Lighting

Details
UK - Hawthorn will be exhibiting at PLASA Focus once again this year. Alan Jackson, head of installations at Hawthorns, will be on the stand this year to discuss ServiceSafe, Hawthorn's new testing and servicing division, launched earlier this month.

Hawthorn's MD, Martin Hawthorn, will also be at the show and commented, "Last year's show was well organised and extremely well attended, a credit to PLASA, so much so that we re-booked our stand on site. It's ideally placed for us with our Midlands based head office and we got some good leads. This year we're showcasing Media Surge, our new LED video cloth, which has proved a big hit with both the corporate and the film & TV markets, as well as our dry hire customers."

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - Tower Productions were recently approached by the Scottish Rugby Union to provide lighting, staging, rigging and production power for a memorial service for Bill McLaren - 'the voice of rugby' - staged on the pitch at Murrayfield.

With a fairly open design brief, Tower's James Mitchelmore and Pete Donald covered lighting design, and rigging respectively.

A Prolyte MPT system provided the stage cover with Prolyte S52 being used from the stadium roof some 40m off the deck, for lighting and PA hangs. Two dozen 2500w city colours formed the basis of the stadium lighting with 100no. assorted P64 doing detail and effect work.

Robe CS700s hung from the grandstand provided keylight for marching bands and break-up patterns on the track. Stage lighting was largely generic comprising 2k fresnels and S4 profiles and pars. Movement was by Robe 250 colourwashes.

The Tower power tea

Details
UK / USA - SpotTrack, the new software tool for making and managing followspot cue sheets, has found favour with a number of high profile shows since its launch last autumn.

In London, Love Never Dies, the long-awaited sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's international hit musical The Phantom of the Opera, is using SpotTrack to manage its followspot cue sheets. The show is lit by Paule Constable, with the spots overseen by her associate lighting designer Beky Stoddart. Stoddart is also using SpotTrack on the new production of Oliver!, also lit by Paule Constable, at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and associate lighting designer Nick Simmons is using it to manage the followspots on the new UK tour of Les Misérables, again designed by the busy Constable.

The new West End production of Legally Blonde, lit by Kenneth Posner and Paul Miller,

Details
UK - Black Light is moving to a new location as of 5 April. The new premises, only 1km for its current premises, will allow for the continued growth of Black Light, with additional warehouse and extended office space.

The new address details are: West Shore Trading Estate, West Shore Road, Granton, Edinburgh. EH5 1QF. All other contact details will remain the same.

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - New light engines enabling replacements for fluorescent strip lighting and a new range of high quality architectural lighting solutions will be among the highlights on Marl's stand at the euroLED exhibition at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry, 9-10 June 2010.

Showcased on the stand will be the new low watt light engines from Citizen which serve as an energy efficient replacement for fluorescent tubes, offering over 25% better efficiency and at least four times longer lifetime. The Citizen CL-824 series can be mounted to form circles, squares and other shapes to deliver directional illumination in a downward cone over a 120° arc creating of a host of innovative lighting effects, whilst eliminating wasted light. An array of five of the chips matches the light output of a 1.2W fluorescent tube whilst providing a more robust lighting solution.

Also on the stand will be the new

Details
Germany - The Willow Creek Leitungskongress, a HOW leadership summit and training event held in Karlsruhe, Germany in late January brought together church staff from around the country with the aim of becoming better leaders.

Held in Dm-Arena, the event was put on by US-based ministry Willow Creek Community Church of Chicago and was also broadcast live to a satellite location in Winterthur, Switzerland.

A Martin rig included an impressive display of LC Series LED panels. "The LC panels created an amazing visual experience for the 7000 people attending the conference and the 500 attending in Winterthur," commented Todd Elliott, technical arts director at Willow Creek Community Church.

"They went up without a problem, which speaks to the ease of use of the LC panels and also to having someone like Daniel Kaminski who understands how the product works and how to

Details
South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa supplied technical production including lighting, video and sound for It's No Joke, the landmark 46664/Real Concerts comedy festival event at Sun City Super Bowl.

This one-off event utilised the universal language of laughter to raise funds for the Nelson Mandela charities by uniting 10 of SA's cutting edge comedians - Trevor Noah, Marc Lottering, John Vlismas, Tumi Morake, Nik Rabinowitz, Ndumiso Lindi, Chris Forrest, David Kau, Riaad Moosa and Barry Hilton - all performing in the same evening.

