Lighting

G-LEC and Artistic embrace RDM

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - One of the first inter-manufacturer RDM systems was seen at LDI in Las Vegas late last year, when British control manufacturer Artistic Licence provided German company G-LEC's stand with its architectural control system Colour-Tramp, controlling the new G-LEC LightFrame transparent LED display. After a lengthy development period led by ESTA, RDM (Remote Device Management), is now so far advanced that it is possible for equipment from different manufacturers to successfully communicate with each other. "This is a major step forward for lighting control. Our customers can now see the power of RDM and the benefits they will receive," said Wayne Howell, managing director of Artistic Licence.

RDM has been developed to meet demands to control increasingly large and complex devices. "The DMX512 standard was really only developed with controlling dimmers in mind,&q

Retro effects from Gobo Scope

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - American DJ's new Gobo Scope is an effect designed to bring psychedelic '60s and '70s looks to club environments, projecting kaleidoscopic patterns onto walls, floors and ceilings. The Gobo Scope utilizes 17 colour/gobo combinations to create sharp, symmetrical images in stand-alone mode, while an audio-sensitive setting provides further effect options. Two convenient FX knobs allow users to control the unit's rotation speed and audio-sensitivity level on the fly.

Although retro-inspired, the Gobo Scope comes equipped with a high-output 250W lamp and can be operated continuously all night with no duty cycle, thanks to a large cooling fan. "The Gobo Scope is a great effect for DJs and clubs who want a little something different in their lighting arsenals," says Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "It's the perfect effect for

Ibsen Goes Kabuki with Nexera

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - The recent production of Peeru Gunto at the University of Colorado in Boulder displayed a magical array of Kabuki-style surprises, lit with Wybron Nexera lighting. A variation of Peer Gynt, by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, this production is based on Japanese themes.

The play was adapted and directed by Dr. Cecilia J. Pang, known for the critically acclaimed Alice in Wonderland - Or Not! Pang, who studied the Kabuki style of theatre in Japan, introduces cultural themes in the form of vibrant costumes and colourful scenery representing locales from Japan to the American Wild West. The superhuman-sized, spectacularly lavish style of Japanese Kabuki theatre required imaginative stage lighting. Robert J. Shannon, senior instructor and lighting supervisor at CU's Department of Theatre & Dance, explains his choice of Wybron Nexeras to compliment the ri

Major pre-wired lighting bars

Details: 14 March 2016

Germany - German distributor Lightpower has expanded its Major product range to include pre-wired lighting bars for fixed wire lighting installations. The bars are available as part of a standard product range or can be custom-made up to a length of 4m.

With an emphasis on safety, the bars allow for the user to replace a lamp by easily disconnecting the luminaire from the mains voltage. Additionally, all Major lighting bars are fitted with lamp failure indicators to enable a defective lamp to be located with ease.

Major lighting bars are produced in rectangle and round end versions with either an aluminium or powder-coated black finish. Various mains output sockets are available, and the bars are compatible with 2" couplers, double C-hooks and truss clamps as well as with most types of European cable connectors.

(Barry Howse)

Ian Kirby and TMC light up Rififi

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - A wide range of LED lighting products from the catalogue of Lighting Effects Distribution has been supplied and installed by TMC, the main sound and lighting contractors for Cosmos Leisure's new Rififi Club in Stalybridge. Fronted by the experienced Caroline Madden, the converted 1930s Palace Cinema opened its doors in early December following an extensive refit and reconfiguration of the space.

The building now houses a downstairs front bar, with all day trading, linked via a removable partition to the rear bar, which is available for private lets and trades alongside the upstairs nightclub. Ian Kirby's Lighting Effects Distribution have specified the effects and architectural lighting to all the main feature areas, using Coemar, Geni and proprietary LED-based fixtures. Six Solar M100b RGB LED units positioned on each side of the building, project columns of colour changi

PLASA@Sea: gateway to cruise markets

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - 2005 promises to be a strong year for the cruise industry, which looks set to achieve record growth. Numerous new cruise ships are scheduled for launch in 2005, with further major projects slated for 2006 and 2007. This positive trend will translate into real business opportunities for UK specialists providing lighting, audio, AV and staging technologies.

Exploiting this development will be the forthcoming SeaTrade exhibition in Miami (March 15-17) - the largest gathering of cruise line owners, operators and suppliers in the world. One of the main features of the show will be the new 'PLASA at Sea' Pavilion - a showcase of all the latest innovations in entertainment and leisure-based technology. Confirmed exhibitors to date include Barbizon, Vari-Lite, Rose Brand, Rosco, Color Kinetics, Xilver, Martin Professional, Mavco, Teledimensions, Stage Technologies and Snow Master

Design & Drafting deal with Pathway

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Building on the success of its LD Assistant software, lighting design software developer Design & Drafting has announced it has licensed Pathport Ethernet data protocol from Pathway Connectivity. Rufus Warren, president of Design & Drafting, commented: "Adding Pathway Connectivity's Pathport protocol to our Autodesk OEM product LD Assistant gives users the ability to communicate to any device attached to the systems network". He continued: "By plugging a computer into the network via an Ethernet port, this allows the CAD program (LD Assistant or AutoCAD with LD Assistant) to communicate with and control any of the devices while monitoring the progress from a remote location from within the CAD program in real time."

Lighting designer David Mollner, president of DMLDC, said: "Working with moving light fixtures is a big part of our business and bein

ESTA's automated lighting workshop

Details: 14 March 2016

Canada - ESTA's Seminars & Training Committee has announced an intensive, one-day hands-on training workshop in Ontario entitled 'Programming Automated Lighting Fixtures On A Conventional Tracking Console (Strand Lighting 500 Series)'. The workshop is limited to 20 people (two people per console), and immediately follows USITT in Toronto, Canada, on Sunday, 20 March, 2005, from 9.00am - 5.00pm. The instructor for the course is Bobby Harrell, a lighting designer and programmer in opera, dance and theatre for over 15 years.

The workshop, presented in cooperation with Strand Lighting, will be held at Strand's facility in Mississauga, Ontario. Transportation will be provided to and from the Metro Toronto Convention Center. The workshop will cover such topics as patching, LTP versus HTP, tracking/nontracking, command line programming, programming fixture selections, cues, cue playba

The cable car station at Klosters, lit by Tower Productions.

Tower's Alpine challenge

Details: 14 March 2016

UK / Switzerland - Tower Productions' Oxford office recently packed their crampons and harnesses, poured over a lengthy carnet, filled a 45ft step-frame to the roof and set off for the Swiss resort of Klosters with a brief to light a party being held at the top cable-car station, the surrounding mountain-side and anything else of interest they could find.

Not having seen the site, the crew walked around with the client early in the morning before going back down the mountain to start tipping the truck - only to get to the top cable car station to find the first of 146 flightcases were already making their way up the mountain! Swiss efficiency was becoming apparent.

A battery of High End Studio Colors and Studio Spots were employed inside and out (in Condomes), Studio Due 2500W City Colors made mountain-lighting less of a challenge and blue 400W HQIs made light work of the

Stage Electrics goes to Russia in London

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Russia came to London on 15 January 2005 when Trafalgar Square London hosted the Russian Winter Festival - a feast of music, theatre and street entertainment to mark the 'Old New Year' according to the old calendar of the Orthodox Church. The show opened with speeches from Russian and London dignitaries including Ken Livingstone, watched by an 18,000-plus audience.

Produced by Greenwich & Docklands Festivals, the eight-hour show embraced cultural song and dance from across Russia to mainstream rock and pop acts. The Alexandrov Military Choir performed with 75 members on stage, its first UK appearance since 1967.

John Radford, Technical Project Manger for Stage Electrics Production Services, worked closely with production manager Colin Nightingale to supply technical event production including provision of staging, lighting, sound, site distribution and LED screen and cam

Bak Pak dimmers help light US church

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - When Rochester Assembly of God church built its new addition in 1997 it included a rudimentary lighting system, with 'theatrical' lighting consisting of a few coloured lights and a couple of basic 'can' spotlights near the ceiling, all controlled by infrared dimmers purchased from a national electronics chain store. The only control the church had over the fixtures was to turn them on or off.

As the church grew, so did the need for a more extensive lighting system. Church officials wanted to create more professional looking and appealing productions and more emotional traditional weekly services. With its annual Christmas program on the horizon, Rochester Assembly of God decided to upgrade to a new system that would be both cost-effective and expandable.

