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UK - Avesco plc have announced a major sales and marketing restructure following the integration of Creative Technology and Screenco into a single resource. As sales director, Mike Walker will head up the consolidated team which has relocated to Chessington, and which sees the return of Adrian Offord who, prior to his last position with General Location, previously worked at Screenco.

The team also includes Alex Davenport, who joined MCL two years ago, and sales and marketing coordinator, Emma Houlden, from CT’s Wandsworth office. Also joining the team from CT is Charlie Whittock, who has recently returned from the US where he has been working in event and production management, having worked closely with Creative Technology since the company was founded in 1985.

Said Walk

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UK - Phil Anderson at Wave AV has put Wharfedale Force 1LT loudspeakers at the heart of a sound system blueprint for newly restored, authentic country-style pubs which are part of an expanding investment programme undertaken by Hall & Woodhouse.

These sites are located all along the South Coast/M4 corridor, from Somerset to Dorset and across to Sussex. All the pubs share the design concept, the same food and drink menus, and are equipped with identical entertainment systems, which only change in respect of the quantity of equipment used.

Wave AV's template for the sound uses typically a dozen Wharfedale Force 1LT wall-mounted cabinets in 100V line mode, controlled by a Cloud 46/50 integrated zone mixer/amplifer. Remote level control is accessible from the bar via Cloud RSL-6 plates. A Rolec PHD1 hard-disk music system is at the heart of the system as the musical source.

Wave

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South Africa - South Africa’s Standard Bank Stars event on 29 March was an incentive awards evening held to honour employees throughout the country who are part of Standard Bank’s retail arm. Gearhouse South Africa was contracted by Jenny Lenahan Productions to provide the technical equipment and skills for the event, which took its theme from three decades of television and featured music, celebrities and television personalities from each of those eras.

Heading up the Gearhouse SA team was Ian Watts, who is operation’s manager of the Johannesburg branch’s audio-visual department. Ian was project manager of the Standard Bank Stars and comes with 15 years’ experience in the broadcast industry - at the SABC, and M-Net as well as Gearhouse Broadcast on an international basis. What made the Standard Bank Stars so unique was that the event took place si

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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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Japan - The 1,300-capacity Anzu Hall Cultural Centre in Koshoku City has undergone a dynamic sound system refurbishment based around a QSC network and monitoring system. The multi-purpose Anzu Hall - situated inside the City Hall complex - hosts a wide variety of cultural events. Ueda JRC carried out the installation, supported by ComodoMattina Inc, QSC’s Japanese distributor. The company’s Takafumi Asahina says: "Originally, the client didn’t have a clear idea of what they wanted, and so we recommended QSC’s QSControl (pronounced Q’s Control) network audio control solution as being the most progressive way forward."

The QSControl remote management system, a RAVE Ethernet-based signal transport design, and CX Series amplifiers form the hub of the project. With four of QSC’s new ISIS 102W loudspeakers also commissioned for the task of

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UK - Blink TV launched a new theatre-sized visual package on the recent six-week Liberty X UK tour, along with the supply of video project management, specification and hardware. The package is a new, highly flexible Blink format designed to bring high production values to tours playing theatres, town halls and other smaller-sized venues.

Blink’s project manager for the Liberty X tour, Adam Walton, worked in close consultation with lighting designer Jvan Morandi. Morandi is extremely specific about the look and style of all the shows on which he works and used a High End Catalyst video system as an integral part of the show’s visual aspect. Morandi and Walton chose an innovative format for Blink TV, with two Fast-fold video screens onstage for the opening and support band slots, onto which the Blink programmes could also be projected. Aesthetically, this has resulted

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Germany - Leading German PA rental company, Crystal Sound, has invested in a 40-channel ML4000 from Allen & Heath for their hire stock. Crystal Sound purchased the console through ProAudio Marketing, Allen & Heath's German distributor.

"Our agenda was simple - we were looking for a console with a lot to offer. The ML4000 has many auxes and is flexible enough for our clients to use either FOH or as a monitor console," said Hanns Hommen, Crystal Sound's MD. He added: "We were convinced by the ML4000's technical data, variety of features, EQs and of course, the price! Comparatively, there is no serious alternative to the ML Series on the mixer market."

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - High End Systems has introduced the new x.Spot Xtreme luminaire. With the 2:1 lens, x.Spot Xtreme is 40% brighter than the original x.Spot with a 4:1 lens. At 16,000 lumens, its brightness surpasses all other competing fixtures in its category, say High End.

Advances in lamp technology have been instrumental in the creation of this new product. Philips has developed the P3, or improved pinch lamp, which essentially allows the lamp to operate at higher temperatures than ever before. This offers increased brightness and extended lamp life. Software modifications and changes in the power supply also help boost the brightness. x.Spot Xtreme is available with either a 2:1 or 4:1 lens depending on customer preference. The x.Spot HO (High Output) will continue to be available.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Hall Stage has introduced the Hold-On clip range. Made from a GRP/Polymer mix, these are an ideal solution for temporary rigging of screens or masking drapes, offering an alternative to eyelets. Perfect for replacing ripped or torn fittings and ties, the new clips will be a useful addition to any rigging toolkit.

