Lighting

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Interactive lighting specialist Optimusic is launching the new OptiBeam the OB2 at PLASA 2002. This latest interactive light unit boasts a very high light output and comes with focus function. Furthermore, due to changes in design and increased demand, Optimusic has announced that the price of the the OB2 is priced some 30% less than the OB1! Also on show is the latest version of the company’s OM-CS Control System - now 20% lower in price. The Optimusic stand will feature new and exciting applications for the innovative interactive lighting system - visitors can see the latest beam games such as BeamBowling and BeamFootball, the latest BeamDJ setting and more.

Optimusic can be found on stand J22.

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Clay Paky, the Italian manufacturer of intelligent lighting products, has relocated to brand new premises near Bergamo, with effect from 26 August. The company’s new contact details are as follows: Clay Paky S.p.A., via Pastrengo 3/B, 24068 Seriate (Bergamo). While the telephone and e-mail contacts remain unchanged, the company does have a new fax number - to fax Clay Paky you must now use +39 035 301876. More details of the company’s new facility will follow shortly.

(Lee Baldock)

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Martin Professional is showing a number of new products at PLASA this year: the MAC 2000 Wash is a powerful new 1200W MAC Fresnel fixture, with a number of notable features including extremely high light output from an HMI 1200W source, full CMY colour mixing and variable CTC filters, multiple front lens options for various beam spreads, a fully motorized zoom system and more. For increased flexibility, an optional motorized barn door module allows you to cut the beam wherever desired.

Next up, the MAC 2000 Performance is a powerful 1200W profile framing spot and animation projector, featuring a 4-blade framing system for precise stage lighting and gobo animation wheel for extraordinary theatrical effects. The gobo animation system has been further enhanced with a set of six new animation wheel designs giving lighting designers an unparalleled range of artistic effects with which to en

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Japan recently became the site of the first official Wholehog III training seminars organized for customers, when two 2-day sessions were held from 6-9 August at Ushio U-Tech's Koiwa Studio in Tokyo. Sales and R&D professionals in attendance were mostly from Ushio U-Tech, C&C Electronics Co and Theatre Engineering Co Ltd - although one production person came a long way from the National Theatre School of Canada.

High End Systems' Brad Schiller instructed the classes, which were translated simultaneously into Japanese by Hitoshi Nakamura, chief of the international sales division of Ushio U-Tech. Of particular interest were the ‘guts’ of the console. As the attendees would need to know how to both service and program the Wholehog III, they were satisfied upon opening the unit to see how easily interchangeable parts would be.

The first formal classes for Wholehog III in the

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Ryger, the well-known UK manufacturer of lighting controllers and effects, has relocated to Wales. Under new management and with radical restructuring, Ryger Ltd will continue to manufacture its comprehensive range of lighting controllers for the small club and mobile DJ market, as well as expanding into the live music control market. "Our Footlight 4 lighting controller for bands has been a great success," said Karen Phillips, marketing director. "We’ve recently made it stronger to endure the most testing of applications and plan to extend the range further in the near future."

The new improved Footlight will be on display at PLASA 2002 along with the rest of the Ryger range. Also showing at PLASA will be the newest version of the Ryger Showlite system, a fully interactive comprehensive lighting control system run from a PC or laptop. Ryger also maintains its

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The American National Standards Institute is now offering electronic copies of ESTA's ANSI-approved standards and other technical publications for sale on-line. Ordering electronic copies on-line gives members of the entertainment industry almost instantaneous delivery of needed documents.

To order ESTA's standards and other technical documents from ANSI, simply go to the website shown below and then click on the pull-down menu under the instructions ‘Please select a standards category below.’ Select ‘ESTA: Entertainment Services and Technology Association’ from the list of standards developers, and then hit the ‘Go’ button. That will present a page listing all ESTA's publications available through ANSI, including ESTA's free publications.

Paper copies of ESTA's documents are available from ESTA Publications Orders, offered by the United States In

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Lightfactor Sales has chosen the PLASA show to launch several new and innovative products and services. This year Xilver, the Dutch architectural lighting manufacturer, joins Lightfactor’s list of major brands, which also includes Apogee Sound, High End, LDR, LightProcessor, Par-Safe, Morpheus and SGM.

