Lighting

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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

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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

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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,

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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

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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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UK / Russia - As members of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) will be aware, PLASA has been approached by IIR Exhibitions to work on a project that will see the launch of a trade show in Moscow, Russia in April 2004. In order to assess interest in the project, PLASA and IIR Exhibitions are staging an Open Day on Wednesday 21 May at One Whitehall Place, London SW1.

The Open Day will include presentations from a number of key speakers including representatives from PLASA, the DTI and IIR Exhibitions. The presentations will focus specifically on doing business in Russia, emphasizing changes in the business culture, the types of assistance that can be accessed, the pitfalls to avoid and the opportunities available. The event will be a half-day session starting at 11.00am and concluding at 1.15pm with a buffet lunch to follow.

All interested parties are invit

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Denmark - Martin Professional’s Pio Nahum, a major player in Martin’s rise to the top of the intelligent lighting industry, who for the past seven years has held the responsibility of international marketing director for Martin Professional A/S, has decided to return permanently to Italy to be closer to his family and to concentrate on Martin’s business in the Italian market.

The opportunity to return to his home country arose from the fact that for the past two years Nahum has effectively managed the dual responsibilities of group marketing director at Martin Professional A/S with that of managing director of Martin Professional Italy SpA. Nahum’s contribution also included five years of service as Martin’s international sales director as well as a stint as acting CEO of Martin UK.

Nahum commented: "After spending so many years working abroa

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Australia - LSC Lighting Systems have launched a web-based discussion forum for the range of maXim lighting consoles and a totally revamped Resource CD. The maXim Discussion Web was created and launched in response to the continuing need for open interaction between owner/operators of the maXim control desks and LSC distributors, technical support and design staff. The forum covers various topics such as software and hardware issues and feature wish lists. It provides a great on-line opportunity for direct communication with essential people within the LSC organisation and other users of the maXim. The forum is also an ideal avenue for interested purchasers to seek independent opinion on the worthwhile benefits the maXim provides.

The LSC Resource CD provides a comprehensive information source on all products currently manufactured by LSC. Operator manuals, brochures, line drawi

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UK - We've had the jungle, the house and the academy, so it was only a matter of time until a reality TV show was set in a nightclub: Carlton TV's ‘The Club’, broadcast recently on ITV, was set in one of London's funkiest watering holes - Nylon - and starred Samantha Fox, Dean Gaffney and Richard Blackwood. The retro-themed two-floored bar in the City of London proved to be a challenging seven-week lighting and rigging project for Elstree Light & Power. Crew chief Mark Gardener explains: "Basically we had to rig, cable and light a fully functioning nightclub that was open to the public. Nylon regularly packs in over 500 revellers so you can imagine the potential for chaos. Not only was health and safety a huge concern but we had to make sure that hundreds of meters of cable were hidden from camera view."

ELP fixed over 150 lights including assorted Arri fre

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Czech Republic - Moving light manufacturer Robe Show Lighting has launched two new products: the DMX Control 480 and the ColorMix 240 AT. The DMX Control 480 is the latest Robe controller, designed for fast and simple control in a wide range of applications and can control up to 20 fixtures with a maximum of 24 DMX channels each.

The onboard architecture features 750 Scenes, 255 Programs each with 50 Scenes and 100 Records with 50 Program combinations, offering the flexibility to create and play back shows. Each programme’s timing function enables precise control and synchronization with music and sound effects. Robe fixtures can be remotely configured via the DMX 480 as well as controlled and programmed.

A 32MB multimedia card is supplied with the console, allowing data to be safely stored and shared between controllers. The RS232 interface offers further options on cr

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UK - The award winning TV duo Ant & Dec arrived back on our screens recently with their live fun-filled prime time show Saturday Night Takeaway. With the same set as last year, lighting designer Tom Kinane was keen to create a very different look with his chosen lighting rig, which consisted of 12 Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200s, 12 Vari-Lite VL2416s, 32 Martin Pro MAC 500s and six MAC 600s, all supplied by Richard Martin Lighting.

Working closely with the moving light operator Svend Pedersen, Tom comments on his choice of lighting: "The Stage Zoom 1200s are always a trusty lamp to use. The gobos dressed the set, which worked out great for the music numbers. The VL2416s were positioned to wash the set from behind, with the intention of punching colour into the twin wall, which is notoriously hard to light! I chose the MAC 500s because they are good ‘workhorse’ lamps

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UK - In an atmosphere of razzmatazz and glitz, Ulrika Johnsson christened P&O's newest cruise liner, Ocean Village, at a high profile, show-biz event on board the ship at Southampton on 28 April. As a completely new brand, the declared mission of Ocean Village is to rip up the traditional cruising rule book, introducing a casual cruising concept and a sense of fun, which is why the naming ceremony ditched the stereotypical black tie event in favour of a dress-to-party atmosphere.

