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UK - VME Ltd, the audio and lighting sales and hire company, has appointed Jane Fernihough as its new events director. Fernihough joins VME having spent the past seven years at Wigwam Acoustics where she was part of the Wigwam Events Team. Her experience with both indoor and outdoor events range from the Royal Albert Hall to some of Europe's largest parks, and televised events for Britain's leading gospel television station.

Prior to her post at Wigwam, Fernihough had worked in a variety of roles in the entertainment industry. Her responsibilities as VME events director is to extend the company's client base and to fully utilize all the facilities that VME have at their disposal.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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UK - Having settled in to its new bases in Emerson Street, London and in Crayford in Kent, DHA Lighting has announced several new staff appointments. New to the customer services department are Eleanor Bound (née Eleanor Strathie, and known as such during her time at lighting supplier White Light), Tessa Randall and Michelle Green. They join the rest of the customer services team at DHA's London office. This team is responsible for handling all customer enquiries and, with their comprehensive knowledge of DHA's full product range, can offer advice on the best products for particular projects or for creating particular effects. DHA Lighting's accounts department is also growing, with Carol Galatola joining the accounts team.

(Lee Baldock)

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MARCH

Working at Heights Consultation: 8 March, New Holland Centre, Spalding, Lincolnshire.

Free to Members: Overwhelmed by demand for the first Working at Heights Regulations consultation in February, we have now arranged a second session, so more members can participate. Non-members can also attend for £30.00 +VAT.

To register email ron@plasa.org

Intellectual Property Seminar: 25 March, Victoria, London.

Free to members: This DTI-supported seminar will cover all the issues surrounding intellectual property including trade marks, patents, copyright and trade secrets, as well as giving practical advice on the most effective way to protect your products and brand.

To register email norah@plasa.org

MAY - Human Resource Workshop: Date & Venue TBC.

Clive Payne of CP Associates will discuss the latest employment issues and advise members on the impact of new l

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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PLASA Members were given unique access to London's Roundhouse venue in mid-December as part of a link-up between the Association and the venue to ensure that its £28million refurbishment takes advantage of the services and technologies offered by member companies. Those who attended were given a tour of the main space and the planned Creative Centre and a direct line to any opportunities for involvement in the project.

The refurbishment will see this legendary venue (The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and The Doors all played here) transformed into a contemporary performance space. In addition to the main space and studio theatre, it will also feature a Creative Centre - a fully equipped broadcast and media space where young people of all backgrounds can learn new skills and develop their creative abilities.

The restoration is being handled by architects John McAslan and P

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Joining as Full EU members are Highlite International BV (The Netherlands), suppliers of lighting, audio and staging and Universal Effects (France), a manufacturer of smoke machines and special effects products.

Thales Space Technology (Bodelwyddan, UK), designers of optical systems and components, have signed up as Associate members, whilst a steady stream of applications from students has swelled this rank of the membership. New members include Adam Chandler (BTec National Diploma in Technical Theatre at Peterborough College); Katherine Davidson (BA Theatre Practice at CSSD); Daniel Manning (BSc Media Technology (Hons) at Southampton Institute); Thomas Nagels (Industrial Engineering Electro-Mechanics Automation at GroupT Leuven School of Engineering in Belgium); Christopher Pugh (BA (Hons) Theatre and Performance Technology Co

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The Association has launched a new magazine for the industry. The first issue of L&SI America will be published in Spring 2004 and like its European counterpart, will cover the use of professional lighting, sound and related technologies in entertainment, presentation, club and worship applications.

The launch of L&SI America will ensure that the PLASA name, and that of its individual members, will have a much greater profile in the Americas, giving both the Association and its member companies an active lead in this market.

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UK - Mission Pro has appointed True Colours as a distributor for the UK audio-visual market. True Colours, based in Yateley, Hampshire, is one of the UK's leading technical trade distributors with an excellent track record in supplying technical support and products to audio-visual re-sellers.

The company has recently moved from Aldershot to its new premises in Yateley, which will give them the facility of a dedicated room for training and demonstration of the full range of Mission Pro products, say Mission Pro.

David Raymen for True Colours commented: "We were very impressed by Mission Pro's products which offer a superb range of solutions for the AV market, with high intelligibility and even coverage in both good and difficult acoustic environments. They have invested heavily in design and tooling so the installation products are easy to fit and merge visually better th

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UK - Video has become an important adjunct to the virtuoso musicianship of veteran American band Dream Theater, who stretch rock to its outer limits. Formed 18 years ago by students at the renowned Berklee College Of Music, and presently midway through a world tour, the band had been introduced to CT Screenco by lighting designer Benoit Richards. The video specialists then constructed an elaborate rig to take Dream Theater through the British leg (mostly theatre venues) and onto the world stage.

