USA - Bandit Lites has announced the hiring of Kimberly Ainge as public relations manager. Ainge will be the primary contact for all advertising enquiries, media relations and general public relations.
Ainge was most recently the marketing manager for D1 sports training, a speed strength and agility training company. There, Ainge oversaw all aspects of marketing coordination and media relations. Other previous employers include SpearHall Advertising and PR in San Diego, CA and First Tech Credit Union in Beaverton.
A Portland, Oregon native, Ainge graduated with a BA in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to join a staff of such impressive people," says Ainge. "Bandit Lites, Inc offers a level of customer service that surpasses all of their competition. It is that dedication to pleasing people that makes Bandit successful and I look forward to contributing to the high standards Bandit has already established."
(Chris Henry)
USA - The queen of hip-hop soul is currently touring America with her glam-but-street summer tour, the Breakthrough Experience. The two hour show is full of impassioned singing, dancing and testimonies about old demons and new revelations. It reflects a superstar performance with five costume changes and a lightshow to match.
Lighting designer Daunte Kenner, has created a rig that appears to be huge. It is carefully designed to give that illusion. The PixelLines are instrumental in the scheme, as they are attached to each of the curved pieces accentuating the radial effect. In total there are 12 PixelLine 1044s and 24 PixelArc Rs.
He explains: "The PixelLines are the eye-candy of the rig. They produce all the delicate effects, for example during one song - stars in the sky. But don't under estimate the fixture, I also use them for punchy sequences during the more powerful numbers and I even use them to mimic photographers' flash bulbs!"
Daunte first discovered PixelRange fixtures on the Depeche Mode tour , he says: "The PixelLines are very versatile from simple 10 channel colour washing, strobing and macro effects to complex video integration. They have the punch and resolution to satisfy any designer."
All the PixelRange fixtures were supplied by Performance Lighting Inc.
(Chris Henry)
UK - For Pearl Jam's 2006 Tour, lighting designer Kille Knobel is using PRG's Virtuoso control console with recently upgraded 5.5 software, which PRG says provides unprecedented capabilities, speed and flexibility.
Although she was new to the Virtuoso system, Knobel says she recognised that it supports playback needs that few - if any - other consoles can handle. "Pearl Jam concerts are not like other touring shows with the same song set every night or a core set with just a few changes. My show is drastically different every time - in the course of 10 days on the tour we might do 80 different songs." With the Virtuoso system though, it's not a problem. "The Virtuoso desk has the ease of use, the quantity of faders and the very flexible playback I need."
With its dedicated palette, the Virtuoso console makes it easy to make a change when playing cue to cue, Knobel observes. "I can play back from the same color palette or gobo palette instead of repeating the cue. And there are plenty of buttons, so I don't have to layer functions on top of each other - that's one less thing I have to think about."
New features in the 5.5 software include new add/solo and go on fader playback modes, submaster priorities, redesigned cue data and live status displays, patch improvements, data conversion between fixture types, and trackball control for pan/tilt.
Knobel praised the technical support team, who customized the Virtuoso 5.5 software's enhanced features to meet her needs. "They were right there, every second, every hour of the day, ma
UK - No, we're not talking about standards of excellence (well, not in the usual sense) and not a length of metal to attach lights to, either. We're talking about a large bar where industry people can meet to socialise and have a drink or two.
Socialising and networking will be very much to the fore at PLASA06: the large Central Bar's opening hours are being extended, for the first time, as it becomes the official PLASA06 After Show Bar, which will remain open until 8pm each night, following the 'soft close' of the show at 6pm.
Sponsoring the PLASA06 After Show Bar will be some of the entertainment industry's major players, including Aviom, Avolites, DiGiCo, Lab:Gruppen, Mobil-Tech, Stardraw and XTA Electronics. Those who visit the sponsors' stands will get complimentary drinks, entry into a free prize draw and the chance to win £1,000.00.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - PRG Europe worked with various other PLASA members to provide equipment for Vibes from the Vines, a music festival held in East Sussex in aid of Cancer Research UK on 12 August.
Lighting&Sound International's technical editor James Eade was asked to take care of lighting, and contacted his friends at PRG Europe. Project manager Sarah Cox organised for a truck-load of equipment to be sent from their facilities, and load in started at 9pm Friday finishing at 3am Saturday. Sarah says: "James and I worked till 5.30am on Saturday programming the lighting - but on the day it didn't do it for us, and in the end we lit on the fly! After all, there are no second chances, so we had to get it just right. We had a fantastic time, and were proud to be able to provide the equipment for such a good cause."
Headlining was guitarist Gary Moore, who performed with "a host of friends and colleagues together on one stage for a superjam of gigantic proportions," says organiser Sue Mosey.
Among the equipment which PRG Europe donated were Studio Spot CMY fixtures, MAC 600s, Martin stage hazers, distribution and cabling for both lighting and sound, and emergency exit lighting. The Pearl console and dimmers were supplied by Avolites and the trussing by Vertigo Rigging.
(Lee Baldock)
USA - Wybron, Inc. today announced the appointment of Larry Turner as chief executive officer. Turner brings with him more than 25 years of high-technology business experience with companies that include Bell & Howell and Canon.
"Larry has extensive experience successfully building customer-focused teams in fast-paced, highly competitive markets," said Keny Whitright, president and founder of Wybron, Inc. "His marketing and business development experience along with his technology background will be instrumental in building the Wybron brand and developing product solutions. We look forward to drawing on Larry's expertise to continue to deliver innovative lighting systems to our customers."
Turner comes to Wybron from BancTec, a $350 million corporation focused on business process outsourcing and professional services. Turner was responsible for running a $130 million services division and driving customer satisfaction to an all time high.
Prior to BancTec, Turner was CEO of Francotyp-Postalia, a North American subsidiary of a European office solutions company. During his tenure with the company, Turner improved operating results and customer satisfaction. Turner has also held a number of marketing, product management, and business management positions at Bell & Howell and Canon USA.
Turner holds a MBA from Northern Illinois University and a BS in Marketing from DePaul University.
"I'm looking forward to the exciting challenges that lie ahead," said Turner, "Wybron is a company that puts customer satisfaction high on its pr
UK - Robe moving lights took centre stage at the Sundial Theatre at Cirencester College for an ambitious production of Homer's Odyssey, with an innovative lighting and set design by Sundial's technical manager, Andy Webb.
The performance was the end of year production by the Sundial Youth Theatre, and featured a cast of 28 students attending various different courses at the college. It was directed by Adam Fotheringham.
Homer's intense story of the Journey Of Odysseus saw the Sundial Theatre configured into a minimalist stage design. A floor level thrust came out from the centre of the main stage with seats encircling it at 270 degrees, creating an extremely intimate performance area with the performers right in the audience.
The theatre's permanent stage, a set of steps built onto the front of it and the floor level thrust area were all painted in cream. The clearly defied shapes of these elements integrated with a minimal set of multi-purpose triangular shaped screens onstage, and 10 'S' shaped screens rigged in the ceiling, also all painted in matching cream. The idea with colouring the stage, floor and areas in which the actors were working, was to use lighting as a vehicle to produce most of the scenic and locational settings, times of day, mood, ambience and generally to enhance the main narrative threads.
Webb was inspired by Durham Marenghi's lighting design for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin (which used over 250 Robe fixtures), where a long ramp led to a circular performance area, moving lights were placed all around, and colour was used to
UK - Lightfactor Sales is showing a variety of its core theatre and performance orientated products available from Italian manufacturers SGM, LDR and Novalight, VXCO from Switzerland and LightProcessor from the UK.
SGM's new Pilot 3000 is a value-added DMX controller ideal for use with small rigs, with all functionality of larger consoles. This includes 1024 DMX Channels, two DMX outs and four in; touch screen for quick access to all functions. There's six programmable scene control faders and four encoder wheels for attribute control during programming, and effects control during playback. A 'Joy Ball' gives intuitive Pan/Tilt control.
The Genio Mobile is a reliable, compact, stylish LED colour-changing fixture with incredible brightness. Producing a wash light effect generated by 16 high-powered Luxeon LEDs (1,800 lumens). Lamplife is at least 100,000 hours at maximum power. The Genio mobile is IP 65 rated and good for both indoor and outdoor use. It's available with a low cost, easy to program infrared remote control and interchangeable lenses between 8° and 25°.
SGM's Palco 5 has all the aesthetic, mechanical and application features of its popular, Palco 3,with the added advantage of offering twice the luminous power. Palco 5 is fitted with a new model of the very powerful K2 LED. It uses a total of 12 x K2 4.5W blue LEDs, 24 x K2 4.5W green LEDs and 13 Luxeon 4.5W red LEDs. Its optics offer the same choice of interchangeable lenses as Palco 3, and it has an IP rating of 65.SGM ups the ante in media server technology for the entertainment industry
UK - Top of the Pops the long-running BBC TV music show, has been broadcast for the last time in its 42-year history. The one-hour finale, shown on BBC Two on Sunday 16 July 2006, looked back over the show's four decades and featured a number of memorable archive clips.
Roger Williams has been the lighting designer for Top of the Pops for two years now and has learnt where the camera gets the most out of the lights. As this was the final music show he filled the studio grid with as much as he could using various lamps and manufacturers, but not trying to, "make it too much like a trade show!".
The lighting design is usually left to Williams once the positioning of the set pieces has been decided on in the Monday meeting. Williams has two preferred rigs, Martin MAC 500 and MAC 600s beams and washes alternately to provide strong vibrant colours and sharp beams. He used the MAC rig on the two upstage stages and on the main stage 40 mini scans and 15 pixel pars, to give two different looks. Most of the TOTP set is internally lit with LEDs.
The rig for this show consisted of 30 MAC 500s, 15 MAC 600s and two brand new MAC 700 Washes, which were lent to him for that night. Williams used the MAC 600s and MAC 700 Washes on the various set pieces.
Williams says: "I used them to light two of the irregular set pieces, I usually use MAC 600s for this, and one of those isn't quite wide enough to light the whole thing but with the MAC 700s they were perfect. Great zoom, smooth colour changes and a very bright and even output; just what I would e
Worldwide - LaserNet's summer began with a bang when it was selected to join the 20th Anniversary tour of the legendary rock band, Poison. The rigorous tour schedule, 55 cities in 65 days, proved to be no problem for the rugged Verde projector, and LaserNet's 20W Verde Beam Raider - an air-cooled, green-only laser system - made its tour debut. Poison's tour manager Mark Hogue says: "We were very pleased with the reliability of the LaserNet system, it never missed a beat. Plus, never having to mess with water hoses made it a dream come true."
LD Mark Miller added: "The laser projector is very well built and we have worked it hard with no problems. I can see more rock and roll in its future and even corporate gigs."
LaserNet's president, Tom Harman noted: "The Beam Raider system has been very successful in clubs, but getting it on the road was the acid test. We knew in our bones that it would be reliable, but seeing is believing. We are very excited with the success of the tour."
The LaserNet system included 12 bounce mirrors, two cone projectors, and LaserMax Pro Lasershow software. In addition to the normal gear, LaserNet included a window air-conditioner for adding cool air into the air-cooled laser during the hottest dates of the summer tour. The AC unit was used twice, once for the laser in Arizona and once for the operators!
LaserNet operators Tom 'Hammer' Foster and Mike Dietz shared the responsibilities of life on the road with the laser.
(Lee Baldock)
UK / Italy - A.C. Lighting has been appointed as the sole UK distributor for D.T.S. show products and will launch final production models of the innovative new Delta LED IP rated moving light range at the PLASA show.
Until recently, D.T.S. has been known as a high volume manufacturer of branded and OEM lighting products combining excellent build quality, performance and reliability at an affordable price. However, as a result of long-term investment in state-of-the-art R&D and manufacturing facilities in Italy, the company has developed a new generation of advanced products aimed at the professional end of the entertainment market.
The new distribution deal will exploit A.C. Lighting's position as a leading one-stop supplier of cutting-edge entertainment technologies to the most demanding users in all areas of professional and architectural lighting applications. The deal covers D.T.S. LED, moving light and lantern product ranges and sees D.T.S. join an impressive array of lighting, audio and associated technology brands stocked by A.C. Lighting.
Key to the latest D.T.S. product offering is the Delta range of IP65 LED moving lights, which features a choice of RGB full colour LED or TriLED technology, motorised or non-motorised movement and IP65 protection as standard. The Full Colour variant comprises 40 full colour (not separate RGB) LEDs - eliminating the frustrating colour separation shadows normally synonymous with LED fixtures.
The A.C. Lighting stand at PLASA will also feature the new D.T.S. XR8 and XR9 spot and wash moving light projector ranges. The m
Germany - Protonic Software, developer of the Easyjob rental management system, has introduced what it calls "an easier way to make informed business decisions" - The Easyjob Business Information Center (BIC). This new tool critically analyzes data from an existing Easyjob database and displays key figures on one easy-to-read screen. Users can quickly and easily determine the profitability of projects, the return on investment for purchases, the cost-effectiveness of employees and freelancers, plus much more. Full-colour reports and statistics can be saved and distributed in a variety of formats such as PDF and Microsoft Excel files.
Protonic Software representatives will conduct live demonstrations of the new Easyjob BIC at the 2006 PLASA Show (10-13 September, Earl's Court, London). Protonic software GmbH/Corporation is the leading manufacturer of software solutions for the AV and staging rental industry.
Protonic Software - stand C37.
(Lee Baldock)
Germany - tarm Showlaser GmbH has reported the best first half in the company's history. Among numerous other first half highlights were the opening festivities of the 2006 Paralympics in Turin; The Night of the Astronauts for the European Space Agency in Barcelona; the presentation of telephone-company ETISALAT's new logo in Dubai; the presentation of Porsche's new GT3 at the Porsche Sports Cup races at the Hockenheim-Ring; Vodafone's kick-off in Bucharest; and the opening ceremonies of the FIFA World Soccer Championship's Fan Festival in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on 7 June.
The company already has a substantial backlog for the second half, which, according to managing director Ralf Lottig, demonstrates that technical know-how, uncompromising devotion to quality, and creativity pay off.
tarm Showlaser GmbH will be exhibiting at PLASA 06 on stand - P54.
(Chris Henry)
Europe - Since the acquisition by the Genlyte Group of Strand Lighting Inc, and the closure of Strand Lighting UK Ltd last month, Strand Lighting Inc reports that it has been working on interim arrangements to provide "the best possible levels of support for our valued European dealers and end users".
For the present, Strand says its products will be supplied to European customers from Strand's US and Hong Kong warehouses, with customer service being carried out in the Strand Lighting Inc facility in Cypress, California. Technical Support is once again available in Europe for all Strand products, and will be provided by field service technicians under contract to Strand Lighting Inc (see contact details below). Further support for project planning and commissioning will, for the time being, be provided by Strand Lighting Inc application engineers and field service technicians.
At the same time, Strand Lighting Inc has announced the appointment Barndoor BV as European sales representative. Barndoor BV is hiring experienced sales people to represent Strand Lighting in the European marketplace. Strand Lighting Inc says it will "sell directly to dealers, rental companies and certain end customers, with Barndoor acting purely as a factory representative".
Strand Lighting Inc will be exhibiting at the PLASA show in London (10-13 September), where the company plans to introduce a number of new products. "We plan to have a full team on hand to meet new and old friends, answer questions, show off new products and, above all, demonstrate our comm
USA - ANSI E1.20-2006 Remote Device Management (RDM) for DMX512 has recently been published and is available for immediate purchase as a PDF or hard copy, ESTA has announced. The PDF and hard copy are available from ANSI's Electronic Standards Store or The ESTA Foundation . The list price is $40; member and quantity discounts are available. Members of the new ESTA Technical Standards Program Subscription Service automatically receive this new standard as well as copies of all published documents as part of their subscription.
