Lighting

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UK - Big Gay Out - the official Pride Party - staged in Finsbury Park on 3 July was presented by Faceparty, in association with Virgin Mobile. Over 20,000 festival-goers attended the event, where over 160 artists performed live across 11 stages between 1pm and 10.30pm, including Fun Lovin' Criminals, Jamelia, Sugarbabes and Mark Almond on the main Big Mutha stage.

Celebrated as best party organizers in 2002 and 2003 by Mixmag and FHM, Faceparty is famed for its high production levels and decadent parties. In true style, Faceparty's Dave Bamforth inspired the design and concept for Big Gay Out, transforming London's Finsbury Park into a feature-packed wonderland. In addition to 11 stages, beach bars, splash pools, a funfair, jacuzzis, and a teepee village ensured a good time for the party revelers.

Faceparty's executive producer, Martin Heap, coordinated the event, appointing L

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USA - Friday 11 June saw 'opening night' of ETC's new corporate headquarters near Madison, Wisconsin. The theatrical terminology was apt, as the lighting company's new $21m building is all about theatre and lighting magic, in a space that rethinks the rules on corporate architecture.

Town Square is the heart of the 250,000sq.ft facility. A theatrical replica of a 1940s city street scene, it's based on Edward Hopper's New York paintings. The centrepiece is the Nighthawks café itself (the company's reception area), while an old-time cinema flashes its neon 'Century' sign, and serves as entrance into ETC's product demonstration and staging area. Across the way, the 'Kelly Insurance Agency' is the company's Human Resources department. Other façades - a bank, an office supply store, a travel agency - crowd around the space of Town Square, overshadowed by an Empire State Building-like skys

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USA - PRG and VLPS Lighting Services International have jointly announced the completion of the merger announced last month, which has created the leading equipment and technology company in the entertainment industry. The merger has been approved by VLPS stockholders, and the regulatory review period has expired. As of now, a newly-formed subsidiary of PRG will be merged with and into VLPS, with VLPS becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of PRG. The combined company will operate as PRG Lighting, PRG Audio, PRG Scenic Technologies and Showpay, and will maintain its headquarters in New Windsor, NY.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, VLPS stockholders are to receive $8.32 per share in cash immediately, with up to an additional $.50 per share payable from an escrow account established to pay for any indemnification claims. VLPS shares, heretofore listed on the OTC pink sheets, w

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UK - Peter Gabriel enters the final straight of the marathon tour which started in 2002 (as the Growing Up tour), and has just completed its latest European arena section - Still Growing Up.

Production values are always at the top of the agenda for Gabriel's performances. The precise, highly original Growing Up show (see L&SI July 2003) was originally conceived by Canadian film maker Robert Lepage and Peter Gabriel. Lighting designer Patrick Woodroffe was asked this year to produce a new design and feel for the original show, one more suited to arenas, sheds and larger performance spaces.

Woodroffe worked alongside long-term Gabriel Growing Up lighting director Dennis Garner, who was with the tour from the start. He added many new dimensions to the show, boosting the large bright looks department for the traditional crowd pleasers, but also keeping many of the original ideas and sub

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Denmark - Martin Architectural's Exterior Inground 200 Series is a durable range of IP 65/67-rated inground luminaires that represents a breakthrough for its ability to integrate colour-changing technology into a standard uplight luminaire. Designed for all terrains and weather, the Inground 200 offers high-performance tools for dynamic uplight illumination of facades, columns, structures, trees and landscapes.

The series offers three different colour systems for applications of varying complexity: firstly, Single Colour - designed as a simple means to creating colourful lighting schemes, the single colour system lets you choose any colour from a collection of 40 dichroic filters. Custom colours are also available. The single-colour system also provides manual intensity control for fine-tuned illumination. Secondly, Six Colours - offers a programmable colour-changing system, wit

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UK - Ceven nightclub has recently opened its doors in Albertslund, Denmark, and is already creating waves in the city's nightlife. Lumodan Aps - based in Frederiksberg, Denmark - is responsible for the venue's lighting installation, which features an array of Tryka L.E.D. luminaires.

The products are present in most parts of the club, starting with the entrance, where revellers are welcomed with a wash of colour courtesy of Tryka's Module 12s, on to the bar where the flexible colour changing LinkLEDs help to create the desired atmosphere. RGB Strips fitted on the walls complete the mood of this dynamic nightspot. Control is provided via a Tryka Smart Card Controller.

Brian Markussen, Lumodan's managing director, enthuses: "Tryka's L.E.D. fixtures proved to be the best products for this installation, as well as the strongest available on the market at present."

(L

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UK - An exclusive new members club opened its doors in June, revealing a striking visual interior. Design and brand consultant, David Collins, has created a space designed to stimulate all the senses. With a capacity of just 100, the subterranean Kabaret's Prophecy in Beak Street, Soho, hosts a display of visual stimulation created to "redefine the concepts of environmental design".

Constructed from modular intelligent LED pixel blocks, two of the venue's walls act as backdrops upon which graphics and animations, triggered from a real-time generator or MIDI keyboard, create a constantly morphing environment. Clad in Barco's proprietary MiPIX system and displaying intelligent lighting effects, 3D logos or graphics - even full video content - these moving images curve around the contours of the walls and wrap into the alcoves, giving a strangely three-dimensional depth t

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USA - Lighting designer John Featherstone used Robe Show Lighting's powerful ColorSpot 1200 AT fixtures to light the Eidos stand at the 2004 E3 exhibition - the definitive trade show for electronic gaming industry professionals, held at the LA Convention Centre. Featherstone and his consultancy, Lightswitch, has designed the lighting for Eidos presentations at E3 since 1997.

For Eidos, the primary aesthetic objective was to make the booths 'speak' to the dynamic pace of the games being showcased, ensuring they stand out from the crowd in a highly competitive marketplace. Eidos use a series of 'vignettes' designed by 3D Exhibits to anchor the central theme of each game, and provide a visual tableau to present the software. Eidos has always utilized lighting to help support this technique, adding layers of texture, colour and movement to the displays.

Featherstone used 24 Robe

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UK - Network AV, a specialist in large-scale exhibition features, delivered fully integrated in-house production solutions to the Cruise Strip at Max Power Live at the NEC last weekend (2 - 4 July), including sound, light, staging and a number of creative components.

The event saw the launch of Network AV's new arch roof staging system that featured as the central focal point for all the arena action. The stage, an 8x8m area, was the base for the main MC, promotional models and the show's live DJs. This new Network AV stage is expected to be in strong demand for festivals, city centre entertainments, fashion shows and exhibition stands, with flexible steel deck flooring and independent truss structure. For this event, the roof was undressed to increase light flow, although it does come with full roof and side covering for weather protection, say Network AV.

The Cruise Strip wa

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USA - In a move designed to strengthen Entertainment Technology's presence in the theatrical and entertainment industries, Vari-Lite regional sales managers have been given direct access to the award-winning IGBT-based dimming products of VL's sister company, Entertainment Technology. The announcement is the latest strategic move taking advantage of the synergies of the two Genlyte Thomas Group companies. Both Entertainment Technology and Vari-Lite are part of the Genlyte Controls division, based in Dallas, sharing office, manufacturing and shipping space.

"In many instances, Vari-Lite and Entertainment Technology reps are calling on the same decision-makers," says Bob Schacherl, vice-president of sales for Genlyte Controls. "By providing Vari-Lite RSMs access to the Entertainment Technology line, these lighting professionals can now work with one person for all

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UK - Following a series of successful technical lighting workshops held earlier in the year, Selecon UK has completed the second round of sessions, which are free to professional theatre technicians and lighting designers. Four workshops were held at diverse locations around the country, starting with the Kings Theatre in Plymouth, moving to the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, then on to Midlands Arts Centre, Birmingham and finishing at the Bristol Old Vic.

Selecon's Nick Gale, Mark Miller and Louise McCoy gave participants a brief overview and demonstration of the various Selecon luminaires before inviting them to get 'hands on' and try them out for themselves. Theatre technicians Oscar Kane and Dave Sinton travelled all the way from Belfast's Waterfront Hall to attend the workshop in Leeds. "The lights are great. We were very impressed by their performance and versatil

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UK - When the Olympic Torch arrived in London on its journey to Athens, Power Logistics supplied the power for the celebrations on the Mall. The event attracted 70,000 people to the Mall to see the Olympic flame welcomed to London by the UK Olympic Patron, HRH Princess Anne. A concert followed, featuring an array of artists including Rod Stewart, James Brown, Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne, Will Young and Emma Bunton.

Power Logistics' project manager, Tony Harpur managed the installation of the power equipment, loading in 10 days prior to the event. The unique location offered many challenges; most notably because the Mall was open to the public during the build, and also because of the high-level security. This meant everyone had to work to a strict load-in and set-up schedule, with working times based on the Mall's allocated road closure times to ensure minimum disruption to the area

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USA - Scott Chmielewski of Digital Media Designs in Baltimore, specified High End Systems lighting products to light a corporate gathering for the Small Business Administration Expo '04, which required a multipurpose lighting rig. The event at the Orlando Convention Center, Florida, featured keynote speeches, networking opportunities, an awards ceremony and black-tie gala.

"The lighting system had to be as flexible and dynamic as possible," Chmielewski explains, citing his plot for two Catalyst Pro v3.0 Media Servers, two DL1s, 32 ColorCommands, 12 Studio Beams, 10 Trackspot 2s and 24 other moving lights, with control by two Wholehog III consoles. "In addition to the range of aerial and projection effects from the DL1s, we also used Catalyst to send show Flash files and images to the main screens for all the events, and it all happened flawlessly. We were able to

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USA - For New York radio station Hot 97's Summer Jam concert in Giants Stadium, production designer Gary Westcott sought a way to integrate control of the show's audio and video elements. The five-hour concert was scheduled to include performances by 11 different acts with frequent playback of video clips and audio tracks during and between acts. PRG's solution was Mbox, the media control technology exclusively available through PRG.

Using four Mbox servers and a GrandMA lighting console, Westcott was able to control all of the visual imagery on eight video screens rigged onstage and over the audience. He was also able to cue the front-of-house audio console for playback of selected audio tracks throughout the show. The show's video and audio elements included support for the live acts during their performances as well as playback of clips between acts for artist introductions a

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Sweden - W-DMX is a new wireless DMX system developed by Wireless Solution AB in Sweden. Currently, most systems for sending wireless DMX transpose the data on to a proprietary standard such 802.11 (W-LAN) and use compliant wireless equipment for the data transmission. There are inherent problems associated with this method though, interference from other competing local wireless networks including Bluetooth equipment is one problem and the user often has to go to the trouble of setting up IP and Netmask settings in order to make the system function. However, the W-DMX is a compact, plug and play unit with a competitive price, and more importantly, free from interference from other products in the 2.45GHz band.

Using the well-established mobile telephone GSM technology in the 2.45GHz licence-free band, the W-DMX avoids many of the problems associated with ordinary wireless netw

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Denmark - Martin Professional has made available the first module in a new Wing System for its Maxxyz lighting control desk that expands the console's functionality and gives users the ability to customize and add more direct access. An adaptable Playback Wing, the first of several Wing Modules to be made available, expands the direct playback access of Maxxyz by three times, and allows the Maxxyz operator to navigate through even more quickly.

The Playback Wing consists of two Playback Modules in one frame, adding 20 motorized faders with 20 customizable LCD buttons and extending the playback capabilities of Maxxyz. The Playback Wing also includes 10 additional LCD buttons, also customizable for easy navigation, plus 40 conventional buttons - more advanced features than competitive equivalents, according to Martin.

The Wing System's modular design is freely configurable, all

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USA - Starlite Productions of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, has appointed Keri Hall as a lighting sales associate. In this role, she will handle both retail and wholesale sales within the company's lighting group. Hall returns to NJ from Orlando, Florida, where she was most recently an event coordinator with Disney's Wild World of Sports. In addition, she spent several years as a lighting, pyrotechnic, and special effects technician at Pleasure Island and Disney-MGM Studios. She holds a BFA in Theater Arts from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - DHA Lighting's unique Digital Light Curtain continues to find favour with lighting designers, having now been selected for two big new productions in the UK. Lighting designer Howard Harrison has specified 14 Digital Light Curtains for Mary Poppins, the adaptation of the classic film being produced by Cameron Mackintosh and Walt Disney Theatrical.

The show will premiere in Bristol in October before moving to the Prince Edward Theatre in London in December. Harrison is using the DLCs to light a cyclorama and other flown cloths that form part of Bob Crowley's scenic design. Harrison is very familiar with the DLC's qualities: over 140 units are already used in his design for Mamma Mia on productions around the world. The units for Mary Poppins will be supplied by Stage Electrics in Bristol.

