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UK - For the fourth consecutive year, XL Video were the video screen suppliers for The Brit Awards, providing a high resolution Barco iLite 6 XP LED screen measuring 15 metres wide by 7 metres high for the 2006 event. It's the first time that The Brits has used HD, a move prompted by Gorillaz' performance which specified a high resolution screen of 2048 x 1024 pixels.

The screen split into three sections that tracked horizontally across stage (via a Kinesys Vector automation system) and into different positions and configurations to provide a variety of different looks for the 10 live artists performing, who also included Coldplay, Kanye West, KT Tunstall and Prince. XL also provided two 16 : 9 aspect ration Sony 15 mm pitch IMAG side screens, each measuring 7 x 4 metres. The screen element of the Brits was project managed for XL by Paul Wood, working for productio

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Australia / Turkey - ARX Systems, the Australian based manufacturer of Professional Audio Equipment is very pleased to announce the appointment of AVS Global as their new Distributor for Turkey.

ARX's managing director Colin Park said: "The Turkish Audio Industry has always been important to ARX, we're looking forward to working with Osman Celik and his team at AVS Global, one of Turkey's pre-eminent Distributors to further develop the market for ARX's current and future products, especially in the Turkish Installation, Broadcast and Sound Reinforcement sectors which are now growing very strongly".

Along side ARX, AVS Global also represents manufacturers including D.I.S, KV2 AUdio,DiGiCo and Lab Gruppen.

(Lee Baldock)

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Australia - The Palace in Bay Road Brighton, home to Brighton Bay Cinemas, recently received a complete redevelopment at the hands of building owners Manaroy Properties. Included in this makeover was a stunning lighting colourwash on the front façade of the building; visible from several blocks away.

Having witnessed what results they had achieved at the Royal Exhibition Building and Chadstone Shopping Centre, Manaroy Properties owner Ralph Toranto sought Lightmoves out specifically to transform the front of their building. "We weren't sure exactly what we wanted; we just knew that we wanted to make a bold statement and bring some new attention to the somewhat forgotten Bay Street."

After lengthy discussions between Lightmoves' Steven Woloshenko and Manaroy Properties consultant Dale Smith, it was decided that an external colourwash was the best solution. Lightmoves

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UK - Lighting designer Giles Mayall specified an Avolites Pearl 2004 console to control lighting in The Ice House, a promotional ice dwelling constructed by UK based ice artists, The Ice Box, for the Dutch-German IMG Diba Bank.

The Ice House project in Germany was handled by production company Fact & Fiction. The structure was used to highlight the bank's mortgage products and services at trade shows including their Ideal Home Show. Mayall was working for UK-based JVC Events, who take care of the technical and logistical needs of all of the Ice Box's installations.

The Ice House was an 100 square metre single story building measuring 18 metres long by six metres deep and 3.7 metres high, and Mayall's task was to architecturally light the space - inside and out - in the client's blue and green corporate colours.

It was an obvious choice to go for LED light-sources - their low

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UK - Eclectic Breaks and Seltron Components have formed a new partnership. According to spokesman Michael Williams the new company, Ebsel, was developed as a direct reaction to the lack of creativity, practicality and innovation within the marketing, design, promotion, manufacture and distribution of DJ components and products. "When we were designing our acclaimed Pro X Fade analogue crossfader, which took two years to develop, we found any number of manufacturers and component suppliers with what I'd call a decadent approach to important aspects of new products and in particular, a distinct lack of support for existing products and components."

Ebsel will show its Eclectic Breaks Pro-X-Fade analogue crossfader at the Pro Light& Sound exhibition in Frankfurt (29 March - 1 April). Also showing will be the full range of Seltron/Sellmark electromechanical audio component

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Italy - Lighting designer Durham Marenghi is using 250 Robe ColorWash 1200 ATs in Torino's Stadio Olympico for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics and the opening of the Paralympics. 130 of the fixtures are rigged in a 'technical trough' running all around the perimeter of the 200 x 60m performance/parade area on the floor of the stadium, sitting at approximately 1.5m off the ground.

The same trough arrangement continues around a large 'tongue' platform protruding from the front of the stage used as the main performance area. These fixtures are used to throw wide angle light all around the stadium on up into the audience, including onto the five-ringed performance structure at the opposite end to the stage.

