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Singapore / Thailand - Coemar has confirmed a new strategic alliance in the Far East, which will see Showtec Communications Pte Ltd handling its distribution in Singapore and Thailand.

The platform for a large opening order was provided by the recent Singapore National Day Parade, as Showtec director of sales, Lionel Lee, explained. "We were looking for a new light to replace the Netscan 4k which Steve Neild, lighting designer of NDP 2003 (Singapore's National Day Parade 2003), had specified in his equipment list." Attracted by the combination of brightness and flexibility, the company enquired about Coemar's new Flex range, with the result that Steve Campbell, Coemar sales manager, Far East, issued an invitation to Showtec MD Henry Ang to view the lights at their source

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USA - Alan Caskey, formerly of Fakespace Systems Inc, has joined SEOS on a consultancy basis to concentrate on North American visualization sales opportunities and to contribute to the overall market strategy of the company.

Caskey brings with him 22 years experience at senior executive and sales level within the electronics, manufacturing, system integration and service industries. Beginning his career at Christie Digital Systems, he progressed to vice-president, managing the sales force and distribution channels, whilst fostering relationships with customers and resellers. Most recently, as vice-president of sales and marketing at Fakespace Systems, Caskey developed a sales force alongside long-range strategies to streamline the sales and marketing processes. His appointment follows the announcement last week that SEOS has recruited Martin Howe as vice- president of visualizat

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UK - Wharfedale Programme 30D loudspeakers can be found at the heart of the Bostin' Local programme of pub refurbishments and developments by the award-winning Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries.

tsg, the Sheffield-based media programming and systems company has been appointed by W&DB to implement standardized audio and video systems in the majority of the pubs in the programme. Some 60 venues have been converted to the Bostin' Local format to date, with about 40 more earmarked in this W&DB financial year. The roll-out is expected to include about 200 pubs by the end of 2004 - an investment of over £20m.

Every conversion will feature a new sound system, installed by tsg, and comprising Wharfedale Programme 30D loudspeakers with a promedia hard-disk music playing system, Cloud amplification and mixer facilities, and zone control. "The only factor that alters is the number

featured content

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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UK / Jamaica - The phrase 'coals to Newcastle' springs to mind with the news that Wembley Loudspeaker has sold eight of their B-Line 28-20 sub-bass cabinets to a new reggae club opening in Kingston, Jamaica. The boxes are being shipped this October ready for the club's opening.

The club owners first heard Wembley's B-Line 28-20 cabinets at this year's Notting Hill Carnival in London. They subsequently came to the PLASA exhibition in London in September, where they agreed the order with Wembley Loudspeaker's managing director, Paul MacCallum.

He commented: "We have always been particularly proud of the bass response our speaker enclosures produce, which is why they're so popular as the sound systems for Notting Hill. This year we had over 120 units in different systems across the Carnival, and to get an order from Jamaica - the home of reggae and bass-oriented music - is p

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UK - Soundcraft recently supported a unique showcase event at The Bedford in Balham, London, when Scorpions guitar legend Uli Jon Roth performed his new album Metamorphosis of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in the venue's Shakespearean Globe Theatre.

Appearing before an invited audience of 140 - with his 11-piece Sky Orchestra looking like they had migrated from the cast of a BBC costume drama - Roth was filmed for a forthcoming DVD to support the album. It also provided a break from the normal '@coustix' Wednesday night talent sessions run by promoter Tony Moore (of Kashmir Klub fame).

Moore, the former Cutting Crew keyboard player, has a long history with Soundcraft, who provided a 24-channel MH4 to Roth's sound engineer Martin Leissner to mix the show - which also incorporated a new Sky guitar concerto. Leissner has been working with the Scorpions legend since 2000 - but wit

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UK - PLASA 2003 closed its doors after four days of lively business, as a year of planning had resulted in one of the best shows in PLASA's history. During the course of the event, numerous exhibitors not only generated leads, but also took large orders - a sure sign that the industry is beginning to turn the corner.

Feedback from exhibitors has been excellent - Steve Warren from Avolites commented: "We have generated stunning amounts of business and a number of new distributors." Chris Rolph from LED specialist Tryka said: "Its my 13th PLASA - its been phenomenal! We ran out of brochures on Monday," while Dennis Harburn from Shure Distribution UK said: "The layout has made the show more accessible, with a revitalised injection of life and new better quality visitors."

This year, the New Technology Gallery introduced the visitor to an impressive d

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UK - September saw two important landmarks in the history of the McKenzie Group (MKG). Not only did MKG open a new Carling Academy in Islington, north London, but the company then headed north to open the Carling Academy in Liverpool. In both instances high specification audio and lighting systems were central to the relaunches.

The Liverpool operation is a development of a former warehouse in Hotham Street. Although it had been converted into a live music venue in the 1990s, it closed again in 2002. As part of its £1m refurbishment, the Carling Academy Liverpool features state-of-the-art technology throughout and a fully flexible capacity of 1,200, enabling it to cater for live gigs, dance events and club nights. The concept emulates the success of MKG's Carling Academy Birmingham, and a secondary, 450-capacity venue - Carling Academy 2 Liverpool - is also housed within the a

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UK - Following our earlier news pieces on a planned move for the Avesco Group, the company has confirmed that it is relocating its Creative Technology, MCL London and Screenco businesses, together with the Avesco plc head office, to a new building in the London Gatwick area, with effect from 6 October.

The new 54,000sq.ft base will accommodate all the company's workforce and provide high-bay warehouse and two-storey office facilities. Explaining the rationale behind the move, David Nicholson, chief executive of Avesco plc, commented: "Since we merged the sales, project management and operations teams of CT, MCL London and Screenco, we have been looking for one building so that the businesses could be fully integrated. This building is larger than we require immediately but provides for future growth as market conditions start to improve."

Avesco's new address is Unit

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UK - CCT Lighting has announced the appointment of Bill Jones as general manager, following the retirement last month of managing director David Manners. Jones started his career in the industry with CCT lighting 16 years ago. Before re-joining CCT, he worked for Harman UK, Lightfactor Sales and Stage Electrics, in both sales and sales management positions. He returns to CCT with total determination to lead the company in a very changing industry, promoting the company as one of the top manufacturers in the business. His plans for the future include changes to the current pricing policies and development of exciting new products.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Bosch Security Systems has announced that it is the first company in the world to achieve full TÜV approval for its digital voice alarm systems. Instead of the normal self-certification, Bosch chose to submit its Praesideo range of public address and emergency voice alarm systems to the independent and internationally-recognized TÜV Product Service GmbH testing authority in Germany.

As a result, Bosch's all-digital Praesideo is the first PA/VA system to be independently TÜV tested to EN/IEC60849 certification for sound systems for emergency purposes. This means Bosch can assure not just installers but also fire departments, consultants/specifiers and end users that the PA systems they are using comply to the strictest requirements of the EN60849 standard for public buildings. These include airports, stadia, entertainment venues, railway stations and termini, retail store

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UK - Robe UK has completed its first sale of Robe Show Lighting's new ColorSpot 1200 moving light fixture for the UK hire market, with units purchased by Norwich-based Viking Lighting. The deal was completed at PLASA, and followed a highly successful production of Jesus Christ Superstar in Cornwall, for which Viking supplied all production equipment, including a large Robe moving light rig.

The ColorSpot 1200s will go immediately into Viking's hire stock. They are also destined for the Theatre Royal Norwich's pre-panto season, which kicks off in November, for which Viking is supplying a full lighting rig, design and crew. Viking's Ian Leonard explains that the ColorSpot 1200 has been added to Viking's hire stock to complement its existing stock of Robe, and thereby give the company a 'full family' of Robe fixtures.

(Ruth Rossington)

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UK / France - Turbosound has appointed pro audio specialist Audiopole as its new distributor for France. Located in Fontenay-sous-Bois, near Paris, Audiopole is a large, well-established organization with a comprehensive network of sales and marketing channels, covering the installation, retail and broadcast markets. The company will be distributing Turbosound loudspeakers alongside its other main brands, which include AKG, Allen & Heath and Focusrite. It has scheduled a roadshow this autumn, which will showcase Turbosound's TXD products in particular, at five major cities across France.

Audiopole's chairman, Bruno Bertrand, commented: "We are very pleased to have been appointed Turbosound's distributor for France. It is a very prestigious name, and perfectly complements our other brands. We had been looking to take on a major loudspeaker range, for the live sound and insta

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UK - Drapes and rigging specialist, Blackout was appointed by G2 Productions to help create a cinematic environment at the BMW Group's Oxford Plant, for exclusive preview screenings of the remake of The Italian Job. The screenings were attended by BMW personnel, including a fleet of Mini Coopers, just prior to the film's UK premiere on 12 September.Blackout's Chris Brain collaborated with G2's managing director, Andrew Owls to design and build a giant free-standing truss structure, which was clad in black wool-serge drape, excluded all light and contained the 1,000 capacity auditorium.

Blackout's team suspended the drape onto the truss and rigged the giant 60f x 25 ft screen supplied by Bell Theatre Services. Andrew Owles explained: "It was great working with Blackout - the team handled the project professionally from start to finish with great attention to detail. W

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USA - Eddie Izzard is a rock and roll showman trapped in a stand-up comedian's body. Josh Monroe, lighting designer for Izzard's 2003 Sexie tour, refers to the stage and screen star as a "glam rock" comedian, and the first two minutes of Izzard's show explain why. "Eddie likes to have a rock and roll entrance. It's a very 'David Bowie-like' spectacular every time he enters or exits the stage," Monroe said. "It's basically flash and trash that shows off all of the bells and whistles of the lighting fixtures. There's no high art to it, it just whips the audience into a frenzy and lets them know that Eddie is about to hit the stage."

The show opens with a 90-second sequence that combines the lighting, music and projection, leading up to Izzard's grand entrance. To accomplish the look of controlled chaos, Monroe specified the most powerful Vari*L

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UK - Leading manufacturer Trantec has recently supplied its new S6000 miniature wireless radio microphone system to GMTV. Deployed to facilitate the live broadcast of Britain's first ever 'interactive wedding', the system was used in conjunction with a fleet of other Trantec radio mic systems.The programme was broadcast live from the Greek island of Rhodes and followed a sensational 14-week build up, during which GMTV viewers created their perfect wedding via a voting scheme, which allowed viewers to choose every minute detail - from the lucky couple right through to the gown, location and flowers on the day.

GMTV's sound supervisor Nigel Gates specified the Trantec systems, which comprised the S6000, S4000 and the S3500, basing his choice on the sonic quality and reliability in a pressured live broadcast environment. Playing the starring role, the S6000 was used specifically fo

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USA - City Theatrical has announced the release of Lightwright 4 - the newest version of John McKernon's paperwork software tool that has become a standard of the entertainment lighting industry.

Lightwright was named one of the 'Products that Changed Our World' by Lighting Dimensions magazine in 2002, and has been used on over 90% of all Broadway shows over the last 10 years. The package gives designers and electricians sophisticated tools for tackling the complicated job of compiling and maintaining lighting paperwork.

New features of Lightwright 4 include up to 30,000 worksheet rows; up to 6,000 purposes, 6,000 positions and 6,000 colours; 62 universes of DMX; 100 moving light libraries per show; stores accessories, weights, symbols and template holder sizes; work notes database including work note, status and category; integrated focus chart database including not

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UK - tsg, the Sheffield-based media programming and systems provider has promoted Steve Dunn to the board. Dunn, formerly head of marketing, now becomes marketing director, a strategic position that allows him to make use of skills developed whilst achieving the MBA at Sheffield Business School. Dunn has been employed by tsg for six years and was previously with Jamo and Wharfedale.

The company has also announced that Ivan Marsden, formerly operations director, has taken on the position of business director. Marsden's new role is to further develop the sales strategy which has seen tsg secure record levels of business. In fact, the company has enjoyed a long and successful history as a media programmer and system designer. In 2002 its music brand Candy Rock celebrated 20 years of programmed music supply to the UK's leading retailers.

(Ruth Rossington)

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UK - Expectations were high at the PLASA show that a detailed presentation concerning this vital set of Regulations would be delivered by representatives of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). However, policy makers from the HSE announced that the promised third draft of the Regulations, with its accompanying Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) and guidance material, would be delayed further - with the consultation period now scheduled for December 2003 through to April 2004.

Those who attended the seminar on the last day of the show were hoping to get an opportunity to discuss the application of the new Regulations and how their impact would affect the entertainment industry, but all that was on offer was a run-through of the existing proposed Regulations published in the last draft, which may or may not have some bearing on the final set of Regulations.

The delayed consult

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Japan - Solid State Logic's new C200 digital production console continues to gain popularity in Japan by attracting sales from some of the country's top broadcast and post- production facilities. The most recent C200 installation took place in August at the Imagica Akasaka Video Centre in Tokyo. A 32-channel console offering 64 processing channels at 48kHz was installed in a new studio dedicated to TV magazine and documentary programmes and HD projects.

Imagica is the largest post-production company in Asia, with five facilities in Tokyo and a facility in Osaka. The company is known worldwide for pre- and post-production work on both film and television projects and also owns two satellite broadcasting channels. Alongside its facilities work, Imagica develops specialist equipment and computer graphics software for the film and video industries. Imagica already has an establish

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Lots of new members joined PLASA in the summer months.

Three UK companies have signed up as Full members. Cheshire-based VME (tel: +44 1625 585525) specializes in the hire and sale of audio for broadcast, sound reinforcement and installation applications. SDD Sound & Light of Belmont (tel: +44 1784 455666) provides a complete service from self-hire equipment to fully serviced seminars and conferences. Point Source Productions (tel: +44 20 8661 7200) provides full lighting, sound and staging services.

PLASA's Associate Business category, intended for businesses which have traded for less than two years, has two new members. Cantoris Sound (tel: +44 1522 536981) provides design and consultancy, along with installation of permanent sound systems. Blank Canvas Publishing (tel: +44 1892 676280) is a business-to-business publishing company, which produces the bi-monthly title, Pro Audio As

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UK - ACCO UK Ltd has announced the formation of a new European Multi Media Group, as part of its ACCO Brands portfolio, aimed at providing the company with a major presence in the growing digital AV presentation technology sector. ACCO's entry into the market comes with the launch of the exclusive NOBO brand of digital projectors, based on Texas Instruments market leading DLP technology.

Ashley Murdoch, who recently joined the company from Sony Europe, is general manager of the Multi Media Group: "The NOBO brand is already a market leader in overhead projection and we are launching portable projector technology in line with the move towards digital devices across all of our core markets. We have developed a range of machines and a business model that specifically address the requirements of business, presentation and education users, in terms of performance, portability, re

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