UK - Projected Image Digital (PID), working closely with architectural lighting design practice Indigo Light Planning, has specified and installed a spectacular Element Labs VersaPIXEL ceiling effect for the house gymnasium of a leading investment bank in London's Canary Wharf area.

PID supplied 1500 25mm square Versa Pixels, a VersaDrive C1 driver and a, Pharos LPC1 architectural lighting controller for the project, which was co-ordinated for them by Sam Douglas.

PID also designed and manufactured custom steel mounting brackets for the VersaPixels which are installed in the room's ceiling panels, and created 17 special clips of digital content, working to a brief from Indigo's Paul Nulty and gym staff.

Paul Nulty's brief from project managers Logitek was to transform the former car parking space in the building's basement into a vibrant, funky, inspirational relaxation and

USA - GE Consumer & Industrial has announced a call for entries for the 25th Annual GE Edison Award competition. Through the competition, GE recognises excellence and quality in professional lighting designs that employ the significant use of GE lamps.

The GE Edison Award competition is open to professional designers, architects, engineers and consultants. Entries are judged on the following criteria: functional excellence; architectural compatibility; effective use of state-of-the-art lighting products and techniques; appropriate color, form and texture revelation; energy effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Projects scoring the highest number of points will qualify to receive Awards of Merit or Awards of Excellence. The GE Edison Award Winner is selected from among the Awards of Excellence.

The Award for Residential Lighting Design - a category first added in 2005 - is ju

UK - Lighting designer Haydn Cruickshank used 28 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 700E AT fixtures on leading UK dance act Underworld's Oblivion With Bells recent UK tour.

The fixtures were supplied by Cruickshank's west London based rental company Colour Sound Experiment, which now has over 80 Robe moving lights - all supplied by Robe UK. The 700s were newly purchased this summer for Colour Sound's busy 2007 festival season.

Underworld's lighting rig was based around four trusses - three flown overhead and the fourth ground supported at 5 ft above "floor" height at the rear of stage - and rigged with fixtures that would normally have been scattered across the floor. This was designed to contain the floor lighting and keep the deck area tidy for a 16 large inflatable tubes which joined the visual equation two thirds of the way through the set.

The 16 ColorSpot a

Israel - Similar to the British Pop Idol, Kokhav Nolad (A Star Is Born) is a popular casting show which searches for the most talented young singers in Israel. Starting in 2003 the programme has been broadcast on the Israeli Channel 2. With a big finale Kokhav Nolad 5 recently finished in Golan beach in Tiberias.

For this show the lighting designer Ronen Nagar, stage designer Maya Hanoch and video designer Merlin Group trusted in MA Lighting technology. By using two grandMA full-size, two grandMA video media servers, an MA NSP and an MA 2Port Node they created an extraordinary event.

Screenlight and Zilberboim participated in the realisation. Keshet Productions was the customer.

(Jim Evans)

Belgium - Knokke is considered to be the most exclusive beach resort in Belgium; it certainly does well in attracting the Belgium jet-set. Positioned right at the North Sea beach, the casino - one of Knokke's hot-spots itself - features the recently refurbished Zuri club.

Zuri is a lounge bar with a breathtaking appearance. Interior designer Gerd Couckhuyt created a new dimension inside the venue. Completely coloured in white, the interior makes you imagine being aboard a futuristic spacecraft. As the sun sets, sliding doors and the wall behind the bar will open up allowing the evening to flow into the larger venue of Zuri; effectively transforming from a lounge bar into a trendy nightclub.

The features that Couckhuyt has put into his design are striking, with highly polished attention to detail for the entire space; interior and exterior. Ranging from the outdoor furniture to

UK - Two Avolites Diamond 4 consoles were specified for the 2007 BBC Electric Proms shows staged at London's historic Roundhouse venue. Production lighting for the event was designed by Bryan Leitch and Nick Whitehouse of Visual Light Design, and equipment was supplied by Siyan.

Headliners for this second year included the Kaiser Chiefs, Paul McCartney, Bloc Party, Ray Davies, Mark Ronson and many more.

Whitehouse & Leitch chose the two Diamond 4 Visions as the most flexible control option on the table. They were commissioned to incorporate both stage/live and TV/audience lighting into their very dynamic design. The shows were run by Siyan's team of programmer/operators - Ewan McRobb, Dom Smith and Stu Farrell - all LDs in their own right - working in close consultation with all the headlining band's own LDs.

