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Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Lighting

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Fourth Phase, the newly branded lighting arm of Production Resource Group (PRG) has announced a number of staff changes and office relocations. Jeff Senkovich was recently appointed chief operating officer of the PRG Lighting/Audio Group. He has been with PRG since 1997, joining the company as south east regional manager. Industry veteran Martee Nuruddin, previously general manager of Fourth Phase Orlando (Vanco), is now a group vice-president of Fourth Phase, responsible for the rental sales and operations of Fourth Phase New Jersey (Production Arts), Fourth Phase Orlando, Fourth Phase Las Vegas (Cinema Services) and Fourth Phase Burbank (Production Lighting Systems. Mark Rabinowitz, formerly the Orlando operations manager, has been appointed general manager of Fourth Phase Orlando. John Monaco, meanwhile, has come on board as vice-president of operations at the Las Vegas location with

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During the recent PLASA Show, Zero 88 held a competition to win special 'silver edition' versions of its Elara and Alcora desks. The winner of the Alcora was ex-Rose Bruford college student, Ianto Guy who correctly identified that Zero 88 was founded in 1972. He was one of a number of students who benefited from using the desk during his studies. Zero 88 has supported the college's lighting design course through the donation of control desks since 1998, and is continuing its commitment by donating its latest Illusion 240 console in November. Guy now runs his own company in Powys where he provides education on lighting issues to amateur groups, small theatres and schools. He also acts as a consultant to National Lottery Grant winners. Ianto Guy is pictured receiving his Alcora desk from Claire House and Cheryl Ryan of Zero 88.
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

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At the LDI 2000 exhibition in Las Vegas last weekend, Vari-Lite introduced the Virtuoso DX console, the latest addition to the Virtuoso system, intended for those who wish to purchase their control system. The Virtuoso DX, which uses the same operating system as the Virtuoso, supports up to 2,000 luminaires and contains eight built-in DMX universes in a smaller, more compact package. A 3D graphical interface provides real-time status from all Vari*Lite luminaires and simulated feedback from all other devices. The console provides easy and consistent programming of Vari*Lite luminaires, DMX moving lights and conventional lights. The console supports up to 26 DMX universes and is equipped with an off-line editing program that allows 2D and 3D programming of all show data. The Virtuoso DX provides manual control functions including three hard encoders dedicated to intensity, pan and tilt co

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Continuing its free upgrade philosophy, Pulsar is offering all users of its Masterpiece control desk the latest 'Chase Generator' software free of charge. The 'Chase Generator' allows the creation of complex chase sequences from just a single scene memory, making programming quick and easy. The upgrade is supplied as an EPROM and is simple to install. To obtain the free upgrade software, contact Pulsar on 01223 366798 or your nearest Pulsar Reseller.

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Keith Dale has announced that he is to represent Group One's Elektralite brand of lighting control products outside the US. Dale, who recently left Celco, has a long association with Group One, who were previously the US distributor for Celco products. Group One, based in Farmingdale, New York, is the US distributor for Clay Paky and Pulsar, Celestion, XTA Electronics, Cadac and SPL of Germany. Elektralite manufactures universal lighting controllers for live and fixed installations, including the CP100, the CP10XT and the new CP20. Dale will develop the brand awareness of the Elektralite product outside of the US. More news on the venture is expected in the near future.

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PAI held a demonstration of exterior lighting techniques at Llanelli's Diplomat Hotel, on Thursday 26th October. With product from Griven, Studio Due, Martin, Enliten and Pulsar, The PAI Group (consisting of PA Installations, Vaughan Sound Installations and PA Technologies) demonstrated a wide range of exterior lighting effects that can be produced to highlight buildings and draw attention to the 'Brands' in residence. Technical Manager Andy Bonehill commented: "With the range of product on show we can demonstrate how even small buildings can benefit from an exterior lighting installation. The Mini City's from Studio Due are excellent value for money colour changers, whilst the Griven 'Kaleido' provides real punch from a relatively small unit. We are also using Martin Professional Mac 500 for moving image GoBo Projections mounted in an ECO Dome and a Martin Professional Ext 600 floo

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Osram Sylvania has launched a new interactive website, intended to be an on-line lighting workplace for its commercial partners and end users. The company has created a virtual lighting community where visitors can get all the news they need, from information on products and industry trends, to specifically tailored promotions.

