UK - The APRS starts its 2003 programme with a seminar co-hosted by the DTI for all manufacturers and service providers who are interested in exporting goods or attracting overseas clients to UK facilities.

The event, postponed last year because of the Tube strikes, has been re-scheduled and re-designed to provide a broader exploration of exporting in general with a special focus on the fast-expanding Indian and Chinese markets. India has the largest film industry in the world and a significant proportion of domestic producers are now looking to enhance their production values in the hope that more Indian-made films are viewed by western cinema audiences. In the past, India has proved to be a challenging market beset with tariff and other bureaucratic barriers, however the World Trade Organisation rules mean that tariffs will be removed by 2005 and so now is the time to establis

UK - Applications are now being accepted for the first Lighting Masterclass held in London by Selecon on 21, 22 and 23 March 2003. Selecon is very proud to have Rick Fisher and Chris Parry to lead this unique event. Places on this first Masterclass are limited, and the aim of the event is to expand delegates' lighting craft with the assistance of two giants of the lighting industry, both working in different parts of the globe, bringing a wealth of experience to the debate. The Masterclass will be a hands-on lighting workshop held in a theatre environment.

The event is aimed at people working within the entertainment lighting industry who have experience in lighting or re-lighting shows; theatre electricians, technical assistants or similar grades within the industry.

The three-day Masterclass will use the 'Light Lab', a system used by Chris Parry at The University of Californ

UK - A regional meeting of the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) is to be held at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama on Wednesday the 22 January between 5.30 and 8.00pm. The Conference Room in the Alexander Gibson Opera School has been booked and the meeting is being hosted by David Ripley, the Academy production manager and ALD member. Opera 1, a Ravel Double Bill, is on stage in the New Athenaeum (the main house) and there are also concert halls and a studio that members can have a look around, depending on production schedules.

No agenda has been set, but one of the main intentions of these regional meetings is to give members the chance to meet up and discuss issues about lighting and the lighting industry. It could also be an opportunity to talk about future regional meetings and how the ALD can help support them. A meeting in Bristol came up with several s

UK - Lightpower, one of Germany's leading lighting distributors, has announced that it has cancelled its participation in this year's ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (5-8 March). The reason given for the withdrawal is the bad timing of the show. Lighpower's statement says: "We regret this decision, however . . . when a trade show is planned concurrent with a national holiday and preparations for the Cebit trade show overlap, then we, as well as other exhibitors, come across some serious coordination problems. This simply means that over 40% of our clientele shall not show up because they will be tied up at the same time with their own service activities during the Cebit show projects and Carneval activities. More than 1000 event technicians will be working at the Cebit."

At a press conference at ProLight+Sound last year, Lightpower - a long-standing ProLight+Sou

China - Music China, the international trade fair for musical instruments and services (15-18 October 2003, Shanghai) will this year be joined by ProLight+Sound Shanghai. At the same time, the organizers have announced that the show will include a British Pavilion, organized in conjunction with the UK's Music Industries Association (MIA) and Trade Partners UK.

The second Music China event is already generating great interest from manufacturers and so far over 120 companies have been confirmed as exhibitors or have made serious expressions of interest, say the organizers. The exhibition will be joined by a new international exhibition in China for the professional audio and entertainment lighting industry, ProLight+Sound Shanghai. ProLight+Sound Shanghai will be positioned as a professional marketing platform for manufacturers of sound production, broadcasting and recording equip

UK - This week, the Total Production 2003 Awards were once again held in the Monarch Suite at the Hilton Metropole in London's Edgware Road. Among the evening's highlights was the appearance of Motorhead frontman Lemmy as guest presenter for the first three awards.

Over 1,200 voting forms from readers of Total Production determined the results of 16 of the 20 awards, which were variously sponsored by Rock-It Cargo, Midas, Klark Teknik, Star Hire, Martin Professional, Clay Paky, Barco, High End Systems, Shure, EFM and Chapman Freeborn.