"We use Avolites for all our major shows," affirms White

The Netherlands - The Schouwburg Theatre in the Dutch city of Almere has won the Installation Europe Award 2007 for best auditorium project, with its ETC IES Matrix Mk II SineWave dimming receiving special praise from the judges.

The Schouwburg Almere is a new state of the art multi-venue performing arts centre designed by Japanese architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANNA which provides a flexible environment in which to present a diverse array of music, theatre and dance.

With three adaptable spaces receiving incoming shows often only playing for a single night, the theatre has a rigorous schedule, demanding flexibility in technical infrastructure and equipment. To that end, the theatre consultant on the building project, Theater Advies BV, specified ETC IES Matrix Mk II SineWave dimming and ETC Congo lighting consoles throughout the building.

Lois Jansse

UK - HSL supplied over 80 moving lights and nearly 150 digital lighting fixtures for lighting designer Tom Kinane at the Premier League All Stars tournament. This was staged at the David Beckham Academy in Greenwich, London, broadcast on Sky One and attended by bumper live audiences.

Kinane has worked with HSL on many other shows including the first series of Dancing on Ice, and he once again wanted them on the case providing the show's specialist lighting requirements. The project was handled for HSL by Sean McGlone.

The competition was part of the Premier League's 'Creating Chances' initiative. It united football legends, celebrities and fans in a 7-a-side knock-out contest that saw Middleborough triumph 3-1 over West Ham in the final, in the process winning a £100,000 donation for their favorite charity.

The moving lights were all Robe - consisting of 30 Colo

Italy - ETC is one of four companies which recently took part in a control systems seminar organised by Italian magazine Sound&Lite on 8-9 October. The first day of the seminar in Gabicce was a conference on the next generation of lighting and control; the second was four two-hour long demonstrations of the best of those systems, including ETC's latest and most advanced control system yet, the multi award winning Eos.

Eos was designed to handle the most complex, multimedia-filled lighting rigs and is already being specified for theatres, performing arts centres, TV production and comparable sites. The system combines innovative features and functionality in a powerful system fully networked for ETCNet2 and the new Net3 protocol (powered by the new ESTA ACN standard). Eos is also unique in offering features tailored to the needs of each member of the lighting design and productio

USA - The Genlyte Group Incorporated has announced record third quarter earnings per share of $1.38 compared to 2006 earnings per share of $1.32. Net income was $40.1 million, up 5.7% from the third quarter of 2006. Third quarter 2007 net sales of $418.8 million, a record for any quarter, were 2.1% higher than the $410.4 million reported for the same period last year.

Genlyte owns many lighting manufacturing companies leading professional entertainment lighting brands such as Vari-Lite, Entertainment Technology and Strand Lighting,

Sales during the first nine months of 2007 increased 10.5% from $1.106 billion to $1.222 billion. Year-to-date earnings per share were $3.87 compared to $4.26 for the first nine months of 2006. Year-to-date net income was $112.5 million compared to $122.5 million last year. First quarter 2006 net income included a one-time tax provision benefit of $

USA - Elation Professional presented the 2007 Elation Education Experience award to three young lighting designers at the WFx show in Atlanta.

Sponsored by Elation Professional, the Elation Education Experience award was started in 2006 to promote future excellence in church lighting design by encouraging young lighting designers to develop skills in working in House of Worship settings.

"We regard the House of Worship market as an important part of what our company is all about," said Eric Loader, director of Elation Professional. "In our view, it's important that young lighting designers develop their skills and abilities with HOW applications in mind, just as they do with the theatrical, touring and club markets."

To win the contest, the 2007 Elation Education Experience participants had to complete a lighting design project for a hypothetical religiou

UK - When, to support its sustained growth and popularity, Leeds Metropolitan University decided to acquire and completely refurbish a former BBC television studio, it found that a sophisticated lighting control system based on products from the Clipsal brand of Schneider Electric was the key to maximising the versatility and convenience of the facilities within the new premises.

The lighting control system serves four main areas - a mock boardroom, which can also be used as a video-conferencing room; a teacher training area which has an extensive audio-visual installation; an exhibition room; and a café area. The lighting requirements vary substantially in detail from area to area, but the overall objective is always the same - to allow the lighting levels to be set quickly and easily to suit the particular activity that is taking place within the area.

Operon, the con

USA - Field Template has announced the availability of SoftSymbols Version 3, a significant overhaul and expansion to the award-winning VectorWorks-based symbol library. In addition to another 800 symbols, it ships with DataConvert Macros, allowing the entire software package to be converted from Imperial scale to Metric scale and back again.

Field Template's SoftSymbols is a CAD-based lighting symbol package that uses symbols designed by Steven Shelley, based on the patented icons used to create his award-winning series of Field Templates.

Shelley reports: "We have added the entire Rosco, Gam, Diversitronics, Reich & Vogel, CCT, and Robe product lines, as well as updated the latest from Coemar, Martin, Selador, Selecon, and the City Theatrical libraries. We have also added the beloved archive product lines from Strand and Berkey Colortran."

The 2D Drafting Element

Australia - Anolis LED fixtures have been installed into the Grand Ballroom of the Merrimu Reception Centre in Melbourne - and have proved a great hit with director Peter Batziakas's various clients which range from weddings to corporate events.

Merrimu (a local Koori word meaning 'Meeting Place') is a venue focussed on hosting functions and receptions of all types. The original homestead was built in 1882 and converted into a reception venue in 1955, with the Grand Ballroom - seating up to 400 guests - added in the late 1960s.

Batziakis took over in 2005 and completely renovated the entire venue, working with interior designer Alistair Sarris from Kinetic Space.

Sarris had specified Anolis fixtures for several previous lighting schemes and knew the brand was reliable and high quality, and so repeated the process at Merrimu. The Anolis fittings were installed by the project'

Serbia - Audio Light Concept of Belgrade, Serbia has designed, delivered and installed a complete Martin lighting rig for Cotton Club in Prijepolje, Serbia. Completed in June 2007, the 400sq.m club offers disco and live music, VIP and DJ areas and a raised bridge for showgirls.

The lighting brief was simple: to create a good ambiance for guests. Lighting designer Sandro Krstic of Audio Light Concept went about fulfilling that brief with a host of Martin fixtures including four MAC 250 Krypton moving heads, eight Mania SCX600 scanner effects, two Wizard Extreme effect lights, two projectors with two Magnum 1500 foggers for the atmospheric fog and mid-air projection canopy.

The Martin fixtures are located on two circular trusses (3.5m diameter) 4.5m above the floor. Lighting control is from a hands-on Martin Xciter, which the club finds "easy to use for non-trained lighting

UK - Over 30,000 fans attended the homecoming show in Ward Park, Bangor (N. Ireland) concluding the UK section of Snow Patrol's Eyes Open world tour. For the show on 1 September, the band's lighting supplier HSL deployed a full battery of lighting equipment, including 32 Falcon Beam 3kW luminaires from A&O Lighting Technology, which were equipped with special colours and scrollers.

For this concert, the creative team of lighting designer Davy Sherwin and visual designer Robin Haddow came up with a completely new show concept that set it apart from the earlier gigs - without abandoning the stage aesthetics featured earlier in the tour. Sherwin and Haddow combined their lighting and video designs and skills to create a memorable overall impression.

Part of the electrifying Bangor show involved eight Falcon Beam searchlights attached to a truss at the rear of the stage, ge

The Netherlands - Ampco/Flashlight Group companies TM Audio, Team Projects and Lightco have seen their innovative work at the new Schouwburg Almere in Holland honoured by Installation Europe magazine, which has named the project Best Auditorium in its 2007 Awards.

The main audio contractor was TM Audio, with project manager Reinier Bruijns in charge. The XLNT MCR (Multi Channel Reverb) software, allowing the room's acoustics to be varied at the touch of a button, runs on a Peavey MediaMatrix Nion hardware platform and was written by sister Ampco/Flashlight Group R&D company Team Projects, with the sound system design essentials by Cees Mulder.

It drives a Martin Audio W8LM line array proscenium system, Martin Audio and XLNT Bassbeam subwoofers and a KEF/Shure MCR network, with a Yamaha MC7L console.

The installation was carried out by another Ampco/Flashlight Group co

Brazil - Nemetschek North America has announced that CAD Technology, its international distribution partner in Brazil, has released its localized version of the VectorWorks 2008 family of design software. CAD Technology has tailored the VectorWorks products to meet the specific needs of the Brazilian marketplace.

