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Timeless Communications has announced that Pro Production 2003, ‘The Live Event Marketplace’ will take place on January 10-12, 2003, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. Building upon 2002’s inaugural show, Pro Production 2003 will offer expanded educational opportunities and social functions, in addition to the trade show portion of the event.

The event is designed to bring together the world of live event production professionals who coordinate, produce and manage major concert tours, sporting events, political conventions, touring Broadway shows, large corporate meetings and tradeshow exhibits. Suppliers and purchasers of services and products used in these environments also attend this annual winter gathering. Over 1,600 attendees from 33 states and 10 foreign countries visited the first Pro Production convention in January last year.

(Ru

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The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Celebrations, held over the long weekend of 1-4 June, not only celebrated 50 years of Elizabeth II’s reign, but also had the added bonus of providing a stunning showcase for the UK’s entertainment technology industry, watched by television audiences worldwide. The cream of the UK’s design, production, staging, rigging, lighting, sound and pyrotechnics specialists combined to create a lavish display which has drawn praise from across the world and will be remembered for many years to come.

The BBC-produced Garden Concerts at Buckingham Palace and the surrounding infrastructure through central London included a roll-call of experts that would be familiar to any top-flight rock tour or major spectacular, including Mark Fisher (design), Robbie Williams (production management), Edwin Shirley Staging, XL Video, Screenco, Fourth Phase, VLPS L

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With an exclusive Behind the Scenes tour, PLASA Media is offering a unique opportunity for you to take a privileged technical tour of two of London’s best-known entertainment institutions - the wonderfully atmospheric and newly refurbished Royal Albert Hall, and the fascinating Tussauds Group Studios, the creative heart of the world-famous visitor attraction specialist.

Behind the Scenes will take place on Thursday 12 September, immediately following the PLASA Show at Earls Court - one of the highlights of the entertainment technology industry calendar. As a participant in the tour, you will be transported by coach from Earls Court Exhibition Hall to the Royal Albert Hall, where you will be conducted on a backstage tour encompassing the breadth of the venue’s recently-completed £70 million refurbishment. The tour will take you through front-of-house and the historic audito

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The Institute of Sound & Communications Engineers has informed PLASA Media that there are still a few places available on a two-day course on Basic Acoustics for Sound System Professionals, being presented by Dr Roy Lawrence on Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th June 2002 at the Gardens Hotel, Piccadilly, Manchester. Further information is available from Cathy Mackenzie at the ISCE, tel: 0151 639 5211 Fax: 0151 639 5212, or at the e-mail address below.

(Lee Baldock)

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Nearing the end of an ambitious one billion dollar expansion project, the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, has installed Drawmer gates and compressors at FOH and monitor positions in each of its three venues. The Mohegan Tribe created the casino in 1996. At twice its original size, it is one of the largest casinos in North America, boasting over 360,000 square feet of gaming space, 20 restaurants, 30 shops, a 3,000 square-foot children's space, and its own gas station!

The Mohegan Sun's size and grandeur is complemented by three top-notch performance venues: the existing 350-seat Wolf Den, the new 300-seat Cabaret, and the new 10,000-seat Mohegan Arena. Mohegan Sun attracts national acts of the highest caliber, and everyone from Janet Jackson to Gloria Estefan to Aerosmith to Tony Bennett has graced the Mohegan Sun stage. Lead audio engineer Gene Mulcahy explained that ch

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Lars Wern and his production team from DM Audio in Stockholm produced some inspired sound mapping, using a digital highway and proprietary audio tools, when the new Saku Suurhall in the Estonian capital of Tallinn hosted the 2002 Eurovision Song Contest on May 25. The audience of 6,000 were treated to the first major European installation of the Martin Audio Wavefront Line Array (W8L) - 24 enclosures clustered in rows of six, either side of the stage. This headed an all-digital design, in which DM ran QSC QSControl software and RAVE (Routing Audio Via Ethernet) on a CobraNet network to send audio signals and effect remote control of the Powerlight PL4.0 and PL6.0 amplifiers. The eight audio signals - to the low, mid and high sections of the loudspeakers, both left and right, plus the audience sidefills - were transmitted down just two power cables.

As a failsafe, all the cues, at the F

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Attracting recognition from around the world, www.sound-effects-library.com has scooped the prestigious InterPress Five Fleur de Lis award for excellence in Las Vegas. The site, which offers virtually any sound instantly to any computer in the world, was awarded not only for outstanding design which enables users to locate and download sound-effects, music samples and music tracks in a matter of minutes, but also for uniquely providing access to over half a century of motion picture and world history sound footage. Bill Singer, president of the International Press Association quotes: "The library was an exciting discovery for us, providing a unique service which is available 24 hours a day for a fraction of the cost of purchasing CD libraries which rapidly outdate. It’s a lifesaver during the demanding phase of post

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Two giant Lighthouse LED video screens are relaying World Cup action throughout the tournament to fans outside the Korean Convention Centre in Seoul. Two 20sq.m, 20mm pixel pitch Lighthouse outdoor screens have been erected on behalf of Korean Telecomm Corporation in Seoul by AV rental company Hibino Korea, and are in use right through from the opening ceremony to the final itself.

KT Corporation is one of the World Cup’s sponsors and has secured rights to provide the screens, which are officially sanctioned by world football body FIFA. Seoul was the venue for the World Cup’s first match, when France faced Senegal. The group matches run up to June 14, with playoffs over the following three days. The semi-finals will be played on June 25 in Seoul and on June 26 in Saitama, and the final will be staged in Yokohama, Japan on June 30.

Jimmy Lo, at Lighthouse’s Hong Kon

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Pro sound company Podd Sound of Kingston has installed the entire sound system in new club Oval in Wood Green. Conceptualised and developed by six friends including Radio 1 DJ Spooney and Choice FM’s Patrick Berry, the club/bar replaces a Greek banquet hall on the High Road.

Incorporating various theme nights including R&B, 70’s and 80’s music, Greek nights and an Iranian disco, as well as offering the stage to new talent/unsigned acts, the club will host various guest DJs, along with regular appearances from house DJ Nick Smood, Radio 1’s Dreem Teem DJ Timmy Magic and DJ Spooney, amongst others.

Included in Podd Sound’s installation within the dance area and VIP area are four Martin Audio Blackline H3 top cabinets and four Blackline S218 sub enclosures - two stacks each on either side of the stage - as well as HK DJ monitoring, three Technics systems, a

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Respected scenic and exhibition designers George P Johnson contacted Total Structures Inc to fabricate the main canopy for the Infiniti stand at the North American International Automobile Show in Detroit.

Since time was of the essence, the designers at Total Structures set to work on the proposed form, adapting tried and tested designs and using well known fabrication techniques to create a visually pleasing structure. The canopy tapers down from the rear hinge to a point, with the top chords curved to enhance the elegant form. The truss skeleton is covered with fabric with spaces for lighting fixtures to spotlight the new models with spectacular effect. The canopy is built at ground level and then lifted on chain hoists to trim height. The rear of the canopy is attached to a grid structure above the dividing wall through a hinge, allowing it to be rotated to the required angle.

(Ru

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The Lebanese city of Batroun, approximately 25km north of Beirut, has been enriched by another attraction, ‘Void’ - a 700-capacity club which is one of the largest and most modern discotheques in the region. In only a few months, the owners, brothers Joseph and George Nader, converted an old cinema into an exclusive nightclub. At the centre of ‘Void’, which occupies two floors, a large, round bar made of steel visually dominates the ground floor. The floor above is balconied so that guests on the upper floor can watch the dancers below. On the upper floor are two further bars, as well as additional seating. The upper dance floor is in fact the rooftop of the round bar. Sound design and installation were provided by Lebanese HK Audio partner, Backstage Music, with Camiel Geagea primarily responsible.

For the main dance floor, six LP 118 1x18" direct-loaded s

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Laser Studio, part of the I-Vision group, has recently completed three club installations in the Irish Republic: Maximus, a 700-capacity venue in Nenagh, County Tipperary, is part of the independent hotel group KDR Hotels. The musical policy of ‘everything goes’ caters for a mix of people and includes live bands on Thursdays. Manager Paul Ryan explained that they wanted a laser to offer something different and exciting and to distinguish themselves from their competitors in the area, ensuring that the visuals at Maximus are the best in the locale. This has further-fuelled their already healthy business.

The audience reactions to the laser have been incredible. "I would never have believed it would make such a difference, but it has," states Ryan. He chose Laser Studio for the installation because of the "Reliability and cost-effectiveness" of the gear, a

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Mackie Designs Inc has launched a new division - Mackie Broadcast Professional - dedicated to serving the needs of the expanding broadcast/post production market. The announcement comes on the back of the recent integration of Soundscape International, following Mackie’s acquisition of Sydec BV, a company with a strong reputation in the fields of broadcasting and post production. Mackie believes it will put them in pole position in this competitive market and further enlarge their customer base. The company has long acknowledged that the world of broadcast, post production and pro-audio have particular needs and issues that differ from those of Mackie’s traditional studio market, and so justify a specialist team to serve them.

Keith Olsen, corporate director, global recording market and product development at Mackie Designs Inc, told us: "Soundscape has earned a great

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More than 40 eminent theatre sound designers from all over the globe will be gathering in mid-June for the London Theatre Sound Design Colloquium, to discuss the artistic underpinnings of sound design and its rapidly increasing importance in modern theatre production. "Few people outside of the profession understand the unique combination of technical expertise and creative artistry required to conceptualize, realize and execute a quality sound design. Theatre sound design is, or should be, on a par professionally and artistically with the other creative design disciplines," says Ross Brown, sound designer, Sound Design Tutor at The Central School of Speech and Drama and lead organizer of the Colloquium. "This is the first time that an international group of professional sound designers will assemble to discuss these important issues."

The Colloquium, co-sponsored b

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Employees of PLASA member companies can benefit from reduced fees at PA/VA 2002, a two-day programme, co-sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), for everyone who wants to know all about what is involved in specifying, designing, installing or certifying Public Address and Voice Alarm systems for safe public evacuation. The programme will run on 9 - 10 July 2002 at Regent's Park, London.

(Lee Baldock)

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MTV Europe recently brought to life 40 years of James Bond movies at an exclusive party at the Cannes Film Festival, co-hosted with MGM and billed as ‘one of the hottest tickets in the Cannes calendar’. With 1,200 celebrity guests and film executives attending, stunning video effects were required to bring to life an amphitheatre venue complete with snow, Bond's Aston Martin Vanquish and a 10-metre martini ice bar. To achieve this, event organisers GSP - working to MTV Europe's brief - turned to London based AV specialist Blitz.

Blitz was briefed to create a technically sophisticated visual ambience synonymous with MTV's edgy, innovative style and suitable for celebrating the 40th anniversary of James Bond and showcasing the 19 Bond movies. The venue for the party was the Palais Bulles (bubble palace), a submarine-shaped structure complete with portholes and rounded viewing

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Forum Meyrin, a superbly appointed cultural center on the outskirts of Geneva in Switzerland, has commenced a two-year refurbishment of its technical systems, including the upgrading of the NEXO PS Series sound reinforcement systems for its theatre and live music venue.

Opened in 1995, the Forum Meyrin is a multipurpose arts and exhibition centre, incorporating exhibition halls, banqueting rooms, restaurants and the city library. Beneath the facility, in the basement, is the Undertown club, a live music venue which hosts dance nights and live gigs. Since the end of last year, the Forum has been expanding its technical capacity, installing new lighting, staging and audio equipment. The next stage will see the installation of new seats and other improvements in comfort and security.

Known as Forum-Meyrin, the 800-seater auditorium has been upgraded to an impressive technical standard,

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In response to increasing conference and event business in the Watford area, Salisbury-based Stagecraft has recently opened a satellite office for its Live Events division. Jackie Chambers, who has extensive experience in conference production and event management, will manage the Watford office, which will offer Stagecraft’s complete production service to companies in and around the area.

Growing business at the company’s Salisbury office has led to internal promotion for two key staff members - Fiona Clayton and Martin Palmer. New technical sales advisor Fiona Clayton originally started with the company as a hire assistant nearly five years ago and is now working closely with the five-strong sales team. She joins Martin Palmer, who has recently been appointed head of sales and projects. Stagecraft has also recently adapted its four units in Salisbury to house new staging

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Switchcraft Inc, the US manufacturer of a broad range of products for audio and broadcast professionals, has appointed Connection Technologies Limited as its new authorized distributor for New Zealand. Connection Technologies is run by Lewis Woodward, who has a wealth of experience in the connector and patch panel markets, and the company can be contacted at the e-mail address given below.

