USA / Italy - A.C.T Lighting has announced its appointment as a distributor for Clay Paky products in the US and in the English-speaking areas of Canada. The announcement was made at the PLASA 2010 show, held in London 12-15 September. A.C.T Lighting will offer the same client-centric service and support for the lighting manufacturer as it has been known for with its other product lines, including MA Lighting's grandMA consoles.

Pio Nahum, Clay Paky's commercial and marketing director comments: "This new appointment will make the Clay Paky range of products more accessible to our North American customers. With offices in New York and Los Angeles, A.C.T Lighting is a leading importer and distributor of cutting-edge lighting products and provides superior customer support and service."

"We are proud to become part of the Clay Paky family and this is a very excitin

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies has acquired the entertainment business of Primarc as part of an ongoing expansion programme that will merge the two companies' entertainment lighting businesses and enable Primarc to focus predominately on the specialist lamps market.

From 1 October, Primarc will relocate to AC-ET's international sales office and warehouse operation in High Wycombe, allowing the company to benefit from AC-ET's infrastructure and logistics.

Primarc's Bob Peach and Kevin Everett will then join AC-ET's UK sales team. With access to both companies' entertainment lighting stockholdings and product sales teams, this will provide Primarc and AC-ET customers with even greater choice and availability whilst continuing to deliver the same high standard of service and support.

Primarc will focus on its specialist lamps business, with particular emphasis on growing

Macau - After five years in development and HK$2bn spent to create and produce The House of Dancing Water, the spectacular extravaganza has opened at City of Dreams, Macau. Produced and directed by Franco Dragone, the production - the world's largest water-based show - is housed in a 1,985-seat theatre designed by Theatre Projects Consultants. Theatre Projects has been integrally involved in the design of the project with Pei Partnership Architects and producer Franco Dragone Entertainment Group.

At 160ft in diameter and 26ft deep, the theatre features the world's largest commercial pool, holding 3.7m gallons of water. Eight 10-ton hydraulic elevators allow the conversion of the 65ft diameter centre performance area from water to a solid floor, and high-speed overhead winches move performers and scenery through space in a 3-D visual ballet.

Theatre Projects played a cen

Denmark - The Martin MAC 101 is a small, super light and simple LED moving head wash light. It features a tight and very bright beam, rapid movement and calibrated colours with a low price tag that allows for revolutionary set, stage and decorative lighting designs, says the company.

Utilising cost-efficient, high-volume production and featuring an ultra-compact design that promotes use in larger quantities, the MAC 101 is suitable for easy-to-produce, high-impact looks like large wall matrices or as a dynamic replacement for static PAR cans.

Even in smaller numbers the MAC 101 is a highly effective and versatile wash light, useful for visual effect in a wide variety of applications like concerts, events, exhibitions, clubs, television studios, bars, restaurants and more.

The MAC 101 consumes a low 125 watts of power (0.6 A @ 230V / 1.2 A @ 110V), saving on energy and elimin

UK - The Enchanted Forest, the outdoor sound and light show at Faskally Wood in Highland Perthshire, has appointed Northern Light to produce this year's light show: Force of Nature.

The show, which has been designed by award winning lighting designer Simon Wilkinson and has an original sound score composed by Ronnie McConnell, takes The Enchanted Forest back to its roots as a spectacular son et lumière.

Derek Allan, chairman of the Enchanted Forest commented, "This year we've endeavoured to approach the design of the show a little differently than in the past. Instead of entrusting the outcome to a single company, we've brought together a team of experts and artists in lighting design and sound design, who are working with one of Scotland's most reputable lighting companies to make their vision become a reality.

"The effect will be a more natu

Spain / USA - Creative Stage Lighting has been appointed the exclusive distributor of VMB Towerlift products in North America. The NY-based company will be offering sales, service, and support for the full range of VMB lift products.

VMB offers a total of 14 different lift models. The introduction of the TL-A Line Array lifts has attracted a lot of interest in the US with the product offering a practical solution for companies looking to set up a line array quickly and easily and above all safely.

