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Two specially designed Lighthouse LED video screens with Electrosonic VECTOR image processing were chosen as the high definition medium for a major new football and soccer stadium which opened in August 2002 in Seattle, USA.

The company behind the new stadium is First & Goal Inc, headed by Paul G. Allen, owner of the Seattle Seahawks and co-founder of Microsoft. The facility was built a few blocks south of downtown Seattle in the historic Pioneer Square district, on the site of the Seattle Kingdome, a 23.9 acres concrete and steel arena which opened in 1976, and saw over 73 million visitors pass through its doors during its life. Last year, 24 years to the day after it opened, the Kingdome was demolished to make way for the new stadium.

The stadium is the new home of the Seattle Seahawks football team and is designed with a 67,000 seat capacity, with 5,000 additional seats available

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We have learned today that Jack (the hat) Nairn died yesterday after a long and courageous battle against cancer. Jack had worked for AC Lighting for over 20 years as the company driver and was well known within the industry.

AC's managing director David Leggett told us: "Jack had worked for AC Lighting for over 20 years as the company driver, but he was much more than this, he was an excellent Ambassador for AC Lighting and this was his 'official' title. Everyone who came into contact with Jack just loved him. He was dedicated to his job and even when in the very advanced stages of the disease, he still turned up for work. Everyone loved him for his wit. I remember being in an upmarket restaurant with him and the waiter asked him if he would like something from the sweet trolley. Jack replied in his soft Irish accent 'the wheels'. Jack was an excellent employee and friend. How h

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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Martin Professional has introduced Freekie Control, a new concept in creative lighting control that adds a new element to a DJ’s scratch, backspin, bend, drag, delay, brake, reverse and power down. Packed with easy-to-use features, Freekie features easy pitch and pan/tilt control for instant lightshow to music synchronization.

Freekie is the first real DJ lighting controller with direct pitch control of the entire show on one fader! A full analogue joystick - with fine adjustment - gives fast and easy access to pan/tilt during programming - or grab any fixture manually during a show. Freekie also features a smart macro function for easy creation of circle movements. Features include: Pitch fader allows for instant speed manipulation of lightshow; Joystick for easy pan/tilt control; Controls up to 12 fixtures each with 12 channels; Multi-purpose buttons can be customized to contro

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Successfully concluding their first year of operation as Simply By Others LLC (Simply By Others) principal designers David LaVigna and Ellen Lampros of the Connecticut-based themed architectural and fibre optic system design firm announced a number of new initiatives this month, signifying the further growth of the company - new offices, new corporate identity, new web site and several new projects.

In August, the company relocated to new headquarters at 415 Main Street, Suite B, Ridgefield, CT 06879. New phone and fax numbers are +1 203 894 8605 and +1 203 894 8655 respectively. Concurrent with the move, the company launched its revamped web site at www.simplybyothers.com and new corporate identity.

On the project front, design work has begun on Strike Long Island, the third facility that the company has designed for Strike Holdings. T

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Electrosonic has announced the return of Nevil Bounds to the company as Senior Consultant, specialising in the corporate market. Nevil brings back to Electrosonic wide experience of the European audio-visual industry, in which he started when he was with the company between 1985 and 1991 and previously with Hammonds AV. Most recently, he was managing director of Dataton UK, where he developed projects with many core corporate clients.

Nevil is well-known to many suppliers and clients in the audio-visual and communications industry with a broad knowledge of the business, gained both in his previous employment with Electrosonic, and in subsequent years.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Kino Flo used the recent PLASA Show to launch the latest addition to its range of lighting for the TV and film markets. The dimming ParaBeam continues Kino Flo’s unique development of fluorescent lighting, which began some 15 years ago when, working out of a garage, the small company started to develop new technology, eventually winning an Academy Award for technical achievement.

