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USA - Chicago-based Performance Lighting is another leading US company to recently invest in Robe - with the purchase of 30 x BMFL Spots and 12 x Pointes.

The busy design and rental facility supplies lighting to all sectors - from corporate and industrial to music festivals, concert tours, TV and theatre productions - and this year Performance celebrates its landmark 30th anniversary.

Performance Lighting's president Russ Armentrout emphasizes the fact that this is the first - but certainly won't be the last - Robe purchase.

CEO and company founder Douglas Peterson decided to invest big in BMFL after doing a light-metered shootout at his shop against well known 'competitor' products.

"In my opinion, the BMFL overwhelmed the others, and its feature set was so rich that I

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Germany - The supervisory board of Messe Berlin has appointed 45 year-old Dirk Hoffmann, a business studies graduate, as the chief financial officer of Messe Berlin. He will take up his post on 15 September 2015 and oversee finances, IT and human resources.

Dirk Hoffmann studied business management in Germany, the US and Canada and after working for Booz Allen & Hamilton and Fox Mobile (formerly Jamba) his last post was as managing director of ImmobilienScout24 in Berlin.

Peter Zühlsdorff, chairman of the supervisory board, comments, "Dirk Hoffmann is a highly competent business manager. I am confident that we have secured the services of a management team member who together with Dr. Christian Göke as CEO will continue to build on the successes of Messe Berlin."

Dirk Hoffmann adds, "I look forward to the many challenges and operational responsibilities that

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USA - More than 90,000 music lovers turned out for another weekend of music in The Woodlands at The Firefly Music Festival. Bandit Lites provided the festival lighting for the stages which featured performances by The Killers, Foster the People, Snoop Dogg, Paul McCartney, Morrissey, and Zedd.

"A part of The Killers' look is the use of truss spots on either side of the stage, instead of having fixtures downstage," said project manager Matt King. "For the rest of the bands, we needed to provide some downstage wash light. Dizzy Gosnell loaded a downstage truss with VL 3500 Washes to handle this task. Another addition that Diz made was to add fixtures above and below the video screens in the wings. This helped make the stage bigger and integrate the audience into the show."

Equipment for the main stage included VL 2500 Spots, Bandit 5x5s, Clay Paky Sharpys, GR

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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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South Africa - The move to IP is arguably the biggest shift in recent film and broadcast history, making it a key focus at Mediatech Africa, set for 15-17 July at the TicketPro Dome at Northgate, Johannesburg.

While a new global survey has revealed that the transition to IP broadcast infrastructure will take up to 10 years to complete for the majority of broadcasters, local film and media producers and distributors are already considering what the move to media over IP will mean for their infrastructures.

Steve Alves, managing director at Concilium Technologies, says: "All the major innovations in this space right now are IP-based. But for many stakeholders, there is a major investment in analogue infrastructure to consider too. At Mediatech Africa 2015, we will showcase solutions to enable a hybrid environment that allow you to start moving to IP, and control and manage

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USA - Elation Professional has launched a new luminaire in its Colour Series of colour-changing LED luminaires, the Colour Pendant, a highly versatile wash light that allows for dynamic control of stage or house lighting levels in an energy-efficient intelligent downlighting fixture.

The Colour Pendant houses 36 long-life 3W RGBW LEDs for fully blended colour transformations or projections of variable shades of white light. The RGBW LED is capable of emitting a wide palette of colours from saturates to more subtle pastels. Its uniform flat-field output, 3,100 lumens of power and 41° beam angle make for a highly effective wash luminaire whether flooding a stage or studio in hues of colour or functionally washing a house of worship or other venue in shades of white light. Full range dimming with selectable dimming curves, strobe and colour macro effects enhance its dynamic cap

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UK - Live video and production specialist Central Presentations Limited (CPL) has launched a new tablet and smartphone App version of their Black Book product catalogue.

It's been developed specifically for the fast moving world of live events and as a more convenient and environmentally friendly alternative to the 150 page printed rental catalogue which is renowned for its wealth of useful information including technical specifications and data for over 500 products, together with all the latest CPL hire rates.

The CPL App is designed to allow technicians, account handlers and production managers quick access to all the information they need wherever they happen to be - whether it's in the middle of a greenfield festival site, up a mountain or even in a regular venue or in their offices.

Says CPL's Matthew Boyce, "The book has been a huge hit and is well loved b

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UK - Martin Audio has announced the availability of CDD Loudspeaker Management System and EASE Data. Offered to partner the new CDD range, DX0.5 adds affordable loudspeaker system management to the existing range of DX loudspeaker controllers.

Delivering EQ, crossover, processing and system protection, the DX0.5 2x6 speaker processor provides complete optimisation for both passive and powered loudspeaker systems.

Each input and output is loaded with a range of digital processing including flexible EQ, crossover, delay and limiting solutions. It delivers everything needed to professionally optimise loudspeaker systems of nearly any size. The DX0.5 utilises high-end 24-bit AKM AD/DA converters with 120dB dynamic range for class-leading sound quality. With 24 memory locations users can recall CDD pre-set files via the front panel, or using the free software application and front

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UK - Lighting designer, Tim Routledge, has employed a quantity of Ayrton MagicBlade-R and MagicPanel-R LED fixtures on Take That's Live 2015 tour.

One hundred and twenty-eight Ayrton MagicBlade-R LED fixtures and 54 MagicPanel-R units play a vital role in Routledge's design where they form an inherent part of the rig, delineating the outlines of production designer Misty Buckley's creative set design and providing a spectacular and versatile backdrop to the band centre stage.

Creative director, Kim Gavin, devised a show that exhibits a high degree of theatricality with artists performing across a large multi-level main stage that loops right out into the arena. Routledge's brief was to produce a very theatrical look in keeping with the design but overlaid with a huge "pop punch". "The MagicBlades certainly gave me this," he says.

Routledge outlined the ou

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Australia - Approximately 75km north of Sydney, in the city district of Gosford, is the rather un-prepossessing building that houses the vibrant Laycock Street Community Theatre. The theatre is the only professional proscenium arch venue in the locality, with its tiered seating comfortably accommodating audiences up to 390. The Gosford Musical Society sits at the heart of many of the theatre's productions.

Chris King is arts and culture coordinator for Gosford City Council. "Laycock Street Community Theatre is very much the hub of the area's performance culture. As such, it hosts a very wide variety of performance genres from musicals, rock concerts, pure drama performances, comedy acts, corporate events, film presentations and various community groups, like dance schools. The goal of any new loudspeaker system was to ensure all styles of performance were suitably covered,

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Hungary - Rental company Silent Session has supplied a complete Roland solution for broadcast, monitoring and recording of the hit show, The Voice and now more recently for 'Rising Star to Hungarian commercial television channel TV2.

The REAC (Roland Ethernet Audio Communication) based system which includes the Roland M-480 digital mixing console, Roland M-48 personal monitoring systems, Roland R-1000, R-44 and R-88 recorders and Roland Digital Snakes was initially specified to handle the PA and the stage monitoring for the recording stage on The Voice. For the television series Rising Star, the Roland system is also used to produce the broadcast sound for all of the music during the shows.

TV2 broadcasts around five music shows each year and the entire Roland system is used for FOH, stage monitoring and broadcast mix for all of them. As the second-

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Europe - Moloko front-woman Roisin Murphy is performing tracks from her third solo album, Hairless Toys across the festivals this summer, where an Audient ASP880 mic pre is featured - on stage. Album co-writer and producer Eddie Stevens - whose credits include Freak Power, Zero7 and Moloko - has continued to work with to Roisin since her Moloko days to create this eight-track album, and is pretty pleased with how the Audient eight channel mic pre is managing to capture the music live.

"It isn't being used by either FOH engineer or monitor engineer," begins Stevens, mysteriously. "It's being used on stage - and, in fact, on full display to those with particularly fine eyesight in the audience. It helps, in this regard, to have all those lovely multi-coloured lights!"

He explains further, "Our set-up takes a split from Roisin's vocal mic, a split

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USA - When lighting designer Mike Marcario got the call to work on up-and-coming country star Eric Paslay's Make Every Night A Friday Night Tour he was told his rig and programming needed to meet two requirements: it had to be versatile enough to work in a variety of venues, and it had to have the punch to stand out in daylight for some of the tour's outdoor stops. Bearing this dual dictum in mind and appreciative of the redheaded bearded Texan's passionate musical style, Marcario knew that he needed to have a rig that was fast, powerful and capable of quick dimming and colour changes. Epix Strip 2.0 units from Chauvet Professional fit his plan perfectly.

"The Chauvet ÉPIX Strips, paired with software from ArKaos, were especially helpful to me because of their many features and the flexibility they gave me. If I needed a solid, saturated colour or a bunch of m

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The Glastonbury Effect - Lionel Richie says he has Glastonbury to thank for bagging his first number one album in the charts in more than two decades. The veteran saw The Definitive Collection By Lionel Richie & The Commodores hit the top spot. The album only reached number 10 when it was released back in 2003, but jumped up 103 places following his widely praised performance at Worthy Farm. It is the 66-year-old's first UK number one album since Back To Front 23 years ago. "I was overwhelmed performing at Glastonbury in front of all those people and for the fans to make the album number one is unbelievable," he said.

Live and Licking - The Grateful Dead have given what they say will be their last group performance in front of 70,000 fans, some in tears, in Chicago.The four surviving members of the band ended their 50-year run this weekend with thr

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UK - White Light recently provided its lighting services for a series of concert tours featuring two long established names in the music industry. Both Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and Gladys Knight are currently touring the UK, with both playing the Royal Albert Hall before visiting venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds. Each tour has been organised by concert and tour promoters Kennedy Street, who approached White Light to provide the lighting, rigging and crew in order to create an unforgettable experience for audiences across Britain.

Jim Colson, production manager at Kennedy Street, states, "Both Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and Gladys Knight are absolute icons in the music industry. The fact that they are both still in such demand after so many years indicates the impact their music has made and how their already huge fan-bases continue to grow&q

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Italy - Rome's Palalottomatica indoor sports arena hosted this year's Italian Summit by global nutrition and weight management company Herbalife.