Two 3m x 2m Barco D10 displays (in 4:3 aspect ratio) are configured either side of a central, letterbox-style 6m x 2m screen, set behind the vast drum kit. Three Minicams are positioned on stage - two picking up the drum kit and the third focused on the revolving keyboard. All other stage activity is captured from the front-of-house camera, fitted with a 33:1 lens. However, the video sou

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Czech Republic - L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of a new distributor for the Czech market - Pro Music. The company was established in 1996 by the electro-acoustics engineer Daniel Krcmar, now the company's general sales manager. It quickly became a leading pro audio supplier for projects with some of the biggest rental companies, theatres, clubs and studios in the country.

Krcmar says: "The entry of L-Acoustics to the Czech Republic is a very important step for the development of the pro audio market in the country. In less than two months of distributing L-Acoustics equipment, we really appreciate the high demand of the customers."

The company reports that it is planning to use its L-Acoustics systems on a number of prestigious projects in the coming year.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Lucorum in Barnsley, England, saw the world's first installation of the small and powerful EX series of speakers from KV2 Audio. A series of refurbished 18th century warehouse buildings, Lucorum is an interesting concept - a shopping centre and café by day, restaurant and bar by mid week night, and a full-on nightclub at weekends. Briefed to provide a discreet speaker system that would not look out of place in the afternoon tea-room setting, but have the necessary power to satisfy several hundred clubbers on a weekend, Yorkshire-based installer 52nd Street - having heard the KV2 system at PLASA - opted for the EX Series.

With its glass roof and stone walls, the venue presented challenging acoustics, but by carefully positioning four EX 10 speakers and adding the weight of two EX 2.5 double 15" active subs, reflections and subsequent issues of poor intelligibility were

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Japan - Japan's Shiki Theatre Company, known for bringing renowned musicals such as Cats, The Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia! to the Japanese stage, has successfully opened its latest production direct from Broadway. Disney Theatrical's acclaimed musical Aida opened on 21 December, 2003 at the MBS Theatre in Osaka.

The award-winning production, based on the works of Auguste Mariette and Giuseppe Verdi's opera, tells the story of the triangular love between Aida, a captured Nubian princess, Amneris, an Egyptian princess, and Radames, an Egyptian army captain who has the love of both Aida and Amneris. The award-winning score by Elton John and Tim Rice is their first since their collaboration on the highly successful Disney production, The Lion King.

In keeping with many of the world's top musical productions L-Acoustics sound reinforcement product

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UK - beyerdynamic (GB) has appointed Chris West of Whizwest Ltd to act as the company's Press and PR agent. West, who was UK sales manager of Harman Audio's Professional Products Division during the nineties, has since acted as marketing man for several other companies, including Creative Labs, Mackie, Oram Pro and Soundtracs. He also has hands-on experience as recording engineer for a variety of artists. John Midgley, managing director of beyerdynamic (GB) said: "We're very pleased to have Chris on board. His depth of knowledge and 30 years experience of the industry is valuable to us. The need to communicate the benefits of our products and to monitor the market is paramount."

West commented: "The team at beyerdynamic are fantastic. They are technically proficient, product knowledgeable and really nice to work with. The current portfolio is extensive but well ba

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UK - Lighting Logic Ltd is a newly launched lighting and sound sales, design and installation company, formed by Mick Cocker and Matt Miles, both well respected figures in the industry. Based at Maidstone Studios in Kent, Lighting Logic already has several projects up and running in the television and education markets.

In addition to Cocker and Miles at the helm, Lighting Logic has a team of regular freelancers in place who've worked closely with them on previous projects. The company will deal with all major lighting and audio brands in its specification and design work. The focus will be on the design, supply and installation of turnkey lighting and audio projects in the specialist areas of theatre, television, architectural and education markets. It will also offer consultation services.

Cocker and Miles have an impressive pool of experience, embracing all fields of profes

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USA/UK - Shure Distribution UK announced that during the recent Winter NAMM Show the company was presented with the QSC 2003 Export Distributor of the Year Award. As the QSC exclusive UK distributor, Shure Distribution UK received the award, in recognition for exceptional sales performance across all of the company's vertical markets.Managing director, Dennis Harburn and sales manager Mike Gibson, collected the award on the company's behalf, Harburn commented: "It's been a fantastic 12 months for the company and this award demonstrates how being owned by Shure, has further strengthened our relations with suppliers. We are really proud to have received this award and look forward to many further successful years distributing QSC in the UK."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA/Germany - At the NAIAS international motor show in Detroit at the beginning of January 2004, XL Video of Germany, acting for the first time in its capacity of general contractor to DaimlerChrysler, supplied all the video equipment for the Mercedes-Benz stand. The motor show ran from the 4 - 19 January.

As at the IAA motor show in Frankfurt where the Mercedes-Benz booth featured an 1800sqm (12 x 150m) circular facade composed of 47,000 MiPIX intelligent LED pixel blocks from Barco, the Detroit presentation was supported by media equipment from XL Video employing the same SMD LED technology. At the NAIAS, the 'media façade' theme was carried a stage further. The architecture for the booth was the work of KTP, whilst Atelier Markgraph handled the planning and communication. Integrated into the ring facade - used for the playback of intelligent lighting effects - two convex vid

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- With over 25 years at the leading edge of loudspeaker innovation, Mission launched its Professional Division with the intention of bringing products to the installation, pro-AV and studio markets.

For the past two years Mission has focused on development of a range of dedicated products for its new division. The installation and portable products are designed specifically for applications where advanced DML (distributed mode loudspeaker) technology offers a significant advantage over traditional cone systems - applications that require high intelligibility with wide, even coverage within both good and difficult reverberant acoustic environments. In addition, Mission has used its extensive R & D resources to design two new passive and active nearfield studio monitors.

Now, with a complete product range, the organization has been strengthened to turn the focus on to sales, ma

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UK - Marquee Audio used its second product open day at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) to present a programme of seminars and workshops from some of their key suppliers - this time partnering Midas and Klark Teknik with Turbosound and Optocore.Co-ordinated by Marquee sales director Andy Huffer, the centrepiece was the first UK viewing of the Midas Verona mixing console, which had been previewed at the American Winter NAMM in Anaheim a few weeks earlier.

The desk attracted considerable interest throughout the day as Huffer and Midas UK sales manager Richard Ferriday, put the desk through its paces. According to Marquee: "Verona advances the concept of the ultra-compact, and high-selling Venice, delivering more inputs and features within a package which promises to revolutionize the eight-bus market." The desk is available in six different chassis sizes - from 2

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UK - The ISCE (Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers) - organizer of the ISCEx 2004 sound contracting exhibition, report that the show is looking set for another successful run this year. Over 20 specialist suppliers to the industry have taken space, including AK Barns, ADS Worldwide, AMS Acoustics, Ampetronic, BC Technology, Baldwin Boxall, Brähler ICS, CIE Audio, Canford Audio, Communication Technology, Current Thinking, Decal International, d&b audiotechnik, Ikon AVS, MEDC, Mackie Designs, Sennheiser, SigNET AC, Source 1 International, Tannoy and TOA Corporation. Furthermore, the ISCE reports many bookings for the seminar programme, which includes five sessions by leading lecturers.

The ISCEx exhibition takes place on Tuesday 24 February at the Watford Moat House Hotel.Entry to the Seminar Programme and Exhibition is £50 (£60 for non-ISCE members) and £5 for the e

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UK - Allen & Heath has announced the start of production of the rotary fader version of the Xone:92 professional DJ/club mixer. Identical in design and features to the 'linear' Xone:92, the one difference between the models is the Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) faders, which are rotary as opposed to linear.

"The design philosophy behind the Xone:92 was to make it as flexible and feature packed as possible. Many DJs prefer rotary faders to the standard linear configuration so it made sense to launch two versions of the mixer," comments Xone designer, Andy Rigby-Jones.

Launched in December with the help of DJs Richie Hawtin, C1, IQ and Sander Kleinenberg, the Xone:92 is Allen & Heath's fastest-selling Xone model. Allen & Heath says the rotary version will be available from February.

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Metropolis AV & FX recently completed a major technical refurbishment at the Sports Café in London's Haymarket. The two-storey venue features five bars, dining areas and booths with personal mini plasma screens, where customers can enjoy a multi-media blend of sports action, food and drink. The project follows on from Metropolis' design and supply of the complete lighting, sound and AV system to the latest Sports Café in Manchester, and their long-term servicing of the maintenance contract at the flagship London operation.

Upstairs, Metropolis replaced all the old TVs with Panasonic TX28 and TX32 widescreen televisions, installing a total of 33, plus one of the new Generation 6 Panasonic TH42 PW6 plasma screens - one of the first in the UK. Two new Sanyo PLC SL15 video projectors were also installed - again some of the first in the country - fitted with protective POAP sm

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USA - A.C.T Lighting Inc, the North American distributor of MA Lighting, Zero 88, Artistic Licence and Selecon, has announced the hiring of industry veteran Tim Bachman as sales manager. A.C.T's president Bob Gordon says: "Tim has had a long and successful career in the entertainment lighting industry, and his experiences, both working on the manufacturer and dealer sides of the fence, will prove invaluable to us."

"I'm excited to be part of a team with such a great reputation for exceptional service," says Bachman. "We share the same values for wanting to be able to provide a high-quality product on short notice, and then being there with the details and solutions when the customer needs help. I'm looking forward to working with many industry friends that I've known in my other roles, and making new friends in the A.C.T Lighting customer base."

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