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UK - HSL's mega busy spring and early summer season continues, supplying lighting, Kinesys automation system and crew to another high profile act - Il Divo.

The massively successful 'crossover' group who have just completed the first full production UK and European leg of their Wicked Game world tour.

It was HSL's first tour with the band, after being brought on-board by tour director and production manager Andy Proudfoot.

Lighting designer Matt Pitman started work with Il Divo for this tour following a one-off stadium show in Paraguay at the end of 2011 in front of 36,000 people. His design has brought additional vibrancy and vitality to the set and screen elements that are part of artistic director Brian Burke's visual concept.

The schedule of the first three months

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South Africa - Caxton and CTP Publishers and printers are recognised as one of the largest publishers and printers of books, magazines, newspapers and commercial print in South Africa. For the sixth consecutive year Keystone Productions were commissioned as technical and production suppliers.

"We have a very good relationship with Caxton and do most of their work," said Keystone's Christopher Bolton. He has already been briefed on next year's event and perhaps this has something to do with his perfectionist nature and the copious amounts of time he spends on pre-production design and planning. "I feel it gives me the edge on most productions I am involved in."

Keystone Productions handled the entire awards including all the content. Bolton stepped in as production designer and lighting designer, which enabled him to create the overall look and feel. His lig

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UK - Manchester's Dry Bar, a landmark of the city's trendy Northern Quarter since 1989 has carried out an interior upgrade in both the bar and its newly refurbished basement music venue 'Dry Live'. Situated below the bar, the venue was completely refurbished in 2010 with black and grey interior giving it an underground venue feel and now a brand new Martin Audio sound system has been installed.

Tasked with equipping the new Dry Live, experienced local specialists Masons, and their system design engineer Jack Jennings, chose a Martin Audio Blackline H3H+ horn-loaded solution as best fit for the purpose.

The basement space had previously been split into several small rooms but the floor had opened out into one large venue with the intention of using the downstairs space for both live music and club events - served by a single sound system.

The venue operators had stipulated th

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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 - On 17 March, 2012, Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball tour kicked off at Atlanta's Phillips Arena, with an L-Acoustics K1/Kudo WST line source system provided by Solotech US Corp of Las Vegas.

Harnessing the power of Springsteen and his 17-piece band is FOH engineer, mix veteran John Cooper, who has provided mixing services for the Boss for the past 10 years and also performs mixing duties for artists including Sheryl Crow, Wynonna Judd, Ringo Starr and Lionel Richie.

The K1/Kudo system provided for the Wrecking Ball tour consists of 60 K1 enclosures, 16 K1-SB subwoofers, 24 Karas, 48 Kudoss, and eight SB28 subs. In many venues, the audience is in 360 degrees as the set design allows for unobstructed views from the rear. Sixteen V-Dosc cabinets are also brought along to provide delay-fill in venues when necessary. All speakers are processed and powered via t

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South Korea - Christie, official content sponsor for Expo 2012, Yeosu, reports that the Organising Committee for Expo 2012 has selected Christie Roadie HD+35K projectors for its signature multimedia night show. Set against the natural backdrop of the Yeosu Sea, the 47m high Big-O is the world's largest water curtain and the landmark installation at the expo.

Designed and directed by France-based ECA2, who were involved in shows such as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 World Cup in France and the Eiffel Tower Millennium Show, the 'O' stands for the ocean and resembles the numerical zero to illustrate a new beginning for the sea. The show is expected to remain as a permanent centrepiece after Expo.

Two sets of triple-stacked Christie Roadie HD+35Ks project a short animated film about ocean conservation onto the water screen at the internal rim of the 'O' which is l

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The Netherlands - In association with the Dutch manufacturer CLS-LED, Dutch project management company, 4Stage.net, recently completed the Energy Experience Centre for Leusden's DE Partner company. DE Partner is in cooperation with Bloemendal Bouw, which specialises in renewable energy promotion. With CLS-LED, 4Stage.net installed and programmed light, audio and video equipment in a portable storage container.

The equipment used needed to reflect the importance of energy efficiency with the project including a 10-minute video presentation that takes the visitor through all the issues that come with durable and energy efficient construction, renovation and housing. Visual Productions' CueCore proved to be the right choice for solid-state lighting control and this unit benefits from having a minimal power consumption.

The presentation takes place on four synchronized big LED scr

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USA - Oregon's Portland Centre for the Performing Arts (PCPA) has upgraded the lighting system in its Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall with 36 ETC Selador Classic Vivid-R LED luminaires. And by installing the fixtures, the venue expanded its colour capabilities, reduced its energy usage and earned cash incentives from Energy Trust of Oregon to put toward the fixtures' purchase.

Energy Trust offers cash incentives to commercial, municipal and institutional businesses throughout that state that upgrade dated equipment to energy-efficient technology. To qualify for the incentives, one requirement is that a new lighting installation must result in at least a 25% energy saving.

The Concert Hall's aging battens were demanding an increasingly high level of maintenance. Appropriate light bulbs are no longer being manufactured, and the cost of upkeep kept mounting, so they were replaced w

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South Africa - The first Discovery Graduation Ceremony 2012 was held recently at Vodaworld at Vodadome, Midrand, put together by events company, Edith Unlimited.

Edith Venter, a long-time client and owner of Edith Unlimited, who is known for her charity and high profile events, asked MJ Event Gear to provide the full technical. The in-house occasion was attended by 260 people and awarded Discovery staff who had completed various forms of training.

"The event went wonderfully smooth," said Theo Rood, production manager from MJ Event Gear, who as part of his pre-production work also tested the venues' LED pillars and projectors prior to set-up to avoid any unforeseen hiccups.

The venue, tables and chairs were draped in white and looked stunning as Robe 600 LED fixtures washed them in colour. "Edith Unlimited rely completely on our creativity when it comes to lig

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UAE - SGM Lighting and TechnoPro have agreed a new distribution deal that takes the relationship which the two companies have enjoyed for many years to a new level. SGM's CEO Peter Johansen and TechnoPro founder and chief executive Nabil Bourgeili confirmed an agreement to extend the brand's territorial representation far beyond the UAE, during the PALME Middle East show in Dubai this month.

Under the new ownership of Danish entrepreneur Johansen, the former Italian lighting company is now focusing exclusively on LED fixtures. In fact the launch of next generation LED effects into the Middle East market formed a dynamic component of TechnoPro's massive 1000sq.m display at PALME - making them easily the largest single exhibitor at the show.

Johansen comments: "We are delighted to be partnering again with Nabil, as TechnoPro looks to move further into LED technology and the

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UK - The power of visual design in performance is at the centre of a new exhibition created by Edge Hill University students. An innovative selection of work will be unveiled on campus to mark the first ever graduate degree exhibition for those on the BA (Hons) Design for Performance and BA (Hons) Visual Theatre courses.

Launching on 20 May, the work has been designed by the students to showcase how their ideas can shape the creative outcome of theatre and other environmental surroundings.

Imaginative creations on display will include life drawings, costumes and various stage designs which reflect the skills students have developed on their degrees. The exhibition is also a way for students to showcase their talents to potential employers.

Lauren McGowan, who is in her third year on the Design for Performance programme and has led on the project, said, "It is the first

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Qatar - During the recent Watch and Jewellery Exhibition in Doha, a gala dinner was held at the Sheraton Hotel, where the evening's entertainment included dramatic performances by aerial artists, dancers and musicians. Essential to the performance were two concentric rings, 8m and 10m in diameter, designed to look like cogs from a watch. Flown above the stage, the 'cogs' appeared to float in mid-air, moving and gyrating in time to the music.

With the original equipment delayed in transit, production manager Romain Rossel of MCI Geneva was put in touch with Unusual Rigging and Engineering, who were able to step in and provide the precise control required for the performance.

Project manager for Unusual Rigging & Engineering Leon Ingram explains, "The rings were suspended from a 10m high ground support system, the movement being provided by 11 hoists. With only days to come

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Romania - The impressive Timisoara National Theatre in Romania stands within the Palace of Culture, an arts centre conceived in the Viennese style by architects Hellmerand Felmer, and was opened in 1875 at the height of the Belle Époque. The horseshoe auditorium conforms to the traditional three balcony format, and the stage these days welcomes classical theatre, musical drama, childrens' theatre, and some challenging contemporary works. It has most recently welcomed a small German intrusion, not that this was challenging, but was apparently one that has been on its wish list for some time.

"The main problem of the venue in reference to the acoustics is related to the length of the balconies," said the National Theatre's technical manager. He has a point, the auditorium seats 600 people and is relatively shallow; the balconies are deep and steep. "This make

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UK - Icons of British electronic music Leftfield, with the help of Red Bull Studios London, recently curated a special show at London's Brixton O2 Academy in aid of War Child. Leftfield, with a line-up of friends and special guests, provided an impressive show for fans while raising much-needed funds for War Child.

For the event, Prolyte Group supplied two branded versions of its performance platform: LiteConsole. Front fascia panels featuring the distinctive Red Bull and War Child logos were also supplied. During the show, the LiteConsoles were internally lit for maximum visual impact.

Chris Taplin of Shooting Star Productions, responsible for the smooth running of the entire event, stated simply: "We love your LiteConsoles."

Cato Music's Daniel Humphreys, who supplied equipment for the event, added: "For many years we've been searching for a simplified desig

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Finland - During the darkest days of winter, Helsinki brightens the nights in an event called Lux Helsinki. This year's event featured a series of architectural lighting installations and fine art performances around town designed to enchant the eye and illuminate the soul.

Lighting consoles from High End Systems, a Barco company, were in command of one of Helsinki's most visible landmarks - the Olympic Stadium Tower - which was transformed into a light installation called the Variant Spectrum.

Lighting designer Jukka Huitila of Sun Effects created the spectrum of colour using LED lighting fixtures and a 12W laser positioned on 22 balconies of the tower. Programmer Sami Rautaneva chose a Wholehog 3 console and a DP8000 to programme and run the LED fixtures, set up in two universes. A Road Hog Full Boar helped with the first day's focusing and setup procedures, and also

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UK - Bristol-based event production company SXS was recently commissioned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to provide sound and full technical production for the royal unveiling of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. This followed a £50m restoration project as a result of fire damage to the 143-year-old clipper back in 2007.

SXS were tasked with constructing (and dressing) a dais stage, while the PA was provided by the company's new Martin Audio W8LM line array system supplied by dealers, LMC Audio.

The production company deployed a total of 12 W8LM Mini Line Array enclosures in two hangs, with two W8LMD Downfills at the base of each hang. This was driven by Lab Gruppen FP series amps and controlled using XTA DSPs.

Attended by both the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the launch took place at the Cutty Sark Gardens and the event included a 90-strong symphony orchestra and a

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UK - GDS and Gloucestershire-based Chinnick Theatre Services (CTS) recently commissioned a complete re-fit of the Bacon Theatre's house light system.

The Bacon Theatre sits in the grounds of Dean Close School in Cheltenham. Built in 1991 it owes its name to Mr Christopher Bacon, former headmaster of the independent School. Mr Bacon fundraised tirelessly to build the Bacon Theatre which is used as a resource by Dean Close School pupils as well as hosting the best of professional touring theatre, live music, dance, film and accommodating local talented youth, community groups and charities.

The GDS engineering team visited the site with CTS in the summer of 2011 and designed the 566-seat theatre a retrofit house lighting solution, incorporating its ArcSystem LED auditorium lighting fixtures. The theatre had in place an ageing track light system which was proving increasingly dif

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USA - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Time Rice's Evita has returned to Broadway for the first time in 30 years, in a new production directed by Michael Grandage, choreographed by Rob Ashford, designed by Christopher Oram with lighting by Tony- and Olivier-award winning lighting designer Neil Austin - who received both Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for the show's lighting.

To keep track of that lighting as it was created and then what for what looks certain to be a long, successful run, Austin and his team turned to FocusTrack to document the lighting rig, and to SpotTrack to document the show's four followspots.

The rig itself is made up pre-dominantly of tungsten moving lights, including ETC Revolutions, Martin TW1s, Vari-Lite VL5Bs and DHA Pitching Digital Light Curtains, with some discharge punch then provided by VL1000AS fixtures and PRG's new Best Boy 40

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South Africa - Allen & Heath's GS-R24 Firewire recording mixer has been installed in the main recording studio at the Campus of Performing arts (COPA) in Johannesburg, as a teaching console and to manage music students' projects.

"I needed a mixer to satisfy my students' obsession for all things digital, and to teach them the value of what they call 'old school'. Enter the GS-R24, new kid on the block and what I believe to be the future of modern recording consoles," explains COPA's head of production, Neill Pash.

"Everything the modern day producer and musician needs has been included in this little gem: musical fully parametric EQ, two great-sounding onboard valve pre-amps which also serve as instrument DI's, with onboard MIDI control of your DAW including transport and plug-ins, automated flying faders (GSR24-M) and the flexibility to route your DAW effects o

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Sweden - The annual Melodifestivalen, takes over Stockholm's largest performance venue to decide who will represent the nation at Eurovision. This year, rental company Starlight filled the Ericsson Globe Arena with Nexo Geo T and S8 line arrays.

Starlight, a regular supplier for the Melodifestivalen, provided Nexo sound reinforcement for the four semi-final events as well as the grand finale in the 16,300-capacity Globe. This year saw singer Loreen triumph over the other nine acts, as the jury and public votes sent her on her way to represent Sweden in Baku, Azerbaijan, at the end of May.

Starlight's system design for the Stockholm Globe centred around a main PA using 60x Geo T4805 and 14x Geo T2815 down-fill cabinets, mainly comprising front and side-arrays of 15-18 modules each. Nexo CD18 subs were flown left and right, in lines of six, with additional units at ground level.

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Arts Funding - Public support for government funding of the arts has fallen significantly during the recession, according to research published by Arts Council England.

ACE's Stakeholder Focus Research reveals that 44% of the general public support government subsidy of the arts, down from 52% when the research was last carried out in 2009. Only 12% strongly support it - down from 16% in 2009 - while 19% of the population oppose it - up from 14% in 2009 - and 7% strongly oppose it, up from 5%.

The results also reveal the public generally believes subsidy should be used to widen access to arts events, with the least popular aim of public funding being "supporting artists and arts organisations to take risks and try new things out". Elsewhere, the research shows that within the industry, there is widespread support for ACE, with 71% of the arts sector and partners repo

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USA - Richard Pilbrow, founder of Theatre Project Consultants (TPC) and one of the world's leading theatre design consultants, will give the keynote address at the North American Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (NATEAC) in New York City on July 22.

The conference, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, July 22 and 23, 2012, promotes communication between the architects, engineers, consultants, and manufacturers responsible for designing and building new theatres and renovating existing performance facilities in North America.

Pilbrow will speak at the conference's opening session on July 22 at 9:30 a.m. at the New York Hilton Hotel, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. The session is open only to registered attendees. To register for the conference, visit www.nateac.org/register.htm.

Early in his career, Pilbrow was selected by Laurence Olivier to be the lighting designer

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