Business

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Marantz Japan Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of D&M Holdings Inc, has announced that it has acquired the North American distribution business of Marantz Professional audio and video products from Superscope Technologies, a distributor and developer of audio and video products worldwide. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Superscope, a privately held company based in Aurora, Illinois, was the exclusive distributor for Marantz Professional in North America, which includes markets in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Superscope will continue to develop and market its own line of professional audio and video products, which are manufactured by Marantz Japan. The North American distribution business of Marantz Professional will move operations to Itasca, Illinois, where Marantz America Inc is headquartered. Mehdi Alister, vice-president and general man

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AC Lighting's Special Projects division recently developed a unique illuminated LED floor solution, for a prestigious new corporate headquarters in Central London. The contract was awarded to AC Lighting because they were the only lighting specialist approached, capable of delivering a complete solution that met the entire design criteria supplied by Lighting consultants, Indigo Light Planning.

The design brief required that colour changing effects be applied to three specific areas. The solution consisted of a projection screen, a large glass tank feature, and embedded illuminated floor strips, all of which feature prominently in the building's foyer. Indigo's Paul Traynor comments that "cold cathode was employed for the surround of the projection screen and within the glass tank, but finding a solution to provide colour changing floor strips proved to be the obstacle for every c

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Switchcraft Inc, the US-based manufacturer of connectors, patchbays and cable assemblies for the audio, broadcast and electronics industries, has strengthened its international distributor network by appointing All Access Inc to distribute its product in Japan.

Stephen Waldron, director of international sales for Switchcraft, commented: "All Access Inc is a well-established and successful distributor and we look forward to working with the company to enter into new markets and offer our Japanese customers increased levels of service and availability."

(Lee Baldock)

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The Architectural Lighting Masterclasses 2003, taking place on 20 & 21 February 2003 at John Jay College, NYC, is being produced by lighting designer Sonny Sonnenfeld in association with Architectural Lighting and Architecture magazines, with Paul Gregory and Jonathan Speirs as creative consultants. The New York Chapter of the Institute of Architects will co-sponsor the event and all those attending both sessions will receive 16 Continuing Education Unit credits.

The two-day event is designed to train architects, interior designers, lighting designers, electrical engineers, owners and anyone else interested in the creative use of light to enhance their projects and make the best use of lighting to enhance their designs. Participants will spend two very full days discussing creative architectural lighting designs and how to achieve them, with a faculty including some of th

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After nearly six years of planning and construction, Hong Kong’s newest museum - the $390m Hong Kong Museum of History - has opened to the public. Through 88,000sq.ft of panoramic scenes, dioramas and multimedia presentations, the new museum presents an overview of 6,000 years of Chinese history.

Multimedia was a design element from the very start," said Chris Sia of CPS Electronics, Vancouver. CPS was retained by the museum’s exhibit designers, J.J. Andre & Associates to carry out the multimedia design and specification. Theatres, sound zones and lighting effects are involved in every one of the eight areas of the exhibit, sometimes nothing more than a bird-chirp, other times with large multi-screen video presentations. "At the outset," Sia explains, "four multimedia issues were identified. They were - the theatres; the environmental sounds in the diora

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The Park Club, a health and fitness facility in Abingdon, UK, has reopened after extensive refurbishment work, with Chris Gunton & Associates (CGA) having worked closely with the architects and designers to create a sound and video package to complement the wide range of new facilities. CGA have used a number of leading brands to ensure that each room and application meets the high aesthetic and performance requirements of the venue.

CGA installed new sound systems throughout the existing club, and added 10 28" video screens and a cardio-vascular headphone system for the 40 main machines around the video screens. The existing dance studio has been upgraded with new amplification and control equipment, including a Denon combination CD/tape deck, a Trantec radio mic and a Cloud Electronics zoner. Three of Rolec’s hard-disk music systems provide a range of music throughout the

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In response to feedback from the industry that the PLASA show, at 25 years old, was in need of re-energizing, exciting new plans for the exhibition were unveiled to both exhibitors and press at PLASA 2002.

