USA - A.C. Lighting Inc has appointed a new North American Sales Representative to support the company's continuing growth plans in the US and Canada. Graham Likeness joins A.C.'s sales team in the newly created position of sales representative - Western US and Canada.

Based in Calgary, Alberta, Likeness will provide in the field support for the company's stockholding of general distribution products and leading technology brands - including the exclusively distributed Jands Vista, Hog 500/1000, Event, ESP and Stage lighting console ranges, and the Chroma-Q range including colour changers, gobo rotators, PSUs, and the Color Block, Color Split and Color Web multi-purpose LED solutions.

Likeness has nearly 20 years' entertainment lighting sales experience, holding the previous positions of VP for sales and marketing at Pathway Connectivity Solutions for 11 years and eight years

Denmark - The new smartMAC from Martin, first seen at PLASA 07 in London last September, is billed as "an extremely bright, fanless 150W profile luminaire offering a number of unique performance and economic benefits, not least the ability to reduce operating costs".

Suited for lounges, bars and restaurants, and appropriately silent for noise sensitive environments, smartMAC will liven up any space while saving money on power bills and service and maintenance checks, says the company.

The smartMAC features new fanless thermal management. With no dust and pollutants forced into the fixture, lamp life is optimised, service intervals extended (up to two years with 9000 hour lamp), maintenance kept to a minimum and operation costs reduced.

"The smartMAC is a unique product and a significant step for Martin," states Martin product manager for moving heads, Pet

USA - American DJ has debuted the latest 250W moving head in its popular Accu Spot series. The new Accu Spot Pro is "loaded with exciting professional features that provide clubs and establishments with the electrifying effects of a much larger, more expensive DMX moving head, all in an affordable, compact fixture that installs in a cinch".

Among the new features given to Accu Spot Pro are many that are typically found only on 575W or larger units. These include: a second gobo wheel, a separate prism wheel with trapezoid prism and three-facet prism, auto focus, shutter with pulse effect and random strobe, and 0-100% dimming.

"The Accu Spot Pro is great for clubs who may be on a budget but still want an intelligent moving head with premium features," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group. "It will also appeal to more moderate-sized

UK - A Greenpeace exhibition stand aimed at highlighting the controllability and versatility of energy saving lighting has been designed by Jason Bruges Studio with the help of iLight. The interactive display was a front of house feature at the recent 100% Design exhibition in London.

The installation was part of Greenpeace's campaign to champion efficient lighting and encourage the phasing out of incandescent light bulbs. Greenpeace commissioned Jason Bruges to create an electronic, animated interactive garden of raised flowerbeds made up of hundreds of energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

iLight worked closely with Jason Bruges in providing the lighting control system to show that the CFLs could be efficiently dimmed. The newly developed Varilight lamps used are the first 'dimmer dimmable' CFLs on the European market and, unlike earlier designs, can be used wit

Australia - State Automation first arrived at Sydney Opera House in the mid 1980s, where it made its first lighting dimmer installation in the Concert Hall, Opera Theatre, Drama Theatre and Playhouse venues. Since then, the company has been the on-site contractor providing support for the stage lighting and automation systems as well as managing the external lighting.

Recently, the company was awarded a 5-10 year contract for the maintenance of stage automation, lighting and stage machinery effective from August 2007. A service team of12 personnel and technicians headed up by the service director, Stuart Cornell, has been put in place to work full time at Sydney Opera House.

This team is responsible for the smooth operation of the lighting automation and stage machinery equipment and is available for support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Nexxus Lighting has signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire Lumificient Corporation, a Maple Grove, Minnesota, manufacturer of solid-state LED products for the sign lighting, commercial/architectural and retail markets. The transaction is expected to close on or before 30 April 2008, subject to satisfactory completion of a due diligence review, approval of Nexxus' board of directors and other customary closing conditions.

"Lumificient and its founder Zdenko Grajcar bring a whole new level of intellectual property, research and development capabilities and cutting edge technology to Nexxus Lighting," stated Mike Bauer, president and CEO of Nexxus Lighting. "Zdenko is one of the most respected and knowledgeable minds working in solid-state lighting. He and his team have developed some very exciting new technology that Nexxus plans to commercialise in

UK - Robe moving lights and an Avolites D4 control console took centre stage as the Spice Girls hit the button with Richard Branson to launch the new Virgin Atlantic check-in at Terminal 3 of London's Heathrow Airport.

Lighting equipment was supplied by Southampton-based GLS who were working for event producers Watermark Event Management. GLS brought Peter Canning and Nic Ayres of Anglo-Irish design practice High Resolution Lighting onboard to produce the creative elements needed to make the presentation fly. "They were an obvious choice as Virgin Atlantic like a rock and roll edge to their shows," says GLS's Ian Turner.

Challenges included the back wall of the venue being an 80m (262ft) wide by 20m (66ft) high glass wall, which effectively meant that the show - which took place on a 12m (39ft) deep stage built in front of this - was in daylight. No available flying

UK - HSL supplied all lighting equipment including over 200 moving lights and 12 crew for The People's Opening extravaganza that launched Liverpool's European Capital of Culture year. The event was staged this weekend at - and around - St George's Hall in the city centre.

The performances involved approximately 700 people including Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart and local upcoming indie stars The Wombats, all of which took place on eight surrounding rooftops - including the Walker Arts Gallery, St John's Beacon, the Empire Theatre, Lime Street Station - as well as on top of and in front of St George's Hall.

The site was challenging - lights had to be craned into position and rigged at all these locations, and also onto a series of scaffolding constructions around the main area.

The get-in started on the Monday for the Friday show and the HSL team, project managed by Mike O

Greece - Greek lighting designer George Tellos turned to the brightness and ease of Martin LC Series LED panels on a recent live broadcast of the 2007 Arion Music Awards. The event, which honours Greece's top musical artists, was broadcast on Mega Channel from Taekwondo stadium in Athens.

"The main idea for using the LC Series was to establish a 3D look for the stage and the LC panels fit perfectly in our application - size, configuration and transparency," comments Tellos.

Tellos lists several reasons for his choice of the LC panels: brightness, saturation, quick and easy setup, and wide angle viewing. "I was impressed with the brightness and the resolution of the LCs," he states. "Also, the way of setting up and configuring the system is very easy. The construction is robust, which is very important for touring and when you add in the transparency ef

UK - ETC has supported the fund raising efforts of Light Relief since it was formed in 2001, making many donations over the years. Now the company's UK office has pledged ongoing support for the charity over the next five years, with five annual donations totalling £12,500.

Presenting the first £2,500 cheque to trustee Matthew Griffiths at the ETC / ABTT Christmas party on 14 December, Fred Foster, CEO of ETC, said: "Our industry would not exist without its many freelance lighting designers and technicians. Light Relief has already provided much needed practical and financial help to many of our colleagues and I am delighted that ETC can enable it to continue this fine programme."

Griffiths, who is also managing director of PLASA, said: "Light Relief assists freelancers in our industry who need immediate assistance in times of crisis. One-off donatio

Switzerland - Throughout January, the people of Bern will be skating for free on a new temporary outdoor ice rink at the capital's Bundesplatz, in front of the federal buildings. To mark the opening of the rink, the city staged an elaborate ice show on 28 December 2007. Hosted by Tanja Gutmann, the show featured Olympic skater Jamal Othman, a live band and the traditional blowing of Alpine horns. The light show, which bathed the rink in a cool blue light, was controlled by an ETC Congo jr lighting control system

Congo jr helped the ice show's board operator Daniel Tschanz overcome two major challenges - a narrow time window for setup, and show programming that could not be done at night. However, on Congo jr, cues and positions can be easily adapted immediately before the show or on the fly.

The Congo jr controlled 18 Martin MAC 600 NT automated luminaires, six Martin MAC 250

UK - An estimated 700,000 people went to central London to bring in the New Year. The occasion culminated with a ten minute firework and light spectacular around the London Eye with an estimated 180,000 watching the event live from the banks of the Thames. Once again for the fourth consecutive year the event was organised by the Mayor of London and produced by Jack Morton Worldwide. The lighting was supplied by PRG Europe, with lighting design by Durham Marenghi and fireworks by Christophe Berthonneau and Jonas Bidault of Groupe F.