ParaBeam’s features include proprietary optics that compress the focal range of the light wave to produce a broad soft source along the horizontal axis and a narrow beam on the vertical axis. The 24" x 24" ParaBeam 400, for example, can light a four-person news desk from approximately 15 feet away. It sweeps back the darkness in the foreground without washing out the background on the set. With a simple rotation of the fixture, it can focus like a hard light on just one of the four subjec

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Czech moving light manufacturer Robe Show Lighting has signed a deal with DHA Lighting for the latter to supply custom abstract design gobos, made specifically to fit Robe Show lanterns. Having first made contact at the SIB 2002 show in Rimini in March this year, following a process of sampling and testing, DHA’s gobos were selected as providing the best combination of value and quality.

(Ruth Rossington)

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CP Sound continues its incredibly busy year with its latest club sound and lighting installation at Harry's Bar in Weymouth. The busy nightspot in the South Coast resort has undergone a complete refurbishment and its new look is a colourful, contemporary psychedelic interior with a powerful and impressive sound system.

The independent Harry's Bar is owned by local entrepreneur Nino Ronzitti, who comes from Sicily. He initially contacted Steve Howe from Howie Design to come up with an eye-catching interior design for the club. CP Sound and Howie Design have collaborated on many memorable projects in the last few years, and Howie put CP's name forward for the audio and lighting designs, supply and installation.

Harry's Bar has two floors - a feeder bar downstairs and the main club up above, with a total capacity of 350. It's a well-proportioned environment which demanded fully flexibl

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Jem has added to its extensive line of smoke machines with the launch of the compact Magnum 550 and the powerful Magnum 950. Housing a 600W ECO-Mass Vaporizing System for economical and even distribution of haze, with fast heat-up time and extended operation, the Magnum 550 is supplied with remote control and fitted with the same high quality overheat protection as models from Jem’s professional range.

The Magnum 950, the big brother to the Magnum 550, houses a more powerful 1500W system. Supplied with remote control, 2.5 litre fluid container and again the same overheat protection as other models in the range, the 950 will give many years of maintenance-free operation.

(Ruth Rossington)

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The stage director and visual designer Robert Wilson, and poet and musician Tom Waits teamed up with the Betty Nansen Teatret in Copenhagen to create a performance which has drawn praise during its current European tour.

The production - the classic Woyzeck, by Georg Büchner - is based on the story of a young soldier and his reaction to a warped society, culminating in the murder of his girlfriend. In the hands of Wilson and Waits, the play is given a strikingly modern look. Lighting designer A J Weissbard draws inspiration from traditional methods of creating environment and atmosphere, using specialised lighting effects to give the set a feeling of simplicity, whilst at the same time empowering the unfolding tragedy.

This first all-Danish performance of the 164-year-old tragedy was given at the Betty Nansen Teatret on November 19, 2000, and the production has now embarked o

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Automated lighting veteran Marcel Fairbairn has launched a new company called Gear-Source. Based in Penbroke Pines, Florida, the new operation will supply clients with professional lighting and control products from a range of manufacturers, including Martin Professional, High End, Coemar, Vari-Lite and ETC. The company will concentrate on offering used, discontinued or demonstration items, and Fairbairn intends to develop the product range in the future by adding audio, video and backline gear to the portfolio. Fairbairn is a familiar face in the industry having worked with Tracoman, High End Systems and Martin Professional.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Lightfactor Sales has supplied technical design and installation company Chris Gunton & Associates Limited (CGA) with lighting equipment for the just-opened new Portsmouth University Students Centre.

This £6.5 million project is the first University new-build of the 21st century, the result of a plan initiated in 1997. It holds up to 2,500 people, and comes complete with several spaces including a 1,200 capacity nightclub - Lux, a Chill-out Bar - CO2, a multi-national venue, a Sports Bar - Water Hole, Coffee shop and other social areas. CGA won a competitive tender, offered by interior designers GMP, for the lighting, sound and AV installation for three areas of the building and the reception. They worked closely with Jason Dunlop, chief executive of UPSU and his team to realise the project.

Once the contract was secured, Chris Gunton turned to Lightfactor to supply the lighting kit

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Automated lighting manufacturer High End Systems is offering Level 1 (beginner) training on the new Wholehog III control system in the coming months, with the company’s Vickie Claiborne as the guest instructor. Hog III classes at High End's Austin, Texas, headquarters are set for 5-6 November and repeated on 7-8 November. For registration, contact Vickie Claiborne at vickie_claiborne@highend.com.

