April 22 1500 - April 22 2000: 500 years after the landing of Pedro Alvares Cabral on the South American coasts, Brazil celebrated its own discovery with a major event involving the whole Country. Brazil 500, organised by TV network Rede Globo, kicked off two years ago on April 25 with a huge concert in São Paulo - in the interim, a series of concerts have taken place in cities across Brazil. The culmination of these came in April this year with a major concert in Esplanada dos Ministérios in Brasilia. It attracted an audience of over 400,000 people with millions more following the event broadcast live on television. The lighting supply for this major performance fell to the experienced Elo Iluminação who used a large amount of SGM kit in the spec, including Giotto Spot 1200s, Giotto Wash 1200s and Galileo IV Live 1200s
Having only just celebrated Celco's 21st Anniversary during the PLASA Light & Sound Show, Keith Dale and Colin Whittaker have parted company with Celco Ltd. In a move that will come as a surprise to many, the separation is a result of another change in the ownership of the company - one that did not meet with the agreement of Dale and Whittaker who had been trying to strike a joint venture with a major British manufacturer. The new shareholders of Celco are Amptown of Germany, Applied Electronics of USA and Sonoss of France with Lightstorm Trading maintaining an equal interest with the new investors. PLASA Publishing understands that Dale and Whittaker intend to take a well earned break before evaluating their options in the industry - either jointly or individually.
With Showlight 2001 just nine months away, many fascinating speakers are being arranged for the event, covering topics from lighting for cruise ships, theme park concepts and military tattoos to theatre lighting. Visitors to the 'International Colloquium on Entertainment Lighting' will hear papers presented by leaders from the world of lighting design, including Paula J. Dinkel, Principal Lighting Designer, Walt Disney Imagineering. Other speakers already confirmed include lighting designer Robert Ornbo, who is presenting Tournaments, Tattoos and Tantrums, focusing on his own experience of lighting large military and Royal shows and Bernie Davis who will talk about the practice and pitfalls of lighting orchestras. For registration and other information visit the Showlight website.
ARRI Lighting has introduced the new Arrisun 5 Event lighting system - created to save set-up time and costs when large numbers of daylight Pars are required. Facetted cold-light glass reflectors and spill light baffles optimise the new lamphead. ARRI has also introduced the EB 575 Event-Six electronic ballast pack, designed for 19" rack-mounting. Each contains six 575W electronic ballasts, with output for six lampheads via a single multicore cable.
City Theatrical has appointed Tim Bourgeois as lead engineer. Bourgeois has extensive experience as a lighting designer, technical director and freelance electrician for theatre productions in Boston, and will be developing products for City Theatrical's expanding customer base in the performing arts, convention centres and other entertainment sectors.At the same time, City Theatrical has also appointed lighting designer Brian Patrick Byrne as a technical liaison to dealers and end-users. As well as lighting design, Byrne's experience includes work as a director, production manager and master electrician. His LD credits include productions of Godspell, A Lie of the Mind, Six Degrees of Separation and The Who's Tommy for Evader Productions.
Legendary Parisian restaurant Chez Maxim's, in the heart of Paris, has always represented the epitome of refinement and elegance. Steeped in tradition, it maintains its position by mixing old world sophistication with the best from today's modern life. To this end it has recently installed a number of Martin's MiniMAC luminaires (supplied by Martin France) in the legendary dining room. These are discreetly positioned around the restaurant and now enhance the atmosphere with subtle colour washes and delicate colour hues.
High End Systems lighting plays a part in South Africa's version of the popular TV game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. LD Hugh Turner (previous projects include The Three Tenors) specified 20 Studio Color 575 and 9 Studio Spot 575 automated luminaires to highlight the set and add excitement to the contest. Installation and weekly operation is by Southern Lighting. The show is shot every week in Johannesburg at the AGN studios downtown for clients M-net and Videovision entertainment.
AC Lighting has supplied an extensive amount of new lighting equipment to the University of Derby for their Live Performance Technology course that was recently launched. Students progress to degree level over the programme's three years, which aims to produce technically competent researchers, designers and operators for the growing entertainment industry. Equipment from manufacturers such as James Thomas, ETC, Anytronics, Vision, Zero 88 and Manfrotto were supplied along with a multitude of cables, internally wired bars and power distribution equipment. All of this equipment is now located in Richardson Hall, the main training and performance area for the programme.
