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UK - Large format projection specialists E/T/C UK is supplying four 1.5kW HMI projectors for the recording of 'The Big Read', a new television series, made by Lion TV in London for BBC Scotland and broadcast on BBC 4.

The projections, two per show, feature the authors and their respective book covers and is rear projected onto four screens in the studios. They dominate the programme as the primary set pieces, making them an important source of interaction for the presenter. The programme is seeking to establish the UK's top 100 works of fiction. Invited celebrities, politicians and assorted VIPs present the case and cast opinions on individual books. The public can also vote on their favourite books each week, via a website, which is proving very popular.

Producer Richard Shaw approached E//T//C UK looking for a no-fuss solution to show the 80 author and cover pictures in the

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UAE - 1 May 2003 saw the opening of Clay Paky UAE, the new branch in the United Arab Emirates founded by the well-known Italian manufacturer of professional lighting. Clay Paky has gained a good reputation over many years in the flourishing Emirates market, and decided to open its own branch there in order to provide more presence and support as it acquires an ever-greater market share. The new branch manager, Egor Popowsky, has extensive experience in professional, architectural and entertainment lighting.

Clay Paky UAE is based in Dubai and has a showroom for presenting its systems 'live', as well as making demonstrations and immediate comparisons with all the various technologies available. Clay Paky UAE is also setting up a selected network of business partners to develop projects all over the country in professional fields such as the theatre, TV, concerts, live events, dan

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UK - Arbiter Pro Audio, exclusive UK distributor for JBL Professional, has supplied Installation Technologies Ltd with two complete EVO systems (upgraded to four speakers per system) for their installation in the conference and exhibition suite at the Gaydon Heritage Motor Centre.

The Heritage Motor Centre is home to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, which maintains the largest collection of classic vintage and veteran British cars in the world. A soundproof, sliding partition transforms the conference and exhibition suite quickly and easily into two conference rooms each seating 250 delegates. Both conference rooms are equipped with fully independent audio-visual facilities and special lighting. Each room contains an EVO system that comprises of four EVO speakers, an EVO Net Controller and an EVO Mixing Desk.

The two rooms can also be combined to form one large room

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UK - Denon UK, the exclusive UK distributor for Denon pro audio products, is sponsoring a new DJ website called DjinTheMix, a revolutionary music promotional service offering the distribution of pre-release promotional music to working club and radio DJs.

Denon UK's Dave Morbey says: "With MP3 being such an exciting and up-to-the-minute format, Denon has developed a full a range of products to meet the demand for reliable MP3 and data disk playback. Therefore it's totally appropriate for us to support DjinTheMix." The distribution of music is combined with an on-line DJ Reaction and DJ Chart system. These report DJs' reactions to the sites clients in 'real' time, allowing feedback within 48 hours of DJs inputting their comments and opinions.

Each DJ has their own unique password-protected login area, allowing them to access promotional music. MP3 files are not sent o

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USA - L-Acoustics US has now effectively doubled the size of its new independent rep force with the appointment of three additional firms. The R.Joseph Group in Columbus, Ohio will handle the territories of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and western Pennsylvania for L-Acoustics US. Cordial/Riley Marketing, directed by partners Glenn Cordial and John Riley, take over the state of Michigan while Mainline Marketing of Melbourne, has similarly been named the Florida rep.

"Once again, we're really pleased with the firms that we've been working with," says Paul Freudenberg, L-Acoustics US director of sales and marketing. "Each of these companies was represented at our most recent rep orientation in June and we're all excited about the terrific opportunities to branch out into their territories and expand L-Acoustics US' domestic presence."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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USA - Bandit Lites recently worked with production manager and lighting designer Hadden Hippsley on the second annual Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. The three-day festival featured artists such as Widespread Panic, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, James Brown, The Dead and the Allman Brothers.

Bandit provided all the lighting for the festival with Hippsley making use of: 20 MAC 2000s and 14 MAC 600s on a five-truss rig, over the main stage. Other equipment on the rig included 27 six-lamp bars, four eight-lites and 12 ETC Source Fours. The rig was hung with 26 3E DN motors. The shows were controlled with Wholehog II and a Wholehog II wing. Michael Strickland, Bandit Lites CEO said: "The organization of this event is simply exceptional, even the logistics of working with saturated ground did not pose a major problem."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa's Durban branch comes into its own this July when it plays an integral part in the annual Mr Price Pro surfing contest. Held from 6-13 July, the main focus of the contest for the Durban public and holidaymakers who flock to the seaside town in winter are the two music concerts that take place on 11-12 July (Friday and Saturday).

