We thank all the folks at ZFX, Inc. for increasing their level of support to that of Contributing member of the Institute. Those who attended the 2007 Annual Conference & Stage Expo will remember their staff as "the guys in kilts" doing all that flying, but the company does much more.

The company manufactures all original equipment and harnesses with proprietary design and state-of-the-art technology. ZFX also provides trussed flying systems, motorized units, motion-controlled systems, single and double wire harnesses and automated flight. To learn more, visit their website at www.zfxflying.com.

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Stage Research, creator of SFX, one of the industry's most trusted and widely used sound playback software programs, recently released the latest version of its inventory and paperwork managing software program, ShowBuilder, Version 5. This latest version allows users to add devices to a system by quantity, make an equipment list a global list so any show can see it, create custom items to add to a sound system, store connection points for a piece of equipment in the catalog, and patch equipment the way it really looks on a signal flow drawing.

They note the biggest improvement is that everything has been streamlined and simplified in order to speed up all daily routines. For more information or to download a demo of ShowBuilder 5, visit www.StageResearch.com.

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Creative Stage Lighting recently hired Seth Scott as South Central dealer sales manager.

With six years of sales and technical experience, Mr. Scott previously worked as a technician for Barbizon and as a service manager for Clearwing Productions of Phoenix, Arizona. He holds technical certifications from Vari-Lite, Martin, High End, and ETC. The North Central and South Central sales divisions are new additions to CSL, enabling the company to give more detailed attention to each of its dealers across the United States.

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Production Resource Group, LLC (PRG) had a very active first quarter which included an acquisition, a staff appointment, and several technical accomplishments.

PRG and High Performance Images (HPI), a Chicago-based video company, announced PRG's acquisition of HPI. HPI founder and president, Adam Benjamin, has 20 years' experience in the events industry.

Paul Morrill was named account executive for PRG's corporate and special events group. He will work out of the company's New York City offices. Mr. Morrill will provide lighting, video, scenic, and audio solutions for PRG clients in the Northeast backed by his 20 years of entertainment design and production management experience.

PRG played a major role in allowing visitors to the American College of Cardiology's Scientific Session to literally get a glimpse of the future: stunning video images that appeared to rise in three dimensions from the surface of a 40-inch 3D, MultiView display from NewSight Corporation. NewSight's MultiView displays, now available from PRG Video, allow the viewer to perceive 3D representations spatially without the need for viewing aids such as 3D glasses.

PRG provided video and audio equipment and crew for the Disney-ABC Television Group when it previewed its new fall lineup of children's programming at 2007 Upfront recently. It was staged for 600 top advertisers and media buyers at New York's Hudson Theatre. PRG supplied a similar package to Audio Production Services for Yahoo's "Infront" presentation to advertisers and media buyers in February.

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Theatre Projects Consultants, Inc. (TPC) announced that Scott Crossfield has joined its United States office. Mr. Crossfield has been a theatre consultant for 11 years and is a former principal of the theatre consulting firm of Davis Crossfield Associates. At TPC he will specialize in auditorium design and theatre planning, working as a senior consultant in TPC's design department with John Coyne, director of design, and Brian Hall, principal theatre designer.

Mr. Crossfield has consulted on the design and construction of over 200 theatre projects in the United States and abroad, and holds a BFA in drama from Carnegie Mellon University.

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Vincent Lighting Systems has added to its Pittsburgh production team. Nathaniel Grand was named Production Manager and Stevie O'Brian Agnew is a Production Specialist.

Mr. Grand, a graduate of Pennsylvania State University, has a wide variety of experience in lighting technology, including Strand, ETC, and Hog consoles as well as Vari-Lite and High End fixtures. He had been Production Manager and Master Electrician in the entertainment department of Crystal Cruises.

Mr. Agnew earned his Master of Fine Arts degree at Carnegie Mellon University and has experience at Santa Fe Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, and MP Productions. He has lighting design experience with Bodiography Contemporary Ballet, Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival, and others and serves as assisting lighting designer for the Pittsburgh Opera.

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ETC's lineup of lighting products at the USITT Stage Expo in Phoenix, Arizona March 15 to 17 included its new SmartFade ML control console which boasts big-console features in a super compact, easy-to-afford unit, mastering up to 24 moving lights and 48 separate dimmers. Visitors to ETC's booth also got to check out Eos -- the award-winning flagship system in ETC's Complete Control line-up. Eos is a fully networked system managing conventional fixtures, moving lights, LEDs, and more. Also on display was the new Congo jr console.

Senior undergraduate and graduate students in lighting design, theatre technology, and related fields were able to pick up applications for ETC's annual LDI Student Sponsorship program. ETC will award six deserving young scholars all-expense-paid trips to Orlando in November for a close-up, behind-the-scenes look at the LDI tradeshow and ETC.

In a colder setting, high up on the sixth floor of the Time Warner Center on New York's Columbus Circle glows the stunning logo of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The unique white, teal, and red sign is no ordinary sign, but a simple, crisp projection of light. An ETC Source Four ellipsoidal spotlight, outfitted with ETC's Enhanced Definition Lens Tube (EDLT) accessory and a custom glass gobo, projects the logo onto the back wall of the Allen Room.

In London, St. Bride's Church -- often known as the "journalists' church" due to its location on London's famous Fleet Street -- has taken delivery of some 50 ETC Source Four fixtures as part of a refurbishment to replace worn-out lighting.

Designed in 1672 by Sir Christopher Wren, the current St. Bride's replaced a smaller church of the same name destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London. The 234-foot spire, added in 1701, was the tallest ever designed by Wren and was supposed to withstand both lightning and war. The tower's shape, which looks like three tiers, has led to it being dubbed the Wedding Cake Church. British journalists and newspaper owners paid for it to be rebuilt after it was gutted by incendiary bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe in 1940. St. Bride's also has acquired a reputation for concerts and carol singing.

For more information on ETC and its products, please visit www.etcconnect.com.

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