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UK - PSL rounds off a year of impressive expansion in the live music industry with new clients the Arctic Monkeys and repeat business for the nutty boys, Madness. A PSL team, led by Rod Martin, was at Alexandra Palace to provide video and effects projection, live action screens and a PPU camera system for the biggest indoor show by the UK's biggest indie band - the Arctic Monkeys.

In 2007, PSL has delivered projects for some prestigious names, including tours for the Pet Shop Boys, Faithless and Razorlight, as well as showing the industry a good time at gong shows including the Vodafone Live Music Awards and the Urban Music Awards.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Glasgow's newest bridge, Finnieston Bridge at Pacific Quay, is lit up using LEDs from Dialight Lumidrives, the UK based LED technology provider. Carmichael Lighting Ltd used colour changing LEDs, controlled by 40 Colourdriver 36 modules, to create a dramatic effect on the new 169m long road bridge across the River Clyde.

The £20.3m Finnieston Bridge is a dramatic new landmark for Glasgow, featuring a central arch span which crosses the river at an angle between the roundabout atBroomielaw/Finnieston Street and the south side of the river.

The bridge accommodates four lanes; two dedicated to public transport and two for private and commercial traffic, with additional pedestrian and cyclist paths. It has a main span of 96m (314.9ft) with two end spans of 36.5m (119.7ft).

Gordon Routledge, managing director at Dialight Lumidrives says: "LEDs provide a superb lig

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Russia - MTV Russia has invested in new Robe moving lights for an upgrade to their busy Moscow Studios. This produces a host of different programmes, from news to assorted music shows, including the Chart Show and popular talent competition, Total Contact.

The Robes were specified by MTV Russia's lighting designer Ruslan Makliatsou and head of lighting Igor Korbeineko, following a collective decision made by all the studio's lighting operators and technicians. The fixtures are primarily concentrated in the ceiling lighting rig at the main Studio 1, run by a Jands Hog console, although they can be moved to other studios and locations as needed.

"We chose Robe because it offered us the most flexibility and best value for money for our available budget, "states Makliatsou, adding that they already knew that Robe was a robust and reliable product - essential for a

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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 - The first official training sessions for ETC's newest full size lighting control system, Eos, have been released by the lighting, dimming and control system manufacturer.

Sessions specifically for Strand 500 users are to be held on 9 January, 6 February and 26 March 2008, while sessions for operators and programmers with or without previous experience will be on 10 January, 20 February and 5 March. Class, which is free, is from 10am to 5.30pm, with lunch and breaks included. However, there is a limit of just six people at the sessions, which are to be held at ETC's west London office, known as the Playhouse at Gypsy Corner. Students will learn basic Eos functionality, and both experienced and novice programmers will find the session a useful introduction to the powerful programming style offered by the control system.

Working with pre-visualisation software, attend

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Sheffield company tdc has expanded its operations with two key appointments. The audio visual and live event specialists have taken on Andy Briggs, from Worksop, to head up the company's production and project management division. Andy has more than 20 years industry experience and previously worked as production manager at Harrogate Conference Centre and project manager at national AV company MCL.

Christopher Laffey, from Huddersfield, has also joined tdc and will head up the company's sales division. He has more than 25 years sales experience working for Sony in the broadcast division - 18 years in the installation of audio and video systems.

The appointments come as tdc is currently in discussions about expanding its operations in to Manchester. Eamonn Hunt, director at tdc, said: "We are delighted to welcome Andy and Christopher to the company at what is a very exciting time

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Egypt - Wireless Solution Sweden recently helped make a concert at the Pyramids of Giza worthy of a Pharaoh. Beladi - A Night at the Pyramids was the first "made for television "concert ever recorded at this historical site and it will air worldwide this winter. The concert featured Quebec singing superstar Chantal Chamandy, accompanied by the Cairo Symphony Orchestra performing for thousands of spectators, with the pyramids and the Great Sphinx providing a spectacular backdrop.

Lighting designer Matthieu Larivée of Luz Lighting Design and assistant LD Valy Tremblay of Proluxon designed a colourful array of effects on the massive structures using almost 600 fixtures to achieve the perfect look to accompany this historical event. The landscape provided the biggest challenge, the shortest distance from console to fixture was approximately 1000m (.6 miles) a

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UK - AKG Unsigned Heroes, the British and Irish unsigned band competition sponsored by mic manufacturer AKG and their UK distributor Harman Pro UK, is set to return in 2008. In keeping with the competition's aims of encouraging young musical talent, this year's competition is presented in association with Strummerville, the music charity which develops and promotes new music in the memory of Clash co-founder Joe Strummer. As a result of the charity's involvement, this year's AKG Unsigned Heroes winners will play live on the Strummerville stage at next year's Glastonbury Festival.

The winning band will also have one of their tracks remixed by UNKLE's Aidan Lavelle, and receive four VIP tickets to the new ZooThousand festival taking place in July amongst the beautiful natural surroundings of Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Ashford, Kent. This year's Unsigned Heroes runners-up wi

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Australia - Miss Saigon is one of the most successful musicals in the world - seen by over 33 million people, in over 25 countries and played in 12 different languages. This time around producer Cameron Mackintosh has created an entirely new version of Miss Saigon which is just as exciting and even more emotionally involving than the original production.

The original Australian production of Miss Saigon ran for 16 sold out months in 1995 but only in Sydney as the show was simply too large to fit into any other Australian theatre. Rather than cut the show down in size, Cameron Mackintosh decide to meet the challenge of creating something new.

This new version of Miss Saigon uses cutting edge visual techniques and a new set which vividly recreates the streets of Vietnam and Bangkok. The memorable final helicopter flight from the roof of the American Embassy is achi

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UK - Behind the glamour and glittering celebrities of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, Soundcraft technology is hard at work.

Entertainment pro audio specialist, John Henrys chose a Soundcraft Vi6 live sound console to handle all the floor sound, VT and voiceovers. As general manager, Robert Harding explains, this is no ordinary show. "I know, when you're looking at it at home, you might think 'God that's easy' but it's a very complicated show. We have about 54 channels going into it and we're using about twenty of the outputs."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Philips Solid-State Lighting Solutions, the new entity formed by Philips' acquisition of Color Kinetics, has completed its new 50,000sq.ft corporate headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts - merging the principles of "green" design with innovative uses of its LED lighting technology throughout. As the global R&D centre for Philips' entire LED luminaires business, the new space is both a testing ground and showplace for the future of light, the company says.

"The unveiling of our new multi-million dollar headquarters is a fitting end to our 10th and brightest year in the business. We've brought a whole new category of industry-changing technology to the famed 'tech corridor' of Massachusetts' Route 128, and we're well equipped to grow and foster on-going innovation in our one-of-a-kind showplace. It's truly a canvas for the future of light that LEDs will en

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USA - Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan, is well known for its competitive athletics teams, and the private, liberal arts college's sprawling athletic grounds have continued to expand with the recent opening of the Arrington Ice Arena. The venue boasts a regulation size hockey rink with spectator seating and standing capacity for more than 1000, and will host the school's men's and women's Bulldogs hockey teams, as well as synchronized skating and open public skating for the local Adrian community.

As with most ice arenas, acoustics are not among the venue's strongerfeatures, and with the 28-foot ceiling exacerbating reflectivity issues, intelligibility for the announcements was a significant challenge at the outset. "Particularly for synchronized skating events, the sound needed to be distributed evenly and without a delay pattern," observes Joe Jenkins of Adrian-bas

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UK - Sub Zero, Essex University Student Union's new venue - complete with innovative technical integration by PAI - has recently won two coveted industry Awards - from BEDA and Installation Europe magazine.

Formally known as The Underground, the traditional 'black hole' student union bar was transformed into a modern multipurpose venue, complete with a KV2 sound system, BSS Soundweb DSP, Avolites Pearl lighting control desk and Robe moving light fixtures. All DMX lighting control data is distributed via Ethernet. The refit has dramatically increased the venue's capacity, as well as making it more versatile.

PAI's design team collaborated closely with the SU's general manager Antony Blackshaw and interior designers/architects Heron Design, who conceived a new look and ambience for Sub Zero. The technical integration also played a vital role in the physical and psychologi

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UAE - The second Middle East Lightign Design Awards will take place during the PALME Middle East show (Dubai's International Exhibition Centre, 27-29 April 2008). Outstanding lighting design achievements in the GCC territories will be celebrated at an Awards Gala dinner on 27 April at The Dusit Hotel, Dubai, UAE.

Submissions are now being accepted and those eligible for entry are any projects completed between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007 within the Middle East Region, including the GCC, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Iran and Egypt. The deadline for entries is 31 January 2008.

The categories include: Public Buildings (historic buildings, museums, galleries, airports, places of worship and government buildings); Exterior (building facades, bridges, structures, public spaces, landscaped areas and street lighting); Hospitality & Leisure (hotels, entertainment centres, the

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Singapore - Chitty Chitty Bang Bang completed its final night at the Esplanade theatre in Singapore last weekend. Following 24 successful months touring the UK, the production was loaded into a container and shipped out to Singapore in October. With just seven days to installation and commissioning the entire show, Stage Technologies' rental engineers worked hard to get the show's automation system up and running.

The first containers arrived at the loading doors of the Esplanade on Sunday 21 October. With two full days of hard graft, all the equipment was unloaded and put into position backstage; the show deck was laid down with the floor-track winches already installed inside and the Performer Flying sliders were motored up into the air by Chain Hoists on lengths of truss.

For the next three days, Stage Technologies' engineers set about commissioning the automation sy

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The Netherlands - Employees at Duran Audio's factory in Zaltbommel, in The Netherlands, have been gifted an extra Christmas "holiday".

The imposed "holiday" was not a present from Santa, but instead was due to a power failure in the Zaltbommel area caused by one of the world's most formidable war machines, an Apache Helicopter. Just after 7pm on Tuesday evening The Royal Netherlands Air Force Apache helicopter touched power cables crossing the River Waal, part of the Rhine, causing a loss of power to over 50,000 households and many local businesses, including Duran Audio's factory.

