Vari-Lite has announced that it has sold off its stock of automated lighting equipment located in Australia to local distributor Jands Electronics, which will now become the exclusive distributor of Vari-Lite products for sale in Australia and New Zealand. Rusty Brutsche, chairman and CEO of Vari-Lite, called the move "a natural progression of our relationship with Jands."
Following our recent news that John Adams is to leave High End Systems, Bob Schacherl, president of High End Systems, has told us: "John's departure from HES was a result of our transitioning his position as international sales and operations director over to our European headquarters in London. John was not able to relocate back to the UK due to his desire to remain in the United States."Adams, High End's international sales and operations director, has been with the Texas-based manufacturer for six years.
Early December will see the Clothes Show Live, in association with the British Heart Foundation, at the NEC in Birmingham. Lighting a whole host of the latest fashions from the world's top British and International fashion designers will be numerous Martin Macs (controlled by a WholeHog system) supplied and installed by Stage Electrics. The show has been organised by Barker Brown Ltd on behalf of the BBC Haymarket Exhibitions Ltd.
The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) is asking all interested parties to comment on the first draft of a revised and updated version of DMX512, which will be formally designated BSR E1.11, Entertainment Technology - USITT DMX512, Asynchronous Serial Digital Data Transmission Standard for Controlling Lighting Equipment and Accessories. Wide public input is being sought in order to finalise this draft and ensure that the needs of the industry are being met. The comment period is now open, and will end at 4.00 p.m. ET, January 12, 2000. The draft document may be requested in hard copy from ESTA's Technical Standards Manager at the address below. When commenting, please provide the following: clear identification of the relevant clause, page, and line numbers; the proposed change marked in legislative format, with strikethroughs to indicate deleted text and underlines
Continuing its training for excellence programme, Pulsar has extended the range of seminars on offer for the year 2000. These will encompass all aspects of Masterpiece operating and programming, along with technical services for the Clay Paky product range. Pulsar will also offer a series of open days which can be tailor-made to suit the requirements of colleges, installation companies and corporate users.
Lighting Britain's biggest shopping centre for Christmas has, unsurprisingly, been a mammoth task. Middlesborough-based Centre Design undertook the commitment and turned to Lighting Technology's Ray Dolby to supply everything needed to complete the specifications, designed by Jason Larcombe of Electra. Multiform Technology Group, distributor of Sagitter lighting effects in the UK, were brought in when one of the lighting manufacturers originally contracted could not provide enough units within the desired timescale for the Christmas project. The Sussex-based company were able to immediately deliver two Sagitter Infinity Club scanners, whilst three more units were air-freighted to the temporary installation within a week.
A.C. Lighting has reported an amazing response following the launch of the new Jands Event 4 lighting control consoles at the recent PLASA show. The first shipment of consoles, which arrived at their premises recently, were distributed to their eagerly awaiting European dealers within a very short time.This new range combine the familiar layout of a two preset lighting console with an added section capable of controlling up to 20 moving lights and 80 colour changers. First seen at the recent PLASA show, the console received an enormous amount of praise for its simplistic, yet thorough approach to console design for those, 'in-between' shows which have both conventional and intelligent lighting elements.
At the recent LDI exhibition in Orlando, California based AC Lighting Inc announced new product distributions with MA Lighting, Zero 88 and Selecon. German company MA Lighting is an established manufacturer of lighting control equipment and AC Lighting Inc will be distributing its range of control consoles exclusively throughout North America and Mexico. Included within the MA portfolio is the new grandMA console, which won a product excellence award at the PLASA Show in London earlier this year, and then followed it up with the prestigious 1999 EDDY award for Lighting Control Console Of The Year, awarded by US magazine, Entertainment Design.
