Business

Details
UK / USA - Super Vision International, Inc has signed a licensing agreement for its Variable Color Lighting System patent with AVR of Leicester, UK. Marcel Fairbairn, the managing director of AVR's US operations and president of GearSource Inc, stated: "In recent years, LEDs have become a more acceptable source for lighting and AVR has been a leader in providing creative LED lighting products. After reviewing the options for IP protection and legal coverage we decided to work with Super Vision. Super Vision promotes new ideas and allows open access to their technology and we look forward to creating new products that will utilize the technologies we've now licensed from Super Vision."

(Lee Badock)

Details
USA - Water took centre stage at the Walt Disney Concert Hall recently for the Los Angeles premiere of Water Passion After Saint Matthew, an exotic piece conducted by Grant Gershon and composed by Oscar-winning composer Tan Dun. The work was scored for bass, soprano, violin and cello soloists, in addition to a chorus and three water percussionists who performed on large bowls of water, splashing with their hands and using other devices to draw music from the water itself.

Sound designer Jody Elff turned to DPA's 4052 Compact Omni-directional microphones to capture the dizzying array of musical sounds created by the relentless motion of the water. "The obvious technical challenge is how to amplify a bowl of splashing water," Elff said. "At various points in the show, the water is extremely quiet‹no more than tiny drips‹and yet these sounds are essential to

Details
UK - The most recent in a series of Sporting Heroes Dinners - presented by Amanda Heathcote of Maiden Management at London's Grosvenor House Hotel - saw event staging specialists PSL build and dress the stage to enable sporting legends to pay tribute to rugby star, Jonathan Davies. With television sports commentator John Inverdale as MC, sporting legends such as Sir Steve Redgrave, Ian Botham OBE and Martin Johnson CBE in turn took their place at the lectern in The Great Room.

PSL has provided their screens and set building expertise at the famous gala venue on many occasions in the past, but this time their scope extended to animating the giant Welsh dragon, through which the guest speakers entered, with flashing lights, smoke and sound effects billowing from the 'mouth', which formed the door. Flanking the dragon were 16ft by 12ft projection screens. With a pair of Barco's awa

Details
UK - Sound specialist Apple Sound has supplied a Sennheiser UHF evolution Tourguide system to the ISIS research facility of the CCLRC (Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research Councils). The government-funded CCLRC operates three world-class research laboratories including the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL). RAL consists of many leading facilities including research into microelectrics, micro- and nano-engineering, the Central Laser facility including the world's most intensely focused laser, space science and technology and ISIS.

Supporting an international community of around 1,600 scientists, ISIS is the world's most powerful neutron and muon source, used to study atomic structure for research in physics, chemistry, materials science, geology, engineering and biology. The materials research at ISIS takes place around the target station, a building of stadium p

Details
UK - Absolute Music Solutions, the audio retailer based in Poole, Dorset, has announced that they have acquired The M Corporation. The M Corporation was established 15 years ago to provide a high level of customer service to the professional audio industry. Over the intervening years, the dedication and technical ability of the staff established the company as a market leader. In 2003, four of the most experienced staff left The M Corporation setting up Absolute Music Solutions and concentrating on developing new areas. Absolute Music Solutions' acquisition of The M Corporation completes the circle, reuniting key members of The M Corporation team and is a sign of the group's growing strength and confidence.

Alan Barclay, managing director of Absolute Music Solutions commented: "We are very excited by this development. The M Corporation was originally set-up with a very simi

Details
USA - Neumann microphones and Sennheiser personal monitors figure prominently in Barry Manilow's new long-term engagement at the Las Vegas Hilton, which started at the end of February. Manilow, who has produced over 50 albums during 30 years of performing, is presenting Manilow: Music and Passion five times a week for 24 weeks throughout 2005 and into 2006 at the Las Vegas Hilton Theater.

Front-of-house engineer John Godenzi reports that both Neumann KK 104-S and KK 105-S microphone capsules on Sennheiser SKM5000N handheld transmitters are being used by Manilow and his four backing singers in the traditional Broadway-style show. "We're using four of the 105s on the backing singers/dancers," he says. "Barry uses four microphones in different places on the stage, but the main two are the cardioid KK 104-S."

Manilow: Music and Passion features a

Details
UK - Klark Teknik's worldwide EQ Amnesty, which offers clients the chance to trade in a previously-owned EQ unit against a brand new DN370 analogue graphic equaliser on a part-exchange basis, has now been rolled out across Italy to great effect. During a one-month period, 178 EQs were traded in for DN370s.

