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Finland - Clay Paky's Alpha Beam 300 recently aided a dynamic mix of choir-meets-rock'n'roll at Kuorosota (Battle of the Choirs) in Lahti, Finland. The format is similar to a singing contest, although the participants are not what you would expect. If you're picturing a stoic and formally robed choir singing hymnals, you're way off. After all, this is Finland.

The concept of the program is that choir leaders, who are already established in the music industry, pick ordinary people for a choir from their respective hometowns. The choirs then compete with popular songs during a six-week live television broadcast, with long hair and rock music a common theme. TV viewers vote and determine the winner, and each week another choir gets voted off. The final winner gets to select a charity

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UK - The Gosport Waterfront Festival which took place from 28-30th August saw the UK festival debut of a pair of Innovason Eclipse consoles and a Tannoy VQ Live system supplied to PA company Technical Services by Red Square Audio.

A total of 28 bands took to the stage with an average attendance of 4,000 people on each of the show days. Headliners included the Kenny Jones Band, Alan Price, Maggie Bell, Angelo Starr, and Chichino. Red Square Audio's Paul Nicholson took charge of front-of-house duties with Andy Reeves on monitors.

Paul says: "We set up a generic 42-channel plot for the entire event and just picked what we wanted for each band. With the flexibility that the Eclipse offers it was the easiest three days I've ever had behind a console. I configured 10 VCAs and ran the onboard 64-track MARS recorder to multitrack a dozen or so bands which we then used for virtual

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UK - The Professional Audio Sales division of Orbital Sound, the leading sound and communication systems specialist for the theatre, event and broadcast markets, is exhibiting an eye-catching cross-section of audio innovations on at PLASA09 (Earls Court, London, 13-16 September).

As the exclusive UK distributor and prime reseller of a number of major brands, Orbital will showcase loudspeaker systems from d&b audiotechnik, digital wireless intercom systems from HME, and digital wireless microphone systems from Zaxcom.

Making their PLASA debut are d&b's installation-specific Ti-Series loudspeaker systems, featuring the same multi-purpose flexibility as the company's T-Series introduced earlier this year - with mounting hardware to suit fixed-install applications. The Ti-Series comprises the Ti10L, for deployment in multiples as part of line-array configurations, plus the Ti10P,

featured content

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 - ESTA (Entertainment Services and Technology Association) is pleased to announce the finalists in the second annual Rock Our World Awards to be presented at the ESTA Annual Dinner & Awards Ceremony at LDI 2009. The ESTA Rock Our World Awards were created to honour groundbreaking achievement by its members and to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of the technology and the designer or integrator who applies it in a real world environment. The finalists for the second annual Rock Our World Awards are:

Cobra Display - Element Labs, Inc.
DMXIS - ENTTEC
P3-100 System Controller - Martin Professional
OPTI Trilite V-Truss - Optikinetics Ltd
Bad Boy Luminaire - Production Resource Group
SRI ProPlus Fall Protection Systems - Sapsis Rigging Inc
Helix P1 in Marco Borsato's Wit Licht (White Light) Concert Tour - Element Labs, Inc
The Grand Mosque, Abu D

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USA - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced that two of their products have been selected as finalists in the 2009 CE Pro BEST Awards to be presented at a special awards ceremony on 10 September at the forthcoming CEDIA show in Atlanta, Georgia.

Stardraw's award-winning design and documentation package Stardraw A/V 2007 has been named as a finalist in the Business Operations category which recognizes improvement in, or development of a back-office software system designed to assist dealers and systems integrators in creating proposals, ordering equipment, general accounting, system design or CRM.

The second finalist is the all-new system control application, Stardraw Control 2010, which has been nominated in the Control and Automation category. Control 2010 is the latest version of the multi-award-winning universal control platform from Stardraw.com that can control any

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UK - Next week's PLASA Show (Sunday 13 - Wednesday 16 September, Earls Court, London) will feature a hands-on demonstration area showing products utilising the new Remote Device Management (RDM) extension to DMX512 (ANSI E1.20).

Visitors to the area will be able to learn how RDM works to discover and configure products from different sources. Address configuration, mode changes, product status and sensor reporting - all are functions offered over existing DMX wiring using RDM, and in a manner offering defined interoperability between manufacturers. Get introduced to the latest developments in suite of protocols that make up ACN - the Architecture for Control Networks.

Staff from several companies leading the introduction of ACN and RDM will be available to answer questions and provide valuable insight into how it all works.

The area, which can be found on Stand 1-J40 in Earl

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USA - Tomcat USA has announced that Don Dimitroff, formerly sales manager for Columbus McKinnon, has joined Tomcat USA's team as sales & marketing director.

"After working with Columbus McKinnon for 13 years and admiring Tomcat as a customer as well as the Tomcat group of professionals, I jumped at the opportunity to become part of the team," said Dimitroff. "Tomcat's client list is a veritable Who's Who of the industry and I look forward to helping serve these customers and to bringing on clientele to experience the finest staging and lighting equipment offered in the entertainment industry."

Tomcat is also announcing the appointment of Brad Barnhill to the position of brand manager. In this capacity Barnhill will coordinate all the activities related to new product development and strategic marketing with emphasis in strengthening brand penetration

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France - The European Space Agency hosted a spectacular celebration on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing at the Citadelle, an ancient fortress high above St. Tropezon 29 July, 2009.

As a highlight of the evening's festivities, an audience of around 1,200 invited guests from around the world experienced a laser performance by tarm Showlaser GmbH. A 15-minute collage of video projections and laser effects above the Gulf of St. Tropez and St. Maxime motivated attendees to rousing standing ovations.

Buzz Aldrin, one of the three astronauts who, on 20 July, 1969, were the first human beings to set foot on the moon, thanked the host organization with the words "a wonderful evening with an outstanding show."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - LDDE is set to launch some creative product novelties for the entertainment and architectural markets at PLASA09.

The LedCyc9*RGBW LED-panel is a powerful, modular backlight system for rear projection on cycloramas and useful effect lighting system. It creates a completely even and flicker free field of light. The panel was developed for use in the theatre, entertainment and Film/TV market.

Each panel integrates nine symmetric high power RGBW LED pixels, each capable of producing any colour temperature across the entire spectrum of visible light. Special diffuser caps (additional accessory) in front of each pixel enable a new dimension in set design, says the company.

Each pixel can be controlled by DMX512, ArtNet* or EcuNet. Different settings like panel mode, start address, PWM (pulse wide modulation) and other functions can be set via remote control.

LDDE's SharkLe

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UK - HSL once again supplied lighting and power distribution to C venues' performance spaces at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. C venues is the home to the largest theatre and new writing programme at the event, featuring a busy schedule of physical theatre, drama, comedy, dance, music, musicals, mime, opera, children's shows, visual arts and more.

HSL project manager Mike Oates worked closely with C venues' production manager Richard Williamson co-ordinating the requirements for their 16 different performance spaces spread across five buildings in central Edinburgh.

Williamson says: "HSL has been great to work with as always - they are efficient, flexible, and extremely quick at sorting anything if the need arises. They are not the cheapest option, but we wanted a quality and level of service to suit our extremely busy and demanding production schedules."

The

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Malaysia - When Peabo Bryson performed for a charity gala dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Kuala Lumpur last June, the Soundcraft Vi6 and Si3 consoles were used for front-of-house and monitor mixing. The sgow was part of the High Networth Summit and Pride Foundation Charity Gala Dinner, both of which were set up by former Malaysia Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Badwal as an initiative to support breast cancer patients.

For the event, sound company Show Gear deployed a Soundcraft Vi6 front of house console and Soundcraft Si3 monitor console, which were supplied by Soundcraft distributor Systems Electronics & Engineering.

"The Soundcraft Vi6 is easy to set up and repatch, and the usability allows even the most elementary sound engineer to programme and run any level event, even on their first use," said the Show Gear team. "The user interface is very straight

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UK/Spain - VMB Espanola SA will be launching a new, compact line array flying system at PLASA09. The TL-A220 will lift 220kg to a height of 5.5m, with the centre of gravity 500mm out along the forks, giving plenty of room to curve the array.

With a self-weight of only 95kg and only 1.7m tall , this unit will be easy to store and transport making it invaluable for smaller PA companies and touring productions, says the company. Fitted with VMBs' ALS auto-locking system, the lift, along with all of the VMB lifting products, is designed and built to VGB-C1 standard.

Also being launched is the Rainbow software package, an acoustical prediction tool. Based on polar response measurements of each cabinet (Line Array and conventional installation models), taken meticulously at 5º intervals and with 360º cabinet coverage both vertically and horizontally the Rainbow software is able to

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UK - The A.C. Entertainment Technologies stand at PLASA09 will feature new innovations and product highlights from the ranges distributed by the company in the UK.

A.C.'s Lighting division will be displaying the complete lineup of Chroma-Q LED products.

The new Color Block 2 LED fixture combines its predecessor's core elements of modularity and versatility with new single colour RGBA optics, 530 lumens output (almost double the original model) and theatrical grade dimming to create an exceptional feature set. The stand will also preview two new Chroma-Q products joining the range later this year. The Color Charge is a battery powered, ultra portable LED light source which combines wireless control with an advanced feature set. Also appearing is the Color Force 72, a 12,000 lumen, 1.8m / 6 ft output LED batten for washing large areas with full RGBA extended colour palette.

Ot

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Bulgaria - Much like its Eastern European neighbours, Bulgaria has experienced some rapid growth in the night club sector in recent years, possibly reflecting the increasing levels of disposable income among the young adult populations that typically fuel that market. Club Deluxe, in the southern city of Asenovgrad, close to Bulgaria's second largest city of Plovdiv, is a good example of the shiny new dance music clubs springing up across the country.

Located over 500sq.m split across two floor levels, Club Deluxe is open six days a week running from Monday to Saturday and caters for just about every musical genre from retro and pop to house and techno. Designed by acoustic and stage lighting specialist, Eliana Spasov, the style of the club is distinctly modern, with an arty-industrial feel to it. Low level neon and laser lighting is used carefully throughout, coupled with indus

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Sweden/UK - Wireless Solution Sweden is once again using PLASA to showcase new W-DMX products, as well as hosting an educational on the benefits and advances in Wireless DMX technology.

On prominent display will be the UglyBox Performance Kit, nominated for a PLASA Innovation Award. The kit includes the new W-DMX UglyBox and Co-Existence Dongle with a wide selection of antennae to provide feedback on all aspects of wireless signal, never before available to lighting technicians. The rugged UglyBox test tool measures the DMX channel data values, the real time signal strength, and the history of signal stability. The Co-Existence Dongle ensures harmony of multiple wireless protocols by enabling custom channel selection and adjustment of output power. Together with the accompanying software for radio spectrum monitoring and antenna calculation, the kit ensures a safe, controlled en

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Europe - Linkin Park returned to Europe this July and August with selected headlining dates and festival appearances. Linkin Park carried their own board group, stage set and monitor package consisting of 10 Adamson M15 wedges and four SX18 for their on stage side-fills delivered by SSE (UK). European Adamson Y-Axis partners Livesound B AG (Switzerland) and Satis&Fy AG Werne (Germany) teamed up to support Linkin Park's non-festival dates in Switzerland and Germany.

Livesound B AG provided a complete audio package for the single indoor show of the tour in Zurich, Livesound's system engineer Sven Gerber did the initial Hallenstadion Shooter simulation, and worked closely with Linkin Park's systems engineer Chris Hoff on alignment and tuning of the system. The design featured flown L and R hangs of 12 Y18's, and six T-21 Subs per side on the ground. A total of 16 Y10's were flown a

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UK - PixelRange will launch SkyLine, a family of "extremely durable" outdoor architectural LED floodlights this month.

Capable of high projection, even washes and focused feature lighting - each luminaire can feature one or two robust, stylish housings with a highly flexible variety of LED and circuit formats.

Other new products include the new PixelPar Festival - an outdoor IP65 rated version of the industry standard PixelPar.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - A cantilevered Milos QuickTruss structure proved to be the solution for New York-based event production company SIA Acoustics and Madison Square Music, a popular summer concert series held in New York City's Madison Square Park.

SIA Acoustics designed the cantilevered QuickTruss structure using only two towers to suspend the roof canopy and technical systems above the stage. Instead of ballast, concrete footings poured beneath the walkway were fitted with threaded rods and QuickTruss connectors. Completely concealed when not in use, the anchors could be uncovered only when needed, the towers dropped onto the Milos connectors, and the roof then placed on top.

The structure also complements the spirit and feel of the park in many ways. The Madison Square Park Conservancy strives for a peaceful musical experience for its listeners, rather than a big rock concert production.

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UK - Cast Software has a lot in store for visitors at PLASA09. Every day during the show, Cast will host a professional wysiwyg User for attendees to meet. This relaxed format will display samples of work, Q&A time, and a chance to meet new faces. Visitors during the Guest Speaker times can enter a business card in a draw to win a free 3-month extension to an existing membership (or a special price for new software). The guests include:

Richard Cadena (Sunday), the author of Lighting Design for Modern Houses of Worship, Electricity for the Entertainment Electrician and Technician and Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light. He is a freelance lighting designer/consultant and an Authorised wysiwyg trainer.

Mikael Berglund (Monday) who has a 30-year career in lighting design in everything from theatre and live concert tours to architectural a

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UK - Systems integrator IVC Media, has announced the completion of the communication centre for the Attenborough Studio in the Natural History Museum's Darwin Centre, opening to the public on 15 September 2009.

According to the Natural History Museum: "The opening of the Darwin Centre represents the future for the Natural History Museum as a world leader in researching the burning issues facing humans and the natural world. The Darwin Centre unleashes the Natural History Museum's life as a major science infrastructure into the public arena, offering a voice of authority on the natural world and inspiring better care of our planet."

IVC was contracted to design and implement the technology to create a 64 seat, state-of-the-art communication centre for the general public. Known as the Attenborough Studio, the project leads the way in educational presentational technolo

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Record-Breaking Fringe - The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has broken its own box office records by selling more than 1.8 million tickets. Ticket sales for the Fringe were up by 21% on last year and 9% on its previous best ever year, which was in 2007. Organisers said a drop in international visitors had been offset by a marked increase in UK audiences.

The 63rd Fringe, which ended on Monday night, was the first with new chief executive Kath Mainland at the helm. She said, "Even in tough economic conditions, festivals chime with people in a way few other events manage to. Over the past three-and-a-half weeks I have seen some amazing work, sometimes perfectly trivial and enormously entertaining, sometimes incredibly challenging and often hugely moving. I have been blown away by the creative energy, artistic vision and drive of the people taking part, from performers and director

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