LED screen, drapes and special FX specialist S+H Technical Services supplied its Glux 10mm LED screen to the recent UK tour by iconic rock band 10cc which played key cities around the UK.

The tour’s production manager Dave Cobby also looks after the video elements on the road, and he specified the screen returning to S+H, the Ilfracombe, Devon based company which has supplied previous 10cc tours including the 2016 40^th anniversary celebration of seminal albumSheet Music.

Dave has worked with the band since 2006, and this time around took on both roles. “It’s always a pleasure doing business with S+H’s Terry (Murtha) and the team. We get a great deal and the 10mm screen is exactly the resolution and quality that we need”.

The screen was configured as a continuous 8-metre-wide by 5-metre-high surface upstage. The requirement was for a lightweight and easy to rig solution that was adaptable and practical for a variety of venues on the itinerary, that could be rigged quickly and easily.

“It is one of the most handle-able and reliable screens I’ve encountered,” stated Dave who was assisted in the rigging and positioning process by LD Martin Bell.

Used only in three songs, the screen had maximum impact, and the rest of the time was absorbed magically into the background. You would not have known it was there! “This is another great advantage of this type of screen” commented Dave, “you can get a proper blackout!”

The band’s video content was designed and created by 10cc founding member Kevin Godley (who was not on the tour). It featured during the intro “Son of Man’ and “Somewhere in Hollywood”, a moody number that seems to take on new relevance in the post-Weinstein era – where Godley sings the lead vocal and appears to be floating above the band on the screen.

The third section of video plays out during their worldwide hit, “I’m Not in Love”.

Dave used a MacBook Pro for playback, connected directly to the screen’s scaler and processors, and he sat stage left in the wings to operate during the show.

S+H’s Terry Murtha comments: “We love being involved with music shows and especially with a band like 10cc, and we are really happy to continue our working relationship with them”.

S+H has a stock of this and other LED screen products which are constantly out on corporate shows and live events as well as for some music-based clients like this.

The relationship with S+H had started when 10cc first started using video on tour, and at that time, it was co-ordinated and run by Ian Holmes of XIVIX. “The screen and S+H as a supplier worked well for us, so we stayed with a winning combination” says Dave.

Although 10cc have not released any new music since 1995, there is still an enormous interest in their legacy of work and in the current touring version of the band led by Graham Gouldman, also one of the founders back in 1972. They continue to play sold-out live shows throughout the summer in the UK and Europe, and Gouldman also has his successful solo career running in parallel.

Every member of the original 10cc was a multi-instrumentalist, singer, writer and producer andSheet Music, the second of 11 album records, was in the UK charts for an incredible six months in 1974 and is generally considered to be one of THE most influential studio albums of the 20^thcentury.

Photos: courtesy 10cc production

FUTURE Designs, the international designer and manufacturer of luminaires and bespoke lighting solutions, has launched its first series of informative and educational podcasts through interviews with some of its experts.

The three episodes, which are hosted by journalist Grant Gibson, explore the past, present and future of FUTURE Designs, outlining its humble beginnings to become one of the top five lighting manufacturers in the fit-out market. FUTURE Designs now provides lighting solutions across the UK, Europe and the Middle East, for projects including 22 Bishopsgate (the tallest building in the City of London), Ogilvy UK at Sea Containers, PwC and the high profile Crossrail scheme providing lighting and way-finding.

The first of the podcasts follows the journey of FUTURE Designs, through the eyes of Founder and Chief Executive David Clements. The episode, which is recorded in FUTURE Designs’ Edenbridge factory, retraces David’s background leading up to the creation of the company in November 1991, as well as looking at how lighting has dramatically changed in the past decade, and the opportunities and challenges of manufacturing in the UK.

The second episode interviews two key figures in the success of FUTURE Designs, Head of Design Anouska Nemchand and Operations Director Paul Noad. Anouska discusses her 20-year career, how technology has changed the face of lighting design, and her studio’s relationship to the adjacent factory. Paul reviews how the company’s production has changed over the past decade, the importance of just-in-time manufacturing, and how the factory was transformed by the LED revolution.

