Lighting

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The new Fairmont Hotel in Dubai has installed 160 Exterior 600 outdoor color changers from Martin Professional to add an eye-catching wash of color to the hotel’s four concave facades and rooftop turrets. As it is located on the Sheikh Zayed road - with more than 40 high-rise buildings - the client understandably wanted the Fairmont to stand out from the rest. Apart from gently washing the building, automated lighting is used to give the hotel greater flexibility in the lighting scheme - for example, the possibility to paint various color schemes for festivals and other occasions. The installation has created a special atmosphere in which dynamic lighting is used as an extension of more functional illumination.

Nouran Trading, the chief supplier of lighting for the project, brought in lighting design consultancy DHA Lighting Design Services to co-ordinate a proposal for the facad

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Clay Paky has introduced a number of new products. The main news from the Italian manufacturer is the completion of its range of ‘Silent Version’ (SV) projectors, with the introduction of the Stage profile Plus SV - and the ‘basic’ version of this fixture, the Stage Profile 1200 SV.

Both units offer the very clever framing system - presented under the tag-line ‘A thousand frames of emotion’ - which allows triangles and quadrilaterals of all types and sizes to be formed, morphed and rotated through 90°. What the ‘Plus’ model offers in addition to this are features such as the FMI (Framed Moving Images) effect, the two combinable wheels of rotating gobos (4 + 4), linear variation frost, the effects disc with three prisms and light frost and CMY colour-mixing (the 1200 SV offers seven interchangeable colours plus white).

The combination o

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In a move designed to integrate the Lighting Technology Projects business closer to the parent Lighting Technology Group, the LTP team have literally moved a step nearer to their colleagues at the company’s head office. Recently involved with a number of high profile installations, including the award winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge and Hull’s much publicized The Deep, the Projects staff have taken the opportunity to relocate to the main Group offices at 2 Tudor Estate, Abbey Road, Park Royal, London.

Leading the Projects business, Terry Reeves, LTP general manager, commented: "We trade as an independent business able to offer a specialist installation service. By moving to 2 Tudor Estate we can build upon the relationships of our Group colleagues and take on a wider range of projects."

(Lee Baldock)

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Essex-based DPL Lighting was called in by the Tussauds Group to architecturally light the amazing new Colossus rollercoaster ride at Thorpe Park, Surrey, for its launch. Thorpe is one of the UK’s most popular theme parks and Colossus is a major new ride, which rises up over 30 metres, and hurtles at up to 65 kph for nearly a kilometre, spinning riders through gravity-defying 360 degree loops and plummeting them earthward - into an ancient lost city.

This type of lighting is exactly the sort of challenge relished by DPL’s Darren Parker - who lit Colossus’s heavy metal steelwork and impressive stanchion frame with eight Studio Due City Color luminaires. The launch reception itself was held inside a large Dome building nearby in the Thorpe Park grounds. DPL added a bit of effervescence to the already animated atmosphere in the Dome with a Golden Scan moving light spinnin

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Richard Martin Lighting is once again the first lighting company to receive delivery of the latest addition to Pulsar’s ChromaRange - the ChromaPanel. The first batch of 48 ChromaPanels expands RML’s current range of LED technology. The new ChromaPanel is a 590mm square panel that utilises 132 LEDs to produce a vivid panel of colour. The LEDs have the ability to cross-fade colours, thus creating over 16 million possibilities. Due to their low power consumption the ChromaPanel generates very little heat and is therefore the ideal 'set-building toy,' say RML.

RML is a specialist rental supplier of intelligent lighting and control systems to the film and television industry. The company’s clients have included Top of the Pops, The Spice Girls, SMTV Live, BBC Studios, Comic Relief and The Brit Awards. The latest purchase follows the purchase of Pulsar’s ChromaBank

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Westlife kicked off their ‘World of Our Own’ global tour in Europe with a spectacular lighting rig supplied by Bandit Lites and video expertise from XL Video. By the end of the European leg of the tour in June alone, Westlife will have played to nearly a million people, and the tour is destined to be one of the most successful and high profile of the year.

