UK - Manchester-based DBN Lighting supplied an innovative lighting artwork, equipment and control for the week long opening event of the redeveloped People's History Museum in the heart of the city.

The £12.5m project includes the refurbishment of the existing Pump House and the construction of a four storey extension alongside it, with old and new buildings joined together by a spectacular glass walkway.

Event producers Walk The Plank commissioned DBN's Stephen Page to produce the concept and the work, which involved more than 80 individual LED lighting fixtures. These were strategically positioned in various locations inside the building, to be viewed externally by the public via a patchwork of windows on the river side of the building.

Walk the Plank completed the launch week's visual picture with the installation of a flame jet system on top of the roof, which work

UK - Working closely with renowned lighting designer, Liz Berry, students from Rose Bruford College alongside Hawthorn, tested to their limits some new lighting fixtures and designs which proved to be very illuminating. Liz Berry advised and encouraged the BA Lighting Design students to create innovative lighting infrastructures using the GLP Impressions alongside Alpha Spot 300s controlled via an Avolites Pearl Tiger. The bands commented on how the lighting really supplemented their own performances and were stunned by the punchy effects, and the lighting students found the equipment to be flexible and fun to work with.

Liz Berry and the students were delighted with this new collaboration. "The students were very surprised at the brightness of both the fixtures and learned a lot from using them in their shows," says Berry. "They were especially impressed by the I

Germany - e:cue lighting control makes video-to -light installations "easier than ever" with its Video Micro Converter DMX (VMC DMX). This compact device converts DVI source to DMX512 protocol for control of creative LED media installations.

One VMC grabs video signals of up to 4096 pixels from a DVI source and converts them to DMX channels, while multiple VMCs can be daisy-chained to convert an entire video via DVI signal for projects requiring more than 4096 pixels. The VMC features very flexible pixel mapping capabilities for demanding LED installations ranging from a few hundred to one million pixels.

Each VMC has an internal active DVI signal booster for repeating and boosting the DVI signal when multiple VMCs are clustered to control video installations greater than 4096 pixels. A default image file can be uploaded onto the VMC, using a PC, for display in the e

Denmark - The new MAC 350 Entour from Martin Professional is billed as "the most powerful and energy-efficient LED-based profile moving head fixture on the market to date". It marks a radical advancement in light output and quality compared to other LED profiles on the market, says the company. It is the direct result of a technology grant for the development of new LED technologies.

Light output is exceptional for an LED profile yet the MAC 350 Entour is highly energy efficient. It delivers 8,000 lumens of output from efficient 50 W white LEDs, an output greater than many larger and more expensive 250/300 watt fixtures.

The MAC 350 Entour houses eight easily interchangeable dichroic colours with split colour effects and continuous rotation. It houses six rotating and indexable gobos, all new designs that are easy to change. Beam angle is 25o.

The LED light sources

USA - After selecting Coemar lighting fixtures for alternative/funk party band 311's 2008 and 2009 tours, lighting designer/director Joe Paradise once again chose a complement of Coemar Infinity XLs and ACLs for the band's much-anticipated 2010 311 Day Concert.

The biennial event, which celebrates the band and salutes fans worldwide, was held at the Mandalay Bay Event Centre in Las Vegas on 11 March. The five-hour communal concert began in 2000 and has become a 311 tradition; this year fans could also tune into a live webcast.

"The show featured 68 songs, LED video and two laser tables; there was a lot of non-stop programming right up until the last minute," says Paradise who also programmed the concert and directed the video.

"I used 18 Infinity XLs as a wash on stage over the band instead of using a keylight," he explains. "I also used their effect

USA - A new Anolis LED landscape lighting project has been completed in the newly renovated Town Point Park in the heart of the city of Norfolk, Virginia.

The 2.8 acre waterfront park was recently regenerated by the City of Norfolk in a project aimed at enhancing the experience of visitors and residents choosing to spend their leisure time downtown. Norfolk is replete with a selection of restaurants, vibrant night life, aesthetically appealing residential and commercial buildings, historical landmarks and museums, with Town Point Park right at its core.

It is located right in Chesapeake Bay on the Elizabeth River with panoramic views of the surrounding cities, and is also the home of frequent festivals, events and concerts produced by the city's busy event planning organisation, Norfolk FestEvents.