Among the celebrities on board - who included Top Gear's Louise Brady, Coronation Street's Tracie Bennett and Casualty's Sarah Manners - was Alan Thomson, managing director of Fourth Phase London. Working for Unusual Services, Fourth Phase supplied lighting design, equipment and crew for a 25-minute dance show, which took place on the covered swimming pool on board the 63,524-ton liner. Lighting designe

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UK - Enlightenment has recently completed a further installation of ADB Eurorack 60 digital dimmers at the Coliseum Theatre in Oldham, Lancashire. The installation comprises of 192 3kW and 24 ways of 5kW all-digital dimmers, a comprehensive DMX Network and outlet facility panels. The production lighting is controlled by an ADB Phoenix 5 control desk, previously supplied by Enlightenment, with the remainder of the lighting systems (house lights, working lights and independents) being controlled by two ADB Netbuses.

In addition to providing control of the generic lighting the ADB Netbuses also provide real-time fault reporting, remote programming and system wide control of the entire dimmer installation. All dimmer functions including the recording and playback of 20 memories, patch, dimmer testing, and dimmer curve settings, etc, can all be accessed via the ADB Netbus.

The ADB

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Denmark - The new Xciter from Martin Professional is a hands-on lighting control tool for DJs and lighting operators, allowing fast manipulation of lightshows via easy-to-use buttons and faders and aimed at clubs, small touring applications, or even larger mobile DJs. Functions such as strobe, smoke and more can be assigned to each of four programmable customizable buttons for personalized control. The user can assign effects, scenes or dimmer to any of six faders and flash buttons and access them live during playback. Show speed can be increased or decreased by up to five times using the pitch fader.

The Xciter can control up to 20 fixtures, each up to 48 channels - max of 512 channels (soon to control up to 40 fixtures with a software upgrade). Up to 160 cues containing four sequences can run simultaneously. Sequences can be triggered via an internal clock, manually or via aud

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UK - Scene Change, the new company that creates video content for the entertainment industry, has teamed up with The Foundation Design, one of the UK’s leading graphic and animation design companies. The Foundation Design specializes in the creation of digital content for the retail and leisure industries. Its client list includes Yates’s, Lloyds No1 Bar in Birmingham, The Gate (Land Securities’ £70million leisure development in Newcastle - see major feature in the June issue of L&SI) and many drinks brands.

The new creative alliance aims to build on the strengths of both companies in lighting design, video-effects generation and video editing for the performing arts and entertainment industry. The Foundation Design has already created a selection of royalty-free abstract video clips which can be previewed and bought from the Scene Change website.

"We a

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UK - Following last year’s success, the A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow will be returning this year to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, on 15 and 16 July. The event will provide a one-stop-shop of industry-leading lighting, audio and associated entertainment technology companies for buyers in the midlands and the north of England.

Visitors to this year’s show will be able to catch up on the latest product innovations, receive hands-on demonstrations and gain expert advice from over 50 of the industry’s leading equipment manufacturers. Running alongside the main exhibition will be a range of free product training workshops and seminars from guest speakers on key industry topics. Visitors will also be able to take advantage of some exclusive ‘show-only’ exhibitor prices on the day for selected product lines.

Jonathan Walters, A.C. Lighting’

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UK - Atmospheric, the supplier of AV and entertainment solutions to the leisure industry, has appointed Peter L Davies as sales director. Formerly sales director at PowerSport, founder and managing director of Life Fitness' Operations in Europe and international vice-president at Tectrix, Davies has recently been working as a self-employed management consultant with leading fitness equipment suppliers such as Star Trac UK and Gym 80. He comes to this new role with over 25 years of experience within the health and fitness industry.

Davies commented: "I was attracted to Atmospheric by their innovative and high quality range of products, by the excellent morale of their team and, most importantly, by the high standard of business ethics instilled by the managing director, Simon Spragg. This role is also a new challenge for me, as, despite my many years of experience in the fit

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UK - According to UK distributor A.C. Lighting, MA Lighting’s grandMA range of lighting console desks is continuing to build strong UK sales and gain notable industry support, with recent acquisitions by several high-profile performance entertainment companies.

UK concert lighting company Neg Earth chose the award-winning grandMA when they needed a fully equipped lighting console to cope with some demanding concert productions. To date, their grandMA has been used for extensive European tours by Avril Lavigne and Sum 41. Similarly, leisure entertainment group Butlins has purchased three consoles from the range, while the multi-purpose Royal Spa Centre in Royal Lemington Spa has purchased a grandMA for its main auditorium.

