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Greece - Creative Technology London were contracted by Jack Morton Worldwide to provide a turnkey video solution for the spectacular Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Andrew Hawker, CT's technical director, worked on the project for a year, and was responsible for designing and installing the projection system. Using eight Barco XLM25HD video projectors, images were projected onto eight floating 'rock fragments' during the 'Allegory' section of the opening ceremony, played out to a narrative and soundtrack of Mahler's 3rd Symphony.

'Allegory' was the most technically-challenging part of the ceremony, and took the audience on a journey through landmark periods of Greek history - spanning thousands of years - using sculpture as a metaphor.

When the galaxy of floating rocks surrounding the central feature of a cube rose into the air, the faces of the rock fragmen

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USA - Originally called 'The Palace', Avalon has some serious history in Hollywood, having played host to everyone from Charlie Chaplin in the 20s to the Beatles, Culture Club, Nirvana and many others. It was made most famous by Jerry Lewis who produced his TV show from the venue for many years. Basically a theatre, it lends itself very well to staging productions, the high ceilings providing a great canvas for a light show, and still has the original hemp pulley system.

As Richie Worboys, who was commissioned to refit the club said: "When I was commissioned I picked ShowCAD Artist for the venue as my experience with it for the last seven years has been fantastic. The software approach makes it the ideal choice for a nightclub installation - not to mention the price and flexibility."

This flexibility extends to allowing users to build their own front-end control surf

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UK - The Scottish Parliament has chosen Bosch's advanced congress sound management and communications system for the new Holyrood parliament building in Edinburgh which opens later this year. The innovative new building will feature a fully digital DCN Digital Congress system from Bosch Security Systems to provide high quality digital sound management with electronic voting, multilingual translation facilities as well as 'Smart Card' reading for automatic identification and authentication of members.

Additional features include Infra-Red and Inductive Loop audio facilities for enhanced audio communication for the hard of hearing, plus high quality sound reinforcement for both the main chamber and press and public galleries. The system allows simultaneous translation into various languages including Gaelic as well as other EC languages when hosting international events. The Infr

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Spain - Since its launch, the Aero line array system is rapidly becoming the choice of an increasing number of sound engineers worldwide. The Aero system has seen action in concerts and live events in Korea, El Salvador, Ecuador, Italy, Argentina and the US. Most recently, the stage was in Mongolia, one of the world's most exotic travel destinations.

Mr Orgoin Bayar, owner of the leisure centre 'UB Palace', the largest in the capital of Ulaan Baatar, was impressed with the performance of the Aero systems he had seen at the Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound show. After comparing the D.A.S. system with many others, he decided on acquiring the first line array system in Mongolia, buying 20 x Aero 48 large format line array modules and 12 x Aero-218 Sub low frequency systems. On 10 July the system debuted at the 'Naadam Festival', the largest live event in Mongolia. The outdoor event wa

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UK - CP Sound, Staines-based creative lighting and sound specialists, has completed the second stage of an installation at the popular Waxy O'Connor's concept bar in Birmingham.

This follows the original audio design and installation that was completed by CP Sound in 2002, including JBL speakers, a Rolec computer music system and RSE amplification. The entrance area has been jazzed up with the addition of five MADColor MBI 150 colour changing fixtures, controlled by a Raving MAD DMX controller, specified for its simplicity and ease of operation. Push button control offers a pre-selection of different lighting modes - 'mood', 'chill', 'dance' and 'mad'.

CP's Colin Pattenden recommended the addition of a JBL sub bass speaker to boost sound 'feel' inside the entrance. Downstairs in Waxy's main Church Bar, Pattenden and his team added four HTI 150 Arc discharge Power Flower lighti

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UK - Polaron plc has strengthened its position as a leading European lighting controls company with the addition of the iLight Group. The AIM-listed, broad-based technology group has acquired the entire share capital of iLight Group Ltd, with the purchased finalised on 1 September 2004. The iLight group, which contains the market leading lighting control companies' iLight Ltd and Zero 88 Lighting Ltd, is now part of Polaron's control systems division.

David Kerr director and majority shareholder of iLight Group Ltd, has agreed to join Polaron Controls Division board of directors as non-executive chairman. Commenting on the acquisition, Joe Stelzer, CEO of Polaron plc said: "In line with our stated strategy at the time of our Aim listing in March, this acquisition strengthens our controls division with an enlarged portfolio of products and specialised sales and R&D teams th

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Germany - The Compulite Vector console has recently been used on the RTL television production of The Dome 31. Filmed 3 September at the Frankenhalle in Nuremberg the three hour mega show, which has run four times a year since 1997, featured over 30 of the top German up and coming pop stars. The line up included UK groups Faithless and Blazin' Squad and US band Maroon 5.

With a stage of 450m2 and an audience of 10000, the shows producers wanted the best in lighting as well as the best performers, so lighting designer Dave Davey was called on to ensure the show was the most spectacular yet. With an extremely hectic schedule, Davey recruited Nigel Catmur as Show lighting director, Ross Williams as Catalyst operator, Russell Grubiak to run the audience lights and Bill Peachment to run all the moving lights on his Compulite Vector system.

The moving light rig consisted of 33 Marti

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UK - Creative Technology has commissioned its first digital portable production unit. Managing director Mark Elliott says that while this is the first to be developed, the company's intention is to build up to half a dozen of the units over the next 12 months. "We are taking our lead from the broadcast world," he stated. "Although our analogue PPUs still work extremely well, the new system will give us greater functionality in a smaller package, and added portability."

After extensive evaluation, CT decided on the Grass Valley Kayak from Thomson as the hub of the new system. The Kayak DD 1ME (mix/effects) digital vision mixer, he says is proving very popular in the rental staging environment in the US. "Although it has the added whistles and bells, the ergonomics will be familiar to traditionalists - it's a very approachable desk."

Alongside thi

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UK - It's business as usual at PCM, the Wirral-based flying and rigging sales specialists, despite the company's last minute decision against participating at PLASA - due to the current restructuring.

Paul Kelly has now assumed the role of MD, following the recent departure of John Jones. Kelly has been with the company for 12 years and has been general manger since 1997. Everything else carries on as normal - the sales office is still active and operational, headed by Kelly and Tracy Hall. PCM carries a full range of Lodestar motors, extensive spares, motor controllers and accessories.

Kelly comments: "It's a very exciting time for PCM right now. However the timing of all the recent changes, the increased administration plus a very full order book to deal with meant something had to give. After much deliberation, we decided not do PLASA this year, and instead focus all e

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UK - Coinciding with the launch of Diana Scrimgeour's new book, U2 Show, a beautifully illustrated history of the legendary Irish band's innovative tour productions, PLASA (in association with Total Production International and the PSA) is presenting an exclusive seminar featuring two of the band's longest-serving touring personnel, at the forthcoming PLASA Show.

Hosted by TPI editor Mark Cunningham, the seminar - Designing for U2 - will feature Willie Williams and Joe O'Herlihy in conversation about their creative and technical involvement with U2, and how advances in technology have been successfully (and ingeniously) applied to deliver the band's constantly evolving performance ethos.

A leading lighting and show designer, Willie Williams joined U2's entourage in the early 1980s, becoming their LD on the 1983 War tour. His combination of hi-tech media and lo-tech eccentrici

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Italy - During his summer tour Buoni o Cattivi (The good or the bad), Italian superstar Vasco Rossi played in sold-out stadiums and halls across the country. The show's impressive lighting concept, designed by LD Giovanni Pinna, included a large number of moving lights and LEDs, with control via a total of three MA lighting control desks.

The moving lights and dimmers required 4000 channels of control. Two grandMA full-size consoles, with 4096 parameters each, were integrated in a network: one of these consoles was the main desk, with the other serving as a backup. In addition, a grandMA light (4096 channels) was included to provide control of the LED technology.

The DMX data from all consoles was sent to a LAN switch (local area network) via Ethernet, using the ArtNet protocol. As the heart of the network this switch divided the data to further LAN nodes. These nodes

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UK - A.C. Lighting's Audio division has supplied the West Yorkshire Playhouse with two Yamaha DM1000 audio mixing consoles as part of an upgrade of the venue's sound equipment. Since opening in March 1990, the venue has established a reputation both nationally and internationally as one of Britain's most exciting producing theatres, and is the largest regional repertory theatre outside of London and Stratford. The Playhouse produces 16 of its own shows each year in its two auditoria, approximately a third of which are world or British premieres.

When the theatre wanted to replace the existing sound mixers in its two auditoria - the 750-seat Quarry Theatre and 350 seat Courtyard Theatre - they approached A.C. to supply the two Yamaha DM1000 consoles. As a certified Yamaha digital dealer, A.C. were able to offer an extensive in-house consultation and after-sales backup service, in

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UK - Temporary power distribution systems used in the entertainment and events industries will be significantly affected by the changes to the UK phase and neutral colour-coding for cables. We are currently in a transitional period with installers now able to implement the changes although the new regulations take full effect in April 2006. As these new changes permeate through the industry, there will be many situations where potential hazards could arise from the mixing of new and old colour schemes, most critically where temporary equipment is hired from more than one supplier for an event, or where suppliers have not yet made the expensive wholesale change to the new colour scheme.