The City of Norfolk called in Blue Steel Lighting Design from Virginia

USA - Barco reports that its Cyberlight 2.0 moving mirror lighting fixture is now on tour with acts including Alice In Chains, Bon Jovi, and John Mayer. Rooted in the legendary Cyberlight fixture of the 1990s, the Cyberlight 2.0 is a modern piece of engineering that merges power with speed and precision control. The Cyberlight 2.0's 30,000 lumens of pure light output is directed via an on-board high speed moving mirror with smooth motion at all speeds. Fixed and rotating Lithopatterns®, unique glass effects, and smooth CMY color mixing provide an infinite palette of colors and creative options for amazing lighting effects.

Mike Baldassari, production designer for the current Alice In Chains tour, Baldassari chose four Cyberlight 2.0's to backlight the four band members. By fitting the moving performers with tiny infrared trackers, the Cyberlight 2.0's can track the movement

UK - A grandMA2 full-size, a grandMA2 light and an MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) are on tour with the 2010 X-Factor Live arena show, which have been specified and are operated and owned by lighting designer Neil Trenell.

Trenell was asked to create a lighting and video design by the show's technical producers Production North. He worked closely with the show directors Annabel Hayden and Stacey Haynes.

When it came to visual control, "It was a completely logical choice as I know the system so well," he says. It's a large investment for an LD to make in consoles, but Trenell thinks it's one of his best moves ever, as he can always use his system of choice. This makes a big difference to how fast he can programme a show and consequently to how adventurous and imaginative he can be with the design.

The X-Factor Live lighting rig consists of five trusse

USA - Nominations open 1 May 2010 for the third annual ESTA Rock Our World Awards, which recognise groundbreaking achievement by ESTA Members in new products, product applications, or projects. These awards were created to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment.

Contestants for the 2009 awards showcased a wide variety of new products and product applications from the simplest problem solver to complex uses of technology that extended the boundaries of the entertainment technology field. Project nominations showcased everything from the lighting of the Grand Mosque to the staging of the Democratic National Convention and highlighted the collaborative nature of our industry.

Nominations may be made by anyone in the industry, but an ESTA member must be involved as the de

USA - J. R. Clancy has announced the appointment of Jim Crooks as the company's vice president, sales. He starts in his new Syracuse-based position on 10 May.

Crooks brings more than three decades of industry experience to J. R. Clancy. For the last 17 years, he has worked for a single group of entertainment lighting, dimming and energy management companies. In 1993, he joined Portland-based Entertainment Technology (ET) as their western regional manager and vice president, marketing. ET was acquired by Stamford based ROSCO Laboratories and later sold to a conglomerate called Genlyte. In 2007, Genlyte was acquired by Philips. Within the Philips Lighting group, Crooks has held several positions with Lightolier, Entertainment Technology, Vari-lite and other Philips-owned brands.

"Jim is a well-known figure in the entertainment technology industry, and we are fortunate to br

Belgium - PixLED has announced Bart Van der Beken as its new general manager.

Van der Beken has over 10 years of knowledge and experience in the LED industry, working for market leaders including Barco N.V and Element Labs, and brings with him a network of contacts from across the major EMEA and APAC rental and staging companies.

Van der Beken has a huge energy and enthusiasm for the technology and all its possibilities, and also for the industry in general. He is very positive about expanding PixLED's business in all sectors, and in taking the company forward over the coming years, which will include imaginative and proactive marketing campaigns.

He states, "I am very honoured to be taking up this exciting new challenge, and immediately accepted the post after seeing the wide and refreshing new range of ultra lightweight PixLED LED products. There is a great future her

UK - The ongoing evolution of FocusTrack, the show lighting documentation system, sees the introduction of PowerTrack, a function for calculating the power consumption of shows.

PowerTrack takes the information about the levels lights are at in cues, which it extracts by importing showfile data from ETC Eos/Ion, MA grandMA or Strand 300/500-series consoles, and combines it with information about fixture types and their power consumption that is available from the RigTrack rig management module. This means that it can calculate the approximate load of any given cue - in doing so taking into account not only the level that tungsten lights are at and the constant background load of discharge fixtures, but also the status of more complex fixtures such as moving lights that reduce their discharge lamp's output power when the mechanical dimmer is closed.

