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UK - Age-Sex-Location is a comical but philosophical work by Marcus Markou and Richard Redman, about how emerging technology allows us to explore the age-old issues of identity, fear, dreams and the illusion of reality.

Premiering at Hammersmith Riverside, Age-Sex-Location is aimed at a young audience who might not necessarily be attracted to conventional theatre productions. Writer Marcus Markou decided he always wanted projection to be a fundamental element of the production; it seemed an obvious theatrical mechanism for a story set in cyberspace.

Video and lighting designer, Sven Ortel and video co-designer Dick Straker (both of Mesmer Productions) came onboard via director Pip Pickering, and all worked closely with Markou to define the design of the performance space. Straker and Ortel asked XL Video to supply the video kit, with hardware co-ordination handled by XL proje

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USA/Turkey - Switchcraft, the American manufacturer of audio and video patchbays, connectors and cable assemblies, has recently strengthened its international distribution by appointing Radikal Limited to distribute its products to the broadcast and professional audio markets in Turkey.

Stephen Waldron, Switchcraft's director of international sales, said: "Radikal has been supplying Turkish broadcasters since 1997 and we are very pleased to enter this new relationship that will increase the supply and support of our products and introduce the Switchcraft range to new customers and markets."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

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Denmark - "Back in 1987 when Lydkompagn9et was formed there were two dominant sound companies in Denmark - CSR (Copenhagen Sound Reinforcement) and DPA (Danish PA). CSR no longer exists and DPA has merged with Sound Co. Neither considered Lyd' a serious threat, both companies underestimated their strong business orientation and the company's determination to sweep away old practises."

That's Lars Fredriksen, a Danish freelance sound-man of some 20 years' experience, who only recently has chosen to leave the road and find a more settled career in sales. Readers may recognize the Lyd' name - they featured in L&SI when they serviced the Eurovision Song Contest from Copenhagen in 2001. But Nordíc is the new brand - I asked Nordíc's MD Lars Aunsberg, why the change of name? "Two reasons; our customers from Germany and the UK couldn't pronounce the old name; and secon

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Switzerland - A sophisticated new multi-level dance venue recently opened close to the Swiss city of Lucerne. The technical infrastructure features a successful integration of equipment from the Harman Pro product portfolios, with contractors Habegger Media Performance AG selecting BSS Soundwebs as the preferred routing matrix and DSP control.

Habegger specified a pair of BSS 9088ii (respectively configured for Mic and Line), with local remote control provided by two BSS 9012 'Shrimp' wall panels. JBL Control Contractor series loudspeakers form the main PA system across the venue's three storeys, powered by Crown CTs amplifiers, and equipped with a dbx DriveRack 260. The club consists of two dance floors, which can be operated independently, or with a single sound source. In addition there is a lounge, four bars and further different small areas and alcoves covered by JBL Contro

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Germany - During the recent tour by the group PUR, one tool played a key role in communications: the Telex BTR-700. The Leonberg-based radio equipment specialists Bareither+Raisch was responsible for the communication between technicians during the recent tour by what is currently Germany's most successful pop group, Pur. The venues were 40 of the largest concert halls in Germany. Bareither+Raisch's most important behind-the-scenes weapon, according to Stefan Raisch, was the BTR-700 from Telex. When the tour was over, Raisch expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the system: "The BTR-700 provided perfect communication between the stage, FOH and the follow spot operators arranged in echelon behind the FOH, all of whom were a considerable distance apart. Quite aside from saving us the time and expense of setting up long cable runs, the BTR-700 impressed everyone - t

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UK - Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA) presented its Design and Technology Futures Forum 2004, an industry-meets-academia event designed to encourage interaction between the professional production industry and the college. This inaugural event was organized by Kathy Sandys, lecturer in Theatre & Performance Design. Its ultimate aim, explains Sandys, is to ensure that LIPA continues to produce graduate students equipped with the relevant practical and theoretical skills to be employable when they leave.

The forum attracted nearly 60 people from all areas of the industry. Speakers included Bandit Lites UK director Mark Powell, and two LIPA graduates - Matt Gant and Sion Clarke - both now working as TV production designers. Powell paid tribute to the great creative energy at LIPA, and the commitment of the teaching and support staff to ensuring that students receive q

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UK - ELP recently installed a temporary theatre grid into The Royal Festival Hall (RFH) which the company says will significantly improve rigging efficiency for touring theatre productions.