They come in two sizes - the mini and the maxi (which can hold a load of 100kg) and are available in black and white in bags of 10s or 20s. Charles Haines, Halls’ managing director, said: "After years of making what felt like thousands of cyc stretchers and drape clamps out of 3 x 1 and sash cord in my days as a stage carpenter, I always thought there had to be a better way. There never seemed to be any left after a get-out and we had a ‘scraps box’ in the workshop - just for making replacements. Well, now we’ve got a better way - easy,

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Denmark - Martin Professional's 250W moving head fixture, the MAC 250 Profile, has been updated to produce two new versions. Retooled for greater performance and restyled, the MAC 250 is now available in either the full-featured MAC 250 Entour or the leaner MAC 250 Krypton - both of which build on advancements made with Martin’s larger MAC 2000 luminaire.

The MAC 250 Krypton features a number of significant changes including a new optical system for brighter output and improved image quality, new gobo patterns, improved movement and styling, and will be well suited to a variety of markets such as the club and installation market, retail and leisure applications, special events and more.

A new glass reflector produces even higher light output - more than competitive products using condenser-based optical systems, say Martin. A precision achromatic lens system maximizes th

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Russia - St Petersburg’s council chamber, situated within the city’s monumental Marrinsky Palace, has undergone a two-year renovation, including newly installed sound and video equipment. The ‘Grand Hall’, as the chamber is known, has the most problematic acoustics - a case in point being a reverberation time of around 3.5 seconds.

Ruton S, the Russian Electro-Voice distributor, was the firm entrusted with the responsibility of bringing the venerable 19th century hall into line with the high standards of modern communication, and one of the first tasks was to install a conference and voting system - of which the sound reinforcement system was a major part. After conducting simulations (using EV’s EAMS software), Ruton S decided on a set-up which not only offered excellent sound quality as well as compact dimensions and an elegant appearance. The sys

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Europe - Sony Business Europe has announced the introduction of the UWP Series, a new range of affordable UHF synthesized wireless microphone systems that brings Sony’s audio quality and transmission stability to low-cost Electronic News Gathering (ENG), Electronic Field Production (EFP) and PA applications.

Commenting on the company’s move into new and competitive market sectors, Simon Beesley, European product manager, states: "The UWP Series represents a big step forward as it introduces Sony wireless options to customers we haven’t catered to before. Although specified for a cost conscious market, UWP clearly reflects the inherent quality of Sony wireless systems, based on years of professional experience."

Consisting of five core elements - a lavalier microphone and bodypack transmitter, a wireless handheld microphone, a portable tuner, a half-

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UK - Robe UK Ltd - a direct sales operation of Czech Republic-based moving light manufacturer Robe Show Lighting - has been launched. The new company is set up to exclusively supply and market the rapidly expanding Robe brand in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Robe UK is a joint venture between Robe Show Lighting and Ian Brown, formerly MD of Coe-tech, which went into administration last week. Coe-Tech appointed a liquidator after suffering a number of financial set-backs.

The new Robe venture will be based in Northampton and run by a management, sales and technical team assembled by Brown, and is the latest Robe Show Lighting subsidiary to be established, following Robe Italia Srl and Robe America.

Robe UK’s Ian Brown says: "It was a logical step forward to form the new company. The new business will allow us to focus tightly on our long-term business objectives

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USA - Debuting recently at SAFECO Field in Seattle, among the big boys of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Martin Professional's new professional lighting console, Maxxyz, handled everything a major event could throw at it.

Held on Sunday, 23 March, WrestleMania XIX was the largest event ever held at SAFECO Field and the first major show (BETA test show) for the Maxxyz in the US. The overall lighting rig was made up of 16 large truss-structures of varying shapes and contained a mixture of automated (MAC 600, MAC 2000 Profile, Atomic 3000 Strobe) and conventional lighting and was controlled by multiple consoles. In the future, the need for this kind of arrangement will be replaced by a Maxxyz network system (either a single console or multiple consoles). Additional automated lighting was placed on stage and on a special entrance ramp.

Matthias Hinrichs, lighting programmer

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UK - Director Bob Carlton’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream completed its highly successful four-week run at the Queen’s Theatre in Hornchurch earlier this week. As the creator of the Olivier Award-winning show Return to the Forbidden Planet (based on The Tempest), Bob Carlton is no stranger to hit Shakespeare-inspired musicals, but this Queen's Theatre production has been hailed as a fresh new interpretation. The production featured a large cast from the theatre's resident company of actor-musicians which included the string quartet Bebeto as the fairies.

Stage Technologies provided the production with a single-axis performer flying system, using a BigTow winch for counter weight assist and a Juggler control console. In a play where nymphs, fairies, royalty and common folk all clash on stage in their frantic search for love, the pr

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USA - p-wave, the new decorative version of the award-winning ‘new wave’ truss series from Total Structures, has appeared on stage with Luther Vandross at Radio City Music Hall in New York. p-wave was chosen by lighting designer Warwick Price for their striking effects under various lighting conditions, as the edges of the plexi webs capture the light and the truss glows to form part of the light show itself. Large acrylic panels were set between the vertical array of trusses and water passed over the etched surfaces to reflect the light, with stunning results. The show also featured a number of aluminum ‘hexi-pods’ which were fabricated by Total Structures some time ago for Light & Sound Design. These house lighting fixtures and are supported from the main grid above the stage.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Cheltenham Ladies College has had its presentation infrastructure boosted with the installation of a new state-of-the-art projection system. Designed and installed by AVPS - who have serviced the college’s requirements in the past - the larger contract to fit out the multi-purpose assembly hall was put out to three companies. AVPS tendered successfully and their Christie-based proposal was accepted on the strength of the product specification, obviating the need for an on-site demonstration.

AVPS’ Jules Deakin believes that it was his preference for the Christie Roadrunner L6 LCD projector which won them the contract. He recommended the L6, offering 1024 x 768 true XGA resolution, as the best solution in view of its superior brightness and its dual lamp facility. "It allows the college to run both lamps to achieve 5200 ANSI lumens during the day when the am

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Australia - The Australian Entertainment Industry Association has announced the nominees for the 2003 Helpmann Awards. Named in honour of dancer and actor Sir Robert Helpmann and first presented in 2001, these annual awards honour productions new to Australia.

The 2003 nominations cover a wide range of productions, including those created in Australia and those previously seen elsewhere in the world but visiting Australia for the first time. The awards include categories for both productions and technical work on productions - and, unusually for theatrical awards, even feature a category for sound design.

This year’s technical nominees are: Best Costume Design: Dale Ferguson - Great Expectations; Kristian Fredrikson - Man of La Mancha; Julie Lynch - The Way of the World; Bob Crowley - The Witches of Eastwick.

Best Scenic Design: Stephen Curt

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UK - Following our news yesterday that LouMarc a new, pan-European pro audio marketing company had been established, we also have further details on Sonic8 Ltd - a new UK pro audio distribution company which will take on products from the installation, live, broadcast and recording sectors, and which was the first to sign a distribution agreement with LouMarc.

Centrally-based in Leeds, Sonic8 has a team of product specialists travelling up and down the UK ready to help in sales and support. The company has initially taken on the full range of products from German microphone manufacturer Brauner and CLM Dynamics, the innovative Scottish signal processing company. Sonic8 expects to announce the addition of three more companies to its portfolio within the coming weeks.

Sonic's managing director is Stephen Helm, an audio specialist with 12 years' experience in product distribution

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Norway - D-PAC Audio of Denmark has appointed Micmo Lyd & Lys of Mo in Norway as sole A-dealer for the D-PAC range of products. A sales and rental company, Micmo has purchased 12 AS-2 subwoofers, six MP-152 multi-purpose 15" + 1.4" loudspeakers andfour MP-81 8"+1" multi-purpose speakers for their rental operation, with an option for six AM-2 mid/high cabinets and a number of AM-1/AS-1+ systems. A further two AS-2s and two AM-2s have been purchased for an installation.

Michael Christiansen, owner of Micmo, states: "I am very pleased to become sole A-dealer in Norway of D-PAC Audio. I know that long-term business relationships are crucial when dealing with top professional sound reinforcement products, and D-PAC Audio provides both, in terms of dedication to provide tomorrow’s technology and in a build quality that surpasses even other key suppliers

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Russia - One of the more inspiring events on the international arts scene has been the re-opening of the Na Dubrovke Theater in Moscow, where most of the original cast of the musical ‘Nord Ost’ returned to the stage, just months after the theatre and its audience were ravaged by a Chechen terrorist attack.

Permanently housed in the Na Dubrovke Theater, Nord Ost had broken Russian theatrical records by playing to full houses for just over a year, when the hostage crisis occurred. More than 150 people died in the events of October 2002, including 17 cast members. These last few months have seen great uncertainty over the future of the production, but, finally, after substantial charitable donations and grants from the Kremlin, the show premiered to standing ovations from an audience that included most of the world's press, the Deputy PM of Russia, the Mayor of M

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USA - Flying Pig Systems' Wholehog III lighting control system earned praises for its work in the Southeast Christian Church Easter Pageant held on 21 March - 4 April in Louisville, Kentucky. LD Jon ‘Hillbilly’ Weir used 81 intelligent fixtures and several hundred conventional fixtures on the event. Majestic Productions of Anderson, IN, provided equipment and technicians. Weir used the Wholehog III to run the automated fixtures and control the house console: the house system consisted of 400 desk channels and about 100 channels for house lights and various accents.

"In all, the whole show was on five very crowded universes," Weir says. "Out of 2048 channels on the Wholehog III, I had about 40 channels open - quite a full console! The whole show ran over fibe optic cable. The only copper coming from FOH to the racks was from the conventional console.&qu

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