In addition to calculating t

Global Music Sales - Sales of music slid by 7% around the world in 2009, new figures have revealed. But the music market in 13 countries, including the UK, grew during the past year, according to data released by recording industry body the IFPI. It added that global digital sales registered a strong increase across many markets in 2009. Susan Boyle's debut album was confirmed as the world's biggest seller of the year, shifting 8.3m copies. The Scottish star's performance was substantially up on 2008's world number one, Coldplay's Viva La Vida, which sold 6.8m. The Black Eyed Peas and Michael Jackson's This Is It followed Boyle in the rundown.

The IFPI also reported that countries which have the least stringent protection from music piracy, such as Spain and Canada, registered the most serious falls in official music sales. Improvements in anti-piracy measures in countrie

USA - A new Avolites Pearl Expert is the lighting control console on the long awaited North American tour of Public Image Ltd. (PiL). Theatrical Media Services (TMS) of Omaha is supplying the Pearl Expert for the six-week tour, which kicked off in Los Angeles this month.

TMS has specialized in complete event production and state-of-the-art lighting for over 20 years. The company's principal partners have worked in entertainment production since the early Eighties. "The new Avo Pearl Expert is small with plenty of balls," says TMS vice-president, Mark Huber. "The new Titan software represents a real leap forward for Avo. PiL needed a desk with plenty of horsepower yet compact and reliable. The Pearl Expert fits the bill perfectly.

"Our new Pearl came from TMB, a supplier of ours since the early days," adds Huber. "Now TMB are the exclusive distribu

UK - PLASA Events confirms that PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010 has broken all records over the two days at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Visitor attendance topped 1800 - an increase of nearly 30% on last year's launch event. Thirty-three first-time exhibitors at PLASA Focus meant the show was brimming with key industry players, bringing the total to over 130 exhibitors, with both halls sold out weeks in advance of the show.

A lengthy list of new products were on show, many representing their first UK appearance following international launches, including 15 new products by Martin Professional; the SADiE 6 LiVE system; the UK debut of RCF's VSA 2050 Digital Steerable Column; Audio-Technica's updated 2000, 3000, 4000 & 5000 wireless systems; Clay Paky's first LED screen product - the Mirage LED curtain display; Trantec's Channel 38-ready S6 wireless system; GDS's latest additions

UAE - ETC's Selador range of LED fixtures has scooped another award, this time for Best Intelligent Lighting Fixture at the PALME Middle East Awards 2010.

Selador was entered for the award by ETC's Dubai based distributor, Oasis Enterprises. David Gray, architainment division manager, says, "Quality of light output is an important feature in an energy efficient fixture, and the PALME award recognises this. It is always a challenge to convince professionals that one Selador Vivid Ice fixture can replace 16 Source Four PARs in Congo Blue; or that the same fixture then also be used to generate Sky Blue which would have required eight PARs. But by setting up demonstrations and shoot-outs, we can prove this amazing technology to end users first hand.

"The TV market has been fastest to recognise the benefits of Selador in producing warm whites - we have supplied many Lustr

Canada - Wireless Solution Sweden helped Electric Aura take a carbon-friendly footstep during the 2010 Olympic Games at one of the installations found above Robson Square in Vancouver. Every night from 12-28 February, the skies overhead exploded with lights, pyrotechnics, lasers, projections and flying performers.

The project, aptly named Ignite the Dream was the creation of Partrick Roberge to be the signature show celebrating the end of each day of the Olympic competition. Lighting designer Robert Sondergaard of Electric Aura explains, "Patrick's vision was that this show had to be one of the top 10 things to see during the Olympics." The lighting, as well as all of the special effects, were designed to create a stunning 360-degree experience that would showcase British Columbia at its best.

The show was produced by Partrick Roberge Productions, with lightin

China - SONO, a company specializing in event engineering projects, has chosen Barco to be its visualization partner for the Spanish Pavilion during the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The Spanish Pavilion extends over three rooms, each one directed by a leading Spanish filmmaker. A total of 47 Barco projectors help the design team to give visitors an impression about Spanish history, modern life and future dreams.

Inspired by the general theme of the Expo, Better City - Better Life, Spain asked their leading directors to work out the themes inside the Spanish Pavilion. The area is organised in three rooms. SONO was asked for the technical project design and implementation. They decided to use Barco's series of CLM projectors to project filmic images on the various screens. The CLM projectors are compact single-chip DLP projectors with 10,000 or 8,000 lumens light output that d

UK - The RevEAL CW colour-mixing washlight, the first product from innovative new manufacturer Prism Projection and the award winner for Best Debuting Lighting Product at last year's LDI Show in Orlando, is now available in the UK - exclusively from White Light.

Designed to offer "unparalleled colour rendering and colour repeatability in a compact, well engineered and environmentally friendly package", the RevEAL CW overcomes many of the problems found in other LED fixtures, in particular being designed to project a beam of light rather than just creating a wash of light - a range of field angles are available.

"The beam of the RevEAL was what first drew our eye to the fixture at LDI last year," comments White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven. "Eeven before further exploration revealed how much work the Prism team have done to overcome the proble

China - PALM Expo Beijing is the first tradeshow for Robert Juliat following its successful launch of the RJ Aledin LED profile spotlight at Prolight & Sound, Frankfurt in April.

The Aledin has been an instant hit as it is the first product of its type to combine high quality, powerful image projection with an extremely low power consumption, says the company. Interest has come from theatre, opera, architectural and event markets and this LED fixture is now on show in Asia for the first time.

Further examples of Robert Juliat's wide range of lighting products will be exhibited including the 710SX 2.5K tungsten profile and the RJ 329HF 2.5K Fresnel spotlight which have been designed for the long throw applications of large theatre and opera houses.

Horus, Robert Juliat's popular tungsten cyclorama fixture, has been redesigned and updated to ensure it remains as relevant and p

Italy - Magazzini Generali is not just a high-spirited discotheque in Milan; it also serves as a concert hall and multi-functional event centre which has staged photo shoots, fashion shows, music festivals, and theatre productions.

The owners of Magazzini Generali were motivated to maintain a versatile ambiance to meet the multi-faceted needs of this venue. To accomplish this, they have entrusted the experience of Martin Professional.

The club required a lighting fixture that was fast and reliable with low power consumption and the choice fell to the Martin smartMAC. Used throughout the space, the smartMAC is an extremely bright, fanless 150 W moving head luminaire offering precise image quality with economic advantages and ease of installation. Designed for clubs, lounges, bars and restaurants, it is appropriately silent for noise sensitive environments.

The smartMAC offers

USA - A critical letter about the use of chemical pesticides on its lawns in 2008 led to a series of steps and decisions at Farnsworth Art Museum that culminated with a resolution to become a leader in environmentally sustainable practices. Converting the entire museum from halogen to LED light bulbs was a major part of that decision.

The effort will make the Rockland, Maine, institution one of the first art museums in the nation to use LED lighting for all of its galleries. The lights will dramatically reduce the museum's energy consumption, allowing the Farnsworth to allocate more funds for programs and exhibitions.

For the LED project, the museum has partnered with Efficiency Maine and California-based LEDtronics. The relamping will not only help protect displayed artwork by reducing the potentially harmful effects of standard lighting on works of art, but it will also prov

China - Themed as Better City - Better Life, the Shanghai Expo 2010 recently started with a spectacular Opening Ceremony, produced by David Atkins Enterprises from Australia, for which a grandMA2 system was used for lighting control. Robert Dickinson and Ted Wells realised the lighting design for this major event.

The 2010 Expo lasts from 1 May to 31 October 2010. Over 190 countries and more than 50 international organisations attend - and 70m visitors are expected.

Paul Collison, the project's lighting manager, reports, "Our main MA system was built from three grandMA2 full-size, three grandMA2 light, six MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), 32 MA 2Port Nodes and eight MA NSP (Network Signal Processors) which we used as 4Port Nodes. The grandMA 3D software was used as well for pre-programming and designing purposes. grandMA2 was the ideal platform given the size of t

Slovakia - Lighting and video content for multiple LED surfaces at the 2010 Miss Universe Slovakia beauty pageant, staged in the SIBAMAC Arena, Bratislava, was controlled by two grandMA full-size consoles, six video stations with the MA VPU software (Video Processing Unit) and six MA NSPs (Network Processing Units). The show - which regularly draws one of the highest annual ratings on Slovakian TV - was broadcast live on national STV1, and featured an enthusiastic audience of 5,000 people.

The show's visuals were designed by Martin Kubanka. He worked closely with lighting and video programmers and operators Michal Schmid and Tomas Lecky, who each used a grandMA full-size console for their respective departments.

Says Kubanka, "I have been using grandMA for at least 10 years on all my shows and I would not even think about using another brand, and especially not now, for s

Latest Issue. . .