Business

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USA - Working with Upstaging Inc, Tomcat built 25 custom light frames to hold a variety of instruments, including projection that had to be precisely located, for Sir Paul McCartney's current US tour. A large projection wall is created using five independently flown modules with custom light frames to create a wall measuring over 60ft wide by 25ft deep.

Many custom hardware components were also fabricated for rigging equipment on this tour, some of which were constructed from one of Tomcat's specialised extrusions. Tomcat's design department worked closely with Upstaging to design and engineer the light frames for this custom application.

In addition, other custom brackets were fabricated to attach two sections of Tomcat's Swing Wing truss, to create moving lighting modules. "The McCartney tour required a fair amount of unique trussing and hardware elements," explain

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UK - Stage Electrics was very pink and fluffy on Friday 28 October, in support of the Breast Cancer Campaign. Marketing's Helen Gadbury and Marie Wilson organized the "pink day" by encouraging staff to wear something pink and donate money for the fund raising event. Costumes included everything from paisley pink pyjamas and lurid pink socks to the pink gossamer wings worn by David Whitehead's PA Jenny Redman.

"James Bull from the Projects team looked very comfortable in his pink pussy pyjamas and Anna Western had even more pink on than usual. The menu for the day at The Green Room café at Stage Electrics Bristol offered pink sponge dessert with pink custard, served by men wearing pink bandanas," said a spokesperson.

First prize for the best pink costume was won by Sandra Brimson, one of Stage Electrics' housekeepers, who herself is a breast cancer su

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USA / South America - Theatrical Concepts Inc (TCI) has been appointed the exclusive US and South American distributor for German manufacturer Coolux GmbH, whose range of products includes the Pandora's Box digital media engine and a diverse collection of digital content.

Based in Agoura, California, just outside of Los Angeles, TCI has significant experience in both video production and lighting rental markets. "It's really exciting to be part of making Pandora happen in the US," says TCI's president, Steve Gilbard. "The Pandora's Box Media Server is an amazing range of products in itself, along with some really quite spectacular content, and Coolux has a number of other interesting new products, which we are looking forward to helping them market to the industry."

Coolux's Pandora's Box Digital Media Engine V2.0 was first launched at PLASA in 2004 and sin

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UK - Soundcraft continue to make the mid-level mixing market their own patch with the hugely popular MH3 console - as evidenced this month with the opening of the latest Carling Academy in Newcastle.

Academy Music Group's contractors, Marquee Audio - asked to create a top quality infrastructure for the company early on in their relationship - had opted for the MH3 as the centre of a top-spec monitor set-up. Since standardizing on the 32-channel MH3 at the stage end they have been specifying 40-input desks at front-of-house. "With the exception of Islington, every Academy venue now has an MH3 out front, as well as for monitors," observed Marquee Audio MD, Spencer Brooks.

AMG decided to pioneer high-level referencing a number of years ago, providing an enviable technical infrastructure for visiting bands. Brooks continued: "We backed the MH3 as soon as it was rele

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UK - Sennheiser headphones have been chosen to compliment an innovative on-train entertainment system that has been introduced by Volo:TV for First Great Western Trains. With this technology, customers in a dedicated coach can take part in interactive seat-back entertainment.

Volo employed Hi-Fi reviewer and audio consultant, Chris Thomas to advise on sound set up and headphone selection. As a result, Volo uses Sennheiser MX300 in-ear units.

Customers can navigate their own menu of options using touch screen technology, and choose what they want to watch and for how long. Like the latest airline systems (albeit very few), the Volo system offers choice and control, via on-demand services, of how they want to be entertained, informed and educated. Also, the system's high bandwidth enables wireless communications, news, weather and sport to be regularly updated throughout the day

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UK - PSL has boosted its inventory of screens and monitors with the purchase of a substantial number of Samsung plasma screens. The order includes a number of Samsung's PPM63H3s, which, at 63", are one of the world's largest plasma displays. Ideal for floor, wall or multi-screen mounting, this giant monitor features an internationally acclaimed design, built-in sound amplifier and DNIe enhanced pictures, say PSL.

In addition, PSL has ordered a substantial number of Samsung 42" plasma screens, of which 14 are PPM42M5HSXs, the newest high-resolution panel from Samsung, which allows high-definition images to be shown in true native resolution. Appropriately enough, as the broadcast world trundles towards unilateral high-def standards, PSL debuted its new screens at the International Broadcast Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam, where the reaction from PSL's customers at the sh

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UK - The life-like animatronics effects in the Natural History Museum's Dinosaur Gallery have been given a new realism with the addition of low-lying fog, triggered by the prehistoric animal's computer. The Museum's contractors, North Devon-based JP Leisure, evolved the solution based on products from Antari, distributed in the UK by Lighting Effects Distribution.