"We were going to be presenting The Gospel According to Scrooge, so we decided to install a lighting syst

Robe turns the tables

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Robe Show Lighting fixtures have been installed at Spearmint Rhino's busy London Heathrow venue. Spearmint Rhino's is the world's highest grossing upscale Gentleman's Club chain, operating worldwide and rapidly expanding across all territories. The Heathrow club - one of the original UK sites - asked Wes Matthews of 360 Services to undertake the design and installation of upgrading their lighting rig. Matthews has worked with them for the last two and a half years, and looks after all their production technology.

Lighting for 'table dancing' and strip clubs is an area of expertise for Matthews and, over time, he's refined the very specific requirements of the environment into the art of capturing mood and creating an aura of tension and drama. "It's very similar to theatre" he explains, adding that the era of tacky and tasteless lighting in these types of venues

Mike Bell joins High End

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Former Vari-Lite product designer Mike Bell has joined High End Systems in Austin, TX as senior product manager, the company announced today.

Bell had spent eight years at Vari-Lite in Dallas, where he held the positions of Vari-Lite engineering manager, program manager and principle design engineer of the VL3000, VL2000 and VL2500 spot luminaires. He also has five years of design and project management experience working for Texas Instruments developing military and commercial infrared night vision and DLP products.

Bell commented, "I'm looking forward to working with Richard Belliveau and the engineering team to develop new and cutting-edge products." Said HES chief technology officer Richard Belliveau, "We are thrilled to be working with Mike. His wealth of experience in bringing new lighting products to market is a valuable asset to High End Systems.&q

Maxxyz for Ani DiFranco

Details: 14 March 2016

Denmark - LD Phil Karatz has specified a Martin Maxxyz console for the current US leg of Ani DiFranco's world tour to control both the lighting rig and his media server. Described as a type of 'punk folksinger', Ani DiFranco's unique socially conscious style of music appeals to a wide audience and she has been on the road for some time, including last autumn's Vote Dammit tour aimed at registering voters and a recently-completed European tour. The winter and spring US dates' rig includes a Maxxyz-controlled MAC rig of MAC 2000 Profiles, MAC 2000 Wash and Jem ZR 24/7 Hazers, supplied by See Factor. Production manager is Steve Schrems.

Karatz used a media server on the Vote Dammit US shows and decided to switch to a console that could run the media server. He comments, "I did some research and found the Maxxyz to be well suited to the way I like to set up and ru

Stagecraft announces FX package

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Salisbury based Stagecraft has announced a new special effects package for hire and sales, aimed at schools, theatres, production companies and lighting designers, which includes the Rosco Image Pro and Vortex 360. Stagecraft will also be one of the first companies to stock the new Rosco X-Effects 3-D Projector.

Stagecraft hire manager Paul Harte explained: "Special effects equipment has long been an expensive luxury for schools and production companies, and we have worked hard to put together a package which suits all budget sizes. Whether hiring or looking to buy, we now have special effects equipment which is versatile, easy to use, and most importantly produces spectacular results."

The Rosco Image Pro, he added, is one of the most cost effective ways of projecting images onto stages, buildings and screens. Using acetate gobos and a simple system which fits

Ampco/Flashlight aid 112m Dutch tsunami shows

Details: 14 March 2016

Article

Clay Paky fixtures to make French début at SIEL

Details: 14 March 2016

Italy - Clay Paky has revealed that several new products will be showcased for the first time in France at next month's SIEL 2005 show (Paris 6-9 February) on Stand N61. Commercial director Enrico Caironi said the company's participation in the Parisian event will feature the launch of a number of 'very innovative' new products, full details of which will be available at the show.

(Mike Lethby)

Cool Calor lights up Victorian scene

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Visitors to London's famous Somerset House have been soaking up the winter atmosphere and the grandeur of the Victorian era with Calor, the UK's leading supplier of liquefied petroleum gas, lighting the way. The open-air Winter Ice Rink located in the venue's main courtyard has attracted thousands of visitors for a fifth consecutive year. An added attraction this year is the use of real Victorian-style gas flame lamp standards, installed by specialist events company EMF Technology. The chosen fuel for the authentic lighting is Calor LPG.

Stuart Roberts of EMF Technology, which provides bespoke special effects and audio and video displays for major events and local authorities, commented that, to provide the right flame effect for the facility, LPG was the only answer. "We wanted to have the right ambience and an authentic look for the Victorian scene. We also had to en

QSC spotlights WideLines at Winter NAMM

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Affirming that the company is not just about amplifiers anymore, QSC unveiled a 'wall of sound' at the Winter NAMM show, aimed at drawing the industry eye to an ever-expanding loudspeaker lineup including its ISIS WideLine components. A full-range, wide angle line array system built expressly for nightclubs, ballrooms, theatres, concert halls, and houses of worship, each WideLine enclosure is designed for an open, natural sound and a 140º horizontal dispersion pattern, which, says QSC, is the widest of any line array currently on the market.

