Business

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UK/Spain - After its first full year of operation, the London branch of Seville-based touring and events company Apogee S.A.reports excellent business levels. "We are absolutely fully booked," says managing director, Oscar Fragio. "We have met all our targets. Things could hardly be better."

The decision to expand into Northern Europe, says Fragio, was prompted by "a desire for closer contact with our customers and for the company to grow. We had noticed that many of our customers frequently worked in London, so London was the logical location for our first foreign branch."

Further expansion is also likely "We want to expand," says Fragio, "and extend our services to all Europe - our ultimate goal being at least one branch in every European country."

To meet its ambitious targets, Apogee S.A. has started to expand its work

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Estonia - Eventech, a leading source for professional sound and lighting services in the Baltic region supplied a Meyer Sound based system for the most recent Estonian National Song Festival. Held every fourth summer, the Festival takes place at the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds.

The venue's "stage" is an arc of gently ascending steps on which the performers stand, covered toward the rear by an eyelid-shaped choir shell. The shell faces out to a sloped seating area, extending some 750 feet deep and about 500 feet wide.

The choir shell accommodates what consulting sound system designer and long-time Meyer Sound associate Dave Dennison describes as "probably the biggest choir on the planet," which performs at the Festival's finale. The choir members come from all over the country, rehearse for a couple days and then perform, By the end of the festival there

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UK - XL Video is again supplying full video production to the Chemical Brothers current Push The Button tour. Live vision mixer is Ricardo Lorenzini and LD is Andy Liddell. XL's project manager is Des Fallen, who has worked with the Chemicals Brothers for eight years.

This year, XL is supplying a large 12 x 6 metre (2:1 ratio) upstage soft-screen, two side screens at 12 x 9 ft and four onstage LED screens constructed from 50 panels of Lighthouse 10 mm. The screen configurations are adaptable to suite the different venues.

The Chemicals. visuals have always been cutting edge, and worked seamlessly into their thumping dance rhythms and the essence of their live show. The band members are very much ephemeral shadows and silhouettes onstage, ensconced behind racks of knobs, digits and codes.

The original source material is created and compiled by Adam Smith, and incl

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UK - A.C. Lighting's Audio division is one of the first installation companies in the UK to become a certified dealer (Blue Level status) for Allen & Heath's iDR Audio DSP system.

iDR is a digital signal processing system that provides integrated and flexible control of audio. The speaker management system can automatically route audio signal and relevant DSP/EQ settings in complex multi-function environments, switching speakers on and off at automated times and re-routing audio, music and microphones to certain zones in a building.

A.C. audio specialist Alex Hadjigeorgiou recently completed a Blue level training course, which equips the installer with the necessary knowledge to specify, design, install, realise and manage a complete iDR system and interconnecting components.

Martin Daley, Allen & Heath's UK sales manager commented: "We view A.C. as a key dealer for

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USA - The Fort Peck Theatre in Montana which dates back to 1934 and the building of the Fort peck Dam, now boasts a new Meyer Sound system designed and installed for the theatre by DECK Productions.

Overseeing the design and installation was Elton Halley who, having assessed the room's audio requirements and unique architectural design, including beams nearly 2 feet thick and 74 ft. long, opted for a system based around a centre cluster of five M2D compact curvilinear array loudspeakers, flown using QuickFly rigging hardware. Halley filled out the system with two USW-1P compact subwoofers and an LD-3 compensating line driver.

The building's intricate craftsmanship and its place on the National Register of Historic Places made implementation of the sound system somewhat challenging. Halley, who has worked extensively on Broadway, comments, "I wanted to supply a syste

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UK - Sennheiser UK has launched an entirely new website at www.sennheiser.co.uk. The site not only provides information on Sennheiser's own products but also its distributed brands, which include Neumann, Elac, D.A.S., APart, Adamson, Lab.gruppen, Konig & Meyer, Rycote, NetCIRA and Rane.

