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UK - The recent Asian Music Awards, held at London's Hammersmith Palais, saw the installation of KV2's revolutionary ES sound system by BEDA nominated installers, 52nd Street.

Looking for an improvement in overall sound quality and coverage at the venue, the KV2 system was physically dwarfed by 28 boxes of an existing NEXO house system installed five years ago, and in replacing it with only Six stacks of the more compact ES system, the management and promoters were interested if not slightly nervous as to what the results would be.

"At 2500 capacity everything tells you that these small speakers should not be enough, but like so many other KV2 experiences, the reality was a jaw dropping, word eating one" said KV2's Jonathan Reece-Farren As the Palais promotions and events co-ordinator, Atif Malik put it "Our sound proof Glass Bar isn't sound proof anymore, but

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Japan - TryAudio's Masaaki Azuma has taken delivery of a DiGiCo D5 Live 56EX for his live operations in Japan, purchased from Japanese pro audio supplier, ComodoMattina. "I knew of the D5's existence from my overseas friends in the PA business and first saw the D5 at the Frankfurt Musik Messe," says Azuma. "I was given a 15-minute 'how to use' explanation and was surprised that the D5 not only has a method of operation like an analogue mixing console, but is also very easy to set up. The D5 56EX version has many functions and doesn't take up a large amount of space at the mix position.

He continued: "I took a big risk with the D5, because we are the first user in Japan. But it has many advantages such as fantastic sound quality, clear sound image, easy operation and a variety of dynamics that analogue consoles do not have - this made it an easy choice. After

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UK - Nottingham-based Look4ideas.com is a new UK company dedicated to providing the latest in LED lighting products and solutions for interior and exterior projects. The company supplies bulbs, polychrome lighting, LED strips, tubes, channel letters and custom fittings, all utilizing LED light sources, aimed at applications including architectural and stage lighting, shop fitting, club and garden applications.

The company also offers an extensive range of LED bulbs, including standard fit E27 for 220-240VAC and MR16 GU5.3 at 12V AC/DC. LED lamp products include retrofit MR16 and many more. Their low consumption cool light and pure colour without filter makes them ideal for both professional and general decoration applications. All bulbs are available in red, green, yellow, blue, white and RGB mix.

Apart from the LED bulbs, which are available in stand-alone operation, Look4ide

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USA - The Jerry Bruckheimer/Warner Bros Television show Without a Trace - a drama about the Missing Persons Squad of the FBI, uses a grandMA light console (manufactured by MA Lighting in Germany and distributed in North America by A.C.T Lighting) for controlling the lighting on their two main stages at Warner Bros studios in Burbank, California.

Gaffer Derrick Kolus chose the grandMA light, and in addition he and his team run the free grandMA offline software on a laptop computer, which is networked to the main console via Ethernet. The laptop is used on their second stage, and eliminates the need to move the console back and forth when the company moves from one stage to the other.

"We run strictly conventionals - about 500 channels - and come from an Expression 3 programming background," explains Kolus. "But Mike Falconer and Joe Cabrera at A.C.T Li

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UK - Stage Electrics has announced the launch of its new website, which combines information on all the services offered by the company, with key data on products in their extensive hire and sales inventory. David Whitehead, Stage Electrics' managing director said: "The new website is the first phase of an ongoing plan to provide customers with a 'one stop' approach to gaining knowledge on the technical equipment and services we can provide."

An added feature for the technicians in the industry is the incorporation in the Hire section with useful information on some of the equipment, such as weight, lamp, power rating, number of DMX channels etc. There is also a facility for technical manuals to be downloaded.

Linda Moore Stage Electrics sales and marketing manager said: "We believe the site is easier to navigate, we wanted it to be bold and dynamic, providing o

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UK - Allen & Heath's iDR DSP system has been installed to manage the communications and audio requirements of Tussauds Group's new Splash Landings waterpark hotel at Alton Towers. The new system integrates and administers all audio requirements from paging and alarms to conferences and entertainment within the new complex and Alton Towers' existing hotel.

Bose Professional Systems Division carried out the audio installation, which covers 31 zones including receptions, shops, changing rooms, toilets, corridors, restaurants, lifts, conference facilities and the main pool area. Four iDR-8 networked units were installed at three stations around the complex, providing up to 27 inputs/outputs for the numerous audio requirements. PL-4 wall plates give rotary, switch and infrared control and access to the system is also available via a laptop from any of the three racks, enabling chang

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UK - Stage One Creative Services are on the move as part of their continuing development and expansion programme. The company is now based at Marston Moor Business Park at Tockwith, near York.