The lighting design was a collaboration between the show's technical director Phay MacMahon and LD Barry Halpin. MacMahon also designed the stunning in-the-round stage and set (both on the ground and in the air). With in-the-round being the most challenging of live performance perspectives, MacMahon and Halpin have created a breathtaking show full of drama and surprise. Bandit Lites - who also supplied Westlife's first tour last year - mustered over 120 moving lights - including 45 Martin MAC 2000s, 40 MAC 600s, 20 MAC 50

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A key part of Newcastle’s city centre redevelopment project has involved the lighting of the Grade 1 listed Theatre Royal. With specific objectives to achieve, artist and designer Simon Watkinson drew on the resources of Lighting Technology’s Newcastle office to guide the project through the design, mock up, planning approval and installation phases.

The initial brief involved recreating the rich colours of the theatre’s ‘house curtains’ and projecting these vibrant shades onto the facade of the building. In addition it was felt that the Theatre’s magnificent columns should be bought to the forefront of the lighting design. Subsequently, the colour-changing effect was created courtesy of 12 of Color Kinetics’ C200W luminaires, which illuminate the upper canopy area, balcony and lower frontage. Additional fittings light the pediment above the pi

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Ian Kirby has announced that the newly-incorporated Coemar UK will be based in Ashford, Kent. And when the company opened for business on April 29th, UK customers found a massive price reduction on all Coemar stock awaiting them. This will equate to approximately a 30% price decrease across the board.

Price points of Coemar product have traditionally been high in the UK. "But efficient streamlining of production under the new ownership and new UK distribution has meant lower prices from the factory and to the consumer," explains Kirby. Coemar UK’s new 6,000sq.ft office, warehouse and demonstration facility will incorporate a full inventory of stock and spares - as well as a new product range, which has been launched over the last nine months.

The company can be contacted at: Unit 4, KPC Business Centre, Canterbury Road, Ashford,Kent, TN24 0BP, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1233 63

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Further to the announcement last week of a new distribution agreement for Greece, ARX Systems, the Australian based manufacturer of professional audio products announce the appointment of Istanbul based Park Audio & Lighting Systems as the company’s exclusive distributor to the Turkish market. ARX’s managing director Colin Park told PLASA Media: "ARX is delighted to have Oktay Karasoglu and his team at Park Audio & Lighting Systems on board as our new exclusive distributor for Turkey. With the new Installation products ARX is releasing this year, Oktay will be well placed to further develop ARX's presence in this very competitive market."

Park Audio & Lighting Systems can be contacted at the e-mail address below:

(Lee Baldock)

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Following four successful year's service with AC Lighting, José Joao has been promoted to the position of senior account manager in the Export Sales department. Being fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and with 17 years’ experience in the entertainment lighting industry, Joao strengthens AC Lighting's export drive into the Latino market.

Trying to stay customer focused when exporting to over 90 countries can be very difficult, however, AC Lighting have found Joao's experience and attention to detail to be a valuable asset. The significant growth achieved in his territories is a testament to his success. Export sales manager Cally Bacchus commented: "We are very pleased to have José on the team. He has been central to the significant growth that AC Lighting have enjoyed and we wish him every success in his new role."

(Lee Baldock)

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Wybron is known for coming up with products that extend the use of theatre luminaires and the LightWand Moving Mirror is no exception. The only moving mirror with 360° continuous rotation, as well as a tilt range of 60 degrees, the LightWand gives standard theatre luminaires all the capabilities of automated lights at a fraction of the cost. Used in conjunction with Wybron’s Coloram colour changers it creates a full moving light, with colour changing capabilities.

The LightWand is fully digital for smooth, precise movement of mirror, with no fan noise and can be daisy-chained to other moving mirrors and products from Wybron’s Coloram family. Using 2 or 4 DMX channels for 8 or 16 bit resolution, the LightWand runs off any Forerunner Power Supply.

(Ruth Rossington)

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A new purpose-built high-technology home awaits film and location lighting giant, ARRI GB, who will move from its Heston base at the end of the summer. The entire operation is set for a phased move into a new HQ - the 75,000sq metre three-building Highbridge development, adjacent to the Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge - commencing at the end of August. It is expected to be complete by October.

ARRI GB managing director, Renos Louka, said that the move to Uxbridge marked the end of a long search for an enlarged facility, brought about by the company’s rapid expansion, particularly in rental. "Uxbridge, with its proximity to Pinewood, Shepperton and other film studios, was the ideal location - and when we saw this building we knew we had found our new home," he said. Transport links to central London and access to Heathrow Airport were further key factors in driving the dec

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The World Chess Federation, referred to as FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs), launched a series of Grand Prix tournaments beginning at the at the Al-Bustan Hotel in Dubai for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Grand Prix at the beginning of April.