As a supplier of presentation and event technical equipment in South Africa, Gearhouse SA has, for the past three years, provided the necessary equipment and technicians for the Mr Price Pro music concerts. However, 2003 sees the company - through its Durban branch - playing an integral role in conceptualizing and planning the event for client, Mr. Price. Additionally, Gearhouse SA has undertaken to provide the VIP area for the event. In a first for the company's Durban branch this takes the form of an elevated platf

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UK - Leading installer Hawthorn Theatrical was recently appointed by DB Capital Partners - owners of successful holiday concept Center Parcs UK - to supply a sophisticated integrated sound, lighting and video system to its recently refurbished Elveden Forest site. Due to re-open on 11 July 2003 following a multi-million pound rebuilding and development program, Elveden Forest will benefit from a considerable re-design and the addition of several new features and facilities which will make it Center Parcs' flagship site in the UK.

Hawthorn Theatrical was commissioned to supply a sophisticated AV system to Elveden Forest's new multi-purpose Sports Café, designed to be extremely flexible, interactive and, above all, simple to operate. The Sports Café contains a variety of sports facilities including table tennis, snooker and a swimming pool. It also hosts twice-weekly cabaret sho

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UK - The Edinburgh Corn Exchange has installed Colorflow in its recently converted Conference and Banqueting Centre to give this multi-functional up-market suite maximum impact.An unusual conversion, the Edinburgh Corn Exchange has left behind its agricultural origins as a converted cattle market and corn exchange to become Edinburgh's premier conference and banqueting facility.

Bert DeMarco, director of Edinburgh Corn Exchange, commented: "I first saw Colorflow at Leisure Industry Week about three years ago and was then looking at it with a view to creating a feature of the concourse area that joined the old cattleman's restaurant with the corn exchange. I wanted to give the area some life. However, after further discussions with Atmospheric's sales team it was clear that the area was too bright for Colorflow to have the impact that we wanted."

However, DeMarco and

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France - Once again, Ricard Live Music, the largest French touring stage show, toured France. The tour ended on June 21st, for the famous French Music Day with headline band Simply Red.

The 2003 tour sound equipment consisted of 18 V-Dosc and 4 Arcs cabinets, 12 SB218 subwoofers for the front fill, and 115FM floor monitors. The tour presented an opportunity for Ricard Live Music and Network partner, Potar Hurlant, to test one of the latest L-Acoustics line items, the 115XT coaxial speakers, both in front fill and monitor applications.

Madje Malki, a Potar Hurlant sound engineer, gave his impressions of the tour this year: "In front fill (with the dedicated 'fill' presets), these cabinets are astounding, very coherent, efficient and easy-to-use without needing to equalize them, which is a vital quality for this type of quick setup application. As a sound wedge, it is excel

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UK - Audio rental specialist SSE Audio Group has just invested in its first Midas Legend console, bringing the total of Midas consoles within the group to some 25 boards, which includes models from every existing Midas range from Venice through to XL4. In addition to the Legend, SSE have also taken delivery of a further 10 Klark Teknik DN9848 digital loudspeaker processors. This supplement to existing stock now makes SSE the world's largest DN9848 user.

According to SSE's Julian Ward, the decision to take a Midas Legend into stock was straightforward. "We've had connections with Midas since day one and have always been great fans of their consoles. There's still a strong market for large format analogue desks, and as far as we're concerned, Midas still do the best job in that department. Legend is clearly designed for smaller events, but its versatility makes it perfect for

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UK - Stagetec, the Slough-based lighting and sound sales and installation specialist, has designed and installed two complete show lighting rigs for two different arenas at Ice Sheffield - the new £15.7million international sports venue.

Ice Sheffield's two Olympic-sized rinks will host world-class sporting events, ice shows and ice sports, as well as family fun and corporate entertainments. Stagetec's MD Andy Stone and Matt Miles managed the project for the two rinks, which both called for completely different lighting set-ups.

The Leisure Arena is utilized for everyday public use and for private bookings and corporate events. Lighting here follows more of a club theme, so to add colour and movement, 8 Martin Pro 918 scanners and 6 Martin Pro 400 colour wash fixtures were specified. These can be run on their own, or boosted with 48 PAR cans that supply a blast of incandesc

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UK - As part of the PLASA Show relaunch, this year's event will see increased facilities dedicated to technicians with the introduction of The PLASA Production Village. This will incorporate The PLASA Crew Zone supported by Total Production magazine, and The PLASA Backstage Area, organized by the PSA (Production Services Association).

