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Stagetec has recently completed the installation of a complete stage management, stage communications, sound and video system into the new, purpose-built DH Lawrence Pavilion Theatre on the campus of Nottingham University - one of the UK’s leading universities. The building is designed as a contemporary 250-seat theatre, an exhibition gallery and performance space, and is named after a former University student - David Herbert Lawrence - who became one of the most controversial and popular exponents of 20th century literature. The equipment installed by Stagetec was specified by ACT Consultant Services. The three-zone paging and show relay system runs throughout the building, including a Sennheiser infra-red hard-of-hearing system for the main auditorium, plus Stage Manager’s d

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Tannoy Dual Concentric speakers have been installed into the Cuban-themed restaurant/bar Ipanema in Birmingham to provide a range of sound levels from gentle background music through to foreground reinforcement in the Bar and Restaurant areas. Twelve Tannoy i7 Contour slimline speakers and two CMS 6 TDC ceiling monitors inside the Whitbread-owned restaurant, along with four Tannoy all-weather i5 AW speakers outside, ensured perfect audio coverage for diners. The music-based restaurant featured a natural themed design with cream décor and the Tannoy i7 loudspeakers distributed throughout the bar and main restaurant area were chosen for their discrete and elegant low-profile design, as well as for the high quality music and speech output. Nick Freeman from Birmingham based installers, Total Sound, commented: "We needed a wide, yet controlled coverage to ensure even audio distribution

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Nu-Light Systems of Warrington have been awarded with the Warrington & Cheshire Research and Innovation Award for their work on the newly-released laser animator system and its potential markets in signage and the Airoamer, for improving environments. They then went on to receive the overall Award for Warrington & Cheshire Business of the Year 2001. Debbie Clayton, managing director, comments: "We were delighted to receive the Awards, due to the calibre of businesses we were up against, from telecommunications companies to national retail outlets. It is important to us as a team for our work to be recognised outside of the industry. It has further confirmed we are moving in the right direction."

Mike Wake, technical director, added: "Receiving the first Award surpassed our expectations, but Business of the Year is amazing, a real team morale booster. It’s the first

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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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The 26th Sound Broadcasting Equipment Show (SBES) will take place at the NEC in Birmingham from 14-15 November 2001. The way that audio systems within broadcast environments has changed can be described as nothing less than radical: audio networking is the key to how radio stations and studios will see their future and the expansion of products in this sector is likely to witness rapid growth. Companies such as IBM/Jutel, Klotz Digital, and The Oxford Sound Company have been pivotal in the implementation of substantial installations for the BBC and GWR during the course of 2001. "We can set up a studio without having to be concerned about exactly what it is going to do," commented Tim Donaldson, GWR's Technical Director. GWR have recently completed a move to a new studio that is fully networked using Klotz Digital equipment and dining out on the fact that "this is the larg

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Screenco has met a production requirement from leading communications agency, Skybridge, for a large, bright mobile screen, to service a series of Channel 4 parties around the UK to celebrate their association with test cricket. Called C4 Summer Tour, the curtain raiser to the England v Australia series took place on July 6 with a beach party in Brighton featuring Fatboy Slim and Groove Armada, and project-managed by Skybridge technical director Lee Eld. In Brighton, the Fatboy Slim set was filmed for a Channel 4 special, transmitted the following week. Screenco provided a trailer-mounted 40sq.m Jumbotron JTS35 CRT daylight video display - the largest of their mobile systems. Lee Eld explained that this year’s tour was the result of a similar series of successful events they carried out for Channel 4 last year. "Working with artistic director and producer, Alex Poots, we have

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AC Lighting Inc has announced a complete redesign and restructuring of its website and web policy. By taking the site under their own direct and local control, the website will become more responsive and able to more easily reflect changes in products and services. "By analyzing exactly what our customers wanted the website to achieve, we have radically changed how information is accessed on line with regards to the products that we handle," said Bob Gordon, president and CEO of AC Lighting Inc. Goprdon continued: "People want potentially three things from our website: they want information on a product that we sell, information about us, or they want to quickly and easily download something. Click on a manufacturer’s logo on our home page and you find information on everything that manufacturer sells as well as being able to access manuals, prices, and software abou

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David Plail has joined MCL London as head of project management, bringing with him 28 years of industry experience. David comes to MCL from FrameSet Products, a company that he founded over 10 years ago, dedicated to the design, build and supply of diverse conference staging products. "Some people may think it a strange decision," said Plail, "to move away from FrameSet when it is such a successful company. But MCL is a young company with incredible backing from Avesco and it was an opportunity that I couldn’t miss. In the end it was an easy choice to make. It puts me right back into the industry mainstream and will draw heavily on what I have learnt over the years. I am looking forward to the challenge."

In his new role, Plail will be drawing together all existing elements of project management at MCL London and will fine-tune current practices to ensure the

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A Cadac J-Type Live Production Console was among the cast for the momentous Three Tenors Concert in Beijing's Forbidden City - the first ‘foreign’ event ever to be staged in this unique venue. Organised by the Chinese National Cultural and Arts, the concert took place on 23rd June 2001 - in front of a live audience of some 30,000 - and was broadcast to over three billion worldwide. A huge temporary stage was erected in front of the entrance to the Emperors' Palace, with the stage area encompassing 300m from front to back. The 72-input two-frame J-Type performed alongside Meyer Sound's new M3D line-array system, with the sound system attracting extensive praise for its quality and subtlety on this remarkable occasion. Sound engineering director, John Pellowe, is responsible for all technical aspects of the Three Tenors concerts, along with Alexander ‘Thorny’ Yuill-

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As you would expect, there’s an air of mystery about the new headquarters of the Magic Circle. Those wizards of trickery have spent seven years and £2 million rebuilding and refurbishing to create a new permanent base. At its heart sits an intimate 162-seat theatre, the first theatre to be built in this area of London since the Barbican. Here members of the Magic Circle, and the public, can marvel at the latest prestidigitations. This is no mean box of tricks: the theatre is technically well planned and equipped with the latest technology to cope with both Magic Circle shows, and for special events and corporate hire.

Gradav Sales of London chose a variety of Selecon products to provide the necessary lighting for a wide range of events. Selecon Pacific lanterns were used for front-of-house - the acclaimed optics of these luminaires make them ideal for gobo projection. Behind the

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At PLASA 2001, the Coe Tech stand will include the latest launches from top Italian brands Coemar, TAS, and Travel Show, as well as Futurelight from Germany, Poly Optic products from Australia, and smart neon controllers from Fluid Neon Technologies in California.

Coe-tech is launching the Coemar I-Spot 150 at the show, a luminaire for bar, pub, café, restaurant, club, retail and other leisure markets. The I-Spot 150 features an 150W CDM SA/T short arc lightsource, 530° pan and 284° tilt, six interchangeable rotating gobos, seven colours, motorised focusing, strobe effect, sound-to-light mode, master/slave operation and hugely efficient light output for the size of fixture/lightsource. Also on show will be the Coemar CF7 HEX - the latest addition to Coemar’s award-winning hard-edged CF7 range of luminaires. The HEX (hard-edged)

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This weekend, 250,000 spectators at the 35th British Grand Prix enjoyed a close-up view of racing heroes Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, via two 4.8m by 8.1m jumbo TV screens from Screenco, supported by 16.5m high tower structures provided by ESS, the international staging and structure specialist. The 43 tonne screens were located at key spectator spots on the circuit, namely Copse Corner and Chapel Curve and relayed live TV coverage. So far this year, ESS has provided support structures for Wimbledon, the Grand National, the Kentucky Derby and Royal Ascot, as well as the one-day international cricket tests at Lords and Edgbaston, as part of the UK tour by Pakistan. In addition, ESS has also supplied screen supports at Twickenham for various national rugby fixtures. This brings the total number of locations where ESS has provided camera and screen supports to eigh

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Laser Studio has supplied and installed an eye-catching laser system into the Ministry of Sound. The Ministry has been at the cutting edge of UK dance and youth culture since the Gaunt Street venue opened in South London in 1991. From day one, the Ministry has always been committed to having the very best in production values. But for the 10 years since its opening, lasers have been absent from the venue at the heart of UK club cool. Ministry’s resident lighting designer Lorenzo Meddi explains: "We thought the time was finally right to infuse the club’s visuals with a laser. The clarity and intensity of light from laser beam is great for suddenly - and immediately - changing an atmosphere."

Lorenzo operates the laser and lighting systems himself during the Ministry’s two public nights - Friday and Saturday. He uses the laser thoughtfully. In addition to the

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It’s been a busy couple of months for Tomcat Global’s UK operation. May started with a near £250,000 order to manufacture a custom stage set for German rock group Rammstein. With Leroy Bennett as lighting and set designer, the build included, amongst other items, a custom ‘spiders web’ truss grid, five 1.5m diameter aluminium and plastic surgeon’s lamps and an aluminium and carbon-fibre ‘birthing sack’. Tomcat worked alongside lighting provider Light & Sound Design and scenery specialist Perry Scenic to turn Bennett’s ideas into a reality.

June also proved to be a busy month with the manufacture of a stage set for the present Robbie Williams stadium tour. The set involved the manufacture of a 17m x 5m stage with decks rising from ground level up to a height of 3m. Most tricky was the need to provide a quick-opening deck on the highest le

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Stage Technologies has just been awarded the contract for the supply of rigging systems for the latest of the Grand class ships currently being built for P&O Princess Cruises by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) in Nagasaki, Japan. Stage Technologies’ scope of supply includes nearly 100 axes of automation, both mechanical and electrical systems, installed in three venues. Rigging systems include 26 flying bars, 4 stage lifts, and 16 curtain tracks. Control systems include the company’s award-winning Acrobat, Juggler and Solo consoles. Mark Ager, Stage Technologies’ managing director commented: "We are very excited to receive this order which confirms Stage Technologies as a major supplier of automation systems to the cruise ship industry."

To date, the company has provided the control systems for eight cruise ships including the original Grand Princess and s

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At PLASA 2001, Avolites is to unveil the next major step for lighting control, with the launch of its new generation top-level lighting console - the Diamond 4.

The Diamond 4 is designed for large-scale shows, festivals, concerts, events and multi-purpose venues - the design brief was to create a lighting console that’s intuitive to operate, offers minimum operator fatigue and the fastest, most cost-efficient creation of lightshows.

The D4 builds on the success of Avolites’ Diamond 3 console, incorporating many of the D3’s popular features and addresses the whole spectrum of production situations. For those with more time - and possibly with a designer away from the console - the D4’s newly designed programming panel allows entry and selection of fixtures and palettes by number, whilst the electronic palette gives entry by legend. These entry systems can be m

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Cadbury Trebor Bassett hosted its 2001 Management Conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham in June, using the whole of Hall 4. The hall was transformed into five Themed Zones, a Central Piazza Area, an Auditorium Theatre and a Reception Area. Stage Electrics’ NEC branch was contracted to supply and manage the events’ lighting, staging, mains distribution and truss screen structures. Delta Sound provided all audio systems, with PSL/PCP completing the technical aspect with a complicated interactive projection system. Rigging was provided by the NEC’s in-house department.

Lighting designer, Ben Holdsworth, utilized 150 Martin Mac Moving lights headed by 42 Mac 2000s. The room wash was provided by 620 conventional lanterns with 12 City Color Wash Lights, while four flown ZR22 smoke machines provided heavy fog for the central area. The space also require

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It has been a busy spring and summer period at White Light's sales office, which has been dealing with a wide range of projects from the UK's leading drama colleges up to the country's most famous concert halls.

To the newly re-opened Vanburgh Theatre at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, White Light Sales has supplied a selection of new equipment from Strand Lighting, including two Pirouette PC automated lanterns, 28 SL 15/32 and 12 SL 23/50 profile spotlights, 24 Cantata Fs, 4 Alto Fs and 2 Quartet Fs. Meanwhile across in the City of London at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, chief electrician Steve Huttly has been expanding his stock of equipment once again. Having purchased High End StudioSpots and StudioColors from White Light earlier in the year, he has now purchased two Strand Pirouette PCs to add to the two units the School already owns, one Selecon Pacific 90 degree pr

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PCM/Pfaff-silberblau Ltd will launch two important new winch products at PLASA 2001 - the Tau Winch, specifically designed for flying people and aerial performance, and the Delta Winch - for the fast, efficient accurate scenery moving.

With the increasing popularity of aerial theatre and performance, PCM has designed and developed The Tau electric winch - the first winch to be designed and manufactured specifically for this specialist task. It features a host of inherent safety features, including a double brake system - one on the load, one on the motor, double limit switches, encoder feedback for accurate positioning and monitoring of over-speed and electronic overload protection.

The Delta winch is a quiet, very safe, accurate and durable device for flying scenery and set pieces in all performance situations. The near silent operation makes the delta winch ideal for operas and cla

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California-based manufacturer American DJ has introduced the Light Saver, a competitively-priced two-channel lighting controller that reduces wear and tear on special effects fixtures, extending their working life. Designed to control two special effects units, for example Vertigo or Avenger units from American DJ, the Light Saver is equipped with an adjustable timer. At specified intervals, the timer will automatically shut off one of the two fixtures and start up the other. Then, when an equal amount of time has elapsed, it will switch back to the first fixture. By running special effects in on/off cycles, as opposed to continuous operation, the Light Saver conserves the units’ lamps and motors. This, in turn, will make each fixture last longer and prevent ‘outages’ that can occur from lamp burnout or motor failure, say the company.

"The Light Saver is a very

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Taiwanese microphone and audio equipment manufacturer, Taky Electronics, has announced a change of name, to reflect the growing success of its JTS microphone range. The company will now be known as JTS Professional Co Ltd, providing a closer association with the fast-developing JTS brand in professional audio and MI markets. The company will retain the Taky brand name for consumer electronics products in non-English speaking countries, where it has been well established for over 20 years.

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Booking your tickets to the PLASA Show, the entertainment technology industry’s leading event, running from 9-12 September 2001 at Earls Court Exhibition Centre in London, has never been easier. You can now book in any of the following ways:

By Telephone: The Visitor Hotline is now live! Call +44 (0) 870 429 4472 to make your credit card booking or to request an advance booking form.

Online: Go direct to www.plasa.org/show/register to book online.

There are many advantages to pre-registration. Not only will you save £6 on the cost of entry to the Show (tickets on the door are £12) but you will be sent a personalized badge in advance permitting you fast entry into the show. You will also receive up-to-date information on the Show’s Masterclass Programme and how to book your seat at any of

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