High End's New York office is the scene for further Hog III training sessions running on November 19 and 20. For registration, contact Laurie Bachorek at laurie_bachorek@highend.com.

High End's Los Angeles office opens for Hog III classes on 3-4 December. For registration, contact Mike Hanson at the e-mail address below.

For costs and other details, please contact the listed names or visit the website.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Color Kinetics has announced a new fee-based service program for its customers - Applications Engineering Services. While lighting industry professionals recognize the variety of benefits and design capabilities possible with LED illumination, they may not be familiar with all of the specific installation requirements of this new technology. Color Kinetics’ Applications Engineering Services program gives them the option of having a Color Kinetics expert on site to supervise and assist with proper installation and programming of a Color Kinetics LED illumination system, ensuring a successful start-up of their project. Customers may choose from a variety of options within the Color Kinetics Applications Engineering Services program. The Initial project consultation and on-site survey provides a Color Kinetics Applications Engineer who will consult with project participants (client, a

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Introduced by Wybron in 1980, the scrolling colour changer changed the face of the entertainment lighting industry. Wybron's CXI Color Fusion uses just two colour scrolls with graduated frames of cyan, yellow, and magenta to create a colour palette more diverse than any other colour changer.

This summer, Birmingham Royal Ballet added 10 large format Wybron CXIs to its house lighting stock through Wybron's London-based dealer White Light, which had already supplied some 50 standard CXIs. Whilst the ballet company is based predominantly at Birmingham's Hippodrome, it also tours with productions to venues throughout the UK such as the Theatre Royal, Plymouth, the Sunderland Empire and The Lowry, Salford.

With unique, durable and compact packaging, the Wybron CXI starts with single-channel control to mix the most frequently used gel colours, plus built right into the system are 100 pre-s

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DPL Production Lighting, Essex-based lighting design and rental house are in fashion this season, having just completed a succession of three different fashion shows for brand event specialists Hotcakes.

The first was in Manchester for Marks & Spencer. The 4-day in-store show took place at the flagship outlet in Manchester's Arndale Centre. Darren Parker designed, supplied and operated the lights which included Martin Mac 250 moving lights and an Avolites Pearl console. The fixtures were located on the floor and used to light the catwalk, the ceiling above it and the set behind.

For Wallis & Evans at The Business Design Centre in Islington, the design featured a larger lighting rig, supplied by DPL and designed by Seb Williams. Lighting fixtures included eight MAC 250s, four MAC 500s, 8 High End Studio Beam PCs, a bunch of generics and a radio DMX control system to circumvent some di

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In order to keep pace with a continually increasing sales volume and product range, Vari-Lite Europe has expanded its sales team. The addition of Nick Blackman as regional sales manager will allow Vari-Lite to provide greater customer service to its independent worldwide sales dealers.

Blackman, who spent more than 10 years developing export sales with one of Europe’s leading lighting and lamp suppliers, is responsible for developing and increasing sales and Vari*Lite product awareness in the UK, Eire, France and the Middle East. "It’s wonderful to be working for the most respected name in the automated lighting industry," he commented. "Because Vari-Lite is still relatively new to the sales market, now is a particularly exciting time to join the company and contribute to its growth into new areas."

Nick’s previous experience in the markets for w

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Flying Pig Systems' Wholehog III lighting control system got one of its debut gigs this summer in Liverpool for the Summer Pops series of concerts. BB King, Van Morrison and Jools Holland were among the many artists featured nightly for shows during the month of July. Rob Fowler, providing technical support for Flying Pig Systems, commented: "Though most of the shows were run from Hog II, significant beta testing was carried out with programmer Dave Hill (Rolling Stones, Millennium Dome) during rehearsals and the console was used on one of the shows toward the end of the run - the Last Night of the Pops."

(Lee Baldock)

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A Compulite SparkTop lighting desk was stolen from the Guild Hall in London on Monday 16 September. The desk was in a burgundy carry-case and carries the serial no: 029575. If anyone has been offered this desk for sale or knows of its whereabouts, please contact Paul on 020 8236 1303.