The World Chess Grand Prix series will then go on to Moscow for the Russian Grand Prix, Bangalore or Bombay in July, Croatia in August and finally Rio de Janeiro in September. Each part of the Grand Prix has an opening ceremony and a total of five play days finishing with a closing ceremony. A total of 32 players have qualified to play in each of the Grand Prix tournaments and were selected based on strict criteria.

The tournaments include many variations of chess, such as three-player chess, blind chess (in which you cannot see your opponent’s pieces) and speed chess. In speed chess, the clock is set for five minutes per sid

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High End Systems' award-winning Catalyst system will be prominently featured in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, with finals taking place May 25 in Tallinn, Estonia. Lighting director Per Sundin of SVT has specified 15 Catalysts - the largest installation of Catalyst systems on any Catalyst project to date - along with a number of x.Spot automated luminaires in the production.

SVT is providing much of the technical support for Estonian TV. Spectra+ of Stockholm, Sweden is the lighting rental company supplying the event. Lang Audio Vision of Germany is supplying the bulk of the Catalysts along with other video equipment. Video Unlimited of Stockholm is also providing video services as well as some video projectors.

In a separate announcement, Spectra+ has altered its name and logo to reflect recent changes to the services it provides, with the introduction of a complete entertain

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With the arrival of the ProWash 575 LX, Coemar have inserted the final piece into the LX Series jigsaw. The 575 helps to complete Coemar’s comprehensive range of moving head fixtures, designed to meet the specific requirements of a broad spectrum of market sectors, in both fixed and rental application.

The fixture is a 575W MSD moving head fresnel, offering 385° pan and 260° tilt movement and 16-bit beam positioning, in which movement and blackout effect can be synchronized. With 14/16 DMX control channels, the ProWash 575LX features a built-in mechanical, electronically-controlled dimmer for complete adjustment of light output from 0 to 100%, and a strobing effect, with adjustable flash rate (synchronized or random), fade pulse effect, blackout and programmable chaser effect with adjustable speed. Infinite colour possibilities can be achieved via a CMY colour mixing system. Si

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The unique gobo animation wheel system in the Martin MAC 2000 Performance has been further enhanced with the launch of a set of six new animation wheel designs giving lighting designers access to an unparalleled range of artistic effects.

Six new design wheels provide new effect possibilities, including snow and 'flurries' of movement; swaying tree branches, the rhythmic undulations of sea waves, high speed turbines or passing trains, a flickering lantern, rough sea, flames, psychedelic effects and more.

Since its launch in early 2002, the Martin MAC 2000 Performance has already found worldwide success with installations such as the National Theater in Prague, Hannover Oper and Palermo Theater. It has also found its way to Broadway and the West End in shows such as Hairspray and Mamma Mia.

(Lee Baldock)

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After exhaustive market research conducted by the Australian National Broadcaster, ABC TV, to find a suitable lighting desk for their recently-digitised Studio 31 in Melbourne’s Ripponlea complex, an order was placed for a Vision 10/ST console from ADB-TTV in Belguim. The desk will be supplied by ADB’s Australian distributor, LSC Lighting Systems of Melbourne.

The Vision desk provides 1024 control channels on 1024 DMX output channels expandable to 2048, 48 submasters over two pages, full A/B playback facilities, moving light control module, special effects module, standard outputs for keyboard, mouse, SVGA monitors, MIDI, audio, IR or HF remote control units, printers and worklights. The desk can also be expanded for ethernet connection.

The Vision fulfilled a number of key criteria that the ABC were seeking. "The ADB Vision certainly provided what we were looking fo

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March 6th marked the grand opening of Chasing Rainbows, the new interactive museum at Dollywood. Located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Dollywood is a magical theme park inspired by the life and accomplishments of country musician Dolly Parton. The new museum houses a collection of items from Dolly's career.

In the fall of 2001, the creative team at Dollywood contacted UV/FX Los Angeles with the idea of designing a finale room for the museum; a space which would serve as the culmination of the visitors' experience at the museum. The folks at Dollywood wanted a space that physically replicated the Smoky Mountains landscape, and that was conceptually inspired by Miss Parton's song ‘The Light of a Clear Blue Morning’.