PLASA Exclusive: Vari-Lite has entered into a letter of intent to sell its operations in Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Sweden to an investment company which owns Focus Showequipment BV in Amsterdam. The intention, according to Vari-Lite CEO Rusty Brutsché, is to allow the company to concentrate on the development and sale of its automated lighting systems in the US, Asia and London. The sale is subject to various conditions, but is scheduled to be completed in September.
Stu Chalmers has joined High End Systems as the company's new vice-president of operations. Starting in mid August, he will be based at the automated lighting manufacturer's headquarters in Austin, Texas, to oversee product manufacturing. Areas of responsibility include all production and assembly areas, materials and purchasing. Chalmers was the first employee of the Kaizen Institute of America and as a consultant, has worked with a number of manufacturers including Ford Motor Company. Prior to that, he worked for 3M Company for 15 years. High End is currently working towards ISO Certification which it hopes to complete before the end of this year.
Le Mark Group of St Ives, Cambridgeshire has announced a closer business association with GAM Products Inc of Hollywood, California. GAM has been Le Mark's exclusive West Coast Dealer for StudioTak stick and peel temporary studio and stage flooring, and has appointed LeMark as its lead distributor within the UK, tasked to re-introduce selected items from GAM's unique Lighting and Effects range. This includes items such as GAM Patterns (gobos), Twin Spin Rotators, and GAM ColourTube. Jeremy Bramley will head up the GAM distribution in the UK.Le Mark will introduce the products at the PLASA Show in September, and a free seminar will be held on Sunday 10 September in the Kensington Room above the Earls Court showfloor. The seminars will be introduced by Steve Hoffman, US sales manager for GAM Products Inc.
Martin Professional is continuing with the expansion and strategic reconfiguration of its sales department with the appointment of Graham Barron as corporate sales co-ordinator.Barron brings to Martin 26 years' experience, most recently running outdoor lighting specialists Lumenation for Coe-Tech. A fully qualified lighting designer, Barron will be using his vast experience to provide a dedicated service to designers and installation contractors whose core business activity is with the nationwide, corporate club and bar estates.
MAD Lighting has gained an out-of-court legal settlement to stop UK distributor Terralec Ltd importing the Pearl River Tornado - a product which is practically a look-a-like of its own MAD Scan. The settlement followed MAD's decision to register the design for its MAD Scan fixture and, in particular, its plastic casing (reg. 2058915). As a result, Terralec has given an undertaking not to import, sell, and advertise infringing goods in the UK, nor can it infringe the design or assist others to do the same. Full story August L&SI.
Geoff Jones of Laser Studio and Illuminatum, has teamed with Dublin-based Kevin McCarthy (AVL) to form a new company, JMC Lighting. The new enterprise will be dedicated to providing an exclusive UK and Irish dealership for the full range of Coef intelligent lighting products and will operate out of both the UK and Eire. AVL has already used an assortment of Coef products for a series of high profile venues in Ireland, including many of Dublin's major recently opened venues.
PJ Lighting has been granted a full patent for its PLASA Award-winning Multi Truss Adaptor - the CD146. The product, which was highly commended in the 1998 PLASA Awards, is a heavy-duty, multi-use truss adapter for mounting trussing to tripod or trussing stands. The main feature of this product is its unique ability to hold trussing in all of its differing angles - apex up, apex down, ladder truss and box truss. As well as holding trussing to stands, the adapter can securely clamp light or sound products to trussing.
The high-profile circus of the Republican National Convention 2000 in Philadelphia, which ended yesterday with George W Bush's nomination as the Republican Presidential candidate, featured an extensive entertainment lighting system, composed mainly of High End Systems fixtures. Lighting designer Bill Klages specified 44 Cyberlight Turbo units, 40 Studio Color 575s, 30 Studio Spots and 40 Dataflash AF-1000 xenon strobes, supplied by the Production Resource Group (PRG), to enhance the stages, seats, ceilings and spectators in what is literally a political arena. Performers during the four-day event have included Jimmie Vaughan and his Tilt-a-Whirl Band, Harold Melvin's Blue Notes, The Delfonics, Jon Secada and Lee Greenwood.
