UK - Richard Martin Lighting has announced the purchase of 50 James Thomas Engineering PixelPar 90s and 12 IP PixelLine 1044s. They have also added 20 Pulsar Chroma Set kits and six Moving High Ground fixtures from Italian manufacturer Novalight. RML's Steve Wells says: "The use of LED technology on TV is becoming more and more popular on many shows and to maintain the high level of service and choice of product available to our customers, RML will continue to embellish their stock with the latest technology products."

The PixelPar 90 is a high output solid state lighting projector designed to deliver a symmetrical beam angle and the new IP PixelLine 1044 is a weather proof version of the now industry standard PixelLine 1044. The Chroma Set Kit is a custom made package for RML, consisting of 12 Pulsar ChromaHearts, one ChromaZone Controller, 12 x 10m extensions, 12 x

UK - Turbosound reports that London-based Audio-Tek International has completed a variety of bar, club and corporate installations using Turbosound's TXD, QLight and Impact systems. Audio-Tek International's recent projects have included Birmingham club venue Air - home of Godskitchen; the Hard Rock Café in Manchester; and the brand's Hard Rock Bar in Bristol, plus the Anam Bar in north London.

At Air in Birmingham, Audio-Tek has installed six Qlight TQ-440 units, along with four THL-828 bass enclosures and TXD-151 systems, while Bristol's Hard Rock Bar features TXD-121 and TSB-110 loudspeakers. As part of a new mezzanine-level development, Manchester's Hard Rock Caférequired a new audio system to provide a medium-level wash throughout the area, with Audio-Tek installing 12 diminutive Impact 50 loudspeakers for the purpose. The company's installation at the very stylish Anam

Europe - Clay Paky's Alpha moving head fixtures of Garou's winter tour of 31 concerts in eight countries, which will be filmed on TV and recorded on a DVD. The show's LD, Nicolas Labbé, fresh from the nomination as "Lighting designer of the year" at the 26th ADISQ Gala, says: "I was lucky to see these new projectors in action in Montreal early this year, thanks to Clay Paky's dealer for Canada, DCD, led by Sylvain Pelletier. I was most impressed and decided to use only Clay Paky material for Garou's winter tour. I chose the Alphas because they are incredibly innovative, reliable and complete with an extraordinary luminous output. Alpha Spot HPE has many different gobos, plus an animation wheel, a wide zoom and the CMY. Not to mention the Alpha Wash, with its extraordinary linear zoom ranging from 4° to 80° . . . Both projectors feature a very soft dimmer and inno

Italy - From 11-14 November 2004, the beautiful setting of the Verdi Theatre and the exclusive Caffè Pedrocchi hosted the seventh edition of the Padua Porsche Jazz Festival, one of the most prestigious Jazz festivals in Italy. The event attracted top artists on the Italian and international jazz scenes.

Outline sound reinforcement systems were chosen for the entire festival. The floor-stacked Butterfly Vertical Line Array at the Verdi Theatre consisted of 10 high-packs and two low-packs, processed by two Lake Contours, controlled via wireless tablet PC; amplification was from Outline's Series T amps. Two Stage 15 Plus and two Victor Live subwoofers covered the front rows of the audience, and eight H.A.R.D. 212 monitor wedges were used on stage. In this case, digital control was courtesy of Genius 6 processors, and amplification was once again Series T.

At the Caffè Pedro

UK - Bandit Lites UK is supplying all lighting production requirements to the current Status Quo UK tour, as Bandit's project manager Lester Cobrin renews his acquaintance with Patrick Marks, the band's LD since 1989. Marks also designs Quo's set, which has evolved over the last few tours. This year, the arena show set contains five upright onstage truss towers filled with scenic Marshall cabinets - symbolic of the power and volume of Quo's own specific brand of rock 'n' roll.

A major challenge on this was the contrast in venues, which range from Wembley one night to Folkestone's Leas Cliff Hall the next. Marks explains how he had had to plan to loose 75% of the equipment at certain gigs, but for it to still look like 'their show'. Before the start of the tour, he spent a week in Bandit UK's visualization suite at their HQ in Bedford, mapping and programming the show using Mart

USA - Since 1988, the Robin Hood foundation has held an annual fund-raising dinner to help fight poverty in New York. About 3,000 guests are invited to the gala, including cocktail reception, dinner, auction and show programme. With guest star Rod Stewart performing a live show, and Jon Stewart, host of the 'Daily Show', as the celebrity auctioneer, the event successfully raised around $13m. The technical input for the event, which took place at the Jacob Javitts Convention Center recently, was considerable: this year, six MA Lighting network signal processors were used for channel expansion.

