UAE - IIR, an exhibition organiser of professional audio and lighting trade fairs, has announced the inaugural Middle East Lighting Design Awards, the first ever lighting design awards in the Middle East. The awards presentation will be held at a Gala dinner on the 21 May 2007 at the Al Murooj Rotana Hotel in Dubai.
The inaugural Middle East Lighting Design Awards (MELDA) represents a unique opportunity for the region to recognise and celebrate the professional achievements and excellence of the world's leading lighting designers in enhancing the region's built environment through the power of light. MELDA, is being held in association with Mondo arc, an international publication for architectural, retail, and corporate lighting design.
Announcing the awards, group exhibitions director, IIR Exhibitions Entertainment and Installation Technology Group, Darren Brechin says: "We are initiating these awards to further encourage and stimulate creativity in the field of architectural lighting, by recognising the innovation and technical excellence of lighting design. The objective is to get the very best out of the many talented designers working across the region, and to recognise their creative and technical excellence in exterior and interior lighting across a range of categories, including the Middle East Lighting Designer of the Year."
The establishment of these awards is being supported by multi-award winning and world renowned lighting architect Jonathan Speirs of UK-based Speirs and Major Associates. The company is responsible for numerous pre
UK - Avolites dominated the control scene at Global Gathering 2006, with a Diamond 4 Vision running audience and stage lighting in the Electric/Godskitchen arena - the biggest tented structure on site. Additionally, there were at least six Avo Peals and Azures dotted around the site in other arenas.
A site wide lighting design and spec for the nine main arenas was put together by the event's production manager Simon Barrington of Production Eye, who has long been an Avo user. Equipment was supplied by a variety of lighting rental companies including Leeds-based Zig Zag Lighting who supplied five arenas, Colour Sound Experiment who supplied the Beach Outdoor Stage and the Carl Cox/Silent disco tent, and Audile, who supplied the elegant multi-poled Essential/Bedrock tent.
The D4 was selected by Matt Holden-Jones, operator for Essential/Godskitchen, who had used a D4 Vision in the same arena last year. When he knew he'd be working the same arena again this year, he decided he wanted to try the Vision. It was controlling 32 Robe ColorWash 1200 T fixtures, eight Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs, 47 Martin Pro Mac 2Ks, 20 Mac 600s, 24 Martin Atomic strobes and 20 JTE PixelLines. Blackburn-based HSL supplied all lighting for this arena as a complete dry hire package to Zig Zag. The Robes were all rigged in trussing slung between the tent king-poles, with the Martin fixtures rigged were over the stage.
Holden-Jones spent two days before the event pre-programming at Avo. This allowed him time to get familiar with the console. "Learning the Vision took no time at all,"
UK - With less than six weeks to go before PLASA06 opens its doors at Earls Court, the finishing touches are being made to the show's biggest-ever line-up of features, seminars and star industry speakers.
The expansion comes as PLASA Show organisers Clarion Events report the highest ever number of pre-registered visitors - up by 13% on 2005, with technical and creative teams from major venues and high-profile projects among the first to register.
The show's track record of hosting major international product launches, and wide interest in this year's new features, have helped drive the pre-registration increases. The new features are led by the new Integrated Systems Area; a greatly expanded PLASA Seminar Programme with a dedicated Technologies for Worship programme; the first PLASA appearance of NEET (National Exhibition of Entertainment Technology); and new features for DJs.
The new Integrated Systems Area is a 'must-see' for M+E and AV consultants, systems integrators, installers and venue owners. Visitors will find the latest developments in business/IT solutions, tele and web conferencing, projection, display systems, boardroom and conferencing systems, corporate AV, security, life safety systems and more.
Another new feature has been announced to expand this year's Seminar Programme which already offers the broadest agenda in the PLASA Show's history. Technologies for Worship magazine is bringing its 'Quiet Stage and Mix Classes' to the UK, with a full programme of 10 educational seminars.
From designing a modern worship space to modernising an old on
UK / USA - PLASA, The Professional Lighting and Sound Association - has announced a number of appointments to strengthen both its UK and US operations.
Jon Petts, formerly with lighting manufacturer Pulsar, has been appointed to the newly-created position of Commercial Manager. He will act as the main point of contact with PLASA members, working alongside the existing team to ensure that members take full advantage of the expanding range of business services available. PLASA is also keen to ensure it has a good understanding of the day-to-day issues faced by members and the new role will be instrumental in further developing the lines of communication.
Petts has many years' experience in both sales and management roles, having worked for several major companies within the industry, including Martin Professional. His knowledge of both the industry and current trends in product development will prove invaluable in increasing membership numbers.Membership growth is central to PLASA's ambitions to raise standards across the sector, develop industry qualifications and strengthen its lobbying activities. Several industry-wide projects are underway, including a major membership restructure, the piloting of qualifications for the rigging and PA/VA sectors and direct lobbying on legislation affecting member companies, most recently RoHS - the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive.
In a separate move, this month will also see the departure of Adrienne Gurman from PLASA's New York-based Media Division, responsible for publishing the market-leading Lighting&Sound A
UK / Argentina - David Hopkins OBE, owner of ADSworldwide in Stockport - a firm that specialises in commercial sound systems - is leading the team behind an exchange visit of young professional men and women, organised by Rotary District 1050. The Rotary district covers from Central Manchester to Biddulph in the south, Tarporley in the west and to Glossop and Buxton in the east. The visiting team from Argentina will arrive in the area in October 2006 and a team from District 1050 will visit Buenos Aires in March 2007.
The visiting team comprises a dentist, an electronics engineer, an English teacher and a chemical engineer and Rotary is still looking for companies representing these disciplines to offer the opportunity for vocational visits. The outgoing team will be chosen from applicants who are UK citizens and either residing or living in the Rotary District. The whole trip will be funded by Rotary and will last four weeks. The team will be staying in Rotarians' homes and vocational visits will be organised in Argentina so that the team will be able to gain knowledge of how their particular profession or business operates in the host country.
Hopkins is a past Rotary District Governor, a member of the Poynton and District Club and currently President of the Stockport Chamber of Commerce. The four members of the team will be selected by interview but will have to be sponsored initially by the Rotary Club where they either live or work. Candidates must be prepared to participate in presentations both to clubs in Argentina and also upon their return. Applications
Germany - VLM of Mettmann, Germany has introduced a new series of dimmable LED power supplies for all 350 and 700mA high-performance LEDs. The new product range, which consists of two models (plus slave), is notable for its level of efficiency, light weight, compact dimensions and simple, practical mode of operation, says the company.
Each LED power supply is capable of dimming twelve (at 350mA) or five (at 700mA) LEDs. A unique feature, however, is the ability of the power supply to combine with up to 99 slaves each of which is capable of supplying a further twelve or five LEDs respectively, which means the entire system is capable of dimming up to 1,200 LEDs synchronously - and without any compromise in terms of safety, the SELV (safety extra-low voltage) being maintained at all times.
The series consists of three products: the PTDCCD 15/350mA or 700mA, with which the LEDs are dimmed using a switch; the companion Slave, which allows the LEDs to be adjusted to the same level of brightness; and the PTDCCD15/350mA or 700mA S10, with which the LEDs are dimmed via a 1-10V interface or using a potentiometer.
The new system, which was designed in extensive consultation with professional users, is capable of dimming more LEDs than any of its predecessors. For large lighting projects, this has the advantage of making the task of installation more economical and less time-consuming.
(Chris Henry)
China - Prolight + Sound Shanghai, the Frankfurt fair's younger sibling, will make its fourth showing in China from 18 - 21 October 2006, alongside the international MI show Music China. As of June around 170 exhibitors have signed up to take part in the fair, from the pro-audio, lighting and entertainment technology sectors. A special 'Premier Contractor Seminar' running in conjunction with the show is expected to attract hundreds of event contractors, specialised engineers and technicians from across China.
Pro-audio, specialist lighting and entertainment suppliers from around the world can find a strong and growing market in mainland China. Companies from China, Germany, France, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, the UK and the USA have already signed up to be a part of Prolight + Sound Shanghai.
Prolight + Sound Shanghai will feature a Taiwanese Pavilion for the first time in 2006. AV Leader Corp, a Taiwanese manufacturer of microphones and microphone accessories, says: "We join Prolight + Sound Shanghai every year because the show attracts a good number of both local and international buyers. This is the strength of Prolight + Sound Shanghai, it's very international."
The 'Premier Contractor Seminar' scheduled to run alongside the fair, will offer comprehensive technical and business information for event contractors operating in the China market, and an overview of the integrated nature of audio-visual resources for large scale events.
Covering a wide range of topics, including how to complete a qualified bidding proposal, the
UK - Projected Image Digital has supplied the first Element Labs' VersaPIXEL installation - featuring over 3000 point-sources of light - in the UK, at the newly opened Grosvenor Casino, on Bury New Road Manchester. The PID team worked closely with Cadmium Design's Paula Reason and Tina Chetnik, who specified the VersaPIXELs.
Reason is well known for designing light features into her innovative architectural and interior schemes, and recently incorporated other Element Labs products into high profile installations at the Hard Rock Café venues in London and Barcelona and for casinos in Leicester and London. Reason had wanted to use VersaPixels ever since she was inspired by watching a 'product in action' video of the massive O2 exhibition stand at CeBit.
VersaPixels' distributed architecture gives designers complete freedom over pixel shape and placement - including intricate 3-D arrangements - and so it was ideal for the dramatic spherical ceiling above the bar area at Bury New Road.
PID's David March arranged a product demo for Grosvenor Casino's head of projects Paul Taylor - hooking up 200 VersaPixels at PID's west London HQ. He was suitably impressed and immediately gave the project the go-ahead, got the budget signed off and placed the order.
PID co-ordinated the installation process with Leisure Installation Services (LIS), including pixel stuffing over 150sq.m of ceiling tiles that arrived with pre-cut holes, all needing to be fitted with VersaPixels. This task was done at the warehouse of Lite Alternative, and took three people two days to compl
Japan - The new Blast II tour of Japan uses customized set electrics engineered by City Theatrical from designs by Mike Baldassari. This all new version of the hit New York show makes use of LED technology controlled by City Theatrical's WDS Wireless Data System.
CTI created custom chasing LED circuits inside of Z shaped twirling batons; gauzy "bed nets" worn and carried by performers while lit by battery operated Color Kinetics iColorCoves with PDS-50 LED power supplies with built in WDS receivers; two drum walls of eight bass drums each filled with Color Kinetics ColorBurst 4s controlled by battery powered City Theatrical PDS-375-TRBs with built in WDS receivers; and a unique gong drum with a perimeter lighted with Neo-Flex LED Tube controlled by a battery powered City Theatrical WDS Personal Dimmer.
City Theatrical's head of engineering Larry Dunn says: "We were very excited by the opportunity to develop a complete integrated system to implement Mike's extraordinary vision. The unique challenges of the project allowed us to draw on all of our design and manufacturing capabilities to provide a powerful, flexible and beautiful system solution."
Blast II lighting designer Mike Baldassari says: "City Theatrical is the only company that I know of that had the engineering and manufacturing talent to fully integrate all of my designs. After initial meetings to describe my ideas, they were able to manufacture all of the solutions with off-the-shelf equipment and customised gear, and in one case create an entirely new invention. Not only did
Israel - Since appearing as Israel's entrant to the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest, Rita has established herself as one of Israel's most popular singers ever. She is currently performing in a series of spectacular shows called One staged in Tel-Aviv's Fair Grounds.
One is the largest multi-show production ever produced in Israel, an extravagant performance that showcases Rita's talents. The format of the show was taken from such shows as Cirque Du Soleil and Celine Dion's A New Day in Las Vegas. One features acrobats, high wire acts, fire, water, 70 dancers and a huge 30m x 7m black projection screen. The stage spans over 33m wide by 20m deep with a lighting rig that includes 50 Mac 700 Profiles, 60 Mac 600 washlights, 24 Mac 550 profile spots, eight Mac 2000 Performances and four Atomic 3000 strobes along with 350 dimmers and 42 scrollers. Several DF-50s and Martin Magnum series foggers provide the haze.