PLASA Exclusive: In a move which aligns DHA's international marketing strategy with its UK business practice, DHA and Rosco have redefined their long-standing marketing agreement. Effective from September 10 - the opening day of PLASA 2000 - the new agreement will enable DHA to market direct its catalogue of 900 plus metal gobo designs and its range of moving effects products, in all countries except North and South America, Canada and Australia, where Rosco maintains its exclusivity. The decision to redefine the partnership, which gave Rosco exclusive worldwide (except UK) marketing rights for DHA gobo designs and moving effects, and DHA the right to market the Rosco images, recognises that design and international business practices have changed dramatically in the 16 years that the two companies have worked together. The gobo design of DHA's business will also continue to devel
Our telephone numbers at PLASA Publishing have changed. The old number - 01323 642639- has now been replaced by a new number - 01323 418400. Callers to the old number will, for the time being, be redirected to the new one automatically. The PLASA office number remains 01323 410335, although each member of staff at head office will now also have a direct line. The fax number for the entire office - 01323 646905 - remains unchanged.
Registration and sponsorships are now being accepted for High End Systems' Third Annual Gary Whittington Memorial Golf Tournament, in conjunction with LDI 2000 in Las Vegas. The shotgun/scramble event tees off at 8am on Thursday 19 October at the Las Vegas Paiute Resort at Snow Mountain, 10325 Nu-Wav Kaiv Blvd. Team prizes will be given, with individual prizes for longest drive men's and longest drive women's, closest to the pin and hole-in-one. If you would like to participate, the cost is $179 per player and deadline for registration is 1 October.
Reel EFX Inc, the original manufacturer of the Skydancer Fan, has announced the availability of the first disposable air tube puppet - now seen at various trade shows, parties and many other types of special event. The puppets are made of the same polytubing used for the original Skydancer Fan. The company currently produces 11 at very reasonable prices, and more are on the drawing board.
As part of the ongoing development of international sales, and following the announcement that it is now marketing its full range of products direct to overseas customers, DHA has restructured its sales division to incorporate four international regional sales managers. As well as seeking out new international stockists, they will also arrange joint product training and workshops for end users. Three of the regional sales managers have been appointed from within the company: Louise Robson-Tester will be responsible for stockists and dealers in the UK and Eire, while Nigel Sadler assumes control of Benelux and Scandinavian countries. Julie Harper, previously head of DHA's marketing, will now concentrate on the development of sales in Asia, India, Africa and the Middle East. The appointment of the fourth RSM, who will cover middle Europe and Eastern Bloc countries, will be announced later
Following a period of rapid expansion, the changes at board and senior management level at Lighting Technology Group, announced in January, have been followed by a further stage of restructuring. Business development director Paul de Ville is to leave the company. De Ville, who has been with the company for over 15 years and has made a valuable contribution to its progress, is off to explore new challenges.In the meantime, several new members have been appointed to the sales and administration teams. Jonathan Price, who has a wealth of technical experience in the theatre, conference and exhibition industries, joined the company in April to cover entertainment field sales in the South East. Joining the sales team at Park Royal is Anil Talwar, who moves in from ETC Europe, bringing with him excellent knowledge of the ETC product range. Sarah Davis, late of Stagetec, has been employed to ha
California-based Lumenyte International Corporation, a specialist in the development and manufacture of plastic fibre optic lighting systems, has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings with the confirmation on 3 August of its Plan of Reorganization. The case was filed after LIC's secured lender, Imperial Bank, declared a default claiming that LIC tangible net worth did not increase at the rate called for under Imperial's loan documents. Imperial subsequently moved for the appointment of a state court receiver which compelled LIC to institute the bankruptcy proceeding. The Board of Directors of LIC decided to institute the proceeding to allow LIC to restructure financial affairs through a plan of reorganization. LIC had approximately $1 million of general unsecured debt, as of the bankruptcy petition date, which was all current within agreed upon terms with LIC's vendors. LIC has
As part of its ongoing expansion programme, Northern Light has announced that Colin Cuthbert is to join the company in the key role of regional sales manager. Previously with Strand for three years, Cuthbert's experience will make a significant difference to Northern Light - Strand's largest distributor. His professional career started in lighting and technical management with companies such as English National Opera, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Glyndebourne. Based in London, he will be responsible for development of Northern Light's business in London and South of England.