Vortex Lighting, a lighting specialist in the northern UK rental market, also purchased a grandMA as it was considered the best all-round solution for

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USA - Pixeon Inc, the Austin-based LED effects company, was the recipient of two major awards at this year's Lightfair show in New York. At the New Product Showcase and Awards Presentation, Color Stream was presented with the distinguished Roeder Award. This special award is made at the judges' discretion for products that "truly meet and exceed the current challenges of the twenty-first century." Pixeon accepted the award beneath a specially designed Color Stream sculpture, by lighting designer Marsha Stern. Last September Color Stream - an innovation from WWG, the British-based lighting design partnership - also received an award for product innovation at the PLASA show in London. Later, Pixeon was given an award by the judges for best booth design.

Dutch company Xilver saw its Droplet LED fixture awarded best new theatrical and entertainment lighting product. The j

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Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Tell Me On A Sunday, starring Denise Van Outen at London’s Gielgud Theatre, was originally a hit album and television special written for Marti Webb in 1979, and later appeared in London and New York as one half of Song & Dance.

Produced by Bill Kenwright and The Really Useful Theatre Company, directed by Matthew Warchus and designed by Rob Howell, this latest production has been expanded to an evening’s entertainment and features five brand new songs.

Serviced by London-based Orbital Sound, the production features the company’s fifth Yamaha PM1D digital mixing console, which was purchased from dealer Marquee Audio. With three of Orbital’s other PM1Ds specified for other West End musicals - Bombay Dreams, Our House and Joseph - the Yamaha desk has certainly made its mark in top-flight theatre.

"Large format digital desks are

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UK - The Coronet, a 2,100 capacity, three-level multi-purpose entertainment facility, opened recently in south London. The venue’s £2m refurbishment programme is one of the first in a series of regeneration projects in the vicinity of Elephant and Castle, SE1.

The building in which the Coronet is housed was built in 1872 as the Theatre Royal. Following a fire, it reopened in 1879 as the Elephant & Castle Theatre, seating over 2,000 people. It was here that Charlie Chaplin first took to the stage as a child, and, in fact, the pub next door is named after the silent movie hero. Later remodelled as a 2,315-seat cinema (1931) and modernized as an ABC cinema (1967), the venue became The Coronet in 1997 - eventually closing in 1999.

Jeremy Millins, MD of the Pure Group, realized the potential of the venue two years ago. He contacted investor and theatre producer Dominic Madden, who

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UK - A.C. Lighting’s Project Division was recently awarded the contract to supply and install the lighting system in a new multi-purpose hall at Barnsley College, designed and project managed by Adam Beaumont.

Although designed primarily for sporting activities, the College wanted to gain maximum functionality from the new hall by also using it to stage occasional theatrical productions and other high-profile campus activities. With budget and storage playing an important part in the overall design of the system, plans to use a truss and rigging system had to be rejected in favour of finding a more cost-effective and space-saving solution. A.C. Lighting Projects Division opted for PCM’s versatile Unibar electric winch and track system.

As another criteria was that all walls had to be kept free of system equipment for safety reasons, the Unibar track system was susp

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USA - For several years now, designers have turned potential lighting slowdowns onsite into productive work time using Prelite’s Mobile visualization system - an interest which has led the company to launch Prelite Onsite.

Prelite Onsite systems are custom built CPUs configured specifically for the demands of 3D visualization. To optimize for speed, they have only the necessary software installed and large amounts of RAM, as well as state-of-the-art professional-grade graphics cards. Each system includes all necessary DMX interfaces and dual flat screen monitors, which can duplicate the same image on both screens - for local use by a programmer and remote use by a designer - or be placed in extended view, allowing a single view to span both displays.

Design teams can opt to have a Prelite system administrator onsite to handle every aspect of implementing this virtual sy

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UK - When software licensing company Symbian held their two-day Exposium 03 at London’s ExCeL Centre to preview Symbian OS v7.0s, their latest operating system release for advanced mobile phones, they wanted to create a dynamic environment for keynote speeches and technology workshops, while providing a forum for over 70 exhibitors.

To achieve their goal they utilized two of ExCeL’s vast halls - N1, for exhibitions and workshops and N2 as a 1,200 seat auditorium - and asked integrated technology providers MCL to create a flexible production infrastructure. A division of Creative Technology (CT), MCL London equipped the main theatre and five breakout rooms with projection, lighting and sound, with a rapid turnaround to accommodate a gala dinner at the end of the first day.

The main backdrop consisted of a 20m wide cyclorama, backlit top and bottom using Vari*Lite VL

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