Lighting

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South Africa - One grandMA light accompanied Ronan Keating during his tour in South Africa. When playing his New Year's Eve concert at the 15,000 capacity Coca Cola dome in Johannesburg, Lighting director Pryderi Baskerville relied on grandMA video and one grandMA full-size console.

"I'm very impressed by grandMA video," says Baskerville, "It's really unique on the market, because it allows you to control a media server like a fixture. The thumbnails make content selection a lot easier. Control via the Smart window is extremely intuitive. This made the process of finding appropriate clips in the myriad of content a breeze - rather than having to scroll through a list of libraries. I also had a really positive experience with the console, it was an enjoyable learning curve. I was able to tailor the console to the way I like to work; I can't wait to get behind one a

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Czech Republic - The newly opened City Club in Roznov pod Radhostem, Czech Republic, is fully fitted out with a complete Robe Show Lighting moving light rig and is already creating a buzz in the area.

The 900 capacity venue is something totally new in Roznov. It's part of the main City Casino complex and features an industrial-chic interior design, stripped back, full of metal and brick surfaces and a dynamic music policy.

Coincidentally, Roznov is also the home town of Robe Show Lighting. Despite the close proximity of the factory, this is the very first installation of Robe lighting products in the locality.

The City Club's Independent owner, local entrepreneur Pavel Zet, wanted to create something completely different. The aim is to be hip, trendy and also to appeal to an 'over 25' audience, with the intention that the club and adjacent casino might feed each other with c

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USA - Color Kinetics Inc is marking its 10th year in business with the debut of a new corporate identity. "Color Kinetics has been credited for sparking the beginning of a lighting industry transformation back in 1997, and in many ways our original corporate identity embodied the spirit of defying convention. Since that time, performance and application trends indicate that LED technology is integral to the future of lighting - not a passing fad - and our company's role and influence have grown in parallel," said Bill Sims, President and CEO, Color Kinetics. "We've proven ourselves a dominant player in an increasingly important category, and this in turn guided the creation of our bold new mark."

By refining its corporate identity to better match its leadership position, Color Kinetics aspires to broader recognition as one of the lighting industry's foremost

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UK - Pulsar has announced the appointment of Enrico Tamaro as architectural sales manager. A qualified architect, Tamaro has a strong background in architectural lighting, and will be responsible for building business relationships with architects worldwide, as well as being available to assist customers with developing their architectural projects.

Simon Cox has been promoted to the position of field sales manager, supporting the company's sales network. He has been with Pulsar for many years and offers a wealth of support and product knowledge, the company says.

(Lee Baldock)

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UAE - Some 280 MAC 2000 Wash fixtures made the trek from the Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in December to Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE for the January 17 opening of the 18th Gulf Cup.

Lighting designer for the biennial football tournament's Opening Ceremony was Paul Collison. "These fixtures in particular were amazingly reliable," Collison comments. "They had already spent almost three months in dessert like conditions in Doha, Qatar, for the Asian Games. Over there we were hit with rain and dust. Once we got onsite in Abu Dhabi every single fixture was stripped and cleaned out. The Procon service staff did an amazing job getting every fixture back online. Once the system was installed, I could count on one hand how many MAC 2K Washes were swapped out. They performed admirably.

"As far as I know, there is nothing that even comes close to a MAC 2000 Wash. Th

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New Zealand - Theatrelight has announced that a date has now been set in September 2007 by the High Court of NZ for a defended hearing of Theatrelight's case against Charlie Zheng, once a director and general manager of Theatrelight NZ. Charlie Zheng is now the manager of "Tai Li Lighting" of Zhuhai, PRC, Selecon's sole distributor for China.

Theatrelight is suing Charlie Zheng for losses of US$3 million suffered by Theatrelight in New Zealand in the period 1994 to 2002, when he was dismissed from the board of Theatrelight. The company says "this sum does not include losses in China due to difficulties with our one-time joint venture partners, estimated conservatively in excess of US$10 million, including the loss of all rights and equity in Theatrelight's joint venture 'Zhuhai Tai Li Theatrelight', the theft of all Theatrelight designs and intellectual property u

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UK - Lightfactor Sales, UK distributor for SGM has supplied 16 of the new Giotto Synthesis moving light fixtures to leading Scottish design and rental house, SKL. This boosts SKL's existing SGM inventory which includes Palcos, Ribaltas and the workhorse Giotto 400s.

