Business

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White Light and E//T//C UK helped launch the British Tourist Authority’s (BTA) new UKOK initiative in spectacular style by illuminating and projecting onto the Tower of London for a VIP press conference. The international marketing campaign is aimed at encouraging tourists and holidaymakers back to Britain in 2002.

The Tower has seen a succession of celebrity inmates throughout its chequered history, but this time the VIPs attending the breakfast press conference were free to leave. They included the Rt Hon. Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, David Quarmby, Chairman of the British Tourist Authority, Dr Kim Howells MP, Minister for Tourism and Lord Marshall, Chairman of BA.

White Light’s Mike Crossman project-managed the event. His brief came from the BTA, who wanted to architecturally light the Tower in a show-lighting style, and also feature t

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Ra’alloy was formed in 1995 in a small workshop in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, to fabricate aluminium products. One of its early successes was a special anti-slip aluminium ramp system for trucking and disabled use, which has since earned worldwide acclaim. The £350,000 facility, part-funded by a Government Enterprise grant, will allow the company to develop its business further.

Part of that objective will be met by Ra’alloy’s new modular aluminium stage system - Rapi-Stage - which incorporates integral truss supports eliminating ground support, and allowing virtually any shape platform to be erected. Designed in conjunction with a temporary staging structural engineer, and within the guidelines set by The Institute of Structural Engineers, the system complies with all loadings and maintains lateral stability. Rapi-Stage can be used as an extension to an existing st

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Familiar faces from all aspects of the lighting industry visited White Light’s new base during a successful open day in January. The new facility in Wimbledon, London, SW19, has 35,000sq.ft of equipment storage and preparation space and 10,000sq.ft of office space, allowing all the Group members to be brought together under one roof for the first time.

"We had close to one hundred visitors," notes White Light’s general manager Bryan Raven, "many of whom hadn’t had the chance to visit our new building since we moved here last October. I think they were quite surprised at the difference between our old base in Fulham and where we are now - but were relieved to discover that all of the familiar White Light faces they know are still here. Albeit all with a little more room to work in!"

Amongst those at the open day were theatre lighting designers Si

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Trouble continues to rumble on in the West End: BECTU members - including lighting, audio and backstage staff -have voted to take industrial action over low pay.

The move comes after lengthy negotiations with the Society of London Theatres (SOLT) - the association which represents the producers, theatre owners and managers of 50 theatres in central London. Even an eight- hour session at ACAS couldn’t help the two sides resolve their differences.

In the latest round of talks SOLT increased its original offer from 1.6% to 3.25%, but withdrew its undertaking to backdate the award to 18 November 2001. This would increase the average wage to £6.54 an hour, but, according to the union, would still leave seven of the West End theatres’ 10 pay grades below the Council of Europe's £7.39 decency threshold - and five below the Low Pay Unit’s threshold of £6.82.

BECTU sa

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With the intention of strengthening its position in the Middle East region, Martin Professional A/S has entered into an agreement with Nour Assafiri, to establish a joint venture - Martin Professional Middle East.

Nour, owner of Martin’s long-time Middle East agent AMAC, heads the new venture, which handles distribution and service of Martin, Jem and Mach products. The new joint company, already operational, is based in Lebanon from where it will co-ordinate activities throughout the region. As a decisive first step, Martin Professional Middle East has established a branch office in Dubai, UAE, to support and further develop the relationship with Martin’s customers in the region. The official opening is expected to take place sometime in May.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Sarner and ESP have combined resources to provide a creative solution for Liverpool’s new multi-million pound International Astronomy and Space Centre (IASC).

Sarner, which has recently been bought-out by two of its directors, Michael Bennett and Ross Magri, will be responsible for the design and production of special effects for the new visitor attraction, while ESP will project-manage the fit-out of the centre, bringing life to the dramatic designs - from the spectacular hanging celestial sphere, through to the ‘Journey To The Stars’ space-time machine.

IASC, which is part of the continued regeneration of Liverpool’s Wirral district, is scheduled for completion in Easter 2003.

Visitors will be taken on an interactive journey through time and space using multi-sensory technology, simulated time travel, projection and special effects.

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Barco Projection, a division of Barco n.v., Belgium, and High End Systems Inc of Austin, Texas, have announced a strategic alliance that will enable the two companies to cooperate in the marketing of their products to the entertainment and events markets.

Barco Events specializes in providing tailor-made visualization and show-control solutions and manufactures amongst others a range of professional large-event projectors, ranging in brightness from 5,000 to 17,000 ANSI lumens. High End Systems, a manufacturer of automated lighting products, has introduced Catalyst, a cross-cultural system that converts video projectors into automated lights. The Catalyst system (developed in conjunction with WWG), which incorporates a Media Server, can also be used in conjunction with Barco's range of Ilite and Dlite LED displays to create an extensive range of effects and imagery.

The newly formed

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Coe-tech has provided all lighting and sound equipment for Aqua - a new independent club concept, the first of which has recently opened in Grays, Essex. The equipment was supplied through IFC and the installation company DIVAS. Owned by Lee Darcy, Aqua is water themed, fusing the oceanic sights, sounds and atmospheres of bubbles, mermaids, fish and fun.

The dancefloor lighting scheme - devised by Coe-tech’s design team headed by Nathan Wan - was crucial to the venue’s visual identity. The walls and columns are painted a pastel blue, complete with stencilled bubbles - and are ideal for gobos and projection effects. The lighting brief was to produce a liquid and flowing feel for the room, and low ceiling height also played a role in the choice of fixtures.

Wan chose 24 Coemar I-Spot 150s (which were launched at PLASA 2001), one of the Italian manufacturer’s new stabl

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The New England Patriots recently won their first Super Bowl over the St. Louis Rams at the Louisiana Superdome. As usual, a star-studded list of headlining acts was featured, including a half-time performance by Irish rockers, U2. The band delivered a moving tribute to the victims of the 11 September terrorist attacks, the names of which were scrolled on a 120' high x 60' wide soft screen, which was positioned behind the band as they played.

Fourth Phase Image Systems Group, the team that specializes in large-format projection, provided 12 7kW Xenon PIGI film projectors to execute the spectacular commemorative backdrop. This technology was used to project the names over the audience as well. Fourth Phase is the exclusive US distributor for these projectors, which are manufactured in Paris by E/T/C Audiovisuel. Other recent events utilizing the technology include the 2002 Winter Olympi

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Metool Products Ltd, one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of flexible cable handling systems, has purchased the Cable Reeling Division of Sturge Industries Ltd of Dudley, West Midlands.

Sturge winders and reels are designed for a wide range of critical electrical and power applications, including inflammable and other dangerous environments where EX certified products are mandatory. Typical applications include electrical hoists, overhead cranes and mobile control systems, inspection lighting and portable power tools. Sturge slip-ring cable reels are specified for low-current/standard cable requirements in non-hazardous environments and where space is limited or the payout length is shorter.

Malcolm Dade, managing director of Metool commented: "This is an important addition to our range of reeling technologies in the electrical engineering market and a further step in ou

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Federal Signal has appointed Profitek as its new distributor for Norway. Bergen-based Profitek AS, which has offices in Stavangar and Oslo, employs 50 people and specializes in supplying and installing industrial communication systems to the Norwegian offshore and processing industries. Customers include ABB, Siemens, StatOil, ARCO and Norske Hydro.

Federal Signal will be using Profitek’s experience to develop regional sales of its GL loudspeakers, which can provide remote interrogation and tapping facilities. The move provides a platform to build sales of the company’s life safety communication systems, notably the Echo digital intercom and party paging system and the Aucams duplicated PA/GA system, used wherever oil and drilling companies have a need to comply with the principle of dual redundancy.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Stereophonics, with special guests Feeder, have just successfully completed a tour of European arenas employing a vast array of Shure microphones, with support from long standing UK sole distributor HW International.

London Arena was the penultimate venue for the extended UK leg of the tour where Welsh wonder boys Stereophonics and Feeder played yet another sell-out gig. Shure microphones were extensively used to capture the performances: Shure Beta58As handled all the Stereophonics’ vocals, with Kelly Jones (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Jones (vocals, bass), Scott James (vocals, guitar) and Tony Kirkham (keyboards, vocals) choosing this particular microphone due to its tight response pattern and crisp sound. Meanwhile, Stuart Cable’s drum kit was no stranger to Shure product with a Shure Beta52 being employed on kick drum, a Shure Beta57A on snare top and Shure KSM32&rsqu

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Lightfactor Sales has supplied Hertfordshire-based Smart Light & Sound with eight High End Systems Studio Spot 250 and four HES Studio Color 250 wash fixtures for their hire/loan stock. Smart Light & Sound is an innovative, non-profit making organisation set up to help support schools, drama clubs, churches and societies in Hertfordshire - and beyond - with the loan of cutting-edge stage lighting and sound equipment for amateur use.

