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Russia - Co-organisers Integrated Systems Events and MidExpo have announced a string of new attractions for Integrated Systems Russia which opens its doors on Tuesday, 8 December.

Among the new attractions will be special pavillions for Russian manufacturers and for conferencing; an enhanced Digital Education area featuring real-world room AV solutions; and a ProIntegration Awards programme for the Russian and CIS markets, to celebrate best practice in regional systems design and integration.

Mike Blackman, managing director, Integrated Systems Events, comments: "After a productive and successful meeting of the IS Russia Advisory Board last month, we agreed to develop the show in a number of directions in order to maximise value for our exhibitors, visitors an

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UK - grandPA has kicked off a busy summer with the arrival of its latest investment - an MA2 Lite. This new arrival to the fleet was whisked away on the same day it arrived by lighting company Siyan for a four week tour with the Killers starting at Hyde Park.

The company also reports that it has added a further grandMA series 1 full-size and a grandMA lite to the hire inventory for this busy summer period.

"Demand for MA consoles is at a peak this summer and we have tried to invest where possible even under this stormy financial period, we are proud to have consoles currently on tour with Madonna, The Killers and down on the ever-running Big Brother," says Tim Routledge co-founder of grandpa.

The company's agency wing, grandPA - Programming Associates, is also busy this summer with its programmers working on shows including the Take That Circus Live D

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UK - The great cathedrals of the world can still prove challenging in terms of sightlines for those in the congregation or audience. Salisbury Cathedral has been using Maltbury Metrodeck for many years.

Technical manager Dene Turner, who originally chose the system more than eight years ago, is still delighted with what Metrodeck offers him both for services and concerts in different parts of the Cathedral.

"We use the very versatile Metrodecks regularly in the Cathedral itself and also outside in the Cathedral Close for choral and orchestral concerts. I also use them for temporary liturgical focus such as Nave Altar platforms and Nativity/Easter dramas" says Turner.

(Jim Evans)

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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 microphones, in-ear monitoring, personnel and NET 1 frequency management system were all at the heart of Capital Radio's Summertime Ball held recently at the Emirates Stadium in London.

With Sennheiser's support team of Mark Saunders, Dave Hawker and Phil Cummings on hand to support sound company, Wigwam, a total of 70 presenters and performers used Sennheiser as they entertained the sell-out crowd.

As far as in-ear monitoring was concerned, all IEMs used by performers were Sennheiser's G2 300 series. In addition, all presenter mics were Sennheiser SKM 5200s, the same model chosen by headliner, Leona Lewis.

Other performers, including Saturdays, Daniel Merriweather, Mark Ronson and Shontelle all performed with Sennheiser SKM 935 mics.

Katie Walker, RF Manager at Wigwam comments, "With 12 IEM systems, 22 receiver packs and 70 performers sharing t

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UK - The Rigging Partnership were approached to provide the automated solutions to the performer flying elements of the Circus Tour for Take That. Playing to 1m people over 20 dates the sell out tour was bigger than anything the band had done before.

TRP worked with the band for their Come to Town Christmas TV Special which previewed the tour's circus theme. After rehearsals at 3 Mills Studios the TV show was shot at Granada Studios in Manchester. Given that multiple effects were needed in a tight space, TRP opted to use Navigator software from FTSI (Fisher Technical Services) with their MOD winch system. This allowed the crew to rig multiple effects off individual winches and also to achieve the speed and acceleration required to make the effects look alive and "not like a tired old corporate show".

Once planning on the tour started TRP were brought in

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USA/Canada - ETCP reports that there are 10 new testing centres in Canada. All three exams are now available for computer-based testing in Ontario at Sylvan Learning Centres in the cities of Courtice, Etobicoke, Oakville, Pickering, Scarborough, Vaughn and at three locations in Mississauga.Testing is also available at Robertson College in Winnipeg, MB.

Individuals must meet eligibility requirements to take the exams and applications must be turned in to the ETCP office for approval. Once a candidate is approved, he or she will receive a letter with information on scheduling the exam. The eligibility requirements, candidate handbook and application materials can be found at http://etcp.esta.org.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - At this year's ABTT Theatre Show, various product and achievement awards were presented at a reception after the first day of the event. The lifetime achievement award was given to Paul Sadler of Delstar Engineering and was presented by Jeff Phillips, who was a key personality and driving force at the Royal Opera House for many years before his retirement.

During his career at the Royal Opera House, Jeff worked with Paul on numerous occasions, a typical example of which would be the installation of heavy duty point hoist winches sandwiched onto the fly galleries for the Ring Cycle and used to operate Paul's engineering design for a lifting, hinged, turning platform.

