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USA - Folk rock singer-songwriter Jack Johnson just wrapped up a month-long North American tour leg on 20 October supporting his latest album, From Here To Now To You. Camarillo, California-based Rat Sound Systems, Inc., which has been Johnson's live production provider in the States for the past 13 years, deployed a full L-Acoustics Kara rig for the latest trek, which stopped at what the artist considered the "most beautiful and intimate" theatres across the continent.

According to systems engineer Andrew Gilchrest, the Rat crew typically flew 15 Kara line source array enclosures below two SB18 subs per side, with an additional two SB18 per side set up on the floor. For venues with extended balconies, however, the left and right hangs were split into two arrays:

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Germany - Herbalife's Extravaganza is a special corporate event organized periodically by Herbalife - mixing high-profile entertainment and a strong motivational theme - in various cities around the world.

This year, Extravaganza was held 27-29 September in the Lanxess Arena, a modern multi-purpose venue site in Cologne, Germany, and was attended by about 50,000 visitors. Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State, was the special guest for this edition.

The entertaining aspect of the convention featured a richly decorated stage - on which the Shadow Dancers ensemble performed - and large mirror balls suspended over the audience.

To illuminate this impressive setup, Planet Service - a company specialising in consulting, design, construction and lighting design of major events, as well as technical partner of Herbalife for its international conventions -

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USA - A Jands Vista T2 console was chosen by US based lighting designer, Chris Shrom, to control lighting for the Grammy Award-winning vocal harmony group Little Big Town, currently touring North America until mid-December.

Shrom was challenged with programming a rig which would have as much impact outside in daylight as it does when the band moves inside arenas.

Shrom worked closely with the band, tour project manager, Chris Diener and show designer, Raj Kapoor in designing something that worked well in all scenarios - choosing a dynamic rig featuring Sharpys, Atomic 3000s with color scrollers, Nocturn UV lights with Eclipse Shutters and MAC Auras.

"I know the Jands Vista T2 well and I can programme it very quickly. I've been using the Vista software now for almost five years. I love the timeline feature: Its simple, easy to look at and work in. The less thinking I hav

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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 - West London technical production specialists, Entec supplied lighting and sound equipment and crew for two major gigs at Brixton and Bristol on the recent Fat Freddy's Drop UK tour.

The New Zealand based band - known for their improvised live performances which embrace multiple styles including dub, reggae, soul, jazz, blues and techno - returned to Entec to supply all their production needs following a hugely successful previous one off at Brixton Academy in 2011.

Once again, choosing a company that could deliver all their production elements from one source proved an efficient and cost-effective solution.

The band's Lighting designer Mark Butler sent in this plot which Entec's lighting division matched. There were three over-stage flown trusses, all raked at jaunty angles, and three upright trusses on the floor, giving the performance space a dynamic, off-beat look an

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USA - Committed to artistry and new technology, the Cal Arts Lighting Design Programme provides professional training that enables students to broaden their design experience in all entertainment lighting applications. With a curriculum that strives to use the latest systems and technology in numerous productions, students refine their design skills led by renowned theatre and architectural lighting designer Anne Militello who recently worked with Forman & Associates to bring in a new a stockpile PL Series LED lighting tools from Philips Entertainment which included PLProfile1, PLCyc1, PL3 Wash and PLProfile4 LED Luminaires.

"It all began when we brought Forman & Associates in to speak about LED luminaires for the theatre," began Militello. "They then called me back a few weeks later with a proposition from Philips Entertainment that would allow us to get the PL S

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UK / China - Funktion-One has won an important trademark case relating to the use of its name and company logo in China. It follows the pre-emptive registration of the Funktion-One name and logo by Wu Meiling in March 2005. The British loudspeaker manufacturer, under representation from Wilkinson & Grist, challenged the move and won - vindicating the time and resources that have been absorbed by the lengthy process.

The loudspeaker manufacturer received invaluable support from industry allies - including members of the trade press and organisations like PLASA and Prolight+Sound, who helped to assemble evidence that greatly assisted the case.

The People's Republic of China's trademark law prohibits pre-emptive registration of a trademark that is already in use by another person - in respect of identical or similar goods that have gained a certain level of influence in China. Fu

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USA - With 17 locations across five states, LifeChurch.tv hosts more than 50,000 attendees a week during high-intensity services, complete with house bands and exciting sermons. The majority of the 165 services per week throughout LifeChurch.tv are lit with Martin lighting fixtures. Steinas Systems continues to provide LifeChurch.tv with its lighting gear for a full inventory of lighting and a backup supply to keep the services bright, both in person and online.

"Our services are eye-catching from both the audience and technical side. The worship music portion of our services is similar to what someone would experience at a concert," states Greg Bacus, central team leader of technology, LifeChurch.tv. "With Martin, we're able to deliver what we need for each service in each location, providing a fixture that's superior quality, cutting edge, and at a price point a

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Austria - On 26 August 2013, the Salzburg Festival presented an extraordinary new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in cooperation with Austrian private TV channel ServusTV. Mozart's masterpiece was transferred from the 18th century to the present day and was performed in the spectacular setting of Hangar-7 and Hangar-8 at Salzburg Airport. A Digital 9000 wireless microphone system from audio specialist Sennheiser was used to transmit the voices of stars such as Desirée Rancatore and Tobias Moretti.

Six hundred and fifty guests were present in Hangar-7, and they were able to move freely around the scenery and become part of the performance. To enable the audience to follow the opera - the orchestra was located in the opposite Hangar-8 - they were issued with compact MP3 players that received the opera audio signals via U

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UK - PLASA secured a significant lobbying success last month when the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee published its report into 'Supporting the Creative Economy'. The Committee roundly endorsed PLASA's position regarding the Olympics 'No Marketing Rights Protocol'.

The report was the culmination of an inquiry which was launched just over a year ago with a call for evidence from the Committee, which is made up of MPs from across all political parties. PLASA made a detailed written submission as to how the creative industries can be better supported, with a particular emphasis on the value and importance of the Entertainment Technology sector. PLASA's evidence focussed on issues around allowing companies to promote their involvement in the Olympics, tax relief for apprenticeships, improving protection for intellectual property and helping SMEs in the sec

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Australia - Imagination Australia has set a new global standard for public events, with one of the most spectacular showcases of projection, lighting and fireworks shows seen anywhere in the world.

The Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review symbolised 100 years since Australia welcomed their first Naval Fleet into Sydney Harbour. It was Imagination's job to celebrate that milestone in a way the entire city and the world would take notice of.

The spectacular was created in seven acts, from introducing the original fleet, through 100 proud years of service to Australia, current capabilities, a moment of reflection for the fallen and a finale to rival Sydney New Year's Eve, the show was a once in a lifetime project.

Imagination conceived, wrote, designed and produced every element of the show. For the first time ever, fireworks were launched from seven warships, combi

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UK - MilTec (UK) Ltd report that they had their busiest PLASA show for some years, due in part to their new Mini-Map miniature LED screens.

All four days proved to be busy with inquiries from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, with clients eager to learn more about the screens, along with all the other LED products in the MilTec range. The Mini-Map has 36 tricolour pixels, controlled via DMX512. Two versions are available- the touring module has PowerCon and 5-pin XLR connectors and an M10 fixing point. The installation module is a low-profile product, and comes with a backplate and IDC connectors for quick and easy fitting.

The busy show has turned into a busy month with orders for Mini-Maps from the UK and Canada now being processed along with continued demand for the Batten2 LED batten. The Mini-Map screens are built by Miltec at their HQ in Kent, England.

"We

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UK - For the second year Robe lighting was joined on its busy stand at the PLASA 2013 exhibition at ExCeL London by students from the BSc Honours courses in Lighting Design and Technology and Live Event Technology at the University of South Wales in Glamorgan.

The Robe student 'PLASA experience' scheme was initiated last year by Ian W Brown, sales manager from Robe UK in conjunction with Stuart Green, course leader from Prifysgol De Cymru (University of South Wales). It is designed to give successful applicants a taste of the high-pressure, rough-and-tumble world of trade shows and first-hand experience of this lighting industry element.

The four lucky 2013 students - Owain Jones, Heather Kirby, Greg Westwood and Beth Mae MacDonald - were selected after submitting a CV and engaging in a phone interview with Ian who comments, "They were all really high calibre." Havin

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UK - With PLASA moving to its new home at the Excel Centre in East London, SSE Audio Group designed a new bigger stand for this year's exhibition. SSE were exhibiting for the first time as the combined group that includes Wigwam Acoustics.

The four day show was an opportunity to present all the different elements that make up SSE and explain how they fit and work together within the organisation. On the stand staff from Hire, Sales, Installations along with Wigwam, ETA Sound & Canegreen were all in attendance.

The design of the stand enabled SSE to display an impressive range of products at the show. Digital consoles from, Avid, Midas, Soundcraft, DiGiCo, Roland and Yamaha, speakers from L-Acoustics and d&b, SSE products including the MB4 monitor and Prosight, along with a wide range of processing and outboard equipment were all available for demonstration.

The company said

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UK - Investment to upgrade the technical infrastructure of regional theatres tends to come along very rarely so, when it is available, technical managers need to choose equipment wisely. It's not enough to have a system that is good for today - it needs to cater for production needs for 10 or even 20 years into the future. When Hereford's Courtyard Centre for the Arts was recently granted funding to update its 15 year old system, a Yamaha CL3 system provided all the necessary facilities and future-proofing.

After 15 years of intense use, the audio system at the Courtyard was due for a refresh. With funding available, the venue's production manager Carl Hulme took the time to choose equipment that would take the venue far into the future, without the need for further significant investment.

"We run a diverse venue, with many art forms being presented on stage," he say

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Belgium - The local council in the suburb of Brasschaat, north of Antwerp in Belgium, near the border with the Netherlands, has purchased a QSC Core 250i-based Q-Sys system with a TSC-3 touchscreen controller and QSC KLA line array loudspeakers as part of the audio system in the multi-purpose hall at the heart of its local cultural centre.

The hall and its raised stage is used for everything from public meetings to children's parties and concerts by local musicians. The staff that run the sound system in the hall are direct employees of the council and recommended the purchase of the Q-Sys system along with the KLA active line array system following a demo by the local QSC distributor, AED.

The sound system in the multipurpose hall is configured as a three-channel Left, Centre, Right (LCS) system. Two KLA12 elements are used per channel (for a total of six enclosures), and are

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UK - VDC Trading Limited has appointed Stefano Pucello as international sales manager. In this new role Stefano will be responsible for the management and development of the International markets for the Van Damme range of professional grade AV cables.

Pucello joins VDC with more than a decade of international sales experience in the wire and cable industry and has most recently lead the sales and marketing department for a well-established British brand within the UK broadcast sector.

Chris D'Aguiar, VDC's commercial director, said, "Stefano brings a wealth of experience to VDC, spanning a range of sectors where we have seen increasing demand for the Van Damme range and VDC's associated technical and manufacturing services. All of this will be put to good use as we continue to serve a growing number of overseas clients and international distribution partners."

(Ji

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South Africa - St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls Kloof, KwaZula Natal, trickles with tradition and charm. This girls' school was established in 1906 and is well known for its musicals and drama pieces. DWR Distribution was pleased to install a lighting infrastructure in the school hall during the June / July holidays.

"Originally St Mary's wanted lighting solutions for three venues, namely, the school hall, a studio which is used as the drama practice room and an outdoor auditorium," explained Nick Barnes from DWR who headed the installation. Michael Broderick, a lighting specialist, consulted to ensure the correct equipment was specified. Due to pricing and budget constraints, it was decided to commence the project with the school hall only.

DWR took out the outdated lighting infrastructure and replaced this with two stage lighting bars, one FOH Lighting Bar, four

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UK - To raise money for Breast Cancer Campaign, Orange Amplification is offering everyone a chance to own a one of a kind, bright pink Crush 20LDX. In addition, OrangeAmps.com will be turning Pink this Friday for Breast Cancer Campaign.

The international auction for the electric pink Crush 20LDX will start on Friday, 25 October 2013 at 9.00am GMT, on Ebay. The auction will last seven days, giving plenty of time to scrape all those pennies together for a unique amp and a good cause. To find the auction when it goes live, simply go to the pink Orange website homepage and follow the links. All the money raised from this auction will go to Breast Cancer Research.

Cliff Cooper, Orange Amplification founder and CEO said, "Breast Cancer Campaign is a cause close to many people's hearts, we all know someone who has been touched by this terrible disease. We want to support the fig

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Germany - CT's recently introduced lightweight LED system has been used on three spectacular projects since its introduction in September.

The first application saw 363m2 installed as an LED ceiling for the Audi booth at the Frankfurt IAA car show. The ground-breaking stand design featured an inverted city with buildings, trees and other architectural elements suspended within the purpose built exhibit hall. The LED ceiling displayed graphical content representing traffic and movement on the roads between reflected tower blocks.

This project would have been impossible with any other LED product as the entire 363m2 system weighed less than four tonnes including purpose built super modules which allowed the display to be transported and installed in pre-fabricated sections each measuring 1.5m x 3m and weighing around 100kg.

Immediately following the Frankfurt show the system w

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USA - Capture Polar lighting design software excels at helping lighting designers of all levels turn their most inspired visions into workable designs. That's why it's been widely embraced throughout the industry worldwide. Elation Professional, which distributes Capture Polar in North America, is celebrating this achievement by giving students and young designers a chance to turn their visions into designs and perhaps win some attractive prizes along the way.

The company is holding a Designing Vision contest that invites students and young lighting designers to create a stage or club design using Capture Polar software student edition. First prize in the contest is a free trip for two to InfoComm 2014 in Las Vegas from 18-20 June plus Capture Polar Extended Software (a $4,000 value). Second place prize is Capture Polar Basic Software, (a $1,500 value); and the third place prize

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UK - Interactive light technology group Marshmallow Laser Feast (MLF) is utilising the pure-beam power of Clay Paky Sharpys to create an inspired 'light architecture' installation at a huge disused church in central London.

Ten Clay Paky Sharpys were rigged in a circle high in the disused main hall of the Welsh Church on Shaftesbury Avenue for an interactive art performance entitled Nest. The fixtures' beam was used to create an acute criss-cross prism of clean, directed light around the space. The innovative performance was based on Homer's epic poem The Odyssey and featured cutting-edge dance troupe New Movement Collective.

Robin McNicholas, one of the directors of MLF explains why the fixtures were so valuable to the performance: "The production itself was a holistic collaboration where costume would inform choreography, which would in turn influence the

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