Zero 88 was another PLASA Product Excellence Award-winner this year. AC Lighting Inc will be distributing the Illusion along with the Level Plus, Alcora and Elara console ranges, as well as the Linebacker DMX tester and backup unit exclusively thr
The latest of Carnegie Leisure's Babylon nightclubs, in Ayr, has been installed with Geni lighting. Glasgow-based Starstruck Professional Sound & Light undertook the installation, and contacted Lamba, exclusive UK distributors of Geni products, for the lighting effects they needed. The equipment includes eight Geni Shiva HSD-200 scanners, four Geni FL2000D DMX strobes, 44 ignitor tubes and four DMX-1s. Other equipment supplied by Lamba includes a KAM KCD960 for CD mixing and Stanton 680AL cartridges.
With the aid of a £5.7m Arts Council grant, the Birmingham Repertory Theatre has undergone one of the most ambitious theatre refurbishments of the year. Northern Light were called in to undertake the full sound and lighting installation, to a specification written by Theatre Projects Consultants. Five BSS 9088 Soundweb digital signal processing units play a major role (four networked for the main system, with another for monitors), with speaker systems from d&b audiotechnik (vocals), Tannoy (music) and Martin Audio (auditorium surround). The Rep also features the first UK theatre installation of a Midas XL4 front-of-house console, and the entire audio system is controlled by Out Board Electronics' TiMax system. Full details of the audio installation will appear in the November/December issue of Sound + Communications Systems International magazine.
TMB Associates' ProPlex CAT5 patch cables, which were introduced at PLASA 99 as 'The World's Most Durable Ethernet Cables', are already being specified in critical entertainment control applications, including the control system for the moving stages and scenery in London's Millennium Dome. ProPlex distributor Direct Cables Ltd supplied the Dome with ProPlex CAT5 patch cables totalling more than 7,500m in length.TMB's Colin Waters stated: "The Millennium Dome is exactly the type of application for which we created ProPlex CAT5 Cables. Developing cables that could survive the level of abuse typical of entertainment applications, while passing all CAT5 tests and providing a 100% reliable control network, was a significant challenge."
A brand new venue being built in the city of Chang Won in South Korea is to have 96 Chroma-Q M1 colour changers installed as part of its lighting system. The industrial city of Chang Won is located in the Southern part of Korea, and when completed, the Chang Won Cultural Hall will be the largest theatre in the area, with 1,200 seats. M. Lightech, who are the general contractors for the venue, are installing the Chroma-Q units, which were initially supplied by AC Lighting Ltd. After reviewing a number of different units, the Chroma-Q M1 was chosen for its feature specification and competitive pricing. Once installed, the colour changers will be used in conjunction with a number of fixtures, primarily Strand Optique and Toccata lanterns. The Chang Won Cultural Hall is due to open in April 2000, when it will house plays, musical and opera performances.
A free briefcase is on offer to one lucky web surfer every month during the year 2000. Visitors to Amptown Cases UK's new web site can enter the competition on-line and a winner will be selected at random each month. The site also has a free links directory aimed at the entertainments industry where you can add a link to your own web site, along with up to 100 words describing your business.
Following prototype showings at this year's PLASA Show in London and LDI show in Orlando, AC Lighting has announced the launch of the new Chroma-Q M5 colour-changer with units now shipping. The new M5, designed for fixtures in the 5,000W range, carries many of the same characteristics as the rest of the Chroma-Q M-range, including the recently released 8-Lite version. The new M5 has standard features that include adapters for rotating barndoors, quarter turn catches for quick internal access, the ability to perform scroll changes without dismantling the unit shell, and the facility to fit heat shield filters.
In the busy run-up to Christmas, Lighting Technology was called in by the Homebase DIY chain to help them highlight the Christmas tree sales areas outside their stores. The scheme was designed by Mark Taylor of Homebase with technical support from Philip Norfolk of Lighting Technology Group. Green HQI lamps were fitted to the existing overhead fittings to give a green glow to the plants underneath. This lamp type (first used by Lighting Technology Group on the Hoover Building on London's Western Avenue) creates a vibrant glowing green when shone onto foliage. In addition, a three-circuit chasing rope light was supplied to fit around the external canopy to create an animated lighting effect, and draw the attention of external shoppers to the outside tree area.
