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One of the most enduring effects in the club scene is the Strobeflower from Luton-based lighting specialists, OPTI. When it was first launched, it proved an instant hit with promoters because it combined laser-like effects without the cost and complexity associated with true lasers. As a result, it has become one of the all-time classic effects for concerts, clubs and events all over the world.

Now it’s received an important updating which puts it right back into the forefront of dance music theatre. OPTI has introduced a DMX to Analogue converter box that can be used with its Club Strobeflower, Terrastrobe or the Shutter/Dimming option of the K Range projectors to allow easier control from a central lighting desk. Taking advantage of this development, UK lighting hire company Col

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The film and TV equipment hire business of VFG Plc has been bought from administrative receivers KPMG by a management team backed by HBoS and ING Barings. In a deal worth £15million, the new company - VFG Hire Ltd - comprises the operational business of VFG Plc, together with its principal assets and liabilities.

VFG Plc went into administrative receivership on 20 December 2001, having found itself over invested in new equipment. The new operation will operate as a private company, and is headed by executive chairman Bill Gore who has been advising the company for some time on the restructuring process. By mutual agreement Richard Dunkley steps down as managing director. Bob Sutcliffe will be joining the board as a non-executive director and Keith Long will be its new finance director. Graham Hawkins and Bill Summers remain as heads of the camera and lighting operations respectively.

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Incubus are currently enjoying a sold out world tour, coinciding with the runaway success of third album, Morning View.

The lighting designer for the tour is Joe Paradise, who took the bold step of choosing an all-Martin MAC moving light rig - there’s not a generic light in sight! So far, 16 MAC 600s, four 500s, eight 300s, ten 250s and four 2000s have been Paradise’s tools, arranged between two trusses and the floor, operated by Paradise using a WholeHog II console.

In the supply seat are the US and UK operations of Bandit Lites, who are providing lighting for the whole tour, which kicked off on September 14th and also takes in Japan and Australia before returning to play three months’ worth of arenas in the US. Paradise is a hands-on LD and currently it’s just him and Bandit US crew-member Geddy Kordyjaka in the lighting department, although the system was

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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Shure unveiled its new Performance Gear Microphones at this year's Winter NAMM. The line, which is due to ship in the first quarter of 2002, is ideal for both the first-time buyer and the musician looking for reasonably-priced, application-specific microphones. Comprising six models designed for vocals and various instruments, all Performance Gear microphones come packaged with cables and mounting accessories to provide plug-and-play simplicity, as well as rugged reliability for onstage performance. As a complement to its individual models, the Performance Gear line additionally includes a pair of drum mic kits, both of which come in their own carrying cases.

Vocal models include the PG48 and PG58. The PG48, created for speech and karaoke, has a cardioid pick-up pattern and a smooth frequency response. For more demanding vocal applications such as lead and back-up vocals, the PG58 offe

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I half expected there to be fleets of Parka clad spotty youths on spangled scooters outside the venue. The billing alone was enough to evoke a mid sixties revival - the Who? Watford Town Hall? Surely not?

L&SI does not take lightly the privilege to exclusively witness this unique event, many thanks to Bill Curbishley (manager), Mick Double (production manager) and Tom Kenny (lighting designer) for their kindness.

In essence this was one of two warm-up venues for the Who’s brief residency at the Albert Hall - but of course, it was also so much more than that. How often do less than a thousand punters get the chance to see a band of this stature in such intimate surroundings? Feeling like the David Attenborough of R’n’R, I recognised instantly the natural habitat of this wildest of beasts, a seminal rock band in a provincial shoebox.

Mick Double joined the band as

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Cologne-based audio rental company, Toneheads, has bought a pair of Allen & Heath ML4000 mixing consoles for use on the hit comedy television show TV Total. The programme is produced by Brainpool for the ProsiebenSat.1 network and stars cult German TV personality and former Eurovision contestant, Stefan Raab. A 48-channel ML4000 console provides the house mix and broadcast feed, whilst a 32-channel version fulfills monitoring duties.

Their experience of using the consoles for TV Total has given Toneheads the confidence to invest in another two ML4000s. These additional mixers will be used in the production of two more successful ProsiebenSat.1 programmes, Wochenshow and Elton TV. The consoles were supplied by Expotus, the exclusive Allen & Heath distributor in Germany. ML4000 is a 23-buss live sound console with eight VCA groups, eight audio groups, 12 aux sends and an 11 x 4 matrix.

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The international conference on Theatre Engineering and Architecture 2002 will take place between 16th and 18th June 2002, in London.

