Business

Details
Ireland - In the heart of Dundalk in Co. Louth on Ireland's North East coast, The Spirit Store is one of the leading venues for progressive and up and coming musical performers in the country. Housed in the former Port Merchants house dating back to the 19th century and now renovated and refurbished by its owners Mark Deary and Mark Mulholland, the Spirit Store originally opened in 1999.

It has quickly become a magnet for lovers of all types of popular music in the fields of acoustic, folk, traditional and rock. Besides being a popular live music venue, the Spirit Store now leads the way with a state-of-the-art sound system, having recently installed a d&b audiotechnik Qi-Series supplied by pro-audio dealers Mosco. Kevin McGing, Mosco's designer and sound engineer who specified and installed the system was enthusiastic about the result: "After the Store had considered a num

Details
USA - Signing on as one of Selecon's latest dealers in the USA, Portland-based Hollywood Lighting Services Inc couldn't be happier with their decision to support the "already in demand" range of performance lighting which includes the award-winning Pacific and Hui lines. Dwayne Thomas, president of Hollywood Lights, reports that the company is currently in the middle of an ongoing project to remake and modernize their over-the-counter conventional fixture rental inventory.

This process was underway last year when they were approached by their biggest production client, Nike, to design and produce realistic (but necessarily theatrical) lighting for a retail space mock up at their Asia-Pacific Spring Sales Meeting in June 2004 at the Oregon Convention Center. "The Nike job was what pushed our Acclaim Fresnel purchase initiative over the top, but at that time we had

Details
USA - Color Kinetics recently announced the largest-ever, landmark installation of its lighting systems at the new $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas resort and casino. The venue boasts a three-acre, man-made lake as its highly anticipated visual centerpiece and encompasses more than 4,000 individually controlled, submersed Color Kinetics C-Splash 2 systems. The lake represents the largest intelligent solid-state lighting installation of its kind, and seamlessly changes color as part of a spectacular, multimedia light-and-water show, it also features a five-story waterfall that cascades from a 150-foot man-made mountain.

"This milestone installation underscores the incredible applications that are now made possible by the combination of today's power LEDs and Color Kinetics' technology and system infrastructure," said Bill Sims, President and COO, Color Kinetics. "We are

Details
Belgium> - ADB Lighting Technologies has recently appointed SF Dis Tikaret A.S. as ADB authorized Distributor in Turkey. This move comes as a confirmation of an informal relationship, which has already proven to be beneficial to the two partners and their customers.

Said, Larry Busch, ADB's area sales manager: "SF Dis Tikaret, with its long experience and impressive reference list in the entertainment lighting and sound market, was a natural choice for us to further strengthen our position in the stage and studio markets, and become a real Partner for Light in Turkey."

ADB's broad product range has recently been enhanced with WARP, a fully automated profile spotlight, specifically designed for the theatre.

Installations that include ADB products in Turkey include: Ankara Odti Multipurpose Hall, Antalya Talya Hotel, Bursa Olay TV, Eskisehir Anadolu Universitesi, Ist

Details
UK - Wilkes Iris Ltd, of Bexhill-on-Sea, a world leader in the manufacture of precision irises for scientific, lighting and other applications, announce the acquisition (merger) of Temple Shearing and Engineering Ltd (Burgess Hill). In addition to the complementary manufacturing processes Keith Woods, managing director of Wilkes Iris, has plans for improvements and expansion for the mutual benefit of both businesses.

Wilkes Iris, a fourth generation family business, was founded in 1884, and after more than a century of iris technology, provides an unparalleled range. From the entertainment and television markets to the scientific and fibre optics sectors, its irises have found many uses. One is fitted to a popular compact microscope whose low weight and size make it ideal for expeditions: it was included in both the first ascent of Everest and the first moon landings, and is now

Details
The Netherlands - Two prominent sound rental companies have taken the decision to add Nexo's GEO S compact line array to rental stock; ACS is a a leading player on the international audiovisual scene buying into Nexo for the first time, whereas Skyline has been supplying Nexo systems for many years. In Alphen aan de Rijn, in the Netherlands, Skyline Sound & Light has added a new Nexo GEO S to its rental inventory, supplied by Iemke Roos. The system will be used for exclusive events, one of the first of which was the annual Debutantes Ball, held at the Grandhotel Huis ter Duin Noordwijk aan Zee.

