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Germany - Merging Technologies, maker of the Pyramix digital audio workstation, isrunning a free prize draw for visitors to the AES show in Munich next month. The draw may be entered by visiting Merging's stand at the show, and entrants will be asked to guess how many tracks the latest version of Pyramix is now capable of playing back simultaneously.

The Pyramix Track Count prize draw will be open throughout the AES show. On the last day of the show, the three entrants who have most accurately guessed the maximum track count achieved by Pyramix during Merging's demanding tests will be declared the winners. The first two winners will be offered free Pyramix upgrades if they are already Pyramix users, or free copies of the Native versions of Pyramix if not. The third-prize winner wi

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UK - Academy Music Group (AMG) has purchased 18 GLP Impression LED RGB lights - for use in O2 Academy venues in Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle. These fixtures have been supplied and installed by Utopium, AMG's lighting supplier.

AMG's group technical manager, Ed Jackson said the decision to invest in the high-powered fixtures became self-evident after seeing them turn up increasingly on touring productions. "Numerous technical managers across AMG venues were also commenting on them, so we knew these were the lights to invest in," he said.

"The reason we are seeing their impact in both the touring and TV industries is because they are the first moving LED light that lighting designers seem unanimously confident in using," he added. "As a result, these fixtures will improve the house production values."

Jackson said he was particularly impressed

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UK / USA - Today is Light Relief day, with the entertainment lighting communities on both sides of the Atlantic joining forces for the first time to raise money for members of the profession who face extreme hardship. Light Relief is joined by the US and Canadian charity, Behind the Scenes, and a record number of designers are donating their day's royalties, with many donations coming from other sources - including a collection at tonight's performance of Hairspray in London!

Well-known lighting designer Rick Fisher, who instigated Light Relief Day in 2007 in honour of the late Tony Gottelier, co-founder of Light Relief, said: "The link with Behind The Scenes has given the day a much higher profile and as a result we have a record number of designers joining in the fund raising. Anyone who has links with the industry is welcome to join us, including rental companies

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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 - PLASA Focus 2009 sees a variety of new Audio-Technica products making an appearance at the inaugural show. Microphones from both the Studio and Broadcast & Production ranges, new professional headphones and the ATCS-60 infrared conferencing system will be on display, providing points of interest to visitors no matter what their professional background.

The new studio microphones in the 20 and 40 Series comprise the affordable AT2035 and AT2050 large diaphragm condensers and the high-performing AT4021 cardioid and AT4022 omnidirectional condensers.

The 20 Series are both side-address models, with the cardioid AT2035 designed to isolate sound sources while the switchable pickup pattern of the AT2050 allows omni, cardioid and figure-of-eight operation. The 40 Series microphones - which carry Audio-Technica's Lifetime Warranty - are ideally suited to deliver sensitivity and n

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USA - The Blue Martini Lounge has locations in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Miami, Naples, Orlando, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Tampa and West Palm Beach. To keep the patios full of music, Blue Martini has chosen the SMS2124B Surface Mount Loudspeaker from EAW. Thus far, Blue Martini's club location in West Palm Beach has already installed the SMS2124B speaker in its patio area. SMS2124B's will be installed in the other locations in the coming months, and future Blue Martini Lounges scheduled for other markets will open with SMS2124B's already installed.

"These are the best small loudspeakers for this type of application," says Tom Griffin, president of Griffin Automation of Port St. Lucie, Florida, which handles the lighting for the Blue Martini locations in Florida and is doing many of the EAW SMS2124B patio upgrades, including the one at the Miami location. Next o

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USA - Earlier this year Tomcat USA completed work on equipment for the second national tour of Wicked which begins this month in Ft. Myers, Florida. This equipment included three overhead electric trusses, six Tomcat Dance Towers for stage left and right as well as a Cyc Tower for stage left and right.

Two of the overhead electric trusses are customised versions of Tomcat's award winning Swing Wing Truss. They were modified to match the specific needs of the show. The third electric is a custom fabricated length of medium duty spigoted truss with a centre lamp bar.

Along with the spans of Swing Wing Truss, TTomcat custom-designed and fabricated the Dance Towers to meet the needs of the production. All equipment was powder coated black prior to shipping.

"With the help of Tomcat custom fabrication, the designers of Wicked can deliver the Broadway visual exp

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UK - New 'Spike' LED light columns from EcoLEDLighting and Holophane Europe are being used to promote accessibility and safety for users and visitors to Milton Keynes Hospital. Located in a park close to the hospital, the custom-built fittings deliver enhanced light levels on pathways as well as significantly improving sightlines for pedestrians visiting the hospital and nearby public transport terminus.

The project to improve safety and access around the Hospital was undertaken by Milton Keynes Council who had become concerned that people were making unnecessary diversions because the main pathways were badly lit in places. WSP were commissioned to undertake a redesign and upgrade of the existing lighting arrangements. They chose a bespoke column fitting from local lighting manufacturer Holophane, who cleverly integrated EcoLEDLighting's cutting-edge, energy saving LED technolo

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UK - Stage Electrics will be exhibiting at this year's Plasa Focus (stand RA-C17). Their stand will be filled with new products including QMAXZ moving lights, the SPLNet sound monitoring device, Altair intercom system, DiGiCo SD8 sound console, RCF TT08-A and RCF TTS12-A speakers, and Prolyte truss.