After in depth research and comparisons between all available intelligent fixtures, Smart Light & Sound’s Bill Parker decided to go with the High End fixtures and Lightfactor. The deciding issues for fixture choice included the benefit of the different lens options on the Spot 250 - ideal for dealing with the short throw distances of many school halls and theatres. Fixture weight was also crucial, together with reliability.

Lightfactor also supplied

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Frequently referred to as Boston Theatre District’s ‘Little Princess’, the 90-year-old, 1,600-seat Shubert Theatre recently capped off its house sound reinforcement system with the addition of a 32-channel Soundcraft Series FOUR mixing console. Local dealer Boston Light & Sound provided the sale.

The Shubert underwent a $6m restoration back in 1996, at which time an all-EAW/QSC system was installed. A 24-channel Soundcraft 800B desk that had previously been used next door at the Wang since the early 1980s was brought over at the tail end of the renovation to run the Shubert’s house system. Now, almost six years later, the theatre has finally retired its 800B, nearly 20 years old, in favor of a new Series FOUR, which is located ‘rear orchestra’ in typical Broadway fashion.

James R. McCartney, the Shubert’s union sound man for the past three ye

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Leading pro entertainment industry lighting sales specialist TMB Associates has changed its name to TMB. The decision to drop ‘Associates’ from the title was taken last month. "At first we were quite embarrassed about losing our Associates, we couldn’t figure out where they’d gone," stated California-based CEO Colin Waters, "but once we got used to it, we decided we really liked it. Everyone knows us as simply TMB, so now we’ve made it official."

With offices spanning three continents and over 100 full time employees, TMB felt that the term ‘Associates’ was no longer appropriate for its global commercial operations. The company has also launched a new logo, reflecting its growth as a worldwide, high-tech company. The name-change and new logo give TMB a more consolidated approach to international trading and marketing. It al

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The beautiful 325m long Millennium Bridge, which spans the Thames between St. Paul's Cathedral on the north bank and the Tate Modern on the south, opened on 10 June 2000 as London’s first new Thames crossing in more than 100 years. Unbelievably, it remained open for just two days before being closed to the public completely after the bridge started to sway alarmingly as large numbers of pedestrians made the crossing. Engineers to the Millennium Bridge, Arup, have since installed giant dampers to act as shock absorbers for the structure and are now in the final stages of testing the bridge prior to its long-awaited re-opening.

The biggest concern during any test is the safety of those involved. For this particular project the challenge was to devise a communications system which would allow engineers to communicate from one side of the bridge to the other in both directions as wel

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The third of White Light North's Let's Talk Arts meetings took place recently at the studios of Yorkshire Television in Leeds. Visitors were offered a guided tour of YTV's main and regional studios by Neil Salmon, YTV's resident head of lighting, and also received an insight into the complexities of switching the ITV network between main, regional and even sub-regional areas at YTV's principal transmission control area. More importantly, the visitors also enjoyed the buffet lunch with wine - and the chance to 'talk arts'.

Created by White Light North, Let's Talk Arts is a forum run to allow people working in the arts to get together on the first Thursday of every month for what White Light North's John Anderton describes as "lunch and a good gossip!" The forum is open to anyone influential in the arts in Yorkshire, including theatre managers, directors, technica

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Last week DHA Lighting treated members of the ABTT to a backstage tour of My Fair Lady at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Organised by Louise Tester, DHA's UK sales manager, the event attracted over 70 guests, including David Chivers who had employed David Hersey as an electrician at Theatre Projects when he first arrived in the UK! "It's fascinating seeing what David has achieved," said Chivers. Another ABTT member, Dick Walsingham added: "It's always interesting to see what other people have done."

Howard Bird, executive director of the ABTT, opened the session and introduced a number of speakers, plus front of house demonstrations. Bryan Raven of White Light, Steve McAndrew, chief electrician at the Theatre Royal, and My Fair Lady's production electrician Alistair Grant together described the workings of the variety of equipment used on the show. The

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Clay Paky and its Mexican distributor Vector 10, in collaboration with Miller Mix, Grupo Communica and Ingenieria Electrodigital, recently organised a professional lighting seminar in Mexico City, held at the Flamingo Plasa Hotel from 31 January to 2 February and attended by almost 300 people. This, say Clay Paky, is the first meeting between the most important Lighting Designers and lighting operators ever to be held in Mexico.