A further 80 Robe fixtures are rigged in the stage roof - overhead across four trusses - used for lighting performers and for general stage effec

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UK - Delegate booking is now open for the second Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (June 11-13 2006, London). According to the organizers, this Conference provides a structured review and discussion about historic, recent and planned performing arts projects, while at the same time allowing those new to planning or constructing such buildings an opportunity to learn from the experts.

Successful design and completion of drama studios, dance venues, recital halls, theatres and opera houses requires specialist knowledge and skill and there are many failures, as well as successes, to be seen in the UK and around the world. A number of these projects will be analysed by experienced theatre architects, consultants and engineers in order to provide a perspective on the vital aspects of planning, designing and equipping buildings for performances. In addition to speakers f

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UK - Amidst a busy start to 2006, lighting hire specialist LXCO has relocated to a newly built premises to accommodate their expansion.

LXCO was formed in 1999 by James Dann, James Cobb and Mark Wheatley since when the company has supplied lighting to a wide portfolio of events. Recent clients range from supplying theatre lighting for two West End musicals, a corporate event for Louis Vuitton, the Olivier Awards, music tours for Kanye West, Gary Moore and Runrig and the Cornbury Music Festival.

The new facility, in Haverhill, is only 15 minutes off the M11, giving good transport links to London and the rest of the UK. It also gives LXCO substantially increased storage for their ever-growing stocks of equipment and improved working conditions for staff.

Director James Cobb said: "The level of growth in the last two years has made this move a must. The new facility now re

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Italy - At the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics, KV2 Audio was selected as the key manufacturer for sound reinforcement at Sestriere, host to the Alpine Skiing events, and the company's recently-launched VHD system found itself fulfilling the roles of a sound triathlete.

By day, single stacks of VHD ensured announcements, presentations, and the occasional live act were heard loud and clear by the several thousand athletes and visitors attending the events. By night, a purpose-built nightclub in the Olympic village converted from a cinema specifically for the Olympic events, played host to the second VHD system.

Installed by Tekno Technic of Italy (in a total of four weeks in temperatures regularly dropping below -10°C) and supplied by Audio Sales, this is the first time the system has been used at such a prestigious event in the Italian marketplace, and "a testament to the inc

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Spain - Martin Architectural's Spanish representative, Ecler, with the aid of local lighting wholesaler Sono Market, has transformed Barcelona's Sugar Club - a multi-use restaurant, club, and lounge - into a dynamic colour changing venue, radically changing the image of the establishment, say Martin.

The management of Sugar Club sought to transform the venue into a party nightspot, which meant they needed the lighting to help bring about a change of atmosphere. The project involves diffuse points of light behind curtains, creating the illusion that the entire restaurant is open to the exterior. The architecture and location of the room, at the port of Barcelona with views over the Mediterranean Sea, was the inspiration for the project.

The idea was to create the illusion that behind this illuminated fabric are windows that extend the space optically. Light from Martin Architec

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Ireland - Dynalite has appointed SquareOne as the exclusive distributor for its lighting control and integration products for the Republic of Ireland. Square One's general manager, Garnett Stewart, says: "As Ireland's premier AV trade supplier, SquareOne imports and distributes some of the industry's leading brands in business, education and residential markets. We recognised that a lighting control system was the next step toward a full-scale solution and there was no doubt that the Dynalite system represented the obvious choice. The strength of the Dynalite name worldwide, along with the flexibility and reliability of the product itself made it a perfect companion to other brands in our offering".

Lucien McQueen, Dynalite Europe area manager, added: "Around the world, Dynalite distributors are selected for their ability to provide the highest levels of engineeri

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USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) Council has announced the Rigging Training Recognition Program guidelines, application, and licensing requirements are now available. The program has been initiated to recognize rigging training programs for ETCP Renewal Credits. ETCP Certified Riggers are required to participate in on-going professional education to maintain their certification. After the launch of the Entertainment Electrician Examination in October 2006, ETCP will begin recognizing electrical training programs.

ETCP says that training providers who wish to have their programs recognized must submit a full program description, a list of instructors including qualifications, learning objectives and other requested program information for administrative review.

