Business

Details
Taiwan - Visualization leader Barco has announced that it has won its first digital cinema project in Taiwan continuing a string of successes in digital cinema in the Far East.

Barco in partnership with Linfair Engineering & Trading Ltd. won the order to supply its leading DP100 2K digital cinema projectors. In choosing Barco, Ambassador Theatres Company were able to successfully complete their project in a relatively short time frame.

Barco has achieved over 85% market share within the digital cinema sector in mainland China and Hong Kong over the last 3 years, hence Barco is widely considered the region's leading digital cinema centre of competence.

Mr. Duncan Zhang, Chairman of Linfair says: "We are delighted to work with Barco because their excellent technology, quality support, and operational excellence. We are very impressed by Barco's determination and commitmen

Details
UK - Leading entertainment lighting specialist White Light continues to enjoy growth in the corporate event lighting field, its success being demonstrated by the company now being an approved supplier to over thirty leading event venues in London and beyond.

Amongst those who welcome and recommend White Light for those looking to light their event are: Kensington Palace, the Science Museum, Shakespeare's Globe, Somerset House, the Imperial War Museum, Kew Gardens, BA London Eye, Guildhall, the Museum of London, the Twickenham Experience and the Theatre Museum, as well as all of the venues in the unique venues of London collection, and the diverse portfolio of English Heritage properties. All of the venues to which White Light is an approved supplier can be found on the newly re-designed White Light website.

"White Light clients receive strong, personal support from our ex

Details
USA - U.S distributor of professional audio and lighting products, Group One Ltd., has announced at NSCA Expo, Las Vegas, new additions to it team of manufacturer's representatives.

Jack Kelly, Group One Ltd. president, remarked that the new appointments position Group One for ongoing expansion, while assisting the company to provide the highest level of service and support for the distinguished brands it represents.

Hudson Marketing is now responsible for the territory of Upstate New York as well as the New York Metro area, and Michael Chafee Associates has been appointed as the Florida representative for the XTA and MC2 product lines. Warman Marketing's coverage area for XTA products has been expanded to include Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada, in addition to Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. The Mac West Group will now represent XTA and MC2 in Southern California

Details
UK- The Professional Lighting and Sound Association (PLASA) has lent its name to a lobbying campaign intended to encourage the Government to rethink its proposals to introduce a 10% tax on all UK hotel bills. The proposal - part of a wider Government tax review conducted by the Lyons Inquiry - recommends that a 10% tax per night is added to the current 17.5% VAT - which means that the UK would effectively become the highest taxed destination in Europe.

PLASA believes that the proposed tourist tax (dubbed the 'bed' tax) will hit this industry from both sides: not only will it put yet another financial burden on businesses in the entertainment, event and installation sectors where business-related travel accounts for a large part of their ongoing overheads, but it will almost certainly affect tourism revenues, which directly influence the financial performance of this industry.

Details
Germany - A.C. Lighting has appointed cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution as its distributor for the Jands Vista lighting console range in Germany. Under the arrangement, the distributor will fulfil all service aspects, including stock supply, demonstration, training, technical support and backup.

Cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution is a leading supplier of professional stage and lighting equipment to theatres, rental companies, TV studios and fair building companies in Germany. The company is a combination of C.Adolph and RST Distribution, who merged last year to strengthen their market position and together share over 120 years industry experience.

A.C. Lighting's international sales director, Cally Bacchus, commented: "We wanted to work with cast C.Adolph & RST Distribution because we felt that the Jands Vista console would be a natural fit with the rest of their high qualit

Details
UK - Event supplier Pearce Hire has moved its entire operation, of power, distro, sound and lighting equipment, to a new office and warehouse premises to accommodate the company's expansion.

The move keeps Pearce Hire in Peterborough, its home of 15 years, but has taken the company to a newly built facility with improved infrastructure. The Pearce Hire management team have spent over a year planning the move, to find premises suited to their specific growth requirements, in order to improve the levels of service offered to clients and become more efficient.

The new site incorporates carefully organised storage bays, an equipment testing and preparation area all with good access for improved loading ability.

Pearce Hire has expanded steadily over recent years, consolidating relationships with clients ranging from organisers of corporate events, festivals, tours, exhibitions,

Details
UK - Blackout, specialists in rigging and drapes, worked alongside production designer, Bill Laslett and set company, Atlantic Enterprise Ltd, to create a spectacular and glamorous awards night for The Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs).

Laslett explains: "Within the confines of the relatively small art deco Odeon cinema, I felt it important to produce a concept that would be in sympathy with and complement the existing architecture. The inclusion of a three dimensional steel framed voile spiral extending from within the confines of the stage out into the auditorium united both areas and at the same time gave the event greater scale and presence. With the addition of an internally lit curved staircase and a four metre bronze Bafta mask backed also with a combination of voile and mirrored panels the overall effect produced a very exiting and glamorous result.

Details
UK - Raymond Gubbay's Classical Spectacular is returning to the Albert Hall on the 23rd March 2006, with Stage Electrics supplying lighting for the 5th year running, working alongside lighting designer Durham Marenghi.

Over one million people have marvelled at the incredible lights, lasers and special effects that make Classical Spectacular a unique experience. 250 plus performers take to the stage and once again the Royal Albert Hall will resound to the world's best classical music including brand new pieces as well as all time favourites, ending with the thundering cannons, muskets and indoor fireworks of the 1812 Overture.

Stage Electrics supply 23 MAC 700s, eight of which are positioned on the floor, with the rest rigged on the striking above-stage trussing structure together with over 80 other Martin fixtures including MAC 2K Washes, MAC 600 Washes, and MAC 300 Washes as

Details
UK - An Allen & Heath iDR DSP system has been installed in M&N Trading, afinancial trading firm in Chicago, which needed to improve audio quality for its team of traders. M&N Trading occupies the upper three floors of an ex-warehouse in Chicago's Meatpacking district, next to the tracks of the city's L train, which runs just outside the windows every fewminutes.

Each trader station includes a phone, two or three 19" LCD monitors, and stereo computer speakers. In front of each group of 18 traders is a wall of six to eight plasma monitors, displaying up-to-the-second trading information and TV satellite feeds, and above each group is a matrix of ceiling speakers.

Traders need to be able to hear in-house announcements, audio from any of four satellite TV receivers, and streaming audio from Internet feeds. An added problem is the ambient noise level from the passing trains, w

Details
UK - A.C. Lighting's Audio division recently supplied three Yamaha M7CL 48 channel digital mixing consoles to Sonalyst, the new touring production company of renowned FOH/Monitor engineer Rory Madden.

After working on successful Rod Stewart/Ben Elton West End musical Tonight's The Night, Rory was hired again by producer Phil Macintyre to provide the sound design and PA systems for three new comedy tours. All three productions - Little Britain, The League of Gentlemen and Ben Elton are touring extensively throughout the UK.

Having become a convert to Yamaha's latest generation of digital mixing consoles after purchasing Yamaha PM5D-RH desks from A.C. Madden was convinced the new M7CL 32/48 channel desk would be ideal for the needs of theatre-size touring productions.

He says: "What I really liked about the M7CL is its small footprint size and ease of

Details
UK - LM Productions have been commissioned by creative agency Freestate to supply the laser projection systems for Oxfam's Big Light Totalizer in Edinburgh which runs for four weeks. This is a visually striking and highly accessible expression of Oxfam's I'm In Campaign. Oxfam felt it appropriate to return to Scotland's capital for the next stage of their I'm In campaign, as Edinburgh was at the centre of campaigning against global poverty last year.

The event was launched by Annie Lennox who was the first to text her name onto a giant interactive projection (the first of its kind in UK) on the side of the Royal Scottish Academy in the heart of Edinburgh.

Until 5 April, members of the public texting their name to join the campaign will be able to see their name in lights. As people join Oxfam's campaign, high powered green LBO lasers will pen the name acro

Details
Greece - Summit Steel supplied all rigging, trussing, motors and draping for a massive gala dinner and awards event in Athens for the annual European sales meeting (ESM) of a leading US-based medical device company. It involved the widest ground support structure - at 28 metres - that Summit has constructed to date.

The evening was staged in the Olympic Tae-Kwon-Do stadium on the outskirts of the city, between Athens and the port of Piraeus and was attended by 1,300 guests. The ground-supported trussing grid was used for rigging all stage lighting, video and audio equipment for the dinner and preceding presentation. The low structural weight loadings of the building ruled out flying, so a four legged ground support system was used, which had to be very wide to ensure that the two downstage legs didn't interfere with sightlines to the letter-box style set.

To achieve the adequa

Details
Spain - The Torre Agbar, or Agbar Tower, the corporate headquarters of the Agbar Group, is a 21st century skyscraper in Barcelona and one of the most unique buildings in the world. Opened in June 2005, it was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel. In its lower recesses is a 316 capacity auditorium outfitted with a dynamic Martin Architectural colour changing system.

The Agbar Auditorium's design is quite unique due to the need to avoid placing pillars in the audience and stage areas. The option taken was a double-curved concrete slab, voided by means of expanded polystyrene waffle pods that help resolve the problem of resistance and to a large extent shape the mound required by the architectural project.

ECLER, Martin Architectural's Spanish representative, carried out the lighting project in conjunction with the architects, the first stages of which were completed in A

Details
USA For the ninth year in a row, a broad range of Audio-Technica microphones was selected to outfit the internationally televised VH1 broadcast of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. A-T supplied over 60 mics to capture the audio for this widely celebrated musical event, which took place at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The 21st annual induction ceremony was held on 13 March, 2006, with a VH1 broadcast of the ceremony premiering 21 March.

Audio-Technica's acclaimed Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System was used with the AEW-T5400 handheld microphone/transmitter for frontline vocals during performances by Kid Rock and Johnny Van Zant of Lynyrd Skynyrd for the Lynyrd Skynyrd medley; and Leela James, Solomon Burke and Marc Broussard for the Wilson Pickett medley. The 5000 Series was also employed for the New Orleans tribute that featured

Details
UK - HSL is supplying lighting equipment for the popular Bill Kenwright production of The Is Elvis, currently touring the UK and Ireland.

Lighting has been designed by Ben P Cracknell and is being operated on the tour by Darran Curtis. This is Elvis is one of a series of theatre productions on HSL's current wall chart. It's being project managed by Mike Oates, who says: "HSL is always pleased to work on Bill Kenwright's productions, and this show is a great one to be doing, as it is taking the country by storm, and really proving that Elvis is neither dead, nor working in a chippy in Blackpool! We're also pleased to be working with Ben again."

The first half of This Is Elvis is based on the lead up to the seminal TV show - The 68' Comeback Special - an event that re-established Elvis's career and drew phenomenal ratings. The second half is the co

Details
USA - The Grammy Awards is one of the biggest highlights of the music industry year, with the nominees and winners forming a collective of the industry's current biggest hitters. BMG Records traditionally holds a prestigious party on the night before the awards, hosted by the chairman and CEO of BMG North America, Clive Davis.

Taking place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, this year's party was held on 7 February and featured a diverse array of performers including Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow and Carlos Santana.

Delicate Productions, based in California, handled the audio and video requirements for the party and specified DiGiCo consoles for the past three years. This year three were supplied for FOH, monitors and broadcast / recording, while another two were brought in by Rod Stewart for his performance.

Three stage racks were linked via their fibre optic loop to allow 168

Details
USA - Tomcat USA celebrated 14 years of in depth industry training courses with another successful Hoist and Rigging Workshop in Midland, Texas. Top-notch instructors and 74 industry professional participants from all over the United States, Canada, and the UK, attended the four day workshop. This year also marked the second annual Advanced Workshop with 13 participants from around the US.

Don Dimitroff of Columbus McKinnon coached participants through the Lodestar electric chain hoist. Rocky Paulson, recently retired president of Stage Rigging Inc, stressed safe rigging techniques, while Morgan Neff of Mine Safety Appliances gave instruction on proper use of fall protection equipment. Training was rounded out by Keith Bohn's truss class. The Tomcat Design Manager course covered truss design, use and theory.

Participants received four days of power-packed, informative classes

Details
UK - Blackpool-based In The Pink Leisure (ITP) proudly opened their two latest venues during January 2006, with Community loudspeakers and KIND amplifiers used throughout.

The first of the venues, The Flying Handbag, is designed to be fully versatile, with bar and servery and the facility for live acts, DJ driven club nights and much more. The installation of sound and lighting was handled by Fylde Stage Lighting Support Ltd, assisted by Community UK in the design of the audio system.

The main stage and dance floor system utilises a pair of CPL42-94 along with a pair of SBS22 subwoofers, two STS26s are mounted on the ceiling to provide discreet monitoring for performers on the stage with a further two STS26s employed for in-fill off the dance floor. The pool table area is covered by two CPL27s, and the conservatory by four CPL23s, whilst Cloud 4 ceiling speakers are installed

Details
New Zealand - Allen & Heath's New Zealand distributor, Jansen Professional Audio & Lighting, recently installed an Allen & Heath iDR DSP system in a heritage building in Auckland. Formerly the headquarters of The Northern Steamship Company, the building has been carefully renovated into a state-of-the-art bar and restaurant by the Macs Ale Brewery, and retains the name of the original tenant -The Northern Steamship Co. Brewbar and Restaurant.

