Robe - LEADERBOARD - Feb 2025
Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Lighting

Details
USA - Hailed as the greatest illusionist of our time, an icon of modern America who sets box office records wherever he goes, David Copperfield knows the importance of lighting to his one-of-a-kind show. "Each of my illusions takes two years of preparation and work," he states, "and lighting is a big part of that, not just for the look but also to make the magic work."

Although Copperfield tours the world, travelling up to 40 weeks a year and often performing several shows a day, he is all about excellence and state of the art. In 2002, Florida based Paradigm Productions swapped out Copperfield's aging lighting rig with an automated Martin lighting package that consisted of MAC 2000 Profiles, MAC 2000 Performances, MAC 600 washlights, MAC 250+'s, RoboScan Pro 918 scanners and Atomic 3000 strobes. Paradigm has provided ongoing support for the David Copperfield

Details
USA - Production company Stage Front Presentation Systems (SFPS) has supplied a Jands Vista S3 lighting console and 72 Chroma-Q Plus colour changers for the new Medieval Times Atlanta Dinner & Tournament.

Atlanta is the eighth Castle to be opened in a very successful expansion program across North America which has so far attracted attracted nearly 35 million guests to the show.

Georgia-based Stage Front is one of the most respected and successful performance and presentation contractors in the Southeast, and has been the design and build contractor for Medieval Times ever since providing the lighting and special effects for the original Florida Castle in 1986.

Lighting plays a key part in creating the mood and environmental setting for the 1,200-seater arena shows, which include equestrian events, tournaments and games, jousting, hand-to-hand combat scenes, a Wizard sequenc

Doughty - Banner - from 6 June 2025

Details
UK - i-Vision has supplied 144 modules of its Lumos Link RGB LED system and two of its new Lumos Drive 216 controllers to the RAF Museum in London.

The fixtures were specified and purchased by Sean Penn, the Museum's AV engineer after i-Vision was recommended by The Society of TV Lighting Directors, who staged an event at the Museum.

Penn was looking for a lighting effect to enhance the Milestones of Flight building, which tells the story of flight and from balloons and the first powered flights, complete with some impressive pieces of military hardware, right up to the Eurofighter.

The hangar has an arched tensile roof is also used for corporate events, dinners, awards ceremonies and functions of all types. They wanted a permanent lighting installation that would add a touch of subtle elegance, warmth and panache to the general evening ambience for these events. &quo

Details
UK - James Ussher wanted to produce something totally different on the dancefloor at Oxford's most popular clubbing destination - The Bridge - when he was asked to co-ordinate a recent technical revamp. His decision to do this with Element Labs VersaTiles, supplied by Projected Image Digital has resulted in the first UK club installation of the product.

Ussher and his company Ussher Productions have been capacity, independently owned venue for some time. He keeps a keen ear and eye to the ground vis-a-vis industry trends, aiming constantly to keep The Bridge one step ahead in terms of looking, sounding and feeling interesting, fresh and contemporary.

The dancefloor now features three sections of VersaTiles a 6 x 1m strips of VersaTiles along the end wall of the dancefloor, flanked by two, 2m by 0.5m strips on the side walls. Ussher specified, designed and installed this new sc

Details
Italy - A complete range of pole operated fresnels has been recently introduced by LDR.

The Pole operated products are built around the well known LDR Fresnles (Nota/Tono and Soffio/Suono D) and can be offered with four different lamp wattages (1/1.2 and 2/2.5 kW halogen - 150W and 250W discharge).

Setting a new standard in this category, LDR offer the PO Fresnel range in white, silver and black as standard. By special request, LDR is also capable of handling any colour based/ref. from the RAL range.

"Our customers were demanding affordable and easy to use Pole Operated products," says LDR's Fabiano Besio, "The professional features and the great light performances of the traditional LDR theatre/architectural fixtures can now be offered to the TV market and to all those applications where a full and precise control of the pan and tilt is required."

(Chr

Details
USA - On October 19, the much-anticipated international communications standard E1.17 Architecture for Control Networks (commonly known as ACN) received certification from ANSI (the American National Standards Institute), achieving the last needed step in its full ratification process. The Board of Directors of ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association) approved ACN on October 5, 2006. The Control Protocols Working Group and the Technical Standards Committee of ESTA approved the new standard on July 15, 2006.

Like DMX, ACN allows equipment from different manufacturers to operate together and function seamlessly within the same control network. Unlike DMX, ACN works over Ethernet, using Internet standards, greatly increasing opportunities for product innovation and performance. ACN has already arrived in lighting control systems. Manufacturers like ETC debuted ACN-e

Details
UK - Production, event and entertainment management company Production Plus has boosted its stock of Robe Show Lighting moving lights with the purchase of 16 Robe ColorSpot and ColorWash 575 AT fixtures - eight of each type.

These have been added to the existing hire stock which already includes over 60 Robe fixtures, incorporating Spot 250 and Wash 250 XTs and Media Spinners. "We'd been looking at the 575 AT Series for some time," says Production Plus's technical director Andy Miller, who's relationship with Robe UK goes right back to the start of the company. "The optics are great, it's a cost effective product and the service and support from Robe UK is very good," he concludes.

One of the first outings for the new 575 AT fixtures was a gala ball event at the Hilton International Hotel, Park Lane, London, for the Hilton Community Foundation Ball charity.

Details
Greece - Lighting Effects Distribution have supplied a major order for LED effects to a television studio in Greece. Because of the fast set changes involved, Skai TV needed a constantly evolving scenic infrastructure in their Athens studio and turned to London-based ITN Consulting (a division of ITN) for assistance.

The company's senior lighting director, Roy Newman, was first alerted to the LED X-Chip and Ayrton Moduled 318 on the stand of Lighting Effects Distribution at a trade show, and knew they would be ideal for his purposes. "The company was clearly a one-stop shop for LED effects," he noted.

"One of the main reasons for preferring LEDs over tungsten was the rapid turnaround between various programmes, and of course the infinite number of colours instantly available." The lack of maintenance and gel changing, he commented, had been another determin

Details
UK - The way in which lighting affects people's mood and behaviour is revealed at a new state-of-the-art demonstration theatre developed by Peterborough-based The Leeton Group.

Lightworks is a new interactive demonstration showing the power lighting can have over people. It provides a high-tech setting for talks and demonstrations on the nature of light, its effects on human well-being and behaviour and the progress of artificial lighting from Edison to modern day technology.

The facility - at Leeton's main office at Padholme Road, Peterborough - is available for groups including engineering managers, architects, consultants, human resource managers and technicians, as well as school and college students.

Leeton provides free lectures and demonstrations in the Lightworks theatre. The presentations can be adjusted to suit the level of expertise and the requirements of the gro

Details
UK - There's now less than a week to go before nominations close for the PLASA Executive Committee election.

For 2007 there are four seats available - three representing three-year terms and a fourth representing a one-year term. PLASA is undergoing a time of rapid development - key projects include the running of the PLASA Show, the launch of an industry certification programme, a major membership restructure and much more. Those elected to a place on the committee play a key role in influencing the development of all aspects of PLASA and the industry it serves.

If you are interested in working with the Association, and are employed by a Full UK PLASA Member, please consider standing for election. The closing date for nominations is 5pm Wednesday 15 November.

If you would like to know more about what's involved or need a nomination form, please contact Norah Phillips on 013

Details
Italy - Notti di Luce (Nights of Light) has been offering events at a high cultural level for eight years and - thanks also to the increasingly frequent air links with Orio al Serio airport - has made the City of Bergamo an international destination sought after by tourists rediscovering the pleasure of experiencing the city by night. This year, Nights of Light has widened the circle of associations, institutions and businesses involved in the project: the organising staff, too, included highly experienced and dynamic professionals, including Walter Barbero, who took charge of urban lighting, and Domenico Egizi, in charge of architectural interiors.

Nights of Light 2006 spread over two weeks, starting from the Feast Day of St. Alessandro, the Patron Saint of Bergamo. During the course of these two weeks light was used to pick out places and architecture in b

Details
USA - Syncrolite has been a pioneer in the production and design of automated xenon skylights since its first DMX controlled xenon light introduced in 1989. Since then, Syncrolite has brought the lighting industry a wide array of fully automated xenon skylights for use in theatrical and architectural applications.

Syncrolite has now introduced the OmniColor* D, which it says is "the first and only true thin film Dichroic Color Mixing system" - CYM and RGB. (Worldwide Patents Pending.) Dichroic colour deposited on 4mm flexible substrate formed into Syncrolite proprietary welded scrolls, which are heat, wrinkle and shrink resistant, the company says. The scrolls do not burn or warp like standard colour scrolls and are available for Syncrolite Series 2 and Series 3 instruments. Syncrolite also offer scrolling lenses.

Syncrolite Iare also introducing its new series 3 Syn

Details
USA - FocusTrack, the database system for tracking and documenting the use of lighting for theatrical productions, is helping the smash-hit musical Les Misérables return to Broadway - just three years after the show ended its triumphant, sixteen-year first New York run.

The new production marks the first time that automated lighting has been used to light the show in the US (with the exception of moving light curtains, which have always been part of the show's design).

Lighting designer David Hersey started using moving lights as part of the rig for the 1997 UK tour of the show, and that rig has since been used on productions around the world. When the London production of the show moved theatres in 2004 the rig was revised to use Vari*Lite VL2000 Spots, VL2000 Wash and VL3000Q Spot units alongside DHA Digital Light Curtains.

For the New York production, Hersey

Details
Italy - Italian manufacturer LDR has recently introduced the white Canto followspot, developed specifically for houses of worship and for applications were a full white followspot is required.

"We listened to our customers and they told us white followspots would fill a need," says Fabiano Besio. "With the reception we've already received, we know this is exactly what our house-of-worship customers are looking for, and LDR is proud to provide it."

Seamlessly blending with the interiors of most houses of worship, the white Cantos fit discretely into the décor and enhance the worship service instead of detracting from it.

The white colour applies on the whole LDR Canto Range (120/230 volts) and are now available through local dealers.

(Chris Henry)

Details
USA - GoboMan, the online gobo and sales company, launched a full line of colour filters at this year's LDI tradeshow in Las Vegas. GoboMan was founded by Rebel & Steve Hoffman in June of 2006 with the aim to create a company that offers strong customer service selling cost effective lighting accessories directly to end users. The addition of their new GoboMan Color Filters, consisting of 116 colours in 20"x24"sheets, is the next step in creating a hassle-free, one stop experience for their online customers, says the company.

"To add a line of colour filters was an easy decision for us to make and rounded out what we already have to offer," says Hoffman. "We manufacture on a high-grade polymeric base material using a wide range of accurate and consistent colorants for optimum performance and life. GoboMan's colour filters are surface coated for excellent

Details
USA - Bandit is touring with this year's Country Music Awards' 'Horizon' winner and 'Female Vocalist of the Year', Carrie Underwood. Lighting designer, Seth Jackson, and Bandit's own lighting director, Drew Gnagey collaborated with David "Fuji" Convertino to program and direct the show.

Underwood is out on her first tour, supporting her multi-platinum album, Some Hearts.The tour includes everything from headline dates, to fairs, to special guest slots on tours such as Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley. To handle the variety of situations, Jackson and crew put together a simple system that is able to merge into whatever house or headline artist's system that they might encounter.

The Underwood show carries a riser package and a swaged velour backdrop. Upstage, on the floor, there are Martin MAC 2000s. Built into the set are six towers that each have a Vari*Lite VL

Details
USA - Color Kinetics today announced that its LED lighting technology plays a key role in Regency Enterprises' family holiday comedy Deck the Halls, which Twentieth Century Fox releases nationwide on November 22.

The comedy, starring Danny DeVito and Matthew Broderick as dueling neighbours, thrusts intelligent LED lighting into the national spotlight as DeVito's character attempts to turn his house into the world's biggest and most brilliant holiday display. His ambitions are realised when the entire house is transformed into a traffic-halting multimedia light show made possible by Color Kinetics' LED technology.

"This is a film that literally hinges on the lighting -- where the lights are a central character. Anything less than spectacular would have failed the story," said Jason McKinnon of Electric Aura Lighting Design, who conceptualised the lighting seque

Details
USA - GE Consumer & Industrial announces a call for entries for the 24th Annual GE Edison Award competition. Through the competition, GE recognises excellence and quality in professional lighting designs that employ the significant use of GE lamps.

The GE Edison Award competition is open to professional designers, architects, engineers and consultants. Entries are judged on the following criteria: functional excellence; architectural compatibility; effective use of state-of-the-art lighting products and techniques; appropriate colour, form and texture revelation; energy effectiveness and cost effectiveness.

Projects scoring the highest number of points will qualify to receive Awards of Merit or Awards of Excellence. The GE Edison Award Winner is selected from among the Awards of Excellence.

Awards for Sustainable Design are given to those projects that demonstrate exemplary,

Details
Germany - LED specialist Lagotronics has reported the latest example of its services for customized LED projects. As a classical example of custom designing, these two venues were quoted in 2005, taking the time to fine-tune the DecaLED Pixeldot Pro and making this project a huge success for both Lagotronics and its partners in June 2006.

