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USA - American DJ's new Mega Pixel LED is a long, thin colour bar with 384 red, green and blue LEDs that "produce eye-popping moving patterns and chases for a truly one-of-a-kind visual display".

Measuring a stretched-out 1m in length, the Mega Pixel LED is designed for adding drama, colour and movement to a nightclub or band performance, as well as highlighting a display, retail area or trade show booth. The elongated effect has 128 red, 128 green and 128 blue 5mm LEDs, which are arranged in 24 color banks of 16 LEDs each. Along with this massive militia of LEDs, the Mega Pixel LED has strobe, chase and colour-mixing effects that run at speeds from fast to slow, as well as 0-100% electronic dimming.

Using a DMX controller, operators can go a step further and blend the

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New Zealand - When North Harbour Stadium in Auckland approached Marshall Day Acoustics to propose a new sound system for their 12,000 seat grandstand, expectations were high. Having suffered 10 years with a budget-driven and ageing system and looking to secure the stadium's future as a nation-leading outdoor arena, the new sound system had to be capable and flexible enough to cater for all possible audience and event requirements, and be future proof to suit its expansion plans.

Enter Audio Telex in conjunction with Marshall Day, who developed a comprehensive state-of-the-art design using EASE acoustic simulation software and based around Renkus-Heinz loudspeakers.

This is the first major Renkus-Heinz stadium sound system in Australasia and stadium marketing manager Chris Kemp comments, "We don't want to tell people we have a new sound system, we just want them to hear th

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Ireland - Green Hippo's Hippotizer media servers are frequently seen on big spectaculars and events but it is sometimes easy to overlook their involvement in the quieter projects. Quiet is perhaps the wrong word when describing the phenomenal performances of dancer Colin Dunne, whose latest solo work, Out of Time, Green Hippo has just sponsored.

Performed at the Glór Theatre, Ennis in February, before going on tour later this year, Out of Time explores Dunne's private world as a dancer rooted in the Irish step dance tradition. It looks to the past for simple beginnings as he examines his relationship with a tradition that has shaped his life.

Dunne wanted to find a way to present traditional Irish dance within a contemporary setting and an introduction to Green Hippo's Sean Westgate by the show's director, Sinead Rushe, was the beginning of an evolutionary, crea

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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 - Litestructures has been building Westlife's stage sets for seven years now, but their latest is the biggest yet. Designed for their 2008 Back Home tour, the three-tier stage is shaped in their signature 'W' format, and measures an impressive 72'(w)x40'(d)x12'(h).

Following an original concept by Alan MacDonald, it took the Litestructures design team just six weeks to complete the technically advanced structure.

Features within and around the stage's 55 LiteDeck platform modules included a new 3.5m high modular leg lift, constructed using LitePro 4 heavy duty truss. This lift passes through all three tiers. In addition, Litestructures built a 10m 'totem pole', also using LitePro 4, which sits centrally atop the highest tier, and which houses a laser feature.

Rollability for the lower tier was achieved using legframe snap-on bracing. Some 32m of handrails, with per

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Germany - Aviom's Pro64 Series was honoured at Musikmesse/Prolight + Sound in Frankfurt, as the 'Best Sound System Technology for 2008'. The award was was given by the Musikmesse International Press Association, on the vote of 100-plus member publications from around the world.

In accepting the MIPA. award, Carl Bader, Aviom's president and CEO, noted that the company has come a long way in the seven years since the A-16 Personal Mixer was first sketched out on a design board. "It's very gratifying to be honoured for achievement in such a broad category, almost seven years to the day since we first started working on the mixer," said Bader. "Users around the world are recognising the importance of the technological breakthroughs made with A-Net and are seeing the ways Aviom's technology simplifies their design process while improving the flexibility and fidelity o

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Czech Republic / Qatar - Trussing manufacturer Milos designed, manufactured and built a special trussing exhibition stand system for its client Digital Print Centre, which was supplied to energy multinational Shell for the Doha Natural Gas Conference in Qatar.

Digital Print Centre - with whom Milos has worked on many previous projects - approached them with a basic brief, explains project manager Milan Kolousek. They had a quick turnaround time and needed a fairly complex design to accommodate various graphics and AV displays along with some sound and lighting equipment. Above all, the client wanted a structure that looked aesthetically stunning.

"This was the challenge" says Kolousek, "Our technical department did a good job to deliver all the drawings from a complete blank piece of paper to the final product in so short a time". The initial design also un

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USA - ETC's Net3 Radio Focus Remote, which was released recently, provides an advanced, wireless solution for remote control. Designed for use with ETC's Eos, Ion, Congo and Congo jr lighting control systems, this handheld device allows users to work away from their control desk, easily accessing frequently-used desk functions, such as dimmer and channel checks, as well as update and record functions, says the company.

The RFR and its receiver unit feature a high-frequency (HF) link providing bi-directional communication with the connected ETC control desk. Users are able to view their lighting system's status, including completed commands, on the RFR's convenient built-in graphic display.