Damon Albarn, the Blur and Gorillaz frontman made a special appearance at the lectern to pay a heartfelt tribute to tour manager Terry Coyle, who tragically died whilst on the road last November. "I'll always be looking for Terry for his support and guidance," said Albarn. "He was a good friend to me and to many people in this room

UK - Event services supplier ARB and international temporary utility supplier Aggreko announced a strategic alliance at the 2003 Event Show in London. Since being acquired by the CSS Stellar Group Plc, ARB has implemented significant restructuring and expansion plans, focusing its various services into specialist divisions to offer clients improved service in all areas.

Aggreko is a world leader in the supply of temporary power, temperature control and oil-free compressed air services and has a track-record of successfully supporting events such as the FIFA 2002 World cup, numerous winter and summer Olympic Games and the 2003 Ski Championship in St Moritz.

This exclusive partnership will see the complementary strengths of both combined to deliver total power, cooling and technical solutions to events of all sizes and type throughout Europe. "The opportunity this link pres

UAE - The Middle East's sound and lighting industry is expected to be worth $1 billion a year in three-to five years time, according to Matthew Griffiths, CEO of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), the leading international association for the industry. He was speaking in Dubai at the first Pro Audio Light Middle East (PALME) trade show, an event officially endorsed by the organisation.

PLASA's own research into the global market indicates that the sound and lighting sector generates $20 billion a year worldwide. "With so much construction and so many major events in the Middle East, we anticipate that the Middle East will grow to be worth $1 billion a year. The sector is already worth that a year in the UK and the Middle East can certainly match this given the level of activity here.

"This is a dynamic part of the world. It isn't afraid to be lo

USA - It's not just about products, you know. Financial news from Mackie, the launch of Apogee Lighting and company transfers all dominated the show. Phil Ward reports.

The news came not at the official press conference, but several hours later when public notification was green-lighted by shadowy figures on the other end of mobile phones. New senior VP of marketing Ken Berger - returning to the EAW fold - clearly expected to announce the deal at the conference, but was forced to play out a double act with PR manager Kyle Ritland, as ink failed to dry on remote contracts. Still, the sigh of relief come 5.00pm, and official confirmation, was almost louder than Behringer's hairy metal duo on the next stand.

Berger's appointment was one of many 'people launches' in a show more crowded with new executives than new toys. At Soundcraft, Andy Trott lived up to his name and covered a

China - China's biggest entertainment technology exhibition will be staged in Beijing for the 13th time from 16-19 May 2003, is expected to be 30% larger than the 2002 event, which itself featured more than 25,000sq.m of exhibit space and attracted 448 exhibiting companies and 55,408 trade visitors.

To date, CALM Expo has opened inroads for many international manufacturers and local companies to network and build businesses in the rising Chinese market. With the accession of China into WTO, the positive cultural directions revealed in the recent 16th Chinese Communist Party Congress and the prevailing reforms in China's performing arts and entertainment scene, such upbeat market forces inevitably increase the awareness of cultural developments across China and sound out immense business opportunities for the industry.

Recognizing the importance of industry advancements across

UK - This year’s Association Day will return to the historic setting of Coombe Abbey Hotel, near Coventry.

The Association Day is a key event in the PLASA calendar, and, in addition to featuring the AGM, will also include business-related sessions, together with plenty of opportunity for networking with other members. Invitations will be going out to PLASA Members in the next few weeks, and further information will be posted on the PLASA website

UK - The eighth annual CEDIA UK Expo will be held in Brighton between 24 and 26 June, 2003. According to the organizers, it will feature a wealth of new exhibitors from the security and lighting industries, as well as established leaders in the residential entertainment systems and home automation markets, and will occupy 25% more floor space than last year’s show.

The seminar programme is expanding as well, and includes the introduction of CEDIA certification examinations for technicians and designers, developed by the UK Education Committee from a structure successfully employed in the US. Manufacturer training will also be integrated with the seminars to ensure that theory and practice are perfectly complemented. Extra curricular activities include the Chairman’s reception for invited guests on the night of 24 June and the Expo party the following evening.

