Worldwide - U2's much-anticipated 'Vertigo' tour has kicked off in San Diego, USA. Barco, Innovative Designs and XL Video - three key providers to the professional entertainment industry - have worked together to bring to life Willie Williams' spectacular design. All visualization aspects of the show, from the various projection set-ups (using Barco RLM G5 and ELM G10 projectors) to the video-driven LED projection units, the image processing (Barco Folsom Encore) or the new revolutionary MiSphere curtains above the centre stage, were designed, integrated and produced by Barco or Innovative Designs and delivered by Barco Rental Partner, XL Video.
Designed and developed by Barco at its R&D headquarters in Belgium especially for the Vertigo tour, the MiSphere takes the use of LED technology in the concert and staging market to a new level, say Barco. With 360° viewing angles, opaque, light-diffusing casing and ability to play both full video and data, the MiSphere bridges the gap between existing video and lighting products, enabling it to be used for both application purposes.
Individual MiSpheres are daisy-chained into a string, with several strings in turn forming a 3D visualization curtain. Each MiSphere acts as a pixel within the curtain, making it possible to display images and simulate lighting effects across the entire curtain, while also achieving a 'Look-Trough' effect and 'Multiple Angle' viewing-effect for the audience all around the scene. High above the centre stage hang the MiSphere strings, each containing 64 spheres and totalling 9m in length. A
USA - Innovate Show Controls has announced a number of major installations for its new BlueLite X1 DMX show controller. In recent months, the X1 has been selected as the primary control system for several major shows, including the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, Six Flags Theme Parks, The Fremont Street Experience, and Santa Ana's Pavilion Theatre.
The Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, held annually in Las Vegas, requires a powerful system with reliability, and rapid programmability. Marty Canavan, chief show designer for YLS Entertainment, says he found all of this in the X1: "When I am on a show like the National Rodeo Finals, where I have maybe 10 nights of live performances to light and another half dozen pre-programmed laser and light shows to create, it all boils down to one thing: how fast can I get it right? When it comes to programming a show, time is the one thing I never have enough of."
The X1 has also been selected to run shows at two Six Flags Theme Parks: Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio and Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Both shows require the X1 to control moving lighting fixtures, lasers, and special effects. In the Texas show, the X1 is replacing a Hog PC for integrated control of all existing elements plus additional effects. In the California show, the X1 is replacing three separate legacy control systems, allowing control of all elements from a single system. "We've tried just about everything out there," states Martin Canavan Sr., YLS' president. "From what we've seen, with even the biggest
USA - Entertainment and architectural lighting manufacturer ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc) has named Mark Veldey as vice-president of Finance. Veldey, as an outside investment banker, advised ETC on its successful acquisition of Transtechnik Lichtsysteme, Holzkirchen, Germany, in 2002. After joining ETC as general counsel, he directed ETC's acquisitions of Avab France, Paris; and IES and Penko Engineering, Veenendaal, the Netherlands. ETC's CEO Fred Foster says: "In his many roles with ETC, Mark has become completely familiar with our business and culture. His broad set of skills has proven to be very valuable to us. As part of the ETC executive team, he will add a great new dimension to our strategic financial planning."
Veldey's previous work experience includes practicing law with the Milwaukee firm Cook & Franke, treasury and corporate finance responsibilities with a publicly-traded manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, and serving as an investment banker with a middle-market investment banking firm. He holds a BA in Economics and Religion from St. Olaf College, a JD from the University of Wisconsin Law School and an MBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Chicago.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - One of Scotland's best-know landmarks, The Forth Rail Bridge, was given a red make-over in celebration of this year's Red Nose Day. Lenny Henry officially turned on the lights that gave the bridge a distinctive red glow. Lee Filters say they were happy to donate the lighting filter for the project; over 225sq.m of 026 Bright Red filter were used to cover the 500 lights on the 1.5 mile-long bridge.
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Ipswich-based acoustic engineering consultancy Big Sky provided design services for engineer/producer Phil Harding's recently opened project studio located in rural Suffolk. Big Sky's brief included design of the main room acoustics and advice on soundproofing the building.
"Work had already begun on my new studio when I first met Richard Vivian from Big Sky," says Harding. "The building had been designed by a local architect and was being built by a local, non-specialist builder. I had made the classic mistake of allowing these people to erect a parallel walled room. One visit from Richard to the site immediately highlighted a list of improvements that were both economic and practical to implement. Suggestions such as an internal lobby on the entrance door, built on an angle to break up the parallel walls, and changes to the internal wall construction have made a huge difference to the performance of the room and saved money on our original design plans."
The studio's internal room acoustics where customised to provide a reflection-free mixing space with a smooth low frequency response. Phil Harding adds "The installation of bass traps and sound absorption panels have made the room sound so much better than when it was initially finished."
Phil Harding, who recently served as Chairman of the Music producers Guild (MPG), started at Marquee Studios in 1973, working with acts such as The Clash and Matt Bianco. He later became chief engineer at PWL Studios and then together with Ian Curnow established a studio within London's
The Netherlands - The record-breaking temperature tolerance of the New Luxeon LED emitters announced by Lumileds Lighting last month will yield more usable light per dollar by reducing heat sink requirements and permitting higher current operation for more applications, opening new design possibilities for manufacturers of solid-state lighting solutions, say the company. For example, Lumileds say that New Luxeon can be mounted on an FR4 printed-circuit board (PCB) and driven at 400mA, in an ambient environment up to 40°C without a heat sink.
The new junction temperature, achieved by a complete redesign of the Luxeon package, represents a 50°C increase (from 135°C to 185°C) over other Luxeon products and a 60°C increase over other high-power LEDs. It offers the highest allowable operation temperature of any power LED product on the market by a wide margin, say Lumileds. Benefits include the ability to:- Simplify and reduce the cost of system thermal designs, lowering total solution costs as well as reducing the size of the heat sink required for similar ambient conditions. Engineers will have the option to drive LEDs at higher currents with existing thermal designs to deliver more light in current applications, or dramatically reduce heat sinking for new applications;
- Increase the allowable drive current to 1500mA with a record-setting 130 lumens of light output, further reducing the cost per lumen by delivering more light from the same package. The increase in maximum junction temperature will push out the thresholds for current derating, enabling more c
UK - A powerful Cerwin Vega sound reinforcement system has been installed at the Schnapps Bar in Scunthorpe, by Class-UK. The York-based suppliers recommended a combination of three-way Vision and ProStax series loudspeakers as part of a sound and lighting upgrade, as the venue - owned by Chris Mappouras - expanded its capacity and reduced its name (from the former 'Der Schnapps').
Specifying four each of Cerwin's Vision VIS-153, Vision VIS-122, ProStax PSX-122 and AB36 sub, Steve Wright, who runs Class-UK, said they were selected for their sonic ability and cost-effectiveness. A pair of Vision VIS-153s, groundstacked on a pair of AB36 18" folded 'After Burn' subs, are sited on either side of the DJ booth; and while one pair of ProStax PSX-122s acts as DJ monitors, the other operates as an infill system for the adjacent bar.
The four full-range Vision VIS-122s - are flown. One pair is mounted half way down the dancefloor and the other is at the rear of the 17m room. "As this is a long rectangle," says Wright, "everything down the hall had to be delayed to avoid echo in what is essentially a 'live' room."For his processing and equalisation he used a dbx DriveRack.
Class-UK also improved the lighting, with colour-changing LED's around the bars and a Griven centrepiece mounted on a Trilite ladder truss - chosen in view of the venue's low ceiling height."
(Lee Baldock)
USA - Color Kinetics has announced that James Thomas Engineering is to license Color Kinetics' intellectual property in connection with the marketing of James Thomas' Pixel Range line of LED-based products in North America. James Thomas' Pixel Range includes a wide range of LED-based colour changing fixtures for use in architectural and entertainment applications, in both interior and exterior environments.
"We're very pleased to extend the value of our intellectual property to James Thomas Engineering, a company which recognizes the strength and breadth of Color Kinetics' patent portfolio," said Bill Sims, president and COO of Color Kinetics. "Our growing OEM and licensing program exists in part to help companies like James Thomas Engineering benefit from our intellectual property, which is the result of years of research and development."
"We look forward to the expanded market opportunities afforded by this agreement with Color Kinetics," said Mike Garl, president of James Thomas Engineering. "As the adoption of LED-based illumination accelerates in North America, we believe the signing of this agreement will allow us to concentrate on the continued advancement of the technology and the ever-expanding Pixel Range."
L&SI Online understands that James Thomas Engineering has also licensed with Super Vision Inc's Variable Color Lighting System patent, # 4,962,687. This makes it the second manufacturer, after Canada-based Spectrum Manufacturing, to have a foot in both camps in the ongoing dispute over LED patents.
(Le
UK - Professional audio distributor, Autograph Sales, has appointed Mike Mann to its board of directors. He will be responsible for sales and business development, in addition to handling the increasing number of design and installation projects now being tackled by the company.
Mann has been with Autograph Sales for over two years, holding the post of technical manager, providing pre and post sales support to customers. Previously, he has worked for Meyer Sound, Cadac Electronics, Soundcraft and Drake, while his first job in the industry was in the Royal Opera House sound department.
"I became addicted to live performance as a very junior sound engineer in Covent Garden - and it's that kind of lasting passion that drives the Autograph team. This is an exciting time for pro audio and Autograph Sales," he says.
(Jim Evans)
Canada - Lighttex Canada Inc, the manufacturer of Lighttex Soft Egg Crates, has announced the appointment of Robert Paine as director of sales. Paine brings more than a dozen years of experience managing plant operations, quality systems and product and marketing development with a concentration in textiles. In his role as director of sales, he will build a North American sales network to support the commercial launch of Lighttex Soft Egg Crates, an architectural product that delivers aesthetics, space definition, light control and daylighting benefits, say the company.
"My focus and passion is customer satisfaction through quality product and service," says Paine. "Lighttex is both a powerful and elegant product that is poised to add the next dimension of architecture and daylighting. Our goal is to bring world-class service and solutions to help architects, designers and lighting professionals realize the phenomenal potential of Lighttex."
Lighttex also recently announced the registration of its quality management system to the ISO 9001:2000 standard by the Quality Management Institute (QMI).
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Long-standing Dundee nightclub Fat Sam's has boosted its capacity to 2,100 by creating the new Karma Lounge on Level 3 of the six-storey building. Owner, Angus Robb and architect Doug Reid of Glamis-based Milton Studio developed the idea jointly. Robb has marked the latest addition to the 22-year-old operation by importing carved buddahs from India (along with an Iroko teak floor) and installing a potent Nexo dance system in the rectangular room.
Sound Control, Dundee supplied four PS15's and four PS10's, which are flown over the dancefloor and peripheral areas, reinforced by a pair of LS1200 subs - all powered by three Camco Vortex 6 amplifiers (2100W/4 ohms).
The full-range speakers are either suspended from tie bars or fixed direct into the standard four-inch brick ceiling using the NEXO hardware, reinforced by a special epoxy-based chemical and fixing screw rod. The system, along with the lighting, was installed in the two-zone rectangular room by long-serving technical manager, Bob Lamb, who has optimized the Nexo rig with the aid of the PS15TD and PS10 AMP dedicated controllers.
Commented Lamb: "We run other sound systems on the other floors but the Nexo is the most impressive by far. The fact that it has a vertical/horizontal rotatable CD horn is excellent with the restricted ceiling height. By concentrating the sound over the dancefloor we are able to achieve a vastly superior sound, which measured 105dBa." At the same time, the signal is attenuated off-floor to avoid any environmental health issues.
He and Angus Robb made the decision
UK - After frequently playing host to the Nexo GEO S system - generally as part of the production inventory of Glasgow-based Sound Acoustics - the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) has decided to permanently install a system in its 624-seat Lomond Auditorium.
The venue's technical manager, Tony Edwards, said that this was part of SECC's policy of continuous improvement of the facilities. "The heavy utilisation of this Hall means that the turnaround times have to be quick. We need to be able to offer a system that is versatile, with exceptional quality, since it will be used for a wide range of corporate events as well as other productions such as pantomimes. Jim Coubrough, our sound technician, was so convinced about the quality and coverage of the system we have been able to do away with the front-fills and allow the 30° down-fill box to provide the nearfield coverage.
"Sound Acoustics offered an ideal solution. I don't know of a smaller format box," says Tony. "The GEO S system is so discrete that it can be trimmed out of sight, and is easy to de-rig and transport should it need to be moved to other locations on the site."
The PA rig comprises four GEO S805s and two GEO S830s as downfills each side of the stage - all supplied by Nexo's UK distributor, Fuzion plc. Sound Acoustics' Billy Leslie says that it was a compliment to the GEO S that the SECC wanted to purchase the system, after hearing it in operation in Hall 4 during the teachings of the Dalai Lama and also in the drugs awareness event Choices for Life orga
The Netherlands / Germany - Following a very successful first full manufacturing year, Dutch manufacturer Alcons Audio will present a number of new products at the Frankfurt ProLight&Sound exhibition (6-9 April) plus a complete new product series. The full production version of the LR14, Alcons' ultra-compact line-array module, will be on show, following a number of previews. Featuring the patented RBN401 pro-ribbon driver and double 6.5" woofers with a dispersion pattern of 120 x 15°, the LR14 is designed to be used either as an ultra-compact line-array system, or as an under-fill of the LR16.
New on show will be the LR14B, the ultra-compact, lightweight, high-output bass module of the LR14 line-array, with double Neodymium 12" in double-tuned band-pass configuration. The LR14B combines a very low weight with very high specific SPL output, making the LR14B an excellent low-frequency extension in both stacked and flown array configurations.
However, the company's main focus will be the official introduction of the Q-series - a new product series based on modular line-source columns with lengths of 1m or 0.5m. The series has been designed as a solution for ultimate intelligibility in "acoustically challenging" environments, say the company. The scalable ribbon-arrays combine a very high directivity with totally controlled dispersion, in both vertical and horizontal plane. Alcons adds that the Q-series has already proven an ideal solution as a single-column main PA system in low-ceiling applications where a J-curved array will not give satisf
Italy / Germany - Italian pro audio manufacturer Outline will exhibit a number of new products at this year's ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (6-9 April). The company's series of top-end stage monitors will be expanded by the H.A.R.D. 45 SP, the most compact in the range, but with the same original design seen in the 115 and 212 models.
Despite its slim profile, compact size (38 x 43 x 30cm) and light weight, H.A.R.D. 45 SP can produce a peak SPL of 129 dB/1m, thanks to its built-in PWM amplifiers supplying 2-way (low and high) power to the speakers mounted in the enclosure, say Outline. With four special 5" mid-woofers (the same as those mounted in the Micra II enclosures) and a compression driver with a 1" throat loaded by the same S.P.R.W.G. (Single Parabolic Reflective Wave Guide) used for the other models in the range, H.A.R.D. 45 features, among other things, very fast transient response, say the company.
Also new, the Global Sub exploits Outline's internationally patented 'space-saving' philosophy, used for the first time with the Kanguro system which received an Award for Product Excellence at the 2001 PLASA Show in London. The Global Sub is a 15" sub, but is also a container (complete with a cover) able to hold three different Outline loudspeaker systems: H.A.R.D. 45, a pair of Micra II, or the Globe Source adjustable multi-directivity sound radiator (for which it is the ideal complement for a wide variety of measurements in the architectural acoustics field). A photo-gallery illustrating this unit's potential better than any desc
USA - Following the return of Bill Groener to the Production Resource Group (PRG), after a spell at Color Kinetics, PRG has announced that Groener will take on the role of vice-president and general manager of its Systems Integration Group. Groener, a long-time industry veteran, was formerly general manager of PRG's northeast US lighting operations. The company says that Groener left them in early 2004 to help Color Kinetics, an important PRG supplier, launch a series of new initiatives designed to increase and expand its sales and distribution of LED lighting products in North America.
