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UK - Leading pro lighting and audio sales specialist Stagetec UK and its sister distribution company have moved into new, larger premises in Bracknell, Berkshire. The companies' new address and contact details are: Stagetec UK Ltd, 9 Bilton Industrial Estate, Lovelace Road, Bracknell, Berkshire RG12 8YT, UK. Tel: +44 (0)870 224 7808, fax: +44 (0)870 224 7818. E-mail and web details are given below.

The move addresses the need for more space and the recent expansion of the team. The purpose-built unit is being customized for Stagetec to meet the growing demands of its business and workflow. The site includes a large, open prep area for equipment to be tested and set-up before being dispatched for installation or sale, and dedicated areas for both the audio and lighting elements of Stagetec's business, plus large demonstration and training areas. The offices are also designed and

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UK - The Cross Keys in Yarm, Cleveland, recently under new ownership, has emerged from a comprehensive refurbishment as one of the most stylish and contemporary pub/club venues in the north-east. The Grade II-listed public house has been given its technical make-over by Music Marketing Services, which has installed new lighting and Martin Audio sound systems throughout.

Pete Varey of Music Marketing Services, who installed a Martin Audio Blackline PA system upstairs in the Cross Keys' nightclub, explained: "It was entirely the client's choice; they'd heard a system at a club in Middlesborough and wanted one for themselves." Four F15 high-performance compact two-way cabinets are flown above the new flashing dancefloor, with two S218 sub-bass bins built into the walls below the mid/high cabinets. Eight ultra-compact EM26 boxes provide infill.

Downstairs in the Keys Bar

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Germany - The 'Deutsche Oper am Rhein' in Düsseldorf has modernized its lighting equipment with transtechnik Lichtsysteme. Düsseldorf Opera House used their summer break this year to realize phase two of their modernization process and expand the lighting control system in both the stage and front of house. With moving lights, colour changers and dry-ice machines now an established part of theatre life - no longer confined to the traditional realm of rock concerts - Düsseldorf's goal was to have as much flexibility as possible in their Ethernet/DMX control network. At the heart of the new lighting control system lie two transtechnik Lichtsysteme Prisma NT consoles and the intuitive Libra operating system controlling the moving lights and colour changers. The new solution also features a 24.3" TFT channel monitor and a Digiplus digital auxiliary console for the programmable

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UK - Major rental company Knight International has added Coemar Pro series 575 yokes to its hire fleet, as well as a batch of Hungaroflash strobes and Antari X series effects machines, all supplied by Kent-based distributor Coemar UK.

The Chelmsford-based company has a heavy and varied workload, with a busy wet hire programme and a burgeoning cross-hire arrangement with another Coemar-based house, Terry Tew Sound & Light. Aside from servicing a number of one-off spectaculars, Knight International is also prominent in the Asian market.

Proprietor Phil Knight told us: "Coemar are a good investment for us because of their competitive pricing and good optics. Scanning mirror technology has had its day and there are certain things we need out of moving yoke systems, mainly price and reliability. I have known the people at Coemar UK for many years, and once we had evaluated the

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USA - With sales of its automated fixtures reported to be at an all-time high, Vari-Lite has appointed industry veteran Charlie Hulme as regional sales manager for the Western United States. Hulme has proven success in providing entertainment lighting systems for the concert touring, theatrical, architectural, corporate theatre, retail, nightclub and houses of worship market segments.

"We hit a home run with the Series 3000 fixtures," said Vari-Lite vice-president of sales Bob Schacherl. "The demand is amazing. I've seen nothing like it in my 20 years in the automated lighting industry. Because there are so many lighting professionals out there desiring Vari*Lite products, it was extremely important that we bring in someone who understands the industry, the tight deadlines and who knows what it takes to ensure that our customers' needs are met."

Hulme has s

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UK - Creative Technology was the sole technology provider for Sub Postmaster 2003 (the annual Post Office and Convenience Retailing Show) at Wembley Exhibition Centre this month. The lighting design, by CT's project manager Rob Merilees, made extensive use of LED lighting technology using the new Color Blast 12 fixture by Color Kinetics (CT is the first company in the UK to stock the units).

The Color Blast resembles a 12" x 6" flat panel and utilizes high output LEDs to project a 21° soft edged beam. Merilees said: "The RGB colour mixing enabled us to provide an exact colour match for the client's Pantone references."