The final podcast, which was recorded in front of a live audience, hosts Dr Neil Stanley, an appointed consultant to FUTURE Designs’ specialising in ‘sleep’. The interest in the impact on light on the circadian rhythms in the workplace led FUTURE Designs to seek expertise on this topic which is deeply connected with wellness and sleep. In early 2018. Neil, who is also an author, lecturer and sleep expert, talks about his book ‘How to Sleep Well’, the science of sleeping, living better and being productive.

Dr Neil Stanley says: “We have finally woken up to the importance of sleep”, the universal phenomenon which we previously had little understanding of. “Neil has aided FUTURE Designs in highlighting that light is a fundamental requirement for life and the impact that light has on the human body’s natural circadian rhythms. Through this notion, FUTURE Designs continues develop concepts based on human centric lighting which puts emphasis on the
visual and non-visual effects of lighting design.

The FUTURE Designs podcast is available on Spotify, Apple podcasts and other podcast platforms.

www.futuredesigns.co.uk

The Lighting Industry Academy’s LIA Certificate is recognised throughout the industry as the main lighting course to enhance your lighting knowledge. Designed as a stepping stone in your career that can lead to various different opportunities within the lighting industry.

The course requires students to complete three test papers and comprehensive lighting project that demands creative thinking and utilised all the lighting knowledge delivered during the course. The assigned project brief was to provide an upgrade for an existing woodworking company.

The top four students were selected and invited for an interview at the Lighting Industry Academy, where they were asked to discuss their project and other course content. The 2018 finalists were:

Jasmine Benson from Park Electrical
Antonio Formisano from Ansell Lighting
Matthew Hill from Wirefield Ltd.
Sian Parsons from John Cullen Lighting

The finalists all came from different backgrounds and as such each had a different learning path. They presented their work on the 25th April, to the judging panel consisting of LIA Certificate Tutors Paul Stearman, Bob Bohannon and Peter Adams representing Awards Sponsor, Mackwell.

Embodying the philosophy of the Academy, the LIA Certificate naturally aligns itself with Sponsor, Mackwell, respected not only as one of the leading providers of technology solutions for the global lighting industry. Mackwell also practice the core principles of the importance of knowledge and training.

The finalists were invited to the LIA’s Annual Lunch on 2nd May to hear the Mackwell Outstanding Student of the Year announced by Peter Adams, Mackwell’s Support Services Manager.

The accolades went to Antonio Formisano from Ansell Lighting, who was presented with the crystal LIA Certificate Award Bowl, along with a certificate and cheque for £500.

Antonio’s passion for the light dates back to his childhood when he always needed a light on because the night is dark and full of terror. He graduated magna-cum-laude in Building Engineer in Naples (Italy) where he focused his studies on the effect of natural light in both modern and archaeological buildings. In 2018 he joined Ansell Lighting as a lighting designer. The judges commented that Antonio produced an exceptional project and gave a very thorough presentation.

Special Commendations also went to Jasmine Benson and Sian Parsons. They also received a crystal bowl, certificate and cheque for £250.

The LIA and Lighting Industry Academy would like to thank the judging panel for their time and enthusiasm and of course Mackwell, not just for their continued support of these awards but also for their commitment to the Lighting Industry Academy as Academy Ambassadors.

Pictured: Peter Adams, Maclwell’s Support Services Manager, Outstanding Student Antonio Formisano and LIA CEO Steve Davies

www.thelia.org.uk/academy
www.mackwell.com

The Pavilion is a cool, curved multifunctional event space right in the heart of the Arts Centre Melbourne complex in Australia, offering panoramic views of the leafy green surrounding Arts Precinct nestling between the Yarra River and the Royal Botanical Gardens.

It is a vibrant hub for a diversity of cultural and creative activities, accommodating anything from around 280 – 300 people for dinner, 450 for a concert set up and 500+ for a cocktails / standing event.