Ben Sinclair, VMB's export manager commented, "We have been discussing distribution with Creative Stage Lighting for a while now. Interest for VMB lifts in North America has been increasing dramatically. We are delighted that Creative Stage Lighting will now be officially carrying them in North America. VMB lifts offer many special features and we are looking forward to demonstr

UK - Creative & Cultural Skills (CCSkills) is undertaking a major review of the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for technical theatre. Alex Hitchcock, training development manager at Stage Technologies with two decades of training and automation programming under his belt, has written and collated the draft version of the automation NOS for technical theatre, in consultation with other industry stakeholders, and as part of the NOS development working group.

These NOS modules are now available on the CCSKills website and industry professionals are being actively encouraged to provide initial comment and consultations. "It is vitally important," says Hitchcock, 'that the modules are reviewed and commented on by as many individuals, automation professionals and interested parties as possible, to ensure that the NOS become a relevant tool for all employees and employ

Australia - Currently playing at Melbourne's Regent Theatre is a new stage production of West Side Story. Peter Halbsgut lit the original version which earned him a nomination for a Tony Award. Now, several years later, this Australian production is in the capable hands of Greg Yates, associate lighting designer, with Chameleon Touring Systems supplying the lighting equipment for the tour.

Accompanying the show on tour is an ETC EOS 4000 console. "ETC products are always really good and well made," comments Yates. "They're user friendly and 'simple' to use. They're just really good consoles. The EOS obviously incorporates a lot of ETC history but it also seems to have the best features from other consoles. It's like they've grabbed all the best ideas on the market - without copyright infringement - and put them into one console. I particularly like the dir

USA - Robe Lighting Inc has moved its US HQ in Florida to new and better premises in Cooper City. The new facility has full climate control throughout all the technical and service areas, the spares department and warehousing, which is essential for the protection of electrical and mechanical components in the extreme humidity.

The new address is: 12349 South West 53rd Street, Cooper City, Florida 33330, USA; Tel : +1 954 680 1901.

With close proximity to all transportation hubs, the move will also consolidate the efficiency of Robe Inc's distribution network, says the company.

Robe Inc sales manager David Chesal and the team have already moved into the new offices, and have added a new member - Jerry Seay - to handle internal sales and co-ordinate the dealer network within the US.

Jerry Seay brings many years of experience in the worlds of production and moving lights to

South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa designed and supplied a full technical production package to 94.7 Highveld Stereo's 2010 Johannesburg Day event (in association with Santam), produced by Primedia and staged at Riversands Farm in the leafy Johannesburg suburb of Fourways.

Gearhouse's project manager Dave Tudor comments, "It was the first time we have worked on the show, so we wanted to bring a fresh look and approach, increase the production values, and let the client see just what can be achieved with imagination, appropriate use of equipment and a bit of lateral thinking".

One of the challenges was to create a performance environment that would work in daylight - the show started at 10am and ended after dark, catering for the sold out 18,000 audience as well as the cameras (the show was recorded for DVD for future release).

The line up featured 14 of South Af

UK - FocusTrack, the production lighting documentation system has announced a new purchasing option designed to make FocusTrack even more accessible than before. FocusTrack's new Single Show option enables the purchase of FocusTrack for one single production for a cost of UK£245 - US$375.

This compares to the original Full FocusTrack licence at UK£400 or US$600. That licensing option is still available for those looking to use FocusTrack to document multiple productions. In addition, FocusTrack is available to students for UK£90 or US$140.

"When we first launched FocusTrack, I thought that programmers would be the ones to buy it, since it directly saves them time and effort in tidying up and documenting the shows they work to create," comments FocusTrack's Rob Halliday. "In fact, in most cases programmers have persuaded the show to purchase it.

UK - West London based Entec Sound & Light continued its supply of lighting solutions in site specific venues for some of the most exciting shows of London Fashion Week.

Working in the former Eurostar Terminal at London's busy Waterloo Station for lighting designer Simon Tutchener was a project with many challenges.

The trains to Paris and Brussels had long left the station, but the perfect fashion runway remained in place along the concourse of Platform 4, complete with all the charisma and transitional charm of the neo-industrial setting. Tutchener and the Entec team's biggest challenges were working the light levels in the ever changing daylight conditions inside the glass roofed building, and installing lighting kit into very limited spaces. Some of this was over the old train tracks, which still contain live DC volt rails that are part of Waterloo's signalling network.

UK - Comedian Dara O'Brian returns to our BBC2 screens to host series nine of the panel show Mock The Week!.

Richard Martin Lighting supports lighting designer Dave Davey's design. The design brief set out for Davey when he first joined the production, was to "make the set look colourful without spill onto projection screens". To achieve this Davey opted for VL1000TS' "All hanging, focussed on to backing flats".

The VL1000TS luminaire combines the functionality of one of the most popular conventional lighting tools - the ellipsoidal reflector spotlight - with the versatility of an automated luminaire.

Automated functions include CYM colour mixing, rotating gobos, variable diffusion, and a zoom lens that ranges from 19° to 36° for normal imaging and a super zoom function that ranges to 70°.

Davey comments, "The VL100TS is the righ

UK - Cooper Controls has released software Version 2.4 of the LightFactory PC based lighting control software. In line with Cooper Controls drive to implement RDM across its entertainment product range, LightFactory now features RDM support, providing automatic patching and fixture setup.

Version 2.4 supports full tracking as an option per show file. For each show, you can now select between a hybrid tracking mode and a full tracking mode, depending on preference. Both modes support the ability to record a cue as cue only, track forward, track back, or block.

As pre-visualisation is done before getting in to a venue the patch setup in the visualiser may not always be the same as what is found on site. To accommodate this, a separate patch can now be set for visualiser output so that you can continue to do blind programming on the visualiser once you are in the venue, without h

USA - Lighting designer Tom Kenny was the first in the world to get his hands on Martin Professional's ultra-compact MAC 101 LED moving head wash light, scattering 200 of the 2200 lumen fixtures across the sets of the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs).

Mirroring the show's success (it was the most watched VMAs in nearly a decade), Kenny says the MAC 101s were the most talked about lighting fixture out of the 1500 moving lights on the show.

"Once we brought them on site, it had so many scenarios we could use it in," Kenny commented. "Everybody loved it. The director, some of the bands, and some of the scenic people said, 'can we use that light?' It has a million and more uses. We hid them all over the place and used them as a scenic element, putting it in places that no other light can fit in."

Hosted by Chelsea Handler and broadcast live from the

Germany - Wolfsburg's Autostadt decided to bring some West Indian flair to town during its Caribbean Summer festivities that ran from 3 July through 29 August. tarm Showlaser provided the laser effects for the Colours of the Caribbean show that highlighted the festivities. Visitors to the Autostadt had the opportunity to experience a breathtaking display of laser effects, aquajets, and pyrotechnics every evening at 10pm.

The show's theme, scenario, and music changed every week, starting off with Into the Blue, which was followed by Magic Green and Red Passion, and concluded by Colourful Cultures.

For this year's event, tarm Showlaser installed a total of 11 laser systems whose radiant atmospheric effects immersed the Autostadt in a sea of colours.

A pair of high-powered laser systems scanned the night sky from the roofs of the AutoTo

UK - Global Design Solutions was the successful recipient of the first Theatres Trust People's Choice Award for its Blues System Dimmable controlable performance working light at PLASA2010.

Presented at a ceremony on The Theatres Trust's Ecovenue stand at PLASA2010 in London, Global Design Solutions was voted for by visitors of this leading international trade show for event, installation and entertainment technology.

Products were nominated by participating PLASA2010 manufacturers if they could demonstrate improvements in sustainable theatre technology. They were used to illuminate a special stand featuring the work of The Theatres Trust's Ecovenue project.

Announcing that the Award will run again during PLASA2011, Director of The Theatres Trust, Mhora Samuel said: "We were delighted with the all the support we received from PLASA Events, our stand's sponsors, and the

Belgium - Barco has announced the expansion of its RLM product line with the RLM-W8 projector. It is an 8,000 lumens, three-chip DLPTM projector with a WUXGA (1920x1200) resolution. In addition to offering low power consumption and decreased noise levels, it features geometry correction and edge blending capabilities. Barco's RLM-W8 is suited for the rental and staging markets, and uses an optional Barco stacking frame.

Early 2010, Barco launched the RLM-W6 as its first Barco Elements three-chip DLPTM projector in a single-chip DLPTM price range. It offers a top-end image quality along with an environmentally conscious profile, by being ten times more silent and 33% less energy-consuming than competing products. As an extension of the RLM family, the RLM-W8 continues these themes, while adding more features that suit rental and staging environments.

"The market responded

UK - At PLASA 2010 the Coemar LED Reflection projector won the coveted prize for innovation, presenting a line of projectors which exploit, for the first time with a LED, the physical properties of reflection of the light.

In the Reflection projectors, the LEDs project the light onto a mirror surface which reflects it to the outside guaranteeing perfect colours and extreme purity throughout the white light range, says the company. It was this concept and the lighting that generated it that impressed the PLASA judges.

Reflection, which will be commercially available from the beginning of November of this year, will therefore represent a new turning point in the event lighting world, yet another of the technological and commercial developments contributing to the success story of Coemar, says the company.

(Jim Evans)

UK - At PLASA 2010, organisers of the First Night Riders (FNR), Brenda Edelstein and Triple E managing director, David Edelstein, announced the 2011 route for its second charity motorbike ride.

Surrounded by stars of the stage, screen, and television including: James Fleet, Cyril Nri, Trevor Peacock, Peter Benson, and Phyllida Law, David Edelstein explained the FNR's mission to raise money for The Theatrical Guild (TTG). TTG is a charity that supports active and former backstage and front of house employees that have hit hardship or require support.

The 2011 event follows hot on the wheels of the successful 2010 inaugural First Night Ride. Last June an international posse of entertainment and backstage professionals raised £10,000 by motor-biking around some of the UK's most historic and interesting theatres.

In just eight days they travelled from London's National The

UK - Watford- based Cooper Controls has secured exclusive European distribution of amBX technology through its Cogent XC LED Lighting Controller. amBX is an innovative technology offering an alternative method for the control of colour changing LEDs.

Says Cooper Controls' Peter Coles, "This is an inventive and different solution for a number of applications from bars, restaurants, hotels, sports and health clubs, designer retail, to home entertainment and high-end AV systems. The technology perfectly complements Cogent's extensive LED product portfolio."

Jo Cooke from amBX comments, "Our widely patented amBX technology has been developed over a number of years so we wanted a company with a good reputation and understanding of LEDs in both entertainment and architectural lighting markets to maximise the potential of this product which is driven by amBX technology

UK - This year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe saw Edinburgh sound and lighting company, Northern Light, and venue producers C venues collaborate to reduce the direct and associated energy consumption of performance lighting at C aquila - the latest addition to C venues' stable of performance spaces.

Two lighting rigs - one for each space in the C aquila venue - were specified and designed in a collaboration between head of hire and events for Northern Light Nick Read, production manager for C venues Richard Williamson, artistic director of C venues (and international lighting designer) Hartley T A Kemp, and industry journalist Sarah Rushton-Read, The aim: To substantially reduce energy consumption during the month-long festival, without compromising visiting lighting designers' creative output.

Space technician - and ETC ion programmer - at C aquila's main theatre, Kariss Leigh A

USA - Carrie Underwood, continues her dominance of the industry in 2010. She has won a staggering 70 plus awards in a brief seven-year stint including five Grammy's, 10 ACM Awards, and five CMA Awards.

Bandit Lites has been with Underwood since the beginning. Ann Edelblute and the team at 19 Management have worked with Bandit for every tour, even rehearsing in Venue One, the Bandit rehearsal facility in Nashville. Tour manager Geoff Donkin, production manager Chris Coffie and stage manager Lenny Rogers are all familiar with one another from many years of working together. Veteran lighting designer Bud Horowitz worked with Bandit VP Michael Golden on the Play On Tour 2010.

Lighting director Brian Jenkins runs the Grand MA console to control the Star Wars like lighting universe overhead. Included in the inventory are VL 3000 Spots, VL 3500 Spots, VL 3500 Washes, MAC 3 Spo

UK - PLASA Media, publisher of Lighting&Sound International magazine, has announced that the videos of the PLASA Award for Innovation product presentations from this year's PLASA Show are now available to view at the LSIOnline YouTube channel.

The Awards for Innovation, for the first time, were judged 'live' at the Innovation Gallery by an independent panel of 16 expert judges, in front of show visitors and a camera team on Sunday 12 September. Show visitors are able to watch the judging process replayed on large screens in the interactive Innovation Gallery for the rest of the show.

Seven Awards for Innovation and one Gold Award were presented by PLASA CEO Matthew Griffiths.

The winners of the 2010 PLASA Awards for Innovation were . . .

Clay Paky Sharpy, a newly developed beamlight t

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