The main feature of the stand was the walk-through tunnel, which ran the full width of the stand and was dominated by vibrant slowly fading colour changes from the Color Blasts, with graphic displays on the 10 plasma screens. The canopy feat

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UK - Pearce Hire promoted its three specialist divisions, united as a production package, to event organizers at this year's Showman's Show. The three divisions - audio, lighting and temporary power - have invariably worked independently, or in various combinations at events over the years. The new package will now combine the specialist skills and equipment of the three divisions.

The company believes that event organizers will experience improvements in efficiency if they deal with a single contractor supplying these three key areas of production, as it gives one point of contact for the client, maximising co-ordination between the services on site. Secondly, clients will experience reduced production costs through economies such as transport and crewing levels.

Pearce Hire's owner, Shaun Pearce commented: "We have been surprised at various shows this year by organizers

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USA - Brent Barrett has returned to Bandit Lites after a 22-year absence. Barrett originally started with Bandit in 1977 and toured with Conway Twitty. He continued working with the company until 1984, when he was retained by the group Alabama as lighting designer. He went on to become production manager for the group, and toured with them from 1981 until 2003.

Michael Strickland, Bandit Lites CEO, said: "Brent brings Bandit Lites a wealth of knowledge and many industry connections. I could not be more pleased to have him back home." Barrett is also pleased to be back at Bandit, commenting: "I am delighted that Michael has given me this opportunity, it feels great to be back."

Barrett's new role will be that of business development officer, working from the Bandit Lites Nashville office.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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Australia - Mid-way through their Australian tour, Russell Crowe and his band, '30 Odd Foot of Grunt', decided to add some more grunt to their lighting effects with two Pulsar ChromaBanks. Neale Mace, managing director of Entertainment Installations, who supplied both lighting and audio for the tour, explained: "I'd seen them in the factory and really liked them but I needed to use them on a gig to get a good idea of how they would perform and what we could do with them. For the size of venues we were playing, we already had quite a large moving light rig. We decided to place the ChromaBanks behind the drummer where we used them for straight colour as well as a strobing effect. The strobing effect was great and looked really good when used in conjunction with strobing movers. We also used some of the macros that are built into the units, which we then controlled on a fader.&q

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Germany - As most moving light programmers have at some time experienced, automated fixtures and the profile in the lighting desk do not always match. This is often due to new fixtures or fixture software having not been implemented by desk manufacturers or because the fixture profile has to be written from spec sheets with no potential for checking against real life units.

Since the inception of the grandMA series, MA Lighting has given the option to programmers of modifying or even creating new fixture profiles directly from the desk. However, until now, there has never really been any common place for programmers to share information with the result that operators across the world may well be repeating the same programming processes on the same desks for the same units.

To cut down on wasted time and energy MA have developed a new website (address below), where users can be

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UK - 'Celebrating the spirit of beauty' was the theme at this year's Pantene Pro-V Style Awards, held at the Royal Albert Hall. Stage Electrics was contracted by Big Chief Productions to design and project manage the technical elements of the show, which included lighting, sound, set and staging.

The set design for the event comprised a backdrop of white sails, stretched in a variety of shapes framing a central entrance through which guest presenters would appear. The design required an extension to be built in front of the existing Albert Hall stage, as the client wanted to use the stage as a dance floor for the after-show party. Over 100 pieces of Maltbury Metrodeck, three pallets of chipboard and 200m of white vinyl flooring later, the Stage Electrics team had built a custom stage extension that followed the curve of the arena and met all of the venue's Health and Safety requ

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Germany - With little more than 18 months to go to Showlight 2005, the search is on for those contributions that make Showlight one of the most stimulating and rewarding event in the lighting diary.

Taking place in Munich, at the beautiful Prinzregententheater, Showlight 2005 will look forward to tomorrow's technology, to the ideas and equipment that will take lighting design into the next decade. The show will also look back at what has been achieved in the worlds of theatre and television, film, concert and architectural lighting design. A major part of the Showlight show is devoted to presentations, of 15 to 45 minutes, by people working within the lighting industry. The organizers are now inviting ideas for papers from lighting designers and directors, scenographers and equipment manufacturers - although sales pitches are not welcome!

Six main topics have been chosen for b

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UK - Digital media solutions specialists Projected Image Digital has announced a preferred dealer agreement with Element Labs for its Versa TILE product. Versa TILE - a colour mixing light tile that utilises video inputs - was launched at PLASA 2003 where it won the PLASA 2003 Product Excellence Award for Design Excellence in Lighting.

In keeping with Projected Image Digital's profile at the cutting-edge of digital media technology, Versa TILE is an important and complimentary addition to the PID range, which includes Catalyst, RADlite, D-Tek and an ever-expanding selection of digital content. Negotiations started at PLASA in September, and the deal was confirmed last week in London. PID's David March and Rob Fowler have known Element Labs' Nils Thorjussen and Claas Ernst for several years - all four previously worked together at High End Systems.

"Versa TILE is an innova

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USA - Visitors to the Entertainment Technology Show - Lighting Dimensions International (LDI) will have the opportunity to see prototype devices networked with draft versions of the control protocols E1.11 (DMX512-A), E1.17 (ACN) and E1.20 (RDM) at the ESTA Interconnectivity Pavilion in booth number 121. These control protocols are being developed by the Control Protocols Working Group, part of ESTA's Technical Standards Program, and are designed to take us into the next generation of self-configuring and almost limitlessly extensible lighting control networks. Equipment from a variety of manufacturers will be shown communicating bi-directionally with equipment from other manufacturers, demonstrating the progress that has been made in developing these protocols and the benefits of voluntary, consensus standards developed in ESTA's open industry forum.

The Entertainment Technolo

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USA - Martin Architectural has introduced a new variant of its full-colour mixing Cyclo 03 fluorescent washlight. Useful for decorative colour effects in a variety of indoor architectural environments, the Cyclo 03 is now available with three channels of onboard DMX control. The new DMX version also offers an improved design and a number of other special features thus ensuring trouble-free set-up.

The Cyclo 03 DMX is a surface mounted fixture using RGB technology to generate white light of any temperature, as well as virtually all colours and shades. True 0-100% intensity control of each tube means the fixture can be completely turned off via DMX. DMX addresses and stand-alone modes can be set via an on board DIP switch offering various preset programs at four speeds and with no controller required. A newly designed housing, with mounting brackets that can be pre-installed, allo

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USA - LED lighting specialist Color Kinetics Inc (CKI) has introduced iColor Cove EC - a highly affordable LED-based solution for the generation of saturated colour and dynamic effects in under-cabinet, edge and alcove lighting. Joining the iColor Cove family of products, iColor Cove EC applies Chromasic technology to lower the cost of digital LED control, thereby significantly lowering the cost of the total system, say CKI.

iColor Cove EC extends these cost-saving benefits of LED lighting to the fixture itself, which is competitively priced to further advance LED systems as a viable alternative to conventional lighting methods. The custom-engineered Chromasic microchip combines digital LED control and communication technology in a single minimized package, which increases the ease of control while lowering the system's price. iColor Cove EC is ideally suited for low ambient exh

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UK - Xtreme Audio Visual has recently refurbished Luminar Leisure's former Bedford showpiece, The Plaza, which has been purchased by club industry stalwart Kerpel Baines and renamed Nexus. Craig Wiggins' company has been a heavy shopper at Coemar UK recently, having also equipped its flagship installation Guru - at the new Heron City leisure complex in Valencia, Spain - largely with fixtures purchased from UK distributors. In fact both venues opened in the same week at the beginning of October.

Craig Wiggins of Xtreme Audio Visual said: "The Bedford venue's vaulted ceiling is nicely raked before flattening off. We have used three Coemar Prospots 150s in the centre, almost alongside each other, two either side of the roof pitch and the final one further down on the flat part of the ceiling." One of the dance podiums features a shower, with a Coemar ProSpot positioned cl

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USA - Super Vision International Inc, the Florida-based designer and manufacturer of LED and fibre-optic lighting products, signs and displays for retail and architectural applications, has announced its financial results for the quarter ending 30 September 2003, with net income for the quarter at $206,400 ($0.08 per share), compared to a net loss of $300,000 or ($0.12) per share in the third quarter of 2002.

The company was profitable for the second consecutive quarter this year despite a slight decline in revenues from $3m in the third quarter of 2002 to $2.93m in the same quarter of 2003. Net loss for the nine months ended 30 September 2003 was $120,000 or ($0.05) per share compared to a net loss of $696,300 or ($0.27) per share in the same period last year.