The

Greece - Jack Morton Worldwide has been appointed producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the next Olympic Games, to be held in Athens in 2004. Jack Morton will support Dimitris Papaioannou, the concept creator and artistic director of the Games’ Ceremonies.

Dimitris Papaioannou said: "Jack Morton Worldwide has an impressive track record and I am looking forward to working with them. We are all very honored to deliver the Ceremonies celebrating a special occasion: the return of the Games to their birthplace."

The appointment was announced by the Athens 2004 Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (ATHOC) this week after a seven-month bid process, which involved agencies from within Greece and throughout Europe. The European office of Jack Morton, based in London, led the bid with an international team most recently responsible for the successful pr

UK - A new concept in realistic visual effects is being launched this month. Scene Change, which creates digital video effects, aims to bring the latest in lighting techniques to the theatre.

At an open day on March 25 at the MacOwan Theatre, Earl's Court, Scene Change, a specialist creator of still and animated digital video images, will demonstrate how life-like effects can be brought to the stage. Technical Director Nigel Sadler says: "It's already been embraced by nightclubs, but it's the next big thing for the theatre. This year, we're likely to see it begin to take off in the world of theatre lighting."

"There's so much more that can be done with it. We can create 'real' rain, 'real' snow, moving water, a sun rising -the possibilities are endless." The theatre world has been slower to pick up on the technology, whose uses include visual displays at cl

UK - Saturday 8 March saw Manchester’s production community uniting to show their support for peace, on the occasion of the ‘Don’t Attack Iraq’ event organized by Manchester Coalition Against the War. Consisting of separate marches from the North and South of the city, together with one from Salford, the event culminated with some 12,000 people converging on a rain-soaked Albert Square to hear a packed programme of speakers, plus acoustic performances from Elbow and Josephine Oniyama.

The event was managed by Jon Drape Event & Production Management, with production management and trucking provided by Andy Stratford at Walk the Plank. With a budget of just £50 to cover fuel, Jon and Andy appealed to Manchester’s production supply companies to come up with the goods, a call that was met with overwhelming support.

So it was that Manchester Light & S

UK - Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd is launching Star Ice - a new outdoor temporary ice rink solution for the UK which comes with a guarantee that the rinks will freeze and stay frozen. Numerous event managers and councils who have encountered problems with other rinks have turned to Star Hire for assistance to counter the problems experienced with other rinks such as melting ice (which leads to rink closure and thereby loss of revenue), and suspect substructures.

Star Ice has been formed in partnership with European-based I.M.R. - a company with wide experience in the installation of ice rinks in Europe. I.M.R.'s cooling technology is highly efficient and has been proven to work consistently, even in the extreme temperatures of Dubai. The third partner in the consortium is power and temperature rental leader Aggreko, who will supply the chiller units, generators and boilers (fo

UK - This week has seen the launch of The Marketing Business, a company which offers SMEs in the entertainment technology industry, the full range of marketing expertise, from business development and export advice to corporate identity and public relations.

The Marketing Business is an informal association of three companies which together have over 60 years experience in the entertainment technology business and which individually are recognized as experts in their field: PE Consulting, Harmer PR and The Wells Partnership. PE Consulting was formed in 2002 by Peter Ed, previously marketing director for ETC Europe and business development manager for Strand Lighting. Peter’s experience will be of great benefit to companies wishing to expand their business by moving into exporting or into new market segments by combining tried and tested marketing techniques with in-depth k

UK - Power Gems, best known for its design and manufacture of electronic HMI ballasts, has released the first in a series of high frequency ballasts for the remote control of fluorescent fixtures used in the motion picture and TV lighting businesses. This four-tube model, FB4/2P, automatically drives both 4ft and 2ft tubes without the need for manual selection. Additionally, a local dimmer and a DMX512 input, provides continuous dimming from full light output at 75W down to 1% light output. Individual tube cut switches are provided for greater flexibility and save the need to disconnect tubes at the fixture. True tube running indicator LEDs are provided for each tube.

