UK - Upbeat Event Catering and Design (Upbeat), part of the Global Infusion Group, celebrated its coming of age this week. Originally known as Chevalier, the company was formed to compliment sister company Eat To The Beat and offered a more corporate catering product to its already impressive music industry clients list. In 2007 the name was changed to Upbeat Event Catering and Design to not only 'do what it says on the tin' but to translate better on the international stage as Global Infusion Group spread its reach to Europe, The Middle East and China.

This year alone, Upbeat has catered for Sport Relief and sponsors BT on the charity Million Pound Challenge, for 750 people as they made their way from John O'Groats to Lands End with Threshold Sports in the Deloit

USA - Wybron has announced the addition of Jim Koza to the Wybron sales team as Eastern regional sales director. Koza brings to Wybron over 18 years experience in sales, marketing, and executive sales management from diverse industries.

For the past 10 years Jim has been in business outsourcing, distribution, manufacturing and channel sales where he was responsible for national sales for two separate companies in the consumer electronics, satellite, and wireless internet industry.

"I am excited to be joining the Wybron team, especially when Wybron's cutting-edge technology and innovations are needed more than ever in today's industry," Koza says. "I look forward to supporting our client partners with all their lighting needs."

(Jim Evans)

The Netherlands - Elation Professional has unveiled MIDIcon, a MIDI-based playback controller that attaches to a computer via USB and works with Elation's lighting software packages such as CompuShow and Emulation to give you easy command of your light show.

Featuring large user-friendly buttons, faders and data wheels, MIDIcon has the look and feel of a conventional light board. Each time you manipulate one of its controls, it sends signals to your software via standard MIDI messages, allowing you to trigger scenes and play back shows directly from its console-style panel, without requiring the use of a computer mouse, says the company.

To make things even easier, Elation has built templates for Midicon right into the CompuShow and Emulation software programmes. This means there's no need for the user to configure MIDIcon. Functions are already pre-assigned to the various but

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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

UK - Lighting Manufacturers have been invited to attend a meeting on Monday 13th of September hosted by the PLASA Technical Resources Manager, Ron Bonner to discuss the implications of new legislation introduced in 2010.

The meeting will be held in the PLASA Show seminar theatre during the second day of the show and Bonner hopes that as many representatives from the lighting manufacturers exhibiting or visiting the show will take the time to attend. The topic for discussion is a voluntary standard labelling system for their lighting fixtures to communicate the information for the end user in respect of their responsibilities to the new Artificial Optical Radiation Directive (AORD)

The new regulations require all employers to assess the amount of exposure to artificial light their workforce is exposed to. Bonner is concerned that the responsibilities of the manufactures to comm

UK - RG Jones Sound Engineering has completed the latest phase of development of the PA / VA system at Lord's, the home of both Marylebone Cricket Club and of cricket itself.

The newly completed system, developed by an RG Jones project team headed by Roland Hemming, sees a fully integrated IP based PA/VA system that incorporates the latest safety standards including EN54. It also meets the much stricter security and environmental regulations that have developed in the 25 years since RG Jones began its longstanding relationship with MCC in the 1980s - matching the London based company's quarter-century relationship with the UK home of tennis at Wimbledon.

The new system scores a number of 'world firsts', being a fully IP based plug-and-play project that features the world's largest Dante network and allows users to treat all the equipment as a single system; it is also the firs

UK - Black Light was part of the team behind the BBC programme Songs of Praise when it was recently broadcast from St. Mary's Cathedral in Glasgow. The company's role was to support the show's lighting designer and supply and install a full TV lighting rig.

"This was a great project for Black Light," says Stephen Read, head of the company's Events Team. "It was an exciting challenge to transfer our skills as theatrical technicians to the world of on-site TV production. There are a number of differences in terminology and working practice to get used to, but my team was well up to the job and everyone performed superbly."

The main technical challenge involved in getting the show broadcast was ensuring that all the lights were properly placed to create the illusions and effects needed by the producers. "It was interesting to see how the TV crew pu

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies' Video division has provided a Green Hippo HippoCritter media server system for the new TV set of Ford Monday Night Football, which returns this season on Sky Sports HD.

The football show, hosted by Richard Keys and Andy Gray, forms part of the biggest season of live Barclays Premier League football on Sky Sports with 115 live matches all in high definition. In keeping with the original format, the show features innovations such as digital on-screen graphics and games analysis using the latest computer technology.

To carry this high-tech look and feel through to the studio set lighting and visual effects, show LD Malcolm Reed approached AC-ET's Video division to provide a real-time video playback control system for projecting moving content onto various LED display surfaces.

A.C. Video supplied Green Hippo HippoCritters to DMX pixe

Local News - Kylie Minogue and Tinie Tempah performed at the Ring O' Bells pub in Compton Martin, Somerset on last week. They were drafted in as a treat for staff from their record company, Parlophone, who were in the area for a conference. Eliza Doolittle and new signing Morning Parade also performed. Bewildered locals were alerted to the impromptu concert by a small sign outside the pub which read For one night only! Kylie Minogue, Tinie Tempah, tonight!.

