Sound and light are working together at the Bose Factory Store in Ashford, Kent, thanks to a state-of-the-art lighting control system from iLight Ltd. With the aim of creating a stimulating in-store experience for customers, the shop is sub-divided into different ‘retail experiences’ to demonstrate the high quality sound and home cinema products. Connected into the audio and AV systems, the iLight system is installed throughout the store as an integral part of the ambience control.

Comprising a mix of seven source controllers, one universal interface and a single two-button stainless steel control panel, the iLight solution is designed to be simple to use. The audio demonstrations and lighting within each retail area are selected via a Crestron touch screen that is connected to the iLight system. The sales executive selects a product on the touch panel and the general light

MTFX has just finished the first phase of bringing together all the disciplines of the company under one roof. The group has invested over £500,000 in new premises just north of Bristol. This includes five acres of testing/research grounds and 4,000sq.ft of storage, manufacture and administration offices. The first phase is now complete, with the administration and offices having moved over to the new location. The second phase will be complete by Christmas and will include the transfer of all manufacturing processes, hire equipment, storage and sales stock. MTFX’s managing director Mark Turner told PLASA Media: "These are exciting times for us. For the first time in our nine year history, we will all be under one roof. This will allow all departments to work in unison and should make collections and deliveries much easier."

The company’s new address is Velt Hous

Wireless performance and IEM specialists Hand Held Audio have purchased 14 of the new dbx in-ear monitoring processors from the Arbiter group PLC. Hand Held’s services include hire sales and consultancy in this precise area of audio. The dbx IEM Processor is new to the market and offers a whole range of effects and processing facilities integrated into a single 1U unit - saving both rack space and programming time. The Hand Held units have gone immediately into action on a large European touring production.

Hand Held’s Nick Bruce-Smith comments: "The dbx offers all the functionality needed, and the brand has a great reputation as a processor manufacturer." Product features include Lexicon reverb settings, four-band stereo limiter/compressor, five-band parametric EQ, four-band crossover, MIDI control, updatable software and many more - all the devices that would no

When Carlton TV decided on a new format of ‘roadshow’ programme, they called on Star Hire (Event Services) Ltd to provide the stage and production support for the televised events. The CITV 'White Knuckle Tour' presented a number of challenges to Carlton, who required facilities for five stage shows and live broadcasts from five different theme parks during August. Both the stage show and the live element were required to work independently or as an integrated operation.

With the stage show, Carlton applied several criteria, specifying that they were looking for a company that could provide a 'turnkey' operation. Not only would the company be required to provide the stage, but also the lighting, lighting controls and power for the whole site. Star Hire’s Mobile Stages manager Jane Russen liased with Steve Adams at Carlton throughout the project and drew on Star Hire

The Avesco Group has responded to the slowing European economy and the aftermath of the recent atrocities in the USA by accelerating the announcement of a restructuring plan. The initiative sees Dave Crump, managing director of giant screen specialists, Screenco, assume the newly-created role of Group business development director. He will take up the new position at Avesco headquarters in Chessington with immediate effect. Crump will focus on development of relationships and business opportunities across the Group’s entire range of AV service companies including Screenco, Creative Technology, Dimension Audio and the recently launched MCL.

Avesco Group CEO, David Nicholson, commented: "We have been planning this change for some time, but the recent events in the USA - and the consequential effects on our businesses - have led us to bring forward the announcement by several w

It seemed like business as usual: another year, another PLASA Show. Existing products, refinements of products, new products; familiar faces mingling with the next generation of entertainment industry practitioners all anxious to find out what was new.

Then came Tuesday September 11th and the PLASA Show faded into the background. Word from New York spread quickly around the hall. The atmosphere was surreal because the events that those who had received phone calls from the States were describing, couldn’t possibly have taken place, even in the wildest imaginations of those who work in this crazy business of ours that specializes in dreaming up the impossible then making it happen.

