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UK - Professor Green's recent tour to promote his latest album At Your Inconvenience has been a major hit. Lit by LD and technical director of DPL, Pete Watts, the modest yet accommodating rig was dominated by Philips Vari-Lite VL3000 Spot luminaires.

Watts' clever use of light, angle, pattern, colour and timing painted a sometimes lively and strobe heavy, sometimes understated, moody and evocative backdrop that perfectly complements the diverse range of high-energy melodies and passionate confessionals that make up Professor Green's spirited show.

An experienced and well respected lighting designer, Watts says he specified VL3000 Spot luminaires for a number of reasons. "On this show I used the fixtures for everything from key light from the floor and sides to backl

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Japan - The idea of providing even audio coverage for Tokyo Dome's massive 55,000 seats - without the need for delays - has always been the holy grail of incoming production teams.

Finally this dream became a reality - when the Martin Audio MLA Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array made its debut there recently, supporting one of Asia's most successful acts, TVXQ (an abbreviation of their Chinese name, Tong Vfang Xien Qi).

Major rental company, MSI Japan had chosen this venue for the début of its new MLA system - supporting the Korean electronica pop star sensations (now a duo featuring U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin). As a result, they put one of their senior FOH engineers, Takashi 'Shiro' Murata, in charge of the mix.

Traditionally, with all large concerts at the Tokyo Dome, delay towers have needed to be set to provide even coverage throughout the venue. These have been

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UK - Laser displays on an epic scale lit up the seafront and promenade in Weymouth recently where, in eight weeks' time, the Olympic sailing events for London 2012 will be held.

Highly visible and iconic, the 'LightVeils' display is unique to Weymouth. It is also one of the final parts in an ambitious £2.5m seafront regeneration programme undertaken by the Borough Council and other partners. The luminous green laser patterns will now form a permanent night-time feature, shining across the beach and into the sea.

The innovative project was designed and delivered by international engineering consultancy Parsons Brinckerhoff, based upon a concept developed by renowned artists Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier. The company won the 2009 design competition set up by Weymouth & Portland Borough Council and The Arts Council to deliver an artistic led lighting installation for

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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 - In the last few weeks PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 has gone from strength to strength as new exhibitors and new seminar speakers join the party. Now the second regional event to be held in North America, PLASA Focus: Nashville 2012 takes place on 11-12 July, 2012 at the Municipal Auditorium, in Nashville, TN. and follows in the wake of the successful PLASA Focus: Austin, held in February 2012. The show will also run prior to the annual Summer NAMM event, bringing together industry professionals from around the world.

PLASA Focus is proud to announce the addition of several new exhibitors to join the already packed exhibitor hall, including lighting specialists PixelRange; connectivity problem solvers Link USA; support system gurus Applied Electronics; and lighting-design software giant CAST. They will share the floor with other industry trailblazers such as Clay Paky,

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Australia - After Aussie rock legend Cold Chisel's rapturously received best-of arena shows of last year, they played a few intimate shows at venues such as the Festival Hall in Melbourne where sound engineer Greg Rosman utilised the in-house JBL VerTec PA system.

Not exactly big news except Rosman had a powerful new weapon in his arsenal - JBL V5 VerTec presets courtesy of the new Crown VRACK, a complete amplifier management rack system solution. The VRACK features three built-in Crown I-Tech 12000HD amplifiers, immediately providing an easy-to-configure, plug-and-play solution that eliminates the need to build amplifier racks.

"The VRACKS have made a big difference to the sound of the VerTec," commented Greg Rosman. "They allow us access to the new JBL VerTec V5 presets and with V5 it's like having a new VerTec system all over again.

"The VerTec V5 DSP

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South Africa - NEC Display Solutions Southern Africa has confirmed the appointment of a third distribution partner, Electrosonic SA.

The strategic collaboration between NEC Display Solutions Southern Africa and Electrosonic is targeted at increasing local market share and informing the industry of the benefits and capabilities of NEC's innovative product solutions. While Electrosonic's core focus will be on public displays, large venue displays, events and the control room market, they will be distributing the complete range of displays, including large format displays and projectors.

"This is a strategic appointment where NEC Display Solutions Southern Africa aims to enhance its exposure in the local Pro AV and systems integration market by building on existing working relationships with complementary products currently distributed exclusively by Electrosonic," says

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UK - RCF has confirmed the sale of its first D-Line HDL 20-A active line array system in the UK to Leicestershire-based Chameleon Pro Audio & Lighting Ltd.

Given the vast spectrum of events for which the company provides production support, Stewart Duckworth's long-standing sales, rental and installation operation sensed the time was right to invest in its own line array system after previously hiring in. As a result, this month they took delivery of an initial 12 HDL 20-A full range enclosures and four SUB 8006-AS subwoofers from RCF UK - and believe this is just the beginning.

Based in the East Midlands - in heart of the country with excellent transport links - this self-described "jobbing PA company," says the HDL 20-A ticks all the boxes - particularly with the busy summer season approaching, when their workload spans the spectrum of village galas right through t

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Switzerland - Over 300 Robe Robin 600 LEDWash and PureWhite moving lights were specified by lighting designer Peter Heilig of SfS Project Aschaffenburg to light a special pavilion area showcasing the new BMW 6 series Gran Coupe on the BMW stand at the 2012 International Geneva Motor show.

The high profile event was staged at the Palexpo Centre in Geneva, and BMW's special launch concept was originated by Mutabor Design GmbH from Hamburg, Germany.

A steel superstructure was designed in collaboration with architects Puchner & Schum from Munich, together with engineers Structure GmbH from Frankfurt.

This was then clad with fibre glass to create two curved three dimensional latticed set piece walls surrounding the two Gran Coupe vehicles, one of which was on a revolve. There was a circular ceiling above the area with three rings of trussing for lighting positions, and at the bac

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Ireland / UK - Irish electronic act, The Japanese Popstars, selected an Allen & Heath ZED-420 USB mixer as the permanent mixer in their tour set up.

"Allen & Heath is a music industry stalwart and well trusted by many producers and performers. We have previously used the MixWizard with great results, one of which was our first BBC Radio One live performance as part of 'In New DJ's We Trust', so you could imagine our excitement when we got our hands on the ZED-420," explains band member, Gary Curran.

The Japanese Popstars have toured with the ZED mixer for the past year, playing many gigs and festivals ranging from Glastonbury to the Secret Garden Party and more recently the ZED accompanied them on tour with Orbital, which included a gig at the Royal Albert Hall.

"The mixer has been fantastic for the way we set up our live performances. We make use of the mixer

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USA / Netherlands - Sensaphonics and Elcea, the Netherlands-based specialist in custom hearing solutions under the Elacin brand, have reached an agreement whereby Elcea will manufacture Sensaphonics custom-fit sleeves for Shure earphones in the European market.

"We are very pleased to be working with Elcea," says Sensaphonics president and founder, Dr. Michael Santucci, Au.D. "Our companies share a common heritage and mission: to provide our customers a safe, high fidelity listening experience without compromise. Now European users of Shure SE Series earphones can get the same custom-fit silicone sleeves that Sensaphonics provides in North America."

A leader in promoting hearing health in the European market, Elcea already possesses the manufacturing expertise to produce the precision-fit soft silicon sleeves that set Sensaphonics apart.

"The coopera

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UK - A very busy start to 2012 has resulted in West Midlands- based video and AV specialist Central Presentations Ltd. (CPL) making substantial investments in its audio and AV departments.

In keeping with the company's commitment to premium brands and being able to offer its clients the most innovative technologies, the very latest Panasonic HD projectors have been ordered to add to hire stock, together with a range of Sony HD broadcast cameras plus d&b's compact T Series line array sound systems - all to service CPL's on-going live event work.

The inventory of HD Panasonic projectors has been boosted with the addition of the new Panasonic PT-DZ21K 3-chip 20K DLP projectors, which are among the first delivered in the UK.

CPL has also bought some Panasonic DZ770s - the 7K variant in the same range - so Panasonic HD projection solutions are now available in 7, 10 and 20K range

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UK - In celebration of its 25th anniversary year, Martin Professional held a special 'Innovation and Inspiration' event for industry professionals at two of London's premiere locations - the landmark BT Tower and the award-winning headquarters of creative communications company, Imagination. Held on 3 May, the day featured presentations by senior Imagination member Paul Scott, as well as leading UK lighting designer Bernie Davis.

Because consumer brands are increasingly judged by the experiences they offer, Paul Scott put forward for attendees Imagination's overriding philosophy to imagine a more creative future for their clients. "We have always tried to push innovation and lighting technology and one main distinction is that we rarely think of the medium first - we think of a way of doing something first, and then apply whatever medium is applicable. It is always our poli

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UK - The Hire Company recently moved to its new 4,200sq.ft home in two units at Radar Way on Christchurch Business Park, Dorset and is holding an Open Day on Thursday, 5 July from 12 noon until 8 pm to highlight its expertise, equipment and suppliers.

The two offices in Christchurch and Bristol boast more than £2m in vision, sound and lighting equipment and a team of locally-based technicians with 60 years of experience between them

The team, headed by manager Scott Clarke, has enjoyed a record year, with back-to-back conferences in Manchester and Bournemouth and as well as being the Bournemouth International Centre's recommended contractor, also specialise in medical association conferences.

Clarke said: "Our move is helping us deliver an even more efficient service to our hire and conference customers. Our record turnover has seen continued investment in more eq

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) has announced that Lawrence Waterman, head of health and safety, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) & head of health and safety, London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), has agreed to present this year's John Watts Memorial Lecture, as part of the ABTT 2012 Theatre Show at London's Old Truman Brewery on Wednesday 13 June, 2:30pm, in the venue's Seminar Room.

Waterman, who since 2005 has not only been tasked with the challenge of weaving health and safety into every aspect of London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games' construction works programme - venues and infrastructure - but also with the responsibility of transforming the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for its public opening in 2013-2014.

In Delivering Olympian Standards of Health and Safety, Waterman will explain how leadership, workforce engagement, heal

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Singapore - Following the success of a similar event in the UK, Lab.gruppen and Lake have announced plans to hold a training and certification event in Singapore on 21 & 22 June (during SLV Expo 2012), in partnership with local distributor Team 108 Technical Services Pte Ltd. The training programme is designed to introduce key aspects of Lab.gruppen and Lake technologies and develop user familiarity with the companies' industry-leading tour sound hardware and software platforms.

The introductory 'Level 1' Certification course, being held at SLV Expo near Changi Airport, will introduce participants to the core essentials of Lake & Lab.gruppen technology as well as gaining complete familiarization with the hardware as well as all the class-leading Lake features such as: Raised Cosine Equation, Iso-Float, Ideal Graphic EQ, Processing Modules, and LimiterMax.

"Lake Processing

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USA - High End Systems has announced two customer interaction events in the month of June. These hands-on open houses present the latest automated, digital, and console products to customers in a local environment. In addition, Wholehog training seminars allow attendees the opportunity to learn the Wholehog console line without leaving their home location.

Activities begin 12 and 13 June, 2012 with a Wholehog training session held at the ESP Vision headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada. This introduction course covers the powerful Wholehog Control Software, which is used on the Wholehog 3 Console, Road Hog, Road Hog Full Boar, the Hog iPC and Hog 3PC. Students will learn on Road Hog Full Boar consoles connected to ESP Vision.

The Wholehog training will be followed by an open house event to be held on 14 June, 2012 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, also in Las Vegas, Nevada. Produ

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UK - Mt Pro Ltd will be exhibiting at the ABTT show at the Old Truman Brewery in East London this month. On show on stand 65 will be a selection of professional audio and LED lighting products developed by MilTec (UK) Ltd.

"We have been very busy over the last year, developing new products and expanding the ranges of existing products," said David Faulkes, sales director. "We have also extended our manufacturing base to include Germany."

One of the products to be featured at the show will be an LED cyclorama wash. Based on the powerful LEDHead Batten2, it uses 18x8W quadcolour LEDs and high quality optics to give an even wash of light over 4.5m high when mounted only 1m from the cyc.

Other new LED products include two new wireless uplighters with adjustable pan and tilt and the Ad-cover system, designed to colour and brand any make of battery uplighter.

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Azerbaijan - The Eurovision Song Contest recently completed its 57th year, held at The Baku Crystal Hall in Azerbaijan, a new multi-purpose indoor arena with a capacity of 23.000 spectators. The Baku Crystal Hall was commissioned by the City of Baku specifically for this event and construction was completed in a mere eight months.

Baku hosted 42 participating countries spanning three live broadcasts - two Semi-finals on 22 and 24 May and the finals on 26 May. The 2012 Finals had a live viewing audience of 23,000 plus an estimated 125m television and internet viewers worldwide, making it one of the largest music television programmes in the world.

Lighting designer Jerry Appelt specified a spectacular arsenal of lighting for the new arena. More than 1,400 moving lights (2.891 fixtures total) allowed the 42 contestants, plus an elaborate interval act and opening performance, to

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UK - As part of the 2012 Thames River Pageant to honour the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, MTFX were asked to fire the guns of HMS Belfast. The ship is docked next to Tower Bridge, close to the finishing place of the Royal Spirit of Chartwell barge.

During the finale of the pageant, HMS Belfast fired two volleys from the turret guns to close the pageant.

(Jim Evans)

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Italy - For the 23rd consecutive year, a crowd reportedly in excess of 750,000 packed Rome's Piazza San Giovanni for the traditional 1May concert, amplified for the first time in 15 years by an Italian sound reinforcement system - Outline's GTO.

For the event's producer, Anyway srl, Rome's Limelite provided audio, lighting, video and the huge set for the eight-hour event, aired live by state broadcaster Rai.

On either side of the set, the main system comprised 15 GTO hung below three GTO-LOW, plus an array of eight GTO-SUBs alongside. On the ground in front of the stage, 12 Lab 21 HS infra-sub enclosures were topped by six Butterfly enclosures to ensure concert early birds coverage.

The furthest reaches of the vast crowd were catered for by three delay systems: one consisting of 12 Butterfly and six Subtech 218 subs in cardioid configuration and the other two eight Butterfly

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France - The Château du Rivau in the Loire Valley is said to be one of the most important medieval monuments of the Touraine region of France. With its majestic keep, protective drawbridge and picturesque towers, the Château du Rivau looks as if it has come straight out of a fairytale.

In 1992, when the chateau was in danger of falling into ruin, the current owners undertook a massive restoration campaign to restore Rivau to its former glory. This also included the magnificent gardens and the legendary stables where medieval warhorses were bred and raised, and where Joan of Arc herself came to fetch horses in 1429, and which later became the Royal Stables of Francois I. One of the finishing touches of the restoration was to install a high quality yet physically discreet distributed sound system from APG throughout the chateau in order to bring the interior to life.

Benjamin

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