The lighting rig was supplied jointly by Martin distributor Lightone of Israel and Kilim Light & Sound, one of the lighting rental companies in the country. All the Mac 700 Profiles and 24 of the MAC 600s were supplied brand new by Lightone with support provided by both companies.
"I started the project by creating a 3D MSD (Martin ShowDesigner) model off the AutoCAD drawing sent to me by the stage and set designer," says assistant LD and programmer Ofer Brum. "I then added the lighting rig sent to me by Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi), the project LD.
"Due to a very tight schedule on site, the next stage was to connect M
UK - Entec Sound & Light supplied audio and lighting production for three of the seven stages at Guilfest 2006 now in its 15th year. Guilfest is one of the most popular 'new wave' family festivals on the calendar.
It's the fifth year for Entec Lighting and the second year that Entec Sound have been involved at Guilfest. The departments provided sound and Lighting production services to the Radio 2 Main Stage and the Rock Sound Stage. The Lighting Department also installed a system into the Theatre Tent for the Howard Cragg's festival team to service.
Having taken delivery of their new d&b audiotechnik J-Series line array, Entec naturally used this for the main stage, where headliners included Embrace, A-Ha and Billy Idol. The system was designed by Stef Serpagli, and featured eight J8's and two J12 elements per side for the main arrays, neatly tucked in behind some elegant triangular shaped scrimmed PA towers. Together with twelve J-Subs, this produced a clean sound. Q7s were also utilised for in-fill and front-of-house delays, with Q10s providing out-fill.
d&b's Rope C remote control software was used by Serpagli to access and set levels, delays and EQ directly within the D12 amplifiers that powered the system.
Last year's main stage sound design (using the d&b Q1 line array) was a success in terms of containing the noise pollution, that this year the council increased the decibel allowance from 95 to 98 dB at FOH. The FOH set up included a Midas XL4 console. The rack contained a TC2290 delay, TCM2000 reverb, and a selection of classics including a Roland SD
Germany - Traditionally utilities are housed in functional buildings, often outside of town, away from the scrutinous eye of urban dwellers, but not always. Centrally located in the city of Leipzig is the gas and steam cogeneration plant, GuD Heizkraftwerk. Owners Leipziger Stadtwerke GmbH sought to integrate the building with the more aesthetic structures of Leipzig's architectural centre and thereby positively influence the city's night time image. Commercially, the company wanted to visually brand the cogeneration plant with the yellow and blue logo of Stadtwerke Leipzig. In November 2003 the company presented IPRO Leipzig with a draft and implementation plan that called for a unique night time lighting concept that could achieve these goals.
Lighting artist Jürgen Meier was subsequently contracted and worked with Armada Signs, the leading lighting promotion company in central Germany, on a striking illumination concept that emphasises the facade structure and architecture of the boiler house. The illumination consists of 12 Martin Architectural Exterior 600 and four Martin Exterior 200 colour changers located around the building which render the building's finely drawn grid structure visible in tones of blue and yellow. The luminaires powerful illuminant and optimised optical characteristic provide an even wash across the building while the fully programmable colour mixing system makes a nearly limitless spectrum of rich colors available. Technical aspects of the illumination were handled by Heinrich Müller of Licht-In-Form of Dresden.
Stadtwerke Leipzig ha
US - John Fogerty is back, loaded with the complete Credence catalogue after years oflegal maneuvers, and Fogerty and his band sing all the classics he penned back in the day. The show has been well received in Europe and the US shows promise to be the same with Willie Nelson signing on for most of the run.
Designer David Davidian has created a very moody environment for the classic Fogerty tunes. The approach is very traditional with a touch of automation. There are PAR cans, lekos, cyc lights, eight-lights and colour changers, Davidian also uses the Martin Mac 2000 spot and wash fixtures. Control is withboth a Whole Hog 2 and an Avo Sapphire 2000.
Bandit Lites works with Nelson every year at Farm Aid but this is the first project for Bandit with Fogerty.