Jon Powell's company have been main dealers for the full Antari range of fog, smoke, snow, bubble and haze machines for some time, and he maintains that Antari business has increased 20-fold. "Their reliability is good, as is their service and spares, and we are now shifting between 300-400 Antari items per year, which represents a huge growth."

For Health & Safety and extended duty cycle issues the Museum was reluctant to use conventional CO2 Dry Ice and so JP Leisure recommended the upgraded DNG-100 Fog C

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UK - Mojo Barriers UK supplied 209m of Mojo Steel Barriers to keep horses and crowd separate at the Horse of the Year Show this month. Grandstand Media Ltd have produced the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) since it moved to the NEC and it has remained a firm favourite with competitors and the horse fans from all over the UK.

Mojo Barriers UK manager Kevin Thorborn oversaw the project, highlighting the co-operation between the international offices of Mojo Barriers underpins the success of the show. The Mojo Steel Barriers are painted and prepared in the De Meern (Netherlands) office so that they match the high quality of presentation demanded by the HOYS organizers.

Thorborn commented: "In our first year [2002] we spent a lot of time working with the organizers, measuring and planning the configuration of the barriers for the main ring. They had to accommodate advertising h

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Spain - Vieta Pro, established eighteen months ago as a division of the noted consumer audio company, is making inroads into city-centre bars, restaurants and clubs in its home city, Barcelona.

Vieta's DO Line is the favourite choice, and from this series, it is the DO-5 which is proving the most popular. A two-way passive bass-reflex speaker, it has been designed for sound processing in small spaces which require high quality sound.

At Rouras, a high-end café-bar, effective coverage is gained from just two Vieta DO-5 16 ohm loudspeakers; Kit Kat, which operates as a restaurant during the day and as a bar at night, features eight DO-5s; Chasis, an old pub in the Bribiescas that has recently been refurbished, incorporates four DO-5s and four DO-8s to cover separate dancing and seated areas.

Zacarius is built on the former site of the famous La Boite Club. Owner Carlos

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USA - Meyer Sound and LCS Audio have announced Meyer's acquisition of LCS, a manufacturer of sophisticated multi-channel digital audio mixing and processing products, and electronic acoustic enhancement such as VRAS, CueConsole, CueStation, Matrix3, SpaceMap and WildTracks.

The union of these two companies results from their successful collaboration on the development of Galileo loudspeaker management system, and underscores Meyer Sound's commitment to digital audio as part of its vision for the future of professional sound reinforcement, say Meyer.

"LCS has created digital platforms that deliver unique and fascinating capabilities," says John Meyer, president and CEO of Meyer Sound. "A strong relationship was created with LCS through the development of Galileo and I look forward to leveraging their technologies to give users the same high level of quality and f

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USA/Europe - Garbage toured the US and Europe in support of their Bleed Like Me tour, with XL Touring providing their video needs. As video contractor for the tour, XL Touring Video supplied the band with the new Flying Pig Systems HogiPC, Catalyst G-5 Media Sever and a Mainlight SoftLED Curtain.

John Wiseman, president of XL Touring says "Production/Lighting Designer Butch Allen came to us with a need for a versatile and flexible video package that would fit the band's changing needs as a result of touring such drastically different sized venues. We came up with a soft led curtain and plasmas. Butch got together with High End Systems' Brad Schiller and was able to come up with a design that would allow for consistency from show to show."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) has invited nominations from its Full UK Members for three places on its executive committee, the body that provides strategic direction to the Association.

The nine members of the executive committee play a critical role in driving the numerous initiatives undertaken by the Association. Industry certification schemes, a Manufacturers Forum, a major membership restructure and maximizing opportunities related to the Olympics are just a few of the projects currently in discussion.

Committee members come from all sectors of the industry, but have in common a determination to develop and shape the strategic direction of the Association, helping to create a positive business environment for the membership.

Matthew Griffiths, chief executive of PLASA, commented: "It's always encouraging to see interest in the future

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UK - The Trafalgar Square 200 - The Spirit of Nelson spectacular which took place on October 23, was authored, created and produced by London-based production company, Innovision.

