1000 reasons to buy

Within two months of its release, Celco's new Ventura 1000 is already controlling the lighting on three major tours, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Following its debut on the extended Shed 7 tour, Lighting Designer Pete Sarson has switched to the Hootie & The Blowfish sell-out European tour, ordering a new Ventura 1000, while Richard Larkham takes over the board operating for the 'Sheds'. Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the Crash Test Dummies are about to resume their tour with a Ventura at the helm.

Following their success at last month's LDI Show in Orlando, Celco report that orders for the new Ventura lighting control desk, first shown at September's PLASA Show in London, have now topped £500,000.

Celco. (Contact Details)

Nerves of Steel

Summit Steel have won the contract to provide 36 hoists and a computerised control system for the Phil Collins world tour starting this month. This will be used to control a large articulated scenic trussing system over the main stage area. Having started in early 1994, providing a system on Pink Floyd's The Division Bell tour, Summit Steel's stock of top quality rigging gear is based exclusively around CM Lodestar.

Jon Bray, who runs the company, commented: "The Lodestar is robust and well proven for touring work but is often let down by the control systems. My aim from day one was to build a complete system that was safe, reliable, and tourable. To achieve this has required a great deal of thought, reflected in everything from designing our own control and multicore systems to flightcases that pack easily into a truck. Maintenance and inspection is also a top priority, both to comply with Health & Safety regulations and to ensure reliability of the gear."

Summit Steel's recent work roster includes rigging for the PA and video at the large outdoor Oasis shows at Loch Lomond, Knebworth, and Cork. He also supplied hoists and control with Blackout on their recent product launches at Alexandra Palace and London Arena. Currently, he is servicing tours by Chris de Burgh, The Cure, Pearl Jam, Jamiroquai, Jackson Browne, Squeeze, Heathcliff — as well as supplying a complete duplication system for Gloria Estefan's European tour.

Summit Steel. (Contact Details)

Trussing made into Mini Series

Litestructures, Wakefield-based designers and manufacturers of aluminium trussing, continue to innovate by further developing their Mini Series. Tentatively titled Litestructures — The Agony and the Ecstasy, the series will star Jane Seymour and Bob Hoskins as two competing rigging and trussing magnates, with the plot set in the steamy world of concert staging equipment.

I jest of course, neither Bob nor Jane could be lured out of retirement and away from their lucrative advertising contracts. Nevertheless, research and development at Litestructures have been looking at ways of improving their Mini System and providing extra added value for customers. The answer has been found in the new Minilite end castings, which gives the system increased structural strength and improved aesthetic finish. This makes it ideal for display and exhibition applications. Designed in Litestructures generic style, the developments also brand the Mini Series, bringing it into line with Litestructures most popular products in the Midi Series, Astra lite, Bilite, and Quatralite.

Litestructures. (Contact Details)

PSL programmes Boyzone video

Britain's new current number one boy band, Boyzone, have completed a sell-out arena tour with a spectacular stage set topped off by specially-designed video reinforcement from PSL. The tour (pictured here at Wembley Arena) featured the first use, anywhere in the world, of the new Barco 9100s. Two of the 9100s were used on the flanking 20x15 foot front projection screens, which featured a mixture of cameras and VT, while three 8100 graphic projectors were rear projecting onto 12x9 foot screens, spectacularly flown in at the start of the set on a specially-constructed flying frame. PSL used five Ikegami HC 390 cameras — two hand-held, three on tripods in the pit. A portable projection unit received the signals from the cameras and in turn relayed them to the projectors.

The company also featured two 'lipstick' cameras and a Dataton computer controlled system, which was deployed to switch eight inputs to the five destination screens. Other equipment fielded by PSL included Betacam SP machines and a For A vision mixer, on which the show was mixed by Video Director Chris Hillson. Finally, eight different slides were projected during the course of the hour and a half set, using a manual slide change, via a 5K ETC projector.

PSL. (Contact Details)