UK - The recent upgrades to Butlins' three UK sites include half a million pounds' worth of new Robe moving light fixtures installed in the three separate venues (Centre Stage, Reds and Skyline) within all three of Butlins' UK holiday resort sites - at Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis.

The ball started rolling when Bourne Leisure's technical director Mike Godolphin visited the Robe stand at PLASA 2005 and spoke with Robe UK's Bill Jones. Jones then visited Godolphin and Minehead technical manager Dirk Peace at the group HQ in Bognor Regis, and a lighting spec was drawn up by Peace and Woodrow 'Woody' Peterkin, head of lighting at Minehead - to cover the three separate venues at each site. The installation contract went out to tender and was won by Birmingham-based sound and lig

UK - This year's PLASA Show will see the return of an old friend - but in a fully revised and updated form - when lighting supplier White Light launches the latest edition of its ever-popular catalogue as a Reference Guide.

Long considered the standard 'de-facto' reference for those working in lighting for entertainment, packed with useful information yet still compact enough to nestle comfortably in a designer's bag, the last edition of the catalogue was published in 1999 yet it is still in demand, with the electronic PDF edition regularly downloaded from White Light's website.

"An update to our catalogue is long overdue," admits White Light's managing director, Bryan Raven, "but the last seven years have seen us move premises, enormously expand our stock and the areas of lighting we work in, and re-design our website. Somehow through all of that the it kept sl

Germany - The L.U.C.A.S System Check display is now available online featuring many different possibilities to select and adjust application and audience size. With two turn-switches, the adjustments can be selected and the indicator instruments show the load of each system corresponding to the adjustments. This clarifies which L.U.C.A.S system is the most suitable for the requested application, and those interested will be able to identify the right system for their needs.

The System Check offers direct links to the product details of each L.U.C.A.S system by clicking on the logo. By entering the poste code, local System Check partners are listed, where systems are available for listening tests and comparisons.

(Chris Henry)

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

UK - Norwich based Viking Stage Lighting has just purchased its 200th Robe fixture. The company, headed by Ian Leonard, passed the 200 mark with the acquisition of a batch of the all-new ColorWash 575AT Zoom s.

Viking specialises in theatrical sales and hire, and initially bought the ColorWash 575AT Zoom because of its "Superb zoom - which, along with light output and functionality, is better than any other product on the market at the moment".

Since having these fixtures in their own hire stock, Viking has demo'd them to many others and consequently sold several more CW 575AT Zooms to its clients.

Viking has steadily replaced their entire hire stock inventory with Robe moving lights over the last two years, now only leaving six non Robe units. In terms of fixtures, they have everything from the expediently sized Spot 150XT spot to the powerful workhorse ColorSpot

USA - The Lollapalooza Festival in early August was an extraordinary event, offering 130 bands on eight stages over the course of three days in Chicago's lakeside Grant Park. Also living up to the dictionary definition of lollapalooza ("something outstanding of its kind"), according to Dolby, was the Dolby Lake Processor, four of which were deployed by production services company StagePro on the festival's Playstation and AMD stages.

"We love it - it sounds awesome," said Tim Smith, production manager for StagePro, of the Dolby Lake Processor. The company purchased the four units two months ago. "The ability to make changes from multiple locations around the venue, as well as the intuitive control software made tuning the rigs a joy. There were many compliments from both band engineers and patrons. For where we were at with our audio systems, which are b

UK - This year at PLASA Meyer Sound will exhibit on stand E26 with a selection of products suited for use in fixed installations and touring, including the M'elodie ultracompact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker and Matrix3 audio show control system.

Since debuting at Frankfurt's Pro Light + Sound exhibition in February, the demand for M'elodie, the latest member of the MILO family has exceeded expectations, the company says. With its high output, small footprint, and compatibility with the MILO family of products, M'elodie offers the kind of flexibility required in corporate AV applications, while retaining the power to fill medium-sized venues on tour or in a fixed installation, says the company.

To emphasize Meyer Sound's ability to make products that fit into any environment, M'elodie will be displayed on the stand painted in a custom finish, as will two other popul

UK - In 2005 Artistic Licence launched Light-Switch, a DMX512 playback system designed for single and multiple room lighting control. A new version has just been released, which expands its capabilities even further. Light-Switch can now be remote controlled via RS232. This means that Light-Switch can easily be integrated into a larger show control system.

Light-Switch is suitable for use in conference room facilities, retail and domestic environments, trade shows and museum exhibits. Available in both UK and US style wall panels, Light-Switch is controlled by 14 illuminated buttons. Features include three pages of eight memories, with each memory containing all 512 channels and an independent fade time. A fourth page provides six sequences with variable step times and direction control.

The entire system is programmed by PC application Switch-Edit, which contains a moving lam

UK - Visitors to this year's PLASA Show (running from September 10-13 at Earls Court One, London) will be able to learn more about PLASA's work on the development of a new National Rigging Certificate - an initiative designed to give riggers working in all sectors a framework by which their expertise and knowledge can be measured.

Over the last year, PLASA has been working closely with the industry and a range of government bodies to develop a scheme that will not only serve the specific needs of the industry, but also achieve national recognition.

A Rigging Advisory Group, consisting of key figures from the rigging industry, has been established and has been working closely with PLASA on the development of the Certificate, most critically on the content of the qualification and on how the assessment process will be delivered. This consultation has allowed PLASA to develop an

UK - Star Events Group Ltd supplied over 50 structures at both the Telford and Chelmsford sites of this year's V Festival.

Along with the 20m four bay Orbit stages, SEGL also supplied stages three and four, over 30 site towers at each venue, wheelchair user platforms, camera platforms, front of house structures, DJ Risers and the 'Tree House', a raised enclosed television interview room.

Mike Goodwin, manager of Star Orbit, says: "We were extremely happy to be given the opportunity to supply the majority of structures at this year's V sites. The weather was particularly challenging, with quite heavy on-off rain throughout, but everyone responded brilliantly and the event was a great success all round."

(Chris Henry)

USA - Outline, manufacturer of pro audio, have announced its partnership with Morin Productions. Effective since July 15 2006, Morin Productions will act as the exclusive distributor for Outline products in the United States and Canada. The principals of Morin Productions, Tim Morin, Brandon Pritchard and Tom Nichols, each have over 15 years direct experience in the audiovisual and entertainment industry.

Morin Productions can be contacted on:
29 Front Street
Nashua, NH 03060
Tel: 603-880-3880
Fax: 603-880-3844

(Chris Henry)

Germany - D-MEXX have started to ship Signal Splitters for transmission paths between audio devices, compliant with the MADI standard. The D-MEXX Splitters are passive, optical devices; consequently, they are free of latency and require no external power source. Three different versions are immediately available.

The simplest model splits an incoming audio signal (transmitted over optical fibreglass cable) to two identical outputs. The same can be said for the "Dual"-version (two input signals to four outputs, respectively two outputs for each incoming signal). By connecting one of the outputs of the Dual unit back to its second input, one can achieve a tripling of a single audio signal. The "Triplex"-version splits two incoming audio signals each to three outputs (for a total of 6 outputs). Here, too, could one use an "internal cascade" to effectiv

UK - LD Patrick Marks has found the Avolites Diamond 4 lighting console's Fixture Exchange facility a life saver during their extensive summer festival style tour. He's touring his own console everywhere and picking up a variety of local productions across the UK and Europe. The schedule has also encompassed a 3-week Swedish tour with lighting sound and trucking all supplied by Copenhagen-based Nordic.

Having the D4 and using Fixture Exchange has not only meant: "No more re-programming shows on sunny afternoons with no time!" says Marks, it's also saved him from worrying about whether the fixtures for the day are Martin, Robe, Vari*Lite. Whatever they are, his show remains the same.

Marks 'converted' to the D4 at the beginning of the summer after many years of running Status Quo's show on a Diamond 3. Now he's using the D4 and the very latest software versions which

UK - Pearl Jam, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, The Arctic Monkeys and Primal Scream were among the highlights of a great weekend of music enjoyed by over 150,000 fans at the Carling Leeds and Reading Festivals.

Mojo Barriers supplied over 1000m of barrier across the two sites. Aluminium Mojo Barrier, incorporating the Barrier Load Monitor System (BLMS), formed the main front of stage systems with the new secondary barrier system employed at both festival sites constructed from steel barrier, in the new configuration, located between the front of house mixer and stage.

Headliners Pearl Jam's last festival tour in Europe was shattered by the tragic deaths of nine people during their Rosklide show. So their return to festival stages this year was accompanied by particularly close attention to health and safety issues.

This is an area Mean Fiddler's festival director Melv

UK - HSL is supplying a full floor lighting system for Snow Patrol's current UK and European outdoor festival tour, which includes an impressive LED back wall consisting of 57 ColorKinetics iColor Tiles and 57 Chroma-Q DB4 LED fixtures, plus 16 Robe moving lights.

The band's stunning stage look is being created by the slick teamwork of lighting designer Dave Sherwin and visuals operator Robin Haddow. The tour is being project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.

In addition to the LED and moving lights, HSL is also supplying six vertical trussing towers, two pairs each at 10ft in the centre, 8ft and 6ft on the outside; six two cell Moles and six Atomic strobes - each of which sits on each tower, along with six of the Robe ColorSpot 1200ATs on top. The rest of the moving lights are scattered around the floor, along with an additional 20 DB4s.

HSL designed and supplied the custom sc

UK - Robe Show Lighting is expecting another action-packed PLASA, and is launching 12 new products including the StageQube 324, a new 700 Series of moving lights, the DigitalSpot 5000 DT and the ColorSpot 2500E AT.

The StageQube 324 is a new-generation of LED panel. Designed as a plug&play application, it doesn't require any external power supply and control boxes. The complete electronics are located in the IP54 housing. An integrated rigging system allows even large systems to be built up very easily.

The resolution of StageQube 324 is 18 x 18 px at a size of 80 x 80 cm (pixel pitch 4.44 cm). The StageQube 324 system uses a video input (VGA) that is connected to the QubeControl PC. It can be DMX controlled using a Robe Media Hub aloowing intuitive control from the lighting desk.

Robe Show Lighting also launches its revolutionary new DigitalSpot 5000 DT, a 5000 ANSI Lumen o

UK - With the industry's leading companies rolling out major new products and services, PLASA06 is going to play a central role in delivering solutions to many of the high profile projects, events and tours of the coming 12 months.

The specialists exhibiting at PLASA06 have the expertise to make anything possible with technologies developed by this industry transforming the quality of experience within the entertainment, events, live arts and leisure markets to a level scarcely imaginable 10 years ago.

And in the building and architectural sectors, the development of audio, video and IT technologies has also transformed the way buildings are designed and used - aesthetically, practically and architecturally - with information and safety-related systems now essential ingredients in the development of public spaces and buildings.

All these developments - together with the next

USA - Founded in 1867, Howard University is better known for academics than athletics, sports are still a prominent aspect of student life.The university's homecoming football game and accompanying celebration is considered one of the capital's more notable annual events, with thousands of local residents joining the 11,000-plus student body to partake in the week-long gala, which features a cornucopia of musical entertainment and special celebrity guests.

With another year fast approaching, Athletic Department facility manager Isaac Darden knew it was time to upgrade Greene Memorial Stadium's aging sound system, and sought the advice of Beltsville, MD-based RCI Sound Systems, the firm behind other local high-profile jobs including Kennedy Center Concert Hall and the Washington Redskins' FedEx Field.

"We knew the stadium needed an audio system that could withstand the Was

UK - 11am on Sunday 10 September at PLASA 2006, will see the launch of the much-anticipated Lancelot, the latest in a long line of innovative lighting products from acclaimed French manufacturer Robert Juliat. The launch will take place on stand G25, the stand of Juliat's UK distributor White Light.

The brightest, most spectacular fixture ever released by Robert Juliat, Lancelot is both a long-throw effects projector and a followspot perfect for the largest of venues, particularly stadiums. Based around a 360,000 lumen 4kW HTI lamp, Lancelot uses a carefully-designed optical train that gives an extremely flat-field beam distribution. Lancelot's modular design allows up to five effects cassettes to be inserted: based around a totally new four-blade design these allow progressive effects such as frost or colour correction. Further effects will be available for Lancelot during 2007

USA - Wybron have announced the release of the InfoTrace RDM Lighting Control System, effective September 5, 2006. InfoTrace is an innovative new system that uses RDM (Remote Device Management) for the control and management of DMX-controlled lighting devices such as colour changers, moving lights, conventional lights, and dowsers. (RDM is the new open standard of bi-directional protocol for DMX512 based control systems.)

"InfoTrace simplifies the set-up, maintenance, repair and integration of professional stage lighting," says Keny Whitright, founder and president of Wybron, a leader in performance lighting innovation (inventor of the scrolling colour changer and the industry's first automated spotlight tracking system). "Time saved during load in and pre-show checks translates into more time to create innovative lighting sets for stage, touring shows, architectu

UK - At the PLASA Show this year, a trio of the UK's best-known TV lighting directors will gather together for what promises to be an entertaining session on the ups and downs of the business of lighting for television.

John Watt, Mike Le Fevre and Ian Dow are all TV lighting directors who by default have specialised in different genres of television - as well as just lighting whatever comes next! They hope to be inspired by questions from the floor to explain how they attempt to keep the quality of lighting in television, whilst battling budgets and the idiosyncrasies of producers. They may well illustrate their remarks with stories of the triumphs and disasters of their careers!

Chaired by PLASA's executive director and former L&SI editor Ruth Rossington, the session will take place from 3.30-5.00pm on Tuesday 12 September, in the seminar theatre on Level Two of Earls Court.

UK - Bryant Broadcast and Data Communications will launch its new Broadcast and Audio/Video Systems Integration Catalogue at the forthcoming IBC exhibition. Issue 8 of the catalogue has some exciting new networking solutions for converging broadcast, audio/visual, IT and electrical/electronic network connectivity, say the company.

The new Bryant Catalogue lists in-house built products ranging from 19" computer network and broadcast racks to custom metalwork, IEC rack power units, pre-wired audio and video jackfields, IT audio/video and broadcast cables and connectors, Cat 5e and Cat 6 networking products, cable assemblies, SMPTE 311M hybrid fibre cables for HD TV cameras, etc.

Fully indexed, the catalogue also introduces many new 'one stop shopping' partnerships including Belden cables, MurrayPro audio/video monitoring kit, Electronics Visuals signal generators, Mauve Sys

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