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UK - Centenary Square in Bradford's city centre was transformed into a magical garden for five days in August, with the help of Lancashire business Water Sculptures.

A 5m diameter pool of dancing water fountains was designed and installed by the company, offering a unique spectacle of water, music and lights amongst the greenery of other displays and live entertainment at Bradford's 2008 Garden Magic event.

What was not visible to visitors at Garden Magic was the high level of technology installed within the display - designed to soothe, relax and invigorate its audience with a fully choreographed sequence of movements.

Founder and managing director Byll Elliot says: "Transforming a truly urban space into something quite different for a temporary period has been an exciti

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UK - The Big Chill is a different sort of festival that takes place in the scenic grounds of Eastnor Castle Deer Park in the Malvern Hills of Herefordshire.

This is a home it has claimed since 2002 and one that its audio provider, Dobson Sound, has joined it at for the past five years and this year, the company deployed DiGiCo digital mixing consoles at this laid back event.

"Andy 'Baggy' Robinson - who looked after the front of house D5 on the Castle Stage this year - got us involved initially when he was sound manager for the festival," says Paul Dobson, managing director of Dobson Sound. "For the first three years, we just did the Castle and the Open Air stages. Then, Just Add Water took over the festival's production and they wanted to bring the sound for the entire site under one roof - and we were asked if we wanted to do it all."

The system Dobson

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UK - Arkaos will be launching its latest media server software, Media Master, at PLASA08. Media Master has been designed specifically with show and lighting market in mind.

Built on ArKaos' latest generation of technology, Media Master runs perfectly and reliably on standard laptops or can play up to eight full frames-per-second HD movies on an octo-core server, says the company.

Media Master's new interface has been designed to give lighting designers and video artists "the best ergonomics possible". Designed around one single window, it is possible to display all playing layers simultaneously, giving designers improved visibility of their shows. Supporting MSEX (Media Server Extensions) protocol, the ArKaos Media Master allows thumbnail display of media directly onto modern lighting consoles.

ArKaos has developed a new media management system for Media Master whi

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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 - With headquarters based in Cardiff, Stage Sound Services is one of Wales' leading pro-audio suppliers, and continues to expand its activities throughout the UK.

As a result of their rapid growth in both the corporate and theatre sectors, they have now purchased a further 16 channels of Trantec's S6000 wireless systems, bringing their total to 60 channels of S6000. This comes in addition to a recent purchase of 50 channels of Trantec S5.5 wireless mics.

Phil Hurley, Stage Sound's managing director says: "Despite all the current talk of downturns in the market, we have been going from strength to strength, and to keep up with this demand we have now taken our stock levels to over 100 channels of wireless. I have used Trantec ever since I founded the company and some of those original systems are still in use today. However, technology has moved on and knowing it was ti

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UK - Selecon Performance Lighting is back at PLASA. Since last exhibiting in 2003 Selecon has introduced several new luminaires building on an already comprehensive theatrical and architectural display range.

The Selecon line includes includes the Acclaim, Rama and Arena Fresnels and PCs; the world's largest range of ellipsoidals as represented by Pacific range; Hui, Lui and Aurora Cyc / Floods and the very bright Performer range of Followspots.

The new high frequency, variable voltage 80V Direct DMX Power Supply supplies 80V to energy efficient 1200W lamps for the Pacific range and the Rama 175 High Performance Fresnel resulting in bright white light with the output of, or near to an equivalent 2.0/2.5kW mains voltage luminaire

The Wing range of Wall Washer Floods is Selecon's latest addition to their specialised display lighting range. A single slim-line body design offers

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USA - JBL loudspeakers were installed in the Fencing Hall at the National Convention Centre in Beijing where the fencing and modern pentathlon events at the 2008 Olympic Games were held.

The Fencing Hall features 14 fencing strips, a warm-up room, stands for thousands of fans, a television broadcasting room, and lounge and shower facilities. With the conclusion of the games, the hall will now be converted to a convention hall. There are also numerous features aimed at lowering the environmental impact of the hall including an increase in energy savings and water conservation.

The main PA system features six Vertec line arrays, each containing six VT4888DP midsize powered line array elements and two VT4882DP powered arrayable subwoofers. The system also includes 400 Control24CT and 300 Control26CT ceiling speakers, along with 130 Control 300 series large-format ceiling speakers

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USA - Bandit Lites recently wrapped another successful tour with country music superstar, Carrie Underwood. Underwood rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol. Since then, she has become a multi-platinum selling recording artist and is a multiple Grammy Award winner among numerous other accolades.

Carrie Underwood recently co-headlined with fellow Bandit client and country music star, Keith Urban. Award-winning lighting designer, Seth Jackson designed Underwood's rig so that it could coexist with Urban's set. Unlike most co-headline tours, Underwood was joining a production that was already on the road. Designed by Marc Brickman, the Urban show had a specific layout and lighting choices that Jackson said he needed to integrate with.