Gerrit Duran, founder and President of Duran Audio, commented: "I was at home on Wednesday evening when I heard a strange low frequency sound. I went outside to investigate and to my amazement I saw an Apache helicopter with its search lights activated looking for a clear sp

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China - The 2007 Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival and PPRD Tourism Promotion Convention got off to an impressive start last month with a grand opening ceremony in front of 40,000 spectators held in Tianhe Sports Centre, Guangzhou in southern China. An InnovaSON Sy80 digital mixing console presided at FOH for this spectacular event.

The annual tourism gala - sponsored by China's National Tourism Administration and the People's Government of Guangdong province - is a massive week-long festival offering a series of events and conventions in cities all around the province and attracting huge numbers of foreign visitors. However, la pièce de résistance was undoubtedly the grand opening ceremony which began with the depiction of the epic Legend of the Ship of the Blue Ocean and terminated with a spectacular fireworks display. Performances from popula

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UK - A.C. Lighting presented the prestigious British Racing Drivers' Club's Richard Seaman Trophy to F1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the 2007 BRDC Annual Awards Luncheon at the Savoy in London.

Taking place on the eve of the 80th Anniversary of the British Racing Drivers' Club, the Awards celebrate the achievements of the international racing season. Over 400 people gathered in The Savoy's Lancaster Ballroom for the star-studded event, which was packed with motor racing's finest heroes from past and present.

The Richard Seaman Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Club's Gold Star points scoring system. Lewis Hamilton's 2007 F1 achievements led him to top the Club's Gold Star table by a margin of 34 points at the end of his maiden season.

A.C. Lighting's UK sales director, Phil Capstick, presented the award to Lewis Hamilton along with BRDC President Damon Hill. Once on stage,

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Japan - Tokyo Bunka Kaiken, often referred to as the classical music Hall of Fame, is one of Japan's premier classical music venues, hosting everything from ballet, opera to full orchestral concerts and more. First opened in 1961, it also enjoys the reputation of being one of the oldest and most venerable concert halls in the country, and has welcomed an array of internationally renowned performers over the years. The smaller of the two halls, which is usually reserved for more intimate events such as chamber music, recitals and small ensembles, has recently undergone a sound system upgrade which included four C 16:4 dedicated installation amplifiers from Lab.gruppen installed by Yamaha Sound Technologies, Inc.

The C 16:4 is a mid-power 4-channel amplifier in the C Series family of dedicated installation amplifiers, delivering 400W per channel into 8 ohms. According to Shin Yama

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UK - A joint venture between QSoft Consulting and Vince Power Music Group (VPMG) has led to the opening of the new Lo-Profile gay bar in Soho's Wardour Street. This becomes a sister club to the operators' nearby flagship, Profile.

Opening seven nights a week, Lo-Profile aims to inject new life into the current gay London nightclub environment and represents part of a total £1.6 million total investment.

The SSE Group were contracted to provide the new audio infrastructure for this 450-capacity basement venue. Emma Barwell, who runs SSE's London operation, says that the company worked seamlessly alongside VPMG's regular venue designers, Shaun Clarkson ID, choosing a Martin Audio AQ system for its ability to meet both the aesthetic and dimensional requirements.

Industrial in design and intimate in feel, Lo-Profile is approached via an infinity tunnel which is lit with a

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USA - Jazz musician Jon Burr has purchased a DPA 4023 compact cardioid microphone for use on his bass.

Burr was one of the performers on this year's annual Jazz Cruise, which is supported by the Danish microphone manufacturer. Long time DPA ambassador Gary Baldassari was again chief sound engineer for the week-long cruise, working closely with five other engineers who included DPA co-founder Morten Stove together with American engineers Jim Fay, Gary Faller, Mark Deadman, Frank Roher and Jeff Watson.

The cruise on board the MS Westerdam sailed from Fort Lauderdale, calling at Nassau, St Thomas, St Maarten and Half Moon Cay, to the accompaniment of some of the greatest contemporary jazz musicians.

Burr, performing with Houston Person, was introduced to DPA mics by his studio engineer, who persuaded him to try to 4023 for live work. "I found it to be incredibly accurate a

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UK - Maidstone Studios switched on their Christmas lights on Saturday 1 December in partnership with Martin Professional and Richard Martin Lighting (RML). The lighting will be in place until 31 December and everyone is welcome to go and have a look at them.

The whole of the front of the studio was lit by RML with Martin Professional's new LC Videowalls in reception. The Martin lighting that RML supplied included LC 2140 Video panels, Maxedia Compact, Exterior 200 Wash and an Exterior 1200 Image Projector.

Kenton Oxley from Maidstone Studios commented: "It's about showing what the local area can achieve with the efforts of two local businesses; we hope that our Christmas lights will become a local landmark for years to come." Nationally it's about launching the LC panels in readiness for a number of light entertainment projects booked for 2008 for a range of internat

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