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Skyhigh Stage FX has designed a new range of pyro detonating systems - the PDS Range. The company claims that this new range is one of the safest pyro firing systems commercially available. As soon as the PDS firing key is turned to arm the system, not only does the fire button illuminate, making it perfectly clear the system is armed, but also an LED is illuminated on the Smartpod, informing anyone at the business end, that the system is now armed. The LED is bi coloured, and serves two purposes. It not only warns personnel on stage that the system is armed, but it also informs them whether or not the pyro in the Smartpod has a circuit through it.A Smartpod will only pass an electrical signal to a pyro once. If a pyro fails to go off the first time, the system has to be re-set, before that pod will receive a signal again, thus eliminating a possibility of an unexpected explosion. Curren

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Vari-Lite has now completed the sale of its operations in Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Sweden to First Events BV, an investment company that owns Focus Showequipment BV in Amsterdam. According to Vari-Lite chairman Rusty Brutsché, the sale will allow the parent company to concentrate its attention on the development and sale of its Vari*Lite automated light which until recently was only available for rental. First Events will build on the reputation of production companies Focus Showequipment (Amsterdam) and EML (Brussels/Utrecht) which were acquired in the transaction. Together with operations built by Vari-Lite in France and Sweden, First Events intends to develop a branded international network of professional full service companies in northern and western Europe.

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The Broadway Lighting Master Class has lined up an eclectic programme for this year's event which takes place in New York from December 6-10, 2000. Tony Award-winning lighting designer Don Holder will present an in-depth look at his acclaimed lighting for Disney's The Lion King. BLMC has obtained a block of hard-to-get tickets for this sold-out Broadway musical as one of two major performance elements in this year's programme. BLMC attendees will also get to see Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular at the magnificently renovated home of the world-famous Rockettes. The visit will also feature a one-hour guided tour of Radio City and a technical discussion of the lighting after the performance with LDs Ken Billington and Jason Kantrowitz. The BLMC programme will feature some of the leading names form theatre. Joining creative consultant Jules Fisher (the upcoming Jane Eyre) will b

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Essential Lighting has appointed Peter Feeney, Toby Hughes and Martin Lubach (pictured) to its board of directors. This appointment recognises the long-standing commitment and contribution they have made to the business, and will add a broader base of experience to the board for the future development of the company. At the same time, Simon Clench will be joining Essential as production electrician to provide support and a resident client link for the company’s project managers.

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Two of the USA's largest sound reinforcement companies are to join forces, following the news that Vari-Lite International has entered into a letter of intent to sell Showco - its sound reinforcement business - to an affiliate of Clair Brothers Audio, Inc. 'The combination of Showco and Clair Brothers will create the most impressive sound reinforcement company in the world,' said Rusty Brutsché, chairman and CEO of Vari-Lite. 'The decision to sell Showco to Clair Brothers was based upon the long-term benefits to Showco's customers and employees as Vari-Lite concentrates its efforts on the development, manufacture and sale of its automated lighting systems and continued operation of our lighting rental and production services offices in North America, Asia and London.'Showco, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, was formed in Dallas, Texas by Rusty Brutsché and Jack Maxson and fr