A new lighting rig of Robe VIVA CMY Spots, ParFect 150s and LEDWash 300+s, six of each, has recently been installed which has dramatically changed the way in which the space can be used for many events.

Arts Centre Melbourne’s technical manager for corporate events Jason Fordham explained that, in addition to the pre-existing generic rig, the new lights have expanded the capacity to stage multiple daily events in the Pavilion, a busy space which is utilised for anything from conferences, talks and debates to presentations, gala dinners and awards ceremonies – during daytime and evenings.

“The Robes have really enabled us to maximise the space properly and increase its utilisation by 60 percent or more” confirmed Jason, explaining that it’s now “hugely quicker and infinitely more practical” to morph the room from a daytime conference into an evening dinner – often with live entertainment – with the finished result also looking vastly better aesthetically.

They have frequently heard audible gasps of amazement from conference delegates when they re-enter the Pavilion reset to a dinner state following their daytime conference.

It was Arts Centre Melbourne’s head of lighting Bernie Manchee who specified the fixtures.

They had to be LED light sources – for all the obvious reasons like power saving, as they are a publicly funded organisation and there is a massive drive generally in Australia to be carbon conscious.

Additional restrictions were weight loading in the attractive domed ceiling! When the building was designed and built in the 1980s, today’s event usage was never really envisioned, and each of three scaffolding ‘technical rings’ in the ceiling can accommodate only 25kg per metre!

The fixtures also needed to be quiet for conference plenaries and spoken word events like talks, shows, discussions and debates.

“So, I chose these fixtures for their versatility and light weight” states Bernie, who also conducted some comparisons with other manufacturer’s offerings before making the decision to go with Robe.

The new fixtures were all demo’d by Simon Tye from Jands, Robe’s Australian distributor.

Bernie mentions that these three types of fixture are all ideal to cover the different events staged in the Pavilion. As they had to be rigged in the dome, he also needed fixtures that could properly bathe the entire room in light and texturing.

Furthermore, he had some prior experience with Robe in the 2500-seater Hamer Hall which is Arts Centre Melbourne’s premium orchestral space. MMX Spots, LEDWash 600s and 300s were installed there in 2013 and are still going strong!

Another reason Bernie looked again at Robe again was due to the amount of European – in particular – touring shows which are now rocking up with Robe on their riders, as bands and music acts will also frequently play the Pavilion. Some of these will bring their floor packages and hook into their overhead rig, so it’s good to now offer an enhanced rig and a moving light brand that is “universally acceptable”.

Jason mentions that the lighting requirements of even the most straightforward events are now a lot more complex than when he first started there as a tech in 2004. He’s also well happy with the system that runs via ArtNet and can be hooked in to any control console.

He looks after the Pavilion with a talented team of five, covering lighting, audio and AV and any other technical.

Photos – courtesy Arts Centre Melbourne

Building on the success of previous tours across Europe, the LEDVANCE truck has been back on the road visiting Rexel branches across the country displaying its extensive range of LED Lamps and Luminaires to customers.

The popular orange truck toured across six locations during April and May, visiting Rexel branches in Somerset, Bristol, Eastbourne, Birmingham, Warrington and Glasgow.

Visitors were invited to step onboard and discover LEDVANCE’s range of innovative LED lighting solutions including downlights, spots, floodlights, linear and panel LEDs – for indoor and outdoor use, domestic and professional – and the popular Vintage 1906 range.

Experts from Rexel and LEDVANCE were on hand to guide visitors through a comprehensive range of more than 100 different products on display in the truck.

Jim Taylor, Branch Manager for the Warrington store commented: “We were delighted to welcome the LEDVANCE truck to our branch for the day. It’s always a great opportunity for customers to see the latest products first-hand and discuss any new releases for themselves.

“The LEDVANCE team are extremely knowledgeable and I think it’s important for our customers and the Rexel team to be able to spend time with their team, getting hands on with the products. I’d like to thank LEDVANCE for coming along to Warrington and spending time at our branches across the country.”