Edinburgh-based SKL works in all areas of the industry, including corporate events and conferences, parties, rock 'n roll tours and festivals. They have also used various SGM fixtures to realise architectural lighting schemes.

The Synthesis deal was cut between Simon Kennedy of SKL and Lightfactor's Peter Coles. There were many reasons Kennedy made this latest investment - complimenting his existing SGM stock was one, and knowing he can rely on comprehensive, quality service from Lightfactor was another.

Operational and creative considerations were also high on the agenda. "It's a more precise unit than othe

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USA - The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes announces the first two Challenge Grants during the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo. I. Weiss and Sapsis Rigging will both be sponsoring $5,000 challenge grants at the upcoming USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks to both companies coming forward after the announcement of the Challenge Grant Program, every dollar donated at this year's USITT will triple in value.

Established challenge grant slots are still available for the Behind the Scenes / Long Reach Long Riders 2007 USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona at $5,000 each (four openings left) and The Long Reach Long Riders 2007 New England Charity Ride, July 29 - August 6 at $10,000 each (two openings).

David Rosenberg, president of I. Weiss, explains that it was an easy decision for his company. "We believe that we should be supportive of th

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UK - Psychedelic popsters the Flaming Lips are currently on tour with a UFO setpiece that has to be seen to be believed: the concept created by the band is an amalgamation of innovative DIY solutions and Oklahoma City-based lighting and rigging specialist, Toucan Productions.

Owner Robin Alvis has known band leader Wayne Coyne for several years and was intrigued when Coyne asked him if he had read a news story featuring the band in Rolling Stone? In the article, Coyne had been asked what was in store for the band and he had suggested that for the upcoming tour the band would arrive on stage in a giant UFO, play the gig, get back in and take off! A few days later, the reporter asked Wayne to sketch his concept - which he promptly faxed over and was published.

Alvis explains: "I hadn't seen the sketches until Wayne showed them to me! We discussed some ideas of how we could

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UK - Bandit Lites UK is once again working with Production North on the much-anticipated Shayne Ward UK arena tour. Supplying full lighting production and support, Bandit UK chief executive, Lester Cobrin joins production manager, Jason Danter and lighting designer, Tellson James on this project.

"For a relatively small lighting package within the arena environment, Tellson James' creativity was far-stretched as he had to produce a show with fresh dynamic looks from the outset, and without any duplication throughout the entire set," Cobrin explained. "Tellson strategically positioned the hardware with precision, and it has certainly paid off."

The lighting design for Shayne Ward is based around a mid-stage box truss with six vertical floor-to-ceiling truss towers which were hung at regular intervals along the upstage truss, neatly framing and shaping the pe

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Dubai - Formed in August of last year, SGMedia's Live Events division has immediately made an impact on the UAE's events market, the company reports. Started by UAE-based businessman Steve Graham and production manager Nick Groves, the business stemmed from a need in the market place for a more personal touch within the live events market. "Our clients expect and require more than just a crew and equipment; they like to know that we are on the end of the phone 24/7 and are willing and able to assist them with all of their production needs," states Nick Groves, the managing partner of the events and special projects division.

"I think that the recent success lies in the personal touch. We take on the brief and follow it through from concept to completion. We then sit down with the client post-event and do a thorough 'post mortem'. It enables us to constantly improv

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UK - ChamSys held extensive training courses in the range of MagicQ products which they report, proved to be extremely popular. Held in Southampton, the courses attracted attendees from as far as Korea, Spain, Belgium and Luxemburg, as well as those closer to home.

The course covered the use of all MagicQ products, including the range of PC Wings and MagicQ consoles. This included programming generic, intelligent and LED fixtures and interfacing to media servers. The course was aimed at all skill levels, as it worked from no knowledge to advanced programming.

The two days saw the meeting of users ranging from novices to experienced LD's, allowing them to share their knowledge, swap experiences and network with peers while learning new skills.

(Chris Henry)

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USA - After LG Action Sports World Championships lit up the Dallas Reunion Arena by day, Clay Paky's new Alpha Spot HPE 1200s illuminated the space by night when the Deftones kicked off a series of evening concerts.

LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, the fastest growing manufacturer of mobile phones worldwide, sponsored the Championships. The culmination of the 2006 LG Action Sports World Tour, the event brought together more than 200 of the world's biggest names in skateboarding, BMX riding, and aggressive inline skating who competed for action sports' biggest purse and most coveted title. Ticket holders were also treated to nightly concerts by five top-name bands who performed live on the main stage.

"The Championships occupied a full arena floor: On one side was a large half pipe, in the middle was the street course, and at the other end was a concert stage,

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USA - Chauvet Lighting, known internationally for their ranges of value-driven DJ lighting products have now launched a brand new range of high specification installation effects and moving heads aimed at the presentation, late night venue and live performance markets.

With a significant change in direction to meet the needs of the professional installation sector, Chauvet's brand new Q Series and Legend products bring a host of moving heads, scanners and colour washes.

The new Q Series includes a line of mirror and barrel scanners, moving yoke spots and washes from 150W right through to 575W. Leading the Q Series range, the Q-Spot 575 features striking colours, motorised focus, vector movement, full range dimming and 16-bit resolution, lending itself to high-end club install applications. The 16-channel unit comes equipped with an intense 575-watt HMI lamp with a life expecta

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UK - Havering College in Hornchurch, Essex, has undergone more than a year of extensive refurbishment, with up to date technology being supplied and installed in its drama studio, music studio, dance studio, TV studio, photographic darkroom and cinema. Trafalgar Lighting have supplied, stage lighting, control equipment and curtains to the college.

The latest and most innovative part of the refurbishment process is the Havering Cube, a multipurpose performance and exhibition space. Here, Trafalgar Lighting supplied a 10m x 11m Litec Trussing structure over the space, supported on six Lodestar motors, enabling the structure to be brought down to floor level for rigging; 15 Andolite internally-wired lighting bars and socket boxes (giving a total of 96 socket outlets for lighting); 96 ways of Zero 88 Chilli dimming; 116 lanterns including ETC Source Four Zooms and fixed Profiles, CC

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UK - Dialight Lumidrives, the UK-based LED technology provider, has expanded into new 30,000sq.ft premises in York. The premises provide purpose designed facilities for Dialight Lumidrives' research and development laboratory together with expanded production and storage capabilities. It also includes an LED applications centre to demonstrate the full potential of LED technology in a range of uses, the company says.

Founded in 2001, Dialight Lumidrives was one of the first companies to realise the potential of high-powered LED technology in illumination applications. It specialises in the development of components to enable applications in solid state lighting, including power drivers, LED arrays and optics. The company also offers design services for LED based illumination systems. The company's technology is used in a wide cross section of architectural applications ranging fr

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Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB has announced the launch of W-DMX Generation 3, the newest feature-packed product range for Wireless DMX. Generation 3 includes new and improved features such as easy overview of signal strength and battery power, plus full implementation of DMX over Ethernet. Generation 3 is now shipping worldwide.

W-DMX is the perfect solution for applications where running DMX cable is not practical. The new product range has a high power radio output with up to 350mW and offers the most complete product line, from indoor to outdoor units with IP65 and Nema 6 standards. W-DMX has full support of RDM, is CE and ETSI certified in Europe and Asia, FCC certified in the Americas (awaiting UL), and is certified in Japan with ARIB STD-T66 radio standards.

Features include: high radio output with 375mW output (FCC) and 100mW (Europe/Asia); signal strength to mon

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USA - Lightolier Controls and Entertainment Technology have announced the hiring of Heinz Roy and Matthew Burstein. Based in Dallas, Texas, Roy has been named product development manager. Based in New York City, New York, Burstein has been appointed Northeast regional sales manager, overseeing New York City and New Jersey.

"Heinz and Matthew are two excellent additions to the Entertainment Technology and Lightolier Controls team," says Julie Smith, Lightolier Controls and Entertainment Technology general manager. "In his new role, Heinz will manage our staff of product managers while working closely with our engineers to facilitate new and current product development. Matthew, who already has a strong relationship with many of our clients and dealers, will no doubt continue to excel as a significant attribute to our sales organisation."

"Architectural

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Denmark / Germany - Martin Professional has revealed an extensive line-up of products to be showcased on the company's stand at this year's ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (28-31 March).

