Lighting

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USA - Ballantyne of Omaha, Inc, a leading manufacturer of motion picture projection and speciality lighting equipment (including those manufactured under the Strong Entertainment Lighting banner) has reported financial results from continuing operations for the three-month period ended 31 March, 2003.

Net revenue from continuing operations for the quarter was $7.5 million compared to $9.2 million in the first quarter of 2002. Gross profit from continuing operations in the quarter was $1.4 million, compared to $1.7 million in the first quarter of 2002. The company reported a net loss from continuing operations of $0.4 million (or $0.03 per share) in the first quarter of 2003, compared to a net loss of $0.1 million ($0.01 per share), in the first quarter of 2002.

John P. Wilmers, president and CEO of Ballantyne, commented: "The theatre exhibition industry is slowly recoveri

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Sweden - Lighting, sound and AV specialist Fremlab AB of Helsingborg, Sweden, has been appointed distributor for the Showmagic show control system by Bradford, UK-based Dial. Tomas Nilsson will be responsible for ShowMagic at Fremlab.

The first installation in of ShowMagic in Sweden is at a corporate site - the showroom of GPA-Plast, where ShowMagic is controlling a projector, motorscreen, darkening blinds, DMX-transformers in the roof (nine different channels), and the nine different areas of the company’s product display. The system is controlled via a 15" touchscreen, while a second screen serves as the operator’s monitor.

Managing director of GPA-Plast, PerOlow Jansson, says: "We are very happy with the solution that Fremlab have supplied. We first looked at a Crestron-based system, but the cost felt huge. With ShowMagic we found the same control at a

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USA - Martin US is pleased to announce the hiring of Tony Alhadeff as demand planning manager, a role designed to facilitate cross-functional communication within the organization. It plays a critical role in the collection of market intelligence and in the use of that information to balance supply and demand.

Alhadeff comments on the position: "As the individual in that role here at Martin Professional, I will be working very closely with the sales organization to collect the most current market intelligence available and to ensure that this information is effectively incorporated into the organization’s planning cycle. The goal is to deliver a better forecast with sufficient lead-time to drive improvements in customer service, inventory turnover, and profitability."

For the last five years, Alhadeff was employed by Rexall Sundown in Boca Raton, Florida. He wo

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USA - Just two days before a series of 13 Easter Services was set to begin, the Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, California, installed a new Flying Pig Systems Wholehog III control system to run their 26 moving lights and 200 conventional fixtures.

Jon Griffin, the full-time lighting designer/director for the church, had no qualms about installing a new console before such a string of shows, as he was already familiar with the console's predecessor, the Wholehog II console. "I knew it would be a success," Griffin says. "I love the Hog III. I took a conversion course (a training process taking users from Wholehog II to Wholehog III) with Mike Hanson at High End Systems Los Angeles. Flying Pig Systems has been extremely helpful resolving issues with new builds all the time. With both the console and the wings, I have the flexibility we needed in th

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Newly-launched lighting sales company Robe UK has expanded its sales team with the appointment of Andy Holland as business development manager. Holland’s interest in lighting was first sparked at the age of 14 - initially an enthusiastic hobby that led to a part-time job, and then regular semi-professional freelance work. A qualified rigger - Holland attended a BTEC rigging course at Total Fabrication in conjunction with the PSA - and is currently studying for his City & Guilds 23/60 electrician’s certificate. He also runs his own lighting company, The Mobile Lighting Company, providing lighting and sound services to the entertainment industry.

His role for Robe UK is to further develop the theatre, arts and performance markets for Robe Show Lighting’s product range. Holland has been working hands-on with Robe products for some time, owning, installing and dry hiring

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Germany -Two grandMA consoles are to provide lighting control for the Latin American band Maná when it stops off in Germany as part of a two-year world tour.

When the group, pioneers of Latin pop rock and recipients of a number of Grammys, play the four German concerts in June, two grandMA lighting consoles will control the largely Vari-Lite-dominated rig. We have already renamed them ‘grandMANÁ’, said Sandro Pujia, lighting designer for the tour. In 1998 Carlos Santana asked Maná to play three songs for his comeback album ‘Supernatural’ - and in September 2003 they will embark on a joint tour.

(Ruth Rossington)

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UK - A full lighting rig, motion control system, sound control, monitor system and stage set was supplied to Blur by Middlesex-based Entec Sound & Light, for five incendiary performances at the Astoria in Charing Cross Road, London.

