Lighting

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USA / Europe - Grammy-award winning singer Shakira asked Paul Normandale to create the lighting design for her current The Sun Comes Out World Tour and he was happy to oblige. Touring in support of her two most recent albums, in addition to performing a string of older hits, the tour hit the US in the fall with a European leg running through December.

The European shows feature a rig full of Martin moving lights, including MAC III Profiles, MAC 2000 Wash XBs, MAC 700 Profiles, MAC 250 Beams and Atomic 3000 strobes with Atomic Colors scrollers.

"We did a six week run in the States with no major issues, and thus far in Europe they are fine too," Normandale states. Lighting vendor for the US leg was Upstaging with Lite Alternative, Normandales's UK based lighting production company, handling the European leg.

Normandale, who field-tested the MAC III Profile ove

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UK - New products from i-Pix, Coemar, ELC and RevEAL will be shown by White Light at ARC 2011.

From i-Pix, White Light will show the BB1 and BB2 fixtures, part of the company's 'building block' BB range that can now regularly be seen on live and televised music events. I-Pix's new data-over-power interface and iPad controller will also be on show, offering new possibilities for simplifying installations.

From Coemar, White Light will show the Reflection FullSpectrum LED washlight offering a variable beam that is free from multi-coloured shadows and visible LED dots; the product won a PLASA Award for Innovation on its launch last autumn. Coemar's StageLite Led FX floodlight and ParLite Led will also be on-stand.

From RevEAL, the multiple-award-winning CW washlight will be on dispal. It features RevEAL's unique self-calibrating technology that ensures consistent light output f

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UK - Cogent Lighting, a brand of Cooper Controls takes its latest LED lightsources and control solutions to the ARC - architectural, retail and commercial - lighting exhibition in London, and then to Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Amsterdam, sharing a booth with sister brand iLight's range of control products.

The new Cogent XC LED controller will be on display in a separate demo area in the VIP Empress Lounge at the Business Design Centre. Here, people can see it in action first hand, and for a closer examination, they can visit the stand.

Key points of the Cogent XC LED lighting controller are its simple set up and ease of use. No programming is required as the box features a number of algorithmic sequences that will trigger a wide variety of lights and colour changing effects - to video and audio. Music can be triggered by tempo and other parameters. Dynamic zoning allo

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UK - A.C. Special Projects will be exhibiting a range of architectural products including static and moving head LED units, as well as conventional spotlights that offer performance and flexibility normally associated with theatrical lighting, at the Arc Show 2011.

The specialist lighting, audio & AV equipment sales and installation company will be showing the latest architectural solutions from Chroma-Q, Spotlight, GLP, Teclumen and Pufferfish.

The Spotlight Mini range provides all the performance normally associated with theatrical fixtures in a modified, compact design for use in architectural applications. With a choice of 230v, low voltage and HID lamps, the fixtures are designed for accent lighting of window displays, shops, hotels and museums.

Teclumen offers a range of exterior, interior and submersible lighting fixtures utilising LED and HID lamp sources. Their prod

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Sweden - In 2008 a new lighting event took place in Uppsala, Sweden in which various objects around the city - buildings, statues and trees - were illuminated by different lighting designers and architects.

A guided tour of 4 km was created to view the lighting installations, an event that took great care in promoting the city after dark. The event also promoted public health by getting people out at night to walk around and experience the town in a different light.

As the project was greatly appreciated and was a huge success, the Uppsala Municipality decided to make the event a biennial celebration, therefore reoccurring in 2010.

One of the key sites of 2010 was the old mill in Uppsala's city centre and the water surrounding it. Sound, light and video company Kreativ Teknik of Uppsala transformed the area into a dynamic coloured adventure with music and sound effects. With

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UK - White Light transformed the atrium of Selfridges' central London store for the Christmas period with the installation of a collection of strategically placed giant mirrorballs.

For this project, it was decided that the normal rotation of the mirrorballs wasn't enough - they also travel up and down through the atrium, courtesy of TRG Rigging. White Light's team therefore installed moving lights around the outside of the atrium, programmed to follow the movement of each ball.

Installation work took place over five nights. Coemar's Infinity Spot M was chosen for its high light output within a smart compact unit. The fixtures e motor cues were controlled using a grandMA lighting console; this was initiated by Selfridges' building management system in the morning, and the four minute show was then scheduled throughout the day using the console's built-in Agenda feature.

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UK / USA - The New Year sees the launch of the enlarged PLASA trade association, following the formal merger between industry trade bodies ESTA and PLASA on 1 January.

The merger has created one of the largest networks serving the industry worldwide. Operating from regional offices in Europe and North America, PLASA now has a membership of 1100 businesses, organizations and individuals working across the entertainment, events and installation industries, giving it a substantial worldwide industry voice.

The move also greatly strengthens PLASA's position of leadership in the development of industry standards, best practices and skills.

The formal merger represents the first phase of the two associations coming together, and the months ahead will be focused on the further unification of the wider range of projects and initiatives that now sit under the PLASA banner.

In the m

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USA - Synthe FX has announced the release of Luminair for iPad v1.2, which adds new features such as support for external MIDI control over Wi-Fi networks, as well as support for direct transfers of PDF paperwork from CAST Software's WYSIWYG R26.

Expanding on the new external MIDI, MSC and OSC remote features recently added in v1.1, Luminair for iPad v1.2 adds the ability to use RTP MIDI over a Wi-Fi network, for wireless control from any MIDI control source connected to a Mac, PC or other compatible equipment. Luminair's use of the CoreMIDI framework found in iOS provides low latency over a Wi-Fi network.

Version 1.2 also adds support for the latest version of CAST Software's WYSIWYG lighting pre-visualization software, which was recently updated to R26. WYSIWYG R26 adds the ability to directly transfer PDF paperwork to Luminair running on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Lumin

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UK - James Isles has joined Richard Martin Lighting as warehouse technician. Previously with lighting suppliers Panalux, Isles says, "I am always up for a challenge. It's a good feeling to be starting a new role at the start of a new year. I am sure there is a lot to learn but I also hope that I can bring a lot to the company and the guys in the Warehouse."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - City Theatrical is now shipping its PDS-375 TRX power/data supply for Philips Color Kinetics CKDMX LED lighting fixtures.

The PDS-375 TRX is a six output version of City Theatrical's PDS-750 TRX power/data supply, and operates without a fan in its standard operating position making it suitable for installations such as studios which require complete silence.

The PDS-375 TRX combines advanced new LED fixture control and configuration features with multi-control protocol interoperability and powerful new data management resources in a single lighting control unit, and along with the larger PDS-750 TRX, represents the first practical implementation of all of these features in a single unit. The unit can be controlled with all popular Ethernet protocols including Streaming ACN, Art-Net, or KI-Net, as well as wired and wireless DMX512, and is fully RDM enabled. Every unit inc

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UK - Pharos Architectural Controls is launching a revised Lighting Playback Controller this week at the ARC Show in London. It is the same award winning product, now with enhanced connectivity and improved performance, says the company.

Pharos is now shipping this updated version of the LPC, incorporating newer technologies already available in their more recently released controllers and remote devices. The eight inputs can now be configured as contact closures, digital or analog inputs. The Serial port is updated to be a multi-protocol port supporting RS232, RS485 or DMX-in triggering, with an installation-friendly three-pin connector. A colour-coded power connector is intended to reduce the risk of incorrect plugging, and the compact flash card is replaced with an SD card. New indicator LEDs are included on the Ethernet port for network diagnosis and the new output status LED

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Australia - Clearlight Shows has recently supplied the Malthouse Theatre with a range of new ETC products for the Merlyn Theatre and the Beckett Theatre.

The new inventory includes an ETC ION 3072 channel console with a 20 fader wing, an ETC ION 3072 channel console with a 10 fader wing and an ETC Element 40 250 channel console. Added to that were 18 Source 4 19° Profile and thirty-six Source 4 Junior 25°-50° profiles.

"The crew and the 'creatives' are thrilled with the new consoles and lighting equipment as it has opened up a range of possibilities they were unable to achieve previously," commented Frank Stoffels, CUB Malthouse's building manager.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Northern Light has recently placed a large order with entertainment lighting manufacturer ETC, totalling more than a quarter of a million pounds.

The £286K order incorporates a wide variety of equipment including Ion, Eos and Element control desks, Source Four Profile, Source Four Junior, PARnel, and PAR luminaires, control accessories and Sensor and Unison Paradigm dimming. These products will be deployed across several of Northern Light's ongoing installation projects.

Erik Larsen, ETC's market manager for Europe, comments, "ETC has worked with the Northern Light team on many high profile projects over the past 10 years and we look forward to the next 10. Receiving this most recent order is a positive indicator that working together will continue to bear fruit."

Colin Cuthbert, managing director of Northern Light, adds, "Taking into account the co

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USA - POET Theatricals designs and produces the shows on the Celebrity Solstice class of vessels. Their creative director, Michael McPherson, features Martin LC Series LED panels in the show Edge on the cruise ship Celebrity Eclipse.

McPherson comments, "I like Martin products and I have used them for years. We use them in all of our shows actually. Martin panels are robust and built well, so for the guys who have to load them in and out, they hold up well."

The Eclipse is the third new vessel in this line of ships, following the Solstice and the Equinox. POET is designing and producing the next three shows on the new cruise ship, the Celebrity Silhouette, which is set to launch in 2011. McPherson says, "I'll use them on the next ship too because they worked out so well."

Martin's LC Series is a semi-transparent, modular system of LED panels, suita

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USA - After five years of restoration, modernisation and seismic retrofitting, the historic Rotunda building of the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum in July 2010 reopened with a new face and a whole new set of lighting - decorative LED bulbs supplied by Torrance, California-based LEDtronics.

Renovation of the 97-year-old Beaux Arts-inspired building was part of a multi-phase, $107m project that included the modernisation of the electrical system to support multimedia presentations and events, improve climate control and enhance exhibition lighting in an energy-efficient manner. Modernising of the lighting system involved a retrofit from incandescent light fixtures with custom-manufactured LED systems without compromising the historical integrity of the original fixtures, notably in the Rotunda.

LEDtronics provided 90 5-watt PAR38-180 Series bulbs and 160 1-watt DEC-G2

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Europe - GLP 120 RZ impression zooms were the LED moving lights chosen by LD Andy Hurst for Faithless's European arena tour at the end of last year. They were selected specifically to deliver the fast moving impact of a digital club environment on stage. The concept was a fitting one, since the band's sixth album - celebrating 15 years of the Maxi Jazz / Sister Bliss collaboration - is called The Dance.

Hurst selected a mixture of conventional and LED washes - detailing 68 of the impression zooms, mounted both on the main V truss and custom made floor towers (at stage left and right), for the chase and movement elements.

"Over the last couple of years I've done a lot of dance shows with the likes of The Prodigy and the advantage of LED is the speed of it," says Hurst. "If you're doing fast shutter chases through lamps, with LED there's no stutter as there

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USA - Barco has announced that its three-chip DLP projection technologies will be used throughout the expanded and renovated Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria, New York) when it reopens later this week. Seventeen Barco projectors will be used in high-profile spaces including a 50ft long seamless projection wall in the lobby, the new Video Screening Amphitheatre, a new 68-seat screening room, and in the inaugural exhibition Real Virtuality.

The exhibition's six experiments in art and technology, including a commissioned work by the Flemish collective Workspace Unlimited titled Realtime Unreal, utilise 10 RLM-W6 projectors in a variety of installations, two of which are stereoscopic. These installations employ video game engines, motion- and position-tracking, and sophisticated image processing to create simulated worlds that extend, augment, or disrupt the physica

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UK - ETC dealer Northern Light has recently finished a technical installation at the newly refurbished and renamed K College in Tonbridge, Kent (formerly West Kent College).The college is undergoing an £86m regeneration project in which it is modernising its facilities and building a flagship college in the south east of England. One of the first new buildings to be built includes a multi-use performing arts facility, specified by Arup Theatre Consulting installed by Northern Light with loose equipment supplied by Stage Electrics.Steve Myers, project manager for Northern Light, says, "Northern Light has a long history of both working with Arup Theatre Consulting and of carrying out technical fit-outs in educational establishments - we completed more than 1,000 installations in schools, colleges and universities. ETC dimming and control systems work extremely well in a f

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UK - Hundreds of children and their families enjoyed a spectacular light show and a beautifully lit sponsored walk around Edinburgh's West Princes Street gardens thanks to the imagination and ingenuity of Black Light's Events Team. The Glow in the Park event took place at the end of October 2010. As part of Light Relief Week 2010, it was organized to raise much-needed funds for the Royal Blind charity, whilst also highlighting some of the difficulties faced on a daily basis by blind and disabled people.

"We put up a full production rig at the park's Ross Bandstand for a 10-minute programmed light and music show," says Black Light's events manager, Stephen Reid, who explains that the whole system had previously been set up in Black Light's warehouse to do a full 'plot' of all lighting cues and to ensure a perfect show.

Reid also explains that, in order to turn

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USA - On the heels of the retired Wybron Mobile Showroom's successful 15-month tour comes the launch of the Wybron Mobile Light Lab, which will begin its Visuality 2011 Tour in February with over 100 events in the US.

The Wybron Mobile Light Lab is a 48ft pop-out-equipped trailer that features all of Wybron's leading products. Wybron president Keny Whitright had it custom-built after proving the popularity of the company's Mobile Showroom, which travelled the country in a rental trailer from 2009 through 2010.

Whitright chose a larger vehicle and tailored it to the feedback collected from visitors to the Mobile Showroom. He also decided to allow visitors to take the helm of their Mobile Light Lab experience.

Upon arriving at a host dealer, visitors will enter the Mobile Light Lab's reception area. There they'll be able to view the day's schedule, which will include ed

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California Calling - NAMM returns to Anaheim this week with the organisers and exhibitors in buoyant mood despite the continuing fragile nature of the world economy. Alongside the many musical instrument offerings will be a healthy quota of pro audio exhibitors, covering live sound, the fixed installation sector and recording. Some significant new product launches are promised, while the annual TEC Awards have been revamped and the educational programme extended.

The education session schedule for this year's Hands-On Training (H.O.T) Zone offers "the broadest educational experience for professionals in the recording, live sound, DJ, house of worship, commercial systems integrators, and stage and lighting industries in the history of the show".

The H.O.T. Zone will offer attendees free one-hour classes on more than 75 educational topics over four days, including topi

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Saudi Arabia - The annual Eid Al-Fitr Festival is the three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

In Riyadh, Samir El-Wesemy's company, EvenTech, staged a major outdoor event at the Regime Palace District, sponsored by the Supreme Authority for Riyadh Development and attended (and officially opened) by HRH Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz. The event on all three days featured traditional shows from Saudi teams that represented all the cities in the Kingdom - and included children's shows with puppets.

EvenTech conceived the initial designs and developed the technical infrastructure, installing and providing all the event equipment such as projectors, screens, moving head lighting, trusses, staging, decoration and cinematography.

They fielded three Christie HD12K 1080HD 12,000 ANSI lumens DLP three-chip projectors from their inventor

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USA - The new Wybron Mobile Light Lab will kick off its Visuality 2011 Tour in February with events in Colorado, Utah, Nevada and Arizona.

The Mobile Light Lab's debut event will occur at Barbizon Light of the Rockies in Denver, Colo., on 7 February. It will then set up shop at PRG Denver on 8 February before heading west to Salt Lake City, Utah, for an 11 February event at Oasis Stage Werks.

Next, it's off to visit PRG Las Vegas, 4Wall Entertainment and Advanced Entertainment in Las Vegas, for events on 14, 15 and 16 February respectively. The Mobile Light Lab will then venture farther south to Arizona for events at AV Concepts in Tempe on 17 February and Clearwing Phoenix on 18 February.

The Wybron Mobile Light Lab will host events at dealers in Washington, Oregon and Northern California in March.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Rosco has expanded its UK Sales force with the appointment of Laurie Giraudeau as sales executive. Giraudeau has experience within the entertainment industry having previously worked as marketing manager for trussing and staging manufacturer Litestructures.

Paul de Ville, senior sales manager comments, "I am delighted that Laurie agreed to come and work with us and help take advantage of the opportunities at this exciting time for us at Rosco. With many new products and markets opening up the timing could not have been better, and I wish her well with her appointment."

(Jim Evans)

  1. Chauvet extends COLORado line
  2. Martin M1 in control at Farm Aid benefit
  3. Navigator & Production Exchange forge partnership
  4. Light Emissions launches at ARC
  5. HSL invests a further £2.5m in stock
  6. ABTT Theatre Show set for June
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