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Belgium - EML Productions has begun a two-year programme to replace all the processors in its inventory with IX 48 Intelli-X Speaker Management Systems from Apex. The upgrade represents a substantial investment in floating-point processing technology, with 28 Intelli-X units arriving in the first phase of the programme, rising to a total of 50 units.

In previous years, EML has been using BSS speaker management systems, but, according to Patrick Demoustier, the older generation of fixed-point processors is now struggling to deliver the processing power demanded by line arrays like the Adamson system used by EML. After an extensive period of researching the market, Demoustier has chosen the new Intelli-X digital speaker management processor, which tested just ahead of a comparable unit from Australian manufacturer Lake Technology.

"The decision was guided by three critical

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UK - As digital systems become ever more sophisticated and powerful, the importance of training has become greater than ever. BSS Audio, recognizing the need to deliver thorough training for its new Soundweb London system, has developed what is arguably the most comprehensive online/offline training package yet seen in the Pro Audio industry.

The company is already running face-to-face training courses for Soundweb London, as it has done for several years with the original Soundweb system to great success. The new Soundweb London Certified London Architect training course comes in three parts.

The first part is a collection of downloadable, interactive Flash-based training modules, which take the user from configuring a PC to work with Soundweb London right through to designing and uploading system designs onto the hardware. Users can take the training at their leisure, offlin

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UK - Formula Sound has announced a partnership with a leading sound and dance events company which is to promote the new Formula Sound FF-6000 mixer at all its forthcoming events. Birmingham-based Trigger organizes large-scale dance events throughout the UK, at which it combines its own unique brand of bass-driven Electro Breaks dance music with lights and visual effects. "We believe passionately in the value of high quality sound to make our events a success," says Trigger representative DJ Kosmikneil. "We are absolutely blown away with Formula Sound's new FF-6000 mixer and believe that for the dance market there is no other mixer out there which can touch it."

Previewed to enthusiastic reviews at last year's PLASA show the ground-breaking FF-6000 mixer has been designed with input from leading UK loudspeaker manufacturer Funktion One, and a panel of leadin

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UK - The Compulite Vector control system was in use for some of the largest television lighting rigs for the recent Comic Relief campaign. Comic Relief Does Fame Academy 2005, which saw 13 well-known celebrities compete in a singing competition to raise money for good causes in the UK and abroad. Console operator Roger Williams, working with lighting director Mark Kenyon, chose the Compulite Vector Blue console to control the comprehensive rig of moving lights and LED fittings on the main Fame Academy stage, along with a Compulite SparkTOP console, operated by David Bishop, to drive the conventional lighting.

A total of 107 different songs in 10 shows were programmed on the Vector over the two-week period. A minimum of 80 minutes was transmitted live each night - two nights consisted of two full two hours live. The Vector was controlling 14 Martin MAC 2000, 35 Martin MAC

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UK - Utopium Lighting Ltd was amongst the stars at this year's BAFTAs in Leicester Square. Dave Bryant and West Design worked with Utopium for the lighting and presentation at the Odeon Cinema in London's West End. The lighting kit, including a selection of Dominators and Studio Due CS4 Spot Line was installed over the preceding four days. Whilst the stars were at Leicester Square, Utopium Lighting was busy at the Grosvenor House adding the final touches to the after show party. Produced by AD Events the dinner and party added the glitzy finale to a long week in the movies.

Over this period Utopium also lit the film premieres for Shall We Dance, Bee Cool, Kingdom of Heaven, Robot and the Will Smith movie Hitch. AD Events chose Utopium to rig and light Hitch, which turned out to be three events in one day; the first event was in the morning in Manchest

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UK - Brentwood-based Cosmic Electronics has fitted out the new Whispers bar/club in Gravesend, using a range of LED lighting from Lighting Effects Distribution to create a colour-changing environment - as well as illuminating the dance floor with Geni scanners from the same supplier.

The former Shades has been converted by new owners Benning Bros Ltd at a cost of £160,000, with an upgraded sound system. Mark Damon's sound and lighting company was originally brought in through a contact with the venue's previous manager.