The rapper was up first - he performed his number one hit Pass Out and new single Written In The Stars. Kylie performed an acoustic version of All The Lovers and the night's biggest crowd-pleaser, her 1988 worldwide hit I Should Be So Lucky. Pub landlord Reuben Goddard commented, "The locals were shocked but we all had an evening we'll never forget. It's a bit out of the ordinary for ro

UK - Hall for Cornwall, Truro, is hosting a lighting 'Shoot Out' on Thursday 2 September. The day will focus on showcasing profile, fresnel, PC and LED wash fixtures from a range of several leading manufacturers.

"We are particularly pleased to be able to host what we understand will be the first public comparison of ETC's Source 4 and Selecon's new SPX range of profiles," says Hall for Cornwall's head of operations, Simon Crick.

The day will run from 10am to 4pm, and interested parties are welcome to join in the fun.

"This is a superb opportunity for people in the South West to try out a whole range of products in a real theatre environment right on their doorsteps," continues Crick. "It is a very rare event for this to happen outside of London or in a non-trade show environment so we hope people will take advantage of this opportunity."

If y

Germany - The Bang Your Head festival, one of Germany's most prominent heavy metal festivals, celebrated its 15th anniversary between 15-17 July. Around 15,000 metal fans from all over Europe travelled to Swabian Balingen in the south west of Germany to party for three days and nights and take in performances of over 30 metal bands, amongst them were Queensryche, Twisted Sister and Hammerfall.

Full-service rental company Prolite Event, based locally in Balingen, has been an integral part of the festival crew for many years - for the most part, running the indoor stage in the 2,500 capacity Volksbank Messehalle on the festival ground. This year, Saxon, Demon, Dark Tranquility and Destruction headlined the indoor stage.

The company's HK Audio-based FOH and monitoring systems were completely powered with Lab.gruppen FP+ Series amplifiers, with some new FP 14000 amplifiers

Singapore - The Sands Expo and Convention Centre within Singapore's Marina Bay Sands integrated resort is the latest venue to adopt Robert Juliat lighting fixtures.

In April, Robert Juliat's Singapore distributor, Total Solution Marketing delivered a total of four Victor 1800W MSR followspots, four Super Korrigan 1200W HMI followspots and 16 RJ 600SX 1K profile spotlights to the Sands Expo and Convention Centre which first opened in April 2010.

The Robert Juliat Victors, Super Korrigans and profile spots will be employed mainly on the high profile meetings, incentives, conventions & exhibitions (MICE) events when keynote speakers address the floor.

Glenn Wong, managing director of Total Solution, comments, "Robert Juliat is renowned for its fantastic equipment with superb R&D. Their followspots are extremely user-friendly with the placements of their controls. They have

Europe - After re-forming in 2009, Irish rock band The Cranberries have embarked on a 2010 European Summer Tour. Their audio arsenal centres round a DiGiCo SD8 digital mixing console, manned by Oliver Waring at the monitor position.

"I've been using DiGiCo consoles for a number of years," says Waring. "I started out teching with a D5 when I was looking after Dave Guerin, monitor engineer for Morrissey. Then I inherited the monitor position and looked after Morrissey for a couple of years on the D5, later upgrading to an SD7.

"I've been working with The Cranberries for a couple of months now and I'd inherited a console from another manufacturer that wasn't my first choice. I changed to the SD8 and at its first soundcheck, after just one song, the band commented how different it sounded: that it was a lot crisper, a lot clearer and they knew straight away tha

UK - POLARaudio is presenting a number of new products at PLASA 2010 from many of the brands in its extensive portfolio. POLARaudio will feature live demonstrations of the latest in digital networked audio, as well as key developments in live audio & PA.

Highlights at this year's show include new products from ASL, Australian Monitor, Aviom, beyerdynamic, Biamp, Renkus Heinz, MC² and XTA. In addition, POLARaudio will introduce "exciting new milestones from Dynacord", details of which will be announced during the show. ASL, Cue, and Novasonar will also feature on the stand.

New products include, from beyerdynamic, D290 and D790 professional series headphones and headsets now available with an integrated level limiter, Australian Monitor AMD series Amplifiers and Revolution DSP, Aviom's AllFrame Multi-Modular I/O System, the EN-54-16 certified Biamp Vocia and a new fl

USA - Renkus-Heinz has announced compatibility between its Iconyx Digitally Steerable Arrays and Crestron remote controllers.

All Iconyx systems have long been equipped with an RS485 external connector for data communication. Now this data port will enable users to implement control and monitoring via third party controllers such as those made by Crestron.

Details on controlling an Iconyx array using a Crestron control system may be found on the Crestron website. Further information on initializing Iconyx systems for third party control via RS485 may be found in the Iconyx manual.

"User interface has always been very important to our customers and the addition of an open third party control protocol really adds to our flexibility," says Renkus-Heinz marketing manager Margie Ulm.

(Jim Evans)

UK - Eighty ETC Source Four PARs have been used in the award winning refurbishment of Ripon Cathedral in north Yorkshire.

Lighting consultant Light & Design Associates (L&DA) won the Lighting Design Award 2010 in the Heritage Projects category for the installation, which consisted of a complete rewiring and new electrical installation.

Jim Morse, then a director at L&DA and now a consultant with them, was the lighting designer on the project. He says, "The cathedral knew it needed new lighting both internally and externally, so took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest and best technology. We used two types of Source Four PARs: 575W with wide beam lenses for days when the cathedral is open for services and concerts; and Source Four PAR HID 150W for days when it is open for the general public. That way, they would have the quality they needed while keeping energy costs

UK - A recent tender specification issued by LOCOG - the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games - demonstrates the importance BS 8901 will play in the delivery of the London2012 Games.

In the past there have been concerns that BS 8901 - the new event management standard developed to ensure the 2012 Games are delivered in a sustainable way - was merely tokenism, but LOCOG has reiterated its commitment to the standard, and is now seeking third party certification for its own implementation of the standard across the Olympic venues.

If you are interested in supplying the Olympics this information is significant because it strengthens the requirement for suppliers to be working towards BS 8901 compliance, plus it's clear there will now be an emphasis on being third party certified as opposed to relying on 'self certification' in the future.

PLASA is working in partners

Australia - The Arts Centre is the Australian Gold Coast's premier cultural centre offering visual and performing arts facilities to residents of South East Queensland with its complex of a Performing Arts Theatre, Paradise Showroom, cinemas, restaurant, galleries and the Coast's largest costume hire department.

During the selection process for a major theatrical lighting overhaul for the Performing Arts Theatre Peter McKenzie, sales manager for Philips Selecon demonstrated the energy-saving 1200W 80V Rama High Performance Fresnel as an alternative to their larger, hungrier stage luminaires. This presentation, backed up by an independent assessment convinced the Council to specify and install 36 80V 1200W Rama High Performance Fresnels which have now completely replaced all the older 2000 / 2500W Fresnels in the 1139-seat theatre.

Chris Dbais, venue operations manager, comment

Italy - The 2010 tour of Italian artist Alexia continues with new dates and the familiar crowds of fans who always gather to show their appreciation for her voice and songs.

Among her latest shows, she also performed in the Val Vibrata, in Abruzzo not far from Proel's headquarters. The singer from La Spezia performed in Corropoli before an audience that was able to appreciate her talent thanks to a Proel Axiom Audio System.

Vai con La Sigla, the sound service on every date of this tour, chose an Axiom configuration including 16 Axiom AX3210P modules, 16 Sub 21" EDGE121SP, six Powersoft K10 Amplifiers and two Proel DSO480 digital processors

"This is the second year in a row that we have chosen an Axiom system for Alexia's tour," comments Damiano Prosperi, the owner of Vai con La Sigla. "The system has proven to be really reliable and it was confirmed for t

USA - Stage rigging designer and manufacturer J. R. Clancy has joined the ranks of the fastest growing private companies in the United States, by qualifying for Inc. Magazine's Inc. 5000 list.

Since its inception in 1982, the Inc. 5000 has become one of the most respected indicators of entrepreneurial success among America's privately held companies.

The list ranks companies by percentage of overall revenue growth over a three-year period. In addition, companies that make the list are ranked by industry, metro area, revenue, and number of employees. J. R. Clancy enters the list at #3891.

"Becoming an Inc. 5000 company is a solid indication that our corporate strategy is working," said Mike Murphy, J. R. Clancy president. "First, we became an ISO 9001-registered company and changed our processes dramatically to do business more effectively. At the same time, we

Bulgaria - Night Flight is one of the latest additions to Bulgaria's emerging and vibrant nightclub scene, boasting one of the highest specification audio-visual systems yet seen in any club around the country's bustling capital of Sofia. Located in the heart of the city, Night Flight opened in December 2009, with the remit of providing a top class venue for both club nights and special promotion events such as live performance shows, pop music record launches and cabaret shows.

The ultra-modern design extends beyond the decor to an impressive array of AV technology including Tannoy VQ loudspeaker system, powered by Lab.gruppen's amplifiers, as well as a host of lighting, special effects and giant LCD screen.

The 1000-capacity venue is split over two levels, with a VIP balcony overlooking the main floor and performance/stage area below, and a total of four bars between the lev

Hong Kong - A range of DPA miniature microphones were used at Jacky Cheung's recent Private Corner concert in the Jockey Auditorium, Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The DPA 4099S 4099T instrument clip mics were used at the concert for trombone, trumpet and saxophones, while a grand piano was miked with 4061 miniature omnidirectional microphones.

Mike Wong, Cheung's monitor engineer, chose the cardioid 4099s for their focus on the instrument as well as isolation and rejection from adjacent musicians. "In this concert, we were striving for a natural and uncoloured sound and therefore really appreciated the musical accuracy of the 4099s," he says.

Adds front of house engineer Daniel Kwan, "Besides the superior sound quality, we like DPA microphones for their mounting and positioning possibilities. The 4099 series has mounts and clips for a wide range of

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