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Vari-Lite Inc has entered into a partnership with LDDE Vertriebs GmbH, granting the Vienna-based dealer rights to the sale of Vari*Lite products in Austria. Through the distribution agreement, Austrian customers will have direct local access to first-class sales, service and support of Vari*Lite products, including the recently-introduced Series 3000 product line, which includes the 1200W VL3000 Spot and VL3000 Wash luminaires. Through LDDE, customers can also purchase the highly popular Series 2000 products and the award-winning VL1000 ellipsoidal reflector spotlight.

"The Austrian market is established and holds good potential for Vari-Lite," said Vari-Lite vice-president of sales and marketing, Bob Schacherl: "We are excited about the opportunities that the partnership with LDDE presents. LDDE is well-respected within the Austrian lighting industry for its quality and

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This week sees the launch of AVR-USA, a joint venture between Marcel Fairbairn’s recently established Gear Source (see earlier news) and AVR Colourmaster UK - the company launched by Steve Watts. The venture will be marketed as AVR-USA and the company will promote the AVR Colourmaster brand throughout North and South America. AVR-USA will be displaying their product line at LDI 2002 in Las Vegas at the end of next week, as well as other lighting, retail and architectural shows in the coming months.

AVR has enjoyed much success across Europe and the Asian Pacific region since its launch three years ago. The products have been embraced by architects, interior and lighting designers alike. Based on the philosophy of making architectural colour changing an economically viable option, AVR has used its 10 years’ experience manufacturing in the UK to create a complete range of col

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Key members of the former management team of the Lighting Technology Group have taken the Northern division of the company forward to launch a new, specialized national entertainment lighting company - Flashlight. Flashlight is the re-birth of the Northern team of the Lighting Technology Group, the leading lighting supplier, which went into administration earlier this year following a well documented difficult financial year.

Rob Williamson, Andy Dodd and Fred King from the original Lighting Technology Group Northern team have 70 years’ combined expertise in the entertainment lighting industry. Together, they have been servicing the BBC and other major independent TV companies, as well as rental houses for a number of years. They also have vast experience in the theatre and specialist lamp industries. Specializing in the film, TV and theatre lighting industries, Flashlight will o

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The ARRI Group have announced their relocation to a new, state-of-the-art waterside HQ, next to the Grand Union Canal in Uxbridge, Middlesex. The Group is made up of ARRI (GB), responsible for the sales and service of cameras and lighting products, while ARRI Media and ARRI Lighting Rental both service productions with the rental of camera, grip and lighting equipment.

The long-awaited relocation and purchase of the property has been necessitated by steady and consistent growth over the last 19 years, and can be seen as an endorsement of the group’s confidence in the UK film and television industry. The philosophy behind the new building’s design is to offer filmmakers and technicians the ultimate facilities for preparing, testing and planning their projects.

The new four-acre Highbridge HQ site will consist of three buildings totalling 75,000sq.ft, containing warehousin

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Jonathan Hilton has been appointed as the product manager to head up the new Intralux division of the Light Projects Group. With many years experience in the lighting specification market, he will specialize in promoting this key range of products from one of Australia’s leading lighting companies.

Charlie Wadsworth, commercial director at Light Projects commented: "With a raft of diverse and impressive ranges, we need an adept and skilled manager to promote them. Jonathan joins us with a lot of experience and knowledge of the specification market." Hilton will be handling the 'Kove' range of fluorescent fittings; the 'Flare Wall Washer' range; the 'Slite' range for close proximity illumination; the 'Cog' range of exterior luminaires and Xenflex, the long-life xenon strip system.

(Ruth Rossington)

  1. World Youth Day 2002
  2. Rage Ensemble appeal for Zero 88 XLS!
  3. Lightfactor supply for Tussauds’ Kylie
  4. Success at PLASA for Light Relief
  5. Selecon & Rosco present Hands-On Day at RADA
  6. Lightpower & Clay Paky at the Nibelungen Festival
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