As with the recent fit-out at the exotic Sugar Hut in Brentwood, Cosmic Electronics turned extensively to the catalogue of Lighting Effects Distribution. The real success has been the way he has used LEDs to illuminate the bar areas. Two sets of Alkalite Riva 80 8-pod sets overhead wash down onto the granite-type bar top, while 12 Solar L80's - on their own de

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USA / Africa - The Ernest Angley Minsitries based at Grace Cathedral in Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is about to embark on another crusade to Africa and, for the first time, is relying exclusively on a DiGiCo D1 Live for all their audio mixing. The crusades will travel to Namibia and Lesotho, and services will be held during the first three weeks of April, four to five nights a week. Most of the venues will be outdoor soccer fields, which will accommodate crowds from 30,000 to well over 200,000. There will be two stages at each location, with the ministry's vocal trio performing to pre-recorded tracks on the main stage and local choirs and bands performing on a second stage at the side of the main stage.

"We're using the DiGiCo D1 exclusively," explains Bruce Ober, senior audio engineer with Ernest Angley. "The size to processing power ratio of the D1 gave DiGiCo'

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UK - Pontins holiday village near Hemsby, Norfolk, was taken over for a weekend in March by one of the largest Dance and R&B Radio stations in the UK, for the fifth Vibe FM Dance Party Weekender, which has become a twice-yearly event. All technical services (including lighting, sound, AV and staging) were supplied by Embee Lighting, based near Norwich in Norfolk.

The radio station's DJs provided the music for the two nine-hour shows, which saw two rooms operated simultaneously, offering commercial and alternative styles. The lighting was the most technically demanding part of the weekend, since both shows required live operation each night.The themed events (entitled 'It Will Be All White On The Night' and 'The Wild, Wild West'), used a mixture of Martin MAC 250+, MAC 500s, and ChromaBanks, ChromaCubes and ChromaStrips from Pulsar. According to Embee's project manager for the e

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UK - Turbosound's QLight loudspeaker systems are forming the key element in an intelligent zoning installation at Ba Orient, a unique style of cocktail and dim sum bar in the fashionable Mermaid Quay area of Cardiff, Wales. Designed and installed by Enhance Audio of Bristol, the bar's new sound system features a total of 23 Turbosound loudspeakers, distributed throughout the venue's public areas and private VIP suites.

The design was conceived by Enhance Audio's Jerey Denning, with the Ba Orient's system based on Turbosound QLight TQ-308 and TQ-230 enclosures, deployed in multiple stereo zones, complemented by TQ-115 and TSB-110 bass units installed at floor level and built into columns along the venue's central axis. A Turbosound TXD-081 loudspeaker is also installed as a monitor for the DJ station, which is incorporated into the bar. Enhance Audio used flexible rubber suspens

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USA - Usher has been likened to this generation's Marvin Gaye - a Grammy winner and multi-platinum recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actor and activist. At the age of only 25, he's entering his second decade as a successful artist, riding the top of the charts with his fifth album, Confessions, and selling out concert venues as soon as the dates are announced.

Veteran programmer/engineer Herman Ward has been running the mix for the Usher tour, covering live shows and special events like the recent Showtime special. Ward, who has worked with a diverse mix of artists including Limp Bizkit, Prince, Luther Vandross and Klymaxx, recently put the band in the hands of Mackie's new TT24 digital live mixer, a move he says simplified life for him and the performers he takes care of.

"This is a fast moving show, and with our last digital mixer it sometimes took too long to ste

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UK - Digital media specialist Projected Image Digital has moved to larger premises in West London. Meanwhile, its sister company, gobo manufacturer Projected Image, remains in East London at its purpose-built laboratory and office space on Three Mills Island. "It was always intended to move PID when we outgrew the space," explains David March, "And that's happened much quicker than expected in just two years since the launch of 'Digital'".

The new PID building features a vast workshop facility with more storage, increased office space and a full-scale demo and training area. It means PID can offer comprehensive demos for its entire range including Catalyst and Element Labs products. The move also enhances PID's ability to provide thorough product training on all products, they say.

The Grade II listed building at 53 Northfield Road is a slice of productio

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UK - Aztec Events, a company providing events management and production for major-league corporate clients, has purchased four Soundcraft GB4 consoles. "We bought the mixers to use in conferencing environments, although we do events including product launches and fashion shows, as well as meetings of all sorts," explained Aztec warehouse manager Samer Sahmani. "One of the reasons we went for them is that our older desks are Spirit by Soundcraft, which we have had for some years.

"We have had good experiences with them and they are in constant use on a daily basis," Sahmani added. "We have been very satisfied with the quality of sound, as well as their reliability and low maintenance requirements.