WideLine's switchable midrange frequency shading is designed to allow system operators to redirect mid-bass buildup without relying upon external equalisation, aimed at improving intelligibility in this problematic bandwidth. The switch can additionally be used to orient each enclosure's low frequency pattern for either house left or

Airstar helps a Christmas Crisis

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Lighting balloon specialists Airstar Space Lighting was on hand to assist the homeless charity Crisis at the end of December, providing nine of its Crystal fixtures for use at the charity's annual Crisis Open Christmas event. Taking place across six London venues between 23rd and 30th December, the event was designed to provide skills training & activities, companionship and medical services for as many of London's homeless as possible.

The main venue was located in three buildings at the Millennium Dome, Greenwich, plus associated marquees. Being designed with a 'village' atmosphere in mind, the Crystal lighting balloons were chosen by lighting designer Jenny Kagan to provide illumination for the links between the site's different areas. She deployed seven 2k halogen and two 1.2k HMI Crystals, all 1.6m in diameter. Although she hadn't used Airstar fixtures before, she said

Light relief for Tallinn residents

Details: 14 March 2016

Estonia - Arup Lighting, in collaboration with MVRDV, has created a spectacular lighting display that will be suspended 35m high over the Old Town quarter of Tallinn in Estonia. The semi-permanent art installation will be lit over the city, making the dark and wintry Tallinn awash with light every evening for three hours, between 3 - 6 February. The ambitious project was conceived at an Estonian designers' workshop for young architects with the aim of creating a lighting installation to enhance the city and inspire its residents during the winter gloom.

Invited by the Tallinn City Government, MVRDV architects and Arup Lighting were asked to find solutions to realise the winning idea - a 'light cupola' above the city. The Light Dome is the precursor to more anticipated installations of a similar nature in Europe, and the design team hopes to install a larger one in London in 200

2005 A.C. Lighting North returns in April

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Following a record visitor turnout and exhibitor numbers reaching the hall's capacity in 2004, the organisers of the A.C. Lighting North Tradeshow have announced that this year's show will be returning to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on 26-27 April. Further show details will be confirmed in the coming months, but visitors can expect a repeat of last year's popular format, say the company. Many of the key brands from A.C. Lighting's stock-holding of leading lighting, audio and associated equipment manufacturers who exhibited in 2004 have already confirmed their attendance, as well as a number of new suppliers who will making their first appearance at the show.

As well as the chance to catch up on the latest product innovations and receive demonstrations, face-to-face expert advice and some exclusive 'show-only' exhibitor deals, the show will again include a range of

Lobo Lasers conquer the seven seas

Details: 14 March 2016

Germany - Laser specialist Lobo has announced the latest in a series of installations on cruise ships and a private yacht. Magica, the new flagship of European shipping line Costa, set sail for the first time and, along with its sister ship Fortuna, takes Mediterranean cruising to new dimensions. Each of the 272-meter long floating hotels draws 105,000 tonnes and offers pure luxury combined with Italian ambience for 3,470 passengers.

Among the abundant entertainment on offer is a theatre seating more than 1,000 guests, and its well-specified technology includes a sophisticated Lobo laser system. Three maintenance-free laser projectors are controlled by Lacon-5 workstations and Magica also features Lobo's latest Zaphir moving laser head. The control system allows either completely independent operation of the laser system but also control via DMX, timecode, E

PixelPARs for Royal & SunAlliance

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Twelve James Thomas PixelPAR 90 LED fixtures are at the core of a new high-impact exterior architectural lighting scheme at the Royal & SunAlliance building in Bristol. The Grade II listed West Gate building was designed by renowned British architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - who's work included national landmarks like Battersea & Bankside Power Stations, Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral and the classic red British Telephone Box.

Royal & SunAlliance was keen to stamp its own modern - and lasting - identity on the building for the 21st century. It also wanted an innovative and high quality scheme to reinforce West Gate as a prominent city centre landmark. An additional challenge was that the 'Listed' status meant no signage could be attached to the exterior. Keen to embrace new technology, Royal & SunAlliance decided that lighting was an inventive solution that would also crea

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