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UK - Capital Sound Hire, Take That's long-serving audio production company, had some unlikely obstacles to contend with when designing their set for the recent Circus stadium tour. The band bounced onto stage like circus clowns and brought the whole circus to town including the Big Top.

An estimated £10m had been lavished on this tour, again production managed by Chris Vaughan, but for Capital's technical director Ian Colville and system technician, Al Woods, the presence of trapeze artists, contortionists, high-wire walkers and clowns streaming on to the main stage (with the B stage festooned in balloons and mammoth-sized human 'elephants') was not about to compromise their carefully-worked Martin Audio sound reinforcement system.

In collaboration with the band's l

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UK - Building on the success of last year's presence at the festival, Stage Electrics' dedicated 'Edinburgh Support Team' will be based in Edinburgh from 28 July until 4 September, on hand to provide a rapid response to all technical needs.

There will be a dedicated 24-hour helpline available seven days a week on 0131 522 2251, where Stage Electrics technicians will be available to assist with equipment requests. A dedicated support vehicle will also be available to ensure any spare equipment needed reaches the customer immediately. Stage Electrics will be taking a host of consumables as part of their Edinburgh involvement, including gaffer tape, lamps, colour filters, paint and plugs, available for immediate dispatch.

Stage Electrics is one of the biggest suppliers of technical equipment to the Edinburgh Festival, and for over 20 years has had a strong presence at both the Ed

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USA - QSC has launched 24/7 technical support to stand behind its new Q-Sys networked audio system. Spanning the globe in its scope, the service can be accessed online (www.qscaudio.com) or by phoning dedicated numbers for markets including the USA and Americas, Asia and India, and Europe and the Middle East.

With online service offered via email and through forums providing both peer-to-peer assistance as well as the collective wisdom of QSC's own knowledgeable staff, queries can additionally be sent using Skype. As further complement to the comprehensive nature of the programme, calls received after hours are guaranteed a 30-minute response time when not directly answered by a QSC support engineer, says the company.

"Q-Sys is indeed an exciting new technology we're all very proud of," says Q-Sys product manager Dale Sandberg. "But more importantly, the product

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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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USA - In March 2009, Cirque du Soleil officially opened the doors of its new training centre based at the company's Resident Show Division (RSD) in Las Vegas where technical staff can advance their skills in the use of the high-end lighting, audio, rigging, and automation equipment behind Cirque's extravagant, multisensory theatrical spectacles.

Meyer Sound, whose audio technology supports all of Cirque's resident productions, has expanded the company's worldwide education programme to include regular Matrix3 audio show control and CueConsole training sessions at RSD.

The RSD facility is the brainchild of Kim Scott, technical show support training manager, with Sylvain Brisebois, head of audio of Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity, coordinating the programme logistics with Jerry Placken of Meyer Sound. Other Cirque audio department leads are also in

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UK - It was 1978 when Jeff Wayne released the epic Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, and the Martians caught a cold on Primrose Hill and had their eyes pecked out by hungry crows. This year they decided to have another go at our fragile planet - in arenas around the UK and Europe in The War of The Worlds - Alive on Stage.

With RG Jones supplying a complex Synco by Martin Audio based sound system, the touring production was as grand a concept as the original record. Creating the spectacle were a 10-piece band, 36-piece string orchestra, five singers, a flying bridge, an 80' wide video screen, a 3D holographic projection of narrator Richard Burton and a 10m high Martian fighting machine with pneumatic legs, all supported by nine trucks and 44 crew.

Mixing front of house was RG Jones engineer Simon Honywill, who comments: "I've been attempting to convey

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USA - Shure Incorporated has introduced three new professional headphone models, the company's first over-the-ear headphones designed specifically for studio applications. The SRH840, SRH440, and SRH240 join Shure's lineup of professional and home recording equipment, including the recently introduced X2u, XLR-to-USB Signal Adapter and PG27USB and PG42USB Side Address Condenser Microphones to offer a complete recording package for studio engineers, musicians, and home recordists.

"Recording engineers need three critical things: flat, natural audio reproduction, comfort during extended wear, and gear that can stand up to the rigors of everyday use. To perfect those attributes, we combined Shure's legacy of working with sound engineers and recording artists with the depth of experience we gained with our consumer line of Sound Isolating Earphones," said Scott Sullivan, S

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USA - Technomad LLC, reports that Chattanooga Sound, a sound contractor based in Chattanooga, Tenn., has installed two Berlin weatherproof loudspeakers on a new soccer field for the Tennessee State Soccer Association in the nearby town of Cleveland.

The Berlin is the most powerful loudspeaker Technomad offers. According to Charlie Rhodes, president of Chattanooga Sound, the soccer association approached him to procure and design the end-to-end system after discovering Technomad online. The Berlins are mounted on opposite sideline poles, one pointing in each direction toward the field to cover the entire venue.

"The Berlins offer a very high SPL and a two-inch driver that makes a world of difference when projecting spoken word over long distances," said Rhodes. "These are full-range loudspeakers that reproduce lows, mids and highs very well, and the two-inch driv

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Belgium - Rental company Photonics took delivery of the first trailer built by Element Labs. The award winning Cobra 16 display of 17sq.m is Europe's largest display on a trailer.

Bart Van der Beken of Element Labs says, "Thanks to the features of the Cobra platform, we were able to build such a large LED surface in 16:9 layout on such a small trailer. Cobra is ultra thin - ultra light - and has extreme low power consumption, which are all helping in designing our Cobra trailer. In addition, we offer a four LED pixel product (RGBC) to improve the picture quality which delivers a true virtual 8 mm resolution in combination with our Vizomo processor."

Pieter Lambert of Photonics says: "We are very proud to be Element Labs' first mobile trailer customer. The Cobra 16 display looks stunning and we bring a new quality standard and display size to the market of LED tr

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USA - Rat Sound recently installed a new sound system at West Hollywood's Whisky a Go Go, which comprises Xi loudspeakers, TG amplifiers and an N8000 controller from Electro-Voice. At one time or another over the last 45 years, virtually every major rock act has appeared there, including The Who, The Byrds, The Police, as well as Frank Zappa, who recorded a live album at the club.

The centrepiece of the installation are the four Xi-1153s and Xi1122MHA loudspeakers from Electro-Voice, driven by two TG7 and 10 TG5 power amplifiers with integrated RCM-26 DSP modules. System control is via a NetMax N8000 matrix controller running under IRIS-Net.

Whisky a Go Go's Leonard Contreras and Jason Hines originally favoured a line-array solution, but after numerous test runs, none of the solutions demonstrated convinced the duo. It was David Brown of Electro-Voice who then suggested removi

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UK - The Youngman Group has launched a division dedicated to the specialised needs of the events industry. The new division will be targeting sporting and media events, outdoor concerts, exhibitions and product launches. Youngman Event Solutions has developed a range of crowd barriers, staging, and tower products specifically designed for performance and durability.

Jason Carlton, head of business development (events division), says that the new division is concentrated on developing a range of innovatively designed products to meet customer requirements coupled with working in partnership with a small number of key distribution partners. "We are not simply modifying scaffolding equipment, but are focused on providing bespoke products for technically demanding clients", declared Carlton. "At the same time we aim to provide the best possible after-sales service. Th

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USA - In an effort to ensure the safety of guests, exhibitors, contractors and employees of the Washington State Convention & Trade Centre (WSCTC), a rigging installation and inspection programme is being implemented. Effective 1 October 2009, any rigging, either ground support or aerial, which falls within specified categories must be installed by an ETCP Certified rigger. In addition, rigging supervisors, who must be ETCP Certified, are required to submit inspection and approval documentation to the WSCTC of all rigging installations.

Ed Barnes, WSCTC vice president of operations, stated, "We began the process to certify all riggers working in our facility for the safety of the centre's guests and everyone working behind the scenes. Having rigging installed by ETCP Certified personnel provides the most reliable and efficient way for us to verify the level of knowledge and

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UK - The prestigious Gottelier Award will be presented for the third time at this year's PLASA Show.

Named in honour of the late designer, developer and commentator Tony Gottelier, this award aims to recognise the product developers who have made a significant contribution to the development of the equipment and tools that enable our entertainment technology practitioners to continually push the boundaries of event production, presentation and installation.

The process of identifying the winner by peer voting will again consist of two distinct phases, but with a few subtle changes.

In the Nomination Phase, industry professionals will again be asked for their choices, but will also be asked to identify the specific product contributions that make that nominee a worthy contender. Based on the nominations received, a panel of industry expert judges will then be asked to decide

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Iceland - Compared with the Pop Idol franchises in larger countries, the viewing figures for Icelandic Idol may not seem high. Yet this year's competition received over 70,000 votes from a population of just 300,000.

Once again it fell to Alfred Sturla Bodvarsson, head of set & lighting for the Icelandic TV company Luxor, to look after the design. As usual, he turned to his trusty stock of Maltbury Steeldeck to build something both practical and a bit funky.

The stage is made up of about 60 Steeldeck units with LED tubes inserted between them at intervals. The decks were covered in chipboard which was then given a gloss black finish.

Bodvarsson has also supplied Maltbury Metrodecks and Metrodeck Ultra to numerous other Icelandic venues.

(Jim Evans)

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France - L-Acoustics Rental Network agent Arpege has deployed its K1 system on Jean-Michel Jarre's World Arena Tour. With branches in Paris and Nice, the rental company joined the K1 pilot programme in March.

Jarre's current spectacle has been created for arenas and stadiums, featuring his greatest hits in a show merging analogue synthesisers with huge video projections. As the K1 system is behind the video screen used for the projections, experiments have been carried out on the left-centre-right system in unusual configurations.

For example, in the Vorst national forest in Brussels, the system comprised three clusters of eight K1 cabinets and four K1-SB, with eight SB28 subs flown behind the centre cluster. The K1 system is being driven by LA8 amplified controllers mounted in LA-RAK touring racks.

The K1 pilot programme will carry on into 2009 in collaboration with

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UK - Kave Theatre Services supplied all lighting, sound, AV, set and crew requirements on a large scale production for a dance school client. The show was choreographed around some of the most famous movie soundtracks in history. The set design brief was to deliver something "unusual and exciting" for the dancers to interact with.

Kave project manager Dave Singleton created a dynamic design utilising the company's Alistage Staging System. The visible set frontage was covered with Pulsar Chroma Panels with Thomas Pixelline 1044 battens placed in between them and lined with several strips of Colour Kinetics I-cove.

The client had a requirement for large staircases that could be moved on and off with relative ease. The solution was to once again use the company's Alistage products which produced a lightweight, easy to manoeuvre end result. Each tread was then lined with

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Azerbaijan - Resplendent underneath a massive crystal chandelier, the MTN Theatre in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is an intimate 400-seat venue that exudes the luxury of a bygone era, yet it also offers advanced 21st century AV technology, including a discreet Meyer Sound system based around M'elodie line array loudspeakers, custom-painted to match the decor.

Alas, for the casual tourist, this architectural jewel is not open to the public. Built more than a half-century ago during the Soviet era, the deteriorating theatre was painstakingly refurbished before it was turned over to the MTN, Azerbaijan's national intelligence agency. (MTN's closest English alphabet transliteration is Milli Tehlukesizlik Nazirliyi.) MTN now uses the venue for hosting high-level government conferences and for entertaining foreign dignitaries on state visits.

"With such important audiences

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UK - At the recent Wakefield district business awards, Litestructures was awarded The Innovation in Business Award 2009. The Awards celebrate the individuals and companies who are helping to make the district one of the most dynamic in the region.

Adrian Brooks, managing director of Litestructures comments: "We are obviously delighted to win and gain recognition for our innovation. We feel that it was well deserved because as a company, we continually strive to move forward and develop new products and ideas."

Brooks invented the world's first aluminium truss system, AstraLite. Since then, many have followed: LiteDeck is now an industry standard staging system, the Litestructures rehearsal arena is the only facility of its kind in Europe, DigiTruss, and LiteSwitch are new lighting developments. Last but not least, the Backstage Academy is well on its way to training

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USA - When downtown Charlotte, North Carolina's popular Cosmos restaurant opened a second branch in suburban Ballantyne, the owners were counting on the reputation of their French fusion-style cuisine to jump-start the new location. What they didn't expect was that after the anticipated dinner rush cleared around 9 pm, the new Cosmos Café would get a second wind, transmuting into a wildly popular, energised nightspot.

One reason for Cosmos' spontaneous splash into the area's bar/nightlife scene is its highly animated atmosphere, capped off by colour-changing LED lighting effects from Acclaim Lighting. A local food reviewer was compelled to write: "Even the lighting is neat - the lights fade from green, to blue, to red. When you go to visit, be sure to ask about the décor."

Jack Kelly of Eye Dialogue Lighting & Sound (Charlotte, NC) used 235 Acclaim X-St

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Australia - Show Technology, MA Lighting's Australian distributor, recently took the grandMA2 on an Australian tour with special launches held in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. Over 300 industry professionals came to see the new grandMA2.

"We're particularly excited by the new grandMA2 in Australia as grandMA is definitely the preferred control system for serious work here," commented Emmanuel Ziino, managing director of Show Technology. "The commitment and support offered by the team back in Germany is second to none and we are proud to distribute such acclaimed and respected products."

"The actual size of the grandMA2 is what interests me the most as we are often limited by space at events," commented Stavros Hatzipantelis from Pro Light & Sound in Melbourne. "We don't want huge format lighting consoles but we still need to control

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UK - After three years and 954 sell out performances at the London Palladium, The Sound of Music is moving from its former West End home to embark on a new national tour. Stage Electrics has won a contract to supply all lighting for the production which starts its run on 26 July at the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.

The tour once again brings together Stage Electrics with the original creative and production team from the West End version including lighting design by Mark Henderson and production electrician Fraser Hall. Stage Electrics was also the lighting supplier for the original production of The Sound of Music until the show ended its West End run in February this year.

Henderson's lighting design features over 74 moving lights including Martin MAC 700s and VariLite VL1000 arc units, 60 ETC Source Fours and two Ivanhoe follow spots. The complete rig is c

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India - Since Dhanashree Electronics took on distribution of HK Audio in India, the German pro audio brand has been gaining in popularity there. As HK product specialist with Dhanashree, Calvin Baker reports that rental firm Aeros Sonic in the coastal city of Goa recently acquired two HK Audio Projector systems and four F.A.S.T. active monitors.

"We were looking for a new system that could be set up in minutes and managed by a crew of just two men," say Oswin Vas and Andre Paul Sousa, the owners of Aeros Sonic. "Dhanashree Electronics suggested the Projector systems and the F.A.S.T. monitors to us, and they were exactly what we were looking for. We're really happy with our new systems, as they have solved all our problems. We can set them up very quickly and the sound is outstanding."

(Jim Evans)

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