We took time out with Matthew Griffiths, managing director of show-owners the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) and Nicola Rowland, acting show director for organizer Clarion Events, to hear about the plans and their implementation. Matthew Griffiths expands on the background to the decision: "The PLASA show is the leading entertainment, communication and presentation technology show in the world. To maintain this position, the Association realises that the show needs to be a pioneer in adapting to industry change. It also needs to ensure that the visitor experience is kept vibrant, fresh and business-focused.

"After ongoing discussions and regular feedb

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Neutrik UK Ltd, the specialist in entertainment industry connector technology, has undergone a major management restructure during 2002. The new management team, with over 40 years of cumulative pro audio experience, is spearheaded by company director Cheryl Walker, technical sales and marketing director Bob Davies and production director Chris Arnold. Their aims and objectives will be to refocus the company on customer-specific product development, and high quality service and sales support.

Plans are underway to construct a new purpose-built production and sales facility in a green field site in Ryde on the Isle of Wight. The land has been purchased and completion of the new factory is anticipated in mid-summer 2003. Moving the manufacturing plant and the 110 employees from the existing site just three miles away should be complete by the autumn.

The design of the new facility is i

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Laser Grafix and DPL Production Lighting have designed and installed an architectural lighting scheme for Brighton’s derelict West Pier to coincide with the Brighton Comedy Festival. The two-week installation is causing a massive amount of local interest, fuelling further enthusiasm among locals for its planned re-development by St Modwen Properties Ltd. The illumination’s sponsors are Paramount Comedy Channel, and every day for two weeks between 6-12pm the pier’s elegant but rotting architecture comes to life in electric blue. DPL were contracted by Laser Grafix, in turn working for a conceptual design team from Amber Media.

Laser Grafix's Paul Green and DPL’s Darren Parker designed the scheme, working closely with structural engineer John Orrel, who advises the West Pier Trust on the state of the structure. Equipment could only be rigged in very specific place

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Frank Cavanaugh of US band Filter has become the latest high-profile bass player to endorse Crown International's K2 power amplifier as a live performance tool. The bassist takes an austere approach to his signal path: an Ampeg SVT-4PRO head is used as a preamp feeding into the Crown K2 for power, which, in turn, drives an Ampeg SVT-810E enclosure.

The concept of using a pro audio power amplifier in his rig first struck Cavanaugh while Filter was touring with White Zombie several years ago. "Sean [Yseult] used a Crown power amp with her Ampeg and it sounded awesome," he says. "Later on, Staind went out on the road with us and Johnny April also had a Crown in his rack. Johnny and Kevin Briers, the bass tech we both use, showed me how much more ballsy my sound could be with a Crown so I decided to put a K2 between my head and cabinet."

He continues: "I'm really

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In line with the increasing use of video projection in theatrical productions, together with the development of products such as High End’s Catalyst, DHA has put its vast knowledge and experience behind a new company - Scene Change.

Officially launched at this year’s PLASA, Scene Change has been a year in development: housed in a purpose-built studio at Waterloo Road in London, the company will employ state-of-the-art technology in the creation of digital video content specifically for projection.

Scene Change’s aim will be to unite two market sectors - entertainment technology and video projection. The company’s advantage will be its ability to draw on industry-specific knowledge to create original digital video content. Conventional video libraries offer images in a rectangular format suitable for broadcast, but most lighting designers are used to working w

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The National Botanic Garden of Wales in Carmarthen offers visitors a view of botany through the years. L&SI looks at the AV installation.

The National Botanic Gardens, officially opened in 2000, was a hugely ambitious project and the first of its kind for nearly 200 years. The Gardens are set in the Middleton Estate - 586 acres of landscaped park set against the stunning Welsh landscape. It has varied topography, a variety of water features offering diverse aquatic habitats, a range of microclimates, rich wildlife, established woodland and, amazingly in the present day, is virtually free from pollution.

Response to the project has been highly positive - during the first year, the Garden attracted over 250,000 visitors. It boasts the largest glasshouse in Europe, designed by architects Norman Foster and Partners to mirror the contours of the surrounding hills. The Theatre Botanica, a

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JR Clancy, specialist in the design and manufacture of rigging systems for theatres around the world, has produced a series of posters designed to demonstrate how theatrical rigging systems work. Originally intended as catalogue illustrations only, the company has had repeated requests to make the images available to end users, new employees, architects, general contractors and students. As a result, they are now offering readers of L&SI the chance to obtain the set of 20” x 28”colour posters - which depict both manual and motorized rigging systems - for free. You can request the posters via the literature section of the JR Clancy website at www.jrclancy.com.

