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UK - March 2006 saw the Stardraw.com website deliver more than 100GB of data in a single month for the first time. Marketing director Rob Robinson explains: "We have seen steady growth in the distribution of data relating to all Stardraw products for some time, but it is remarkable that downloads from www.stardraw.com have almost tripled since this time last year. Breaking the 100GB/month mark so soon frankly caught us by surprise - charting the month-on-month trend in 2005 suggested that we wouldn't reach this point until next year."

Stardraw.com has delivered all its products exclusively through its website since January 2002. In addition to the initial installation of long-established design/documentation tools like Stardraw A/V and Stardraw Lighting 2D, users employ

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UK - The expertise of scenic contractor Stage One was brought into play for a special Channel 4 show, T4 On The Pitch, televised over the first weekend in April. The company, who have been producing sets and scenery for over 20 years, built all the sets and backdrops for the football-related games and 14 famous footballers captained teams of children (all competition winners), competing in a bid to be crowned Mourinho's Ultimate +10 Team.

Steve Dolan, senior project manager, said: "This project provided a very interesting graphics challenge, as from the basic visual artwork we needed to produce graphics that met the constraints of television advertising standards and that weren't blatantly advertising the programme's sponsor."

Advertising agency Stream commissioned Stage One to build the sets, which covered the space of one entire indoor football pitch, at the

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USA - Missouri-based Brawner & Associates has added Heath Lane to its fulltime design team. Lane was previously an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln (UNL) where he acted as a technical advisor for students in the theatre design/technology program. Prior to this, he was production manager/technical director for Michigan Tech's Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, where he oversaw all aspects of technical production.

Heath received his MFA from The Penn State University at State College, PA, in 2003. He has technically directed over 30 theatrical productions and has designed lighting for more than 100 events. His background includes experience as a rigger, master electrician, sound engineer and crew chief. On the pre-production side of the table Heath has over fourteen years' experience with multiple CAD programs working with general layouts, build draw

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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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Israel - Idan Raichel catapulted onto the Israeli music scene two years ago with the hit album Idan Raichel's Project. The singer/songwriter's latest album Out of the Depths was followed by a successful tour that embarked last winter.

Lighting designer Amir Mickey Vilensky chose 12 MAC 700 Profiles to connect a simple set with Idan's unique musical style. "It was the best fixture to achieve the goal of intensifying the visuality of the show with the best colors and a wonderful movement," he stated.

Martin's local Israeli distributor, Lightone, provided the 700's to lighting and sound company Yeda Kol with a 'no problem' guarantee that turned out to be 100% accurate.

Co-designer and programmer for the show was Offer Brum who worked with Amir to create a distinctive and complementary set of colour and effects especially for The Idan Raichel Project

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Germany - Neumann has expanded its range of professional microphones with the new TLM 49 large diaphragm, studio cardioid microphone. The design is inspired by the classic Neumann M 49 and M 50 microphones of the 50s, and features the famous K47 capsule used in the M 49 and U47 microphones.

Given the retro look, Neumann's proven transformerless circuitry, low self-noise, high gain levels, great sound and reasonable price, ensure the TLM 49 is poised to become yet another Neumann legend in vocal and speech recording, says the company.

The capsule has a linear frequency response up to the upper mid-range, and above 2kHz there is a gentle presence boost up to 3dB. The large 34mm diaphragm capsule, with a tendency towards supercardioid, is enclosed by a large, acoustically open, neutral sounding head grille. TLM transformerless circuitry ensures good common mode rejection, prevent

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Germany - The HK Audio ConTour Series has been in the market for several months already. The smallest full-range model CT 108 is now also available as an "Event Set".

The CT 108 (8"/1", 200 W RMS) is an extremely compact, passive, full-range speaker cabinet suited for the reproduction of the human voice and acoustic instruments. In spite of its minimal dimensions, the CT 108 delivers high sound-pressure levels with a smooth frequency response-without requiring an external controller. Thanks to its dual-function housing, it can be used not only for FOH, delay lines, and front-fill applications, but for stage monitoring as well. The low-profile design and the availability in both left and right versions make it possible to enjoy full, even sound from remarkably compact speakers.

The CT 108 Event Set presents an ideal solution for product presentations, corpor

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Portugal/Morrocco - Due to the continuous worldwide demand for V-Dosc, further service providers have decided to invest in the genre.

In Portugal, Puro Audio have invested in a complete 32 V- Dosc box turnkey system. Antonio Monteiro, technical director and partner of Puro Audio says: "The demand for V- Dosc in Portugal is really high, and we need to offer to our customers a state of the art system. On the other hand, to be part of the famous V- Dosc Network Partnership is a real added value for us."

In Morocco Rachid Mediouni the managing director of Encom (already a dV- Dosc provider) has purchased a V- Dosc system comprising of 18 elements to go with their existing stock of 24 dV- Dosc. This will allow them to address many prestigious festivals & events planned for this summer. This will be the first V- Dosc system permanently based on the African continent.

(Ch

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Germany - From his early days as a young heartthrob to his more universal appeal in later years, Udo Jürgens has long been a legend among German music fans. With several generations of fans and decades of performing, Jürgens is still going strong. He's just released his 50th album, Jetzt oder nie (in English, Now or Never) and his current 38-city European tour has been so successful that a second tour of 40 more dates has been scheduled for autumn.

Emsdetten-based Westfalen Sound Schallwand is providing the tour with a full Meyer Sound system based around 24 Mica compact high-power curvilinear array loudspeakers. The main Mica array is augmented by 12 600-HP compact high-power subwoofers, as well as an assortment of additional Meyer Sound systems, including six UPA-1P compact wide coverage loudspeakers and four UPM-1P ultra-compact wide coverage loudspeakers for

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UK - PLASA - the Professional Lighting and Sound Association - has announced a joint initiative with CMP Seatrade, the organisers of the Seatrade exhibitions, to host an afternoon presentation in London in early May introducing PLASA Members to business opportunities in the cruise sector.

Contracts won with cruise and ferry lines can be among the most lucrative in the world: there is currently $14.2 billion being invested in new-build activity and numbers in the cruise ship orderbook are at their highest since 2002. There is also renewed strength in the region's shipbuilding industry and the refurbishment and re-equipment sectors are also experiencing a growth surge.

The presentation, led by Seatrade MD Chris Hayman, will cover the opportunities that exist for PLASA Members in the cruise sector and the value of attending the Seatrade Med exhibition in Naples in October where f

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Australia - Martin Professional's Australian representative Show Technology were among the companies servicing the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne recently. The largest number of Martin MAC 2000 fixtures ever used on a single event graced the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Games. Distributed through Show Technology, some 806 MAC 2000 series fixtures (868 MAC fixtures in total - also a single event record) were supplied for the quadrennial spectacular by local partners Bytecraft and Chameleon, with additional fixtures brought in from Procon of Germany.

"We are very excited to be associated with such a high profile event and to work with such talented people," said Emmanuel Ziino, MD of Show Technology. "Show Technology's vision statement is 'Lighting Solutions with Imagination' and it was a thrill to have had the o

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UK - Jack Morton Worldwide has always operated a vigorous Control of Contractors scheme to ensure that all of its chosen suppliers can demonstrate compliance with all current health and safety legislation. This year, however, Chris Richards, Jack Morton Worldwide UK technical director, decided that it was not sufficient to simply audit its suppliers' H&S documentation - but that a program of consultative Supplier Forums was needed to fully engage its suppliers in all of Jack Morton's H&S systems and procedures.

The first Supplier H&S Forum took place in March of this year and was extremely well received by the Jack Morton Event Production Team and its rigging services suppliers. Representatives from Vertigo Rigging, Summit Steel and Blackout were all invited to the forum to discuss in detail proposals to ensure compliance with the Work at Height Regulations and their impact on t

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UK / Belgium - Apex has assigned UK distribution of its range of signal processing products to KV2 Audio Europe Ltd. The appointment comes after the KV2 team's visit to Belgium, and rigorous tests of the Apex lines of digital and analogue signal processing products. "Our aim is to ensure that each part of the signal chain is of the highest integrity," explains Jonathan Reece, MD of KV2 Audio Europe. "We want to deliver the best-quality solution, from system design onwards, and Apex can provide the high-quality processing that we'd like to offer, either in its own right or in conjunction with other products that we manufacture and distribute."

The announcemetn comes shortly after the addition of two new products to Apex's entry-level dB-range of analogue signal processors: the dBC-8 and the dBG-8. The dBC-8 is an 8-channel compressor/limiter in a 19" 1U p

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UK - Lighting designer Pete Hosier (aka "Luton Pete") specified and used an Avolites Diamond 4 console to control lighting for the 2006 BBC 3 Planet World Music Awards, staged at London's Brixton Academy.

The D4 is always his desk of choice he explains. He has used Avolites' most powerful console extensively since a D4 was installed at Shepherds' Bush Empire 16 months ago, where he's one of the house programmer/designers. "It was ideal for a show like the Planets, with very limited programming and rehearsal time, multiple artists and a lot of lighting to control 'on the fly'."

This was the fifth Planet Awards (originally called the BBC 3 Awards World Music Poll Winners Concert) a show that's quickly become established as a premier event for world music.

This year's show gathered musicians from all corners of the planet and incl

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UK - Over the past 23 years, front-of-house sound engineer Kevin Pruce has worked with the biggest names in the business. His live engineering credentials are like a who's who from last three decades of pop, and includes Duran Duran, Adam Ant, The Human League, Tears For Fears, The Style Council, Sinead O'Connor, Björk, Lemon Jelly, Starsailor, Yoko Ono, Meat Loaf and Madonna.

Kevin says: "When it comes to FOH, spec the right equipment for the job, not what is flavour of the month." Pruce himself has an arsenal of Focusrite gear at his disposal. "I have used the ISA 110 [mic pre and EQ], the ISA 430 [Producer Pack], the Red 3 [dual compressor/limiter] and Liquid Channel. I use them all for vocal processing and they are all superb, just so well designed and functional."

But he particularly picks out the ISA428 [multichannel mic pre front end] for praise for

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USA - Cirque du Soleil has announced that review performances begin at The Mirage in Las Vegas on 2 June for The Beatles LOVE, the company's latest production, which celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles. The Gala Premiere will be held Friday, 30 June, 2006. This joint artistic venture, born out of a personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté, marks the first time that The Beatles company, Apple Corps Ltd, has agreed to a major theatrical partnership.

Sir George Martin, The Beatles original producer, and his son Giles Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create the musical component for LOVE. The result is an unprecedented approach to the music for a stage production. "After spending more than 40 years of my life working with The Beatle

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UK - Light & Sound Creations has completed the installation of sound, lighting, plasma and LCD displays and security surveillance system at the Glass Spider, Sunderland's stylish new super-pub.

Located in Green terrace, the heart of Sunderland's 'nightlife quarter', the Glass Spider boasts the largest terrace in the North-East and is operated by Wylam Developments, who also own Ttonic and Vision in Sunderland. Opening night at the Glass Spider featured live music, Vegas-style showgirls, an ice sculpture on the terrace and VIPs arriving by stretched Hummer.

Community loudspeakers have been used throughout the venue, chosen by Light & Sound Creations. The main dance-floor uses four CPL42-94, ceiling-mounted in landscape format, with two TD215S compact dual 15" subs. Bar areas and infill around the dance-floor use Community CPL27s and a CPL23 provides foldback for the DJ boo

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UK - Following a lifetime of concerns about mirrorball safety, Hall Stage are delighted to see many new rotator motors made with improved safety levels designed into the drive. The safety conscious Germans, however, point out that these improvements still do not meet their 'ubër-tough' standards to BGV C1 and so Hall Stage is introducing a separate safety unit from Höf-Alutec, which the company says aims "to calm the nerves of many a venue owner and licensing officer".

Proven to 250kg with dual suspension lines attached independently of both motor and ball, the new swivel carries the load with complete safety, leaving the rotator to concentrate on rotating. The company will be showing these and other ideas at the AC Lighting North Trade Show in Leeds (25-26 April) and the ABTT Trade Show in London (14-15 June).

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - The PDS-375 TRB, the newest model in City Theatrical's growing range of innovative power/data supplies designed to work with Color Kinetics products, is totally wireless, requiring neither mains cables nor data cables.

The PDS-375 TRB combines City Theatrical's award-winning WDS Wireless Data System technology with long-life rechargeable batteries to give Color Kinetics ColorBlast 12 (up to six units), ColorBlast 6 (up to 12 units), and iColorCove (up to 48) fixtures the ability to be operated and controlled with no wires at all.

CTI's President Gary Fails said: "We feel that this is the leading edge of entertainment lighting. There is no doubt that LEDs will change the way we light our world, and City Theatrical is active in the effort to invent new ways to power and control them. The low power consumption of LEDs allows battery power to be possible in large-scale

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UK - Acoustic specialists at the Government Communication Centre (HMGCC) in Hanslope Park, Milton Keynes, have been using Klark Teknik's Helix DN9340 digital equalisation system in an unconventional way - to devise new methods of checking out communications systems for use in harsh environments.

HMGCC engineers have been working with a limbless dummy with a small speaker where the mouth should be to simulate human speech. Realistic speech quality is a very important criterion for this project, and one of the many uses of Helix is to EQ the mouth speaker. "I particularly appreciate the rich functionality of Helix, which has allowed the replacement of several EQ units and laboratory audio filters with just one box," says Ken Worrall. "The ability to control both channels independently is an extremely useful function, as is the option of controlling it from a PC in a

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UK - Production company West End Studios has upgraded its main lighting control console to a Jands Vista T2, as part of an ongoing investment in new equipment for its production facility, which provides a total event design service for clients in the broadcast, video, conferences and events sectors.

When the studio decided to replace their console due to the increasingly sophisticated lighting demands of productions, technical production manager Andy Cheshire contacted Jands Vista distributor A.C. Lighting to arrange a demo. He and the studios' in-house lighting technicians were so impressed by the Vista's flexibility, usability and speed that after the demo they saw no point in looking at any other consoles.

Cheshire commented: "I was looking for something which could handle a lot more fixtures, was smarter and faster and had ethernet outputs. The Vista was the obvious c

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USA - Building upon a reputation for sonic quality and rugged reliability with what now represents a third generation of PowerLight technology, QSC has unveiled its new PLX2 range of amplifiers. Designed for live performance, PLX2 amplifiers are divided into two product groups offering power outputs of up to 3,600W.

Adding subwoofer processing and more convenient back-panel switches to the original PLX platform, the fully-featured PLX2 '02' lineup (models PLX1802, PLX2502, PLX3102, and PLX3602) are complemented by the compact PLX2 '04' amps (models PLX1104 and PLX1804), which bring the same technology to applications where bridged or 2 Ohm operation isn't required.

"The PLX2 Series is uncompromising on every level," says QSC founder and chief designer, Pat Quilter. "Paying homage to the power of the technology inside, the outward design of these amplifiers incor

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