Blur marked their return by showcasing work from their new album ‘Think Tank’. The Astoria dates were essentially a one-off event, but lead singer Damon Albarn wanted a distinct visual feel for the show. His brief to LD Dave Byars was to come up with the essence of Morocco and Devon - warm, inviting, peaceful, positive. From this starting point, Byars designed both lighting and video (the latter supplied by XL Video) and decided to take an ambitiously large rig into the Astoria to realize his ideas - an imaginative gamble that certainly paid off.

The first part of the show saw a false ceiling formed by a drape lacerated by a series of

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Australia - Australian lighting equipment manufacturer LSC Lighting Systems announced the shipment of their 1000th maXim lighting control desk. The lucky recipient was ADB S.A., LSC’s distributor for France. Alan Graham, LSC’s marketing director commented: "The success of the maXim has been beyond our expectations and can be directly contributed to the design team at LSC and our committed distributors worldwide. We feel the maXim is now the market leader in the low to mid range of our market and the recent release of the Effects Engine and Fan Generator software has culminated in an extremely powerful desk for its price. The fact that ADB has taken delivery of the 1000th maXim produced is rather appropriate, as they have now purchased over 20% of all maXims shipped - a tremendous effort in itself!"

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - DHA Lighting has added an exciting and versatile new product to its gobo family. The new DHA Gobo Rotator Mk 2 range adds gobo rotation and gobo indexing - the ability to accurately set a gobo to a known alignment - to the world’s most popular theatrical spotlights. It is designed to be more versatile and easier to use than its predecessor - and the new belt-drive design makes it silent in operation. The new range also offers outstanding value for money, say the company.

The Gobo Rotator Mk 2 range includes three products: all can be fitted with glass or metal gobos, offer variable-speed rotation in either direction, and also a range of ‘stand-alone’ effects that do not require a lighting controller - including fire, water, tick-tock, shimmer, accelerate and shake-pause. The Junior Rotator is designed for the ETC Source Four Jr range. Designed primarily fo

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USA - Following the release of Ballantyne of Omaha’s first quarter results for 2003 (see news story posted 21 May), the company held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 28, at which it made clear it anticipates a return to profitability in 2003.

In 2002, the company (which specializes in motion picture projection and lighting equipment, and includes Strong Entertainment Lighting amongst its group members), reported a net loss from continuing operations of $2.6 million. At the shareholder meeting, director William F. Welsh II was elected for an additional three-year term and Mark D. Hasebroock, a new director, was elected to serve a three-year term.

John P. Wilmers, president and CEO of the company, told shareholders that Ballantyne’s 2003 results would benefit from revenue gains in its theatre and restaurant equipment segments, as well as from continuing effi

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UK - Stage Electrics' Open Days provide customers and suppliers with a forum dedicated to providing hands-on demonstrations of the very latest products. The compay's recent Bristol Open Day was no exception; demonstrations from Strand, Selecon, Rosco, Martin Professional, DHA, Le Maitre, Mackie/EAW, Audio-Technica and Zero 88 offered customers a wide range of interest.

.Visitors got a glimpse into the workings of Stage Electrics' warehouse, with tours supplied by sales and marketing manager Linda Moore, who says: "Stage Electrics Open Days are a great opportunity for suppliers and customers to meet. They have proved highly successful and we are already planning more for later in the year."

Not only were customers provided an insight to the inner workings of Stage Electrics, technical manager Adrian Searle organized a Moving Light Symposium, providing hands-on experie

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UK - Continuing their increasing involvement with live sporting productions, Elstree Light and Power are currently providing location lighting, rigging and power services for the Four Nations Boxing Championships.

Working alongside lighting designer John King and the BBC outside broadcast team, ELP crew have recently visited various boxing venues across the UK, including Nottingham, Brentford and Cardiff.

"Each venue has its own set of challenges," explains crew chief Toby Dare. "For example the most recent venue in Cardiff was the Welsh Institute of Sport which had a restricted power supply and only two 63A sockets on the wall to run 70 channels of dimming! This meant we had to provide a whole range of practical lighting solutions for BBC Sport including lighting temporary broadcast studios, lighting the boxing ring and providing light over the audience."

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The Netherlands - Following hard on the success of the WWG Fantômes at the Kammerspiele in Munich, the company has announced that it has now received a contract from the Amsterdam’s Het Musiktheater - the home of the Netherlands Opera and the Dutch National Ballet - to supply several more of these special luminaires.

