Germany - Housed on the premises of former cult disco Soul City, a new experience in disco, the Max & Moritz opened at the end of August. With a prime location on Munich's Maximiliansplatz, the club has been lavishly renovated by its operators, M5 Gastronomie, bringing it fully up-to-date in terms of ambience and equipment. When Weidenberg-based company TC-Promotion was commissioned to provide perfect sound coverage for the 800sq.m location (the Club Max and the Club Moritz), a team led by graduate engineer Michael Jobst decided to use systems from Dynacord.
The centrepiece of this tailor-made sound reinforcement design is formed by loudspeakers from Dynacord's VariLine series. Both the Max and Moritz clubs feature four VL152 and four VL122 speaker systems, providing powerful sound. "The VariLine is ideally suited to clubs of this size," explains Jobst. "These lou
UK - Lighting Technology Projects has supplied, installed and commissioned an architectural lighting scheme for the iconic new Sidings Bridge near Swansea.
The graceful 71m (232ft) span contemporary construction provides a new gateway into the city, with express bus and cycle lanes. It runs parallel to the famous Fabian Way and its elegant lines are based around a 45m (147ft) high mast and a series of 24 steel cable stays.
LTP was asked to quote on the project by Swansea Council. Being locally-based was one advantage, and the Council also became aware of their work on the London Eye lighting scheme and on other bridge schemes including the London Millennium Footbridge and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Newcastle. LTP's project manager was Jonathan Adkins, who co-ordinated site work and installation working closely with consulting engineers, Flint & Neil.
UK - The first Pearl Tiger console on tour in the UK was put through its paces on the road by Colour Sound Experiment's Dave "Fletch" Fletcher, lighting designer for Ian Brown's The World Is Yours tour.
The console is being run with a wing, and has proved "totally reliable" reports Fletch. He's been using the Tiger Wing for all his specials and any lights that he uses regularly during the show - so they are right to hand. "It's a great desk and an excellent version of a Pearl which is small enough to take as carry-on baggage on the plane - very handy at times" he enthuses. He's also certain that he'll be doing just this when it comes to Brown's forthcoming European and South East Asian shows in early 2008.
The Ian Brown rig was asymmetrical, consisting of a front truss and two back trusses (higher and lower). Fletcher incorporated JTE Pixel
UK - Bandit Lites UK supplied lighting equipment and crew to Production North for the recent McFly Greatest Hits arena tour, which featured striking lighting and visual design by Dan Hardiman.
Bandit has serviced McFly since 2004, and Bandit UK's chief executive, Lester Cobrin comments: "We are very fortunate to get the opportunity to work with McFly and their entire production team each year. Under the direction of Prod North's Iain Whitehead and LD Dan Hardiman you can tell that all parties involved take a good deal of pride in making sure that the final product is of the highest quality."
McFly's management and Iain Whitehead all have active input into the lighting design. It is important to them that each tour looks and feels completely different from the last.
For this tour, McFly's set is essentially rocky and energetic from start to finish and the pac
UK - PRG Europe has worked with creative agency Greenspace to help light an authentic 19th century Christmas experience inside London's new St Pancras International station.
Just a day after the station's high profile official opening on 14 November - on which PRG Europe worked with Flux Events - crews were back, this time installing the world's largest advent calendar. PRG Europe organised all the kit, including bringing in Unusual Rigging, to make sure everything went without a hitch.
"Specifically designed to occupy the façade inside the station, the calendar exceeds 1,000sq.m," explains Unusual's David Mayo. "Following the removal of the substantial rig we installed for the re-opening of the station, our eight-person crews went back into night shift mode to begin installing the calendar."
During the day, a giant drape printed with an image of the end
New Zealand - Two new Selecon Acclaim Fresnel luminaires blend the advantages of discharge light source efficiency and life hours with all the features that have made the original 500W version so popular.
The new Acclaim CST 250 Fresnel with Hot Restrike capability (no fans) has been designed specifically for high output, high intensity architectural/specialised display lighting and for smaller studio or production applications where energy saving and cool light are important. The CST 250W HR discharge light source with its 3200°K colour temperature is interchangeable in this luminaire with the Philips MSR 250 HR discharge lamp (6000°K), offering designers a choice of either tungsten or 'daylight' colour temperatures.
The second new addition to this range is a high intensity display Fresnel luminaire with an adjustable 7°-60° soft edge beam for controlled illum
UK - The Centre for Life (CFL) educational science museum and exhibition centre in Newcastle, North east England, was first opened as one of the regional Millennium Projects and, thanks to Light Perceptions, has just been given a new lease of life. With lighting designer Bruce Kirk at the helm, the centre has recently undergone a programme of gallery upgrades.
Our Origins and Our Futures depicts man's journey through evolution and is lit exclusively with low energy lighting sources including ETC Source Four HID luminaires, various LEDs and high frequency fluorescents. By employing Source Four HIDs with their long-life, 150W metal halide lamps, lamp maintenance is reduced to a minimum.
Source Four HIDs offer comprehensive lighting solutions. Kirk comments: "The Source Fours HIDs were chosen for their aesthetic benefits as well as beam control and the wide ran
South Africa - Robe's South African distributor DWR Distribution staged a special technical workshop covering Robe's Digital Series at their Johannesburg base. This was organised in conjunction with Robe Lighting, whose technical sales manager Ales Grivac was on hand to demonstrate the products and discuss all things technical with interested parties.
The workshops were attended by a selection of designers and engineers actively involved in working with these products, and those included DigitalSpots, MediaHUB and StageQubes.
DWR sold the first Robe DigitalSpots into Africa earlier this year, purchased by Mike Jones of MJ Event Gear, also based in Johannesburg. The busy rental company covers a host of corporate and TV work with some rock 'n' roll.
This was the second Robe DigitalSpot workshop in South Africa this year. The first followed soon after the initial DigitalSpots a
The Netherlands - The 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest was a colourful success, thanks in part to High End Systems' Showgun and Studio Command automated luminaires. The show was held at Ahoy Stadium in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and was broadcast live to millions of viewers via Dutch broadcaster AVRO.
The show is a spin-off of the Eurovision Song Contest, produced by the European Broadcast Union (EBU). This was the fifth year for the programme, showcasing performances by 17 countries. Each act consists of performers aged 10-15, who must compose their own music and lyrics.
This year's theme was Make a Splash! and was reflected creatively in each of the stage elements, which included water screens, an onstage waterfall and large water drop props hung from the arena ceiling. Five 8m tall moving video screens projecting images of water and rain completed the look.
USA - Bandit wrapped up 2007 with annual Angel Tree charities. Each of the company's locations recently put up an Angel Tree in the lobby for employees who would like to help the less fortunate. The tree includes toy and clothing suggestions for foster children and local families who are unable to provide holiday gifts for their kids this year.
"The office Angel Tree is a great opportunity for Bandit employees to give back to people in their own community," explains Bandit human resources coordinator Cori Link. "The employees are not required to donate, but the majority of them do. I'm really proud to be involved with such a caring group of people."
Bandit employees also participate in the Salvation Army Angel Tree Programme. In this programme, a company such as Wal-Mart or Target (among others) places a Christmas tree in a pedestrian high-traffic ar
Singapore - Last month, MA Lighting Asia Pacific held its first workshops in Singapore dedicated to operators, lighting designers and system integrators alike. The first three days of the workshop catered to the operators and lighting designers who wanted to get a closer look at the wide range of lighting control equipment that MA Lighting has to offer. The following two days focussed on grandMA video and networking.
The attendees had the chance to familiarise themselves with the whole MA Lighting console range and gain the confidence on how to operate the consoles in a hectic show environment.The workshop was heavily subscribed and 32 attendees from eight different countries came together at MA Lighting's office at Ubi Techpark to get a very detailed insight into the world of programming on the grandMA.
The event, which included evening dinners, was a great opportunity for ev
UK - Following its £1.3 million revamp the Wyvern Theatre Swindon is opening its doors on 4 February 2008 for a special Venue Technology Day. Coordinated by Stage Electrics the day promises the opportunity to explore some of the latest in venue technology in an operational setting.
On 25 September 2007 the Wyvern, a busy receiving venue, reopened after nearly a year in the dark following the discovery of asbestos in the auditorium roof (see Lighting&Sound International magazine November 2007). Stage Electrics was contracted by Swindon Borough Council to design, install and supply technical infrastructure and equipment to the venue.
