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UK - Bradford based audio and lighting rental specialists, Stage Management Company are once again to join up with Theatre Company Punchdrunk, Manchester International Festival and the BBC to supply full audio, AV and technical support for Dr Who: Crash of the Elysium, a live interactive theatrical experience for New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich as part of the Ipswich 2012 Festival.

"This will be our fourth project working with Punchdrunk, and our third working with the BBC," says Peter Hargreaves, head of production at Stage Management Company, who have previously worked with Punchdrunk and the Manchester Festival on It Felt Like A Kiss in 2009, Crash of The Elysium In 2012 and with Punchdrunk and the English National Opera on Duchess of Malfi in

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UK - The Roland M-480 Live Mixing Console has been in constant use in recent theatre productions across Glasgow and Edinburgh with Glasgow based hire company Sono Vie.

For the production of Beauty and the Beast at the Kings Theatre in Glasgow, the RCS was primarily used by the radio mic technician to check the functionality of the numerous radio mics in use at one time by the cast. When connected online, the M-480 RCS can be configured so that the remote screen (PC/Apple Mac) can view and control separate content than that which is live on the screen of the console itself. In this case, the M-480 itself was used to mix the show FOH (utilising all 48 channels), but at the same time, by working with a separate screen, keyboard and mouse, the radio technician could check all the radio receivers and view all the meters.

As well as making things simple in the rehearsal, the

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UK - Peavey recently deployed two separate audio systems into Passmores Academy, a new 2000-student secondary school in Harlow, which was featured on Channel 4's seven-part reality TV show, Educating Essex.

Passmores recently achieved Academy status and was rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted; last year, 67% of its students achieved the equivalent of five or more GCSEs at grades A-star to C.

Harlow-based company, Gig Gear, first provided the school with a mobile Peavey audio solution, and then carried out the more heavyweight Peavey installation in the facility's main hall.

"They wanted to be able to transport one of the systems, and despite the fact that it's mobile, we still managed to deliver a high-powered solution," explains Virgil Lund, UK sales development at Peavey. "We decided on QW2Fs for the tops, which have a two-inch compression driver, and then

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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 - Rental company HSL supplied Electric Fly Productions with lighting equipment for The Darkness's UK tour, working with lighting designer Nick Jevons. This saw the band's return to the major touring circuit after a five year hiatus, ahead of the launch of a third studio album, slated for 2012.

The Darkness was project managed for HSL by Mike Oates, who comments, "We always look forward to working with Nick and his team at Electric Fly. No job is ever predictable or standard, and the results are always visually spectacular."

This is the first time that Jevons has worked with The Darkness, asked onboard after working with production manager Chris Taplin and The Faces in the summer.

In spite of having just one truck for the whole production and the venues being 'variable size' in every sense of the word, Jevons' ideas - conceived in close collaboration with the ban

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET)'s Video and Lighting divisions are holding 2012 UK open days in conjunction with Green Hippo and PixelRange on 28 February in the South and on 1 March in the North of England.

The events will highlight the latest innovations from these brands, and "explore the hottest developments in video and lighting convergence".

AC-ET - the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Green Hippo and master European distributor for PixelRange - will host the two open days at its demo facilities in High Wycombe and Leeds.

Geared for all types of user, the events will include separate introductory and advanced training sessions, lunch and refreshments, and a prize draw to win various branded swag and other goodies.

(Jim Evans)

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The Netherlands / UK - XLNT Advanced Technologies and Lift Turn Move (LTM) have announced an agreement for LTM to become the UK and Ireland sales and distribution dealer for CyberMotion, the world's first dedicated mobile stage automation system, and the DS8 Solid State motor controllers for standard chain hoists. The deal was announced at the CUE trade show in Rotterdam on 16 January.

Developed and manufactured by XLNT Advanced Technologies in the Netherlands, CyberMotion is the first system that combines automated hoists, automated winches and automated trolley/track systems, together with a user-friendly dedicated control desk - a complete solution for mobile and flexible applications including touring, one-off events and theatre.

LTM, owned by John Jones, David King and Dave Ward, has an established and dedicated sales and support team for the entertainment market. XLNT co

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UK / France - TC Group International (TCGI) has announced the appointment of DV2 as exclusive Tannoy distributor in France.

This appointment consolidates TCGI's relationship with the French distribution company, who have enjoyed a long-standing successful relationship with Lab.gruppen and Lake in France (both of which are also part of the TC Group of companies). The new business agreement to distribute Tannoy commences with immediate effect, and DV2 will be taking the opportunity to represent the renowned UK loudspeaker brand formally for the first time at the SIEL show in Paris on 29-30 January.

Carsten Ishoy, TC Group's VP international sales for installed sound products, said, "After building up a very successful relationship with DV2 over a number of years through the Lab.gruppen and Lake brands, we are delighted that we can now extend that to our loudspeaker business

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Qatar - The 12th quadrennial Pan Arab Games took place in Doha, Qatar recently - the first time that the country had hosted the multi-sport event.

Khalifa International Stadium was the main venue for the competition - as well as the Opening & Closing Ceremonies, which were attended by around 40,000 people.

Norwest Productions again worked alongside event sound designer Scott Willsallen, fielding a specialist crew including Ian Shapcott, Steve Caldwell, Trevor Beck and Justin Arthur. Another familiar presence at the stadium was the giant Optocore fibre ring.

According to Norwest Project Manager, Andrew Marsh, "The designs for these Opening & Closing Ceremonies almost always use Optocore for the signal distribution. We have a great investment in the Optocore brand and we hold many of the devices in our rental inventory. Optocore is a very unique product that has placed it

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Singapore - W-DMX by Wireless Solution Sweden along with MA Lighting had full control over a very special New Year celebration held at Marina Bay in Singapore. Headed by the Esplanade and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore, this New Year spectacle spanned across the Marina Bay area, a 1 km2 fresh water reservoir flanked by the new Marina Bay Sands Resort complex, the Financial District and the Esplanade itself, which includes a collection of theatres, restaurants and parks.

The area holds a special significance in the history of Singapore, being a port from which the city started its development. The idea for the 2012 New Year celebration was to fill the reservoir with floating illuminated spheres, each containing a personal note from individuals stating their wishes for 2012. From an initial estimate of 2500, the number of spheres grew to an astounding 20,000.

The

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South Africa - Visual Frontier was hired to provide the lighting and AV solution for Skouspel 2011, held from 7 - 9 October and 14 - 16 October at the Sun City Superbowl. Joshua Cutts, who heads Visual Frontier, was the lighting designer. It was the fifth time he had worked on Skouspel.

This year's Skouspel featured a range of new elements such as the giant screens with thematic videos. Cutts explains, "The main focus was on the large LED display and video content produced for it. I wanted to tone down the overall lighting feel so as not to compete with the screens and wanted to create a theatrical feel. Every year the production grows in scale and this year was no exception. It is always a huge challenge to complete the programming in the time we have but somehow we make it work."

Cutts had 41 Vari-lite fixtures at his disposal besides a list of other fixtures. The

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New Zealand - At the heart of the new retail departures area at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand is Pou Manawa, a huge tree of architectural fabric onto which colour and traditional Maori designs are reflected using Martin Exterior 410 wash lights and Martin smartMAC image projecting moving heads.

Ignite Architects developed the idea of a 'heart' space - an interactive and engaging area that people could gravitate to - and, as much of the imagery symbolizing what New Zealanders hold dear is focused on trees, the Pou Manawa was born.

"We had an exhaustive period of early testing to get the best fixture for the projection," says Chris McKenzie of Martin distributor Kenderdine Electrical. "We had other colour changing fixtures specified but when the Exterior 410s became available we changed the specification to use them. The 410s were the perfect solut

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UK - Production management and technical services specialist Illuminate Design has signed up with Digital Deluxe for PR and marketing services.

Illuminate Design, which is headed by Ben Payne, Robin Shephard-Blandy and Andrew Wales, was set up in 2005 with the intention of providing production services to the entertainment industry. However, in recent years, the company has expanded its offering to include technical services - including offering venues a complete overhaul of theatrical lighting and sound equipment.

The company now has a diverse mix of clients, including local theatres, hotels, dance companies and even holiday parks. By maintaining a mix of different client types, the company intends to continue to service clients of all sizes, from a large international tour to a one off night of entertainment.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - A basketball arena at the University of Wisconsin has been decked with 20 dBTechnologies Arena 15 loudspeakers, which managed to overcome the foibles of a room with a broad range of applications. Beside sporting events, Quandt Fieldhouse in Stevens Point is also the venue for 'commencement' ceremonies and hosts a multitude of concerts and assemblies, asking a lot of the sound system - and the design/build team.

Brian Baumann and Kent Laabs of Soundworks Systems Inc. handled the design and installation. They explain, "The audio system needed to be capable of high SPL's for UWSP Pointer basketball games and other athletic events. It needed to be capable of clear music reproduction whilst maintaining high speech intelligibility for both low and high SPL events. On top of all that, budget was a factor.

"The room itself presented acoustic challenges which included i

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Theatre Figures - The West End enjoyed record box office sales in 2011 for an eighth consecutive year, according to figures released by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT). Takings topped £528.3m in 2011 - up 3.1% on a like-for-like basis on the previous year. Due to the closure of a number of theatres while new shows were set up, the overall attendance was 13.9m - down 1.73% on 2010. According to SOLT, though, the average audience at each performance was up. The Society said the growth in sales could be attributed to sell-out productions such as Matilda the Musical and the continued success of Les Miserables, now in its 26th year.

"We are extremely proud that our theatres have yet again gone on to achieve another record-breaking year of sales," said SOLT president Mark Rubinstein. "Despite the prevailing rigours of the economic climate, theat

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USA - Clear-Com has launched the Clear-Com Global Rental Group (CGRG). Through a network of experienced rental partners equipped to provide Clear-Com intercom systems for productions of any size, the new service, led by industry veteran Larry Estrin, offers "greater flexibility and options for addressing customers' communications requirements".

The CGRG comprises "a hand-selected team of trained and experienced rental businesses worldwide". These partners support short-term and rapid installation needs with a full range of advanced wired and wireless production intercoms and technical support. As director of CGRG, Estrin (who has extensive experience with events such as the Olympic Opening Ceremonies, Grammys and Academy Awards) provides rental partners with greater knowledge, skills and resources to supply the highest level of production communications, says

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USA - Systems integration firm Axxentos of Fort Lauderdale, Florida turned to Technomad upon evaluating the outdoor audio needs of Club Med Sandpiper in nearby Port St. Lucie. The new outdoor audio systems, featuring 14 Technomad weatherproof loudspeakers, comprise part of a property-wide renovation alongside indoor AV upgrades and general construction projects.

Club Med Sandpiper's 400-square-mile resort property exists in southern Florida's sweltering climate, requiring durable outdoor audio systems that can withstand the year-round heat, humidity and moisture. The resort also required high-quality loudspeakers that could power full-range, high-volume audio over long distances, and reproduce soothing background music at clearly audible levels.

"I've learned what gear can survive in harsh environments over the years, and from all the outdoor installations I have done, on

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The Netherlands - Christie is showing a broad spread of products and solutions in EMEA for the first time at ISE 2012 from adjacent large-scale, two-tier booths (Hall 1, Stand H27 and H40).

All premium portfolios will be strongly focused in a series of targeted zones - including the largest Christie MicroTiles display wall seen at a trade show - as well as a defined broadcast area, an entire section showcasing entry level projectors, and a dedicated cinema function showing Christie Solaria 4K DLP Cinema digital projection.

Christie JumpStart, which will be launching this year at ISE, is a PC-based software solution for positioning a wide range of content onto a 5-10 megapixel digital canvas with minimal effort. Combining user-friendly JumpStart software with reliable HP hardware, Christie JumpStart enables customers to arrange windows of local content - including video files,

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Switzerland - A system comprised of MediorNet, Artist and RockNet equipment from Riedel Communications was used to distribute video, audio and communication signals for the renowned alpine skiing competition at the Swiss Chuenisbärgli in Adelboden.

Rivella AG was the on-site technical partner for the event. Riedel delivered a versatile installation that helped make the Ski World Cup in Adelboden a successful weekend with over 40,000 visitors - despite the bad weather conditions.

The World Cup race in the Bernese Oberland, a major event in the FIS skiing tour, is one of the most difficult giant slalom courses in the world. The demands of the event in Adelboden included establishing a reliable communications infrastructure as well providing a fail-safe distribution of the event's video and audio signals.

For the first time, Rivella used a MediorNet system to distribute

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UK - Blackout provided bespoke heart shaped draping for this year's star-studded National Television Awards (NTAs) held at the O2 Arena, Wednesday 25 January 2012.

Broadcast live on ITV1, the annual event was hosted by Dermot O'Leary and saw stars from across the TV world commended in 14 categories.

This year's set design was the brainchild of Nicoline Refsing of Rockart Design and featured a stunning giant heart framing the stage and surrounding a projection screen for the show's graphics.

Blackout were contracted by NTA Producers Indigo Television and have provided extensive draping for the NTAs for the last five years. This year the five-strong team installed a custom made black wool serge drape 60m wide with a 24m drop , with a heart shape cut out to perfectly fit the set's design and allow flawless rear projection.

Chris Brain, Blackout's installation director led a t

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Kazakhstan - The country marked its 20th year of independence on 1 December and President Nazarbayev chose the day to celebrate the inauguration of the fully renovated Republic Palace, the biggest concert hall in Almaty.

Begun only six months earlier, the renovation features a completely new design that includes the latest in Martin Professional lighting technology, a refurbishment that has raised the venue's profile to a "must visit" stop in central Asia.

Lighting designer for the anniversary show was François Guillet of Lumières Utiles who travelled from France to give life to the beautiful auditorium via the Martin rig.

Lighting and sound equipment was entrusted to APM Group, Martin Professional's distributor in Kazakhstan. Head of APM, CEO Maxim Vostrov, chose a large Martin package of 14 MAC III Profiles, 24 MAC 2000 Wash XBs, 110 MAC 700 Profiles, 80 MAC 70

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) 's specialist Audio division has been selected as one of the primary UK sub-distributors for RCF.

As part of the agreement, A.C. Audio will become a 'one stop shop' for all RCF equipment including the TT High Definition Touring and Theatre Professional Speaker System and Commercial/Public Address ranges.

The sales division has taken immediate stock of some of RCF's most popular ranges, including the TT Line Array, Point Source, NX series and ART series.

A.C. Audio sales manager, Peter Butler comments, "We are delighted to officially represent RCF, whose products have a strong reputation and presence throughout the production industry. We are very enthusiastic about bringing RCF products to our diverse customer base and developing the brand."

(Jim Evans)

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