What's new with ILDA and the website
 

This page has news from 2008. For older news, click to get news from 2007 and 2006.

In addition to the news items listed below, you may also want to check out the following webpages for news from ILDA Members:

     4 Laser shows and projects page
     4 New products and services page
     4 Press releases page

 

April 2008

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Optronika. This Lithuanian laser show company provides hardware (lasers, projectors, water screens) and does laser shows. The shows include lights, video, fireworks, fog and water screens, in addtion to lasers. For more information, visit their website at www.optronika.lt.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Eye-Magic of Athens Greece. They design and manufacture laser equipment, including laser scanners from 3mm to 10mm apertures and digital recording/playback systems.
     Their new IRIS ColorSafe "is a revolutionary new product that will change the way RGB lasers display color and permit audience scanning like no other system in the world." It consists of two related modules. The IRIS Color module solves non-linearity, offset and instability in laser colors. The IRIS Safe module attenuates the laser according to position (safety zone) and laser beam velocity (XY vector). Much more information is at their website, www.eyemagic.gr. 

An online report of the 2008 SIB lighting and sound exhibition is now available. The show was held in Rimini Italy from April 5 through 8. ILDA exhibited at this show, thanks to RGB Laser System International, who donated space, and Pangolin Laser Systems, who provided transportation and support. The photo at right shows executive director Patrick Murphy in front of the ILDA stand, with laser dots from a Blisslights projector
     The report has 24 photos and four QuickTime movies, showing the eight stands which featured lasers. Exhibitors included RGB Laser System International, Laser Entertainment/LSE, Kvant, HB Laserkomponenten, and Cittadini Light Systems.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, RPI Entertainment & Media Group | Pakistan. Jeremy Vargus of RPI USA is already a member; ILDA now welcomes Hasan Soomro, the managing partner of branch office RPI PAK in Karachi. The Pakistan office brings RPI's laser and special effect capabilities to the Asia and Middle East areas. For more information, see RPI USA's website.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, P. C. Podimatas A.V. This Greece-based company, directed by Panagiotis Podimatas, does event production, staging and audiovisual, as well as laser shows. More information is at their website.

The ILDA Board met on April 8. They took action on areas including the Code of Business Practice, listing ILDA Corporate Member revenues in the Membership Directory, asking for hosts for a 2009 ILDA Conference in Europe, and announcing committee posts for Paul Berthot and Daniel Cohn. Details are on the Members-Only page which lists the 2008 Board meeting minutes.

Did additional work on the "ILDA Website At-A-Glance" menu. Also, updated the Javascript fly-out menu which appears at the left side of most pages, so it matched the new organization of the "At-A-Glance" menu.

Updated information about how to make reservations for the 2008 ILDA Conference. There are two methods: calling Carnival's Group Reservations Department directly, or sending a fax form to Conference Host LaserNet and having Christine Jenkin do this. Also, added an online form for registering for the ILDA Conference (there is a $149 fee to attend Members-only Conference events).

Updated pages which have general information about ILDA Conferences. The updates give additional information and links to ILDA Members who might want to host a conference. The main updated page is here; a few related pages were also revised.

Added an "ILDA Website At-A-Glance" menu at the bottom of most pages here at the website. This was suggested by Ante Uglesic, who wanted the ability to quickly skim through a list of all the pages, to see what information is available. The "At-A'Glance" menu currently does not have pages from The Laserist section of the website; this will be added later. Also, the SIB show report will be added soon.

Welcome to a new nonprofit ILDA Member, the Grand Haven (Michigan) Rotary Musical Lights Project. Run by project engineer/coordinator Brad Boyink, the event is on a large scale. From their website: "The display contains over 138,000 lights, 90% of which are energy efficient LEDs. The display power consumption is less than 500 watts / 90 amps when everything is lit. It takes an average of 10-15 hours to program a single song because there are 20 lighting control computers networked together to operate the show, which is completely automated. It took 42,000 feet of wire and over 10,000 zip ties to hook up the 328 independent zones over a 2.5 month time span." There is also a video of the show at their website.

On "April Fools Day", ILDA hosted a surprise luncheon to honor Career Achievement Award winner Doug McCullough. (Doug was unable to attend the 2007 ILDA Conference in China where the award was announced.)
      ILDA Executive Director Patrick Murphy set up a fake business meeting with Doug for April 1. When he arrived for the meeting, he was instead steered to a nice restaurant where colleagues Bill Benner and Greg Makhov were already waiting. Doug was then officially presented with his award trophy, along with another first-place trophy from the same Conference.
     During the event, Doug noted that "It is a real honor to receive the CAA, because it encompasses a person's entire career in the laser display field."

March 2008

ILDA issues statement regarding IEC 60825-3, "Safety of laser products - Part 3: Guidance for laser displays and shows". A newly-revised version of 60825-3 was released on March 11. The revision incorporates a number of changes and clarifications suggested by ILDA, and by ILDA Members such as John O'Hagan. It is available from IEC as a PDF document. ILDA has issued the following statement of support:

“IEC 60825-3 is a valuable resource for anyone using lasers for display or demonstration purposes. It represents the ‘best practices’ of laser safety specialists from many nations. While it does not supersede national or local laws, it does provide a useful overview of the many considerations necessary to produce a safe laser display. For those getting started with laser show safety, the document is worth the approx. USD $85 cost (for PDF version from IEC’s webstore). It is also especially helpful for those in countries without significant laser safety laws or enforcement, who want to follow well-established international safety practices.”
 

The 2007 ILDA Artistic Award winners have been announced. Judging took place March 17-18 2008, and winners were notified on March 25. You can find a list of winners here. In addition, this page has a newly-updated list of all-time Award winners. Congratulations to all who entered, and to the winning Members.
     Note that the Fenning Technical Awards and the Career Achievement Award have not yet been judged. Results will be announced when judging is completed.

Added the detailed schedule of ILDA Conference events which will take place on the cruise ship Carnival Imagination, Sept. 8-13. These include the Awards Presentation, Lase-Off, Lido Deck laser party, tabletop trade show, business meeting, and seminars.

ILDA now can directly accept American Express and Discover, in addition to Visa and Mastercard. This is due to changing to a new credit card processing company (which will also lower the fees that ILDA pays).

Background information: There are two main ways to pay dues, conference registration fees, sponsorships, etc. by credit card.
     --  The first way is through PayPal's credit card processing. This is easier for ILDA (and for you) since the credit card is immediately verified and debited.
     --  The second way is through sending credit card information to ILDA, via secure encryption. We decode the information and manually enter it into our terminal. If there are any problems, we have to get back to you (unlike the PayPal method, where you know immediately if the card does not go through). The new American Express and Discover acceptance is for this second method.
 

ILDA Member MediaLas is now a distributor for Phoenix Showcontroller software. More information is on the Press releases page.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Impact Technologies. This Belgian company manufactures diode and DPSS projectors. They are introducing 640nm Ultrabright red diodes, to increase both red lasers, and improve white color balance. Sales manager Peter De Kesel invites you to visit their website for more information.

Welcome to a new ILDA Individual Member, Gary Harper of Pflugerville, Texas. Gary is located about 10 miles north of Austin.

ILDA attended the Florida Laser Enthusiasts Meeting, an informal gathering of laserists and hobbyists. The March 1 event was hosted by Paul Berthot of ILDA Member Clandestine Systems. Among the ILDA Members who dropped in were William Benner (Pangolin Laser Systems), Robert Teorey (Lasertainment), and Aron Bacs (BACS Design). ILDA brought a Blisslights BL-50 projector to create a background of glowing laser dots.

February 2008

ILDA attended the Show-way trade fair, held Feb. 24-26 in Bergamo Italy. The photo at right shows ILDA's stand. Executive Director Patrick Murphy and Alberto Kellner of Laser Entertainment srl presented a seminar on laser technology and safety. A complete show report is here.