The Wyvern Theatre is a truly multifunctional venue hosting everything from Shakespeare to ballet, live music to comedy and conferences to cinema. With a reasonably small team of staf
UK - For Mika's Mika Dodgy Holiday tour, lighting designer Ian Tomlinson wanted to inject a more rock and roll element into the theatrical performance. The rig included a battery of Martin moving lights providing a beam look to the show, whilst PixelPars and PixelArt added effects.
Tomlinson comments: "PixelArt achieved the look I was hoping for and more. When I first saw the demo in the warehouse I knew they would integrate with the design and add the desired effect. They were also a big hit with Mika."
The PixelArts created a wall behind the band and featured a mixture of homemade video content provided by system tech Andy Rowe and stock footage. The lighting was controlled by a Roadhog and the PixelArts controlled by a Catalyst media server. All the lighting was supplied by Adlib.
China - One of the year's largest events took place in early October in Shanghai, China and like all events of this magnitude the numbers were staggering. Perhaps the most impressive figure though was 950. That was the number of MAC luminaires that American lighting designer Bob Dickinson used to support his lighting design for the Opening Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games.
Held from 2-11 October, the Special Olympics World Summer Games saw 7,500 athletes from 160 countries compete beneath the Olympic Flame of Hope. An army of 40,000 volunteers were called upon to make sure the Games ran smoothly.
Perhaps bigger and better than anything staged before in China - until next year's Summer Olympic Games that is - 80,000 spectators at the Opening Ceremony in Shanghai Stadium witnessed an awe-inspiring display of traditional dance, music, lighting and pyrotechnics.
South Africa - MA Lighting initially made its entry into South Africa a couple of years ago. Gearhouse had spent a lengthy period of time deciding which desk would be the best way forward for them as the largest rental company in Africa. They finally decided on the grandMA. Michael Althaus, managing director of MA Lighting, travelled to South Africa to visit Ofer Lapid, Tim Dunn and Bill Lawford from Gearhouse and was introduced to Duncan Riley, who had just started his own company called DWR Distribution. By February 2007, an agreement was formed, making DWR Distribution the agents for MA Lighting.
"MA Lighting is very precise and they do everything properly," commented Duncan. "If they say it's going to happen on this day, you can be assured that it will. The desks have proved themselves as reliable above all else, which does effect how they are seen by the ente
Austria - Wiener Event Technik, one of Austria's leading rental companies has expanded its rental stock with the addition of three Frog 2 Lighting consoles inventory, each complete with two 3M touch screens to maximise their usability on the fly.
The Frog 2 made its Austrian debut with the Vienna State Opera Ballet on their production of Walzerreigen in August. The performance was staged at the Kaiserzelt on Lake Altaussee with lighting design by Rudolf Fischer. The Frog 2 controlled the comprehensive lighting rig, which included 18 Martin MAC 600, 18 Martin MAC 2000, 16 6-Bar PAR 64 1kW, 12x Arri 2kW Fresnell, 12 Floodlight 1kW, 12 UV Tube 36W and two UV Flood 400W.
Managing director of Wiener Event Technik, Erich Kulicska says: "The Frog 2 fits all the criteria for our rental consoles including individual timing of channels and quick access to all desk data. In a
USA - Tony Forman has joined Theatre Projects Consultants (TPC) as a project manager in the group's US office. Forman has over 25 years of experience working in international, regional, and collegiate theatre. His responsibilities at TPC include project management, programming, theatre planning, and advice on both facility management and operations.
"I am excited to apply my accumulated experience in production, administration and community cultural organizing to the work of TPC." says Forman. "Building or renovating a performance space has always been a keen interest of mine, and I now feel well suited to this unique endeavour. I am thrilled to be part of the team."
USA - The new Northwestern Prentice Women's Hospital in Chicago recently celebrated its grand opening with a gala performance from soul legend Aretha Franklin.
Lighting designer Terry Heisler, transformed the hospital into an entertainment atmosphere, with an eclectic mixture of moving lights - 20 PixelLine 1044s showcased on the main stage and 24 PixelArc Rs decorating the walls inside the hospital.
Heisler reports: "The PixelLines were a perfect fit for this show. The main stage was located in a large portable tent with sloping angles. I wanted to break up the monotony of those angles with something that could contrast and add another dimension."
