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USA - LED tape may not get the attention that high beam moving heads or flashy LED backdrops enjoy, but it certainly has its place on live sets as a visually important - and highly cost effective - decorative element. Take Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jon Secada's show at the Wynn Resort's Encore Theatre in Las Vegas as an example where the Cuban-born singer performed with full backup on a stage composed of seven different levels and custom staircases.

Production/lighting designer Demfis Fyssicopulos used hefty amounts of Elation Flex LED Tape to outline the multi-tiered stage and accentuate the flowing form of the set, lining every curve of the stage and staircase in strips of color that matched the shades coming from the rig and LED backdrop. Besides highlighting the s

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UK - The PLASA Focus: Leeds show (29-30 April, Leeds, UK) will see the UK and IE launch of the brand new and exclusive range of Infinity moving heads. There are seven products in the range - five are LED units and two are lamped units.

All the fixtures have a built in Gravity sensor, making it easy to use the menu in any position, all units have a built in battery allowing for setting up of your fixture without mains power, all units are fixed with Neutrik powercon connectors and also three pole and five-pole XLRs and all units are equipped with quick lock brackets, which can be mounted in any position.

There are three new LED RGBW wash fixtures: the iW-715 (7 x 15W RGBW 4-in-1 LEDs), which has manual zoom from 7° to 50°; the iW-720 (7 x 20W RGBW 4-in 1 LEDs), with electronic zoom from 7° to 50°, with four section control on the LEDs; and finally the iW-915 (19

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UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) has announced the promotion of Kirsty Lamport to UK head of marketing. Kirsty joined Shure Distribution in 2007 as marketing communications manager, the function of which she retained when taking on her next title of marketing manager - systems & broadcast. This position saw her play an important part in the communication and delivery of the company's new selective distribution structure, which heralded the restructuring of the sales function into three divisions: Music Retail, Pro Audio & Systems.

In her new role, Kirsty takes overall responsibility for the marketing needs of the company and its full portfolio of brands. She will have a key focus on managing the internal team to drive cohesive and innovative marketing programmes across each of the three sales divisions, and assist with the integration of these across the wider European market.

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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 - Push The Button Ltd (PTB), the specialist electrical contractor for the entertainment industry, has announced the appointment of Gary Burrows as project manager.

Burrows joins the core PTB team of managing director Nick Ewins, designer manager Andy Phillips, operations manager Adrian Veale and finance director Jenny Ewins, based at the company's Bristol HQ.

Though new to PTB, Burrows and the rest of the PTB team already know each other well. "I've known Gary for a long time; he served a full apprenticeship with me back in the Stage Electrics days and we worked together there for a decade or so," notes Nick Ewins. "He's been off doing other things in the time since, but we're delighted to have lured him back. He's incredibly organised and not just a really good electrician, but a really good electrician who knows and understands the world of theatre. He's go

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UK - Congratulations to the winners of the Lighting, Sound and Set Design categories at this year's Olivier Awards, which were presented at The Royal Opera House last night. The White Light Award for Best Lighting was won jointly by two lighting design teams - Paul Pyant and Jon Driscoll for Charlie & the Chocolate Factory at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, and Tim Lutkin and Finn Ross for Chimerica at the Almeida Theatre and the Harold Pinter Theatre.

The Best Sound Design Award also saw two winners - Carolyn Downing for Chimerica and Gareth Owen (on his third Olivier nomination) for Merrily We Roll Along at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

For the XL Video Award for Best Set Design, Es Devlin collected her second Olivier Award, for Chimerica.

Congratulations also to lighting designer Michael Hulls who was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Da

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UK - Maidstone-based production and dry hire specialists, Phonophobia, have made a further investment in the Harman Professional brand portfolio - spearheaded by a Soundcraft Vi1 mixing console.

This is in addition to the slew of Soundcraft products already in inventory. The purchase of an Si Compact 32 was quickly followed by another (to keep up with demand). Then came a Compact Stage Box, a 16-channel Si Compact and a Mini Stage Box.

"These Soundcraft systems have literally been flying out the door," says Phonophobia owner, Mark Chant.

He has now added a 64-input Vi rack to accommodate the increasing capacity requirements, and at the same time is in the process of replacing his wireless mic stock with AKG's frequency agile and securely encrypted DMS700 digital system.

Mark has been running Phonophobia for around 15 years, developing two large warehouses of hire

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Voices Off - Kylie Minogue has quit The Voice after one series. The singer joined the BBC talent show last year, replacing Jessie J, and was credited with boosting viewing figures during the first few episodes. However, she said touring commitments meant she would be unable to return for a second series. "Due to timing of my tour I won't be back next season for The Voice UK," she wrote on Twitter. "Thanks to all who supported!"

Common People - The Pulp hit Common People has been voted the top Britpop anthem by listeners of BBC Radio 6 Music, beating Oasis, Blur and Suede to take the title. DJ Steve Lamacq revealed the top 30 as part of a week-long celebration to mark the 20th birthday of Britpop. More than 30,000 people voted, with The Verve's Bittersweet Symphony second and Oasis tracks Don't Look Back in Anger and Wonde

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UK - It's that time of the year again - the 7th Knight of Illumination (KOI) Awards has launched and already the entries are flying in. 2014 will see yet another celebration of talented international lighting and digital content designers that have worked in the UK in the sectors of TV, Theatre and Concert Touring and Events.

Not only that, the guest list is open to all who might wish to attend, ensuring that KOI continues to establish itself as a pan industry event. Durham Marenghi, an award-winning lighting designer in his own right and coordinator for the Knight of Illumination Awards, explains: "In just seven years KOI has established itself as a much coveted lighting and video industry award, respected for truly celebrating the art and creativity of lighting, video and show design. In fact so successful has the event been that it was recently referred to in the Guardia

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UK - Chauvet Professional is supporting PLASA Focus, Leeds (29 - 30 April, 2014, The Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds), for the third year with platinum sponsorship. The brand is exhibiting on stand N-B12 and will be showcasing the UK debut of the Chauvet Professional Rogue series, as well the latest additions to the Chauvet Professional Nexus series of LED video panels.

The Rogue series features two power output levels of moving head spot fixtures and moving beam luminaires. The four models will take centre stage in Leeds demonstrating their packed feature-set. "Labelled as 'Weapons of Mass Creation' in the Rogue Army, the luminaires are bright and armed to defend the honour of tight budgetary requirements," the company says..

"One of the things that makes Rogue unique is that it offers such outstanding performance and so many features for its price," said Mi

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UK - One of the East Midlands largest suppliers of lighting, sound and multi-media for live events, stage shows and corporate functions has announced an important new senior level appointment and the opening of a London office.

LUX Technical Ltd, based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, has recruited Jamie Mangan from the Cameron Mackintosh organisation in London to be its Live Production Director. Jamie is responsible for helping grow and support the LUX Technical client base in London, particularly theatres, trade shows and large companies holding award ceremonies and new product launches.

Jamie has eight years' experience in the production and project management of live shows, most recently for Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who is most famous for producing hit West End Musicals such as Les Miserables and The Phantom of the Opera. Prior to that, Jamie was in involved with the National Y

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The Netherlands - Despite only being launched at ProLight+Sound last month, the rapid shipping time of Yamaha's new QL series digital mixing consoles means that they are already at work on productions. One of the first was in the Netherlands, where a high school production of Hairspray was lucky enough to enjoy all the benefits of QL technology.

Kater Audio Techniek is a small production company, based in the Dutch towns of Hillegom and Nieuw-Vennip, which does live sound for mainly theatrical productions. Run by founder and audio engineer Gijs Kater with a group of dedicated freelancers, the company's fleet of Yamaha LS9s is always out on the road.

A confirmed fan of the LS9, Gijs was present at the ProLight+Sound launch of the QL series. This was, he says, followed by a sleepless night as he studied every detail of the new consoles. The next day he returned to the Yam

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UK - EarPeace is changing the way people consider their hearing health and the dangers of noise induced hearing loss and raising money for The Amy Winehouse Foundation.

New for 2014, EarPeace have produced exclusive AWF branded EarPeace earplugs and will promote the long-term hearing health of fans via these custom earplugs. 50% of all profit from sales will be donated to the Amy Winehouse Foundation, which supports and runs various projects that aim to support the personal development of disadvantaged young people through music.

"Amy was an exceptional talent and the Foundation has worked hard to not only keep her music and spirit alive, but to also help young people. We are honoured to be supporting such a worthy cause and look forward to educating fans on the importance of protecting their hearing,"

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Russia - The Tobolsk Yershov Theatre is thought to be the oldest theatre in Siberia, with performances dating back to the 16th Century. Today, the theatre is one of Russia's most technologically advanced venues, having just undergone a massive reconstruction project that doubled the building's size, added a second stage and upgraded its stage equipment. As part of the theatre's renovation, ETC dealer Imlight installed a lighting system with ETC fixtures, entertainment controls and architectural controls.

The theatre's large hall was expanded and made more flexible thanks to stage machinery that can transform the space into different configurations to fit each event, from big name theatrical performances to puppet shows. Imlight installed nearly 400 theatrical fixtures - including ETC Source Four spotlights, Source Four PARs, Source Four PARNels, Source Four Fresnels and Source F

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UK - The Midas XL48 has quickly become the go-to, add-on microphone preamp for Wigwam Acoustics. The company is the first UK rental facility to offer the eight-channel microphone preamp within its rental stock. Wigwam, part of the SSE Audio Group, is one of the world's leading sound companies for rentals, sales and installations - and also a long-time Midas/Klark Teknik user.

"Since we bought it, our Midas XL48 has constantly been in use" says Alex Hadjigeorgiou, Wigwam's resident digital specialist. "McFly, Steps and Ronan Keating have all toured with it, and it's my favorite way of adding eight extra channels to any mixing console, partly because I don't have to "sell" the idea to the engineer. They all respect Midas preamps, especially the XL4 preamps."

"Hadj", as he's known to his friends, recommends and uses the XL48: "If the m

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Australia - Kipling's Garage Bar on Sydney's Upper North Shore is a space converted from the shell of a 1920s garage into an industrial chic venue.

Audio for the venue was taken care of by DJW Projects with manager Dave Coxon admitting the job was built on a shoestring.

"However, it shows the reliability of the JBL speakers as the entire system was constructed from pre-loved parts," he commented. "All of the speakers were pre-loved JBL Control 30 speakers with JBL Contractor subs - proof that JBL will last forever. The system is proof that when you buy high quality speakers and look after them they will have at least a 10 year lifetime - even longer if you care for them."

Owner Helen Thompson is delighted with the JBL install by DJW Projects remarking that the sound system really adds to the space, indoors and outdoors.

"It creates an intimate venu

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Iceland - As a culmination of two years of touring the world, Icelandic band Sigur Ros completed the last leg with Skan PA using the latest addition to their equipment roster. Always a company that likes to take the empirical approach to new technology, Skan has been running the slide rule over their new D80 amplifiers from d&b audiotechnik.

Skan's system technician for the tour, Tom Tunney, explains their findings, "We took a d&b system out for Sigur Ros late last year. A short run, maybe three weeks, the system was based on J-Series with some Q-Series for fill. We drove the whole PA with D80s.

"The most immediate thing we noticed was an indirect benefit of the active power correction, when we applied the 'pull' on the service with no gain reduction anywhere on the signal path it just sounded clearer. The power saving was also significant; with sixteen J-TOPs a side

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UK - As Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway reached its series finale on Saturday 5 April, Unusual Rigging was once again brought on board to ensure that the last Ant v Dec challenge of the season was the most spectacular yet.

Having already worked on the seemingly death defying Men on a Ledge challenge earlier in the series, Unusual's Robin Elias and the ITV production team knew they were going to have to pull out all the stops to ensure the last challenge - The Decider - would be the best yet.

In what was described as the most demanding and ambitious challenge Ant & Dec have faced, the Geordie duo were confronted with a controlled free-fall down the ITV Tower building's lift shafts, stopping at various floors on the way down to complete tasks associated with some of the channel's top shows.

Speaking of the brief presented to Unusual, Robin said, "The ITV produc

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UK - Event production and hire company, Epic Production Services, have recently invested in Martin Audio W8LM and WS218X, supplied by LMC Audio London.

Matt Rogers, director of Swindon-based Epic Production Services, did his research before investing in the system, which was purchased from LMC's extensive used equipment stock. Having already used and become familiar with Martin Audio products, he wanted to ensure that W8LM would offer the same level of audio quality. He was not disappointed.

"From the start it became evident that you could hear every detail of the mix through the W8LM system and at no point did I find I was compromised in what I wanted to achieve," says Rogers. "Vocals sit naturally on top with Martin Audio's very crisp and clear high end, whilst the WS218x's offer a massive bottom-end kick."

Last year, X Factor runner-up, Jahmene

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UK - Following the tenth series of the hit ITV show The X Factor, the final eight contestants got ready for the X Factor Live Tour, which started in UK arenas in February 2014.

Whilst they prepared themselves for their first real taste of popstar life, the team at Production North were making preparations for rehearsals at LS-Live in Wakefield.

The Leeds-based concert tour and event production company is a long-term client of LS-Live's and has used the facility for the X Factor Live Tour rehearsals for many consecutive years.

Said LS-Live's Bullet, "We've had a longstanding relationship with Ian Whitehead at Production North and he knows that we will do our best to accommodate anything they need on site."

Production North booked the 17,664 sq ft arena rehearsal space from 8-13 February, in addition to five of the en-suite bedrooms on the top

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Spain / UK - XL Video has recently supplied LED and plasma screens and control for two separate events for Taiwanese global technology brand HTC - the first was for their exhibition stand at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, followed shortly after by the high profile London launch of the One M8 flagship smartphone at Olympia.

HTC at the 2014 Mobile World Congress, Barcelona took place at the Gran Fira expo centre, with XL working for global brand experience agency SSG Create. XL's Project Manager was Rich Pow.

HTC were revealing their 2014 mid-range portfolio, making their presence felt with one of the larger booth spaces of the show.

XL supplied and ground-supported a prominent 6 metre wide by 3.4 metre high 16:9 aspect ratio 6mm high definition LED screen which was incorporated into the building structure.

Content for the screen was supplied by HTC and played back

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UK - Panasonic is set to launch a Full-HD, three-chip DLPTM projector to complement the award winning PT-DZ21K series.

The PT-DZ16K has been specifically designed to reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for customers seeking a reliable, high brightness and low-maintenance product.

The projector features low power consumption and has a long lamp replacement cycle of up to 3,000 hours and an up to 12,000 hours maintenance free eco filter.

Tom Gibson, marketing manager of Panasonic, said, "With a highly efficient optical design using four lamps, liquid cooling system and a relay mode for 24/7 operation, the PT-DZ16K projectors are ideal for events and use over an extended period, such as in permanent large venue installations.

"The compact projectors offer built-in edge blending and colour matching function as well as multi-unit brightness control for projections on

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