(Chris Henry)
Thailand - W-DMX was recently used during a two-month tour with the Dino Fantasy Park World Tour 2006 in Thailand. The show thrilled visitors with life-sized dinosaur replicas and a special effects light show, provided by LDS Show of Bangkok. Although the set and props were imported from Japan, the lighting was locally contracted to LDS, with lighting design by Poon Limpapun and Sermsak Boonyhai. The team was faced with a large venue and hard-to-reach areas to light. Wireless Solution's S-1 Transmitter was used with 24 R-512 Receivers to control 24 Wybron Nexera Wash and Profile fixtures in these remote areas. Par cans and colour changers were used for general overhead lighting.
Subtle shades of green, orange and blue wash created the look and feel of changing sunlight patterns that helped tell the story. The audience entered the exhibit, surrounded by blue sky and soft daylight. It was then complemented by a wash of ambers to represent noon and then dimmed to blue as it went into the night. At one point, the T-Rex comes to life and starts to attack, at which point pulses of red are added to enhance the mood. After the T-Rex attacks, the audience moved on to the Golden Land of Paradise with amber and pink lighting. Finally, Syncrolites washed the set as the audience exited.
"Wireless DMX and the Nexera fixtures helped us in achieving many effects that we haven't done before considering the placement of the equipment. We placed them behind the models, far back behind the sets and other various remote locations throughout the entire venue, controlling them wit
UK - Stage Electrics have announced that John Wright has joined their Service Team as a specialist field engineer.
Steve Chappell, Stage Electrics' service manager says: "John has an enormous amount of knowledge and experience, he has been working for Strand for over 40 years and will be invaluable in helping Stage Electrics to continue to support their customers. He is very experienced in system integration, networking and power electronics."
Stage Electrics supports Strand products including the 500 series control consoles; LD90; SLD; and EC21 dimmers by offering commissioning, servicing, and trouble shooting. Over the next few months Wright will receive training on other manufacturers including Zero88 and ETC.
Wright will be available to any dealer or installer who may require his help to support or maintain Strand lighting installations, enquiries should be directed to any Stage Electrics branch or the central Bristol office.
(Chris Henry)
UK - Having worked on similar events in Leicester over the last eighteen years, Hawthorns secured the opportunity from the Jalaram Charitable Trust, Leicester, to provide the power, sound, video and lighting systems for this year's special festival.
With the visit of the religious leader, Morari Bapu, the organisers changed the festival to a more corporate style format including the erection of an enclosed Arena TFT structure 95 metres long, 50 metres wide and 16 metres in height to the apex, accommodating 8000 people.
In order to power the whole site, two pairs of generators were used, one of which was a one megawatt set, which provided all the power to the catering facilities, lighting, sound and the all important air conditioning, given the recent temperatures.
To illuminate the Arena TFT structure and stage both decoratively and safely, over 250KW of lighting was used.
A high specification of sound was required, so this year the Martin Audio Line array speaker system was used, proving a valuable tool for the sound operator who was flown in from India, especially for this event.
The Trust engaged its own film crew to capture this nine-day event with live images beamed to over seven million people across the world. Hawthorn relayed these images to the audience at the festival via two 20ft wide screens.
"The Jalaram Trust is grateful to Hawthorn for their assistance in making this year's Festival special, particularly their fast response in installing the air conditioning within five hours of being requested," said Hasu Manek, "They did a
Czech Republic - Robe Show Lighting has introduced three new products in its Club Series - the ClubSpot 300CT, the ClubWash 300CT and the Euphoria effects projector. The fixtures include the features and functionality in true Robe style, and are engineered to withstand the tough environment of clubs and bars as well as restaurants and venues of all types, say the company.
ClubSpot 300CT is based on Robe's popular Spot 250XT and comes complete with 250W discharge lamp, remotely controlled motorized focus and standard beam apertures of 15 degrees - with options on 12° and 18° lenses. The colour wheel offers 11 dichroic filters, and the gobo wheel offers six interchangeable and indexable rotating gobos plus open. The unit's multi-colour glass gobos are made from high temperature borofloat glass.
The optics feature a high luminous-efficiency parabolic mirror and double condenser system, and all lenses are anti-reflector coated to maximize brightness and clarity. The ClubSpot 300CT has a very effective strobe function with up to 10 flashes a second, and is pre-programmed with a selection of variable and random strobe and dimmer pulse effects. There's also a three-facet prism, rotatable at variable speeds, and a macro function for combined rotating gobo and prism effects.
This is Robe's second Club Series wash moving head. It uses a 250W discharge lamp lightsource and features a high luminous parabolic reflector, CMY colour mixing, a colour wheel with 6 dichroic filters and open, very smooth dimmer and near-silent cooling fans. Because of the silent fans, thi
UK - White Light, the exclusive UK distributor for the range of DMX networking and control equipment from ELC, has supplied eight ELC miniStores to the new Dino Jaws travelling exhibition from the Natural History Museum.
Designed by exhibition designers Ralph Appelbaum Associates (RAA), the lighting for Dino Jaws has been designed by leading architectural and exhibition lighting consultants dha design. "Dino Jaws features eight automated dinosaurs and an interactive display area called the LAB. The aesthetic requirement was to light each dinosaur, but not to make a light show so dazzling it distracted from them," explains Flick Ansell of dha design. "The brief was subtle changing landscapes and, importantly, to make shadow play on the different coloured backdrop between each dinosaur."
"There was also a practical brief that each display area could, in future, be toured as a stand-alone exhibit. This meant that the lighting for each area had to be integral to that area." To help facilitate this, dha and RAA developed high-level and low-level three-circuit track lighting positions that were then routed back to one six-way dimmer rack per dinosaur.
"The control and dimmer systems were developed with Roger Hennigan and Julie Harper of White Light at a mock up with the Natural History Museum, RAA and the electrical contractor Reed Electrical all present, so that everyone understood what was possible - the difference between moving lights' and 'the movement of light' is best explained to non-lighting specialists by a mock-up,"
Worldwide - Mogwai are a Scottish band formed in 1995; they have just completed a 10 date tour of the UK and are now heading out to Australia.
Lighting designer Nick Jevons, of Electric Fly, has been using a Maxxyz PC with a wing to control the lighting for the whole tour. His son, Jake Jevons who now works for Bandit Lites was working with him in the UK.
The lights being used for the UK leg of the tour were Mac 300s, Mac 500s, Atomic 3000 Strobes, which were hung from four upstage ground based 12" truss in a Y formation. The lighting was supplied by Bandit Lites.
It is the first time Jevons has toured without using a lighting desk and as far as he's aware it was the first time that this setup has toured. He says: "I found the system portable, creative and flexible without losing any of the capabilities of a lighting desk, and my job was made more convenient by the ability to pre-programme most of the show on the Maxxyz console in the office, update the preset focuses at the venues, and operate the show via the playback wing."
Jevons is currently heading out to Australia and the Far East for the rest of the tour. With the Maxxyz PC as hand luggage, he is thoroughly enjoying the convenience of offline programming in his hotel room.
(Chris Henry)
Germany - Company inoage has re-launched the Madrix website, bringing togetherdescriptions and technical specifications for the Windows software for the creation of lighting scenes and show operations, for matrix controlling.
Madrix supports DMX interfaces with outstanding DMX capabilities, and includes an installation CD-ROM, a software protection dongle and English and German user guides. Madrix features an easy matrix control, Music2Light (real-time audio analysis, 60 DMX - universes (30720 DMX channels), two effect pipelines for live performances and 100 storage places with layer technology.
The new website address is www.madrix.de.
(Chris Henry)
UK - Zero 88's Frog 2 took control as Lotus Cars unveiled their latest models at the British Motor Show last week.
The lighting rig was designed by Mark Powell of Bandit Lites, and consisted of 40 Martin moving heads, including Mac 600s, Mac 2000 Profiles, and Mac 2000 Washes, providing ambient lighting, logo projection and car specials.
The fixtures were all controlled from the Frog 2 using real-time triggers for cues. This allowed for turning on of the rig each morning, running the show throughout the day and dowsing the lamps at the end of the day. The timecode triggers enabled stand staff to simply power up the stand each morning with the Frog 2 then taking control.
Lotus launched two new models at the show, the Europa S and the Elise S. The Frog 2 was programmed using multiple cue stacks. Different stacks were used to control different areas of the stand. One stack was also dedicated to operating a range of indexing custom gobos for each of the new models.