Innovision's aims were to combine artistic production with interactive theatrical techniques. Stage Electrics and lighting designer Durham Marenghi also played key roles.

The result of was a stunning array of lighting in patriotic colours, illuminating Nelson's column. Equipment used to create these effects included 16 Space Cannons, 4 Syncrolite B52s and a combination of 60 Martin MAC 2000W and MAC 600NT units.

Some 700 crew and cast, many of whom are Navy and Sea Cadet personnel took part and an estimated audience of 10,000 attended. Captain Steve Bramley, director of marketing and publicity, Trafalgar 200 commented, "This was a bold and challenging event that we believe struck

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Austria - Austria's largest privately held brewery, Stiegl, in Salzburg, is on the move. Following plans by the well-known Austrian architectural firm, Atelier Burgstaller, a newly built brewing area was recently completed - a glass extension of the old building. The area is also used to hold seminars on beer and brewing and receives a good deal of visitors.

Modern brewing boilers - formerly made of copper - are today made of stainless steel. For that reason, and in order to create an authentic atmosphere for guests that resembles the older look of those traditional copper boilers, Lichtdesign of Salzburg proposed a controllable, dynamic lighting solution for the new brewing area.

Some 19 controllable Alien 02 colour changers from Martin Architectural are now mounted in two circles on the ceiling to provide a variety of dynamic lighting looks. With the touch of a button tour g

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UK - Northampton-based sound and lighting installer Fabtronic has completed two audio system installations in new venues belonging to The Richardson Group, both of which use Electro-Voice EViD compact loudspeakers.

For the Church restaurant in Northampton town centre is, as the name suggests, a church conversion. on the conference and private function market. Mostly the largest in the range, the 6.2 two-way high-output cabinets with 12.1 subwoofers, have been installed. Additionally, the Church has the smaller 4.2 units for a secondary bar area. With music playback from CD, the system can be tailored to audience or time or day with a zoner/mixer desk, and it is entirely powered and processed by Electro-Voice products.

The Old White Hart Inn is a minimalist non-smoking bar/restaurant with a contemporary theme. Originally an old brewery just outside Northampton, the venue has be

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UK / Americas - Pulsar is pleased to confirm that Jerry Colmenero has joined Pulsar as sales manager for the Americas. Colmenero, who will be based in Texas, will offer support and develop Pulsar's activities in the Americas, and in particular will act as a support mechanism for the company's distributors in Canada, USA, Mexico and South America.

Pulsar's managing director Paul Mardon said: "The Americas are an important sector of our business; Jerry's appointment will ensure that we are in a position to react quickly to the needs of our customers in the region."

Andy Graves, head of sales and marketing said "Jerry is well known in the lighting industry and in particular his knowledge of the US industry will greatly enhance our market presence and customer support goals."

Pulsar will be exhibiting its comprehensive ChromaRange LED solution products at the

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UK - Neil Riley and Mark McClellan of Liverpool-based Absolute Lighting & Events have created an extensive LED environment for the newly-opened Viper Lounge bar restaurant in the Warrington suburb of Stockton Heath. The company designed the split-level interior entirely around the products distributed by Lighting Effects Distribution (LED Ltd) to produce a result which Riley describes as "quite spectacular".

Absolute has incorporated a wide range of products to achieve maximum impact, including 46 x 3W stair light 'injectors' placed in the venue's entrance and on the stairs to the second floor. Two sets of Alkalite Riva 80 recessed 8-head LED colour-change systems have been placed in the ceiling at various points, and two sets of the Octopod 30 8-head systems have been used to create strips of light along the length of the recessed ceiling.

Absolute has also used &qu

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Australia / India - Australian lighting control manufacturer, LSC Lighting Systems has appointed Acoustic Control of Bangalore as its stockist and distributor for India. Acoustic Control will be responsible for the importation, distribution network and technical support of LSC's lighting control desks, DMX network products and the complete range of portable and installation dimming systems.

Acoustic is already well established as one of India's leading audio and lighting suppliers. Their staff includes LDs, console programmers, service technicians and CAD experts, to provide a total service to the customer, either directly or via their network of resellers throughout India. The company has made a heavy investment in LSC and its products, purchasing the entire stock from the large LSC stand at the recent PLASA Show in London.

Ian Pope, LSC's business development manager, recent

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France - Major refurbishment work at Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport includes a new all-digital PA and emergency sound system with over 1000 loudspeakers. Bosch Security Systems and the voice-data-image communication specialists Axians, based in France, cooperated closely to put together a system based around Bosch's Praesideo digital PA and emergency sound system.

The main point for the choice of the Bosch system, says the company, was the fact that Praesideo easily met the tough EVAC requirements for Terminal 1 and is "far more cost-effective than would be possible with an analogue system". Additionally, the system has been independently certified to the IEC 60849 safety standard.

Terminal 1, which handles the bulk of the international traffic of Paris' largest airport, presents special challenges for a PA installation. Managing the flights of around 60 airl

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UK - Adlib Lighting - newly streamlined and fresh from major investments in Martin Professional, James Thomas Pixel range technology, Highend systems and motors from LTM - supplied production, lighting and crew for the recent Royksopp tour.

Sister company Adlib Audio also supplied sound for the two largest gigs of the UK tour - Brixton Academy and Manchester Apollo - plus selected effects and 'specials' for FOH engineer Patrick Walsh for the whole tour which covered three weeks in the UK plus European dates.

Adlib Lighting supplied Royksopp LD Dave Ross with a rig of specials for the entire tour, including 6 Martin MAC 2Ks, 6 PixelPARs and 6 PixelLine 1044s and one of the latest High End Systems Hog IPC consoles with an expander Wing.

For the Brixton and Manchester shows, additional lighting equipment included 12 PixelLine 1044s, 2 MAC 2Ks, 12 HES Studio Beam wash lights, 12

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Korea - An Outline Butterfly line array made up of 16 Hi-Pack C.D.H. 483 modules and four Low-Pack C.D.L. 1815 has been installed in one of the largest cathedrals in South Korea - the Kwangjoo Gyeojassi (Mustard seed) Presbyterian church. The enormous 8,300 square metre building can seat 3,000, with weekly attendance figures of around 15,000.

The sound system is powered and controlled by Outline's Series T PWM amps and DSP Genius 6. The line array was installed by Kong Gan Electronic of Seoul, Outline's South Korean distributor, which has long experience in installing sound systems in houses of worship.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - To launch the new 407 Coupé to key fleet customers in the UK, Peugeot Motor Company appointed Arcstream AV to produce an evening's entertainment to launch the new car at the Grove Hotel in Hertfordshire.

Arcstream deployed many of their special visual effects to set the scene for the car's unveiling, including lasers, and moving and generic lighting. They built a curved wall emblazoned with the Peugeot logo, which gradually rotated to reveal the new model. On the floor was Arcstream AV's poolSystem - a special effect using interactive floor projection. The images in the Peugeot poolSystem, which focused on the dancefloor, changed throughout the evening, featuring the manufacturer's famous lion logo.

Chris Cheetham, Peugeot's fleet marketing manager said: "We wanted a truly innovative reveal of the new 407 Coupé. Arcstream AV helped achieve this with the

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USA - Chauvet reports that despite the difficulties caused by hurricane Wilma, the company is fully operational and will attend next week's LDI show and conference as planned. Last week, the company lost power, phone and e-mail communications in the aftermath of the hurricane. Thankfully, neither Chauvet's main office nor any of its warehouses sustained structural damage, but the company's management determined that it was best to keep employees at home for the week out of consideration for the hardships and safety concerns caused by the hurricane.

CEO Albert Chauvet said that dealers and distributors have been overwhelmingly supportive. "We thank every dealer, every employee and every customer for sticking together through these trying times. Our employees specially deserve our admiration for putting aside their own personal concerns to serve customers. If anything, we've

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Denmark - The Eurovision Song Contest, celebrated its 50th Anniversary on October 22nd at the Forum in Copenhagen. The live event, Congratulations, was performed in front of a 5500-strong audience and broadcast to 31 countries worldwide with a viewer base of over 90 million. The show presented Eurovision stars from the original show held in 1956 and artists of today including special guests Ronan Keating and Riverdance.

The stage was an unusual shape but roughly 40m x 18 m, with three large screens dominating it. A curtain of approximately 700 square meters, consisting of 460 LCD elements, which were used to create different lighting effects in addition to 250 moving and 500 stationary lights, as well as seven XML 25's R18's and R8's.

Sound Designer Jens Elsborg of Nordic Rentals, assisted by the Adamson Shooter software, calculated placement and coverage for the venue.

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  2. Color Kinetics' Chinese installations
  3. Avolites join the Bloc Party
  4. Kelsey sail away with Regatta trophy
  5. RCF S4012s in Stockholm fitness centre
  6. Barco provides LED first for Sky News
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