UK - Newcomers to the world of theatre are being given an introduction to gobo and animation effects by DHA Lighting. The company’s Louise Tester is running a series of workshops and seminars to demonstrate how its products can be used to enhance lighting effects. These provide the chance to explore the potential of gobos, animation disks, gobo rotators, gobo YoYos and the DHA Digital Light Curtain.

Already this year there have been sessions for students at Westminster College and Mountview, as well as for new sales staff at AC Lighting. Louise also ran workshops at the National Student Drama Festival in Scarborough last month. DHA staff have led numerous workshops - not only in the UK, but around the world: Rainer Weggen recently hosted an Open Day in Lisbon, whilst further

UK - For the third (and probably last) time, Roger Duncan is producing a batch of stencils intended to harmonize the notation of most generic lighting equipment for television, theatre and film when ideas are expressed on paper. Over 500 designers now use these symbols approved by the BBC, the Society of Television Lighting Directors and the Association of Lighting Designers.

There are over 80 holes in each stencil and comprehensive advice sheets come with each order, based on 40 years of stencil use in television. The symbols are now included in WYSIWYG, but this is a very effective starter kit. Duncan Lighting Design will contribute £1 to Light Relief and £1 to the British Heart Foundation for each stencil sold. As before, the cost is £19 + VAT each, plus £3 per order.

(Ruth Rossington)

UK - Bandit Lites have bought eight Coemar SuperCyc 2.4s from Coemar UK to fulfil Pete Barnes’ lighting design for Westlife’s 18-week European tour. Bandit general manager, Mark Powell, confirmed that his company was supplying 13 of the SuperCycs in all - some commandeered from their American inventory. "These are popular lights with us," he stated.

Board operator Barry Halpin confirmed that five of the SuperCycs were being used to rear-project onto a cyc immediately behind the band, while another is used to create a backlight effect as the band make their stage entry. In Pete Barnes’ design, the remainder are used dramatically as understage uplighters - firing up from the 4ft recess at a 60ft wide, clear perspex deck, treated with diffused gel.

Coemar’s SuperCyc 2.4 is a recent addition to the Panorama family of high power, wide angle CYM col

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Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

UK / Singapore - Digital Projection Ltd, the Emmy Award-winning manufacturer of high-performance projection systems, has appointed Electronics & Engineering Technologies Pte Ltd as a distributor of its large-venue projection products in Singapore.

Electronics & Engineering Technologies provides one-stop technology converging solutions, involving audio, video, IT and integrated control, and has a long history in system integration for the business, entertainment, conference, cinema and broadcast markets. The company handled the prestigious installation for E-Trading at the Singapore Stock Exchange.

On signing the collaboration agreement, Louis Kangean, CEO of Electronics & EngineeringTechnologies, commented: "We are very happy to be a partner of Digital Projection. They were the pioneers with Texas Instruments in bringing DLP-based projection products to the market. With t

USA - Telex Communications has announced the appointment of Raymond V. Malpocher as president and CEO - he will succeed Ned Jackson who is retiring from the position.

Edgar S. Woolard Jr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Telex, paid tribute to Ned Jackson: "During his tenure with Telex, Ned Jackson made outstanding progress improving our operations and introducing a new family of products. We greatly appreciate his many contributions." On the appointment of Malpocher, he added: "We are excited that Raymond Malpocher has decided to join Telex. He has broad operating experience implementing world-class processes. Together with his strong management beliefs and practices, we are confident he will build on our solid foundation and provide the necessary leadership to continue the company’s success."

Malpocher was most recently with Teleflex Corporati

Austria / UK - AKG's new modular MAX system is an instant, no strings attached, sound reinforcement solution. No cables are involved with the MAX system: it draws up to 14 hours of power from its own built-in rechargeable battery which powers both its internal 60W amplifier, as well as a retro-fittable radio mic receiver, so it doesn’t even require mains electricity. This makes it an ideal and quick sound reinforcement solution whether in a conference presentation or for use outdoors.

Housed in a sturdy wooden and metal enclosure, with standard 35mm stand-mounting flange, the MAX is now modular in design: in addition to a microphone input and a pair of unbalanced line inputs, there is also a slot for either a WMS 80 or WMS 40 radio mic receiver in the rear panel. These simply slots into the back panel, creating an instant wireless solution.

The 3-channel mixer on the ba

UK - Following the Sound Division Group’s recent sound and lighting installation at the American Community School in Egham, Surrey, the company continues to build upon its reputation in the educational market with the completion of another comprehensive sound and lighting installation at Islington Green school in North London.

Islington Green is a large county comprehensive facility that educates over 1,000 students in the heart of one of the most culturally diverse areas of London. Sound Division’s brief was to provide a system for the main hall that was capable of handling everything from speech reinforcement to live and pre-recorded music in a variety of situations, including awards ceremonies, assemblies and drama productions.

As a result, the company specified and installed a Crown-driven ElectroVoice sound system based on EV Sx300 loudspeakers supplemented

UK - Shuttlesound Ltd, the UK distributor for Telex-EVI products, has appointed Phil Pell as its regional sales representative in the South of England. Pell brings to Shuttlesound a long track record in sales of MI products, as well as knowledge of the audio installation market and the wholesale business. One of the most experienced sales people in the industry, Pell has spent the last four years at RCF-Mackie, and prior to that, worked for JBL and at Celestion.

Phil will be covering the southern half of England, from Lands End to Leicester. "The main focus will be on the MI market where my background will be especially useful, but I'll also be flying the Shuttlesound flag in the installation sector, where they've been making important inroads over the last couple of years. As soon as I found out Shuttlesound was looking to fill a sales position, I knew it was the job for m

UK - Polydor recording artist Daniel Bedingfield has recently embarked on a UK tour with wireless systems from Hand Held Audio. Tour manager John Gibbon approached HHA to look after this new artist after being impressed with the service he'd received from the North London radio mic specialists on previous productions such as The Appleton sisters and Jon Bon Jovi.

The first thing on the agenda was custom ear monitors. Although HHA had fitted Daniel with a set of Future Sonics in 2002, the singer felt he'd like to try a different ‘feel’ and commissioned a set of Ultimate Ears UE5 Ambient dual driver monitors. These earpieces feature user-changeable filters to control levels of ambience and bass response - a level of individual control that appealed.

During rehearsals in London, John Gibbon was also keen for the artist to assess different hand-held radio mics and in-

Australia - Although Dynacord products have only been distributed in Australia for two years, they already enjoy popularity in the region, as the first Dynacord Dealers Meeting made clear.

The meeting in Australia was upbeat - not just because the Australian DC distributor, Bryan Davidson, had chosen Lindeman Island as the location, with the Great Barrier Reef as a backdrop, but also because the eight Dynacord dealers that made the trip had strong turnover figures to report. "Dynacord has an excellent reputation in Australia," comments Davidson. "LittleMax, Corus Pro and Cobra are all best-sellers." The world's first compact line array system seems to have been especially successful in winning converts. "I never seem to have enough Cobra systems in stock," Davidson told us.

During the DC Dealer Days, in addition to various product demonstrations

UK - White Light North has been chosen as the lighting supplier for the 2003 Garsington Opera season - Garsington Opera's 15th anniversary - which runs from 14 June to 12 July. First established in 1989, Garsington Opera performs a repertoire of operas in a purpose-built semi-outdoor auditorium in the grounds of Garsington Manor, near Oxford. The festival often stages works never before seen in the UK, and provides a platform for new singers; for the successful realization of these aims, the company received the European Culture Project Award for Performing Arts from the Pro Europa European Foundation for Culture.

In recent years, the lighting design for Garsington - a challenging brief that involves incorporating the ever-changing outdoor lighting into the design for each production - has been handled by Bruno Poet. When putting together the package for this year's season, whic

UK - PCM and Slingco - two leading entertainment industry manufacturers - have collaborated on the design and launch of the new Unibar system. Tony Griffiths, from lifting and flying specialists PCM, and Nick Dykins, from tensioned grid specialists Slingco, plan to launch the new Unibar winch system at the forthcoming ABTT trade show in London (18 and 19 June).

The system allows for the quick and easy raising/lowering of suspension or lighting bars for scenery and lighting equipment with a motor-driven unit. It can be installed onto any style of fixing or structure, including universal beams, trussing, channels and barrels. Tony Griffiths sees it as a cost-effective alternative to the more sophisticated power-assisted winch sets: "Unibar fills a gap between these types of products and manual winches or hemp sets. It’s ideal for schools, colleges, sports halls, smaller

UK - Based in Kirkmichael, Scotland, GAB Audio Engineers specialize in installing high quality sound and AV systems in places of worship, council chambers and concert venues. They also have a thriving hire division catering for small to medium PA requirements. Among the gamut of products they have specified from the Martin Audio catalogue, the C115 surface-mount architectural enclosure rules supreme for the style of installation in which they specialize.

In fact GAB have just installed six in a 100V line distributed system, discretely mounted in the Grade A-listed Garnethill Synagogue (the oldest in Scotland), for concerts and school festivals. A further four grace the ornate meeting room at the Merchants Hall in George Square, again in the centre of Glasgow and the listed Meeting Chambers of one of the city’s oldest institutions. "The aesthetic styling and performanc

USA - In one of the LED fixture’s first outings with a major American concert act, the spectacular lighting system on Tim McGraw’s 2003 tour includes eight Pulsar ChromaBanks. The LED strip fixtures, specified by tour LD John Broderick, are used for chasing color washes and very bright ‘blinder’ effects. They are arrayed symmetrically above the custom three-tiered black stage and its 40ft wide backline of 4ft x 4ft video cubes. Tour contractor Premier Global Staging of Nashville, Tennessee obtained the ChromaBanks through Pulsar distributor TMB.

Tim McGraw designed the set and rolling stage, which Premier Global Staging fabricated into a working structure. According to account manager, Steven ‘Creech’ Anderson: "We’ve used LED blasters in the past and always saw potential, but these ChromaBank LED strips are four feet long, and

UK - Carlsbro Electronics Ltd has welcomed Duncan Boniface as MI product manager - he will join the research and design department. Boniface’s experience includes working as principal engineer at loudspeaker manufacturer Celestion International, and he holds a degree in Acoustics from the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research at Southampton University.

(Lee Baldock)

Germany - Following the huge success of Showlight 2001 in Edinburgh, plans are already underway to ensure the 2005 event, which will be held in Munich on 21-24 May, will be better than ever.

Occurring just once every four years, Showlight is a three-day event organized by lighting professionals for lighting professionals. The colloquium, unlike other trade shows, places emphasis on debate stimulated by papers from respected industry experts and provides a gathering ground for like-minded people. 2001 proved to be the most successful show yet, with 42 sponsors and more than 300 delegates from the world of entertainment lighting passing through its doors.

John Watt, Chairman of the event’s organizing committee explains: "Showlight 2005 is being held at the magnificent Prinzregententheater. Their patronage and that of the associated Bayerische Theaterakademie, plus th

UK - Ohm has revealed further details of its latest line array professional speaker system - the Lunaray. Weighing in at around 15kg, the new Lunaray is the ultimate rigger’s mate, providing a lightweight alternative to carrying monster speakers in and out of venues. Its compact quality is also ideal for permanent locations where a discrete, space saving installation is required, say the company.

The first 300 Lunaray systems have already been produced for major hire and touring companies including Duchsound in Denmark, Sound Reinforcement in Norway and Blue Audio in the UK, plus several theatre and club venues (one of its first installations came at the Syndicate Club in Blackpool which was reviewed in the February issue of Lighting&Sound International). Hire and installation specialists Blue Audio were among the first to take delivery of Lunaray and have more on order to

UK - Whilst the UK prepared to go to the polls on 1 May, ELP contributed to the newsroom coverage of BBC Wales by lighting two interview studios at BBC Cardiff and following outside broadcast units covering the campaigning.

"Twice the usual amount of lighting and rigging was required as all broadcast outputs are delivered simultaneously in English and Welsh, usually requiring tow separate sets," explains one of ELP’s three crew chiefs, Mark Gardner. A total of nine crew were supplied by ELP, along with a variety of lighting, rigging and power hardware, including a selection of ARRI Fresnels from 500W to 5000W, 36 Kinoflos, 36 MAC 2000s, 34 MAC 600s, 60 Pulsar ChromaBanks, 38 High End Studio Colors, together with ETC Source Fours and Par cans, all controlled from three Wholehog II consoles. A 140kW Twinset Generator fed power to all the locations.

ELP will also

UK - Robert Juliat's new Manon followspot will make its first UK appearance at the White Light Group Open Day, being held on Thursday 15 May at White Light's headquarters in Wimbledon, south-west London.

Manon is a 13-24 degrees zoom followspot using a 1200W MSR or MSD lamp. It has a built-in mechanical douser, an iris that can spot down to fully closed which is mounted in a removable cassette, a six-way colour boomerang and, in common with many of the Juliat followspots, the unit can also accept a gobo. To allow Manon to suit a range of venues and operators, the unit is also fitted with a heavy-duty adjustable yoke.

Manon adds to the already comprehensive Robert Juliat range, joining products such as the Aramis, Cyrano, Ivanhoe, Heloise, Foxie, Pixie and Marius - which have already proved popular with a wide range of venues and companies across the UK. These include the BBC,

Germany - Labelled as an urban entertainment centre where shopping and leisure are combined under one roof, Space Park in Bremen, Germany, looks set to attract millions of visitors each year as it prepares to open in early 2004.

The theme of the park is, not surprisingly, Space - a choice that was not arbitrary, since Bremen is Germany’s second most important centre for aerospace technology after Munich. As well as a multiplex cinema with seating for 3,600, a space disco and Hotel Saturn, Space Park Bremen will also include Space Center, an attraction which informs visitors about current developments in space research and provides a taste of what it feels like to train as an astronaut. With such a high-tech futuristic theme for the park, the technology controlling it needs to match, which is why ETC equipment was chosen, even before the lighting designers were brought on b

UK - Pulsar has announced the introduction of the new Masterpiece 96 - a direct development from the Masterpiece 48 bringing twice the DMX channels for the same price. Pulsar says its stock of Masterpiece 48 models is now exhausted and the Masterpiece 96 model will be available in 4-6 weeks.

The Masterpiece 96 has been designed for non-theatrical applications. The unit is conceptually similar to the Masterpiece 108 and is ideally suited to band, discotheque and moving light applications. The famous Masterpiece multi-tasking structure provides just the right amount of programming power required for smaller venues that have a combination of scans, generic and strobe fixtures. Like its big brother the Masterpiece 96 is a universal fully programmable controller.

The Masterpiece 96 accepts an audio input used for sound-to-light. Pulsar Modulator’s sound-to-light circuits are

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