Dan Regalado, chief financial and operating officer of Super Vision International commented: "Despite the lower

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UK - Lighting designer Max Conwell has designed a very different video aesthetic into his show for the current European leg of Placebo's Sleeping With Ghosts tour. Conwell's multi-layered approach seamlessly binds the visual mediums of lighting and video into Placebo's powerful, hard-hitting performance. Conwell and production manager Derek McVay again turned to XL Video's Des Fallon to supply production hardware for the tour, in this Placebo's most comprehensive video-based production to date.

XL has supplied three upstage 10m square Barco D7 LED screens. These are hung low, and upstage of a heavy, plastic industrial freezer curtain, slit into several sections. There are also four Barco G10 projectors providing front projection onto the plastic. Conwell took the double-images of the album artwork as a starting point for his video content. He wanted two layers of video -

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USA - The Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award, established in 2002 by the Board of Advisors of Pro Production, the award was christened the 'Parnelli' in memory of the late tour manager Rick 'Parnelli' O'Brien, who passed away in October of 2000. The award is presented each year at the annual Parnelli Awards during the Pro Production conference. The recipient, chosen by the Advisory Board, is honoured for their lifetime of work within the industry and who best represents, in their own endeavors, the 'Four H's' - Humanity, Humility, Honesty, and Humor - which symbolized the life's work and ethics of Rick O'Brien.

The Pro Production Advisory Board has announced that Chip Monck will be the recipient of the 2004 award. Monck is perhaps most widely known as the "Voice of Woodstock" for his work as master of ceremonies at the industry's first 'Mega Event'. However, Monck's t

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Ireland - The Dublin Spire on O'Connell Street has been lit with Lumileds Luxeon LEDs in a project to provide the city with a striking new tourist attraction. Designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, the Spire is now Dublin's tallest structure, with Leda-Lite International selected to illuminate the Spire with aviation and architectural lighting that maximizes the impact of the overall design.

In total 2000 white Luxeon Star LEDs were used to light the Spire, creating a light output of 2000 candela in all directions and a structure that can be seen from up to 15 miles away. Leda-Lite used specially designed optics to create 360° of light around the aviation light. By turning the optics 90° the lighting solution spreads light down the entire length of the spire, emitting it through 11,000 perforated holes along the structure's aluminium core. These holes allow the architectural ligh

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UK - Drapes and rigging specialist Blackout has launched StarLED - a revolutionary new LED starcloth product that will be manufactured at the company's South London headquarters. StarLED is an LED-based system offering an ultra-bright, lightweight and DMX controllable alternative to fibre-optic and pea-bulb lit cloths.

StarLED can enhance sophisticated lighting or set designs and is ideal for a wide range of applications, including architectural, corporate, entertainment and leisure-build projects. Manufactured to the highest specifications, it combines a new lightweight IFR Molton Trevira fabric, with high intensity LED emitters and DMX controllability. StarLED systems are available in two versions - White and RGB. The White version offers a stunning galaxy-like effect, while the RGB cloth allows access to a vibrant rainbow spectrum of colours via DMX control. Designed to be ex

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The Netherlands - Lumileds Lighting is now shipping a warm white version of its high-brightness Luxeon LEDs, becoming the first manufacturer to deliver a warm white emitter in production quantities, it claims. The new product opens the door for significantly greater use of solid-state illumination in interior and task lighting applications by overcoming the resistance of lighting designers and consumers to the cooler blue tones of conventional white LEDs.

Luxeon warm white provides a colour rendering index (CRI) of 90, a correlated colour temperature (CCT) of 3200°K, and an average light output of 20 lumens - up to 10 times brighter than standard LEDs. It is also the first solid-state light source to closely match the black body illuminant spectrum across the visible coloured range. These characteristics, based on advanced phosphor material technology developed by Lumileds engi

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UK - One of the North-East's leading audio-visual and event production company, The R&B Group, has announced a string of new contract wins on the strength of its commitment to make Newcastle and Gateshead the events capital of Europe.

Newcastle Quayside-based The R&B Group has a staff of 15 and offers a complete technical solution for presentations, events or shows using the most progressive technical equipment available in the industry. Its work takes them across the country and abroad and is synonymous with many household names such the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal College of Nursing, Newcastle Chronicle & Journal Ltd, Northern Arts and the eye-catching launch of Gateshead's Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

The company's marketing team has just returned from a successful city conference with the Newcastle Gateshead Initiative, aimed at attracting London buyers into ho

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