Jansen selected Proel Edge Series speakers driven by Phonic XP Series amplifiers, all controlled by an Allen & Heath 16x16 matrix iDR-4 mixing processor, with an accompanying PL-10 rotary fader remote control panel located centrally for immediate access to functions.

"The venue is divided into two areas - one is a bar, and the other a restaurant - with separate sound systems requiring different music sources, EQ, and volume settings

Details
UAE - The organisers of the PALME exhibition in Dubai report that this year's event will be 50% bigger than last year's. PALME, the region's only exhibition of professional sound, light, music, audio-visual and systems integration technologies will be the largest event of its kind ever staged in the region, say IIR exhibitions.

The event will feature 220 stands, with 600 exhibiting companies represented, with more international manufacturers taking part than ever before. "PALME 2006 has grown from a regional event into one of the leading international events of its kind, which is not surprising given that the latest industry re-forecasts indicate that the market is worth in excess of US$3 billion a year," said Darren Brechin of IIR Exhibitions. "Visitors to this year's show will meet the cream of the industry, including market leaders from Europe, the USA and Far

Details
UK - New York band The Strokes are back on tour with a new album. Lighting the band for the first time, designers Troy Giddens and Chris Ragan were given a blank canvas. The band wanted minimal front lighting and no followspots which created a moody, dark but spectacular final design, including 39 PixelLine 1044s, six PixelLine 110s, four PixelPars, 29 moving fixtures and 12 strobes.

The 1044s were chosen for their output and pixilation. Used for effects lighting focused directly at the crowd, they create a large array of colour and can be viewed from all angles without losing any density. The tight LED configuration of the 1044s ensures that the colour output is true to the colour source - where white is white and not a mixture of red, green and blue dots.

PixelLine 110s are the only front lights in the design and are mounted vertically to the backside of the downstage towers

Details
UK - Sixty Robe moving lights were used at the 2006 Michael Elliot Trust Awards, a top charity dinner recognising the best of UK theatre and TV performance, and celebrating the 60th Birthday of the legendary 1940s puppet character, Muffin The Mule.

The event was staged in the Great Room at London's Grosvenor House. Lighting was designed by Attila Keskin and supplied by HSL.

Performers included Chris de Burgh, the cast of two of Bill Kenwright's leading theatre tours of the moment - This is Elvis and Whistle Down the Wind and Camilla Dallerup and Ian Waite from Strictly Come Dancing.

Keskin's challenge was to light a low headroom space serving as both dining room and a performance area. The stage was extremely limited for lighting positions, so HSL rigged a box truss in the centre of the room flanked by two outside trusses either end of the auditorium, pl

Details
UK - Canadian indie band Metric, nominated for the Alternative Album Of The Year at this year's Juno's, kicked off their North American Tour, promoting their new album Live it Out at Toronto's Kool Haus. The 27,000sq.ft club was filled to capacity at both shows with an audience of around 2,300 people. "It felt like an intimate show after Madison Square Garden," where they opened for the Rolling Stones on two consecutive nights in January, Emily Haines, Metric's lead-vocalist commented after Friday's show.

Adamson's debut at the Kool Haus was designed by Towers Productions. Sean Richards mixed for Metric and commented: "Mixing Metric on an Adamson Y10 system, I am getting the clarity, range and focus I need for their inherent subtleties, along with just enough bite to justify a rock band, who needs to be heard AS a rock band, in their increasingly energetic

Details
UK / UAE - At this year's PALME exhibition in Dubai (23-25 April) Adam Hall will be unveiling its new LD Systems LDPM122 power mixer, LDPN neodymium loudspeakers and the LDPA1600X amplifier to the Middle Eastern market.

The company's LDPM122 12-channel power-mixer boasts professional features including 100mm faders, digital effects and a mighty 1400W power-amplifier; the new LDPN series loudspeaker cabinets feature neodymium drivers and Bass Boost circuitry and the LDPA1600X power-amplifier features built-in crossovers. Adam Hall is seeking a distributor for LD Systems products in the region - and can be found at PALME on stand 2E01.

(Lee Baldock)

  1. GrandMA for Medal Plaza
  2. Seminar Programme Enhances TPA 06
  3. Starlight and United Audio join forces
  4. SPS provides Barco for Crufts 2006
  5. Kling & Freitag impresses at McGill University
  6. Carlsbro collaborates with Computer DJ
Page 783 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .