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France - As of June 2012, VMB, the Spanish manufacturer of towerlifts and ESL have signed a deal for the exclusive distribution of all VMB products in France. ESL will now also be the official service centre for all VMB lifts.

Yann KOZIOL, ESL's purchasing manager, says: "This is a great opportunity for ESL to extend our range with the addition of high quality VMB products. The value for money is also very interesting with the VMB range and the product is already very well received in the market."

ESL president Alain Cornevaux adds: "The partnership between VMB and ESL is an exciting challenge and completes our strategy of distribution of quality products."

VMB's export manager Ben Sinclair comments: "ESL's reputation in the French market is well estab

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UK - To celebrate the launch of the much-requested iPad App for its flagship M-480 Digital Console, Roland Systems Group (RSG) has decided to give away an iPad! One lucky attendee of the free RSG Audio Training Days, taking place throughout the UK during June and July, will win the iPad.

The popular training days will be hosted by some of RSG's biggest dealers; starting on 20 June at Wigwam Acoustics in Heywood, followed by 27 June at SSE Audio Group in Redditch, 5 July at Stage Electrics in Avonmouth, with the final event on 11July at SFL Group in Reading. Advance registration is required, which can be done via the RSG website (www.rolandsystemsgroup.co.uk).

Designed to cater for all backgrounds and levels of knowledge, the training days give unlimited access to REAC, Roland's core technology for digital audio systems, as well as the M-480 and M-300 digital consoles and the D

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) 2012 Theatre Show Awards, sponsored by two of the organisation's Silver Industry Supporters Group members, Stage Electrics & Triple E, took place following close of show on Wednesday (13 June).

With judging taking place throughout the day and final decisions made late in the afternoon, winners were presented with their hook-clamp trophies in the Truman Brewery's Corbet Place Bar, in front of exhibitors, guests and ABTT members. The winners are as follows:

ABTT 2012 Theatre Show Engineering Product of the Year: Metool Reels - Multicore Contactless Reeler.

Judges' comments: "We are pleased to find a method of feeding multicores on a drum that does not use slip rings. The panel was impressed by the tool-less cable installation and ability to run Ethernet on a cable reeler."

Eric Marks-Oldham, sales di

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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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South Africa - The Roodepoort Theatre, until recently known as Promusica Theatre, have upgraded their lighting system to be on par with other Johannesburg mainstream theatres. The busy little theatre based on the Westrand, Gauteng, now has in addition, a grandMA2 ultra-light, 32 Philips Selecon Rama Fresnels, two LDR Canto followspots, two Robin 600E ColorSpots and a LSC DMX infrastructure.

"It has been a long struggle to obtain money for the purchase, and thanks to the City of Johannesburg, the upgrade was able to make progressive improvement to the theatre," said Loran Robertson, theatre manager. Robertson joined The Roodepoort Theatre 18 years ago when she was appointed stage manager, partly because she could read music at a time when the theatre mostly hosted operas. The theatre's lighting equipment existing fixtures were well pass their sell by date and it was bec

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UK - British singer and rapper Example is looking forward to a busy summer, playing a wide variety of festivals and other live shows across the UK and Europe whilst also putting together his fourth studio album.

The Sennheiser equipment includes an ew 500-935 G3 microphone on Example's vocals; wired mics on the backline which include a 901 on the kick drum and 604s on auxiliary drums; six ew 572 G3 wireless instrument systems and ten sets of ew 300 IEM G3 in-ear monitors.

Monitor engineer Will Nicholson has been working with Example for over six years. "The 935 has the dynamic range to cope with an artist whose performance includes both rapping and singing and the transmitter's robustness means that, in a busy RF environment, I never worry about coverage or dropouts on our most crucial wireless transmitter," he says.

"The guitarist loves his wireless rig - he

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USA - If you were lucky enough to get tickets to the Super Bowl this year, you might have walked past the landmark Nordyke & Marmon building complex on West Morris Street, now home for a global pharmaceutical company. A new eye-catching makeover to the 111-acre West Morris Street complex incorporates a fountain and the main headquarters building. Brought to life with custom visual displays of rich colours, with controls designed and integrated by Associated Controls + Design (ACD) of Indianapolis, LumenRadio CRMX wireless lighting control was critical to the project's success.

The main building's new visage is comprised of three main elements:

First, a beautiful west side centrepiece consists of a 90ft diameter fountain stocked with 192 colour-changing LED fixtures provided by Solid State Lighting. The control signal is distributed by a CRMX Outdoor Flex unit configured as a t

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UK/USA - Introduced at the beginning of this year, Shure ULX-D Digital Wireless provides a 24-bit/48kHz digital audio quality and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES-256) meeting the needs of demanding installed applications. Now Shure has expanded its ULX-D offering with the introduction of the new Dual and Quad Receivers.

The ULXD4D (Dual) and ULXD4Q (Quad) come with an extensive set of additional features including High Density Mode, Bodypack Frequency Diversity and DANTE digital audio networking.

Specifically designed for high channel count applications requiring a working range up to 30m, the High Density Mode allows operating up to 560 channels in 72MHz, respectively 63 channels in an 8MHz TV channel. High Density mode optimizes the system's output power and digital RF filtering to reduce its spectral footprint from 350kHz to 125kHz, with no loss of sound quality. This let

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USA - High End Systems has announced the release of the TechnoArc automated luminaire. First shown earlier this year at the PLASA Focus: Austin tradeshow, TechnoArc represents the continuing growth of the company's automated luminaire product line.

Designed for a wide variety of small and medium scale performance applications, TechnoArc is a compact soft-edge luminaire with exceptional value and performance. A natural companion to the hard-edged Technospot, this full featured fixture is designed for club, stage, and studio applications where environmental durability and high quality output are required.

TechnoArc features smooth CMY colour mixing and a fixed color wheel. Following the professional lighting, large-exiting aperture trend, TechnoArc features a prominent 6.5" lens, 8° to 32° zoom, and over 14,000 lumen

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UK - Live video and AV production and rental specialist Central Presentations Ltd (CPL) has appointed Lee Gruszeckyj to boost its busy project management team. Gruszeckyj - popularly known as Lee G - will be co-ordinating a diverse range of CPL's events work, and also expanding business in the broadcast sector, where there is a healthy demand for camera crews for news shoots and commercials. He is highly respected in this area and has many contacts.

Gruszeckyj has worked in the live video production since he was 16 and has a passion and zeal for his work that is an ideal fit with CPL's philosophy, the company says. His industry experience includes freelancing for a number of leading companies and brands for the last six years, dealing with video and IMAG systems - both engineering and directing - and also projection, through which he has built up a broad technical and creative k

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Finland - Resonice was a seven-minute projection work created for the 2012 IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) World Championship games Opening Ceremony staged at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki. Lighting and concept designer Mikki Kunttu used two grandMA2 light consoles and an MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) for control.

Kunttu commented, "The main themes were firstly the history of World Championships and the history of Finnish ice hockey. The world of ice hockey has a lot of respect for its past and its many legends, so I wanted to underline this in the piece. I also wanted to add a fantasy-factor, which is where the skaters come in. Then the last part was a full-on fire and lightning-style scene with a certain gladiator thread to kick off the games - kind of what you would expect in this type of a show.

"Generally speaking the title Resonice tries

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Germany - The Tempodrom in Berlin provided the setting for the 20th Duftstars gala. At this annual event, the Fragrance Foundation Deutschland distinguishes the fragrance of the year with the Duftstars award.

In recent years the event in the Berlin Tempodrom has risen to the status of one of the most important social gatherings of the year. For this reason the stars were packed pretty closely for this year's sold-out jubilee event, with the likes of Dita Von Teese, Werner Baldessarini, Cosma Shiva Hagen, Sonya Kraus, Jette Joop, Eva Padberg, and Jean Paul Gaultier rubbing shoulders on the red carpet. The event was hosted by TV star Barbara Schöneberger, whilst the musical highlights were provided by ex-Spice Girl Melanie C and Voice of Germany winner Ivy Quainoo.

To ply this demanding audience with sound of the highest possible quality and intelligibility

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UK - Following the transfer of the show to The Old Truman Brewery, Julian Chiverton, sales director of Doughty Engineering, said, "We enjoyed the busiest ABTT we've ever had. Our guys were talking to visitors most of the time, and I'm really pleased with the way the show went."

Of particular interest was Doughty's new Follow Spot Mount, specifically designed to enable a follow spot to be firmly positioned on a rail and give an exceptionally smooth movement. With rotation of a full 360 degrees, the Follow Spot Mount, which has a low friction plate to ensure an easy, smooth movement, complements Doughty's existing Follow Spot stands, stand tops and spigot. Like all Doughty branded products, it is engineered in the company's own factory in Ringwood, Hampshire.

Also on show at ABTT was Doughty's Studio Rail walk along track kits, a neat and inexpensive solution for schoo

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UK - Entec Sound & Light supplied full technical production - sound, lighting and video - and crew for the recent Big Comedy Night event for leading charity Scope at London's Hammersmith Apollo.

A stellar line up included a rare stand-up appearance by maverick alt comedian Ben Elton, who co-hosted the evening with pub landlord Al Murray, plus a host of other high profile acts including Doc Brown, Hal Cruttenden, Richard Herring, Robin Ince, Milton Jones, Francesca Martinez, Sally Phillips and Paul Tomkinson.

Entec was approached by event organiser Susan Dorrington of Scope, who was looking for a full technical solution for the show. Entec's Noreen O'Riordan project managed, and asked Phil White on-board to design the lighting. Entec's own Ryan Brown and Ed Hammond took care of video and sound respectively.

There was already a basic lighting plot in place when White be

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UK - Adlib ampedit up for DJ David Guetta at his recent high-energy London Alexandra Palace show, over the Queen's Jubilee Weekend.

Adlib supplied Guetta's successful 2011 UK tour for production manager Alan Green and his FOH sound engineer Hassane Es Siahi also enjoys a close working relationship with the Liverpool based company.

Account handler Phil Kielty commented , "With The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations going on, an England FC football match and two huge David Guetta shows - London was THE place to be for the weekend & David's shows didn't disappoint . Will-i-Am did a guestspot which amazed the Chelsea FC guests. The sound, visuals and entire production were breathtaking ... with Alan and the Guetta team bringing a little piece of Ibiza to London at the other well known Palace that weekend."

For this gig, the audio system was collectively specified by a combin

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Ireland / UK - Irish Lighting rental company Production Services Ireland (PSI) became fully embroiled in the weekend commemorating the centenary of the sinking of the world's most famous cruise ship - Titanic.

The ship - the largest afloat at the time - was built at the Harland & Wolf shipyard in Belfast from 1909 - 1911. She sank four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York on 15 April 1912, after hitting an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland with the loss of 1, 514 lives.

PSI's Belfast and Dublin operations supplied lighting, rigging and crew to three major events to mark this seminal moment in maritime history.

The first was a series of gala concerts for the Titanic 100 civic commemoration and tribute programme presented by The Port of Cork at Cobh, County Cork - the last port of call for the ill-fated ship. The second was Titanic Sounds for MTV

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UK - Utopian Leisure has opened its second Fat Buddha pan-Asian restaurant on a landmark site in the company's home city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The operators have established many popular brands since being set up by local entrepreneur Bob Senior; Fat Buddha is the latest, and will occupy the site of the former Bar 55 Degrees, The Box and most recently Lineker's - situated on a roundabout directly under the building occupied by local radio station, Metro Radio.

Paul Dougherty at Blaydon Communications was brought in to provide the sound system at the two-floor venue, and his solution was an end-to-end RCF Media system, which he knew would remain unobtrusive - blending in with the interior design created by Colin Harvey of Belfast-based Barnes Mccrum.

Since the music is designed to be "calming and Asian based" through the daytime and early evening, moving to great

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UK - Kidderminster-based Betalite has become the first UK customer for SGM's new Palco 5+ LED colour changer - an upgrade of the popular Palco 5. Eight of the new fixtures were sold by long-term SGM customers Gradav, via dealers Central Theatre Supplies (CTS) of Birmingham.

Noting the extreme brightness of the Palco 5+, Betalite's Murray Bridges placed some immediately onto a theatre production he was lighting at the Rose Theatre, Kidderminster, while four of the fixtures joined the GB Theatre Company production for outdoor use on their European Shakespeare tour. Bridges commented, "These fixtures are both dynamic and aesthetically superb - and we are delighted to be the first UK customers for them."

Betalite already have wide experience of using the similar Palco 3's - as have Gradav, who run between 50 and 60 (as well as SGM Giottos) in their hire fleet. "We t

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UK - Entertainment lighting specialist White Light has launched a new website, intended to better reflect the wide range of work the company now undertakes across the entire spectrum of entertainment lighting.

Since the launch of the last White Light website in 2006, the company has grown dramatically. The company is now the UK, European or exclusive distributor for 20 of the world's finest lighting manufacturers, and offer products from many other manufacturers besides, says the company.

"Our last website served us well," notes Bryan Raven, White Light's managing director, "but as White Light has evolved and the web has evolved it was clearly time for something new. Given that lighting is a visual medium, our key aim was to make the website more visual as a showcase for some of the great projects we have been involved with; we think we've achieved that pretty w

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Argentina - Blues and rock artist Joe Cocker shows no sign of stopping after close to 40 years on the music scene. His latest tour to promote his album Hard Knocks has taken on worldwide dimensions, with concerts held across Europe in 2010 and 2011, culminating with a series of concerts in South America and the United States in 2012. D.A.S. Audio was on hand at Cocker's concert in Rosario, Argentina, to provide quality sound at this much anticipated event.

Professional sound company Marti Audio headed the sound set-up at Rosario's sold out Salón Metropolitano. Company director Ariel Marti and his team of sound technicians once again placed their confidence in D.A.S. Aero Series 2 line array systems to bring top-of-the-line sound to an event of this size.

The team from Marti Audio deployed 24 sets of large format D.A.S. Aero 50 line arrays, dividing these three-way syst

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UK - POLARaudio working in partnership with Saville Audio Visual were commissioned to design and install a customised audio solution for Leeds United's new conference suite at the Elland Road stadium.

The East Stand Conference Suite at Leeds United's Elland Road stadium is part of one of the UK's leading conference and event venues. The conference suites are presented on three levels. With capacity for 300 delegates on the second floor and four separate areas incorporating the upper levels, each suitable for 150 delegates, the venue is popular for business meetings and conferences and provides spectacular, panoramic views across the Leeds city centre.

Leading integrator Saville AV worked in conjunction with POLARaudio to provide a PA system for the five corporate hospitality suits in the new east wing extension. The solution provides each of the presentation rooms within the c

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Israel UK lighting rental company HSL sent over 500 lighting fixtures and crew to the Dead Sea for the third consecutive year to service the 2012 Israeli Opera Festival at Masada, which premiered a brand new production of Bizet's Carmen directed by Daniel Oren.

HSL was again working for the event's overall technical production suppliers The Design Group from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, in an operation co-ordinated by event technical director Eyal Lavee and technical production manager Elad Mainz from Stage Design, and project managed for HSL by Mike Oates.

Lighting for the stunning looking 'bare-stage' production was designed by Avi Yona Bueno (Bambi), Israel's best known performing arts lighting designer. The set was created by William Orlandi and the show directed by Giancarlo del Monaco both from Italy.

HSL's crew of Ian Stevens and Matt Brown worked on site with Israe

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