Skyline's Bart Bakker has been a satisfied Nexo PS series and Alpha-E systems user for a number of years. Now he has invested in a GEO S compact line array system, comprising 10x S805, with 2x S830 downfill cabinets. Four CD12 sub-bass units complete the system, with Nexo NX241 system con

Details
UK - The BBC has chosen ECT projection screens to be used during the election broadcasts on national TV, while BBC Scotland will also use ECT screens, for similar presentations on the election night itself. The two main screens will be employed for interviews, analysis and diagnosis by the news and political broadcaster teams. The 26ft x 26ft Repro HS rear screen was manufactured in the UK, and then customised with eyelets and stretched across a truss frame. Repro HS projection material is favoured by broadcast cameras, as it does not suffer from hot spots. The company says that the BBC producers wanted the wide viewing angles offered by the Repro HS screen material, which is exclusively available from ECT.

(Lee Baldock)

Details
USA - Audio-Technica microphones were used throughout this year's VH1 Save The Music Concert, which saw a host of musical greats turn out stellar performances at Manhattan's legendary Beacon Theatre. The concert made extensive use of Audio-Technica's Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System on lead vocals for artists including Alicia Keys, Rob Thomas and John Legend.

The concert was held on 11 April, and employed A-T wireless and wired mics in numerous applications. A-T Artist Elite 5000 Series Wireless systems were also used in presentations by Heidi Klum, Gisele Bundchen, Christina Applegate and LL Cool J. The large selection of hardwired A-T microphones on hand included the AE2500 for bass guitar amps, ATM35 and AT4054 on horns, AT4051a for hi-hat and ride cymbal, AT4054 on background vocals, and AE5100 for audience.

Audio production mixer Al Centrella, whose credits in

Details
UK - UK staging and live events company Stagecraft, has launched a new subsidiary company, Stagecraft Theatre Services Ltd. The new subsidiary will be run by newly appointed director Martin Palmer, who has worked for Stagecraft's sales and projects department for five years. Stagecraft Theatre Services will offer a complete staging, lighting and sound supply and installation service to the educational, amateur and professional entertainment sectors.

Managing director of Stagecraft, David Goodrich, explained: "Sales and Projects has always been a very strong division of Stagecraft and we have been delighted with this department's growth over the past few years. We made the decision to split this area from the main company to enable it to continue to grow independently and so started Stagecraft Theatre Services."

Joining Martin Palmer at Stagecraft Theatre Services wil

Details
Australia - Critical acclaim for the Smart Console continues following its recent debuts at NAB2005 and Frankfurt MusikMesse, as Smart AV announced that it received the Australian Design Award for Business and Technology. Open to products designed in Australia or by nationals working abroad, the Australian Design Award was given to 20 winners - out of more than 200 entries - judged to have added significant value to the country's cultural and design identity.

"It's a great honour to be recognized by your own countrymen, and this Australian Design Award is more than just another feather in our cap," said Joe Narai, Smart AV's CEO. "This recognition of the Smart Console is a testament to its groundbreaking design and the value it provides in delivering improved efficiency to engineers mixing large numbers of audio sources in high-pressure situations."

The Sma

Details
USA - Some have dubbed Miami-based Churchill's Pub the CBGB's of the American South. Locals have been calling it Miami's Best Rock Club every year since 1991, according to Miami's alternative weekly, New Times. But most people just call it "The Church" - an appropriate nickname given that it's a popular destination for music lovers looking to celebrate underground rock.

Churchill's austere exterior and interior presence reflect the spirit of underground rock and roll - where the music itself rules, and the glitz is left at the door. It's a place where silver HVAC ducting doubles as stage decor, and where the floor is more often bathed in Guinness than clean water. During the day, it successfully masquerades as a quirky British sports pub, serving up UK imports to fans watching world soccer and rugby.

However seven nights a week for the last 20 years, Churchill

Details
Germany - Over 100 moving lights from Robe Show Lighting have been specified for Top Of The Pops Germany, recorded in Köln. The lights have been specified by LD/DOP Patrick Nicolas, who has been lighting the show for the past seven years for Germany's largest privately owned channel, RTL. The move to Robe follows the latest redesign and launch of the show. Nicolas decided to test some Robe products after hearing good reports from his LD contacts; after the test he decided to swap the rig out to Robe at the first possible opportunity.

The new-look show features two stages, while the central floor area is also utilized as an impromptu stage area. Nicolas, who also designed the set, is using 35 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs, 20 ColorSpot 575 ATs, 31 ColorWash 1200 ATs and 10 ColorWash 575 ATs, plus a large generic rig and lots of LED-lit scenic pieces. The ColorSpot 1200s are fitted wit

Details
China - The first HK Audio Cohedra Coherent Dynamic Response Array system in China has enjoyed its inaugural open air outing at the 2005 Beijing International Marathon Relay in April. The Beijing Zenith Show Company purchased their Cohedra system in February, just before Chinese New Year, from German manufacturer HK Audio's Chinese distributor, Melody Development Company. So far it has been used for indoor applications only, but the onset of spring has heralded a move into the open air, debuting at one of the world's most prestigious outdoor spaces - Beijing's Tian An Men Square.

The 20th anniversary of the Beijing Marathon Relay saw more than 3,000 long-distance runners competing in six different groups - the largest number of athletes to ever participate in the event. A large concert was staged in Tian An Men Square to celebrate the anniversary of the marathon, featuring live

Details
UK - Mark Brown and Richard Wright have acquired the big screen interests of Unitek Displays Ltd and Unitek Holdings Ltd from previous owners, Richard and Graham Nye. The two men - both veterans of the display and entertainment technology industries - say that the switch will enable them to capitalize on £1.9m worth of new product investment carried out by the Nye brothers prior to their departure.

They add that Unitek Displays will continue to honour all existing maintenance contracts, while implementing a videowall and LED development programme of bespoke engineering, based on their new chip and processor technology. "We wanted to consolidate the distribution of video product - including LED and cube wall manufacture - into one entity, providing customers with a full range of product and expertise," said Mark Brown.

"We realize we may be fighting from behind

Details
The Netherlands - XLNT Advanced Technologies, developer of the award-winning CyberHoist/InMotion 3D motion control system, has announced the appointment of its first German and French rental operators. Lightcompany of Neuss, Germany and A.T.S. France of Reims, France have taken delivery of their CyberHoist/InMotion 3D systems, joining Flashlight of Holland, Flashlight/APR of Belgium, Vertigo Rigging of the UK and Italstage of Italy as European rental operators of fully compatible systems. Both are strong and growing companies with first rate client lists and applications for the system will include corporate events, presentations, TV and music touring.

The system, which was launched at PLASA last September and won a PLASA Innovation Award at the show, offers a powerful combination of user-friendly 3D object-oriented programming (InMotion 3D) and precision movement (CyberHoist in

Details
UK - With the opening of Apt, late night entertainment specialists, Urbium plc has introduced a new lounge, bar and club concept to the City of London. Situated between Bank and Mansion House station, the new construction boasts a chic interior, and reflects the intention of Urbium to develop further in London's square mile, alongside its firmly-established West End units.

One of the venue's more creative features is the inspired use of Boolean logic, introduced to them by sound installation company Green-I, and featured in the new Soundweb London digital signal processing product range.

Faced with a 540-capacity venues, trading on two floors - with sound sources varying between a Rolec hard disk music manager and conventional DJ set-up - Green-I demonstrated how Soundweb London could either combine or separate the atmospheres in the two environments.

Ceiling speakers, reces

Details
Italy / Canada - Cast Software Inc and SGM of Italy have announced a two-year partnership agreement by which SGM will bundle their lighting boards (consoles) with a copy of the WYSIWYG Console edition (CE). Cast is the developer of the award-winning WYSIWYG suite, the industry standard in lighting design and pre-visualization software. "We are continuing to align ourselves with the best console manufacturers, and are very pleased that SGM has joined the family of manufacturers that offer WYSIWYG CE with their consoles", says Bob Mani, VP of sales and business development at Cast.

Previously, Cast announced similar agreements with progressive companies such as Strand, HES and ETC. These manufacturers have been providing their customers with a complete solution - top line consoles coupled with the best visualization software.

"The CAST-SGM partnership brings great

Details
UK - EM Acoustics distributor Autograph Sales reports that the British-designed loudspeaker is continuing to make its mark up and down the country. A relative newcomer to the pro audio scene, the EM Acoustics range is impressing installers, sound designers and consultants alike in the demanding installation market, say Autograph.

London-based system installation and music production company Electracoustic specified EM Acoustics loudspeakers and custom rigging from Autograph Sales as part of a complete sound system supplied and installed at Chak 89, a brand new multi-purpose venue opening in Mitcham this month. Chak 89 will cater for all occasions, especially serving the local Asian community. The venue's sound system design had to be versatile enough to accommodate DJs, parties, ceremonies, live bands, cinema and conference. Electracoustic's Jon Trotter chose EM Acoustics as a h

Details
UK - FX Rentals has once again played a major role in the annual Nokia Urban Music Festival with The Prince's Trust, a two-day event held at London¹s Earls Court in April. FX provided all equipment for the Nokia DJ Workshop, supplying a Soundcraft K3 40 channel console, 15 Vestax Mixers and 30 Technics SL1210 turntables. Here, wanna-be DJs as young as eight years old were able to try out their skills on the decks, assisted by DJs including Mr Thing, DJ Skully and Ritchie Rufftone.

All the audio channels from the 15 DJ systems were fed into the Soundcraft so individual stereo channels could be solo'd at any time and fed through the main PA system. This was also provided by FX and comprised four Mackie SRM 450 self powered speakers with four HZ PB400 sub bass units. FX also provided two Mackie SRM450 speakers, a Mackie 1202VLZ mixer, a Denon CD player and a Shure SM58 mic for the

Details
UK - One of the world's most famous cathedrals, St. Paul's in London, has recently completed a significant audio upgrade, which has included the replacing of all its existing amplification with QSC's ISA 300T amps. Noted architect Sir Christopher Wren designed the church on a six-acre site after the great fire of 1666 destroyed the original church.

The cathedral's long-time audio contractors, RG Jones Sound Engineering Ltd., proposed QSC amplification based on an extensive system survey by Arup Acoustics' consultant Sam Wise. Wise had recommended that the overall set up required increased headroom and greater sonic clarity to better reach the cathedral's congregations of up to 2,600 people. RG Jones, in turn, recommended the QSC solution, partly due to its familiarity with the products' reliability, but primarily because, "it has a true 100V line-isolated transformer output

Details
UK - The University of Portsmouth is responding to diversification in the music industry by developing a course in computational sound. The new MSc Creative and Computational Sound degree meets the growing demand for 'sound specialists' who may go on to produce sound for mobiles, computers, telephones, multimedia sound tracks and the entertainment industry.

Liz Dobson, senior lecturer in the Department of Creative Technologies said: "Students will develop skills for programming sound synthesis, creating interactive sound systems and devising sound and audio systems for a wide range of applications such as computing audio, installation sound, computer games and film. In addition they will be able to conduct their own research into sound by joining the University's new Son-X research group."

The launch of the course has led to significant investment in computing resour

Details
Belgium - Barco recently announced that it has been selected to supply LED display walls for the Tennis Masters Cup 2005-2007 in Shanghai, which will take place in mid November 2005.

The Tennis Masters Cup will be staged at the new, architecturally unique Qi Zhong (pronounced Chee-Jong) Tennis Centre. The Barco LED solution for Qi Zhong consists of multiple SLite 14 outdoor LED displays, supplied in a rental configuration, which will allow the customer to re-locate its LED displays to other venues within Shanghai. With its ultra-high light output, the SLite 14 displays offer unequalled brightness and contrast levels, making them ideal for use in very bright outdoor locations - even in direct sunlight, say the company.

Due for completion in August 2005, the Qi Zhong Centre will become the largest tennis facility in Asia. Covering over 80 acres and featuring a total of 40 indoor

Details
UK - Clarion Events Ltd (CEL) and the NEC Group's Centre Exhibitions are to form a dynamic new joint venture, to be called Clarion Events NEC Ltd (CENL). The two will come together in an innovative partnership to drive forward The NEC's exhibition organizing capability and maximize opportunities to stage and acquire new shows. The new partnership will combine the expertise of the two companies, bringing together CEL's creative approach with the NEC's formidable brand position.

CEL, which manages the PLASA Show on behalf of the Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA), is the former in-house organizer of Earls Court and Olympia Group, and completed a management buyout last year. CEL will invest a two-thirds majority share in the joint venture which will acquire a portfolio of 10 shows including Antiques for Everyone and The Classic Motor Show. Simon Kimble, managing di

Details
UK - At a meeting held on 28 April at the HQ of London-based sound company Orbital, founder members of BEIRG - the British Entertainment Industry Radio Group - identified the need and confirmed the intention to appoint a consultant. His or her job will be to collate the RF requirements of the Production, Broadcast, Theatre and Film-making industries with a mind to presenting to Ofcom the industry's case for continued access to workable, clean RF spectrum. In addition to BEIRG members, Peter Roberts of SOLT - the Society Of London Theatres - was also present at the meeting.

The group has been formed as a non-profit making trade association to address the issues arising from the potential sell-off of RF spectrum currently used in the above-mentioned industries on a daily basis. Should the spectrum be sold off to other parties, the effect for these industries could be catastrophic,

  1. Switchcraft expands in Benelux
  2. EAW at Ruby Skye
  3. ABTT Show flying high
  4. White Light supports Rugby charities
  5. Robe at Teatro Solis, Montevideo
  6. Maltbury Staging with DV8
Page 716 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .