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After the success of the multimedia waterscreen shows during the world expos in both Osaka (1990) and Tottori (1996), Yves Pépin and his team at ECA2 have been asked to produce the multi-media watershow for the Yamaguchi Expo in Japan, which runs from the 14th of July through to the 30th of September 2001. For the last two years, ECA2 and its technicians have been working alongside the Japanese Expo team to ensure the success of this night-time spectacular. The show will feature images projected onto four monumental spheres, as well as onto a giant water screen; pyrotechnic and fire effects will complete the impressive show.

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The annual Canadian-based Preston Figure Skating Show is considered to be one of the best amateur figure skating shows in North America. Involving over 170 amateur skaters, this show is rehearsed for over a month and runs four shows during the three day festival. Lighting designer for the event was Carl Lukings of Concord Production Services, who specified 12 SGM Giotto Spot 250s for his rig. "I used the Giotto 250s for both frontal and back lighting for each number, as well as to create an ice ‘wash’ effect. The Prism and Gobo effects coupled with the Linear Zoom made it possible to create great static and moving projections on the ice surface. The factory colour selection is perfectly suited to the artistic nature of figure skating lighting." Lighting contractor for the event was Little Electric Inc of Cambridge, Ontario.

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Strand Lighting has further strengthened its position in London with a move to a large studio office facility in Hammersmith. A result of recent expansion, the move will enable all operations and services of the UK Trading Division to be conducted under one roof.

The 100-year-old mews building, formerly recording studios, now houses the sales office, credit control and project management team, a large showroom, impressive training facilities and will also be home to the new London Service Centre. Offering a new base for the sales team and a total package for clients, sales director Ivan Myles told PLASA Media: "This is another positive step forward for Strand, which is now consolidating its position by being able to offer improved customer service with larger stock and a faster response time to customers." The move comes after six productive months in temporary offices in Ful

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The quiet town of Hay on Wye annually plays host to a world-famous literary event which regularly attracts over 60,000 visitors. The Sunday Times sponsored’ festival runs over 11 days and during that time features over 200 events across three venues. During the festival, visitors get to hear presentations from celebrities ranging from Kate Adie and Germaine Greer to Melvyn Bragg and Louis de Bernieres.

However, one of the big names this year caused quite a buzz in the town - ex-president of the USA Bill Clinton attended the festival to deliver the keynote address entitled ‘Conflict Resolution’. Paul Elkington of Theatre Vision has been the technical director for the festival for the past 14 years, and chose Zero 88’s new Fat Frog desk to control his rig of Martin Mac 250s, Par cans and theatre luminaires.

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The 12 Bar Club, famously voted the Best Live Music Venue in London by Time Out magazine, has taken delivery of a new 16-channel Soundcraft Spirit LX7. The intimate venue has recently played host to Nigel Kennedy, Lambchop, Mark Eitzel, Billy Bragg and the Jesus & Mary Chain’s William Reid, and with four acts a night, seven nights a week, the new console is already being put through its paces.

Paul Gilbert, engineer and on-line TV webcaster for the 12 Bar Club, knows how well the LX7 is coping with the demands placed upon it. "We’d been using a Spirit Live 3 for years. The longest anyone’s been working here is seven years and the desk was here before he started, so we figured it was time to get a new console. The Club is extremely small and the control room is tiny, so we knew we needed a really small console with plenty of features and outputs. And, as about 40

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Kilmarnock Palace Theatre in Scotland has been re-equipped with new Sennheiser radio microphone and infra-red systems as part of a National Lottery grant-funded refurbishment. The Northern Light-supplied audio upgrade includes five dual-channel EM 3032-U wireless RF receivers, 10 SK 3063 miniature bodypack transmitters with MKE 2 Gold tie-clip mics, and a dual-channel, infra-red transmission system for use by the hearing and sight impaired. As a major boost to accessibility in the theatre, the infra-red system has been instaled to privide transmission to stethoset (wireless headphone) and neckloop receivers. The system consists of a Sennheiser SI 1015 two-channel wideband modulator, four SZI-1029-UK large area radiators in the auditorium, and 20 HDI-302 two-channel stethoset and 10 R15/O/L neckloop receivers. Northern Light’s Eddy O’Hare described the system as "a no-com

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The United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) has announced that the deadline for submissions to its 2002 Architecture Awards Program will be 2 October 2001. Nominations will be accepted for projects located anywhere in the world, and new construction, renovations, retrofitting or reuse of structures will be considered. Now in its ninth year, the Architecture Awards program was established by the group’s Architecture Commission to bring public and professional recognition to architectural projects chosen for their design excellence and ability to resolve the challenges associated with performance spaces. To be eligible for consideration, project construction must have been completed after January 1st 1992. Among last year’s Award winners were the Severance Hall in Cleveland, Ohio; Theater and Congress Hall in Weimar, Germany; The Lowry Centre in Salford, UK; the

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Le Maitre has had a very busy couple of months, concentrating particularly on the rock n’ roll touring side of the business. Major contracts were awarded, taking advantage of the company’s worldwide distribution network and Prostage II range of professional pyrotechnic effects. The SlipKnot European Tour used rows of Large Flame Projectors and one-second 25ft Stage Gerbs to dramatic effect, as witnessed by a packed UK crowd at Milton Keynes Bowl. Kid Rock toured Europe in May and June, culminating in one night at Brixton Academy with an impressive pyrotechnic effects list, including half-second 25ft Gerbs, Mines and Flame Projectors.

Bon Jovi appeared at 17 venues through May and June, including Birmingham, Milton Keynes and Cardiff in the UK. Being a tour of European stadiums, the design utilised some of the largest stage effects currently available, such as crossettes, mi

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Rental Management System (RMS), has become even faster and easier to use, and the new version of the software will be shown at the PLASA Show. With over 2000 users world-wide, RMS is a market leader in the supply of software for professional rental companies. The software is available in nine languages, including English, German, French and Spanish. New 'cut and paste' shortcuts allow users to easily move items from one job to another, or to convert a job into a (new) packaged item. The multi-sites option also has new features: from within a job, the user may see both the local stock-situation, as well as the situation at the available sites added together. With another mouse-click, all jobs (from the local or from a selection of sites) that hold an item in a given period, can be viewed. The crew-planner is a new module that allows for entering comprehensive labour details. Personnel may

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The Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU) has defeated the UK Government at the European Court of Justice over the UK’s implementation of the Working Time Directive. The UK’s Working Time Regulations 1998, which implements the Directive, entitles workers to a minimum of 20 days paid leave each year. But employees are not entitled to the leave until they have completed a qualifying period of 13 continuous weeks with the same employer. This means that many freelance and contract workers who work for less than 13 weeks have been denied a right to take paid leave.

BECTU launched a legal challenge to the UK legislation and on 26 June 2001 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) accepted the opinion of the Advocate General of the ECJ, which stated that national governments may not exclude groups of workers from the rights that the directive gives them.

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As part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, has built a bespoke 30m high needle-shaped tower, from which a £1 million Mercedes Benz Gullwing car will be balanced to help celebrate the luxury car company’s Centenary. The car will be placed on its nose and will be on display to visitors during the three-day motor show.

The ESS structure has been specially designed by Gerry Judah, the renowned designer behind such projects as the model of Auschwitz in the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum and Linkbridge 2000 in the Woolwich Dockyard Estate, as well as last year’s central display at Goodwood. Patrick Woodroffe, known worldwide as a leader in lighting design and whose recent projects include Lord of the Dance II and the Rolling Stones tours, is lighting the structure. The festival, which open

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Larry Sider founded the School of Sound four years ago, creating a forum that united a diverse collection of individuals involved in all aspects of film, AV and multi-media sound production - for a lively interchange of experiences and ideas.

Sider’s own background is in film: Chicago born, he went to film school at NorthWestern University and has worked as a sound designer and editor for 25 years. He settled in the UK in 1979, and in addition to his sound and film work, teaches and lectures on various audiological topics at various academies, including the Royal College of Art and the National Film & Television School.

The fourth School of Sound annual symposium was held this year at the Royal Scottish College of Dramatic Art, Glasgow. The four-day event attracted over 180 people from 15 countries and included presentations and talks by those at the leading edge of the arts an

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The opening of Bounce at the Roundhouse Theatre, by Nick Grace Management, brings a major international production of a highly-rated dance company’s work to London.

Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe first visited the BouncE Streetdance Company in Sweden in 2000, with the troupe’s management and producers, to guage the potential for a major international production of the highly-rated company’s work. Woodroffe recalls: "We saw that we could translate what they were doing into something even more exciting. Les Brotherston became involved as designer and came up with this wonderful set design for the Roundhouse, on the understanding that Bounce would first do production rehearsals in Ealing, then a six-week run of the show in Sweden before moving to London."

Brotherston’s set has a wide central stage and two raised ‘satellite’ side stages

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Utopium Lighting designed and provided all of the lighting for the spectacular London launch party for Hollywood’s latest blockbuster, Pearl Harbour. Utopium’s team worked 16-hour shifts through the scorching bank holiday weekend at their Bristol offices preparing equipment prior to installation on a tight time-frame at the University of London Senate House. Over 240 lights were installed in little over eight hours into six themed areas and two reception areas, under the direction of the company’s MD Colin Bodenham who designed the whole show.

The building’s façade was spectacularly lit with lighting and custom projection of the Stars & Stripes theme, whilst the skyline was pierced by two authentic Second World War searchlights. Inside, art deco silk flames in each of the alcoves hid an assortment of lights washing the room in red, white and blue, with an array

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White Light and The Moving Light Company have been selected to supply the lighting equipment to the West End transfer of Trevor Nunn's acclaimed Royal National Theatre production of the classic musical My Fair Lady. The production, which stars Martine McCutcheon and Jonathan Pryce, opened at the National's Lyttelton Theatre in March to critical acclaim. It will return to its original West End home, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, in July: the original production of the show held the record as the longest-running show at that theatre until its achievement was finally beaten by Miss Saigon, which also used lighting equipment from White Light.

The lighting for the new production of My Fair Lady is designed by David Hersey, making his return to musical theatre lighting after his 18-month sojourn sailing around the world. For the Drury Lane production, Hersey, his associate Jenny Kagan and pr

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For the first time, a comprehensive study of the effects of theatrical smoke has set absolute limits on the amount of smoke that can be used safely on stages.

The report, jointly commissioned by Actors’ Equity Association and the League of American Theatres and Producers, concluded that Actors are at risk when exposed to "elevated or peak levels of glycol smoke and mineral oil." However, it also noted that if exposure levels are kept below the limits established in the study, actors should "not suffer adverse impacts to their health or their vocal abilities."

Further details of the report will appear in the July issue of Lighting&Sound International, being mailed on July 15. If you would like to receive a copy of the magazine, e-mail news@plasa.org

Further information on the study can be found at

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Manchester’s most comprehensive cultural festival, Keyfest, is being held this summer. Keyfest offers 103 hours of varied events in a range of Manchester venues spanning 17 days. Event Associates created the programme and co-ordinated the production of the whole festival for radio station Key 103.

The co-ordination of the artists, venues and production of Keyfest was managed by the Event Associates team, with director Colin Sinclair overseeing the project. Manchester’s ‘street cred’ as one of the UK’s main cultural cities was once again underlined with the launch of Keyfest on Thursday 21st June at Loaf. Tom Hunter, managing director of Manchester’s radio station Key 103 welcomed a gathering of media and celebrities to the opening party. The festival programme includes a celebrity fashion show, performances from Ocean Colour Scene, Paul Weller and Da

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Vari-Lite is lighting the way for rock-n-roll greats, Aerosmith, during the band's Just Push Play tour. Earlier this month, the band performed at the first of 50 US cities it will visit over a three-month period this summer before touring the rest of the world later this year and into 2002. The shows feature the use of the Virtuoso console. Lighting designer Jim Chapman is using 84 Vari*Lite luminaires combined with the control of the Virtuoso console, operated by lighting operator and programmer Benny Kirkham, to light the famous band. Chapman's rig includes 16 VL2416 wash luminaires, 14 VL2402 wash luminaires, 26 VL5Arc wash luminaires and 28 VL6C spot luminaires. "I like using a mixture of the old school type of lighting and the more current type of computer lighting," said Chapman. "Vari-Lite has always been the front-runner with computerized lights, and the VL2402 is

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Marquee Audio has sold a Soundcraft Series Five 48/32 monitor board to North London-based John Henry’s Ltd. Its first outing was on the most recent series of the BBC TV’s long running flagship music show, Later . . . With Jools Holland. JHL has a long association with the programme, supplying monitor systems and audience sound reinforcement for a diverse range of artists since the first series. Having evaluated the console in the warehouse and in a live situation, Robert Harding, JHL’s general manager (and project manager for the series), decided that the 48/32 configuration best suited the show’s technical requirements and further JHL projects. "The beauty of the board is that with 32 mixes, it gives us ultimate flexibility for the show," said Harding. "With the growing prevalence of IEMs, combined with traditional wedge mixes, sound engineers toda

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Allen & Heath, the Cornwall, England-based mixer manufacturer has announced a £9 million management buy-out. The Allen & Heath directors heading the buy-out are managing director Glenn Rogers, sales and marketing director Bob Goleniowski, finance director David Jones and operations director Tony Williams. Lead investment has come from 3i, Europe’s leading venture capital company, with additional investment from the Bank of Scotland. This announcement marks the end of Allen & Heath’s 10-year spell as a division of Harman International industries, Inc. Allen & Heath was acquired by Harman International in 1991; since then, the manufacturer’s turnover has increased tenfold. Allen & Heath’s new board will consist of the four current directors, plus two non-executive directors from its investment partners.

A jubilant Glenn Rogers said: "This is fantastic news,

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The latest Jongleurs comedy club has been developed on the site of the former Mash & Air in Manchester’s city centre - in a multi-level building, requiring multiple signal feeds. When Andy Chamley’s Telford-based AC Limited won the contract from Regent Inns plc for the sound and lighting package, they put together a specification based around a pair of BSS Audio’s 9088 DSP networking devices, with two local 9010 ‘Jellyfish’ remotes. Chamley says the success of the installation owed much to the close support offered by BSS Audio’s Dave McKinney. "This was a complex installation, since the venue exists on four floors, and required careful design," he explained.

On the ground floor is Bar Risa - a daytime operation and night-time feeder bar, with a hard disk music system. This is linked by a Soundweb device and Jellyfish, offering satellite a

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The Leicester-based National Space Centre has opened. The £52million project, part-funded by the Millennium Commission, has a host of visitor attractions, in addition to a research facility for scientists and various space exploration artifacts. Central to the new attraction is the Space Theatre, the latest technology is being used to project virtual reality images onto its dome-shaped roof screen.

You can read a full report on the Centre in the August issue of Lighting&Sound International.

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Creative Technology hosted a major launch for the new Barco iLite 6 high resolution indoor product at Tiger Tiger in London’s West End, in a showcase that saw many leading production companies and agencies throughout the UK having a chance to see the system for the first time.

Called ‘the video plate’ it is Barco’s response to the growing market demand for indoor high-resolution daylight displays. The iLite 6 takes the achievements of SMD technology (three colours in one) and builds on them, offering a 6mm resolution with an extremely high light output, colour uniformity, contrast, flexibility - and seamless pictures. Each panel weighs 28lbs, and with a depth of just 5in, the iLite 6 is rated at a light output of over 2000 NIT. Creative Technology has already debuted the modular system on both sides of the Atlantic - at ITN’s purpose-built election studio

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A panel of crowd safety experts, appointed on March 11 2001 by the ILMC (The International Live Music Conference), has now agreed its agenda. The panel (CSP) has been created in order to increase the focus on health and safety in connection with music festivals and similar larger outdoor concerts. Its main purpose is to assist the government, licensing authorities and legislators with ensuring crowd safety at ongoing or future events.

The panel’s work is highly topical through recent developments in the music and festival culture, and its creation was spurred by a number of accidents and deaths at high profile events including Roskilde Festival 2000 in Denmark and other recent crowd tragedies in Australia and South America. An awareness campaign aimed at educating festival audiences across Europe about the seemingly innocent (but proven dangerous) practice of ‘crowd surfing

  1. TOA Network for RS
  2. New HQ for TeleStage
  3. Midas goes Dutch with Focus
  4. How the West was Taught . . .
  5. Industry Cricket Challenge
  6. Sweden’s Largest Soundcraft
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