The event's AV, lighting and ground support contractor was Planet Service of San Marino, whose audio team consisted in Alessandro Saudelli (audio chief, responsible for the system's design and fine-tuning), Emanuele Vischi (sound engineer and PA man), Francesco Passeri (mic tech and PA man) and Edoardo Michelori (PA man).

Saudelli explains how the team faced the venue's infamous acoustics (the domed ceiling and extremely reverberant environment are many a sound engineer's nightmare), ensuring excellent sonic quality for the 8,000 attendees.

"Our brief was for a central stage, to exploit the venue's entire capacity. This, plus the fact that the rig couldn't be flown, meant we had to opt for a ground support format, with consequ

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USA - Fifty years after forming their band at a Palo Alto music store, the surviving founders of the Grateful Dead kicked off their end-of-an-era Fare Thee Well mini-tour at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. with a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system driving a quadraphonic surround setup.

The two Silicon Valley shows were a landmark occasion with more than the 60,000 devoted Deadheads in attendance each evening. It was also a milestone in the band's decades-long association with Meyer Sound CEO John Meyer, a relationship spawned from a shared passion for audio experimentation and audience experience. The Grateful Dead's original sound engineer, Owsley "Bear" Stanley, first tapped Meyer to create acoustic solutions for the legendary 'Wall of Sound' system in the 1970s.

The Meyer Sound Leo system with its accompanying 1100-LFC low-f

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UK - An array of PreSonus StudioLive AI loudspeakers have recently been installed in London's premier 'boutique fitness destination', Core Collective. Part of a highly integrated project at the new Kensington gym, the StudioLive AI speakers are responsible for delivering the pumping soundtrack of the facility's fixed-bike spinning classes.

Designed to perform with the clarity of a studio monitor in live and installed sound situations, each StudioLive AI enclosure delivers a remarkable 2000W of power. All units are based around PreSonus' 8" Co-Actual driver - which delivers accurate high and mid-frequency reproduction - with woofer configuration and frequency response being among the distinguishing features between models.

A total of five 328AI speakers - with their 3x8" driver design - and a single 18sAI subwoofer were specified for the project by Belgravia-based

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UK - Analog Way has announced a new partnership with the AV rental specialist company Paragon Projection in the UK. Effective 1 July, Paragon Projection will have Analog Way's LiveCore systems available for rental all over the UK.

Analog Way, based in the Midlands and Central London, provides high-end projectors and professional display equipment for exhibitions, conferences & training seminars. Paragon Projection is adding Analog Way's LiveCore series of Premium Presentation Mixers to their inventory. Several Ascender 16-4K and Ascender 48-4K units will be available for rental from 1 July.

Mark Davies, sales manager at Paragon Projection Ltd states, "We have been looking into investing in high-end switching equipment for a while now and when Analog Way launched their LiveCore series we realized it was the perfect solution. One of the key factors' when making our decision

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UK - Following the recent announcement of Pro Audio Systems as a main dealer, EM Acoustics has confirmed the appointment of Manchester-based pro audio specialists, Audio Alliance. This latest move brings the number of EM Acoustics UK main dealers up to 10.

Audio Alliance specialises in providing innovative solutions to their clients in a number of market areas, from conferences to international launch events, theatre and broadcast. The company already has a thriving rental department and is currently developing a sales side to the business with selected products and clients.

Audio Alliance's MD, Oliver Driver explains. "We've had a long-standing relationship with Ed [Kinsella] and Mike [Wheeler] that goes back over 10 years. We have always liked their products and specified them where appropriate. Indeed, the sight of Ed's Landrover piled high with new speakers for us to

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UK - Take That, are currently promoting their seventh studio album,III, on their Live 2015 tour with seven Robert Juliat followspots playing major roles in highlighting the artists and the many theatrical antics that surround them.

Creative director, Kim Gavin, has devised a show that involves a high degree of theatricality with acts, including aerial stunts, taking place across a large set, designed by Misty Buckley, that loops out into the arena from a multi-level dynamic main stage.

Lighting designer, Tim Routledge was briefed to produce a design with "a very theatrical look, but with a huge pop punch over the top". His enormous lighting rig contains a large number of powerful moving light fixtures and LED video screens. Routledge therefore needed followspots that would punch through the sheer amount of lighting and video and cope with the long throw distan

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USA - From Friday 26 June to Sunday 28 June, more than 200 people from around the world joined ETC in Madison, Wisconsin, for lighting education, console training and certification, networking and special events. The third professional development conference that ETC has hosted, this CUE event included more classes and events - and was attended by the largest group of lighting professionals and students representing several countries and all segments of the lighting industry - than ever before.

CUE kicked off with a keynote address by CEO Fred Foster, in which he talked about the growth of ETC over the last four decades, and the company's focus on customer service and product innovation. Foster also unveiled new products, including the affordable ColorSource Spot profile LED luminaire and console programming wings that will officially debut in July.

Josh Allen, an award-winnin

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