Stage Electrics is the exclusive distributor for SPLNet, QMAXZ and Altair and one of only five UK dealers for the DiGiCo SD8 sound console.

Plasa Focus will also give Stage Electrics the opportunity to showcase its recently launched LED screens and will incorporate demonstrations on the variety of applications utilised with the screens. Arri fresnels will also feature strongly on the stand, following Stage Electrics recently securing a new dealership with the worldwide supplier of lighting solutions for feature film and TV productions.

Linda Moore, head of sales and marketing at

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UK - Creative & Cultural Skills says it is pleased the chancellor has acknowledged the creative industries as an important sector within the economy's recovery in this week's Budget.

"We strongly welcome the guarantee to young people of funding for training and subsidies to help them get the skills and experience needed in sectors with strong future demand," says a statement. "Extra investment announced today for 16 and 17 year olds wanting to stay in education or training should be put into the Creative Apprenticeship, which will develop talented job entrants with the right skills."

Tom Bewick, chief executive of Creative & Cultural Skills comments: "We are pleased that the creative industries are recognised as a future growth sector, one which will provide employment for many in the future. We will be working to ensure the £2.5 billion earmarke

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UK - Martin Professional is focused on innovation with its new lighting, haze and visual solution products for the PLASA Focus show at the Royal Armouries in Leeds on 28 and 29 April 2009.

Martin's rapidly expanding range of LED lighting solutions will feature prominently at PLASA Focus 2009. On display in the foyer will be the LC Plus Series of LED video panels with new generation technology using the new P3-100 Processor that is DMX controllable and an IP65 rating. On display on the stand will be Martin's first LED moving heads, the MAC 401 Dual, a powerful LED washlight with a double-sided design that gives it dual functionality; and the MAC 301 Wash, a compact, high-power LED washlight with powerfully fast zoom. Martin's highly successful 1500 watt MAC III Profile will also be shown.

Control solutions in the form of the new Maxxyz Modular series will feature as will the ne

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Australia - Located on the sandstone shores of the historic 'Rocks' Sydney, Australia's colonial birthplace, Italian Village is a three-level, three-room restaurant and function centre catering for up to 100 seated and 250 cocktail. With 180 degree views of Sydney Harbour, the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, Italian Village is the very latest addition to the Dockside Group that has been transformed into a stylish, sought after leading venue appealing to the the corporate sector.

Impact AV were employed to design and install a premium quality sound system with a well distributed speaker design and placement, multi room control on every level and wireless microphone use on all levels.

"The owners wanted flexibility within the venue so that you could have different zones or the zones could be combined to make one zone," explained Silas Creel, managing director of Im

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UK - Just four shows into Sharleen Spiteri's first solo tour of the UK and a wayward neutral on a mains distro' system finally slipped free late afternoon and fried the dimmer rack at Sheffield City Hall.

Suddenly LD Brian Livingstone was without half his rig, and two of his MAC 700s had completely lost their minds. "It was just after sound check," explained an understandably frustrated lighting crew chief Andy Rowe. "Adlib had a new rack on its way within half an hour, no worries there; but the moving lights were an altogether bigger problem....or would have been."

The stage set was up, back line in place and under normal circumstances by this time in the day the secondaries would be in and the riggers safely tucked up in bed. "The MACs are under-hung from the back truss on poles, inaccessible from the truss we would have been unable to reach them fro

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Australia - The hit musical Wicked will soon celebrate its first anniversary in Melbourne's Regent Theatre.

Early last year, Live Theatre Sound specialists System Sound P/L installed three units of ARX MSX 48 16 in, 48 Out ISO-Transformer Microphone / Line Splitters to provide 48 channels of signal splitting and Isolation between the Yamaha PM 5 digital monitor console and two Cadac FOH Consoles being used for the show.

Nominated for ten Tony Awards and recently celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Broadway opening, Wicked's four North American and three international companies have cumulatively grossed over U.S $800 million and have been seen by over 10 million people worldwide.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Searchlight rental specialist A&O UK will be exhibiting at PLASA Focus this week (28-29 April, Leeds, UK). Highlighted on the stand will be A&O's popular Falcon range of searchlight products, which is manufactured in Germany by Alpha One, and includes their latest 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8kW Falcon Beam Colour luminaires - a Xenon indoor and outdoor searchlight with full colour changing capabilities.

A&O UK's Simon Stuart told L&SI: "There's a real buzz about PLASA Focus. We think it'll be a highly social event with a great industry networking opportunity, so it's important to be there illustrating A&O UK's unique products and services."

Based in Blackburn, A&O UK was formed in late 2008 and has already established itself as a leading rental operation for Alpha One's full range of entertainment fixtures. Falcon searchlights are being used and specified extensively for

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The Netherlands - Philips has introduced a new LED lamp with a difference. Based on a joint development with DSM, the Philips MASTER LED MR16 retrofit lamp is the first high-power LED application in which the aluminium cover is replaced with a thermally conductive plastic - Stanyl - to control the heat. Stanyl also offers the additional benefits of flexibility in design, exceptional durability and weight reduction, says the company. Going forward, this sustainable solution may be applied across Philips' LED retrofit lamp range.

The Philips MASTER LED MR16 is a 4W LED replacement for the popular low-voltage halogen spot lamp. With light output equivalent to that of 20W Halogen MR16 lamps, it offers the key benefits of up to 80% energy saving and a 40-times longer lifetime. MASTER LED MR 16 employs three Philips Lumileds Luxeon Rebel LEDs and is available in both 2700K (true warm

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Benelux - Marco Borsato, the "darling of millions of fans of Dutch pop music with over 5.5 million album and DVD sales, is renowned for innovative shows that push existing boundaries". His current show, Wit Licht (White Light), which opened in Arnhem, The Netherlands in October last year and concluded in Antwerp, Belgium at the end of March again didn't disappoint. A three-dimensional light and video show that wraps the stage and downstage 'road' in innovative LED technologies creates an intense visual experience that enhances Borsato's energetic performances.

Sharing the stage with Borsato are some innovative LED technologies developed by Element Labs and supplied and supported by XL Video. Making its debut is the Helix P1 pixel string, which dominates the design of the 'road', which forms a video carpet that takes Borsato to the midst of his fans, and i

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UK - DMi D&M Installation (Europe) has introduced a complete redesign of its Boston Acoustics' range of CI in-wall and in-ceiling speakers.

The redesigned VSi and HSi series, debuted at ISE 09, introduces numerous design innovations, improved audio performance, versatility and ease of installation. An increased number of models includes more three-way designs, ultra-compact 'lighting can' style designs, and humidity resistant models for outdoor and wet environments.

The new series comprise more than 25 new in-wall and in-ceiling designs. Design innovations include a dramatic 70 per cent reduction in the visible bezel, providing for improved flush to surface mounting. Magnetically attaching grilles greatly improve ease of installation and servicing.

The new HSi in-ceiling range includes the HSi H460T2 high humidity, weather resistant model, a 2-way design ideal for outdoor us

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USA - The Vietnamese Martyr's Catholic Church (VMCC), built in Sacramento, California to serve a growing population of Catholic Vietnamese-Americans, has installed a Renkus-Heinz ICONYX digitally steerable audio system to bring a new clarity to its 900 seat sanctuary, with CFX121 system covering the Great Hall that's used as an overflow area for larger meetings and performances.

VMCC turned to full-spectrum AV systems integrator Quality Sound of Stockton, California for the audio systems. Iconyx was my go-to choice from the first look at the project plans," says Gary Roda, Quality Sound's house of worship expert. "Its balance of performance and aesthetic appeal is unique."

Iconyx's ability to focus sound precisely was Roda's answer to the complex shape and reflective materials at VMCC. The large, nearly square nave with a sloped t-bar ceiling has a large open cl

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UK - On April 2 2009, the leaders of the 20 most powerful countries in the world, including Barack Obama on his first international visit since taking office, gathered in London to address the global financial crisis.

In just 5-weeks of pre-production and four days on site, production company WRG had the responsibility of transforming the blank canvas that London's ExCel centre provides into a multi functional environment for the Summit to take place.

Key spaces included the Plenary Meeting Room, lounge and dining areas for the summit's main business, a press area that included a 700-seat press briefing theatre and six smaller theatres, and working environments for country delegations and the international media centre.

The key spaces were all connected by a 100m long corridor that acted as a central artery for the event flow and movement. Working alongside WRG, Essential Li

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Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB has launched investigations against copycat companies worldwide using the same title as both the company and its well-known W-DMX brand of wireless DMX technology.

Niclas Arvidsson, CEO of Wireless Solution explains: "This has been a problem for a while, but it is getting worse. For example, there is an Italian company using the name 'wireless solution' on their website and printed in their catalogues, while the legal and registered company name has nothing to do with this. There is also a Chinese manufacturer selling OEM products with both 'W_DMX' and 'W-DMX' but are not in any sort of partnership with W-DMX made in Sweden by Wireless Solution Sweden AB. These examples represent blatant trademark infringement."

Arvidsson continues: "For OEM companies who support this theft of brand names we will start to take action in Europ

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UK - The £15.3m regeneration of The Crucible Theatre passed a milestone recently as the completion of Phase 1 of the project was marked by a series of preview test events from 21 March to 4 April. Theatre consultants Theatreplan LLP have been providing specialist planning and technical design expertise throughout the project.

Phase 1 of the comprehensive refurbishment programme included a new roof, new exterior cladding, additional reinforcement for the building's foundations and redevelopment of the front of house areas. Theatreplan's team of Clive Odom, John Whitaker, Peter Ruthven Hall, Charles Wass and Mathew Smethurst-Evans were tasked with bringing the auditorium in line with modern disability access standards, and to replace the flying, lighting and sound systems. Previously, the team had completed the stage refurbishment with an ingenious modular solution in time f

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