S Club 7 is the biggy of the month; the group is at Elstree studios for rehearsals as we speak, with the tour commencing at the end of this month. This is a major production, set design by Charlie Kail (built by Total Fabrications Ltd) with Pete Barnes designing the lighting rig which will contain Icons, PC Beams, Super Cycs, Studio Colors and 64 trusty Par cans. Out in the audience a huge flown catwalk (flown by Summit Ste
(Lee Baldock)
The College has recently embarked on a major programme of investment in infrastructure facilities to develop a state-of-the-art learning centre including a new library and IT facilities. The programme has also included a significant installation of lighting and audio equipment to enhance the college’s Communication Arts Studies in Media and Performance (CASMAP) facilities.
This part of the installation has been carried out by AC Lighting Ltd, creatin
The EVO was designed for maximum ease of use. Its user interface gives constant feedback over the current show or programming actions using plain English sentences. Thanks to the motorised faders, the user will be able to program scenes as on an analog desk or run entire cuelists from one submaster. ENTTEC have also included new features such as semi-automatic crossfades and web remote control. The EVO is not built around a PC, but uses an in
Cast will be represented at the Games by Allyn Terry, lighting director/designer and Russ Widdall as board operator/assistant. Preplanning of the studios will take place in Toronto. Terry and Widdall will spend some two months on site in Salt Lake City with the set-up and managing of the studios. These studios will have nu
Lighting designer Oli Metcalf has seen his system squeezed into small clubs and stretched to fill a full arena stage - and has managed to keep the CAV-supplied rig intact along the way. Metcalf is using CAV for the first time, a decision, prompted by their stock of up-to-date High End product. "I’m using 16 Studio Color washlights and the same number of Studio Spot CMYs," he revealed. There are also 14 AF1000 strobes in his design and a quartet of modified Cyberlight Turbos - their rear cable entries have been removed to allow them to stand vertically under four fabric cones which form an important part of the set. "CAV seemed to have all the new High End kit I needed, and they had no problem with me wa
New York at the beginning of December is a sentimental place. Horse-drawn carriages trot fur-coated shoppers along 59th Street at Central Park South. Sesame Street’s Big Bird switches on the Christmas tree lights outside the Lincoln Centre. Tourists flock to Ground Zero. And AES delegates - at least the Americans - exhibit, buy, sell and discuss in detail ‘classic’ audio technology.
One whole section of this show was dedicated to ‘When Vinyl Ruled’, and offered tear-jerking insights into valve and lathe technology. Even away from this grotto, microphone and signal processor designs from the 1950s were on display, re-issued and repackaged with loving attention to detail.
Les Paul himself, who pioneered multitrack recording in the 1950s, figured in Gibson La
The team, led by head of production Nigel March, and in collaboration with the venue’s riggers Vertigo Rigging, transformed the concert hall into a proscenium arch theatre, with all the expected rigging and flying facilities, ready to stage The Snow Maiden and Swan Lake.
This was the most ambitious set and lighting design ever staged at the South Bank, as well as one of the tightest timeframes. The initial task of the Vertigo team, headed by Paddy Burnside, was to install an 18 x 12 metre mother grid in the roof of the Hall. Below this was hung a trussing sub-grid to hold all the lighting and scenery bars and tab tracks. Because the changeover between shows was so tight, scenery and cloths for both had to be rigged at the
Why? Well, either the manufacturers are trying to drive new markets having saturated theatre, TV, concert and corporate events with smaller, highly developed models, or alternatively the market researchers have been busy and discovered that there is, in fact, a latent demand out there for such lighting equipment. Personally, I tend to the second view, but there’s no doubt that having once created a beast, chances are someone will find a use for it - witness the large xenon-powered searchlights that are commonplace at festivals and special events. But when we turn our attention to buildings, especially in the UK, we
Sequencing apart, this is a very analogue sounding band, real guitars, keys, drums and percussion, yet on the outside their show embraces some of the very latest technology.
Lighting
These are never easy shows to light, the style demanding that you not so much light the artist, as the room. Juan Morandi has strong things to say about the subject: "The fact is you can’t tour a music production at this level with anything original unless you have a lot of money. This is a front and back truss situation with extremely boring moving lights." Sorry? &q
Chris West comments: "It’s important to get out and about to see people, and open days are an ideal method of reaching a focused public, giving them an opportunity of hands-on experimentation with the consoles."
