Business

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Italy - RCF, A Loud Technologies Inc (formerly Mackie Designs) brand, has announced the launch of the first RCF-branded website for the worldwide commercial and industrial sound market. The first version of the new web site is an Italian language version, and an English language version will come online later this month.

The launch of the new RCF site is the latest step in the company's plan, announced during the PLASA Show in September, to re-focus RCF as Loud Technologies' worldwide commercial and industrial sound brand. As part of this transition, commercial sound products currently branded as Mackie Industrial will be re-badged as RCF.

"RCF has a rich 50-year history in Europe as a premier commercial sound provider -especially in Italy. For this reason, we launched the Italian site first, followed closely by the English version," said Dave Raneses, commercial aud

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Europe - Legendary rockers Deep Purple are using 14 of Robe's new ColorSpot 1200 AT moving head fixtures on their Bananas world tour, currently in Europe.

Lighting designer is UK-based Louis Ball, who lit the band initially from 1984 to 1987, and then continuously since the mid-1990s. Ball's own high profile career started at 18, with the Alex Harvey Band in the late 1970s. Since then he's lit some of the best-known names in rock 'n' roll, including Judas Priest, Ozzie Osborne, Slayer, Anthrax, Wishbone Ash, Climie Fisher and a host of other diverse artists including Wet Wet Wet and French superstar Johnny Halliday.

Ball was first introduced to the Robe ColorSpot 1200s by Robe's German distributor, L.M.P. who supplied the gear to the German rental hire company, T.D.A. Ball was then contacted by Randy Wade of Robe America - the two having worked on many of the same shows and pr

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UK - A new memorial honouring Australia's contribution to both World Wars was unveiled in London on Armistice Day, 11 November, 85 years after the idea originated at the end of World War One. In a ceremony attended by the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, crowds gathered at Hyde Park to watch the ceremony which included a live video screen set up in Green Park to deal with the overflow. The memorial honours the 102,000 Australians who died in the two world wars and the million or so who fought. A two-minutes silence was observed at 11am, followed by an RAAF fly past.

Fourth Phase London, working for Unusual Services, was chosen to provide the lighting for the historic event. Due to the nature of the event (staged virtually on a traffic island), a lighting rig would have compromised sightlines, so Fourth Pha

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UK - Age-Sex-Location, Marcus Markou's darkly comic play set in cyberspace, will be staged at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith, prior to transferring to the West End. Producers Titus Media recently announced that Age-Sex-Location will be staged at the Riverside Studios from 9-28 February, 2004, prior to transferring to the West End - in a theatre will be confirmed nearer the time.

Age-Sex-Location sees internet and virtual reality come alive on stage in a play that for the first time fully realizes the potential of integrating theatre and technology. The production combines, writer Marcus Markou's, entertaining, ingenious and dramatic script with Sven Ortel's state-of-the-art video projection and lighting design, under the direction of award-winning young director Pip Pickering.

Age-Sex-Location has video projection and lighting design by Sven Or

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Germany - Steglitzer Kreisel is the tallest office building in the district of Berlin. At a height of 119m, it has incited strong public reaction ever since it was built. The 1970 town plan of Stegliz included a road round the building, which was under construction at the time. Even though this road was never built, the name Kreisel (circle) remained.

The road now runs under this skyscraper, which architect and building constructor Sigrid Kressmann-Zschach originally planned as a shopping centre. Construction began in 1969 and ended in 1980. The building contains more than 700 rooms, including the city council offices, the area's largest hotel, a bank and a number of restaurants and offices. The bus station and a car park take up the underground floors.

Hans-Peter-Stoerl Architects were commissioned to refurbish the area in 2001. Their design included lighting of waterfalls us

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Switzerland / UK - Swiss company VXCO, maker of the DMXCreator PC lighting control system, has announced the appointment of Lightfactor Sales Ltd as its distributor for the UK and Republic of Ireland. VXCO's export manager Oleg Kaufmann says: "Thanks to their versatility and experience in several sectors, Lightfactor are well positioned to distribute our products across the many markets our range is suitable for."

Lightfactor's Mick Hannaford commented: "We believe that in VXCO we have found another bright young company capable of providing new and innovative products into a fast moving market. Their first products have already established them as serious professionals: we are very happy to be their commercial partner in the UK."

