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A huge 17m x 10.5m Harkness Hall Airscreen took centre stage at two open air screenings during the revived Cambridge Film Festival. Shown as part of the Festival’s first run Children’s Film Festival, the highlight of the week long programme of events took place on two consecutive evenings with free screenings of Disney’s immensely popular ‘Toy Story 2’ and Aardman Animation’s smash hit ‘Chicken Run’, which entertained audiences of some 5,000 late into the night. Registering another first for the Festival, ‘Chicken Run’ was shown in a special subtitled version, making it the biggest screening ever to take place for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.

The Airscreen, a giant inflatable frame incorporating a projection surface from Harkness Hall, was rigged and de-rigged for each show in a little over 25 minutes. A powered air pum

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Marquee Audio has fitted a Meyer UPA-1P powered reinforcement system into a multi-purpose theatre in Radlett, Hertfordshire. Owned by Aldenham Parish Council, the five-year-old Radlett Centre is administered under a trust. The venue’s technical manager, Dave Glover, says that while the old PA system had been adequate for playback it simply wasn’t up to reinforcing the vast range of shows and events that the Centre stages, in a variety of configurations. A spec had been drawn up by previous manager, Miles Marchment, in the event of funding for a new PA becoming available. But in the end it was a private donation of £10,000 that provided the green light for the system. Dave Glover tested a powered Meyer system against another leading brand, and when the Meyer rig won the shoot out Marquee Audio were the preferred supplier and installer. "It was the fact that the UPA-1P wa

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Lighthouse Visual Communications were responsible for staging the 5th Nikken Annual European and World Convention in Dusseldorf, Germany for an audience of 5,000 delegates from 25 countries, with translation required for 17 languages. Nikken is an industry leader in network marketing and offer their clients a range of innovative products many of which are based on the latest in magnetic technology. Lighthouse have been involved with this client for over five years and 2001 represented the biggest challenge to date for the team.

The venue chosen was the Messe Congress Halls in Dusseldorf where six halls were booked to cover the main events, the Gala dinner and an exhibition centre. Hall 9 was the main convention site and covered 11,000sq.m. The set was 65m wide and contained two 20ft x 15ft screens. The principal feature of the conference was to reward delegates for sales throughout the

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Next Two, the leading provider of loudspeakers for background music, public address and voice alarm systems has launched two new ceiling speakers, the MC 4FT and MC 6 Coaxial. This new range of loudspeakers complements the existing Next Two MC-5 and MC-6 range and share the same heritage of acoustic engineering for high quality music production, aesthetic appeal and user friendly fixing mechanism. The new loudspeakers represent a high quality and cost effective solution for personal address, voice evacuation and background music systems. The Next Two Range of loudspeakers including the new MC-4 FT and MC-6 Coaxial will be on display at PLASA, 9-12 September 2001, Earl’s Court, London, UK, Stand S26.

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The PLASA Standards Office has prepared a series of Guidance Notes for PLASA Members. Each provides useful information on current topics of interest and will be updated on an ongoing basis in line with developments. Further documents are planned in response to the needs of PLASA members. The following guidance documents are currently available. These documents are in PDF (Portable Document Format) and may be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader (version 3 or later) which is available free from www.adobe.co.uk

Guide to Australian EMC Framework: contains advice on the EMC and C-Tick labelling requirements for equipment destined for the Australian market.

Basic Guide to the FCC Rules: contains advice on application of the USA Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules on EMC for entertainment equipment.

Standards for Dimmers: contains advice on the applicable safety

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A Baldwin Boxall VIGIL voice alarm system has been installed into the first purpose-built racetrack in Britain for over 50 years. Following the phenomenon of Champ Car in the USA, the Rockingham Oval was designed and built so British crowds can flock to see these powerful cars race around a banked track at speeds of up to 240mph. This all-seater circuit required a state of the art voice alarm (VA) system, and ARB Audio & Visual Hire installed Baldwin Boxall’s VIGIL VA equipment. The system, installed prior to the official opening for the FedEx Championship’s visit to the circuit for the Rockingham 500, comprises two 43U racks, housing over 3.5kW of amplification and is controlled by Baldwin Boxall’s market-leading BVR20 ‘Microdrive’. The VIGIL equipment provides VA and Public Address facilities to eight zones, including the Pit area, VIP Boxes, all seating,

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Building on the success of its original Lightforce speaker enclosures, Italian specialist PA builder FBT is set to launch its new Lightforce 2 series at this year’s PLASA show, on the Proel International stand. For users who demand wood - not moulded plastic - enclosures, Lightforce 2 offers a unique solution - the sound quality and substance of wood, but with lightweight, due to FBT’s poplar ply construction method. The Lightforce 2 range comes in both passive and active bi-amped versions. Total component reliability is ensured thanks to FBT’s ADAP electronic transducer protection system and the carpet-covered asymmetrical trapezoidal enclosures incorporate several unique features that make them easy to adapt for flying, stacking or installation uses.

Models in the unpowered Lightforce 2 range run from the two-way LF32 1x10" plus 1" compression driver, whic

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Running from 3-6 February 2002 at the Paris Expo Centre, Porte de Versailles, the 2002 SIEL event celebrates its 20th anniversary and looks set to continue its successful run. Last year the event received close to 24,000 visitors in attendance to meet some 280 exhibitors. Now uniting three major entertainment markets - SIEL Entertainment, SIEL Night & Show and SIEL Event, SIEL offers visitors access to a diverse and complementary range of products. Reed Expositions France, organisers of SIEL, can be contacted at: 70, rue Rivay - 92532 Levallois Perret, Cedex, France.

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The Entertainment Services and Technology Association has launched projects to draft three new American National Standards:

BSR E1.18, Recommended practice for the selection, installation, use, and maintenance of single-conductor portable power feeder cable in the entertainment industry. The standard is intended to offer guidance on how to select, install, use and maintain single-conductor portable power feeder cables. The project will promote safety and compatibility in the equipment and practices used in live performance and in film and video production in North America.

BSR E1.19, Recommendations for the use of ground fault devices in the entertainment industry. The standard is intended to offer guidance on how to select, install, use and maintain ground fault protection devices in the entertainment industry. The project is intended to promote the use of these devi

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The famous Mann's Chinese Theatre, situated on Hollywood Boulevard, is presently undergoing a restoration which, among other things, will bring new, state-of-the-art audio to the structure using DCA Series amplifiers from QSC Audio Products. The largest supplier of power amplifiers to the cinema industry worldwide, QSC, along with other manufacturers including Dolby Labs and JBL, helped develop the theatre's new sonic blueprint. Implemented by Media Technology Source (MTS) West, the design incorporates 35 of the California-based manufacturer's DCA Series amplifiers. Delivering a combined total of over 100,000W to JBL loudspeaker components, the amplifiers include five DCA 3422 models operating in bridged mono at the system's low-end, and five stereo DCA 3022s powering custom mid/high and mid/low arrays. Three DCA 2422 units are used for the high frequency transducers within the system, w

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Lighting design company MAD Manufacturing will be providing lighting design support for John Hornby Skewes’ stand at this year's PLASA Show. At the recent JHS Event 2001, held on-site at the music trade distributor's Garforth head office, MAD provided an impressive full lighting rig as visual support in the HK Audio pro audio demo theatre, in addition to being a guest exhibitor at the JHS Event. With a well-deserved reputation for innovation in what is a highly competitive industry, MAD were impressed by the level of reaction they received during the JHS Event 2001 from the many music trade visitors, and are delighted to be involved with JHS again for the PLASA Show.

JHS can be found on Stand E46.

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Lighting&Sound International, PLASA Media’s leading entertainment technology journal, is sponsoring the New Technology Gallery at PLASA 2001. This is the showcase of all products nominated for the prestigious PLASA Awards for Product Excellence. Situated on the Top Deck of the PLASA Show, near to the main bar area, the showcase offers visitors a chance to check out the features and capabilities of all of the major product innovations at PLASA 2001, in one place.

L&SI will be based on the Lower Deck (stand K19), where we will be offering free readerships to qualifying UK industry personnel, plus special offers on international subscriptions only available at PLASA 2001 - plus PLASA Media freebies to all new subscribers!

L&SI can be found on stand K19.

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Coleraine-based Light & Sound FX has installed a new PA system at Coleraine Football Club. The system, commissioned by Mackie Designs’ technical manager Mick Williams, is based around RCF’s new RX 3000, a programmable matrix for sound system management and control. Light & Sound FX’s Darren Gardener explains the background to the install: "Initially, we were dubious about using a 100V line system. We were concerned about both the quality and clarity of such a system. During consultations with Mackie/RCF in the early stages of the project, both Andy Austin Brown and myself spent a lot of time going over the pros and cons for a low impedance system or a 100V line system. In the end, we felt that Andy had a stronger case and we went with the HD 550/HFT horn speakers and the RX3000 matrix system. On the day that Mick Williams came to commission and test the system, I h

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Industry veteran Bob Kelly is about to launch a used live sound equipment website. One of the many features of the new website will be a series of ‘Character Assassination Pages’ which will feature many industry veterans who have been caught out on the Kelly box brownie over the years. Kelly explains: "I managed to accumulate quite a large back catalogue of photos which I feel should be put on public display for the sake of prosperity. New photos will be posted onto the website on a weekly basis." Kelly, who is now operating under the banner of Bob Kelly & Co - Worldwide Livesound Brokers, will operate from offices in London and the US.

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This year, Carlsbro Electronics will be exhibiting at the PLASA show for the first time. This famous British manufacturer started making quality sound equipment 40 years ago, from their factories near Mansfield, Notts. The company has a new 32-page catalogue and some innovative products on demo, including the revolutionary ‘NlightN’ sound panels, featuring ‘NXT’ technology. The Company’s new owner, Andrew Bishop, will be on the stand, together with R&D manager, Garry Brookes, and area sales manager, Mal Ward.

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Forget three-phase power supplies, water-cooling, unreliable performance and costly maintenance, plug and play lasers are definitely the way ahead according to laser firm VIVID. By plugging into a standard 13amp socket crisp, pin-sharp graphics and animated images can be thrown from the lightweight laser with the bonus of high speed digital blanking. With each image as a separate entity the permutations for all manner of presentations is endless, says Mike Lister, managing director of Vivid.

Lister has teamed up with Clive Davies, the technical mind behind Laser Electronics, to form Vivid, which is based in brand new 12,000sq.ft high-tech headquarters in Wakefield. Vivid manufactures a rotor moulded, stylish lightweight case which can be colour-matched to any interior. Each unit weighs less than 15 kilos and can be daisy-chained like any intelligent lighting rig. Vivid claims it's the

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The skyline of the city of Dublin recently witnessed the arrival of a unique feature when AC Lighting, working on behalf of London-based architects Hunt McGarry, commissioned a unique lighting scheme on a telecommunications mast in the city centre. The revolutionary 30m high mast, known as the Esat Digifone Telecommunications Millennium Landmark Structure is located next to an M50 motorway interchange in Tallaght, Dublin. The mast has the shape of a slender inverted cone and is constructed using laser-cut perforated stainless steel.

Under the direction of AC’s project manager Peter Keiderling, various options were considered from neon to side-emitting fibre optics. Neon was determined to be the most effective and a scheme was devised utilizing custom-manufactured segments of green neon to form double rings round the mast at 17 levels. Over 200 lengths of neon were produced in a

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Sold out smash hits aren't that common in the West End. Shows that have to add extra performances to cope with demand even less so! But an exception returns to London for three weeks from this Friday: The Service Company's popular Strand 500-series training courses. First held earlier in January this year, the half day courses covered a variety of levels of Strand's popular range of lighting consoles, which are found in an ever-increasing number of theatres in the West End and round the country. Demand for the courses was so great that they are to return for three Fridays from this week, 10 August - and are to be repeated in the morning and afternoon of each Friday, allowing twice as many people to participate.

Two courses are being run. The first, on 10 August and 17 August, covers the use of the console for controlling conventional lighting and colour scrollers from the basic level,

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Few people understand the full complexities of health and safety regulations inherent in the design and installation of motion control systems, even less so when EU legislation is surpassed by a country’s own. The DIN standards, imposed by the TÜV, are known for being the toughest, most stringent safety regulations in the world and govern installations from railways and airlines to nuclear power stations. It was within such DIN regulations that AVW Controls designed, manufactured and installed the automation systems for the newly-built 1,450-seat Concert Hall in Thessalonika, Greece.

The facility is used for opera, theatre and as a convention centre, and as such needs to be totally flexible. The specification, one of the largest AVW has worked on, called for a fully computerised flying system for 34 scenery bars, 10 point hoists and four lighting bars, all with the capability o

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Vari-Lite Inc is providing the lighting for the 2001 summer tour of British, post-rock band, Radiohead. The band began the North American leg of the tour in Houston on June 18 and have been playing to sold-out arenas and amphitheaters where fans are ‘Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box’ - the new album’s first song. Lighting designer Andi Watson, who has worked on previous Radiohead tours, is lighting the show with 69 Vari*Lite luminaires, often washing the band in deeply saturated blues and reds, highlighting the moving and experimental songs from the band’s newest albums Kid A and Amnesiac and accentuating hits from previous albums. Watson’s rig includes 14 VL2416 wash luminaires, 26 VL2402 wash luminaires and 29 VL6C spot luminaires.

Recently hailed by many rock critics as the ‘saviors of music’, the band hasn’t toured widely since

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Bookings are now being taken for this year's Theatrical London tour (12-14 September), which follows on directly from the PLASA Show. The event will feature visits to the world-renowned Royal Albert Hall for a night at the Proms; the Apollo Theatre to see the upgraded Starlight Express; Tussaud's Group Studios for an exclusive technical tour, and the Donmar Warehouse for a 'Divas at the Donmar' performance. The cost is just £250 per person for the whole programme! For full details and booking information, visit the website below.

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Birmingham-based Central Theatre Supplies has just completed its third Performing Arts School installation in nine months. All three venues feature Zero 88 Dimming, and control along with Selecon lanterns. Two of the venues are using a Sirius desk for control, whilst the third has opted for the recently launched Fat Frog. CTS specified these particular desks as they will largely be operated by students, enabling them to learn about lighting on manual pre-set controls before moving into advanced environments.

Fat Frog was recommended for the one particular school as they are developing out of hours activities for community use. Andy Fidgeon, Electrical Supervisor at Birmingham Rep said "I was pleased Fat Frog was chosen for this venue as I light shows for a number of amateur companies and it will give me quick and easy control over moving lights."

Selecon Profiles were spec

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Federal Signal, a leading supplier of public address and voice alarm (PA/VA) systems, will be hosting a special seminar at PLASA 2001 to highlight the significance of British Standards for PA/VA systems. The initiative is aimed at consultants, specifiers and installers from across the PA/VA and fire protection industry who need to know more about the issue of operating standards and why it is important to use systems with BS5839 compliance. The guest speaker will be industry consultant Doug Edworthy, formerly of Millbank Electronics and a leading expert in systems engineering, marketing and quality management. He has been running his own consultancy since 1994. Jason Hatswell, commercial sales manager at Federal Signal, said: "The event focuses on why British Standards are important to those responsible for product specification, design and installation, and illustrates how our equi

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Funktion One - designers and manufacturers of high power loudspeaker enclosures has added to the Funktion One family with the appointment of distributors under the Funktion One banner in Japan and Australia. Totalton has been appointed as distributor in Germany and Clockhouse Concepts in France. Zag Inc was appointed as distributor in the US earlier in the year. This initial distribution network will represent the full range of Funktion One touring and installation products. Contact details are as follows:

Funktion One Japan - E-mail: masa@funktion-one.co.jpFunktion One Australia - E-mail: jod@funktion-one.com.auUnited States - Zag Inc - Email: mail@zaginc.com

  1. One for the Record Books?
  2. 2001 Tony Awards
  3. 2001 Tony Awards
  4. Capital Sound Buys Meyer M3D
  5. Step Forward Mr Average . . .
  6. MMF Rolls Out Red Carpet
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