Jere Harris, PRG's chairman and CEO, said: "It's great to have Bill back. New technologies are having a big impact on permanently installed lighting systems, and Bill has acquired a tremendous depth of experience with them."
Groener's return to PRG will allow Anne Johnston, who led PRG's Integrated Systems Group during 2004, to refocus her attention on the marketing of new technologies being introduced by PRG. For the past two decades, Johnston has spearheaded many of PRG's efforts to introduce new technologies into the marketplace, including large format projection systems, lighting control systems, LED lighting technologies, and PRG's proprietary media servers.
"These changes come at a great time for us," stated Rusty Brutsché, PRG's vice-chairman and chief technology officer. "We're always looking for ways to offer our clients unique value through technical innovations, and it's good to know we've got two of the industry's best people in place to
UK / Japan - Toshiba has announced a world first in the videowall market as London-based Anna Valley Displays (a Shooting Partners Group company) take delivery of the first Toshiba 6mm bendable videowall. This brand new next-generation LED Videowall has arrived for hire and has the ability to curve both in either direction to produce convex and concave displays.
Jon Perkins, representing Toshiba Technorainbow said: "This order, the first in the world for this product, represents a massive leap in the mechanical elements of LED design and coupled with Toshiba's established reputation for unparalleled image quality and uniformity has raised the bar at the high-performance, high-resolution end of the LED market."
Phil White, Shooting Partners Group MD, said: "Anna Valley Displays has always been at the forefront of the display business and the introduction of the Toshiba 6mm LED videowall that gives the flexibility of a curved configuration combined with beautifully sharp pictures will give set designers and productions who rent it a whole new dimension to their design."
(Lee Baldock)
UK - Adlib Audio continues its association with high profile American artists working in the UK and Europe, in supplying full audio production - including a JBL VerTec line array system - to US band Good Charlotte's current UK tour. The system is being looked after by Adlib's James Neale at FOH and Rob Coles on monitors. They are working closely with band's own US engineers, Gary Ferenchak at FOH and Vince Buller on monitors.
The tour visits a variety of venues, large and small, culminating in shows at London's Brixton Academy. They're carrying 20 VT4889 elements on the truck, using 10 per side for the larger shows and four per side for the smaller ones. "VerTec suits Good Charlotte very well," says Neale, "Lots of energy and power coming out of it - just like the band - but it also gets right over the top of the stage noise".
The subs are eight of Adlib's DF4 (2x18"), ground-stacked at the front of stage. Amplification is a mix of Camco Vortex 6 series for the VerTec boxes, and Crown VZ5002s for the subs. Adlib is supplying Midas Heritage H3000 consoles at both end of the multicore as specified by the band's engineers. The FOH rack is one of Adlib's standard issues, including TC delays, a Lexicon PCM 91, Drawmer Gates and dbx 1066 compressors. Monitors are 14 of the new Adlib MP3 wedges, while the monitor rack also contains Drawmer gates and dbx 160 compressors.
Neale is using a Wireless Tablet link - a device pioneered by Adlib on the David Bowie 'Reality' tour - and the latest BSS control software to remote tweak the Omnidrive pro
USA - Oberon Productions Inc of Forest Falls, California, has become a dedicated Zero 88 Fat Frog enthusiast through its work with the Biola Youth Theatre. The company got the call to supply additional lighting equipment for the Biola Youth Theatre's production of West Side Story. "They had been using a two-scene preset board from another manufacturer to run their conventional lighting rig," says Eric Strand, president of Oberon Productions. "A board with no cue stack is an abomination to theatre!"
Biola Youth Theatre is a true theatre company, rather than a high school class or college workshop, and is one of a select few youth theatre companies that work in partnership with a university - in this case Biola University of La Mirada, California. The high-school aged students are required to work both on stage and backstage during the course of the program. Part of this program includes running the lighting console for productions.
