Canada - A Soundcraft 48-channel MH3 has been commissioned by the progressive Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, BC, Canada. The console completes another stage of ongoing upgrades to the technical infrastructure in the 2,300-seat -seat auditorium. The desk was selected by technical director of Randall Paul - himself an experienced sound engineer and the man responsible for all the AV communications technology on the 100,000sq.ft campus.

The desk was supplied by Genesis Communication Inc in Edmonton, Alberta, a leading systems integration firm in Canada, with the assistance of Lance Spratt, Genesis' senior systems consultant for houses of worship. "Our needs were driven primarily by features - but we really needed a competitive price point to meet the budget that had been app

UK - This year the Global Infusion Group (incorporating Eat to the Beat, Chevalier Event Design and e2B Logistics) has committed its support to the 'One Water' charity, which aims to provide access to free, clean water in third world areas by generating profits from the sale of 'One' branded bottled water.

By supporting this charity, Global Infusion has pledged to buy 80,000 500ml bottles in 2006. This in turn will raise £5,000 to buy a village a well, a pumping system and a 'magic roundabout'. The children of the village play on the roundabout, and each revolution pumps a litre of water into storage tanks, so water can be freely available.

The concept was launched to the team at Global Infusion Group at their AGM in January this year by managing director Duncan Goose. The team wholeheartedly bought into the concept without exception.

Currently, one billion people in t

South Korea - The monetary governing body of South Korea - the Bank of Korea - has recently had an exterior face-lift incorporating Tryka luminaires. The imposing façade of its head offices in Seoul is being lit with a total of 48 Tryka Strip Module 1200mm IP67 with 6° optics, which are being run by Tryka Modulation Drivers and then programmed via a DMX controller.

Lighting designer Yeon-so Lee was responsible for the design, whilst Tryka's Korean distributor, C&C Electronics Company Ltd, supplied the products and carried out the installation. The designer's wish was to use LED lighting to create subtle pastel colours on the front of the building, to be visible as high as the third floor.

The Strip Module Optic from Tryka was able to achieve the very specific hues requested by the designer. Furthermore, the choice of optics available allows directing the light output as need

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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

Canada / Finland / Norway - Following a worldwide review of Rycote's distributor network, the company has appointed a number of new distributors for its microphone windshields, shock mounts and accessories.

From 1 March 2006 Sennheiser Nordic has been appointed as exclusive distributor in Finland and Norway. Rycote's USA distributor - Redding Audio - will also now be taking on exclusive distribution in Canada.

According to Rycote managing director, Vivienne Dyer: "We wanted to ensure our product range was maintaining a high profile and our products were truly available on a worldwide basis. Accordingly, we have felt it necessary to make several new appointments and are confident this will help improve our product accessibility."

Among the latest on-going product developments and enhancements are the company's new zip-less windjammers: these work on a drawstring des

UK - Stagetec Distribution has supplied a Compulite Vector Lite (Orange) control system and Hippotizer Stage media server to BBC Studios, part of BBC Resources Ltd, in London for the current production of Davina, the mid-week BBC1 talk show.

The Vector is used to control five Clay Paky Stage Zooms, 49 Martin Mac 500, 20 Martin Mac 600s, six Vari*Lite VL1000, two Vari*Lite VL2416, two sets of Pulsar ChromaStrips and the Hippotizer media server.

The VL1000s are the key lights for the chat area and band, with two of the 500s as back lights on the chat area. The 600s colour the upper set and stairs and the Zooms put gobos on the set behind the chat area. The remaining 500s are used for the band.

The Hippotizer is run in dual output mode - one output feeds the big LED screen hanging above the band, the second output feeds five projectors on the floor, rear projecting on to

UK - PSL's team of video experts pulled off one of its more challenging events in London recently, providing full video services and plasma relays to the annual TP Awards in front of a 1000-strong audience, containing many of PSL's clients and competitors. VIPs on stage included Sir Bob Geldof and Harvey Goldsmith. "It was a standard show for us," explains project supervisor Pod Bluman, "except for the added pressure of having to perform in front of our entire industry!"

