Business

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Strand Lighting has made a major breakthrough into the world of film and location lighting by announcing large orders for their QuartzColor lighting range from leading London rental houses. The company’s exclusive location lighting distributors, LCA, confirm that the two largest specialist companies - Lee Lighting and AFM Film & TV - have placed significant orders with the Greenford company for QC luminaires, resulting in the former adding 400 tungsten heads and the latter 200 to their respective rental stocks. The Lee order is made up mostly of 10K, 1K and 650W luminaires while AFM have purchased a complement of 1K, 2K and 5Ks. LCA director Graham Kerr believes the pledge of faith has much to do with Strand’s improved support infrastructure. "We have put the spares situation in order, giving companies of the calibre of Lee and AFM the confidence to switch to Strand,&quo

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A raucous farewell to the Hackney Empire, as it closed for a total refit, was provided during a two-week production of The Wiz - based on the ‘70s funk version of The Wizard of Oz. Paul Gavin’s company Purple Sheep Lighting, who service a number of events at Hackney Empire, ensured that the giant ensemble were heard loud and clear - in front of a band positioned high up on enormous risers - by specifying Martin Audio enclosures throughout. These included a front-of-house system comprising four flown Blackline H2s and a pair of H3s, reinforcing the house system - run in conjunction with the proprietary DX1 management system - with F12s and F15s operating in stage monitor mode. The entire system was powered by Martin Audio’s new amplification series, consisting of MA4.2s and MA2.8s. Paul Gavin commented: "We opted for the F12 and F15 floor monitors because they were

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Two mighty projectors and the largest projection screens ever seen inside a marquee gave VJ management and live video production company, The Picture Works Ltd, all the scope they needed to produce some mind-altering images in the 6,000-capacity Radio 1 Presents Essential Twilo tent at the recent Homelands Festival in Winchester. Specialists in dance event visuals, The Picture Works have been contracted to provide the video content and reinforcement since the inception of Homelands and this year delivered the visual support in five of the six dance arenas. This time around they dry-hired a pair of Christie Digital X10 Roadies from trading partner AT communications in Sutton Coldfield, one of which was making its debut. As a result, said Robin Wealleans, director of The Picture Works, from early in the afternoon they were able to throw sharply defined images over the 20m distance onto the

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Universal Lighting & Audio Pty Ltd., with offices in Queensland and Melbourne, Australia, is now the exclusive Authorized Reseller of High End Systems automated lighting products as well as the Flying Pig Systems Wholehog II console in Australia. Bytecraft, a Melbourne-based production house, will continue as a Special Projects Production Partner for High End Systems. Both Bytecraft and Universal will provide technical and spare parts support of High End Systems equipment in the marketplace. High End Systems' John Wiseman, vice-president of worldwide sales, says: "With Bytecraft's worldwide influence and strength as a production house and Universal Lighting as an exclusive reseller, we're looking forward to seeing more of our products being bought and specified on projects Down Under."

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Hayden Laboratories, exclusive UK dealers for US audio manufacturer the Rane Corporation, recently hosted a product conference and seminar that highlighted the many advantages of the Rane’s Audio Conferencing Equipment & CobraNET Network Audio units. The day-long seminar was held in High Wycombe. Speakers included Steve Macatee, Rane’s director of new product development and training, and Dean Standing, director of sales for Rane. The seminar was designed for those involved in selling, specifying and designing audio & video conferencing systems and network audio. It was attended by a selection of interested parties from different areas of the professional audio industry consultants, sound designers themed entertainment, venues and broadcast plus business to business integrators. All keen to know more about this innovative range of products.

The seminar offered a general ove

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The new 270-cover Indi Tapas Bar in Birmingham Chinatown’s trendy Arcadian Centre has been opened by Eastern Leisure. With a late licence, the venue - which will specialise in a fusion of Asian/Spanish cuisine - wanted a high-octane sound system in its minimalist surroundings that could be pumped up by its DJs during the later stages of the evening. Seeking the optimum solution they turned to Martin Audio, which resulted in Middlesex Sound & Light - whose experience of specifying Martin Audio systems includes the Spearmint Rhino table dancing chain - winning the contract on the basis of their projected loudspeaker design and ease of control. For the delivery, they selected white-finish versions of the EM architectural range.

Situated on a single floor, Middlesex’s Lance Bromhead designed the Indi Tapas Bar into three separate zones, using a Cloud Z4 zoner to route source ma

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Screenco, well experienced at fielding their giant daylight displays on Formula 1’s Grand Prix circuit, made its first appearance at the famous Monaco Grand Prix recently. Monaco-based Action International rigged two Screenco set-ups - supplied by Screenco Holland BV - in different locations. These include, for the first time, a 4x4 15mm LED display, sited at the end of the first straight in front of the Hermès boutique on the Avenue de Monte Carlo. Here, 1000 VIP guests observed the race from a terrace owned by the Société des Bains de Mer, part of the famous Hotel de Paris. "Although this is a major terrace, until this year guests have not really been able to see the race," said Action’s project manager, Vincent Alloing. Further round the track a 28sq.m Jumbotron JTS-17 midi-mobile will again fulfil a specific need, according to Alloing. The truck-mounted Jumb

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Jack O’Donnell, president and owner of Numark Industries, has announced that he has received final court approval to acquire all assets of Alesis Studio Electronics and its affiliates. Alesis, the well-known manufacturer of ground-breaking products such as the ADAT, had been in the process of reorganization over the past several months, and had begun talking with outside interested parties this spring. While the two companies will function as separate business units, O’Donnell and a newly-appointed transition team headed by Paul Antrop, CEO of Numark, will begin immediately looking for areas where the two companies can benefit from each other’s strengths. O’Donnell commented: "I recognized a few years ago that in order to stay in front of this fast-paced market, Numark needed to bolster its engineering and product development efforts. While we’ve seen t

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To meet the increasing demand on the Special Projects Division of AC Lighting to design, supply and install complete lighting schemes, the company has formed a new alliance with Reggiani Lighting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reggiani Spa (Milan, Italy). Reggiani, formed 40 years ago, is a family-driven business with a strong philosophy for ideas, innovation and quality. Today, Reggiani is a renowned market leader in the field of architectural lighting and manufactures a wide range of luminaires for interior and exterior applications. The Company has subsidiary operations in France and the UK and 47 distributors around the world. Commenting on the new partnership, Peter Keiderling, special projects manager at AC Lighting, stated: "Our projects-driven business continues to expand and diversify and it became vital for us to have access to a broad range of architectural fittings. We ar

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The Covenant Life Church in Glasgow is about to embark on phase two of a significant Crown-driven Nexo installation. The 800-capacity venue, which has sister churches across Scotland and as far afield as southern Germany, has been in residence at this site for over a year and is delighted with the new audio installation, which has so far has been completed by Sound Control in Glasgow with equipment supplied by Fuzion plc. Currently it comprises a pair of Nexo PS-15s and an LS-1200 at the front of the church with a pair of PS-10 delays driven by a Crown MA-2402 and an MA3600VZ. Phase two, which is due to start shortly plans for up to four PS-15s to be sunk into the stage behind grilles so that they do not disturb sight-lines for TV cameras or indeed the congregation, a PS-15 to act as a monitor for the drummer and keyboard player, and up to four PS-8s to be flown either side of the stage

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Telford-based broadcast sound equipment supplier Soundsense received the vote of UK broadcasters covering the General Election. The firm's rental department supplied over 30 ISDN outside broadcast kits to radio stations around the country, including BBC Radio 5 Live who were supplied with over 20 units for their election night coverage. Soundsense supplied a combination of AEQ and Glensound codecs; the AEQ units being flown in from the factory in Madrid especially for use on the election campaign. "We're deeply indebted to our colleagues at AEQ who moved heaven and earth to ensure we had adequate units in the right place at the right time," said Soundsense spokesman Derek Tallent. "It allowed us to prove to our customers that once again Soundsense is a key supplier to the broadcast industry."

In addition to supplying units directly to broadcasters, Soundsense is als

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Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd supplied its SS 15 12 mobile stage to the BBC for the Russell Watson at BBC Music Live concert, with highlights shown on BBC1 on Bank Holiday Monday to 3.7 million viewers. A sell-out audience of over 2,000 fans enjoyed the concert. The event took place in Leeds’ Millennium Square on Friday 25 May, and was the first seated concert to be hosted there. Leeds Council has invested in the region of £13million in the city centre event site, with facilities that include artists’ dressing rooms and hospitality area located beneath the stage area of the square.

The SS 15 12 stage supplied is the largest of Star Hire’s mobile fleet of stages, with over 175sq.m floor area, standing 12m high; it was flanked by its own PA wings, which supported a Wigwam PA system on this show. The time-frame for the event saw Star Hire’s staff, under newly ap

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Spector Lumenex Ltd, a privately-owned safety communications company, has been acquired by Tyco and will be integrated into its Fire & Security’s Engineering Services Group of its Wormald Ansul (UK) division. Spector Lumenex, with reported revenues of £6 million in 2000, is a leader in voice alarm, public address and intercom systems. The company specialises in the field of hazardous area products, particularly for clients in the oil and gas, petrochemical and marine industries. "The customers of Spector Lumenex are identical to those served by Tyco Fire & Security and their products very complementary to the ‘Avalon’ name, a well-known brand already in our portfolio," said Mark Clegg, director and general Manager of the Tyco Fire & Security’s Engineering Services group. "Spector Lumenex not only brings additional UK coverage, but will allow us to

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As part of an extensive fire alarm and evacuation system for the Eden Project in Cornwall, a Baldwin Boxall decentralised Vigil voice alarm system has been installed within the entire site, which includes the Central Control House and Biomes. This first phase voice alarm system which is installed in the Visitor Centre, now the Central Control House, contains over 600W of amplification and provides all aspects of a voice alarm system - as well as creating a cost-effective public address system. The 21U high rack contains the BVR20 ‘Microdrive’ routing mixer, which also links up all the other racks (phase two) within the 14 hectare site by a data highway. The phase two VA system was installed prior to the whole site being opened to the public in Spring 2001 and comprises two 47U racks, which contain over 6,500W of amplification and a BVR20 routing mixer. The system provides all

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Coe-tech Ltd has appointed FPD Savills to hold a two-day public auction/stock clearance sale to make way for the latest range of new Coe-tech products. The auction will take place at Coe-tech’s premises in Northampton on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 July 2001. It will feature over 3000 lots of all types of professional sound, lighting, AV and special effects equipment. Viewing day is Tuesday 24 July 2001 from between 9am to 4pm. The diverse array of equipment for sale will include intelligent lighting; moving head luminaires; discothèque lighting; architectural colour changers; theatre lighting including followspots, profiles and fresnels; trussing; video equipment - cameras, switchers and video walls; sound processing equipment; loudspeakers; power distribution and cables. For Further Information and catalogues, please contact: FPD Savills, 4 St. Peter’s Gate, Nottingham, N

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This month sees the launch of a new promotions company specialising in the UK audio industry, simply titled ‘Ideas Marketing’. The new company, which will offer a wide range of marketing services, including public relations, graphic design, corporate hospitality, presentations, media liaison and exhibition co-ordination, is the brainchild of Nick Powell, known to many in the industry from his previous role as marketing manager for Audio-Technica. Powell brings a wealth of pro audio and music industry contacts to Ideas, and is experienced in promoting audio products to both end-user and business clients alike. He is joined in the new company by his wife Stacey, who has a more general marketing background, having gained experience of working with national media through her role as PR Officer for the Environment Agency. Of the new venture, Nick said "Our understanding of th

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ESS Superstructure has secured a major contract to build a vast 2,500sq.m superstructure building for a high profile, blue chip corporate event. The contract is the first for ESS Superstructure following the recent formation of a joint venture between ESS Ltd and The Pure Group. An ESS Superstructure building will be used initially by HP:ICM, one of Europe's leading live communication companies, for a client event involving a global brand. Two thousand delegates are expected to attend a one-day management conference, which will be followed by an elaborate gala dinner to be hosted in the superstructure building. The huge aluminium transparent structure, which is 100m long by 25m wide and 11m high, is based in the grounds of Syon Park in west London. Managed by The Pure Group, the Superstructure will be available for hire as a conference and corporate hospitality venue, in conjunction with

