Canada - The CAST Group of Toronto, Canada and Rushworks of Dallas, Texas have announced the integration of the award-winning BlackTrax Solution realtime tracking technology with Rushworks' VDESK Integrated PTZ Production System, adding the extra dimension of robotic camera tracking control to the arsenal of BlackTrax tracking solutions. This integration creates a cost-effective, fully automated realtime video tracking solution for just about anything from live entertainment to houses of worship.
PTZ cameras (Pan, Tilt and Zoom) are typically controlled remotely by an operator using a joystick to "frame" a shot or follow the action ... although "following" is, in reality, more about reacting than truly tracking. Some controlling devices support the creation of presets associated with user-defined positions. Most hardware controllers allow the user to position
Germany - Clay Paky has a formidable line-up scheduled for ProLight+Sound 2013.
Sharpy Wash 330 is an extraordinarily compact, lightweight 330 W washlight, with the luminous efficiency, graphic and optical performance of a 1000W fixture. It is extremely silent and quick, and fitted with a complete CMY color system, special colors, 6.5°-48° zoom, mechanical dimmer, beam shaping filter and motorized top-hat. It is an eco-friendly light, allowing considerable running and consumption cost savings.
The Alpha Profile 800 ST is the most modern moving beam shaper in existence today for use in theatres and studios. Clay Paky used highly sophisticated micromechanics to obtain a compact, light, silent unit with an extremely bright light and a zoom capable of producing an extraordinarily sharp, perfectly uniform beam.
Germany - Czech Republic based moving light manufacturer Robe lighting is set to launch six new products at the 2013 Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt.
Topping the list is The Pointe. This and four other innovations are from Robe's multi award-winning Robin range and also new is the latest in Robe's DigitalSpot series - the DigitalSpot 7100DT.
The Robin Pointe is a new dynamic beam, spot and wash fixture from Robe - a small, super-bright and very fast 'signature' unit with an intense and sharp parallel beam .... plus a host of features making it a truly unique and versatile lightsource.
These include a 5 - 20 degree zoom with full focus control, variable frost, two separate prism effects, a rotating and a static gobo wheel and inbuilt colour wheel.
The lightsource is a 280W Osram discharge lamp making the Pointe a dynamic, fixture for using to create WOW factors on a
USA - ETC has announced a new arrival in the Source Four family of lighting fixtures: the Source Four Mini.
At 23cm long and weighing just 740g, the Mini is the tiniest Source Four ever, but it still lives up to the family name. As Jim Uphoff, ETC Fixtures product manager, says, "Don't let the size of the Source Four Mini fool you. It may be cute, but it's a serious lighting tool. Its 50 watt lamp is brighter than you'd expect from an instrument of this size."
The Mini is designed with the DNA of the Source Four family, with crisp optics, crystal-clear image projection, a bright, even field, and user-friendly operation.
The size of the Source Four Mini means even more installations can have Source Four functionality. Joe Bokelman, ETC architectural market manager, explains, "The Source Four Mini is a perfect fit for small-scale installations, like low ceiling
USA - LA pop rock band Maroon 5 has begun its Overexposed world tour and grandMA2 is along for the ride. Maroon 5's new North American tour is in support of the band's eponymous studio album released last summer. Since its debut in 2002, Maroon 5 has sold over 10m albums in the US.
As always, noted production designer and artistic director Demfis Fyssicopulos took an innovative and forward thinking approach to his design philosophy for the tour, which entailed utilising the grandMA2 full-size. "It's the most advanced control surface in the market," he says. "In addition to the lighting for the show, a plethora of media servers and custom Control Freak System solutions are all controlled from the grandMA2 full-size. Centralised control ensures coherence and a show that looks well put together."
On the video side of the tour the grandMA2 full-size cont
UK - Artistic Licence, industry experts in architectural lighting control and data distribution, will be bringing their latest innovations to PLASA Focus 2013.
PLASA Focus will see the official launch of sunDial, the new range of smart modular dimmers that present a universal control solution.
General purpose lighting now comes in many guises, from halogen to LEDs. Taking a holistic, eco-friendly approach to dimming, Artistic Licence has developed sunDial to enable lighting fixtures to be controlled in a more intelligent manner. With DALI and DMX inputs, high channel counts and dimming to suit every fixture from incandescent to solid-state, sunDial is the embodiment of intelligent lighting control.
The stand (N-D13) will demonstrate sunDial's mix-and-match concept, combining DMX and DALI controllers to drive a range of sources, including mains-powered lighting and the latest
UK - The GLP Impression Spot One and Wash One are now available from PRG's rental stock. The Spot One was the first fixture of its kind to be released to the global market, closely followed by the Wash One and both incorporate ground breaking LED technology. By harnessing the raw power of numerous LED sources and running it through an advanced optical system GLP has created an even beam for RGB color mixing, and has produced two very versatile fixtures.
The Spot One offers bright RGB LED output; even light distribution; full, crisp colour palette; clean white range of 3000K-8000K with high CRI, Instant colour bumps and sharp image projections
The Impression Wash One boasts a 400W RGB LED light engine, and the same groundbreaking technology as the Spot One, the fully-featured luminaire is able to deliver delicate colour changes or instantaneous colour bumps over a wide, careful
UK - Following a deep strategic review in mid-2011 the ALD is changing and growing with greater focus on member benefits, public and industry engagement. A significant investment in resource has already been made consisting of a new office in central London and a permanent management post.
ALD chairman Peter Mumford said, "We had a clear mandate from the members at the last AGM to get on with developing the ALD through expanding and advising the professional membership, and promoting the art of lighting design more widely. The Executive came up with several key initiatives, which included marketing ourselves better, more help for recently graduated designers- we call them 'emerging LDs' - and increased levels of support for professionals working in lighting. It was obvious that we needed someone working full-time on this project, in an office that would be available to a la
USA - How do you control 28 four-foot lighted spheres suspended above award winners "fun" at the 2013 Grammy Awards? Easy - with LumenRadio Receiver Cards inside each sphere, and a LumenRadio Flex transmitter located backstage.
Conceived and produced by Moment Factory of Montreal, with content by Hubert Gagnon of Blackout Design, the fun. set was designed and built by Quebec-based Teksho. Featuring illuminated spheres rising from the stage floor like gigantic champagne bubbles in slow motion, the number climaxed with an actual on-stage rainstorm. LEDs inside each of the orbs were controlled by a grandMA2 at FOH, driving an NPU backstage, sending DMX to the LumenRadio Flex Transmitter. The Flex Transmitter sent wireless DMX to each of the frosted-white spheres, with continual control feedback of the entire wireless system.
Brazil - In Southern Brazil, on the coast of Santa Catarina, sits one of the world's largest Art Deco statues. At the top of Morro de la Cruz (Hill of the Cross), the statue of Jesus Christ stands overlooking the city of Balneário Camboriú, with one arm outstretched, welcoming visitors from near and far, and the other carrying a symbol of the sun.
Measuring 33m in height (including the pedestal) and 22m wide (from fingertip to fingertip), the task of lighting this majestic tourist attraction at first seemed less than straightforward. However, when Mario Luiz Pretto of Cristo Luz (Christ Light) contacted SGM's Brazilian distributor, João Alonso of LBO Lighting Comercio e Importação e Exportação Ltda, requesting a more powerful lighting output than the former installation could provide, João Alonso proposed the SGM P-5 wash light featuring 44 high power 10W RGBW LEDs per u
Argentina - Situated in the city of Cosquin in the Punilla Valley, and attended by around 9,000 people per day, National Folklore Festival Cosquín is the most important festival of folk music in Argentina. Dating back to 1961, it runs for nine nights each January, which are traditionally referred to as the Nine Moons Coscoínas.
Service and distribution company Deligio Iluminación first became involved back in 2006 and this year again rigged the large Atahualpa Yupanqui stage in Cosquin's main Prospero Molina Square - named in honour of the legendary guitarist. Deligio fielded PR Lighting's high brightness/low wattage XR200 Beams, imported by PR Lighting's Argentinian distributor, Martellota, and supplied by Carlos Capra's Audio - Line, alongside XS 1200 Spots, a versatile, bright moving head with rapid beam movement.
"We like the XR200 Beam for its overall performance,
UK - Ayrton reports that all new Ayrton products equipped with a wireless DMX/RDM receiver module will feature award-winning CRMX technology by LumenRadio.
After an extensive testing campaign, Ayrton selected LumenRadio because of its superior quality and reliability. The LumenRadio Coexistence technology allows smarter use of the frequencies by continuously scanning the radio spectrum and dynamically adapting its frequency-hopping pattern to the surrounding environment. This eliminates interference and maximizes performance whatever protocol is in use, whether DMX or RDM.
