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White Sound’s Josh White’s latest project was a sound upgrade for a new bar/restaurant in the heart of Soho from the owners of the ubiquitous Alphabet bar, for which he turned to the Turbosound TCS range of loudspeakers. White Sound was responsible for the sound system design and install for the Alphabet bar in 1996, and Josh was the obvious choice for Amber’s general manager, Spike Marchant. Amber is a modern styled bar/restaurant set over two floors. The ground floor restaurant features booth seating and required low level and discreet sound reinforcement. For this area, Josh mounted four TCS-20 cabinets on a dropped ceiling raft that runs through the centre of the room. This method ensured the speakers would not be seen - the sound is reflected off the walls into the s

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Summit Steel has appointed Chris Walker to the senior role of project manager. Many will know Walker from his time at ‘rigging.co.uk’, his own company, which specialised in major rigging projects, not least several years organising many extensive productions for Cisco Systems, the world’s largest corporation. Besides major industrial shows, Walker’s rigging background also includes theatre and concert touring; Aerosmith, The Beautiful South, and several years spent with Riverdance, to name just three.

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Color Kinetics has been awarded US Patent 6,166,496 for a method of augmenting a full variety of digital content - including video games, music, movies and even information - with the company's digital lighting technology. This third patent for the company covers systems and methods of combining and decoding lighting control information with an entertainment signal, so that video games, music, movies, and Internet content can directly drive full spectrum digital lighting to enhance that content. The result is a fully immersive experience where light - in an infinite variety of colours and intensities - interacts with sound, video or information to extend the entertainment experience beyond a television, movie screen, computer monitor or speaker system. Color Kinetics is branding this technology combination ‘Surround Light’. Potential applications cited by the company include
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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

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Macclesfield-based Federal Signal, the leading supplier of public address and voice alarm systems, has won a £30,000 contract to provide an emergency alert system at the new offices of the UK Passport Agency in London. The contract has been won in conjunction with Hull-based systems integrator Galloway Electronics, which was recommended to Federal by Millbank master distributor RW Salt. The system will be based on Federal’s new multi-zone alert system, VeriFire, and will enable the Passport Office staff to quickly and safely coordinate the evacuation of the building from two incident rooms, situated on the first and fifth floors. VeriFire was specififed because of its diagnostic and fault-finding capabilities - a pre-requisite of the contract. The systems also features a digital messaging unit for office-wide public address announcements, and single- and multi-zone paging capabili

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DHA Lighting continues its international expansion with the appointment of Exton as its stockist in Iceland. As Iceland's leading lighting supplier, Exton H/F, under the leadership of Gunnar Gunnarsson, provides comprehensive support to DHA as a distributor of gobos, moving effects and the DHA Gecko gobo projector. Based in Reykjavik, Exton H/F is involved in theatre, film and television lighting and can be contacted on telephone +354 896 2110 or at the e-mail address below.

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Rigging specialist Summit Steel has supplied a custom solution to a hanging problem for the Royal Shakespeare Company, as it embarks on the weighty matter of presenting the entire Henry VI canon, plus Richard III, non-stop, at the University of Michigan. The central scenic device for the production revolves entirely around a ‘hanging’ scenic device as conceived by set designer Tom Piper. At the Swan, this was an adaptation of an existing catwalk, fitted with two trap doors, through which siege ladders could be lowered through for storming the castle walls. Jon Bray of Summit Steel was called in to look at the problem. He explains: "It’s quite a simple device but used in complex roles; actors lowered through on ropes for example, the siege ladders, and in one instance the catwalk itself is used for a fight scene on castle ramparts. It does get very busy up there.&qu

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Screenco installed 44sq.m of high-resolution LED image magnification at the Royal Albert Hall in February for a star-studded gala dinner to kick-start the 2001 Formula One Grand Prix season. Screenco featured their 15mm digital LED system at the event, configured for 4:3 aspect ratio material. The screen, the largest of its type ever installed at the venue, was flown upstage centre and integrated within the set design, to broadcast live camera relays of the VIP guests. The event, promoted by Chas Cole for CMP and produced by Andrew Zweck for Sensible Music, was held in aid of the Brain & Spine Foundation, whose patron is Professor Sid Watkins, Formula One’s chief medical officer. Entertainment was provided by Jools Holland and the Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, Chris Rea, Simon Le Bon and Gabrielle, among others, with the finale featuring Eddie Jordan & His All Star Band, including Pink

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X-Line the brand new line array system from Electro-Voice made its UK debut with Richard Ashcroft at the Brixton Academy recently. Robbie McGrath was engineered the nine-piece band on his console of choice a Midas XL4, accompanied by his custom-built front-of-house and effects racks courtesy of ML Executives. The system comprised a J-hang of five XVLS and three XVLT cabinets at a trim height of 25ft, plus five ground-stacked sub units per side. Infills for close audience coverage were provided by EV X-Array Xi-1152 cabinets, and the whole system was driven by EV P3000 amps. Processing was handled by three Klark Teknik DN9848s, while mic splitting was dealt with by five DN1248s.

This was the first time Robbie McGrath had used the new system. He commented: " . . . as with every first show, there were a couple of adjustments to make before it really started to purr the way I knew it

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Flying Pig Systems and High End Systems have announced details of the 2001 Automated Lighting Academy - a comprehensive programme designed to educate participants in the fundamentals of automated lighting. The goal of the six-week course is to give each student the necessary skills and knowledge to be experts at using automated lighting to create powerful lighting designs. Those successfully completing the class will be fully prepared to work with leading lighting designers.

The 2001 inaugural course will run from June 25 - August 3, and will be based in Los Angeles. Some theory will be covered, but the focus will be primarily ‘hands-on’. Students will first be taught how to operate automated luminaires and consoles, and gradually the focus will shift to using these tools effectively. This learning will be done through a variety of projects and assignments. In addition, lea

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UK-based loudspeaker manufacturer Logic System Pro Audio has recently appointed a new dealer to cover the South East Asian market. Following discussions at PLASA 2000, the company has announced that Singapore-based Del Salado Entertainment Pte Ltd has invested in products from Logic’s IS, CM and CS ranges. The company will be developing Logic System’s business throughout Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Louis Teo of Del Salado says he pinpointed Logic System as an important up-and-coming brand name, while Logic believe Del Salado will be the ideal partner for making inroads into this vast market.

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Directors of the newly-constituted Sound Department chose the Frankfurt Musikmesse this month to unveil their plans for the future.

Following the demise of the former Sound Dept, the new company will commence trading from an operating base in Banbury, Oxfordshire, at the beginning of April, under the executive management of Steve Smith (MD), Andy Simmons (sales and marketing director) and Peter Nicholls (FD).

The new company has consolidated its position with all the premier brands previously represented, and will act as exclusive UK distributor for Crest Audio, Community Professional Loudspeakers, Sound Advance, Level Control Systems (LCS) and Australian Monitor Industrial (formerly Audio Telex).

Other key members of The Sound Department team are technical support manager, Steve Badham, along with Bruce Francis, who will now run the service department from a self-contained unit in

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The latest phase in the development of Flagship Portsmouth, home to Nelson’s Victory, has been completed by Sarner International. Mike Mann reports.

The project, which involved several months of in-depth research, in collaboration with the Victory’s curators and crew, led to the installation of a shore-based ‘mood theatre’, which takes a personal view of the battle of Trafalgar in October 1805 - Nelson’s greatest, and final, triumph.

Using Alcorn McBride control and playback systems, Sarner’s David Dempsey, Ross Magri and John Griffin devised a four-scene experience, with an independently-controlled waiting area and several interactive elements. David Dempsey explained that in the case of the Victory Gallery, technology was used to make the story of Trafalgar more accessible, without trivialising this pivotal piece of naval history. "There was

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The new paging system installed by Avalon Communications into the ExCeL as part of the 90,000sq.m world-class, state-of-the-art event space in London’s Docklands, will run on a major BSS Soundweb network. Corporate communications events at ExCeL are hosted in large, reconfigurable halls, enhanced by a sophisticated IT and communication infrastructure. The venue was intent on having a flexible paging system utilising the recently-installed Avalon distributed Jupiter voice evacuation system. Thus Avalon sales engineer Stephen McCay, in conjunction with LMC Audio’s Tom Davis, designed and commissioned the system to meet the venue’s digital networking requirements, based around ten 9088 Soundweb Mk2s and six 9000 hubs. "Whereas the Avalon equipment provides a fully-monitored voice alarm solution via a dedicated digital highway," said McCay, "we cannot match t

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PLASA Media has today learned that the veteran lighting designer, Michael Northen MBE, died peacefully in the early hours of yesterday morning. Northen, who was Life President of the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) and one of the best-known figures in lighting design, had been suffering from degenerative heart disease for some time. Credited with being the first professional Lighting Designer, he designed for over 300 productions during his long career, at venues including the Royal Opera House, the Royal Ballet, Glyndebourne Opera House and RSC Stratford. He was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List this year in recognition of his services to theatre.

In an announcement today to members of the ALD, chairman Rick Fisher said: "Michael’s thoughts were always with the lighting world. It is entirely characteristic that he wished to celebrate

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The Mach SlingShot series was in use for the closing concert of the14th Macau International Music Festival. The Venue was Forum I, Macau - a 2000-capacity, indoor venue for multi-purpose activities including sport events and music concerts. Shalom AV Technology Limited (Hong Kong & Macau’s sole agency) and Master Piece Light & Audio Engineering Co (one of Macau’s largest rental companies) provided all lighting, sound equipment and rigging for the show. Master Piece is the first rental company in Macau to introduce the Mach SlingShot for daily use.

A total of eight Mach SlingShot MS1262 three-way top boxes were used as the main reinforcement system. Flown clusters of two MS1262s per side served the front seats and an MS1262 served the side seats, while four MS118 bass cabinets were placed in front of the stage. An EV Dx38 was used as the system crossover for the front SlingS

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Reacting on input from industry lighting designers and architectural lighting specialists, Martin has incorporated a 150W source into its new, smaller exterior housing. The Exterior 200 is a conveniently compact and powerful 150W, short-throw, CMY colour-changer in the same design of weatherproof (IP65-rated) aluminium housing as the award-winning Exterior 300. Its asymmetrical wide-throw flood beam makes it suitable for applications where projection distance is limited. Extremely versatile and housing a long life 6000-hour lamp, the Exterior 200 can be tucked discreetly into architectural design details of buildings or other structures. A built-in light sensor, memory presets and DMX controllability add to its independent functionality.

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Production Resource Group (PRG) has announced that it has established new credit totaling $125 million with GMAC Business Credit, to support its strategic plans. This refinancing was coupled with the sale of PRG's Systems Group consisting of Signal Perfection Ltd and the Ancha and SPL-Integrated Solutions divisions, to a newly-formed entity controlled by shareholders of PRG and Systems Group management. "With such rapid expansion, there have been obstacles and growing pains. None the less, the hard work of the talented people that make up PRG and the new management we've implemented has significantly reduced our debt from $190 million to $110 million," says Jere Harris, chairman and CEO. "I attribute these achievements to the continual efforts of our employees. It's their diligence, dedication and teamwork that has directly resulted in improved performance."

PRG ant

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Level Control Systems (LCS) has showcased the newest component of their dynamic mixing/processing platform - CueConsole. In the past, sound designs for live productions used a standard large format console as the front end - with group outputs feeding the LCS system for matrixing and cue control. Technically, all of it could be done in LCS - just not with real faders and knobs. CueConsole is LCS's proprietary control interface that allows the LCS system to replace the traditional front-of-house mixer. CueConsole's new approach to digital control surfaces is its uniquely adaptable modularity. Four types of control modules interface with the core of the system: the SuperNova audio engine or the new Matrix3 audio engine. The modules are flexible in that they can be configured in whatever way is most convenient for the sound designer/engineer. Because CueConsole is just a control surface wit

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Wembley Loudspeaker has launched a new 15 - 400 Pro Cabinet to coincide with this year’s Frankfurt Music Exhibition. These two-way speaker enclosures have been developed for the professional audio user, and are suitable for mobile applications or installations, as parts of larger sound systems or as stand-alone units. The cabinets are rated at 400W RMS continuous and their performance has hugely impressed listeners, surpassing the output and quality of many more expensive makes. The 15 - 400 Pro contains a PTP 15-190 15" driver and a TP 300 flare, along with a proprietary European compression driver and adjustable crossover, with all the necessary protection built in. The cabinet is rigidly constructed covered in black carpet as standard and weighing in a 30kg they are easily portable. Fittings include protecting corners, top hats, metal grab handles and a full metal grill. Co

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The biggest gaming venue in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, has taken delivery of a Midas Heritage 2000 in time to celebrate the casino’s 9th birthday. Having started life in 1992 as a 250,000sq.ft facility with a 46,000sq.ft casino, Foxwoods has now grown to nearly 20 times that size. The complex occupies an impressive 4.7m sq.ft and contains five main casinos under one roof with 320,000sq.ft of gaming space, 28 places to dine, shops, meeting rooms, nightclubs and spas. While Foxwoods houses six performance venues ranging in size from 100 to 4,500 seats, the premier venue, now home to a new Heritage 2000, is the Fox Theatre in the heart of the ‘Theatre District’. This 1,450-seat showroom opened on Nov. 17, 1993, with a concert series by Frank Sinatra. Since then, the Fox Theatre has hosted hundreds of other entertainers including Tony Be

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For the fourth consecutive year, Audio-Technica microphones were the microphone of choice for the Grammy Awards, staged at the Staples Center in Los Angeles last month. Audio-Technica supplied over 370 microphones for one of the most widely-watched music events of the year. On-hand was New York City-based Effanel Music's all-digital mobile remote truck with John Harris at the helm to mix the broadcast sound as well as ATK/Audiotek from Burbank, California, who supplied the sound system at the event with front-of-house engineer Rob ‘Cubby’ Colby. Audio-Technica's market manager for live sound, Joel Singer, spent the week in LA during the Grammy rehearsals to offer technical assistance. Singer worked closely with both Effanel and ATK/Audiotek, providing his extensive knowledge on microphone selection.

A wide-selection of Audio-Technica microphones was employed, including: AT4

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