ANSI E1.20 (RDM) is an extension to DMX512 that allows for bi-directional communication on the primary pair of a DMX512 link. This allows for a controller or piece of test equipment to intelligently discover other RDM-enabled devices on the link such as moving lights or dimmer racks and manage them remotely. This includes the ability to remotely set the DMX512 Starting Address, querying the devices for Error or Status Messages, and access to most any configuration setting that would normally be accomplished from the front panel of the device itself.
RDM can operate in conjunction with both newer RDM devices as well as any legacy DMX512 products on the same data link without any performance impact. Since RDM operates on the primary pair of the DMX512 link, the only infrastructure upgrade required for RDM is upgrading existing Data Splitters to bi-directional models that support RDM.
Co-chair of the ESTA Control Protocols Working Group, Steve Ter
UK - Industry innovators Global Design Solutions (GDS), whose Blues System will be on show at PLASA 06 next month (10-13 September, Earls Court, London), have been recognised for their inspirational business ideas and approach, having been selected as winners of the South West Angel and Investor Network (SWAIN) unique business investor opportunity competition.
GDS provides forward-thinking new technical product design and business consultancy services to the entertainment, leisure and associated industries. The company also specialises in bespoke design and installation of high-end integrated control systems, ranging from residential to marine, offering both third party development and working for end clients.
Having impressed the judges and been crowned winners of the competition, GDS were given the opportunity to discuss their business plan over a private lunch to SWAIN director Philip Tellwright and Simon Woodroffe, founder of YO! Sushi and former resident of BBC's Dragon's Den.
"It was fantastic to meet Simon and to discuss what we're doing," said GDS director Matt Lloyd. "We come from similar backgrounds, both initially went into the theatre business, and have worked our way up through the ranks. It was a great opportunity and one we found extremely beneficial."
Launched in 2004 by Matt Lloyd and Richard Cuthbert (both formerly of Stage Electrics), their first year saw several huge successes including GDS's first new lighting product range, the Blues System, being installed in one of the nation's finest theatres, and the stand-
UK - Rosco has launched a new custom gobo manufacturing facility for the European market. Rosco has a long history of producing custom metal and glass gobos. The addition of DHA Lighting, one of the UK's leading custom gobo supplier, to the company last year, has achieved a level of knowledge that is unique.
"Both Rosco and DHA's colour custom gobos have traditionally been produced overseas," says Steve Connolly who has been brought in as head of gobo business development for the new venture. "The service is already excellent, but actually being able to manufacture such gobos on site at our facility in London means that much of the margin for error that is inevitable when you employ the services of outside contractors, such as shipping services, is more or less eliminated."
Connolly's involvement to the industry dates back to 1975 when he started working for the Sex Pistols and The Clash. His experience spans sound, lighting and publishing with a resume that includes working for SSE Hire and Vari-Lite, where he ran the gobo department for two years, as well as setting up a publishing company where he gained his grounding in image production. He was also a founding member of Projected Image, and as such, he is well placed to take on this new challenge.
"I was asked to carry out a feasibility study for Rosco's new gobo facility and I soon realised that they really mean business," says Connolly. "By establishing the facility here in the UK, which has meant setting up a 'clean' environment and an optical laboratory, we will be abl
USA - The new Opti Profile from Elation Professional is designed for the serious stage lighting market. The Opti Profile projects up to 30-40 feet, enough to be effective in even large theatrical venues.
An ellipsoidal style fixture, the Opti Profile gives lighting users the ability to shape the beam and manipulate it in several ways. It offers a wide variety of precision tools and accessories for highlighting performers and setting moods on stage.
"With all of its amazing capabilities, the Opti Profile represents an incredible value for a high-quality cETL approved fixture," said Eric Loader, director of sales for Elation Professional. "This is a truly professional stage light fixture ideal for permanent installations or rental inventories."
Lighting users can purchase a basic Opti Profile fixture and expand its versatility with a number of available accessories, including four lens tubes, a gobo holder and an iris module (all sold separately). The lens tubes allow you to change the beam angle all the way from 5º to 50º. The metal gobo holder is B Size great for casting any image you want behind performers on stage. And the 18-leaf iris module lets you transform the beam into a small spotlight.
The Opti Profile can handle any kind of staging - from theatrical performances and concerts to churches, presentations and runway shows. And since it can project a high quality image at a long distance, it's also suitable for architectural applications.
The Opti Profile comes in four models. Lighting professionals can choose either a 19- or 26-
UK - Leisuretec Distribution will be exhibiting the Blues System, manufactured by Global Design Solutions, at the PLASA Show this year. The Blues System comprises LED fittings and control systems designed for use in front and back-of-house technical areas. Ideal for theatres or performance spaces of all types, the Blues System represents a modern, affordable solution to performance blues, cue-lighting and emergency lighting installations.
The BlueBeam (spot) and BlueDome (flood) LED fittings produce very little heat, and use an integral 0-10V onboard dimmer allowing each fitting to be dimmed to suit the environment. Both products fit onto a standard electrical conduit box, or can be mounted directly onto a conduit back-box for easy integration with existing building infrastructures. BlueBeam and BlueDome can be used for interior and exterior applications and are designed as a low-cost-low-maintenance replacements for existing architectural light sources such as fluorescents, tungsten or low level halogen fittings.
Large quantities of BlueBeams or BlueDomes can be daisy-chained together as they require only 250 milliamps of power, which makes installation very straightforward and simple. They are idea for inaccessible corners, nooks and crannies, providing an LED working light that is very reliable and low maintenance, say Leisuretec.
Manufactured from UV-stable polycarbonate, BlueBeam and BlueDome are compact, robust and IP67 rated. A full range of control, power supply and interface options for the Blues System will also be displayed.
(Lee Baldock)
Austria - On 29 July, Vienna welcomed one of the world's leading trance DJs, DJ Tiësto, to the Heineken Green Room. Debuting at the event was Martin Professional's new laser, the RGB Laser 1.6. The Martin RGB Laser 1.6 is a Class 4 cool white light laser capable of generating deep saturated colours. It features simple plug-and-play operation, hundreds of pre-installed effects, and a cooling system that eliminates the need for expensive and bulky water cooling, say Martin Pro.
Supplying the laser effects for the show was Solaris Media. "The Martin RGB Laser 1.6 is a very positive surprise," commented Heimo Hanserl, owner of Solaris Media. "Besides the RGB Laser 1.6 we used two green 5W and one 10W lasers which were controlled by an external DSP, therefore we had to take data lines which was very time-consuming. The Martin RGB Laser in contrast was ready to play within a few minutes because the controller is integrated and the content can be easily selected via DMX - this makes for real ease. The power is also impressive.
"The RGB Laser 1.6 was used for colored animations and it worked very well with the green lasers which created the midair-effects. With the RGB Laser 1.6, Martin has placed itself at the very top of laser systems in this performance class."
Tiësto, voted DJ Magazine's 'Best DJ in the World' from 2002-2004, performed in Vienna before 10,000 international guests and was supported by Tom Snow and Pete Brooks, both internationally popular techno and trance DJs as well.
P.U.S.C.A. Promotion was responsible for the concept
Hong Kong / Thailand - Artistic Licence Hong Kong has announced its latest dealer appointment: Vichai Trading has been appointed as main dealer for Thailand. Vichai Trading is one of the leading AV and lighting integrators in Thailand. With 23 years' experience, they are well placed to launch the Artistic Licence product range into Thailand, say Artistic.
Vichai's project credits speak for themselves, including such prestigious installations as Bangkok University and the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. The extensive range of control and data distribution products available from Artistic Licence is a perfect match with the range and complexity of projects regularly undertaken by Vichai Trading.