The guidelines, application form, and licensing requirements are available online at th

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UK - Global installation specialist Sarner Ltd selected Allen & Heath's new GR2 analogue zone mixer to control audio in Sotheby's Institute of Art - the world-famous auction house's education arm. With venues in London and New York, Sotheby's Institute of Art is among the world's leading institutions offering MA and PhD degrees, specialised courses, and study abroad programmes, providing graduates with the scholastic and practical skills for a career in the art world.

Sotheby's recently acquired a new building in Bedford Square, London, to relocate the Institute, and appointed Surrey-based Sarner to design and install an audio system to fit the building's new purpose. The GR2 was selected for installation in a mobile rack, used for audio distribution in the Institute's lecture theatres and classrooms.

"Sotheby's required a flexible system, which could be configured in a n

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Canada - Montréal-based pop-punk band Simple Plan recently became the first major North American act to hit the road with L-Acoustics Kudo line source array systems as its primary house rig.

Tour Tech East of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, served as the sound reinforcement provider for the group's 19-city coast-to-coast Canadian arena trek, which benefited from large quantities of L-Acoustics gear, including up to 21 Kudos per side (many of which were provided by Rocky Mountain Production Services of Vancouver, BC).

Certified V-Dosc engineer (CVE) Trevor Coppen, who has been Simple Plan's FOH engineer for nearly four years, ultimately made the call to utilize Kudo based on his respect for V-Dosc and faith in L-Acoustics' technologies.

"V-Dosc has been 'number one' on my audio rider for quite some time now, so after talking with other engineers about Kudo and reading abo

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Hong Kong - Leading full-colour LED video panel manufacturer Lighthouse Technologies has launched a used screen brokerage service to provide added value for its customers. The company says it has seen an increase in requests from customers to help broker a growing demand from the second tier market. This would benefit both existing customers wishing to renew their panel fleet and potential customers who would like the advantages of Lighthouse LED video technology, but do not necessarily want to commit to the expense of new panels, say the company.

"We understand that an LED video panel is a serious financial commitment," explains Lighthouse senior sales manager David Thilwind. "And when our customers want to renew/upgrade their existing fleet, they need the best possible return on their initial investment. The new service we are offering, which is principally for

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Indochina - Thailand will play host to the inaugural professional audio, visual and lighting international trade exhibition, AVL Thailand 2006, from 28-30 June. Taking place in Impact - the largest exhibition centre in Thailand - AVL Thailand 2006 will showcase a wide array of the latest equipment in professional audio, visual, lighting, staging, and entertainment technology to a targeted buyer audience from the emerging market of Thailand and its surrounding Indochina region, according to organizer Singex Exhibitions.

Steady economic growth in Indochina is fuelling continuous new build and refurbishments of commercial buildings, theme parks, sports facilities, performance centres, cinemas, casinos and shopping malls across the region, while the "phenomenal growth" in Indochina's club scene looks set to continue - offering huge opportunities for entertainment technolog

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USA - There were two ways to attack the intimidating slopes of the Chevrolet Freestyle International Competition held recently at Deer Valley Resort: with gold medal skiing if you were an athlete, or rock-solid wireless mics if you were a sound engineer. As owner of Atkinson Sound, Hoyt Atkinson was definitely the latter, and the wireless microphone systems he used at this NBC-broadcast event were from Lectrosonics.

"The terrain at ski events presents big challenges to sound production. To run cable from the mountain top all the way to the finish areas would be almost impossible," says Atkinson. "TheLectrosonics R400A receiver and UT400 handheld microphones made a big difference for us this year. Even when we were using the microphones a good 300-350 feet from the receiver, there were absolutely no dropouts, pops, or hisses. The sound quality was indiscerni

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UK - The annual BRIT Awards are the highlight of the British recording industry's year, and the 2006 show reflected the impressive health of the current music scene by moving to a much larger London venue.

The ove to Earls Court One meant that sound designer Derrick Zieba and regular PA supplier Britannia Row had to re-think the sound system. Once again using the Electro-Voice X-Line array system, Zieba chose to manage the larger rectangular auditorium by effectively splitting the room into two halves and "making sure that the delay system worked as a substantial primary system."

Half way down the venue, three delay hangs each comprising eight Xls boxes, were spread in a L/C/R configuration right across the room. The main PA system featured left and right hangs, each using 12 EV Xls plus six Xlt cabinets and a downfill; additionally there was a centre hang of six Xlc

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UK - Lighting designer Rob Sinclair used fifty square metres of Chroma-Q Color Web as a low resolution video wall backdrop on The Human League's Synth City UK Tour 2005 in December.

