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UK - Artist and impresario Tony Moore is launching his new concept, The Airwaves Tour, on 17 August, flying to 15 UK airfields and performing a gig at each - all in the space of nine days, and in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

To help him hit the heights of his performance at each stop, Moore will be using a lightweight gig set up comprising a Soundcraft MFX8 (one of the new Lexicon-equipped, Soundcraft FX mixer family) and JBL Eon 10 powered speakers.

Moore comments: "I contacted my friends at Soundcraft as we use their mixers and other Harman equipment in The Bedford and the Regal Room for all our events. The new MFX8 mixer fitted the bill perfectly; not only does it deliver the high quality audio I require, but being equipped with onboard Lexicon effects, it saves me taking additional rack gear and reduces weight, especially important for this gig."

A n

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UK - A customised Kinesys motor control system has been installed into the Royal Albert Hall. The project was instigated by the Hall's rigging manager, Simon Frost, and was delivered in two phases. With over 360 shows a year staged at the Royal Albert Hall, Frost wanted to introduce additional layers of health & safety and extra flexibility to the rig, which used to work on a conventional up/down motor control system. "I have always liked the design and functionality of Kinesys equipment," he says.

With the hoists hanging over 130ft up in the grid, their movement is barely audible even during complete silence, rare when a show is being rigged. The view is obscured from most positions in the Hall, including the main control area, by an aluminium skin cladding the grid. Frost therefore sought "a tried-and-tested, foolproof system with all the safety features that wo

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UK - In the ten years since leaving his native Bordeaux for the UK, Matthieu Destandau has done much to keep London's Fitzrovia on the culinary map. He made his name a block or so south of his present incumbency on London's Gt. Titchfield Street at CVO Firevault, which became an ultra-chic cocktail bar and party venue.

Then he was headhunted by David Alberto, chief executive of Avanta, the company which operates the nearby Media Village Business Centre, and the two men set about converting the somewhat drab, integral basement 'canteen', known as the Winchester Club, into the resplendent all-white Vanilla.

Common to both Destandau's' enterprises has been the Sound Division Group. Yet the two venues could scarcely have required a more different approach, as Matthieu Destandau explained. "At Firevault, the loudspeakers were in evidence and the sound more in your face - but h

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USA - Nexxus Lighting has announced financial results for the second quarter and first six months of 2007. During the period the company completed its Orlando facility relocation, relocated its corporate headquarters to Charlotte, North Carolina and announced the signing of non-binding letters of intent to acquire two advanced technology lighting companies. The company (formerly Super Vision International) changed its name to Nexxus Lighting Inc in April as part of its new strategic plan to connect advanced technology with lighting products and control systems.

Total revenues for the six months ended 30 June, 2007 were approximately $4,975,000 as compared to approximately $5,814,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2006. Over $690,000 of the approximately $839,000 decrease was attributable to a decrease in sales to the pool and spa market, which are down over 26% year over year

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UK - With the final commissioning of a purpose-designed dance system for its premier room, the Ministry of Sound in London is now equipped exclusively with Martin Audio components - from the ground up.

It had long been the dream of Dave Bradshaw (formerly head of production but now a consultant to the MoS) to make the world-famous club an exclusively Martin Audio house. After last year's PLASA Show the bar underwent a sound system conversion, and this month added the four additional S218 subs to create uniformity, while the club embarked on redesigning the venue's Holy Grail, the main dance space known as The Box. This month that process was completed.

It is around eight years since the venue specified an all Martin Audio Blackline 5.1 monitor domain for DJs working in The Box, although the six-stack system, which enveloped the audience, had been in nearly twice as long.

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UK - The VIP entrance leading from the Queen Elizabeth II Pier to the O2 is a stunning saunter over the river Thames, with views anyone who experiences it will not easily forget.

Architen Landrell have helped shape this striking part of the venue with their design, manufacture and installation of a weatherproof tunnel leading visitors to the Arena from the waterfront.

After being awarded several projects as part of the old Millennium Dome's redevelopment, they presented clients O2 and venue owners AEG with a range of options for the proposed lighting scheme at Riverwalk, with Tryka being the winning option.

35 Tryka Module 36 IP67 with oval optics are installed inside the custom-built 150m long tunnel, with Tryka's IDS-4 rack Intelligent Drive System controlled by a Pharos LPC DMX system. The luminaires offer a wide beam angle for illuminating the vast area.

Architen Landr

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Australia - Clifton Productions, a major player in the lighting production industry, has announced the creation of a newly formed company within their ranks - Moving Light Rentals (MLR).

MLR has had a flying start with a sizeable investment in 300 Robe moving lights, bringing their total Robe inventory to over 450 units. The luminaires - a 50/50 split of Spot and Wash fixtures from Robe's 700, 1200 and 2500 E AT ranges - have been delivered via Robe Lighting's Australian distributor ULA Group P/L.

MLR is designed to offer industry rate prices to its clients enabling them to re-rent the units. The new lights are now available for hire to other production companies throughout the Asia-Pacific region. MLR will also be used to service Clifton's many upcoming productions.

(Jim Evans)

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Belarus - Recently the subject of a major refurbishment and updating, which saw the installation of an overall roof and completely new technical specification, the 6250-capacity Summer Amphitheatre in the city of Vitebsk, Belarus, was the main venue for the Slavianski Bazaar In Vitebsk, a major cultural festival that ran from 5-14 July.

Slavianski Bazaar In Vitebsk is a major event of huge regional importance, having won International Federation of Festival Organisations (FIDOF) awards.

A major part of the new technical infrastructure installed by Art Ramos Studio (ARS), the audio contractor for the venue, is a pair of DiGiCo D5 consoles, one at front-of-house, the other at the monitor position and both were immediately put to work for up to 17 hours a day at the festival.

The Slavianski Bazaar attracts artists from around the world and focuses attention on Belarus' importan

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UK - Bristol-based fabrication specialists Fineline designed and built several specially customised items for Muse's summer stadium shows for production manager Chris Vaughan of The Production Office.

Fineline's brief included fitting a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano into the shell of a classic instrument. The classic piano was shipped directly to Finelineís warehouse in Bristol from the factory in Japan with no keys or strings. Liaising closely with Muse backline technician Des Broadbery, Fineline's Dave Harris then took delivery of a Kawai MP8 electronic grand piano, which had to be fitted inside the original.

The grand piano was carefully inserted into Fineline's 5-axis router, where the key bay was machined into the correct shape to receive the MP8 keyboard. The MP8 was then stripped right down to its component parts and mounted correctly into the grand piano.

The pia

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France - Le Pont du Gard is a very old and famous roman aqueduct which spans the Gardon River in Southern France. Every year a summer festival is staged in the huge national park which incorporates Le Pont du Gard - to celebrate the aqueduct and the region of Nimes.

Lighting designer Jean Marc Bouaniche specified an entire PixelRange rig for the occasion including 110 PixelLine 110s, 20 PixelLine 1044s, 36 PixelPars and 12 PixelBricks. Bouaniche enthused: "I didn't want to mix generic lights with LEDs. I wanted the aqueduct reflecting in its own colour - not lightening it with HMI or MSR lamps."

The PixelLine 110s were positioned in each of the arches on the second and third levels whilst PixelPars were on the ground facing and lighting the first level. The PixelLine 1044s and the PixelBricks were on the river banks - simulating volcano craters in red beating like he

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USA - InfoComm International and NSCA have announced a cooperative effort to consolidate their industry events. As part of this consolidation, the 2008 NSCA Systems Integration Expo will now become part of InfoComm's annual trade show in Las Vegas, 18-20 June 2008. NSCA will also transfer its ownership interest in Integrated Systems Europe to the remaining partners, as per a separate operating agreement.

According to Chuck Wilson, executive director of NSCA: "This is simply a huge deal for our industry and one we have been discussing for at least ten years. It's exciting to finally be able to say yes to the hundreds of shared exhibitors and attendees of both trade shows who have been asking for us to do this."

As part of further event consolidation, InfoComm will discontinue its Executive Business Conference and become a primary sponsor of the 2008 NSCA Business Conf

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UK - Adlib Audio continued its working relationship with the Scissor Sisters by supplying their recent UK O2 and Manchester Arena shows with a JBL VerTec PA system. This was designed by Adlib's Dave Kay, who has been onboard with the Scissor Sisters as their FOH engineer since they supported Duran Duran at Wembley in 2005. Monitor engineer Ben Booker, also from Adlib, has looked after all their stage requirements for the same period.

Adlib sent one of their A-Team crews to do these high profile shows, consisting of Tony Szabo (systems engineer), James Neale, Richie Nicholson (monitor babysitter) and Kenny Perrin.

The system was similar to the one that the band has toured with for the last 16 months. JBL's VerTec line array was chosen for its power and directionality. And plenty of it was needed, especially at the new O2 arena.

Adlib supplied a total of 72 VT4889 elements, si

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UK - Sitting on an exposed outcrop of rock in what is now the heart of the modern day Scottish capital, Edinburgh Castle attracts tourists from across the world. And, as well as the castle itself, every summer thousands flock to the Castle as a focal point of the annual Military Tattoo.

Extensive temporary seating galleries are erected around the castle's Esplanade for the tattoo's spectators and, since 1991, advantage has also been taken to use the facilities for live concerts. 2007 saw two Castle Concerts taking place, Blondie with Echo and the Bunnymen on 13 July, followed by Pink two days later.

Star Events provided a 50ft SAM Stage with two fully enclosed, wheeled PA wings for the shows and, in a venue which combines very tight clearances with an ever-present horde of tourists, the Star Events crew were provided with a unique set of challenges.

"The Esplanade is su

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UK - Leisuretec Distribution is to distribute JBL's new Control 2.4g wireless speaker system. With a range of 50-70m, the speakers provide an additional zone of sound in any location whilst avoiding unsightly wires.

"The speakers provide a much sought after solution to venues requiring additional sound output," says Leisuretec MD Nick Spalding. "Placed in reception areas, dressing rooms, bars or restrooms, they provide instant high quality audio with no hassle. The speakers are also ideal for those requiring a portable backstage sound system on tour.

"This is an extremely innovative product, JBL has thought of a solution to the age old problem of running wires all over a building. We distribute the full JBL range and are delighted to add this unique product to the list."

A profile of Leisuretec appears in the September 2007 edition of

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UK - Following its launch in Canada, the stage version of JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has arrived in London. As in the original production, all 50 cast members are miked with DPA miniatures, using 4061s and 4066 omnis across the board, while some instruments are miked with a further selection of DPAs.

The new onstage spectacle is scored throughout by legendary Indian composer AR Rahman and Finnish contemporary folk group, Värttinä, and played live by 17 musicians. Sound designer Simon Baker from Autograph, together with associate Alan Lugger and FOH mix engineer Laurie Kirkby, set out to create a crisp, clean and intelligible mix that was achieved almost exclusively with microphones from DPA.

In an unusual move to enhance the overall sound experience, Baker decided to move both the brass and percussion sections out of the orchestra pit and into a purpose-built

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UK - Portsmouth-based dance school, KateEllen Movement & Dance's production of Dance Through Time was held at St Johns College in Southsea in July of this year and the ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing was there too.

The house rig of conventional lighting, with Zero 88 Betapack dimming supplemented by additional dimming and DMX switch packs, PAR cans, UV Tubes, Jem ZR24/7 Hazer, CCT followspot and the 6ft tall hand-built Tardis - was controlled using a single laptop with external monitor and a ChamSys MagicQ PC Wing - an affordable and portable method for lighting designer and operator Matt Lemon of Eastleigh-based ML Lighting who also works in development for ChamSys.

"The new multiwindows feature in the software is great," says Lemon. "It allowed me to spread the screens I was using across the laptop and external monitor without having to open up another programme

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UK - PLASA07 (9-12 September, Earls Court, London) will be unlike any PLASA Show you've visited before. There'll be an impressive new layout, some great new features and 100s of new products for every sector of the industry - including the latest advances in analogue and digital audio, architectural and effects lighting, AV and display technologies, integrated systems, staging, rigging and a whole host of support products and services. And with over 50 new exhibitors taking part, many of these will be from companies not previously seen at PLASA.

There's also an expanded educational programme with many sessions FREE to visitors. These include Special Interest sessions from BEIRG, InfoComm International and the Theatres Trust, plus specialist sessions from Cirque du Soleil, Duran Audio and Wireless Solutions.

Cast Software will host a series of exclusive training sessions

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China - Tens of thousands of people from all over the world gathered together last week at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to celebrate the one-year countdown ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Within the square, several large lighting towers were rigged with more than 300 computer lighting fixtures plus several powerful searchlights, totalling more than 500 lighting fixtures in all. All of these lighting fixtures were controlled with only four lighting consoles.

To achieve the multitude of lighting changes while overcoming the difficulty of the long transmission distance without any cables, Leifull Light and Sound of Guangzhou proposed an effective solution. They supplied four W-DMX systems from Wireless Solution Sweden to control the searchlights and the area light of the Tiananmen Tower, and used a 6dB high-power antenna to guarantee the signal's stability.

The entir

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UK - White Light has supplied the lighting equipment - including some of the latest LED products - to the new musical Never Forget, currently on tour around the UK after making its debut in Cardiff.

Based around the trials and tribulations of "the unlikeliest Take That tribute band", Never Forget is constructed around Take That's greatest hits. Directed by Ed Curtis and designed by Bob Bailey, the show features lighting by James Whiteside who is making use of some of the latest LED lighting technology, including Thomas PixelLine 1044 battens and the ChromaQ Color Web LED mesh, controlled by MA Lighting's grandMA lighting console and mediaPC media server.

"The LED battens are used inside translucent legs on either side of the set; at the end of the show the legs swing open so the lights themselves are visible to the audience," Whiteside explain

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UK - For lighting the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, LD Steve Nolan used two grandMA full-size and four MA NSPs. During the show the two full-size ran in full-tracking backup mode.

"We used ESP vision linked by MA-Net to visualise our programming during the day," explained Ben Cracknell, associate lighting designer and programmer. "We loaded in on Monday, began programming on Thursday evening and did the show on Sunday. I was very impressed by the grandMA and how it performed on this show.

"We were able to link both consoles together in multiuser-mode, which meant whilst I was operating the show we could use the second board to inhibit or lift intensities. This was necessary to fit the camera requirements to ensure great pictures throughout the daylight hours, past sunset and into night time."

Amongst others 102 x VL3000 spots, 90 x VL6c, 80 x

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UK - The Event Show has announced dates for next year's exhibition as the 2 and 24 January 2008 at Olympia in London. The organisers say bookings are 40% up on the same time last year.

Michelle Tayton, manager for the exhibition said: "The Event Show has continued to grow in stature and what is particularly exciting is the number of new exhibitors who have booked for 2008. Whilst re-bookings are high, we are always keen to attract new suppliers to keep the Show fresh and to offer our visitors new and unusual ideas for indoor and outdoor event organisers."

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Dundee-based Apex Acoustics has scored a notable debut for the country's audio industry, by being the first hire company in Scotland to own a DiGiCo console.

Mid-May saw the DiGiCo D1 MDR 56 plus mini rack make its way north of the border - and then promptly back again as it went straight out on a 10-week festival tour with Kasabian.

"The intention is for the D1 to be out on tour, not sat in a warehouse or in local dry hire stock," says Apex owner Paul Smith. "It's an extremely roadworthy console so, as far as we're concerned, that's where it should be - out on the road earning its keep."

"I have been seriously looking at DiGiCo for a good couple of years," says Smith. "I was given a demo in December 2005 which made me realise what amazing desks they are. We've wanted one ever since. But if you want such high quality you have to be pre

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Denmark - Martin Professional A/S continues its positive growth in 2007, maintaining the improvements that the company experienced in 2006, the company reports. Martin increased revenue by 29.8% from DKK 457.8 million (approx. $83.2 million) in the first half of 2006 to DKK 594.3 million (approx. $108.1 million) in the first six months of 2007, an H1 record for the company. The substantial revenue improvement was prevalent across all of Martin's key markets, with the exception of the USA where revenue was slightly lower than last year.

Martin now expects to generate revenue of approximately DKK 1.2 billion (approx. $218.2 million) in 2007 with a pre-tax profit of approximately DKK 70 million (approx. $12.7 million) compared with the previous forecast of DKK 40 million (approx. $7.3 million).

Shipping of large single orders, among other factors, positively impacted H1 2007 reve

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USA - When lighting designer Nic Phillips heard that a standard vinyl sign would line the windows of the Audrey Jones Beck Building for the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) exhibit titled Red Hot-Asian Art Today from the Chaney Family Collection, he proposed Element Labs' VersaTILE.

"One of my objectives was to introduce the MFAH to the beauty of this technology as art," says Phillips. "This is more than just a sign or just a display; that's why it had to be VersaTILE. Its pixels are abstract and stunning, and color rendition is unmatched."

Phillips, who describes VersaTILE as "simply the most beautiful product on the market," filled the windows with a wall of VersaTILE. Messages inspired by the exhibit like, "red hot," scroll across the wall as museum goers admire the collection of contemporary Asian art which spills into publi

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