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The feel and flavours of the Ottoman Empire were the influences behind one of London's hottest new restaurants, the 130-seater Chintamani which recently opened in Jermyn Street. With sumptuous interiors and an eclectic menu, Chintamani also boasts a sophisticated JBL/Crown sound system, complete with DJ booth supplied and installed by The Sound Division Group.

According to Sound Division managing director, David Graham, the brief was quite clear. "They wanted the best restaurant sound system in London, and were prepared to commit the budget to do it," said David. "We were recommended to the client on the strength of testimonials from DJs who have played at MoMo’s where we installed a state-of-the-art Meyer sound system last year."

The system comprises a pair of JBL Control 29s which act as DJ monitors, and a further 12 JBL Control 25s which are distributed a

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Creative Technology (CT) produced some unusual television effects for the BBC Children In Need fund-raising marathon hosted by Terry Wogan and Gaby Roslin recently. The company was contracted by BBC Resources to build on the Totaliser screen reinforcement they provided last year, as well as adding a spectacularly ‘retro’ LED dancefloor. The dancefloor dominated the stage and was in use for much of the evening. CT’s project manager Paul Holden said: "Last year we provided a flown screen over the Totaliser using Barco i6 high-brightness panels. This year we used 80 of the superior Barco i8 panels, in a 16 x 5 configuration."

The display - measuring 7.16m wide by 2.24m - was run in 16:5 format, receiving 16:9 aspect ratio feeds, to create a letterbox effect. The content mostly comprised of Totaliser-specific graphics. But the more challenging aspect of the set

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"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." So is the wisdom of "The Little Prince," teaching the adults what is essential in the beloved childhood fable by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. His tale comes to life this holiday season at The State Theatre in Austin, Texas. And products from locally-based lighting manufacturer High End Systems ensure that what is essential is made visible to the eye.

Well-known Broadway lighting designer Richard Winkler (Evita & Fame - The Musical Tour) is using High End Systems' Catalyst system for the first time. He's also specified a High End rig with eight Studio Spot 575 and four Studio Color 575 automated luminaires, controlled by a Flying Pig Systems Hog 500 console.

"Catalyst is a new tool that will help revolutionize the industry - it will take us to the next l

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Professional service provider Ernst & Young greeted its newest graduate recruits with a day-long team-building event at East London's Three Mills Island Studios in November. Some 450 Ernst & Young employees, including 300 graduate trainees and their mentors, attended the day, which was spent in team-building exercises and preparing contributions to an evening of song, mime and acting.

Providing lighting for the evening's entertainment was Fourth Phase London, to the specification of lighting designer Paul Cook. "Improvisation was very much the order of the day for the trainees," said Cook, "so lighting their performances was challenging - we never knew quite what to expect!" The rig that Fourth Phase supplied included dimming, control and luminaires plus effects such as a smoke machine, a cracked oil machine and star cloths for maximum flexibility. "We had to b

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Rental Pro, the leading Czech rental company, provided a Nexo GEO Tangent Array system, supplied by MusicData, the Czech Nexo distributor, for a concert by the popular band Czechomor together with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra. Czechomor is a very popular band, the winner of three Czech 'Grammy' Awards. The concert took place in Obecni dum (The Municipal House), which is a very prestigious and historical music-hall in Prague, built in the first decade of the 20th century. The musical evening, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the multinational building company Skanska, was attended by nearly 1200 people.

The GEO system consisted of two arrays - six S-805s, one S-830 and two CD12s subwoofers per side. Nexo NX241s were used for processing as well as Camco Vortex-6 amps. Both the monitoring and FOH engineers were impressed by the GEO system. Even though there were many condens

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Germany-based laser specialist LOBO has reinforced its position as the unchallenged leader at this year's International Laser Display Association (ILDA) Awards Ceremony in Walt Disney World. The yearly ILDA Awards are awarded among competing companies within the umbrella organization of the laser show industry. This year, once again, LOBO received most of the prizes. Although the company only joined the ILDA eight years ago, it has already been awarded a record-breaking 57 ILDA Awards.

Art director Alexander Hennig says: "In most companies laser shows are produced by just one or two persons. In the LOBO Studios the workflow and the logistics of a show are more like a movie production, from musicians, illustrators, digitizers and 3D-animators to beam show programmers .... It took, for example, 18 persons over a period of more than two months, to implement the graphics show ‘7

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The SBC Centre at San Antonio, Texas, the new home of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team, has at its technological heart a unique, tightly integrated, $6.5 million video package of live action screens, banner displays and a scoreboard system designed and co-ordinated by Lighthouse, in conjunction with a team of specialist partners. The project marks Lighthouse’s largest indoor installation contract to date, and features the company’s new M4 screen technology, unveiled in four new screen products at this year’s NAB and Infocomm shows.

The scoreboard module is four-sided and arranged on five levels, housing a total of 12 screens. At the top is a ring of eight Lighthouse LVP2056 (20mm pixel pitch/5,600 nits) screens, formatted in an unusual 2:1 ratio rather than the usual 4:3 or 16:9, for advertising and scoring. Next down is a custom-built LED digit scoreboard ri

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UK - Marquee Audio have assisted in the upgrade of Dust Bar Café, one of the original 'Urban chic' venues serving London's trendy Clerkenwell Road. The independent bar had been running as a ground-floor DJ bar on a 2am licence for the past five years - but recently decided to expand the operation onto the first floor.

According to project director, Atan Burrows, the sound system upgrade coincided with a new interior design (by owner and co- director, Raymond Brown) and the launch of a new restaurant and cocktail list. "Dust has developed a reputation on the back of breaking out new DJ talent, and so with the addition of a second floor, good sound reinforcement became a top priority," he said. He had been referred to Marquee by another satisfied client from a Shoreditch bar/restaurant, but the decision to use Marquee was only made after a competitive tender. &quo

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UK - The glamorous Ballroom at London's Hilton Hotel in Park Lane was the venue for the Irish Youth Foundation's annual ball on November 30. Supporters of the charity, including some high-profile figures such as Mick McCarthy, ex-Republic of Ireland football team manager, and a number of ex-Irish international rugby players attended the evening and in addition to the ball, were treated to an auction, jugglers, Irish dancing and the Coldstream Guards.

A Fourth Phase team of Mark Dennington, Steve Russell, Gareth Wharrier and Pete Barber was commissioned by production agency, Vivace, to manage the lighting for the event. Mary O'Hagan of Vivace, said: "The Fourth Phase team did a great job! It was a very labour intensive project, but the service that they provided was second to none and the lighting really helped to create an extra special atmosphere for what is one of the org

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Cambodia - A Midas Heritage 3000 and a Legend 3000 were the consoles of choice for the recent concert given by Jose Carreras in Cambodia. The temple at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, one of the Forgotten Wonders of the world and a World Heritage site, served as a spectacular backdrop for Carreras as he performed at a Charity Gala concert in aid of Cambodian orphans and land mine victims, wildlife protection and the Cambodian Red Cross. The Cambodian Prime Minister was among the dignitaries present at the event, for which the 1000 dinner guests had paid up to $1500 for the privilege of attending.

Engineer Charlie Jones had originally specified a Midas XL4 from audio suppliers Showtec of Singapore but, in the event of it being unavailable, was happy to go with the combination of a Heritage 3000 with a Legend 3000 as an additional FOH console for orchestral sub-mixing. "I'm very fami

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USA - The Radio City Christmas Spectacular returned to Radio City Music Hall, New York, for more than 200 performances this holiday season. The 2002 show features a cast of more than 140 people, including a 35-piece orchestra. This year, sound designer Dan Gerhard chose JBL's VerTec line array speakers powered by Crown amplifiers for the schedule of up to six shows per day.

Gerhard specified the VerTec/Crown system after successfully using a system at another event. "VerTec provides excellent full-range sound for music from the orchestra as well as pristine clarity for spoken word, which is crucial for this show," said Gerhard. "The requirement at Radio City is for a sound system to cover from top to bottom, which is about a 90ยบ vertical throw when the speakers are flown above the set as they are for this show, which VerTec is very capable of handling. "Also

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UK - Bob Geldof recently completed his second UK tour of 2002, with a three-week stint playing theatre and sports hall venues around the country with a new Opus PA system, using XTA processing, from the West Country's Fearless Audio. Fans were entertained with a mixture of hits from Bob's Boomtown Rats days, along with tracks from his new album and a 'special request' section where the audience were invited to ask for their old favourites to get another airing. The band line-up included Pete Briquette (the original Boomtown Rats bass player) on bass, Nile Power on drums, Alan Dunn on keys and accordion, Johnny Turnbull from the Blockheads on guitar and Vince Lovepump on violin.

Sean Busby-Little was once again FOH engineer with Duncan Wild on monitors, and the Fearless crew comprised Martin Shaw as FOH babysitter and James Clarke who was system technician and monitor babysitter.

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UK - Lighting designer Durham Marenghi has been invited to undertake the lighting design of We Will Rock You, the hit West End musical at the Dominion Theatre produced by Queen and written by Ben Elton. Marenghi will be building on the original design by renowned LD Willie Williams and the lighting will be updated during early 2003. He is also currently working with Mark Fisher on a new design for We Will Rock You in Australia, and subsequent productions worldwide.

