What's new with ILDA and the website
(2007 list)
 

This page has news from 2007. For current (2008) news, click here. For older news from 2006, click here.

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
 

December 2007

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.

Added a page which gives career advice for people who occasionally write in to ILDA, wanting to do laser shows. The page is private so the advice can be candid. Members are welcome to write up their "guidance for prospective lasersists" and send it to ILDA, to be added to the career advice page.

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.

Welcome to a new Affiliate Member, Blisslights Inc. Their current products include holographic projectors which create a sea of slowly moving twinkling lights. Blisslight projectors can be used in a variety of applications, to create a dreamy, ethereal look. They exhibited at the recent LDI show in Orlando, and were kind enough to lend ILDA a projector which was used to produce stars in the background of the ILDA Laser Theater. This seemed to add "texture" and complexity to the other laser imagery. It was also effective when projected onto Tim Walsh as he played his saxophone live, along with laser accompaniment. To find out more, check out Blisslights' webpage.

Welcome to a new Individual Member, Ray Philpot of New Zealand.

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.
     The photo at right shows over 50 watts of power in the ILDA Laser Theater!

November 2007

Extended the deadline for the ILDA Awards to Monday, December 17 2007. (It had previously been Nov. 30.) This is the postmark/shipping deadline. Be sure to mail or ship your ILDA artistic, technical and/or Career Achievement Award entries on or before the Dec. 17 deadline.

Added two items to the "Laser shows and projects" page. In Poland, Mediam Ltd. used a 60-watt white-light laser, along with 74 watts of green lasers, at the November "Mayday - New Euphoria" techno party. And Laser Design Productions has news of added laser power for the Justin Timberlake tour, as well as lasers at the 2007 MTV Music Awards.
     To read more, and see photos from these events, visit the Laser shows and projects page.

ILDA Member Alberto Kellner Ongaro of Laser Entertainment srl helped represent ILDA and the laser industry at a meeting of laser regulators held in Milan. ILDA Member John O'Hagan, a member of the IEC laser committee, noted "the laser display generated quite a lot of interest during the breaks." The committee was discussing revisions to IEC Technical Report 60825-3, which covers laser displays. Alberto's sponsorship and display included the ILDA and IEC logos, and highlighted ILDA's institutional presence as the only worldwide organization of laser light show producers and manufacturers.

New ILDA magazine for potential lasershow clients: The 20-page publication "A Complete Guide to Laser Shows for Event Producers" is available as a PDF file (1.5 MB). This print version of the Complete Guide webpage will be handed out at the LDI 2007 show, Nov. 16-18 in Orlando.

Welcome to new student Member Ben Steigerwald.

LDI is coming! Check the LDI Update page for information on deadlines, etc. This is for all ILDA Members, and especially for those who are attending, sponsoring and speaking at the LDI 2007 show, to be held Nov. 16-18 in Orlando.

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.

October 2007

Congratulations to Steve Heminover! Earlier this month, at a gala banquet, Steve received the highest alumni honor of the University of Illinois, the Alumni Achievement Award. The citation reads, in part:

Stephen R. Heminover is founder and president of Aura Technologies Inc., a leading company in the laser display field and a major contributor to the growth and development of the industry for more than a decade. [Click for full text]

In addition to the framed award, a formal portrait painting of Steve was put on permanent display in the University's alumni hall. Also, the U of I alumni magazine printed an article about Steve and his accomplishments.
     Steve has been in ILDA from the first year, and he helped shape the association in many ways. He was chair of the Technical Standards Committee during its crucial first six years, he served on the Board of Directors for 15 years (far longer than anyone else), and was ILDA President for four of those years.
     Steve presided over the ILDA Awards Banquet for many years, so it is only appropriate that he be on the receiving end of such a prestigious honor. ILDA extends its thanks and congratulations to Steve.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: Jan Kruithof Laser Events in the Netherlands. The laser activities of the company include rental and sales, creation of show material (beams and graphics), and laser show production. For more information, see their laser page at the website.

Added recent entries to the Laser shows and projects page. This includes three major shows by Mediam Ltd. of Poland, and an interesting use of lasers in Shakespeare's Macbeth by LaserNet.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: NewAje lasers, run by Adrian Moussa. "Aje" was an individual ILDA Member last year, and this year has moved up to Corporate membership -- good job! NewAje has been around since April 1998; you can find out more at the website.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: Nu-Salt Laser Shows International, a California company owned by Timothy Anderson. They produce laser shows worldwide, as well as providing laser show systems and equipment. Their website has many photos and videos, with an impressive high-tech look.

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member: RGB Laser System International. This Hungarian company manufactures solid-state lasers and laser projectors, for customers around the world. The director is Mr. Robert Bozsó. You can find out more at their new website.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: Beamin' Lasers of Phoenix, Arizona. President Todd Rogers is a founding member of ILDA, and served on the first ILDA Ethics Committee. His company has been doing laser light shows, and selling/renting equipment, since 1979. More information is at Todd's website. Welcome back to ILDA!

September 2007

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: Laseronics Design Interstellar - Middle East. This Egypt-based company works with Laseronics in the US (Kyle Garner), to present top-quality laser shows. In addition, Laseronics-ME provides complete event production as well as event equipment rentals. Founder Yousri El Gazar has been active in ILDA, serving on the Marketing, Advertising and Synergy Committee. You can read more about Laseronics Design Interstellar - ME at their website.

On September 11, we sent an email to the ILDA and Laserist Lists, announcing that entries are now open for the 2007 ILDA Awards. This includes the artistic, technical and Career Achievement awards. The entry deadline for this year is November 30, 2007. The awards will be judged early next year and will be given out sometime in 2008. Go to the 2007 Awards page for many more details, and downloadable entry forms.

A great opportunity for past ILDA Award winners to have their winning shows displayed at the ILDA Laser Theater, at LDI 2007 in Orlando, Nov. 16-18. If you have won an ILDA Award in the past, visit this page to find out more about how to submit your work for the "Best of ILDA" laser presentations.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: HongKong LaserKing Tec Co., Ltd. of Shenzhen. They have standard and custom laser shows systems for professional, industrial, club and DJ use. Their website is here.

Minutes of the August 2007 SAE G-10T laser safety subcommittee meeting have been posted to the private, Members-Only section of the website. This meeting of laser-aviation safety experts contains descriptions of around 13 aircraft illumination incidents, most in the April to August 2007 timeframe. These reports show the continued concern over this problem. The minutes also discuss a laser pointer bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the latest FAA research using lasers in a flight simulator.
      If you are an ILDA Member and do not know your username and password for the Members-Only section, see this page.
 

All ILDA Booth and ILDA Laser Theater sponsorships have now been taken, for the November 16-18 LDI trade show in Orlando. We welcome the following new sponsors:

• Mark Jacoby of Mountain Megabytes Inc. joins as a Silver-level sponsor of the ILDA Laser Theater. Mark will have an interesting new product to show at the Theater.
• At the Bronze level, the three new sponsors are Pangolin Laser Systems, Image Engineering, and Laser Spectacles. (Pangolin's participation is in addition to their co-producing the Laser Theater along with LaserNet and LSDI.)

      Fortunately, there are still opportunities to present your laser shows in the ILDA Laser Theater. These include Sponsored Presentations, advertising, and literature distribution. To find out more, click here.
     Our thanks to Mark Jacoby, Bill Benner (Pangolin), Joe Suehle (Image), Tim Walsh (Laser Spectacles), and to the other previously-announced sponsors of ILDA's activities at LDI 2007. 
 

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member: DJ LaserShow of Bilbao. This Spanish company, headed by Jose Patricio, does laser shows as well as selling, renting and maintaining laser show systems. More information (in Spanish) is at the DJ LaserShow website.

Added to the ILDA history pages a list of those who attended the second ILDA meeting, in November 1986. This was the East Coast organizing meeting, which occurred a few months after the first-ever meeting in Lake Tahoe in August 1986.

August 2007

Welcome to two new ILDA Members: Corporate Member Excitement Technologies Group, Inc. is headed by Kelly Sticksel. Many of you may remember Kelly from Magic Fire Laser Shows, which he founded in 1996 with Merridee Matson. Magic Fire is now part of ETG. The spectacular laser show on Roger Waters' recent "Dark Side of the Moon" tour was developed and shepherded by ETG. You can read more about this project here.
     Another part of ETG is new Affiliate Member FirstLight Laser Productions. Mike Dunn produces laser imagery and complete shows for laserists. For example, his work was recently seen at the Orlando Science Center's August laser shows. You can see Mike's work at his website, www.firstlight-laser.com.
     Welcome to both companies, which have a long history of contributions to ILDA and the laser industry.

Welcome to new ILDA Affiliate Member SilverRay Laser Systems. Based in the UK, SilverRay is helmed by Alexander Boydell. They manufacture and supply laser systems, with sales and rental of lasers for events and displays. They also have additional laser-related items such as software, lighting desks, and more. At this time (late August 2007) their website is under construction, but you can visit it at www.silverray.co.uk.

Welcome to new ILDA Corporate Member Technological Artisans of New York. President Daniel Cohn has been involved with lasers since the 1970s; and his company was incorporated in 1981. Technological Artisans was a charter member of ILDA, joining in the first year (1986). Technological Artisans does laser shows as well as providing equipment and programs such as Merlin laser show software. More information is at their website.

New sponsors have been added to ILDA's activities at the Nov. 2007 LDI trade show in Orlando. Our thanks to George Dodworth of Lightwave International, who has substantially committed to this event as sponsor for the ILDA Booth and as the Gold-level sponsor of the Laser Theater. You may have read about Lightwave recently in PSLN magazine's coverage of the Roger Waters "Dark Side of the Moon" world tour. Lightwave was one of the companies involved in producing a stunning 3D laser re-creation of Pink Floyd's iconic white-light-prism-rainbow logo.
     Thanks also to Neo-Neon Lasers, who is a Silver-level sponsor of the Laser Theater, and to LaserNet, who is sponsoring the Theater's Cash Bar. They join the producers of the Laser Theater: LaserNet, LSDI and Pangolin.
     Sponsorships are still available, along with opportunities to present your laser shows in the ILDA Laser Theater. To find out more, click here.

Added "A Complete Guide to Laser Shows". It explains various laser effects and uses, plus production information to help producers integrate lasers into their shows. One of the most detailed guides anywhere for event producers.

Added a page about the "DVD Laser Flashlight Hack", which first appeared on the Internet on Aug. 7. The new page has safety warnings, for anyone building this type of high-powered do-it-yourself laser pointer.

Added Membership FAQs page to clarify common questions about ILDA membership.

Added ILDA history menu, to make it easier to find pages about ILDA's history.

Updated chart showing Board of Directors service, to make it more accurate and easier to read.

July 2007

Welcome to a new ILDA Nonprofit Member, Planetarium Hamburg in Germany. They are using a Jenoptik ZULIP (Zeiss Universal Laser Image Projector) and a LOBO Lacon-5 laser system for their shows. Their website is at www.planetarium-hamburg.de.
 

ILDA will be a major participant in the LDI trade show, to be held November 16-18 in Orlando. The IAAPA show will also be at the same time and location, giving additional exposure. ILDA's goal is to help market lasers as a cost-effective "wow!" tool, for LDI and IAAPA attendees. There are four main events:

-- An ILDA booth on the LDI trade show floor
-- Three seminars for LDI and IAAPA attendees, produced by ILDA
-- The ILDA Laser Theater, a day-long event featuring shows sponsored by
   Members (show off your best work!). This is being managed for ILDA by
   LaserNet, LSDI and Pangolin.
-- A mid-year meeting and reception for ILDA Members

     ILDA Members can benefit by sponsoring events and their own laser shows, and by helping with the ILDA-run events. Much more information is in our special ILDA-at-LDI section. It includes an overview of ILDA at LDI, discussion of the ILDA Laser Theater, information about sponsorship and participation opportunities, a call for speakers at the ILDA seminars, and even passes good for free admission to the LDI exhibit hall.
     For any Members doing business with LDI or IAAPA attendees, this is a wonderful opportunity! (And many thanks to Christine Jenkin of LaserNet who developed and is managing this effort.)
 