The three-week tour featured a career-spanning set of the influential electro-pop group's greatest hits, backed by a cutting-edge lighting and video show designed by Sinclair and supplied by Lite Alternative.

Sinclair had always been intrigued by the group's pioneering use of slideshow visuals during their early days and, having worked as a member of the lighting crew on previous tours, had been trying ever since with Lite Alternative to create a modern video show in the spirit of the original.

Having been promoted to LD for the 2005 tour, the only real brief from the band's manager was that the show look completely different to the last tour, giving Sinclair total freedom to explore his v

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Spain - In acknowledgement of Spanish being one of the world's most widely spoken languages, d&b audiotechnick reports that it now provides its sound information via its website to all Spanish speakers in their native tongue.

(Lee Baldock)

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France - One of the highlights of the recent SIEL expo in Paris was the presence of dance station radio FG, where among the presenters making guest appearances in their makeshift studio was Paris-based producer and electro/house exponent, Patrice Strike.

With a string of production credits (and top club residencies) to his name the station's Saturday night presenter played an hour-long set to a packed house.

Patrice Strike now uses exclusively Denon DJ equipment as a result of a new sponsorship agreement set up this month with D&M Professional France.

When he returns to Ibiza this summer it will be with the new DN-S3500 CD/MP3 player and DN-X1500 mixer package - a combination which he says has revolutionised his art. For monitoring he is using Denon's HP1000 high performance headphones, which utilise a dynamic, closed back design for better isolation and large 53mm speaker d

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UK / France - Established Belgium-based pro audio distributor and manufacturer Apex Audio has launched a French subsidiary, the initial focus of which will be placed on penetrating the French market with both the DiGiCo and Soundtracs brands.

Apex international sales manager Rik Hoerée explains that the move follows the company's launch of operations in Holland at the beginning of 2005, and is a direct result of the growing demand of both customers and suppliers to have solid distribution-partners with highly experienced in-house technical staff. In line with this, former SAV representative Laurent Laignel has been appointed sales engineer for Apex France. "We wanted to kick off with brands of which we have already gained good knowledge and results, both technically and commercially, so that we can offer this same expertise to the French market," says Hoer&eacut

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UK - As James Blunt's popularity grows, so grows his tour production. When Back to Bedlam kicked off last year in the UK, it carried a Wholehog 3 console to control 900 LED fixtures in smaller theater settings. Now the tour's carrying 2,000 LED fixtures, and worldwide venue sizes are expanding to arenas and amphitheatres, then festivals and stadiums this summer. So a Hog iPC console was added as backup.

Designed by LD Paul Normandale and supplied by UK's Lite Alternative, the tour can accommodate the burgeoning production and venue capacities - and lighting director Glen Johnson explains: "We're controlling 2,000 LED fixtures via PixelMAD from the Wholehog 3 console. We've gotten some stunning effects from the Hog 3 with its Effects Engine, buddy system (advanced group manipulation of fixtures) and grouping, coupled with the timing syntax. We also programmed the show

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USA - The heavy hitters of power pop have returned to their US homeland after a storming tour of Europe's arenas. When in Europe, the Foo Fighters are regular clients of London PA company Britannia Row, which provided the tour with an Electro-Voice X-Line array system.

Bryan Worthen, FOH engineer for the Foos, explains: "We always use X-Line over here in Europe, it's been that way ever since I started working for the band. It's definitely a big rock band sounding PA - perfect for this band."

In the majority of venues, the X-Line was set up with 28 x Xls and ten Xlt cabinets, supported by 24 x X-subs, with 12 x 1152s for infill. The system is powered by EV's Precision Series P3000RL amps, running the IRIS management software.

"The coverage is excellent," says Worthen. "From my point of view, out front, it gives me pretty much everything I want. It's v

  1. Vertigo Rigs the BAFTAs
  2. Bandit at Pure Fashion
  3. Marquee to host Digidesign Venue workshops
  4. VersaTILEs for Maximo Park
  5. £7.6 million annexe at Arrowe Park Hospital
  6. White Light Lights the West End
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