The Xilver Droplet LED moving light is an entirely new concept of an automated luminaire using the latest high power LED technology, is housed in the most expediant design yet seen in entertainment, display and architectural lighting. This curvy, compact luminaire provides full control of beam position, effects and colour selection. The high brightness diode light source offers the ability to create fluent and lightning-fast colour changes.

A new division at Lightfactor - the Cut Colour Company - opened in August and is officially launched at PLASA 2002. The Cut Col

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Martin Professional has produced ‘A Guide to Animation Effects’ for the MAC 2000 Performance, designed to illustrate the effects possible from the profile spot’s gobo animation system. Released earlier in the year, the 1200W MAC 2000 Performance’s animation feature has proved instrumental in the fixtures’ popularity among lighting designers. The system offers lighting designers new projection possibilities through the use of animation discs - fire and flames, sky and clouds, waves and water, snow and flurries, and more. The gobo animation wheel system was recently enhanced with the launch of a set of six new animation wheel designs.

The guide explains the theory behind gobo animation and offers tips on how to achieve a wide variety of effects. It explains each animation disk in detail and how it is best used. Further in the guide are some specific examples

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As soon as the August issue of L&SI hit the streets with its mammoth report on the Jubilee (the most comprehensive you’ll read thanks to the efforts of the entire L&SI team in tracking down the information and slotting it all together), it was inevitable that we’d have more people ringing us to tell us of their involvement. First came Pulsar, to tell us that the fixtures used front of stage on the Party at the Palace concerts were their own ChromaBank system. If you look closely at the picture to the right you’ll see the strip of ChromaBanks at the bottom of the picture providing the green accenting to the front of stage.

Then we had more input on the audio elements. Among those whose stress levels were noticeably higher round Jubilee time was Hand Held Audio’s Nick Bruce-Smith, who had the onerous task of organizing the incredibly intricate licensing arrangemen

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Dan Rizzotti recently joined High End Systems as director of sales operations, supporting the company's overall initiative in strengthening and maturing the senior management infrastructure. In this specific role, Rizzotti is responsible for sales forecast, performance metrics and overall interfacing with supporting organizations. He will also develop reporting tools for the sales team to provide increased visibility and enhance product availability and delivery.

John Wiseman, VP of worldwide sales, commented: "We identified the need for an individual like Dan six months ago, but were very selective in the interview process in finding the right individual. In the short time he's been with us, he has introduced new programs which free the sales team to get in front of the customer and be more responsive and available. Dan's impact here has been swift and significant."

Prio

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Artistic Licence is proud to announce the launch of Power-Hub 4. Power-Hub 4 is a four-port ethernet hub which supplies low voltage power via the data connection. This allows Ethernet devices, such as the Artistic Licence’s Net-Lynx, to receive both data and power over the Cat5 cable. The product is designed to support the forthcoming IEEE802.3af 'Power over Ethernet' standard.

Power-Hub 4 is housed in a robust extruded case designed to withstand the rigours of touring. An optional adapter allows simple conversion to truss mounting. All data connections use the latching Neutrik Ethercon connector. The front panel provides a comprehensive range of indicators allowing fast fault analysis in show conditions. Power-Hub 4 is compatible with all 10BaseT ethernet equipment including the Artistic Licence Art-Net range. The Power-Hub 4 is totally self managed with no user controls.

The

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Italian manufacturer Clay Paky is showing a number of new products for the first time in the UK at PLASA 2002. Stage Profile Plus SV combines the quality of a professional beam shaper with the versatility of a moving body projector. The patented profile system produces the exclusive ‘Total Curtain’ effect, the ‘Framed Moving Images’, ‘Morphing Effect’, quadrilateral and triangular shapes, and many other extraordinary effects.

CP Color 575 is the latest Clay Paky professional colour changer for exterior use (IP65-rated), with outstanding power and colour quality. It is designed for illuminating facades, monuments, fountains, colonnades and other architectural details. Colorwave 300 is a simple and versatile colour changer designed to enhance commercial environments, as well as entertainment and leisure settings. Finally, V.I.P.

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Following the administration of the Lighting Technology Group in June, buyers have been found, as predicted, for a number of the Group’s assets.

The PAI Group has announced that it has acquired the rights and assets of Lighting Technology Projects (LTP). The new company will trade as before, under the name of LTP, and will be headed up by Terry Reeves, who managed the company prior to the appointment of the administrators PriceWaterhouseCoopers in early July this year.

