Business

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Martin Professional's Florida-based US subsidiary, Martin Professional Inc, has announced plans to move into a new facility early in the year 2001. The new office will be built in the Sawgrass International Corporate Park in Sunrise, Florida, just a short drive from the existing building. It will give Martin US personnel twice as much working space with a 3,106sq.m warehouse, 200sq.m showroom, and nearly 900sq.m of office space and other facilities. Completion date for the new building is expected to be just after the start of the new year.

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A package of film production initiatives backed by a total fund of £22 million has been launched by the Film Council, the new strategic organisation set up by the Government to create a coherent structure for the UK film industry and to develop film culture in the UK. The package includes a Film Development Fund of £5 million a year to support the development of a stream of high quality, innovative and commercially attractive screenplays; a Premiere Production Fund of £10 million a year for the production of popular mainstream films, and a New Cinema Fund of £5 million a year to back radical and experimental film-makers, especially new talent, and to explore new electronic production technologies.

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Production Resource Group has restructured, combining the PRG Lighting Group and Audio Group into a single operating unit, the Lighting/Audio Group. The two divisions will continue to be branded separately in their individual markets, but will be managed by a single group of senior PRG management. Some of the key elements of the new organisational structure include the appointment of Don Knezovic as the chief operating officer of the Lighting/Audio Group, whilst Steve Terry becomes President of Lighting Systems. Nick Jackson continues as president of Light & Sound Design (LSD) with Jeff Senkovich promoted to the new position of vice-president of Lighting/Audio. Don Stern, chairman of the Lighting/Audio Group, is assuming responsibility for Production Arts' rental sales and operations.

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A new company has been formed in Italy to offer marketing services to the entertainment industry. Located in Gradara, Italy, and headed by Stefano Bossoli, Made in Italy will act as marketing and business consultants, and will offer overseas contractors, installers and distributors with a consultancy service covering the cinema, theatre, live event, pubs and clubs markets.

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Total Audio Solutions reports a record number of bookings for its location and mobile recording facilities. Music channel VH1's 'Storytellers' required full carry-in production talkback and timecode distribution facilities. Another project involved the digital recording of a show featuring Pete Townsend of The Who. The six-camera shoot involved a 50-user PMR system, plus Total Audio's Ambient Lockit system, which was needed to synchronise master and multitrack recorders with the digital slates and Beta reference tapes. Rick Wakeman's forthcoming double CD/DVD was tracked at Marlborough College using Total Audio Solutions' 24-track mobile, while Hugh Cornwell (ex of the Stranglers) hired the company to record his band's new live album at The Robin II R&B Club in Dudley, West Midlands. The booking followed Cornwell's 1998 live album, which was also tracked by the TAS team.

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Palma in Italy is the first stop for PCM's Tony Dickson and John Jones on the company's expanded training programme, an initiative that will see them visiting Europe-wide locations to hold Motor Schools. The Italian Motor School has been jointly co-ordinated by PCM and their Italian agents Audio Link, headed by the charismatic Stefano Cantadore. The Italian School will see 30 owners, users and specifiers of Lodestar Motors trained. The course is designed to offer attendees a comprehensive, hands-on overview of everything there is to know about a CM Lodestar motor. Attendees engage in the complete process of dismantling and reassembling the hoist. Also included is a basic Lodestar troubleshooting session, using faulty motors. PCM are taking all the kit needed for the school with them from the UK.

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Martin Professional A/S has acquired the remaining 49% of shares in Martin Professional Italy making the Italian company fully owned by Martin Professional A/S. Managing director Mario Radice is leaving the company and will be replaced by Pio Nahum who will also continue in his role as Group sales and marketing director.

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Boath Audio Visual are offering a substantial reward for equipment that was stolen from the company in early May. A Mr F Belhadj, who gave a false address in Worthing, hired a range of equipment, including JBL speakers (serial no: 18017), a Crest amplifier (serial no: CA12 9404392), Citronic mixer (serial no: A611B903A0288), Yamaha multi-effects unit (serial no: 65238), two MAD Madscans (serial nos: 27006, 27006B) and a Le Maitre G150 smoke machine (serial no: 0563). The list also included a Shure radio mic system, Numark twin CD player, Opti White Lightning strobe and an Apollo Equinox lighting effect.The equipment has never been returned and BAV believe that Belhadj is now in Tunisia, though the equipment may still be in the Sussex area. If you have been offered any of this equipment or can help, please contact Brighton Police Station on 0845 6070999 - quote crime reference no: C1/8661

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Following on from the announcement last month of CIE-Audio's UK distributorship for Communications Technology, the company has now announced its UK representation for Radio Design Labs. With a product range totalling nearly 200 units, RDL manufactures a portfolio of application specific modules for audio, video and control.