"The operation was very successful and has given many customers the opportunity to replace their existing equalisers with a new, high quality Klark Teknik DN370," says Pierfranco Galeone, owner of Klark Teknik¹s Italian distributor Texim. "This elevates the quality of the services they can offer to rental clients by featuring Klark Teknik on their inventories."

And following a tradition launched by Midas Consoles Holland, Texim also called in some heavy machinery to dispose of the amnestied equalisers (see photo link for details). Features of the DN370 i

Details
UK - When the 16th century Royal Grammar School in Guildford hit a snag midway through converting the former gymnasium into a multi-purpose auditorium, the school's bursar, Ian Watson, contacted Scott Wakelin at Marquee Audio, who devised an audio-visual solution which would allow simple operation and switching of playback devices - sending both laptop VGA and composite video signals from either the control room or lectern positions. At the same time, the provision of a pair of flown Turbosound TQ-310 (10" + 1") full-range speakers and a TQ-115 (single 15" sub) - enabled them to optimise the building's already enhanced acoustic properties.

The principle playback sources are the Marantz DVD player (with RS232 port) and PC laptops. Thus Marquee Audio specified Kramer switching and scaling interfaces in a signal network with a Biamp Nexia system - which handled the f

Details
UK - In recognition of the changes taking place across the recording industry, APRS, the Professional Recording Association, has introduced a number of new membership categories designed to address the needs of the smaller professional and non-professional members, as well as the Association's existing established membership.

Musicians and engineers who have an interest in creating music but don't make a living from it are being encouraged to join the Music Maker Category D, which cost £75 per year. Benefits include technical advice via a dedicated e-group, quarterly bulletins, invitations to APRS social events, a copy of the APRS handbook and a listing in the handbook and on the Association's website.

Musicians and engineers who do earn their living from making music can now join the Professional Music Maker Category C, which costs £125 per year. This category is aimed at p

Details
Israel / Canada - Compulite Systems has teamed up with Cast Software, pairing their lighting control consoles with a copy of the WYSIWYG Console Edition (CE) software. Cast is the developer of the award-winning WYSIWYG suite, the industry standard in lighting design and pre-visualization software. Compulite is the manufacturer of the advanced Vector family of lighting boards as well as a variety of other popular lighting desks.

"We are thrilled that Compulite has come on board and decided to offer WYSIWYG CE with their professional grade consoles," says Bob Mani, VP of sales and business development at Cast. "Their customers will be receiving the best package available in the industry."

WYSIWYG CE will be packaged with Compulite's Vector-Red, and offered as an optional bundle with all other Compulite desks. All Vectors are capable of running WYSIWYG on-boar

Details
UK - Utopium Lighting Ltd recently used their force in staging the UK premiere of Revenge of the Sith - the latest and last of the Star Wars movies. AD Events contracted Utopium Lighting Ltd, who requested lighting designer Chris Bushell and project manager James Maillardet to produce the show. The film's director, George Lucas, was there on Monday 16 May in Leicester Square to appreciate the event, along with the stars and the crowds of fans.

Contained on the 15m Orbit Stage was the rig of PixelLine LED fixtures; X.Spot Extreme, Studio PC Beam and Cyberlight Turbo moving lights from high End Systems and Wholehog II. Ground support towers were used for the lights needed for the 'red carpet' entrance, and CO2 cannons were saved for the arrival of Darth Vader! In addition to lighting the show, Utopium rigged all the 1-ton LED video screens; one on the roof and six on the gr

Details
UK - PLASA's Professional Development programme continues its strong start with 'From Concept To Reality'; a new seminar that will be held in Newbury, 22 June 2005. Aimed at anyone who is either involved or interested in new product development the seminar will cover:

An overview of the Design process and how Rapid Prototyping fits in the R&D plan;
Reviews of the benefits and types of Rapid Prototyping as well as examples of functionality and the different types of Rapid Tooling methods available;
A review of the options for potentially winning funding for research and development projects;
An informative tour of a leading Rapid Prototyping companies premises;

The seminar is co-presented by Neil Darracott from design solution company Xolve, and representatives from 3T RPD - one of the leading prototyping companies in the UK. Lunch will be provided and there will be th

Details
UK - The latest version of James Thomas Engineering's PixelDrive software was in action at Radio One's One Big Weekend event recently, used by lighting and visual designers Nick and Joey Jevons to programme and control 240 Chroma-Q Color Block DB4 LED fixtures.

The Color Blocks were supplied by main lighting suppliers Bandit Lites UK to Jevons' company Electric Fly Productions, co-ordinators of all lighting and video production on the main stage of the event at Hetherington Park, Sunderland. The PixelDrive was triggered from an Avolites Pearl lighting console, dedicated specifically to LED control and operated by Joey Jevons. Utilizing the versatile selection of onboard effects in PixelDrive allowed them to quickly and easily create colour and movement sequences and chases across the Color Blocks.

The main stage video 'look' of the weekend became the fluid, organic blen

Details
The Netherlands - XTA Electronics has supplied 12 of its DS800 mic/line distribution units to a new centre for live music in Amsterdam. Continuing the current vogue for building new concert halls on waterfront locations, the Muziekgebouw aan't IJ has risen from the industrial wasteland of Amsterdam's former docks area, a 10-minute walk from the city's central train station. Designed by the Danish architecture partnership 3XNielsen with interior devised by Christian Bouma, the building takes full advantage of its position, offering visitors spectacular views of Amsterdam from its public spaces.

The main hall of the Muziekgebouw, which is due to open on 15 June, is an 800-seat auditorium featuring an electrically movable ceiling and rear stage wall, removable ground-level seating, and colour-changing, LED lighting built into its interior walls. All this provides a suitably unpredi

Details
UK - JBL Professional's integrated line array loudspeaker system, VerTec, was specified by Concert Sound for Cream's recent reunion shows at the Royal Albert Hall. Performing together for the first time in nearly 40 years, apart from a brief re-emergence in 1993, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker received much critical and public acclaim.

The production was co-ordinated by Eric Clapton's touring team, led primarily by production manager Mick Double. Having also worked with Double on Eric Clapton's annual run of gigs at the Albert Hall for several years, sound contractor Concert Sound has honed the required audio design for the venue to a fine art, making them an obvious choice for perfecting the meticulous sound needed for the Cream's performances.

Since last year, JBL's VerTec line array system has been used regularly by Concert Sound for Clapton's live shows. Concert

Details
UK - O2 has joined forces with Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), one of the world's leading providers of live entertainment, sport events and facilities, in order to transform London's Millennium Dome and the surrounding area into the UK's "most exciting and technically advanced music, sport and entertainment destination".

The venue, now renamed 'The O2', will form the centrepiece of the multi-billion pound development, set to open in early 2007. It will incldue an indoor arena with a capacity of up to 23,000, that will, according to the partnership's plans, host at least 120 world-class music, entertainment and sport events in its first year of opening. Within the facility there will be the O2 Music Club with a capacity of over 2,000, an ice rink called the O2 Ice Pad, and a "bubble" shaped exhibition space and a vibrant "entertainment district"

Details
UAE - Large-format projection specialists E//T//C UK projected giant images onto the majestic Gate International Finance Centre in Dubai, for the launch of Credit Suisse's new Middle Eastern offices. The event production company was Eclipse LLC, and the original concept was developed by Adrian Bell, managing partner of Eclipse. Duncan Shortt was the production and project manager.

Credit Suisse wanted to announce its arrival in Dubai and the UAE in grand style. They did this initially at an opening gala event for key Credit Suisse organization figures, followed by a week of projections in a high traffic area to maximize brand exposure and impact. Eclipse won the bid for the contract by presenting the boldest and most effective response to the brief, combined with a reputation in the region for delivering polished, high end production solutions.

With large format projection sti

Details
USA - Inspired by the success of a special one-off concert in New York in August 2004, singer/songwriters Joe Jackson and Todd Rundgren, together with special guests Ethel, a contemporary string quartet, have now taken the show on the road throughout North America and Europe. The tour utilizes Sennheiser and Neumann microphones not only for the performance but also for the nightly live recordings, captured by front-of-house engineer George Cowan.

