UK - A trio of Midas consoles provided by Britannia Row Productions was used at a charity concert commemorating the 80th birthday of Mikhail Gorbachev at London's Royal Albert Hall. An XL8, a PRO6 and a Heritage 3000 handled FOH from three adjacent boxes overlooking the star-studded event, while a second XL8 provided onstage monitor duties. Broadcast feeds were also provided as the event was being recorded for Russian TV.

Celebrating the former Soviet leader's life from childhood through to high office, the reforms of Perestroika, his international peace efforts and the charitable work of the Gorbachev Foundation, the event relied on Midas' networking abilities to facilitate its smooth running. As well as numerous guest speakers and VT playback, many artists from East and West per

Singapore - JM Rental and Showtec Group started working together for the first time during IDEX 2009, International Defense Exhibition and Conference, by providing more than 700 panels of Lighthouse R16 and again in IDEX 2011 by using R7-ER panels.

After the success of IDEX 2011, the show sentiment has led to a new collaboration talk between JM Rental and Showtec Group. Showtec Group decided to spend their investment budget on R7-ER from JM Rental which creates market expansion and a stronger bond between two companies.

"The image quality of R7-ER is more than just outstanding. There's no way to select any other outdoor panels besides R7-ER." Henry Ang, managing director and the founder of Showtech Group, explained. "We actually didn't just invest 70sq.m. to keep in our stock. Together with JM Rental, we have approximately 700sq.m R7-ER available which is actual

UK - How do you imagine colours that don't exist? Tanya Burns, lighting designer at global communications agency Imagination, knows after inventing five new colours for LEE Filters, one of the world's leading manufacturer of lighting and camera filters.

Tanya was invited to the LEE Filters factory in Andover, Hampshire to work alongside LEE's R&D team to create her own unique range of colours.

The colours have now been added to the LEE Designer Series and were launched at the the recent Prolight&Sound exhibition.

Tanya's inspiration came from her days working in theatre and opera. Over the years she has been mentally storing ideas of colours she wished existed for certain projects, without having to layer gels and lose light to create the effect, says Imagination.

"In lighting, colour is one of the most important elements. Everyone uses light fixtures, but it's how yo

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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 - The Pioneer Lighting and Sound Activists page on Facebook - run by John Lethbridge and Iain Price-Smith - aims to develop and maintain contacts between lighting and sound professionals both past and present who have worked in the entertainment technology industry from the 1960s to the present day. The P.L.A.S.A page aims to help users search for old colleagues who have left the industry and re-establish contact.

"We are also seeking to look back and celebrate the technical developments and the designers behind them as we moved forward from being a cottage industry in the early days of lighting and sound, to the super sophistication of today's technology," comments Price-Smith.

Be sure to "Like" the Pioneers page if you've ever wondered what became of your long lost industry contacts and to ad

UK - DB Systems has revised all prices and "committed itself to further investing in new technology during 2011/12".

DB Systems undertook a full review of prices and inventory earlier this year and decided to make the changes in order to further enhance its service and standing as an IT & AV rental company capable of providing bespoke solutions on a global scale, says the company.

Oliver Richardson, DB's sales & marketing director said, "The new pricing is targeted at stand builders and design agencies but will of course benefit the whole supply chain. In terms of equipment, our monitor inventory, which is already in excess of 2,000 units, will be added to this year, particularly with units of between 24" and 32.

"Meanwhile, all non HD & 4:3 monitors will be phased out as their demand drops off. The Intel Core i7 laptops already form the core our fle

UK - WiSE (Women in Stage Entertainment), will be gracing the show floor at PLASA Focus 2011 with its own stand which will be lit by GDS LED up-lighters and decorated with WiSE sponsor logos.

This year's WiSE sponsors include: Lee Filters, Charcoalblue Theatre Consultants, White Light, Rosco and Avolites, which between them are gorgeously, fabulously and wonderfully generous. (WiSE is not being sycophantic here, these words describe the various sponsorship levels. This means, for a relatively small donation, you too could be labelled gorgeous, fabulous or wonderful! If this is something you aspire to and you would like more information about how WiSE will spend your money please see WiSE fundraising co-ordinator Caz Williamson on stand.)

Accompanying Williamson will be co-founder of WiSE, Sarah Rushton-Read. Both will be on hand - at stand RA-C7, just to the left of the PLASA informa

UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light will be at the PLASA Focus show at the Royal Armouries in Leeds next week, allowing visitors hands-on experience with a range of the very latest lighting tools - and some long-standing favourites, too - from the White Light family of products that the company distributes in the UK.

With so many products on display, White Light will be spread across two stands, S-A2 in the Saviles Hall and RA-C4 in the Royal Armouries Museum.

Lanterns will include some of the latest developments in LED fixtures: the Galaxia LED softlight, proving enormously popular with those working in television; the award-winning Prism RevEAL family with output feedback giving consistent colour rendering and output over the fixture's life; the A7 wash fixtures from JB-Lighting, the powerful Stage Wash LED batten and Stage Spot washlight from Leader Light; th

Germany - At ProLight+Sound 2011, Belgian audio equipment manufacturer Apex showed several additions in the latest version of Intelli-Ware, the software control option for its Intelli-series of loudspeaker management solutions.

Comprising the Intelli-X² 26 and Intelli-X² 48, the processors were launched last September and set a new benchmark in system management and speaker processing design. Intelli-Ware is designed to provide fast and intuitive control from desktop, laptop and tablet PCs, the interface mirroring the powerful but intuitive design of the hardware, with operation being predominantly icon driven.

Shown on Apex's Frankfurt, the latest version of Intelli-Ware adds a range of features, including a convenient and innovative ganging and copy/paste feature, which can be applied on three different levels: Devices, Channels or processing blocks.

With the new offline

Germany - Among the many products unveiled by DiGiCo at ProLight+Sound last week was the SD11 which is designed to be equally at home as a desktop console or mounted in a 19" rack. By simply removing the end cheeks and arm rest, 19" rack fixings are revealed, making it straightforward to incorporate the SD11 into any touring or installation environment. It is also the smallest (both in size and price) that the company has ever produced.

Manufactured with a steel chassis for strength and a polycarbonate-overlaid, aluminium work surface for reduced weight, the SD11 features 12 touch sensitive moving faders below a 15" touch sensitive screen. Such clarity of control means the SD11 is as simple to use at speed as any other DiGiCo console.

Sixteen Microphone pre amps, eight line outputs and two mono AES I/O are provided, in addition to which users have the option to

UK - BECTU has strengthened the group public liability insurance cover which freelance members can choose to access. From 1 May the policy will provide cover for accidental damage to third party property which is in the member's custody and control.

Discussions in recent weeks have highlighted increasing incidence of employers requiring freelance staff to hold this additional element of cover.

The limit on the cover for custody and control claims will be £25,000 for any one claim and £100,000 for all claims in any one period (ie one year) of insurance. The extension to the policy will be provided without additional cost to members.

Overall, the union's policy provides public liability insurance cover for accidental damage to third party property up to £5million per claim.

New freelance members can opt to be covered by the policy without additional charge

Europe - Recovering from the recession in 2008/9 to achieve its best ever performance in 2010, Creative Technology has invested heavily in both people and equipment and re-established its position as the premier high end AV specialist in the UK and Europe, says the company.

In response to changing market requirements in their core AV business in the Netherlands, CT's sister company, JVR recently announced a significant restructuring resulting in the formation of new trading division, CT Holland.

Based in Roosendaal, CT Holland is supported by Creative Technology's operations in London and Germany and is led by Jeroen Jongenelen heading a core team comprising Jeroen Boere, Willem Battes and Marion Cormaux.

JVR will continue to service the full service corporate and broadcast markets from Roosendaal and the two businesses will proceed to support and assist one another.

The i

Qatar - Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises, distribution centre for Shure in the Gulf has recently supplied Doha based rental firm Qatar Vision with wireless microphone systems. The deal includes receivers and transmitters from UHF-R series. Qatar Vision has purchased the new UR4D+ receiver, which allows them to cascade up to 10 units without the use of an antenna distribution system.

"Qatar Vision isone of the most prominent rental firms in Qatar, they have already used the new system on a number of high profile shows within a short span of time," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing manager. "With over 200 channels of the system in the market, the UHF-R is clearly the industry standard."

(Jim Evans)

UK - Black Light has stepped in to help one of Scotland's most iconic theatres come back to life. The company has provided practical sponsorship support to the Cottier Theatre, which re-opened its doors in March, after a five-year break for restoration.

To help the Cottier launch its 2011 come-back season, Black Light provided the theatre with a ground support truss system. This assistance underlines Black Light's support for small- and medium-scale, innovative venues.

"Black light have always been a great supporter of Scottish theatre, now they are helping us to reopen a great Scottish theatre," says Pete Sneddon technical director from SCENEgineering, who is the Cottier's venue manger and artistic director. "The Cottier is a venue like no other and holds a special place in Scottish theatre's heart. It's not just the physical, nuts and bolts help from Black Lig

Germany - In twelve public demonstration sessions and a live demo to the world's entertainment technology media, Renkus-Heinz unveiled the IC2 (IC Squared) at Pro Light+Sound - billed as the world's first high powered, medium format digitally steerable loudspeaker system.

Designed for theatre and club installations and integrating digital beam steering with high power output, built in amplification and RHAON network control, it opens up a totally new product sector in pro audio, for venues looking for the ultimate in quality and control, says the company.

Renkus-Heinz also showed the expanding IC Live family of digitally steerable array loudspeakers, and the new CF/CFX101-LA Modular Point Source Array, a potent solution for today's small and mid-sized venues, including auditoria, night clubs, theaters and houses of worship.

Other systems on display were the Iconyx IC8 and IC

Germany - Dutch audio innovators Alcons Audio launched the BC543 - a new triple 18" cardioid sub-bass loudspeaker at Prolight+Sound, designed to give the company's pro-ribbon audio systems the tightest and crispest possible low end.

A self-contained, high-output cardioid subwoofer, the BC543 is designed for both permanent and portable ground-stacked applications, offering a high output plus tight and accurate bass response.

The BC543's front and rear located woofer configuration combines with Alcons Digital Drive Processor (DDP) to offer selectable cardioid, low-frequency pattern control and up to 18dB of rear rejection, without any need for additional cabinets.

The unit's front features two state-of-the-art AW18.6NDC/8 18-inch, long-excursion woofers, complemented by a 5.3 inch voice-coil with vented triple-spider frame, Neodymium motor structure, carbon fibre cone and

UK - GDS has announced that Nick Read has joined the company as head of its newly created special projects division - GDS Specials. Read has over 22 years experience in the entertainments industry and brings with him wide range of skills, working recently as the head of hire and events for Northern Light and previously running his own successful hire company.

With an electrical engineering background he also boasts experience as a project manager, overseeing the €1m technical-build of Wexford opera house. He has worked around the UK and Europe as a freelance engineer and lighting designer, toured with and brought numerous shows into the West End and worked as a production electrician for major theatre companies, on many of the largest show in London.

His roll will be to develop the GDS brand into the specials market in entertainment, special event and permanent installation.<

UK - Blinding Light Ltd has announced that industry-renowned lighting designer Anthony Hall ("Turbo") will be joining its team this April. The addition of Turbo to Blinding Light's team will help to enhance the company's already established in-house design capability to offer its clients a comprehensive service, says Blinding Light.

"2010 was a milestone year for Blinding Light," commented managing director, Patrick Stacey. "In August, as a result of the company's growth, we moved into brand new premises that met our requirements for increased warehouse and pre-production space to support the projects that we have been working on."

Turbo has over 25 years' of experience in the industry and has had a successful career working for a number of industry leading lighting design companies as well as operating as a freelancer. His recent projects include

UAE - Melody House, distributors of HK Audio speaker systems in the United Arab Emirates has recently supplied Dubai based rental firm Clean Edge Design with the new Elements speaker system. The rental firm has been using the system for various corporate events around the city with an overwhelming response from both clients and attendees to their functions.

Although Clean Edge Design is a relatively new company which established itself in the beginning of 2009, it has quickly grown to become a successful organization that focuses on delivering smart, cost effective solutions while maintaining the client's vision. Already in its second year the company continues to invest in new technology to support its involvement in numerous corporate and private functions.

"The immediate reaction people have when they see the Elements system is its small footprint, once they hear the s

Oman - Roland Professional distributors in the region, Nicolas Kyvernitis Electronics Enterprises has recently hosted the first Roland Roadshow in Muscat, Oman. The event, which attracted professionals from the AV industry included individuals from installation companies, live sound rental firms and broadcast integrators.

"The response to our first Roland Roadshow has been clearly positive with the many attendees that participated during the one day event," commented Richie Hiranandani, marketing manager. "With the introduction of video in our portfolio, this opened new doors for us."

(Jim Evans)

Picture Caption: "NMK's Moswain Antao, Roland Video Specialist during one of the three sessions"

The Netherlands - dBTechnologies' DVA line array was the loudspeaker system used at the indoor Supercross Championships at Zeelandhalls, Goes this year. The event's sound technology was organised by Post Audio, an event management company which has an 18 year history with the Zeeland Motorsport Foundation.

Owner of Post Audio, Michel Kamphius reports, "This was the first time we had used dBTechnologies gear for this particular event. You can imagine the unbelievable sound these motorbikes make in the hall, so it was imperative that we find a compact and flexible system that would be able to deliver a constant SPL of 106dB across the three banks of seating. I'm pleased to say, the dBTechnologies system handled it really well and the organisers were really impressed with its performance."

Reputed to be one of the biggest indoor motocross events in Europe, the Supercros

Sweden/UK - Two years ago, EM Acoustics announced the appointment of leading Danish professional audio distribution company, Alfa Audio, as EM Acoustics' exclusive distribution partner for Denmark and Finland. In the wake of the considerable success of Alfa Audio in those territories, the agreement is to extend into Sweden with the support of Alfa Audio's parent company, Arva Trading.

According to EM Acoustics' operations director, Mike Wheeler, having proved themselves in the Danish and Finnish markets, Alfa Audio was the logical choice to extend operations into Sweden. "They've done a great job for us so far," said Wheeler. "It's been beneficial for us to be a part of the impressive roster of top quality pro audio brands in their portfolio, and Alfa Audio has benefitted from representing EM Acoustics as it has broadened their field of application and enabled the

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