Summit Steel were in action at the Birmingham Motor show, following on from their flying feats at the Paris event last month. Their clients this time were Vauxhall (via Early Action/CP Electrical) and Mini (via Act Live). Both stands were project-managed for Summit Steel by Ken Nock. The Vauxhall stand involved two Summit elements and featured the biggest roof of the five-hall event, spanning approx 50m x 40m subdivided into 6m bays. The construction of this grid involved a massive 780m of Thomas SuperTruss, 78 corner joints and 26 Lodestar hoists.

The grid ceiling was built and flown in just one working day, by a Summit team of 10 - an impressive achievement within a very short timescale. One of the great advantages of using the Thomas SuperTruss in situations like this is its strength, and the fact that large spans of truss can be supported by fewer hoists than conventional trussing

Leamington Sight & Sound has designed and fitted a customized personal audio system into the tour coach of Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club. The coach, a Scania Irizar, is owned by Wolverhampton-based Price Travel and leased to Division One team Wolves, who use it for all their away games, reserves and youth matches.

In its ‘down’ time, Price Travel utilizes the bus for a variety of other VIP and sporting events - including the Ryder Cup. The bus recently underwent a total refit, for which Price wanted the sound system updated, and a state-of-the-art personal entertainment system installed onboard. B&M Coaches in Coventry, the appointed re-fitters, called on Ian Potter of LSS to fulfill the specialist audio elements of the job. Although this type of project was a first for Potter and LSS, they weren’t daunted by its idiosyncrasies. Potter drew on his extensive kn

London’s Lyttelton Theatre, part of the National Theatre complex, has become the first venue in the Britain to install Matrix - a new, advanced technology dimming system offering ‘silent’ dimming, free from harmonic distortion, developed by International Electronic Services BV of the Netherlands. IES’ UK agent, Technical Marketing Ltd, worked closely with the National’s senior project manager, Michael Atkinson, who was responsible for selecting Matrix as the key component in the venue’s new state-of-the-art dimming installation. This modular, plug-in dimming system also represents an evolution in design, combining advances in dimmer technology with client and consultant requests for greater versatility in mechanical construction.

The Lyttelton installation was included in the first part of an ongoing electrical upgrade, and provides power to the stag

PCM, the entertainment division of Pfaff Silberblau, has completed a major refurbishment of stage equipment at the Carnegie Hall in Dunfermline. PCM's Projects team, led by Tony Griffiths, worked closely with Hall Manager Evan Henderson and Jim Ganley from the venue's technical department to realise the project. The new facilities are designed to enable Carnegie Hall to receive a wide array of increasingly technically complex productions.

The process has seen the updating of most of the Hall's stage equipment, and the removal of all its existing, complicated arrangement of diverted manual hemp and winch sets. The new installation started with the insertion of a 40m long timber walkway and an access bridge in the roof void - all designed to aid the easy maintenance of the new equipment. PCM then rigged 13 11m-long, 4-line, hemp sets and cleat rails, complete with 150mm multi-block ball-

DPA Microphones has announced the appointment of Studer Austria GmbH as its new distributor in Austria. Over the last five years, under the leadership of Reinhold Fliedl, Studer Austria has established itself as one of the leading suppliers of professional audio equipment for broadcast and studio solutions in the country. In addition to its own-branded products, Studer distributes leading brands including Dolby, HHB, Digigram and dB Technologies.

From its HQ in Vienna, Studer Austria will be expanding the horizons for DPA Microphones. "We have strong contacts among the public and private broadcast companies in Austria," says Reinhold Fliedl, " and Studer has traditionally maintained a high profile with recording and film studios, including the smaller project studios and home studios. We expect to be able to bring DPA products to new customers in all these markets, as w

On 22 October, Orange and Microsoft announced the launch of the world’s first Windows-powered Smartphone - the SPV - at a press conference in London. Creative communications agency Park Avenue Productions developed the idea of using moving screens to communicate the key messages of the launch to the audience, and CT were contracted to provide the AV solution.

The event allowed CT to combine Dataton Watchout and QMotion screen movement. Four high-brightness Barco ilite 10mm LED screens in a portrait orientation were flown with Stage One’s Qmotion system. This enabled them to be tracked around the stage, each screen receiving input from the Dataton Watchout System. The Watchout content took the form of colourful images which set each scene, and this was supplemented with Video Stings timed to match the screen movement. The output to the i10 was pixel matched to maintain image

Philip Van Loo’s Bruges-based company, PVL Sound & Light, has purchased a second 40-channel Soundcraft MH4 desk to add to the one they acquired earlier in the year. The company has purchased no fewer than nine desks in the past year to service work in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium.

The 20-year-old sales and concert touring specialist had desperately needed a new touring desk, having sold two Soundcraft Series 5 consoles recently to the new concert hall in Bruges. Van Loo took the compact option. "The Series 5 was a little bulky for the scale of theatres we do. I was looking for a desk with the same facilities but with lower weight and dimensions. The MH4 is a perfect solution."

While their first MH4 was on active duty throughout the summer the new board will go straight out on a 38-date tour, based on a TV talk show and featuring the band Red Harmony. Philip hi

XL Video, the UK's leading live video production specialists, has taken delivery of the first new Barco R18 projectors in the UK. XL has made an initial purchase of four of the new units. This brings XL's total stock of large projectors to over 50. XL director Lee Spencer comments, "It's important to stay at the cutting edge of the industry, and to keep investing in the latest technology as it comes on stream. This has always been XL's philosophy."

The Barco ELM R18 Director projector combines extreme light output, high resolution and advanced signal processing to deliver remarkable performance. It is specifically designed for large screen video projection, and is equipped with the state-of-the-art DLP technology. Combined with Barco's expertise in electronics and optics, the R18 features an impressive 17,000 ANSI lumens and SXGA resolution.

XL Video's busy autumn schedul

Elation Professional and Robe Show Lighting have announced the formation of Robe America. The new company, which is a joint venture between the two suppliers, will be the exclusive North American distributor of Robe Show Lighting products.

Based in the Czech Republic, Robe Show Lighting manufactures a variety of intelligent stage and club lighting products, including the widely acclaimed AT Series of rotating head fixtures, as well as special effects and DMX controllers. "We're very pleased to be working with Robe," said Chuck Davies, president and CEO of the American DJ Group, parent company of Elation Professional. "Our company has been very impressed with Robe's design capabilities, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, and commitment to serving the stage and club lighting markets. Robe's products have earned the company a loyal international following, and we're

Lighting designer Bryan Leitch and his company Siyan has invested in more new Avolites lighting control equipment to service the Coldplay world tour, currently delighting audiences in Europe. The Avo kit on the tour includes two Sapphire consoles, plus two Avolites ART2000 dimming systems.

One Sapphire is used to operate the 4-way Radlite PC-based video system, designed and operated by video director Nick Whitehouse. The RADLite footage is fed from seven black and white cameras onstage and played back onto four upstage screens. Above that is another level of video, projected onto a stunning 48ft (14.6m) wide by 10ft (3m) high semi-circular screen. This shows IMAG footage supplied by a 4-colour camera/Barco G5 system, provided to the tour by XL Video. The second Sapphire is operated by Leitch himself and runs all Coldplay's lighting.

With the expected longevity of the Coldplay tour an

Nocturne Productions & Vidicon are providing Barco high-performance display technology for Paul McCartney’s World Tour, which completed its 50-date North American leg on 29 October in Phoenix, having grossed over $100 million. Nocturne and Vidicon are providing approximately 1,600sq.ft of Barco’s Daylight Display LED video displays and 16 of its high brightness ELM Series DLP projectors for McCartney’s World Tour in Japan. The displays are located on both sides of the stage, each in a spectacular 60ft (18.3m) x 40ft (12.2m) display. 16 Barco ELM R12 projectors are rear-projected, side-by-side, onto eight 15ft (4.5m) x 20ft (6.1m) projection screens left and right of the stage. The stunning configuration is used to show live image magnification and video playback during the show.

Following his successful North American tour stops, McCartney then toured to Mexico City

ARX Systems has awarded its Australian distributor, The Resource Corporation P/L, the award for ‘Asia Pacific Distributor of the Year for 2002’ after the company achieved an increase in ARX sales of 225% for the 2001/2002 fiscal year.

Tony Hosking, managing director of TRC, attributes a large part of the increase in sales to their success with ARX's ZA Series of multi-channel amplifiers - especially into museum, theme park and law court installation markets - and the SPL range of powered poudspeakers. ARX's managing director, Colin Park, congratulated TRC, saying: "Tony and his team at TRC have delivered a great year for ARX, their efforts in developing new markets for ARX have achieved outstanding results, especially for our installation products. Now they'll be looking to enjoy that free holiday in Fiji or Tahiti!!"