Programming more than 400 moving lights required 24 DMX lines, two grandMA consoles, grandMA onPC and a grandMA remote, as well as six MA network signal processors. As in recent years, Abigail Rosen-Holmes was responsible for the lighting of the remarkable event, which Patrick Dierson, Da

Denmark - Martin's Wireless DMX devices are proving to be extremely popular, say the company. Martin architectural distributor Lux Lumen of Belgium has used the wireless system to great effect on a number of projects and found the system not only easy to use but also stable.

In the town of Charleroi, Lux Lumen has used Martin Exterior 600 washlights to add colour to the castle's belfry, the Beffroi de Thuin. The tower is illuminated using two Exterior 600s working with a Martin Wireless DMX-512 Pro Diversity transmitter with two receivers. The signal is transmitted over the castle's ditch and about 100 meters further. For the client to get DMX lines where they needed them would have cost five times as much as the Martin wireless DMX solution. Lux Lumen's installer for this project commented: "The distance involved was quite extensive. Experience showed that the transmitter

UK - London's Regent Street celebrated its 50th year of hosting innovative displays of Christmas lights. The mile of style was the first street in London to display Christmas lights back in 1954. The city has continued to invest in the tradition by transforming the street into an entertaining outdoor event each year.

Brit Award winners Busted launched this year's lights with a performance of three of their number one hit singles. SSE Hire was there to provide audio coverage for the event with an arrangement of Nexo Alpha and GeoT. Production manager, Neil Cranston, on behalf of Andrew Cheeseman Productions, commented on how he had 'never seen Geo T ground stacked before but it really fulfilled the criteria of the job'.

With 45,000 people gathering during the day to see the live reindeer, 50 Father Christmases, street entertainers and music through the decades it was imp

UK - A.C. Lighting and Production Services Ireland has worked in partnership to supply the lighting rig and PA sound system - which includes the UK's first Turbosound Aspect installed-sound system - to Queen's University in Belfast.

Queen's, which is ranked as one of the Top 20 UK universities, required a new multi-purpose entertainment system including, PA trussing, lighting, dimming, and control equipment for the refurbishment of the main campus's Mandela Hall and Bunatee Bar/Games Room student union facilities.

The Turbosound Aspect permanent install series consists of six TA-880H mid-high units, eight TA-880L bass units, six TA-880HM downfills, four TSW-124 sub bass units and two TA-890H tri-amp units. The speakers are powered by MC2 E25 and E45 power amplifiers with XTA processing.

The Aspect system was specified by Queen's consultant Mick Williams of Symonds Group in c

UK - Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, unveiled its latest installation at The Eden Project. In just eight weeks the company designed, manufactured and installed the structure which is multi- functional for use throughout the year. The canopy will house an ice rink in winter and the Projects Summer Sessions later in the year.

The ice pad is supported by a 1,600sqm of decking built in the lake. This provides a flat surface for the ice pad and public areas around the ice. The size of the structure is 54m x 41m and it is 13m high. The structure is made from galvanized steel truss and a tensile membrane. 350m of truss was designed and manufactured especially for the project.

Tim Norman commented: "ESS had to coordinate the work of two designers, three engineers and eight major sub-contractors to design, fabricate, deliver and install t

UK - The diverse cultural backgrounds and interests of today's university students pose an ongoing problem for campus bar managers: how to entertain more than one group of people at a time in a given space.

At Warwick University, the Rootes Building is the home of Warwick Hospitality, the largest company of its kind in the UK. Wholly owned by the university, Warwick Hospitality markets the university's facilities for use outside term time, attracting conferences, exhibitions and training sessions from commercial and industrial sectors as well as other parts of acadaemia. For Lawrence Walters, bars manager for Warwick Hospitality, the problem is multiplied. How can he best use the 1200sqm Rootes Bar to entertain a diverse group of students during term-time, and still provide value and functionality for the non-student users?

Walters and Warwick Hospitality turned to CGA, the Be

UK - Community distributor HSL has just completed two one-day product seminars at its extensive new showroom and demonstration facilities in Blackburn. Following HSL's engagement of Alan Lochhead and Steve Coxon to handle Community sales the number of appointed dealers and installers has grown substantially and Simon Stuart, MD of HSL, decided on in-house seminars to provide comprehensive product and application training. As he explained: "The Community range is now very comprehensive following the introduction of many new products this year. To cover such a massive range in detail required dedicated seminars in a large demonstration facility."

Stuart Thomson, EMEA regional manager for Community, assisted HSL with the presentations, which were attended by around 40 dealers and installers from across the UK. Lochhead was very pleased with the attendance commenting: &quo

UK - Pictured right is a lighting installation on the wall of Bargehouse at Oxo Tower Wharf in London, created by lighting designer Simon Corder. Based on a brief from Coin Street Community Builders, 'Bough 1' is inspired by the tradition of bringing evergreens into the home during midwinter, says Corder.

The project was completed in time for the Lord mayor's Parade firework display which took place on 13 November, attracting thousands of visitors to the South Bank. Louise King of CSCB said: "The brief was to create a dramatic, contemporary installation that reflected the ethos of Oxo Tower Wharf with its restaurants, design shops and gallery spaces. The installation had to be visible from the riverside walkway, Waterloo Bridge and beyond. Simon's Bough 1 satisfied the brief completely and we are delighted with it."

Corder employed fluorescent fittings made and supplied by

UK - Avolites has supplied a new Diamond 4 Elite console and an eDMX radio DMX system to the National Theatre's LX department. These went into immediate use on the NT's new exterior architectural lighting scheme, and will also be utilized for its busy events schedule and other lighting projects happening in and around the building.

The console and the eDMX was specified by the National's Chief LX Huw Llewellyn and is an integral part of the National's architectural installation, phase one of which is currently underway.

"Avolites eDMX is brilliant! It's given us the flexibility we needed to place lighting fixtures anywhere" says Llewellyn, adding that the National's vast complex yields a plethora of roofs, balconies, walkways and other vantage points on which to place lights. Using eDMX also means they can position the desk wherever they like.

Additionally, it save

UK - White Light is supplying equipment to pantomimes of all scales, from complete lighting rigs going in to West End theatres to additional effects or moving lights for smaller venues expanding their house rigs to provide the extra sparkle and magic that these shows demand. The list includes twelve different versions of Snow White!

Among the shows using equipment from White Light in London are a number productions by Qdos Entertainment, one of the leading national pantomime producers: these include Beauty and the Beast in Hayes, Dick Whittington in Richmond, Peter Pan in Southampton and Southend, Aladdin in Tunbridge Wells and Wimbledon, Snow White in Woking, Cinderella in Wolverhampton as well as the West End pantomime Snow White at the Victoria Palace Theatre. White Light's equipment will also be found lighting Mother

World - Ladysmith Black Mambazo are currently on their "Wenyukela" (or "Raise your Spirit") world tour that commemorates the 10th anniversary of the end of Apartheid in their native South Africa. Their intense touring schedule took in 26 dates in just four weeks.

On his second tour with the African vocal group, lighting designer Tim Speechley, invited Pearce Hire to tender and subsequently supply the lighting for the UK tour. Having had to change the plan to use projection due to lack of images, Tim amended his initial ideas and created a painted cyclorama for the stage set and commissioned custom gobos of African images, such as a Zulu shield which were projected using Source 4 profiles. Standing behind (Pearce Hire's) Pearl 2004 console Tim commented: "Pearce Hire has done us proud with new top notch equipment and friendly efficient crew."

The P

UK - Hospitality guests at this year's Investec Challenge matches at Twickenham were greeted by a new reception area, which led the way into the stadium's River Suites. Detail Management Services Ltd holds the management, design and build contracts and Jim Mason, managing director of Detail explained: "We needed to create a reception walk-through area to ensure that guests immediately feel special from the point of arrival. It is a key area in the complex as all of the hospitality guests pass through it on the way to their suites."

Detail brought in technical event management company Next Step Forward Ltd to design and install a sophisticated multimedia system, which would transform the walk-through area into a functional yet stylish space.

Mark Thomas, technical director of Next Step Forward explained: "Detail had expressed their desire to create an area which

UK - Computers Unlimited has teamed up with the Central School of Speech & Drama in London to stage the first ever UK VectorWorks Spotlight event.

VectorWorks Spotlight is an entertainment and lighting design software, which merges sophisticated 2D drafting and powerful 3D modelling with advanced lighting design and production tools. The organizer says the event will provide an opportunity to see some outstanding projects created using VectorWorks Spotlight.

Mark Stephens, director of The Design Division (a specialist VectorWorks reseller and producer of the new VectorWorks Spotlight Training CD), will start the event with an overview of VectorWorks. He will then demonstrate the specific Spotlight features, and will also show the new VectorWorks training CD which now includes specific movies on Spotlight. Alex Wardle, a lighting designer and technical manager, will cover setting up

UK - Creative Technology dipped heavily into its inventory of Barco DLite 7 LED daylight screens to meet the requirement of set designer Lisa Lillywhite for this year's Smash Hits T4 Pollwinners Party.