Placed on the Top Deck overlooking the main hall, the area will offer a number of facilities and services. The PLASA Crew Zone will offer a place to relax, furnished with two internet-ready computers sponsored by StageAccess.com, where visitors will be able to catch up with old friends by registering with StageAccess.com. The PLASA Backstage Area, organized by the PSA, will offer demonstrations and the opportunity for 'hands-on' use of products. Companies involved last year included Le Maitre, AC Lighting, Tomcat, Stage Technologies, TMB, Marquee

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USA - When the officials at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, decided to add seating behind the famed 'Green Monster' wall in left field during this past off-season, it meant the loudspeakers previously installed there needed to be moved. Since the old system needed upgrading, the Red Sox took advantage of the opportunity and contacted WJHW Consulting of Texas to assist in designing a whole new speaker cluster for the outfield.

Jack Wrightson, a WJHW partner, immediately recommended that the Red Sox contact EAW, located about 50 miles southwest of Boston in Whitinsville, Massachusetts. "I told them that there was a local manufacturer with excellent product and a long history of successful ballpark installations," commented Wrightson. "I knew that EAW would be willing to work with the Red Sox and that the resulting collaboration would result in improved soun

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UK - Why do car brakes squeal' How can we build skyscrapers so tall' How do text messages jump from phone to phone' These were just some of the questions schoolchildren across the UK were learning the answers to thanks to the BBC Tomorrow's World tour which hit the road last month.

The roadshow has been co-ordinated to tie in with the National Curriculum and aims to teach pupils about the science that surrounds them in everyday life. While they get the chance to do hands-on experiments, the centrepiece of this year's event is a dynamic theatre show - 'The Science of Urban Stuff - Think Energy, Get Some' which features actors, stunt riders and circus aerialists from The Generating Company.

Since the performance is so dependent on the movement of the artists and actors, producers Just Add Water called upon the expertise of Fourth Phase to provide an innovative lighting solution

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UK - Autograph Sales is hosting a programme of regional UK one-day Meyer Sound Technology training courses in late August, which are free of charge to everyone who registers at the website below before August 15. The courses, taught by Meyer Sound's technical training and seminars director Mauricio Ramirez, are scheduled to take place at The Helix, Dublin City University, on August 25; Audio Alliance North, Manchester, on August 26; B&H Sound Services, Peterborough, on August 28; and Capital Sound, London, on August 29. A fifth seminar is also planned to take place the same week in Edinburgh, details of which will appear on the website once confirmed.

The seminar will encompass such topics as phase alignment, delays, filters, line array theory and conventional loudspeaker arrays, as well as acoustic prediction and measurement techniques. Lunch and refreshments will be included d

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UK - Building on critically acclaimed projects for Placebo and Simply Red, special projects and set wiring company, Specialz, has successfully completed its first job for Clear Channel. The unusual brief was to install various effects into the Harry Potter car (a 1960's Ford Anglia), which would then be used as a set piece for an event to support the release of the latest Harry Potter book at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The range of effects supplied included remote-controlled moving headlamps running at 250W, hazard warning lights and a DMX smoke machine connected to the exhaust with its own PAR 36 key light. Because the car was suspended above the stage, all the equipment had to be self-contained and controllable from the ground. Solutions were found for all of the requirements and the overall effect was to give the powder blue 1968 Ford Anglia, a sense of life and persona

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USA - The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been bringing their own brand of pumped-up alternative funk to the masses for nearly 20 years now and Oxnard-based Rat Sound Systems, Inc has been along for much of the ride. Although the sound reinforcement company has traditionally opted to put up its signature Rat Trap 5 System for the band in the past, this year finds the crew carrying an all-new L-Acoustics V Dosc/dV Dosc rig out on the road in support of the Peppers' latest album, By The Way.

Rat Sound's main man Dave Rat explains: "With our own proprietary system already hired out on a tour this season, we were faced with the task of finding another suitable world-class rig. The Peppers are very dynamic and musically diverse, so having a system where the response remains balanced at both low and high volumes was critical. Furthermore, thanks to L Acoustics partner companies like M

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UK - Sound specialists Canegreen provided the PA system for BBC Radio 2's Live Great British Music Debate, this month, attended by the music industry's opinion leaders. The live event focused on the debates surrounding the current state of the British music industry, with the spotlight on the question, "Is the single dead'" The evening kicked off with five acts, including Glaswegians Speedway and the soulful vocals of Peppercorn, before music industry heads got down to discussing the issues.

