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The PLASA show website has received over 90,000 page requests since its launch in May - compared with less than 30,000 for the same period last year.

The page requests for the month of July alone are expected to total around 75,000, which is around 45,000 more than at the very peak of traffic on the eve of the show in August last year. Figures for August this year are expected to reach even higher.

The success of the site is no doubt down to the fact that it has been designed with the intention of making the information as accessible as possible. New this year is a Fast Facts section intended to give visitors key information about the Show such as dates, opening times and costs. Information on the event, seminar programme and exhibitors is comprehensive and being added to daily. A uniq

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PLASA has announced a significant restructuring of its Eastbourne-based Head Office.The restructuring applies to the Association’s Administration and Membership Services departments, and has been implemented to create a basis for the development of the Association’s strategic plans over the next three years.

Matthew Griffiths, PLASA’s managing director, explains: "The rationale behind the change was to create a structure which placed an emphasis on business development, and at the same time created a more cohesive umbrella for the Association’s administration, Membership Services and Trade Development - the latter being an important Membership Service in itself."

As a result of the restructuring, Norah Phillips, formerly Membership Services Manager, has taken on responsibility for Business Development, with the brief to identify and research potentia

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Opened in October1992, the Wycombe Swan Theatre in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, has made a major upgrade to its lighting system. The theatre is a receiving house for a rich diversity of acts and shows, which appear for runs ranging from single evening shows through to productions with eight performances spread over six days. The original lighting console, installed when the theatre opened, had given good service, but a decision was taken to invest in a new console which more closely matched the current needs of the venue. "We needed a console that was more acceptable to a high proportion of our visiting acts," said Carlos Queiroz (pictured), technical manager of the Wycombe Swan. He continued: "Many shows arrive with their lighting programmed on a disk for a Strand 500 Series console and therefore this became our obvious choice."

Considerations to upgrade the cons

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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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Kurt Kern has joined TMB’s sales department, working out of the New York office. Kern brings a wealth of experience in entertainment lighting to his new position. His background includes three years as department head of electrics and sound for the New York Shakespeare Festival and seven years as production manager for the New Haven Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, his four years as national director of purchasing for PRG/Fourth Phase Lighting Group, gave Kurt direct understanding of the needs of the supply side of the industry. Tommy Stephenson, TMB’s sales manager, said of the appointment: "Kurt has a lot of knowledge, is a family man, and he likes beer. He’s going to fit right in! Our professional customers will feel completely at home with him."

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Music Factory Mastermix is celebrating 15 years of success at PLASA this year. Alongside its vast array of original artist mixes, boxed sets and DJ-friendly compilations, the company is also showing an additional range of hardware, merchandise and the revolutionary introduction of the CD+Graphics player. The launch of the Karaoke CD+Graphics player, say Music Factory Mastermix, is a major step in the DJ industry, meaning that DJ's can provide a Karaoke night without having to spend extra pounds on expensive hardware. With an increasing range of CD+Graphic DJ-friendly collections put together by the company’s Mastermix producers such as Party Animal Karaoke and Ultimate Karaoke, Music Factory Mastermix can provide for all Karaoke needs. To celebrate 15 successful years in the industry, Music Factory Mastermix has formed a selection of the very best mixes from the company’s inc

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Color Kinetics Inc, the US manufacturer of LED lighting fixtures, has announced that its intelligent LED-based lighting technology has been added to the permanent collections of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, at the Behring Center in Washington DC. The donation includes the first prototypes of several different LED-based lighting fixtures that incorporate the company's patented Chromacore digital lighting technology. Also part of the Smithsonian donation is a detailed timeline of milestones in the company's history.

Color Kinetics’ co-founder, president and CEO George Mueller commented. "I don't think there is an inventor or technology pioneer alive who hasn't imagined that their work would someday be part of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a great feeling and a landmark achievement for everyone associated with Color Kinetics to have our technology

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Lightfactor’s Scott Callis is in the midst of a highly successful UK tour with a quantity of SGM automated lighting kit. This is designed specifically to put the gear through its paces in a variety of situations and environments. Callis devised this slightly unorthodox way of exposing the equipment to as many differing situations as possible by integrating it into varying lighting hire packages. The SGM kit - including Giotto 250 Spots and Giotto 1200 spot and wash lights - has appeared at high profile clubs, venues and live shows nationwide including a recent BB King show at Leicester De Montfort Halls and an insurance sales conference at the NEC in Birmingham. At De Montfort Hall, Callis has supplied the SGM kit to the Hall’s Chief LX and technical manager Graham Williams for a variety of summer events, including an outdoor concert by blues legend BB King.

The show was de

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The Smoke Company will have a host of new products and ranges on show at PLASA. The company has recently agreed a joint venture with Wings and is now the sole European distributor for its range of quality special effects lighting systems. Other new products planned for PLASA include Apollo - a range of silk flame lights, built in the UK under licence by The Smoke Company; UV Planet, a range of ultra-violet products for use in pubs, clubs and bars (The Smoke Company again being sole European distributor); the Powercan, a popular and cost-effective canister smoke machine. The Parcan, smoke output from a lighting fixture . . .

Also on show will be The Battery, The Goblin and The Roama.

The Smoke Company can be found on stand D33

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MilTec (UK) Ltd has recently supplied the Woodville Halls Theatre of Gravesend with a whole host of f.a.l. (Italy) theatrical products, which were supplied through Primarc. Ken Green, technical manager of the Halls told PLASA Media: “We were looking to refit our theatre with a number of theatrical lighting products, and decided on the f.a.l. products, these being well-constructed, good value and featuring excellent optics.” The installation included 28 profiles, 20 spotlights, five six cell lights and two ultra-violet lights.

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Chad Ward has joined Bandit Lites UK as operations manager. He was previously responsible for Bandit’s account whilst he was a sales representative for Wirral-based Tomcat UK. Bandit Lites UK general manager, Jason Tang, told PLASA Media: "Chad brings with him a wealth of knowledge from his time with Tomcat and previously Unusual Rigging. We have a very strong relationship with Tomcat and this move can only strengthen it." Ward will be responsible for procurement, logistics and also act as purchasing manager.

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Celestion will be exhibiting a comprehensive selection of loudspeakers. Ranging from the high power CXi Series to the compact KR series for background sound, Celestion has a product to suit every venue. New products on display include the white Celestion CXi 521, ideal for modern architectural spaces, and the new CXi 822 horn loaded mid-hi loudspeaker. Also on display will be a selection from Celestion’s comprehensive component range, including a revolutionary new high power neodymium PA drive unit.

Celestion can be found on stand G34.

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Allen & Heath will be introducing several new products on stand H30, including significant developments for the live sound, DJ and installation markets. Visitors will be able to get their hands on the new ML3000, a 15-buss live sound VCA console designed to make high quality VCA automation affordable for mid-range PA / AV rental and installation work. Allen & Heath will also be displaying Xone:02, its first dedicated DJ performance mixer. This console is the result of the company’s quest to marry broadcast quality audio and construction with the creative performance features and layout demanded by the serious turntablist. The company will also be inviting feedback on some important new software and hardware advances in the pipeline for its digital installation range.

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The Gaiety Theatre on the Isle of Man has unveiled a permanent lighting exhibition covering the evolution of theatre lighting. Building on from a ten-year long restoration process to re-instate the theatre back to its former Victorian appearance and ambience, the management decided to convert the three old projection rooms into a permanent exhibit of the history of theatre lighting. The idea had been lying latent for a while and was brought to life at ABTT earlier this year, following a conversation with lighting designer Jim Laws.

Designed by the highly reputed Frank Matcham, the Gaiety Theatre was built in 1899 and opened in 1900. Located at the rear of the auditorium above the balcony, the exhibition houses lighting equipment from the early days of electrical theatre lighting. Most of the old lighting from the theatre has found a new home there, as has the 1960's control system from

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From one of the widest ranges of sound reinforcement mixers in the industry, Soundcraft will be showing no less than 12 models, starting with the top-of-the-range touring consoles, the Series Five and SM20 monitor desk. With smaller footprints, but equally high specifications, the VCA-equipped Series Four and Series Two are equally at home on tour or in fixed installations. Soundcraft’s digital programme is represented by the 324 Live, and there is an impressive array of high-quality compact consoles, including the new M Series. For PLASA visitors feeling the heat, the stand also features the Soundcraft Juice Bar, serving non-alcoholic cocktails . . . or should that be mixers?

Soundcraft can be found on stand G22

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With the closing deadline set at 10 August, there’s just one week to go for companies exhibiting at the PLASA Show 2001 to enter their new products for the prestigious PLASA Awards for Product Excellence. Two awards - one for Design Excellence and one for Technical Innovation - are given in each of the four categories of Lighting, Sound, AV and Stage Engineering. Winners are presented with a trophy (specially-designed by DHA Lighting) at a ceremony on the final morning of the show. All the winners will be featured in a special post-show Awards supplement published with the October edition of Lighting&Sound International magazine, but win or lose, all nominees will benefit from full pre-show publicity for their latest products.

If you want to enter your products for a PLASA Award, full details of the nomination process can be found on the PLASA Show website or call us now on +44 (

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TOA’s VM-2000 Series amplifiers are designed to allow for expansion as requirements increase. For example, if the standard five loudspeaker zones are not enough, the unit can be linked to another unit for servicing an additional five zones and doubling the power output. Optional accessories and related equipment are available to meet specific requirements and enhance a unit's operational scope. The VM-2000 Series conforms to most international emergency sound system standards and requirements such as IEC60849.

The VM-2000 Series also offers intelligent self-diagnosis capability. When a VM-2000 Series unit is fitted with the optional SV-200M Surveillance Board, the unit gains the ability to conduct automatic system-wide checks for open or shorted speaker lines and ground leakage as well as other malfunctions, simplifying maintenance and other routine system tasks as well as instan

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The Augustin Cloisters are one of the highlights of Les Nuits Lumière de Bourges - a season of lighting and sound shows run in the historic French town of Bourges during the summer months.

It’s a multi-site Son et Lumière show - the audience sees the 90-minute spectacular on foot and stroll about 2km during the show, being guided by a blue line of light. At each of six main buildings or sites, they see and hear a show with dramatic lighting and projected images. The show was designed by Philippe Noir and Christine de Vichet. Lighting design by Pierre Boudeau and Vladimir Lyszczynski, sound by Daniel Deshays and images by Serge Fouillet. The main technical contractor for the event was AEB, with Cyclope providing the large format filmstrip projectors. Electrosonic France was responsible for overall show control and slide projection.

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On Thursday 12 July, a preliminary meeting was held at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre, to seek interest in the formation of an Australasian association for all who share an interest in the art, science and technology of light.

With an overwhelmingly positive responses from this, and a follow-up meeting in Melbourne, organisers Andy Ciddor and Cat Strom (Forcer) have decided to press ahead in establishing an Australasian Lighting Industry Association, provisionally entitled ALIA.

Discussions at the meetings were based around a widely-circulated proposal prepared by Cat Strom, Steve Furzey and Andy Ciddor, the text of which can be found on the preliminary ALIA website - www.lighting-association.com.

It was agreed that a broadly-based and inclusive lighting industry association is a worthwhile goal. Members of Australia’s existing lighting association, the Illuminat

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Lighting design and events specialists Rainmaker recently lit an open air stage on Brighton Beach for a Channel Four party event starring dance impresarios Norman Cook AKA Fatboy Slim and Groove Armada, and enjoyed free by approximately 35,000 excited revellers.

The main focus of the stage was a giant Screenco LED screen. This had been rigged to facilitate a C4 broadcast of the Ashes cricket from Edgebaston on the Thursday through Sunday. However, Channel Four then decided it would create a great local buzz of they threw a party on the Friday night, offering an opportunity to groove the summer evening away with the best in contemporary club vibes with local hero - the Fatboy himself! They then decided to broadcast parts of the party a week later on C4’s ‘Fatboy Slim Night’.

The Fatboy Slim event originally started out just as a just live show, with Rainmaker initial

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PCM was one of the first companies in this industry to promote the value of training. Since L&SI routinely covers news of its well-established Motor Schools, we thought it high time we actually sent someone to take a closer look. Jacqueline Molloy volunteered . . .

I must confess to not having prior intimate knowledge of Columbus McKinnon hoists, but I now feel confident that should I ever have the need to strip and rebuild one, I would not disappoint the training staff from PCM!

29 of us gathered at PCM’s premises for the start of the two-day intensive course aimed at unravelling the mysteries of CM Lodestars. The popularity of the course, which has been running since 1993, is such that some attendees had flown in from Dublin and Portugal to take part. A cross-section of the industry was represented, including freelancers and representatives from sound, lighting and rigging c

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L&SI has received official notification that Studiomaster is in administrative receivership. The Milton Keynes-based company, which was officially registered as Studiomaster Diamond, had recently been experiencing problems with the chain of supplies from its Indian manufacturing plant and had been forced to contact customers advising them that the dispute had left them with no option but to put the company into administrative receivership.

Studiomaster was well known in the industry as a designer and manufacturer of professional audio equipment, a role it had been performing for over two decades, although the current company wasn’t incorporated until 1991.

Its first ever products were power amplifiers followed quickly by mixing consoles for live sound. Around this time the first affordable multitrack machines appeared and Studiomaster designed a studio quality desk to meet the

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