UK - March once again brings the RSAMD (Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama) Graduate Exhibition and Trade Show (21-22 March, 10.00am - 5.00pm). For two days, final year students of the Technical and Production Arts Course will be exhibiting a broad range of work from their three years of study in the Chandler Studio Theatre.

At the same time, the Academy's main theatre, the New Athenaeum, will become an exhibition space for the Technical and Production Arts Programme's sponsors and suppliers, enabling them to demonstrate and discuss their most recent equipment and products with prospective clients and visitors to the Academy. Companies such as Black Light, Stage Technologies, ETC, MA Lighting, Green Hippo, Selecon, Martin Professional and White Light will be taking part.Alongside this, a range of seminars will also be taking place over the two days, lead by Bernie Davies

Hong Kong - The Canon Corporation has recently installed the latest Laservision LED technology at its prominent Kowloon skyscraper base, called Oterprise Square, so that the building can participate in Hong Kong's record-breaking Symphony of Light Show.

"Artificial light accounts for almost one-fifth of the world's electricity consumption - substantially more than the output of all the nuclear power stations in the world. Within 25 years, the global demand for artificial light is projected to be almost twice today's level as the developing world moves towards western living standards," say Laservision.

The company says that a shift in global climate trends and an international focus on sustainable energy has seen high-rise buildings around the world favouring energy efficient lighting design as a means of retrofitting structures for modern times.

Many governments a

UK - Beadlight will be launching five new products at the ARC Show next week (Business Design Centre, London, 12-13 February). Based on their proprietary diffusion and video technologies, these Bead*light LED fixtures add a rich ambiance to the local environment through their ability to work together as an automated, integrated 2D or 3D screen array. The ice*lighting range, of which these new products form part, offers designers the ability to create unique dispersed screen features over which animations, textures and colours seamlessly flow, say the company.

The ice*lighting products being officially launched at ARC are: Panel - five-pixel panel (L 510mm / W 110mm / D 85mm); Crystal Cube - an artistic version of the ice*lighting cube where the 'circular' light source is contained within a clear acrylic housing; Pixule - the ice*lighting version of the Bead*light capsule which a

Italy - The Mole Antonelliana dominates the skyline of Turin. At over 167m, La Mole was the highest brick building in the world at the time of its completion and remains the tallest building in Turin. To celebrate International AIDS Day, architect Daniela Fabbris began a search to find a lighting fixture capable of projecting a logo directly on to La Mole from a terrace at a distance of 30m.

Alessandro Fantin from Vari*Lite distributor Audio Link explains: "During the meeting I had to personally guarantee that the VL3500Q spot would be able to project the standard colour of the red AIDS logo - as it was impossible to do tests due to the city location of La Mole and the webcams connected. A risky promise, but one I knew the fixture could deliver!"

The Turin government have embraced the project as previously the only logos that could be projected and seen on the brown

UK - Entertainment lighting supplier White Light will be at ARC 07, the architectural, retail and commercial lighting show, which takes place at the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London from February 12-13. White Light will be on the Enliten Architectural Lighting stand, M35, demonstrating a range of products for which they are the exclusive UK distributors.

Those looking to control lighting remotely without the need cables will be interested in the W-DMX wireless DMX system from Wireless Solutions in Sweden, currently in use on the Light Elements project in Maidstone.

Designers looking for cost-effective playback of pre-programmed lighting will be interested in the showSTORE and miniSTORE DMX playback systems from ELC which record and playback DMX data from shows created on full-featured lighting controllers and then play it back triggered by conditions such as c

France - ETC, through its French partner ATF - Avab Transtechnik France - will onceagain be showing off its newest and latest products at SIEL, including Congoand its little brother Congo jr, which has been a runaway success in Franceand across Europe.

The Congo console was designed " to be the most complete platform forcontrol of any device - whether that happens to be conventional dimming,automated luminaires or media servers - without losing the feel of a classiclighting control system," says Avab software developer Anders Ekvall. Otherteam members included Avab Transtechnik France's Jean-Louis Pernette andChristian Rezgui, who were instrumental in directing product development.

Just a year later, ETC introduced the Congo jr, with the same functionalityof Congo but with a smaller footprint and smaller price tag - aimed at venues like rehearsal halls or black-box t

New Zealand - Selecon and Philips hosted a seminar in Taiwan that highlighted the supply chain from lamp manufacturer to end user. "We had a challenging situation" says Phil Sargent, regional market manager for Selecon, "you can do a nice presentation together with product demonstrations but it really doesn't do justice to the whole background story behind the optical system development and thousands of hours of R&D time."

Normally the partnership between the luminaire and lamp manufacturer's R&D teams is glossed over and presenters move on to more product specific areas, and this leaves the story of the collaboration untold.

"Philips and Selecon have the same dealer in Taiwan, and when Mr. Anthony Wu, managing director of Ming Li approached us with his idea of a joint seminar, we were delighted to be involved" says Sargent. "After discussin

World - Lighting designer Bryan Leitch has specified Avolites to control lighting for Justin Timberlake's extensive Future Sex/Love 2007 world tour which kicked off in San Diego in January and hits the UK and Europe in April and May.

As soon as Leitch won the design contract, his company Siyan immediately purchased two additional Diamond 4s from Avo. Siyan's three existing D4 consoles were already committed and spec'd onto other tours running during the same period.

Leitch co-designed and developed the Future Sex/Love show with programmer Nick Whitehouse. The two had worked together on Coldplay's 2003/04 Rush of Blood To The Head tour which also utilised a D4.

Fixture-wise, the D4 is controlling over 120 Vari*Lites - a mix of VL4s and VL3000 spots and washes plus 12 VL1000s; 120 ColorKinetics ColorBlasts; 20 Syncrolites - eight 1Ks and twelve 3ks; 40 Ato

Europe - i-Pix' new Satellite LED fixtures are being used to illuminate the elaborate stage set for R 'n' B diva Rhianna's current A Girl Like Me tour. dates includes a high-profile opening slot for the Pussycat Dolls' ongoing UK and European arena tour.

Rhianna's stage set - along with her lighting - was designed by Alex Skowron and was built by Lite Structures, On the road, the lighting is being looked after and operated by Dallas-based Bruce Dare who also works with the Black Eyed Peas.

Rhianna is touring her full set for the PCD tour. She plays for 45 minutes, and her show also features a complete lighting rig of 'specials'. These are supplied by Neg Earth and include the 18 Satellite fixtures and a WholeHog II console. Additionally, they're 'borrowing' some moving lights from the main Pussycat Dolls' rig which is supplied by Bandit Lites UK.

The Satellites are po

UK - The Switched On London lighting festival runs until February 16 in The Pool of London, encompassing the Thames, bordered by Tower Bridge and London Bridge. The event is billed as a celebration of the relationship between light, architecture and the city, and consists of temporary lighting installations and a series of light related events with an overall concept of theatre.

The IALD (International Association of Lighting Designers) has involved some of the UK's most celebrated lighting designers who, together with leading manufacturers which include Martin Architectural are realising these projects.

Martin Architectural is lighting HMS Belfast and showcasing its new Exterior 1200 Washes which are lighting the side of the ship. Twelve Exterior 600s have been installed in the main guns to produce the effect of the guns shooting, and a further four Exterior 200's have

UK - Stage Electrics has added the Chroma-Q Color Web 250 system to its hire stock - 500 square metres of the product is now available. The Color Web 250 is a flexible low resolution LED matrix system offering 16 individually addressed colour mixing cells per square metre. Each piece of Color Web has connectors on all four sides allowing for any shape and size system to be built, to fit most applications. Rated at IP65, the Color Web is designed for both indoor and outdoor events.

Stage Electrics has also added the Pixelmad media server to its hire stock to support the Color Web system. When used together, Color Web is transformed in to a fully controllable low resolution display allowing the lighting designer to play back animated images across custom built areas. For less intensive applications there is a simple DMX control mode available to the user.

Adrian Searle, head of

UK - Vortex Lighting took on the challenge of producing something dynamic for the Royal Television Society Awards (North Eastern Region) at The Sage Gateshead at the end of January. They decided to use the new Martin 1.6 RGB Laser to project the logo of the RTS, which then morphed into the logo of The Sage Gateshead at the entrance to the ceremony.

Graeme Sewell, director of Vortex Lighting Ltd, says: "We are proud to be the first company in the UK to have the new Martin Laser available for hire." Vortex had been contemplating the purchase of a Laser for at least a couple of years but took the decision to wait until the technology had developed before investing.

Sewell says: "There are quite a number of products on the market now and a few of them have some good features, but we wanted a quality piece of kit from a respected manufacturer with all the relevant sa

USA - The ESTA Foundation's Behind The Scenes has announced The Challenge Grant Programme, an opportunity for donors to see contributions double in value while providing help to peers in their time of need. Established challenge grant slots are currently available for the Behind the Scenes / Long Reach Long Riders 2007 USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona (six openings) and The Long Reach Long Riders 2007 New England Charity Ride, July 29 - August 6 (two openings).

"Our industry's history is full of strong partnerships that have led to technological advances, artistic reaches, and goals we continually strive to achieve," says Behind the Scenes committee chair Rick Rudolph of the new initiative. "Many of these partnerships have also led to lasting friendships that are at the foundation of our industry. We hope that the relationships and partners we work

UK - PLASA Events Ltd, the new wholly-owned events division of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), has revealed the first details of the PLASA07 Show at Earls Court - including a new layout that extends the show over one floor into both Earls Court 1 and Earls Court 2.

A host of innovations, based on exhibitor and visitor research, are designed to build on the show's reputation as the premier international new product showcase and PLASA Events anticipates a record number of new product launches this September.

The most radical development is the new show floor layout, which sees PLASA07 transformed into a two-hall, single-level show by expanding into the adjacent Earls Court 2. Essentially, this re-draw will secure premium exhibition space for the future growth and expansion of the show, whilst addressing industry and exhibitor demands.

The show design t

USA - Alpha One's Falcon 3K xenon lights premiered in the US for the first time at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards. Following a premier of Falcon 7K Beams on the recent Super Bowl halftime show, lighting designer Bob Dickinson will use six Falcon 3K Beams and six 3K Falcon Flowers during the three-hour live-to-air television special.

The 49th Grammy Awards, produced by Cossette Productions took place on 11 February, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and were broadcast in HDTV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network.

The Falcon Beam, available in 3K to 8K for both indoor and outdoor applications, uses the very latest xenon technology, with a built-in electronic ballast and upgraded optics. These compact fixtures are specifically designed for both floor-mounted and suspended / inverted use. The Falcon Beam converts into a multiple-beam Falcon Flower. With the Flowe

UK - GE Lighting and New Look have today announced an £6.5 million exclusive contract for branch lighting for the next five years. GE Lighting will continue to provide lighting for all 570 New Look and 230 Mim stores and to supply expansions and refits.

New Look has decided to specify GE Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) lamps because of their lumen maintenance and life span as well as colour rendering, ideal for retail environments. The retail chain used the GE CMH lamps for 18 months before this contract win. Historical data built up during this period confirmed to New Look that GE lamps were the right choice, with fewer failed lamps and better light levels.

The CMH lamps offer a low 8% failure rate allowing for fewer re-lamping procedures and help to drive down overall maintenance costs, the company says. In addition, GE has supplied the lamps with a pre-determined warranty

Italy - Following the results of 2006 and the outlook for 2007, Coemar reports that it has updated its company structure.

Under the lead of Massimo Fontanesi, the management had started various changes aimed at strengthening Coemar's position in the world market. Renato Molinari, former managing director, has also become president of the company.

Coemar says it is entering a new phase characterised by innovation, following a "more than positive response" to the launch of the new products , the Infinity Wash and the whole LED range.

(Chris Henry)

UK - Lighting Technology Projects (LTP) has installed and programmed a new piece of interactive light art, composed from 10,000 nodes of ColorKinetics' iColor Flex SL LED-based strand, custom-produced for the project, complete with transparent channels.

Artist Tim Knowles was commissioned to create several contemporary artworks in the regenerated Harbourside area by developers Crest Nicholson PLC, of which "Field of Play" is the largest.

Measuring an impressive 48 metres wide by 12 metres tall, it's constituted from 288 vertical lines of Flex, staggered - as per the original design concept - at between 50 and 700 mm widths, with varying drops. It runs along the sides of two buildings in the at the ever-evolving Bristol Harbourside development.

"Field of Play" is an interactive light drawing created - sometimes unwittingly - by the public as they move arou

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders and The ESTA Foundation have announced their annual raffle to benefit Behind the Scenes at the USITT conference. This popular event will be held on 17 March at the Sapsis Rigging/ESG/Behind the Scenes booth (#525-625) on the trade show floor of the USITT conference in Phoenix. Tickets, which are $5 each or five for $20, may be purchased at the booth throughout the show.

Every dollar raised will be tripled thanks to challenge grants sponsored by I. Weiss and Sapsis Rigging. The list of twelve terrific raffle prizes, which have been donated by industry companies, can be viewed at www.lrlr.org/LRLRsponsors.html or www.estafoundation.org/bts/events_USITT.htm

All proceeds of the raffle go directly to The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes programme, which provides entertainment technology industry members with grants for emergency situations, such

France - DMX pioneers dAFTdATA have designed a new range of DMX distribution products that are launched at the SIEL trade show in Paris this week.

dAFTdATA's patented mDMX system works by modulating the DMX data over the mains power cable - removing the need for data cabling - providing a competitively priced multi purpose solution. The system, which won a PLASA 2006 Award for Innovation, can now be configured to work either as a DMX to Ethernet convertor, or a DMX to mDMX convertor.

Each unit works as a transceiver, and so can be either an encoder from DMX to Ethernet/mDMX or a decoder from Ethernet/mDMX back to DMX. In Ethernet mode the system works with either ARTNET or WENDI protocols. In mDMX mode, a network of multiple nodes up to 400m away can be set up extremely simply. mDMX is now available in a green annodised aluminium housing and has an RRP of £400 or

UK - PRG Europe has worked on a number of live TV shows recently. For ITV1's Soapstar Superstar in mid January, set designer PeterBingemann, working with lighting designer Al Gurdon, included 164sq.m of G-LEC PhantomFrame LED screens. Shortly afterwards,lighting designer Dave Davey worked with PRG Europe on Dancing on Ice.

"The design for Soapstar Superstar was based on the fact that thecompetitors on the show are stars of the small screen - hence the designis primarily based around screens," explains Bingemann. "The set isn'tdissimilar to last year's, with a few gaps filled in, especially whenthe camera looks back into the audience, as they tend to with this typeof show.

"TV studios always have weight limits in terms of the amount of kitwhich can be hung from the roof, and we were right up against that limitthis time round - so it's he

UK - Stage Electrics' hire is off to a flying start in 2007, with the company supplying the newly opened West End show Boeing Boeing.

Boeing Boeing lit by Hugh Vanstone opened at the Comedy Theatre on the 28 January. It initially opened in 1962 where it enjoyed a five-year run and was subsequently adapted into a film starring Tony Curtis and Gerry Lewis.

Equipment supplied to Boeing Boeing includes Clay Paky Alpha Wash Halos and three of the brand new Martin MAC700 Wash fixtures along with approximately 120 generics.

The new national tour of The Woman in Black for PW Productions opened at the Bromley Churchill Theatre at the end of January with Stage Electrics providing lighting and effects equipment to the tour which runs for 16 weeks.

Fame is also being supplied by Stage Electrics; the new national tour opened in Nottingham on 12 Janua

UAE - The announcement of the fourth all-star annual Dubai Desert Rock Festival at the 30,000-capacity Dubai Country Club in March, is having a profound effect on interest for May's Event 360 expo, an integral part of PALME Middle East.

According to Jonathan Gadalla, project manager for the vertically-integrated show, interest in live music is running at an all-time high in the desert, with international legends such as Iron Maiden, The Prodigy and Incubus heading a Festival line-up that will appear on one of the largest stages in the region. Also included are Junkyard Groove, the winners of SHAMAL (a competition for unsigned rock bands in the region).

Gadalla believes that the world is starting to take notice now that the Middle East is not only attracting leading names in the world of rock, but will also stage a second F1 Grand Prix (in Abu Dhabi) in 2009 - which will

UK - The ABTT Theatre Show's organisers - The Association of British Theatre Technicians - have announced that its 29th edition has sold out five months before it takes place on 13 and 14 June in London's Royal Horticultural Halls.

Filling all three exhibition halls in London's Royal Horticultural Halls to capacity, the show will again play host to over 100 exhibiting companies who will showcase a comprehensive range of products and services for professionals involved with equipping, refurbishing or up-grading their drama studio, theatre, auditorium or multi-purpose performance space.

Committed to building on the show's success the organisers aim to expand the show's attendance which grew by 5% last year to over 2,400 visitors, and included theatre and venue managers, technical directors, technicians, technical managers, heads of drama departments, architects, consultants, des

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