Fantôme is Wynne Willson Gottelier’s (WWG’s) fully automated version of Robert Juliat’s much acclaimed d’Artagnan 2.5kW HMI zoom/profile spotlight. Fantôme provides pan and tilt, via WWG’s patented orbital, double mirror head (now manufactured by High End Systems), with remote automation of zoom, focus, and iris, plus WWG’s new ultra flexible, four blade, full-framing system. The system for the Musiktheater will also include a unique gobo facility. Gel scrolling will be provided by a Licht Technik colour changer.

Hugo

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UK - The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama has conferred a Fellowship of the RSAMD upon Francis Reid - an internationally renowned theatre lighting designer, lecturer, writer and consultant.

After studying science and psychology at the University of Edinburgh, Francis spent five years in stage and production management including Rep Drama, Touring Opera, and productions at the Aldeburgh Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Throughout the 1960s, Francis was Glyndebourne Festival Opera’s lighting director and he was subsequently responsible for the lighting design of over 300 productions staged throughout Europe. Productions of musicals such as Man of La Mancha, Bubbling Brown Sugar, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Anne of Green Gables; plays such as Sleuth, Move Over Mrs. Markham, V

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Australia - Coemar De Sisti Australia has announced the appointment of David Corelli as lighting concepts consultant. David’s history includes around 20 years as a professional photographer, during which time he won several photographic awards. He then spent some years supplying equipment to the film and television industry which included working with gaffers, grips and DoPs.For the past 18 months, Corelli has been an architectural lighting consultant, working with architects, consulting engineers, developers and contractors. He is eager to get back into film and television lighting and is looking forward to meeting up again with some old friends.

Peter Kemp, Coemar De Sisti’s managing director, said: "I believe David’s experience and talents gained over the years in TV, film and architectural lighting will be an excellent asset to the company and we are p

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USA - In early April, the official christening of Great American Ball Park, the new home for baseball’s Cincinnati Reds, was more than the usual annual celebration of Cincinnati baseball. It was a chance to showcase the unique features of the city’s new $290 million ballpark.

One of the more popular features is a re-creation of a paddleboat complete with 20-25ft high smoke stacks. Officially known as the Pepsi Power Stacks, these erupt when home runs are made, there is an outstanding play or the home team wins.

Capital Manufacturing was contracted to develop the new ‘home run effect’ and, in turn, contacted Entertainment Services Group, Inc (ESG) of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to provide the Jem Roadie X-Stream and LightJockey control system. Bob Schermerhorn, vice-president of sales at ESG, worked with Martin’s Southeast regional sales manager Jame

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USA- Further news from Ballantyne of Omaha, this time concerning the appointment of Daniel E. Faltin, 46, as executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

As COO, Faltin will oversee day-to-day operations at the company, assuming those responsibilities from Brad French, who added those duties to his chief financial officer role during the company's restructuring process. French will continue to serve as CFO, a position he has held since 1996.

Faltin most recently served as an executive consultant to Ballantyne's senior management team. Prior to this, he was president of Chief Automotive Systems Inc, a Nebraska-based manufacturer of collision repair equipment for the body shop industry, which was acquired by Dover Corporation in 1988. In this role, he oversaw the introduction of several new products, thecreation of a successful product trade-in programme and the implem

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UK - Lightfactor Sales has supplied installer Chris Gunton Associates (CGA) with LDR Suono profile theatrical lighting fixtures and LightProcessor dimmers and control to realize an interesting projection concept in the Cavendish Arcade, Buxton - the historic spa town’s main shopping centre. The supply and demo was managed for Lightfactor by Peter Coles, who was approached by CGA in their search for an inventive solution to project images up a blank wall in the shopping center, protected from fixings by the building’s listed status.

The Arcade building contains Buxton’s famous spring, and originally served as the old bathing house buildings. In the mid 1980s, a large arched stained glass roof was added along one section of the arcade. At the time, it was the largest continuous stretch of stained glass in Europe. Below and at one end of this barrel-ceilinged stai

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Denmark - The new Imager from Martin Architectural is a high quality image projector with dynamic movement capability designed for high-resolution projection of patterns, images, logos and messages. Well suited to promotional applications such as retail, exhibitions, museums, clubs, restaurants, bars or any low-maintenance installation, the Imager is available as either a single image projector or in a four-image version. The Imager boasts a powerful luminous output, programmability and styling. In addition, a moving mirror option and a click-on accessory that offers the possibility of programmable movement, is available for roving logos or gliding messages.