The basic idea was that visitors would enter a nighttime environment, which would subsequently evolve into sunrise over the course of the song's playback. The spa

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BML Stage Lighting & Productions Inc, located in Raritan, New Jersey, have recruited Marc Malamud as Rental Account Manager. Marc, formerly with BASH and PRG, brings a wealth of Broadway, off Broadway and industrial experience to the BML team. His duties will include overseeing the expansion of the rental department, in addition to his sales function.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Le Mark has further expanded its accessory section and now offers rental facilities to both trade and direct users alike. Le Mark has launched this new service with the unique GAM Torch, a hand-held real flame accessory.

One of the first clients to take advantage of this new service was Philip Wright, technical manager with Chelmsford Theatre Workshop who hired two GAM Torches from Le Mark for Chelmsford Theatre Workshops production of King Lear at the Old Court Theatre. Wright commented: "It’s an excellent product - the Crew and Cast found them very easy to use. Gloucester’s entrance searching for the King was spectacular! The fact that the fuel pellets are virtually smokeless and odourless was very important as the production was in the round in our small Theatre [120 seats]."

Mark Gibbons, who has both developed and overseen the rental project, commented. &qu

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Avolites has announced the appointment of two new distributors - in Portugal and in Turkey. Electrosound is a sales company based in Lisbon, Portugal. Avolites’ Steve Warren explains that Avolites chose Electrosound because of their focus and emphasis on moving light control, their high levels of support and their enthusiasm for the Avolites product range - which has enjoyed enormous success in Portugal.

Portugal’s very high proportion of Avolites equipment followed on from the Expo in 1998, when 26 different Avolites consoles were specified for various pavilions and stages site-wide. Since then, most Portuguese lighting designers have had a very close working relationship with Avolites equipment. This trend looks set to continue with Electrosound, who have already placed orders for four new consoles for a major Portuguese rental company for their busy summer schedule.

In

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City Theatrical and A.C.T. Enterprises have announced that, with immediate effect, City Theatrical’s dealer network will become the exclusive distributors of A.C.T. Enterprises line of lighting accessories including Track Tamers, Tee-Slot System, Safer Sidearms, Vertical Extension Tubes, Pipe End Tail Downs and Single Point Speaker Hangers.

CTI’s Gary Fails told us: "I’ve always admired A.C.T.’s products and they fit well into our catalogue of unique lighting accessories. A.C.T.’s range of accessories for mounting moving lights will now have worldwide distribution through our network and we hope to make them much easier for users to obtain.

(Ruth Rossington)

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The Jubilee weekend will see the continuation of Vari-Lite Europe’s relationship with the British Airways London Eye through Park Avenue Productions. Park Avenue has been involved in every major milestone event at the London Eye, beginning with the official switch-on by Tony Blair on Millennium Eve. Once again, they have called on the services of Vari-Lite Europe to turn the Eye gold to highlight a charity fundraising initiative over the Jubilee period.

Producer Ajay Parekh and lighting designer Paul Cook specified a rig of 80 VL5arcs at the base of the Eye to create a gold wash capable of dynamic colour and intensity chases in harmony with the many Jubilee beacons being lit around the country. Creative director Simon Tapping commented: "Each time we produce another event at the British Airways London Eye we are reminded of its enormous scale, and the unique challenges which

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Stage Electrics continues to be busy. For the West End production of We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, the company has supplied the total lighting rig, including the new MAC2000 Performance which is making its debut in the West End. The rig also contains MAC2000s, MAC600 ENTs and High End Studio Colors, plus a large quantity of strobes including 50 Atomic and 500 Egg Strobes.The rig is controlled via a Wholehog 2 and two overdrive boxes over six universes of DMX.

The African Musical Umoja transfers to The Queens from The Shaftsbury where it was playing three months ago. This international success has also opened in Perth, Australia, and producer Joe Theron is currently in discussions with a view to taking the show across Europe. Stage Electrics has supplied all of the lighting equipment including MAC 600s Moving Wash Lights, Source Four profiles, scrollers and a Strand 5

  1. Lighting Technology fixes it for Bob
  2. Fourth Phase open evening
  3. Vari-Lite signs exclusive distribution agreement with Lightpower
  4. First full Euro-tour for Catalyst
  5. Tega install Hull University’s Asylum
  6. Westlife tour with Jem Glaciator
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