Powell says: "Programming of the rig was done in only three hours making extensive use of the Frog 2's powerful effects engine and macro capabilities. The use of time triggered cues meant the stand ran faultlessly for two weeks with no need for the presence of lighting personnel."
(Chris Henry)
Europe / USA - Bandit Lites supplied lighting, rigging and crew for the UK, European and US legs of Mark Knopfler's and Emmylou Harris' All the Roadrunning tour.
The tour promotes the collaborative album of the same name from the Dire Straits front-man and 11-time Grammy award-winner, Emmylou Harris. The pair have been compiling duets for seven years.
Lighting designer Simon Tutchener was asked to produce a simple look for the stage - with no video production onboard - the visual scenography was all down to lighting - and he in turn again asked Lester Cobrin at Bandit to help realise his design.
The design was based on using two very elegant eight metre diameter A-type interlocking circular trusses - which Bandit had custom fabricated. Tutchener wanted an architectural feel to the stage that defined the space. The circles symbolised the fusion of two of the greatest living performers and creative forces in popular music, and also celebrated the existence of two very independent individuals in a parallel universe.
Cobrin says: "Simon called me and explained his concept by interlinking the circular trusses, as the main focal point of his design, which I thought unusual, interesting and very refreshing. Once rigged to trim, the circles gave off quite an illusion and that was fantastic."
Tutchener had designed Knopfler's 2005 tour, with a rig - also supplied by Bandit. "This time, I wanted something completely new, and totally different," he explains. Tutchener has worked with Knopfler for four years now and the two have a good line o
USA - Color Kinetics Inc has announced the appointment of John Daly as vice-president of OEM Sales. Daly will oversee the company's worldwide OEM sales and support activities, including the identification and closure of new partnerships intended to increase the use of Color Kinetics' technology across diverse markets.
Daly brings more than 17 years of lighting industry sales and management experience to Color Kinetics, including specific expertise in OEM sales. He most recently served as president and general manager of the 68-year-old Rig-A-Lite division of AZZ Inc, an electrical equipment manufacturer. He previously held sales and OEM management positions at Venture Lighting, GE Lighting and Philips Lighting.
"We are confident in the technologies, expertise and IP that differentiate our OEM value proposition, which many partners have already embraced to bring unique products to market. Under the direction of John's leadership, we believe our OEM program will be even better equipped to act on the many market opportunities that continue to emerge - both for color and white light technologies," said Bill Sims, president and CEO of Color Kinetics. "We're pleased to welcome John as a key contributor to our ambitious OEM business growth goals."
"The impact of LED lighting continues to spread from niche applications to more mainstream markets, and Color Kinetics is largely to credit for the technologies that have helped make this possible," said Daly. "I'm very pleased to join this visionary company and I look forward to helping it
USA - Clay Paky's Alpha Wash Halo has been extensively used on the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Woman in White. The Halo, a 1,000W (3,200°K) halogen washlight fixture, was specifically designed for use in theatre and television, and The Woman in White marks its Broadway début. The original London production of was lit by UK-based lighting designer, Paul Pyant, and Pyant's associate LD, David Howe, was tasked with recreating Pyant's design in The Marquis Theatre, New York.
"We needed a bright, colour mixing, tungsten-source washlight with a great range of subtle pastel and tonal colours that was consistent across all units," explains Howe. "As the show's scenery is entirely projected, a fixture with a wide focus range was essential to prevent any unwanted light spill. For this reason, the automatic top hat on the Alpha Wash Halo is also very useful. Noise level was also factored into our decision, and the Halos move quickly and quietly."
The 14 Alpha Wash Light Halo fixtures on The Woman in White were supplied, along with the rest of the lighting rig, by Hudson Scenic & Lighting, who also built the set. The Halo features CMY colour-mixing, variable linear frost, an indexable ovalizer, a strobe, and a 0-100% electronic dimmer. "The brightness of the Halos is surprising," notes Howe. "Even when used in a full, saturated blue the Halos are still really very bright. I also love the virtually silent top hat - very neat."
The Halo features a moving top hat that can retract insi