As well as providing a Fat Frog console for the production, Oberon also supplied Color Kinetics' Color Blasts and Color Blazes as well as a Reel-EFX DF-50 haze machine. "The Fat Frog was great," remarks Strand. "I've always liked its features and how easy it is to learn. However, it was also easy enough for the students to learn, so they could be the programmers of the show as well as the operators."
Oberon will be collaborating with the youth theatre group again in this summer's production of The Wizard of Oz. "We are hoping to use some additional equipment for the summer
Japan - Yves Pépin and his ECA2 team were selected by the Toyota Group to design and produce a major multimedia show in the Japanese automotive giant's Pavilion, which is one of the most important, prestigious Pavilions at Aichi's 2005 Expo. Under a 25m high ceiling, the theatre-in-the-round designed by Yves Pépin is a symbolic representation of the universe. The show mixes performances by dancers and trapeze artists, giant images, special effects involving fire and water, and Toyota's most advanced technologies, and which celebrates the relationship between the individual, machines and the environment.
No fewer than 30 "i-units" (described as 'futuristic individual mobility prototypes'), and 3 "i-foots" (robot transporters), as well as 26 dancers, five trapeze artists and 100 or so technicians are working together to ensure that 14 presentations of the show will be provided every day up until the end of the Expo in September, say ECA2.
The project's conception and implementation required over two years of work by ECA2's creative teams, working alongside engineers from Toyota's research units ensuring a seamless mix of human performances, the show's technologies, and Toyota's most sophisticated technologies.The International Expo being held in Aichi, near Nagoya in Japan, which is Toyota's home ground, opens its doors on 25 March and will last for six months. It is expected that nearly 15 million visitors will attend this expo, which is focused on the future, and involves over 127 countries. Its main theme will be 'Nature's Wisdom' and it
Denmark - A new software upgrade for Xciter, Martin's multi layer embedded controller for live manipulation of light shows, now makes it the most powerful controller in its class, say the company.
Xciter allows easy programming, playback and live manipulation of lighting providing instant pitch adjustment, freeze, flash, blackout, master fader and more. Ideal for clubs, small touring and performance applications or even larger mobile DJs, there is also, a complete training DVD available which covers all of Xciter's features.
Features include six general faders and two masters, six flash and four customizable buttons to trigger lighting and effects. Xciter can now control up to 40 fixtures, each with up to 48 channels with a maximum of 512 channels.
The effects generator allows users to apply effects, such as fanning, to all channels, faders, fixtures or groups of fixtures. Functions such as strobe, smoke and mirror ball activation can be allocated to each of four programmable buttons for simplified effects juggling. The Xciter includes factory-programmed effects and presets that can quickly be assigned to a fixture or range of fixtures. Users can also create macro presets themselves to recall complex effect generator settings.
Users can combine any patch with any show, auto patching multiple fixtures and dimmers has been simplified by selecting the start address and allowing Xciter do the rest. Effects, scenes or dimmers can be assigned to any of six faders and flash buttons and users can access them live during playback.
Playback sequences can be altered
UK / USA - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced that latest application, Stardraw Control, won an Innovation in Technology award on the occasion of its worldwide launch at NSCA 2005. This is the second major trophy for Stardraw Control, which has already been honoured with a PLASA Award for Innovation at its preview at London's PLASA show in September last year.
Stardraw's marketing director, Rob Robinson, explains the key features of Stardraw Control that set it apart from other control solutions. "Stardraw Control generates stand-alone, customized control programs that can manage any type of addressable equipment from any manufacturer using any protocol over any communications infrastructure. Instead of being locked into closed architectures wherever system control, monitoring or signal routing has been required, Stardraw Control offers systems integrators an open, software-based, unified control framework that can manage his entire system with a single application, regardless of system complexity. To our knowledge, no-one else offers such an innovative and flexible system, and to be shortlisted for the award from over 120 applicants was a great honour. To win by public vote is testament to the excitement that Stardraw Control has generated among manufacturers and systems integrators alike."