In Plymouth, lighting designer Jenny Kagan has specified five Pitching Digital

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UK - The Dance Tent at Glastonbury this year saw Audiolight & RiLL the powerful Aurora 1200 DPSS Whitelight Laser. With two systems positioned at each end of the stage, controlled through one of RiLL's custom PC systems, the effects were "amazing" say Audiolight. The company's Rob Fisher said: "The Dance Tent presented us with a massive space, and our lasers filled the tent with a beautiful spectrum of colours, graphics and patterns with ease."

With both lasers giving an output of 1200mW, they complemented the excellent line-up on stage. Using state-of-the-art laser technology, the Aurora produces crisp, clean graphics for advertising, logos, text and animated characters. The system is capable of multiple colours, graphics and beams. All these effects can be produced at the same time, making it a far superior system to other diode laser systems, say the compa

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Australia - Enttec and LF Software Ltd have recently signed an exclusive partnership agreement. This agreement covers the LightFactory lighting control software which Enttec will add to it's product line. "We see it as a need for growing companies to join forces, Enttec has a forte in designing products and LightFactory Software Ltd has a track record of producing quality PC software. This synergy is the logical step forward," said Nicolas Moreau MD of Enttec.

Since Enttec will also include free of charge a limited edition of Light Factory with its Ethernet enabled products, users will now have a professional 36-channel control software free of charge. They can then easily upgrade to the full version when they feel the need. Lightfactory is also fully compatible with the recently released community project Open USB DMX widget. Students and educational institutions will

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USA - Agilent Technologies Inc and Lumileds Lighting have announced an agreement to collaborate on a new series of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The companies say the mid-power range devices will target the automotive, mobile phone and lighting markets, and complement the high-power Luxeon devices offered by Lumileds and the lower-power devices from Agilent. Under the agreement, Lumileds will provide high-brightness LED chips and technology, while Agilent will contribute design, development and system integration expertise, including its patented manufacturing techniques.

"This agreement is a win for Agilent, for Lumileds and for our customers," said Young Sohn, president of Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group. "Agilent will have access to new applications and customers for our LED line, Lumileds will be the exclusive provider of LED chips for the new series of

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The Netherlands - 'The greatest living room in Europe' was the brief for how the set should look for Rene Froger's recent Amsterdam show (including chandeliers, TV screens and carpet on the floor). Production company Sightline and lighting designer HenkJan van Beek came up with a massive ground support system to hang all video, lighting, sound, and scenic equipment, using 12 long trusses above the ego-ramps and the audience to complete the huge set.

Given the time frames for this event and the limited time allocated for cueing in the venue, WYSIWYG was chosen to allow for accurate pre-cueing offsite before the event. As a result of the challenges of working in the round, there were eight dimmer cities. Tenfeet used the ELC dmxLAN software to transport the 18 DMX lines over the ELC network. The ELC nodes performed perfectly, say the company, despite the size of the installation,

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UK - Phil Mercer has joined XL Video's project management team, where he'll be concentrating his energies on the application of video in live music and theatre, and on the rapidly continuing creative fusion of lighting and video media and technologies. Having spent the previous four years working for leading moving light manufacturer High End Systems, Mercer first became involved in video via their award-winning Catalyst product. XL Video was one of the first UK rental operations to invest in Catalyst digital media servers and their DL1 moving projection heads.

Mercer's experience in overseeing large Catalyst shows includes working on the last three Eurovision Song Contests and Peter Gabriel's recent tour. "It's hugely exciting to be working with the UK's leading live video company," he says. "I'm looking forward to working with a growing number of lighting desig

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UK - Pearce Hire showcased a new range of lighting equipment at this year's Forestry Commission's 'Forest Tours' across the UK. The Forestry Commission's annual summer tour of unique forest locations began in 2001 and has grown year on year, adding new sites and more dates. This year, artists include Paul Weller, Status Quo, the Sugababes and Jools Holland: on completion at the end of July, the tour will cover five weekends at six different Forestry sites. Despite the unfortunate cancellations by Bryan Ferry due to a throat infection, the tour has been thus far successful, playing to sell-out crowds.

For the fourth consecutive year, Pearce Hire has supplied power and lighting to the run of shows, this year investing in £85,000 worth of new lighting equipment and flightcases for the tour. The new equipment strengthened Pearce Hire's inventory and allowed the team to provide the

  1. A busy summer for Utopium Lighting
  2. Sarah McLachlan Right at Home with Vari-Lite
  3. Robe launches ColorWash 1200E AT
  4. DiGiCo D5 Live User Manual DVD
  5. Orbital exit on a high note with Bandit
  6. Medvitz named principal at Lightswitch
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