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UK - Leading project management company Stagecraft is the first company in the UK to install an innovative new touch-screen lighting system created by Zero 88. Stagecraft has been working with Salisbury nightclub The Chapel on the supply and installation of £100,000 worth of lighting equipment, which includes the new touch screens.

Since early 2003, Stagecraft has been involved in the major refurbishment project at The Chapel. Project manager Martin Palmer commented: "Lighting can be used in so many different ways in clubs like The Chapel and the system we installed had to be extremely versatile. With so much new lighting technology out on the market we spent a great deal of time researching all the options available."

Linked directly to the Zero 88 Frog Box, the tou

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Germany - Shortly after going public about its future plans, The-Fun-Company has announced the first sneak preview of it show control system at the forthcoming ProLight&Sound show in Frankfurt, Germany. The company also announced the following key members of its product and business development team:

Yngve Sandboe, a renowned software developer and networking expert, is the company's director of software development. Sandboe's many achievements include the award-winning VLC Safari Lighting Control software and the unique SandNet network operating system.

Hans Lau is responsible for the company's manufacturing operations, as well as thehardware and firmware development. He has more than 25 years of experience in the lighting controls industry and an extensive record of product development and manufacturing management.

Lennart Knauf - long-time support expert for the transtech

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UK - When Craig Sheppard from the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), Stratford walked into the facilities of VLPS Lighting Services in Greenford, he was expecting a regular Vari*Lite training course, joined by RSC colleague Matt Peel.

To his surprise he found he was the 2000th trainee to walk through the doors to gain Vari*Lite training! Specifically he was at VLPS to learn about the VL1000 luminaires, but before the training got started he was presented with champagne, a certificate, t-shirts and a Lewis Lee book. Matt Peel was also presented with some goodies as he was lucky trainee number 2001.

Craig Sheppard commented: "I felt very honoured to be the 2000 trainee. It is as much a milestone for me, as it is for VLPS - actually the best part was the gifts and champagne! Coral [Cooper]'s training is very comprehensive; a valuable part is the on the job handy hints that hav

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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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Germany - When German car manufacturer Opel introduced the new model Astra to its dealers, the Wholehog III console was chosen to drive the rig of automated lighting in the launch presentation. This was more than just a product launch, however: On Air Productions created the Opel Astra Testcamp to help dealers get hands-on training on the new Astra. The test camp toured four weeks visiting various venues such as racetracks and automotive testing areas, drawing about 250 visitors a day. Schoko Pro GmbH supplied the production gear.

Wholehog III board operators were Matt Finke and Timo Weinhold of Loop Light lighting design, based in Marburg, Germany. The opening show featured a presentation which reviewed the last 36 months of the Astra's development. Finke says: "The opening show is based on timecode triggered by a hard-disk recorder and received by the Hog's LTC (Linear Ti

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UK - Peavey Electronics has appointed Iain Elder as the company's new production manager. Formerly production director at Celestion for 12 years, Elder left the loudspeaker manufacturer to form an OEM manufacturing facility serving the musical instrument industry. After a brief stint working as MD for a medical device manufacturer, Elder returned to the music business when he joined Peavey earlier this year. Having already demonstrated he can produce impressive results by doubling production output within six weeks of joining the company, Elder expects to see it grow again significantly during 2004. In order to empower Elder and enable this to happen, Peavey is planning to make a major investment in the manufacturing facility at its Corby site during the coming year.

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - On 12 March, Britney Spears kicked of her 'Onyx Hotel Tour 2004' in Seattle, USA backed by a spectacular 3D display of over 25,000 Barco MiPIX LED blocks. The MiPIX blocks form part of an order placed by Barco Rental Partner XL Video in January 2004. The order by XL Video and use of Barco's MiPIX on the Britney Spears tour mark yet another high point since Barco launched the revolutionary LED block in Frankfurt last year. Winning the coveted 2004 Entertainment Design Product of the Year Award in New York City in January this year, Barco has also now announced that it has sold over 100,000 blocks of MiPIX to various rental partners over the past six months.

"We are enormously proud to have MiPIX associated with a high profile artist such as Britney Spears," says Stephan Paridaen, president of Barco's Media & Entertainment division, adding: "Our Rental Partner

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UK/Europe - Bandit Lites is supplying lighting equipment and crew for the Offpring Splinter tour, currently steaming around the UK and Europe - this section serviced by Bandit Lites UK. LD Phil Ealy has designed a stylish, asymmetrical show for his sixth tour with the band, with their incredible thrashy, metal energy and stage presence demanding an equally energetic lightshow.

Ealy wanted a complete break from the conventional symmetry of the last tour. The flexibility and dynamism of asymmetry also allows easy adaptation of the show for different venues - ranging from theatre to arenas in Europe - without compromising on creative or practical fronts.

Ealy runs his own lighting rental company, West Coast Lighting, based in the LA area, and so is pretty discerning when it comes to choosing a rental partner for his large-scale tours! He's worked with Bandit - which has se

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UK - Following a UK distribution agreement with the wireless microphone and portable PA manufacturer Mipro, Tannoy will be able to supply its UK customers with a much extended product range, with immediate effect. The Mipro range will complement Tannoy's own line-up of professional audio products, which already extends beyond its loudspeaker ranges and includes amplifiers, mixer amplifiers and system controllers.

