USA - Barco reports that NVIDIA will be utilising a wide range of Barco solutions to present its breakthrough graphics technologies at the world's largest show dedicated to the Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) industry, SIGGRAPH, which takes place in Los Angeles this week. This will be the first time NVIDIA has built a 100% digital booth, eliminating all printed signage.

NVIDIA will present its latest technology for visualization professionals in an expansive and dramatic booth, featuring its 'Quadro Digital Theatre that will showcase presentations from guest speakers as well as company officials.

The dynamic stage will employ four of Barco's LED-lit, rear-projection video walls, the OL-721, a 70" display cube in a 2x2 format. On either side of the stage, two LCD 56" displays will be mounted in a portrait configuration to create a unique and compelling backdrop for i

UK - With a number of operations spread around the Home Counties and the Capital itself and a 28 year history in event production under their belts, AVC Productions is always eager to introduce the latest technology to their clients.

Specialising in the corporate sector, they have produced more than 200,000 events since starting out in 1981. The company has evolved with the demands of its clients, offering a complete portfolio of event services.

For many years the company has turned to Christie as one of its principle suppliers of projection technology. Most recently, they took delivery of Christie multi award winning MicroTiles digital displays.

AVC's Head of Technical Services, Phill Pearce, ordered 55 of the modules after seeing them for the first time at February's ISE Show in Amsterdam.

"We have been a Christie partner for at least 15 years, but their major prese

USA - Martin Professional's new M1 lighting console made its US debut in mid-May at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles at a concert event by Larry Hernandez and Roberto Tapia.

Sponsored by Spanish language radio station La Rockola 96.7 FM, the show was programmed on the Martin M1 in a matter of only three hours by lighting director and programmer Ed Motts, a 14-year industry veteran and one of the earliest users of Martin's Maxxyz series of consoles.

"The Maxxyz has always been good to me and the support has always been great," Motts commented. "I saw the M1 console early on and was initially interested because of the weight and the size, but it also has the same functionality as a big Maxxyz with a price point that is very appealing."

Motts used eight universes across a house rig of about 70 moving lights, dimmers and LEDs, and the event came off without a

USA - DOE has announced plans for a new consumer education initiative that will be timed to the upcoming changes in light bulb regulation. The initiative will provide greater awareness of the overall benefits of the legislative changes and new, 'greener' technologies, such as LEDs and CFLs.

Joining DOE at the Solid-State Lighting (SSL) Market Introduction Workshop in Philadelphia for yesterday's announcement were representatives from GE, Philips, Cree, and Osram Sylvania, as well as major retailers including The Home Depot, Costco Wholesale and Grainger. These partners are already on board to work with DOE in this effort, and its is anticipated that many more will follow their lead.

Millions of people will start paying a lot more attention to the common light bulb in the coming months, thanks to the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). That's because the incand

UK - Chauvet has announced the arrival of the Q-Spot 260-LED and the Q-Spot 160-LED. The Q-Spot 260-LED is a moving yoke luminaire equipped with a 60-Watt white LED providing a hard-edged spot output, similar to a 250W discharge fixture, without the costly lamp changes or high energy consumption. The Q-Spot160-LED is a moving yoke equipped with a powerful 20-watt white LED - comparable to a 150-watt fixture, with a lux measurement of 7,641 at one metre, which is 46 percent brighter than the Q-Spot 150-LED which it replaces.

The Q-Spot series is designed for small- to medium-sized installations, as well as mobile applications, particularly those with low ceilings, where heat emissions may be a concern. Both fixtures are lightweight and feature long-life LED light sources, which mean less need to climb ladders for lamp changes and benefit in regard to energy efficiency. Additional

South Africa - Three grandMA full-size consoles and a grandMA2 light were used to control nearly 500 high powered light sources for the Closing Ceremony of the 2010 World Cup, staged at Soccer City Stadium, Soweto, Johannesburg. The 2010 Closing Ceremony event was produced by the VWV Group, it featured a cast of 740 including 40 elephant operators and 35 principal artists and has been acclaimed as one of the best and most visually exciting World Cup Closing ceremonies to date.

Lighting for the occasion was designed by Tim Dunn and Hugh Turner. Dunn also programmed and ran the show, with all the lighting equipment supplied by Gearhouse South Africa. Tim Dunn and Hugh Turner are both experienced lighting designers. Dunn has numerous spectacular stadium shows to his name, which combined with Turner's vast theatrical experience, made them the perfect visuals team to create a memorab

UK - Black Light is gearing up for its biggest ever Edinburgh Fringe. For 2010, the light, sound and AV specialist is operating across more than 30 venues and working closely with some of the event's biggest promoters and companies. Over the three-week festival the company will be supplying over 16 miles of cabling and enough Prolyte truss to stretch half way along Princes Street.

Black Light has been one of the principal suppliers to the Fringe for over 20 years. In 2010, it is continuing its partnership with the Pleasance, which is running shows in 25 venues across the city. It is also supporting C Venues with their staging, and supplying rigging and staging to Zoo venues: Southside and their newest venue in the Roxy Art House. The company also has an on-going relationship with Dance Base and has invested in the D&B E series audio range in order to service the company's needs.

UK - When Kingston University's Drama and Dance Department decided it needed to add a bright yet compact fixture to its equipment stock, able to give dramatic colour washes and more without the complication of ordering scrolls or the weight of moving lights, it turned to White Light to supply the new SeaChanger Nemo fixture - the first Nemos to be supplied in the UK, and one of the first to be supplied in Europe.

Building on the strengths of the established SeaChanger dichroic system, which adds colour mixing to existing ETC Source Four fixtures, the SeaChanger Nemo is a new profile spot that uses the LIFI Plasma lamp as its light source. This plasma lamp gives the Nemo 10,000 lumens of light output from just 285 watts of power - more than from a standard 750W HPL lamp - from a source that also has a 15,000 hour life and a very white light, with a colour rendering index value of

Singapore - Billed as the world's most expensive (US$5.7 billion) standalone casino, Marina Bay Sands is an integrated resort fronting Marina Bay in Singapore. With the casino complete, the resort also features a 2,560-room hotel, a 120,000m² convention-exhibition centre, The Shoppes Mall, an Art & Science museum, two Sands Theatres, six restaurants, two floating pavilions and a casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines.

The complex is topped by the 340m-long SkyPark with capacity for 3,900 people and a 150m long infinity swimming pool set on top of the world's largest public cantilevered platform. Recently the opening party covered several venues, including the Waterfront and the SkyPark.

Given the sheer size of the building and Marina Bay area, control for the opening installation was no easy task. A grandMA2 full-size and a grandMA2 ultra-light console were used for l

UK - The main decorative feature for the 2011 ARC Show is the Design Gallery, a walkway of five exhibitors across six stands showing the latest in top-end lighting design. This exclusive feature is already sold-out and as a result will now extend to cater for increased demand.

Exhibitors in the Design Gallery include Albioncourt, Occhio and 2B Delighted, which is the parent company of Wever & Ducre, DARK and Limis.

Other recently signed exhibitors include P4 Fastel, BAG Electronics, Ligman Lighting and Ruggiu Lighting. They join the likes of Mizar, Precision Lighting, Projection Lighting, Sill Lighting, RZB Lighting Systems and XAL.

A number of key lighting associations are supporting the 2011 show including the Lighting Industry Federation (LIF), Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) and International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), who run their Enlighten Europe Co

UK - The first details of this year's extended PLASA 2010 Education & Learning Programme have been unveiled by organisers PLASA Events. The acclaimed programme of free seminars and masterclasses includes top international speakers on industry projects and technologies, sustainability, AV and systems integration and much more.

The Gottelier Masterclass will be presented, as is now established tradition, by last year's Gottelier Award winner - Alex Cooper from Midas Klark Teknik. Entitled Don't Just measure: Listen, the Masterclass will be an appreciation of the power of human perception and spatial awareness, and how they relate to audio - in particular, the fact that just because a piece of audio gear measures correctly does not necessarily mean it sounds good.

InfoComm International will host a seminar theatre dedicated to AV & Systems Integration. Topics over the dedi

UK - Sunpower's Power LED PLEC-120SxxxDT driver family has been approved to the UL 8750 safety standard. This international standard underwrites the family's LED lighting role, as it is specifically written for solid state lighting in a wide range of applications, many in demanding environments. The units have a -35?C to +65?C operating temperature range with no output derating.

The PLEC-120SxxxDT family comprises a set of 120 W constant current drivers with output current ratings from 350 to 4900 mA and corresponding output voltages from 343 to 24 V; a range that caters for all LED array configurations, whether predominantly parallel, predominantly serial or hybrid. All of the family's drivers are dimmable through a 1 - 10 VDC input with a linear control function. All units operate from a 90 - 305 Vac range and are suitable for US and world-wide industrial installations, includ

USA - From a musical duet, to a gravity-defying human puppet show, America's Got Talent showcases it all. Behind the scenes, lighting designer Kieran Healy is tasked with creating a design that can not only handle such a variance in performances, but also support the live HD broadcast. To do this, Healy relies on automated fixtures from Philips Vari-Lite, including 24 VLX Wash luminaires provided by PRG.

"On this show, you have to be prepared for anything and everything," says Healy. "Some performers will want fast and exciting, while others will want the lighting to be subtle so as not to distract those onstage. But no matter what, it has to look good on camera. This show definitely runs the full gamut of lighting."

He continues, "It mystifies me that lighting instruments keep getting brighter. Cameras are getting so good at picking up detail i

UK - DTS Titan LED wash lights were used to illuminate several life size animatronics at the London edition of Dinosaurs Unleashed - the UK's largest interactive dinosaur encounter - which has now just opened at the Bournemouth International Centre (BIC).

The lighting has been installed by Ian Austin of Kent, UK-based STL Lighting, who purchased the Titans specially for the exhibition from DTS's UK distributors, Lightfactor.

Austin designed both interior and exterior lighting schemes for Dinosaurs Unleashed, which ran until May on the Land Securities Parklife site in Oxford Street, London. The brainchild of Nicky Allison of Progressive Events, the slightly industrial setting made an appropriate home for the 24 dinosaurs, one of a number of temporary events/uses that maximized the prime real estate during a break in the ongoing process of redeveloping the site.

Austin'

UK - The television show may have come to an end but the successful acts from 2010's Britain's Got Talent took to the country's local stages in a tightly scheduled tour taking in 17 city venues in a month. Dave Farmer of THC Design specified PixelRange, supplied by Port Talbot-based Sonalyst.

Farmer explains the choice, "The touring schedule was very tight so fixtures needed to be reliable, have numerous functions, offer the maximum creative options and work as we expect, as time to redesign the fixture layout or replace defective units simply wasn't available. Small footprint was essential for the applications involved and we needed power and saturation too."

Farmer's deputy LD, Niall Hannell, adds, "PixelRange is just so reliable, they've been around for a while, they're proven, they work, and they always work - I've never seen one go wrong, I've never

Japan - GDS (Global Design Solutions) continues to expand it global distribution network with the appointment of PRG KK as its exclusive distributor for Japan. PRG KK represents a host of key brands including Phillips Vari*Lite, Clay Paky and Syncrolite and will distribute the range of GDS products.

Matt Lloyd, managing director at GDS comments, "We are delighted to announce the appointment of PRG KK as our exclusive distributor in Japan. PRG joins our rapidly expanding global distribution network as exclusive distributors for the complete portfolio of GDS products. With their impeccable reputation, affiliation with key brands and established presence in the marketplace PRG KK were the ideal choice of distributor in this territory. We are looking forward to establishing a long and successful partnership."

Yuji Tanaka, sales manager PRG KK adds, "In the past, we

UK - Studer reports that it has recently sold OnAir 3000 digital consoles to some of the world's leading broadcasting companies, and in the process, sales of the OnAir 3000 have now surpassed the 1,000 mark.

"Today we celebrate a milestone, as we have now sold more than 1,000 OnAir 3000 consoles," said Keith Watson, marketing director - mixing. "We designed the OnAir 3000 for the medium to upper segment of the broadcast market and we have enjoyed tremendous success, thanks to the product's tremendous ease of use and versatility. To that end, it's only fitting that we surpass the 1,000 mark with sales to three of the most successful broadcasters in the world."

Recent purchases of OnAir 3000 consoles include: the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), Rede Globo of Brazil, the largest television network in Latin America and the third largest network in th

UAE - Standing at 828m tall is Dubai's massive Burj Khalifa, now the world's tallest building. Designed by Speirs and Major Associates (SaMA), the lighting consists of over 800 Dataflash strobe lights and six Fineline searchlights controlled by an ETC Congo Light Server and triggered by an ETC Unison Paradigm system. The control system was provided by Oasis Enterprises Professional Projects Division, ETC's distributor in the UAE. The 'Celebration Lighting' system was used during the grand opening celebration in January 2010 and is designed to run various patterns on the building nightly with special shows on holidays and festival days.

Programmed almost entirely offline using Capture visualisation software - with the designers in Scotland and programmer in Germany - this project took long-distance collaboration to the limit. "We essentially programmed this show via Skype,&q

UK / USA - Martin Professional's new MAC 350 Entour LED lighting fixture is being test driven on Crowded House's current world tour by lighting designer Paul Normandale.

"It's a very neat unit and very, very bright for its size," says Normandale, one of the first lighting professionals to get his hands on the new LED profile. Lighting operator/director on the tour is Dave Harding with Normandale's lighting production company Lite Alternative serving as UK lighting vendor with Upstaging handling the US leg.

The Crowded House tour is one of a handful of field test outings for the powerful and energy-efficient LED-based profile moving head which delivers 8,000 lumens of output, the MAC 350 Entour marks a radical advancement in light output compared to other compact LED profiles on the market.

"I was looking for a small, bright profile to suit a range of venue siz

The Netherlands - Dutch singer and songwriter Guus Meeuwis celebrated his 15th year as a singer and his fifth year of stadium concerts with shows in Eindhoven and Heerenveen.

His show Groots met een zachte G was staged at the Abe Lenstra Stadium in Heerenveen and the PSV Stadium in Eindhoven. The stage and lighting design was created by Marco Driessen (Rentall), Henk-Jan van Beek (Light-H-Art) and Sander van den Ham (Sightline). Ezra Hommel (Light-H-Art) programmed and operated the show using two grandMA2 lights and three MA NPUs (Network Processing Units) with a total of 24 universes of DMX in a multiuser setup.

"For the past eight years I have been working with the grandMA 'series 1', and at the beginning of this year I started using the grandMA2," says Hommel, "The whole grandMA range is a very reliable tool for me. It's the perfect extension for the c

Singapore - Wireless Solution Sweden recently took part in the Marina Bay Sands grand opening in Singapore. Developed by Las Vegas Sands, it is billed as the world's most expensive standalone casino property.

The official opening which was held on 23-24 June featured a music concert staged on the massive outdoor event plaza starring Grammy Award-winning star Kelly Rowland (formerly of Destiny's Child) with performances from regional artist JJ Lin as well as the cast of the Broadway hit Jersey Boys.

For the occasion, lighting designer Colin Baldwin ran a total of 14 universes using W-DMX transmitters & Outdoor 21 Parabolic Aerial antennae, located at the Suite Room Balcony of the Fullerton Hotel across the Marina Bay. The receivers and antennae were located on the Event Plaza on Level 1, the Promenade on Level 4, the Hotel Buttress bridge on Level 19 and the Sky Park on

UK - The organisers of the PLASA Show (12-15 September 2010, Earls Court, London) have announced the final shortlist of nominees for this year's prestigious Gottelier Award, which will be presented at the PLASA Show on Monday 13 September.

This will be the fourth Gottelier Award - named in memory of the former designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier (pictured), who died in 2006. The Award (sponsored by Lighting&Sound International magazine for which Tony Gottelier was a regular contributor for many years), aims to recognise those who have made a significant and sustained contribution to the development of entertainment technology. Former winners are Tony Andrews of Funktion One (2007), John Stadius of Soundtracs/DiGiCo (2008) and Alex Cooper of Klark Teknik and Midas (2009).

This year's nominees are, in no particular order:

Richard Cuthbert

Richard Cuthbe

Celebrating Sondheim - Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim was greeted with a standing ovation at the BBC Proms on Saturday at the end of a concert marking his 80th birthday year. Dame Judi Dench and opera star Bryn Terfel were among the performers at the event, held at London's Royal Albert Hall. The concert featured numbers from Sondheim musicals such as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Company and Follies. West End stars Maria Friedman, Jenna Russell, Julian Ovenden and Simon Russell Beale also participated in the event, the first Prom to be signed for deaf concert-goers.

Since making his Broadway debut in 1957 as the writer of West Side Story's lyrics, Sondheim has become one of the most popular and revered figures in musical theatre. A London revival of Into the Woods opens shortly at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, while L

China - Osram's new HTI 1500W/60/P50 Lok-it! system high-pressure discharge lamp for entertainment lighting has celebrated its premiere at the opening event and in other applications all over the Expo 2010 site in Shanghai. As the official lighting provider at Expo 2010, Osram's lighting technology features on more than 40 buildings.

Compared with the previous version, the HTI 1500W has been designed to be even more robust. With the aid of a new burner and higher temperature resistance the lamp produces constant light throughout its entire operating life.

The new HTI 1500W lamp is suitable for use in effects lighting or in moving heads. These flexible, multifunctional headlamps for theatre or events technology enable light to be pointed in virtually any direction, says the company. eXtreme-Seal technology (XS technology) also improves thermal capacity, so cooling can be reduce

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