It may not have looked like your grandma’s Empire State Building (ESB), but a grandMA2 enhanced the dazzling pixel mapping of the New York City landmark that launched the building’s groundbreaking Philips Color Kinetics (PCK) LED lighting system. A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of grandMA in North America.

The world-famous ESB recently revealed its new, one-of-a-kind LED tower lights with a first-ever light show on the Landmark, which was designed by noted lighting designer Marc Brickman. The stunning display featured six Hippo HD media servers, controlled by a grandMA2 and operated in conjunction with the PCK LSM control system and its associated network. The Hippos drove 11,500 pixel-mapped DMX channels to four types of Philips Color Kinetics RGB and white fixtures located on the building’s top four tiers where they replaced old metal halide and fluorescent fixtures. All four sides of the structure were pixel mapped making the landmark visible throughout the city and surrounding areas.

“It was an honor to work on the project,” says Brickman. “Philips and their team did an incredible job, and I had a great team. Everyone wanted to try something new and create a special musical show, and we did.”

He explains that Philips “felt they needed enhance their control system” to implement the pixel mapping. “grandMA2 would have been any designer’s choice for this application,” he says. “I was familiar with using pixels; it’s still animated light. And the grandMA worked great.”

Brickman was assisted by programmer Tony Fransen, 3-D artist Deitrich Juengling and Hippo programmer Darian Koop.

Country music superstar Carrie Underwood continues her “Blown Away� Tour with a large inventory of Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures on hand to accent the video components of the show. The singer’s first worldwide tour is in support of her fourth album, “Blown Away.� Bandit Lites supplied the fixtures for the tour.

Lighting designer Peter Morse of Peter Morse Productions in South Lake Tahoe, California, based his lighting scheme around three extremely large, trapezoid-shaped, moving LED panels, which posed dynamic weight, power, and sight-line challenges. A tilting projection floor added to the task, “necessitating a ‘surgical’ application to lighting design and programming to avoid washing out all the projected images,” Morse reports. He decided to hang the trussing in a way to complement and amplify the angles created by the trapezoid-shaped moving LED walls.

Lighting programmer Brian Jenkins notes that, “we were crunched on programming time for starters and then there were complications with the overall size of the rig when we hit rehearsals. Thankfully, within a five-day span of programming, we didn’t have to worry about the Sharpy fixtures. Yoked out, on extreme angles, upside down, right side up – they’re an absolute work horse, the one fixture in the rig we didn’t worry about. Everyone sees Clay Paky’s engineering and reliability in their products. It’s about time someone set the bar higher in our industry.”

Morse opted to use the Sharpys for “visual amplification of various musical punctuation in an attempt to draw the eyes of the audience to the artist or other areas of importance” from which the extensive LED video imagery may have distracted them. “The Sharpy fixtures were positioned to accentuate the angular look of the scenery and LED panels,” he explains.

The Sharpys are performing “flawlessly,” according to Morse, who calls them “fast, bright and amazingly competitive against the otherwise overwhelming output of the LED walls.”

The Blown Away Tour has been “lots of fun,” he says. “A great artist, great music, fabulous visuals – it’s a large and physically complex show with a look you won’t see anywhere else.”

A.C.T Lighting is the North American distributor for Clay Paky.

Francesco Romagnoli, Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, adds, “I’m proud to see the Sharpys on such a high profile tour and glad that Brian and Peter are getting the most out of them.”

About Clay Paky
Headquartered in Seriate (Bergamo), Italy, Clay Paky SPA has a history of designing and manufacturing innovative professional show lighting. The company was founded in 1976 by entrepreneur Pasquale Quadri who anticipated the enormous impact the evolution of technology would have on the show and entertainment worlds.

For more information on Clay Paky products, please contact:
Francesco Romagnoli francesco@claypaky.it
Davide Barbetta webmaster@claypaky.it

Electrosonic has announced the promotion of Paul Taylor to Sales Manager of the Cultural Entertainment and Leisure (CEL) business for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Paul replaces Rob Smith who was promoted to General Manager of Service EMEA.

Electrosonic’s Cultural Entertainment and Leisure business provides a complete set of audio-visual services, including custom designed audio, video and control systems and on-site service solutions. Custom solutions are provided for museums, theme parks, hotels and visitor centres. Entertainment clients include designers, curators, producers, fit-out contractors and end clients themselves.

“Paul has been instrumental in helping to define the new direction of Electrosonic’s leisure business” commented Chris Conte, Vice President of Entertainment. “He will now use his extensive experience and leadership skills to focus our leisure business on projects that are a good fit for Electrosonic, as well as manage and support the UK-based sales team. Paul will work side-by-side with Electrosonic’s US entertainment team and report directly to me. We have created an international, collaborative and unified design and sales team to support our entertainment clients worldwide.”

Paul joined Electrosonic in 1984 and has worked in both the corporate and leisure markets, and has been involved in many of Electrosonic’s distinguished projects in the museums and attractions sectors. Paul’s previous position as Senior Sales Consultant allowed him to build strong relationships with designers, producers, end-users and other specialists, providing them with direction on the most suitable technology to help them achieve their project goals.

In addition to the Sales Management role, Paul will join the Electrosonic EMEA Leadership Team led by Sarah Joyce, Vice President EMEA.

About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.

Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit http://www.electrosonic.com

A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been named the exclusive distributor for Clay Paky lighting in the US and Canada.

Based on A.C.T Lighting’s performance as a North American distributor of Clay Paky fixtures over the past two years, comments Clay Paky Area Manager for North and Latin America, Francesco Romagnoli said, “We felt that naming A.C.T Lighting as our exclusive distributor is the best step we could take to ensure our growth in this very important market. A.C.T Lighting has not only set sales records for North America but also provided the excellent after-sales service that Clay Paky has been known for.”

Bob Gordon, president and CEO of A.C.T Lighting, affirmed his company’s extraordinary sales records with Clay Paky products and said, “We are proud that our sales records in North America have propelled us to the position of number-one Clay Paky distributor in the world by sales during the past two years. We are delighted to have achieved exclusive status with Clay Paky’s wide array of cutting-edge products.”

A.C.T Lighting, with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Canada, was founded in 1993 with the mission to identify leading high-technology products, gain exclusivity, and stock, support and service those products as if they were their own.

Italy-based Clay Paky has been producing lighting systems since 1976 for theater, television, live events, clubs, trade shows, theme parks, conferences, corporate presentations and architecture. The company is renowned for its moving-body and moving-mirror projectors, color changers, followspots, and projectors for architectural lighting and lighting effects.

About A.C.T Lighting

A leading importer and distributor of lighting products, A.C.T Lighting, Inc. strives to identify future trends and cutting-edge products, and stock, sell and support their inventory. The company provides superior customer service and value for money to all of its clients.

For more information call 818-707-0884.

The broadcast and cable networks pulled out all the stops and spared no expense to deliver exciting, visually compelling coverage of Election Night 2012 – an evening which engendered a good deal of excitement on its own. J3 Productions LLC in Austin, Texas chose HRS Control’s UDC 400 (Universal Device Controller) to help feed content to a dynamic set designed for ABC’s Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos, who were hosting from a studio at the epicenter of New York City’s Times Square.

J3′s John Mims selected the powerful, fully-customizable UDC 400 control surface to take a pair of Vista Systems’ Spyder X20 1608 systems through their paces as they fed imagery to a number of destinations. “The Vista Spyder and UDC are fixtures for each and every large show J3 Productions is involved with,” he says.

UDC 400 got Mims’s vote to control the Spyders feeding displays across ABC’s Election Night set. They included a seamless video wall, comprised of 17 60-inch Sharp monitors in a 9×3 configuration, which formed an atmospheric background for the anchors; seven 60-inch Sharp displays, which were rotated 90 degrees and joined to create a roughly 4:1 aspect ratio used a background image for a panel of expert political analysts; a Barco NX 4mm LED wall in a circular shape, which displayed an interactive map of national polling results; and an Everbrighten 5mm LED wall, which formed a header completely rimming the upper portion of the set.

“The UDC 400 works flawlessly with virtually zero delay when triggering commands,” notes Mims. “I have yet to see another such innovative, user-friendly control interface on the market. And I emphasize ‘user-friendly,’ because there are other control systems out there, but none match the flexibility and intuitive nature of the HRS Control platform.”

Mims says that, as a company, High Resolution Systems “pioneered in the industry with regard to their work on the Montage system and 300 series Spyders – they have an acute level of understanding at multi-destination and screen management. Now High Resolution has again pioneered by way of system and show control. I have been using UDC 400 since its inception and have had nothing but success with it. I have watched it grow into a very slick piece of technology.”

Mims adds that the people behind the UDC 400 have proved equally important to his success with the device controller. “The support I get from Drew Taylor and his team is top notch. I’ve developed lifelong friendships with HRS, as I have with Vista Systems. And they’ve been instrumental in my success as an operator.”