"Being able to supply another component part of the audio installation takes us one step closer to being a complete systems provider", commented Simon Sinclair, Tannoy's sales director. He further explained, "In particular Mipro's exceptional range of wireless microphone systems fits very well alongside the distribution channels of the current Tannoy range. We believe Mipro will prove a very popular line with our customers."

As with Tannoy, Mipro

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UK - The A.C. Lighting North trade show (11-12 May 2004) will see products from some of the leading entertainment technology companies making their UK trade show debut in Leeds.

Chroma-Q, exclusively distributed by A.C. Lighting, will unveil the first in a new line of high output LED products. The Colour Block is a modular block of four DMX-controlled colour mixing LED lights which can be easily configured in stacks or rows to make battens, blinders or any combination. Colour Block also features a unique user interface offering Hue, Saturation and Intensity control of each fixture, plus a fully variable effects engine. From Jands (also exclusively distributed in Europe by A.C.) will be the newly launched Vista lighting console, with its ground-breaking timeline-based approach to lighting control.

Other new products on display will include Martin Professional's Ego 4 DMX effec

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UK - Leslie West, Todd Wolfe and Del Bromham are using the Carlsbro Sherwood Signature Acoustic amps, 50 TOP Evolution heads and Carlsbro Classic 4 x 12 cabs on their upcoming tour. West, one of the most innovative and exciting guitarists in the world, still leads his band Mountain, but this tour sees him out on his own accompanied by ex-Sheryl Crowe guitarist, Todd Wolfe.

West has just released his new solo album 'Blues To Die For' on Mascot-Provogue in Europe and he will feature a number of tracks from this on the tour. He will also be playing a selection of both Mountain and West, Bruce and Laing songs which he has rearranged especially for acoustic and electric guitars.

Del Bromham from Stray has also released his first solo blues album, Devil's Highway, on THM and will support West on all of his UK, European and Scandinavian dates and will be playing both solo tracks and

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USA - High End Systems' DL1 digital light engine recently won Best Lighting Product in the Second Annual Club World Awards, sponsored by Club Systems International magazine. The awards ceremony took place on 8 March during the Winter Music Conference in Miami. Robert L. Iraggi of Club Systems International commented: "High End Systems is certainly a powerful force in the club lighting community. Good job and well done."

DL1 bridges the worlds of video and automated lighting. The digital light engine is housed in a moving yoke fixture that has the look and feel of a moving light and the versatility of a moving projector. Users are able to take images from DVDs, videos and other types of media and display them onto a stage, wall, prop, screen or set - with complete control over image size and shape. DL1 also provides the ability to project Digital Aerials and provide uni

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Germany - The Stadionhalle Oberwerth in Koblenz was packed on the 5 March 2004 with over 4,000 people in the audience for a concert presented by the Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie to commemorate the founding of the city's first orchestra 350 years ago. The musical highlight was a performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder' Taking part with the Rheinische Philharmonie and the Philharmonisches Orchester of Heidelberg conducted by Shao-Chia Lü were over 600 performers from all over Germany, making the Jubiläumskonzert 350 Jahre Orchester in Koblenz the largest concert of classical music in the history of the Rhineland-Palatinate.

To reproduce the rich variety of instrument textures and voices both subtly and powerfully, FLO Service GmbH or Mainz - the company responsible for the sound reinforcement for the entire event - opted for a generously dimensioned Ele

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UK - The London Borough of Hillingdon has modernized its council chamber with a state-of the-art digital discussion system from Brähler ICS. The system features full digital sound processing via the company's CDS-VAN (Virtual Audio Network) processing software and bespoke flush-mount delegate units. This fully-digital system, installed by Watford-based Stage Two Ltd, eliminates the need for racks of processing power and their associated problems. The system is fully-controlled by the CDS-VAN software and dedicated computer hardware, allowing multiple processing and sound reinforcement functions to be set up and activated at the click of a mouse.

Brähler ICS sales engineer, Will Robertson, said: "The system was commissioned on the basis that it would provide reliable, flexible and maintenance-free operation, whilst pushing the boundaries of design and innovation. The utili

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UK - After the move from Waterloo Road, the Stage Electrics London team have settled into their new unit at 175 Long Lane SE1. Jayney Bell has joined the team as branch coordinator after working in the West End and being on tour for the last 12 years. Bell has an impressive resume with appointments such as chief LX for such shows as The Play What I Wrote - UK Tour, Godspell - UK Tour , deputy chief for Fosse European and Japanese tour and deputy chief, Lion King- West End. Alex has joined the London branch as hire manager after five years working in Cambridge in a similar role. Keighley felt the challenge to take the London branches hire forward was exciting and has made big differences already. Simon Baker has been promoted to assistant project manager, working closely with the production department based in Bristol. Baker has been with the London bran

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UK - A.C. Lighting, the exclusive UK distributor for MA Lighting consoles, is holding a number of free one-day grandMA product demonstration and training seminars for lighting designers and operators in the UK. The seminars are part of a programme of activities organized in conjunction with three leading rental company stockists of the grandMA - Neg Earth Lights, White Light and Stage Electrics - to highlight the range's increased rentals distribution and to demonstrate why the desks have recently been chosen by UK LDs for some of the most high-profile tours and shows in Europe.

Dave Isherwood, hire director at White Light commented: "The White Light Group whole heartedly supports the grandMA seminars. By demonstrating the contribution that technology and the grandMA can make to a show, we're facilitating the artistic endeavors of our clients."

Having already sold ov

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USA - Tomcat US celebrated 12 years of in depth industry training courses with another successful Hoist and Rigging Workshop in Midland, Texas. Top-notch instructors and 83 industry professional participants from all over the United States, the United Kingdom and Puerto Rico attended.

Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon, as well as TOMCAT's own Dave Beard, coached participants through the Lodestar electric chain hoist. Rocky Paulson of Stage Rigging Inc. a Freeman Company and Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances stressed safety in rigging techniques and fall protection equipment while Keith Bohn, Tomcat design manager, and Will Todd, Tomcat project manager, offered a course in truss theory and design. Not only did participants receive four days of power-packed, informative classes, but also four nights of fun filled entertainment, including the traditional factory night at Tomca

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UK - Kling & Freitag has introduced the Line 212-SP. The Line 212 was successfully tested in the December edition of Production Partner. The 'SP' version is equipped with integrated controller and power amplifier technology. The Line 212 is a 2 + 1 way system, which is available with two different coverage angles of 90° and 65°. The application areas of the full range system are large venues such as stadiums, halls and open-air concerts, mobile event technology, theatres, etc. The Line 212-SP is powered by two power amplifier blocks in Class-D technology with a total output power of 2kW. Thanks to the patented 'Click & Fly' system, the Line 212 is simple to mount and cluster. The active version of the Line 212 is insignificantly heavier than the passive system.

A further new development is the Subwoofer SW 215E as a prototype in the 'SP' version. A special characteristic of th

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UK - Ansabac have carried out a sound system upgrade to one of the rides at the Drayton Manor Theme Park near Tamworth in Staffordshire. Based nearby, they have specified six Work SP 750 amplifiers (2 x 105W into 8 ohms, split into 12 zones) to drive 20 Work Studio series loudspeakers, which have replaced the old system on Pirate Adventure - one of over 100 rides.

Discretely mounted, the water resistant speakers reproduce sound effects, speech and singing triggered by sensors on the boat, at different points on its journey. The speakers are available in a variety of formats including both 100V line and low impedance with black or white finishes.

Said Ansabac's Phil Parkes: "We have been servicing Drayton Manor for around 15 years and the equipment on this ride had come to the end of its life. Work is one of two brands that the company would consider for this type of appli

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New Zealand - Skycity in Auckland, New Zealand, recently took delivery of a new background music system, supplied through Jands Electronics NZ (Ltd). The system is based around three BSS Soundweb 9088MM DSP network devices, along with a 9008 output expander and a 9000 hub - as well as three 9010 'Jellyfish' remotes.

13 Crown CTs 2000 amplifiers, using PIP Lite cards and running Crown IQ software, provide amplification. As the leading entertainment centre in Auckland, Skycity Auckland has music covering its casino, four-star hotel and Sky Tower. The main requirements for Daniel Nel, the entertainment operations manager for the complex, was flexibility in the design and the possibility to upgrade the signal processing easily; it also had to sound good.

As part of the upgrade the number of sources was increased from two to 12. The positioning of Soundweb SW9010 'Jellyfish' remote

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UK/Germany - Telectra have teamed up with S.E.A. Vertrieb & Consulting GmbH to distribute the Light*Wand range of performance products throughout Germany. This brings the number of European distributors to 10 since the launch of the range last September at PLASA.

With a pedigree of Aerospace research and development, Telectra designed the Light*Wand range of task lighting for professional sound reinforcement engineers, lighting technicians and musicians alike. The range takes the advantages offered by LEDs and with the deployment of Bead*light technologies (patents pending), provides one of the highest quality of LED task lighting commercially available.

Alan Oliver, sales and marketing director for Telectra, said: "I'm delighted to link up with S.E.A. for the sale of the Light*Wand range. Germany represents an important milestone for our distribution objectives and S.E.A

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Greece/Germany - From the 13 - 29 August, the Olympic Games 2004 are being held in Athens. The battle for the medals will not only be the sporting, but also the media, event of the year. Around a billion viewers are expected to follow the telecasts from the comfort of their living rooms, whilst countless more will travel to Athens to experience first-hand the excitement of the competition. Those travelling to the Greek capital will also, incidentally, be able to see for themselves the leading role occupied by EVI Audio in both the sound reinforcement and broadcasting sectors. From the airport to the trains and in the hotels and discos, too, they will encounter EVI systems - and this before they've even attended their first event. Around two thirds of the stadiums and sporting arenas being used for this year's Olympics are also equipped with sound systems from EVI Audio. For a good
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