The acquisition is a logical step for the PAI Group, which specializes in the creative design, supply, and installation of bespoke audio-video, lighting and sound for the leisure, retail, education, heritage, and sports industries, and consists of PA Installations (PAI), VS Installations (VSI) and PA Technologies (PAT). LTP is a respected name within the industry and its markets will complement those of the PAI G

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On 17 May in Günzburg, Bavaria, the Lego Company opened its fourth theme park, the others being in Billund (Denmark), Windsor (UK) and Carlsbad (California). Covering an area the size of 25 football fields, the new park boasts more than 40 attractions and shows, including the ‘Dschungel X-pedition’ (Jungle X-pedition), a Lego structure which includes a steep 12m water slide, the ‘Land der Ritter’ (Castleland), with its Fire Dragon and Castle Theatre, the Legotop, a 50m high observation tower with a glass-sided revolving deck, and the Lego Studios, in which 500 spectators can enjoy a 4D feature film. Lego is expecting around 1.3 million visitors in the park’s first year, having invested some 150 million euros in the project.

The general contractor responsible for all electrical equipment in Legoland Bavaria is a consortium formed by ABB and Cegelec. Cegel

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Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) has announced the completion of a $17million round of financing. In addition to a major worldwide consumer products company and a leading advanced semiconductor company, this financing round features participation from both existing and new investors, say CKI, and positions the company for growth, leadership and market competitiveness in the $40+ billion global illumination market.

The company’s flagship line of technologies, which are used today in a variety of commercial and consumer applications, leverage a patented layer of digital intelligence called Chromacore to control LEDs, generating millions of colours and a variety of lighting effects. The company says the new investment will be used to extend the company’s current business lines and leverage its wide-ranging intellectual property to develop solid-state lighting solutions for the general

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The late seventies and early eighties saw the illuminated dance floor as a trend setting addition to many nightclubs and discotheques. Now thanks to the advances in technology which LEDs, modern plastics and aluminium have made, a major new product is to be launched at PLASA 2002.

ChromaDeck, jointly developed by Litestructures and Pulsar, is a hybrid of the industry-standard litedeck stage system and the successful Pulsar ChromaPanel. Controlled by the standard Pulsar controller and compatible with the Litedeck staging system, this new product can be used in either fixed installation or as part of a temporary or touring stage or set. Available either from Litestructures or Pulsar and any of their recognized distributors.

Litestructures can be found on C19 and Pulsar on G46.

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New Zealand-based Selecon is unveiling three new products at the PLASA Show this year. The first - the Pacific MSR Dowser - provides exact dimming of discharge light sources (MSR, MSD, CDM) used in the Pacific fixture.

MSR/HSR are popular discharge light sources combining high light output with a colour temperature of 5600-6000K. The modular design of the Pacific ensures this light source in combination with the dowser can be used in all of the Pacific range providing new opportunities for the entertainment lighting designer. With a black-out response time of less than 0.5 seconds and a fade duration defined by the control console, the Pacific Dowser provides a fade profile designed to match the response of a dimmed tungsten halogen lamp. Control is via DMX 512 with a choice of 8-bit or 16-bit resolution for long smooth fades.

The second new product is the Finelite II projector. Th

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David Catterall has been promoted to managing director of Flying Pig Systems/High End Systems Europe and UK. Catterall has been in the lighting industry since 1985 and has worked in international sales for the past 15 years. He joined Flying Pig/High End in 1999 when the two companies merged. His first focus was on the integration of FPS' business with HES, and then more recently he took responsibility for HES European sales.

John Wiseman, VP of Worldwide Sales commented: "David has been onboard with HES Europe since day one and has done an unbelievable job in the UK and European markets. Because of his leadership and the respect he garners in the lighting industry, we feel he will lead us into the next phase of our growth."

(Ruth Rossington)

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The PLASA Show’s 25th appearance this year coincides with the 25th anniversary of another well-known industry fixture - Le Maitre. The UK-based manufacturer, operating in the niche markets of pyrotechnics and smoke machines, has long been a leading innovator in the entertainment industry, and as the company celebrates its quarter century it is all set to hit the market once more with a piece of innovation which could revolutionize the way we put the haze into our lit environments.

Sales director Rick Wilson, very much the public face of Le Maitre, is as excited about the future as ever. An entrepreneur at heart, he is driven by the search for the next new thing, and PLASA 2002 will see an eagerly-anticipated prototype - code-named MaxiHaze - the result of three years of investment and development.

Le Maitre’s history of innovation is well documented. In pyrotechnics, Le M

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Mike Hanson has been named technical support manager for "all things Pig" at High End Systems' Los Angeles office. Hanson has been with the company for five years, joining after his stint on the lighting crew for Metallica's 1996-97 world tour. Besides his day-to-day support in the Van Nuys office, Hanson is involved with the ongoing Wholehog console training seminars, and helps out as programmer for a number of touring and television events.

John Wiseman, VP of worldwide sales for HES, commented: "In our ongoing commitment to excellence in technical support of the Flying Pig and High End Systems product lines, we're now expanding our service in the LA office to offer parts and accessories for all Pig products. Mike has been the go-to guy in our Los Angeles office for all things technical, and now he will support 'all things Pig' in his new role as technical support mana

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The White Light Group - and its ever-popular bar - returns to its usual position on stand F4, just inside the main door to the exhibition.

For many, the main attraction will be the welcome return of the White Light bar featuring White Light’s own beer plus a selection of other drinks and snacks. This year the bar will be theatrically lit using Anycolour colour-mixing fluorescent units from Anytronics. For those looking beyond the bar, examples of the many equipment ranges now distributed in the UK by White Light Sales will be on show. First amongst these will be examples of lanterns and followspots from the Robert Juliat range, which have found many new homes in the UK over the last 12 months. White Light Sales will also be showing smoke machines from Look Solutions and The Smoke Factory, while an on-stand computer will allow visitors to try Lx Store.com, White Light’s new

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Rolling Stones fans will get a taste of High End Systems products on the Stones’ ‘Licks’ World Tour 2002-2003, which kicks off Sept. 3 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Mass. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe, video designer Willie Williams and set/stage designer Mark Fisher teamed up to create the look for ‘Licks’, which will be scaled for three different sized venues from stadiums to arenas to theatres/nightclubs - all on one tour.

More than 40 shows in 27 cities are set so far for the U S and Canada, with Europe, Australia, the Far East and perhaps China for the first time in 2003. For this ambitious project, HES fixtures specified include 40 x.Spot HO (High Output) and 24 Studio Beam automated luninaires, run off the Flying Pig Systems Wholehog II console. VLPS is the general lighting contractor, while LSD/Fourth Phase is providing the HES and FPS gear.

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L&SI was out and about in July and called in at the newly established UK offices of Coemar, based in Ashford, Kent. The new 6,000sq.ft office, warehouse and demonstration facility will incorporate a full inventory of stock and spares - as well as featuring the new product range from Coemar, which has been launched over the last 10 months. Pictured above is Coemar UK MD Ian Kirby (second left) with (from left to right) operations manager Julie Kirby, technical manager Chris Hale and Stacey Smith, office sales. Since our visit, it has been announced that Coemar UK will handle distribution of the Antari range of products in the UK (see separate news piece on page 14). Coemar UK can be contacted at Unit 4, KPC Business Centre, Canterbury Road, Ashford, Kent, TN24 0BP, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1233 636688.

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What will the world be like in 50 years time? It’s a moot question: for a filmmaker of Steven Spielberg’s stature it’s a central debate. Casting your net a few hundred years hence makes no odds - by the time reality comes around you’ll be long dead - but 50 years? Many who see Spielberg’s latest film Minority Report will still be around when the actual time arrives.

"It was the first question I asked myself when looking for a venue," explained Amanda Davis of AD Design, on her brief for the movie launch. "What is the most futuristic building in London?" Spielberg had done the groundwork, he’d consulted with think-tanks and city planners, but Davis didn’t have that luxury, "so I read through the synopsis again and asked myself, ‘what will London be like?’"

By an outrageous coincidence, a brand new buil

  1. Vari-Lite signs exclusive agreement with TSP, Russia
  2. New comfort initiative for visitors to PLASA
  3. Hunt & Mercer promoted at HES/FPS Europe, UK
  4. We Will Rock You
  5. TMC & Optocore for Royal Occasion
  6. Martin Scandinavia established
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