Details
Stage One has just completed one of its most complex logistical challenges with the staging of a series of sales presentations throughout Japan for Amway. Working on behalf of London-based Maritz Communications, Stage One designed and built the sets including a wedge-shaped catwalk, auditorium and 12 modular exhibition units which were transported to Japan for the presentations as part of a major Amway recruitment drive.

Details
Celestion has announced a key addition to its international sales network: Greater Union Entertainment Technology (GUET) has been awarded exclusive distribution rights for Celestion loudspeakers in Australia. With expertise ranging across sound, projection and lighting, the company now maintains offices throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe, distributing brands such as Hafler, Studiomaster, Mogami, Klipsch, and Monster Cable. GUET has a specialist division dedicated to sound, video and lighting (SVL) contracting work, which will be particularly applicable to Celestion's expanding range of installation systems. Celestion and GUET make their first joint appearance at the Entech 2000 trade show.

Details
Ideal Entertainment, Imax Corporation and CERTS are working on the production of a concert film for IMAX Theatres featuring live performances by Carlos Santana, BB King, Sting, Sheryl Crow and others. All Access is set to premiere in February 2001 and in addition to a front row seat and spectacular larger-than-life performances, will provide exactly what its title suggests - a rare All Access pass to the rehearsals, sound checks, casual conversations and general backstage madness that lies behind the scenes of every concert. Initial sequences for the film were shot at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles in February and additional sequences will be filmed with other live performances in the coming months.
featured content

Indochine X PixMob Fan Immersion

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's - 40 thousand LED pixels on a ceiling!!! Indochine's whirlwind tour transports fans to another level of the live experience - immersing them from floor to ceiling with PixMob's X4 wristbands, and an LED ceiling made entirely of its NOVA Minis! With the vision of Indochine's creative team, PixMob used its LED fan-technology to turn attendees and venues into an ocean of effects, and a starry sky of LED magic. Très très cool!

Read more about the Indochine tour in the latest issue of LSi

Details
Production Resources Group is to hold an auction for the Lighting Group and the Audio Group which will see a range of automated lights, dimmers, scrollers, speakers, processing equipment audio and lighting consoles go under the hammer. The auction will be held at 3026 Airport Avenue in Santa Monica, CA on Wednesday 15 March beginning at 11.00am. A preview of the equipment to be auctioned will take place on Tuesday 14 March at the same location, from 11.00am to 4.00pm. Auction catalogues (available 7 March onwards) can be downloaded from the PRG website whilst LA-411 will also be accepting pre-auction bids on equipment via their web site at www.la411.com. The proceedings will be transmitted live via the LA411 web site the day of the event.

Details
Electrovision, the Merseyside distribution company, has bought another well known name in the industry - Altai Group Ltd. This take-over further strengthens the group's position within the market giving it such famous house brands as Sound Lab, Eagle, Vision, ELV and of course NJD, as well as distribution for many other industry names. The take-over also includes branches in France, Holland, Germany and Belgium, as well as representation in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Mark Benyon now of Altai told PLASA News: "This move will provide greater penetration of the European market and will provide a better and more comprehensive service to all our customers. It gives us even stronger buying power to offer the best possible value to our customers." Richard Fox of Electrovision added: "I am very pleased with the successful outcome of this project and look forward to hearing from our cu

Details
Celestion's latest addition to the contractors' range of speakers, the KR Series, is the versatile KRc, designed for use in hotels, offices, schools, hospitals, transport termini and public venues.The KRc is a ceiling-mount enclosure capable of high-quality background music and high level voice paging. With power handling of 100W, the unit has a full range response of 80 - 20,000Hz, thanks to its two-way configuration featuring a reflex loaded 5.25" bass driver and a coaxially mounted polymer tweeter.

Details
The plans for Millennium Square, Leeds, destined to become Europe's most innovative city centre events space was recently unveiled. The £12m project, funded by the Millennium Commission and Leeds City Council, is due to open in October 2000 and has been designed and built with the event promoter and manager in mind, with services and infrastructure incorporated into the design. Set to become one of Europe's most impressive civic spaces, the Square has a capacity of 2,000 seated, 5,000 standing and up to 20,000 for free events. Millennium Square will play host to a year- round programme of events and festivals commencing with the UK premiere performance of a major piece of outdoor theatre in October 2000. Other events likely to feature include an outdoor ice rink, Christmas markets and a summer concert season.

Details
The Victorian Arts Centre has recently completed Australia's largest permanent theatre system installation in its Melbourne Concert Hall. Totalling more than 35 self-powered loudspeakers systems, provided by Meyer Sound Australia, the system design was no small feat.The new pro-audio system in the 2,600-seat hall comprises a central cluster of three Meyer MSL-4s over two CQ-1s with a UPA-IP and UPA-2P on either side. The balcony downfills include a left/centre/right configuration of CQ-2s over DS-4Ps for the left and right and a CQ-1 over a DS-4P for the centre down fill. 24 UPM-1P making up the under balcony fills. In addition, a PSW-6 per side is located above the stage and a left and right array of two DS-4Ps, 4 MSL-4s and a CQ-1 flown over 2 PSW-6s.

Details
On the weekend of February 11-13, nearly 80 people from the international world of lighting descended on the Selsdon Park Hotel, Croydon, for 48 hours of hard work - and some hard play as well! ETC Europe was hosting a sales and marketing training weekend, attended by over 50 dealers from 19 countries. ETC staff from both the UK and the United States had arranged an intense schedule of seminars, covering not just product, but also system integration and the fundamentals of networking for theatrical and entertainment control systems.

Details
An authentic Chinese tea room of the 19th century, a spectacular laser show from the 21st and a live transmission from China Central Television were part of China in Britain Day held on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Companies, community groups and artists from across the UK participated in the event which took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. The Display ran in tandem with the annual Chinese New Year Lunch of London Export Ltd, supported by the 48 Group Club, whose long-standing ties to China date from 1952. The Display, organised by Chinese Marketing and Communications in conjunction with the Cultural Office of the Chinese Embassy, was taken from concept to reality in little more than a month thanks to key input from Clarion Events (organisers of the PLASA Show and PLASA Shanghai), LCI (Laser Creations International), LSI Projects - ADB (creative lighting) and China Gatewa

Details
The arrival of Aida in London's West End, originally scheduled for transfer from Broadway next year, seems likely to be delayed until 2002 following the off-stage performance of Sir Elton John, who walked out of the New York opening after only 15 minutes. The singer is not happy with the way his score for the reworking of Verdi's opera has been interpreted, particularly the techno-pop backing to two of his songs - Another Pyramid and My Strongest Suit. Disney has already dug deep into its coffers for the production, spending £10million on the show, including revamping it two years ago after Sir Elton saw the production in Atlanta and complained that the set was 'shoddy'.

Details
Vari-Lite Inc is expanding its new direct-sales product line into the amusement park industry. Feedback from theme park owners and operators has led to the introduction of the new Vari-Lite VL2400 Series luminaires and the VL2201 spot luminaire. Vari-Lite's Rusty Brutsche told L&SI: "Unlike our traditional clients, theme parks have entertainment production needs centred around the long-term use of equipment. The purchase and installation of Vari-Lite's new automated lighting products will provide all the features and capabilities of our specialised proprietary products."

Details
The Mezzanine Group has announced the closure and re-branding of its Fulham-based venue The Kings Club. The eponymous private members club closed its doors in late February for a full refurbishment and will re-open shortly to launch the private members club and bar - The Mezz Room. The plan to change identity has been well received by members, who felt that the current image of the club was in need of a makeover to bring it in line with today's trends and fashion. One of the unique attractions of the Mezz room is the Mezzanine@, an internet-based entertainment concept devised by the Group. This effectively means that the venue can receive live audio visual broadcasts of music-based events from DJs and artists around the UK from other Mezzanine venues.

Details
Overt Light to Sound - a new distribution company, handling both lighting and sound equipment - has been launched by Malcolm Burlow. Burlow has been in the industry for more than 15 years, most recently working with Electrovision, but prior to that with DJ2000 which had the sole UK distributor rights to Numark. The company will distribute a wide range of products from major manufacturers worldwide.

Details
AC Lighting has announced a number of staff promotions, including two new additions to its board of directors. Murray Gellatly has taken on the role of Financial Director, whilst GlynO'Donoghue becomes Marketing Director. Gellatly has been involved with AC since the early 1970s and has been its full time financial controller since 1993. O'Donoghue has been with AC Lighting for over eight years and has been a key member of the marketing department for much of that time. In a further promotion, Kevin Coker takes on the position of UK sales manager.

Details
Tony Shembish, Avolites' long standing salesman has left the Park Royal-based company to set up as an independent distributor - Avolites Middle East. The move was prompted by the rapidly expanding potential of the Middle East territories, and to take full advantage of the relations Shembish has developed with Avolites buyers, specifiers and users in this area. Shembish will have offices in Luton, UK and Beirut in The Lebanon and will be in charge of 20 countries.

Details
White Light recently took delivery of the first four Robert Juliat Cyrano Followspots off the production line. The Cyranos were then immediately delivered to the Royal Albert Hall where they will be permanently based as part of a long-term arrangement hire between Royal Albert Hall and White Light. One of the first shows to use the Cyrano spots was the Mountbatten Festival, where the rest of the largely automated rig was supplied by White Light's sister company - The Moving Light Company. The rig also included 17 High End StudioColors and 30 Martin MAC 500 and 250 luminaires. The Cyrano Followspot is a new addition to the range of RJ Followspots which White Light already own.

Details
James Thomas Engineering has expanded its Special Projects team with the appointment of Paul Young. Young has been with the company for seven years during which time he has worked within various aspects of the company’s production processes, including the manufacture of luminaires, aluminium trussing, ground support towers and roof systems. Most latterly, he has worked in the drawing office as a design draftsman. He will now liaise with clients and guide projects from conception to completion. Young will work alongside Patrick Lockwood, who has been performing this role for the last 12 months.

Details
Clear Channel Communications, Inc and SFX Entertainment, Inc have entered into a definitive merger agreement. The move will vastly expand Clear Channel's sphere of influence, for SFX is the world's largest promoter, producer and venue operator for live entertainment events. Clear Channel operates 867 radio and 19 television stations in the United States reaching over 120 million people weekly. It also has a wholly owned subsidiary - Premiere Radio Networks - which broadcasts to 40 million people weekly. Additionally, it has equity interests in over 240 radio stations internationally. SFX, meanwhile, currently owns or operates 120 live entertainment venues across the US markets and as we reported last year, is establishing a foot-hold in the UK market. In August, SFX Entertainment bought the UK's Apollo Leisure Group, which owns 23 theatres across the UK, for around US$254 million. The de

Details
Vari-Lite has appointed Geralyn Harvey as marketing communications manager. Harvey, a 13-year marketing veteran, most recently with Canadian firm Milltronics, will oversee all advertising, promotion, public relations and trade show activities for the company. She will work closely with Ken Matthews, who was brought in as vice president of sales and marketing last year to develop Vari-Lite’s direct sales organisation.

Details
Concert Systems, the Altrincham-based PA system company, have committed around £1 million in stock to a major new enterprise in Scandinavia. The heart of Paul Tandy's operation, which he will run as a joint venture with Audio Industries of Stockholm, is a massive EAW KF750 rig, purchased from UK distributors Sound Dept, which will extend his existing fleet. Tandy says that this already vast EAW inventory has been increased with the addition of 32 KF750s, six KF755 downfill boxes and 32 SB1000 sub bass, which will be depoted in Oslo and Stockholm. This will bring his total EAW stockholding to 120 KF750, 12 KF755, 24 KF850, 80 SB1000 and 12 BH852 enclosures. The development has been stimulated by a growing work roster in Scandinavia, including a major tour by the Norwegian Gospel Choir and artists such as Smokey, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker and leading Scandinavian band, Secret Garden.
Page 1283 of 3465

Latest Issue. . .