But as those who gathered in the Platinum Club lounge to watch the news live quickly found - all this, and more, was true. We watched the second World Trade Centre Tower crumble live in front of our e

The very latest DAS Audio sound reinforcement system was specified for the European premier of the hit Broadway musical Songs For A New World. The new production, which had a nine-day run at The Old Fire Station Theatre during the recent ‘Oxford Festival of Theatre’, was sound designed by Giles Sutton, who specified the new DAS Compact 1 three-way, self powered cabs.

Sutton, who this year graduated from the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts with a BA Honours in Sound Technology, previously sound designed the show in a highly successful student production at LIPA, where it played to packed houses for a week. He was therefore already familiar with the level of reinforcement he was going to need for the seven voices on stage and four-piece electric band in the pit.

Having worked with the DAS house system in LIPA’s Paul McCartney Auditorium, Giles contacte

Thrust SSC, the fastest car on earth, has been purchased by the Museum of British Road Transport (Coventry) and is to be displayed in a specially designed ‘Mach 1 Show’ open to the public from 9th September 2001. Thrust SSC, powered by two Rolls Royce Spey 205 turbojet engines, became the first car to achieve the Supersonic World Land Speed Record on 15 October 1997 by achieving a speed of 763.035 mph. It now takes its place in the museum alongside Thrust 2, its land speed record predecessor, which has been on display since 1992.

The car was purchased with the help of a major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund and this included a sum of money for use in mounting an imaginative presentation of the vehicle using a variety of audio-visual techniques. The museum awarded a contract for overall design and project management to JSP Design Associates Ltd. of Northampton to create

Terme Olimia is a new theme park situated next to the Sotla River, which forms the border between Slovenia and Croatia. The complex comprises a hotel, apartment block, village, sports park, pool complex, nature camp and the Aqualuna Water Park. All the entertainment and announcements throughout the complex are broadcast through a combination of 36 Martin Audio Contractor C115s, distributed undercover throughout the restaurant and café bar areas, and 16 custom-weatherproofed ICT 300s, which are found in most of the zones in the park. The sound installation was undertaken by KSL Studio, Martin Audio’s Slovenian distributor.

This month the BBC is running free courses for anyone in the broadcast industry to mark European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2001. This initiative aims to provide every opportunity for those in the broadcast industry to increase their knowledge and safety awareness. Key areas covered in all of the courses include risk assessment, responsibilities, control, co-ordination and communication.

Bob Forster, BBC Health and Safety Manager, says: "The lack of safety competence is one of the contributory factors in many accidents within the broadcast industry. Through this programme, anybody from stunt artists to special effects supervisors will be able to attend free training at a convenient location."

The BBC initiative has been warmly welcomed by the HSE, which has said: "Everyone has a responsibility for their own health and safety and all those involved in broadcasti

Lamba launched a number of new products at PLASA from Stanton Magnetics, for whom they are the exclusive UK distributors. The RM30 is a hybrid three-channel techno/scratch mixer which will appeal to a wide cross section of DJs - each channel features gain control, slider pan and a versatile three-band EQ with complete kill. The DFX-1 is what Stanton claim to be the world’s first trackball-controlled signal processor. It features 90 effect presets which are synchronized to any audio source on-the-fly, using Stanton’s advanced BPM engine. Designed for both live and recording applications the DFX-1 has both RCA &1/4in connections. The DRM-120 provides four full channels to mix with, but there is the added enjoyment of creating effects on the fly, using the Stanton trackball or BPM-driven DSP effects. The S-250 is Stanton’s first table-top single CD player - complete with P

Soundsense, one of the leading providers of sound equipment to the broadcast industry has made a substantial investment in digital audio products, as a result of customer feedback. For the broadcast market, the company has invested in Soundcraft's compact digital on-air mixer, the RM1D, which is finding great appeal with radio broadcasters working with RSLs (Restricted Service Licences), where equipment is only required on site for up to 28 days, the maximum term of the broadcast.

