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USA - The ESTA Foundation's Behind the Scenes announces the first two Challenge Grants during the USITT Annual Conference & Stage Expo. I. Weiss and Sapsis Rigging will both be sponsoring $5,000 challenge grants at the upcoming USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona. Thanks to both companies coming forward after the announcement of the Challenge Grant Program, every dollar donated at this year's USITT will triple in value.

Established challenge grant slots are still available for the Behind the Scenes / Long Reach Long Riders 2007 USITT Raffle, March 15 - 17 in Phoenix, Arizona at $5,000 each (four openings left) and The Long Reach Long Riders 2007 New England Charity Ride, July 29 - August 6 at $10,000 each (two openings).

David Rosenberg, president of I. Weiss, explai

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UK - Psychedelic popsters the Flaming Lips are currently on tour with a UFO setpiece that has to be seen to be believed: the concept created by the band is an amalgamation of innovative DIY solutions and Oklahoma City-based lighting and rigging specialist, Toucan Productions.

Owner Robin Alvis has known band leader Wayne Coyne for several years and was intrigued when Coyne asked him if he had read a news story featuring the band in Rolling Stone? In the article, Coyne had been asked what was in store for the band and he had suggested that for the upcoming tour the band would arrive on stage in a giant UFO, play the gig, get back in and take off! A few days later, the reporter asked Wayne to sketch his concept - which he promptly faxed over and was published.

Alvis explains: "I hadn't seen the sketches until Wayne showed them to me! We discussed some ideas of how we could

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UK - Audio-Technica Ltd. has contributed a collection of microphones and monitor headphones to the Charlie Jones Live Room, at the School of Sound recording in Manchester. The room has been built as part of The Charlie Jones Project commemorative scheme at SSR, inaugurated by Wigwam Acoustics Ltd, and dedicated to the memory of the celebrated freelance live sound engineer, who died last year after almost 30 years in the industry.

Microphones donated by Audio-Technica include the classic AT4040 side address large diaphragm condenser, and ATM350 low profile clip on cardioid condenser and ATM650 hypercardioid dynamic models from the new Artist Series. ATM250 dynamic and ATM250DE dual dynamic/ condenser element models are also included from the Artist Series, and U857QL gooseneck condenser mics, featuring the company's UniGuard RFI shielding, are provided for presentation applicatio

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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 - Bandit Lites UK is once again working with Production North on the much-anticipated Shayne Ward UK arena tour. Supplying full lighting production and support, Bandit UK chief executive, Lester Cobrin joins production manager, Jason Danter and lighting designer, Tellson James on this project.

"For a relatively small lighting package within the arena environment, Tellson James' creativity was far-stretched as he had to produce a show with fresh dynamic looks from the outset, and without any duplication throughout the entire set," Cobrin explained. "Tellson strategically positioned the hardware with precision, and it has certainly paid off."

The lighting design for Shayne Ward is based around a mid-stage box truss with six vertical floor-to-ceiling truss towers which were hung at regular intervals along the upstage truss, neatly framing and shaping the pe

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Germany - The Prolight+Sound show, held in Frankfurt from 28 to 31 March, will see the European debut of NuQ, the latest addition to Turbosound's range of professional loudspeakers.

NuQ systems are integrated, networkable sound reinforcement packages designed for portable professional audio applications. They are offered either as digitally self-powered units or as discrete loudspeakers used in conjunction with Turbosound controllers and power amplifiers. TurboDrive software gives real time control of Turbosound controllers and powered loudspeakers individually or over a network.

NuQ systems make use of advanced neodymium magnets, low distortion rotatable high frequency waveguides and pre-bent plywood construction to provide the highest possible performance, flexibility, handling and reliability, says the company. Early production units have already been road-tested by Britann

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UK - 5 Star Cases has supplied Warwickshire-based conference production and installation company, Insight Presentation Systems, with a range of bespoke flightcases to house a wide variety of equipment - including lighting fixtures, TFT Screens, projectors, microphones and many more elements. Insight first encountered 5 Star at PLASA 2006 - drawn into the stand by their eye-catching fish-tank flightcase - and were immediately impressed with the diversity of 5 Star's ranges and the rugged build quality of the trunks.

Since then, 5 Star has manufactured and supplied a steady stream of cases to the AV specialist. These have been selected from 5 Star's recently-launched lightweight EX brand through to their robust and popular Tour Grade specification, and has also included bespoke cases for Doughty stands, PAR 64 floor cans and HP printers. The EX range is particularly suited to ligh

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France - In an exceptional collaborative move, several of the leading PA companies in France have joined forces, with one another and with leading loudspeaker manufacturer Nexo S.A., to create a new shared-inventory scheme - Nexstep.

Amongst those already signed up to the agreement are ATech, Blue Squares, C.S.E., Euroson, Even On, Novascene, Melpomen, Twin Audio Live and Z Professionel, many of whom have been long-time customers of Nexo loudspeaker products. Negotiations are still underway and the list is expected to grow.

The basic concept of the Nexstep community is to share resources when and where necessary. All members of the group have purchased inventory of the new Geo D Series loudspeakers, Nexo's third-generation tangent-array system comprising D10 high-output array modules and Geo SUB cardioid subwoofers. To complete the package, they have added Nexo's NX242 digital

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UK - Trantec has announced that it has added to the potential of its recently launched S4.16 UHF radio mic system with the introduction of a 'Racked n Ready' version, which delivers the 16-channel system pre-fitted into a 19" professional flightcase. "The S4.16 system combines world-class manufacturing with an understanding of challenging RF applications," the company says, adding that the compact, turnkey system will appeal to theatres, schools, churches, audio-visual and MI applications.

The S4.16 features 16 selectable frequencies, and is also complete with antenna distribution, head amplifiers, cables and stands. These 16 frequencies incorporate the four license-free channels used in its sister product, Trantec's S4.4, which all operate indermodulation free. Its remote antennae is connected through Trantec's antenna distribution units, which gives the S4.16 ma

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Dubai - Formed in August of last year, SGMedia's Live Events division has immediately made an impact on the UAE's events market, the company reports. Started by UAE-based businessman Steve Graham and production manager Nick Groves, the business stemmed from a need in the market place for a more personal touch within the live events market. "Our clients expect and require more than just a crew and equipment; they like to know that we are on the end of the phone 24/7 and are willing and able to assist them with all of their production needs," states Nick Groves, the managing partner of the events and special projects division.

"I think that the recent success lies in the personal touch. We take on the brief and follow it through from concept to completion. We then sit down with the client post-event and do a thorough 'post mortem'. It enables us to constantly improv

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UK - ChamSys held extensive training courses in the range of MagicQ products which they report, proved to be extremely popular. Held in Southampton, the courses attracted attendees from as far as Korea, Spain, Belgium and Luxemburg, as well as those closer to home.

The course covered the use of all MagicQ products, including the range of PC Wings and MagicQ consoles. This included programming generic, intelligent and LED fixtures and interfacing to media servers. The course was aimed at all skill levels, as it worked from no knowledge to advanced programming.

The two days saw the meeting of users ranging from novices to experienced LD's, allowing them to share their knowledge, swap experiences and network with peers while learning new skills.

(Chris Henry)

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USA - After LG Action Sports World Championships lit up the Dallas Reunion Arena by day, Clay Paky's new Alpha Spot HPE 1200s illuminated the space by night when the Deftones kicked off a series of evening concerts.

LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, the fastest growing manufacturer of mobile phones worldwide, sponsored the Championships. The culmination of the 2006 LG Action Sports World Tour, the event brought together more than 200 of the world's biggest names in skateboarding, BMX riding, and aggressive inline skating who competed for action sports' biggest purse and most coveted title. Ticket holders were also treated to nightly concerts by five top-name bands who performed live on the main stage.

"The Championships occupied a full arena floor: On one side was a large half pipe, in the middle was the street course, and at the other end was a concert stage,

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The Netherlands - The Muziektheater in Amsterdam has replaced its analogue wired intercom infrastructure with a fully digital intercom solution from Clear-Com, including wireless beltpacks and matrix frames. The Netherlands Opera and Dutch National ballet both create and produce their own operas and ballets which involves a large amount of rehearsal time on stage where clear communications are vital. The Clear-Com FreeSpeak beltpacks provide a reliable, wireless system for Muziektheater stage, lighting, sound, and technical teams.

"Intercoms are the lifeline between the artistic staff and technicians," said Hans-Willem de Haan, head of sound and video department at Muziektheater. "We have a long-standing relationship with Clear-Com, so when we decided to move to a digital intercom system, we chose the Clear-Com 4000 matrix in combination with the FreeSpeak beltpac

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Russia - ChainMaster, the German manufacturer of chain hoists and chain-hoist controllers for stage and show use, has designed a VarioLift chain-hoist system for the Chekhov Theatre in Moscow capable of being used either as a mobile system or a fixed installation.

It is built around twelve of ChainMaster's new 250 kg VarioLifts, which are capable of speeds up to 35 metres per minute. For the project, ChainMaster is working in concert with the Rock Stage Agency, its local distribution partner.

The VarioLift from ChainMaster came onto the market in 1998 after an 18-month development and test phase. It offers maximum precision and reproducibility in the positioning of chain hoists, the company reports. The lift is based on an integrated, vector-controlled frequency converter, supplied by a high-impulse incremental encoder and operates with a positional accuracy of 0.2 millimetres

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USA - If you watched this year's Super Bowl on 4 February then you saw Tait Towers outwit the elements. Tait Towers built and installed a deployable roof and grid structure for the broadcast booth on field at Super Bowl XLI in Miami. Since the weather decided not to cooperate-it rained long and hard throughout the game-the structure kept the crew, cameras and lights dry. The structure also incorporated a rain gutter to channel the water off to the sides and away from the camera shots.

The Tait structure was a 4,000lb, 48'x32' unit that rose up 25' holding the lighting grid and a roof to keep everybody dry. It was used during the pre-game broadcast, half-time, and post-game coverage and had to deploy and retract in minutes. "From the time the game clock goes to zero at the end of the half, we then had the first commercials to deploy everything for a thirty seconds spot that

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USA - Chauvet Lighting, known internationally for their ranges of value-driven DJ lighting products have now launched a brand new range of high specification installation effects and moving heads aimed at the presentation, late night venue and live performance markets.

With a significant change in direction to meet the needs of the professional installation sector, Chauvet's brand new Q Series and Legend products bring a host of moving heads, scanners and colour washes.

The new Q Series includes a line of mirror and barrel scanners, moving yoke spots and washes from 150W right through to 575W. Leading the Q Series range, the Q-Spot 575 features striking colours, motorised focus, vector movement, full range dimming and 16-bit resolution, lending itself to high-end club install applications. The 16-channel unit comes equipped with an intense 575-watt HMI lamp with a life expecta

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Colombia - Alex Campos, arguably the most prominent gospel artist in Colombia today, and one of the best selling Hispanic gospel artists in America, recently recorded a live DVD named El Sonido Del Silencio-Acoustic/Unplugged-2007. The concert took place at the Iglesia Filadelfia Puente Largo in Bogota, Colombia in front of a 1000 strong live audience. Campos was joined by special guest stars including Marcos Witt, a Grammy winning, Latin Christian artist, Lilly Goodman; a female vocalist from the Dominican Republic and Dr.P, a Hip-Hop revelation artist, hailing from Puerto Rico.

Alvaro Llano, Campos' FOH sound engineer, also runs an Audio Consulting/Contracting Company in Bogota, whose main market is Houses of Worship. He recommends Adamson as a premiere choice, and wanted Adamson for the show.

He chose to use the Adamson SpekTrix line, a more compact line array system

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UK - When late last year KISS-FM and MOBO Award winning DJ Shortee Blitz announced a mixing competition on his Saturday night Power Mixradio show, with a pair of Denon's flagship DN-S3500 CD/MP3 players as the prize, the response was overwhelming.

One of the DJ's who had long been a fan of Shortee's innovative approach to hip hop and R&B, and was a regular listener to his show, was American DJ Josh Hodge (known professionally as DJ@War).

"To me Shortee is one of the few DJ's I have heard over here who carries a particular swagger and never misses a beat," he said. "He's one of the guys I'd be proud to say represents the best of what's going on in the UK."

This month DJ@War emerged as winner of the competition, having been judged to have produced the most creative 25-minute mix. He arrived at KISS-FM's London studios to be congratulated by Shortee B

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UK - Havering College in Hornchurch, Essex, has undergone more than a year of extensive refurbishment, with up to date technology being supplied and installed in its drama studio, music studio, dance studio, TV studio, photographic darkroom and cinema. Trafalgar Lighting have supplied, stage lighting, control equipment and curtains to the college.

The latest and most innovative part of the refurbishment process is the Havering Cube, a multipurpose performance and exhibition space. Here, Trafalgar Lighting supplied a 10m x 11m Litec Trussing structure over the space, supported on six Lodestar motors, enabling the structure to be brought down to floor level for rigging; 15 Andolite internally-wired lighting bars and socket boxes (giving a total of 96 socket outlets for lighting); 96 ways of Zero 88 Chilli dimming; 116 lanterns including ETC Source Four Zooms and fixed Profiles, CC

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UK - Funktion One, pioneering designers and manufacturers of high-power professional loudspeaker systems will be launching two new small size loudspeakers at ProLight+Sound Frankfurt in March. The F55 and F81 feature excellent bass definition and high vocal intelligibility, attributes not usually present in this genre of small size product. These new products would be an excellent choice for use in distributed systems and ancillary zones as well as allowing even the smallest venues to benefit from the exceptional clarity and purity of Funktion One sound.

Alongside the renowned Resolution Series touring and installation loudspeakers, new stage monitors and Dance Stack systems, Funktion One will also be exhibiting the new F221 double 21" bass enclosure. The F221 manages to reconcile the normally mutually exclusive parameters of seriously deep bass and upper bass definition de

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UK - D&M Professional Europe has announced the introduction of an external drive unit to help maximise sales of the new Denon HD2500 Professional Multi-Media Player.

This low-cost option takes advantage of the HD2500's standard Denon drive unit connection, which allows it to interface with either a Denon DN-D4000 or DN-D4500 twin CD/MP3 player, giving the customers the ability to play from CDs.

D&M Europe's product manager, David Morbey, says: "The HD2500 is an all-in-one media player and controller for professional DJs and was purpose-designed to offer complete command and control over Denon dual-tray CD/MP3 players such as the DN-D4500 and DN-D4000 drive section.

"Given he revolutionary nature of the DN-HD2500 we anticipated that many customers would be new to Denon and would not have one of these previous models; so we decided to take the CD drive unit from the

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USA - Innovative loudspeaker manufacturer Danley Sound Labs says it will introduce the world's first high output loudspeaker that is seamlessly arrayable both horizontally and vertically at the NSCA Expo 2007 in Orlando, Florida (15-17 March).

A sibling of Danley's SH-50, the company says its new SH-25 delivers 10dB more output with a perfect, 25° x 25° beamwidth. Users can hard pack multiple SH-25s in any direction to effectively create the world's only perfect multi-cell horn, the company says. The SH-25 will be demonstrated during NSCA in demo room W307A. Composed of a single 1" tweeter, four 4" mids, and eight 6.5" woofers, a single SH-25 covers the frequency spectrum evenly from 80Hz to 18kHz and sounds transparent and true even with no equalization, Danley claim. When four of the 28" x 28" x 42" units are packed together, the low-end d

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