Although normally a concert platform, with no proscenium arch or flying grid, the RFH does host traditional theatre, including recent productions of The Nutcracker and Swan Lake by Russia's Stanislavski Ballet. Typically, rigging contractors are brought in to transform the hall into a working proscenium arch theatre, with a flying grid and track system for moving scenery and lighting during performances.

However, ELP's MD Ronan Willson, AutoCAD specialist Tim Williamson and project manager Toby Dare came up with a unique approach which eliminated most of the problems encountered by previous systems.

A Supertruss structure, interlaced with a series of aluminium 'I' beams, increased the he

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UK - XL Video is supplying all the production video hardware via Blink TV to Production North for Busted's first UK arena tour, to be production managed by Iain Whitehead. The tour is completely sold out, and causing a stir as the UK's immensely popular pop-punk-rock band capitalize on their Brit Award for Best Breakthrough Act, and three top 10 singles in just over 12 months.

For the in-your-face, hi-energy performance - more akin to an AC/DC or Offspring gig than a pop show - the video is directed by Ruary Macphie (who's other 'recents' include Robbie Williams, David Gray). He's using one of XL's three-camera packages for IMAG, with one camera at FOH and two in the pit on track-and-dolly, to produce action-packed visuals that match the band's intense energy.

There are two side screens, and a large 60sqm LED screen onstage. All screens take a collage of IMAG and pre-recorded

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USA - Super Vision International, Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPVA) a world leading manufacturer of fiber optic and LED lighting products announced today that Ashby Trade Sign Supplies LTD has selected Super Vision as its exclusive supplier for LED sign lighting systems. Super Vision's FlexLEDs and #61652 product is an energy saving LED lighting system for channel letters. Acknowledged as the UK's foremost supplier of aluminum sign blanks, Ashby is noted for speed and flexibility of service and with a customer base of over 4,000 sign makers. Ashby is pioneering the introduction of LED (light emitting diodes) in the U.K. sign industry.

"While we have always been lead by the sign makers requirements, our research indicates that the advantages of LEDs, with 80 percent energy saving over neon, reduced installation and maintenance expenses will undoubtedly win over sign specifiers and retail

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UK - Nottingham based concert PA hire company, Sound of Music Ltd, recently purchased a 40-channel Allen & Heath ML4000 live sound VCA console to update its existing hire equipment.

"The events for which we are providing sound reinforcement are increasingly high profile and high-tech making our original desk rather dated. We needed an innovative console with plenty of AUX sends, dual functionality to handle monitors from FOH if we needed to without compromising on FX sends and superb features like VCA capability for grouping," comments Sound of Music's audio engineer, Sash Pochibko.

"When Allen & Heath launched the 'B' option offering extra stereo channels for the ML series at the PLASA show last year, the ML4000 was the ideal mixer for our needs. Not only did it fall in our price bracket, it fulfilled our spec requirements. The brand status also complements our

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Denmark - On 16 March 2004 Seelite A/S and DPA SoundCo A/S signed a collaboration agreement and to simplify business procedures and the communication flow for customers and partners, DPA SoundCo will move their office to Seelite's administration building in Copenhagen on 1 April 2004. The agreement, will strengthen the two companies' position on the market resulting in a collaboration that makes it one of Scandinavia's largest suppliers of technical turnkey solutions for the event and entertainment industry, concerts and theatres, fairs and exhibitions, film and TV production and the corporate market.

"The fact that we share office is not to be interpreted as a merger between Seelite and DPA SoundCo. We remain two independent companies merely sharing office, skills and resources", says Sten Adlet Jensen, managing director of DPA SoundCo. He adds: "We have chosen e

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UK - Manchester based corporate sound rental specialist, Audio Alliance has recently supplied a comprehensive system for Levi Strauss & Co's latest Pan-European Sales Launch in Porto, Portugal. Audio Alliance was working in conjunction with Production Company Airplay performing to an audience of Levi's sales teams from across Europe.

Such a demanding and varied event needed a well-designed system, which Audio Alliance supplied and installed in the 1000 seat purpose built theatre. Airplay's senior account manager, Rachel Jebb explains why she chose this particular sound rental company: "We've worked with Oli Driver and his team from Audio Alliance for several years and their knowledge and professionalism during a challenging project is essential. We knew we'd need the skill set and composure that they offer, for a job that requires lots of input and flexibility and as ever O

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UK - Continuing the series of successful opera productions staged at London's Royal Albert Hall, the presentation of La Boheme continues to build on the high production values set in previous years. Directed by internationally renowned Francesca Zambello and featuring Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by David Parry, the piece played in the round in the splendid surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall to audiences totaling around 50,000 people during February and March.

Once again, Out Boards' TiMax delay matrix system was specified because of its unique localization capabilities, enabling the vocal reinforcement system to be as transparent as possible while delivering the highest levels of intelligibility. Remaining in the digital domain between the D5 console and TiMax, thus removing unnecessary D-A and A-D conversion, further enhanced quality.

Out Boards' Robin Wh

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UK - Stage engineering and automation specialists Stage Technologies was recently presented with the official grant and emblem for the Queen's award for enterprise. The company was granted the award last April for excellence in the International Trade category and was officially presented with the accolade on behalf of her Majesty The Queen by Colonel Kay OBE, TD DL.

Originally introduced in 1996 The Queen's Award for Enterprise is one of the most highly competitive and sought after accolades a UK business can achieve. Thousands of applicants from some of the most successful businesses in every industry apply for an award but only a few achieve a high enough standard to warrant such an honour.

Mark Ager and John Hastie founded Stage Technologies in 1994 with a mission to develop and supply theatres and entertainment venues internationally with computer-controlled systems to mo

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Germany - Few TV series in recent years have got people so worked up - and entire nations so riveted - as Big Brother, which first aired on the Dutch channel Veronica, and few series have enjoyed quite the same success internationally, as home-grown versions of the show have sprouted in countries all over the world. The harbinger of the current 'reality TV' boom, Big Brother made the likes of Zlatko and Jürgen into national celebrities in Germany - only to see them plunge back into obscurity within a few months. The same phenomenons, and the same phenomenal ratings, have been seen all over Europe and even in America. Love it or loathe it, you have to admit that on a technical level, the production is first rate.

With multiple camera units positioned all round the set and much of the material being broadcast live, a large production team working flat-out is needed

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UK - To mark the launch of Love Actually on DVD and video, Universal Pictures is the first to showcase the latest Elumin8 technology in its bus T-Side campaign across the capital. The result is a 1.8m illuminated red heart on each of 20 bus sides in London, that pulses as the bus travels across town.

In a campaign put together by MediaCom Outdoor and Impact, Viacom Outdoor's special projects team, the Love Actually buses form part of a wider campaign to promote the release of the hit movie. EMG, senior planner Ben Gordon and MediaCom Outdoor's Matt Styant, devised this highly innovative campaign to maximize high street presence for the client. The pulsating heart technology is made possible by a small electrical current through the drop stem of the T-Side.

The campaign, which was planned by Outdoor MediaCom and bought by Posterscope's innovation department, Hyper

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UK/Romania/Germany - As a result of increased business in mainland Europe, together with steady growth in its custom design and build operation in the UK, LiteStructures has announced the formation of a joint venture manufacturing operation in Romania, LiteStructures RO. Based in Slatina, 200km west of Bucharest, LiteStructures RO will manufacture a range of standard aluminium products, principally for sale in Germany and Central Europe, including two of its brand leading truss products, AstraLite and LitePro.

Adrian Brooks, managing director of LiteStructures in the UK and chairman of LiteStructures RO, said: "We have a highly skilled workforce in Wakefield and the factory has benefited from significant investment over the past two years. Manufacturing standard products in Romania means that the UK operation will be able to concentrate on higher margin, specialist construc

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USA - Even the best live sound engineers can use a little help every now and then. Mark Ballard, a UK-based independent front-of-house engineer and system technician, reports that he never leaves home without Metric Halo's SpectraFoo sound analysis, metering, and control software. "It just works on everything and anything," says Ballard. "I take it on every show."

Ballard has been using SpectraFoo's SpectraGraph, SpectraGram, and the Transfer Function applications for nearly five years, during which time he has seen live sound technology advance to such an extent that Metric Halo's analysis software has become indispensable when fine-tuning a system. At a recent corporate show, he reports: "I took about three or four frequencies out, just minute slivers. I gained 6 or 8dB of headroom compared to doing it with a graphic equalizer just from being that accu

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USA/Europe - Avesco recently announced some important changes in the Group's management structure, which will take effect immediately. The Group's audio-visual services businesses are to be split into two geographic regions, Europe and North America. David Nicholson, Avesco's chief executive will head Europe and Graham Andrews, currently CEO of the CT Division, will head North America.

Andrews has been appointed as CEO of all the Group's operations. North America represents an enormous market for Avesco's services and he will concentrate his efforts on exploiting the many opportunities in that market. To service the operation, he and his family will be moving to Los Angeles.

In Europe, all audio visual and broadcast services businesses will report to Nicholson, including Creative Technology in London and CT Germany. In addition, there are two significant changes in the London

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UK - Drapes and rigging specialists Blackout announces the launch of a new website. Designed by London based Orangutan Design, the visually engaging virtual environment is a comprehensive overview of the company's range of products and services, complete with user-friendly navigation system.

Homepage links provide detailed information on Blackout's exhibitions and corporate events services, themed environment creation, parties and permanent Installations. Each section is energized with a mix of HTML text, high-res photos and subtle use of Flash animation giving online visitors a first-hand impression of Blackout's extensive creative and practical capabilities for all types of events.

The Products section provides details of Blackout's vast range of drapes, materials, rigging and effects, together with a wealth of information including charts showing colour, types and sizes of

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Korea - The Seoul Arts Center in Korea is hosting the shortest run of Mamma Mia! yet to be staged, with the 2,800 seat Opera Theater breaking another record as the largest venue for an international production of the show. Mamma Mia's three-month run concludes in April, after an investment of some US$6.7 million by the joint production team of ACOM International, Seensee Musical Company, Seoul Arts Center and MBC TV. This is the 11th international production of Mamma Mia! and the largest musical to date in Korea.

The sound system had to be extended considerably to cater for the Opera Theater's large auditorium, which comprises three balconies. With a 105-input Cadac J-Type Live Production Console at the core, the standard Mamma Mia! FOH system included additional L-Acoustics V-DOSC and SB218 sub arrays and is engineered by Ki-young Kim of Korea Seoul

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USA - Mackie recently announced an agreement with Lake Technology Limited, designers of the Lake Contour Digital Loudspeaker processor, in which Lake will develop EQ and loudspeaker plug-ins for the new Mackie TT24 Digital Live Console.

The new Mackie LP48 expansion card brings a number of enhancements to the already powerful TT24 in three possible configurations. First, the card can be configured in Lake Loudspeaker Processor mode as a 4-input by 8-output loudspeaker processor to provide eight channels of balanced analogue output with line drive capability. Second, it can provide the user with up to 12 channels of Lake-designed insert EQ processing including the true response Lake Ideal Graphic EQ and Lake Mesa EQ with asymmetrical filters. Finally, users can configure the card with six channels of insertable EQ processing and a 2-input by 4-output Lake Loudspeaker Processor.

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USA - Visual Terrain recently completed the lighting design for Space: A Journey To Our Future, a traveling exhibit created by Clear Channel Exhibitions. Space opened at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington 22 November 2003.and continues until 9 May 2004. Considering the unique requirements of a traveling exhibition, designers Lisa Passamonte Green and Matt Levesque developed a lighting system to blend the creative desires with the practicalities of the project's lifespan. "Our goal was to create a design that enhanced the special features of each environment by integrating much of the lighting within the scenic elements," Passamonte explains. Using a combination of architectural and theatrical fixtures, Visual Terrain created the coolness of space with the warm magic of discovery.

"We were fortunate to work with such a creative and expe

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UK - Xtreme Audio Visual has revitalized the dance floor of one of Southend-on-Sea's leading nightclubs with a new ElectroVoice Rx system. According to Zinc's manager: "Even normal people have noticed the difference!" by which we assume he means his customers . . .

Zinc, where the top club nights such as Hed Kandi, Funk-U, CocoCuba and Rewind attract a capacity 400-plus crowd, has three bars, a semi-outside terrace overlooking the seafront and a chill-out area. Essex-based club installation specialist Xtreme AV were asked to design and install a new system on long lease, having successfully provided the venue with rental systems in the past. A new EV Rx system was delivered; six Rx 212/75 high-output full-range cabinets, stacked three each side of the DJ booth, with four RX 218S subwoofers. Two Rx 115/75s provide infill where necessary.

ElectroVoice Precision Series

  1. VLPS goes country
  2. ElectroVoice Evids at Canary Wharf
  3. ABTT is making sound moves in 2004
  4. Maxxyz controlled MAC rig for BBC series
  5. Atomic Kitten tour with LiteStructures
  6. Wolfson awarded New Company of the Year
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