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Lighting

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Bill Campbell, managing director for Strand Europe, has appointed Ian Roberts to the position of managing director, Strand Italy. He will take up his new position on February 1. Roberts, who has been with the Rome-based company as sales director since 1997, will remain very active in his sales role. The outgoing managing director, Ing. (Engineer) Giuseppe Toia, has made a substantial contribution to Strand taking the company through the development and launch of a complete new range of studio and daylight luminaires, bringing to fruition 23 new products in the record time of two years. Having successfully completed that task he now moves back to his native Milan for professional and personal reasons.

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Strand Lighting has established a new base in London. The company’s new split-level mews studio in the Fulham/Chelsea area will not only become a Strand Academy Training Centre, but will also provide a southern base for Strand’s project managers and sales representatives. Ivan Myles, Strand’s general manager of UK trading, said: "The reason for setting up this office is to enable us to reinitiate our training programme, to be closer to our customer base and to give better customer support. As well as being more convenient for the international project manager, it is strategically-placed to allow us to meet our domestic architect, consultant and production-based customers."

Among the senior personnel based at SW6 will be Ivan Myles, Vic Gibbs, Bill Richards and Lucien McQueen, while Strand has now appointed James Vaughan as sales administrator.

PLASA Show 2025 - Banner - June-Aug 2025

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The Boston Globe newspaper has reported that US scientists say they have stopped light, held it in one place and then let it go again. The Harvard University team is due to publish its findings later this month. It is thought that light, which normally travels at 186,000 miles (300,000km) per second could, if ‘tamed’, be used to relay information around high-speed computers. Scientists Ronald Walsworth and Mikhail Lukin are expected to publish the details of their experiments in the January 29 edition of the journal Nature.

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Battersea Power Station became the focus of attention for Londoners as the capital geared up for its festive season. By sheer scale alone, this famous brick behemoth cannot be ignored, but this year it was even more eye-catching, cloaked as it was by a striking, yet sympathetic lighting presentation by Midnight Design.

Dave Bryant of Midnight Design thought manna had fallen from heaven to be offered such a broad canvas as the Power Station: "I knew immediately I wanted to create a design that reflects the power and majesty of the architecture," he said. "The sheer scale of the building exterior has made this a very challenging project."

In keeping with Bryant’s constant search for innovation, Midnight Design is the first company in the UK to purchase the latest Studio Due City Beams from Coe-Tech, included as part of the design. "The City Beams are idea

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Compulite Systems have been at the hub of high-tech development for the entertainment industry for two decades.

The company has recently released a mobile version of its popular CompuDim 2000, which supports all previous features. Designed for theatres, opera houses, TV studios and concert halls, CompuDim 2000 is an intelligent, high precision, fully digital dimming system. Due to its modular design it is possible to offer several cabinet configurations up to 96 dimmers. The dimmers offer both DMX and/or Ethernet communication with status reporting either locally to the control module or to the Compulite console.

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US-based digital lighting manufacturer Color Kinetics signed 12 new international distributors during the last half of 2000, bringing the total number of international Color Kinetics distributors to 29. As authorized ‘Master Distributors’, these companies will offer Color Kinetics’ complete line of full-spectrum professional digital lighting fixtures. These new distributors join the company’s expanding list of US and international distribution partners, signaling an era of continued growth and success for the company both in the US and abroad. The 12 new distributors represent all regions of the international professional lighting community, including Europe, Asia/Pacific, theMiddle East and South America.

The 12 international companies signing on as Authorized Color Kinetics Master Distributors are: Alto (Korea), Asas Lights (Malaysia), DMS (Turkey), Exton (Ice

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When textile artist Rebecca Bluestone was commissioned to design a triptych of silk tapestries for the new Federal Courthouse in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she knew that for maximum impact they would require special lighting, so she contacted Dick Hogle of Santa Fe's Hogle Theatrical Supplies for his lighting design expertise. Bluestone wanted the weavings to appear to 'glow' so Hogle chose to employ ETC's Source Four ellipsoidal spotlights. Hogle met several times with the building's architect, who was initially resistant to lighting additions, rightfully concerned that any alterations to his design would detract from the grandeur of the Courthouse's architecture. "But when I demonstrated how the Source Four could be positioned in such a way as to properly illuminate the artwork without invading the rest of the space, he was convinced," added Hogle.

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Vari-Lite has announced the first phase of the expansion of its European sales dealer network, supporting the distribution of the new Series 2000 luminaries, with the appointment of Norsk Sceneteknikk a.s. in Norway and HispaLite in Spain. Vari-Lite has already enjoyed a long relationship with both companies, who have considerable experience of the company’s products and the technical resources to support sales customers.

Jan Robert Midtbø, general manager of Norsk Sceneteknikk, commented: "Over the last two years we have dry-hired equipment from the Stockholm office, and thanks to their back-up and our own expertise we found ourselves dealing with most major customers in the Norwegian concert and TV market." Vari-Lite plans to expand the sales dealer network over the coming months.