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Bandit Lites UK recently supplied WWE (formerly WWF) Wrestling’s sold out ‘Insurrextion’ Tour in the UK with full lighting production. The tour visited the SECC and the NEC before culminating in a major show at Wembley Arena.

Bandit has serviced this dramatic event for some 10 years, and WWE’s current production and lighting designer, Jason Robinson, has been in the hot seat for six of those, designing sets and lighting for all WWE shows worldwide. It’s a completely different lighting concept to a conventional show. As the show is broadcast live on Sky television, the whole arena and audience has to be lit for television, as well as the live performance.

The Bandit team, led by Mark Powell, pooled considerable resources to pull off the Wembley show - effectively a one-off - which left the Bandit warehouse spectacularly devoid of gear - with six other maj

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Entertainment Lighting Services (ELS), Los Angeles' largest full-service lighting, rigging and staging company is moving to an even bigger facility this summer. The company will make the move from its former North Hollywood headquarters to a newly renovated 70,000sq.ft Sun Valley location boasting the largest lighting and rigging inventory in the West.

The new ELS facility has a 58,000sq.ft warehouse with six truck docks, ample parking, a 12,000sq.ft office space and an impressive 1,200sq.ft showroom. Also included in the expansion is a state-of-the-art computer-aided design lab, with future plans for an instructional classroom. "In the last decade alone, we've experienced incredible growth - quadrupling the company revenue - and we're tapping into more markets every day," comments Tammie Richards, director of marketing and sales. ELS has been in the forefront of the entertai

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Pop artist Pink is on her first headlining tour with a stage full of colors - rich, pure dichroic colors - from High End Systems automated luminaires. LD Ethan Weber specified a mix of 45 Studio Color 575 and Studio Spot 575 automated luminaires to paint Pink's ‘Get the Party Started’ tour, which runs from 2 May to 2 September in North America.

"I was hoping to use some Studio Beam and x.Spot fixtures," Weber says. "But it's a budget-conscious tour and we decided to go with quantity at the expense of some effects, which has worked out very well. I ended up with 45 fixtures which gives some pretty big looks in the theaters we've been doing."

This is Weber's first time to design, program and tour with the Studio Series, and he says he's found some "pretty good and interesting effects" in the Studio Spots. All equipment is provided by lighting c

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GAMProducts, the Hollywood-based theatrical lighting company, has launched a new website. The totally redesigned site offer many new features including almost 200 short videos depicting GAM products in application, along with complete pricing information, technical data and specification on most products. An online photo gallery from contributing designers around the world also shows GAM products in real applications.

There’s also a Virtual TwinSpin option to assist designers. Using this feature, designers can animate hundreds of GAM patterns; they can also conduct a Pattern Search and find patterns by number, name or subject. The Color Theory section offers tutorial information on colour and includes explanations of CIE Chromaticity charts, tri-colour mixing, Kelvin and the Black Body Radiator.

(Ruth Rossington)

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To address a growing workload, Worcestershire-based M+D Design has split its operation into two new companies - Ikon AVS and Nebula Audio. The move is intended to create a more viable framework for the two key aspects of M+D’s operation - that of equipment manufacturer/supplier and that of installer. Ikon AVS will therefore concentrate on the manufacture and supply of products such as the company’s award-winning Podules and fault-monitoring systems, whilst Nebula Audio will be primarily a ‘systems house’ offering fully engineered solutions, including design, specification, procurement, installation and commissioning in audio visual and distributed digital audio systems for stadiums, shopping malls, exhibitions and conference halls.

(Ruth Rossington)

  1. Shure Inc buys new headquarters
  2. New HK Audio distributor in New Zealand
  3. JBL Audio Engineering for Sound Reinforcement
  4. Fourth Phase sending messages to earth
  5. Intelligent Star of New Mexico
  6. Name change for A.C. Lighting Inc
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