A 250W highly efficient discharge lamp (included) combines with an exceptional optical design to maximize optical efficiency and provide designers with extremely high-resolution picture quality. Three available lens options

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France - Drapes and rigging specialists Blackout returned to Cannes for the annual MTV party this year. Held in the exclusive Le Palais Bulles, Pierre Cardin’s ‘Bubble Palace’, and with the theme linked to the new Terminator film, the party was the hottest ticket in town. Creative director/designer Adrian Smith worked alongside production agency GSP, MTV Europe’s Pan-European Events Co-ordinator, Eazy Bailey and on-site production manager Alex Gorman, to create a sensational party, which did not disappoint the 1,600 guests, including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Hall - and achieved an impressive 4 out of 5 Martini’s in the Hollywood Reporter’s annual Cannes Film Festival review.

Eazy Bailey commented: "No job is too big for Adrian. From a creative perspective he can interpret any idea and make it happen!" Blackout project managers

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Held at the Los Angeles convention center, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, more commonly known as E3, is the computer and console gaming industry's most important annual gathering - and the 100ft x 350ft (30.5m x 106.7) Microsoft Xbox and PC Games booth at the 2003 show was also the site for a cutting edge temporary installation of a networked lighting control system.

The 100ft x 350ft (30.5m x 106.7) Microsoft Xbox and PC Games booth was designed and managed by The Production Network of Seattle (TPN). TPN's Alex Berry designed the lighting for the enormous booth with Gary Radakovich leading a team of programmers. Jason Richardson, Jon Smith (who were also the assistant lighting designers) and Leif Dixon completed the programming team with Jennifer Womack acting as master electrician.

The rig of 50 VL5s, 40 VL1000TS, 20 VL1000AS, 50 MAC 250+, 60 MAC 600NTs, 50 MAC 2000 profiles, 2

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UK - White Light customers can now contact White Light by text from their mobile phones. Customers can use the new text number - 07739 819111 - and any messages sent to that number get forwarded to the relevant part of the White Light Group by e-mail.

To ensure that messages are routed to the right place, messages should start with a department or company name. Currently contactable by text message are hire, sales, MLC (for The Moving Light Company), Service (for The Service Company), CH (for Colourhouse), Early (for White Light staff working outside White Light's normal opening hours) and admin. A message that simply says 'Help Me' will receive a reply listing the textable departments.

Anyone wanting to use the Text Service should first register with White Light so that the source of incoming messages can be identified. To register, text the word 'Register' followed by your f

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UK / Canada - Release 5 of WYSIWYG lighting-design software is now available. This latest release features a large number of new library items, including 676 truss pieces, 182 conventional fixtures, accessories, 58 moving lights and 91 gobos.

Cast Software’s library-development team has been so busy that they already have a Library Update available for Release 5, including everything they finished since the final CD image was created. Release 5 also contains many useful new features, as well as a set of brand-new ‘Quick Start Tutorials.’ These multimedia tutorials will be helpful to users who are just getting started with WYSIWYG, as well as intermediate users who just want to refresh their skills.

In further WYG news, Cast Software and ETC hosted their first WYSIWYG ‘webinar’ on 23 April to help introduce schools and universities to WYSIWYG Learn

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UK - Liverpool-based Adlib Audio has supplied and installed a complete sound, lighting rigging and grid system at Parklands City Learning Centre in Speke, Merseyside. City Learning Centres are a government funded initiative set up in run down, deprived inner city areas, to provide learning opportunities for young people using new technologies. The Centres are specifically designed to offer facilities not available in conventional school environments. "The main focus is to lift achievement rates by exposing young people to new technology and ideas based on using it," explains Denise Barrett-Baxendale, director of Parklands.

A performance space was planned for Parklands from the outset, but it wasn’t until Barrett-Baxendale actually accepted her post that serious thought was given to the development of the technical infrastructure. Adlib’s Andy Dockerty speci

  1. LSC Lighting ships new Minim
  2. Harry von den Stemmen joins Robe Show Lighting
  3. Color Kinetics extends IPR to Hong Kong
  4. Mariinsky returns for more Pacifics
  5. OPTI announces developments
  6. Tryka LED expands with marketing manager
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