Welcome to a new ILDA Member, MGConcept. Founded in March 2006, this French company sells MGC_Modulo and Conception software for club management, and lasers including Spookyblue and Tweety. They also do maintenance of lasers, and provide standard and personalized laser modules. More information is at their website (in French) at www.mgconcept.fr.
 

June 2007

Welcome to two new ILDA Members. Many of you may know Lasertec Showlaser of Germany. They manufacture laser projectors and effects, rent equipment, and produce laser shows. The other new Member is Pyramid Laser, a Canadian company led by Alexander Nagel.

Working to form the China Market Committee. Jim Hardaway of Neo-Neon is organizing ILDA Members who are in China, or who do business with China. One focus is standards -- both those set by the Chinese government, and also meeting ILDA and world standards for export equipment. Another focus is on safety (recently there were some issues at the Beijing PALME show).
     The overall goal is to help improve the Chinese laser market for ILDA Members, and to secure the future of laser display in China.
     Jim is hoping to have an organizing meeting soon, to discuss issues and make an agenda for 2007-2008. For more information, contact Jim Hardaway at jim@neo-neon.com or (+86) 138-2239-9965.

Mediam provided lasers for the sixth annual Eska Music Awards in Poland. Details can be found here, on the "Laser shows and projects" page, which highlights news from ILDA Members.

Laser Design Productions is using 12 laser systems, including four 4-watt white-light diode lasers, for the current leg of Justin Timberlake's Future Sex tour. Details can be found here.

Welcome to two new ILDA Members. Both companies are run by Adrian Pistritto of Melbourne, Australia. Lumina Visual Productions is an ILDA Corporate member, since they do lasershows (as well as manufacturing projectors and components). Lasershow Parts is an ILDA Affiliate member, supplying lasershow-related components online. Welcome to both companies!

May 2007

On May 20-22, ILDA attended the PALME Middle East trade show in Dubai, passing out ILDA Membership Directories and helping encourage the use of laser displays.
     Our complete report includes news and photos of ILDA Members LOBO, HB Laser, 3rd Dimension Eventech, MT-Electronic, Kvant, Highlite International, Neo-Neon, Matrix Laser and Big Dipper Laser. As a bonus, we also have news from the world's only Mexican/Swedish laserist, Adela Kriland. Click here for the PALME 2007 report plus a slideshow.

ILDA Member discounts available for PALME 2008. We will be have a stand at next year's PALME Middle East trade show, which is to be held April 27-29 2008 in Dubai. ILDA Members exhibiting will receive a special PALME discount of 10% off the normal rate. Note that for some Members, this discount alone could pay for ILDA dues!

Welcome to a new (sort of) ILDA Corporate Member, Xarrin Advanced Technologies Co. Xarrin won an ILDA Award in 2002 for their UTOPIA 3d Animator and UTOPIA Cell Editor software add-ons for Pangolin systems. ILDA met them at the PALME show in Dubai, May 20-22 where A. Hamadi Moghaddam and Hamid Aeinehsaz were pleased to re-join the Association. Xarrin produces laser and multimedia shows, in addition to software for the laser and multimedia fields. Xarrin's website is at www.xarrin.com.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member, Big Dipper Laser Technology. Located in Buenos Aires, president Gabriel Pennella is the official dealer of Big Dipper lasers for the Argentina market. You can visit the company's webpage here.

Welcome to a new ILDA Individual Member, Swa Hendrickx of Belgium. He has joined because of his involvement with sound and lighting control, and the ILDA standards. Thank you for your interest!

April 2007

MediaLas introduces remote beam alignment technology for RGB solid-state projectors. On the Mystiqe Evolution projectors, color convergence can be done up to 50 meters away -- even during a show. And by using an external sensor, the projector aligns itself within seconds. The full press release is here, and you can read about the projector on the Mystiqe page at MediaLas's website.

LiveDesign magazine published an ILDA-written article on current laser technology and applications. It gives a good overview of how laser shows have become easier to use, and to integrate into productions.
      The article was written by Executive Director Patrick Murphy. It features a number of products and projects by ILDA Members.
      The article was published as part of the ILDA press release program sponsored by Pangolin Laser Systems. (Remember that any ILDA Member can submit a press release as part of this program.)
     You can read the article online at the LiveDesign website. We also have a PDF of the article as it appeared in the April 2007 edition of the magazine.

Added past articles written by ILDA for various publications, which try to increase business for Members and for the laser display industry. These articles include the LiveDesign story shown above, plus:

• How lasers in amusement parks help keep visitors in the parks, and increase revenue, from the October 2006 Park World magazine

• Using lasers in churches, from the October 2006 Technologies for Worship magazine

• A short item about ILDA, from the Orlando Sentinel in May 2006

Added press releases about recent projects by ILDA Members:

• Lasernet provides lasers for four stages at Miami's Ultra Music Festival.

• LaserNet chosen by NFL to enhance Miami skyline with six rooftop-mounted lasers at Super Bowl XLI (includes three photos)

• LOBO uses 95 watts of white light laser power, at the opening of the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar. The event is viewed by 3 billion people on television. (This show won first place in the 2006 ILDA Awards, in the Live Stage Performance category.)

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member  ($250 dues level):  AixiZ LLC in Texas is a manufacturer and supplier of laser and LED products. For lasers, powers range from 1mW to 8W. RGB lasers are available, as well as other components such as power supplies. They sell at their Internet site www.mfgcn.com and have EU and Italian phone numbers as well.

Split the online alphabetical Member list into two webpages, one for A-K plus numbers, and one for L-Z. This was done to work around a bug where the left-side menu, and some Member entries, did not show up when the page had too many entries.

Clarified ILDA's policy on branch office listings. This helps standardize how companies are listed, especially on pages showing companies in a specific geographical area.
     In a nutshell, branch offices are mentioned, with a link back to the main company. If a branch office wants a full listing with the local address, phone, email etc., then this requires a full ILDA Membership.

Welcome to two new ILDA Corporate Members  ($250 dues level):

• Hawaiian Laser Light Designs, and laserist William Mulcahy.

• Laser X of South Africa, led by Troy Bentley. Their website is at www.laserx.co.za.

March 2007

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Lynx Laser in the U.K. They do laser displays for events, film and TV, and clubs/bars. Kevin Todd is a certified Laser Safety Officer. Lynx's website is at www.lynxlaser.co.uk.

Updated the ILDA Bylaws Online, to reflect the changes that were approved during the March 10 Business Meeting in China.

Added the first video of a 2006 ILDA Award winner. In China, Omicron-Laserage won first place in Innovative Application, for a 2-meter-square box containing a lasershow, complete with band and about 1000 screaming fans. A downloadable excerpt from their ILDA Award-winning video is now online, at this webpage.

Some ILDA Members could not make it to China, to pick up their ILDA Awards. Three members sent their acceptance speeches for artistic awards in time so they could be presented at the Awards Banquet. The list of 2006 ILDA Award winners has been updated so you can download these three acceptance speeches: HB Laser (text, PDF format), LOBO (video, QuickTime format) and Omicron-Laserage (video, WMV format).
     You may be especially interested in the LOBO video as it gives a "behind-the-scenes" look at their studios.

Updated the list of all ILDA Awards winners.

The 2007 ILDA Conference report web page is now up. At this time (March 13) it contains links to information about:

• ILDA's new President, Tim Walsh and new Board member Jim Hardaway

• The results of the 2006 ILDA Awards, including the Career Achievement Award recipient, Doug McCullough

• Photos taken at the Conference by L. Michael Roberts.

Additional information will be added later, after returning from China.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Smart Electronic Co. of Guang Dong, China. Chen Jian is the manager; the company website is www.smart-laser.net.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Arjay-Ellis L.L.C. produces laser shows as well as A/V services and live microwave feeds. Co-owners Lance Steimle and Richard Jensen are developing a number of products for laser effects and laser safety. Their website is currently under construction at www.arjay-ellis.com.
 

February 2007

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member  ($500 dues level): Changchun New Industries Optoelectronics Tech. Co. Ltd. (CNI) of China. They produce DPSS lasers in many different powers, wavelengths and configurations. They say they are the largest DPSS manufacturer in China. Their website is at www.cnilaser.com
     We are also pleased to announce that they are an ILDA Conference Gold Sponsor.

Thank you to three new ILDA Conference Gold Sponsors: Cambridge Technology, Definitive Special Projects Ltd., and Changchun New Industries Optoelectronics Co. Ltd. ILDA greatly appreciates your support!

You can help ILDA and get exposure for your company: become a Sponsor of the 2007 ILDA Conference, March 9-11 in China. There are three levels: Gold, Silver and Bronze.
    New for 2007 is the ability to have your Sponsorship last all year long. You can use logos like the one at right throughout 2007. Plus, we'll add an ILDA Sponsor logo next to your Membership listings. It really helps your listing to stand out.
      To find out more about how easy and rewarding it is to sponsor, click here.

Thanks to our first two Gold Sponsors, Neo-Neon and Pangolin. We greatly appreciate your support of ILDA and the laser display industry!

ILDA continues to expand into new countries, with members in Ukraine and Turkey:

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member  ($250 dues level): RIYA Co. Ltd. of Ukraine. They manufacture and distribute lasershow controllers including for PCI, USB and Ethernet, and they also design laser and entertainment software. Led by director Ihor Ralko, their website is at www.riyalasers.com.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Limit Elektronik of Turkey. This company produces laser shows along with manufacturing laser projectors. Laserist Ibrahim Tunca says that they are the first laser projector producer in Turkey, and have been recognized by the Turkish media for this. Visit their website at www.limitelektronik.com.

Welcome to a new ILDA Individual Member: Osama Halabi, an assistant professor at Iwae University in Morioka, Japan. His academic interests include computer graphics and virtual reality research.

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member  ($250 dues level): Guangzhou Brother Technology Co. Ltd. of China, also known as XP Laser. They make solid-state lasers ranging in power from 10mW to 600mW. Meet them at the ILDA Conference next month!

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate Member  ($500 dues level): A&P Instrument Co., Ltd. of Hong Kong. They feature lasers and scanners, including CTI scanners and NEOS acousto-optic crystals. Their website is at www.anpico.com.
 

ILDA Conference registration is now open. The ILDA Conference is March 9-11 in China. There are two forms available:

• Registration form for current (2007) ILDA Members

• Registration form for non-members

In addition, information on the hotel and Conference schedule has been posted. You can also find out who has registered for the Conference
 

Welcome to a (somewhat) new ILDA Individual Member  ($125 dues level): Long-time ILDA member Richard Gonsalves was out of ILDA for a few years, but attended the 2006 Conference in Rimini and has rejoined as a "new" member for 2007. Richard already has volunteered his time and expenses to serve on January 25 as a judge for the ILDA Awards. Welcome back, Richard!

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Hollywood Pro Lighting and Event Services. They have produced events for an impressive roster of clients, over their 20 years. In addition, owner Robert Harper does distribution, sales and rentals of lasers, lighting, and special event equipment, plus custom products. Read about their laser show services here, and their equipment and services here.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Lasermarc.nl of The Netherlands (of course!). Owner Marc van Riezen does lasershows for discos and events. Visit the website at www.lasermarc.nl, natch!

January 2007
 

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($500 dues level): Cirrect Laser Scientific Co. Ltd. of Shenzen, China. They create and sell laser systems, DPSS lasers, laser effects for discos and stage performances, and professional creative concepts for outdoor and theme park shows. To see a product catalog, click on the image at right or visit their website at www.cr-laser.com.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate Member  ($250 dues level): Laser Dynamics of Cape Town, South Africa. The company is run by long-time ILDA Member Ian Powell, who many of you know from the yearly ILDA Conferences. Congratulations to Ian on forming Laser Dynamics.

Welcome to a returning ILDA Corporate Member ($250 dues level): Laser Grafix. This UK company was an ILDA Member in past years, and has returned for 2007. One of their most recent projects is the impressive MTV awards show where 23 lasers were used. Check out more information about the show here.

