Lighting

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Norway - After rocking North America with 42 shows throughout the United States and Canada, AC/DC's rock 'n' roll Train docked at Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway on 18 February to kick off the European leg of the band's Black Ice Tour.

The group's high-tech set, which includes cannons, a wrecking ball and a 60ft inflatable doll, features a massive 70sq.m Daktronics LED video display comprised of modular PST-10 panels.

The display, provided by Screenworks, the tour's official video partner, brings AC/DC's shows to a dramatic opening as a massive mechanical train appears to crash through it while the band strikes the opening chords of Rock 'N' Roll Train. Moving along a synchronized track, the display divides in two as the locomotive steams through, forming a pair of smaller displays at opposite ends of the stage which then screen live video, colourful animations and

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UAE - Over 60 Clay Paky spotlights were used at the Destined Multimedia Show in Dubai. Gulf Arena designed and compiled the show together with Zayed University. Accreditation was celebrated in style, retracing the story of humanity and the passing on of knowledge through 25-minute choreographed combination of video, light, sound, fireworks, flames and 'dancing waters', with the special appearance of Japanese drumming group Yamato.

Referring to the Alpha Beam 300s, LD Pawel Pajak - also GrandMA programmer and operator for the occasion - said: "These lights clearly have a never-seen-before brightness for their power class. They have a compact body, are lightweight, and consume only 300W. They also have a CMY wheel, very useful frost effects and a set of gobos for changing the distinctive features of the beam. Alpha Beams are also very reliable. I have used them on several occ

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Denmark - Bruno Garros, Martin Professional's long time managing director at Martin Professional France S.A, has been appointed VP - distributor sales for Martin Professional A/S.

Garros, who guided one of Martin Professional's most successful subsidiaries for over 10 years, will work in close cooperation with Martin's team of area sales managers to ensure the further development of existing distributor relationships, as well as focus on penetrating new markets. Other duties will include initiation and implementation of price structures, sales campaigns and distributor terms in general.

Commenting about the role, Garros, who assumed the position on 1 March 2009, said: "I believe that with my vast experience in cooperating with local customers on a daily basis - knowing their needs and expectations - I will be able to develop a closer relationship with our distributors tha

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UK - White Light has been appointed lighting supplier to the new UK tour of We Will Rock You. Based on the music of Queen, this musical is in its seventh year at London's Dominion Theatre. The new tour will open at the Manchester Palace Theatre in mid-March.

As with the West End production, the design and lighting for the tour will be by the team of designer Mark Fisher and lighting designer Willie Williams. Williams is perhaps best known for his work with U2, George Michael and many others; for the tour, he will work with associate lighting designer Richard Pacholski, who has looked after the lighting for the Australian and other productions of the show worldwide.

The core of the tour lighting rig is a package of moving lights from Martin Professional and Vari-Lite, including 30 Martin MAC 700 Profile, six MAC 700 Wash, two Martin MAC 2000 Performance and two of the ne

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Ireland - Opera Ireland's Spring Season at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin promises to be one of the most exciting operatic events of the year. The season includes operatic classics Madama Butterfly and Don Giovanni with the less well known but equally spectacular Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten and Mazeppa by Tchaikovsky.

Stage Electrics is supplying the lighting hire for the season to illuminate these classic performances. The technical specification includes Vari*Lite 3000 Q-Spots, 4K HMIs, Clay paky Alpha Spot 1200 HPE and eight LDDE colour-changing battens.

Don Giovanni opens the season and is already a sell-out. As part of Opera Ireland's public access programme, the opening night of Don Giovanni will be relayed live from the Gaiety Theatre to Meeting House Square, Temple Bar and Liberty Hall for a free public screening.

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UK - Once the accepted solution for linear lighting, traditional gas-filled glass neon tubing is also cursed with inherent technical weaknesses. Recently however, the same effect has been reproduced using LEDs, removing most of the drawbacks of conventional glass neon. LED Neon Flex has not been without its limitations however, most notably that the standard 24V versions would generally only allow for maximum continuous lengths of between 9 and 15 metres, depending on colour.

With this in mind, Batmink Ltd has introduced a new 240V Pro version - which eliminates the need for a transformer - to its range of LED Neon Flex products. Available in Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Green and White, the new Pro Neon Flex now delivers maximum continuous lengths of between 96 and 122 metres, depending on colour, say Batmink.

This new product supplements Batmink's comprehensive range of LED Ne

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Denmark - Martin Professional A/S has announced the appointment of Frank Hoehn as senior vice-president - business development & marketing. Hoehn, who previously held the position of senior vice-president - architectural at Martin's Danish-based headquarters, assumed the new position on 1 March 2009.

Christian Engsted, Martin Professional A/S CEO, said: "Following years of building and establishing the Martin brand in the entertainment industry, Martin has now arrived at the next stage. In the coming years, we will see a stronger focus on leveraging the Martin brand through developing new business within the entertainment industry as well as in the architectural/commercial lighting world. Frank is an internationally seasoned and strong manager who understands how to create value for our customers."

In addition to his business development responsibility, Hoehn will ta

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Europe - US rockers The Killers kicked off the first European leg of their 2009 Day & Age world tour complete with an inventive lighting design by Steven Douglas.

This is a total departure from the more classical theatrical lighting and look that characterised their previous major Sam's Town world tour, bringing a lively, contemporary multi-LED based ambience to the stage. Part of this look is created with the latest i-Pix BB fixtures - of which there are 15 BB7s and 27 BB4s on the tour.

The Killers were the second band to use i-Pix's BB7s after their launch last year - following Radiohead, for whom the fixture was developed. They formed an integral part of the floor specials package on the Killers' summer festival tour throughout 2008.

The 15 BB7's - added for the Euro leg Day & Age following the start of the tour in the US - are positioned in a long li

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UK - After its Jarag-5 halogen array was specified for use on both The Brits with U2 (where the set was lit by experienced LD Al Gurdon) and a London Fashion Week event (by board operator, Tupac Martir), French company Chromlech has appointed Lighting Effects Distribution as its official UK distributor.

L.E.D managing director, Ian Kirby, comments: "We are delighted to be handling this ingenious product, which represents a classic blend between retro and new technology. It is a versatile and high-impact pixelated wall ideal for touring and television, and already attracting considerable interest."

Containing 25 x 75W halogen lamps (outputting over 1800W) in a 580mm square aluminium frame, the Jarag-5 comes in two versions - the PAR30, E27 version with aluminium reflector offering 10° beam spread and PAR20 GU10 version, providing 25° beam spread.

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The Netherlands - Prolyte reports that Gonher distribuidora has chosen Prolyte to add to the range of brands for the light and sound markets they represent in Mexico.

Gonher will distribute the complete range of Prolyte products, including trussing, staging and Prolyft hoists.

CEO Jorge González Silva comments: "We were looking for a truss brand over a long period, but following our company philosophy, we also wanted to add quality to our portfolio of professional brands. Prolyte not only has an extensive product line, their focus on high quality products combined with excellent support and technical know-how, is exactly what we like to offer our customers.

The Sound Check Expo in Mexico City this week will be the official start of the distributorship. Gonher will show the complete range of Prolyte products and Prolyte engineer Ivo Mulder will present a technical semin

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USA - For 25 years, Faith Church EPC in Rochester Hills, MI, had gone without a building of its own. Based in this attractive Detroit suburb, the church's congregation met at various schools and rented facilities on Sundays and holidays, having to go through the arduous process of transporting and setting up its equipment every week.

The challenges of meeting these constant set-up demands gave Faith EPC administrators an appreciation for equipment that is durable, dependable and easy to work with. So when the church finally fulfilled its long-held dream of constructing its own building in 2008, it wanted a lighting system that was user friendly and reliable, in addition to being performance-driven and priced within its budget.

Based on these criteria, Faith's technical and creative director Tom Moyer put together a lighting ensemble comprised largely of LED fixtures from Elati

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UK - Highlite International BV, along with the UK partner Overt Light to Sound Ltd, is taking delivery of the first batch of the new Antari DNG-200 Low Fog Generator - originally launched at PLASA 2008 in London last September.

The DNG-200 Low Fog Generator is a ground fog effect solution from a fully self-compacted unit with wheels and handles to stand against tough transport. "With today's rising demand and awareness for environmental and health concern, the effects produced is virtually indistinguishable from that is created by dry ice," the company says.

