The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has some new players on its stage this year: Clay Paky Alpha Washes and Alpha Profiles!

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna was designed in the 17th century by Antonio Galli da Bibbiena, and was the first opera house to be built with public funds and hired out by the city council. Its bell-shaped auditorium consists of four tiers of boxes with a royal box and gallery. During its history, it has put on works by practically all the major composers, including Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Donizetti.

Around the end of 2009, the lighting department managers / lighting designers Daniele Naldi and Andrea Oliva felt the need for a larger number of lights. Once they received the go-ahead and fixed budget from the Bologna city council, they turned to the major motorized spotlight manufacturers.

The Clay Paky Sales Manager for Italy Renato Ferrari and the Clay Paky lighting designer Marco Zucchinali went to Bologna straight away and held a demo for the opera house technical staff: “We were very keen to get the whole lighting staff involved,” said Naldi and Oliva, “not just us, but everyone, including the lighting desk operator Lorenzo Gaudenzi, and all the stagehands. We wanted them all to give us their opinions according to their specific roles so that everyone would agree on the final choice.”

How do you design a 12-minute Halftime show for The Who, one of the most iconic rock bands in the world?

You push the envelope on what’s possible and exceed expectations by putting together a visual spectacle integrating LED video technology, lighting, pyro and lasers. To pull off The Bridgestone Super Bowl XLIV Halftime Show at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, described as the most intense 12-minutes in live entertainment, it takes a team effort and XL Video was proud to support the creative team by supplying gear and crew. Production Designer Bruce Rodgers, Screens/Graphics Producer Lee Lodge and Lighting Designer Al Gurdon closely collaborated on the NFL Network Production with Executive Producer Ricky Kirshner and Director Hamish Hamilton to present an unforgettable performance. “We wanted a design that felt epic; we wanted a design that felt like the band was performing for the stadium and not just the TV audience,” explained Rodgers.

D&M Business & Professional Group (Europe) is exhibiting its Denon Professional and Marantz Professional product ranges, based on SD flash and Blu-ray disc media. Products for broadcast and AV systems integration, and professional and commercial audio applications include the new range of solid state players from Denon Professional and industry leading flashcard recorders from Marantz Professional. Also being shown is a new professional Blu-ray disc player for the display of HD content in DOOH and digital signage applications.

The two initial models in Denon Professional’s new solid state player series address specific applications in pro audio and commercial AV. The DN-F300 is an advanced 1U/HE rackmount solution for the playback of MP3 and uncompressed .WAV music libraries stored on SD and SDHC flashcards (up to 32GB), portable USB flash drives, and self powered HDDs. Employing technology and features derived from Denon Professional’s leading broadcast CD players to provide dedicated hardware control for the navigation, management and programmable play of digital music files, with virtually maintenance free operation, the DN-F300 is intended as a modern digital media replacement for carousel CD players in BGM and other playback applications in bars, restaurants, clubs, retail complexes, visitor attractions, houses of worship, and fitness centres. With the equivalent storage of upwards of 10 CDs worth of music on a single SD card, it is similarly priced to a standard five CD professional carousel player. Additionally, the +16% pitch control (controllable from the unit’s IR remote control) and tempo adjust features specify the DN-F300 for use in fitness, aerobic and dance studios.

With more than 15 years of experience in partnering with the world’s largest cruise lines, Martin Professional has become the preferred visual solutions supplier to the cruise ship industry. That fact is clearly evident on the world’s largest cruise liner, Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, which recently set sail with a multitude of Martin Professional dynamic lighting and smoke solutions.

Oasis of the Seas, built at the STX shipyard in Finland, is a world-class mixed-use entertainment cruise liner that surpasses anything that has come before it. Sailing from its homeport of Port Everglades, Florida Oasis is 360 meters long with room for 5,400 passengers and a crew of 3,000. Its final cost is put at $1.4 billion.

Because of the harsh environment and demanding constraints of the ocean environment - constant motion, exposure to salt water, humidity, high temperatures, etc. – high technology products like advanced visual systems must be extremely reliable, as well as compact and easy to service. Specification, supply and installation of the Martin systems were completed to a highly professional and technical standard by entertainment systems integration firm FUNA.

The Ashwin Street Christmas Street Party was part of a £750,000 London Development Agency funded project to revitalise parts of central Dalston. Organised by project architects MUF and J&L Gibbons - the event brought together local youth, community, performing arts, visual arts and creative industry organisations to create a snapshot of how the presently run-down area could be.

Arcola Theatre provided 18 PixelRange Micro Es and eight 50w birdies for the architectural lighting of the Colourworks and Print House buildings designed by Haberdashery London.

Arcola Theatre’s David Salter states: “The Micros were perfect for this event and produced the desired effect with ease. The event required a small unit that was easy to transport and discrete to install. The Micros benefit from an integrated power supply, silent operation and very low 31 watt power consumption. Their yoke doubles as a stand for floor mounting reducing the need for floor stands - and their ability to operate independently means they can be “thrown in” easily without the need to run DMX or set up a lighting desk.”