Commenting on the new site, John Steven, director of marketing for Sennheiser UK said, "We have drawn on the group's experience in providing web based information and carried out an extensive survey of our dealers and end-users to provide the new site. It gives a whole host of additional information and services, whilst being more logical and faster to navigate."

In addition to comprehensive product information, with appropriate downloads, the site features company information, press and events sections, a fun competition page and details of the latest Sennheiser endorsees. The Info

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UK/Ireland - Hampshire-based LED Screen Hire reports a busy start to 2005.

LED Screen Hire Ireland, headed by Hamlet Sweeney is a new Irish sister company to the specialist LED screen operation. Based in Dublin 1, LED Screen Hire Ireland will service the company's existing clients in the region and capitalise on new and expanding commercial opportunities.

Hamlet Sweeney's background has been primarily music orientated for the last 15 years, and he has toured with a string of leading artists including UB40, Meat Loaf, The Hothouse Flowers and The Waterboys. For the last five years he has specialised in visuals and LED screens.

Meanwhile, LED Screen Hire UK has made a £750,000 investment in new screens so far this year. Both UK and Irish companies now have access to over 200 square metres of LED screen for all types of applications, including 120 m2 of product new to the

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Germany - Outline will be holding a Press launch during this week's ProLight + Sound in Frankfurt to announce its latest products for 2005. These include a new monitor designed using the HARD principle, and Globe Sub - a universal self powered sub bass.

The Italian manufacturer will also We shall also be announcing its Compass (compact polar adjustable sound system). "This 'line source loudspeaker' takes the line array technology quantum leaps forward," says Outline. Compass has a fully adjustable horn flare which is manoeuvred via servos contained within the cabinet and controlled via software. Dispersion can be calculated and adjusted between 60 and 180 degrees in the horizontal and between 0 and 15 degrees in the vertical. Flying hardware will also be mechanically adjustable via computer controlled servos. Compass will see its physical launch at PLASA 2005 in L

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UK - Hell, a new £1.5m bar complex in London's Shoreditch, features a Martin Audio-based sound system supplied and installed by The Sound Division Group. The venue at various times has served as a button factory, and most recently the Brick Lane Music Hall. It is now owned and run by Stephen Breen and Fred Nicolay who also operate a string of bars in Belgium.

Dividing the venue into three sound zones, Sound Division's David Graham specified eight AQ8's, eight AQ5's and a combination of AQ112 (1 x 12in) and AQ210 (2 x 10in) subs. The AQ5's double up with the AQ112's in the restaurant zone, AQ8's and AQ210's (recessed under the benches), are found in the 'hotspot' area facing the DJ booth, and in the multimedia area further AQ8's, either side of the projection screen, create a sound bias.

The multimedia area features a 7ft drop-down screen, front-projected in 4:3 aspect ratio

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Japan - Live sound specialist SCI (Sound Creators Inc) has become the first Japanese company to install a Solid State Logic C200 digital production console into a mobile recording vehicle.

Fumiaki Saito, SCI managing director, says: "Solid State Logic's C200 console was perfectly suited to our requirements because it has great 5.1 capabilities and a large number of inputs, which is ideal for live sound recording. It also offers exceptional audio quality and is user friendly, which is an important consideration for the freelance engineers using our vehicles."

SCI handles a variety of orchestral recordings, many of which are destined for television broadcast and release on DVD. It has four mobile trucks in daily use, including Studio-3, which now houses the C200. This vehicle is based on a Mercedes-Benz chassis and incorporates two mixing rooms.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) Council has announced that the rigging candidate handbook and application forms are now available. The first ETCP rigging examinations (arena and theatre) will be held in November 2005 in conjunction with the ETS-LDI trade show. Candidate information, including eligibility requirements and application forms, are available on the ETCP website.

"All experienced riggers are invited to take the industry's first rigging certification exam," says an ETCP spokesman. "The rigging certifications are designed for highly experienced riggers. Qualified riggers can apply for either one or both exams. Individuals must meet eligibility requirements to apply for the exam(s).