Gearhouse's Tim Dunn was asked by promoter and show producer, Roddy Quinn, to create a visual concept for this high profile showcase that was enjoyed live by over 4500 people.

Dunn rose to several technical and creative challenges. One was producing a sophisticated, yet uncomplicated stage look that allowed the performers to communicate di

Details
UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light has announced its appointment as the exclusive UK dealer for the RSC Lightlock, the moving light stabilisation device which won a PLASA Gold Award for Innovation when it was first previewed in 2008 and the Best Debuting Product Award when launched at LDI 2009.

Created by the Royal Shakespeare Company and manufactured by Total Structures, Lightlock is designed to open up new lighting and rigging possibilities by automatically damping the unwanted movement that occur when moving lights are rigged from short bars or trusses. Normally, the centrifugal forces caused by the moving light are transferred to the truss, which continues to oscillate long after the light has completed its movement so causing the light beam to sweep wildly around its target focus position.

Rigged between the light and the truss, Lightlock detects the movemen

Details
Germany - ETC's stand at Prolight&Sound this year saw an influx of visitors all looking for demonstrations of the company's latest products. Top of many people's wish list was a viewing of Selador Vivid Ice, one of two new Selador LED fixtures which were released just a few weeks ago. A Vivid Ice, which provides a palette of brilliant deep indigo, blue, cyan, green (and a touch of red), was set up beside a 575W PAR luminaire fitted with a Roscolux 80 Primary Blue gel, in order to compare brightness and accuracy of colour. Visitors were overwhelmingly impressed by the results: the LED fixture was proven to be nearly 15 times as bright as the PAR.

Meanwhile, beside the Vivid Ice, a Vivid Fire - the other of the two new fixtures, which features a warm wash of saturated reds, oranges and ambers - was set up next to a Rosco 026 gelled PAR for comparison. In a typical colour applicati

Details
South Africa - MGG Production's ColorBeam 700s had hardly been taken out their boxes when they were set to work at the InniBosVeld 2010 Festival, held on 20 February. The show pulled in a crowd of 25,000 people which really says something about local talent.

Lighting designer was Johan Ferreira who is also the LD and operator for the main stage at the Innibos Festival in Nelspruit, which sees some 100,000 people pass through the gate during the week and well over 45 000 people on the field for the Saturday performance, that usually includes international acts like Boney M (2008) and Smokey (2007).

InniBosVeld (In the bushveld) is a partnership festival between InniBos and Kurt Darren. "This is the second time that we did the Kurt Darren en Jukebox vriende show," said Ferreira. "The first time was last year at InniBos and

Details
Germany - Robert Juliat showed the prototype of its LED profile, the AledIN, for the first time at Frankfurt's ProLight + Sound.

The AledIN's low power consumption (85W) enables up to 30 units to be run off one domestic power outlet making it valuable for venues where power availability is limited. The Robert Juliat optics give crystal clear gobo projection (even for plastic gobos) and shutter cuts. The AledIN will be available with a choice of two colour temperatures (3200K or 5800K) which it maintains during fading.

In addition, the two colour temperature options mean the AledIN is equally at home in a theatre or opera house where it can be adapted to blend in with the general lighting rig, be it tungsten or discharge, says the company.

AledIN will be available in three zoom options; alternatively, any Robert Juliat 600 Series profile can be converted simply by changing th

Details
UK - A.C. Special Projects has provided comprehensive lighting and rigging systems for two separate performance areas at Buckinghamshire New University's recently opened £40 million learning complex, the Gateway.

Designed by RMJM Architects and built by BAM Construction, the building is part of an extensive programme of rebuilding and refurbishment at the institution. Production-based degree courses benefiting from the new Gateway teaching facilities include Performing Arts (Film, TV & Stage) and Film and Television Production.

Having previously provided the lighting system for the University's Students' Union venue, The White Room, which is also used for teaching, A.C. Special Projects was commissioned by BAM Construction to supply and install equipment for the new performance facilities. The company also assisted with the systems' specification.

For the green-screen

Details
USA - For the second consecutive year, the NCAA Men's Final Four will feature an octagonal LED video wall suspended above the court. Fans attending the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball Championships this weekend will have a spectacular, high-definition view of all the action, regardless of where they are seated in Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianpolis, while fans at home will also experience the giant screens featuring Daktronics LED video technology.

Texas-based GoVision is providing the video wall and related production elements for the Men's Final Four.