Distinctively from other products currently on the market, it creates low fog straight from machine's nozzle - "a far more efficient and convenient" system, without any of the hassles of CO2 installations, say Highlite. It is operator-friendly as there are no external controls on the machine. Simply plu

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UK - Impact Products (Europe) displayed a wide range of LED fixtures from Chauvet at Even Tech Scotland last month. Utilising three-chord AstraLite trussing from Litestructures, for which it is the master stocking distributor in the UK, Impact demonstrated the control and RGB colour-mixing capabilities of the US manufacturer's COLORado 1, 3 and 6 wash and panel lights and the moving head Q-Wash LED, all to great interest.

Adding to the atmosphere were the full Vue series of static and rotating moonflower effects, offering individual RGB or RGBWY colour control as well as blackout and strobe options, whilst the RGB Technostrobe added dimming to the impressive list of functions available from the effects range.

Impact also surprised attendees with the B50 from Lanta, featuring a bright single blue 50mW diode. With manual, automatic, sound activated and 8 Channel DMX control, the

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UK - Registration is open for Showlight 09 which takes place from 16-19 May at BBC Scotland's new headquarters in Glasgow. Further details and registration forms are available at the web address below.

Speakers will include Haris Zambarloukos, Mamma Mia! (the movie); Angus Farquhar, The Storr Project; Iain Ruxton, Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi; Bernie Davis, The Royal Variety Performance; Paul Collison, Beijing Olympics and Roberto Schaeffer, ASC, Quantum of Solace.As well as listening to the speakers, Showlight delegates get the opportunity to talk to them - over coffee, lunch and tea and at the Conference Dinner. The visits programme includes Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls, the Philips factory at Hamilton, The House for an Art Lover, not one, but two distilleries, and Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama.

Showlight sponsors include Martin Profession

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UK - XL Video is supplying 180 Spider 40 LED tiles, a Catalyst digital media server and crew for the Kaiser Chiefs current Off With Their Heads tour.

These are an integral digital component of Richard Larkum's lighting and visual design, and take the look and feel of the Kaiser's almost non-stop touring schedule over the last two years to a new and different dimension.

Larkum states: "The band and I were determined that any 'video' elements interfaced seamlessly with the lighting". He also wanted a digital lightsource with its own visual integrity, and definitely not a massive LED surface that dominated the performance space.

XL UK's project manager Jo Beirne says, "It's always fun and exciting working with Richard - his ideas are innovative and varied and he never loses sight of the basic elements of lighting a band onstage well, and for the enjoyment

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USA - American DJ has added a new, smaller-size model to its Mega Bar series of LED colour bars. Like the company's original Mega Bar LED, the new Mega Bar 50 RGB is an ultra-bright DMX-compatible indoor RGB mixing bar. But at 1.5ft in length, it's half the size of the original Mega Bar - and less than half the price.

The trimmed-down size makes the Mega Bar 50 RGB suitable for smaller venues and spaces, while the lower price tag puts this LED colour-mixing bar within reach of budget-conscious DJs, bands and clubs.

"After introducing our very successful original Mega Bar LED, we were getting requests from smaller customers for a similar LED colour bar that was scaled to meet their size and budget needs," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "Simply put, they didn't need - or in some cases the space couldn't accommodate -- a b

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UK - ETC distributors and dealers gathered at the lighting, controls and dimming manufacturer's London office in February for the Focus 2009 summit. In a series of events at The Playhouse at Gypsy Corner over the course of a week, delegates got to learn about new ETC products, projects and systems.

A major part of the content focussed on ETC's Unison Paradigm and SmartLink product ranges together with the just acquired Selador Series of LED luminaires, which is set to be an important part of the company's offering.

ETC's market manager for Europe, Erik Larsen, reports: "It was good to get to meet so many of our customers throughout the week, and for them to meet one another. The Focus event enabled people to exchange ideas as well as learn more about what ETC has to offer and what's coming up."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - The cream of acting talent came together last weekend for the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards. The ceremony, held at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London is presented by The Society of London Theatre to honour the best West End stage productions.

The winner of the Best Lighting Design category was Paule Constable for her design for The Chalk Garden at the Donmar Warehouse; this is the third time she has won the lighting Olivier, with a further four nominations to her credit.

In the other technical categories, awards went to Gareth Fry for his sound design for Black Watch at the Barbican, to Todd Rosenthal for his set design for August: Osage County at the National.

The awards were presented against a backdrop of record West End attendances in 2008, 14 million people, a one per cent rise on the previous year. Chris Patton, divisional sales manager for Stag

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USA - Theatre Projects Consultants (TPC) was approached by the architectural firm of Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates to help with the renovation of the American Wing Courtyard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA). As part of the renovation, they were looking for a better way to access the exhibit lighting for routine maintenance and focusing. The old method was undesirable for the MMA staff and did not work within the design of the renovation.

Approximately 60ft above the exhibit floor, the existing lighting position spanned over 100ft in length and was situated along the edge of a third story gallery. "By applying a little entertainment technology to the museum environment, we provided a well-designed and efficient solution," says Robert Young, associate Theatre Projects Consultants.

Young and Michael Nishball of TPC, through close collaboration, designe

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Australia - Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) has recently invested in 90 Robe 575E AT Series moving lights.

Located in the CBD of Adelaide, the venue's multi-purpose facilities include 14 meeting rooms, 11 halls and an outdoor performance space on the river front. It can accommodate up to 6,500 banquet guests and offers approximately 10,500sq.m of pillar-less floor space for conferences, exhibitions and special events of all types.

Robe was the preferred option for ACC's specifications and requirements once the green light was given for the purchase of new professional moving lights, says technical manager Jamie Masefield. "Robe first came to our attention as the brand with a strong industry credibility for robustness and reliability."

Masefield continues: "We needed large numbers of both profile and wash fixtures for business and logistical reasons. The Robe

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UK / Germany - Stage Electrics will make its second visit to ProLight&Sound this year, following its exhibiting debut at the show for the first time in partnership with Xenonspot - the exclusive European distributor of the followspot range - last year. However, this year's exhibition is significant for Stage Electrics as it's the first year it is exhibiting without a co-exhibitor.

The company will be featuring a wider product range and promote the diverse variety of services in its portfolio from hire and sales through to live events and installations. Stage Electrics is confident that the exciting range of products on show including the new Jester TL, the Rosco Light Pad and Stage Electrics' new WebShop, will further accelerate sales of its products into Europe.

Chris Patton, divisional sales manager comments: "Taking the leap to exhibit solely as Stage Electrics at a ma

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USA - A new drive mechanism and new motors will improve Wybron's series of Eclipse IT mechanical dowsers, the company has announced.

New motors will be installed in six versions of the Eclipse - three Iris models and three Shutter models. The Iris models use a camera-like aperture to block the light, and when the fins retract, 100 percent of the light shines through. The Shutter models use vertical blades to black out the beam, a style often used for quick cuts and chase sequences around arenas.

Both styles are used to dowse sports lights and other discharge lights that can't be dimmed electronically. A new drive mechanism inside the three Iris models will make these units more solid by simplifying the pieces used to open the aperture fins, said Lee Schlais, Wybron's vice-president of engineering. "The Eclipse units were already reliable, but the changes we have made will

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Italy - The Show Lighting Design Continuing Professional Development course, organized by the Design Faculty of the Politecnico di Milano, Italy, was held for the third time from 13 to 23 January 2009. The course is aimed at professionals and technicians with or without degrees who wish to specialise in show lighting design for the theatre and live music and fashion shows.

Clay Paky has always paid great attention to training young talent, and sponsors and hosts this course at its own showroom in Seriate (BG). Clay Paky built its sho room as if it were a real stage, designed not only to display its own products, but also as an 'art workshop' where lighting designers - from the most famous experts to lighting students - may practice and express their creativity to the full.

On the course, the students from the Politecnico were able to attend a practical lesson held by Gi

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Denmark - The Martin Professional Colorfox VX01 is the first lighting controller specifically designed for architectural use with dynamic colour changing fixtures. This simple control solution allows users to customise and personalise a variety of architectural lighting settings.

Colorfox features a tactile design that enables it to fit into nearly any design environment. Its user-friendly interface allows even inexperienced users to access the benefits of dynamic light.

This intuitive controller allows for easy playback of static and dynamic scenes and provides a simple-to-use interface for users to alter the hue, saturation and intensity of their surroundings.

Colour temperature can be easily adjusted from 2000K-9000K to match different luminaire types (RGB or CMY) for identical and consistent color matching, making it easy to replace any fixture without re-programming des

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