For more information on Rexel’s services and solutions visit: www.rexel.co.uk

5th edition of IoT study shows street lighting to lead smart cities market with $50.4bn predicted investment by 2028

Telensa today announced that it has been named as the global market share leader in smart street lighting in Northeast Group’s Global Smart Street Lighting & Smart Cities: Market Forecast (2019-2028). This is the 5th edition of the study that has become the industry standard for research on the global smart street lighting market.

Since the last study, Telensa now counts over 100 smart street lighting deployments covering more than 400 cities, regions and enterprises across the world. Highlights include:

• Georgia Power, one of the largest and most innovative smart streetlight deployments in the world
• Smart city sensor deployments with Essex and Hertfordshire in the UK, and the City of Harrisburg in the US
• Significant new city deployments including Edinburgh, Wellington, Darwin and Hong Kong
• Further projects underway in countries including in Canada, Poland, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and Brazil.

The world’s 300+ million streetlights are undergoing a profound transformation. Until recently, they were a largely ignored segment of the municipal infrastructure market. Now they are suddenly part of a dynamic market, comprising LED conversions, smart (connected) nodes and smart city sensors. This is set to create a $50.4 billion market opportunity over the next decade.

Research for the study included a bottom up analysis to size the streetlight market for each of the 125 countries covered and determine the status of LED conversions and smart streetlight deployments. A key finding was that there are now over 11 million connected streetlights globally, with projects developing in all regions. Smart streetlights have developed alongside LED conversions, which are now the standard in much of the world. These connected streetlights will form the backbone for larger smart city programs, as cities look to add smart parking, environmental sensors, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, traffic monitoring, and other applications producing new urban data streams.

“LED and smart street lighting projects have always represented enormous efficiency opportunities for cities, with savings typically reaching over 65%,” said Chris Testa, research director at Northeast Group. “Cities and utilities are also beginning to realize the new revenue opportunities that are possible. Additional smart city infrastructure can be added to streetlights, with cities monetizing attachment rights to telecom operators and also creating revenue potential through emerging urban data marketplaces.”

“We’re delighted Northeast Group has once again recognised Telensa as the global market leader in connected street lighting” said Will Gibson, Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Telensa. “We’ve been working with cities and utilities for more than a decade to transform street lighting infrastructure into an energy-efficient service that responds to citizen’s evolving needs. Now we’re taking lighting-based sensors past the pilot stage to become the main data provider for tomorrow’s data-driven cities.”

An excerpt of the report can be downloaded here. The full report is available from northeast-group.com.

The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama – Coleg Brenhinol Cerdd a Drama Cymru – National Conservatoire of Wales in Cardiff, UK provides specialist practical and performance-based training that enables young professional artists to enter and influence the world of music, theatre and related professions, and offers acclaimed undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Technical Theatre and Stage & Event Management. These have spawned many future entertainment technology industry professionals.

The College has invested in four of Zero 88’s powerful user-friendly FLX lighting consoles which are in daily use throughout the College’s multiple performance and rehearsal spaces.

Four busy major performance spaces on the campus include the 360-capacity Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall and the Richard Burton Theatre which seats up to 180. The Bute Theatre and the Caird Studio theatre are both flexible black box rooms with variable capacities and configurations – the Bute accommodates around 100 to 150, while the Caird is more intimate, holding about 30 to 40.

Between all these and some other areas, including a large public foyer, over 550 diverse public performances are staged during term time alone. These range from Friday’s late afternoon AmserJazzTime events in the foyer to an array of international artists playing the Concert Hall, through to fully featured and supported student productions and in-house drama shows and musicals.

Outside term time it is run as a full commercial operation with a wide variety of bookings from large conferences with hundreds of delegates to wedding receptions.

So … it’s a very lively environment requiring all sorts of lighting scenarios for which the multi-skilled team from Technical Operations must be as adaptable and accommodating as possible.

The FLXs – currently there are three FLXs and one FLX S24 – are working in all these different spaces and are also part of the teaching curriculum equipment, explained Matt Rogerson, one of four senior technicians at the college.