"The content for the examinations is based on a job analysis performed by twenty-four subject matter experts under the guidance of a pr

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UK - AV equipment and service provider Blitz combined resources from its Manchester and Elstree facilities to supply sound and video systems for the Elle Style Awards 2005, held at Spitalfields Market.

Blitz worked alongside events management company, urban productions, where project manager Monique Smith observed, "Blitz's expertise, coupled with their proactive approach and attention to detail had helped us tremendously at past events. When organising an Awards ceremony at one of the East End's most extraordinary and exciting venues, Blitz was well placed to provide us with both the equipment and proficiency to help bring Spitalfields Market alive on the night."

Steve Parker, based at Blitz Manchester, co-ordinated the efforts between Manchester and Elstree to make sure that the event ran smoothly. He commented: "Spitalfields Market is a truly remarkable locat

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UK - Lighting Effects Distribution provided project architects Satmoko Ball with a complete lighting set-up for new London West End nightclub Umbaba.

Cara Satmoko and Adrian Ball, partners in the practice, were introduced to LED's Ian Kirby by Umbaba director Jeremy Hartley, and between them they have evolved a series of changing scenes and moods to highlight the West African theme of the adobe/earth-style architecture.

In total, the Kent-based distributors supplied three Alkalite Octopod 80's; 35 x Solar MR16 3W high-power Luxeon RGB lamps and eight metres of Coemar Linea flexible RGB Strip, along with four Geni Mojo Spinmaster 3Y barrel-effect scanners for the dancefloor. Control gear consists of a 256-channel Sirocco desk for the LED effects, working under Mode programmable control, and a Geni PC Brain for the dancefloor lighting.

The owners had wanted to achieve a slo

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UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) will launch its annual Summer School 2005 at the A.C. Lighting North Trade Show being held at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on April 26 & 27.

ABTT Summer School 2005 is being held at Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry. Four Awards are being offered: In addition to its successful Bronze for Stage Technicians, this year sees the launch of a Silver Award for Stage Technicians, a Silver Award for Sound Technicians and a Silver Award for Stage Electricians. For the first time, these Awards will have full accreditation from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama, making the ABTT Awards the first accredited courses for technical and production practitioners in theatre.

The Bronze Award is five intensive days taking the following subjects: Electrical Fundamentals, Portable Appliance Testing, K

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Germany - Smart Consoles are on display at three locations at this week's Frankfurt Musik Messe. For-Tune, Smart AV's distributor for Germany and Austria, is demonstrating the top-of-the-range, 96-channel Elite E96 console which is driving Merging Technologies' Pyramix digital audio workstation software, while Apple is showing the 48-channel Elite E48 interfaced to the Logic Pro 7 engine.

On the Atlantic Audio stand, another E48 console is configured for the first time to control a MediaMatrix NION system from Peavey. Torsten Haack at Atlantic Audio explains the rationale behind the tie-up: "The combination of the Smart Console and the Peavey MediaMatrix NION is ideal for any kind of multi-purpose hall or convention centre. Now control of the matrix can be fully integrated with the mixing console functions, which makes the sound engineer's job much easier."

In addit

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USA - Compulite Systems has renewed its presence in the US with the establishment of Compulite USA, a wholly owned subsidiary. "This is a key stage in the implementation of the company's growth strategy, and overall mission." says Ohad Ashery, Compulite's VP of marketing and business development.

"Naturally, we see huge potential in the North American market", Ashery continues, "Compulite has always been known for it's outstanding responsiveness to customers, and the new subsidiary will enhance our ability not only to sell, but also to provide follow-up services such as training and support to our valued customers in the US.

"We also expect to gain first-hand knowledge of the specific needs of the North American market, that will be quickly translated into new products, supplementing our established product lines."

Located in Wallingford, C

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USA - For the eighth consecutive, Audio-Technica microphones were chosen for the internationally televised VH1 broadcast of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

A-T supplied over 50 mics to capture the audio for one of the celebrated event held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The Hall of Fame honours legendary performers, producers, songwriters, DJs and industry notables. The 20th annual induction ceremony honoured The O'Jays, the Pretenders, Percy Sledge, Buddy Guy and U2.

Audio-Technica's acclaimed Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System was used during the ceremony for vocals by The O'Jays, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Percy Sledge, Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis and Paul Shaffer. Additionally, a selection of hardwired A-T microphones was also utilised including the AE2500 (bass guitar amps), AE5100 (hi-hat), ATM35 (horns) and AT4050

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Germany - DiGiCo unveiled its integrated remote digital tube mic preamp module, the D-TuBe, at this week's Pro Light + Sound in Frankfurt.

"I would not say tubes sound better but they do colour the sound of a vocal or a particular instrument and make it sound different," says DiGiCo's James Gordon. "This is something that sound engineers like to experiment with, so they insert them into their systems to provide characteristics they can't otherwise get from either analogue or digital mixing consoles. The D-TuBe offers an alternative to this traditional technology by making it part of a digital console. "

The D-TuBe was developed in conjunction with TL Audio and supplies eight channels of tube pre amp. It has been designed to fit neatly into existing DiGiCo systems by simply replacing the last input module on a stage rack and moving the output module along on

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UK - Councillors and the public are set to benefit from an advanced digital congress system complete with electronic voting, five large-screen plasma display screens plus inductive loop facilities for the hard of hearing. The installation was carried out by Tyco Integrated Systems (TIS) of Cambridge for Thurrock District Council in Essex. The system is designed to improve sound quality both to the able bodied and the hard of hearing and to "streamline meetings' management with electronic voting, public displays of voting results and more".

TIS also designed and installed an integrated PA system providing messaging, including emergency evacuation messages covering multiple zones inside and outside the building including the car parks.

In line with the latest government requirements for equal access for the hard of hearing, the system includes an inductive loop to oper

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Ukraine April 4 marked the start of the pre-programming period of the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 to be staged in Kiev. The show is produced by National Television of Ukraine, NTU, together with EBU, the European Broadcasting Union. NTU says it will sell a total of 50 000 tickets for the rehearsals, the semi-final and the final on May 21. A total of 300 million live television show viewers are expected.

For the fifth consecutive year, Sweden's Spectra Plus will be providing all lighting, video and rigging for the event. For the fourth year in a row, the lighting will be designed by Per Sundin, who once again has chosen Pontus 'Bullen' Lagerbielke as his assistant lighting designer.

The four lighting operators will be working on four ETC Avab Congo consoles, sixteen HES Catalyst systems, more than 300 Robe moving heads, a number of conventionals and four Capture visualisation

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Germany - For a form of entertainment so steeped in tradition, many theatrical productions nowadays employ a vast array of cutting-edge technology. But should theatre stick with 'traditional' production values or are moving lights, moving sets and moving sound becoming a necessity? These are questions that will be considered by lighting designer Ken Billington in his keynote address at Showlight 2005.

Lighting technology is also at the heart of Were you right?, a session where David Taylor will ask Richard Pilbrow (both of Theatre Projects Consultants) about some of his early prophesies for the future of stage lighting. Although Pilbrow is renowned as a theatre designer and producer, the chairman of Theatre Projects was a pioneer of modern stage lighting. His 1970 book Stage Lighting became a standard reference work.

These two papers are part of a wider pr

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USA - Gefen has discounted its HDTV Extreme cables, now available in 33, 50, 66, 75, 100, 135, 210 and 330 foot lengths. HDTV Extreme cables are designed for HDTV projection and computer video extension.

"By making fibre DVI cables cost similar to the price of DVI copper cables, we can offer unparalleled video quality to 1080p," said Hagai Gefen, president. "You can go as far as 300 feet from the source using one convenient DVI-equipped cable. Most flat panel displays manufactured today, including Apple's new Cinema Displays, are equipped with DVI to connect the display to the source."(Jim Evans)

  1. Luxury hotel for Edinburgh
  2. Transmitter size matters
  3. Affordable power flying
  4. Richard Pilbrow returns to LAMDA
  5. LTP at Swiss Cottage
  6. LSI Projects at Emirates Palace
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