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Batmink Ltd, distributor for a wide range of product lines including those from American DJ, Genius, Lite Puter and MBN, has purchased further offices and warehouse facilities covering some 1500sq.m. Managing director David Churches commented: "In line with our continual expansion, the new premises will allow a greater stockholding, especially on our sole imported lines." To coincide with the move to new premises, Batmink will be holding a massive auction of sound and lighting equipment on Sunday July 16th.Further details and an auction catalogue are available by calling

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Rio de Janeiro-based TV Globo, the largest TV corporation in South America and among the top five in the world, has just taken delivery of a Midas Heritage 2000 console for its brand new live TV broadcast studio. Henry Spong, president of Libor, Midas's distributor in Brazil, was responsible for the sale. "The studio had been using a Heritage 3000 on rental from Gabisom, a local PA company, and was delighted with it," explained Spong. "TV Globo's audio engineer and specifier, Carlos Ronconi, was determined to have a Heritage desk in his studio, so he approached Libor. We lent him our demo Heritage 2000 by way of comparison, and they decided that in fact it was more than adequate for their needs, so they opted for the 2000 which they have ordered with 12 mono and 12 stereo channels."

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A new consultancy company has been formed to oversee sound system installations in all areas of professional audio. Sound Savers founder Brian Levine is using the services of Stephen Court to look at sound system quotations and proposals. He told PLASA Publishing: "Over the last few years, we have been asked to look at several quotations for new sound systems in every area from clubs and theatres to stadiums, and were frequently surprised by, not only the choice of equipment, but the prices where we discovered cost reductions could be made without sacrificing sound quality. We were asked to vet some of these quotes, and in many cases, saved the clients several thousand pounds on the final costs." Sound Saver's latest project is a stadium in France where the overall sound distribution was increased by 4dB and the budget for sound reduced by 15%. The company is also working on

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Newquay-based PSD Electronics has completed a sound and lighting installation as part of a £500,000 makeover at the Twilight Zone nightclub in Redruth. The new lighting rig features four of Sagitter's compact Infinity MSZ1200 (Multi Step Zoom) units, which project down onto the minimalist ground floor dance area, as well as onto the sailcloth surrounding the eight moving arms of the flown mechanism. Sagitter Digiflash Pro strobes also feature in the rig. All of the Sagitter lighting was supplied by Multifom Technology. PSD's Dave Charman said that the fittings were "incredibly bright and powerful - they look amazing in this installation."

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Construction work has started on Amptown Cases' Peterborough warehouse and office premises, which are being extended and refurbished along with the addition of new workshops. The existing facilities will be more than doubled in size, and the work is scheduled for completion by the end of June. An extra telephone line and switchboard has also been installed to cope with the increasing volume of business. The new number is +44

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Brähler ICS, the audience response and electronic voting specialist, has produced a 20-page handbook dealing with all aspects of audience interaction. The booklet, called Setting the Scene, covers the overall 'interactive loop' and a free copy is available to anyone in the business. Telephone +44 1223 461146.

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Stage Electrics is to install a new sound and lighting system at Winchester's Theatre Royal. The installation is part of a major remodelling of the theatre and will involve completely removing the roof of the building so the lighting bridge can be installed. The company has also designed enhanced FOH lighting positions in the auditorium and, in conjunction with MRP, a new counterweight flying system. The theatre is owned by The Winchester Theatre Fund, a charitable trust and funding for the project, which is due for completion in early 2001, has been raised by the charity and a grant from the Arts Council of Great Britain.

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Meanwhile, just up the road in Winchester, the staff of Whitwams Sound & Vision have moved 12m across the High Street to temporary accommodation, while they wait to move the business into its new, customised premises. The company has been based at 70 High Street, Winchester since 1909 - so they are understandably reluctant to move too far in one go.