Several PLASA members and readers of L&SI have already expressed concern about the new system and the potential safety issues. To discuss the implications in a wider context, PLASA is holding a d

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UK XL Video's busy Corporate division continues to expand with the acquisition of event AV specialists' Event Technical Services. Event Technical Services' former directors John Hooker and Malcolm Whittall have now joined XL Video's proactive account handling team, which recently expanded with the addition of Phil Goddard and Greg Rice.

"We're delighted to have John and Malcolm onboard" says XL's Lee Spencer. "Their collective experience, industry knowledge and contacts are a great asset to our busy and growing Corporate department, and their energy and enthusiasm fits perfectly with XL's future plans."

Together, the pair bring over 40 years of combined industry experience to XL. They will be responsible for designing, and project-managing the supply of complete corporate AV systems for XL's diverse range of events and shows. Whittall's broadcast live even

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UK - Setting new standards in efficiency, 32 companies have been identified in the latest Plimsoll Portfolio Analysis - Sound Equipment as getting the very best from their people. The consequence for companies in the rest of the industry is that to compete, they will need to axe as many as 1300 jobs in the next 12 months.

By getting the most from employees, these 32 highly efficient companies are delivering nearly 45% more sales and four times the profit per person of an average UK sound equipment company. Typically, they are generating £208,000 sales per person and £13,000 profit per person. Last year, the average UK sound equipment company achieved £143,000 sales per employee and a mere £3,000 profit per employee.

At most risk of being left behind, 20 companies have been identified as only generating an average of £81,000 per employee. Their spend on salaries is far too

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Denmark - Danish PA company DPA Soundco has supplied various sound reinforcement systems to the Roskilde Festival over the past 12 years, but this year, for the first time, the company equipped two stages with Nexo GEO T Series tangent arrays. The company reports the system received unprecedented praise over a diverse range of performances, from the Scissor Sisters to the Royal Danish Opera and a variety of world music.

DPA Soundco's system designer Gorm Jakobsen was responsible for PA on three of Roskilde's six stages, including the 11,000-capacity Arena Stage (the second largest), and the Ballroom stage, which hosted the world music events. In the past, Jakobsen has used systems including Turbosound's Floodlight and Flashlight and, last year, the JBL VerTec. He comments: "They all worked, although, of the three, the line array was the best design for the space. However, this yea

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UK - Charcoalblue, the UK's newest theatre consultancy, was formed in February of this year by three theatre professionals who had previously worked together at Theatre Projects Consultants - namely Andy Hayles, Jon Stevens and Jack Tilbury. Hayles explains: "We decided that the time was right to branch out on our own. It wasn't an easy decision, but we had a clear vision of what we wanted to achieve."

Each member of the team has a strong background in the theatre. Hayles was previously chief electrician at Richmond Theatre Royal. Stevens has worked at the RSC in Stratford, toured with Opera North and was head of sound at Glyndebourne Opera. He still does lighting design when he gets a chance - most recently The Makropulos Case at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. Tilbury began his career as a theatre production manager, and went on to project manage for Imagination at the Millenn

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UK - Captained by Dan Heasman, Clarion Events took a day off from the organization of the PLASA Show to take on a Pro Sound & Light Invitation XI - led by Lightfactor Sales' Paul DeVille - in the annual D&M Professional (previously Hayden Labs) Cricket Challenge.

DeVille's motley crew included three members of the press corps - Charles Ward (DJ Magazine), Lee Baldock (Lighting & Sound International) and Gez Kahan (MI Pro) - all of whom acquitted themselves with distinction. Also present were PLASA's Matthew Griffiths and Shane McGreevy. However, the man of the match award was won by D&M's Miles Brooke who, batting late in the innings, brought the Industry XI's sorry-looking tally up to a respectable score.

This is the sixth time the two sides have met in the picturesque Berkshire village of Littlewick Green, the home club of D&M Pro's Simon Curtis, who organizes the fixture. Clarion

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Greece - Bon Studio S.A. won the contract to install the audio infrastructure in three of the most contemporary stadia in Europe, used recently for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Drawing heavily on the product portfolio of Harman Pro group companies for whom they handle distribution, Bon Studio was able to meet the specifications laid down for the Pampeloponissiako and Panthessaliko Outdoor Stadia, and Nikaia Indoor Stadium. When some of the designs were later modified to achieve optimum sound quality, Bon Studio were able to comply with the revised requirement.

The new 24,000-seat Pampeloponissiako stadium in Patra was built in order to stage the Olympic football tournaments. Bon Studio installed the sound reinforcement system in the stadium's main arena plus sound reinforcement and public address systems in the internal peripheral areas. Using EASE predictive software, the

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UK - As part of an ongoing exterior lighting upgrade, London's National Theatre has purchased a number of colour changers from Ambient Lighting Ltd, the UK distributor of Italian lighting manufacturer, Griven.

The fixtures purchased by the NT are the 1000W Colosseo CYM units from Griven's dedicated 'Architectural Dimension' range. The fixtures have been installed by the NT's own staff to light the exterior north face of the Lyttelton flytower, viewable from Waterloo Bridge and surrounds.

Ambient Lighting reports that the NT will host a continuous demonstration of the fixtures during the evenings of this year's PLASA Show, so that interested parties can see the unit in action in a real environment. The Colosseo will also be on stand at PLASA, alongside the 4000W xenon Kolorglobe fixture, aimed at large-scale architectural installation.

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UK - Scottish lighting specialist black light has formally launched its new Glasgow office, adding a significant string to the bow of Scotland's Lighting Company. Based in the Parkhead area of the city, the new office has actually been open for several months, during which time general manager Iain Weir has been building up the business, stock levels and developing relationships with a range of clients on the western side of Scotland and northern England. "Giving the office an initially low-key opening was a deliberate policy," says Iain. "That way we could ensure that everything was in place and working at 110% efficiency before the official launch."

"The new office shows black light being both proactive and reactive," adds managing director Gavin Stewart. "There is an enormous range of projects on the western side of the country, which we ar

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UK - Chris Cronin of Total Fabrications Ltd has announced the formation of Total Solutions Group, established to manage a suite of well-known brands associated with trussing in the entertainment industry.

Sitting under the umbrella of the Group will be the brands Total Fabrications, Slick (one of the oldest truss manufacturers in the industry, purchased by Total Fabrications in 2003), T2 (the Award-winning, high-specification safety truss), Total Training (the new rigging training initiative set up by the company) and New Wave (the decorative trussing brand which has won numerous awards). New Wave is marketed by TSG for its US-based sister company Total Structures, which remains separate from the new TSG structure.

Some of the Group's brand names - Total Fabrications, T2 and Slick - are available for manufacture under license in other countries around the world, through technology tr

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UK - In the last few weeks, DHA has supplied gobos to all of the new shows heading into London for the autumn, including Mary Poppins, The Woman In White, Saturday Night Fever and Bat Boy.

For Saturday Night Fever, at the Apollo Victoria, lighting designer Gavan Swift specified eight custom gobos for Martin MAC 2000s and two custom gobos for Selecon Pacifics as well as 204 stock MAC designs and 44 stock conventional designs. The Pacific gobos of the 'dancin' man' and 'halo' parts of the logo were used to light the logo on the show's front gauze. The gobos and lighting rig were supplied by Stage Electrics in Bristol.

Stage Electrics are also supplying the equipment for the new Cameron Mackintosh/Disney co-production of Mary Poppins, which will open in Bristol before transferring to London. Howard Harrison's lighting design includes 193 stock gobos f

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UK / USA - The Effects Company, UK manufacturer of a range of Special Effects products has announced an agreement with Jireh Supplies of Lawrenceville, Georgia - to distribute their range of products throughout the USA. Jireh is an established company which will carry a good stock inventory of the complete range of Effects Company products, which will be promoted to their existing and new customers, in conjunction with their manufacturers' representatives.

Managing director of The Effects Company, Martin Blake, says: "We have always sold directly to the end user or 'trade installer' in the USA but many enquiries 'go dead' when they cannot purchase directly in the USA. Now customers can purchase from Jireh Supplies, knowing their requirements can be shipped immediately from stock and have the full back-up and service of a reputable company. This pro-active sales agreement wi

  1. Win an ETC SmartFade at PLASA
  2. Massive Attack - Bristol Harbourside
  3. Prize Stage at PLASA After-Show Bar
  4. Sound Division . . . Four years of successful growth
  5. VME provides for Wakestock 2004
  6. Le Maitre special effects at the Olympics
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