"Mixing desks aren't something you buy on a daily basis. When we bought Soundcaft the second time round, we did so in the knowledge that we would b

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UK / UAE - Sennheiser UK has announced the appointment of Dubai-based Venuetech as its exclusive distributor for the UAE for Sennheiser, Rycote and Neumann. "Naturally, we are excited to have been given the opportunity to distribute Sennheiser here in the UAE," commented Venuetech sales manager, Charbel Zoghbi. "Not only will these brands consolidate our sales efforts in the live and installation markets, but they will also help us infiltrate the lucrative broadcasting sector. Through our efforts, we can better position the Sennheiser brand with our professional customers by offering supply from stock, extensive marketing and unparalleled after-sales service."

Sennheiser, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year - will be taking a stand at the PALME show for the first time as part of its initiative in the Middle East. "We've been working to expan

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UK - For the recent Comic Relief Does Fame Academy show, Creative Technology contributed to the groundbreaking production visuals, described by director Alex Rudzinski as "extending the boundaries by creating a synergy between set design, lighting and display systems."

The team of Mark Kenyon (lighting director), Patrick Doherty (production designer) and Alex Rudzinski combined virtual and real world technologies: 3D mid-air effects were projected from the HES Catalyst onto CT's 16sq.m hi-res Barco i6 LED display, which was creatively framed against the panelled fabric of the building - St Olaves School, near London's Tower Bridge. Creative Technology's Adrian Offord commented: "Because of the close proximity of the screen from the camera we had to field the highest resolution screen we own in order to guarantee the quality of close viewing - particularly

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Worldwide - Embrace are riding high on an ongoing world tour following the phenomenal success of their number one platinum album, "Out of Nothing". It's seen the band stage a remarkable comeback following their mid 1990s zenith. Lighting designer is Jonny Gaskell, and the lighting supplier for the UK leg of the tour is Liverpool-based Adlite Productions.

Gaskell's show utilises lots of back-light and silhouetting as a dramatic and visual tool, used in conjunction with low cross stage lighting. He produces a huge amount of looks and variations out of a compact rig, at the heart of which is 12 MAC 550s. "I'm very impressed with the 550s" he says, "They're great beam lights, they're perfect for the size of venues we're playing and they cut through the rest of the rig really well."

Embrace is currently playing many different types and sizes of venue

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Ukraine / Sweden - For the fourth consecutive year, Beacon will produce all the graphic effects for the Eurovision Song Contest, which this year takes place in Kiev, Ukraine, from 19-21 May. Peppe Tannemyr and Lennart Wåhlin, graphic designers at Beacon DigiGobos, are part of the Swedish team producing all the lighting design for the Eurovision Song Contest - one of the world's largest live events and TV productions. It is estimated that close to 300 million viewers will watch the live broadcast.

"As soon as we receive the first act, we begin programming the lights. The lighting designer Per Sundin from Swedish Television, Catalyst operator Pontus Lagerbielke and I will have programmed 60-65% in a virtual setting in Stockholm before we get to Kiev at the end of April. Then we work onsite in a larger team to prepare for the semifinals on May 19 and the finals on May 21,&qu

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UK - London-based virtual reality specialist Inition has supplied the world's first glasses-free 3D videowall, including bespoke stereoscopic content, for the flagship Gizmondo store in central London. Gizmondo is the ultimate multi-entertainment handheld, featuring an arsenal of functionality such as gaming, messaging, music and movie playback, a digital camera, and GPS - which can be used for satellite navigation, location-based services, even gaming. The sleek Regent Street store, opposite Hamley's toy shop, boasts a giant videowall featuring spinning and rotating monochrome 3D images which leap out at you in 1280 x 768 resolution - without the usual need for 3D eyewear.

Inition provided the store with nine SynthaGram 40" autostereoscopic displays for the 3 x 3 tiled videowall. The StereoGraphics SynthaGram is an exceptionally clear, bright and crisp 3D monitor, say the

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Italy - Special Effects company Le Maitre has supplied two of its Stadium Hazers to Milan's prestigious opera house, La Scala. The Hazers are in use for a new production of Tannhauser, at the specific request of the show's designer, David Jacques, who is head of stage design at the Department of Theatre Arts, California State University. Jacques explains: "The design heavily depends on atmospheric haze. There are only a few scenic pieces and the spaces are completely defined by light. As I have had many experiences with the problems associated with how atmospheric haze affects opera singers, actors, and dancers, I insisted that the company use the Stadium Hazers for this production."

