UK - HOG Factor, which was organised and hosted for the first time by AED Distribution, drew a lot of attention to the AED stand on Tuesday 7 October at PLASA London 2014. The Design and Programming Competition with High End Systems Luminaires and a HOG4 Console was open to full-time students currently enrolled on a Live Entertainment Technology course. Entering schools were Rose Bruford College, the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of South Wales.

The five participating teams were given a piece of music chosen in advance by the judges, and a pre-determined rig of High End Systems' Fixtures. Their challenge was to release their full creative talent combined with good programming skills and to program a light show.

Colin Wood, freelance lighting designe

Spain - On 2 October II Conference of Lighting and AV in the retail sector was staged at the Escuela Superior de Disseny IED of Barcelona. This event was organized by CICAT and Secartys.

Juan José Vila, Product Manager of Equipson and vice chairman of the area of professional Lighting and Audio of Secartys, took part as speaker in the talk entitled AV in retail: setting the pace of sales along with Conrado Martínez, president of Trison Acústica, an leading installer. The aim of this talk was to discuss the current market trends and problems of the sector as well as analyse success stories in order to draw conclusions.

Both speakers broached different relevant subjects such as the importance of audio system's design and its integration in the store, the development of control devices and the possibility to control them through smartphones or tablets, without the

UK - Following the official release of the newly formed SES Academy at PLASA 2014, SES Entertainment Services are very pleased to announce that its BS7909 courses have been approved by City & Guilds.

With two training centres at either Ascot or Maidenhead, the academy is able to run courses for up to 12 candidates who on completion will receive the coveted City & Guilds certification. "We are also able to bring the courses to your offices providing you have certain facilities available, and we can offer overseas training too," says the company. "For a full prospectus on all the courses available, please contact our sales office or go online at www.ses-academy.co.uk."

(Jim Evans)

featured content

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

UK - Lighting director Franck Evin has used 40 ETC Selador Desire D22 fixtures in a London art gallery to make the colours in the artwork 'pop.' "Using ETC Selador LED is a radical way to fix the lights. It looks fantastic," he says.

The challenge Evin faced was that the painter, Berlin-based Jonas Burgert, likes to paint in big, bold colours. To make the colours really stand out, he needed something which would generate bright and vibrant but well balanced light, without the heat which would typically be generated by traditional light sources.

After a number of tests with different fixtures, he decided on the Desire D22 Lustr+ arrays, which creates full colour, perfect for a variety of uses. Set up was made easy by the fact that they can be programmed at the touch of a button on the back of each lamp.

Evin points out that with traditional LED fixtures, it would be

Slovakia - Senec-based Amex Audio in Slovakia has invested in a new Meyer Sound Lyon linear sound reinforcement system as its flagship product to serve its most important customers. With Lyon's power and clarity, Amex has been hired by clients that range from Mercedes-Benz to Pohoda Festival and the Slovakian X Factor show.

"We already had a M'elodie system, and were very happy with the sound of Meyer Sound products," says Igor Demcak, managing director of Amex Audio. "We wanted that same sound coherence and linearity in our new, large-scale system. And with its power-to-size ratio and truck-space savings, Lyon arrived at just the right time."

Amex Audio's purchase includes 28 Lyon linear line array loudspeakers and a Galileo(R) Callisto loudspeaker management system with two Galileo Callisto 616 array processors. The core Lyon system is augmented as

Belgium / USA - ArKaos PRO will take a very active part in LDI 2014 (17-23 November) at the Las Vegas Exhibition Center where ArKaos software and hardware will be shown on the booth of its exclusive US distributor, A.C. Lighting, Inc. (Booth 2358). ArKaos PRO will also present four half-day training courses on the use of its MediaMaster software as part of the LDInstitute professional training programme.

LDI 2014 will mark the first US showing of ArKaos' new MediaMaster 4.1, the latest, ever-more powerful version of ArKaos PRO's media server software. MediaMaster 4.1 delivers a plethora of new features including new aspect ratio and cropping tools, new hue, saturation and lightness tools, layer-based volume control and a redesigned interface.

Also making its LDI debut is LEDMaster, the new all-in-one solution that delivers LEDshow control in three easy steps. Just map, program

UK - Entertainment Workshops' Operations Manager, Paul Byrne, took to the TheatreStage at PLASA London 2014 (ExCel, London - October 5-8th, 2014) to demonstrate to the gathered audiences how simple it can be to enhance the lives of young people whilst also supporting the future of the industry.

Byrne introduced Entertainment Workshops - a unique alternative education facility that provides an opportunity for young people to access hidden skills through hands on learning - while showcasing some of its students who benefit greatly from the practical, work-based experience that EW provides, paving a pathway to a career in the entertainment technology industry.

Student Louie Coleman, summed up what the facility meant for him, "EW is a great experience and if you get the chance I'd definitely say grab it with both hands because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and they ha

UK - Philips Vari-Lite's VL4000 Spot and Philips Strand Lighting's Emergency DMX Bypass Switch have both won a PLASA Innovation Award 2014.

GM PLS Entertainment Group at Philips Lighting Richard Schmit picked up the award for the VL4000 Spot from PLASA Governing Body chair Ed Pagett at a glittering ceremony presented by PLASA. Philips Selecon and Strand Lighting Product Segment Manager Bill Richards accepted the award for the DMX Emergency Bypass Switch, which was also presented by Ed Pagett.

Every year, PLASA recognises products that demonstrate progress, through attributes like a new style of thinking, an improvement in technical practice, new technology, materials or techniques, or an improvement in safety. The entries were considered by an expert judging panel comprising Tim Atkinson, Scott Burges, Jonathan Burton, Richard Cadena, Jenni Harris, Tapio Ilomaki, Steve Moles,

USA - Free registration is open now for PLASA Focus: Orlando 2015. This will be the second PLASA Focus event to take place in the Sunshine State, happening on Tuesday, 17 February and Wednesday, February 18, 2015 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel.

Companies already signed up to exhibit at the show include; Columbus McKinnon, Group One, A.C.T. Lighting, CHAUVET Professional, ETC, Lycian Stage Lighting, Candela Controls, Stage Equipment & Lighting, PixelFLEX, USHIO, TMB, Elation Professional, GLP, Creative Stage Lighting, Barbizon, Bulbtronics, 0EnergyLIGHTING, Harrington Hoist, MainStage Theatrical Supply, Techni-Lux, The Light Source, Ultratec Special Effects, Wenger and JR Clancy, Aeson Event Technologies, Apollo Design Technology and AVID Labs. With many other applications currently being processed, companies interested in exhibiting are advised to move quickly to secure their spots.

Everyman A Winner - Liverpool's rebuilt Everyman Theatre has won the Riba Stirling Prize for best new building of the year. The venue beat five other buildings to win the honour - the Royal Institute of British Architects' highest accolade. Riba president Stephen Hodder called the Everyman an "exceptional new building". He added, "It is a ground-breaking example of how to build a daring bold and highly sustainable large public building in a historic city centre.

The theatre - famed for launching the careers of actors including Bill Nighy, Julie Walters and Pete Postlethwaite - first opened in 1964 in the shell of a 19th Century chapel on one of Liverpool's main streets. However, over the years it fell into a state of disrepair and architects Haworth Tompkins were tasked with designing a new theatre as part of a nine-year £27m rebuilding project, retaining i

Sweden - Wireless Solution Sweden AB and Antari have announced the line of fogger and hazer products offering W-DMX as standard OEM installed or optional.

Users can now get the F-5D Fazer, F-7 and W-515D/W-530D with W-DMX built in as standard. W-DMX is also available as an option in the F-1 and M-4. These high quality foggers and hazers are top choice among users in some of the biggest events worldwide and the ability to operate them wirelessly offers endless opportunities.

Wireless Solution and Antari have been OEM partners for years on several products in the Antari range. The introduction of Antari's Wireless Series transforms digital wireless control of stage effect machines into simple, intuitive control. Antari has gathered the most popular models and given them a convenient wireless function where messy cables are a thing of the past.

Joyce Chan of Antari said, "

Greenland - Studiomaster supplied a "berg suitable" PA for the world's first ever gig on a floating iceberg, when UK metal band, The Defiled, performed in sub-zero temperatures atop of the floating berg for the Jägermeister Ice Cold Gig.

Jägermeister approached Studiomaster to supply a PA tough enough to perform in Arctic conditions following Carlsbro / Studiomaster's sponsorship of this year's Bloodstock festival, during which the company supplied emergency kit to The Jägermeister Stage.

"It was a brief we could confidently commit to, given the robust build quality of Studiomaster product," says assistant general manager Patrick Almond. "In fact it presented a perfect opportunity to prove the near-military grade construction of the new Horizon powered mixer. The very look of the all-British design says how tough it is - and then there's 1000 watts

USA - Building on the s success of the Behringer X32 which has become a best-selling digital console family, the company has announced four additions to their digital mixer lineup.

The wireless, remote-controllable X AIR Series ranges from 12 to 18-inputs, with all boasting Midas-designed mic preamps, an integrated tri-mode Wifi router - and 4 X32 stereo FX processors that include close to 50 of the ever-growing X32's high-end FX 'Plug Ins'. Select X AIR models feature multichannel, bidirectional USB audio/MIDI interfaces and ULTRANET connectivity for Behringer's P-16 Personal Monitoring System.

"For the first time in audio history, Behringer has created a digital mixer which is integrated into a stage box and combined with a wireless router, recording interface, personal monitoring system and even a revolutionary auto-mixing function. While not only unprecedented from an

USA - Emmy-nominated television LD Fred Bock is always filing away information about possible "future uses" when he encounters a new fixture. So when Bock of Ferri Lighting Design & Associates (FLDA) in New York saw the Nexus 4x4 LED panel from CHAUVET Professional at LDI, he made a mental note. "I thought they did a nice job and could be a good replacement for halogen matrix panels," he said. "They seemed like a nice solution looking for a challenge."

Recently, Bock found a challenge that was tailor-made for the Nexus. The red-hot Australian band 5 Seconds of Summer, whose debut album charted at number one in 11 countries, was appearing on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon, where Bock is the LD. The band presented him with a concept sketch that called for a wall of quartz tungsten halogen panels, but Bock had a better idea.

"I felt t

UAE - Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), one of the world's leading suppliers of entertainment and event technology headquartered in New York, is acquiring Dubai-based Gearhouse, L.L.C., the largest provider of turnkey event production services across the Gulf Region. PRG Chairman & CEO Jeremiah J. Harris and Peter McCann, the Managing Director of Gearhouse, L.L.C jointly announced the acquisition this week.

Founded in 1994, Gearhouse, L.L.C. has long been established as the market leader with a client portfolio that includes international touring artists The Rolling Stones, Muse, Rihanna, Eric Clapton, and The Prodigy, along with leading global production companies, government agencies and a growing list of key regional venue partners.

For PRG's worldwide clients this acquisition means that they will now have access to a complete range of technical expertise and product

Belgium - Creative lighting and visual design practice Painting With Light has announced a restructure, with Luc Peumans becoming the majority shareholder and CEO with immediate effect, taking over all the company's day-to-day management.

Luc founded Genk based Painting With Light in 1999. He comments, "To move forward on the same trajectory for the next 15 years, I needed to be fully in control and accept responsibility for our future strategies, investments and direction ... and so the deal was negotiated on that basis".

He adds that he and his former business partners - Dimi Theuwissen and Jim Stas - are looking forward to new challenges and horizons and that they have parted "on the best possible terms", and very proud of what the award winning company has achieved to date.

Painting With Light specializes in creating lighting, set and visual designs f

UK - Visitors to the Shure Distribution UK stand at PLASA London 2014 had the opportunity to learn more about Shure's QLX-D Digital Wireless system, which made its UK trade show debut at PLASA. Delivering exceptional wireless performance with transparent 24-bit digital audio, QLX-D features networked control and compatibility with Shure's intelligent rechargeable battery technology.

QLX-D Digital Wireless transmits accurate audio with extended, flat frequency response. The system's automatic channel scan and IR sync make finding and assigning an open frequency quick and easy. Suitable for live sound events as well as installations at public and corporate facilities, academic institutions, houses of worship, hotels, music venues, and more, QLX-D's solid RF performance enables users to confidently cover applications with diverse requirements.

"This system packs in a lot of

Switzerland - RTI has updated their high professional Nano product range and released the RTI Nano RGB 30 with '10-10-10' ultra white-balanced setup.

The new RTI Nano RGB 30 show laser light systems were especially developed for professional users with high demands that require professional quality without compromise. This new system comes with a '10-10-10' setup, meaning it has nearly an equal power distribution over the colour sources: >10W/638nm, >10W/530nm, >10.4W/450nm and a guaranteed power of 28W after aperture providing an awesome white balance with incredibly good beam specifications of only ca. 6mm/<1.0mrad (full angle!). The red spectrum is covered by 638nm bright red diodes only - no dark 658nm diodes are used! As a green color source, a Coherent Taipan OPSL is integrated.

The major challenge was combining the huge number of single red diodes in an array with good

USA - When the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Newsies flies off the rack to begin its North American tour this month, sound designer Ken Travis relies on Masque Sound to deliver a dynamic custom audio equipment package for the smash hit.

The musical features a score by eight-time Academy Award winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions.

Having designed the sound for Newsies' Broadway run, Travis has a deep understanding of the show's audio requirements. His goal for the tour was to replicate the remarkable Broadway sound in each of the different venues and theatres, all of which have their own unique characteristics and challenges. In order to accomplish this, flexibility in the sound system was a key component.

To achieve the all-encompassing range

UAE - Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG), one of the world's leading suppliers of entertainment and event technology headquartered in New York, is acquiring Dubai-based Gearhouse, L.L.C., the largest provider of turnkey event production services across the Gulf Region. PRG Chairman & CEO Jeremiah J. Harris and Peter McCann, the Managing Director of Gearhouse, L.L.C jointly announced the acquisition this week.

Founded in 1994, Gearhouse, L.L.C. has long been established as the market leader with a client portfolio that includes international touring artists The Rolling Stones, Muse, Rihanna, Eric Clapton, and The Prodigy, along with leading global production companies, government agencies and a growing list of key regional venue partners.

For PRG's worldwide clients this acquisition means that they will now have access to a complete range of technical expertise and product

Germany / Italy - Italian loudspeaker manufacturer K-array has launched a new product that fully utilises the digital powers of , AFMG's ground-breaking beam steering and coverage control technology, FIRmaker.

K-array KH8 features eight built-in DSP channels per enclosure, driving separate sections of 20 HF, MF, and LMF transducers, resulting in exceptional coverage control and a rated maximum SPL of 145dB, say AFMG.

As well as being the first loudspeaker system that has been built from scratch with FIRmaker steering in mind, the K-array KH8 offers a range of other, interesting features that fit well with the fully digital concept. Coming boxed with three units in a straight frame, the KH8 is flown without the need for curving. Instead, the vertical aiming of each element of the flat hang can be adjusted easily and at any time while the whole system remains straight, never tak

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