CAD Technology held an event on 31 October in Sao Paulo to promote the release of this new version for Brazilian VectorWorks dealers. Similar events will be offered by CAD Technology dealers in Latin American countries.

The English-language versions of the VectorWorks 2008 product line were released in the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and other international markets on 13 September. Many major European markets also recently released their localized versions.

"We have all worked hard during the 2008 development cycle to minimize the time between the English-l

UK - Live event lighting company Essential Lighting has announced that it has become part of the Australian-based Staging Connections Group - a family of businesses based in eight countries around Australia, Asia and the United Arab Emirates. This news marks its first step in a European expansion.

Essential says this is "great news for Essential's customers, adding a wealth of expertise and skills to the Essential offering and ensuring that the newest and most advanced fixtures and technology are available to lighting designers and production companies in the UK and Europe.

Essential's 24-hour support and technical assistance will also benefit from close links with people who provide technical services for over 50,000 events a year, from a small conference to challenges as epic as the Sydney Olympic Games. Through a network of group businesses it will now be easier both t

USA - The Walters Art Museum annual fundraiser gala received a revamp this year when the gala moved outdoors under a 9,000sq.ft Clearspan tent. Hanover, Maryland-based production company Event Tech provided sound, lighting, and power for the event, utilizing the advances in LED technology to save on energy usage and fuel costs.

Over 65 Chauvet LED fixtures were utilised for stage, dance floor, and ambient lighting. Colorado 1 units provided stage and dance floor lighting, with additional Colorado 3 and LEDrain 56 fixtures providing ambient and spot lighting. The result was a wash of saturated hues that could be varied to reflect the different moods of the event.

The result was a success, generating financial contributions that will allow the Walters Art Museum to continue offering free admission for the coming year to an impressive fine art collection that spans the eras betwe

USA - Apollo Design Technology and Blue Pony Digital recently announced the launch of the Top 100 Apollo ColourScenic standards in digital format. The same ColourScenic gobos used for lighting can now be used in projection and media servers formatted at optimal resolution.

"Apollo introduced the ColourScenic glass gobo, in November 1999, winning ESTA's coveted Dealer's Choice Award for New Product of the Year," states Apollo dealer manager Keith Kankovsky. "Stunning full colour photographic resolution from moving and static projectors became the industry standard, which Apollo continues to lead today."

With frequent requests for Apollo standards in digital format from Apollo and Blue Pony customers, Joel Nichols, president and founder of both companies, decided Apollo and Blue Pony should join together to release the award winning gobos in a digital file. N

USA - Owned and managed by the City of Dallas, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center is home to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and plays host to other musical ensembles/events as well as various corporate meetings, religious services and other events.

The large, complex, open-space hall boasts unsurpassed and elaborate acoustic accommodations. The lighting system on the other hand was essentially "cobbled together" over the last 15 years. Meyerson had welcomed a succession of lighting consoles and other technology until Vari*Lite installed a large system. They kept "building on top of what was there," reflects Peter Maurelli of Barbizon Light of the Rockies, who delivered a grandMA full-size to Meyerson. "Our goal," he says, "was to not only to put the grandMA in, but to improve the network infrastructure and build a backbone they could rely o

USA - The Cross Church, Fresno, California last month held a concert starring their very own minister - Stan Leisle. Flix Productions were employed to light The Cross Church and used their new LSC maXim LP Lighting Console, supplied by Applied Electronics, for the first time.

Lighting designer Vance Riffel of Flix Productions commented: "To be honest I was hesitant to try a new lighting control console. However, the maxim, with PaTPad, has been an enormous improvement from the controller I was originally using. My lighting gigs look great and are so much easier to program and operate."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Stage Electrics provided technical services for the Diwali in the Square Celebration, in Trafalgar Square, London on 28 October 2007.

The event which celebrates the Hindu Festival of Lights is organised by the Mayor of London and the Diwali in London Committee and sees Trafalgar Square lit up with colour to celebrate the occasion.

Contracted by Greenwich + Docklands Festivals to supply technical elements for the event, Stage Electrics supplied lighting across the site, PA system, power distribution and generation requirements.

A broad spectrum of products was utilised for the lighting duties including Martin MAC2000 and MAC700 washes, Studio Due City Colors, Pulsar Chroma Floods and HTI150W architectural wash luminaires. Control was by way of an Avolites Pearl with Avolites Radio EDMX system providing data transfer duties across the square to minimise cable runs.

An E

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