Details
USA - A trio of fundraising efforts on behalf of Behind the Scenes culminated in March with over $11,000 raised. From industry veterans to high school students, people are turning their passion for the industry into action and caring for their current and future colleagues.

Richard Wolpert's brainchild was Pedaling to Benefit Behind the Scenes, a 754 mile, 12 day bicycle trip from Springfield, MO to Houston, TX in time for the USITT Conference. Riding at an average speed of 12 mph and covering as much as 78 miles in a day. He was joined for the first 72 miles by Rob Schraft and for the last 274 miles by Jeni Lyn Anderson.

On 15 March 15, the Mount Vernon High School Chapter of USITT held its second annual Short Reach Short Riders Tricycle Ride for Behind the Scenes

Details
USA - The new EAW SB1002 is a large-format dual-18-inch-loaded subwoofer that can be groundstacked or easily flown via an integral rigging system, making it suitable for a wide range of high-output live and installed sound applications.

Following in the footsteps of the EAW SB1000z subwoofer, the SB1002 offers a direct radiating design, with driver mounting that maximizes cone area and minimizes frontal area. The result is acoustical performance and physical configuration well suited for creating large subwoofer arrays.

The two 18" drivers - designed specifically for the SB1002 - offer very large (4.5") voice coils as well as powerful neodymium magnet structures that also reduce weight. The operating range of the SB1002 is 27Hz - 161Hz (+/-3 dB), while maximum sound pressure levels are 129dB (average) and 135dB (peak).

The SB1002 rigging system, similar to that of

Details
UK - Following 28 successful years of manufacturing and designing installation sound equipment, founding owners Roy Millington and Andrew Colley have officially retired their positions as directors and shareholders of Cloud Electronics Ltd. The management and all shares of the company will pass to Cloud Electronics Holdings Ltd.

The new company is formed under the managing directorship of Simon Curtis and director Clare Powell. Cloud Electronics Ltd will continue to trade as before and all day-to-day operations will be maintained as usual and without change.

Millington and Colley will adopt the role of consultants for Cloud Electronics, supporting Curtis and the internal management team.

Roy Millington comments, "We are very pleased that our legacy will be continued by Simon and are totally confident in the future success of the company. The injection of Simon's youth,

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

Details
Italy - Marking the 40th Anniversary of its Broadway debut, Hair - The Musical is touring across Italy, playing in some of the country's most prestigious theatres such as Teatro Colosseo (Turin), Teatro Politeama (Genoa) and Officine Smeraldo (Milan).

Lighting director and designer is Marcello Jazzetti with video/projection direction by Cristina Redini. Rental company IMMAGINI of Soresina has supplied the video and lighting gear for the tour.

Twelve mid-stage positioned Martin LC Series LED panels are used as lateral screens for text, image and graphics projection. Jazzetti, who specified the LC panels because of their familiarity, finds the LC Series "exceptional and technologically advanced".

His initial thoughts were to use the LC Series for primary stage lighting but eventually decided to incorporate image and graphics projection as well. Marcello report

Details
UK - Three distinctive projects, delivered by Theatre design consultants Charcoalblue, have received 2008 Civic Trust Awards in recognition of their 'outstanding contribution' to the quality and appearance of the environment: The Roundhouse, The Young Vic in London and The North Wall Performing Arts Centre, St Edwards School, Oxford. In addition to the standard prizes, nine Special Awards were also presented with the Special Award for Access going to The Roundhouse, Camden.

The Civic Trust Awards aim to promote the positive impact that good building and urban development can have on society. It's currently one of the largest and most respected award schemes of its kind in Europe.

Jack Tilbury, project director for Charcoalblue and The Roundhouse project, said: "We're delighted that the Roundhouse has received the 2008 Civic Trust Special Award for Access. We worked very c

Details
USA - Atlas Sound and IED have joined the NSCA Education Foundation as host sponsors of the Systems Integration Industry Charity Golf Tournament. The Foundation's popular golf tournament will take place during InfoComm 08 on 17 June at Rhodes Ranch Golf Course in Las Vegas.

"I am happy to join forces with Infocomm and the NSCA Education Foundation to support the Industry Charity Golf Tournament, hosted by Atlas Sound and IED," said Loyd Ivey, CEO of Atlas Sound/IED. "We can tee up a striking event for two great causes, industry education and juvenile diabetes. Both of these causes are very dear to my heart. I look forward to everyone coming out and playing their best round of golf ever, for these two important needs."

"The NSCA Foundation is extremely excited to have Atlas Sound/IED as the host sponsor for this year's event," said Tom Frericks, pr

Details
Australia - For a recent run through a number of top Sydney venues, tribute act Abbalanche hooked up with Sydney club engineer Phill Webb, who provided his new Electro-Voice REV wireless system, complete with custom chrome-finished handheld transmitters. "ABBA sang into silver microphones back in the seventies," Webb says, "so, aside from the REV's sound quality, it made the show look even more authentic to have the girls singing into silver wireless transmitters."

The REV wireless systems were complemented by an EV RE-1 system with N/D967 handheld, as well as wired N/D967's on keyboard and bass vocals.

"I love working with these guys; they sound great, look great, and always draw a big crowd," adds Webb, "and adding EV equipment to the mix makes the whole presentation even better."

(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - Sennheiser's new evolution wireless SR 350 IEM G2 twin transmitter makes its debut at the 2008 NAB Show and expands Sennheiser's most successful monitoring system.

"The output power of the SR 350 IEM G2 can be switched between 15mW and 100mW - offering an optimal fit for stages of all sizes," explains Robb Blumenreder, industry team manager for Sennheiser Electronic Corporation's music industry division. "The menu control is as user-friendly as ever, thanks to the backlit graphics display which lights up red during peak warnings."

The twin transmitter with HDX compander can be used with the EK 300 IEM G2 and EK 3253 monitor receivers. In total there are 1,440 UHF frequencies available for interference-free transmission. For a direct choice of channel, every transmitter has eight channel banks, each of which has twelve pre-sets, as well as a bank with

Details
UK - Bluewater Shopping Centre boasts 27 million visitors a year and an expansive complex of three shopping environs, each with its own "village." The centre makes a big impact, so it seems natural that they would want an equally impressive setting for the busy holiday season.

Working with Scena Projects, Tomcat UK created some larger than life Christmas presents for display on various roundabouts at the award winning shopping destination in Kent. All four presents were finished just in time to set the scene during the 2007 holiday season.

When Scena Projects were asked to build four 'Christmas Presents 20ft high' they turned to designers at Harriman Steel and Tomcat UK for help to achieve this vision. For its part, Tomcat UK manufactured the framework which consisted of a Tomcat One aluminum trussing system with counter weights for each of the presents. To complete

Details
UK - A.C. Lighting's rigging division has announced its partnership with Out Board and can confirm it is now a full-line stocking dealer for their latest professional LV and DV chain-hoist controllers.

A.C. Lighting's rigging sales manager Adam Beaumont comments, "I am delighted to partner with Out Board and be able to work with such a leading brand, whose products fit together perfectly with our existing ranges. We looked at several options, but the products that distinguished themselves as the front runner and the only real contenders for us were those made by Out Board. We are looking forward to a long and successful relationship with them."

Out Board director Dave Haydon comments, "We have seen unprecedented growth in our motor controller sales since we re-launched with the new LV-Series and DV-Series just over a year ago, and we greatly value the substanti

Details
USA - There's a grandMA behind the scenes as NBC revives American Gladiators for a new generation of TV viewers. The grandMA is controlling almost 600 Vari*Lite VL2500 moving lights and some 1,500 LEDs for the strength and endurance competition. The show, which originally premiered in 1989, made its midseason debut in January 2008 with Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali hosting.

"For the new version of the show the producers wanted a spectacular, immense arena feel," notes lighting director William McLachlan. "Scenically the space is so large, it covers a huge footprint. So we needed a substantial rig just to cover the area let alone create a signature look."

In crafting the signature look, McLachlan and lighting designer Oscar Dominguez wanted to "use video as a way to move, breathe colour and bring intensity across the rig. We wanted to use the rig to e

Details
UK - Crowd management and event security company Showsec has launched its managerial Academy, a building block in its goal to offer a progressive, operational career path within the Industry.

The Showsec Academy formalises training and provides an accredited qualification for staff at managerial level, something that has never before been addressed by the industry, says the company. The year-long programme offers staff the chance to develop the knowledge, skills and experience required to become an effective operational manager within the crowd management industry.

The programme is divided into three key elements: operational management, leadership, and administration and support services. It includes vocational and industry qualifications, operational experience, as well as mentoring and self development elements. The vocational aspect will ensure associates encounter every t

Details
UK - Design and installation company Audio Light Systems Ltd has appointed Steve Dishon as audio-visual manager to consolidate the expansion of the commercial and residential side of the company's business. Prior to his appointment, Steve managed the sales and installation of another systems integrator for over 10 years and is an accomplished Crestron programmer and IT engineer.

Eddy O'Hare, director of Audio Light Systems, said he was delighted with the appointment and comments: "Steve brings valuable expertise to the company as our expansion in the AV field is moving at pace!"

(Lee Baldock)

Details
Spain - The Spanish version of Fame - The Musical - Fama - El Musical - recently visited Cádiz in the south west of Spain. The show has toured Spain for over a year and has already seen packed houses in Barcelona and Madrid.

Fame, originally a film directed by Alan Parker and released in 1980, was turned in to a long-running TV series, then a stage show, which has performed in theatres all over the world and in a multitude of languages.

DiGiCo plays a major role in the show's audio success for Barcelona-based rental company Tour Serveis, which provides all the sound equipment, maintenance and logistics for the Spanish tour.