Canegreen provided the sound equipment for the event, designing a system to manage both the live acts, as well as the onstage and audience debate. The system managed 48 feeds from the room, and linked to the BBC Radio 2 broadcast, which went out live on air. The rig consisted of four Meyer MSL 4 speaker cabinets, which were used with the two Meyer 650R2P SP sub speakers for the ban

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UK - Following a successful year since de-merging from Blackout in 2002, Triple E has moved to new premises in Biggin Hill, adjacent to the famous airport, on the south London/Kent border.

The building - which incorporates a warehouse, production areas and first floor offices - has been newly equipped by Triple E and offers room for further expansion. It will allow the company to further develop its engineering solutions for track systems and equipment for theatres and TV studios. Recent installations include Harrods department store, Bombay Dreams in London's West-End, Sophie's Choice at the Royal Opera House, St Luke's - the new home of the London Symphony Orchestra, Flagey - the renovated National Institute for Radio Broadcasting in Belgium, and cruise ships - the most recent being Carnival Glory and HAL Oosterdam.

The new address is 16 Airport Industrial Es

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UK - TESA UK, a leading manufacturer of high quality self-adhesive tapes, has appointed the Le Mark Group as its 'entertainment technology specialist'. The appointment represents the long-term commitment of the giant German-owned company to develop products specifically for the entertainment industry.

The announcement concludes nearly 12 months of negotiations between the two companies and sees Le Mark become a 'focused distributor' for TESA. Le Mark's managing director, Stuart Gibbons, told PLASA Media: "This is very much a two-way partnership. It will enable Le Mark's design ability and award-winning flair to be developed further. It also ensures that Le Mark's clients have a direct channel to a multi-national manufacturer who recognizes that the entertainment industry is a growing sector which should be given special attention."

One of the first areas of collabora

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UK - After a lack of bookings earlier in the year, which forced a rethink on the scale of this year's SBES, the organizers Point Promotions report that the event has now sold out. And, if demand for additional space continues, show organizer Dave McVittie hopes to be able to negotiate extra space with the venue, taking the exhibition back up in scale once more.

The economic down-turn, coupled with the change of venue, clearly gave some long-term exhibitors pause for thought before booking stand space this year. However good it may be, realistically the new venue represents something of an unknown for some, and extra thinking time was clearly needed before bookings were made. Now however, most established exhibitors, and some new ones, are on board.

Amongst the confirmed exhibitors are Canford Audio, De Wolfe Sound Effects Services (exhibiting for the first time), HHB, ntl, P

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UK - Stage engineering and automation specialist Stage Technologies announced a worldwide partnership with Siemens during a recent Open Day held at the Göteborg Stadsteater in Sweden. The event coincided with the production of Siemens' 400,000 MasterDrive, and the end of a highly successful first season for the Stadsteater using Stage Technologies state-of-the-art power flying solution (see June L&SI).

Co-hosted by Siemens and Stage Technologies, some of the entertainment industry's leading consultants were invited to the event to tour one of the latest automation solutions resulting from the partnership. Mark Ager, Stage Technologies' managing director and Ian Bowman, director of marketing and communications for Siemens, explained the dividends connected with an integrated drive solution - namely its cost effectiveness and compact nature.

The installation, featuring Stage T

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UK - A.C. Lighting's Projects Division has recently completed the technical design, supply and installation of a TV studio lighting system for a new digital auction channel, project managed by Peter Keiderling. The channel, Price-drop.tv, will launch this summer into almost 10 million homes and is the second auction channel to be launched by interactive TV retailer Sit-up, following the success of their Bid-up.tv channel.

In addition to specifying and installing the full overhead production lighting rig, the most challenging aspect of the brief from lighting designer David Atkinson was to provide a two-colour, cross-fading system that was small enough to fit behind the set, but powerful enough to provide a strong colour wash for the set's main branded light wall backdrop.

The light wall was constructed using 22 Anytronics Anycolour lightboxes controlled via a DMX distribution

  1. Collaborative Approach to Market
  2. Row over live music rumbles on
  3. Dixie Chicks top it off with Swing Wing truss
  4. Major reform of UK Licensing Laws completed
  5. Blackout and the software giants
  6. O2 Lx opens is Lisbon
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