At PLASA 2001, Clay Paky is presenting a series of new product lines, as well as expanding existing ones. This wide range includes the ‘Silent Version’ (SV) models, designed to guarantee maximum operating silence and the ‘Golden’ models, which ensure high performances at a low expense.

With Stage Profile 1200 SV, Stage Color 1200 SV and Stage Zoom 1200 SV, Clay Paky have developed three projectors that are over 50% quieter than normal. This is due to an innovative cooling system designed by Clay Paky’s R&D department. The Stage Profile 1200 SV combines the quality of a professional beam shaper with the versatility of a moving body projector. This innovative and creative tool - ideal for use in theatre, television and concert applications - allows beam-shaping evenly in quadrilaterals and triangles of any shape or size. The effect utilizes four beam-shaping

Internationally recognized lighting designer Jeff Ravitz, principal of Visual Terrain Inc, has received a Prime Time Emmy Award nomination for his lighting design on the recent Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band special on HBO. Marking the first time Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have been presented in concert on television, the special was shot last summer in high-definition format during Springsteen's record-setting, 10-show sell-out at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The concert was the finale of their 1999-2000 world tour. Ravitz had designed the show lighting for the tour and was called in to adapt the design for the needs of television. To that end, he added a subtle amount of audience lighting to enhance that already used in the live show. The live performance uses colour liberally for the artists’ key lighting to reflect emotion and enhance the live s

Martin Professional, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of automated lighting, will head to this year’s PLASA Show with a number of new products and product upgrades. These include the MAC 2000 Forma - a new version of Martin’s successful 1200W MAC 2000 profile spot which features an internal framing device for precise stage lighting and new sub-gobo rotation wheel, useful for theatrical fire and water effects. Also launched is MAC 600 NT - a new version of the popular MAC 600 featuring improved colour mixing, a CTC system and noiseless operation, perfect for noise-sensitive markets such as theatre and TV.

Also new is Wizard - a one-of-a-kind DMX-controllable ‘full-house’ effects light featuring what Martin claim is an extraordinary, magical effect never before seen in the effects lighting industry. The Wizard, which uses a high-output 250W discharge

A new specialist sound, lighting and video design and installation company, Live Business International, has opened its doors in London. The company is headed by technical director Roland Hemming, the former head of sound at the Millennium Dome, and is backed by Live Business, the UK’s largest provider of live entertainment. Live Business International specializes in design, installation and maintenance of sound, video and lighting systems in entertainment venues, including cruise ships, hotels, theatres, clubs, stadia and conference venues.

Hemming’s background spans 15 years in the entertainment technology business, beginning at the sound department of Theatre Projects where he pioneered MIDI-based show control in the late 1980s, going on to work as a sound engineer, event production manager, audio consultant and installation designer. In recent years Hemming has been res

Visitors to PLASA 2001 will witness the debut of the ‘brand new’ as well as the ‘relatively new’ in the High End Systems and Flying Pig Systems product family. Shown only at a sneak preview at Lightfair this year, High End is introducing C-16, the first in its Atmospheres series of interior architectural luminaires. C-16 is a compact, affordable, colour-changing spotlight that lets you change your environment, space, atmosphere or mood with utter simplicity. An MR16 lamp gives the fixture long life. It weighs in at a lightweight six pounds but packs a powerful colour punch, offering pastel highlights to deep saturates.

The modular construction of the x.Spot automated luminaire allows for new feature modules to be introduced as they become available. Debuting at PLASA are two new modules: Lithomotion wheels and the framing shutter system. The Lithomotion wheels o

Color Kinetics Inc has been named a ‘Rising Star’ as part of the New England Technology Fast 50 Program, an annual ranking of the fastest-growing technology companies in the area presented by Deloitte & Touche and Hale and Dorr LLP. Rising Star rankings are based on the percentage of growth in revenues over a three-year period (1998-2000) and Color Kinetics has experienced exceptional growth since its inception in late 1997. Ten companies are named annually as Rising Stars on their way to becoming New England Technology Fast 50 companies in the future. To qualify, companies must have had operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 1998 and $1,000,000 in 2000 and must produce technology, manufacture a technology product or devote a high percentage of effort to research and development of technology. Winners of the 22 regional Fast 50 programs and Rising Star categories in the Un

The Rubber Box Co is launching two new products at PLASA - a stage box designed for mounting on trussing and a 16A Y-Cord splitter. The stage box is fitted with 19-pin male and female connectors and six 16A sockets. By using two lightweight half couplers, the box can be quickly and securely clamped to trussing in seconds. The Y-Cord splitter removes the problem of trying to connect two cables into a plug. Manufactured from 2.5 sq.mm HO7RNF rubber cable, it can be supplied as a cable or fitted with plug and couplers.

Rubber Box can be found on Stand E13.

White Light Sales has provided The Castle Theatre in Wellingborough, Northampton with a new Strand 520i lighting control console. The Service Company completed the installation. "Last summer, The Service Company lent them a Strand 520 for an outdoor gig they were holding to celebrate the Millennium," recalls The Service Company’s Roger Hennigan. "They were so impressed that they wanted one!"

The theatre is a 500-seat theatre that can be used in proscenium format or converted to a flat floor space, and which hosts a wide range of productions and events during the course of a year. They were using a Galaxy Nova console, but chief electrician Lesley Gash felt that it was time to move to a newer console with more flexible control over DMX devices such as scrollers and moving lights. The 520i seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Hennigan says: "Following discussi

Bookings are now well underway for the seminar and workshop programme planned for the PLASA Show. This year the emphasis is very much on knowledge with those signing up gaining an insight into how new technology is creating new opportunities, how individuals have pulled together highly complex projects, why integration is so important and how they can achieve more by picking up tips and techniques from others.

In a programme of seminars sponsored by Installation Europe, audio installation and integration is the theme under which issues of networking, control and the benefits of converging technologies are explored. Tuesday sees a Theme and Leisure Masterclass, presented by Leisure Management, in association with the TEA and TiLE, which focuses on how the leisure industry exploits special effects, lighting and audio technology to create unique environments to enhance the visitor experie

PLASA Media has learned that Smoke Design, the Bolsover-based manufacturer of a range of silk flame effects, haze generators, fragrance systems and smoke generators, is experiencing problems. Financial recovery and restructuring agents, Silver Altman, have written to all the companies who have conducted business with the company, informing them that a meeting of creditors will take place in Nottingham on 4 September. Those who attend will receive a statement of affairs and will be asked to nominate one or more insolvency practitioners and, if necessary, to establish a liquidation committee. The company was founded in 1996 by David and Sylvia Taylor.

The first Broadway show to use the grandMA console from MA Lighting will be the upcoming production of Thoroughly Modern Millie which opens at the Marriott Marquis theatre early next year. Warren Flynn will be programming the grandMA for lighting designer Don Holder, who is expecting to use almost 60 moving instruments, all controlled by the grandMA. Flynn chose the grandMA console due to the variety of new and powerful features which he would normally not have access to, such as full tracking backup via a network. Flynn, who is a relative newcomer to the grandMA, was philosophical on the subject of learning a new console: "Making a transition to a new console is never easy. However, with the help of AC Lighting it has been as painless as possible."

Bob Gordon of AC Lighting considers this a landmark in the evolution of the grandMA's popularity. He comented: "It's

David Atkinson Lighting Design has just completed an extensive design for the National Football Museum in Preston on behalf of Land Design Studio.

The museum was split into two areas, the first being ‘Finney’ - an area which covered the invention of the game, its development over the last 150 years, and what the future is likely to hold for both players and supporters.

Finney was designed with a high proportion of complex graphic panels which were either flat or multi-layered. Atkinson spec’d a light from Commercial Lighting Systems, which utilized twin 36W compact fluorescent lamps. To this he added barndoors and a filter holder to wash the various graphic panels. To add definition and depth to some of the multi-layered panels, he fitted T5 encapsulite tubes to the reverse of the panels. The exhibits were lit with low voltage profiles, floods and fibre optic source

With the development of CAD drawing packages over recent years, it’s now possible for professional lighting designers to make a living designing in the virtual world.

Using WYSIWYG by Cast Lighting of Canada or the Martin Show Designer from Denmark, designers can create artistic lighting images and present them either as stills or as an animated movie providing an accurate photo-realistic rendition of environmental and show designs. Since he’s been one if its higher profile users, we invited LD Durham Marenghi, to explain why he’s so keen on the virtual route . . .

Over the past month I’ve been commissioned to create virtual designs with WYSIWYG for a temporary exhibition and event environment and a major car launch reveal, the intention in each case to provide a graphic presentation of what will eventually become reality.

Historically, artistic impressions

At PLASA 2001, TMB will be showing a number of new products. The Cam-Lok E2000 series power connectors are high-quality, single-pole locking connectors conforming to 2002 European safety standards and specifications. Available in current ratings to 400 Amps, and cable sizes to 150mm2.

New additions to TMB’s PowerPAR daylight fixture range include a hot restrike version, a remote ballast unit for an even lighter-weight and lower profile; an HID150 unit, using a high-output 10,000 hour lamp for architectural use, and multiple colours for company identification and corporate shows. Additionally, the original best-selling version now has reduced fan noise for quiet operation in Theatre and TV applications and an improved ballast with hot restrike capability.

Other new products inlcude the ProPlex Ethernet Cable - now available with two choices of extremely durable and innovative RJ

New York City-based City Theatrical Inc recently received a $47,700 state grant for employee training and professional development. The grant, awarded by the New York State Workforce Investment Board, is specifically for training workers in manufacturing industries. City Theatrical will use it to pay for training that will increase its manufacturing efficiency and improve its sales and marketing. The company is using the grant funds for training in every department - engineering, manufacturing, sales and financial - so it will affect all aspects of the company. The grant covers the cost of the training, books and other materials, and salaries for staff who take classes during business hours. All training will be completed in the next year. City Theatrical's application was one of 145 the New York State Department of Labor received from manufacturing companies.

The transtechnik group has been commissioned by SZM Studios GmbH (Munich broadcasting centre) to install a whole new lighting system as well as Voyager automatic positioning systems in their Munich-based SZM Studio 6. This overhaul of the 350sq.m studio (a project worth EUR 1.43 million) is scheduled to be completed by August 2001.

The project involves fitting 114 monopole hoists including 2kW Fresnel lens spotlights (Arri Studio) to the studio's 19m x 14m grid ceiling. A Voyager system will control the vertical positioning of the monopoles, which will be supplied via 2.5kW channels. Due to the large number of monopoles, there will be no need for any horizontal positioning. However, since the studio ceiling is currently too low for a standard monopole installation, a special structure has had to be designed to hold the monopoles. This allows for a height gain of 1m. For lighting the st

Among the new product releases at this year’s PLASA event will be the range of maXim lighting desks from Australian lighting control systems manufacturer LSC Lighting Systems. Available in five model sizes, the maXim boasts extensive memory capacity, easy-to-use functionality, live sub-masters and a plug-in moving light (PATPAD) module on the larger consoles. The range extends from 24 to 120 channel faders, 108-810 sub-masters, up to 1024 DMX channels, with a well-appointed mastering section. Also on stand is the improved e24 dimming system. The e24 provides 24 channels of 13 amps with full integral hot-patching, with a choice of input power connectors and output load connectors to suit most configurations.

