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UK - The Sound Division Group were recently asked to provide a combined public address and movie projection system for an Evening of Tribute to Sir Nicholas Winton MBE, held at the Kinloss Synagogue, North London.

Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, Sir Nicholas Winton organised the rescue of 669 Czech Jewish children from the Nazi death camps in an operation known as the Czech Kindertransport.

The evening commenced with a showing of the 2002 International Emmy Award-winning documentary film, The Power Of Good, followed by an interview with Sir Nicholas Winton by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis of the Kinloss Synagogue.

At the conclusion of the interview, Rabbi Mirvis unexpectedly announced that he would invite two 'surprise guests' onto the stage - Kathe

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Germany - Meyer Sound will make its first-ever appearance at Showtech in Berlin (19-21 June), the international trade show for stage and convention technologies professionals. Through demonstrations and displays, attendees will have the opportunity to experience a full complement of products, including the new UPJunior ultracompact VariO loudspeaker, LCS Series Matrix3 audio show control system, and the M'elodie ultracompact high-power curvilinear array loudspeaker.

Meyer will host demonstrations of Matrix3 with SpaceMap multichannel panning, Wild Tracks hard disk playback, and the CueMixer compact control surface. Matrix3 is used in a broad variety of productions and attractions, including numerous Cirque du Soleil shows. UPJunior and the M1D-Sub ultracompact subwoofer will also be in use in the demo room.

"We see Showtech as being an important international event

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UK - Since 1951, London's Royal Festival Hall (RFH) has attracted one of the most diverse audiences of any UK venue. For over 50 years it has hosted a wide-ranging programme of classical and world music, rock, pop, jazz and dance. Designed and built in just three years, the Royal Festival Hall is part of the iconic South Bank Centre, which grew from the post war Festival of Britain Exhibition that celebrated the wonders of British design and technology.

The RFH closed for a £91m refurbishment two years ago and finally reopened in June this year. An essential element of this transformation has been the total overhaul of the lighting system. With a brief from theatre consultants Carr and Angier to increase flexibility and efficiency while maintaining low ambient noise, specialist installation contractor Northern Light has installed the latest ETC dimming, networking and ligh

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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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USA - Spectrum Manufacturing and AC Lighting have announced the retirement of David George as president of the companies.

A statement says, "In the nine years of directing Spectrum Manufacturing, David has been involved in the growth and initiative that has made the company a leading producer of highly innovative entertainment technology products. david has also played a key role in the development of AC Lighting. The staff of both companies would like to thank David for his hard work and efforts over the years and wish him a very happy retirement for the future."

As of 1 June 1, JF Canuel became president and CEO of Spectrum Manufacturing Inc. and is responsible for the command and overview of the operation of all business for the company. He remains vice president of AC Lighting Inc.

John Evans is promoted from his role of vice president sales and marketing to pr

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UK - This week at ABTT, Selecon debuts several new luminaires including the long throw Toru 4º-8º followspot, the third and final model from the Performer Series range of followspots. Previously seen in pre-production mode and now in full production, the Toru 4º-8º Followspot features a comprehensive control suite with CTO filter, 24-leaf iris, cutters, dowser and diffusion frost; built-in universal 100V-250V electronic power supply and integrated 6-colour changer.

Sporting a fresh new look, the updated Acclaim Fresnel and PC introduce heat management to 500W / 650W luminaires - a feature which ensures operators can focus these stage lighting workhorses without the need for gloves. The new Acclaim luminaires also include the integrated safety bond design feature alongside Selecon's well known mains power isolation solution ensuring full compliance with European Standards for

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USA - This month (June) Crown International celebrates its 60th anniversary. From its humble beginnings in 1947, the operation has grown to become one of the world's largest and most respected manufacturers of power amplifiers and microphones for professional audio markets.

"Six decades after Mr. Moore first established this company, Crown still adheres to its founder's reputation for creating innovative products that are both sonically superior and highly reliable," says Crown International president Mark Graham. "And with the resources and support of Harman International combined with our dedicated network of employees, reps, distributors and dealers around the globe, Crown is well-poised to carry on that legacy for yet another 60 years."

Crown's history traces back to an Elkhart, Indiana minister named Clarence C. Moore (1904-1979). Moore, a longtime rad

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UK - The current production of The Drowsy Chaperone at London's Novello Theatre is lit by Ken Billington with Brian Monahan and utilises over 200 ETC Source Fours and over 50 Vari-Lite luminaires, all supplied by PRG Europe. The company also supplied Coloram scrollers and two Grand MA control desks.

"The Novello is much smaller than the Broadway theatre where the show played previously. We've had to cut the rig by half and light primarily from front of house. It first opened in May last year, so I went to watch it a couple of times to refresh myself before thinking about how it could move across. I looked at which lights are only rarely used and decided to rationalise and simplify based on that," says Billington.

He continues, "I broke plenty of rules when lighting this show - such as the first 3.5 minutes being in darkness. I was always taught that if th

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UK - Formula Sound has announced a significant extension to the range of Middle East markets where its products are represented. The company has appointed its existing Dubai distributor, Reference Audio, to represent Formula Sound products in Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Yemen and Qatar.

"We know that quality is an absolutely crucial requirement for customers in this market and quality has been a recognised hallmark of our products for the past 30 years, so we feel our products are ideally suited" says Formula Sound's Barry Penaligon.

"Combining this with the considerable experience that Reference Audio has and the service levels it provides was a logical step to take our products into this region. We are delighted to extend the scope of our dealings with Reference Audio and look forward to doing good business with them in the future."

(Jim

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South America - The new REV wireless system from Electro-Voice got its first taste of world-class touring with Latin music superstar Ricky Martin on the recent ten-week South and Central American leg of his current Black and White world tour.

Monitor Engineer Raphael 'Raf' Alkins and RF Engineer William Benavides used the REV, the latest generation of EV wireless, on electric and acoustic guitars.

"We worked with (Electro-Voice dealers) AV Tech Services to demo the REV systems and loved what we heard," Alkins says. "AV Tech Services also made it clear that an investment in EV hardware includes the best manufacturer support out there. At this level there's no room for excuses; equipment needs to deliver, and any tech support is time critical. We obviously had questions about the new systems when setting up for the tour, and we got immediate assistance when

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International - In May, Mana, Mexico's most successful rock band, launched a year-long world tour with shows planned in over 70 cities in the USA, Latin America, and Europe. The tour's first shows were at the San Diego Sports Arena and the Universal (Gibson) Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The US leg of the tour will culminate at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Pro Color from Guadalajara is the production contractor for the tour, providing sound, lighting, and rigging. Included in the equipment specified for the tour are four ProPower RPD power distribution racks, over 400ft of ProSpan truss, and over 20,000ft of ProPlex data and ProCable power cables.

Says Javier Barba, the principal of Pro Color: "The ProPower distro racks are the best. They look great, have many useful features and we have found them to be completely reliable. On the Mana Tour, we use two on each side

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Italy - A delegation from the UK's STLD - the Society of Television Lighting Directors - visited the Clay Paky premises last month and met the chairman, Pasquale Quadri, and his staff.

The purpose of the visit was to enable the two sides to get to know each other better and was organised by Bernie Davis, The visitors had the opportunity to examine the Italian company's products in detail, in particular the Alpha line.

Stuart Gain, chairman of STLD, comments: "It was a real pleasure to see the Alpha range of luminaires and the factory. The quality of the product is really high and I hope the STLD can assist Clay Paky in spreading the word and putting them back where they belong in the UK market."

Enrico Caironi of Clay Paky adds: "Constant contact with leading figures in the profession is fundamental to feel the pulse of the market. The STLD guys are all very e

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UK - The Pet Shop Boys have enjoyed such success with their 2006 tour that it has been extended well past its first anniversary; the Fundamental Tour has just completed a two-week leg in the UK, after travelling to Australia, South America and Europe. The show is now a more streamlined production, with fewer props and depending heavily on a central video projection screen, programmed and supplied by PSL.

In its first incarnation, the Pet Shop Boys production drew on uniquely-designed mobile 3-D cubes supplied by PSL which could act as projection screens, light boxes and dancers' props. In the interests of reducing the weight of the travelling set and making it more tourable, the cubes have gone. Instead, there's a bigger role for the central projection screen, directed by video designer Julian Hogg from PSL.

Having designed the video format of the first shows, Julien Ho

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Europe - Lycian Stage Lighting and PRG Europe have entered into a comprehensive distribution and service agreement. Effective from June 2007 PRG Europe will be responsible for sales, service and warranty claims for all of Europe.

PRG Europe's commercial director Philip Norfolk comments: "We are very excited to have this globally recognised expert brand here at PRG Distribution. Our existing and new European partners can look forward to being able to access these excellent followspots from a more local source in the future."

PRG Europe will offer expertise in all areas required, to "fully serve the European followspot market - including maintaining stock quantities of products it believes are appropriate for the European market, all of which will be CE compliant".

An inventory of optical, mechanical, electronic and hardware parts will ensure a self-suffici

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USA - Color Kinetics Inc and High End Systems Inc have announced a global licensing agreement which they say "reflects a continuing surge in the use of LED sources for stage and event lighting". The agreement sees High End Systems license Color Kinetics' patent portfolio to develop its first line of products incorporating multi-colour LEDs. High End says it will now be able to enhance its product range with the many proven aesthetic and practical advantages of LED sources. The company's initial product offering will combine conventional sources with LEDs for accent purposes.

The royalty-bearing license will apply to sales of applicable High End Systems products in all markets covered by Color Kinetics' patent portfolio. The agreement also calls for Color Kinetics to receive a royalty-free license to specific High End patents.

"High End is best known for our focu

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UK - Seven of i-Pix new mega-bight BB LED Washlights were used to light a performance in Bath Abbey by Flamenco legend Paco Pena as part of the 2007 Bath International Music Festival.

The large scale performance united Pena with the 25 strong Bath Camerata Singers, his own five flamenco singers, three guitarists, a percussionist and a flamenco dancer. The show followed on from the success of last year's Brian Eno collaboration with Bath Camerata at the Abbey.

Bath Festival's lighting designer James Loudon wanted some dramatic intense visuals to match the spirituality of the performance, but rather than "Whiz-bang effects, it needed sympathetic illumination on both the performers and the building" he explains. He also wanted to do something completely different to highlight the building's amazing architecture.

"I have known the i-Pix team from the start and so

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World - XL Touring Video is the video contractor for Keith Urban's 2007 Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy World Tour.

XLTV worked with production designer/show director Marc Brickman, to supply a state of the art 29ft x 56ft Barco Olite 510 LED display, which is one of the largest single displays ever used on a tour.

The system operates completely in 1080P at 24 frames per second. The pack consists of five Sony HDC-1500 High Def cameras, one of which is mounted on a flying Panavision Libra Head, a MFS 2000 switcher, two V1-HD Doremi playback units and recording on Sony HDW 2000 VTR's.

The tour kicked off mid April in Munich, Germany and wraps up end of September in Edmonton, AB, with Chuck Hull as tour manager, Mark Miles as production manager, Bob Hartnett as video director and touring on behalf of XLTV is EIC/Danny Whetstone, LED technicians Chris Campbell, Mark Inscoe,

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USA - ETC reports that more than 2m Source Four spotlights have now been shipped worldwide.The Source Four family comprises over ten different versions - including Source Four juniors, PARs, zooms, PARNels, MultiPARs and HIDs, as well as an automated profile, the Source Four Revolution.

The 2m+ mark is one of two milestones for the Source Four this year. In November, at LDI 2007, the brand will celebrate its 15th birthday - 15 years, that is, since the classic spotlight was introduced to the industry at LDI 1992.

ETC is inviting Source Four fans worldwide to express their spirit and tell their own Source Four stories by sending in testimonial video clips. ETC will then feature some of those Source Four clips on www.etcconnect.com and will include a select group in a grand finale montage to be unveiled on its web site during LDI 2007.

(Jim Evans)

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Denmark - DPA Microphones received the King Frederik IX's award at a ceremony on Fredensborg Castle in recognition of the manufacturer's outstanding contribution to Danish export. The award was presented by His Royal Highness the Prince Consort to DPA CEO Lars Friis Ostergaard and director of business development Morten Stove.

"I am very proud that the committee has chosen DPA Microphones this year," says Stove. "The company is still quite young, and the growth in our markets in this short time is fantastic. We are continuing this growth, and by building an additional manufacturing plant we are ready to follow up on our success. This award is definitely going to help us increase our export share."

It was emphasised that DPA received this award in recognition of the company's continuation of a Danish long tradition; that of combining state-of-the-art technol

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USA - Furman Sound has announced the availability of free online videos that discuss AC power problems and solutions.

Available via the Furman Sound website, the short series of videos provides installers and customers alike with the opportunity to learn about AC power management through dynamic content such as real-world installation examples, active product demos, and 3D modeling of Furman's products and circuitry.

The online videos are divided into two groups: technology and product solutions. Each section is then broken down into short chapters, affording viewers a fast and easy way to brush up on any of Furman's proprietary technologies or products. Visitors to the Furman web site can watch all or part of the videos, which are available with or without chapter breaks.

"Power management is an essential element for the enhanced performance and protection of sensitive

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USA - Apollo Design Technology is celebrating its 15 year anniversary as a supplier to the entertainment industry. Founded in 1992 by Joel and Keersten Nichols, Apollo has been recognised for its innovative leadership in gobo manufacturing, development and distribution of other lighting effects products.

"The environment that existed at the time we started Apollo was a good match to our core business philosophy and allowed us to build a good foundation," states President Joel Nichols. "We have been fortunate to find employees that continue to embrace these guiding principles, and together we look forward to reaching additional milestones."

(Jim Evans)

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Turkey - Professional audio specialists, SF Dis Ticaret AS, recently carried out installations in three of Istanbul's high-profile retail stores, using ZonePRO 1260 devices from dbx Professional Products as their digital processing solution.

The projects have taken them to the commercial hub of Taksim, where the Levi's Store is based, across to Bagdat Street (on the Anatolian side) to the Nike Store, and finally to Levent, and the prestigious new Kanyon Shopping Mall which houses Harvey Nichols.

SF and its dealer companies maintain regular contact with the leading architectural and consulting companies in Turkey, such as Yalin Tan & Jeyan Ülkü, who handled the Levi's and Nike store projects. The Harvey Nichols project came via SF's dealer, S&S Music Company, with whom they have enjoyed an association extending back more than a decade.

While all the stores required a high-q

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