Avolites also see these events as an ideal chance for socialising, networking and catching up with friends and colleagues from all over the country who are involved in live production and performance.
(Lee Baldock)
Following the morning session there will be an exhibition where those attending will be encouraged to meet the manufacturers and view the latest products and equipment. People who do not wish to attend the workshops are welcome to attend the exhibition between 12.30 - 2.00pm. Manufacturers attending will include Zero 88, Selecon, HW International (UK distributor for Shure, QSC Audio and Phonic), Dought
Kennedy’s professional accomplishments include assembling the lighting systems for The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Show Boat, Ragtime, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Fosse, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Barrymore, Sunset Boulevard, The Bridge, Mamma Mia and productions of Disney’s The Lion King in New York, London, Toronto and Los Angeles.
(Lee Baldock)
Electrical CAD enables electrical systems to be designed on the building drawing using a DXF file or directly with AutoCAD. It comes with a comprehensive and easy to use BS symbol library: as symbols are entered onto the drawing, they automatically snap to wall orientations. Using extensive manufacturer’s databases of boards, protective devices, busbars, cable and luminaires, the designer can build the lighting and electrical design straight onto the drawing.
(Ruth Rossington)
The project, managed by BBC Technology’s Consulting & Projects division, involved Stagetec in the design, manufacture and installation of a complete DMX network running throughout the studio. A total of 148 DMX outlets were installed by Stagetec, dotted around the studio in custom made socket boxes. These were wired back to patch panels located at grid level in the roof and in the new control area. Eight IES 10-way DMX splitters were mounted in the patch cabinets to provide DMX distribution with the existing analogue dimmers retained. Stagetec then installed 552 channels of Compulite demultiplexers in the dimmer room so t
The Eclipse II is a variable speed DMX controlled iris douser with linear control using a single motor. It can realistically fade fixtures that use non-dimmable arc and metal halide sources, products which are becoming more and more prevalent in lighting design today. One of three lighting accessories awarded the EDDY 2001, it was the smooth and seamless fades of Eclipse II which impressed the panel.
Keny Whitright of Wybron and theatre legend George Izenour collected the award at the 10th annual EDDY Awards at John Jay College Theatre in New York City. The EDDY Awards are presented annually to honour excellence in entertainment design and technology, as well as innovation i
Andrew Suggs has been promoted to branch account handler at the busy Bristol customer service centre. Suggs has worked for Stage Electrics for six years, covering all aspects of hire. Most recently he was a contract handler in the Bristol Warehouse, managing the co-ordination of all major hires leaving the building.
Tony Rhodes has joined the company as business development manager at the NEC
The company will continue to work with designers to develop lighting solutions and will launch a new dynamic range of high intensity LED products later this year.
(Ruth Rossington)
The move adds further strength to Animatec SA’s distribution portfolio, which also includes top lighting brand such as MA Lighting and Pulsar along with pro audio brands such as Ecler, Stanton and D.A.S. Audio.
(Lee Baldock)
i-Vision was approached for the project - part of the ongoing scheme to light landmark building in the City of Liverpool - by Tony Woof, chief executive of Liverpool Architecture and Design Trust (LADT). I-Vision’s brief was to produce an interesting and cost-effective design to transform this somewhat imposing looking building into an attractive, integrated element of the landscape.
LADT has been overseeing the River of Light project, which started with a massive light, laser, projection and visuals show for the town on Millennium Eve. It completes with the lighting of eight key buildings in Liverpool - the last of which is the Police Authority HQ. Wit
If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of this equipment, please contact Dirk Bosloirs at EML Productions NV in Brussels - telephone: +32 16 61 71 18 or at the e-mail address below.
(Lee Baldock)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang the musical will open at the London Palladium in April, in a new production adapted from the film by Jeremy Sams and directed by Adrian Noble, the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. The show is being designed by Anthony Ward, with lighting by multiple Olivier-award winner Mark Henderson - a nominee for this year's lighting Olivier.
With the show set to fill every inch of the Palladium stage - and beyond, with a sequence involving Chitty flying out and over the heads of the audience being planne
The specta
(Lee Baldock)
