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Hong Kong/UK - Lighthouse Technologies continues to expand both its reach and commitment to the European LED display market with the promotion of Simon Taylor to Northern Europe sales manager and the appointment of Theo van Beek to director - business development Europe, say the company.

Having achieved Lighthouse's Sales Person of the Year award for 2004, Taylor's position is set to further strengthen Lighthouse's market position in Northern Europe and is the next step in the company's regional focus, which follows on from the inception of the Western and Central Europe and Southern Europe offices at the end of 2004.

"There's a great opportunity to build on our current business in Northern Europe," comments Taylor. "With installations such as the new Samsu

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UK - Sunday 10 July saw the culmination of a week of events marking the 60th Anniversary of the end of World War II, including a Commemoration Event of Reflection and Reminiscence, held in Horse Guards Parade in the presence of The Queen and members of the royal family and an invited audience of 10,000 WWII veterans and their families.

With a speech by Her Majesty, the event was hosted by Simon Callow and featured readings, humour and music from World War II, with a choir of 150, an 80 piece orchestra and a host of celebrities including Bruce Forsyth, Petula Clark, Claire Sweeney, Laura Michelle Kelly and a special - and surprise - appearance by Dame Vera Lynn. Beginning at 3pm, the event was broadcast live on BBC1 and displayed on large LED screens to the crowds lining The Mall. Working for Unusual Services to supply the lighting was PRG Europe, with Alan Thomson and Loz Wilkin

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UK - Following the success of the last PixelRange Workshop initiated by James Thomas Engineering a few months ago, another event is planned this week - again hosted by the STLD in conjunction with Stagetec. The event, to be held backstage at the National Theatre on Friday 22 July, is designed for LDs, programmers, artists, set designers and anyone else involved in lighting and the visual arts, who will get an opportunity to explore and learn more about LED lighting - the equipment, its uses, applications and control.

Featured sections will include the use of LEDS in 'lighting a cyc' with the new PixelLine 110ec batten, controlled by PixelDrive and Compulite's Vector desk. In addition, VideoDrive, the latest software from Radical Lighting, will be on demonstration as will the new PixelBrick, the PixelLine Mini Batten and the new PixelPups from James Thomas Engineering.

Start ti

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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/USA - Audio-Technica microphones were used extensively at Live 8 concerts around the world. In particular at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in the US, and at Live 8 Africa Calling at the Eden Centre, in Cornwall.

The Philadelphia event in front of the Museum of Art, hosted by Will Smith and attended by more than half a million people, featured performances by leading artists such as Jay-Z, A-T endorsee Linkin Park, and the legendary Def Leppard, all using Audio-Technica's Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems. The Tokyo Live 8 concert featured A-T endorser Good Charlotte, with Joel Madden performing on the Audio-Technica Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System, and Benji Madden on the Artist Elite AE6100 dynamic vocal microphone.

At Live 8 Africa Calling, Senegalese Griot musician Modou Diouf and his family (O Fogum), the internationally famous ensemble of Sab

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USA - Cadac reports the Broadway debut of its acclaimed M16 remote-controlled microphone amplifier, opening last month with the musical Sweet Charity, which features sound design by Peter Hylenski (Little Women, Brooklyn, Ragtime (West End) Olivier Award nomination). Staged at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, the show is based on Neil Simon's book of the same name, with a classic score that includes hits such as Hey, Big Spender and If My Friends Could See Me Now. Directed by Walter Bobbie and choreographed by Wayne Cilento, the show stars Christina Applegate, Denis O'Hare and Paul Shoeffler. Sound equipment is supplied by PRG.

Peter Hylenski's sound design focuses on creating a warm vintage sound that reflects the show's 1960s roots, as Peter explains: "I wanted to make the music and the sound fit the piece, achieving a warm analogue sound as opposed to thinking di

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USA - Production Resource Group (PRG) has announced new responsibilities for two top managers in its Los Angeles office. Susan Tesh, who has been serving as general manager of West Coast Operations, has been named vice-president, sales and customer service. Tom Sorce, formerly the company's vice-president of business development, assumes the role of general manager, Los Angeles, with primary responsibility for business operations.

"Los Angeles is one of our most important markets. Having these two highly skilled professionals working together as a team gives us increased capacity and flexibility to deliver the quality and attention to detail that our customers have come to expect from PRG - along with the quick turnaround this market requires," says Jere Harris, PRG's chairman and CEO.

Tesh has earned a national reputation for her work with live television production

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UK - The Edwardian-built Methodist Central Hall in Westminster boasts elegant marble foyers and sweeping stairways that lead to an extensive complex of halls. It was in the largest of these, the Great Hall - against the backdrop of a pipe organ - that Marquee Audio installed a central cluster of Meyer M1D self-powered loudspeakers. The venue's managing director, Michael Sharp, said that in deference to the building's splendour: "When we were ready to retire the old system we realized we would need something of high pedigree to replace it."

Another contractor had recommended marquee Audio to the project. "In addition, we had heard good reports about the company from a number of other sources, including representatives from the award-winning installation at Cheltenham Racecourse's Centaur conference centre," stated Sharp.

In designing the system, Marquee Audi

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Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB has introduced a wireless DMX 512 Outdoor solution based on the proven technology of its W-DMX Black Box indoor model. W-DMX Black Box Outdoor is IP65-rated and works in any conditions from -20 up to +50°C, say the company. The unit is available in standard black, or custom-painted in any RAL colour to fit architectural design.

Black Box is delivered with built-in AC/DC that accepts 90-250V universal power supply and delivered with standard RP-SMA to follow ETSI and FCC regulations. With a different antenna the outdoor model is able to transmit wireless in line of sight up to 20km between transmitter and receiver. It is also possible to link a transmitter and receiver together to create a 'virtual repeater' to avoid line of sight problems, say the company. A complete set of accessories with different antennas and cables is available to compl

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UK - For the sixth year, the industry's annual cricket cup challenge returns to the picturesque village of Littlewick Green as the Clarion Events XI (led by Nathan Waugh) sets out to defend its title against the Sound & Lighting Industry XI. Again sponsored by D&M Professional, this popular event is an excellent way to catch up with industry colleagues in the run-up to the PLASA Show (11-14 September).

Taking place on Thursday, 18 August, the 30 overs-per-side match will be followed by a BBQ (and further socializing) in the evening. The ground itself is conveniently located near Maidenhead - and a short drive from both the M4 and M40.

To register your interest in joining the Industry XI, please contact David Atkinson at D&M Professional at the e-mail address below. Alternatively come and lend your support - plenty of Pimms moments are guaranteed!

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - UK cabling specialist VDC Trading has strengthened its corporate structure by announcing two new appointments to its Board of Directors.

Giles Copeman, who has been technical manager at VDC for the past five years, and Ben Holden, who is production manager, join managing director Niall Holden and technical director Dug Guthrie on the Board with effect from the beginning of August.

"In the last few months we have re-branded VDC to emphasize its dynamic image. This process culminated with the launch of our new website and product catalogue, both of which have been well received, as indicated by our recent record sales figures and our growing customer base," says Niall Holden.

"The decision to strengthen the Board reflects our determination to continue to grow the company by offering the broadest possible range of quality products, the best technical advice

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Canary Islands - In 2004, Sonilanza of Lanzarote was the first company in the Canary Islands to purchase an HK Audio Cohedra system, and HK now reports that they appear to have started a trend: Rental company Sound Black, already a long-time HK Audio T-Series user, recently invested in a '2 x 8' Cohedra system, consisting of 16 CDR 208 S/T mid/high units, 16 CDR 210 subwoofers, PR 16 amp racks to power them, LSM speaker multi-pair cables and flying hardware. Owner and president of Sound Black Juan Pedro Barrios Glez, says: "Cohedra is the perfect system for us. It is extremely flexible - due to its small size and low weight we can easily fly it as part of a ground support system, yet in spite of its size we can handle fairly large gigs with a relatively small array of only eight mid/high units per side - a decisive factor as an investment for a rapidly growing company like ou

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UK - Summit Steel kicked off a hectic end of June and early July with SmarTmast mayhem on a huge variety of events and festivals.

SmarTmasts, a Summit designed and constructed product, have become hugely popular with PA companies, production and site managers for their rugged load bearing capacities, easy construction, elegant aesthetics and small footprint.

In Portsmouth for Mice International at the Trafalgar 200 event, Summit supplied eight SmarTmasts used as PA towers for Capital Sound. These were dotted all over the Portsmouth Royal Naval Dockyard site at various performance stages and screen sites.

For the Leeds Castle Summer Concerts in June and July and for Clear Channel 's Summer Nights in July at the same venue, Summit supplied two SmarTmast2s and four SmarTmast1s, for PA companies RG Jones and Major Tom. Summit is also providing Major Tom with a single dela

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Switzerland - When this year's 16-day Montreux Jazz Festival kicked off on Lake Geneva, visiting sound engineers to the 2,000-capacity Miles Davis Hall were delighted to see the new Digidesign Venue placed at their disposal.

They were given the opportunity to test drive the system's modular, dual-redundant architecture - which includes the D-Show mixing console, Mix Engine and Stage Rack I/O unit (with recallable, remote-controlled preamps) - firstly in the production area, under the supervision of experienced Digidesign engineers such as Bernard Natier (from Paris's Studio Garage) and Ian Nelson. Here they were able to tour the surface's topology and familiarize themselves with the main desk/sidecar arrangement prior to the real thing.

The company responsible for getting the 96-input desk, with full support for industry-stand Pro Tools plug-ins, onto the Montreux rider were S

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UK - Adlib Audio supplied a JBL VerTec line array system, full sound production and crew to high profile boy band Blue's UK arena tour. Adlib worked with leading show producers Production North for the first time on the tour, which was production managed by Iain Whitehead. Rob Coles was the FOH engineer, Marc Peers mixed monitors and Tony Szabo was ADLIB's systems engineer.

For FOH engineer Rob Coles, VerTec was an obvious choice for Blue - they needed a rich, powerful and full sound capable of dealing with the band's dynamic and energy charged shows. Coles has mixed this type of band before and is familiar with the specific nuances and requirements.

Coles first used a VerTec system when mixing the Dandy Warhols, opening for David Bowie's 2003/04 Reality tour, for which Adlib was also the audio contractor. "The system sounded great, Tony is one of the best VerTec t

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Norway - One of Norway's largest PA companies, PA Compagniet, has increased its substantial Midas inventory with the addition of four of the company's recently-launched Siena consoles, purchased from local distributor AVAB-CAC. With locations in five Norwegian cities, PA Compagniet handles major tours and festivals. The decision behind the multiple Siena order stemmed from the success of the Midas Veronas the company purchased last year to work front-of-house at the Quart Festival, one of Norway's leading summer events.

"We hope the Sienas will recreate this success in the monitor world," explains Mike Moen, MD of PA Compagniet. "We purchased them mainly because we needed monitor consoles that weren't large or heavy, but were capable of meeting the riders for the outdoors festival season, and at the same time would be suitable for indoor use in Norwegian clubs dur

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Switzerland - Circus Nock is one of the largest touring Circus Companies in Switzerland. Founded in 1860, the circus has been in the Nock family for seven generations and includes over 100 vehicles, 7km of cable and over 4,500 light bulbs. When looking for a replacement lighting console, the company opted for Zero 88: LD Stefan Ionut had been using a Zero 88 Sirius 250 for the last six years and was delighted with the reliability of the console. "The circus environment is very harsh, with a lot of dirt, a lot of dust and demanding touring schedule. The Sirius 250 never let us down," he explained.

However, with the addition of a number of Claky Paky Alpha Spots to the rig and an increasing number of high-risk attractions, Ionut needed a console that could handle moving lights and offer a full back up system - which led him to Zero 88's Frog range. Roberto Campana from Z

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The Netherlands - Flashlight Rental, one of Europe's fastest growing entertainment lighting rental specialists, has become the first company in the world to add the new Syncrolite SXB-5/2 Xenon Skylight (also known as 'the B52') to its rental stock. Their first assignment is to provide some of the big looks for the current world tour by Coldplay for designers Bryan Leitch and Nick Whitehouse.

The latest addition to Syncrolite's Architectural and Theatrical Xenon Series, the SXB-5/2 is the most versatile, compact, powerful and lightweight Xenon fixture in the world, say the company. This fully automated/moving dual scroller architectural and theatrical fixture delivers 5000W of Xenon power for use as a long-throw wash or skybeam/spot. It allows a wide range of mounting options for flown and ground mount, and is ideal for concert, event, and architectural use. The unit is powered

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USA - Country music celebrated its annual CMA Music Fest in Nashville, Tennessee with the largest lighting package ever assembled for this event. Headed by Ted Wells and Mark Carver from Full Flood, Bandit Lites was once again selected as the vendor for what is billed as 'Country Music's biggest party'. Bandit worked hand in hand with Carver, Wells and Production Manager Chuck Young on what was deemed the most successful show to date with America's premier country talents performing to record crowds.

Bandit's Vice President Mike Golden said "Working with the event production staff is a sincere pleasure and makes this event a yearly favorite for all at Bandit".

Four Semi's of Bandit equipment were delivered to this project and a partial list of the equipment provided includes 84 Mac 2K Wash fixtures, 80 Mac 2K Profiles, 72 Mac 600s, 40 Mac 300s, six eight-Lamp bars, s

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USA - Aimed at DJs, LJs or club lighting installers who uses both intelligent lights and sound-active effects in light shows, Elation Control Systems has introduced the DMX Duo, a two-in-one DMX recorder/controller that can handle intelligent lights and sound-active effects simultaneously - all from one desk. Featuring 96 channels for DMX lights and eight channels for effects, the DMX Duo provides the ease and convenience of being able to run your entire light show from a single control station.

A compact 1U rack-mount unit, the DMX Duo can provide this dual control because it has two separate DMX outputs - one for moving intelligent lights, and the other for sound-active effects. To use sound-active effects, the user simply runs these fixtures through a DMX powerpack, such as Elation Control Systems' PP-DMX20L, and into the controller's FX output. As well as controlling the on/

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UK - XL Video supplied cinematographer and visual designer Jon Driscoll with digital projection, Catalyst digital media servers and DL1 moving head projection for the musical, Ha'penny Bridge, which played a six week run at Dublin's The Point.

Kassan Productions originally produced the Irish/English love story and five years on and it returned to Cork Opera House for a technical preview period before moving to the larger venue in Dublin.

With a miniscule amount of rear projection depth, the original production made inventive use of projection for the main scenic and location elements, dispensing with the need for excessive amounts of backcloths and scenery. Back then Driscoll used Pani large format projectors and slide changers combined with an arsenal of traditional VSFX projectors and luminaires with animation effects.

This time he decided on a combination of high p

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UK - When System Sound were contracted to provide the house PA system at the London Coliseum for the recent ENO and O2 Voice Season, they looked at the versatility of the programme - ranging from chart-topping R&B artist Lauryn Hill to the cool Brazilian vibe of Gilberto Gil - and chose the W8LC compact line array from Martin Audio to reinforce the programme. Having worked the famous venue before, Simon Biddulph's company was well aware of the hazards confronting them since the Coliseum is not only the largest space auditorium in the UK, but it is designed with three 'letterbox' balcony tiers into which the sound needs to be accurately projected, with little spillage. "Everything had to be carefully measured and the sound cut to length," Biddulph explained.

Based on their experience, Biddulph provided identical W8LC hangs on either side of the pros arch, grouped

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