"This move is all about creating a better service for our multi-national customer base," said Stage One's Mark Johnson. "We've timed it carefully to avoid any disruption to business."The company's new contact details are: Stage One Creative Services Ltd, Hanger 88, Marston Moor Business Park, Tockwith, YO26 7QF; Tel: 01423 358001; Fax: 01423 358016.

(Lee Baldock)

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Australia - While most of us were busy watching the Rugby World Cup, the crew from ESS Australia were in the thick of preparations for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as a few things in between. For the opening ceremony at Telstra Stadium, ESS built a mobile rugby ball-shaped stage measuring 14m by 8m on which Australian band George performed. This stage was also used for Australian singing icon Kate Cebrano for her performance during the closing ceremony. A number of other structures were built around the stadium by ESS including the orchestra stage. "Considering the cast and crew for the opening ceremony numbered around 2,500, it all came together remarkably smoothly," commented Iain Barclay, ESS's man in Australia.

ESS also supplied one of their new, q50 type stages, built to a larger size of 14.4m by 9.6m at the Opera House for the show 'Rugby on the Hou

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UK - The Star Events Group installed a Vertech stage and supplied the rigging used by the Stereophonics to rock Cardiff's Millennium Stadium this December, for the final date of their European Tour, with support acts Ocean Colour Scene and Feeder.

The band's European tour took in 28 dates before its curtain down in Cardiff, with a total of 18 sell-out gigs in the UK. Having played a range of arenas on the tour, the shift up to a stadium sized show for their 'home crowd' of 52,000 meant a significant increase in the scale of the show for production manager Neil Macdonald. Where possible Macdonald stuck with the main tour suppliers for the finalé show (sound system from Capital Sound, lighting from VLPS London, catering by Eat to the Beat), however to create a visually spectacular setting for the band a specialist large scale stage was required, so he turned to suppliers Pete Hol

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UK - Lighting designer Bill Sheldon is using an Avolites Diamond 4 Vision console on the current UK arena leg of the Meat Loaf 'Couldn't Have Said It Better' tour, which has been on the road since summer 2003. The Vision is the most powerful in the current Avolites range of consoles, designed for controlling large shows with lots of moving fixtures.

Sheldon has worked with Meat Loaf since 1989. He and FOH sound engineer George Wehrlin are now the longest serving members of the team apart from Meat himself. Sheldon has always been a keen Avolites user, his first encounter with an Avo console was back in 1995, when he first used a Diamond 2, and he's not looked back since.

For the current tour, he jumped at the chance to take the new console on tour. The Vision was specially purchased by Creative Stage Lighting in North Creek, New York state. It was the first D4 Vision to land

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Sweden - Italian lighting manufacturer LDR has provided special versions of its Canto 1200 MSR followspot to light up Stockholm's most important shopping centre façade. Located in the heart of the city, close to the central square, 'Ahlens Holm' is the reference point for shopping in the whole city area. The new, permanent installation is one element of a campaign to boost the shopping trade during the dark Swedish winter.

The original idea of the lighting designer was to empathize and renew the external façade by matching the original building design with three stripes of light. After having approached various companies, inviting them to throw suggestions about the project, Madeco (LDR dealer) and Abstract Teknisk Design were selected for the project as they came up with a cost-effective solution and could match the customer's needs.

The original project was first realized

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Italy - An Outline sound system consisting of self-powered Micra Reflex enclosures and KW-15 subwoofers (Kanguro system) was chosen for installation in the innovative multimedia flagship stores opened in Milan and Rome by Telecom Italia, Italy's national leader in the information and communication technology field and one of the most solid industrial groups in Europe.

Naomi Campbell and Ettore, the "talking" dog in the group's publicity spots, were at the inauguration of the Milan store in December. Mauro Sentinelli, general manager of TIM, and Giuseppe Sala, general manager of T.I. Wireline, were at the Rome event in Piazza Colonna, the square that hosts the Italian Parliament. The aim of these two new venues, designed as 'multimedia workshops', is to present in an innovative way all the new products of the Group (Telecom Italia, Tim and Telecom Italia Media), includi

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UK - Adlib Audio has completed its latest installation for the high profile Living Room bar/restaurant brand in Leeds for owners Living Ventures. The Living Rooms all feature high standards of audio quality. Major emphasis and attention to detail is paid to getting it right for sounds and music within in the venues, and it's regarded as an essential ambience builder, whether in the background or a live performance from DJs or pianists.

Adlib has already installed sound systems in several other Living Room venues - and were asked to supply their winning formula again for Leeds. Adlib's Andy Dockerty explains: "The challenge in Leeds was that the venue was previously a large, soulless office block divided into many small rooms by plasterboard walls and false ceilings. Getting the space from the bare site to the finished product was a major operation - and the space is now com

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Austrialia - Jenolan Caves is Australia's premier cave system, located approximately 200km west of Sydney in the Blue Mountains world heritage area. Once a year, the enormous Grand Archway, which forms the entrance to the caves, is closed to traffic to make way for the annual Carols in the Caves spectacular. The event is in its 11th year and attracts thousands to its two annual shows.

Lighting designers Richard Neville and Clint Dulieu returned to the caves in 2003 with a lighting design to complement the visually stunning show. Neville remarked: "The actual show is relatively small and almost amateur in nature, so it's up to the lighting to really make the event special." The lighting for the Carols is such an integral part of the show that each year a choreographed lighting display is featured to show off the capabilities of the rig."

Neville a

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USA - A new US talk show, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, has debuted with HES fixtures in the rig. The show debuted on 12 January on the Fox network with High End Systems' new ColorCommand in the set. Lighting designer John Conti specified the dichroic colour-changing Par/washlight fixtures after seeing a demo at High End Systems' Los Angeles office.

The hour-long show, which airs weekdays live from a studio at the Hollywood & Highland complex in Los Angeles, takes a different format from most talk shows. It's described as a daily news magazine/variety show focusing on entertainment news, celebrity guests and live performances, but it's also heavy on fan interaction, by way of instant polls, countdowns and instant messaging: for example, select fans are given video camera access to do their own interviews and reporting for the show at celebrity events.

The premiere show on

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UK - Described by the Daily Mail as "visually one of Kylie's best" the princess of pop Kylie Minogue used a one-off concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo to launch her latest album Body Language. The show took the same amount of design time, preparation and production as a whole tour and incorporated Paris street scenes, huge steel constructions and a motorbike to boot.

Stage Technologies, in conjunction with The Rigging Partnership, provided the scenic wow factor for the show with an automation system to complement the starlet's visual extravaganza. For her grand entrance they used four Big Tow winches to lower her onto the stage on a mechanical girder, as characterized on the Body Language album cover, with a further two monster LED screens tracking up and down stage. With four thousand screaming fans and a number one from the album already under her b

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UK - Two AFI boom lifts were among 13 hired by Concert Lights Ltd to help it install rigging for lighting, sound and video for a banking conference held recently at the NEC in Birmingham. Concert Lights of Bolton in Lancashire required 13 machines to carry out the installation work because the conference was held in three different halls within the NEC.

Working on a phased basis over 10 days, the company used the boom lifts to attach over 300 electric motors to the roof of the NEC in order to lift the structures that support the lighting, sound and video equipment. The AFI machines on hire to Concert Lights had working heights from 5.7m up to 25m. One of the largest machines - the Haulotte H25 TPX boom (see above picture) proved to be particularly versatile because its rotating jib enables the operator to gain better access by manoeuvring the cage into different positions in rel

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UK - Stagecraft has made a major investment in new hire equipment to enable organizations to use cutting-edge sound and lighting technology in their performances. The company has seen a significant increase in the demand for professional lighting, sound and staging equipment during 2003 and is currently working on installations in schools, event management for music and drama festivals, and on conferences in South Africa.

The Hire and Live Events department was recently responsible for the creative design and technical management of seven major events over three weeks. One of these included a 1920s themed event for a 60th birthday celebration. "Centred around the art deco period, this was a great event to work on," commented technical director Mike Naish. "Our team was involved from the very start of the planning stages. We designed the invitations, set, lighting

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UK - XL Video is supplying the controversial RNT/Out of Joint co-production of The Permanent Way with video hardware. The production's video elements have been co-ordinated by Dick Straker of Mesmer Productions, who devised the video system in conjunction with designer Bill Dudley, and XL Video's project manager Malcolm Mellows. The Permanent Way has just opened at the National's Cottesloe Theatre. The hard-hitting David Hare work highlights the post privatization mis-management of the railways in the wake of recent rail disasters like Paddington, Hatfield and Clapham.

Bill Dudley - with whom XL Video has also worked on Hitchcock Blonde and The Coast of Utopia - decided to use video as a scenic and narrative vehicle to denote times, locations, ideas and thoughts. Video provides a simple, practical and highly effective solution to deliver a number of m

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UK - Summit Steel co-ordinated all production rigging elements of the show that celebrated the naming of Cunard's new flagship ocean liner, the Queen Mary 2. Summit also supplied a specialist video screen tracking system for a large LED screen supplied by XL Video.

The 1,132 ft long, 17 deck, 150,000 tonne vessel - the largest liner in the world - was officially named by Her Majesty The Queen at Southampton Docks. Summit was working for event producer Robbie Williams. The 2200 plus VIP audience, royal box and the event stage were all encased in a customized ESS 'theatre', located on the dockside, just adjacent to the ship. The rear stage 'wall' was made from a transparent material, and the structure was strategically angled to line up with the ship's bow. A stylish kabuki drop revealed the QM2's name on the bow - through the back wall - acting as an atmospheric stage backdrop.

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UK - PLASA Media has learned that six key members of the Flying Pig Systems team based at High End Systems (HES) Europe's London headquarters, have resigned from the company. The six include company co-founder and designer of the Wholehog, Wholehog II and Wholehog III consoles, Nick Archdale and product manager Richard Mead.

Richard Mead told PLASA Media: "After so many years it is sad to be leaving Flying Pig. I don't think it is a decision any of us took lightly, and I am disappointed that it was not possible to find a way forward acceptable to all involved. All of us are very proud of everything we developed at Flying Pig and want to thank everyone in the industry who has worked with us and been so supportive over the years."

He added: "Right now we are all taking a long-overdue break and exploring various opportunities. We have always enjoyed working togeth

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Brazil - Martin Professional's Brazilian distributor, ProShop, has delivered the company's new MAC 550 profile spots to rental company LPL, who immediately put them into use on two prestigious events. One show featured Brazilian musical legend Roberto Carlos, who performed for 150,000 spectators in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium and an estimated television audience of 50 million people.

LPL delivered 24 new MAC 550 profile spots for the show. Mounted on vertical risers between large columns on a massive stage, the 550s provided everything from energetic pop-laden looks to more subtle, mood-generating impressions. Days later, the MAC 550 helped ring in the New Year on Brazilian television TV Globo's taping of its annual New Year's Eve show. Broadcast on 31 December, the show was expected to draw an audience of some 80 million. LPL supplied a host of MACs to TV Globo, the world

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UK - Theatre and broadcast sound specialist Orbital Sound has recently collaborated with JFMG to create a new frequency plan in the UK. Designed to ease RF licensing nationwide, it has also been devised to augment the potential of RTS Telex's range of BTR 700 and 800 wireless intercom systems.

Paul Gill, principal engineer at JFMG Ltd explained: "The old frequencies were creating frustration for users who found that we couldn't issue a licence at many venues due to the risk of causing interference to TV reception. With the increasing popularity of the BTR wireless intercom it was imperative to find a solution that better meets the needs of the industry but safeguards other services."

The foundations for this breakthrough were presented at a meeting recently hosted by Orbital at their central London HQ. Given clear understanding of the operational deployment and the

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Spain - On 17 December, Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats opened at Madrid's Teatro Coliseum de Madrid, with Fourth Phase, London providing the lighting rig. Already lighting the Madrid productions We Will Rock You and Phantom of the Opera, Cats reaffirms Fourth Phase's presence in the city. Working with lighting designer Howard Eaton, Fourth Phase provided a selection of lighting equipment including 90 moving lights, as well as conventional luminaires, control and dimming.

Taking advantage of developments in lighting technology (the moving light was still on the test bench in 1981), Eaton has devised an all-new lighting design for Cats in Madrid. In addition, his lighting company, Howard Eaton Lighting Ltd, has provided a variety of special effects equipment for the show, including fibre optic cloths, fog machines and pyrotechnic hardware. He explai

  1. Robe UK supplies Trilogy, Doncaster
  2. HES lights the 2003 Nobel Awards Banquet
  3. InnovaSON on Top of the Pops
  4. High End Systems lights the Ice Palace
  5. Audace on the move
  6. Lighthouse leads the way for T-Mobile
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