On the Spielbudenplatz, two large stages were constructed during the early months of 2006 and fitted in June with 2560 DecaLED Pixeldot Pro (rated IP55), 80 LagoLED USB-i 505 controllers and 1.5km of cabling (rated IP55). The lighting designer's vision was to create two stages with DMX-controllable LED fixtures. All the DecaLED Pixeldot Pro fixtures are controlled by two Ecue video systems (one on each stage) that translate video into DMX, creating endless possibilities for lighting designers and operators to give the whole stage an interactive

Details
UK - British rock band Razorlight have completed the UK leg of their 2006 tour, enhancing a minimalist stage set with the addition of live action screens, video and effects projection, all supplied by London rental company, PSL Music.

For all shows, PSL set up a 40ft wide white drop centre screen, using a Catalyst digital media server playback source, operated from front-of-house lighting control. Featuring black-and-white stills, moving graphics and effects, as well as simple colour washes, projection on the main screen was fed by PSL's new Barco SLM R12+ units.

Under the direction of crew chief Rod Martin, PSL also supplied a four-camera PPU system and operators Simon Hudson and Bruce Selkirk. Additionally, three mini-cams on the drumkit of Andy Burrows gave video director Steve Price and the PSL engineers a choice of seven feeds from which to mix a rich and dynamic visual c

Details
Poland - Duran Duran performed a corporate gig in Warsaw, Poland in the second half of September, with plenty of input from grandMA. Lighting Designer, operator and programmer for the concert was Pawel 'Spider' Pajak. To control his rig he specified one grandMA full-size, one grandMA light, grandMA onPC with NSP and grandMA 3D.

"I decided to use the grandMA control and pre-programming system because it always gives me an opportunity to save a lot of time on the venue," states Pajak. "I've used grandMA 3D to set-up the stage positions for the lights and then to program all the necessary presets, effects and looks. Then I've started to create the whole lighting for each song. In this project my co-programmer, Tomasz Szwelicki, and I used the "world function" to work separately on two consoles . . . it saves a lot of time. This was an advantage because I ha

Details
Worldwide - As The Who begins its world tour with rave reviews and a packed calendar of gigs in the US, the grandMA begins its work behind the scenes controlling innovative lighting design that puts the group in the forefront of artists performing today. The tour, which has been dubbed Uncut. Uncensored. Unrepentant, features "the first new Who music in 20 years," according to lighting designer Tom Kenny.

"There are six new songs and a mini-opera in the middle of the show. When we went into it, Pete Townshend asked me to treat the show in a very different light - literally. He wanted it to look very different from what we've done in the past, but we couldn't use haze or smoke since Roger Daltry has a smoke allergy."

The result is a "unique-looking show, very high tech, very 2006," says Kenny. "There are different types of backdrops, re

Details
USA - Nemetschek North America announced today that ZZYZX, Inc., has released ESP Vision 2.2, which supports VectorWorks Spotlight with RenderWorks 12.5 and includes the modeling plug-in for the Macintosh platform.

"The release of ESP Vision 2.2 is a big step forward for Macintosh users," says Kevin Linzey, VectorWorks Spotlight product manager. "The new plug-ins will allow VectorWorks Spotlight users to work with VectorWorks on their preferred platform right through the export process to ESP Vision. Macintosh users will no longer have to reopen the VectorWorks file on Windows just to export to ESP Vision. Windows users will also benefit from the improved interface, better data handling, and increased performance of the new plug-ins provided with ESP Vision 2.2."

Version 2.2 now uses enhanced Move, Scale, and Rotate tools to enable Vision users to design si

Details
Worldwide - ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc.) has begun to fulfil orders for its Congo jr lighting control console, which was introduced to the world at the PLASA and LDI 2006 trade shows.

Now beginning to ship worldwide, Congo jr is the compact version of the larger Congo console, with all of the processing power of its bigger brother. With its full-featured Congo functionality - identical channel and output counts as well the same potent operating software - Congo jr handles lighting rigs filled with conventional lights, moving lights, LEDs, media servers, and other DMX-controlled multiparameter devices. Congo jr also features the convenient modularity of an optional Master Playback Wing, which accesses all 40 multipurpose masters of the main console for full playback functionality.

Congo jr is part of the new generation of ETC consoles that master the reality of multi

  1. Wybron wins new Product Award
  2. Congo training gets a new voice at ETC
  3. VisualDMX - Freelancers Choice
  4. Stardraw nominated for Award
  5. grandMA with Peer Gynt in Giza
  6. PLASA Manufacturers Forum
Page 685 of 1182
Astera - Large MPU - June 2025
Sennheiser - MPU - June 2025

Latest Issue. . .