The first one was purchased just as the FLX launched in 2015 and it was used so much that they quickly purchased a second explained Matt, who is engaged in extensive technical support for the Stage Management and Technical Theatre courses as well as the daily running of the performance spaces. He also runs the drama capital purchasing and manages the rental software system used to maximise and track all the kit the college owns – amounting to over 10,000 items!

The FLX S24 was acquired in late 2017 and this runs lighting in the Mini Rig Room – a custom built facility for lighting and set designers to install their scale model boxes and try out different lighting treatments before they go into the tech period.

The third FLX console was acquired in late 2018 and is specifically dedicated to looking after lighting for day-to-day events in the busy Concert Hall.

They chose FLX, states Matt, because “the range of features is unbeatable in my opinion for the price, and this combined with the straightforward operation made it a really easy decision as it definitely ‘punches above its weight’”.

Students on the Stage & Event Management and Technical Theatre courses are trained in how to learn different lighting control platforms including the FLX and how to adapt programming methodology between different console operating systems, a process which sees them utilise an identical set of moving lights and LED fixtures. They start on one console and with the assistance of staff, manuals and online help, set up the desks and carry out an array of tasks … then repeat the process on the next desk, etc.

Features making FLX a winner in this context again include “its simplicity combined with the high level of features” confirms Matt, adding that he feels it is physically “a really solid package with many good things built into a small space!”

He thinks the ZerOS software also follows through. “You can use it to quickly get up and running if that’s what you need, and also to drill down a lot further into the desk setup depending on your exact needs”.

He thinks the Colour Picker and the touch screen generally are “great” features including the option of multi-touch for spreading values across fixtures, and having the separate colour faders which is helpful for selecting the colours needed and tweaking them. “The ability to load in our own images and pick colours from these is an absolutely brilliant idea” he declares.

The FLX in the Dora Stoutzker Concert Hall is in constant use and is set up with an FLX USB ZerOS Wing running over a KVM so it can be operated remotely from the Prompt Corner. This is not exactly what it was designed for, but it works very well for Matt and the team

The FLX S24 running the mini-rig is also in daily use.

The other two FLXs have multiple uses depending on the productions and / or lectures of the moment or the type and style of the events currently running. They are frequently in action in and around the Student Union or for larger shows in the college foyer.

The general opinion of the students is also that FLX is a very good option, reports Matt.

He also mentions that for the in-house productions, they enjoy “exceptional” support from Zero 88’s product manager Jon Hole, himself an ex RWCMD student, and his team at Zero 88 who are based in Cwmbran … just up the road.

Prior to starting the lighting process for their own productions, students will usually make a trip to Zero 88’s office and factory for dedicated console training sessions.

For Matt, the FLX range brings something special and different to their specific working environment, and therefore it’s enjoyed huge success.

“While Zero 88 consoles have ‘traditionally’ dominated the small-to-medium marketplace, the FLX has been developed with no compromise on quality of functionality. I think the ZerOS and FLX platform is a really rock-solid product, that will continue to be the first console on which several generations of future lighting practitioners will cut their teeth”.

Photos by Matt Rogerson, courtesy RWCM&D

The Zumtobel Group, one of Europe’s leading professional lighting groups, with its core brands Thorn, Tridonic and Zumtobel, has teamed up with Casambi, a multi-award winning pioneer in wireless lighting controls based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE).

The strategic partnership ensures an extensive new range of Thorn and Zumtobel luminaires offering seamless control to users via Casambi’s BLE software control platform. Furthermore, a series of Tridonic drivers is now also ‘Casambi-Ready’, allowing luminaire manufacturers to easily integrate wireless controls within their products to reduce cost and complexity. Additionally, the connected lighting solutions form part of the dynamic lighting management platform Tridonic basicDIM Wireless which is straightforward to set up and enables professional users to easily adapt various settings to their individual needs in an intuitive manner.

