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CAST Lighting has unveiled the newest member of the WYSIWYG family - the WYG-it. Its plug-and-play USB interface enables PCs running WYSIWYG software to connect with DMX lighting consoles to cue, visualize and virtually render productions. "We have been working in partnership with Pathway Connectivity, an industry leader in Canada, on this particular project," said Gilray Densham, president of CAST Lighting Ltd. "The WYG-it has two DMX ports in for a total of 1024 channels per unit and includes a built-in MIDI for consoles that support AutoFocus. It is a small, portable and an affordable device that keeps clutter to a minimum, because there is no external power supply required." The WYG-it concept was first shown at LDI in October 2000 and then, following extensive Beta

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The PLASA AGM is one of the key events of our year - it’s a chance for us to review what’s gone and plan for what will be a very different future. The most effective way we can do that is by involving as many Members as possible so we’ve strived to create an event that we feel is worth attending. Your role is very important so please don’t file your ideas, comments or complaints away for another time, take this opportunity to influence the way PLASA is heading by joining us for the 2001 AGM.

Even if you’ve got nothing to say (unlikely we think), it’s an ideal opportunity for some relaxed networking in beautiful surroundings. As a backdrop to this year’s event, we have chosen the historic setting of Coombe Abbey, near Coventry. Set in 500 acres of parkland and dating back to 1150, this former Cistercian Abbey is an ideal place to meet up with fa

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The Allen & Heath ML series proved its rock and roll credentials when both the ML 4000 and 5000 were used for a Deep Purple show in Bangalore, India recently. The two dual function FOH/monitor mixers were used for the live concert, which was attended by over 15,000 fans in the palace grounds. Felix Remedios of Reynolds Sound and Light, the system provider for the production, said: "We had no hesitation in choosing the Allen & Heath mixers, as we knew they would give us the best of both worlds - great features at a great price."

The company's association with the ML series began when Felix saw the ML 4000, the latest addition to the ML series, at its debut in the Plasa Show, London. He was so impressed by the specifications that he bought an ML4000/48 and used it straight out of the box at the MC Hammer concert in Bangalore. The results were so good they immediately ordered a

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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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Bytecraft Automation has completed its investment in the UK stage machinery company, Caire Ltd. Bytecraft’s John Rowland told PLASA Media: "The acquisition of a controlling interest in Caire Ltd is the culmination of Bytecraft's five year strategy to achieve a European network of alliances and affiliates allowing us to offer stage automation and stage lighting solutions to our European customers." Bytecraft is one of the leading suppliers of stage automation control systems with major installations worldwide in cities including Tokyo, New York, Sydney, San Francisco, London, Melbourne and Paris. Bytecraft director Ted Fregon said: "The investment in the UK company Caire follows the opening of Bytecraft's Dutch operation in 1999. Bytecraft has now completed more than 10 projects in Europe and expects to complete a further 11 in the next three years."

The UK-bas

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Marquee Audio has supplied the first Yamaha DME32 for UK installation to theatre sound system specialists, Aura Sound Design. The Digital Mixing Engine will be installed in the Donmar Warehouse in London's Covent Garden in time for a new production - To The Green Fields Beyond - directed by Sam Mendes, and forms part of a general sound system upgrade, with the Shepperton distributors supplying all the components. Marquee Audio's Jimmy Potter, who earlier this year supplied Aura with a full sound specification for their fit-out for the Almeida Theatre in their temporary home of the Gainsborough Studios, confirmed that a new Yamaha 02R would again fulfil all the sound mixing duties, reinforced through four of Meyer's powered compact, multi-purpose UPM1P enclosures, which will augment the existing system. The new installation has been carefully designed to a fixed budget by Aura Sound Desig

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Richard Wear, formerly director and general manager of Celestion International Ltd, has announced his departure from the company, to pursue other professional and personal interests. At the company headquarters in Ipswich, Frank DiGirolamo takes over executive responsibility for the Professional Systems Division. He is currently Deputy CEO of KH Industries (UK) Ltd, and has extensive experience of both the consumer and professional audio business, as a senior executive at Harman International, and also chief operating officer of Intellisys Inc in the USA. DiGirolamo first became involved with Celestion as managing director of its sister company KEF, in the early nineties. His return to the UK just over two years ago signalled a change in the success of both the KEF and Celestion consumer brands. Speaking on behalf of Celestion, DiGirolamo said: "The company would like to thank Richa

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Photographic giant, Canon, unveiled its world vision at the recent Focus Show (NEC) with a stunning new stand featuring a huge globe constructed from leading aluminium trussing system, OPTI Trilite. The exhibition brings together photographers and suppliers from all over the UK, and is one of the key showcases for new products and services in Europe. As one of the biggest players in the market, Canon was determined to make a big splash and didn't disappoint. Canon's stand was the brainchild of exhibition specialists, Creative Concepts. "We always try to do something bigger and better every year for Canon's Focus stand," says managing director, Paul Harber. "This year we decided the central feature would be an enormous globe built from the polished version of OPTI Trilite. Being close business neighbours helps too, as both Creative Concepts and OPTI are based in Luton. Glen

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Proel has announced a key addition to its Smart Series PA speakers - the new 'Double 15' 215P full-range enclosure. The 215P's custom-designed twin 15" speakers are matched with a 1" compression driver, enabling an overall handling of 500W (AES) continuous (1000W peak). The 215P has a frequency response of 45Hz - 20kHz +/-6dB, has a sensitivity of 101dB @ 1W/1m and delivers a maximum SPL of 128dB. Significantly, the Smart Double 15 has a 90 x 40 degree exponential horn for accurate high frequency reinforcement. By incorporating low-pass filters in each of the LF drivers, the Smart 215P offers a smoother performance through the crossover region. Perfectly time-aligned, it also delivers a clear spectrum across its entire frequency range. The Smart 215P's forte is the enclosure's powerful long-throw performance, which makes it ideal for full range applications without the need for

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The Marine Hall in Fleetwood has chosen an Allen & Heath ML5000 as part of a sound system re-fit at the theatre, with a brief for no compromise on quality. Tony Mitchell, sound engineer at the hall, explains: "We needed a really advanced feature set and were gobsmacked to find it all on the ML5000 at such a competitive price - and with a great EQ, as well."

The dual function FOH/monitor mixer is ideal for the varied demands of the Marine Hall, with its 16 auxes, 8 audio groups and 8 VCA groups. The console's extended VCA capability includes 128 mute/VCA snapshot memories and intelligent P/AFL switching. Equally crucial to the decision was the full three-speaker balance provided through the LCRPlus panning system, ideal for providing even coverage throughout the auditorium and compensating for the effects of the central dome.

Andy Huffer of Marquee Audio, the company that su

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A glittering array of stars and a sell-out audience of 5,000 joined Prince Charles at the Daily Mail Farm Aid concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall earlier this month, which raised more than £350,000 for farmers affected by the Foot and Mouth crisis. The concert was the brainchild of classical music patron Jackie Rosenfeld OBE, who - with the help of experienced fund-raiser Maggie Heath and publicist Aurelia Stephenson - organised the evening in just four weeks. Dobson Sound was brought in by production team Unusual Services to design and operate the sound system for the gala event, which was based around the 96-piece London Philharmonic Orchestra accompanying virtuoso performances from the Royal Ballet, opera singer Kim Cresswell, humorous singer Dillie Keane, and comedy duo Kit and the Widow. The evening was hosted by Angela Rippon and Robert Powell and featured contributions fr

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There’s an orange-haired clown from the USA who 30 years ago perfected a presentational strategy that’s seen his products grow to become a global monster. The recipe for success is to satisfy the appetite with something that’s unlikely to offend even the most delicate palette.

While the three girls and brother Jim can hardly be likened to a hamburger and fries, they do present an inoffensive brand of pop that while delightful, is unlikely to become a healthy diet if taken in excess. It was March ‘98 when I last saw the Corrs, in a sub-2,000-seat theatre on that occasion. Their early singles had begun what’s become the band’s long flirtation with the charts. Have three years been a long enough break? In short, yes. The band’s live performance is much improved in that there is now an edge to them, and, dare I say it, I prefer the songs performed

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Malcolm Davis, Zero 88’s UK sales manager, has decided to leave the company for pastures new! In the two and a half years Davis has been with the company, he has become a familiar face to its UK dealers. Before joining Zero 88, he worked for a number of years developing overseas markets and has decided to put that knowledge to use in European markets, although he is staying within the lighting industry. Lorna Parsons will take over his responsibilities in the UK, with Graham Eales and Tim Burt providing back up.

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Vari-Lite has announced that West London-based Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has become the UK’s first Vari-Lite Rental Associate with stocks available for hire of the new VL2000 series. The company, which specialises in automated lighting for the television industry, and regularly supplies to all the main studios around the UK, has taken delivery of a batch of the new VL2414 wash luminaires. RML’s operations manager Steve Wells expands on the decision. "There has always been a high demand for the VL5 wash luminaire and we were extremely interested to see what the new Vari-Lite retail range had to offer. We arranged demo sessions for our clients to see the capabilities of the luminaires and after reports back on excellent colour mixing and high output, we decided to go ahead and become a Vari-Lite Rental Associate."

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Switchcraft Inc, the US manufacturer of audio connectors, patch bays and cable assemblies, has strengthened its international distributor base by appointing Electronics & Cables and Technosound to distribute its products in Italy and Lebanon respectively. Stephen Waldron, Switchcraft's director of international sales, told us: "Both companies are well established in their respective markets and will provide our customers with high quality service and support."

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Brähler ICS AG of Germany, with UK offices in Cambridge and Edinburgh, has announced two new digital audio products. Both have been designed and developed by Brähler and both are designed as components for the company’s Congress Data System - Virtual Audio Network or CDS-VAN for short. The first is the B8, a new feature-rich AD/DA interface unit. The second is the smaller OE16 interface converter. With the B8, it is possible to connect up to eight analogue audio sources to the digital CDS-VAN system via rear-panel electronically-balanced inputs and outputs (XLR-plug, XLR-socket or jack-plug). The unit also has three optical ADAT connections (in, out, and thru), two MIDI connectors (in and out), a wordclock BNC and 2 RJ45 ADAT sockets to power digital language selectors.

Brähler claims that the new B8, designed also as a standalone device, brings much more flexibility and versa

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Television Film Services (TFS), the location audio equipment supply company, recently founded by film sound recordist Keith Silver, has chosen Sennheiser wireless microphone and in-ear monitoring systems to equip its inventory. Having already purchased a large number of SK 50 transmitter and EM 1046 modular receiver-based, 5000 Series systems, the company recently supplemented this with a further 16 channels of rackmount 3000 series systems, bringing the total number of channels to 45. The company further purchased six channels of Sennheiser evolution 300 Series wireless IEM. Founded just 10 months ago, TFS has already supplied equipment to BBC and Channel 4 productions, as well as to a growing number of corporate and feature film clients. Recent productions include The Human Body, Last of the Summer Wine'and The Gentleman Thief, along with a host of documentary titles.

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Milos Structural Systems has announced that GES Exposition Services of Las Vegas debuted its new QuickTruss M290V inventory at the April 2001 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas. At NAB 2001, QuickTruss was used to build several structures including the pictured Banner structure that had 45ft tall towers and was 188ft in length. Another structure was used to carry a 3,400lb Barco LED wall. QuickTruss M290V is an 11 7/16" aluminum truss using 2" x 1/8" main tubing and 5/8" braces. It was selected by GES because of its quick connection system of solid spigots, pins and clips along with its versatility for indoor and outdoor use as well as being decorative or structural.

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Lighting Technology Group has provided equipment for the newly-launched Well Being television channel and website from Boots and Granada that offers information and advice on all aspects of personal well-being. The three-year run of programmes is produced at Yorkshire Television in Leeds with Peter Hardman as lighting director. Equipment supplied by Lighting Technology includes 20 Brightline 1.4d four-lamp phase control dimmable units, complete with accessories such as broad field screens and colour frames plus Osram Studioline 3200k lamps. Further equipment includes 30 Strand Quartzcolor Studio 1k pole-operated fixtures, 15 ETC Source 4 Pars with barndoors and six Dennard pantographs. Peter Hardman detailed the project: "The brief was to light YTV’s Studio 3 in such a way that any action could be shot from most angles and in any part of the set. No lighting expertise would be

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London-based Orbital Sound has now added Yamaha's PM1D mixing console into its extensive hire stock, making it available for tours, conferences and one-night events alike. Complementing their existing portfolio of high-spec equipment, the PM1D is available for hire following its recent ground-breaking debut at Sadlers Wells for the RSC production of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. As a theatre specialist, Orbital has worked closely with the Yamaha R&D teams both in the UK and Japan to initiate certain software developments to enhance the PM1D's performance as front-of-house workhorse, making it even faster to programme and providing greater control from its up-graded version 1.2 software.

As Mike Case, head of Yamaha Commercial Audio, explained: "We are delighted that Orbital are utilising the latest version of PM1D software for the system used in the production of FA

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Those masters of rock industry logistics, EST, are once more in the thick of the action over the summer season. Touring with a list of bands that reads like a roll-call of the top aristocracy of the rock music industry, the range of locations and number of vehicles involved is staggering. The tours are all major Arena and Stadium scale and are forecast to be the biggest gross-earning acts of the summer season. 16 of the familiar yellow and purple trucks will provide logistic support to Madonna’s European tour running from the 5 June until 12 July. A further eight trucks will provide transport for the Eagles, starting in Moscow on 29 May and finishing in Glasgow on 28 July. Another 16 EST trucks will accompany Bon Jovi’s European Tour which starts in Stockholm on 31 May with 16 more shows in locations as diverse as Huddersfield, Hamburg and Zurich before ending in Munich on 30

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Following an assessment by an independent body, Total Fabrications Ltd (TFL) has been awarded the ISO 9001 Certificate. This award for quality is supported by Government, and recognized worldwide. "We’ve experienced an increasing demand for special project work across all our market sectors, both here and abroad," commented TFL’s managing director Chris Cronin. "Couple that requirement with the development of our unique safety product, the T2 trussing system, and the need for an internationally recognized standard became essential." The award recognizes the company’s commitment to high quality service. Readers will be interested to learn that only around 3% of UK businesses hold this certificate, thus TFL are now at the forefront of quality service and customer care. Peter Hind of TFL headed up the team that prepared the company for assessment, co-op
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