AC Lighting has reported a strong response following the launch of the new Jands Event 4 lighting control consoles at the recent PLASA show. The first shipment of consoles, which arrived at AC's HQ recently, were distributed to European dealers within a very short time. This new range combines the familiar layout of a two preset lighting console with an added section capable of controlling up to 20 moving lights and 80 colour changers.
In the United States, ABC TV has taken on the highly successful UK game show 'Who wants to be a Millionaire?' and, as with the UK version of the show, much of the dramatic lighting comes from a rig of Vari*Lite VL5 wash luminaires and VL6B spot luminaires.The VL equipment was supplied the Dallas VLPS office, and put together by lighting designer Deke Hazirjian, president of New York City Lites. Hazirjian employed 32 VL5 washlights and 12 VL6B spots around the 360 degree mirrored-floor stage, where higher stakes are accented with increasingly complex lighting effects.In contrast to the UK version, the top prize ($1million ) has already been won – by Internal Revenue Service tax agent John Carpenter.
Intercom DFB trade Distributors has announced new developments in its trading operations. The company has relaunched itself as Intercom Sound & Light Warehouse. Building on its existing trade business, the company will additionally provide retail sales to the club market. Aimed specifically at DJs, mobile discos and pro sound, Intercom Sound & Light Warehouse will supply equipment from some of the leading manufacturers in the industry, including Altai, Skytronics, Celestion and Denon.
Michael Irwin has replaced Christian Choi as the friendly voice of technical support at California-based AC Lighting Inc. Irwin will answer all programming- and software-related questions regarding the WYSIWYG range of programs, the grandMA lighting control console from MA Lighting, along with the Jands and Zero 88 product lines.
Martin Professional has entered into an agreement with the owners of its German distributor to establish a joint venture, creating a new Martin subsidiary - Martin Professional GmbH.Martin will hold 51% of the shares in the new operation, which will officially begin trading on January 1st. Located in Karlfeld, near Munich, this latest venture brings the number of Martin subsidiaries to six. The company has 20 employees with a yearly turnover of nearly $10 million which will result in a positive return for Martin Professional from the outset.
White Light has been appointed as the lighting supplier for the London production of the hit Broadway musical Fosse. White Light Group member The Moving Light Company will supply automated lighting equipment to the production. A celebration of the work of legendary Broadway choreographer Bob Fosse, Fosse opened to critical acclaim on Broadway last year - and won lighting designer Andrew Bridge his third Tony Award for Best Lighting. For the London production, which opens at the Prince of Wales Theatre in February, Bridge is re-creating his award-winning design with a rig that includes 19 High End StudioColors, nine Martin MAC500s, five DHA Digital Light Curtains and a conventional rig composed largely of ETC Source Fours, all controlled from a 1500 channel ETC Obsession console.
Le Mark has appointed NDC as its dealer in Switzerland. The company, run by Nicholas de Courten, will handle the full range of Le Mark products. It already has strong ties with the major TV studios, theatre and production companies across Switzerland and is looking to expand into the conference and exhibition markets. NDC's appointment follows a series of new appointments by Le Mark including that of Strong In Spain.
Strand's SL theatre luminaire range, which recently raced to 15,000 units sold inside six months of production, has expanded with the announcement of a new series dedicated to the architectural market. The new spotlights house metal halide 150W CDM lamps available in two colour temperatures - 3000 degrees for a warm, tungsten look and 4000 degrees for a cool, daylight appearance. There are six fixed angle fixtures in the range., as well as two zooms.
MTFX has expanded its range of smoke and aroma machines. It now stocks three Jem Heavy Fog 6500 smoke machines and has recently invested in The Effects Company's new Aroma-Tech machines, capable of producing a variety of aromas. MTFX used them to good effect recently when they produced an orange aroma for the Tango Conference at the ICC in Birmingham.