Cowan, who is also acting as tour manager, says that the original plan was to take Jackson's pair of Neumann KMS 105 vocal microphones out on tour. "We meant to use them from the very beginning, because Joe had bought two on the last tour we were on - but he couldn't find them!" So the tour set off with a different microphone on Jackson's vocals. Then, he says, "We did a recording with a truck, and the truck had a 105, so

Details
UK - DL Electronics, Duran Audio's Northern Ireland dealer, has installed two AXYS Intellivox Digital Directivity Controlled loudspeaker arrays in the recently refurbished St Peter's Cathedral in Belfast. The interior of the Cathedral has been completely restored and as part of this D.L. Electronics was employed to install a new sound system that would ensure a high level of speech intelligibility within this marvelous interior. The AXYS Intellivox units are used to cover the main area of the nave.

"This is the fourth Cathedral that we have installed Intellivox arrays in. The units were chosen by the design team, which included Northern Ireland based Acoustic Consultant Peter Lloyd, for many reasons," said David Dalzell from DL Electronics. "The system is more intelligible, thanks to Duran Audio's Directivity Control technology, than conventional solutions and it

Details
USA - ESTA (The Entertainment Services and Technology Association) has published its 2005/2006 Membership Directory - a valuable reference resource for the industry. To receive your free copy, email ESTA at the address below or call +1 212 244 1505 with your address and the quantity required.

The publication includes complete listings for all of ESTA's members including location, prime company contacts, phone and fax numbers, email addresses and websites, and a brief description of each company's activities, while indexes allow you to search for members alphabetically, geographically, and by membership category.

(Lee Baldock)

Details
UK - At the Hilton Brighton Metropole, the increasing popularity of the hotel's exhibition halls for different types of events has meant that the risk of noise disturbing local residents has also increased. Loading and unloading of vehicles for exhibitions is strictly controlled to certain hours of the day, but evening functions, with either DJs or live bands, have caused complaints from some local residents. Local acoustic specialists 24Acoustics and Big Sky Audio were called in to work with the local authorities and sound installation company Xtreme Audio Visual to find a solution.

Following analysis, it was concluded that the only way the hotel could ensure absolute control of the noise within its largest exhibition hall was to install a house PA system. Future calculations for sound isolation within the structure could then be based on a known and predictable system with bui

Details
Russia - 65 dealers and rental companies from all over Russia attended the annual Electro-Voice Russian Dealers' Academy in Moscow's Kuzminky Hall on 26 April. This year, host Gregory Ronin, MD of EVI Audio's Russian partner Ruton S, together with Walter Reh (EVI Audio) and Peter Hallstein (Electro-Voice) were able to offer participants an exciting programme including a presentation of EV's latest sound reinforcement systems, such as the ZX4, ZX5, X-Line Very Compact System, XLC and SxA powered speaker systems; a guide to the current EV microphone range (with suggestions as to how best to promote sales); workshops and demos; and live music (from the USB band).

The event was reported to be a great success: Gregory Ronin noted: "Word of the quality of Electro-Voice systems is spreading in Russia, as is borne out by the year-on-year increase in the number of visitors attending

Details
France / USA - Continuing to consolidate efforts and maximize efficiencies, L-Acoustics US and L-Acoustics have recently merged the content of their previously independent websites. The newly combined site provides a single, convenient web destination for anyone looking for L-Acoustics-related information. A Kudo presentation on the site's splash page delivers complete details on the concept, implementation and achievable results of the manufacturer's new horizontal and vertical line source array system. The website also offers comprehensive information on the rest of L-Acoustics' product line, recent news from around the globe, technical support and R&D details, downloadable user manuals and DSP presets, and many other notable resources.

(Lee Baldock)

Details
UK - British Harlequin plc will be exhibiting at the ABTT Theatre Show (15-16 June, Royal Horticultural Halls, London). Commenting on prospects for this year's show, marketing manager, Monica Arnott said: "We are always very encouraged by the quality of the people attending ABTT. Not only do we meet many of our existing customers here, but we always gain many interesting new enquiries."

Harlequin's worldwide operations serve the dance community at a number of levels with important recent projects including the new Copenhagen Opera House, the French National Dance Centre (CND) in Paris and Jazz at the Lincoln Center in New York. Harlequin floors have also been in demand for the growing trend for special events such as 'Constant Speed' - a continuous dance performance on London's Jubilee line between Canary Wharf and the Waterloo Eurostar Terminus - and at 'Art plus Danc

  1. Bandit lights second Elvis tour
  2. Lightfactor Sales at ABTT
  3. Hog iPC tours with Nine Inch Nails
  4. Pinanson adopts EtherSound
  5. Sound Division with Itsu
  6. Martin lights Aussie Expo Pavilion
Page 721 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .