Business

Details
USA - Exactly one year to the day that Hurricane Katrina ravaged Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi, the hotel is re-opening on 29 August, featuring a large installation of High End Systems lighting and control products.

It was 29 August 2005 when a reported 40ft wave from Hurricane Katrina slammed into the facility, demolishing the level where the casino, nightclub and theatre were located. All production gear was reportedly destroyed and unusable, including all the HES DL.1s, which had recently been installed. The hotel was closed for massive repairs.

After a re-design and renovation, the hotel's 17,000sq.ft Magnolia Ballroom opens with 28 HES DL.2s, 64 Studio Beams, 12 Studio Spot 575s, 12 Studio Color 575s, four Intellabeams and two Wholehog 3 consoles running 5 DP (Data Processor) 2000s.

The Camelia Room features a Catalyst Media Server and 16 Studio Bea

Details
UK - The world-famous Eden Project hosted the premier of a new composition by acclaimed British classical composer Graham Fitkin, collaborating with celebrated harpist Ruth Wall. Staged in Eden's warm temperate biome, the Fitkin Wall project entitled 'Still Warm' was mixed live on a 16-channel Allen & Heath MixWizard, provided by local PA company, SPS Systems.

Since opening in March 2001, the Eden Project has become one of the UK's most visited tourist attractions. In recent times, the Project's tranquil setting has made it an attractive proposition for large music events, including Live 8's Africa Calling event - where a 32-channel Allen & Heath ML4000 VCA console was used to mix the stage in the Warm Temperate biome - and the annual Eden Sessions, which have included prestigious acts such as Moby, Keane, Elbow, Ian Brown, Air, Brian Wilson, Pulp and Basement Jaxx.

'St

Details
Germany - The Jazz on the Danube festival, now in its 20th year, is one of the 10 biggest jazz festivals in the world. The events' sound team, led by Ingo Haasch, utilised a combination of compact line array systems from Electro-Voice (XLD 281, XLC 215), Dynacord PowerH amps, and two EV NetMax N8000 digital audio controllers - a set-up that had never before been used at a major event.

The system included two EV NetMax N8000 digital audio controllers. The left and right sides of the PA (with 8 input and 24 output channels each) were controlled separately. The new FIR filters were responsible for the equalization of the main PA and proved to be of enormous benefit, according to Franz Lermer, manager of Digital Development with EVI Audio: "The sound team had never worked with FIR filters before and were highly enthusiastic right from the start."

Lermer was part of EVI A

Details
China / Hong Kong - DPA Microphones has appointed a new distributor for China and Hong Kong, Digital Media Technology (DMT). For the past 16 years, DMT has operated as a provider of high quality audio equipment for recording studios, broadcast, post production and live sound. With a team of more than 30 staff in four Chinese offices - Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Nanjing - the company is committed to providing highly professional services to clients in the Chinese-speaking region, and is proud to have DPA in its portfolio.

"DPA is one of the most respected microphone manufacturers in the world," says DMT's managing director Clement Choi. "The purity of the sound reproduced by the microphones and the linearity of the frequency response impress every sound engineer who works with them. We at DMT are proud to be selected as DPA's partner in China. With the recen

Details
UK - XL Video supplied projection for public artist Martin Firrell's I Want To Live In A City - an installation work projected along the wall of the steps leading up to the National Gallery as part of the Trafalgar Square Festival 06. It's the first time a contemporary public artwork has been projected onto the building.

Firrell, one of Britain's most prolific public artists, was commissioned by the Mayor Of London's office to produce the work. The project was produced by Firma Arts & Media, under the technical direction of Kamal Ackerie. Ackerie has recently worked with Firrell on a projected installation work at Tate Britain which was a resounding success, and through which Firrell also realised the power and versatility of the medium of projection.

Firrell and Ackerie first scoured the Square for suitable surfaces and discovered the plinth casing the steps leading up

Details
Switzerland - Despite rain and less than summery temperatures, about 800,000 ravers attended this year's Street Parade. This, the 15th parade, opened by top DJ Sven Väth, took place on 12 August. Whitelight Licht & Eventtechnik, of Burgdorf, took over the sound supervision for techno-electro label Seilerhausproductions. The sounds of DJs Scaloni, Tomcat, Navis and Surfer were delivered vbia a K.M.E. QS 5 touring system, with 28 subs QBH 1181 and 15 top parts QSH 1122 with appropriate amplification. The systems were stacked U-shaped on the 32m long Love Mobile. According to the enthusiastic techno fans on the way, the mobile was one of the loudest but at the same time best-sounding of the whole parade, say K.M.E.

At night, the official after Street Parade party 'Energy 2006' was staged in five different locations in Zurich. For the hardcore party ("Hotter than Hell vs. Hell

Details
UK - Carfin Lourdes Grotto in the Diocese of Motherwell is Scotland's National Shrine to Our Blessed Lady. It was founded by Canon Thomas Taylor who was inspired by a visit that he and a number of parishioners made to Lourdes around 1920 and his dream was to build a replica of the Lourdes Grotto for the people of Scotland. The shrine is one of the oldest in the world in honour of Our Lady of Lourdes and today welcomes some 35,000 pilgrims annually from throughout the British Isles. From May to October the open-air Grotto is used for Mass and other services.

For such an extensive outdoor site, sound reinforcement is essential. The original sound system consisted of ageing re-entrant horns and the sound quality was poor so Father Thomas Millar of the adjoining St. Francis Xavier church, approached Tony Kennedy of Glasgow-based Teknique Systems to upgrade the system. Kennedy and Da

Details
UK / Greece - Clockaudio has concluded a distribution agreement for Greece and Cyprus with Audio Group Greece B.V. "Clockaudio is one of the most prestigious microphone manufacturers in the business and we are delighted to be associated with such an industry leader," says Andreas Tsolias, Audio Group Greece technical director. "They offer high quality products and technologies that are suited to many different applications, and we are looking forward with confidence to building a long-term relationship with them and further establishing the Clockaudio brand in Greece."

Clockaudio sales and marketing manager Rod Geary adds: "We are obviously delighted to confirm this distribution agreement with Audio Group Greece which is well established in this territory and has built up an impressive product portfolio and client-base. The region is a growth market and

Details
Finland - Since 1887, the Hotel Kämp has been an integral part of Finnish history, blending eastern and western Europe with art, politics and business life. Faithfully restored a while back, this Helsinki hotel today is as genuine and elegant as in the past.

Earlier this year the hotel's restaurants were renovated, with Ideafix, LSC Lighting's Finnish distributor, chosen to supply and install the sound and lighting, and so for Kämp Club, the hotel's cosmopolitan late hour upscale club, an LSC 24-channel EKO system was installed.

The EKO is an ideal choice for venues such as Kämp Club for a variety of reasons, say. Firstly it is one of the most compact dimmers for its capacity (24 x 3kW channels) on the market and often available space in venues is extremely limited. Secondly the availability of the LSCnet option allows the EKO to be controlled via DMX when the venue is in c

Details
UK - CGA Integration has completed the installation of a new audio system using Electro-Voice loudspeakers at one of London's most prestigious hotels, The Crystal Bar at The Dorchester.

The Crystal Bar manifests all the Dorchester's themes of luxury, quality and high service standards; opening directly onto Park Lane, the venue is compact and opulent, and finished to a high degree of craftsmanship. The Hotel asked Chris Gunton of CGA Integration to provide an audio system that reflected the Dorchester's signature values through high quality, attention to detail and intuitive operation.

The installation had to fit with the design brief, be invisible and yet provide a dynamic audio range and usage flexibility for many different occasions. Interfacing with the hotel fire alarm and procedures was also essential.

The brief from the Dorchester identified an extremely varied scope

Details
USA - Bandit is proud to announce their involvement with Melissa Etheridge's management team, including manager, Bill Leopold, tour manager, Steven Girmant, production manager, Jon Schimke and lighting designer, David Hamilton for Etheridge's 2006 tour.

With nine albums and twenty-plus years under her belt, Melissa Etheridge is known for being an activist for a variety of causes and charities. However, her talent as a lyricist and her passionate performances are what have earned her respect in the music industry and produced loyal fans.

June of 2006 marked Melissa Etheridge's first tour back since finding out she had cancer in 2004. When deciding on lighting design for Etheridge, Hamilton said that it was more important to focus on the artist and the music than to put on a big flashy production. "I was primarily trying to create subtle scenes and looks rather than big eff

Details
UK - A.C. Lighting's Special Projects division has supplied and installed the background audio system for the newly refurbished Wembley Arena. The world famous Wembley Arena is London's must play venue, attracting the most legendary artists in the music industry. The venue re-opened to a sell-out concert on 2 April following a fifteen-month, £35 million refurbishment programme.Improvements to the new look Arena's interior include new auditorium seating, promoter hospitality facilities for up to 200 people, crew catering for up to 60 people, a backstage bar and a 200 seater public restaurant and bar.

A.C. Lighting was contracted by Wembley London Limited through Stace Project Management to provide the background audio system for the building's five separate sound zones, including specification and supply of all equipment, custom built AV racks, electrical power and data cab

Details
USA - Lighting designers Stacey LaBarbera and Paul Rogers used the new Robe LEDBlinder 196 and 148 LTs on the latest US leg of country music legend George Strait's 2006 tour. Straight - with no less than 53 number one hits under his belt - more than any other living artist! - played 18 to 25,000 capacity sheds and arenas across the US and Canada in a new in-the-round production design. Onstage Systems from Dallas, Texas supplied all lighting, sound and video equipment.

LaBarbera was extremely pleased with the performance of the LEDBlinders, which were used over the stage as a wash effect. The LEDBlinder 196LTs (an 8-lite equivalent) were rigged in each of the four corners of the lighting rig, pointing downwards towards the band set up, which was in a circular format centre stage. The LEDBlinder 148LTs (the 4-lite version) were positioned up on the rig, lighting the four differen

Details
UK - blackbox-av provides standard and bespoke AV equipment, and multimedia installations to the museum, heritage and attraction industries. The company's skill base enables them to fulfil project requirements right through from design to delivery, including creative consultancy, product development and final installation.

July 2006 saw television gardener Alan Titchmarsh host the Gala Opening of their latest prestige project, 'The Experience TV' gallery at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (NMPFT) in Bradford. This £3 million project was funded by a mixture of public and private sector finance and was heavily supported by the BBC. The museum's brief was to design and build a series of custom interactive exhibits that would guide visitors around the past, present and future of television.

blackbox-av began work in February, with their research and d

Details
UK - After more than two years of careful planning, Harrods has unveiled what is believed to be the largest advertising projection screen in department store retailing - above one of the famous Knightsbridge store's main entrances.

To enable the two Christie S+16K 16,0000 lumen DLP projectors to deliver edge-blended, razor-sharp images onto a vast 4.7 x 3.5 metre portrait canvas, required numerous calculations and a leap of faith on the part of the retailer.

Harrods have long adopted a progressive policy towards digital technology, largely due to the enthusiasm shown by Harrods chairman, Mohamed Al-Fayed himself, and the store's 'Door 5' represented a significant opportunity for them to set a new benchmark for the way retailers communicate to their customers. As a result, trials were successfully conducted by consultants, Wow Factor.

"We always thought this was a very

Details
USA - In the Philadelphia suburb of Phoenixville, the Valley Forge Christian College's theatre recently underwent a major renovation, including installation of a state-of-the-art audio/video system based around loudspeakers from Community Professional in nearby Chester.

Pottstown-based systems providers Audiobahn worked closely with the school and the architects in designing and installing the theatre's audio, video and lighting systems. "The architects wanted to keep a very open, somewhat industrial look, maintaining the original brick walls, as well as exposed ductwork along the hall's high ceilings. We added light bars and theatrical fixtures as down-firing lighting to wash the brick walls in primary colours, which really creates a great visual feel," says Audiobahn's president Tony Hersch.

The 300-seat theatre is a multi-purpose venue, accommodating everything fr

Details
UK - PSL, the London-based event services company, is expanding its presence in London, with its appointment as Preferred AV and production partner to one of the capital's most stylish meeting venues, Vinopolis.

Since Vinopolis opened in 1999, it has strongly developed its unique dual identity as a wine-tasting visitor attraction with an impressive capacity for corporate and private events. Developed over a three-acre site beneath 140-year-old Victorian railway arches, alongside London Bridge and Borough Market, Vinopolis offers a a range of spectacular spaces for banquets, conferences, exhibitions, product launches, weddings and social functions. Six distinct areas, underneath 21 soaring arches, regularly welcome party sizes of 10 to 1250 guests, making it one of the City's most sought-after locations.

With a staff member permanently on site at Vinopolis, PSL will now handle

Details
UK - 400 employees of O2 were given a night of entertainment to remember in July when phone manufacturer Motorola staged a spectacular evening at Manchester's New Century Hall, organised by event producers Rodber Thorneycroft. Birmingham-based PSP was appointed to provide all of the technical services for the event.

Hosted by popular TV presenter Vernon Kay, guests were invited to take part in two game shows, entitled SLVR of Fortune and Play Your RAZR. One of the UK's brightest new music stars, Paolo Nutini sang four songs from his new album, while magician Paul Zenon and comedian Al Murray added to the entertainment.

The event proved to be technically complex: PSP's 8-way buzzer system was used for the quiz section as well as Flash to create a random name selector for participants. All of the quiz graphics were specifically designed to reflect the Motorola brand. For the sou

Details
UK - PRG Europe Sales have been awarded the exclusive distributorship of Pathway products in Europe. Pathway Connectivity is the leading data communications company in the entertainment lighting industry. Based in Canada, Pathway has been defining the future of lighting network functionality for more that a decade.

Founder and president of Pathway, Dave Higgins says: "We're very pleased to be able to expand our long-standing relationship with the PRG organisation. As Pathway's exclusive distributor in the European, Middle Eastern and African regions, PRG Europe's commitment to these markets will ensure that our new product ranges, as well as our CE and RoHS programs, receive maximum exposure. The opportunity to work with the great sales team at PRG Europe is the icing on the cake for Pathway."

Pathway designs, manufactures and supports an innovative family of product

Details
USA - The General Electric Company (GE) through its Consumer & Industrial business, and the Nichia Corporation, have announced a strategic alliance agreement to support GELcore LLC, based in Cleveland, Ohio. GELcore, formed in 1999, was previously a joint venture between GE and the Emcore Corporation of Somerset, New Jersey. GE purchased Emcore's 49% interest in the joint venture for $100m, demonstrating its ongoing commitment to invest in LED technology and the future of lighting.

This agreement combines GELcore's LED system strengths in the Transportation, Signage, Specialty Illumination, and General Illumination segments with Nichia's extensive phosphor and optoelectronics products, such as LEDs. Both companies expect to benefit significantly from each other's expertise and penetrate the high-growth LED general illumination segment.

"This agreement is a true win-win ou

Details
UK - Vertigo Rigging lived up to its tag line of 'rigging revolutionaries' by pulling off one of the most spectacular car launches ever staged to mark the start of the 2006 British International Motor Show in London in July.

Flying in the face of everyone who said "it can't be done", Vertigo unveiled Opel's new Corsa to the world's press and industry VIPs by flying the car, suspended beneath a specially modified helicopter, along the River Thames through the heart of the City of London and straight into a big reveal in the Old Billingsgate Fish Market with split-second precision.

The car maker's PR agency had proposed a helicopter-based reveal as a dramatic statement - an idea which was promptly rejected by safety authorities. Undaunted, and convinced that the concept was a winner, Opel brought in events specialist Jack Morton Worldwide to come up with a workable sol

Details
UK - Denon DJ says it was as delighted that Janette Slack walked away with a pair of its flagship DN-S3500 CD/MP3 players for winning the recent DJoust shoot-out, as the fast-rising electronic star was to bag them. Sponsored by Fruityloopy Promotions, the event attracted some of London's best unknown DJs, but Janette was already firmly on many people's radar.

The precociously-talented Eurasian remixer/producer already has eight years DJing experience, and with a wealth of worldwide club appearances - ranging from Montreal to Sydney and Croatia, she has still managed to build up a huge following in London through residencies at Platform 12 and Ali B's Air, as well as highly-acclaimed dance tracks such as Shake & Play (on the Ali B presents Air Breaks album) and Never Enough (on Re:Connect). On top of that she has been tipped as a Mixmag 'Future Hero'.

Janette only entered DJous

Details
UK - Blackout provided all rigging, starcloth and drapes for a major fundraising event designed to aid Chase Hospice and DebRA, two specialist charities for the needs of children. Both charities are passionately supported by showbiz personalities, Anthea Turner and Grant Bovey.

The event took place on 15 July at Grant and Anthea's stunning country home in Surrey. Guests included media friends, celebrities and general public ticket holders. Everyone present was wined and dined, and then entertained by some famous names from the world of television and showbiz including The Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, Duncan James, Keedie, Chico and Lulu. Hosted by Bobbie Davro, Master of Ceremonies, there were two auctions during the evening including a Silent Auction. Prizes in the second auction included a shopping trip with Liz Hurley, a weekend on a yacht in the Mediterranean, an ap

Details
Canada - LTS, based in Vancouver, recently invested in an Adamson Y-Axis rig, comprising 16 Adamson Y10 High Mids and four T21 Subwoofers. "We have used the rig for several productions in the past year, and have had nothing but excellent feedback regarding the system," commented Alan Le Texier.

Alan and Don Le Texier are the owners of LTS Pro Sound & Lighting, a division of Le Texier Systems Inc, which has been providing sales, rentals, consulting, design, installations, and production services to Vancouver and the Lower Mainland for over eighteen years. LTS production services provides sound and lighting equipment as well as transportation, set-up and human resources, and has supplied services for events such as The Cloverdale Rodeo & Exhibition and The Blue Mountain Blues Festival.

The company's equipment sales division offers products such as portable sound system

  1. Robbie hits the ceiling with QSC
  2. 200th Robe Fixture for Viking Stage Lighting
  3. Dolby Lake Processor at Lollapalooza
  4. PLASA Rigging Certificate at PLASA '06
  5. Star Events Group makes V Festival debut
  6. Outline now heard in North America
Page 823 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .