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USA - With the emphasis on networked technologies at this year's 137th AES Convention in Los Angeles, the OCA Alliance made considerable progress in promoting the benefits of its proposed Open Control Architecture (OCA) - both in committee and on the floor of the exhibition. OCA is a standards-based control and monitoring architecture for networked audio devices employing any media transport protocol.

OCA defines communications protocols for reliable and secure control and monitoring of AV device networks of 2 to 10,000 nodes. AES project 'AESX210' is currently working to render OCA into a ratified AES standard.

Audio Engineering Society Standards Committee chair, Bruce C. Olson, stated, "In the AES we are very aware of the importance of networked technologies for the futur

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Qatar - Milad Masaad, one of the best known TV and live event lighting designers in the Middle East, recently used over 300 Robe fixtures to light the 2014 Adha Festival staged at the Souq Waqef in Doha.

The six day event is organised by Attraction Events for Al-Rayyan Radio 102 FM to coincide with the Adha Islamic Feast, and all lighting and other technical production was supplied by Doha Based Target For Events. Live performances included a diverse selection of singers from many Arab and Gulf countries including Mohamed Abdo, Rabh Sakr, Abady Gohar, Diana Hadad and more.

A special stage structure was erected for the festival, with all lights hung on trusses below this and also positioned on the floor.

Overhead there were 40 x Pointes, 30 x LEDBeam 100s, 24 x LEDWash 600s, 12 x LEDWash 1200s all from Robe's Robin Series, together with 22 x REDWash 3-192s, making up the movi

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Australia - Andrew Veitch, Channel 9's Lighting Supervisor in Sydney, included 32 of the new Martin MAC Quantum Wash fixtures in his rig for the NRL Grand Final Footy Show.

The Quantum Washes on The Footy Show were positioned above the main stage to provide the main wash for the television spectacular. Alongside the Quantum Washes were 30 Martin MAC Viper Profiles.

"The Quantum Washes and Vipers worked together really nicely," commented Andrew. "If I had been able to get more, I would have!"

A further 22 MAC Vipers were rigged on the outer trusses around the walkway from where, according to Andrew, they worked beautifully to come back into the room for the many music numbers.

"The MAC Quantum Wash is ideal for television as it is such a large, bold fixture," continued Andrew. "As they are from Martin and are LED, you know yo

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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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Belgium - GSF Sound & Light Rental is no stranger to complex events, having worked on many illustrious productions. None the less, delivering the audio and lighting requirements for the World War I celebrations in Cointe, Liege this August was a challenge; one that its DiGiCo SD9 helped them meet.

Working directly for the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Belgium, via event agency Alice Events, GSF not only provided a complete PA on site, as well as lighting and electrical requirements, but also had to supply broadcast feeds for local Belgium television station RTBF, which in turn sent the signal to various OB vans for the multitude of television stations that would transmit the event around Europe and Russia.

"When dignitaries, including HRH King Philippe of Belgium and HRH Prince William from the UK, speak into your microphones for a live broadcast, there's no place

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UK - With its neo-Classical architecture, 6000 pipe concert organ and performances by hundreds of high profile artists since its 1913 completion, Leicester's De Montfort Hall has always been one of the Midlands most iconic concert venues. But, as well as preserving its history, the owning city council has always kept the venue's facilities as up-to-date as possible. This has included the recent installation of a Yamaha CL5 digital mixing system.

The centrepiece of De Montfort Hall is its flexible 400-2200 capacity auditorium, which can be laid out in several different ways. For a number of years the main mixing console has been a 48 channel Yamaha M7CL, but a recent major audio refit saw the installation of Dante network and a CL5 console, plus three Rio3224-D i/o units. Two are in a movable patch rack, the third fixed on stage. The equipment was supplied by SSE Audio Group.

&

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UK - West London-based lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment is actively engaged in a work experience initiative in conjunction with Elstree University Technical College (UTC), offering a selection of students a practical and grounded introduction to the world of lighting festivals, concert tours and live events.

The scheme is being developed by EUTC lecturer Stuart 'Woody' Wood - himself a production industry professional before taking up teaching full time - and a number of professional technology partners including Colour Sound.

Embracing the Science of Art and the Art of Science, Elstree UTC is a groundbreaking learning environment for 14 to 19 year olds, with the aim that a blend of academic rigour, project based learning and industry partnerships will help spawn tomorrow's creative technologists.

The lively UTC curriculum embraces all areas of

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China - Music Group has appointed Karan Kathuria to the post of senior manager, Professional Division for Asia Pacific, which includes the key business segments of China and India. Karan will report to Graham Rowlands, who heads global sales for the Professional Division.

In his new role, Karan will be responsible for growing the Music Group's Professional Division brands Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound, as well as taking an active role in managing the distribution networks across multiple countries in APAC region.

Graham commented, "Joining from Harman, Karan's is a strong addition to our global sales team due to his impeccable track record. Karan's extensive experience in the A/V industry will play a key role as we continue to strengthen our position within the APAC market."

Karan described the Music Group as, "a well-respected manufacturer with a strong

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South Africa - Once again MJ Event Gear were the technical suppliers for the Transnet annual breakfast, hosted at the Hilton in Sandton, for their client Overend Outsource.

"It's a formula that works," said Theo Rood from MJ, who along with his team, has successfully pulled off this particular event for the past four years.

From the moment guests stepped into the foyer area they were met with soft ambient lighting thanks to 24 x Longman LED parcans and four Robe Digispot 5000 DTs (for gobo work) positioned on Prolyte H40V truss totems. This area was controlled by an Avolites Tiger Touch.

The lighting in the main venue was operated by MJ's Olebogeng Boinamo on a grandMA full size. The rig comprised of four Robin MMX Spots, eight Robin 600 LEDWash, 12 x Robin 100 LEDBeams and 24 x Thomas Pixel Pars.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - More than a few critics have compared the Broadway hit Kinky Boots to another Tony Award-winning production, Hairspray. The two musicals do indeed share much in common beyond their exhilarating music and spangly costumes - including the fact that both were enlivened by lighting designs created by Kenneth Posner.

This summer, the renowned LD's lighting design hit the road, as Kinky Boots began its first national tour. Included in Posner's road rig were 18 COLORado 2-Quad Zoom Tour fixtures from Chauvet Professional. The LED par-style fixtures were supplied by Production Resource Group (PRG), which also provided the equipment for the pre-Broadway and Broadway engagement of Kinky Boots.

Used primarily as wash fixtures, the COLORado 2-Quad Zoom Tours, which are powered by 14 Quad-Colour RGBW 15W LEDs, were positioned over the main area of the stag

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Mexico - Ricky Martin has sold over 85m albums and has had 95 platinum records, six number one Billboard albums, six number one hit songs and received too many awards to keep track of. He has performed in more than 60 countries across the globe and is possibly the most successful Latin pop star of all time.

Currently out on his One World Tour, Martin has had sold out shows in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey with another 18 shows recently added to his schedule. Audio Systems del Norte, headquartered in Monterrey, has provided a complete Adamson Systems PA for the Mexican leg of his tour. Oscar Gamas, CEO of Sonotribe Audio Consultants in Mexico City, is responsible for designing and aligning the Adamson Energia sound reinforcement system.

Gamas specified a main PA of Energia E15 and SpekTrix enclosures. The left/right arrays each consist of 16 E15s followed by fou

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USA - Bandit Lites has purchased even more gear to take on the road as Robin 1200 LED Washes are hitting the road with country superstar Garth Brooks. Lighting designer Dave Butzler utilized the fixtures to create eye candy effects, colour patterns and wash coverage.

"Garth wanted to use less power, so that was major factor there," said Butzler, while adding that the 1200's intensity was a huge draw. "With such a high trim, I don't have a strong paintable pallet, but we are still getting good effects out of it with the tight and wide beam. We are up against video, so I needed something that would stand out. Plus it also gives me a great foot candle on stage."

With a tour as vigorous as Garth Brooks, finding a hardy light fixture that doesn't require a ton of maintenance can save the crew major headaches, a factor that has endeared Butzler to the Robin 1200L

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USA - Cadac exhibited at the recent WFX - Worship Facilities Conference and Expo in Dallas, Texas. Additionally, the company supplied its latest CDC eight-32 digital mixing console for use by AE Global Media on sound production for the keynote presentations, 2014 Worship Facilities Awards and WFX Block Party, led by worship leader and Christian recording artist Ricardo Sanchez.

The CDC eight was specified on-site by AE Global Media executive production manager Trey Blair, while technical director and mix engineer for the event was David Bonilla: "My experience with the console was very positive. I had never been on the console prior to the WFX event and the crew from CADAC guided me through just a simple overview. I felt pretty comfortable getting around it with no problems and I was able to get through the sound check without a hitch.

"The CDC eight is very versatil

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South Africa - Leading SA technical production company MJ Event Gear from Johannesburg supplied full technical infrastructure including over 75 x Robe moving lights to the prestigious 2014 South African Guide Dogs Association (GDA)'s Red Capet Affair charity fundraising gala dinner.

Lighting designer Ole Boinamo chose 48 x Robe LEDWash 600s, 12 x LEDBeam 100s and 16 x Robe 300E Spots for the moving light elements.

The high profile event was staged at the Ballroom in Montecasino, Johannesburg, and produced by socialite Edith Venter's company Edith Unlimited. An evening of entertainment and goodwill was presented by actress and TV personality Ashley Heyden, all adding to the glitz and glamour.

For the first time, the main stage was built in the centre of the room for the presentations and some of the entertainment including stand-up performances by comedians Goliath & G

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UK - The annual Barclaycard Mercury Prize shortlists 12 of the best albums from the UK and Ireland released during the year. Held at the Roundhouse in London, this year's ceremony saw shortlisted artists such as Bombay Bicycle Club and Jungle perform throughout the evening hosted by Nick Grimshaw. The event culminated with the announcement that Young Fathers had won the 2014 Barclaycard Mercury Prize for Album of the Year.

For the fifteenth year the Mercury Prize's technical director Rob Lipfriend engaged Creative Technology (CT) to provide the video display services used during the event.

As with previous years, the stage was horizontally split into two. This enabled one stage to be set up whilst the other was in use, providing the audience with seamless entertainment from one act to another.

CT supplied the main screen using a curved 38 x 7 ground stacked Barco C5 with abo

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UK - Award-winning audio technology company, Flare Audio, launched what they believe to be the world's first 'fully' open back headphones at PLASA 2014. The Reference R1, aimed at the pro audio and audiophile market, uses Flare's unique new approach to produce distortion free sound, even at full volume, enabling true transfer and transmission of source material. The Reference R1's are now available for pre-order.

Flare also showcased the new Flare X0A, a compact vertical point source array, together with the rest of the Flare Audio range of products, including flown X2A and X5A systems.

"PLASA was a fantastic show for us and generated a huge amount of interest around the R1s as well as our install and touring products," says Flare CEO, Davies Roberts. "Since the show, the Flare system has been installed at award-winning venue The Leadmill, and is currently being

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Norway - Scandec Systemer AS has been appointed exclusive distributor for DiGiCo products in Norway, stating its desire to only work with leading manufacturers as one of the main reasons for the company's decision to include the DiGiCo brand in its product portfolio.

Established in 1984 by Knut Børke and Hakon Rønning, Scandec's continued success is due to its high adaptability and fast response times for projects small and large, for both the public and private sectors. These include a wide variety of entertainment venues, recording and broadcast studios, schools, sports arenas and stadiums, background music, public announcement, emergency evacuation and voice alarms installations, marine systems and AV / interactive education systems.

"DiGiCo is a great complement to our existing product mix," says Hakon Rønning, sales director of Scandec. &quo

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USA - On 25 September, the multi-platinum artists Train pulled into the historic Radio City Music Hall in NYC for an album release show in support the band's seventh studio album Bulletproof Picasso. As the production team prepared the design of the show, lighting designer Brock Hogan decided that since the band was releasing their newest album, he wanted to use one of the lighting industry's newest automated luminaires. So working with longtime tour provider LMG Touring, Hogan specified 10 VL4000 Spot luminaires from Philips Vari-Lite.

"The show at Radio City Music Hall was part of a one-off performance series dedicated to promoting the release of the band's latest album," began Hogan. "For these types of shows I have a standard plot, but since it's a new album, I wanted to use a new fixture. I had an opportunity to see the VL4000 Spot at a factory demo in

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Czech Republic - The O2 Arena in Prague is the latest large-format multipurpose venue to embrace Nexo's Geo S12-ST sound reinforcement systems, high-output long-throw loudspeakers developed specially for stadium and arena use.

Built for the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships, the O2 Arena is home to the HC Slavia Praha and HC Lev Praha ice hockey teams and also hosts a range of other sporting and corporate events and concerts.

The venue needed to replace its existing PA system installed 10 years ago, a point source system that was, by the venue's own admission, under-specified and under-powered. The brief required a complete new PA/VA system to provide information and emergency announcements as well as music: also the new system needed to integrate easily into the Arena's existing systems, and to represent good value for money.

"We looked at the best technology a

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UK - Full production and solutions provider Hawthorn was the first UK company to invest in Robe's new Big Multi-Functional Luminaire (BMFL) Spot moving light fixture - and the first event for their newest lighting purchase was the Pink Ribbon Ball, staged in the majestic Central Hall of the Natural History Museum in London in support of the Breast Cancer Campaign.

The prestigious and highly acclaimed social event - now in its 20th year - was this year hosted by TV presenter Kate Thornton. A gala dinner featured performances by the Pink Ribbon Ball house band, aerialist trio La Luna, magic from Chicks With Tricks, while Brit Award winning artist Lisa Stansfield topped a memorable evening's entertainment.

Hawthorn is one of the high profile venue's selection of 'preferred suppliers', and a production lighting design with the BMFL Spots at its heart was created by Hawthorn's Tom

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USA - Pastor Smokie Norful founded Victory Cathedral Worship Centre in Bolingbrook, Illinois in 2005, the same year he won a Grammy Award for Contemporary Soul Gospel Album of the Year for Nothing Without You. He is one of the country's top gospel artists, and his credits include several gold and platinum albums, dozens of awards and nominations, and numerous high-profile performances, including a performance at the White House in celebration of Black Music Month.

When Victory raised funds for its first permanent sound system, Norful scrutinized the options, using his perspective to articulate exacting requirements. The Chicago branch of Advanced Systems & Technologies (AST) designed and installed the new system, which centres on Danley Sound Labs loudspeakers and subwoofers for the main house system, the delay system, and on-stage monitoring.

"Victory Cathedral Wo

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USA - Denison High School in Denison, Texas recently completed a new 300,000sq.ft building to accommodate its 1,250-plus students. Although packed with the latest in academic technology and the sort of architectural features that both provide comfort and encourage learning, the new building faced cost overruns and a budgeting challenge that required creative thinking on the part of its subcontractors.

Among them was a plan put forward by local A/V integrator Batts Audio, Video & Lighting to jettison a 70-volt announcement/bell system (and all the expensive conduit it would require) for a distributed amplifier system running a 25-volt announcement/bell system. Based around eight 8-channel Ashly Audio ne8250.25pe Network Amplifiers with built-in Protea DSP processing, Batts AV&L gave Denison a reliable, high-quality system for a fraction of the cost of the proposed 70-volt system.

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