Immersed within the heavily arrowed stage theme at Wembley Arena, the focal point was the 44sqm of landscaped D7 wall, which could travel vertically from its flown position upstage centre. This was reinforced by a smaller tunnel screen, marking the stars' entrance at the top of the stairs, and a single 12 x 2 vertical column, situated upstage left.

The CT screens integrated well with Vince Foster's inspired lighting design, with all the graphic feeds relayed to the flanking screens from a Catalyst server, triggered from a G5 computer. The main central display featured live camera action (and nominee captions) - fed from a CTV scanner truck - while CT themselves took five close-u

UK - Blue Audio from Coalburn in Lanarkshire has just finished a complete audio installation for the new multi-function London venue in Dundee. London offers customers a choice of five separate areas, including a nightclub, funk room, lounge, piano bar and restaurant and all are digitally networked using NetCIRA.

The relationship between Blue Audio and London goes back some seven years and this was its largest fully networked installation to-date. Blue Audio's Nadar explained the brief: "High quality music is a main theme for this busy venue and the client wanted clarity, power and the flexibility to be able to switch any of the nine sources to any of the five rooms. There are several products I knew that would do the job but all had a host of unwanted functions and were unnecessarily expensive. I approached Dave Thomson of Avolution, a good friend who is always up on the l

USA - During LDI, L&SI was invited by DiGiCo to experience first-hand the sound mixing capabilities of its D5T console on the import of the British musical We Will Rock You, a recent arrival at the Paris Hotel, Las Vegas. Pre-show, we met with associate sound designer David Patridge and head of sound John Trace, who discussed the D5T and the advantages they felt it had given them at the head of the show's PA system.

So why go digital? Patridge explained: "We liked the idea for ease of set-up and the smaller footprint. We were very happy to work with a company that was so enthusiastic about developing a digital desk for the theatre market. Sonically, the D5T sounds excellent whilst still retaining the warmth of an analogue desk. It's also intuitive to work with and simple to programme."

Trace said: "I particularly like the touch-screen function, it mimics the control su

UK - Wembley London Ltd and Quintain Estates & Development Plc have announced that work on the new Wembley Arena Pavilion has begun. The state-of-the-art temporary structure is being built to host all shows while the £29m refurbishment programme on Wembley Arena begins in early 2005. John Probyn - Clear Channel Entertainment's head of production - has been contracted by Wembley as project manager for the site.Probyn, who has built a successful reputation as one of the UK live music industry's leading production and site managers has been responsible for events such as Clear Channel shows in Hyde Park (see L&SI August 2004) and Donnington.

The Pavilion will take two months to build, with a team of 80 staff on site to oversee construction. The fully insulated and sound-proofed structure will be built with over 45,000m of scaffolding and will weigh over 250 tons. A special secondary mem

UK - A.C. Lighting has supplied theatre equipment to The Broadway and Artsdepot newly fitted theatres in London. The company won competitive tenders after being approached by Roger Fox of Theatreplan Consultants (The Broadway) and Chris Baldwin of ACT Consultants (Artsdepot).

The Broadway is Barking and Dagenham's newly re-developed live performance arts venue, presenting a mixed programme of high quality, professional music, dance, drama, comedy, children's and family shows. Tim Foster Architects were commissioned to re-design the original Broadway as part of a regeneration programme of the town's city centre. The new 950 capacity venue opens its doors this Christmas with Dick Whittington and his Kool Kat - an updated version of the London classic.

The Broadway's lighting rig, which includes several products from A.C.'s exclusive product range, comprises of Chroma-Q sc

Sweden - Located in a historic food market on the picturesque riverside of Uppsala, Saluhallen is a new venue which functions as a food market by day before reverting to a chic nightclub complex after dark. All the leisure hospitality areas are operated by Svenssons Krogar (responsible for a number of bars and restaurants in the city), with the signals digitally processed and routed using the BSS Soundweb DSP platform.

The system design was carried out by BSS' Swedish distributors, Septon Electronic AB, in collaboration with local contractor Scenteknik AB, who were responsible for the installation. Septon's solution was to specify two SW9088iis networked signal processing devices and an SW9026 audio switcher to cover a total of seven zones (two bars/dancefloors, two restaurants, two VIP rooms and an outdoor patio), with access to 12 sources via custom wall panels.

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