Meanwhile, Marenghi has also been employed by the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai as live show director for a multimedia event to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the hotel. Working with lighting, lasers, waterscreens, live performance, fireworks, video and large format projection the show aspires to "a scale and magnitude not seen in India before" and takes place on 17 January.

(Lee Baldock)

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USA - Apogee Sound International, manufacturer of state-of-the-art sound reinforcement products for the professional audio industry, announced today the completion of an Apogee ALA Series loudspeaker system in the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The Arena seats 19,600 when fully utilized for Miami HEAT NBA basketball, and can be configured in five separate ways for concerts and other events. In addition to the Miami HEAT, the arena has also hosted boxing, religious, corporate, and Monster Trucks events. The arena's sound system is also offered to traveling music acts as an alternative to touring systems.

The AmericanAirlines Arena's new Apogee line array loudspeaker system features 24 Apogee ALA-9s in six clusters of four, plus six Apogee AE-12 subwoofers. The processor-based Apogee ALA-9 a tri-amped, electronically-coupled system with two 15" cone type drivers, t

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Canary Islands - Gravesend Sound & Light have carried out a large-scale nightclub installation on the holiday island of Lanzarote, majoring on Martin Audio components. Having already carried out work for British ex-pat Martin Lyons at nearby Cesar's, the company's Simon Middleton was delighted to return - this time to fit out the 1,300-capacity Dreams in central Puerto del Carmen.

Gravesend Sound & Light totally relpaced the sound system using multiples of Martin Audio Blackline F15s around the dancefloor, underpinned with S218 subs. Said Middleton: "We had originally planned to fly the F15s in pairs, but the roof wasn't structurally substantial enough, so instead we created two ground stacks either side of the stage, inverting the F15s on the S218s to produce a horn-coupled solution. It provided a much crisper, punchier sound with a vibrant top end."

Gravesend had r

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Turkey - Turkish pop superstar Tarkan wowed Istanbul in October with two sold-out arena concerts. In all, around 30,000 fans saw the show. At the age of 30, Tarkan is a superstar in Turkey, and further proof of this was provided by these two huge arena shows in Istanbul. The equipment chosen for these mega concerts in the Abdi Ipekci sports hall came in large measure from Telex/EVI Audio. As with the current Rolling Stones world tour, the centrepiece of the sound reinforcement system was provided by an Electro-Voice X-Line PA. No wonder the music critics of several Istanbul newspapers made a point of mentioning the 'excellent sound' in their reviews.

The PA set-up for Tarkan's October 2002 shows in the Abdi Ipekci sports hall included 40 Electro-Voice P3000 power amps, 16 Electro-Voice X Line XVLS boxes, 8 X Line XVLT boxes, 4 X-Fills and 4 X-Subs. Front-of-house was a Midas XL4

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UK / Ireland - Rigging and lifting specialist PCM, based in Prenton, Wirral, kicked off 2003 by announcing that Dublin-based Stage Lighting Centre has been appointed sole agents for all PCM equipment for the Irish Republic.

All service, back-up, spares and orders for PCM equipment in Ireland will now be processed by Stage Lighting Centre under the contract, which was finalised during a recent PCM Lodestar Motor School in Dublin. The Stage Lighting Centre was founded in 1987 by Pat Walsh and Pat Farrell. The company is one of the most respected sales, hire and installation operations in Ireland, and works in all areas of the professional entertainment industry. PCM and the Stage Lighting Centre have steadily engaged in more business in recent years, particularly in the last 12 months, so the distribution deal was a logical progression.

Pat Walsh comments: "We've used PCM a

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UK - West Sussex-based beyerdynamic has recently supplied Altered Images with a number of Cue control systems (for which beyerdynamic is the UK distributor) for installation into four lecture halls and a classroom lecture hall at Brunel University. This represents the first phase of a five-year modernization programme that will include a further 18 lecture halls fitted to similar facilities.

All of the theatres have identical ceiling-mounted projectors and the classrooms will use an interactive whiteboard with media management via Cue control systems. One of the first rooms to be transformed - lecture theatre E, a listed 1970s structure - was used as a location for Stanley Kubrick's controversial film A Clockwork Orange, shot in the early 1970s. The equipment installed provides a highly flexible presentation system, which will be employed for university lectures as well a

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Spain - D.A.S. Audio products have been recently installed by the Madrid-based Mediacom 95 S.A. at the Nassica Entertainment Center. The sprawling 72,000sq.m complex on the outskirts of Madrid is home to 57 stores, a 24-screen multiplex cinema, a 20-lane bowling alley and 25 themed restaurants and cafés. The complex also provides a 'green area' as well as free parking facilities for over 4,000 vehicles.