Over the course of the three days, Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky sales manager for the Americas, and Jorge Aguirre, president of Vector 10, demonstrated Mexican market trends which are providing some very interesting indications: indeed all sectors are in constant growth, from discotheques, to touring, TV and the architectural sector.

One of the highlights of the seminar was the session conducted by Patrick Woodroffe. During his career, Woodroffe has designe

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Proel S.p.A. has established the Proel Lighting division. The operation started with the merging of the lighting manufacturing company M&L s.r.l. of Bellusco (Milan) with Proel S.p.A. This new venture expands the commercial and strategic relations with existing Proel divisions, such as the Sound Reinforcement and the Installation divisions: increased integration with these divisions will allow the company to offer a more comprehensive range of products to the pro audio and lighting market. Product manager of the new Lighting division is Roberto Meggiolaro, major shareholder and founder of M&L.

The official launch of the new division will take place at the Frankfurt Prolight+Sound (13-17 March), Hall 4.1 Stand F31. Following this, the company will be further promoting its Lighting division at SIB International in Rimini (24-27 March). Proel Lighting will feature a Lighting Master Catalo

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SoundField has built a large 5.1 reference and demo room, fully equipped with Genelec monitors at its Wakefield headquarters. The five 1030 monitors and a 1092 sub bass speaker will mainly be used for research, development and the testing of new SoundField ‘MAP’ (Microphone Array Pattern) cards, to be installed in the SP451 Surround Processor. Each MAP card can create an array up to eight microphones from the B-Format information generated by SoundField microphones.

Development engineer Pieter Schillebeeckx rigorously tested many different 5.1 systems before deciding to go with Genelec. He told us: "We are developing MAP cards for both two dimensional and three dimensional multi-channel playback. The accurate localization of sound sources is vital in our development process and after listening to a wide variety of program material the Genelec’s came out on top.&q

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Jands Australia, in cooperation with Stage Technologies, has been awarded an A$5m (£1.8m) contract for Sydney's new Walsh Bay Theatre. The Walsh Bay redevelopment project, to be completed by early 2003, comprises over 250 prestige apartments and a new theatre on the harbour foreshore in the historic Rocks area of Sydney. In partnership with Stage Technologies PLC, Jands will supply and install stage machinery, power flying equipment and theatre infrastructure services including paging, closed circuit televisions and the stage manager'sconsole. Jands is also supplying and installing Jands HP series dimmers, wired lighting bars and cable reelers, curtains and decorative proscenium surrounds.

Working with French company Serapid, Jands will also supply and install Linklift 100 machines, which eliminate the need for screw jacks and caissons for orchestra pits. The 850-seat theatre will be

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Multi-talented Canadian singer Bryan Adams was recently accompanied by three of EST’s familiar purple and yellow trucks for a show in Stockholm as part of his UK and European tour. As well as entertaining fans in his distinctive, gravelly voice, Adams is a highly sought after portrait photographer and was recently commissioned to produce a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for her Golden Jubilee. Keen EST spotters may recently have seen one of their trucks at Buckingham Palace. Delivering rolls of film perhaps?

Staying on a Canadian theme, French Canadian rock star, Garou is currently utilizing five EST trucks to entertain our French cousins on a tour which runs through to April 14. Meanwhile, the inexhaustible cast of Riverdance has now legged it up to Scotland, hotly pursued by as many as 10 EST trucks. The show runs in Edinburgh until the end of March.

Transport fans will be we

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Crest Audio, the US-based manufacturer of professional audio equipment, has announced new distribution arrangements for its products in the United Kingdom.

Crest Audio UK is a newly formed division of Peavey Electronics Ltd, joining MediaMatrix and Architectural Acoustics. Group marketing manager Dave Bearman welcomes Crest as a perfect fit with the other products. He has also announced the appointment of Andy Simmons as sales manager for Crest Audio UK. Andy has a wealth of experience with Crest products and will strengthen the brand’s position as a leader in the industry.

Crest manufacture a high end range of power amplifiers and professional mixing consoles, together with the Crest Performance series of power amplifiers, speaker systems and audio equipment. The entire range will be available through the new distribution channel. Although Crest Audio UK will be a separate ope

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