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UK - Mountview Theatre Academy, one of Britain's leading Drama Schools, recently used two Compulite Vector systems for its latest student productions Mountview's own Vector Blue for Godspell at Battersea Arts Centre and a hired in Vector Green for Nine in the Judi Dench Theatre at Mountview.

The systems were operated by students on Mountview's Technical Theatre course. The BA (Hons) Technical Theatre degree is a unique two-year fast-track degree, which provides students with the practical knowledge, theory and hands-on experience required in order to achieve a career in the theatre or entertainment industry. The course covers four main areas: Construction, Stage Management, Lighting/Sound and Design. In the second year, students choose a specialist area and then work

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UK - With four days notice, medical supplies company Cook turned to Trigger Concepts to design and install an inventive audio and visual solution for their exhibition stand and hospitality suite at the Charing Cross International Symposium 2005, creating a virtual representative to man their stand. With up to date technology including a holographic screen, and two of the world's largest plasma screens, with a viewing size of 84" a piece - sourced from trade AV rental specialist PSCo - virtual Cook led the way in exhibition technology.

The Symposium was held at Imperial College, London, with companies showcasing the latest in medical equipment. From the holographic screen, Cook was able to interact with guests in the exhibition on the ground floor, providing product information and inviting visitors to join them, from their hospitality suite on the fifth floor. The holograph

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USA - Version 1.3.8 software for the Wholehog 3 operating system has now been released by High End Systems. (HES). The new software provides many enhancements to the feature-rich lighting console adding new features including ESP Vision connectivity, Levels view, Follow current or Follow Next cue-contents abilities, and an on-board Fixture Builder utility. Users can download the software and read detailed release information at the website below.

The primary goal of v1.3.8 was to improve much of the currently implemented functionality, says Brad Schiller, HES director of control systems development. "This new version has increased the software's abilities in terms of data processing and network usage," he explains. "Our development team has dedicated many hours to strengthening the core functionality of the software and hardware. In addition, they were able to sne

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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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Dubai/London - During the recent PALME show in Dubai, Le Maitre announced the appointment of Dubai based company Production Technology LLC (ProTec) as its distributor for the area.

ProTec, an event production and equipment rental company, has many years of experience within the industry. Le Maitre's Rick Wilson who attended the show said "The reason for the visit was primarily to expand our Pyrotechnics business and introduce 'Close Proximity' professional pyro to the UAE. We also wanted to introduce Special Effects to the area such as 'Fog Waterfalls' 'Stage Traps', 'Reveals' , together with non-toxic hazing techniques using sugar based fluids which do not congeal on lighting fittings and of course, introducing the massive hazing potential of the world acclaimed Stadium Hazer."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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France - Nicolaudie-Sunlite, creator of the PLASA Award-winning Easy Stand Alone software, has announced that over the month of March 2005, it has sold more than almost 1,000 software packages. The company now forecasts sales of around 12,000 items over the year 2005 - representing an increase of 20% over 2004.

The company reports that 40% of the sale for March 2004 were for Sunlite Suite 2004, which offers advanced software functions for live control; 30% were for the Easy Stand Alone, which offers remote internet editing and internal clock triggering, and 30% were for other products, including Magic 3D Easy View (an offline 3D visualizer for DMX consoles), Sunlite Intelligent DMX Interface (intended for software developers) and Sunlite Limited Edition (a promotional item for lighting manufacturers).

The company reports that it is particularly expecting sales of Easy Stand Al

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UK - The 27th ABTT Theatre Show (15-16 June 2005, Royal Horticultural Halls, London) will feature a record 130+ exhibiting companies, the organizers report. The show will also include a host of product launches and presents a broad cross-section of products and services designed for use in theatres and auditoria. Responding to the growth of integrated systems-led designs, ABTT 2005 delivers a convergence of technologies. From lighting systems and rigging, staging and high level access solutions, to sound, communications and broadcast solutions, ABTT embraces the entire technical spectrum, which includes the latest in seating and DDA solutions, say the organizers.

Among the new products on show, Euro Seating UK will showcase its new 'reproduction-style' chairs, which have been designed for traditional or English Heritage projects. Spanish seating manufacturer, Figueras, will show

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UK - Blackburn-based HSL has supplied the lighting rig for the long running Bill Kenwright UK touring production of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This smash hit version is now in its second year and still selling out nationwide.

Nick Richings created the original lighting design for the show, however lighting operator Simon Deary, who has been with the show since its beginnings, is undertaking the re-lights.

"Working with HSL in this way is just like having a hire company on the tour" explains Deary, "Whatever we might need in terms of repairs, maintenance or spare parts is dealt with quickly and efficiently - mostly within 24 hours. I can't emphasize how vital that is to a show like this - every piece of kit is worked really hard."

The rig is spread across approximately five LX bars at each venue. LX Bar 1 has three Martin MAC 2Ks

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UK - Color Kinetics Inc has been issued with two new US patents relating in part to LED-based illumination systems designed to generate colour changing effects in enclosures, and to the use of LED-based light sources to convey information about temperature changes of a device. US Patent number 6,888,322 (issued 3 May), is directed to a colour-changing enclosure where illumination is provided by multicolour LED-based sources. The colour-changing device could form part of a neon replacement system, tile light, consumer product, computer, peripheral or accessory, for example.

US Patent number 6,883,929 (issued 26 April), is directed to generating power for LED-based light sources based on a thermoelectric process called the Seebeck Effect, which allows a temperature differential to generate electricity. For example, the invention may be used in a stove where the temperature of the

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USA - Artists often identify some pretty creative uses for their favourite audio gear. Once found, the ideal combination of equipment that delivers "just the right sound," is like a custom fit in an off-the-rack world, and very difficult to live without.

This is exactly what Stephen Jay, bass player for Weird Al Yankovic, has found in his trusted and well-used Mackie SR1530 Active loudspeakers. For years, he's been using them as his primary bass rig for live shows.

"My bass set-up consists of four Mackie SR1530's, a Mackie 1202 VLZ-Pro mixer, and a Mackie CFX•12 mixer," commented Jay. "The great thing about using the SR1530's is that when I want to get deeper into the groove, I run a little kick and snare through them to punch up their overall impact. And the 1530's allow me to do this without losing any of the original tone of my bass. This would

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Germany - Nico Lewis joined EVI Audio on the 1 May 2005 in the capacity of Intercom sales manager with responsibility for Europe, Africa and the Middle East; it's an area in which he has plenty of experience, after a highly successful five year stint with the Dutch Telex distributor Axon Digital Design.

Already relishing the opportunities, he said: "Through my work for Axon, I am extremely familiar with the company's range: I know the advantages and the potential of all Telex/RTS systems, which is why I am able to approach this job in such a confident frame of mind."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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Italy - First opened in 1961 to celebrate the centenary of the Unification of Italy, Turin's Palavela has recently come to new life after extensive renovation works, in time to host the Turin 2006 Winter Olympic Games. Designed by Gae Aulenti and Arnaldo De Bernardi to host the figure skating and short track speed skating events, the Palazzo del Ghiaccio (Ice Palace) has turned out to be the first of a series of major Olympic construction projects to be completed in Turin: the complete renovation of this historic building has produced a truly magnificent architectural and technological gem, at a total cost of 35 million Euros. The prestigious venue was deservedly inaugurated in style with a spectacular opening ceremony, followed by the European Short Track and Figure Skating Championships.

Coemar, as always, played its part in the success of the event with a lighting rig supplie

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USA - San Diego's largest and highest profile nightclub, the On Broadway Event Centre, has installed an Allen & Heath Xone:92 professional DJ mixer in the main DJ booth. Located in the city's downtown area, On Broadway occupies two levels of a historic bank building, and features five themed rooms with a total capacity of nearly 2000, regularly featuring top international DJs such as Paul van Dyk, Deep Dish, Tiesto and Darude.

According to Tim Walter, who was recently appointed director of sound and lighting, the upgrade to an Allen & Heath Xone:92 DJ mixer is just the latest step in an ongoing mission to restructure the venue's sound system for maximum performance and clarity. On Broadway, the shining star of owner Mike Viscuso's string of Southern California clubs and restaurants, catapulted San Diego onto the international DJ circuit when it opened six years ago and helped re

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Germany - The basis for an extremely high light output, which distinguishes the YPOC 700, is a 700 Watt state of the art discharge lamp. In the projection area the new zoom lens in association with three gobo wheels does not leave any wishes unfulfilled! Within the entire zoom angle range of 14°-32° the projections are illustrated with high precision and sharpness.The electronic ballast not only reduces the weight, but also create a flicker-free light output, a higher life span of the bulb and in conjunction with the high-quality optics, a substantially higher luminous efficiency.On that score the YPOC 700 can be operated with all world-wide usual electricity mains (90V-260V/50-60Hz) without any range selection.New design, latest microprocessor technology, fastest colour- and gobo changes, fast and precise pan / tilt movements as well as a very quiet temperature controlled fan s

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UK - The UK festival season accelerated into action this weekend, kick-started by Radio 1's Big Weekend in Sunderland. Star Events Group was contracted to supply the staging structures for the event, including a Vertech 20m x 15m ground support and stage in the main arena and a smaller Vertech stage of 12.5m x 12.5m in Arena 2.

In addition, Star Vertech also supplied 130sq.m of raised technical and production space at the rear/side of the main stage, wheelchair user and front-of-house platforms for both arenas, together with ramp and stair access to all raised areas. The main stage showcased some of the world's biggest acts including The Foo Fighters, Athlete, Basement Jaxx and Jamiroquai. Meanwhile in Arena 2 the crowds were treated to performances from some of the up and coming acts of the moment as introduced by Radio 1's Zane Lowe.

Steve Hill (production manager, Stage 2)

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UKEmbrace, currently touring on both sides of the Atlantic, is the latest UK band to endorse Audio-Technica microphones for live sound. On stage, the band has a complete A-T back-line and vocal mic array.

Completing a series of dates across Canada and the US with Snow Patrol, the band return for a number of UK dates, including a sell-out two nights at Leeds' Millennium Square, before returning to the States throughout June and July for their first headline US tour. The band's FOH engineer, Mark Jones, approached Audio-Technica at the beginning of the year with a view to extending the kind of performance he had experienced using AT4050s on overheads and guitar cabs, across the entire sound mix.

"I approached A-T, principally about the vocal mics," he explains. "We wanted something that was very smooth-sounding, but we've got a singer who walks in front of the PA,

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Lebanon - Martin Professional Middle East (MPME) has added a landmark to the city dubbed the 'Paris of the Middle East'. With the collaboration and execution of MPME distributor LightBox, shades of coloured light from Martin Architectural Exterior 200 colour changers have put the final touches to one of Lebanon's natural attractions - the Downtown Garden - a place where one can enjoy a peaceful escape from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the city.

Situated between the Mediterranean and the foothills of Mount Lebanon, Beirut sits on a promontory that juts out into the sea, halfway up Lebanon's coast. The newly reconstructed Downtown district around the Grand Serail and Place d'Etoile is the city's financial and retail centre. Here, new boutiques, restaurants, cafés, and gift stores are springing up. And because Lebanese are night people, these new retail spaces often stay o

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UK - Specialist trade AV hire company, Steljes Hire, supported the launch of the Royal Mail's World Heritage special stamp issue, with a visually inspiring stunt organized by Steljes' client, Eulogy. The Royal Mail and Australia Post celebrated the special relationship between the two countries with the launch of eight stamps of their countries' World Heritage Sites, issued in four pairs, featuring four UK sites matched with four Australian sites, these included Stonehenge - the UK image chosen for the 1st class stamp. To launch the range, an image of the stamp was projected onto the stones at sunrise using a Sanyo XF45 10,000 lumen projector and photographed by renowned landscape photographer Charlie Waite.

Andy Horn, sales manager, commented: "We build our reputation by supporting the trade with the best audio-visual equipment and support. We strive to ensure that no matt

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UK - Scottish lighting specialist black light has been at the heart of a major but delicate installation in Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire. Rutherglen's Town Hall is Grade 1 listed, which meant that the £12.5 million refurbishment project had to be undertaken extremely carefully and use some innovative techniques. As the main sound and lighting contractor for the venue's Grand Hall, black light had to achieve the difficult task of providing a 21st-century installation, but working around the stringent restoration requirements of an historic building.

One of the first major hurdles to be overcome was in the Hall's back wall. For historic reasons, traditional lath and plaster had to be used, the plaster takes literally months to dry. Therefore all the cabling had to be installed a year ago in order for the plaster to dry. Once the plaster dried the cables would be inaccessible, he

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UK - John Henry Enterprises' audio division is using one of its dbx DriveRack units for monitor system management and EQ on the BBC's Strictly Dance Fever, presented by Graham Norton.

As the popular Saturday night show - broadcast live - builds up to its shimmying finale, a live band has joined the glitter, glamour and action in Studio TC1 of the BBC TV Centre in West London each week. This necessitates a full 20-piece monitor system plus four ways of hard wired IEMs in the mix, all controlled and processed by the DriveRack. The DriveRack is coupled to a Soundcraft Series 5 console being engineered by JHE's Jim King.

The DriveRack system consists of a 480 master unit, a 480R remote control, and three 482 slave units, all flight-cased into one on-the-road package - an ideal solution for situations like this where space is at an extreme premium.

The DriveRack 480, 481 a

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UK - As part of its growth strategy into the AV market, CIE-Group (UK representative for many of the UK's leading AV, CCTV, lighting and electronics brands) has announced the appointment of four new field sales advisors to its team.

Martin Featherstone joins CIE-Group's Audio Division, having moved from LiteStructures, Alison Reynolds (previously from Gardiner Security) joins the Visual and CCTV Division, Adam Bright joins the Specialist Cable Assembly and Connector Division and Andrew Skadorwa also joins Visual & CCTV.

This boost to CIE-Group's sales team forms part of the Company's investment for growth across all divisions into the AV, presentation, retail and education sectors. A number of new product developments from Inter-M, Chiayo, EverFocus, Chauvet and Switchcraft and the addition of brands including Armstrong i-ceilings, ELMO cameras, B-52 Pro and Euromet brings a n

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USA - Since publicizing its involvement this past January with the first national tour of the award-winning Broadway musical, Wicked, Tomcat has been asked to manufacture custom items for an additional production. The need arose after tickets went on sale for the show's run in Chicago - and sold out immediately for the entire nine-week run, from 29 April through to 12 June. Given the high demand for the show, the producers decided to add another production that would stay in Chicago for an open-ended run, allowing the original tour to go on as planned.

"Wicked Tour Productions has been pleased with the equipment provided by Tomcat, so it just made sense for them to continue using the gear that has been working so well thus far," explained Brad Barnhill, US sales manager for Tomcat USA. "Our design team understands the challenging requirements for touring Br

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