Bites of business news, as seen monthly in Lighting Dimensions, and now on the web in this special edition, compiled by LD/Entertainment Design summer intern Natalie Zmuda.
Bandit Lites is teaming up with LD Seth Jackson to work on Donny Osmond’s 2001 This is the Moment world tour. The show will utilize Bandit’s MotoData Motion Control System and features a Martin Professional moving lights package, along with High End Systems’ Cyberlight® Cyberspots. Tommy Fulscher, the MotoData operator, heads up the Bandit crew. The tour is scheduled to play through December in the US, Canada, and Europe. Bandit Lites also worked with LD Alan Adelman on the Fox TV broadcast of the Teenapalooza show, which aired on June 20, and featured more than 30 of the Martin MAC 2000s among other instruments.
The American National Standards Institute’s Board of Standards Review approved E1.3-2001, Entertainment Technology—Lighting Control Systems—0 to 10V Analog Control Specification; and E1.9-2001, Reporting Photometric Performance Data for Luminaires Used in Entertainment Lighting, as American National Standards. These standards are ESTA’s third and fourth to be published.
Four years after its initial entry into the North American outdoor lighting fixtures market, Hess Form + Licht GmbH of Germany has acquired the assets of .hessamerica from the JJI Lighting Group; .hessamerica will now be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hess Form + Licht. For more information, visit www.hessamerica.com.
Nintendo of America recently hired Laser Fantasy International for the US project launch of Game Cube and Game Boy Advance at the E3 trade show in Los Angeles. LFI used eight different laser systems to project laser images of game play, logos, and aerial beams. LFI and Nintendo worked in conjunction with Peter West, technical director of Lindsay West, and Ralph Miller, creative consultant of Ralph Miller Productions.
England’s Lightfactor has been going to church recently. Recent installs include lighting and control equipment in St. Paul’s Church in Hammersmith (an upgrade to a more theatrical illumination style involving four LightProcessor Paradime rack-mounting dimmers and a LightProcessor Q24 control desk, among other products); Holy Trinity Brompton, which now has Paradime dimmers and a Zero 88 Illusion desk; and United Reform Church in Bishops Stortford, another application of Paradime dimmers.
Mad Lighting Ltd. has changed its name to Mad Manufacturing Ltd. The company also has a new mailing address: 56-57 The Warren, East Goscote Industrial Estate, East Goscote, Leicester LE7 3XA, England.
Meyda Tiffany introduces its “Founder’s Edition” catalog, at 300 pages, its largest yet. It is dedicated to the firm’s founder, Meyer Cohen (1907-2000). For more information, contact Meyda Tiffany, One Meyda Fine Place, 55 Oriskany Blvd, Yorkville, NY 13495, ph: 800-222-4009, fax: 800-651-3453, web: www.meyda.com.
Musique Xpress Puerto Rico has a new web address: www.mxnpr.com. Its e-mail address is: www.company.com.
The National Park Foundation, the official non-profit partner of the National Park Service, and Osram Sylvania have teamed up for a total relighting project of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial. The project marks the 100th anniversary of Osram Sylvania and the 200th anniversary of Jefferson’s inauguration. The project will result in an energy savings of some 80% and will provide onlookers with an enhanced view of the building. Work is scheduled to conclude in September with a ceremony showcasing the memorial.
PLASA has completed the first phase of its major industry research project. The information will enable members to estimate the global market size for professional lighting, sound, staging, and A/V products and services. The research also gives a very detailed picture of the market in the UK. PLASA also has information about the value of product sectors, how fast they are growing, and the size and growth of the various vertical sectors into which members sell. PLASA plans to repeat this research every 12 months. Sector reports and an overview of the project are available to participating PLASA members.
SLI Inc. plans to exit the lighting ballast business and focus on the lamp, fixture, and miniature optoelectronic businesses. The company plans to close its Power Lighting Products Division over the next few months. Plants are located in Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, TX. The company attributes the change to current weak economic conditions along with competitive price and margin pressures in the ballast business. SLI will continue to honor orders for electronic, magnetic, compact fluorescent, and HID ballasts until inventories are depleted.
Stagetec recently completed a new lighting installation at Fountain Television Studios in Wembley, London. Managed by Matt Miles, the large-scale project made ample use of Compulite CompuDIM 2000 dimmers, a high-specification digital dimming system with fully modular output modules and controller.
Stardraw.com Inc., which is based in London, will be expanding to the US. The company recently acquired US distributor R&S Solutions, who will continue operations under the name Stardraw.com Inc. The expansion will enable the company to consolidate its presence in the U.S., which already represents about 50% of its installed user base. Stardraw’s new offices are located at 245 Park Ave., 24th Floor, New York, NY, 10167. Phone is 212-672-1855 and fax is 212-372-8798.
The Lighting Practice, based in Philadelphia, is currently working on a slew of retail projects. They include The Galleria Mall, Houston; Dadeland Mall, Miami; Parkway Place Mall, Huntsville, AL; Polaris Fashion Place, Columbus, OH; The Lakes Mall, Muskegon, MI; and Arkadia Retail Center, Warsaw, Poland.
Theatre Direct (part of the Stage Electrics group of companies) recently placed a large order for Zero 88 products. The order, worth over £20,000 (US$29,000) included Contours, Betapack 2s, and Level 12 Plus desks. The equipment forms a major part of the village halls installation for the East Cambridgeshire District Council (UK) as part of its Arts Strategy. Theatre Direct installed both the staging and lighting, which included dimming, control desks, lanterns, and internally wired bars.
The fashion company Hugo Boss Inc. threw a 2000 year-end party for their employees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Vincent Lighting’s Chris Schick was hired to supply the lighting equipment for the event. LD Joe Saint, of jkld, inc. provided a festive lighting atmosphere for the holiday party. Together, the two used ellipsoidals to project snowflakes and PARs to highlight exhibits, giving an overall wash of color to convey a “Christmas Disco” look.
The design, manufacturing, and distribution center for The Watt Stopper’s panel division, located in Warwick, RI, has achieved ISO 9001 certification. For more information contact The Watt Stopper at 800-879-8585 or 408-988-5331, or fax 408-988-5373.
Wildfire and 3-B Productions illuminated fans at the Sacramento Kings’ NBA playoff games. The two companies used special effects lighting systems to create dramatic player introductions. This lighting system was utilized for all Kings home games throughout the playoffs.
Zero 88’s Fat Frog console played a part in the recent, Sunday Times-sponsored Hay on Wye Festival (UK), which over 11 days drew 60,000 attendees to 210 events held in three venues. Paul Elkington of Theatre Vision (who has been the technical director for the festival for the past 14 years) chose the desk to control his rig of Martin MAC 250s, PAR cans, and other theatrical fixtures, for speeches including former US president Bill Clinton’s keynote address.