Ayrton and LumenRadio started working together during the European Motor Show in Brussels where they were faced with the challenge of controlling hundreds of custom LED fixtures using wireless RDM. The result was perfect and Ayrton decided to collaborate with LumenRadio for their entire product line.
UK - Today, Tuesday 26 March, PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths appeared alongside members of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony creative team to represent the entertainment and installation technology industries before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee at the House of Commons.
The invitation follows a period of intense political lobbying by PLASA, on behalf of its members, many of whom were dissatisfied with the restriction surrounding the promotion of their involvement in the events. The questions asked will be used by MPs to assess the true extent of the role that the Olympic and Paralympic Games had in showcasing the UK creative industries, and what impact they have had on the sector subsequently.
"Many of our members were disappointed to discover the pervasiveness of the orders set up to protect the sponsorship deals of companies from outside the creative industr
USA - When production for Smokey Robinson presents Human Nature: The Motown Show decided to relocate from the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas to the nearby Venetian Hotel, experienced lighting designer Steve Cohen received a call out of the blue from the show's creative director, David Rudder. "They had already hired a set designer [Andy Walmsley], and were interested in having me light the show in the new space," he recalls. "Although we had never met before, since I live in Vegas, it was easy for me to see the show and see if we hit it off."
Fortunately for both the show's male vocal group Human Nature and Cohen they did; but since the group wanted to come up with a whole new look for their show, the designer had to choose his fixtures carefully to compensate for the limitations of the room and budget, as well as the existing lighting infrastructure. So
UK - High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire based lighting rental company Siyan supplied equipment and crew to the first UK leg of Indie rockers The Courteeners ANNA tour working with Lighting Designer Dan Hill.
The tour incorporated a string of sold out academy and student union venues culminating at Brixton Academy as The Big London Show and was the band's first proper production tour on this scale.
Siyan's project Manager Jez Johnstone says, "This is the first time we've worked with Dan on a full tour and it's been a pleasure. He knows exactly what he wants to see and is proactive and flexible when it comes to making things work during the prep stages. In terms of the show - the design is solid, his programming is tight and his timing is spot on! I'm looking forward to the next one!"
Hill has designed The Courteeners lighting for three years, and he worked
Olivier Awards - Michael Frayn and Gillian Lynne will be given prizes for their outstanding contribution to theatre at this year's Olivier Awards ceremony. They will both receive their Special Awards at the event, which is taking place at the Royal Opera House on 28 April and will be hosted by Hugh Bonneville and Sheridan Smith. Frayn is best known for writing his 1982 play Noises Off as well as dramas including Copenhagen and Democracy. Lynne has choreographed more than 50 Broadway, West End and international stage productions including musicals Cats and The Phantom of the Opera.
Downsizing - Irish alternative rockers My Bloody Valentine and US singer-songwriter Rodriguez are to headline this year's scaled-down Hop Farm Festival in Kent. Promoter Vince Power said the festival, the sixth to be held since 2008, would be over two days, on
USA - "White is the presence of all colours. ETC wanted to make a white-light LED spotlight that would be worthy of professional broadcast, film, and video production," says ETC's Matt Armendariz-Kerr. So ETC has released the new Source Four LED Studio HD, which utilises the colour technology of ETC's Selador x7 Color System for a more spectrally complete white light that can be finely tuned to the on screen talent.
With a special recipe of LED colour blending, the Studio HD is designed to perform in a high definition production world where people (with varying flesh tones) need to look their best. The Studio HD combines exceptional light output with an ultra-flexible, variable white light (2700K-6500K), for more accurate colour rendition on camera.
A multipurpose tool, the Source Four LED Studio HD is ideal for key, bounce, smooth or textured lighting. And as a Sour
UK - Martin Professional invites lighting professionals to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 to be the first in the UK to get an up-close look at the newest members of the award-winning MAC Viper Family, as well as the first fixtures in an all-new Martin product range - RUSH - light in the fast lane!
Join Martin 30 April 30th to 1 May at the Royal Armouries in Leeds where visitors can check out these latest technologies, network with industry professionals and enjoy a relaxing chat with Martin personnel at Booth N-E16.
A host of other new Martin products will also feature: MAC III series luminaires, VC series LED video and smoke and haze solutions.
UK - A Chorus Line, the legendary Broadway musical, has returned triumphantly to London's West End, for the first time since the original production opened there in 1976.
The new production, playing at the London Palladium, is a faithful re-creation of the original Michael Bennett show, staged by members of the original creative team including director/choreographers Bob Avian (co-choreographer of the original production) and Baayork Lee (a member of the original cast, who has re-staged many productions of the show since), set designer Robin Wagner and the late costume designer Theoni V Aldredge.
The show also retains the legendary lighting design by pioneering lighting designer Tharon Musser, who passed away in 2009. For the 2006 Broadway revival and subsequent productions of A Chorus Line, her work was re-created and updated to current lighting technology by award-win
Italy - Visual design company Teslacoop has created the first life-size virtual 3D forest using wysiwyg R30.
The live simulation, originally conceived for a show by a prominent fashion label, was designed to be held within a circular theatre in Milan. The walls of the theatre, usually mirrored, were covered in a 50 by 6m screen, forming a 270-degree surface surrounding the audience and catwalk, onto which was projected a vast 3D video from five 20K Christie projectors driven by a CatalystPM media server and Compulite Vector Green console. The entire production was realised in wysiwyg, using the software's video manager to split the image into five portions, divided equally among the Christie projectors.
Luca Baraldo, president of Teslacoop explains, "If you normally use an image that is 1024 by 768 pixels, you can't project this onto a 50m by 6m screen, so my graphic desi
Australia - For the last 22 years Her Majesty's Theatre Ballarat has been working with an old mobile scissor lift to move stage sets and equipment from street level to stage level, a distance of 6.3m. Not only was it an arduous task to have to wheel it into position, it was becoming an OH&S concern.
"In order to load it you were reaching above waist level and we had no facility to attach it to trucks so it was very difficult to load from them," remarked Liz Mundell, technical operations manager. "There was always a gap between the lift and the back of the truck. Also if the winds got above 15 kilometres an hour we theoretically weren't supposed to use the lift - and in Ballarat that's a gentle breeze."
Other issues included the size of lift and the amount it could carry so council made funds available for a new lift and the project was put out to tender. Pr
UK - PRG's Scottie Sanderson and Mark O'Herlihy are supporting The Script with a comprehensive lighting, rigging and video package for their # 3 World Tour.
This is the second concert tour by the Irish alternative rock band, launched in support of their third studio album, # 3. Lighting designer Jamie Thompson has taken the album name and developed that symbolism within his design concept to create an innovative and striking experience.
The first thing that strikes you about Thompson's design are the three 'fingers' of truss, each clad with a strip of Nocturne V18 LED, 1m wide by 16m long, running from upstage to over the audience. Three complementary runs of V28 are set into the stage and look as though they are a continuous part of the Nocturne V18 main screen, and in turn the main screen appears to continue through the stage.
UK - Philips Entertainment Lighting has supplied Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club (CUADC) lighting designer Mitchell Clarke with a selection of Selecon PL3 Wash lights for the respected theatre company's ambitious production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.
"I had recently used the Philips Selecon PLCyc fixtures on the Cambridge University European Theatre Group's (CUETG) production of The Merchant of Venice," explains Clarke "I really liked them. I was particularly impressed with the seamless and intense washes of colour they offered and which I used on the all-important cyclorama that transformed every venue on the tour. So successful was the show lighting that our theatre, the ADC, is now considering purchasing 12 PLCycs for its own stock."
Following his creatively liberating experience, Clarke says he was keen to get his hands
Germany - Prolight+Sound will see Philips Entertainment lighting's recently-launched brand, Showline, exhibit five of its powerful, already in demand, new luminaires designed specifically for the entertainment and touring market.
The vibrant range of luminaires can be found in Hall 11, Stand D73 and includes Philips Showline's 4-foot SL BAR 640 and 6-foot SL BAR 660 linear wash luminaires. Both deliver exceptional light output and can be used as a wash or as a direct-view linear bar.
Joining them will be the SL BAR 520 - a two-foot RGBW linear wash luminaire that produces over 8000 lumens of output with six standard 8° lenses. In addition high-resolution pixel mapping control and a unique locking system allows for quick connecting of multiple units both vertically and horizontally while retaining perfectly even pixel pitch.