Focusing on stage technology in its widest sense, and covering all types of performance venue, this is the first international conference structured to attract theatre technicians, architects, consultants, designers, engineers and acousticians, as well as administrators, building owners and project managers. The conference includes discussion on the current trends in stage machinery and other stage technologies, alongside debate about the types of, and need for, new buildings. The implications of new and existing regulations are to be examined, as well as the process of designing and constructing one of the most complex types of building. The conference, which is being presented by the Association of British Theatre Technicians in conjunction with its In

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MA Lighting’s grandMA control system made a big impact with lighting designer Chris Jaeger at the PLASA Show last September. Jaeger, a lighting designer with 20 years’ experience, was impressed enough by what he saw to follow up the demo with a more extensive evaluation of the desk at UK distributor AC Lighting Ltd’s new demonstration suite in High Wycombe.

From there, AC offered to loan a desk to Jaeger for a forthcoming production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Queens Theatre in Hornchurch, Essex. The production, directed by Matt Devitt, with set design by Dinah England, was set to run through seven weeks in December and January. Jaeger, along with the Queens Theatre’s house technician Dave Starmer, who handled the programming of the show, were full of praise for the system, with particular emphasis on the system’s programming facilities. "It&rsqu

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The news that some of the biggest names in the UK theatre industry are to launch a new venture which, if successful, will do much to boost the UK theatre market, can only be welcome news to those working in the sector.

Theatreshare will operate as a theatrical investment and production company, its main remit to develop and produce a range of new productions for London’s West End. To fund the venture, the company has gone for the rare approach, in West End terms at least, of inviting large numbers of small investors to buy in to the venture for a minimum stake of £2,500. The target is £2million.

The high-profile hook is the promise of a share in potential profits from ticket sales, theatre transfers and film and TV adaptations. The less appetising downside is made clear in smallprint on the company’s website - "this carries a high degree of risk and may result in t

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The Arcimboldi Theatre - temporary home to the La Scala Opera company whilst its famous home is being renovated - has found itself in the news again just weeks after opening.

A glass panel, one of 100 designed to improve acoustics at the venue, fell onto seating during a recent performance of the ballet Excelsior. Fortunately, the seats beneath were empty, cleared because technicians felt uneasy about cracks that had started to appear in some of the panels. Inevitably, this has led commentators to speculate on the safety of the theatre, which was constructed in just over two years in order to be ready for the start of the 2002 season. The theatre is currently closed whilst further investigations takes place.

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White Light and E//T//C UK helped launch the British Tourist Authority’s (BTA) new UKOK initiative in spectacular style by illuminating and projecting onto the Tower of London for a VIP press conference. The international marketing campaign is aimed at encouraging tourists and holidaymakers back to Britain in 2002.

The Tower has seen a succession of celebrity inmates throughout its chequered history, but this time the VIPs attending the breakfast press conference were free to leave. They included the Rt Hon. Tessa Jowell, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, David Quarmby, Chairman of the British Tourist Authority, Dr Kim Howells MP, Minister for Tourism and Lord Marshall, Chairman of BA.

White Light’s Mike Crossman project-managed the event. His brief came from the BTA, who wanted to architecturally light the Tower in a show-lighting style, and also feature t

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Symetrix, one of the leading US-based manufacturers of signal processing, recording and broadcast equipment, has named Jim Latimer director of sales for both the Symetrix and Lucid lines. Latimer, who joined the company in 2000 as director of sales, pro audio, will apply his comprehensive understanding of the professional audio market with a commensurate knowledge of the recording, installed sound and MI markets. Prior to Symetrix, he was national sales manager for MI and Broadcast with Sonic Foundry.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Once a small lighting service company, Bytecraft has grown over the last 17 years to become one of the most significant players in the Australian industry, and has, in the process, earned itself a worldwide reputation for its audacious approach to everything it undertakes. Andy Ciddor reports . . .

In common with many other companies in the entertainment industry, Bytecraft owes its existence to dear old Strand Electric. During Strand’s sojourn as part of the Rank organization, it operated in Australia as part of Rank Electronics, a company that manufactured and marketed everything from telecine chains and stage machinery to consumer electronics and language laboratories. Amongst other projects, Rank Electronics had won the contracts to supply the stage lifts and wagons, lighting and audio to the Victorian Arts Centre (VAC), in Melbourne. The project was in the process of complet

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Ra’alloy was formed in 1995 in a small workshop in Fordhouses, Wolverhampton, to fabricate aluminium products. One of its early successes was a special anti-slip aluminium ramp system for trucking and disabled use, which has since earned worldwide acclaim. The £350,000 facility, part-funded by a Government Enterprise grant, will allow the company to develop its business further.

Part of that objective will be met by Ra’alloy’s new modular aluminium stage system - Rapi-Stage - which incorporates integral truss supports eliminating ground support, and allowing virtually any shape platform to be erected. Designed in conjunction with a temporary staging structural engineer, and within the guidelines set by The Institute of Structural Engineers, the system complies with all loadings and maintains lateral stability. Rapi-Stage can be used as an extension to an existing st

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Familiar faces from all aspects of the lighting industry visited White Light’s new base during a successful open day in January. The new facility in Wimbledon, London, SW19, has 35,000sq.ft of equipment storage and preparation space and 10,000sq.ft of office space, allowing all the Group members to be brought together under one roof for the first time.