Chief among them is the MAC TW1, the 1200W tungsten wash fixture first seen in 2006 and finding its way into an increasing number of high-profile theatre applications since. A twin lens zoom system, full CMY colour mixing and choice of internal or external electronic dimming are contained in the sturdy magnesium structure that allows fast, silent convection of heat away from the back of the fixture. The MAC TW1 is also available with a new 80V lamp that offers a superior output to traditional mains voltage lamps.

The Stagebar 54 is a bright, high-efficiency LED pixel bar with RGB, Amber and 'true' white colour mixing (RGBAW) for a broader colour spectrum and greater range of pastel shad

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UK - Despite snow and traffic chaos across South Wales, Stage Electrics' Strand Light Palette training on the 9 of February received a very good level of interest, the company reports.

The free training was conducted by Strand's Ken Berreen and Bill Richards assisted by Alan Martello from Strand US. The two and a half hour sessions, which were open to all, covered basic theatrical control and moving light control. A total of 30 people attended the sessions. This customer training day followed an in depth session for key Stage Electrics technical staff which was held in January.

Pete Magor from the Western Playhouse who attended the training together with two colleagues, said: "I've been using Strand desks since 1962, the training on the Palette was brilliant, the only problem is now I'll have to buy the desk!"

Sara Alarabi Stage Electrics' training manager who faci

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USA - Elation Professional has announced that two of the company's highly acclaimed products have been distinguished with cETL approval: the Elation Design Spot 250 moving head and the Alkalite PD-80 LED system controller. The cETL seal, a recognised standard of quality and safety in both the U.S. and Canada, is only granted after rigorous testing of the product and manufacturing facility.

"The new cETL rating comes as great news for us and our customers," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "The Design Spot 250 and PD-80 had to pass the very strictest safety and quality inspections in order to merit this internationally recognised seal of integrity. Our cETL status ensures that you are purchasing a high-quality product that is professionally built and completely safe to operate."

The Design Spot 250 DMX moving head is a "hybr

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UK - SPS, one of the UK's largest live event companies, is adding to its team with the appointment of Lee Rennie to the role of creative producer for its solutions division. Rennie joins from George P. Johnson Company, where he worked across a variety of projects creating inspiring experiences for events. Preceding this, Rennie spent seven years working at Project Worldwide.

In his new role, Rennie will be working alongside SPS event producers and production managers to administer creative solutions that work flawlessly with technical solutions, in order to communicate the client's needs.

The solutions division of SPS provides creative services for events through the latest computer graphics, digital video and other innovative technologies. It concentrates on delivering client's messages effectively with bespoke solutions which look vibrant and appealing to the audience, rathe

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USA - "For me, light is music," says Swedish lighting designer Emma Westerberg,who recently finished a three-week North American preview tour with an alternative-rock band from Ireland that played to sold-out big-city club crowds. Westerberg chose a compact ETC Congo jr lighting control console for the tour, taking it with her on the tour bus or, when she flew, checked it through in her luggage.

Westerberg used 12 Studio Beams (six on the flybar, six on the floor assidelights), a sharkstooth cyc, four six-cell battens, six four-light Moles,three Diversitronic strobes, three half-sphere rotating mirror balls (placedon the floor) and six ETC Source Fours.

Designing for a performer who likes to change things each night meant thatlighting would differ from show to show. New songs would be introducedwithout warning and the play list would be moved around. Westerberg had t

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UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light welcomed two new members of staff at the beginning of 2007 - though both are familiar to those already working at White Light, having been customers of the company for many years.

Joining White Light's increasingly successful sales team is industry veteran Jack Exell. Most recently at The Lighting Technology Group and Action Lighting, Exell recalls that his association with White Light goes back more than thirty years, to his time as "a young sales rep at Valiant in Fulham, delivering lamps to The Rocky Horror Show on the Kings Road where I first met White Light's founders. The association has become very close and many of my new colleagues here are in fact old friends. I have always admired White Light's integrity and position in the industry, and look forward to being a useful member of the sales team."

Exell

  1. Brand new HSL Robe Rig
  2. Hawthorn at the Xerox Conference
  3. Martin lights the Storcenter Nord
  4. Northern Light shines on Buxton Opera House
  5. LSC Lighting announces Houston
  6. Clay Paky at Frankfurt
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