Visit LSC at PLASA on Stand D2

Straight out of Edinburgh, into the West End and on tour around the UK, August and September are proving busy months for Stage Electrics. Nine 45ft trailers were on the road heading for the Edinburgh Fringe in early August, providing lighting and power distribution to over 33 of the venues, including the Assembly Theatre, Komedia @ Southside and venues for Guilded Balloon. In fact, the company is the largest technical supplier to this annual three-week event. The company has also provided Martin Professional MACs, generic lanterns and control to the Fame transfer from Victoria Palace to the Cambridge Theatre in the West End, as well as generic lanterns and a Wholehog II to the Shaftesbury Theatre for Peggy Sue Got Married. SE’s special projects department installed and commissioned a four-axis automated flying system for Peggy Sue Got Married which opened on 20

PSL Concert Touring and PSL Lighting were both contracted to supply site video and lighting for Ministry of Sound at Knebworth 01. Over 15 large screen projectors, 300 lights and several miles of cable went into producing one of the largest dance events of the year, comprising not only the main stage featuring headline act Jamiroquai, but also 12 dance arenas and a cinema tent. The two teams, headed by Scott Russell and Stephanie Jefcoate at PSL Concert Touring and Mick Scullion at PSL Lighting, worked together to bring stunning visual effects using some of the latest equipment recently purchased by both companies. One of the largest portable production units ever used in a festival setting and supplied by PSL controlled the video and five cameras for the main stage and allowed the two 4 x 4 LED screens to each display different effects at the same time, while the recently purchased Barc

For those of you not ornithologically minded, the Audubon Society describes eagles as ‘magnificent predators of the air, one of the most exciting birds to witness in action’ - but frankly, this particular Californian sub-species was rather dull to witness in action.

Have you ever seen a crocodile in a zoo? It sits there - an armoured monster so highly developed it hasn’t evolved for 60 million years - and doesn’t move. Something similar was going on in Manchester in late June. The performance, in terms of execution, was without imperfection, apart that is, from the interminable changes. Every time the show approached anything like the critical velocity so essential for momentum, they threw it away with a trip to make-up. The singing was crystal, even if Joe Walsh did look like a man recovering from a severe stroke when he sang, and the playing was note perfect.

Making its UK debut at PLASA is Griven Italy’s new exterior gobo projector, the Goboclip. Sister product to the Kolorclip exterior colour changer and sharing Kolorclip’s compact IP55 rated main housing and 9000 hour 150W metal halide lamp, Goboclip has selectable 19 or 30 degree projection angles and uses ‘D’ size gobos with static image or three rotation speeds.

Griven can be found on Stand G42

Located on a wooded hillside overlooking the beautiful cathedral city of Winchester, King Alfred’s College was founded in 1840 and today is home to over 5,000 full and part-time students. The fastest growing area of work is in Performing Arts, and the college has made substantial investments in its core infrastructure in recent years. Seven years ago, land was bought to develop the West Downs Student village. To satisfy the need for extra teaching space for performing arts, the College restored the old West Downs Preparatory School, a Grade 2 listed building. This enabled the College to create three new performance areas and eleven seminar rooms, as well as a 300-seat theatre and arts centre. The project also involved the provision and installation of new lighting and audio systems that could be adapted to meet the diverse needs of the performing arts courses, student societies and

Spirit Design, founded earlier this year by lighting designers Danny Evans and Justin Adams, has teamed up with Dave Bryant and Mike Townsend, following their recent departure from Midnight Design. They join an already expanding team with Maxie Knowles having come on board as general manager in May, and Damian Dowling, who joined in July, in place as business development director. Bryant and Townsend have joined at a critical stage in the development of the company, which hopes to be able to announce in the coming weeks a team of associate designers, who will play an important role in the future growth of the company, and further increase the already formidable design team.

Since it doesn’t own any equipment, Spirit Design can source the most relevant kit for a project and as it has a wealth of international experience within the company, can back this up with high levels of tec

Ten years after receiving its first Emmy Award for the Vari*Lite Series 200 automated lighting system, and seven years after being presented with its second Emmy, for the VL5 wash luminaire, Vari-Lite has won another gold statue from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. "Winning three Emmy's over these last 10 years has been a truly wonderful experience, and we're honored to receive this prestigious award," said Rusty Brutsché, chairman and chief executive officer of Vari-Lite. "It's a compliment to the extremely gifted, hard-working and dedicated people who have made Vari-Lite such a success during the past 20 years."

The Academy will present the Dallas-based company with an Emmy for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development during the engineering awards presentation tonight. This marks the first time the company, which celebrates its 20th anniversa

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