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Navigator Systems has announce the opening of their new website www.clubnavigator.co.uk designed specifically for registered users of HireTrack and HireTrack Eclipse. This new site will enable members of the Navigator community to instantly access the Navigator Systems library of technical support documents, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the company has developed a forum of issues, where all users can post suggestions, ideas, and comments. Customers will have the opportunity to share custom reports and/or utilities with other users. The company newsletter will also be maintained, keeping customers apprised of current projects, and new releases of the software.

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Continuing Le Mark’s expansion into related lighting accessories, the company has announced that it has become a UK dealer for ‘hard accessories’ manufactured by the award-winning City Theatrical of New York. Le Mark last year became the UK dealer for GAM Gobos, and the company now plans to offer a selection of items for use with the gobo range.

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A number of tours and productions are currently out, all featuring Martin lighting. Southern California punk group The Offspring is on the road again with a tour schedule that has them touring the US and Europe through the spring of 2001. The ‘Conspiracy of One’ World Tour features 33 MAC 500 profile spots and 37 MAC 600 washlights. LD for the tour is Phillip Ealy with lighting supplied by West Coast Concert Lighting through Bandit Lites.

Bandit Lites is also the worldwide lighting contractor for the Carman Heart of a Champion World Tour. Lighting designer Seth Jackson is using 12 MAC 250 and 13 MAC 500 profile spots along with 32 MAC 300s and seven MAC 600 washlights. This massive arena tour is slated for 69 stops in arenas and other large venues in the US and Europe. Seth Jackson will also be doing the lighting design for the upcoming Melissa Etheridge tour which starts

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PLASA (the Professional Lighting and Sound Association) has recently introduced its latest addition to the range of benefits which it offers to members. PLASA’s new Human Resources service, set up in conjunction with CP Associates HR Consultancy, provides PLASA members with access to professional help and advice with personnel issues. The service is designed to offer practical, independent advice, based on the latest factual information available, and covers areas including contracts & terms of employment; disciplinary and grievance procedures; employee benefits; employment legislation; pay reviews; recruitment and selection; risk assessment; redundancy and absence control.

To use the service, members simply call the PLASA office, and are then given the telephone, fax or e-mail address of CP Associates. They are then entitled to 15 minutes of free advice on any one subject. Where

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High End Systems has appointed John Wiseman as vice-president of worldwide sales. Wiseman recently served as vice-president of special projects with specific responsibility for sales efforts in Europe and Asia. The promotion gives Wiseman total sales responsibility worldwide. Wiseman, an industry veteran, has served High End Systems in several capacities since joining the company five years ago. He was also instrumental in establishing the company's West Coast sales and demo facility in Van Nuys, California. Reporting to Wiseman are Sean Hoey, America's sales manager; David Catterall, European sales manager; JR Chai, Pacific Rim account manager; and Karen Bowler, worldwide sales operations manager. Wiseman will continue to operate out of Van Nuys, supported by Reina Evans.

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Following the opening of Lighting Technology's new sales office and showroom at The Business Design Centre in Islington, London, the company has appointed Graham White as sales manager. He joins Lighting Technology Projects after working extensively in the commercial lighting projects market with Parkersell, Barrel Lighting and, most recently, Absolute Action. Joining Graham at the Islington Showroom from the Park Royal office will be Clive Tallent and Sarah Davis. Jonathan Hilton will also be part of the new sales team but will remain based at Lighting Technology's office in Manchester.

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The Ministry of Sound staged their high-profile New Year Event in Skyscape at London’s Millennium Dome. The show was spectacularly lit by LD Phil Haines, using the house rig of Coemar fixtures supplied by Coe-tech to the venue for its Millennial Year of operation. Additional lighting equipment and production co-ordination for the Ministry show was by Lighting Unlimited, project managed by Mick Scullion. For the main room, Phil Haynes used 24 Coemar CF1200 hard-edge luminaires, 26 Coemar CF1200 spot luminaires, 12 Coemar 2.5K NAT Zooms, assorted other moving lights plus over 200 generics. He also ran the show himself, assisted by Barry Dennison, for the 12 hour duration (9 p.m. till 9 a.m.) using a WholeHog II.

His core lighting design core revolved around making the DJ booth altar-like in appearance. It was raised up from the stage decking, which in turn was 1.5m above the dancef

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Dubai-based Production Technology LLC (Protec) recently staged a spectacular, integrated sound, light and pyrotechnics show to launch Dubai Media City to an invited audience of 2000 VIPs. Guests were granted stunning views of the production from a grass amphitheatre in front of the three state-of-the-art buildings, during which a 24m x 9m backdrop of the stage was lowered, opening up sightlines to the glass edifices which became the focus of the show. The buildings were then lit in yellow, red and blue, virtually creating a large scale replica of the Dubai Media City logo. The entire six minute sequence was choreographed to a specially-commissioned musical composition which flooded the site through a 50,000W sound installation, culminating in a vivid pyrotechnical display that boasted over 6500 effects. Over 1500 lights were installed inside the buildings to illuminate them and a further

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Lighting Technology Group has opened a new showroom in Paris. Located in the City’s 13th arrondisement, four kilometres east of Notre Dame, the Bibliothèque Nationale Metro station is just a five minute walk away. The launch of the 125sq.m showroom follows Lighting Technology's acquisition of the French distribution company Durango in November 2000. Under the care of Jean-Francois Cheron and Brigitte Delehaye, who are well known in the French entertainment technology industry, a comprehensive range of products has been set up for permanent hands-on demonstration. Companies represented include Anytronics, Andolite, Aureol, Atomis, Brightline, Blackout, Color Kinetics, DHA, L&E, MAD, Powerdrive, Rosco, Strand, Spotlight and TIR. Lighting Technology is running a series of Open Days open to anybody attending the SIEL event between 4-7th February when senior UK personnel will also be p

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Celco has entered the New Year with a trio of new product developments.