Paul Sadler specialises in modern theatre hydraulics and is now acting as associate engineer for Delstar Engineering, the company which he founded in 1978. Since its formation, Delstar has been a major contrib

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UK - High Technology Lighting continues to build on its trading partnership with West Yorkshire-based JCT600, one of the largest privately owned motor retail groups in the UK.

The Middleton Grove, Leeds, company has designed and installed both internal and exterior lighting systems at the new JCT600 VW dealership on Sticker Lane, Bradford.

During its five-year business relationship, High Technology Lighting has also provided lighting solutions at the group's dealerships in Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield and Sheffield, along with JCT600's Tordoff House headquarters in Apperley Bridge, Bradford.

Mark Taylor, group property director with JCT600, said: "We took the decision some years ago to remove the specification of light fittings for our major developments from the main contractor. This has allowed us to work closely with High Technology Lighting, producing economic and ene

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USA - Plunging 132ft at 60mph with its screaming passengers' feet dangling in mid-air, the floorless Bizarro roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson has been ranked as one of the scariest rides anywhere. When the New Jersey amusement park's management decided to upgrade and re-theme the coaster (formerly known as Medusa) earlier this year, they were looking to pump up its thrills and chills to a new level.

This goal was accomplished in part with a lighting display using ELAR Exbar BL RGB LED bars from Elation Architectural, the architectural lighting division of Elation Professional. 70 strobing, RGB colour-changing Exbars were installed in a series of five loops that riders race through immediately after surviving Bizarro's first breathless plunge. Along with the visual 'thrills' provided by the lighting, passengers experience more 'chills' in the loops - literal

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Balaeric Islands - A.C. Entertainment Technologies recently supplied event production company Three Media Creative with state-of-the-art sound and projection systems for new show Come Fly with Me at the Gran Casino Theatre in Mallorca. Combining the music of Frank Sinatra with the spectacle of a Broadway show, the production is based around New York in 1959 and features a mix of swing music, acrobatics and dancing.

When the show's producers, Globo Balear, took over the Gran Casino Theatre to host the show, the 1,500-seater custom-built theatre had never been used before for such a technically ambitious production. They therefore appointed broadcast and production specialists Three Media Creative as technology consultants when the show first went into pre-production planning.

James Baker, Three Media Creative Show Technology Consultant and his team had the remit of desig

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Norway - projectiondesign is now shipping its new F22 projector in both WUXGA and 1080p resolution versions. The new projectors benefit from using Philips' new VIDI technology for improved colour reproduction and management, along with enhanced image quality and performance predictability.

"At projectiondesign, our goal is to have a projector for the most demanding applications - as well as catering for some more common ones," comments Anders L°kke, international marketing and communications manager, projectiondesign. "The new F22 projectors fill a gap in the range of new-platform DLP projectors that we unveiled at the start of this year as well as presenting at the recent InfoComm 09.

"The F22 is our entry level professional projector series, sitting below, and being more affordable than our F12 and F32 series, whilst still offering a whole range of pr

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USA - The rolling countryside of rural Tennessee is a long way from New Jersey both metaphorically and as the crow flies, but that didn't stop Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band from riveting the audience at this year's Bonnaroo Arts and Music Festival. As the Saturday night headliner at the patchouli-saturated festival, The Boss and band performed tirelessly during an epic three-hour set.

Bonnaroo is only the third biggest concert the group has played this year, trailing both the Super Bowl halftime show and President Obama's inauguration. Springsteen's vocals at all three shows have been managed by Shure UHF-R wireless.

(Jim Evans)

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Palestine - The Solomon Pools Convention Centre in Bethlehem is the first of its kind in Palestine. Its dimensions and installations of professional audio, video, simultaneous translation systems and lighting make it suitable for a broad range of events and conventions.

The Solomon Pools Convention Centre construction was financed by the Official Credit Institute of Spain with a FAD credit from the Development Aid Fund. With support and funds from the Spanish authorities, Ecler coordinated the audio, public address, stage, seats, acoustic material, video, lighting, translation systems, CCTV and MATV installation.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Hadlow Down Parish Council and St Marks Church have joined forces to demonstrate a new innovation to provide a series of carbon-free lights on village paths. The new sustainable lights made by Uckfield firm NiteSafe give out a gentle light to guide users along dark paths in the churchyard.

Councillor Michael Lunn, portfolio holder for sustainable development said: "This has been a long term problem especially during winter months. We wanted to find a solution which improved safety but had a zero carbon impact - these small lights do exactly that. Nearly everyone in the village will benefit from this innovation. It's a win for the environment, a win for the church, and a win for our community. This is the first step of Hadlow Down Parish Council leading the way to become more sustainable."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Specialist racecourse technical services company, RaceTech AV, has recently installed Community R-Series and VERIS loudspeakers as part of the development of the Epsom Downs Racecourse. The £38m, three-year project was commissioned by Jockey Club Racecourses and includes the construction of the new 11,000 capacity Duchess Grandstand.

Horse racing takes place at the course on only 14 days of the year, so the facility encompasses full banqueting, conferencing, exhibition and dining facilities to provide its diverse revenue streams.

The heart of the new facilities is the Oaks Hall. To make this facility truly multi-purpose, a highly-specified audio-visual system with flexible digital infrastructure was required. RaceTech AV used a BSS Soundweb to provide a system in which, for most positions within the Hall, the audio image is strongly located at the stage end of the r

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Germany / India - The distribution of HK Audio products in India will now be handled exclusively by Dhanashree Electronics. This firm is part of the well established Toshniwal Group of Companies, a family business which has long been active in the Indian market in several industries. Dhanashree Electronics' primary areas of operation until now have been in the manufacture and marketing of electronic components and industrial lighting; distributing professional audio equipment represents an expansion of their business into new territory.

Abhishek Toshniwal, marketing & business development director of Dhanashree Electronics, comments: "Adding professional audio equipment to our distribution network was our next logical step. We have been having more and more contact with PA rental firms and installation companies, and we've been wanting to expand our product portfolio in ord

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UK - Lighting designer Jon Pollak recommended that Adlib Lighting supplied the equipment and crew for the UK leg of veteran American jazz rockers Steely Dan's current European tour.

Pollak first worked with the Liverpool based company in 2007 when he was lighting folk singer Ray Lamontagne. "They did a fantastic job. I was so impressed with the kit and the personnel that I really wanted to use them again," he states.

Lighting-wise, the UK shows were based on three straight 48ft trusses to cover the 50ft wide performance area.

These were loaded with 21 Martin Professional MAC 2K Washes and 16 MAC 700 Spots. The Washes were utilised for general band and stage washes, primarily an ever evolving series of subtle and straightforward colour combinations, while the spots took the role of providing basic beam-work and effects across the 12-piece band and substantial area t

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UK - DMi D&M Europe has announced the launch of Escient Zone, its integrated CI home control system. The launch of is accompanied by an extensive programme of product support and training for DMi appointed installers.

Zone complements the latest Ethernet and WIFI network enabled AV source and control components from D&M's Denon, Marantz and Escient brands. Its introduction enables DMi appointed CI professionals to offer in-home automation systems, seamlessly incorporating components from these brands.

Zone is positioned to provide fully featured, high performance home automation and control, at a lower price point than current market leading systems; enabling CI dealers and custom installers to extend their target market for integrated home automation, says the company. Likewise, it enables a greater number of dealers to gain full access to a single integrated home control sys

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UK - Take That's The Circus Live - Summer 2009 tour exceeded everyone's expectations. With concerts throughout the UK and held in the largest stadiums, over 1,000,000 tickets were sold for the flamboyantly themed extravaganzas, based on Take That's latest album 'The Circus'.

With the stage set as the Big Top, a ringmaster welcomed the audience to the show, which included jugglers, unicyclers, clowns and trapeze artists alongside the ultimate showmanship of the boy band themselves.

Creative Technology has been involved in all three tours since Take That reformed, which enables CT to provide the production with experience and knowledge allowing for smooth transit and seamless rig and de rig for each of the stadium stints. Utilising a Barco MiTrix screen for the back screen and two IMAG panels for each side, CT once again worked alongside XL Video who provided the central

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UAE - The upcoming Light Middle East, which was to be held at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre from 27-29 September has been postponed until autumn 2010.

Epoc Messe Frankfurt GmbH based in Dubai, UAE, an independent subsidiary of the Messe Frankfurt Group headquartered in Germany, "will continue to strive towards offering a combined and synergised platform for Light Middle East collocated with the ISH Kitchen and Bath Middle East exhibition in the autumn of 2010".

According to Dr. Michael Peters, CEO of the Messe Frankfurt Group: "Dubai remains an important business hub for the Middle East region necessitating a presence by Messe Frankfurt in key industries. Leading companies in the lighting field as well as regional market indicators, confirm the continued need for a regional platform catering to interior, exterior, architectural, urban, a

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UK / Denmark - UK-based Stage One has just completed the construction of a sculptural pavilion showcasing the possibilities that exist in building with sustainable and intelligent materials. Designed by Danish architects 3XN, the Pavilion is part of a 'Green Architecture for the Future' exhibition at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Stage One was responsible for both the manufacture and installation of this innovative structure, which follows the shape of a Moebius band and was built using natural fibres - naturally derived resin and cork from sustainable sources. The company has unique experience in working with complex shapes and unusual materials, along with a broad palette of problem solving skills. In this instance well-known synthetic products were substituted with new biological and re-useable materials, many of which had not previously been used

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