia combination of dance, film, rock and opera, featuring soloists from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet, Italian opera stars, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic Choir, together with rock musicians.

AARHUS, DENMARK – The Royal Danish Ballet’s recent performance of “A Folk Tale,” which ended a four week run at the Copenhagen Opera House on April 8th, is a classic Bournonville ballet that included several new interpretations and visual elements. Part of that new look included lighting effects from Martin Professional MAC III Profile luminaires under the command of lighting designer and programmer Mikki Kunttu.

KORTRIJK, BELGIUM – Blitz-CineStar, Croatia's leading cinema operator, has selected Barco as exclusive digital cinema projector partner. Within the space of a year, the cinema chain will transform all of its ten multiplexes to state-of-the-art digital cinema complexes.

DUBAI, UAE – Fifteen leading production and technical services companies – including Al Laith Event Services, Creative Technology, Delta Sound, EFM Event Logistics and Neumann & Müller Event Technology – supplied gear, crew and expertise for three-day concert event at Dubai's Aviation Club called Peace One Day.

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN – Light Converse Ltd.'s LIGHTCONVERSE 3D Show Platform was used to pre-program the recent 2011 Asian Winter Games, held between January 30th and February 6th in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan. The three-hour opening ceremony of the games, staged at Astana's 40,000 seat indoor football stadium, required a visulization system that could match the highly-tuned athletic performances that would come to be from the 1,100 competitors from 27 participating countries. With over 30 universes of DMX, 586 moving light fixtures and multiple moving scenery pieces, static and video elements to contend with during the ceremony, LIGHTCONVERSE was chosen as the visualizer for all pre-show and on-site programming.

MILAN, ITALY – Among the long-running entertainment programmes that state owned Italian public service broadcaster RAI hosts, "Domenica In" (Sunday In) is by far the oldest: 35 years of non-stop editions since 1976, when the absolute novelty of a six-hour continuous live entertainment show was introduced to Italian television.

BRISTOL, UK – West Midlands and Bristol, UK based AV rental specialist Central Presentations Ltd. (CPL) has expanded its warehouse space near Birmingham by taking over a new unit right next door to the existing facility and offices. More capacity has been needed for some time – particularly due to recent investments in the latest larger scale technology like HD cameras, projectors and PPUs as well as an ever increasing stock of day-to-day equipment like microphones, plasma screens and speakers – plus higher staff levels and a healthy level of business.

The 2010 OTO (Osobnost Televiznej Obrazovky) Awards was staged at the New National Theatre in Bratislava, and celebrated the very best in Slovakian television from 2010, acknowledging talent, skills and innovation for all areas from news reporting and sports presentation to documentary, comedy and drama.

The star-studded event was televised live on Slovakia's main national channel, RTVS, and lit by the country's top TV lighting designer Martin Kubanka, who used Robe moving lights at the core of his rig. Lighting, sound and AV equipment was supplied by Slovakia's number one rental house, Q-99.

SOMERSET, UK – A brand new performance space at Bath Spa University in the United Kingdom boasts a number of technologically advanced features. The "Image Capture Studio," located in a Grade 1 listed building on the Corsham Court campus, was designed and installed to utilize a Milos QuickTruss ground support trussing system for its assorted production and media related equipment. The studio includes a full image capture studio, green screen, projection facilities, and a photography studio. UK-based production company Enlightened chose QuickTruss for its wide range of trussing and accessories, strength, and aesthetic appeal.

LONDON – The talk of the town in London is the National Theatre's dramatic new stage adaptation of Frankenstein, directed by Danny Boyle – the award-winning director of Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire and, next year, the opening of London's 2012 Olympics. And the talk of the show is the spectacular lightbulb ceiling which greets audiences on their arrival into the theatre and then creates stunning images suggesting the industrial age and the power of electricity during the show.