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UK - ETC's PLASA Award for Innovation for its Eos lighting control system has meant a hat-trick of Awards for the company. This is the third such honour that the Eos has won, following product of the year awards at LDI at the end of 2006 and Showtech 2007 in June.

ETC's CEO Fred Foster says: "It is truly gratifying to receive this PLASA award, as well as the other recognitions that the Eos system has received. And it particularly validates the creative efforts of the Eos development team, lead by Dennis Varian, Anne Valentino and Dan Duffy."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Robe Lighting has launched a fresh new look logo and has undertaken a complete corporate re-branding exercise - including a name-change from 'Robe Show Lighting' to 'Robe Lighting', to reflect the current scope and breadth of Robe's products and the hugely increased range which also includes digital lighting and LED products.

In just five years since launching as an 'own brand', Robe has enjoyed enormous success worldwide, and the company says its new identity takes it forward into "a new level of operation".

Robe's presence can be found in all sectors of the professional entertainment and leisure market - from clubs and live music venues to casinos and cruise ships to buildings and architectural applications.

The new logo was introduced at the PLASA 07 exhibition, which also included a completely new booth with a strong contemporary design.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - For the second consecutive year, Stage One has been crowned 'Supplier of the Year,' receiving a Gold Award at the 2007 Event Awards.

"We are completely committed to providing a service for our clients that is second to none and winning this award is a reflection of the sheer hard work and professionalism that the entire Stage One team brings to bear on each and every project with which we are involved," said Simon Wood, sales director, stage and marketing.

Stage One won this award for their work on three high profile projects: the Asian Games, Eurovision Song Contest and Mercedes-Benz World.

(Jim Evans)

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

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UK - A million people thronged to the banks of the Thames during the weekend of 15-16 September to attend the Mayor's Thames Festival. This annual event - which takes place between Westminster and Tower Bridges - celebrates London's river with continuous open air arts, pyrotechnics, illuminations, river events, street theatre, massed choirs and music, and is designed to transform the public open spaces along the waterfront.

The Festival is now in its tenth year, and for the past seven of those, Suffolk-based Pyramid Audio has been nominated main contractor for the sound stages. For the first time this year they committed themselves to using a single loudspeaker brand - and filled all six stages with DragonSpirit systems.

Fleece, the owner of Pyramid Audio, starting using DragonSpirit speakers almost two years ago and has subsequently featured them at various events around the

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USA - FOH engineer Jason Raboin handles live sound duties for folk songstress and activist Joan Baez, Canadian alt-country rockers Cowboy Junkies and indie darlings Modest Mouse, among other artists. As the most recent string of Baez show dates transitioned to an intimate acoustic set, Raboin made some critical adjustments to his rig, adding a pair of A-Designs Audio Pacifica microphone preamps to help best deliver her message to international audiences.

"I started out as Joan's monitor engineer, but when the show became an acoustic trio, I started doing front-of-house and running monitors from there," Raboin reports from the Baez tour in Spain. "In order to make this work we bought a small digital desk, which provided fantastic routing options, but the audio quality left much to be desired. When half of the show is just voice and acoustic guitar, you really need

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UK - The latest new face representing Stage Electrics on the London scene is Mark Burnett, who joins Paul Roughton as part of Chris Patton's team of business development managers.

Burnett has made the move from the company's Cambridge branch where he has been working for the last two years; and will be concentrating on the West End and touring theatre business.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - 5 Star has reported a busy PLASA Show, with 'Robo Jock' - a joint concept venture between 5 Star, ABB Limited and Pioneer - proving "a real show-stopper" on the booth.

Robo-Jock was built to demonstrate a host of case design features available from 5 Star, including specialist wood machining, access flaps, vision panels, electrical facilities etc. It also illustrated 5 Star's design skills gained from many years experience in the field of case manufacture.

Robo-Jock was conceived and built by 5 Star. ABB, a world leader in Industrial Robotics, supplied the IRB140, six axis high resolution robot complete with custom made DVD suction device and 'operating finger'. ABB also supplied the controller and teach pendant, and also programmed all the robot movements to a brief from the 5 Star technical team.

Pioneer supplied a set of twin DVJ-1000s, seen for the first t

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UK - Lighting designer Mark Wynn-Edwards is lighting the current As I Lay Dying tour with 20 i-Pix Satellites as the core elements of his lighting rig.

The energetic San Diego based metalcore five-piece are currently undertaking an extensive European tour promoting their just released An Ocean Between Us album. It's their first visit to the UK and Europe with their own production.

When Wynn-Edwards, who has an array of heavy, metal and punk bands on his CV, was recommended for the job of LD, he was informed that there was an expedient budget for 'specials' and other than that, he'd have to rely on house rigs at each venue.

"I really needed a fixture that was mega-bright and spectacular that would flash, strobe and change colour very quickly to match the energy and intensity of the music," says Wynn-Edwards. "I also wanted to add a few elements of finess

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USA - The website of signal processing specialist Symetrix, along with the websites of its associated SymNet, Lucid, and AirTools brands, is now available in English, Mandarin, and Spanish, the three most widely used languages in the world.

Users will find the flags of each language's originating country in the upper left corner of every single page, allowing users to switch languages from anywhere within the site without losing their place. Because most users access the website to obtain information about particular products, Symetrix has ensured that all menus, all product pages, all product brochures, and all product data sheets are available in all three languages.

"Although Symetrix is headquartered in the US, our scope is truly global," commented Paul Roberts, director of sales for Symetrix. "We're excited to be able to extend the reach of our website to a

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UK - Martin Professional A/S has announced the hiring of Tony Browne as the new managing director of Martin UK. Browne replaces Dave Caulfield, who headed Martin UK since 2003.

Browne has more than 20 years of lighting industry experience and comes to Martin UK from a specification sales director position at Zumtobel Lighting UK, where he focused on specification sales to architects and electrical designers the past 13 years.

"I have enjoyed building up a strong and competent sales team at Zumtobel UK, but am now ready for a new challenge at Martin," Browne stated. "I am looking forward to a somewhat different market that has a huge potential, building on a very sound and successful structure already established in the UK. The MD position is the next logical step for me and I look forward to focusing my motivation and drive in order to make it a success."

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USA - ETC has released an update for its newest and most advanced lighting control system to date, the Eos. Version 1.2 is designed primarily to provide support for Net3 Radio Focus Remote (RFR) units and Universal 2x10 fader wings, although many other features and improvements have been added.

In addition to the RFR and fader wing support, other major enhancements in v1.2.0 include improved features such as Undo/Command history. This command allows you to sequentially undo the last actions taken, including record, update and delete functions. A Redo command is also included.

Up to 1000 snapshots can be stored and recalled, which reconfigure selected portions of the desk and external monitors to their condition at the point the snapshot was stored.

Curves may be defined and edited to 100 points of granularity. These then can be assigned to dimmers in patch, or to cues or cue

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USA - American DJ has added three new mobile effects to its On-The-Go Series - the Deco FX, Hyper FX and Warp FX. Targeted toward beginners as well as experienced performers, each of these additions to the On-The-Go series is modelled after a larger, more complex and/or more expensive American DJ effect that is not part of the series, says the company.

"With these three new fixtures, we've taken some of our best-selling effects and re-interpreted them to fit the On-The-Go model by scaling down their size and weight and simplifying their operation," said Scott Davies, general manager of the American DJ Group of Companies. "Our new Deco FX, Hyper FX and Warp FX are designed for anyone who wants an effortless and affordable way to enhance their performance with an interesting variety of great, professional-quality effects. If you're a DJ, musician or entertainer who

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UK - Forward Vision has announced the appointment of Darren Gaffey as product manager. He will oversee the development of the company's product portfolio. He brings over 25 years experience of product support and management roles in consumer electronics, He previously spent five years at Pioneer Europe NV, where he was responsible for product marketing, planning, and development for professional plasma displays across Europe and Russia.

Peter Beare, managing director at Forward Vision said: "Darren's appointment give us the additional expertise to take an already excellent reputation for providing high quality products to new heights."

(Jim Evans)

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Italy - Audio rental company Madema Spa provided a live sound reinforcement system for Primaggio on 1 May in Rome. Organised every year by the three major labour union organisations in Italy as a celebration for Workers' Day, Primaggio is one of Italy's most significant annual entertainment festivals. Staged in San Giovanni Plaza, Primaggio 2007 drew an audience estimated at one million people for an all-day celebration highlighted by contemporary music, political speeches and festivities.

After several years of importing sound services from an out-of-country contractor, the production team selected Madema, a local company, for the 2007 production. In preparation for the event, Madema's technical manager Beppe Andolina worked closely with Moreno Zampieri and Alessandro Gianelli of JBL's Italian distributor, Audio Equipment, along with JBL Professional's tour

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USA - Renkus-Heinz will present a panel discussion on Digital Audio Networking in Live Sound at the 123rd AES Convention, 5-8 October in New York.

Ralph Heinz, senior vice president of Renkus-Heinz, will moderate the discussion. Panelists include Dave Shadoan of Sound Image, Steve McCale of Digidesign, Mike Reeves of Dolby/Lake and Bill Evans, editor of FOH magazine. Rik Kirby, vice president of operations for Renkus-Heinz, and Joe Barnes of Whirlwind will also be on hand.