Judging for the 2006 ILDA Artistic Awards is scheduled for 25 January 2007, hosted by ILDA President Dirk Baur at his company MediaLas in Germany. The three artistic judges selected are: Friedrich Foerster, Henrik Turzer, and Richard Gonsalves. Thanks to all the volunteers, including the judges, Dirk and his company, awards coordinator Peter Mayer, and ILDA Awards Committee chair Tim Walsh.
 

In December 2006, the ILDA Board presented former Executive Director and Laserist Editor David Lytle with a "thank you" gift and a plaque for his service. David sent a nice note in reply, which members may be interested in:

"Thanks for the cool digital picture frame and plaque. I was very much surprised (in a pleasant way!) to open the box and am sincerely touched. We have the frame up and running in the living room right now showing all the Xmas pictures; eventually I will load it up with my favorite laser pics. Wishing all the ILDAites a happy 2007!"

Also of interest: As you may know, David now works as Public Information Manager for the Oregon Humane Society. The OHS was involved with a huge 20-pound stray cat who got stuck Jan. 10 in a homeowner's pet door, while trying to steal food. A video of the cat taken at OHS went to #1 at CNN and was #1 for YouTube animal videos. As PIM, David helped manage the news story, which ran on 250 TV stations.
 

Updated the 2006 ILDA Awards status page, to include a summary of the entries we received over the past month. You may find it interesting to see the number of entries in the various categories. Don't forget that the 2007 Entry page is already up, so you can start planning your entries for next fall <grin!>.

Added high-quality, professional photos of the ILDA Award, for use by Award winners and the Awards committee. These do not have any specific company or date on them. There are two types, one for Artistic awards and one for Technical awards, with various background options. ILDA Members can click here to access the photos.

Welcome to a new ILDA Affiliate member  ($250 dues level):  Laser-Media Kft. of Hungary. Led by Zsolt Várady, the company is "an international laser marketplace" for lasers, components and shows, at their website www.lmlaser.com.

Congratulations to a new ILDA Corporate Member ($250 dues level): Banthai Laser. Previously, owner Karl Dawson was an ILDA Individual member. But for 2007 he has joined as a Corporate member, to help further his growing business. This UK company does local promotions and special events, with equipment including a 1.3W RGB projector.

As part of working on renewal updates, the member listings have been extensively reworked.
     To help reduce spam address harvesting, email addresses were changed to a format harder for computers to read; for example: mailatlaseristdotorg. (Unfortunately, you will have to manually type in addresses, instead of clicking on them as links.)
     Also, made the various member dues levels more consistent, and cleaned up inconsistent formatting in the geographical listings.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate member ($250 dues level): Laser Image Productions of Greenfield, Indiana (USA). They do indoor and outdoor laser light shows which include YAG beams and color graphics. Kim Kopernak is the vice president of Laser Image Productions.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate member ($500 dues level): AT Laser Technology Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong. They are a DPSS laser manufacturer. For green lasers, power levels range from 30mW to 10W. For multi-color lasers, power levels range from 200mW to 13W. Led by Managing Director Alex Chi Hung Lau, they can be reached at their website: www.atlaser.hk.

Welcome to a new ILDA Corporate member ($250 dues level): Mountain Megabytes Inc. of Nevada City, California. The president and CEO is Mark Jacoby.

Welcome to a returning ILDA Affiliate member ($250 dues level): Cory Simpson of KOHR Productions in Washington state. Many of you may know Cory from his award-winning work with Laser Fantasy and Lightspeed. In addition, Cory has contributed to the industry by helping create and organize the "LaserJam". Welcome back to ILDA, Cory!

LaserJam 2007 is announced. This independent project brings together a group of volunteer laserists who work on creating a single laser artwork. The target date for the world premiere is March 10, at the ILDA Conference Lase-Off in China.
     In 2007, Cory Simpson is once again coordinating the LaserJam. More information is at the LaserJam 2007 page at Cory's website.
      For this year, there is a special LaserJam forum at the ILDA Forums. Those who want to work on the LaserJam can meet here to discuss the show, and upload files for the group effort. Note that this is an independent project with ILDA providing some assistance. You do not have to be a member of ILDA to work on LaserJam, or to access the LaserJam forum.