USA - Studio 54 was the favourite nightspot of A-list jetsetters like Andy Warhol, Brooke Shields, Donald Trump and Mick Jagger back in the '70s. So when a mega-bash was held in tribute to the legendary New York disco recently, the party's organisers wanted the visual effects to be as mind-blowing and "trippy" as the decade of the club's heyday.

Jack Kelly of Eye Dialogue was approached by theatrical lighting designer Eric Wink to light up the event, which was called the Studio 50 Party and held in Charlotte, NC at the city's Grand Central venue. "Eric thought I would bring the psychedelic element to the design," said Kelly.

Kelly put together a package of lighting consisting mainly of American DJ and Elation Professional effects. He set the mood with two ADJ Fantasy 250s, a 250-watt discharge unit that creates 3D textured-glass-gobo patterns, projec

UK - BBC Radio One's Big Weekend (Moor Park, Preston) featured some of the best known names in the business. Not just on stage, but behind the lighting desks.

Lighting designer Paul Normandale and Lite Alternative took the helm this year, controlling an impressive ship. Scissor Sisters, Groove Armada and Razorlight were just a few of the acts to take to the stage. And hanging above them were some of Martin's latest models, including the MAC TW1 and two new LED fixtures - Stagebar 54 and the light curtain, LC 2140.

Normandale was the lighting designer for the entire event and put together a striking design for the three stages. His major challenge was to create a design that would look good live, but would also be clean enough for broadcast, as the whole weekend was televised in HD quality.

Another challenge was ensuring the stage design was flexible enough for the many guest

Czech republic - Robe moving lights were in action in the main Scenofest Hall of the Prague Quadrennial 2007 - the International Competitive Exhibition of Scenography and Theatre Architecture.

This is organised by OISTAT - the International Organization of Scenographers, Theatre Architects and Technicians - and is the world's largest scenographic exhibition. The event took over three halls of the Prague Industrial Palace at the Exhibition Grounds to the north of the city.

Scenofest featured two main performance spaces. The first was the 18m high Tower of Babel, built from scaffolding and steel and conceived by Sean Crowley, head of design at the UK's Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama. Technical design of the Tower was by PQ's technical director Ian Evans, head of technical studies at the RWCMD.

Crowley, Evans and Jean Guy Le Cat also designed the other main performance sp

UK - Stage Electrics supplied and installed set, lighting and generator power for the Nokia Rock Up & Play structure at the 2007 Donington Park Download Festival, formerly known as Monsters of Rock, working for The Dobson White Partnership.

The Nokia Rock Up & Play set-up features a stage which is open to everyone who wishes to perform. Anyone can turn up as individuals or bands and play on their own or with the house band - with predictably mixed results. The stage also attracts the more 'non musical types' who enter the air guitar competition with a signed 'air guitar' as first prize, there is also a DJ for late night moshing.

Scenic elements supplied by Stage Electrics included the main bar, DJ bar, performance stage, Q & A stage and graphics walling. The company also provided download units and phone display pods.

This year, the teams worked to demanding ti

UK - ChamSys has announced that ID Electronic has become exclusive distributors of Magic Consoles and MagicQ Wings for Iceland.

"ChamSys continues its substantial growth and is delighted to be able to welcome another distributor to the ever-increasing network from around the World," says a company spokesman. This is an exciting time for ChamSys with the appointment of several new distributors about to be announced and confirms the growing popularity of the MagicQ range."

(Jim Evans)

Germany - 2007 sees German smoke machine manufacturer Look Solutions celebrating its tenth anniversary, selling its fog and haze generators to professionals worldwide.

Instigated by Kirsten Eicher and operating from an office and small workshop storing and dispatching a small product range, Look Solutions soon found it necessary to move into its own large premises in Ronnenberg. Now, with distributors in 31 countries and a subsidiary in the US, Look Solutions is a truly global company.

"Our product range is very different from the small beginnings of ten years ago," explains Eicher. "We now produce machines which will cover all aspects of the market from the Viper range of fog generators to the Unique 2 hazer with its quick warm up time, the adjustable output and the very low fluid consumption.

"We have machines for specialised uses like the massive 9kW-g

UK - Robe ColorSpot 2500E ATs are one of the moving light brands specified by LD Patrick Woodroffe for the current Genesis Turn It On Again world tour.

The tour features a show-stopping stage design by Stufish (Mark Fisher) based on the shape of a conch shell, with a spectacular, gently asymmetric 55m wide, 3000sq.m Barco MiTrix screen forming its backdrop. At the rear of the screen are seven curved metal 'ribs' of varying heights up to 28m.

Thirty-three of the 50 Robe fixtures are attached to these seven ribs, with the balance of 17 ColorSpot 2500E ATs sited on the floor, upstage of the band's performance platform, and providing a powerful back-lighting source.

The towers were a starting point for Woodroffe's initial lighting design. The idea was that they would encompass the stage architecture, and that lights mounted on special pods rode up and down the ribs to cha

UK - Central Theatre Supplies is hosting a Selecon Lighting Trade Show on 19 July. The event will be staged between 10am and 4.30pm at the College Theatre, City College, The Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GD.

This free event will gives attendees the chance to see the latest products from Selecon including the new improved Acclaim range, Rama Fresnel and the Performer range of follow spots including the RUA. There will be a series of demonstrations of the Selecon range as well as hands-on opportunities.

Sebastian Barnes from the Midland Arts Centre says, "The day is designed to coincide with a meeting of the, Midlands Technical Forum. Visitors and new members would be most welcome."

(Jim Evans)

Dubai - Production Technology LLC (Protec), the region's leading event production company, made history in the United Arab of Emirates when it staged the Dubai-leg of Shakira's Oral Fixation Tour, branded as the biggest concert ever in the region and promoted by the locally-based Mirage Promotions.

The concert at the Dubai Autodrome was witnessed by a crowd of 25,000. The Protec team, headed by Rick Wade, provided and installed the show's set-up.

Shakira's tour lighting designer, specified his preferred lighting including, 43 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 575, 10 Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1200 and 213 Par Cans which was used to light up the 20mx40m stage. In addition, they brought with them 28 Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1200 as part of their touring equipment. All of these were controlled by one GrandMA lighting console running the show entirely to time code.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Introducing an extensive new range of products from a variety of international companies including Arc LED, Geni and Neoneon, Batmink will also show its own brand LED and generic light fittings at PLASA 2007.

Featured new products on the stand will include the Geni Visage LED Video Floor Module. This new stage and club lighting product can reproduce stunning motion effects as well as real time video driven through PC DVI, at a fraction of previous costs, says the company.

Also new this year are the Geni OBY5 Professional Profile Moving Head - a fully equipped, premium quality HMI575 13 channel DMX profile moving head; the Geni OBY600 Professional Wash Moving Head - a precise, quiet and smooth HMI575 15 channel DMX wash moving head designed for professional stage and production use and the Geni LED Power Blinder, controlled by DMX 512 or stand alone audio animation.

(Jim

UK - The Honourable Artillery Company's new £6.5 million conference and events venue in the City of London was officially opened by HM The Queen on 18 May. The venue's Prince Consort Rooms can accommodate up to 750 people at a reception, or be divided into smaller areas.

The Prince Consort Rooms have been built in the shell of a Victorian drill hall. PSL has been chosen as a preferred supplier of AV and Production, and has already produced custom-designed sets for the venue. The Prince Consort Rooms have an inbuilt pinspot lighting scheme and audio visual infrastructure which will be augmented by PSL's high-tech inventory of display screens, digital sound reinforcement and state-of-the-art media servers and playback devices.

Diane Waldron, head of marketing and events at the HAC, says, "The City is short of flexible, large-capacity venues that can accommodate 300-pl

UK - HSL supplied full lighting production, rigging and crew for the X-FM Main Stage and The Clash Arena at Rockness 2007.

The event's second year saw it expand to a capacity of 35,000 over two days, set against the backdrop of one of Scotland's best known natural attractions - Loch Ness. The line-up included the Chemical Brothers, Groove Armada, The Manic Street Preachers and Daft Punk.

HSL's crew chief Howard Dean led a team of 22, and they once again worked closely with event producer Jim King of Loud Sound Events and production manager Lee Charteris. HSL also sub-contracted ML Executives to supply audio to these two principal arenas.

Mike Oates, HSL's overall project manager comments, "The first thing we did was get two world class lighting designers onboard to look after the two stages - Andy Liddle on the main stage and Dave Byars in the Clash Arena."

The m

USA - The green movement is in full swing at American DJ with the introduction of three new 4.9mW DMX-512 green lasers - the Emerald Sky, Emerald Scan II and Mini Emerald Beam.

"Green lasers are what everyone wants right now - their shorter wavelength makes them appear much brighter than red laser beams and they travel farther," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "But unfortunately green lasers are also harder to make than red lasers and require a special diode, which has often put them out of reach price-wise for DJs and smaller clubs.

"American DJ has been constantly working to bring down the cost of green lasers," added Davies. "These new additions to our Emerald series make it more affordable than ever to put on a dazzling green laser show."

Emerald Sky is a twin green laser effect with dual 4.9mW

UK - Laura Bayliss, lighting designer at BDP, has won the Future Star category in the inaugural Inspire Awards which recognise women's achievements in the built environment.

The awards are open to entrants actively involved in architecture, civil engineering, construction or quantity surveying. The Future Star Award is aimed at individuals aged between 21 and 30 who have demonstrated significant personal achievement and have the ability to be role models of the future.

Martin Lupton, head of BDP's lighting group says: "The key to Laura's success is her personality - she works collaboratively with all around her bringing out the best in others in a leadership style which is natural, sensitive and nurturing. She absolutely deserves this award and we are all extremely proud of her."

(Jim Evans)

UK / Spain - Avolites has appointed San Sebastian-based EES as its new distributor for Spain. The company was formed in 2004 by Nacho Acha-Orbea and is also the Spanish Vari*Lite and Verlinde distributor. The company has also just opened an office in Madrid.

Acha-Orbea says: "Avolites is a perfect compliment to our existing product range, and it's also an industry standard and extremely well respected, so I see a great future ahead."

Avolites' sales director Steve Warren says: "We're delighted to welcome Nacho and his team to the Avolites family. EES is an extremely efficiently run operation with a great enthusiasm for the industry and a strong culture of wanting to provide the very best products and services."

In the short time since EES has taken on the Avo dealership, the order book has already clocked up 24 Pearl Expert consoles, some of which have be

Norway - Following major technical refurbishments, Det Norske Teatret (The Norwegian Theatre) in Oslo has specified ETC's most technically advanced theatre lighting console, Eos, along with ETC Sensor and Sine Wave dimming and an ETC Unison architectural control system.

Built in 1985, the theatre is the largest performing arts venue in Norway, with three multidisciplinary spaces offering a diverse programme of both in-house and outside productions. Increases in the technical complexity of shows and the changing nature of lighting design have demanded that the theatre replace its entire entertainment, house and work lighting systems with a more flexible network.

ETC's Norwegian distributor Bright AS was responsible for both the equipment supply and the installation. Project manager Geir Sire says: "The theatre was looking to replace all its existing dimmers like for like,

International - With only a few days remaining before the close of the nomination-gathering period for the Gottelier Award, there is just time for a final reminder to everyone to make sure that they have taken a few moments to nominate the individual or team that they most admire.

Named in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, the industry innovator and commentator who passed away in 2006, the Gottelier Award is aimed at those members of our industry who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the advancement of entertainment, presentation or installation technology - whether in audio, lighting, rigging, staging, or any other related field.

Once the deadline for nominations passes this Friday (13 July), a shortlist will be drawn up of the most widely nominated people, and their names will be put forward, along with a brief summary of their achievements, to the Gotte

UK - Academy Music Group's long-term A/V system suppliers, Marquee Audio, has taken an inventive approach to the installation at its latest Carling Academy venue in Oxford, scheduled to open in September.

Formerly The Zodiac on Cowley Road, AMG is investing £2m into the refurbishment programme and increasing the overall building capacity to 1,350, creating three, production-complete performance spaces.

Marquee Audio carried out a site survey and identified where they could overhaul and upgrade some of the existing equipment, re-cabling each room to allow them to be used as part of a site-wide network, for which they are designing an advanced control system.

Marquee Audio's project manager Scott Wakelin said that this installation was not only about what the integrators were able to achieve, but also the forward-thinking approach of Academy Music Group.

"Aside fr

World - For Roger Waters' current Dark Side Of The Moon tour, lighting designer Marc Brickman is using solid-state lasers. This latest tool - a mid-tour addition - in Brickman's visual bag of tricks is a high-powered solid-state laser system provided by Lightwave International and Excitement Technologies Group.

The lasers are used specifically to reproduce the cover artwork of Dark Side Of The Moon. The effect was conceptualised by Marc Brickman, ETG's Kelly Sticksel, and Lightwave International's George Dodworth. Design was executed by Chris Nyfield of Hindsight Studios and Brickman, along with Sticksel and Dodworth.

The base structure was fabricated by ShowRig, headed by Eric Pierce. Final assembly was a joint effort between ShowRig, ETG, Lightwave International, Hindsight Studios, Stack Technical Services, and GCN Technologies.

(Jim Evans)

Denmark - The LC Series from Martin Professional is a semi-transparent, modular system of lightweight LED panels (40 mm pixel pitch), designed for displaying film, digital images and graphics.

As the LC units are semi-transparent, they can be used in an array of applications and allow the seamless integration of moving images, lighting and set design, says the company. The panels can move through a range of intensity, from a solid wall of images and colour to near-invisibility and allow light, air, and effects to pass through.

The variety and depth of achievable colours in the LC series, combined with a brilliant output, allows the accurate broadcast of digital media, which remains true to the source formatting and the colour and intensity of other lights in the design.

Although useful in a wide variety of applications, the LC series is specially prepared for video and TV ap

UK - Twenty-four of i-Pix' new energy-saving BB wash-lights were in action for the Live Earth Wembley concert, mounted on the front truss header and used instead of normal 8 light blinders.

The BB's were selected by the London event's lighting designers Patrick Woodroffe (responsible for the stage/show lighting) and Mark Kenyon (responsible for the TV and BBC's lighting requirements), and supplied by lighting contractor PRG London - along with all the other equipment.

Lighting for the Live Earth concerts challenged its designers to make the rig as energy-efficient as possible, so they used as many high output, low-energy lighting fixtures as possible - including LED and HMI sources. (Tungsten elements were reduced to an absolute minimum).

Ahead of the event, PRG's project director Carol Croft, approached a series of LED lighting manufacturers including i-Pix and asked them t

UK - Following a request from a Scandinavian shipping line for a giant mirror ball to be installed permanently on a cruise liner, Light Engineering's range of British-made heavy duty rotators has been further improved, the company says.

Still retaining the 'stepped' shaft design and extra efficient steel ball, thrust bearing, they now include the addition of an "Iglidur" flange bearing, secured by a specially machined aluminium block. With the extra lateral support this new additional bearing provides for the output shaft and gearbox, they can now be used in almost any orientation, even allowing for the possible extremes of pitch and roll experienced on a passenger liner.

All are still designed to incorporate a factor of safety (FOS) of at least 10:1 and use only tested and certificated shackles and couplings. Including a jaw-to-jaw swivel on each that acts as a clut

UK / Korea - Tongsuh Technologies & Trading has joined ChamSys as its exclusive distributor for Korea.

"The Far East is a market that ChamSys is keen to expand and with the appointment of Tongsuh Technologies & Trading, ChamSys is proving itself as it has in Europe," says a company statement.

Tongsuh Technologies & Trading was established in 1995 and since that time, Tongsuh has taken a leading role in the lighting control equipment market. Not only servicing the stage and studio market, but also to the entertainment and rental lighting market.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the appointment of Sharon Draper as financial reporting manager. Draper will be responsible for assisting the business manager with development and maintenance of accounting policies and procedures as well as managing revenues recognition, cost analysis, and profitability analysis among other duties.

"I have been following Bandit Lites for a number of years, and am thrilled with the opportunity to work for such an impressive company," says Draper.

(Jim Evans)

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