"We had close to one hundred visitors," notes White Light’s general manager Bryan Raven, "many of whom hadn’t had the chance to visit our new building since we moved here last October. I think they were quite surprised at the difference between our old base in Fulham and where we are now - but were relieved to discover that all of the familiar White Light faces they know are still here. Albeit all with a little more room to work in!"

Amongst those at the open day were theatre lighting designers Si

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Trouble continues to rumble on in the West End: BECTU members - including lighting, audio and backstage staff -have voted to take industrial action over low pay.

The move comes after lengthy negotiations with the Society of London Theatres (SOLT) - the association which represents the producers, theatre owners and managers of 50 theatres in central London. Even an eight- hour session at ACAS couldn’t help the two sides resolve their differences.

In the latest round of talks SOLT increased its original offer from 1.6% to 3.25%, but withdrew its undertaking to backdate the award to 18 November 2001. This would increase the average wage to £6.54 an hour, but, according to the union, would still leave seven of the West End theatres’ 10 pay grades below the Council of Europe's £7.39 decency threshold - and five below the Low Pay Unit’s threshold of £6.82.

BECTU sa

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With the intention of strengthening its position in the Middle East region, Martin Professional A/S has entered into an agreement with Nour Assafiri, to establish a joint venture - Martin Professional Middle East.

Nour, owner of Martin’s long-time Middle East agent AMAC, heads the new venture, which handles distribution and service of Martin, Jem and Mach products. The new joint company, already operational, is based in Lebanon from where it will co-ordinate activities throughout the region. As a decisive first step, Martin Professional Middle East has established a branch office in Dubai, UAE, to support and further develop the relationship with Martin’s customers in the region. The official opening is expected to take place sometime in May.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Sarner and ESP have combined resources to provide a creative solution for Liverpool’s new multi-million pound International Astronomy and Space Centre (IASC).

Sarner, which has recently been bought-out by two of its directors, Michael Bennett and Ross Magri, will be responsible for the design and production of special effects for the new visitor attraction, while ESP will project-manage the fit-out of the centre, bringing life to the dramatic designs - from the spectacular hanging celestial sphere, through to the ‘Journey To The Stars’ space-time machine.

IASC, which is part of the continued regeneration of Liverpool’s Wirral district, is scheduled for completion in Easter 2003.

Visitors will be taken on an interactive journey through time and space using multi-sensory technology, simulated time travel, projection and special effects.

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Barco Projection, a division of Barco n.v., Belgium, and High End Systems Inc of Austin, Texas, have announced a strategic alliance that will enable the two companies to cooperate in the marketing of their products to the entertainment and events markets.

Barco Events specializes in providing tailor-made visualization and show-control solutions and manufactures amongst others a range of professional large-event projectors, ranging in brightness from 5,000 to 17,000 ANSI lumens. High End Systems, a manufacturer of automated lighting products, has introduced Catalyst, a cross-cultural system that converts video projectors into automated lights. The Catalyst system (developed in conjunction with WWG), which incorporates a Media Server, can also be used in conjunction with Barco's range of Ilite and Dlite LED displays to create an extensive range of effects and imagery.

The newly formed

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Alessandro Safina - christened by the press as the ‘singing George Clooney’ - made his US television debut recently on Thirteen/WNET New York’s Great Performances: Only You, produced by David Horn.

An opera fan from his childhood days, the Tuscan tenor has already performed across Europe in Puccini’s La Bohème and Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, but is also a confirmed U2 fan. With musician/composer Romano Musumarra, known for his work with Celine Dion, Safina has developed a new ‘pop-opera’ genre and the show, also featuring Mexico’s Patricia Manterola, captured the artist under the warm Sicilian stars in the breathtaking setting of Taormina’s ancient Greek amphitheatre.

The international team involved in the shoot before a live audience, included LD Patrick Woodroffe, production manager Robbie Williams and sound designer Daniele T

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Richard Pilbrow, chairman of Theatre Projects Consultants, has announced that Elissa O. Getto has been appointed general manager of Theatre Projects Consultants Inc. She succeeds Victor Gotesman as the chief executive in the TPC South Norwalk, Connecticut office. Gotesman will be joining Jaffe Holden Acoustics.

Getto, who has been a senior consultant with Theatre Projects Consultants, will continue as part of the TPC team performing arts feasibility studies, master planning and advising on a wide range of arts administration issues. She is currently active on studies for Dallas, Virginia Beach and Kansas City.

Richard Pilbrow told us: "We are very pleased to have someone with Elissa's impressive background and experience heading up the office leadership." She joins Brian Hall, director of design and David Taylor, director of project management for TPC.

(Ruth Rossington)

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