(Lee Baldock)

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UK - Entec supplied lighting equipment to production company Indigo for the 2003 National TV Awards at the Royal Albert Hall. This is the ninth year running the company has serviced the high profile event, which is presented by Trevor MacDonald and broadcast live on ITV1. Lighting designer/director was Brian Pearce; the set was designed by Richard Plumb and the director was Russell Norman.

James Thomas's Pixelline fixtures were used as ground cyc up-lighters for the main screens at the rear of the set. The screens were made from twin white cyc material, with a silver lattice trussing effect fixed to the front. The idea was that these were lit with plain washes of colour in keeping with the lighting aesthetic of the show, which was understated and non-glitzy.

Pearce, who has used Pixelline in different ways on a variety of shows, commented: "They are a lovely lamp."

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Sweden / UK - OpTex has been appointed UK Agent for Marenius Audio Products from Sweden. The first product to be launched is a portable stereo mixer suitable for professional consumer and broadcast cameras. The MM-4210 is a true professional stereo mixer for portable use. Loaded with features, these mixers will satisfy professional news crew, sportscasters and all other audio and video sound specialists, offering broadcast quality mixing without distortion and with wide frequency response. Housed in a rugged aluminum case with heavy-duty Neutrik connectors and precision controls, it represents a fabulous value for a heavy-duty field mixer. Features include four mic/line input channels, up to 74dB gain, input-to-output, 48v phantom power switchable for each mic input, additional stereo line return input, built-in M-S stereo matrix for headphone monitoring, PPM metering with 2 x 9 L

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Canada - Following the very successful preview of their new Vista Lighting console at PLASA, Jands Pty Ltd has announced the appointment of AC Lighting (Canada) Ltd as exclusive North American distributor for the complete range of Jands lighting products.

Speaking about the change of distribution for USA and Canada Paul Mulholland, CEO of Jands, said: "Our products were previously distributed in the USA, by ACT Lighting of Agoura Hills, California. However, recently both ACT and Jands have moved in different directions and we mutually agreed to end our association."

Mulholland went on to say: "Jands has had a long standing relationship with AC Lighting in the UK and Europe and we look forward to being a part of their plans for expansion into Canada and the USA."

Jands will be showing an updated version of the Vista lighting console on the AC Lighting boot

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UK - Matrix Audio Developments Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation. The company was founded by Matrix designer/brand owner Andrew Hunt and Clive Kinton to distribute Matrix amplifiers in the UK; Kinton left the company last month, following Hunt's decision to bring the sales and marketing of the Matrix brand under the control of the manufacturing company, A.S. Laser, in Cwmbran, South Wales.

Adrian Merrett of A.S. Laser told L&SI: "The move will streamline our service and address the production issues we have had in the past, ensuring next-day delivery for our customers."

The company's 07000 contact number remains the same.

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Lebanon - The first Zouk International Festival at the Zouk Amphitheatre in Lebanon included two shows produced by EC1 International - the world premiere of OperaBabes - Beyond Imagination and a new production of Evita.

EC1 brought in Ben M Rogers to look after the scenic and lighting design for both productions. The OperaBabes show was designed as a fusion of classical styles with rock and pop technologies, mixing album tracks with incidental music and dance to create a narrative thread to the show. Rogers' lighting rig, supplied by Lumen Art, included eight Martin Pro MAC 600s and 16 Clay Paky Stage Zoom 1200s, along with 60 Par cans and an Airstar Lumex 2000 4kW balloon, which made an impressive entrance rising up behind the stage during Act 2 and remaining at a height of 10m over the stage. Rogers programmed on a Wholehog II from Stage Electrics, using his WYSIWYG Perform

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UK - Eight years after the idea was first proposed, a consortium comprising Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham Arts Association and Yale College of Wrexham is about to give Wrexham a new theatre. The momentum for the new theatre facility came from Yale College wanting to extend its successful National Diploma in Technical Theatre. It therefore donated the land for the build, and will pay the salaries of the technical staff and offer financial and management services, in return for the use of the theatre.

Yale will also employ the technical director and chief technician, and crew the theatre with students undertaking a Foundation Degree, giving them a thorough grounding in lighting, sound and general crewing, while a partnership is also being sought with a large-scale producing house to accept second year students on six-week placements. The essence of the Wrexham Project is to deli

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Italy - Teatro La Fenice ('the Phoenix'), Venice's celebrated opera house which was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1996, is now set to re-open. The 1996 fire was a devastating blow, coming just days before its scheduled reopening after a much-needed major refurbishment, and echoing a previous fire which destroyed the theatre in 1836. The newly restored theatre is now scheduled to open in December 2003.

While the style of the venue is identical to its predecessor, its lighting and sound systems are being brought right up to date with a lighting and control system from ETC Teatro, including an ETC Emphasis control system, an Express console, Sensor dimming, a Unison architectural lighting control system and an extensive Ethernet and DMX installation.

Believed to be the first Italian opera house to install a sound reinforcement system, La Fenice has opted for a d&b audiote

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UK - The PAI Group has recently installed a MegaMedia Wall at Virgin's flagship Oxford Street Megastore, to a design brief from Keane Design's Concept Designer, Tim Merrifield. The brief called for a cost-effective, but innovative audio-visual vehicle for presenting dynamic promotional material to customers entering the store.

PAI manufactured and installed a bespoke 5500mm x 5000mm steel frame onto which nine screens, comprising 42" plasma and 30" high definition LCD units, were incorporated. The whole assembly is designed to automatically rotate towards to the store interior during daylight hours, to avoid light intrusion, and then traverse back to face Oxford Street in the evening to broadcast promotional material to the public outside of normal opening hours.

Divided into four video zones, the nine screens broadcast the same material, but have been designed to op

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UK - Birmingham-based SSE Hire Ltd has ordered five InnovaSON Sy80 digital live consoles to supplement its extensive digital console inventory. SSE has been using InnovaSON Sensory series consoles for over two years for prestigious clients such as David Gray, UB40, BBC Top of the Pops, Stereophonics, Massive Attack, Faithless, Sting and many more.

SSE technical director Chris Beale says: "InnovaSON's digital consoles have always combined excellent audio performance with the most straightforward user interface. Many engineers who initially passed the consoles by because of their cosmetic simplicity have been very surprised at the quality of the result and we often find that engineers who try the Sensory consoles under some duress simply get hooked once they start to use them. The new Sy80, which has evolved from the earlier models and now has a very rich feature set, compete

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UK - It's just over two years since Stage Electrics moved to its new HQ in Bristol. Since then, the business has grown, becoming more streamlined and diverse, the latest addition being a rehearsal space inside one of its warehouses, initially developed for Belinda King Productions to rehearse three shows for the Royal Court Theatre on board the new cruise liner, The Queen Mary 2.

The facility has enabled Belinda King Productions to rehearse the shows working with all the relevant scenery from the start, a crucial part of the process considering most of the show's scene changes are either automated or executed by the performers themselves. With limited rehearsal time once on board, it seemed logical to get the productions as close to the finished article as possible prior to embarkation. The rehearsal space at Stage Electrics has given both companies an opportunity to iron out t

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UK - Lighting for the current TV series of Pop Idol features 30 James Thomas Pixelline battens, supplied to the show by lighting contractors VLPS and specified by lighting designer/director Al Gurdon. The 'final 12 stages of the popular series are being recorded at Fountain Television Studios in Wembley, London, following the early rounds that were shot at Teddington Studios.

Lighting is programmed and operated by Mike Owen using a Virtuoso VX console. The rig features over 100 Vari*Lite automated luminaires, assorted PARs and conventionals as well as the 30 Pixelline units, which are being run in their fully expanded DMX mode. The Pixellines are used upstage in a broken up matrix-style - 15-wide and 2-high - to illuminate the back wall of the set, a large translucent metallic structure.

Pixelline is proving to be an in-demand rental item, VLPS now has over 78 battens i

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UK - The centre for Performance in Aberystwyth in Wales is organizing a Symposium on the stage and lighting designers Edward Gordon Craig and Adolphe Appia entitled Sculptors of the Modern Stage - light / shadow / architecture. The symposium will include talks, workshops, films and presentations at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth from 5-7 December 2003. The event is produced in association with the Scenography department at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Edward Gordon Craig was a theatre designer, actor, visionary and the first British theatre artist to write a book of theatre theory. Rejected by the British theatre establishment he was embraced by the French and the Russians, most notably Stanislavski. Adolphe Appia was a Swiss designer and philosopher of theatre, and the first to write about theatre as a visual art form. In his collaboration with the Swiss c

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USA - Gaylord Entertainment and JBL Professional have confirmed the sale and installation of a new JBL Vertec system for the legendary Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. The venerable country music venue is currently used for a broad variety of performance and presentation events. The 4,400-seat auditorium now features a sound system consisting of JBL Professional and Crown Audio products.

The new system was used for the 37th Annual CMA (Country Music Association) awards, which aired live on 5 November. The show featured Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Travis Tritt and Hank Williams Jr in a special tribute to Johnny Cash.

Installed during a week in September without interrupting the Opry's busy schedule, the project involved coordination among many players. Noted engineer George Massenburg was engaged by the Opry as audio quality consult

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Europe - The all-arena European tour by Mick Hucknall's Simply Red is using an EV X-Line sound reinforcement system for its UK leg and forthcoming shows in continental Europe. Britannia Row is providing the X-Line system with IRIS-controlled Precision Series amplifiers.

Front-of-house engineer Gary Bradshaw, who is using X-Line for the first time, is delighted with the results, commenting: "The EV X-Line is more gutsy than some other line arrays, which suits Simply Red and what they are trying to achieve on the tour, namely to deliver a full-on sound, like being in a club. They don't want to sound like one of their CDs, rather they're trying to get across some of the excitement that they feel on stage. X-Line offers the best bass response of all the line arrays I've used, and vocally, it's fairly effortless all the way to the back, the high end is crystal clear."

Bri

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UK - A PLASA member has informed us that a number of their customers have received orders that have subsequently turned out to be fraudulent. In one case the fraudsters emailed credit card details - that were either stolen or fake - to the company with an order, but fortunately the card number was picked up by the bank. Another company was not so lucky and the goods were dispatched before the fraud was discovered.

L&SI ran an article back in March 2003 about the rise of credit card fraud within the industry and you can find out more at the PLASA Website address given below. It is also worthwhile checking the guidance and advice on avoiding credit card fraud at the Cardwatch website address, also given below.

(Nicky Greet)

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UK - How people love to talk about the weather: as Kin Hubbard, the US journalist who created cartoon character Abe Martin, said: "Don't knock the weather. If it didn't change once in a while, nine out of ten people couldn't start a conversation." Perhaps based on this predilection, this year's Unilever commission for the Tate Modern's Turbine Hall is 'The Weather Project' by artist Olafur Eliasson. This £250,000 installation is one of the largest ever seen in the UK, occupying the Gallery's entire Turbine Hall, which itself appears to have doubled in size due to the nature of the piece.

The space has been saturated with a fine mist that occasionally accumulates into faint, cloud-like formations along the walls, then disperses again. Overhead, the glass atrium of the Turbine Hall has disappeared and in its place is a reflection of the space below, created by a huge m

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Germany - Neumann & Müller is one of Germany's leading sound equipment rental companies, with 10 regional offices across the country, as well as bases in Prague and Brussels. Long-term users of Soundcraft mixing consoles, the company has just taken delivery of eight MH3 boards, four 24-channel desks (including console link kits) and four 40-channel desks (including console link kits).

Neumann & Müller have used Soundcraft Venue, Delta, K1 and K3 consoles for a wide variety of productions in the TV/Broadcast sector, corporate events and trade shows. With confidence in the brand, and a good relationship with Audio Pro, distributor of Soundcraft desks in Germany, the company is making a major investment in the MH3 model. "There's no better console in that price range which offers such a combination of feature set, build quality and sonic performance," explains Jörg ter

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Australia - Before the blood started to flow in the tournament proper, the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup on Friday 10 October was the latest stunning spectacle to grace Sydney's Olympic Stadium. The event ushered in the largest sporting event of 2003, and was broadcast live to an estimated one billion people worldwide.

Chameleon Touring Systems provided lighting designer Mark Hammer with a rig that included over 350 intelligent lighting fixtures. The rig, predominantly Martin Pro, included MAC 2000 washlights, MAC 2000 profiles, MAC 2000 Performances, MAC 600 washlights, MAC 300s and Atomic Strobes; this was also one of the first ever events for the new MAC 550. The 2000s did the main work on the stadium floor, from a height of up to 46m, while the 550s were used on the performance stage. Other fixtures included 56 VL2402 washlights from Vari-Lite, 24 Studio Due fixtur

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