"After many phone calls, Marc and I got together with Chris Nyfield from Hindsight Studios and put both shows

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USA - Tim Hunter Design has announced that Bill Groener will be joining the firm as President and COO in September 2008. The former vice-president/general manager of Production Resource Group will use his broad and diverse commercial experiences combined with his early training in design and production to better serve the needs and expectations of THD's unique, knowledgeable and demanding client base, the company says.

"It goes without saying that Bill is a leader in our industry," said THD founder and CEO Tim Hunter. "After more than 30 years of experience with some of the best companies around, he has acquired a breadth of knowledge and experience few can match. His outstanding people skills enable him to pursue, develop and close challenging new business opportunities. Almost as important - his thoughtful, calm and organized demeanor ensures that complex projec

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UK First time exhibitors at PLASA, displayLED will be officially unveiling "the world's first fully flexible LED video skin" - a product that can be moulded to the contours of display surfaces to form smooth curves displaying high resolution video, opening up new possibilities for creative designers to develop concepts.

The digiFLEX skin is manufactured in 320mm (w) x 160mm (h) tiles which can flex smoothly both horizontally and vertically.

Two further products from the digiLED creative series will also be showcased - the Mirage M40-3 and the Mirage M40-4 high brightness version. The Mirage M40 is a semi transparent and lightweight, large-scale video screen utilizing a 40mm pixel pitch and designed to provide dramatic and dynamic lighting and video effects.

With options for outdoor daylight viewing, the Mirage M40 weighs around 11kg per m2, can be built to any size

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UK - Tannoy reports that its Di range of surface-mount loudspeakers has recently been deployed by Sixsmith Organ Builders Ltd n the most unlikely of places to handle a very special requirement.

The Lancashire-based family firm specialise in the manufacture, installation and refurbishment of pipe organs for the church market. The company has a long history of building and installing traditional pipe organs, but has also more recently started to specialise in the field of hybrid and pipeless organs. This is where modern sampling technologies are brought to bear to allow for full-sounding organ installations in situations where there is either insufficient space or funds for a full-scale pipe organ, often in combination with some pipe sections for the instrument (hence, hybrid).

Of course, this requires some form of speaker installation in order to deliver the audio output of the

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South Africa - The members of Flat Stanley initially earned accolades for their studio albums, which have earned them no fewer than six Top 10 radio hits in their native South Africa, including three that went to number one. Live performances on radio and television followed, and today the band's latest single As I Am has not only charted at number one but has also just been licensed by South Africa's biggest cable television station, MNET, for use in one of its promo spots.

"Since day one, Shure vocal mics have been an absolute must on our tech rider," says Flat Stanley frontman Andrew Mac. "More recently, we've started to move into using Shure wireless technology to improve our performances as well. On a large stage at a big show, the last thing you want to have to worry about is cables! We have in-ear personal monitors, beltpacks for the guitarists, and

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UK - Audio design, rental, sales and installation company, Delta Sound - best known for its work on high profile events such as the Tour de France, Commonwealth Games and Falklands 25th Anniversary celebrations, as well as host of corporate events - has joined forces with Fred Jackson, formerly known as JAL (Jackson Audio Limited).

Paul Keating, managing director of Delta, explains this strategic move:. "We have worked with Fred for a number of years, collaborating on a variety of projects, and have developed a very good relationship with him," he says. "Much of his work is in the television and broadcast industry, on shows such as Britain's Got Talent and X Factor, where he is well known and respected.

"At Delta, we are keen to expand our activity in this area. Fred's portfolio of clients dovetails perfectly with our own and his contacts both

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UK - The relaxed atmosphere of Camp Bestival, the new family-oriented sister event of September's successful Bestival, enlisted the services of Showsec. The company demonstrated its ability to work with all age groups, from 9 months to 90, when it planned a comprehensive event safety policy which included an effective system for lost children for the 10,000 capacity festival, about half of whom were under 16.

The company worked with Loudsound and Radio 1 presenter Rob da Bank, to put a "pioneering and robust" lost children system in place, which saw every child given a wristband with a phone number attached. Showsec provided lost children teams - adapting the idea of the traditional "rapid response" team - who would bring any lost children to a centrally located area run by the Isle of Wight Youth Trust.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - At PLASA 08, the TMB stand will house new brands in TMB's distribution family plus many other new product offerings. Global manufacturers will be on-site, as will TMB sales staff for hands-on demos.

TMB Architectural will present a comprehensive range of products and solutions: Distributed Architectural products include Blues System by Global Design Solutions (GDS); CueServer by Interactive Technologies; curveLED digital light curtain; the new Deja Cue lighting playback and integration processor; Digital Festoon DFS colour changing LED display systems; Falcon xenon fixtures by Alpha One; Leader Light flood and linear LED fixtures; ProAqua submersible custom cables and Tempest all-weather fixture and projection enclosures.

Innovative Film and TV lighting equipment will also be featured. A revolutionary product introduction, on display for the first time anywhere, is the ne

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Germany - On 19 July, the Bavarian capital of Munich celebrated the 850th anniversary of its founding with numerous shows, theatrical performances, and concerts. One of the highlights in the city centre was provided by the Titanick Theater's production Firebirds. Louis Altrogge, who was responsible for the audio, relied on Dynacord systems.

The Titanick Theater is often described as the "most spectacular street theatre in Germany". Performances by the Münster-based troupe feature bizarre characters, fascinating props, spectacular special effects, atmospheric sets, and powerful live music.

For the production, Louis Altrogge relied on a Dynacord Cobra system for the main stage and an assortment of Dynacord D-Lite and Electro-Voice components for the mobile stage.

"The Cobra impresses me more with each performance," says Altrogge. "It delivers a

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USA - The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has awarded Coolux Media Systems the Emmy Engineering Plaque in recognition of outstanding achievement in engineering development for the Pandoras Box real-time compositing Media Server. Coolux Media Systems GmbH president Jan Huewel received the award during the 2008 Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles.

"Pandoras Box is a turnkey solution that perfectly unites state-of-the-art rendering technology with intuitive media control, and it is a tremendous honour for Coolux to be recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the engineering involved in developing this unique and very powerful solution," said Steve Gilbard, president of Coolux International.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Visual Productions will feature the new releases for its software lighting controllers and its range of hardware interfaces including one completely new device.

Visual Productions' Lighting Control Software products will be running the lights on the stand of Lightstorm Trading. The latest releases of both Canvix and VisualDMX will be on display with an array of new features. Canvix matrix control software will be controlling LED fixtures from Dutch manufacturer TDE Light-tech and VisualDMX lighting control will be controlling the lights on display from German based company Amptown.

The control interfaces will include the latest version of touch screen user-interface, VisualTouch, which is now available for both Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows systems. Alongside the Frontier and Elite standalone hardware interfaces will be the new Duple interface which is compatible with bo

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USA - Apogee Electronics has confirmed SCV Audio as its new distributor for France.

A spokesman for SCV Audio notes: "The addition of Apogee products to our catalogue will enable us to offer a new level of quality and a great diversity of solutions to our specialised Hi-Tech dealer network, reinforcing our common leadership."

SCV Audio will assume the new role beginning 1 September 2008 and will integrate the entire Apogee product line into its "Hi-Tech" division.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - From the unlikely beginnings of a BBC documentary on a cruise ship, Jane McDonald has risen to become one of the country's popular lounge singers, this year carrying off a huge tour of 46 concerts in city theatres.

PA company Sigma AV is servicing this UK tour, and has managed to fit all the travelling audio production into a long-wheelbase Sprinter van. That's a 20KW sound system, eight-way monitor system, digital console, mic stands, multicore and all cables in one Sprinter van.

Central to the compact nature of the Sigma rig is the new Roland V-Mixing System, incorporating the M-400 digital audio mixer, which weighs just 56 kilos in a sturdy flightcase, and two Cat 5-based Digital Snake multicores, with fully racked-up stageboxes.

Peter Barnard of Sigma AV bought into Roland Systems' V-Mixing concept especially for this tour, and is so pleased with the results that he

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Singapore - Since gaining independence in 1965, the National Day Parade in Singapore has been an annual celebration to mark the extraordinary success of this island state that has transformed from humble beginnings to a world class cosmopolitan city.

The Show Company was the official LED Display & Multimedia Control Systems vendor for The 2008 National Day Celebrations and was appointed the task of providing everything to run the visual aspects of the show. Jo Gan of The Show Company, who oversees system design, specified the latest Barco T-20 outdoor LED display as the solution for the demanding requirements of the show.

Gan said: ''Given the magnitude of the show and the stringent benchmarks associated with a national event like this, where the entire nation from the president, cabinet ministers to the common citizen is in attendance, the show demands nothing but the very be

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USA - JBL Professional reports that its JBL Vertec line array loudspeakers were deployed by rental sound system provider, ATK Audiotek, at the Democratic National Convention at Denver's Pepsi Center. A JBL Vertec system was also used for presidential candidate Barack Obama's acceptance speech at the city's Invesco Field football stadium, with Crown power amplifiers also in use at both facilities. The combination of JBL speakers and Crown amplifiers has also served as the sound system of choice for many of the party's recent election rallies and assemblies around the nation.

The Pepsi Center in downtown Denver opened its doors to Democrat convention-goers on 25 August and hosted key speeches by Senator Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, Senator Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and other party stalwarts including Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Joe Biden. The conventi

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