“Our partnership with Casambi allows us to combine our outstanding luminaire design with state-of-theart Bluetooth technology which simplifies installation, commissioning and operation of lighting systems and, thanks to its interoperability, leaves room for future developments and applications,” confirms Alfred Felder, Zumtobel Group CEO.

Casambi’s CEO Timo Pakkala endorses the partnership by commenting: “With Casambi technology installed within the Thorn and Zumtobel luminaires and also supporting Tridonic drivers, lighting control has become more powerful, versatile and easier to use. Moreover, the introduction of these new connected lighting solutions from an industry titan such as Zumtobel Group goes a long way to demonstrate the continued rapid growth achieved by Casambi’s expanding ecosystem.”

Casambi’s control technology platform, which automatically forms an intelligent wireless mesh connected network, enables luminaires and other lighting devices to be wirelessly controlled in a creative, cost effective, energy saving way.

Customers who choose Casambi Ready luminaires developed by either Thorn or Zumtobel benefit from the easy-to-install solution because they no longer need to use separate lighting control modules. Both lighting brands’ luminaires are mounted with Casambi-Ready modules which are integrated directly into Tridonic drivers. Thanks to the high-end features of the technology the luminaires can be easily controlled separately or in multiple groups and dimmed up and down between 1 and 100 percent – all via Bluetooth. Additionally, it is also possible to quickly organise and manage professional lighting scenes and create sophisticated tuneable white applications.

The luminaires will be of particular benefit to operators of offices, healthcare practices and shops looking for a quick and convenient way to modernise their lighting without any new cabling. They will then have a powerful, low-cost light management system that can be easily controlled via Bluetooth.

For ultimate ease of use, individual users can control the lighting via the free the 4remote BT app developed by Tridonic or an optional wall mount user interface.

Penn Elcom’s LED lighting division is proud to offer global lighting manufacturer OSRAM’s new LR700S niche LED lighting product – the LINEARLight Rigid NICHE range.

In an ocean of LED products, the LR700S strips stand out for their minuscule size – at 6.5mm to 9mm in diameter, that’s like a pencil or ballpoint pen – and huge flexibility, as well as the quality of the beautifully smooth homogenised light source. This is dimmable, outputs a feisty 700 lumens per metre and is currently available in five colour temperatures.

The LR700S is a truly versatile ground-breaking product ideal for ensconcing in any hard to reach or access place, corner, niche, nook or cranny and will provide a high quality LED solution for numerous scenarios like coves, cabinets, shelves and stair lighting in multiple sectors including offices and workspaces, retail environments, public buildings, leisure facilities and homes, etc.

There are five colour temperatures available at the moment, 2500 – 4500K to suit / blend with other lighting and natural lighting conditions, and five different standard rigid lengths range from 102mm to 1194mm, all with a viewing angle of 120° so it can be fitted around corners and neatly under shelves. Easy to conceal and hide away!

The ultra-slim strips of LED are easily inter-connectable and can be painlessly slotted together to form longer pieces or shapes, and single unisex electrical male / female connectors make the process even quicker and more straightforward.

Each run of LR700S can be up to three meters in length when powered by a single transformer and are dimmable utilising compatible PWM dimming methods.

The lengths can be linked via 90° angled mounts to follow corners, making them highly adaptable and a superior, more robust and longer lasting choice than LED tape!

Utilising LR700S modules offers a unique, cost-effective alternative to flex for a project because of the smaller more compact design and the different lengths available, plus a more expedient installation time.

Custom assemblies are also available.

The aesthetics feature a super-slick design that looks cool in any interior or built environment.

Multiple options are abatable for fixing the LR700S strips in place including some ingenious magnetic tabs that can be positioned where needed and the strips simply snapped into place. Swapping them in and out or creating multiple configurations is fast and several other mounting / fixing options include traditional screw-down mounts for more permanent solutions.

Penn Elcom is the only stockist of this product in the UK due to a long and positive history of partnering with OSRAM, distributing and specifying their products coupled with an intimate knowledge of LED lighting technologies and philosophies. Penn is also the leading UK supplier of OSRAM’s LED flex for architectural and architainment projects.