The Cádiz production took place at the Great Falla Theatre, which was built in 1884 by Adolfo Morales de los Rios on the site of the original Great Theatre, a wooden building that was constructed in 1871 but destroyed by a fire in A

Details
Germany - Sommer Cable has introduced the Sideguider. Developed by Harry Ruf, a German inventor from Baden-Württemberg, it can be installed on a Schill cable drum GT310 simply and quickly. It automatically lets the cable wander from left to right during winding, thus distributing it evenly across the cable drum. So, the cable no longer needs to be guided manually.

The user can walk up to plugged in cable ends with the drum in one hand and simultaneously wind the cable onto the drum with Sideguider. This is practical and saves time, says the company. The Sideguider can be used for cables up to a diameter of 18mm.

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - The Sound and Light Company, based in Huddersfield, has committed to the Fine Art UK range of moving head luminaires, having bought four each of the flagship Fine 700W washes and profiles for its current hire inventory.

The Sound and Light Company's production manager, Andrew Pickersgill, explained his decision: "I've not got anything like [the Fine Art luminaires] at the moment in terms of reliability. Normally by now moving heads would be in bits or have little faults with them after six months of constant hire use - but the Fine Art lights are superb, not a thing wrong with them - they're brilliant.

"The quality of the lights is fantastic and they're reliable - really reliable - and they're bright. They just tick all the right boxes basically."

The Fine Art luminaires have replaced The Sound and Light Company's out of date moving head hire stock and ha

Details
USA - City Theatrical, the Carlstadt, New Jersey-based manufacturer of lighting accessories, has opened its new London office serving the UK and European markets. The opening is timed to coincide with the European launch of SHoW DMX, City Theatrical's new 'next generation' wireless DMX system.

City Theatrical's London office is headed by Martin Chisnall, well known for his work in the UK theatre industry as a production electrician for West End shows, national and international tours. Most recently his work has included Macbeth in London's West End, and, around the world, the International Tour of Mamma Mia!.

Chisnall commented: "After 20 years working in the lighting industry as a customer I'm looking forward to the challenge of getting to know the business from 'the other side of the fence'. I've had a long association with City Theatrical, and have alread

Details
Germany - The Procon group has launched a new website (www.proconled.com) concentrating exclusively on LED technology.

On the Procon LED site, users will find "comprehensive information about a range of different LED products including reference images showing examples of their use". There is also a service area which includes information for download.

The highlight of the new website is the LED Studio. This area provides a virtual environment in which the effectiveness of a range of different LED technologies can be experimented with. Users can choose a selection of camera angles, backgrounds, camera resolution and display detail, then view each scenario as a still image or movie.

Managing director and founder of Procon, Morten Carlsson says: "Procon has consistently been engaged with LED technology for many years and has built both a substantial equipment po

Details
Ireland - Projected Image Digital (PID) has supplied and installed over 80 standard and custom Element Labs VersaTube LED fixtures in an architectural lighting feature at the new AIB (Allied Irish Bank) Bankcentre in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

The VersaTubes create four 22.25m high vertical lighting columns in the lift cores of the building's central atrium.

This 'live art' was conceived by London-based architectural lighting practice Pritchard Themis as part of their lighting concept for the new AIB building which was designed by RKD Architects and constructed by Sisk to accommodate 4000 non-branch AIB staff.

The equipment supplied included 84 standard definition 1m VersaTubes, four standard definition half- metre VersaTubes and four custom-built .75m standard definition tubes. The .75 tubes are the last (top-most) in each of the runs, and were necessary for an exact fit into the

Details
UK - Martin Audio has expanded its UK sales force with the recruitment of the experienced Al Brown. Before entering the corporate world, Brown ran his own successful contracting and installation company for 12 years, specialising in the student and conference markets. He then turned his degree in electronics to further good use, first working for the SSE Group as sales and production manager before joining Harman Pro UK as tour sound manager.

Brown will be working in a similar capacity at Martin Audio where he will be handling national sales, specialising in the top end touring and installation portfolio.

"I have had an association with Martin Audio going back nearly 20 years and this is an exciting time to be joining the company," he said.

Martin Audio sales and marketing director Rob Lingfield, added: "We are delighted to welcome someone with Al's experience

Details
South Africa - Rental company Sound Stylists has enhanced its inventory with the purchase of a DiGiCo D5 console.

Founded in 1987 by owner Kevin Glover, Sound Stylists provides two main services: dry hire of equipment and production which includes rock concerts and other live events, broadcast, theatre, studio recordings, sport and corporate events. The D5, which has already been used on many local and international concerts.

"We were left short on digital desks in September and I had been toying with getting a D5," says Glover. "We wanted something that was able to offer more than 48 channels and that came as a complete package so we didn't have to run around making up input and multi racks. DiGiCo could provide all of that and more and was able to ship in the available time frame."

One of the first jobs the D5 was used for was a function for one of the

Page 2182 of 3465

Latest Issue. . .