In partnership with the NCAA, GoVision configured eight 15' x 28' Daktronics PST-12HD modular LED screens to create a true high-definition octagonal video wall. The eight-screen unit is suspended from the ceiling 60' above the basketball court and weighs in at 36,680 pounds.

The screens that form the video wall were pulled f

Details
UAE - A ceiling of Clay Paky Alpha fixtures recently shared the stage with an eclectic international music lineup during Wakestock in Abu Dhabi.

Developed from a combination of waterskiing, snowboarding and surfing techniques, wakeboarding is a surface water sport which involves riding a wakeboard over water. The three-day Wakestock event mixed an array of riding, including pool gap, System 2.0 and boat comps, with performances from big-name music acts during the evenings.

The record crowd watched as the sport's top 16 athletes competed against each other for a share of a $50,000 prize and the title of Wakestock Abu Dhabi Champion 2010. The three-day beachfront event was produced by Flash Entertainment and the City of Abu Dhabi.

Lighting designer Andrew Strachan used 28 Alpha Spot 1200 HPE fixtures and 28 Alpha Wash 1200 fixtures in the main stage rig to compli

Details
Denmark - Lighting designer Torben Sjoeberg Pedersen has handled the visual look of DR network's Sport awards show since 2003. For Sport09 he sought something fresh and turned to Martin Professional's new MAC 401 Dual LED moving head washlight.

Broadcast on 9 January h from Messecenter Herning, Sport09 recognised the year's best in Danish and international sport. Pedersen commented, "This year I wanted to try something new and decided to try out the MAC 401. We got some very good looks with them. It has a big fat beam that I loved, and the colour mixing was good. They made a good fill across the set."

Used as both a set design piece and beam luminaire, Pedersen dispersed 401s between background rows of Martin LC Series LED panels with several units on the floor lining the main performance stage. "It's light and small and the design is also n

Details
USA - The week of 12 April, the Wybron Mobile Showroom begins its seventh leg, visiting the San Francisco Bay and Portland, OR areas.

The Mobile Showroom has become increasingly popular- with a record turnout during its last leg in Southern California - and presents a survey of Wybron's stable of products, including the new Cygnus LED Wash Light, in a environment more intimate than a trade show.

"The challenge of this industry is to actually get information to the people who will benefit from it," says Wybron CEO Keny Whitright. "A trade show is terrific, sure, but you're often lacking time to connect with all the folks you would like to.

"The educational component is an important one," continues Whitright. "You often see misuse or just plain overkill of lighting in churches or schools, and we want to provide some perspective for people in those

Details
Belgium/UAE - ADB Lighting Technologies will show its newly expanded MIkapack 15 and 30 dimmer range, designed to enhance programming functionality and flexibility for the entry-level market, at PALME 2010.

Mikapack is a range of six channel or 12 channel 3 kW all-digital dimmer packs combining the performances and the reliability of a professional dimmer at a competitive price.

It replaces ADB's MIcropack/Rack dimmers and means that, in combination with ADB's luminaire range and the latest Mikado and Domino controllers, ADB can now supply a full range of equipment for customers looking for simple yet reliable equipment built to the highest ADB quality standards, says the company.

MIkapack 15 is a six channel compact portable dimmer built in a 19" rack only two units high, with an optional truss clamping kit for distributed dimming solutions.The dimmer unit is 4kg light

Details
UK - Traxon Technologies has developed the Add-on Boards & Strips Series. This series complements Traxon's Board RGB range.

Equipped with the same high-performance LEDs and pixel pitch as the Board RGB range, the Add-on Series promises equal light output, identical optics, and the same display of colours and video animations, resulting in smooth, full coverage throughout the entire application. The Add-on Series also offers a simple extension of surface areas in backlighting applications for architectural, hospitality, entertainment and retail settings where Traxon Board RGB fixtures are installed.

Traxon's Board RGB range is a versatile, low-profile solution for applications in space-restricted environments. Equipped with Smart Chip technology, the Boards and Strips benefit from on-board DMX enhancements such as 'Auto-Addressing' and 'Flicker-Free Technology'.

Featuring fou

Details
Switzerland - Launching the new 2010 Ford Focus at the Geneva International Motor Show this month, global brand communications agency Imagination turned to the Static Light Company and Essential Lighting to provide the equipment for the press launch and stand lighting.

In addition to the press day rig of 22 VL3500 wash fixtures, Imagination's in-house lighting designer, Jonny Milmer, requested nine of PRG's proprietary BadBoy luminaires. The advanced accuracy, speed and zoom range of the BadBoy allowed Milmer to track the cars as they were driven around the Ford stand, peeling off to reveal and illuminate a static exhibit of the vehicle as it passed. Control was via a Hog iPC console, programmed by Paul Cook.

Milmer commented on the BadBoy, "In Geneva we work with a 16.5m trim height. In an arena with an incredible amount of daylight fittings, even the brightest lights on

Details
Italy - Clay Paky illuminates I Raccomandati (the protégés), a talent show broadcast by RAI since 2003. Various competitors perform on stage in the company of VIPs. The winner is chosen at the end of the programme.

The ninth series of shows, broadcast live every Friday during prime time from the Teatro delle Vittorie in Rome, has some elegant new scenery based on natural materials, designed by Riccardo Bocchini. There is wooden parquet on the floor and on the arch enclosing the stage, and chrome-plated trim behind the three large LED walls.

The lighting equipment has been supplied by Di & Di Service, and consists of 20 Alpha Profile 1200s (half of which are arranged at the height of the proscenium and the other half in the auditorium for front lighting), 20 Alpha Spot HPE 1200s (all as backlighting), 16 Alpha Spot HPE 700s (arranged around the whole intern

Details
USA - Rosco Laboratories and The ESTA Foundation announce the presentation by Mark Engel, president of Rosco, of a cheque for the second annual royalty payment to Behind the Scenes from sales of the colour Roscolux 359 Medium Violet. Engel presented the cheque for $2,252 on the show floor at USITT in Kansas City.

"Once again we are honoured to participate in The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes programme," said Engel. "As you know, we contribute part of the sales proceeds from the popular Roscolux 359, Medium Violet, to Behind The Scenes. The entertainment community is a family, and we at Rosco believe it is important to take care of family in times of need. Our sincerest thanks goes to The ESTA Foundation for creating a way for us to help and to all the folks who use 359 and make this donation possible."

Tobin Neis, a longtime member of the Behind the S

Details
UK - Production Services Ireland (PSI) supplied rigging services and lighting equipment for the Easter Sunday Mass live broadcast from St Peter's Cathedral in west Belfast. The event's lighting was designed by John Gallagher and the show broadcast on RTE1.

PSI had the advantage of having worked in the space once before, in 2008 for another live RTE broadcast. This time the lighting production was a lot bigger and more comprehensive, and required more precision rigging utilising the Cathedral's original wooden beams.

Either side of the nave where the majority of the congregation sit, is a row of six pillars, and the other side of these, an aisle with a narrower set of pews running the full length of the building, right down to the altar, and it was these aisles that had to be used to accommodate the lighting trusses. Lighting positions were needed to fire through each of the se

Details
USA - The Profile Panel RGB colour panel from American DJ is a multi-use high-output indoor LED colour-changing panel designed for use in nightclubs, theatres, weddings and special events. The panel can transform into a disco light, stepping up its colour changing pace, strobing in every colour, and chasing to the music via built-in programmes.

The Profile Panel RGB is armed with 288 5mm LEDs (96 each red, green and blue). Its LEDs can be blended through RGB mixing to create virtually an infinite number of rich colours, says the company.

Dirk Kast, general manager for American DJ Group Europe, comments, "The Profile Panel RGB is a great way for DJs, small clubs and event planners to get into uplighting, which is becoming a more popular way to illuminate clubs, weddings and special events. Not only is the Profile Panel RGB a compact, easy-to-use colour wash, it's also a tw

Details
UK - For the first time ever, for one night only, St. Stephen's, the tower housing the Big Ben bell was bathed in red light from base to spire to mark the start of Sport Relief on Friday 19 March.

This show was designed by lighting design student Simon Gray a level three student at Rose Bruford College, as his final year project.

"I wanted to take on the challenge of transforming a truly iconic building, and make people take a second look at a familiar landmark," says Gray. "Big Ben is one of the world's most famous images, and to many it represents London. It was a natural choice to do this for Sport Relief, and I was delighted to be helping to raise awareness of this fantastic fundraising campaign."

Gray and his team of students from the Lighting Design and Lighting Programming courses at the College required special permission for the eve

  1. DWR supplies to the Athol Fugard Theatre
  2. Robe reports positive ProLight&Sound
  3. Batmink LEDs light The Coast exhibition
  4. Hermes to distribute Clay Paky in Mexico
  5. Lighthouse sponsors Hong Kong film festival
  6. Chaos experiences Freedom with Alicia Keys
Page 843 of 1201

Latest Issue. . .