"We have a large number of RSL customers," explains Derek Tallent of Soundsense. "We needed to buy more consoles, and, although we were initially looking at high-specification analogue consoles, we soon realised we could buy into the digital future with the RM1D at an attractive entry price. Although most radio, and 99% of our customers, are still analogue, we see the RM1D as a future-proof inv

Summer may be over but the boys from EST are still busy rolling around Europe. Four trucks, laden with props for Welsh crooner Tom Jones’ Eastern Bloc tour, have just left Russia. In addition, EST is providing logistical support to the R Kelly tour of Europe, and to French star Garou as he embarks on the second leg of his mammoth tour of France which he started back in March. EST’s purple and yellow trucks can also be seen with Orbital as they perform a series of one-off shows around Europe.

Meanwhile, in the corporate arena, two trucks, laden with almost a mile of trussing have just left Frankfurt where Summit Steel rigged a special event for PCI Live Events, a launch party that heralded Ford’s new Fiesta before an invited press audience on the evening before the Frankfurt Motor Show opened.Following this event, EST scheduled in over 70 trailer movements for the retu

Stage director and visual designer Robert Wilson and poet and musician Tom Waits have teamed up with the Betty Nansen Teatret in Copenhagen to create a performance which has stirred up far-reaching and unconditional enthusiasm throughout Denmark and Europe. The production is the classic Woyzeck, by Georg Büchner, based on the story of a young soldier and his reaction to a warped society, culminating in the murder of his girlfriend. In the hands of Wilson and Waits, the play is given a strikingly modern look. Lighting designer A J Weissbard draws inspiration from traditional methods of creating environment and atmosphere, using specialized lighting effects to give the set a feeling of simplicity, whilst at the same time empowering the unfolding tragedy.

This first all-Danish performance of the 164-year-old tragedy was given at the Betty Nansen Teatret late last year, and the pro

Avolites enjoyed a hugely successful PLASA 2001, with the launch of three new products, spearheaded by the Diamond 4 console, a packed press reception, a busy distributors’ evening and 17 confirmed orders for the new console by the end of the show. The first Diamond 4 was sold two hours after the show opened on Sunday 9 September to top lighting designer Dave Bryant. His recent projects included lighting the BBC’s Proms In The Park in Hyde Park and he has always been a keen Avolites user.

On the Monday of the show, Avolites staged a champagne press reception to mark the launch of the Diamond 4, which attracted a massive turnout of UK and international press - a real coup with so much competition for hospitality and new products at the show. Avolites sales director Steve Warren reveals that they had been very open about the Diamond 4, it's features, functions and facilities

Lighting and sound hire company, DLC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has announced the opening of a new associate company, Lighting Supply International (LSI). The company will concentrate on the design and supply of architectural lighting fittings for specialist lighting projects throughout the Gulf States. The operation will be headed by well-known industry veteran, Andy Pivec from LTV, who has over 15 years’ experience in the lighting industry.

Central London-based Flying Squad, experts in rigging and aerial flying for special events and live productions worldwide, were recently contracted by Vari-Lite to supply full rigging design and installation services for Cooper Cameron’s striking 140sq.m stand at Offshore Europe 2001. Designed by US design agency Excalibur Exhibits and with contract management of the truss and lighting installation in the UK by DB Systems, the stand fused the use of intelligent lighting, truss and staging to its creative limit.

Offshore Europe 2001 - a biennial oil and gas exhibition and conference - opened its doors on 4th September in Aberdeen to over 20,000 pre-registered visitors, from 87 countries. This is a massive trade event, where over 1,500 exhibitors cover a total of 40,000sq.m. Flying Squad's Bryan Wilson was invited to specifically oversee the construction of the enormous Eurotruss s

After an amazing summer rush of corporate work that saw LSD/Fourth Phase service no less than 20 fashion shows, exhibitions and conferences, the company now returns to its traditional roots for the Autumn season with a full mix of music tours. Not that it’s turning it’s back on these healthy pastures, the spectacular opening of Millennium Point this past weekend is just one of the special events that LSD service between now and Christmas.

If you’re into eighties music, then a line up that includes T’pau, Go West and Kim Wilde will be right up your street. The ‘Here and Now’ tour is lit by Simon Tutchener and is very much in the style of the era featuring a front and back truss with a large V truss between sports over 120 Pars, plus Mac 500s and Studio Colors.

Status Quo go out with Pat Marks at the helm of a suitably long-haired and be’denime

An emergency exercise involving the mass evacuation of several London theatres will take place this month as part of a campaign to mark European Week for Safety and Health. The Ambassador Theatre Group, which owns nine West End theatres, is planning to ask patrons and employees to carry out timed evacuations after each performance during the week, which begins on October 15.

The Group is one of thousands of organizations throughout the UK set to take part in this annual event which this year focuses on the prevention of workplace accidents. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the main organizers of the event in the UK, has received a record-breaking 100,000 requests for action packs - almost double last year’s figure. Provisional statistics for the year 2000/01 indicate an increase of 34% in fatalities among Britain’s workers, with 295 deaths compared to 220 in 1999/200

PA Installations, in conjunction with Laser Studios and Swansea City Council, held a demonstration of effects lighting and laser projection on the cliffs of Knab Rock, Mumbles, as part of the closing event for the Swansea Bay Festival.

The event created a major impact in the area, with over 2,000 people being drawn to the site as the effects were seen right across Swansea Bay as far as Port Talbot. Some visitors saw the demonstration from the M4 and followed the trail to the end of the Mumbles Esplanade. The demonstration comprised two laser installations, one covering the cliff face and the other shining out over Swansea Bay. This display was supported by effects lighting - Studio Due and Griven exterior colour change floodlights - illuminating the Knab Rock itself, providing a palette against which the laser show could work to maximum effect.

A group of lighting technicians, riggers and designers have joined together to form 4Effect, a new company specializing in décor, effects lighting and special event packages. Led by a former Students Union entertainment’s manager and décor designer, Malcolm Cameron, 4Effect will work across the corporate, students union, trade show, nightclub and events markets.

Zero 88 presented three companies with Dealer Awards during the PLASA Show. Zero’s Graham Eales presented the UK Dealer of the Year award to Glyn O’Donoghue of AC Lighting, and the Overseas Dealer of the Year Award to Bob Gordon and Mike Falconer of LA-based AC Lighting Inc. The Award for UK Independent Dealer of the Year, however, went to a less well known company - Stagecraft. The award was presented to Stagecraft's managing director David Goodrich, senior sales executive Grant Bales-Smith and project manager Martin Palmer.

Zero 88 equipment has been used by Stagecraft in a number of the company's recent projects. For example the Frog control desk has been used by Stagecraft at St Laurence School, Testbourne Community School and Shrewsbury College. Senior sales executive, Grant Bales-Smith said: "We have recently invested in new Zero 88 products for our hire departm

Leading lighting control specialist, iLight Ltd, has achieved a ‘double whammy’ by significantly increasing both its factory output and number of staff in just six months. Output at the purpose-built facility in Cwmbran has almost doubled since the company’s launch in March 2001. All products for the iLight Group plc - iLight Ltd and Zero 88 Ltd - are designed and manufactured at the UK factory. General manager, David Rosen told L&SI: "The sales forecasts are increasing all the time and we are expanding quickly to accommodate the growth of the business. It’s looking very positive and we have been able to invest in further equipment and personnel."

The factory team has also doubled with the appointment of 14 new operators and three test engineers to handle the increased workload. At iLight Ltd’s head office in Kent, eight new staff have been appoi

Macy's 'Passport 01' is an AIDS benefit, fashion show and live music event all rolled into one. The show, staged in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, starred such notables as Magic Johnson, Elizabeth Taylor, Macy Gray and the Jeff Rollie Band. Lighting designer Tim Becker, along with moving light programmer Tom Thompson and conventionals programmer Jinx Kidd, put together a large rig which included 18 VL7s, 42 VL6Cs, 13 VL2402s and eight Studio Color 575s all run from a MA Lighting grandMA console, rented from Towards 2000 in Los Angeles.

Thompson specified the grandMA console in particular so that he could make use of the new version 3 software: "The console was powerful before version 3," he said, "but now I have features and programming tools that are radically effecting the way and the amount of time that I spend programming."

He continued: "The configu

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