The design team’s brief was to come up with a ‘rugged ballast’ with a reduced parts count. The result is a unique four-tube power circuit which employs just three FETs, including a ‘unity&rs

UK - Power Gems is currently previewing the latest product in its Xenon Ballast range, the XE200/2, suitable for leading brands of Xenon 2kW followspots. Electronic ballasts offer extended lamp life over magnetic ballasts and they are much, much lighter.

The CE-approved ballast is 35cm x 17cm wide x 24cm high and weighs 8kgs. Its supply Voltage range is 185– 265V a.c and its supply frequency is 47-63Hz. It has a power factor of 0.65 and lamp current up to 85A, with a lamp voltage range of 19.2-28.8Vdc.

(Ruth Rossington)

UK - The 2003 Showman’s Show North attracted a wide range of events industry professionals to The Great Yorkshire Showground this March. The second Showman’s Show North offered the 630 visiting event organizers, everything from falconry displays and helicopters for hire, through to security, generators and laser shows.

Unlike the larger Newbury-based Showman’s Show, the majority of the exhibitors were based inside the exhibition hall on the showground. Organizer Jeremy Lance told us: "We were delighted with the look of the show this year and all the exhibitors presented themselves really well. Visitor numbers were on par with the previous year, so we feel we need to address attracting a wider section of the northern events industry when we next return."

The main event, The Showman’s Show, will take place at Newbury Showground on 22-23 Octob

UK - London-based Spirit Design & Production recently staged the Headmasters Awards 2003, for client Headmasters, the south London-based hairdressing group, in association with cosmetics giants L’Oreal, at Wimbledon Theatre.

The long-running annual awards event showcases the best work and latest styles from the past year and honours stylists and sales people alike. Spirit were awarded the contract to supply the full production service, including event design, in 2002 and were brought back to infuse the 2003 event with more fresh ideas and a new look. Spirit D&P, owned by Tor Cooper-Evans and Chris Biddulph, has years of collective experience in the events industry but adds a unique combination of cutting-edge ideas and stylistic presentation. "We simply do not believe in offering a client an off-the-shelf idea," comments Biddulph, "even though that might be

Australia - The Australian Entertainment Industry Association has announced the nominees for the 2003 Helpmann Awards. Named in honour of dancer and actor Sir Robert Helpmann and first presented in 2001, these annual awards honour productions new to Australia.

The 2003 nominations cover a wide range of productions, including those created in Australia and those previously seen elsewhere in the world but visiting Australia for the first time. The awards include categories for both productions and technical work on productions - and, unusually for theatrical awards, even feature a category for sound design.

This year’s technical nominees are: Best Costume Design: Dale Ferguson - Great Expectations; Kristian Fredrikson - Man of La Mancha; Julie Lynch - The Way of the World; Bob Crowley - The Witches of Eastwick.

Best Scenic Design: Stephen Curt

UK - The eighth annual CEDIA UK Expo will be held at the Brighton Centre between 24th and 26th June 2003. It will be the largest yet, hosting a wealth of new exhibitors from the security and lighting industries, as well as established leaders in the residential entertainment systems and home automation markets.

The seminar programme is expanding as well, and will see the introduction of CEDIA certification examinations for technicians and designers, developed by the UK Education Committee from a structure successfully employed in the US. The third element - manufacturer training - is integrated with the seminars to ensure that theory and practice are perfectly complemented. The largest CEDIA UK Expo to date will be improved by the introduction of extensive on-line registration in April 2003 and the services of an accommodation bureau (01273 292626).

Spearheading CEDIA's Profe

China - IIR Exhibitions and its joint partners, China Theatrical Equipment Association (CTEA) and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Beijing Sub-Council (CCPIT) have announced the postponement of CALM Expo 2003, which was due to take place in Beijing from 16-19 May 2003. The decision was made following requests from several exhibitors to postpone the exhibition to a later date in view of the SARS outbreak in China and in response to the new SARS statistics released from China over the weekend.

The organizers told us: "Our attendees’ health and safety is our utmost concern, therefore we have decided to postpone the event to a later date. We are currently looking at another suitable date as many exhibitors have indicated that . . . the exhibition is very important for their business." Details of the new dates will be confirmed in due course.

T

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