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High End Systems debuted its newest automated luminaire, the x.Spot, at the recent LDI exhibition in Las Vegas. The x.Spot boasts enhanced projection capabilities through its sophisticated f2.0 (4:1) zoom lens (11° to 45° range) with steady aperture and flat-field focusing. The fixture’s high light output comes from an MSR 700W short arc lamp, optimized through a multi-elliptical reflector for maximum output.Modular construction lets each user customize the x.Spot and assemble the optimal feature set for every show. Gobo and effects wheels are placed in x.Spot's three user-configurable slots. Oversized, rotating LithoMotion wheels create dynamic image movement through the light beam. Another option is a comprehensive set of framing shutters, which accurately frame set pieces. The x.Spot offers state-of-the-art colour mixing as well as variable colour temperature correction (3000

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Martin Professional A/S has entered into an agreement with the owners of its two Argentinian distributors to establish a joint company, Martin Professional Argentina SA. As of November 1st, the newly established company will handle distribution and service of the group’s products in Argentina. Martin will hold roughly 20% of the shares. The establishment of the new joint company is a natural part of Martin’s market strategy, aimed at securing a foothold in the South American market, which is growing rapidly within the group’s areas of interest. The company will maintain its registered office in Buenos Aires.In Hong Kong, Martin has entered into an agreement to establish a similar company with its local Chinese partners. Martin Professional Hong Kong is expected to be operational before the end of 2000, and will take over distribution from its former Chinese distributor,

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Pete Barnes, assuming the triple role of LD, set designer and production manager, explained that he had been carrying the idea for the design for Mel C’s Northern Star tour in his head for some time.

"I went to the Pompidou Centre in Paris four years ago, and one of the works was a cave by Bernard Buffet, called Jardin d’Hivers. It was very simple - just a white landscape but with heavy black contour lines like you would find on a 3D map. Ever since seeing it I’ve wanted to do something in that style."

Barnes applied the concept to a design that had to be practical for small-scale touring - Melanie C’s first major tour plays to civic halls rather than the arena circuit tramped by the Spiceys. The floor and cyc are decorated with seemingly random lines, and a trio of stylistic trees adorns the stage, marked out in black and white. The trees themselve

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Vari-Lite Production Services has appointed Colin Brooker as regional sales manager. This is a highly significant role as the roll-out of the new Vari*Lite sales luminaires makes its impact felt on the European marketplace. Since joining the industry in 1992, Brooker has worked in numerous lighting production roles at venues including the London Palladium, the Theatre Royal Haymarket and the Shaftesbury Theatre, followed by years ‘on the road’ as lighting technician and board operator for a number of bands including Garth Brooks, Wet Wet Wet, Spice Girls, Finlay Quaye, Beautiful South and Simply Red. He also has wide TV experience, having worked on TV shows such as the MTV Awards, Miss World, Lord of the Dance and TFI Friday. Brooker will be working closely with Simon Roose, European dealer manager.

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The Strand Board has appointed Phil O'Donnell as CEO of Strand Lighting. O’Donnell has been with the company for 22 years and during this time has held several positions, including managing director of Strand Asia and President of Strand Lighting Inc. For the past two years he has been running global sales and has been a member of the main board. As part of his executive team, he has appointed Peter Rogers to the position of global sales and marketing director and Bill Campbell to the position of managing director for all European operations. This executive team will take over the day to day running of the company and Jim Ryan will remain on the Strand board as a major shareholder.

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London Associates and Strand Lighting have won the prestigious industrial product design award at the recent DBA Design Effectiveness Awards, with Strand Lighting's SL Series of spotlights. Strand’s product development manager, Ian Thomson, and senior design engineer, Martin Freeborn, both attended the awards presentation dinner, held at the Hilton Hotel in Mayfair. Thomson explained that Strand's had been working with London Associates for 14 years and the objective had been to create a new product for the world market, that was smaller, lighter in weight and consumed less electricity than conventional models. The SL Series met all of these requirements with significant results. Within three months of its launch, the SL Series has easily become the best-selling product in Strand Lighting's portfolio. It has also enabled the company to increase its European rental market share from

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The new Wizard from Martin Professional is a DMX-controllable effect light which uses a high-output 250W discharge source (2000 hour life). The Wizard houses two independent color/gobo wheels offering seven colors plus two white and six gobo patterns, as well as a separate shutter for fast strobing. Taking the effect of the popular Acrobat a stage further, the Wizard produces a unique flower-effect which is projected onto a pan and tilt adjustable mirror drum, delivering more than 80 light beams with continuously changing colors and gobo patterns.