Jacques had previously used Le Maitre's Neutron Hazers many times before and enjoyed the positive reviews from the performers about its tasteless and non-irritating fluid. Jacques

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UK - Audio distributor Autograph Sales has supplied a unique line source loudspeaker system from LDS, for On The Town, the first ever musical staged by the English National Opera (ENO). This unique production is now playing at their restored home, the London Coliseum, until the end of May.

The LDS system was specified by sound designer Nick Lidster, who faced several challenges when designing this premier production. The loudspeaker installation had to be discreet, especially as it stays rigged during other opera performances in the ENO spring season, while also being aesthetically pleasing against the backdrop of the Grade II listed auditorium. Finally, fitting sound reinforcement into a venue designed for acoustic performances was never going to be a straightforward task.

To meet these conflicting demands, a unique cantilevered rigging system was designed by ENO's i

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USA - With client R.E.M. now winding their way across Europe, Mark Carlson of Seattle-based Carlson Audio Systems can safely give pause and reflect on the nature of the band's North American tour just past. "It was a theatre tour for the most part, but it did a lot of upsizing and downsizing," the concert sound veteran acknowledges. "On any given night, the band could find itself in a venue ranging from 1,400 to 10,000 seats. To compensate, we sent out a lot of mix 'n' match components. Some of the gear we used one day, some of it we used on others. There was always a fair amount of change. If we needed something extra, we called on outside vendors."

Giving power to whatever came along, a total of eight racks travelled with the Carlson Audio crew housing amplifiers from QSC including PowerLight PL6.0 II and PL4.0 models, as well as PowerLight2 PL236s. Relyin

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Canada - Gilray Densham, co-founder and CEO of Cast Software, was the recipient of a Special Citation Award commending his company's efforts in the development and refinement of WYSIWYG - the industry's only all-in-one lighting software. "It was an honor to be recognized by USITT, a foundation that promotes and supports hundreds of thousands of students and educators in the field of theatrical production. A significant part of Cast's mission is to provide educational software that encourages hands-on learning, preparing students for real-world scenarios", said Densham. "It's exciting for us to continue our development of specialized design software for this flourishing industry."

While exhibiting at the Expo, Cast introduced Vivien - an all-in-one design package created for the meeting and event industry. "The response from lighting and design professio

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Canada - Canada's Stage West is a unique entertainment complex, combining a hotel with a first class restaurant and featuring internationally known television, screen, and stage stars. Over the past three years, the venue has become recognized for its lavish production values. Stage West's latest offering, California Dreaming - a musical revue of the 'California Sound' from the 60s to 90s - is no exception.

In the early stages of the design process resident lighting designer Al McMillan expressed an interest in having an element of projection incorporated into the show. Originally, he had hoped to have five rear screens for the production, but space and staging requirements dictated otherwise. It was finally decided to go with one large rear screen with separate Act 1 and Act 2 positions, in addition to two front screens incorporated into the scenery. Once the screen det

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Italy - In the geographical heart of Italy, the historic Teatro Morlacchi recently played host to the internationally renowned BBC Big Band. The 800-seat theatre, dating back to the late 17th century, gained its fame as one of the region's finest opera houses, but has lately been hosting a wide range of jazz, orchestral and even dance productions. Local AV rental house Set Music Service specified QSC's WideLine system for the event, and the reaction from both audience and professionals "overwhelming" say the company.

"We installed six WideLines per side, ground stacking them in an arc with a single sub per side," reported Set Music's president Aldo Contini. "There was no EQ, other than perhaps a touch to compensate for the room's mid-bass resonance. The sound was absolutely smooth and homogenous all the way up to the seventh level gallery."

Cont

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UK - "From tiny acorns mighty oaks do grow" a misquotation often used to indicate that something small is capable of great things. For renowned West End sound designer Paul Groothuis (credits include The King & I and the sumptuous My Fair Lady at the National to name just two) the issue of size was critical as he made plans to fit the control into his equation for Victoria Wood's new musical, Acorn Antiques, at the Haymarket Theatre Royal.

"My main consideration was space," said Groothuis of his decision to use Yamaha's PM5D mixing console. "This is a small theatre and seat revenues are important. I needed a certain amount of channels and a certain sound quality. It was a toss up between having a larger conventional console in a position where the operator couldn't hear, or a smaller one in a good listening position. There was nothi

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