(Lee Baldock)

Tom Stoppard’s trilogy The Coast of Utopia is just coming to the end of its Royal National Theatre run; not for those with short attention spans, the three sequential plays - Voyage, Shipwreck and Salvage - are set across Russia and Europe, and relate an epic story.

Set designer Bill Dudley was struck by the shortness of the play’s scenes and the frequency of location changes. His design had to allow for quick, simple scene changes, which provided the opportunity to use 3D-computer modelling: it was but a short step then to the use of computer-animated projections to provide instant scene changes.

With 75 scenes, kinetics were key to the set and lighting design. The production sees a partnership between Dudley, lighting designer David Hersey, DHA’s projection specialists Wyatt Enever and Steve Larkins, the RNT’s new video department and Dick Straker, its vide

A credit card scam, using ‘electronically stolen’ credit card details, which has recently affected US companies in the entertainment industry, is now seemingly targeting UK companies. Up to a dozen US companies, members of ESTA, have been targeted by what appears to be the same individuals, operating from Indonesia. In a warning issued by ESTA to its members, one company’s experience is described as follows.

"We were contacted by email for info, stock availability, and whether we could ship internationally (to Indonesia) against payment by credit card. Relatively small dollars were represented on first contact. No shipping account could be supplied via UPS, FedEx, or DHL, so prepay and add terms were requested. The credit card company originally approved authorization for future shipment, although it was noted that the name and address on the account did not m

The sixth annual New Horizon event on the campus of Coleraine University attracted over 20,000 visitors to the Christian-based Gospel presentation over a seven-day period. For the second year running, the sound was produced by local company Light & Sound FX (LSFX).

For the main tented area, LSFX used four stacks of Mackie Fussion, two each side of the stage configured in four Fussion 3000 mid/high boxes, four 1800 subs and four 1800A subs, all driven by Mackie M1400 amps. For the stage monitoring, Mackie C300 speakers and a Mackie SR40:8 mixer were spec’d. Around the rest of the site were 14 Mackie SRM 450s, whilst for the FOH mix, LSFX used the Crest VCA 32:4 FOH console.

Running alongside all of this, Upstream Recording had a live recording unit in action, for a forthcoming CD. The unit utilised a Mackie D8B digital mixer, a Mackie HDR 24/96 hard disc recorder and a pair of M

As we reported last week, theatrical sound design specialist Autograph Sound Recording has purchased its first DiGiCo D5 console. The 96-channel console, which was delivered by DiGiCo's sales director James Gordon to Autograph in early November, will become the first D5 in the world to be fitted with the forthcoming D5 Theatre package. The theatre software will include an enlarged output matrix and a host of other features that are specific to the theatre environment.

For almost three decades, Autograph has been known for its pioneering input into the design of many theatre-orientated products from manufacturers such as Meyer Sound, Cadac, Sennheiser, Micron and Danish Pro-Audio. Andrew Bruce, Autograph chairman and founder, will bench test the prototype software in close consultation with DiGiCo engineers to produce a console that can cater for the demands of setting up and running a

Peter Gabriel’s first North American tour in nearly 10 years opened in Chicago last week. The tour is due to cover around 22 cities in total and incorporates new material from his album ‘Up’ along with many of his favourite hits. Stage Technologies, who have provided automation for Westlife and Janet Jackson’s ‘All For You’ tour have recently collaborated with Total Fabrications, working with director/designer Robert Le Page in providing American Peter Gabriel fans with a spectacular centre stage production.

The show was structurally very complex to design, with the understage area required to act as the main storage facility for the tour. To optimize this space, Total Fabrications, who have provided set design for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Fever’ tour, incorporated a donut revolve made from aluminium. The 15m diameter revolve is thin enough

Show Presentation Services (SPS) has secured a further three-year contract as the preferred AV supplier at the Business Design Centre (BDC) in Islington, London. SPS, which has an in-house residency at the North London venue, has been working on events at the BDC over the last three years, and has most recently provided AV support for Cycle 2002 - The International Cycle Show.

Robin Coles, managing director at SPS, says: "We are delighted to be extending the working relationship with the BDC, and we hope that our expertise will continue to add value to all events at the venue. We have become an integral part of the way in which the BDC works and the two members of the SPS team that are permanently based at the BDC is testament to our close working relationship."

This sentiment is echoed by Dominic Jones, Managing Director at the Business Design Centre. He says: "We fe

The Barco Technology Showcase, held at Pinewood Studios on the 8-9 October provided an interesting opportunity to view the display specialist’s wide range of projection and display products, while the company’s experienced and knowledgeable staff were on hand to talk visitors through each product.

The Barco portfolio is certainly impressive, ranging from the compact state-of-the-art Cine Versum 80 home theatre projector through to the ScenergiX seamless wide screen and SLM Performance projectors - ideal for panoramic backdrops on stage.

Also on view to visitors was Barco’s iStudio, one of the most advanced all-in-one solutions for managed monitoring. Intended for use in studios, control centres, playout centres, uplink centres and for downlink monitoring, it has a high quality display with rear screen projection, a graphic controller and web-based operating softwar

15,000 people gathered at St George’s Plateau in central Liverpool to see a free mixed-media extravaganza that fused live performances, lasers, fireworks and an interactive snow storm. The event was promoted by Liverpool City Council and ensured that the city was turned on for an early white Christmas.

The event was designed and produced by LCC’s Cultural Events Unit, which sorted all the necessary technical and health and safety infrastructure and dealt with all site co-ordination. The show was run by event manager Nick Handford, working with Lee Forde (CEU Manager), Eddy Grant (CEU Operations Manager) and Kirstie Blakeman (CEU Events Officer). The City’s Christmas Illuminations were switched on by Stephen Gately, ex-Boyzone pop star.

The CEU team’s biggest challenge was squeezing an ambitiously-sized production into a small area full of beguiling and histori

Leading Norwegian rental company AVAB has completed a sold-out world tour with a-ha using a Meyer Sound line array PA system driven by XTA digital signal processing. Destinations on a-ha’s Lifelines tour included Europe, Russia and Brazil. They played to audiences as large as 30,000 in Riga, Latvia and 24,000 in Norway, and ended in the UK, including a date at Wembley Arena.

AVAB co-owner and senior technical director Sven Persson explains: "They came back from the cold, played a comeback tour in Germany, and haven’t looked back since. When we started work on this tour we did a lot of work in pre-production to make the show as good as possible, and it’s just been going up and up."

Persson, audio director for the tour, has been a key figure in a-ha’s resurgence. He has worked live with lead singer Morten Harket since his solo album ‘Wild Seed&rs

At the Swiss Expo 2002, 60 Clay Paky V.I.P. projectors illuminate the breathtaking pool in the ‘CY-City Pool’. The Cyberhelvetia stand is found in the Arteplage Biel-Bienne’s Forum at the Expo, combining the appearance of a traditional Swiss bathing complex with more modern forms of meeting and communicating in cyberspace. Today, going for a swim together no longer requires water: now, swimmers simply dive deep into the Cyberhelvetia stand’s multi-faceted ambience of extended virtual reality.

The stand holds 200 guests and can accommodate up to 600 visitors per hour. The project was developed by Wiesbaden’s ‘3 de Lux’ and required 130 metric tons of material extending over around 1150sq.m on two levels: the exhibits have utilized 110 metric tons of wood, 11.5 metric tons of glass, eight metric tons of steel and 12 kilometres of cable. The Wiesb

Bournemouth-based CPS Group supplied a substantial Renkus-Heinz sound reinforcement system for a one-off performance of Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Miserables in the Windsor Hall of Bournemouth’s International Centre as part of its UK tour. Staged in association with Bournemouth’s Orchestras by Wing & A Prayer Theatrical Productions under licence from Cameron Mackintosh Overseas, the evening was a resounding success.

Sound designers Chris Caton and Richard Colegate from CPS specified the R-H system. Colegate explains: "We chose the R-H system as it enabled us to provide West End style sound in a large multi-purpose room with a very challenging, hard acoustic environment."

In order to provide a coherent and uniform soundfield across the whole auditorium, a combination of R-H Co-Entrant loudspeakers were deployed - based around 14 of the CE153 cabinets (

Freelancing in the 21st Century is the title of a seminar to be held at the next PSA Get Together, which will take place at A.C. Lighting facility in High Wycombe on 4 December 2002 at 7.30pm.

The evening will begin with a review of the current system of using freelancers as self-employed subcontractors, the rights and responsibilities of the freelancers and their clients and the potential problems now facing the Industry as a result of the abuse of the IR56 self-employment regulations, particularly the possibility of crippling tax arrears bills faced by some users of freelancers. Following this will be an examination of the alternative ways of freelancing, either as one-person Limited Companies or as Temporary Employees, taxed at source under PAYE. Finally there will be presentations of management and freelance points of view, followed by a question and answer session, drinkies and ni

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