ILDA visited the 2008 ILDA conference site, the Carnival Imagination cruise ship. Executive Director Patrick Murphy, and Christine Jenkin from host company LaserNet, boarded the Imagination in its Florida port, to inspect the cabins, meeting rooms, and activity areas. This is truly going to be a conference to remember! Photos and more will be coming later.

Added an interactive geographical map of ILDA Members. This was generously created by John Birchman. Try it out!

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Laser Technology Ltd. (UK), which has listed its Turkish office on ILDA's membership roster. Director Dave Hickford is well-known in U.K. laser circles for his innovative laser projects. The company supplies laser display products including high-power YAGs and wireless Ethernet solutions. More information is at the Laser Technology website.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, DayStar Lasers International LLC. The creative director is Jon Robertson, who is a New York State Class B laser safety officer. DayStar does full-service laser shows, as well as sales and service of ion, DPSS and KTP lasers. The company has offices in New York state, California and Central America. For more information, see their website.

January 2008

Bocatec is now offering 5% to 10% discounts to Members, on the Phoenix showcontroller, on laser hardware and show rental, and on waterscreens. This is part of the ILDA Member Discount Program, which gives ILDA Members an opportunity to save when buying from participating merchants like Bocatec. For details, see the ILDA Member Discount Program page.
 

ILDA Members can receive free admission to the Show-way Professional Entertainment Technology Exhibition, held in Bergamo Italy, 24-26 February 2008.
     ILDA will be exhibiting at Show-way, and will also be presenting a seminar at the fair. Click here for your free Show-way admission tickets.

Members have voted 35-0 to ratify the Bylaws, to merge the Affiliate (vendor) category with the Corporate (laser show producer) category. The merged Corporate category now represents all commercial members, whether they produce laser shows or show-related equipment. (Other categories are: Nonprofit, Individual and Student.)
     There were 15 Members who voted. Because Corporate and former Affiliate members can have 2, 3 or 4 votes depending on how much dues they pay, the total number of votes cast by the 15 Members was 35.
     The Bylaws ratification ballot page remains at ILDA's website. Since voting is now closed, any ballots sent to ILDA from the page will be discarded.

As of January 10, comments are now closed regarding adding a Code of Business Practice to the existing Code of Ethics. A FAQ page has been set up to answer questions about this new initiative.
     The next step will be for the ILDA Board to vote whether to adopt the Code of Business Practice as part of the Code of Ethics. If the vote is favorable, then all ILDA Members will be governed by both codes.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, LaserDesign of Athens. The company has been doing laser and multimedia shows for 14 years in countries such as Greece, Germany, Egypt, UAE, Albania, and Cyprus. They do their own in-house design and production. More information, and descriptions of their many shows and clients, is at their website.

ILDA Member Kyle Garner of Laseronics suggested a contest for next winter's ILDA holiday card. He generously offered to pay for the printing. The ILDA Board voted on this proposal, and agreed to hold a contest for laser photography appropriate for the holiday card. For 2008, Kyle will be the sponsor. In future years, the sponsorship may be opened to one or more companies. More details are here.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Nth Degree Creative. Headed by Jeff Silverman, a principal who helped found Laser Fantasy, Nth Degree does laser displays on a local (Washington state), national and international level. A recent example is projecting laser graphics 1,000 feet wide on the rock face of a river gorge; another is providing lasers for a Broadway musical. Systems for hire include LFI YAG products, and RGB diode lasers.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Electric Dreamz Mobile Discoteque. The U.K. company, run by Peter Rubie, does sound (over 3000 watts) and extensive DMX-controlled lighting, including DMX lasers. More details are at the Electric Dreamz Disco website.

Reorganized the geographical listing of Corporate Members. All countries are now listed on a single page. Also, a note has been added reminding readers that Members often work internationally, "so the best company for your project may be in a different country."

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Absolute Hollywood Inc. This "experiential multimedia" company, run by CEO James Lanier, specializes in using domes for laser, video and multimedia presentations. They also have other special effects such as water screens, and lighting. For more information, visit their website.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Beijing Viasho Technology Co, Ltd. The company specializes in R&D and manufacture of DPSS lasers and related products, including laser show systems. According to their website, they are "one of the main suppliers worldwide for low-power and low cost DPSS lasers." Beijing Viasho also does custom work and design.

Voting is now open on whether to ratify the ILDA Bylaws change, that merges the Affiliate category into the Corporate category. Details are on the ballot page, which is in the ILDA Members-Only part of the website. The voting period is from Jan. 2 through Jan. 9.

Two frequently-updated webpages have been posted, so you can check on the status of your 2008 dues renewal (if you have renewed or asked for an invoice), and check on the status of your 2007 ILDA Award entries (if you sent in any entries).

Continuing & recent items from 2007
 (Click here for all 2007 "What's new" items)

You can now renew your dues for 2008. The renewal forms have been updated and simplified to reflect the 2008 date, and the merger of Affiliate into Corporate. We urge all Members to renew online, as this is easiest for both you and for ILDA. You can either pay online with a credit card or PayPal, or you can request an invoice (pay later).

Revised the Bylaws to reflect the Board's Dec. 14 vote to merge the Affiliate membership category into the Corporate category. A 10-day discussion period opened on Dec. 18, which will be followed by a 7-day vote to ratify this Bylaws change. To find out more details and to take part in the discussion, visit the ILDA Forum comment thread.

The 2008 ILDA Award entry forms are now available. This is primarily for Members who want to get a head start on next year, and avoid a deadline rush. (The entry deadline is Friday, November 28 2008.)

If you entered the 2007 ILDA Awards, you can check here to see if your package or email has arrived at ILDA and has been processed.

Added a tentative list of attendees for the 2008 ILDA Conference. The first version of this page lists only a selected group of people who were emailed to ask if they were coming. If you are considering attending, feel free to contact ILDA to add your information.

On Dec. 14, the Board voted to hold the 2008 ILDA Conference on board the Carnival Imagination, Sept. 8-13. The hosting proposal was made by Tom Harman and Christine Jenkin of Laser Production Network (LaserNet) of Miami. The ship will sail from Miami, with three port stops.
     Because the cruise ship will sell out early, ILDA is urging all interested potential attendees -- both Members and non-members -- to watch our pages for updated information and to book VERY early to be assured of your room choice.

On Dec. 10, the Board voted to recommend adoption of the proposed Code of Business Practice. The Code would become part of the existing Code of Ethics. It would be binding on Members in the same way as the Code of Ethics, and would be enforced in the same way.
     The Board also invited comments for a 30-day period (until Jan. 10 2008). Member comments can be made through a special ILDA Forums discussion thread. There is also a poll at the discussion thread.
     We have added a FAQ page with questions and answers about the Code of Business Practice. Finally, the Code references a summary of U.S. import regulations; the summary has been reviewed and found to be correct by the U.S. FDA/CDRH regulatory agency.
     All ILDA Members are encouraged to become familiar with the Code, as it will become binding on Members if voted in by the Board early in 2008.

Added three reports about the LDI 2007 trade show, held Nov. 16-18 in Orlando. There is a review of ILDA activities by Patrick Murphy, photos of laser booths and the ILDA Laser Theater from Tim Walsh, and a compilation of comments by attendees about the Laser Theater.

Increased the visibility of the ILDA Member Discount Program. This was suggested by Peter Mayer.
     The changes include: Adding a new logo to listings in the Membership Directory, to help identify Participating Merchants who offer discounts to ILDA Members. Making the Discount Program a top-level menu item, so it is easier to find (see menu at left, under "For ILDA Members"). Adding rules and limitations to clarify how the Member Discount Program works.
     If you want to be added as a Participating Merchant, please contact ILDA with your discount offer information.