Patiyuth Gludnim, Vichai Trading sales manager comments: "It is an honour to be appointed as an Artistic Licence dealer for Thailand. We look forward to offering the extensive range of Artistic Licence products to our customers."
(Lee Baldock)
USA - Four new projects were started at ESTA's Technical Standards Program's working group meetings held by ESTA recently in Fort Worth, Texas. Anyone interested in joining a working group to work on these projects is invited to join. Information about joining a working group can be found at http://www.esta.org/tsp/working_groups/index.html. Anyone objecting to one of these projects because it is unnecessary or conflicts with an existing standard is invited to send his or her objections to the e-mail address given below.
BSR E1.33-200x, Extensions to E1.31 (DMX512 Streaming Protocol) for Transport of ANSI E1.20 (RDM) is a project to develop a set of extensions to E1.31 to support ANSI E1.20 functionality. The basic E1.31 protocol can be described as 'DMX512 over Ethernet'. It is intended to be suitable for implementation in hardware with very limited resources. The E1.33 project can be described as 'RDM over Ethernet'. It is to add RDM functionality while maintaining E1.31's compatibility with the E1.17 (ACN) control architecture and ANSI E1.11(DMX512-A). BSR E1.33 is a project of the Control Protocols Working Group, which is particularly interested in gaining new voting members in the interest categories of dealer/rental company, user, and general interest.
BSR E1.34-200x, Entertainment Technology-Measuring and Specifying the Slipperiness of Floors Used in Live Performance Venues, is a project is to develop a means of quantifying the slipperiness of floor surfaces used by performers in live entertainment venues. The hope is to be able to come up wi
USA - With the introduction of the new SQ-CP1 Mobile Crank-Up System, Global Truss America has made it possible for lighting users to keep their feet on the floor as they assemble overhead rigs of hanging effects and fixtures.
The SQ-CP1 Mobile Crank-Up System is a cost-saving, all-in-one package that includes two square pieces of truss, the necessary support bars and two crank stands - everything you need to erect a fully loaded, stable rig without having to climb a ladder.
"You can stand there and hang your lights at eye level, then crank 'er up," said Ken Kahn, general manager of Global Truss America. "That's why crank stands make it so much easier to rig your lighting, especially if you're a solo act. Plus, the SQ-CP1 Mobile Crank-Up System's strong lightweight aluminium trussing is simple to assemble - no tools are required, and all the connector pins you need come included."
The two 6.5' square sections of SQ-4112 truss go across the top of the rig. The STSB-005 Support Bars attach to the tops of the ST-132 Crank Stands and hold the truss securely in place. The entire SQ-CP1 Mobile Crank-Up System snaps together so quickly, one person can set it up in about 15 minutes.
Global Truss' TUV-approved trussing is made from the high-strength 6082-T6 aluminum alloy. This offers the highest tensile strength currently available and is three times lighter than steel, so the system components are incredibly durable yet easy to transport. The alloy is also easily finished, allowing customers to special-order a variety of colours and powder-coat f
UK - As part of their 25th Anniversary celebration, Vari-Lite will take PLASA attendees on a walk down memory lane this year. On display in the PLASA café will be a complete historical retrospective of the Vari-Lite product line from the prototype VL0 to the VL2416. The newest additions to the Vari-Lite range, including the VL500 80V automated luminaire, will be on the PRG Europe stand (J38) alongside this extraordinary retrospective, say the company.
All the fixtures, excluding the VL0, will be operational, allowing show patrons to once again see the VL1 automated luminaire - the famed luminaire that began the automated lighting revolution in 1981 - back in action. Vari-Lite invites visitors to take a moment to stop by and remember when you first used the VL2 or when you first saw the VL6.
Also on hand during portions of the show will be Jim Bornhorst and Rusty Brutsché, two of the Vari-Lite founders, helping Vari-Lite celebrate turning 25 at PLASA.
(Lee Baldock)