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France - Lighting effects from PR Lighting dominate the new nightclub, Le Sens, which opened recently in the French town of Moulins-Les-Metz.

The imaginative design scheme, created by Gerard Giraudon of ColorSonic, incorporates 10 of PR Lighting's Solo 250 effect - which took full advantage of the available space.

The Solo 250 features nine colours, seven interchangeable rotating gobos, an independent shutter for strobe effects, a rotating prism and remote focus. And with its stand-alone and master/slave operating modes (as well as conventional DMX) it suitable for a wide variety of applications.

Additionally, Gerard Giraudon's clever use of LED lighting strips at the bar counter ensures an ever-changing environment in this lively new venue.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - A new three-floor, 32,737sq.ft, 2,600 capacity venue, named matter, is part of the successful O2 Arena Complex in London's Docklands. The new all-concrete, heavily soundproofed building is the brainchild of fabric owners, Keith Reilly and Cameron Leslie, and represents a multimillion pound investment.

Their brief to Most Technical's Dave Parry was to take the use of entertainment technology to a new level.

This he has done by a bespoke integration of sound, lighting and video, with the mainstay of the sound system being a Martin Audio W8L Longbow line array, which incorporates Timax Outboard Processing; this allows the sound to be mapped in three dimensions and be manipulated around the entire space by the operators. Another core element is Djenerate's new BodyKinetic interactive dance floor system with some 75,000W of sound pumped through the floor, which is underfitted

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UK - PSL was on hand to greet the triumphant Jetman Yves Rossy, as he zoomed into the record books last week, flying across the English Channel strapped to a single jet-powered wing, with only a helmet and flight suit for protection.

His 22-mile France-to-England journey took 13 minutes, and ended when he opened his parachute system and floated down to a ploughed field not far from the White Cliffs of Dover.

PSL's production team had turned that field, which belongs to the National Trust, into a veritable media village for Rossy's sponsors, the National Geographic Channel. Handling all the site issues, including the management of the landing site, PSL's Neil Smith and Stuart McLaren had to contend with the extremes of British weather - just like the Jetman. "On our first day of build, we got absolutely soaked; later in the week, conditions were still not right and Yves ha

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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 - Sennheiser's two new condenser microphones, the MKH 8020 and MKH 8040, were given their maiden outings this summer in the company of respected front of house engineer Dave Wooster.

The first mission for the new mics was a sequence of shows with reggae and hip hop-influenced singer-songwriter Jamie T and his band.

"The first two shows with Jamie T were small warm-up gigs in August at very small venues in London and Southend," says Wooster. "Both venues proved to be great tests for the rejection characteristics of the 8040s which I used on the hi-hats and the snare drum. I also used a pair of 8020s to capture the cymbals, close miking the underside of the two crash cymbals.

"The next two shows were at the V-Festivals, playing in large marquees. At both shows the mics really proved what they could do going through a very substantial PA system, producing

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UK - Midas reports strong demand demand for its new PRO6 Live Audio System, the company's second networked digital audio system, which employs technologies developed from the XL8 in a compact package.

Among the first clients to place orders for the PRO6 are Irish rental companies MG Audio and Murt Whelan Sound and Lighting, who have each purchased a PRO6 system from local distributor Sound Communications. The companies are located on the east and southwest of the country respectively, and work closely together on a number of festivals and larger events. Both companies feel their PRO6 purchases will further enhance this arrangement.

Whelan's console inventory is exclusively Midas, offering Veronas, Siennas and Venices for rental. "I've been a Midas user for eight years and have been looking at upgrading to a higher spec console for some time, so it seemed a seamless transi

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Europe - Queen, fronted by Paul Rodgers, have called on Power Logistics to ensure the electrical supply on their current world tour is entirely reliable and smoothly delivered. The tour opened recently at a large charity concert in Kharkov, Ukraine and will have passed through Riga, Berlin, Antwerp, Paris, Rome and Zurich before arriving in the UK on 10 October.

Power Logistics' managing director Pete Wills remains with the band as tour electrician for the duration of the 2008 tour.

"We are delighted to be able to help Queen on their current European Tour," says Wills. "We have a long standing relationship with Queen's production team built on our reputation for making doubly certain the show must go on."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens' epic story of Revolution-era Paris and London, has been brought to life in musical form for the Broadway stage by Jill Santoriello; a Midas XL8 mixing console from New York-based theatre sound design specialists Sound Associates is making its Broadway debut with the show.

Having completed its debut run in Florida at the end of 2007, and having had a stellar preview run on Broadway in August this year, A Tale of Two Cities ...the musical moved to its new home at the Al Hirschfield Theatre, where it opened on 18 September with Warren Carlyle directing. Sound Associates' Carl Casella and Domonic Sack are sound designers for the show; Wallace Flores (Sound Associates) is associate sound designer. Ty Lackey is mixing the production.

Sound Associates' Wallace Flores has been part of the XL8's development since the beginning, working

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USA - At this week's AES Convention in San Francisco, Renkus-Heinz unveiled the Versys VLX3 line array which is optimised for large and medium scale live sound reinforcement applications from touring and other rental tasks to fixed installation in arenas, stadiums, large houses of worship and the like.

VLX3 is expressly designed for use with external processing and amplification, as well as being fully optimised for the latest generation of multichannel amplifiers that provide integrated digital loudspeaker control, processing and monitoring.

The essentials are a comparatively lightweight (190 lbs / 86.2 kg) marine birch ply cabinet that delivers over 133dB SPL; integral flying hardware; a truck pack-friendly cabinet design; high versatility, suitable for applications ranging from corporate and regional acts and tours to full sized arenas; and fast, accurate flying and aiming

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UK - Modern in-store radio is instant, flexible, convenient and, according to PEL Music and Media, it works: it helps increase high street sales. PEL Music and Media, owner of the 'Mediainstore' radio system, has been conducting trials with some of the major high street department stores and the results are extremely positive.

What's different about the modern breed of in-store radio is its exceptional flexibility and immediacy. 'Mediainstore', for example, uses the latest foolproof audio scheduling technology, enabling it to transmit radio programmes to every location that is set up to receive the service.

Content can be stored digitally, allowing for regular updates by ADSL, Broadband or CD, making the system far less vulnerable from equipment failure than other broadcast methods, and also making it extremely fast in the case of ADSL and Broadband.

Because of this incredib

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UK - Uckfield-based Scarecrow Bio-acoustic Systems, the leading international innovator in bird dispersal technology, has announced the appointment of two new board members; Tom Diamond as gropu commercial director and Lee Pannett as operations director.

These key appointments have been made at a time when Scarecrow is experiencing significant business growth and achieving recognition for technical excellence from leading authorities worldwide. Developing and launching Ultima, its next generation technology, in February 2007 was a major turning point for the company, not only in terms of raising the company's visability in the sectors in which it operates, but also confirming its position as a market leader.

Both Tom Diamond and Lee Pannett have been driving forces behind the company's recent success. Tom joined as group commercial manager in 2006 and will now have greater inv

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Australia - Showtech Australia was commissioned to deliver six performers on the roof of the MCG, and the AFL Premiership cup, the most prized item in the AFL, for the opening ceremony of the AFL Grand Final 2008.

Showtech was contracted by event organizer Peter Jones Special Events to deliver the two special rigging items for the production. The Engineering and OHS considerations of delivering these two effects were several months in the planning and had to meet the strict guidelines of the Victorian OHS regulations, the guidelines of the stadium management, and the challenges of not impacting on the playing surface. The match begins 20 minutes after the ceremony was completed.

The first effect was six singers appearing high on the scoreboard roof. 50m above the field. The performers, camera operators, audio, and pyrotechnics crews all had to be closely coordinated so as not

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USA - Melissa Etheridge makes no secret about her concern for the environment. For her 2008 Revival Tour, Etheridge's lighting director David Hamilton switched to a new LED fixture that saves energy, yet is so bright that a handful of units can light up an entire concert stage. The new fixture also creates less waste, since its lamps last for 100,000 hours, generating less throwaway for landfills.

That 'green' fixture is the Impression from Elation Professional, a compact LED moving head with RGB colour mixing. Powered by 90 high-power Luxeon K2 red, green and blue LEDs, the Impression produces a light output that's at least as bright as a 575W discharge fixture with no less than a 50% power savings, says the company.

Etheridge's tour manager Steve Girmont first saw the Impression at a trade show and brought it to the attention of Hamilton. "We were wanting to go L

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UK - When the University of Dundee embarked on building a major new teaching facility, it was a key requirement to include induction loop systems. Now, 31 teaching rooms, staff rooms and lecture theatres in the new facility have Ampetronic loops installed.

Consultants White Young Green looked at all the available induction loop options and were impressed by the quality of Ampetronic's approach and products, leading to Arbroath-based Streamtec installing Ampetronic systems in the new teaching block's four main lecture theatres, driven by two Ampetronic ILD1000 loop amplifiers each.

"The lecture theatres provided some challenges," says Streamtec's Ian McMillan. "The biggest (280 seats) is located directly above two smaller 180 seat theatres, so containing spill was very important. We worked very closely with Ampetronic to ensure that the design worked flawlessly.

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UK - White Light has supplied and installed a complete new lighting system St John's, Smith Square. Located in the heart of Westminster, the hall regularly plays host to leading international performers. However, the venue's existing lighting system was a quarter of a century old and in poor condition.

To replace the system, White Light worked with lighting designer Mark Henderson to devise a system that provided the venue's concerts with the lighting they needed while also being versatile, easy to maintain and easy to control.

The new installation is based around a series of small lighting grids installed on winches to allow easy access to the equipment at ground level; the winches were installed for White Light by Unusual Rigging. The grids are fitted with 50 1kW fresnels from Robert Juliat, which provide bright, even lighting for the venue's concerts. "We chose the Jul

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UK - Following their recent agreement to become master stocking distributor for Litestructures, Impact Products invited staff from the Wakefield-based trussing and staging manufacturer to its headquarters to further strengthen the inter-company relationship with a tour of their extensive facilities and an afternoon on the local go-karting track.

Impact's business manager Keith Williams was joined by Lee Brooks, Litestructures' sales director, in presenting the staff with the mechanics of the new deal, which sees Impact distributing Litestructures' product from stock held in its warehouse.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for both parties" commented Brooks. "Impact is a young and energetic company which has already established itself as a leading trade supplier of professional sound and lighting equipment. The addition of our product to its range effectively offe

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UK - Point Source Productions has added a number of Pathway Pathport DMX Manager Plus! to its hire stock specifically with its corporate clients in mind.

This 4-Port Ethernet Node has been designed as a means of expanding the DMX capabilities of shows using channel-hungry modern technology - where DMX universes get used up within a very short space of time.

Pathway Pathport DMX Manager Plus! is a 1U box with the ability to act as a DMX splitter or merger in addition to its function as a four-port Ethernet node. Each of its four ports is individually configurable as an input or output and has both male and female five- pin XLRs.

An integral Ethernet switch and two Ethernet ports give direct link-through, while the unit can be configured to include DMX universe routing, channel soft-patching and automatic port priority switching via its front panel or external software.

Path

Details
Australia - Eight new Robe ColorWash 750AT Tungsten fixtures have been added to The Gold Coast Arts Centre's moving light system. Technical manager Chris Dbais, states: "We needed some new fixtures, and the Robe Tungsten's were the best choice for excellent reliability and great features."

Robe's Australian distributor, the ULA Group, provided the Arts Centre with some demo Tungstens, which were utilised on the Whitlams Orchestral Tour.

The Tungstens are being rolled out in the coming weeks for the Centre's annual in-house production of the hit Broadway musical, The Boy from Oz. Lighting director Scott Allan has included the fixtures in his rig, and Dbais comments that he is "excited" to see what the LD comes up with.

The Gold Coast Arts Centre is a multipurpose facility incorporating the Arts Theatre, art gallery, comedy clubhouse, boardroo

Details
UK - Style By Solares managing director, Wren Solares contracted TAO Group to design and produce L'Oreal Redken's Tribe '08 Hairdressing Awards, held at Battersea Evolution during London's Fashion Week this September.

Presented by TV's Alex Zane of Popworld, Tribe '08 is L'Oreal's annual awards for the UK's top hairdressers and was attended by over 1,200 hairdressers from around the country.

This year the aim was to achieve a more rock 'n' roll feel. TAO's Andy Cotton designed a production that included two 4mx 3m rear projection screens with Barco SLMR12 projectors, interspersed with 240 panels of stealth screen, supplied and operated by High Resolutions' Peter Canning.

The stage was installed as a three-stage system with a 12m x 10m main stage and a 9m central catwalk protruding into the audience arena. A connecting DJ stage was set at 18 inches higher and occupied

Details
France - Digigram has announced the launch of its online directory of 'Network Audio Gurus' at www.ethersound.com/guru. The directory is designed to offer website visitors instant access to the right kind of expertise for their projects. The directory is free to register and open to all consultants, system designers and contractors with network audio experience who wish to promote their services via the pages of EtherSound. Interested parties can create their own profile and describe their field of expertise.

According to Digigram's marketing communications manager, Remi Oudinot, this is an opportunity for all network audio experts to increase their visibility within the market place. "We get over 6,000 visitors per month to ethersound.com," he explained. "Many of those will be looking at the site to see how they can incorporate EtherSound technology into their pr

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France - Barco reports that the world's leading car brands have again selected Barco LED solutions to deliver maximum brand impact to their booths at this year's Mondial de Automobile in Paris. Barco LED displays are used on over 70% of the booths at the show.

Held at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, the Mondial de Automobile is a showcase for over 500 international brands and a celebration of the European automotive industry. This year, the show will be celebrating its 110th anniversary and pays host to over 90 world premières. It runs from 4 to 19 October 2008.

The use of black LED is a major trademark of this year's show with many auto manufacturers choosing Barco's new true black LED displays, the NX-4 and NX-6, as an integral part of their booth design.

"Alongside the trend to black, creative use of LED at auto shows also continues a dominant trend," says Andr

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Spain - The Music and Fashion Sea Adventure is the brainchild of The Wellenreiter, an ambitious team of music and business experts, who, in conjunction with AIDA cruises, have put together the ultimate clubbers dream: eleven decks of paradise for the sun-seeking clubber on board the luxury liner AIDAcara out of Palma, Majorca.

In addition to the pools, bars, restaurants, wellness centres and driving range that form part of the AIDAcara cruising experience, the Music and Fashion Sea Adventure saw an additional five tons of sound and lighting equipment installed over three stages by Live Audio of Braunshweig, Germany. LiveAudio specified Crest Audio-driven Martin Audio systems throughout.

Crest Audio Pro 8200 and Pro 9200 powered Martin Audio mini line arrays transformed the pool deck into a powerful main dancefloor for 800 clubbers, where heavyweight DJs such as M.A.N.D.Y., Moo

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