The Ventura console has had a software update. Version 3 incorporates an easy-to-use, yet powerful, effects generator, WYSIWYG mode for cue programming and MIDI/SMPTE (previously a chargeable upgrade). The software can be downloaded free of charge from the re-styled Celco website at www.celco.co.uk

The company has also extended its control range with the Platinum (pictured) - a powerful 1024 channel PC-based lighting control system for generic and moving lights. The Platinum utilises a stable Windows NT environment and features include connection to any DMX-controlled desk for playback, drag and drop patch features, unlimited number of presets, cues, sequences, and a graphical shape editor for pan/tilt movements.

The Fusion 2000 is a new 12 x 16 amp rack-mount digital dimmer which complements the existing Fusio

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In the run-up to Christmas, L&SI’s Lee Baldock visited the offices of OptiMusic to learn more about the success of its versatile OptiBeam system . . .

Born from an idea to create a musical instrument consisting of multiple beams of light, played through movement and dance, the OptiBeam is a system by which beams of coloured light can be used to trigger sound, or other effects. When the beam is bounced back from a reflective surface, it triggers a pre-programmed action via MIDI. The system - one of the ‘Millennium Products’ so designated by the Design Council - consists of the light unit itself, which can be either the standard seven-beam version, or a single beam; the dedicated light-to-MIDI control box [OM-1] and any MIDI keyboard, sampler or sound module, to generate the sounds.

From there, it can become increasingly complex: groups of OptiBeams in sets of up to

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The latest version of ShowMagic, the sound and lighting control system, was released in December. New features include a device library for RS232 control - plain English commands can now be used for devices listed in the library (VTRs, switchers etc); extra support for laptops (Sunlite USB DMX device); new MIDI control features for external audio processors; ‘Latest chase takes precedence’ option; lighting control output through DMX, PMX and MIDI simultaneously and an updated fixtures library.

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Westsun International Inc. has announced the creation of Westsun’s first regional ‘super hub’ in Las Vegas, Nevada. When making the announcement on behalf of the company’s executive Board, Rob Davidson, CFO and acting CEO of Westsun, stated: "This is a natural step in our development strategy, one that will allow us to provide our customers with even greater access to our comprehensive equipment pool. It will also shorten lead times, thereby further improving our market-leading service to all of our clients." This new facility will operate under the Westsun Las Vegas banner. Dick Wright, vice-president of West Coast operations, will lead the operation. Anticipated to house in excess of $15 million worth of stock, the new expansion will be complete by May 1, 2001. During the transition, Dick Wright will work closely with Scott Jevons of Westsun Los Angele

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Stage Two Ltd, the Watford-based audio-visual, sound and lighting company, has announced that David Reeves has returned to the company as business development manager to consolidate the company's position in the conference equipment hire and presentation field.

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Several new projects have been given the green light this month. Dunfermline Athletic has won planning permission for a business enterprise centre, 60-bedroom hotel, swimming pool and leisure facility at its football stadium in Fife. Meanwhile, maintaining a sporting theme, Grimsby Town is expected to start work on a new football stadium at Great Coates in September, having won the go-ahead from North East Lincolnshire Council. Travel giant Stagecoach has submitted plans for the development of a multiplex cinema and entertainment centre at the bus station site in Exeter, and the BBC has begun recruiting 80 staff for a new £4m TV and radio news broadcasting facility in Sevenoaks.

Details courtesy of UK Business Park.

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The planned auction of the Dome’s contents may possibly die before it even gets going if Legacy plc’s bid for the site is not concluded on 14 February as intended. It appears that the Government and Legacy cannot agree terms, and, as a result, the New Millennium Experience Company has reviewed plans to postpone indefinitely the £10m auction, which is scheduled to start at the end of February. We understand that they may, however, proceed with the sale of some of the site’s assets. If the Legacy bid does fall through, it will mean that other potential bidders, including the Dome's chief executive, Pierre-Yves Gerbeau, who has struck an alliance with James Palumbo, property firm Pilton Group and the pop impresario Harvey Goldsmith, may have their wish to keep the venue entertainment-based rather than the business park proposal that was at the heart of the Legacy plan.
  1. 20,000 Celebrate 2001
  2. Stagetec Product Day
  3. Martin’s Latin America HQ Moves to Buenos Aires
  4. Out of the Boy Zone
  5. Torben Johansen Leaves Martin Pro
  6. PLASA Website's Major Re-Launch
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