Like other Stardraw applications it is fast, powerful, flexible and easy to use, say the company; with a drag-drop interface and intuitive design environment, installers are able to configure systems and control them without having to write a single lin
Germany - German manufacturer Kling & Freitag has announced that Michael Kinzel is the new managing director of the company. The changes are the result of the company's continued growth, with a larger company requiring a reappraisal of the management structure. In making their choice, Martin Kling and Jürgen Freitag decided to take somebody who knew the company well. Kinzel has worked with K&F for more than five years and supported Martin and Jürgen in the development of the reputation of the brand. Beside his new position, Kinzel will continue to be responsible for international sales.
Martin Kling remains in charge of the R&D department as the technical director, while Jürgen Freitag is taking care of the German key customers and is also responsible for special projects and customer support; among other projects he has recently finished a project which incolved the delivery of more than 200 loudspeaker systems to Austria. Kinzel's deputy will be Wolfgang Hache, who has been at K&F for more than 15 years, and was the very first employee of Kling & Freitag SoundSystems. K&F, one of the leading loudspeaker brands in the German market, now exports to 25 countries worldwide.
(Lee Baldock)
Italy - Costa Dream - or C-Dream as it is known - is the brainchild of Costa Cruises, Italy, and has created waves of excitement in every person lucky enough to experience it. This exclusive VIP lounge in Genova was designed to generate an atmosphere bordering between romanticism and fairytale, and uses Tryka LED lighting fixtures to achieve its goal.
Paolo Campanelli, technical project coordinator, was involved in the conception of this unique venue and invited one of Costa Cruises' in-house lighting designers, Davide Trentacoste, to specify the lighting. His original and intelligent use of lighting and special effects helps turn a visit to C-Dream into a virtual cruise, with each zone within it creating a unique and unforgettable experience. Trentacoste says: "The architects' desire [Marcello Albini and Manuela Venturini] was to have a hi-tech, surreal place that can change colour at any time. I spent over four months working on this project, together with the technical team [nicknamed C-Team]. The idea was to light 90% of C-Dream using only LED technology. Tryka's products helped me a lot in solving several aspects of my project. The typology of the venue needed different kinds of LED products and Tryka has been part of this 'melting multi-coloured Dream'. I wish all of you could have a chance to visit C-Dream."
More than 150 Tryka MR16 RGB Module 3s and Module 6s with a variety of optics, Tryka Strips with oval optics and DMX Modulation Drivers were used for the project. The units were supplied via Tryka L.E.D. Ltd's Italian distributor, One 4 All
USA / Germany - Community will use the ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (6-9 April) for the European launch of the new iBOX range of installation loudspeakers, offering a straightforward approach to implementing arrays, clusters and distributed systems with just two sizes of discrete enclosures. iBOX HP1200 Series combines a high-power 12" mid/bass driver with a 2.87" voice coil HF (1.4" exit) on a large format horn, providing uniform pattern control.
Offering precise coverage and arrayability are six models: iHP1244 (40x40), iHP1264 (60x40), iHP1266 (60x60), iHP1294 (90x40), iHP1296 (90x60), iHP1299 (90x90). Each of the full-range cabinets can be used in bi-amp or passive mode and operates from 60Hz to 18kHz with power handling of 600W continuous. For systems requiring greater LF extension Community offers the i112S (1x12") and i212S (2x12") subs in the same 1200 Series dimensions, allowing aesthetically pleasing clusters with any cabinet combination.
The 6-models in the iBOX HP 1500 Series offer the same six rotatable HF horn options within the iHP1544, iHP1564, iHP1566, iHP1594, HP1596 and iHP1599. These are combined with a high-power 15" mid/bass driver in a slightly larger enclosure, which extends the LF response to 45Hz. As with the 1200 Series, two same-dimension subs are available to provide greater LF power and extension for larger systems - the i115S (1x15") and i215S (2x15").
(Lee Baldock)