PSL worked closely with set designer Richard Shipman, maximising the resources of the Hammersmith Novotel ballroom by using the full length of the back wall as a giant projection screen. Five stacks of projectors, each containing a Barco R12 and Digital Projection 10GV, were installed, projecting graphics generated from a combination of Doremi hard-drives, Hippotizers and Arkaos.

All video

Italy - The dual-award-winning W-DMX system from Wireless Solution AB of Sweden played its part in the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, when Laser Entertainment srl from Milan used the system to control several high-effect lasers, smoke machines and other DMX effects.

Alberto Kellner Ongaro, CEO of Laser Entertainment was very happy with the system. "We had the Wireless DMX running for 18 days in a row during almost three weeks of production. The show was running from 7:00 in the evening to 2:00 in the morning without a single drop-out of signal transmission," he said.

The company has already purchased several more W-DMX systems for working on the Carnival project in Venice. Because W-DMX can be used to cover distances of over 3,000ft using the standard antenna, with an optional larger antenna making distances of over 18 miles possible, it is idea for large-scale applicat

UK / Germany - Introduced at last year's ProLight & Sound Show, Tannoy Precision near field reference monitors, are already serving the demanding needs of professionals in recording, broadcast and post production environments.

iDP (Interactive Digital Programming) technology has now been incorporated within two new Precision monitors - Precision 6iDP and 8iDP - and these will be launched at this year's Show. These stunningly versatile and intelligent active monitoring systems bring together the unique Tannoy Dual Concentric and WideBand technology with the latest cutting edge digital processing from TC Electronic.

The built-in EQ capability of Precision iDP allows precise room optimisation with the user being able to compensate for acoustic anomalies in the room. Loudspeaker positioning compensation in the software guarantees the same reference sound irrespective of their plac

Italy - For the two-week duration of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympic Games, the northern Italian city's beautiful baroque Piazza Castello was re-christened 'Medals Plaza', and was not only the location for 55 of the Games' medal ceremonies but also hosted a variety of concerts. Opposite the large stage, the square also hosted the Media Tower as well as hosting TV crews from all over the world, also had the FOH control suite for the event.

Created, organised and managed by Get Live, a group formed by Clear Channel Entertainment, Four One Music and Set Up, the venue featured the combined work of designer Italo Rota, art director Roberto De Luca, executive producer David J. Goldberg, Italo Lupi, sound designer Daniele Tramontani and lighting designer Giovanni Pinna.

Before the medals ceremonies, the stage hosted the Torino Festival, featuring two bands each evening and three on the

USA / Germany - Community Professional Loudspeakers is again taking a substantial stand at this year's ProLight&Sound in Frankfurt to show its wide range of products. The main focus of the stand will be iBOX, a range of premium quality, large format systems aimed at sound reinforcement in stadia, multi-purpose sports facilities, houses of worship, nightclubs, bars and live sound venues. The first iBOX models were introduced at Frankfurt last year but this year's exhibition will see the first showing of the complete range in Europe.

The first major installation of iBOX was at the Palavela Arena, recently host of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games. The main PA for this 6,600 capacity venue, used for the figure skating and short track speed skating competitions, consists of 96 Community iBOX loudspeakers: 32 iHP3594H, 26 iHP1596, 20 iHP1294 and 18 CPL42-94.

Complementing iBOX,

UK - JCDecaux recently unveiled a brand new London advertising landmark, exclusively designed by award-winning architects Foster and Partners. The M4 Tower, which is the first of its kind, is set to become a reference point for the city's travellers and commuters. And in a first for outdoor advertising, the structure is almost entirely made from special glass housing LEDs.

80 James Thomas Engineering's PixelBricks, supplied by Stage Electrics, are positioned inside the tower to create full-spectrum colour washes. Lawrence Haines of JCDecaux commented: "The PixelBrick fixtures satisfied the technical design brief and have brought the M4 Tower to life. Like the structure, its lighting is state-of-the-art and adds real impact."

A unique feature of the Tower is its ability to transmit the light from the LEDs throughout the entire glass structure as a result of lines etch

UK - Following the introduction of the Manufacturing and Storage of Explosive Regulations 2005 (MSER), the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) will be running a Pyrotechnics Awareness Course to cover operational safety and includes hands-on demonstrations of many pyrotechnic effects.

The course will also provide technicians with an opportunity to update and familiarise themselves with these new Regulations. All participants will receive a comprehensive set of notes, the ABTT Code of Practice on Pyrotechnics & Smoke Effects and a new theatre-related guidance note on MSER.

This course is open to all theatre technicians, particularly those who have not received any formal training in the use of explosives. Subject to satisfactory completion of the course each candidate will receive a certificate signed by the tutor. This course is also recognised by the Assoc

UK - Lift Turn Move has appointed Dan Holme as external sales manager. Holme comes onboard LTM's steadily growing sales team, working alongside John Jones, David King, Paul Hadfield and Jenny Hobday.

Holme is already knowledgeable in the field of rigging, having chalked up three-and-a-half years at Tomcat UK. He brings a wealth of knowledge in this specialist area to LTM, plus a fresh outlook and plenty of enthusiasm. LTM's John Jones said: "We weren't in the market for another staff member, but when Dan became available we moved swiftly to appoint him. Experience of this calibre doesn't come along that often!"

Holme is now on a crash revision course in LTM's office and engineering department, getting up to speed with the current developments, before stepping out to meet the public. His main responsibilities will be on the road promoting the products and giving great

UK - The Arena Group has launched Arena Scaffolding. The new division will compliment the other areas of the company, comprising Arena Seating, Arena Structures, Arena Scene and Arena Events, but will operate as an independent division supplying specialist event scaffolding.

Working with other Arena Group companies, Arena Scaffolding has already been awarded prestigious contracts to build substructures for the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club in Ireland, and will be providing the mile markers for this April's London Marathon. The company has also won a five-year contract for CTV to supply the media and camera towers at sports events throughout Europe.

Scaffolding, whilst not particularly glamorous, is an intrinsic part of the infrastructure of a huge number of modern event sites. Between them Arena Structures, Arena Seating and Arena Scene have a vast range of experience and exper

Italy - Lighting designer Durham Marenghi worked for several months to create the spectacular lighting for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the XX Winter Olympic Games in Turin in February. Lighting fixtures included a mixture of manufacturers, but Marenghi employed Martin Professional's Mac 2000 Wash, to support the large-scale, highly dynamic choreography.

"The Mac 2000 Washes were the main wash lights for the performance forestage and were chosen for their very bright zoomed down optics, giving us the ability to throw a controlled light beam up to 100m at their targets," said Marenghi. "Dressed in their RainMACs, they were just the tool for a very cold and wet event." The majority of the Martin fixtures were supplied through Italian rental company Agora Lighting and Sound.

This was in fact the second Olympic Games for the Mac 2000 Wash. At the 2004

Sweden - Malmö's Old Graveyard is the first Swedish cemetery to feature an architectural lighting scheme. It has been carefully crafted to communicate the spiritual calm and natural aesthetics of the environment, to define the natural architecture and to meet the functional requirements of providing pleasant night lighting for a busy urban thoroughfare.

The scheme was the original idea of Malte Sahlgren, the Swedish Church's manager of Malmo's 18 graveyards. The Old Graveyard, first consecrated in 1822, is located in the centre of town and its East-West running avenue connects the key areas of Gustav Adolfs Square and Kings Park, and it also houses the remains of some of the city's most famous citizens.

Sahlgren initially discussed his idea with both Malmo City Council's lighting designer Johan Moritz (currently developing an ongoing lighting strategy for Malmö) and Spectra

Worldwide - Lighting designer Paul Normandale used 50sq.m of Chroma-Q Color Web to provide low res visual effects for the stage set of the James Blunt World Tour 2005/2006. The BRIT Award-winning singer-songwriter has experienced considerable international success since releasing his debut album, 'Back to Bedlam' in 2005. The album has been a huge hit, becoming the UK's biggest selling album last year and reaching total worldwide sales of nearly seven million.

Following this huge success story, James Blunt embarked on a sell-out UK tour at the end of last year, extended to a full world tour in 2006. After recent European and UK legs so far this year, the tour visits North America in March, with further legs scheduled for Australasia and Japan. Lite Alternative's Paul Normandale was working on a set design for the tour and decided to make Color Web one of the main elements after

UK - Leisuretec Distribution has undertaken the exclusive distribution of Vestax products for the UK market. Manufacturing products for DJs, musicians, the installation and lifestyle sectors, the Vestax Corporation is renowned for innovative and cutting-edge technology.

For some time the Vestax Corporation has been developing the innovative VRX-2000 Vinyl Cutter, which was recently launched for the UK market. Other recent product releases include the PMC-08 Pro Mixer and the innovative CDR-07 Performance CD-Writer.

In recent years, Vestax Europe Ltd has distributed the Vestax range of products in the UK, however, Vestax Europe will cease trading on 31 March 2006. Managing director for Leisuretec Distribution Nick Spalding commented: "Distributing products for the DJ market is second nature for Leisuretec, having originated and been consistently prominent in this sector fr

Worldwide - "I first became acquainted with a Yamaha PM5D in July last year just before I was due to tour with David Gray," says freelance sound engineer Mark Jones, who mixed front-of-house for Gray. "I wanted to use a digital desk on the tour to get the right sound quality so I took a PM5D along to David Gray's Church Studio's in London where I put it through its paces for a few days. It didn't take long to get to grips with it and I found it intuitive and straightforward to use."

For the European and UK tours, two PM5D's to mix FOH and monitors were supplied by leading pro-audio specialists, Reading-based Skan PA Hire. Jones used the PM5D throughout Gray's recent tours. "I initially intended to use the desk for only a short time but I just loved the sound it produced so I kept it on," he continued. His fellow sound engineer, Jon Ormesher, used th

Europe, Middle East & Africa - Shure Inc has formed a new Shure Personal Audio Business Unit (PABU) team for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The announcement follows on the success of the Personal Audio division in the US and aims to maximise Shure's presence in EMEA. Shure's Personal Audio accessories have already experienced worldwide attention, illustrating the potential for professional quality consumer peripherals alongside consumer electronic devices, including MP3 players, mobile phones, multimedia laptops and mobile gaming systems.

"With this explosion of multimedia devices and the consequent demand for high-end accessories, Shure has not only experienced remarkable success in the US, but is also witnessing increasing momentum in EMEA," said Mark Karnes, general manager, Shure's Personal Audio Business Unit. "With a targeted push to bring Shure's pr

USA - San Francisco's oldest and grandest nightclub, the Great American Music Hall, upgraded its front-of-house system a few short months ago with the addition of a new L-Acoustics Kudo loudspeaker rig.Twin arrays, each comprised of five Kudo boxes, now hang over the far left and right sides of the stage directly above two stacks of three SB118 single-18-inch subs. Two coaxial 115XT HiQ enclosures have also been installed to supply improved coverage to the side balcony seating areas with a pair of 115XTs addressing the rear balcony. All L-Acoustics systems are powered by the manufacturer's LA Series amplification.

According to Jonathan Nelson, co-owner of both the Great American Music Hall and its sibling local venue Slim's, "This room has never felt anything like what this sound system provides, with the exception of the '89 earthquake! The Kudo systems and subs have easil

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