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The Bishop of Matabeleland, The Rt. Revd. Wilson Sitshebo in Zimbabwe, took part in a special service at St Asaph Cathedral in Wales, via a live telephone link provided by Apple Sound. The service on 20 May was led by the Bishop of St Asaph, The Rt. Revd. John Stewart Davies, to celebrate the 300th anniversary of The United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The Revd. Bethan Scotford, USPG Mission Adviser for the Church in Wales said: "Apple Sound understood our requirements and the precise timing within the celebratory service. As a total technophobe, my dream of having a live link with Africa was well and truly in the hands of Apple Sound. The end result delighted everybody in the Cathedral . . . It created a unique and unforgettable event for us in our celebrations of a World-wide agency. We are very grateful to Apple Sound for their sterling work in this instance and we

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PLASA has completed the first phase of its major industry research project, which will provide PLASA members with an invaluable insight into their industry. As well as being able to estimate the global market size for professional lighting, sound, staging and AV products and services, the research also gives a very detailed picture of the market in the UK. For the first time, PLASA has information about the value of the product sectors, how fast they are growing and the size and growth of the various vertical sectors into which its members sell. The findings enable the Association to say some very precise things about its members collectively and the nature of the industry as a whole.

PLASA plans to repeat the exercise every 12 months, enabling it to build up ever-more accurate trend information. A quick flick through the 119-page report reveals that it estimates the respective size by

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Since purchase at the Playlight London Auction, two fully working flightcased Clay Paky Golden Scan 3's have been stolen. They were removed from the Playlight London Warehouse between Thursday 31st May and Wednesday 6 June. One case has a distinctive splattering of magnolia paint and may still have auction lot stickers attached. It is likely that these will sold on at a low price. If anyone is offered these items for sale, or has any information regarding their whereabouts, please contact Chris Hatton on +44 07887 933 357.

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The team behind Starlight Express, now in its 17th year at London's Apollo Victoria Theatre, have decided to update the show’s lighting rig. After adding High End Intellabeams back in 1993, lighting designer David Hersey and the show's original production electrician, Howard Eaton, returned this year to update the lighting rig once again. This time they opted to replace the Intellabeams with equipment from Martin Professional.

The Moving Light Company were called upon to supply the production with 24 Martin MAC 500s and three of the new MAC 2000 units. In addition, they supplied two DHA Pitching Digital Light Curtains, which provide a dramatic new way of lighting the spectacular bridge which forms the centrepiece of John Napier's set design. The changes to the lighting rig were made in a tight 10-day period when the production closed temporarily to allow the auditorium to be re-c

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This summer saw a free concert for 20,000 people staged in the busy heart of London. Mike Mann discovered that such a production has its logistical difficulties . . .

Before even thinking about the problems involved in bringing central London to a standstill, Star Hire’s Roger Barrett realised that the stage design for the Africa Day concert would have to be an unusual one: "We would normally have built a higher stage than this - but a major feature of the design was that the famous lions should be visible on stage." Two of the huge statues were incorporated into the stage, which was positioned just in front of Nelson’s Column, facing northwards towards the National Gallery. Flanked by the South African Embassy (who funded the entire event) and Canada House, the central area of Trafalgar Square itself also needed treatment. "One of the first things we realise

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The ABTT has confirmed that its ABTT Theatre Show 2002 will be held at the Royal Horticultural Halls on 19 and 20 June 2002. Further details of booking arrangements will be announced shortly. Any enquiries should be directed to the ABTT Office on 020 7403 3778.

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At a time when many high-tech companies report lay-offs, closures and down-sizing, Stardraw announces expansion into America. US distributor R&S Solutions has been acquired and will continue operations under the name Stardraw.com Inc. "This is an exciting step forward and forms a key part of our strategy for global expansion," says David Snipp, Stardraw’s founder and managing director. "North America is a very important marketplace for us and already represents around 50% of our installed user base. With a direct presence in America we will be able to build on the excellent foundation laid for us by R&S Solutions over the past three years."

Randell Green, founder of R&S Solutions, takes up the position of President at Stardraw.com Inc. He explained: "This is a development that we have all wanted for quite some time now. It is a very logical step and capi

  1. In The Shed with Nexo, Camco & KT
  2. Huge Success for Showlight 2001
  3. Airstar Provides Light for Support Act
  4. NXT Flat Panels for UK Parliament
  5. Sennheiser to Distribute MindPrint
  6. TTL and Logic System at Springbok
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