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Cambridgeshire-based Ambient Lighting has set up a new pro audio division - Outline UK - primarily to distribute the Italian-manufactured Outline range of loudspeaker, amplification and audio processing equipment. Outline's latest product, the Kangaroo, is an active two- or three-way system featuring a 500W 18" bass cabinet and a 250W pole-mount mid/high satellite. A unique feature of the system is that the mid/high section fits snugly inside the bass cabinet for compact, easy transportation. Outline UK say the system produces excellent sound quality and is suitable for a wide range of applications. The new division will be headed by Dave Finlay, formerly of Celestion International, who brings eight years of experience in the music industry to the role.

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The 54th Annual Tony Awards took place at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City yesterday. The success of Contact, which features a prerecorded track with no original music and which picked up a Tony Award for Best New Musical, will no doubt further fuel the debate about what constitutes a musical. Michael Frayn's Copenhagen collected the prize for Best New Play, whilst a revival of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate collected five Tonys, including Best Musical Revival. Austalian director Michael Blakemore, who now lives in Britain, became the first person to win both Best Director of a Play (Copenhagen) and Best Director of a Musical (Kiss me Kate) in the same year. Elton John and Tim Rice won the Tony for best Score for Aida which also earned Bob Crowley a Tony for best Scenic Design and Natasha Katz the award for Best Lighting Design. The prize for Best Revival went to Tom Stoppard's Th

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Millennium Multi Media.com, a new internet-oriented digital and traditional entertainment, technology and communications company, is to build the Millennium Entertainment Center, a $20 million, 60,000 square feet, two-level dome housing a revolutionary entertainment venue situated on five and a half acres of Las Vegas' famed strip. The MEC, will accommodate 2,000 customers, and unlike other Vegas venues will have no gaming elements. The main elements of the venue will be a range of conference facilities and a nightclub - the key attraction of which will be a computerised light and laser projection show featuring interior fireworks, falling snow, lightning, twisters, and a host of other computer graphic and holographic effects. World-renowned supper club impresario, Mark Fleischman, former owner of Studio 54 and creator of the well-known Tatou dinner clubs, will head the project.

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Showlight 2001 - the conference for lighting professionals - takes place in Edinburgh in May next year and offers delegates opportunities not to be missed. An afternoon at the Strand factory in Kirkcaldy will give visitors an inside look at one of the lighting industry's leading companies with other visits ranging from the technical to theatre to distilleries - taking in some of the most notable landmarks in and around Edinburgh. These include Edinburgh Castle, famous for the Edinburgh Tattoo, St Andrew's Castle and Cathedral and Glenturret Distillery. Another definite date for the diary is the Showlight Dinner, this year sponsored by Strand Lighting, which takes place at the magnificent Hopetoun House. Inclusive in the registration fee, this is a chance for you to wine and dine alongside some of the biggest names in the lighting industry. We are currently looking for innovative speakers

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PLASA Presents Light and Sound Shanghai has opened for the third year. Emerging from the Intex exhibition centre to the sound of a brass band, a group of distinguished guests from China and the UK spoke briefly to a large crowd and opened the show. Guests from the UK included Warren Townend, British Consul General in Shanghai, Sammy DeHavilland, PLASA Treasurer; Andrew Morris of Earls Court and Jonathan Gould of Clarion Events. This year's show includes a record number of exhibitors in the international section and expands the show onto the second level of the Intex centre for the first time. The show runs until Friday 9 June.

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Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd enjoyed its busiest weekend ever with its fleet of mobile stages over the BBC Music Live weekend. The company could have hired their own stages out two or three times and in the end had to sub contract three stages in to deal with the increased levels of demand. The Star Hire team supplied a range of stages to events all over the country from Kings Lynn to Newcastle and even north of the border to Leith. The company was also involved in the Somerset House concert, where a CS 15–12 was the first ever stage to be erected for a concert in this historic building, the stage being installed the day after it was opened to the public by the Queen Mother.

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Recognising the importance of this region as being the largest entertainment community in the world, Martin has opened an office in Las Vegas. As the first manufacturer of intelligent lighting with an office in the city, Martin intend to offer technical and sales support, technical design and project support for the designers, dealers and customers in the region. The company has appointed Tim Brennan as the sales manager of the new office. Brennan, a well-known figure in the theatrical and entertainment Lighting community, will work with support from Martin's West Coast office team to develop a stronger presence for Martin in the Las Vegas market.
  1. Introducing Sphere - a studio complex for the 21st Century
  2. White Light and Strand Lighting: 300 In Soho!
  3. KTG Gets the Latin Treatment with LT Sound
  4. Broadcasters Support New Talent
  5. Amek Announces Pure Path Website
  6. Engineering Goes Centre Stage at Durham
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