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Although the news may have passed you by at the time, Guildhall Yard in London wrote itself into the history books in 1998 following the discovery, by archaeologists, of a Roman Amphitheatre at the site.

Since then, the remains have been kept under lock and key while a major feat of engineering suspended them in situ between the floors of the Guildhall Art Gallery. The painstaking and lengthy restoration process - costing £1.3million - revealed an arena that was oval in shape and approximately 100m long by 80m wide.

It’s believed that the Amphitheatre was first built in 70AD and would have been the setting for gladiatorial fights, executions and a range of activities, many of them more bizarre, cruel and horrific than anything Hollywood has ever dreamt up. Animal bones, including those of a bear, have been found, as well as remains of a timber drainage system used to carry a

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With so many young pretenders to the ‘superclub’ throne now emerging - many of them modelling their soundscapes around the legendary fabric system - the Clerkenwell club’s owner Keith Reilly and technical manager Dave Parry recently decided it was time to reclaim the higher ground.

They already had the Wavefront sound system, the Bodysonic dancefloor, the Timax sound spatializer and the Red Cycloops, enabling them to zigzag sound through three-dimensional space. But recently, when rumours began to resound through the labyrinths under Smithfield Meat Market that fabric was about to fly a line array, it produced all kinds of frissons among visiting acts.

Given the close relationship the two men had built with Martin Audio and distributor Marquee Audio, it was little surprise they should opt to partially upgrade the Wavefront 8C with the new W8L Line Array. "The

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R.W. Salt Communications, one of the UK’s longest standing wholesaler/distributors has announced the first phase of its scheduled restructure. The RWS branches in Birmingham and Watford have now closed and all products are now distributed centrally from the Manchester head office.

General manager Craig Buckley commented: "We have been distributing all products to customers from Manchester since March 1st this year, and have essentially only been using the satellite depots for bulk stock-holding. In recent years we have seen less of a need for trade counters, and an increased requirement for ex-stock product availability and for reliable next-day delivery. As a result of the central distribution scheme, we have already expanded our Manchester-based technical sales team."

Parallel to the restructure, R.W. Salt have been appointed sole distributor for the new ‘Smar

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Elstree Light & Power (ELP) has acquired the Film and TV assets of Playlight Hire Ltd in administrative receivership. All current contracts and ongoing work will continue un-interrupted operated by Elstree Light & Power. All crew employed by Playlight on these contracts will be retained to ensure continuity.

The administrative receivers hand over to ELP today, and from now on all transactions will be handled by ELP. This acquisition significantly strengthens the ELP equipment stock and product range. In particular by the addition of two Twin Generator trucks, one being 2 x 140kW and the second being 2 x 200kW. With the exception of the twin generators, all Playlight Hire stock will be withdrawn from service pending thorough overhaul and testing. Existing ELP stock will be supplied in the meantime. ELP plans further investment to ensure continuation and improved service to Playlight cus

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Arup Acoustics has been selected from an invited shortlist of international experts to be responsible for the acoustic design of the refurbishment of the Opera Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. Arup’s brief is to achieve the "very best sound in the Opera Theatre".

The Sydney Opera House has been operational for 28 years and has become a worldwide icon, competing as a performance venue and tourist attraction on an international scale. It symbolizes vision and creativity and is one of the busiest arts centres in the world hosting 2,600 performances per year. Arup (the original structural engineer for the building) has an historical association with this iconic building.

Recent work by Jørn Utzon, assisted by Richard Johnson of the Australian firm of Johnson Pilton Walker Architects, has led to the release in May 2002 of the Utzon Design Principles, aimed at guiding th

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Bright Lighting, a developer and manufacturer of LED lighting effects, announced today that it has changed its name to Pixeon. According to Nils Thorjussen: "Pixeon is short for pixilated neon-which is exactly what our debut product, Color Stream, looks like. We want a name that better reflects what we do. At this early stage of our company, we don't expect much confusion resulting from this change." Thorjussen continues: "But most importantly, I want an e-mail address that takes less time to write!"

Color Stream is a dynamic LED lighting effect, which recently received an Award for Design Excellence at the recent PLASA show in London. Each fixture contains a dense array of red, green, and blue LEDs arranged in individual pixels. Each pixel is controlled separately to produce dynamic movement along the tube.

(Lee Baldock)

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Lamba plc have announced a business-as-usual response to the acquisition of loudspeaker giants, Cerwin Vega by the Stanton Group. Sales director Gerry Frost, said: "We will continue to serve all our core markets, of hi-fi, home cinema and professional audio, and under the new ownership can anticipate a faster response time for service and delivery. As UK distributor for Stanton we are delighted that Cerwin Vega has joined the same stable."

The Stanton Group announced the purchase of Cerwin Vega on 3 October. Confirming the company’s successful bid, Stanton president and CEO, Gerard Cohen, stated: "We are very excited about this opportunity to grow and expand our business portfolio. We feel that the strength and heritage of the Cerwin-Vega brand name will be a strong complement to our existing businesses and create synergies in the future. We also clearly recognize

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Creative Technology worked within the imaginative 'Billboard' style set design by Pike, and constructed by Model & Scenic, to deliver a highly enterprising stage presentation for this year’s Conservative Party Conference at the Bournemouth BIC. A single screen was placed within four Scanachrome peel-back billboards which lined the 60ft ‘roadway’ of the stage, so not only could the static display change daily but also CT’s animated one.

A template of the screen was cut to fill a gap in the billboard and Creative Technology rear-projected Powerpoint slides to fill the apertures from two of their Christie X10s. Cameras were jointly supplied by CT and the BBC. While the latter provided feeds (to Creative Technology’s PPU), the TX was returned for transmission on the in-house closed circuit monitors, enabling CT to allow the conference chairman to mute sound an

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London-based Orbital Sound, specialist in the design and supply of audio systems for theatre and musical productions, has underlined its commitment to advanced digital solutions with the acquisition of two new Digico D5 Live mixing consoles.

Orbital’s MD Chris Headlam commented: "We’ve pushed the envelope of large format digital mixing technology for over two years now and the positive reaction we’ve received from designers, producers and production companies goes to prove that digital mixing solutions represent the future of contemporary sound designs. Despite some arguments from industry sceptics, we’re confident that digital is the way forward - it is not only a powerful creative option, but as it offers positive economic implications to producers with seat and logistics savings - the digital revolution is moving fast. The addition of Digico’s D5 t

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Top London rental company Canegreen is on the road this autumn with a brand new pair of PM1D consoles with chart-topping mellow rockers Toploader. At the front-of-house position, engineer Andrew Thornton explains that the choice of console was made after using the PM1D at a one-off show at the Albert Hall: "My original concerns were to do with the sound of a digital system, but this is a long way from the earlier generations of digital mixers. I’ve been especially pleasantly surprised with the EQ."

Thornton insisted on getting to know his PM1D intimately and can now configure and hook up the system as well as operating it. "Because it’s so incredibly configurable, there is an initial learning curve," he admits, "but knowing how it all goes together helps you to gain a good understanding of the whole concept."

For the Magic Hotel tour, Thornt

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The Finnish National Theatre has been a venue for Finnish culture and the people of Helsinki since 1872. The historic theatre has four stages - the Main Stage, the Small Stage, Willensauna and Omapohja, with the Main Stage recently being completely rebuilt from lighting systems to stage machinery and audio/video systems. All of the stage lighting was supplied and installed by Selecon’s exclusive distributor in Finland, Manex Yhtiot Oy Foki. The Main Stage rig now has 30 Arena Theatre Fresnels 2500W, eight Pacific 80V 1200W profiles, two Performer Quartz Followspots, 12 Aurora 4-way Cycs, and four Aurora 4-way Groundrows to complement the existing Selecon stock of Acclaim and 1200 Fresnels and PCs.

(Lee Baldock)

  1. Midas celebrates 500th Heritage 3000 console
  2. Entec lights the National Television Awards
  3. Nexo GEO available on Dutch rental market
  4. Campaign to stop ‘none in a bar’ Bill nears deadline
  5. VDC provides mobile connectivity for Air Lyndhurst
  6. International Church Music Festival at Coventry Cathedral
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