Marenghi comments: "For the fourth consecutive New Year's Eve, associate LD Paul Cook and I created a three hour light show prior to midnight and then supported the firework finale with the floodlighting of the Eye and aerial searchlight effects. PRG Europe, led by crew chief Gerry Mott, supplied 100 VL5 Arc luminaires and ten 10kW Syncrolite sea

Russia - Robe moving lights have been installed into the Mega Khimki Mall in Moscow, above an ice rink at the hub of the complex - one of the Russian capital's newest and largest retail experiences.

The moving lights, 18 in total (nine ColorWash 1200E ATs and nine ColorSpot 1200E ATs), were supplied to the project by Sofitlight, one of Robe's Russian distributors. They completed the over-ice lighting design and co-ordinated the installation that was carried out by the mall's electrical contractors. The project was managed for Sofitlight by Alexander Gromov.

The fixtures are installed onto a series of trusses rigged in the airy atrium space over the ice and are controlled - along with some generic lights - from a Compulite Rave console.

The brief was to supply a moving light rig that could be used for jazzing up the ice, projecting gobos and colours for special events. The mo

Hong Kong - Lighthouse Technologies reports that it has been selected a 'Top 100 Global Award Winner' by Red Herring Magazine.

Lighthouse Technologies was selected as a finalist from a pool of 1,800 eligible companies that have made outstanding achievements in the global technology industry.

"We have put in much effort to ensure that we provide technologically advanced products that truly meet the needs of the marketplace. It is a great honour to have been selected as an award finalist, " comments Lighthouse's managing director, Mark Chan.

Red Herring was founded in 1993 and is a media company dedicated to the coverage of innovation, technology, financing and entrepreneurial activities.

(Jim Evans)

USA - This is the third consecutive year that Bandit Lites is involved in the Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Showcase Series. Bandit will be providing equipment as well as assisting in the lighting design and direction for the six-concert series.

The Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business Showcase Series is a student production run by Belmont University students. The students assist in all aspects of the showcase, from lighting and sound, to stage design and the acts performing.

Bandit lighting designer and Belmont instructor Chris Lisle commented, "The shows are pretty much student run, so I more or less serve as an advisor for the showcase, but it's exciting to watch the students apply training from my two classes to help put on the show."

"We are very excited to be involved with the music industry's future leaders at this develop

UK - dAFTdATA's Chris Crockford supplied 8sq.m of Artistic Licence Pixi-Web for the Royal Institution of Great Britain's 2007 Christmas Lectures.

The renowned lectures have taken place annually since 1825, and are designed to introduce science to children, and further their appreciation of the subject.

Entitled Back from the Brink, Hugh Montgomery's 2007 lectures dealt with human survival. He needed a visual means to represent the amount of power consumed by the body's organs in normal operation and came to Crockford to provide an innovative solution. He suggested the Pixi-Web - as a portable, transparent modular screen for displaying complex lighting effects or live video images.

The Pixi-Web was rigged on a catenary wire in front of the stage set, so it could be swept on and off accordingly. Crockford then converted the 'power' of the body organs Montgomery was spea

Denmark - The Exterior 200 LED is a long-life programmable luminaire offering full RGB + Amber and White colour mixing. Weatherproofed for the illumination of façades, structures, water features and monuments, it features a comprehensive colour range from 44 high power LEDs and choice of optional spread angles.

Housed in a weatherproof casing, the Exterior 200 LED is suitable for applications where projection distance is limited and is the ideal short-throw complement to the existing Martin Exterior range, says the company.

The Exterior 200 LED can be tucked discreetly into architectural design details of buildings or any other illumination structure and requires minimal service and maintenance. An IP65 rating means the Exterior 200 LED can withstand even the toughest outdoor conditions.

With five coloured diodes (Red, Green, Blue, Amber and White) instead of the usual thre

Australia - A Robe DigitalSpot 5000 DT, two ColorSpot 575E ATs and 42 Anolis ArcSource LED down-lighting fixtures have been installed at the Mentone Hotel in Melbourne.

The Mentone is a busy venue in close proximity to the beach of the same name, located in one of Melbourne's most desirable suburbs. It's owned by Open Door Pubs, one of Australia's best known pub chains, and lighting, sound and AV was designed and supplied by Adam Dullens of Pulse Audio Visual.