"We're proud to present the insights and experience of this diverse group of panelists to AES attendees," said Ralph Heinz. "From power users like Dave Shadoan to product experts like Mike Reeves and our own Rik Kirby, the panel offers a broad spectrum of viewpoints. We expect this seminar to be as informative and educational as the event we held at InfoComm earlier this year."

(

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UK - The last twelve months have been a busy and prolific period for French digital mixing console manufacturer, Innovason. Several products have made their debut this year.

The most important development is the FM-8VB 8-in/8-out plug-in effects module offering 32 effects engines. Compatible with all Innovason audio racks, the new module will ship in December.

Further processing capability comes in the form of the UM-8PO universal output module. Replacing all previous output modules from the company, the UM-8PO combines analogue and digital processed outputs for the first time ever in any digital mixing console. Equipped with eight XLR outputs that are configurable (in pairs) as analogue, AES or even ADAT, each output benefits from a powerful and comprehensive range of processing including 31-band graphic EQ that is easily upgradeable via firmware updates.

Another important

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Cyprus - Production specialists, AGC Ehitiki have invested in Soundcraft's digital programme. At this month's PLASA Show in London managing director Loris Demetriades confirmed an order for a new Soundcraft Vi6, with 64-channel Stagebox and local rack.

"We have been in operation for 20 years and have always used Soundcraft desks - we haven't looked at anything else," he states.

AGC Ehitiki specialises in providing concert support - scaling up from small gigs to major arenas - and committed to the purchase once they knew what was on offer. "We liked the simple, user-friendliness of the desk, with its intuitive interface, and of course the sound," said Demetriades. "Add to that the optical MADI card and the Lexicon FX card and it's a great package."

The system was supplied by Soundcraft's territorial distributor, ALA Equipment Company, whose manag

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USA - D-Tools reports that its System Integrator 5 (SI 5) has been named a 2007 Custom Retailer EXCITE Award recipient. Each year Custom Retailer invites nominations of products that stand out for being innovative, high performing and solutions oriented for the custom installation professional.

"We're pleased to be named as a 2007 EXCITE award winner," said Adam Stone, president and CEO of D-Tools. "We have developed SI 5 with the singular goal of making the best software in the industry, and our main objective is to deliver that innovative solution to enhance our customers businesses. We are truly honoured to be recognised for our company's achievement."

(Jim Evans)

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Canada - The Wright Theatre at Mount Royal College Conservancy in Alberta, Calgary, has the distinction of being the first theatre in Western Canada to install the PowerLift motorised winches from J.R. Clancy.

Albert O'Neil, manager of conservatory support at Mount Royal oversaw the rigging renovation that included the installation of eight variable speed PowerLifts and a SceneControl 500 console at the school, which always needs to balance creating a strong teaching environment and budget concerns.

"Staying on top of technology is critical for technical theatre students," explains O'Neil, "Broadening the scope of available, viewable technologies ensures that students are not brought up only in the past and are open to developing technologies and trends. Yet, we are mindful that we must teach students equipment that they will find in the field and not every thea

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Canada - Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing system was recently employed to manage a gala evening in Montreal, Canada, with comedy and musical entertainment, including one of French Canada's top touring artists, Dany Bédar.

The sold out event, entitled Mom & Company, was held in Montréal's 2,200-capacity premiere performance venue, Theatre St-Denis 1. The variety show was themed as a celebration of parenthood, featuring 2 MC's and three live acts, including Bédar, and multi-media comedy duo, Chick & Swell.

An iLive system - comprising an iDR10 stage rack and iLive-144 control surface - managed FOH sound. The demanding show utilised a total of 56 mic inputs, 16 digital inputs, and eight digital outputs. In addition to the 54 mics, digital inputs included two CD players, three additional effects processors and three VTRs.

Head of Sound for the eve

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USA - In a summer full of reunion tours one of the biggest tours doesn't even involve a rock band. After a highly successful tour in Australia, Walking with Dinosaurs - the Live Experience is set for a two-year trek across North America.

The show is based on the 1999 Emmy award winning, six part series Walking with Dinosaurs that originally aired on the BBC. Tomcat reports that it joined creative forces with Upstaging and Fader Higher (Jake Berry) to create some custom lighting pods for the tour.

Each of these pods is secured to a cross of truss on top of a tower. The cross consists of a 'spine' truss (9' 6"/2.9m in length) plus two smaller trusses that attach to the spine's centre. Each of these crosses are supported by a vertical truss that is attached to the underside of the spine truss resulting in a total assembly that is 81.5" (2.07m) tall. The ac

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