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The Vienna Festival 2002 got off to a flying start in front of 60,000 people who had gathered in the town square to hear headliners Bryan Ferry and Nancy Wilson performing songs from classic movies including ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘Casablanca’. The evening was dedicated to Austrian and German composers who, largely in the wake of the National Socialists' coming to power, had emigrated to the US and found worldwide fame as the creators of scores for celebrated Hollywood movies. Adolf Tögel, head of sound for the Vienna Festival and also for Halls E and G in the city's newly created cultural complex, the MuseumsQuartier, engineered the show on his recently acquired Midas Legend 3000 console.

Halls E and G (the former Winter Riding School) were once again the cent

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Marquee Audio has supplied a complete PA rig to Time Warner Books for use on their conferences. The Central London-based publishers had traditionally hired in systems to order, but realised it would be more cost-effective to actually purchase a system. Time Warner group marketing director Terry Jackson explained: "We hold two conferences a year for between 60 and 70 people which involves audio reinforcement and playing digital video clips. We felt the time was right to have our own system as hiring was getting expensive."

They thus contacted the Shepperton-based pro audio suppliers, who recommended a ‘plug and play’ presentation system based on sonic fidelity and ease of use. The set-up centres on a pair of Nexo PS-8 full range loudspeakers and LS400 compact subwoofer, powered by a Nexo PS-8 three-channel amplifier. This was supplied with a Yamaha Q2031B dual 31-b

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MC2 Audio Netherlands distributor, Audio Rotterdam, has won contracts to put MC range and T Series amps into a variety of interesting venues and projects in the Rotterdam area. MC450 amplifiers are used in the production of the reality TV show 'De Bar', which is broadcast from two neighbouring bars in Rotterdam. The bars compete to attract the greatest number of customers and thus increase their business - cameras capture all the action 24/7. Audio Rotterdam representative, Jan van Drunen says: "The three MC450s produce enough power for a real party every night".

The very popular Baja Beach Club in Rotterdam is using four MC450 to drive its specially designed PA system and the renowned Rotterdam pub, Café Lebbink has a sound system powered by a T1000 and a T500. Audio Rotterdam also provides the amplification (six MC1250s and two MC450s) for the well-known Dutch language sin

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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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Phil Ward visits the 112th AES Convention in Munich

It’s been said before how much more holistic the American AES Conventions are compared to the European ones. Rightly or wrongly, this may conjure up a uniquely Californian vision: grizzled pro audio shamen burning incense on the exhibition booths, and harnessing nature’s awesome and arcane powers in the pursuit of the ultimate sound wave.

Actually, it just means there’s more loudspeakers. In Munich, despite the fact that it is the German city most suited to outdoor festivals and the like, the beards are as tidy as a studio floor manager’s clip-board during a chat show on Zud-Deutsche Rundfunk about cycle paths. And Rundfunk - broadcasting - is the dominant theme of the AES, leaving the lion’s share of the rest of European pro audio to Frankfurt and PLASA.

The American market is bigger and more

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Avesco companies Dimension Audio and Creative Technology recently joined forces to deliver one of the most challenging projects they have ever undertaken.

Dimension provided the audio infrastructure for the giant automated themed pavilion at the Swiss National Exhibition, Expo.02 (May-October 2002), for production company Live Communication. Pip Campbell was lead producer and Adam Wildi was technical director. Entitled ‘Empire of Silence’, the adventure pavilion is sponsored by telecoms giant Swisscom.

The ‘Empire of Silence’ project highlights how essential communication has become in today’s world. Soundscape designer and Dimension project manager Kevin Swain was handed the demanding audio brief back in July 2001. The solution was to automate the entire exhibit, with a Conductor show control system firing multiple audio cues via MIDI (and interfacing

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A.C. Lighting Ltd is hosting a new two-day trade show with assistance from the ABTT, ALD, PSA, STLD and Lighting&Sound International. The event will be held at the Royal Armouries Museum located in the centre of Leeds on the 23rd and 24th July, and will provide a showcase where professionals can meet with specialists and see the latest innovations from over 50 of the industry’s top manufacturers.

Company representatives will be on hand to demonstrate their latest products, and there will be a series of workshops on the grandMA and Jands Event 4 lighting consoles. One major attraction of the show will be the much anticipated new WYSIWYG software. The show’s location in the north of England will be welcomed by those in the area and will offer a rare opportunity to see several specialists together under one roof, see what new technology is on offer and meet association repres

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SCV London has been appointed the exclusive distributor for MiPro. Based in Taiwan MiPro is a major manufacturer of high quality portable PA systems and wireless microphone solutions. Operating out of a 5000sq.m custom-built facility, MiPro has handled OEM manufacturing for a number of well known companies, but more recently has expanded its production capacity to create its own brand line.

The MiPro wireless microphone series include the new ACT system which gives the user automatic channel targeting which allows for easy assignment and designation of the mics. The ACT-707 goes further - it has hot swappable modules, colour displays and easy assignment of the microphones and receivers by use of the ACT technology. The Wireless series has a large range of options and will suit either the most basic or most complex application. MiPro’s PA systems feature a wide variety of batter

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In what has been dubbed the tour of the Undisputed Heavyweight Champions of rock n’ roll, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth are set to co-headline one of the biggest shows of the summer. The unique collaboration of the former Van Halen lead singers is setting fans into a fury and promises to deliver a show that will not disappoint. Hagar and Roth are alternating nights opening for each other.

The production nicknamed ‘The Big Rock Show’ will certainly live up to its name as far as the lighting goes. Lighting designer David Davidian designed a mammoth rig that is dominated by PAR cans and a plethora of 8-Lite blinders complete with scrollers. Also key to the rig are five 3k Syncrolites and 28 Martin MAC 2000s, controlled through a WholeHog II system. Each of the Rock Icons has his own lighting director: at the helm for David Lee Roth is Sam Raphael whilst Mike Hall calls

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The Deep is Hull’s £45.5m Millennium project and a central part of the city’s regeneration programme. Supported by a grant of a cool £21.5 million from the Millennium Commission, the world’s first ‘Submarium’ has been designed by Sir Terry Farrell and features various aquaria, a business centre, a lifelong learning centre and research facility.

The venue boasts the deepest water tank in Europe. This, and its 11 other tanks, are home to seven species of shark and thousands of fish. These tanks range in size from the ‘Endless Oceans’ tank holding 2.3 million litres of salt water to the smaller ‘Jewel’ tanks which hold just 1 cubic metre. The design consultant for the exhibition was John Csáky Associates, whilst the lighting consultant for the exhibition and exterior lighting was DHA Design Services, with Peter Fordham as project l

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The PSA newsletter recently carried a story to make grown technicians weep. Apparently, staff at Cardiff Theatre were furious to discover that a duck appearing in a play was being paid more than they were. Ming, a two-year old Aylesbury duck, appeared at the Chapter Arts Centre in ‘The mute who was dreamed’. "Ming is getting paid more than our technician," marketing manager Carol Jones told the South Wales Echo, "and he is not happy about it". The duck’s high wages have also led to allegations that it is not pulling its weight in the performance and that its acting is not vigorous enough. "When the show was put on in Scotland another duck was used," said Jones, "It was much more macho."

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John Hornby Skewes & Co Ltd has received planning permission to add a further extension to its Garforth facility. With a mezzanine floor, the new extension will add an extra 1800sq.m of floor storage space to the company’s existing 4337sq.m. JHS & Co Ltd is the UK & Eire distributor of the HK Audio range of pro audio systems and components.

(Ruth Rossington)

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Celebrating a decade of Sensor dimming, the 6000th ETC dimming channel in central London was installed at the Central School of Speech and Drama this winter, as part of the complete refurbishment of its Embassy Theatre. To commemorate the opening of the new facility at the end of April, students of the school staged a performance of Sweeney Todd.

Founded in 1906, the school moved to its current NW3 location in 1956. The site, which was formally the Hampstead Music Conservatoire, included a fine proscenium-arch theatre - the Embassy Theatre. Central to the school's ethos is keeping abreast with contemporary developments and it is committed to extending the high educational standards already on offer. As such, the school embarked on an extensive building programme during the 1990s, culminating in the recent refurbishment of the Embassy Theatre.

Head of the school's Lighting Department

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Some of the following key announcements or changes will have an important impact on all employers. The Information Commission’s ‘Employment Practices Data Protection Code’ is being published in stages over the next few months. The code will include ground rules on access by employees to any company record that mentions them including confidential e-mails, handwritten notes and personal files.

The Code is being issued in four sections, namely: general record management, recruitment and selection, monitoring in the workplace and genetic and drug testing of workers. Not all the Code will be binding, but it will outline what the Information Commissioner believes is best practice for employers wishing to comply with the Data Protection Act and/or avoid criminal liability. The part of the DPA concerning manual records including e-mail monitoring and the interception of pho

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White Light Sales are continuing to support strong demand for Strand Lighting's 500 Series of lighting control consoles. First put to serious use by White Light on shows such as Martin Guerre and Jesus Christ Superstar back in 1996, the consoles have become the standard lighting control in the West End and around much of the UK.

White Light Sales have recently supplied new consoles to a number of venues. The Leicester Haymarket has purchased two 520is, and will be the first theatre in the UK - and amongst the first in the world - to have Strand's new iPaq-based wireless handheld remote. The Milton Keynes Theatre has replaced its existing console with a 520i. The Malvern Festival Theatre and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford have both purchased 520is, while the Theatre Royal Norwich and the Wilde Theatre in Bracknell have purchased new 530is to replace their earlier 430s. The Birmi

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The controversial proposed reforms to the Employment Bill aim to substantially enhance areas such as maternity, paternity and parental leave, continue the reform of the employment tribunal system and make important changes to the law of unfair dismissal. All of these are expected to come into effect by, or during, April 2003.

Some of the key points in the proposed legislation and the new duties employers will face if enacted are:

Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave and Pay.

Six months’ paid and a further six months’ unpaid maternity leave for working mothers.

Six months’ paid and a further six months’ unpaid leave for working adoptive parents.

Two weeks’ paid paternity leave for working fathers.

A 60% increase in the rate of statutory maternity pay (SMP) to £100 per week.

Reimbursement of maternity, paternity and adoption payments made by

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Following its recent relocation to new UK offices in Langley, Berkshire, Osram invited L&SI to visit its new premises and, in particular, view the new interactive showroom that is set to become the focal point of the UK headquarters.

This is not a ‘showroom’ in the traditional sense - though its intention is very much to showcase the latest lamp innovations from the company - but more of an interactive experience, hence the name ‘Osram Light Experience’. Stretching across over 200sq.m and incorporating a café, light studio and auditorium, the venue can work as a single space or be split into two areas by a ‘light wall’, allowing different groups to visit the studio simultaneously.

It is clear that the design team from Furneaux Stewart, led by Jane Huggins and Keith Feeney, understood Osram’s brief for something out of the ordinary all too

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Star Hire Event Services supplied its Vertech 25 metre stage to ClearChannel for Ozzfest at Donington during May and was the first UK staging company to install a safety net fall arrest system.

Twenty artists appeared across two stages, whilst 48,000 heavy metal devotees partied hard as Castle Donington was reclaimed by the new generation of rock fans. As well as protecting the bands, the 25-metre Vertech stage protected the PA and monitor system (supplied by Audio Rent), the huge lighting rig (supplied by Light & Sound Design) and gave the production team plenty of room to prepare equipment to ensure the tight schedule of 10 bands was kept on time throughout the day. The main stage area was then extended with Vertech PA towers, which flanked the stage and housed 28 tons of Clair Brothers’ PA. Outside of these were the screen supports housing Screenco’s LED screens, and cre

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The Queen's Award for Enterprise 2002 was presented to Theatre Projects Consultants in the Vanbrugh Theatre at the Royal Academy for Performing Arts (RADA) on 12th June 2002. The presentation was made by Major Charles Winstanley on behalf of HM the Queen to Richard Pilbrow, chairman and David Staples, managing director of Theatre Projects Consultants.

The Queen's Award is conferred each year upon a limited number of companies for international trade, innovation or sustainable development. Over 150 guests attended the presentation including Lord Attenborough, the President of the Royal Academy of Performing Arts, and many people from the theatrical and architectural professions.

(Ruth Rossington)

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A new feature film The Water Giant has just completed shooting in one of the more remote locations on earth - around Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand - under the direction of UK veteran John Henderson. As the name suggests, the film was shot in and around boats and production sound mixer Tony Johnson was kept busy managing a complex Audio Ltd multi-mic set-up often on a rolling boat.

Johnson - whose impressive list of film sound credits include The Piano and Hercules - recently purchased the RK4 system from Sound Techniques in Auckland, New Zealand. The Water Giant required a lot of radio boom since running a cable was not practical. With two cameras being used, overlapping dialogue and Henderson keen to retain as much original sound as possible, there was also a lot of radio mic use. "The Audio Ltd system was essential for retaining as much of the original sound as possible,

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Employees of PLASA member companies can benefit from reduced fees at PA/VA 2002, a two-day programme, co-sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), aimed at anyone in the industry who would like to learn more about what is involved in specifying, designing, installing or certifying Public Address and Voice Alarm systems for safe public evacuation. The programme will run on 9 & 10 July 2002 at Regent's Park, London.

Visit www.isce.org.uk for full programme and discount details, or telephone Cathy Mackenzie on

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Audio visual rental and staging company MCL has launched the UK’s first real-time audio visual help facility on its website. The online interaction enables MCL clients to ask real-time questions about equipment or hire pricing during UK office hours. The help facility takes the form of a chat forum co-ordinating live enquiries between the regional MCL offices in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

MCL’s online marketing manager, John Leah, commented: "We have been trialing the system for a couple of months now and are confident that it is stable. We are getting an amazing response from site visitors and users who seem impressed that they can get immediate information when putting together project proposals, want local venue details from our regional MCL operations or just need some technical information on a piece of kit." The MCL web site now a

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