Details
USA - Production Resource Group (PRG) has named Scott Hansen as its chief financial officer, to be absed at the company's office in New Windsor, New York. Since joining PRG in 1997 from Ernst & Young, Hansen has held a series of key positions that have given him hands-on knowledge of the company's diverse locations and areas of operations, says the company.

As, successively, PRG's assistant corporate controller, controller of the lighting division, and corporate controller and vice-president of finance, he traveled extensively to PRG's offices throughout the country and in Europe, helping the company's operations executives refine their asset management and operating procedures. In early 2003, he was promoted to general manager of PRG Audio, based in Mount Vernon, New York and PRG

Details
UK - Martin Professional lighting has been used for a new TV pilot show as part of students' final college degree course. The show was called tba* incorporating a new format where the audience text and phone in to decide the content each week. The show was lit by Ed Riley and James Lloyd who are freelance LDs and students at the college. The look of the show was industrial and basic with lots of truss and was filmed in a large warehouse with very little set. Most of the dressing and decoration was done with lights.

Ed Riley ran through the layout: "Due to the warehouse not having a fixed lighting rig, we had to suspend limited amounts of truss from the roof and therefore had little space for lights. This is why we went for the Mac 250 Washes, which were highly versatile and allowed us to cover most areas of the set from one position. We were really impressed with the

Details
USA / Canada - Canadian Music Hall-of-Famers, The Tragically Hip, showed why they have become Canadian rock legends at four consecutive sold-out dates on their latest North American tour, putting Adamson true line source arrays to use for the gigs. Complete production was provided by Towers Productions based in Toronto, Canada. The shows took place between 17-24 June. Artpark in Lewiston, New York, played host to the first show, GRCA (Grand River Conservation Authority) in Guelph for the second, and the last two were held at Historic Fort York in Toronto.

Steve Towers from Towers Productions, together with Adamson Systems' Technical support Jesse Adamson and Ben Cabot collaborated in designing the system for all for shows using Adamson Shooter. For the first and smallest show held in Artpark, they chose 12 Y-10s flown and six T-21s ground stacked per side. For the GRCA show, the

featured content

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

Details
Europe - The Concert for Europe, an outdoor musical celebration with an artistic reflection of the values that have made Europe great, created an unforgettable experience to mark the completion of the Austrian European Union Presidency. The President and the Chancellor of the Republic, as well as prime movers of national and international policy, economy, media, arts and science were there without exception.

Staged in front of the glorious Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, this truly spectacular summer event featured the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Plácido Domingo performing a mixed program of classical favourites by Mozart, Shostakovich, and Schumann. Special guest, Juan Diego Flórez's, sonorous tenor delighted the audience with an equally varied selection, culminating with a crowd-pleasing rendition of "La donna è mobile" by Giuseppe Verdi.

Estimates

Details
Germany - Axxent has introduced a new intercommunications belt pack BP100V with vibration alarm, in addition to the usual light signal. Many users in the event industry - be it sound or light technicians - complained about intercom alarm signals going unnoticed. Axxent reacted to these complains with the new vibration alarm that will be "felt" immediately, whereas the light signal might be overlooked.

The vibrator module sits in a small box with dimensions of 50 x 40 x 20mm and features an 80cm cable with a 3.5mm mini phone plug that can be connected into the front side of the belt pack when required. Axxent products are manufactured by Pro Audio-Technik in Gelnhausen, Germany.

(Lee Baldock)

Details
Germany - After a two-year hiatus, it was indeed a momentous day for the international electronic dance music community as the Berlin Loveparade finally rolled back into action on 15 July.

Taking place from 2pm until 11pm with a 2006 motto of 'The Love Is Back', it was an epic homecoming for the legendary event: 40 floats rumbled through the streets as 400 DJs from 18 different nations represented the rich diversity of the international electronic music scene. There were also 11 fixed stages to entertain the masses with the final rally taking place from 6pm on the two main stages located to the east and west sides of the Siegessäule where 15 DJs, including Paul van Dyk, Ricardo Villalobos, Tiësto, and Westbam rocked the crowd well into the night. The long-awaited Loveparade was back in Berlin where it was born in 1989. Pioneer provided all trucks and stages with Pro DJ gear -

Details
UK - Tower Productions' Edinburgh depot recently supplied all power generation (24 sets) ranging from 15kVA to 200kVA, cable, distribution and site lighting to the fast-growing Wickerman Festival near Kirkcubright. Due to the nature of the site and preferences of the organisers tower lights are "not welcome" - so site lighting comprised approx 150 halogen floods as well as 40 x 400W and 150W discharge fittings. This, although much slower, and demanding industrial quantities of cable, resulted in the site looking great at night without the noise, glare and building-site look, normally associated with tower lighting.

The Wickerman was the most recent of a string of high-profile temporary power contracts supplied by Tower including the provision of cable, distribution and lighting (for use by others) to; T-in-the-Park, The Johnny Walker Golf Tournament at Gleneagles, The

Details
UK - Leading Welsh rental company Stage Sound Services has been putting its new DiGiCo D1 Live console through its paces with a series of demanding productions. Following hot on the heels of the Holocaust Memorial Day event at Cardiff's principal venue, the Wales Millennium Centre, Stage Sound Services provided sound production for the premiere of the amateur production of The Witches of Eastwick, staged by the Orbit Theatre at The New Theatre in Cardiff.

Taking a break from running the company, Stage Sound Services' founder Phil Hurley took on the job of sound operator for the show. He commented on the new acquisition, which was supplied through Autograph Sales in London. "We love the D1 for all sorts of reasons; it's small, it incorporates a lot of processing, it's easy to use, and sounds fantastic!"

For the Witches run, Hurley's setup time was incred

Details
Germany / Turkey - Istanbul-based distribution company Ertekin Elektronik A. S. has become the new exclusive distributor of HK Audio products in Turkey. Ertekin Elektronik has been well-known in Turkey for years; the company made a name for itself with the distribution of professional sound and lighting systems as well as DJ equipment.

Owner Yücel Ertekin comments: "With HK Audio, we have added an important German manufacturer of professional sound reinforcement systems to our distribution range. We have been observing the brand for quite some time and noticed that HK Audio has great growth potential here in Turkey. Due to the extensive product portfolio of active and passive systems, from the LUCAS system up to the COHEDRA line array system, HK Audio offers unique solutions for audiences from 50 to 50,000."

International sales director Andreas Mayerl adds: "We

Details
Australia - An Avolites Diamond 4 Elite lighting console has been specified and installed in the new 'Outback Spectacular' venue at the Warner Brothers Studios' Theme Park on Australia's Gold Coast. The main attraction in this multi-million dollar arena, the 'Outback Spectacular', is a live show with performers and real animals and spectacular visual effects, based on the Australian outback.

The giant arena thunders with the hooves of Australian horses as the performance starts, creating an electric atmosphere with state-of-the-art lighting and sound, as leading stunt riders and stockmen playing out the story of two rival cattle stations. On arrival, guests enter a traditional Outback Pub for a cool beverage, receive their own Stockman's hat which they wear whilst barracking for their cattle station. Alongside this, a traditional Australian BBQ is served while the action unfolds

Details
Macau - RCF's distributor in China, Eastern Acoustic Development Ltd has recently supplied a complete sound system for the Fashion Bar in the newly developed Macau Fisherman's Wharf. As the first-ever themed entertainment attraction in Macau's tourism industry, Fisherman's Wharf is centrally located at the outer harbour, near to the Macau Ferry Terminal and Heliport. It combines entertainment, retail, food, hotel, marina, convention and exhibition facilities, all in one place.

The installation was carried out by local company High Fidelity & Stereophonic Co. Eastern Acoustic's Grace Ng commented: "We were very proud to part of this prestigious venue in the heart of Fisherman's Wharf. Working with the installation company, we decided to use a combination of RCF ART active and passive speakers. Because they will be having live acts on the stage we also used the larger RCF 4PR

Details
Thailand - The Dino Fantasy Park World Tour 2006 recently wrapped up a two-month touring exhibition in Thailand, thrilling visitors with life-sized dinosaur replicas and a special effects light show, provided by LDS Show of Bangkok.

Although the set and props were imported from Japan, the lighting was locally contracted to LDS, with lighting design by Poon Limpapun and Sermsak Boonyhai. Because the venue was not capable of supplying enough power for 4,000 Par cans (as originally planned), the team had to get the biggest bang from the fewest number of fixtures as possible. They fit 300 Par 64 1000W fixtures with Wybron Forerunner colour changers and another 14 Kupo 8-lites with Wybron's Coloram II. 24 Nexera Wash and Profile fixtures were strategically placed in hard-to-reach areas throughout the hall to add additional colourful effects.

The equipment was rigged on 20 st

Details
Australia - The Everingham Rotating House (ERH) is attracting attention around the globe. Borne out of the comment, "Wouldn't it be handy to have a house that could move?", the ERH is the result of thousands of hours of research and development and a dedication to the integrity of a design based on ecologically sound building principles.

Luke Everingham, the man behind the design and its fruition, wanted a house that met the following criteria: the cost must not exceed that of a conventional house of the same size and level of appointment; the layout and finish must be highly functional; it must require very little maintenance; it must be white ant proof and; must allow the occupants to maximise weather conditions, seasonal conditions and the outstanding 360° views on this property located in the Australian bush. The result is a house that rotates 360° - capabl

Details
Greece - Outline has announced a Butterfly 'outlinearray' installation at Athens' MOV, one of the Greek capital's most famous bouzouki bars. Recently inaugurated, the MOV hosts top Greek singers and artists (such as Stelios Rokkos and Zafiris Melas), who entertain the venue's select clientele with live performances.

A total of eight Outline CDH 483 Hi-Packs and four CDL 1815 Low-Packs (the firm's low frequency enclosures with cardioid characteristics) were flown and aimed with the aid of Outline VIP software, in order to ensure even coverage right from the front seats, eliminating the need for any additional front-fill systems, say the company.

Four HARD 212 ultra-slim enclosures are used for stage monitors, while four Victor Live subwoofers are installed on the floor to handle the ultra-low frequencies. The consoles used are a Midas Verona and a Midas Siena, on FOH and monito

Details
UK - Pioneer has unveiled its new DVJ-1000, which combines the CD capabilities of the industry standard CDJ-1000 series with the ability to deliver sensational DVJ sets by synchronising visuals and audio through DVD. With a similar footprint to the CDJ-1000MK3 and keen pricing, the DVJ-1000 will attract buyers of high-end CD decks and those who aspire to own the DVJ-X1, say Pioneer.

Pioneer's flagship products are expected to be fully loaded and the DVJ-1000 doesn't disappoint. Features include: MP3 compatibility (with an intuitive navigator), a brighter and larger WAVE display, studio quality 96kHz/24-bit audio and several new innovations like 4x hyper jog mode and a back and forth loop button. It's a globetrotter too, playing both NTSC and PAL DVDs using a built-in standards converter. With the same operation and standard layout as the CDJ-1000MK3, DJs can perform audio-only s

Details
Hong Kong - Following the recent news of the opening of its Hong Kong office, Artistic Licence has announced that Desisti Asia has been appointed as main dealer for the Singapore market. Desisti has a strong reputation in the TV, theatrical and architectural market segments and has been a long time advocate of the quality and innovation of Artistic Licence products, says the company.

At the same time, Artistic Licence says that Excel Union will continue to build market share in mainland China. Excel Union has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, and is headed by Victor Tsang. Simon Fraser, Artistic Licence Hong Kong manager, comments: "Both of the new appointments have a long term relationship with Artistic Licence. I'm looking forward to assisting them with the growth of their business and providing an even higher level of support."

Artistic Licence Hong Kong is headed

Details
USA / EU - Aviom Inc has issued a Certificate of RoHS Compliance covering all of its products including digital snakes, personal mixers and input and output modules. In addition to the compliance, users will notice a superior sound quality of Aviom's new RoHS products.

The Certificate confirms that Aviom's products comply with the European Union's Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. The RoHS Directive was originally established to address concerns regarding the accumulation of hazardous wastes resulting from consumer products.

In accordance with the requirements of the RoHS Directive of the European Parliament, Aviom certifies that their products are manufactured free of lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalant Chromium (CrVI), polybrominated Biphenyls (PBBs) and polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs). This compliance came into force on 1 July, 2006, say the compan

Details
Ibiza - Manumission's sister company, Ibiza Rocks, has just purchased a purpose-built Tomcat one 290 48 fixed legged ground support which was subsequently installed in the newly refurbished Live music venue - Bar M, Manumission's Ibiza bar on the beach.

The initial idea for the ground support came from a sketch from the customer and a photo of the area in which the stage was to be installed. The brief was simple - design a structure that would sit on their newly built stage giving the bands a concert atmosphere in a small venue but also to give cover from the weather, be it rain or shine. "We were supplied with a few site photos and a basic idea of how they would like the structure to function," said Patrick Lockwood, sales engineer for Tomcat UK. It was only when I did the site visit that we found that due to conditions on site, their ideas were not suitable so we red

Details
UK - Jarag from Chromlech plans to be a leading light at PLASA 2006 exhibition in London. This multi-faceted professional lighting system is designed by Chromlech, a young and dynamic French company based in Rennes. Already a success on the French lighting scene, the Chromlech team is heading for this side of the Manche for the first time. A fusion of embedded electronics and traditional lighting, Jarag "opens up a new era in creative illumination", the company claims.

A flexible and modular system, each unit is composed of 25 lamps that are independently controlled. They are totally integrated and programmable to produce accessible and powerful lighting extravaganzas. The electronic controls are integrated in the projector for instantaneous operation.

The system allows the creation of a matrix of lights without the need for separate dimmers - only a direct feed and

Details
UK - DiGiCo's marketing director David Webster's brainchild, the Prize Stage at the PLASA'06 After Show Bar, is making a welcome return to Earls Court this year (10-13 September). The bar will once again be sponsored by nine of the industry's major players, each of whom will be giving away fantastic gifts, along with a joint prize of a £1,000, in a free prize draw to be held there between 6.30 and 8pm on 10th and 12th September in the prime position of the show's Central Bar area.

The draw is open to show attendees who have obtained an entry form from the companies involved and comply with the necessary criteria. To win the £1000, participants must have visited each company and had their "Prize Passport" (available from each of the sponsoring exhibitors) fully stamped.

"We're all really pleased that the Prize Stage is happening again," says Webs

Details
AVW Controls' award-winning Pegasus range of power flying hoists are intended primarily for lifting scenery, lighting bars and curtain tracks, and are designed to offer clients a range of options to fit any requirement. Control is via AVW's own Impressario computerised motion control system (winner of an ABTT award in 2002 and currently in use on Billy Elliot and the London production of Blue Man Group, among many West End shows).
Page 1945 of 3465

Latest Issue. . .