Brazil - In Sao Paulo, the first edition of Miss Supranational Brazil was held recently. All 26 Brazilian states participated in the contest with their respective representatives in order to win the national title.

The contest was held at the Shopping Eldorado, Sao Paulo. Rental company Barella Eventos provided a wireless CRMX Nova DMX system containing one single universe DMX transmitter and multiple single universe DMX receivers to control the lighting rig throughout the show.

Explaining the choice, Barella Eventos founder and general manager, Giancarlo Barella said the decision was based on reliability and the need for a time effective setup. "When you are working with beauty contests of this magnitude, every moment of the night is special and crucial. Everything needs t

Europe - London based projection specialist The Projection Studio worked as a consultant for live communications agency Wasserman to activate a pan European large format video projection campaign for the Vodafone Firsts initiative.

This took place via a series of giant projections in key cities across Europe through which Vodafone inspires and engages people to do something remarkable for the first time using mobile technology.

Projection Studio's Ross Ashton and his team were asked on-board by Wasserman's Production manager Mark Bustard after seeing their work in the same capacity for Jack Morton Worldwide at London's New Year Eve celebrations and festivities along the South bank of the River Thames. The projections then were onto the Shell Building.

The latest project involved conducting comprehensive site surveys in all eight cities - which included Budapest Sapientia Col

USA - DPA Microphones recently joined cello-rock group Break of Reality as advocates for the importance of music education in schools. In conjunction with its tour schedule supporting its latest album, TEN, the group hosted a month-long Music Education Tour, making its way to at 10 school districts across the US.

At these stops, students attended workshops and performances hosted by the quartet to learn about the art and appreciation of music. In an effort to provide music programmes with the opportunity to experience quality technology, DPA Microphones donated three d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphones to Edmond North High School (ENHS), in Edmond, OK, deemed by the band to be the school in greatest need for an audio solution.

"Next year, we will be kicking off our Strolling Strings programme, the first of its kind at Edmond," said Peter Markes, orchestra direc

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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

Poland - Lighting designer Sebastian Pachciarek used a variety of Clay Paky fixtures in his rich lighting design for the celebration concert of the late pope Saint John Paul II at the Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Krakow, Poland.

Pachciarek put together an elegant lighting design for the large outdoor stage that was careful to complement the show's large LED video element. Inspired by the colours and architecture of the church, the classic design captured the attention of hundreds of local and international pilgrims that had come to Krakow to celebrate the sainthood of the late pope.

"It was important to remember that this was no ordinary show," explains Pachciarek. "This was not a jazz or pop concert but a celebration of huge importance to those present, so the lighting had to be exactly right. In addition it was being filmed for broadcast, so in addition to it bei

UK / Brazil - The recent AES Expo in Sao Paulo provided an opportunity for pro-audio UK brands to test the water in one of the world's most vibrant and rewarding markets - Brazil.

Under the umbrella of the APRS / UKTI national booth which branded itself as the 'GREAT British Audio Embassy', companies from the pro-audio, live sound reinforcement and broadcast sectors shared a single space at the AES Expo and Convention. It attracted a steady flow of new customers and existing clients cementing over £750k of immediate business, plus a catalogue of future deals that are making the prospect of South American trips increasingly alluring.

Brazil offers an enormous domestic market but is also seen as a gateway to the entire South American continent.

The success of these exploratory trips, which have enjoyed considerable government support, has encouraged the APRS, the MIA and

USA - Meyer Sound has promoted Luke Jenks to the newly created position of director of product management. Most recently serving as the company's loudspeaker product manager, Jenks now represents the full range of company solutions, from loudspeakers to show control, system optimization, and passive and active acoustic systems.

As director of product management, Jenks is responsible for defining market needs, articulating customer requirements, and representing customer feedback throughout the lifecycle of a product. He also assumes direction of a newly formed product management team that encompasses market requirement definition, new product introductions, and technical documentation.

The team includes Richard Bugg, audio show control product manager, Todd Meier, digital products manager, Greg Thomas, technical writer, and Rong Wang, new product introduction technical project

UK - The historic Royal Opera House (ROH) in London's Covent Garden has worked closely with the lighting division of A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd - an official UK sub-distributor for the High End Systems product range - to seamlessly upgrade their Wholehog III house video control desk to the flagship new Hog 4 console.

AC-ET's senior technical sales executive, Ben Taylor, was invited by Gareth Shelton, deputy manager of the ROH's sound & broadcast department, to demo the Hog 4 console in-situ to the venue's technical team.

Gareth comments, "Our department looks after all aspects of video projection on main stage shows. Specifically, we use our console for video projection programming with our media servers, so it was really important to ensure that the upgrade would provide a more powerful console capable of satisfying the venue's increasingly ambitious pro

France - The Zenith de Strasbourg recently played host to a magnificent cine-concert of the first film of Disney's hit Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Curse of The Black Pearl. The film was screened in front of 6000 people to the accompaniment of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra complete with a 24-strong choir who brought Klaus Badelt's magnificent soundtrack to life.

The Zenith de Strasbourg, which is the biggest indoor arena in France was packed to the rafters for this spectacular one-off event. Strasbourg-based rental company, Lagoona, were brought in to supply the PA system, and Lagoona in turn, called on digital audio networking specialists, Espace Concept, to supply and manage the FoH console, microphones and networking. For the very first time, Espace Concept used an mc256 console from Lawo.

The suggestion came directly from Lawo's Hervé d

UK - As part of an ongoing process of preparing for the next wave of growth, Martin Audio has recently made two new strategic hires.

First, Bash Akhtar has joined as operations director. He has previously served as operations and manufacturing director of RLC Callender, Smiths Detection, and Harmonic Inc. Bash has earned a Fellowship in Manufacturing Management from Cranfield University and is a manufacturing systems engineer from the University of Hertfordshire.

Secondly, David Morbey has joined as the company's first dedicated Product Manager. He has previously served as global product marketing manager at D&M Professional.

Commenting on the hires, James King, director of marketing, said, "We're delighted to have Bash and David join us as we continue to build a world class team. Their expertise will enable us to further grow the business and support our customer base.

Chile - The Vina del Mar International Song Festival (Spanish: Festival Internacional de la Canción de Vina del Mar) is a music festival held annually since 1960 in Vina del Mar, Chile, and considered one of the most important musical events in the Americas.

Staged at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheatre, the festival features a song competition with two categories (pop music and folk songs), interspersed with performances by international music stars from around the world, encompassing a diverse mix of genres like rock, multi-lingual pop, merengue, salsa, reggaetón, bachata and many others.

To deal with this variety in the music lighting designer Luis Pastor trusted in a highly flexible lighting control - the grandMA2. In total he used an MA System comprised of two grandMA2 full-size, two grandMA2 light, four MA NPU (Network Processing Unit), six MA 2Port Node and two MA VPU plu

USA - At InfoComm 2014 Barco will dramatize a 'Day in the Life' of a smart city, demonstrating how its large-scale visualization, wireless collaboration and enterprise communications solutions are woven into everyday life to connect people, places and technology.

In the Barco Booth C6308, visitors will interact with Barco smart solutions as they're experienced by businesses and consumers in the real world: innovative controllers dynamically stream and display intelligence to public agencies on giant video walls; event projectors powered with the latest presentation switchers wow audiences at live shows and entertainment venues; vibrant and interactive signage engages shoppers in a retail promenade. These are just a few of Barco's latest innovations on display at InfoComm.

"We want to show our customers how Barco is transforming the way people present and share information

UK - Orbital Sound is unveiling its new distribution line of Nemesis audio playback and control solutions on Stand No: 74 at the ABTT Theatre Show 2014.

Designed to address the challenging requirements of the theatre and live entertainment environments, the Nemesis hardware range comprises the core components required to achieve seamlessly integrated performances with the ultimate degree of control.

At the heart of the Nemesis line-up is the highly flexible CCS-2 Computer Control Switch, designed to allow two computer systems to share a keyboard, mouse, monitor, distribution of GPI data and MIDI messages - providing an essential degree of system resilience and invisible audio transition, should a problem arise with the Mac or PC-based sound playback system, typically running QLab, CSC or similar playback software.

In addition to the CCS-2, the current Nemesis line-up include

UK - With just three days to go, JHS is getting ready for its biggest Event yet which will feature a number of new products for the pro-audio sector.

The HK Audio NANO600 is now available in the UK and will be on show. Providing all the features and versatility as its 'little' brother (the incredibly popular NANO300) its inbuilt 475 watt power amp provides extra punch and headroom for larger venues, whilst still retaining the portability which is the trademark of HK Audio's Active ranges.

Lewitt Microphones have added the DGT650 USB and LCT550 to their portfolio. A new class in the USB microphone field, the DGT650 supports ASIO for Windows and OSX Core Audio and can be easily combined with mobile devices, thanks in part to its built-in lithium-ion battery. It also feature an onboard analog preamp, switchable high-pass filter, two attenuation settings and four different recordi

Germany - Laserworld has developed a new product line, the Diode Series, to fill the gap between their entry-level and their more professional laser light systems. The compact housing, built according to the Sealed Housing Technology, is equipped with a diode-only solution, which means great beam specifications at smooth colour fading behaviour.

The Diode Series is fully graphics capable and has a professional ILDA interface for computer control. Besides that, stand-alone mode, sound-to-light operation and DMX control is possible.

Two versions of the full colour whitelight lasers are offered: the Laserworld DS-800RGB and the Laserworld DS-1600RGB. Both have great beam specifications of ca. 3mm / 1.3mrad full angle and come with fast scanners at 40kpps.

Nightclub owners, mobile DJs but also rental companies will like these new units, as they well fit for medium sized rooms, b

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will showcase a selection of the latest lighting, audio, rigging and video solutions available from their vast portfolio of premium brands - on stand 38 at ABTT 2014, London.

Sales teams from AC-ET's four specialist product divisions will be on hand to demonstrate and discuss the latest technologies from leading marques which AC-ET are the exclusive UK dealer for, as well as over 200 leading brands available for immediate despatch from the company's multi-million pound inventory.

After receiving an overwhelmingly positive response when showcased at another recent UK tradeshow, the AC-ET stand will feature models from the UK-exclusive Prolights line-up of lighting and effects products. The impressive lighting range features an extensive portfolio of product lines from a wide selection of LEDs, including Pars, battens, moving lights,

Spain - YCD Multimedia has announced its participation with Coca-Cola in creating the Coca-Cola lounge at this year's CineEurope 2014 convention in Barcelona, Spain, June 17-19 2014.

Working in close cooperation with Littlebit Technology, as well as NEC Displays Solutions and Intel, YCD brings a rarely seen immersive digital signage solution to the Coca-Cola lounge. Coca Cola is the main sponsor for this year's CineEurope show and "it was important for us to help Coca-Cola showcase a complete digital signage solution for cinema complexes," said Eran Sharon, VP product management for YCD Multimedia.

From box office ticketing, concessions, future film promotions and wayfinding, each solution shown addresses today's Cineplex needs and business goals while incorporating immersive and experiential elements to enhance the movie-going experience. Content will be presented i

UK - Hall Stage has announced the launch of the DL-Lite range of rigging pulleys to complement the existing extensive catalogue of stage equipment, built up since the company formation 116 years ago in 1898.

Designed to meet a 5:1 safety factor - 60% higher than competitive products - DL-Lite has a safe working load of 150Kg, with the Hall Stage quality guarantee and warranty to back it up. Featuring Laser-cut 3mm steel side plates - no light gauge pressed materials - the pulleys are fabricated from high grade materials and components to complement the standard Halls Dynaline 8:1 units, sharing the same comprehensive selection of fitting & fixing options.

Finished in Hall Stages' non-reflective and durable powdercoat, DL-Lite pulleys feature triple cable retainer guides to secure ropes in the sheave profile and are fully proof load tested & CE marked prior to shipping.

Avail

UK - Contemporary UK folk band Bellowhead celebrated their 10th anniversary with two high profile shows at London's Royal Albert Hall and Manchester's Bridgewater Hall, for which lighting designer Emma Thompson created an eye-catching scheme which included Robe CycFX 8s, Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100 moving lights - all from Robe's Robin range.

Emma has been working with the band for the last three and a half years. They tour regularly each year in autumn and spring and she is also a big fan of Robe products. The lighting design for these two special shows referenced that of the last tour but on a vastly expanded scale, with a big increase in the amount of kit used, most of which was supplied by Southampton based rental company, GLS.

"I've always used Robe fixtures in my Bellowhead shows," says Emma. "It's great technology, very solid and there is always

UK - Engage Production Ltd, specialist in interactive technologies for branded environments, has supplied technology and technical expertise to the world's first Bloomberg Hub, which has been unveiled at London City Airport. Engage supplied a digital display, media wall with audio distribution, as well as all the hardware necessary for technical integration.

The Bloomberg Hub provides "timely and relevant news, data, and information within a visually-compelling, technology-driven space". Engage's electronic wizardry, along with Bloomberg's rich content and design, all combine to create an interactive, energetic, and functional space devised "to make the business traveller's journey more productive, more efficient, and more enjoyable".

"It's a great privilege to be asked to work with Bloomberg again, particularly on such a big project and a world's firs

USA - When Sound Designer Darron L West and associate sound designer Charles Coes were looking to create a dazzling audio experience for William Shakespeare's fantasy play The Tempest, they turned to Masque Sound, a leading theatrical sound reinforcement, installation and design company, to provide a custom audio equipment package.

The Tempest is a co-production between The Smith Centre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas and the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The play premiered under a big top tent in Las Vegas on 1 April and is now playing at the A.R.T's Loeb Drama Centre.

The Tempest tells the story of shipwrecked aristocrat Prospero and his daughter Miranda who wash up on the shores of an enchanted and strange island. They find themselves immersed in a world of trickery and amazement, in which Tom Waits' and Kathleen

Australia - ArKaos PRO's Australian distributor, ULA Group, were once again a proud sponsor of 2014 BMW Bruce Lynton Charity Ball, a prestigious event hosted in May at the RACV Royal Pines Resort on Australia's Gold Coast. Working together with Jesse Radatti from Digital Lighting Solutions, the team delivered a spectacular production for the ball, which has become one of the Gold Coast's prime events.

Australia's famous Choirboys, supported by local group,The Accidents, were entertaining the crowds until late into the night. The evening's celebrations were crowned by a pixel mappable chandelier, installed as a centerpiece in the Grand Ball Room. This was controlled by ChamSys MQ 60 console through ArKaos PRO media server technology to create a festive atmosphere for the event.

Bruce Lynton Prestige Automotive Group dealer principal, Beric Lynton, explains that the event's sole

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