After the initial installation, Dullens was asked to specify a flexible visual solution to liven up the upstairs floor for their popular Wednesday disco evenings, which sees the first floor regularly packed to its 700 capacity.

The Mentone was initially considering an LED screen display for the upstairs to create a banner effect around the walls of the quirkily shaped landing, which forms the main dance floor. However,

Italy - ETC Paris is supplying its OnlyView multimedia control software and Christie HD video projectors to Franco-Italian scenic design specialists Danny Rose for the new production of Giulietta e Romeo (Romeo & Juliet) which is currently touring Italy.

Show director, Sergio Carrubba (also the director of Danny Rose), came to ETC Paris with his concept Maximage Experience, a system based on 'total immersion' that he has developed with associate Paola Ciucci in which the stage, actors and audience are all surrounded by "dynamic giant image projection".

For Giulietta e Romeo, Carrubba has transposed this experience to popular opera by "enriching it with the charm and mystery of three-dimensional projected sets" fusing his passion for the two very different visual art forms of theatre and film.

The two Christie 25K machines are position

USA - Apollo Design Technology has launched new product information resources, including its 2008 product catalogue and a redesigned website. Included in the Volume XIV catalog are over 160 new patterns, the Gel Miser, Gel Wraps, and the MXR.

Apollo's new website includes enriched keywords for easier and more accurate product searches, redesigned product pages with a tab system for easy scanning of more detailed information, and the search result format has been designed to reduce scrolling.

(Jim Evans)

UK - For one of its biggest projects in recent years, PSL sent a 75-man team to the opening ceremony which kicked off Liverpool's year as European City of Culture. From the imposing 40' screens that dominated St George's Plateau to the 15-camera broadcast truck that relayed Liverpool's celebrations around the world, PSL technicians were at the heart of the logistically complex event.

Led by Pod Bluman, the PSL team had to triumph against the twin enemies of time and the elements. PSL's participation in the Liverpool show was confirmed only three weeks ahead of the event, just one week before the Christmas slow-down.

"The concept of the show was to tell the story of Liverpool's history and culture," explains Pod Bluman. "Its location was the open space between the city's great civic buildings, using St George's Hall as the backdrop to the stage, and in some respe

UK - A success during the winter of 2006 and judged Best Event in Northumberland - the Northumberland Lights is an epic lighting project spanning multiple sites across the county. Its winter 2007 run was once again created by the team of creative designer Phil Supple and Jack Thompson of White Light, with all of the lighting equipment supplied by White Light.

White Light's manifest included: seven Vari-Lite VL3000s with Condome protective domes, three High Ground searchlights, five Citycolour2500 exterior floodlights, 200 PAR64s, an assortment of ETC Source Fours, two Robert Juliat Korrigans and two Super Korrigans, as well as 40 sq.m of ColorWeb 250 LED lighting and 48 Encapsulites. Control included three WL Smart 48 dimmer/power racks, two Avo Pearl consoles and two ELC Showstores, plus stands, cables and an assortment of accessories to allow lights to be located just about an

Denmark - Martin Professional has been awarded a technology grant from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation (H°jteknologifonden) for the development of new LED technologies. The project, called INLED (Intelligent Light Emitting Diodes), is a cooperation between Martin Professional A/S, Denmark's Aalborg University, and the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation.

Martin Professional will receive approximately $3 million in funding from the research foundation, with an additional $2 million to be added by Martin and $1 million from Aalborg University. The three-year, six million USD project will run through the end of 2010.

The goal of INLED is to develop new technologies for LED based fixtures as substitutes for existing more inefficient technologies, including improvements in optical systems, colour mixing, output, control, heat management and energy

USA - The American DJ Group's American DJ line of lighting products was presented with the MMR Dealers Choice Award at the 2008 NAMM Show in Anaheim.

Sponsored by MMR magazine, the Dealers Choice Award is based on national voting by music dealers. American DJ was voted 'Lighting Line of the Year' by dealers for the second year.

"The fact that this award is the result of voting by the dealers who actually sell lighting products makes it especially gratifying," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "Dealers are on the front line, dealing with end-users all the time. They gave us this award, because their customers rely on American DJ and are excited about our products, especially our new LED fixtures."

(Jim Evans)

Latest Issue. . .