A total of 84 Factor-8 two-way systems, powered by QSC CX-602V amps, have been distributed around the impressive outdoor venue providing even coverage throughout. The injection-moulded polypropylene enclosures provide resistance to the elements and the wide dispersion characteristics of the Factor-8 offer a broad coverage area.

The famous Rubik's Cube inspired the Nassica Center's modern design and functional layout. Integrating the speakers systems into the aesthetics o

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Australia - 2003 marks a milestone for ARX Systems, the well-known Australian based designers and manufacturers of Professional Audio Equipment, as they celebrate their 20th anniversary. ARX Systems was formed in Melbourne in 1983 by brothers Colin and David Park, and longtime friend Duncan Fry.

Several products introduced in the 80s have over the years become industry standards and are still in manufacture today, albeit in an updated form, taking advantage of improved manufacturing processes and, most importantly, higher quality componentry. These include the Sixgate 6-channel noise gate, Quadcomp 4-channel compressor/limiter and the venerable EQ 60 Dual 1/3rd Octave equaliser, sales of which have now exceeded 10,000 units.

ARX has always striven to ensure that the company is represented by high quality distributors. This was further reinforced last year with the appointment

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UK - Lightfactor has launched a new division - the Cut Colour Company. The new operation will act as a one-stop colour-call shop - for anything involving a colour call for the entertainment industry.

Filter from all the leading manufacturers - Lee, Rosco, GAM and Chris James are available from stock in both roll and sheet formats, alongside a range of gobos from DHA. Additionally, there's a full colour cutting service available for filter, which can either be cut to size or made up into scrolls as required.

Mandy Bullock-Williams who ran the filter room of Lighting Technology Group (LTG) will head up the new division. Her appointment coincides with two other ex-LTG people joining the Lightfactor team - Jeff Harwood and Bob Peach, consolidating the company's current period of expansion.

Lightfactor has been progressively moving into new products and services, and the formatio

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USA - Currently on tour with fellow songwriters Buddy Mondlock and Maia Sharp in support of the trio's new collaborative album, Everything Waits to be Noticed, Art Garfunkel and his band are now exclusively using Crown microphones out on the road. 10 Crown CM-200A cardioid condenser micrs are being used for all vocals onstage in addition to sax, electric and acoustic guitar, kick drum and snare top. Half a dozen CM-700 cardioid condensers are employed on high hat, toms, snare bottom and chimes, while four miniature hypercardioid GLM-200s mic the congas and bongos as well as serve as overheads for the drum kit. The list also includes a pair of PZM-6Ds for piano and a single CM-150 omnidirectional condenser mic for RTA use.

Stuart Breed, Garfunkel's FOH and studio engineer for 18 years, is pleased with the Crown selection, particularly the Pressure Zone Microphones. "I love t

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UK - Marking the opening of an exhibition of photography at Lincoln's Usher Gallery, a series of large format projections by Fourth Phase London created enormous interest in the city centre over the weekend of November 30.

Using Lincoln Cathedral and the Usher Gallery as the 'canvas', Fourth Phase was commissioned by photographer Phil Crow to manage the entire project, from researching suitable projection sites to the sourcing of the projection slides. Eight images from the exhibition were turned into slides by DHA Lighting, four colour and four mono, and brought to life using two Pani BP6 projectors. Lincoln Cathedral was the first venue and the nearby castle walls proved an ideal site for the BP6s, but with one minor drawback - a crane was necessary to get the projectors in place. Unperturbed, the Fourth Phase team of James Hall, Dominic Ayres and Steve Russell organized both

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UK - In a move designed to update and improve its technical infrastructure, Stirling Audio Systems has relocated its entire operation to a brand new building in West London. The pro audio equipment supplier, which distributes a range of high-end equipment from manufacturers such as Audient, Lexicon, M&K, iZ Radar, Sanken and Aphex, now offers much-improved loading and warehouse facilities from its new premises close to the A40. Stirling Audio's managing director, Andrew Stirling, told us: "We considered staying where we were, but we felt our staff and customers would be better served if we could improve our operating efficiency. A building needs to operate as efficiently as any business system, but sadly our old premises simply weren't designed for the demands of doing business in today's high-tech world. We have now moved to a far more suitable building that gives us everyth
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  2. New shows for the New Year: White Light in 2003
  3. Triple E goes behind the scenes at QVC Studios
  4. Aztec out on Heather Small tour
  5. APRS - Export/ASIA Event: 11 February 2003
  6. Abu Dhabi TV's latest obsession - Win Your Weight In Gold
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