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UK - For the recent Comic Relief Does Fame Academy show, Creative Technology contributed to the groundbreaking production visuals, described by director Alex Rudzinski as "extending the boundaries by creating a synergy between set design, lighting and display systems."

The team of Mark Kenyon (lighting director), Patrick Doherty (production designer) and Alex Rudzinski combined virtual and real world technologies: 3D mid-air effects were projected from the HES Catalyst onto CT's 16sq.m hi-res Barco i6 LED display, which was creatively framed against the panelled fabric of the building - St Olaves School, near London's Tower Bridge. Creative Technology's Adrian Offord commented: "Because of the close proximity of the screen from the camera we had to field the

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Worldwide - Embrace are riding high on an ongoing world tour following the phenomenal success of their number one platinum album, "Out of Nothing". It's seen the band stage a remarkable comeback following their mid 1990s zenith. Lighting designer is Jonny Gaskell, and the lighting supplier for the UK leg of the tour is Liverpool-based Adlite Productions.

Gaskell's show utilises lots of back-light and silhouetting as a dramatic and visual tool, used in conjunction with low cross stage lighting. He produces a huge amount of looks and variations out of a compact rig, at the heart of which is 12 MAC 550s. "I'm very impressed with the 550s" he says, "They're great beam lights, they're perfect for the size of venues we're playing and they cut through the rest of the rig really well."

Embrace is currently playing many different types and sizes of venue

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Ukraine / Sweden - For the fourth consecutive year, Beacon will produce all the graphic effects for the Eurovision Song Contest, which this year takes place in Kiev, Ukraine, from 19-21 May. Peppe Tannemyr and Lennart Wåhlin, graphic designers at Beacon DigiGobos, are part of the Swedish team producing all the lighting design for the Eurovision Song Contest - one of the world's largest live events and TV productions. It is estimated that close to 300 million viewers will watch the live broadcast.

"As soon as we receive the first act, we begin programming the lights. The lighting designer Per Sundin from Swedish Television, Catalyst operator Pontus Lagerbielke and I will have programmed 60-65% in a virtual setting in Stockholm before we get to Kiev at the end of April. Then we work onsite in a larger team to prepare for the semifinals on May 19 and the finals on May 21,&qu

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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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UK - V1.06 of the London Architect design and control application from BSS Audio brings totally new power and functionality to programmable DSP systems, allowing control of both signal processing and Crown amplifiers and including programmable logic, event scheduling and settings libraries to a depth and flexibility not offered by any other system, say the company.

Logic brings unparalleled functionality to complex applications. For example, room combining systems can be constructed that automatically reset EQs, delays and source and output routings depending on the physical states of room dividers. Classic 'computer logic' functions are used to accomplish this, such as AND, OR, NOR and NAND gates, as well as triggers, logic pulses and truth tables. Careful pre-engineering and the use of external control inputs can result in systems that perform complex automated tasks triggere

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USA - Veteran FOH engineer Steve Cochran has joined Meyer Sound in the role of touring and sales support. Cochran will join tour liaison Buford Jones in staffing the company's Nashville office, located in the famed Soundcheck rehearsal complex. Cochran's duties will focus on applications, such as assisting artists and engineers working with Meyer equipment in the Soundcheck facility, and participating in educational seminars and training in the Nashville area.

Before joining Meyer Sound, Cochran most recently spent a year mixing FOH for country star LeAnn Rimes, but his history also includes 12 years of FOH work with Ricky Van Shelton, monitor and FOH duties with Julio Iglesias, and a 15-year association with Wolf Sound of Miami, who first introduced him to Meyer Sound products. Recently, Cochran also has been mixing showcases for Hot Apple Pie, one of Nashville's hottest break

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UK - London-based virtual reality specialist Inition has supplied the world's first glasses-free 3D videowall, including bespoke stereoscopic content, for the flagship Gizmondo store in central London. Gizmondo is the ultimate multi-entertainment handheld, featuring an arsenal of functionality such as gaming, messaging, music and movie playback, a digital camera, and GPS - which can be used for satellite navigation, location-based services, even gaming. The sleek Regent Street store, opposite Hamley's toy shop, boasts a giant videowall featuring spinning and rotating monochrome 3D images which leap out at you in 1280 x 768 resolution - without the usual need for 3D eyewear.

Inition provided the store with nine SynthaGram 40" autostereoscopic displays for the 3 x 3 tiled videowall. The StereoGraphics SynthaGram is an exceptionally clear, bright and crisp 3D monitor, say the

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Italy - Special Effects company Le Maitre has supplied two of its Stadium Hazers to Milan's prestigious opera house, La Scala. The Hazers are in use for a new production of Tannhauser, at the specific request of the show's designer, David Jacques, who is head of stage design at the Department of Theatre Arts, California State University. Jacques explains: "The design heavily depends on atmospheric haze. There are only a few scenic pieces and the spaces are completely defined by light. As I have had many experiences with the problems associated with how atmospheric haze affects opera singers, actors, and dancers, I insisted that the company use the Stadium Hazers for this production."

Jacques had previously used Le Maitre's Neutron Hazers many times before and enjoyed the positive reviews from the performers about its tasteless and non-irritating fluid. Jacques

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UK - Audio distributor Autograph Sales has supplied a unique line source loudspeaker system from LDS, for On The Town, the first ever musical staged by the English National Opera (ENO). This unique production is now playing at their restored home, the London Coliseum, until the end of May.

The LDS system was specified by sound designer Nick Lidster, who faced several challenges when designing this premier production. The loudspeaker installation had to be discreet, especially as it stays rigged during other opera performances in the ENO spring season, while also being aesthetically pleasing against the backdrop of the Grade II listed auditorium. Finally, fitting sound reinforcement into a venue designed for acoustic performances was never going to be a straightforward task.

To meet these conflicting demands, a unique cantilevered rigging system was designed by ENO's i

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USA - With client R.E.M. now winding their way across Europe, Mark Carlson of Seattle-based Carlson Audio Systems can safely give pause and reflect on the nature of the band's North American tour just past. "It was a theatre tour for the most part, but it did a lot of upsizing and downsizing," the concert sound veteran acknowledges. "On any given night, the band could find itself in a venue ranging from 1,400 to 10,000 seats. To compensate, we sent out a lot of mix 'n' match components. Some of the gear we used one day, some of it we used on others. There was always a fair amount of change. If we needed something extra, we called on outside vendors."

Giving power to whatever came along, a total of eight racks travelled with the Carlson Audio crew housing amplifiers from QSC including PowerLight PL6.0 II and PL4.0 models, as well as PowerLight2 PL236s. Relyin

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Canada - Gilray Densham, co-founder and CEO of Cast Software, was the recipient of a Special Citation Award commending his company's efforts in the development and refinement of WYSIWYG - the industry's only all-in-one lighting software. "It was an honor to be recognized by USITT, a foundation that promotes and supports hundreds of thousands of students and educators in the field of theatrical production. A significant part of Cast's mission is to provide educational software that encourages hands-on learning, preparing students for real-world scenarios", said Densham. "It's exciting for us to continue our development of specialized design software for this flourishing industry."

While exhibiting at the Expo, Cast introduced Vivien - an all-in-one design package created for the meeting and event industry. "The response from lighting and design professio

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Canada - Canada's Stage West is a unique entertainment complex, combining a hotel with a first class restaurant and featuring internationally known television, screen, and stage stars. Over the past three years, the venue has become recognized for its lavish production values. Stage West's latest offering, California Dreaming - a musical revue of the 'California Sound' from the 60s to 90s - is no exception.

In the early stages of the design process resident lighting designer Al McMillan expressed an interest in having an element of projection incorporated into the show. Originally, he had hoped to have five rear screens for the production, but space and staging requirements dictated otherwise. It was finally decided to go with one large rear screen with separate Act 1 and Act 2 positions, in addition to two front screens incorporated into the scenery. Once the screen det

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Italy - In the geographical heart of Italy, the historic Teatro Morlacchi recently played host to the internationally renowned BBC Big Band. The 800-seat theatre, dating back to the late 17th century, gained its fame as one of the region's finest opera houses, but has lately been hosting a wide range of jazz, orchestral and even dance productions. Local AV rental house Set Music Service specified QSC's WideLine system for the event, and the reaction from both audience and professionals "overwhelming" say the company.

"We installed six WideLines per side, ground stacking them in an arc with a single sub per side," reported Set Music's president Aldo Contini. "There was no EQ, other than perhaps a touch to compensate for the room's mid-bass resonance. The sound was absolutely smooth and homogenous all the way up to the seventh level gallery."

Cont

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UK - "From tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow" a misquotation often used to indicate that something small is capable of great things. For renowned West End sound designer Paul Groothuis (credits include The King & I and the sumptuous My Fair Lady at the National to name just two) the issue of size was critical as he made plans to fit the control into his equation for Victoria Wood's new musical, Acorn Antiques, at the Haymarket Theatre Royal.

"My main consideration was space," said Groothuis of his decision to use Yamaha's PM5D mixing console. "This is a small theatre and seat revenues are important. I needed a certain amount of channels and a certain sound quality. It was a toss up between having a larger conventional console in a position where the operator couldn't hear, or a smaller one in a good listening position. There was nothi

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USA / Germany - Community will use the ProLight&Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (6-9 April) for the European launch of the new iBOX range of installation loudspeakers, offering a straightforward approach to implementing arrays, clusters and distributed systems with just two sizes of discrete enclosures. iBOX HP1200 Series combines a high-power 12" mid/bass driver with a 2.87" voice coil HF (1.4" exit) on a large format horn, providing uniform pattern control.

Offering precise coverage and arrayability are six models: iHP1244 (40x40), iHP1264 (60x40), iHP1266 (60x60), iHP1294 (90x40), iHP1296 (90x60), iHP1299 (90x90). Each of the full-range cabinets can be used in bi-amp or passive mode and operates from 60Hz to 18kHz with power handling of 600W continuous. For systems requiring greater LF extension Community offers the i112S (1x12") and i212S (2x12") subs

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Italy - Costa Dream - or C-Dream as it is known - is the brainchild of Costa Cruises, Italy, and has created waves of excitement in every person lucky enough to experience it. This exclusive VIP lounge in Genova was designed to generate an atmosphere bordering between romanticism and fairytale, and uses Tryka LED lighting fixtures to achieve its goal.

Paolo Campanelli, technical project coordinator, was involved in the conception of this unique venue and invited one of Costa Cruises' in-house lighting designers, Davide Trentacoste, to specify the lighting. His original and intelligent use of lighting and special effects helps turn a visit to C-Dream into a virtual cruise, with each zone within it creating a unique and unforgettable experience. Trentacoste says: "The architects' desire [Marcello Albini and Manuela Venturini] was to have a hi-tech, surreal place that can cha

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Germany - German manufacturer Kling & Freitag has announced that Michael Kinzel is the new managing director of the company. The changes are the result of the company's continued growth, with a larger company requiring a reappraisal of the management structure. In making their choice, Martin Kling and Jürgen Freitag decided to take somebody who knew the company well. Kinzel has worked with K&F for more than five years and supported Martin and Jürgen in the development of the reputation of the brand. Beside his new position, Kinzel will continue to be responsible for international sales.

Martin Kling remains in charge of the R&D department as the technical director, while Jürgen Freitag is taking care of the German key customers and is also responsible for special projects and customer support; among other projects he has recently finished a project which incolved the delive

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UK / USA - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced that latest application, Stardraw Control, won an Innovation in Technology award on the occasion of its worldwide launch at NSCA 2005. This is the second major trophy for Stardraw Control, which has already been honoured with a PLASA Award for Innovation at its preview at London's PLASA show in September last year.

Stardraw's marketing director, Rob Robinson, explains the key features of Stardraw Control that set it apart from other control solutions. "Stardraw Control generates stand-alone, customized control programs that can manage any type of addressable equipment from any manufacturer using any protocol over any communications infrastructure. Instead of being locked into closed architectures wherever system control, monitoring or signal routing has been required, Stardraw Control offers systems integrators an op

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Denmark - A new software upgrade for Xciter, Martin's multi layer embedded controller for live manipulation of light shows, now makes it the most powerful controller in its class, say the company.

Xciter allows easy programming, playback and live manipulation of lighting providing instant pitch adjustment, freeze, flash, blackout, master fader and more. Ideal for clubs, small touring and performance applications or even larger mobile DJs, there is also, a complete training DVD available which covers all of Xciter's features.

Features include six general faders and two masters, six flash and four customizable buttons to trigger lighting and effects. Xciter can now control up to 40 fixtures, each with up to 48 channels with a maximum of 512 channels.

The effects generator allows users to apply effects, such as fanning, to all channels, faders, fixtures or groups of fixtures.

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Japan - Yves Pépin and his ECA2 team were selected by the Toyota Group to design and produce a major multimedia show in the Japanese automotive giant's Pavilion, which is one of the most important, prestigious Pavilions at Aichi's 2005 Expo. Under a 25m high ceiling, the theatre-in-the-round designed by Yves Pépin is a symbolic representation of the universe. The show mixes performances by dancers and trapeze artists, giant images, special effects involving fire and water, and Toyota's most advanced technologies, and which celebrates the relationship between the individual, machines and the environment.

No fewer than 30 "i-units" (described as 'futuristic individual mobility prototypes'), and 3 "i-foots" (robot transporters), as well as 26 dancers, five trapeze artists and 100 or so technicians are working together to ensure that 14 presentations of the sh

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USA - Oberon Productions Inc of Forest Falls, California, has become a dedicated Zero 88 Fat Frog enthusiast through its work with the Biola Youth Theatre. The company got the call to supply additional lighting equipment for the Biola Youth Theatre's production of West Side Story. "They had been using a two-scene preset board from another manufacturer to run their conventional lighting rig," says Eric Strand, president of Oberon Productions. "A board with no cue stack is an abomination to theatre!"

Biola Youth Theatre is a true theatre company, rather than a high school class or college workshop, and is one of a select few youth theatre companies that work in partnership with a university - in this case Biola University of La Mirada, California. The high-school aged students are required to work both on stage and backstage during the course of the pro

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UK - Adlib Audio continues its association with high profile American artists working in the UK and Europe, in supplying full audio production - including a JBL VerTec line array system - to US band Good Charlotte's current UK tour. The system is being looked after by Adlib's James Neale at FOH and Rob Coles on monitors. They are working closely with band's own US engineers, Gary Ferenchak at FOH and Vince Buller on monitors.

The tour visits a variety of venues, large and small, culminating in shows at London's Brixton Academy. They're carrying 20 VT4889 elements on the truck, using 10 per side for the larger shows and four per side for the smaller ones. "VerTec suits Good Charlotte very well," says Neale, "Lots of energy and power coming out of it - just like the band - but it also gets right over the top of the stage noise".

The subs are eight of Adlib'

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