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The famous Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith has taken a further step towards a digital future, thanks to a Lottery grant.

In addition to new sound equipment in both performance spaces, The Lyric has also purchased a GeniusPro Strand 520i desk - for use in the Main House, and also replaced the dimmers in the Studio Theatre with digital LD90s. The former was supplied by Stage Electrics and the latter ordered through White Light.

Although Strand’s 500 Series desks had been in the Lyric’s focus for around the past three years, the purchase was still made slightly earlier than expected. "We mounted a production outside, literally, in Lyric Square, with Mac moving lights running alongside conventionals," explained chief LX Clare Tattersall (inset). "It was impractical to move our existing Galaxy outside - and plotting moving lights on a Galaxy is a tedious process -

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Visitors from the lighting and creative media worlds were given a unique preview of the kinetic future when Screenco fronted a two-day Illuminated Video Workshop at Three Mills Island Studios recently.

In association with a prime team of concert service providers, including Vari-Lite Production Services, Avolites, Stage One Creative Services, Creative Technology, Aerial Camera Systems, SSE Hire, ShowSec and Vertigo Rigging, the experimental two-day interactive workshop graphically highlighted how the boundaries between the rapidly-converging disciplines of automated lighting and video displays are being pushed back. The workshop was the brainchild of Screenco’s Mike Walker, whose vision for the event was born out of a desire to bring the creative skills of video and lighting together. Production manager for the event was Adam Wildi at Hothouse, assisted by Mary Jefferson from Tig

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A major sound, lighting and video installation has just been completed at the new Toxic8 club in Cambridge. With interior design by Steve Howie of Howie Designs, the club’s visual inspiration drew on the imagery of Fritz Lang’s 1927 masterpiece movie Metropolis. But Toxic8 is anything but silent!

CP Sound won the technical design and installation contract amidst stiff competition: audio throughout was designed by CP’s Colin Pattenden with lighting by CP’s Russ Evans.

A ground-floor bar acts as a feeder area for the 500-capacity club, and features music and visuals controlled from behind the bar via a six-way switch and volume control installed by CP Sound, together with three Sony K5 televisions and six JBL Control 28 speakers. Additionally, a mobile DJ set-up is available for special events. This consists of a Denon 2000 Mk 3 twin CD player and a Citronic 1

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At LDI in Las Vegas last month, for the second year running, Artistic Licence received a Cease and Desist order from Color Kinetics Inc (CKI), relating to Artistic’s LED lighting systems.

CKI holds a patent in the USA for the control of colour-changing LED lighting systems, and claims that Artistic’s LED-based Digital Lighting Product range infringes their intellectual property rights. CKI’s Kathy Pattison told L&SI: "We very much respect what Artistic has done in the DMX community, but where LED systems are concerned, we will defend our intellectual property rights."

Artistic’s Wayne Howell told L&SI: "They turned up with their solicitor at the busiest time of the show, when the booth was full of customers. It really amounts to little more than a childish attempt at harassment." Howell continued: "We have made a number of approaches

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Navigator Systems’ US Division has appointed Ray as Technical Director. Covenant has many years’ experience in the entertainment industry, particularly in the field of information systems. Covenant will oversee technical support for the hundreds of companies in North America currently using HireTrack Eclipse. He will also be involved in the implementation of a new application service where companies will have the option to rent software instead of purchasing new software. The users will connect to Navigator Systems server farms via the internet and run HireTrack Eclipse. Greg Smith, president of Navigator Systems US, commented, "I am so excited that Ray has joined our team. He brings many years experience working with entertainment companies and their software systems."
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