In addition to the high-resolution display, the RFR features two encoders for quick menu navigation and easy focusing of moving lights, as well as 24 buttons, six of which are soft-keys prov

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USA - QSC Chief Operating Officer Joe Pham has announced that Harold Yin has been named as the company's new senior VP of global strategy and business development. As part of his duties in this newly-created executive position, Yin has been given the responsibility of directing and managing strategic planning and development activities for all global business.

"On behalf of everyone here at QSC, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to Harold," COO Pham said upon introducing Yin to the workforce at QSC's Southern California headquarters. "As we broaden the scope of our presence around the world, his knowledge base and experience will lend steady guidance to the introduction of new technologies developed to meet the expanding needs of our customer base."

Prior to taking on his new role at QSC, Yin was a senior consultant with McKinsey & Company. While with the f

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India - Live sound production specialists, Sound.Com provided a complete audio solution for the oldest and most prestigious Indian film industry event using Lab.gruppen FP+ Series FP 10000Q power amplifiers to drive the main JBL PA and stage monitoring system.

The show was hosted at Yash Raj Studios in the heart of Mumbai. Sound.Com's Warren D'Souza reports: "The FP 10000Qs are rock-solid and sound fantastic. The other huge advantage they have for this sort of application is that being four-channel amplifiers, you always have spare channels to take care of extra audio feeds. With space backstage being at a premium, our amp racks were literally half the size of conventional sound systems, but still with all the power we needed, as well as fantastic Lab.gruppen sound quality and reliability. There's no doubt that these amplifiers are worth every penny of our investment."

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USA - Lighting designer Scott Warner put his grandMA to work on Grammy Award-winner Queen Latifah's nine-week Trav'lin Light tour which supported Queen Latifah's new jazz CD of the same name. Warner had previously used the grandMA to control LED lighting for the Pussycat Dolls, but this was the first tour where his grandMA controlled moving lights.

"Having used another console for eight years I was initially reluctant to give the grandMA a try," Warner recalls. "But after using the grandMA with the Pussycat Dolls and Queen Latifah, I would never considering working with anything else."

Warner gave Queen Latifah's tour a vintage look with Vari*Lite VL3000s, 5Ks and Pixel Par LEDs, the latter used to change the colour of the singer's logo. "We had a lot of saturated colours but not a lot of movement with the moving lights," says Warner who al

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Canada / Germany - Canadian pro loudspeaker manufacturer Adamson Pro Audio has appointed Trius as its distributor for Germany and Austria. Trius, one of Germany's leading pro audio distributors, was until recently the distributor of L-Acoustics product in Germany: that partnership had been in place since 2000, and is now at an end. L-Acoustics has said it is taking immediate action to offer direct support and service to its German customers during the transition period.

Kai Boeckmann, general manager of operations at Trius, admits: "Technically speaking, we've always considered Adamson the biggest and most dangerous competitor for L-Acoustics, so we have had an eye on Adamson literally since the moment we took on L'Acoustics about seven years ago. When asked about the decision to take Adamson on for the German and Austrian markets, Boeckmann says: "A truly excellent re

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USA - Industry pioneer John Eargle was posthumously awarded the 2008 Technical Grammy Award at the Special Merit Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on the evening prior to the 50th Grammy Awards Telecast. The accomplished engineer, musician and longtime JBL Professional consultant passed away on 9 May, leaving a legacy of achievement in the areas of music recording, loudspeaker design, and education. The Technical Grammy Award is presented by vote of The Recording Academy's National Trustees to individuals who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

"John Eargle left an everlasting and profound impression on the audio industry," said Mark Gander, vice president of Marketing, JBL Professional, who accepted the Grammy Award on behalf of John Eargle, along with John's niece, Cyndi Bird, and nephew and namesake, John Paul Eargle. &

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UK - A Shermann RS5 system has been delivered and is now operational in Guernsey - the first RS5 system in the Channel Islands. Kevin Taylor Audio invested in the Shermann system along with an Ashly Protea 3:24CL digital speaker controller to replace an older powered system which he claimed "was not really up to the job".

Kevin Taylor was absolutely delighted following the system's first gigs and called Shermann's HQ in Mid-Wales to register his appreciation. "The RS5 is ideal for my requirements; effortless and really compact too. I couldn't believe how flat it was and I needed virtually no additional EQ to make the system sound near perfect."

Elsewhere, Shermann RS5 systems have been in use on a number of recent events and UK tours including Barbara Dickson, Steeleye Span and Gilbert O'Sullivan. A slightly uprated RS5 model will be available from May 1st

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UK - The Digidesign Venue live sound environment took centre stage at Earl's Court, as audio production for the star-studded MasterCard BRIT Awards 2008 became an all-digital affair. Derrick Zieba, the show's sound designer for the past 20 years, shuffled the artists' riders and commandeered full proprietary digital mixing setups for the show's Glam and Punk Stages.

Working with MJK Productions, Zieba had been one of the front-runners in nudging the BRIT Awards live television show into the digital age six years ago, and once again it was left to Britannia Row Productions to fulfill the exacting control and PA requirements.

With Paul McCartney headlining on the Punk Stage (and picking up the BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music), Zieba had little hesitation in specifying a Digidesign Venue system - the digital desk of choice for McCartney's (aka "Macca&

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UK - Abingdon and Witney College has enjoyed the use of Metrodeck staging for the last few years. Thomas Mindenhall originally approached Maltbury as he wasn't happy with the old fashioned wooden system the college had always used and wanted something safer, more versatile and easily stored and transported.

The college started with a straightforward package of Metrodeck in standard sizes. Thomas has returned to Maltbury over the years, ordering a few decks every time which slowly added to their collection as the budget allowed. "The great thing is that when I put the older pieces and the new ones together for a show there's no difference between them," he says.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Over 100 axes of automation control and machinery have been installed at the Royal Festival Hall, transforming the functional properties of the venue. ISG Interior Exterior, the main contractor for this project, contracted Stage Technologies to design, manufacture and install the over-stage suspension machinery and control system, as well as the control systems for the stage elevators and the variable acoustic elements.

The Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre is a busy venue with a wide variety of performances; many of which are just a few days long or even for one night only. This poses logistical issues for the production staff who must often do the 'get-in', rehearsals, performance and 'get-out' in a single day.

The major refurbishment carried out at the venue over the last few years presented an opportunity to add to the infrastructure to make this process easier an

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USA - Nordstrom, one of America's leading fashion specialty retailers, recently turned to lighting designer and programmer Mike Casale for a spectacular visual display for their Annual Men's Fashion Show on Chicago's trendy Michigan Avenue. Casale employed Intelligent Lighting Creations (ILC) to bring his vision to life.

Using Martin's new LC Series panels and Maxedia media server, both Casale and ILC were able to create an atmosphere that would complement the designs while garnering the crowd's full attention.

"The LC Series panels provided an excellent backdrop for the runway and stage area," said Bob Moisan of Intelligent Lighting Creations. "The output of the LED's was tremendous and created an exciting event for the audience as well as the production crew."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - An Avolites Diamond 4 has been in control of lighting for the latest UK leg of The Editors world tour, featuring a design by Bryan Leitch, with the show being operated by Chris Steel.

The End Has A Start tour has been ongoing since 2007, and the basic concept of a very contemporary lighting and video show design is modified and morphed slightly between legs as the venue sizes also vary. The UK leg played a selection of arenas, theatre and concert halls.

Running off the D4 were a variety of moving lights and generics positioned on four overhead trusses - a straight front truss, two mid trusses running diagonally along the sides and a back truss that flew in and out to reveal the screen at the appropriate moments.

The core moving lights were 16 SGM Giotto 400 Spot CYMs, six Giotto Wash 400s and 12 Martin Professional MAC 2K Washes distributed between the front and

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Australia - Christian City Church in Oxford Falls held its Awakening Conference for young adults in the first week of February, and Mandylights was there to design the lighting and visuals. Richard Neville came up with a design that used a mixture of lighting, projection and the new Martin LC Series LED panels to create a spectacular backdrop to the three day event.

Ten LC Panels were hung 'randomly' around the church's stage, with eight Vari*Lite VL2500 washes behind them to take advantage of the panels' transparency. The lighting and vision was programmed and operated on a full size MA Lighting grandMA console which was networked to an ArKaos media server.

Also in the rig were four Martin MAC 700 Washes, four MAC 300 wash lights and two Look Solutions Unique Hazers. During programming, equal attention was given to both lighting and audio so that each visual medium com

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Liechtenstein - Oerlikon Optics, a leading supplier of precision optical components to entertainment lighting OEMs, is now providing GoboXtreme Dark blanks to OEMs for imaging by laser ablation or chemical etch processes. The high performance black and white blanks provide improved long term temperature stability and extended lifetime compared to conventional gobos - critical for the increased output of today's luminaires, the company says.

A highly reflective surface faces the lamp, transmitting light only where coating has been removed to reveal the gobo image pattern. Facing the lens, a highly absorbent multi-layer coating absorbs incidental light to maximize contrast and prevent image ghosting. An enhanced version is available to provide maximum optical performance, say Oerlikon: "The increased output and demanding thermal management of today's luminaires are putting go

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UK - Scattered Media has published visitor figures for its inaugural networking forum, EvenTech Scotland 2008. Confirmed first-show attendance reached 520 visitors across the two-day event - 4% up on original predictions - which took place in Glasgow's Marriot Hotel in February.

Scattered Media director, Darren Brechin, commented: "We are confident in the EvenTech model and these figures back up our extensive research. We created a small and intimate networking forum, based around exhibiting companies and a networking evening - where real and focussed business discussions would take place, unhurried, within the decision makers' region, with solid and lasting relationships forged for the future."

Exhibitors at the event expressed satisfaction with the calibre of attendees the regional forum attracted, with 97% stating that the quality of visitors had met or sur

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