He continues: "When the PixelLines were turned on you lost the 'tent' feeling - plus the pixel mapping and collage movement made the rig look much bigger than it was. The PixelLines also complemented the collage wal
UK - HSL is injecting some old and new magic lanterns and lighting effects to the successful nine-week run of Aladdin at Newcastle Theatre Royal for Qdos Productions. It is lighting designer Ben Cracknell's sixth consecutive panto season at the Theatre Royal and HSL has also been supplying kit for the same duration.
"Panto is one of the hardest shows to light because it encompasses so many different genres - comedy, tragedy, musical, theatre, dance and rock 'n' roll all rolled into one," says Cracknell.
This Aladdin show also includes 3D projection for key elements including the magic carpet and the genie, which really throws the action right out into the audience and into people's faces - eliciting great excitement and reaction.
HSL is supplying all the moving lights for the show, along with equipment for another 10 Qdos productions around the UK, fr
USA - The grandMA is in control on R. Kelly's national Double Up tour which continues until 13 January. Production designer Patrick Dierson, of Artfag, selected the console to control all the automated elements of the big stage show, including lighting, video and scenery.
Dierson notes that R. Kelly has always had problems getting the lighting of his shows to be exactly as he envisioned it. "Now, for the first time in his career, he has complete control. He was very involved in the lighting and sat with us throughout the programming sessions."
The Double Up tour's high production values required the grandMA to control all the lighting, the DL.2 projectors, video control and routing, Control Freak systems integration and M-box servers.
The grandMA also controls the Mainlight Soft Motion system, a DMX-controlled motor cabling system for soft goods like
Australia - An extensive Anolis architectural LED lighting installation has been completed at Brisbane's Paddington Tavern pub - known locally as The Paddo, renowned as one of Queensland's finest pubs.
The Paddo's new lighting scheme was designed by Craig Chandler of Craig Chandler Architects as part of a recent re-vamp of the large venue, giving it a post-modern industrial edge. The installation was undertaken by electrical contractors Espirit.
The project was jointly managed by Acoustic Technologies and ULA. Blair Terrace, national sales manager from ULA comments: "Craig has specified both Robe and Anolis fixtures for many other venues."
UK - HSL supplied seven Robe Digital Spots, a set of custom built DMX winches, full lighting, rigging and crew for designer Rob Sinclair's innovative look for the Human League's 2007 festive tour. It is Sinclair's fourth tour with the band. Each year he ensures that the production values are maximised for the available budget and that the band have a fresh style to the stage.
This year lead singer Philip Oakey took a real interest in the visuals. Deciding to perform their seminal 1980 Dare album in order in its entirety, he discussed with Sinclair his desire for a real period feel from the visuals and a 'rectangular' basis to the stage.
Sinclair created and edited all the show's video content himself. Approximately 50% of this is completely new, and the rest was a combination of re-edited and archival material form the Dare era. All of it is stored in the Digital
USA - The new Tom Stoppard play, Rock 'n' Roll opened on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on 4 November.
Lighting design is by Howard Harrison (Mary Poppins, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Mamma Mia!) who was LD on the original London production that started at the Royal Court Theatre before moving to the West End, where it played successfully for nine months. Associate lighting designer is Daniel Walker with Marc Polimeni handling lighting programming.
Harrison uses 12 Martin MAC TW1 tungsten wash lights for tight moving specials on the Broadway production. "One of the problems we had was that the light we used in London - an old Strand Pirouette PC moving head - was hard to source in America," Harrison explains. "There was nothing that quite replaces what it does which is basically very small, tight specials to something a bit bigg
USA - To honour individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improve the lives of children, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) hosted its 23rd Annual Awards of Excellence celebration in Rosemont, Illinois in October. In addition to the awards presentation, the Awards of Excellence celebration included a dinner and lively entertainment by actor and comedian Bernie Mac.
The annual event presents three awards to individuals selected from across the globe. Past recipients have included such personalities and dignitaries as Paul Newman, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, former First Lady Betty Ford, former US President Jimmy Carter and many others.
The event is produced for RMHC by McDonald's Creative Services division, and for the 13th consecutive year they turned to Lightswitch for lighting design; long time McDonald's vendor Billy Nolan and TLC to provide equipment