About High Resolution Systems
High Resolution Systems, a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers is a company with a strong systems engineering and applications background. Its founders have decades of experience in the audiovisual rental and staging industry, broadcast applications, A/V installations and system design. This combined experience allows them to provide the highest possible quality solutions to its customers in the most efficient manner. For more information, visit www.hrscontrol.com.

As if Election Night 2012 wasn’t exciting enough, TV and cable networks pulled out all the stops and spared no expense to generate visually compelling election results programming. At ABC, having Vista Systems’ Spyders in the house meant easy image delivery to a dynamic set designed for hosts Diane Sawyer and George Stephanopoulos working from a studio at the epicenter of New York City’s Times Square.

John Mims, of J3 Productions LLC in Austin, Texas, once again chose the powerful Spyder platform to manage digital video signal distribution and pixel mapping for the background video displays seen on the ABC set. Mims selected two Spyder X20 1608 systems running in a parallel configuration to handle Election Night tasks.

The Spyders fed imagery to a number of destinations on the set. A seamless video wall, comprised of 27 60-inch Sharp monitors in a 9×3 configuration, formed an atmospheric background for the news anchors. “I took three HD cameras fixed on three points in Times Square – the Reuters’ sign, the NASDAQ sign and ABC’s outside reader board – and blended them and overlapped them to get a soft border effect for the outdoor atmosphere of this large, beautiful canvas,” Mims explains.

The Spyders also fed seven 60-inch Sharp displays, which were rotated 90 degrees and seamlessly joined to create a roughly 4:1 aspect ratio used as a background image for a panel of expert political analysts. “The studio initially thought that creating seven media files rotated to feed the wall was going to be a challenge with media production,” he says. “Because of Spyder’s processing ability I was able to propose another more cost-effective method. Once sold on the idea, I designed a media template for the ABC designers to run with.”

Mims resolved the issue by simply creating media at the native resolution of all the displays combined and then applying that media to a custom pixel space matching that resolution. “This worked flawlessly, and the studio was impressed with the amiable capabilities of the Spyders’ mapping engine to handle the seven rotated outputs,” he points out. “The Spyders’ superior pixel mapping ability made applying content simple, streamlined and very effective.”

Additionally, the Spyders delivered content to a Barco NX 4mm LED wall in a circular shape, which displayed an interactive map of the national polling results. “The main challenge of this application was the angle from which the floor was seen on camera,” says Mims. “It’s natural, when viewing or shooting LED from extreme angles, that the eye doesn’t comprehend all sub RGB pixels in each LED pixel. In most cases, depending on the angle and content, the images look cyan or magenta. Our solution for this problem was to stretch a rear projection surface across the screen to create a flat, evenly colored surface for the camera to shoot. The result was a stunning mix of creativity and technology in a simple form.”

Finally, the Spyder duo fed an Everbrighten 5mm LED wall, which formed a header completely rimming the upper section of the set.

A long-time Spyder user, Mims credits the Vista Systems staff with being “instrumental in helping me achieve an expert level understanding of their product and how it works. Years ago, they were kind enough to take me through very privileged, in-depth, component-level training that has been very critical in my success as an operator. While the Spyder is a superior video scaling, switching, source and destination management system, its true advantage is the people behind the product: Every individual behind the Spyder is simply the best in the industry.”

About Vista Systems
Vista Systems’ switchers have become the industry standard for live multiple-destination video and data mixed signal switching with real-time windowing and composition. Vista Systems is a part of Christie, a global leader in visual solutions for business, entertainment and industry, to create a comprehensive source for image processing and projection solutions. For more information on Vista Systems, visit their website at www.vistasystems.net.

When The Weather Channel wanted to upgrade the primary studio set at its Atlanta headquarters, it turned to Electrosonic to install a new video wall to replace the previous display the company had provided. The new system, comprised of 12 Christie(r) Entero(tm) LED-illuminated rear-projection display cubes, is now seen as a backdrop for on-air talent and is a vehicle for live video and map presentations.

“In 2008, we supplied a rear-screen projection edge-blended system with Christie projectors,” explains Electrosonic Systems Consultant Pete Rajcula. “We have an ongoing relationship with The Weather Channel, and when they were looking for a new alternative to the blended system, we suggested Christie’s LED-illuminated DLP cubes, which offer extremely long lamp life, rich color and easy maintenance.”

Rajcula notes that while the former system was state-of-the-art at the time, LED-illuminated cubes have now reached maturity in the market, allowing the Weather Channel to reap the benefits of the technology.

The Christie(r) Entero(tm) LED was the first high resolution LED-based display cube introduced for the control room market. Using solid state illumination, the Entero(tm) LED display cubes feature vivid, wide color gamut performance – with no lamps to replace, no moving parts, and no consumables.

The installation was challenged by the need to do the work on a fully functioning set. Electrosonic installed the wall’s pedestal and cubes, adjusted the geometry and color balanced the screens to match the studio lighting.

“We’re extremely happy with the video wall,” reports The Weather Channel’s broadcast engineer Travis Warner.

The video wall is designed in a 2×6 configuration with dimensions measuring 26.9 feet wide by 6.8 feet high. A three-output Vista Spyder image processor drives a trio of 1-in/4-out distribution amps. Each of the DAs, in turn, drives one of three 2×2 sections of the wall. The video wall does its own processing of each 2×2 section, creating one large dynamic image across the display.

Andy Borum was Electrosonic’s project manager for the installation. “Everything went smoothly even though the studio was in use,” he reports. “The Weather Channel was prepared for our arrival, so we were able to build the wall and make the initial tweaks without disrupting on-air production.”

About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.

Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit http://www.electrosonic.com

Lightware U.S.A., the US distributor for Budapest-based Lightware Visual Engineering products, is now taking orders for the 25G Hybrid, a revolutionary line of digital matrix switchers, which work in tandem with Lightware’s Modular Extender (MODEX) family of external signal extenders.

Designed to deliver exceptionally high-resolution image quality and 24/7reliability, 25G Hybrid technology sets a new standard in the pro AV industry. More than just a switcher, the 25G Hybrid is a complete source that manages and distributes all digital and analog signals over a single CAT5 cable or fiber via specially-developed input/output cards combined with audio add-ons. As a comprehensive line of digital matrix switchers, transmitters and receivers, 25G Hybrid combines switching with a powerful suite of diagnostic tools for the digital age, delivering a superior user experience.

“The 25G Hybrid is truly a unique product: It accepts multiple formats so instead of requiring separate routers and switchers for various formats users can deploy this single frame,” explains Blake Dudash in sales and marketing. “Everyone is very excited about the 25G Hybrid and how it allows users to do more with less space.”

At the heart of the new line is super-fast 25 gigabit per second data-rate switching, which allows transportation of next-generation video signals like HDMI 1.4 and DisplayPort1.2. The future-proof platform is ready for all video and audio standards, including 4K and stereo 3D formats.

Multilayer switching design allows independent routing of each signal type (breakaway switching) for all layers. This feature provides switching and extending of all signal layers separately, or in a breakaway format, to be recombined at output to a single connection.

Each video port is equipped with a separate audio input and output (audio return channel) connector forming a 320×320 S/PDIF crosspoint switch. It manages stereo and multichannel audio as well as high-bit rate formats like Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Multichannel-to-stereo down mixing can be provided as an option.

Other 35G Hybrid features include Ethernet 10/100 connection in all input and output ports for local devices and remote extensions, USB KVM connectivity, and IT/CEC/RS-232 control signal support.

Lightware U.S.A. is taking orders for the 25G Hybrid now and expects to ship the product in January 2013.

About Lightware U.S.A.

Lightware U.S.A. is the US distributor of professional AV products manufactured by Lightware Visual Engineering in Budapest, Hungary. For more information on these products, visit www.lightwareUSA.com.

Martin Howe and Jim Bowie

The acquisition, completed on December 10, 2012, positions Electrosonic as the only company to offer digital immersive solutions across the theme park, museum, giant screen cinema and planetarium markets.

“This is a significant strategic move for both companies, and I am excited by the prospects presented by the acquisition,” says Jim Bowie, President of Electrosonic Group. “As a single operation, we will service an even broader range of markets, bringing further innovation and an expanded offering to our customers. Our goal to attract and develop the best industry talent has been one of the drivers of the acquisition. Together we will lead by consolidating our strengths and delivering the best visual systems in the world.”

Founded in 2007, Global Immersion is renowned for its work with highly specialized and technically-complex digital immersive theaters. The company has won multiple project and business awards, and has established a solid base of digital immersive theater attractions worldwide. Its project portfolio includes the California Academy of Sciences, Adler Planetarium, Moscow Planetarium, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Peoria Riverfront Museum and Reuben H. Fleet Science Center.

Martin Howe, CEO of Global Immersion comments “I am delighted with this transaction with Electrosonic. It allows us to further expand our activities and develop our product and service offering, opening up new doors and bringing with it many synergies. The planetarium and giant screen markets are undergoing significant change as the digital revolution pace quickens. Electrosonic offers a range of benefits that our customers can immediately enjoy. Its international reach and broad technical expertise and capacity mean that we can more cost-effectively service a wider range of customers in more locations, while building upon our shared reputation for quality, performance and support.”

About Electrosonic
Electrosonic is an international audio-visual company that creates tailored, state-of-the-art solutions for a wide range of markets including theme parks, museums, control rooms, and corporate meeting rooms. Since its founding in 1964, Electrosonic has built a strong reputation for working on complex projects, both large and small, and has developed lasting partnerships with customers and suppliers. Beyond complete integrated systems, Electrosonic provides a comprehensive scope of services including technical design, projector lamp sales, maintenance and operational support.

Learn more about Electrosonic. Visit www.electrosonic.com

About Global Immersion
Founded in 2007, Global Immersion is an award-winning team dedicated to the unique and innovative medium of digital immersive theater. Global Immersion specializes in the design and integration of highly customized and technically complex planetarium, giant screen, 3D and 4D environments – serving a range of digital immersive attractions industries with superior innovation and performance on an international scale.

For further information about Global Immersion and its range of leading immersive theater solutions, please visit www.globalimmersion.com/

People and equipment from the East and West Coast offices of WorldStage collaborated to provide a full complement of video, audio and lighting services for A Celebration of Science in Washington, D.C., a new initiative spearheaded by FasterCures and the Milken Institute. More than 1,000 leaders in medical research, bioscience, patient advocacy, industry, philanthropy and public policy actively participated in the event, which reaffirmed the importance of bioscience.

“A Celebration of Science was one of the most complex projects, in terms of scope and location, that we’ve ever attempted,” says Richard Bevan, Account Manager for the event and Vice President of Production Services, at WorldStage. “The venues stretched across Washington, but we were confident that we could service every location to our usual high standards. Everything went very well thanks to an outstanding on-site team.”

Larry Lesser, senior vice president of creative services at the Milken Family Foundation, believes that “the Celebration of Science events would never have been successful without the group of professionals from WorldStage, especially when you consider that we put the entire three-day event together in less than 60 days. There were seven locations each with full production capabilities, including audio recording and reinforcement, projection, and HD multi-camera switched video recording.”

WorldStage fielded more than 180 people for A Celebration of Science who displayed the experience, passion and technical acumen the company is known for. These dedicated professionals supplied custom solutions to 11 installations at seven venues in the nation’s capital.

Additionally, WorldStage met the special needs of several especially high-profile events. The gala at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater featured performances by Babyface, Stevie Nicks, Melissa Manchester and five bands and orchestras, including one led by National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, Francis S. Collins. WorldStage provided a 29×50-foot rear projection screen that acted as a backdrop and a 11 x 20 front projection screen to display the show’s main content, which was fed by a DATATON Watchout system, Playback Pro and graphics computers. The company also supplied 78 tiles of Barco C5 LEDs and seven HD cameras including two robotic camera systems and a jib.

“The event at Kennedy Center alone would have been a major undertaking in anyone’s book: HD cameras, two screens, three top-line musical acts and more,” says Larry Lesser.

WorldStage also delivered three screens for an event at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery’s Kogod Courtyard where Stevie Nicks and Melissa Manchester performed. And the company sent video and audio feeds from the NIH venue to three off-site laboratories so attendee’s could see live demos and speakers. A total of 28 HD Production Cameras were used at the locations across the city.

“WorldStage really came through on all of this for us,” Lesser reports. “That they are bicoastal was a big advantage for us considering the complexity of the show and the sheer number of people and equipment necessary to make it happen. We would never attempt to produce a show – big or small – without them.”

FasterCures and The Milken Institute called on the services of Vision Matrix to produce the events. Josh Lesser, President of Vision Matrix lead the charge with his team of Producers and Production Coordinators. Larry Lesser was the Executive Producer of the event.

For WorldStage, James Sarro was project manager at the Kennedy Center, Jon Harrington technical director there, Robin Gray lighting, Paul Bevan A1 and Neal Gass EIC. Jack Dussault was project manager at the NIH venue, Guy Bostian project manager at the Mayflower Hotel, Tony Rossello project manager at George Washington University’s Jack Morton Auditorium, Shawn Oatey project manager at The Four Seasons Hotel and Dave Morris project manager at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Shawn Oatey, Guy Bostian and Tony Rossello partnered as project managers at George Washington University’s Marvin Center.

WorldStage Inc., the company created by the merger of Scharff Weisberg Inc and Video Applications Inc, continues a thirty-year legacy of providing clients the widest variety of entertainment technology coupled with conscientious and imaginative engineering services. WorldStage provides audio, video and lighting equipment and services to the event, theatrical, broadcast and brand experience markets nationally and internationally.