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UK - 5 November saw the inaugural TAO Awards, designed to celebrate the hard work and expertise of the day to day crews that make an event happen. Held at The Apartments in Wiltshire, England, the awards credited those who have shown exemplary work on TAO Groups events over the previous 12 months.

TAO Group's Andy Cotton said: "There are a number of superb awards events in the calendar including the TPi Awards, NOEA Awards and the TESA Event Awards, some of which we as a company have been honoured to win. The idea of these awards was to recognise the work of the stage builders, truck drivers, humpers and all the other disciplines required to make an event happen. We wanted to award the 'blood, sweat and tears' of the workers on TAO events as opposed to the companies, as without these people events don't happen."

The awards were hosted by Ian Sandy and presented by va

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UK - When the Control of Noise At Work Regulations 2005 - originally introduced in 2006 for heavy industry - became enforceable for the music and entertainment sector earlier this year, theatre specialists Orbital Sound were quick to respond.

The company immediately set up a thorough risk assessment programme, which is already being adopted by several leading West End theatre production (and touring) companies. The assessment monitors employee exposure to sound levels within the workplace, setting out different thresholds of risk, over short bursts and sustained periods, along with the appropriate action that needs to be taken.

Central to this are small 'dosemeters', which are clipped discreetly onto employees working in specific areas which are activated simply via a keyfob; the readings are then monitored by Orbital.

Orbital Sound technical director, Tim Sherratt, w

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USA - LEDtronics recently celebrated its first 25 years of solid-state lighting design since the enterprise's founding by Pervaiz and Almas Lodhie. During the anniversary event at their Torrance, California, headquarters, LEDtronics executives thanked employees and customers for making possible the company's successes to date, and for providing advanced technological opportunities for future achievements.

"My wife and I began this as a cottage industry in a suburban garage in 1983, finding buyers among the local aerospace firms," Pervaiz Lodhie, the company's president, explained. "We've grown into a multimillion dollar manufacturer with over 300 employees, with a 63,000sq.ft facility in California and a second plant in Karachi, Pakistan. We're a world-leading supplier of lamps using up-to-date light-emitting diode [LED] technology with a global network of sales r

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UK - Wax Jambu has opened on Islington's Upper Street hospitality circuit. Experienced on the Newcastle bar circuit, operators Jimi Pearce, Sara Nixon and Will Partridge began their quest for their own venue a year ago, reviewing sites in Manchester and Edinburgh before deciding on a former North London nightclub.

Setting a conversion budget of £100,000 (including internal structural work) they contacted Studio Output for their 2D graphic design work and the experienced Julian Taylor Design Associates (with whom they had previously worked in Newcastle) for the interior fit-out. The result is a 220-capacity late night music and cocktail bar.

Despite its bijou size, the owners wanted to achieve maximum flexibility, and based on recommendation, contacted CP Sound's Colin Pattenden to install a versatile DJ and live playback system based largely around Harman Pro components.

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Canada - The Eastern Canadian City of Moncton, New Brunswick, which hosts the annual Magnetic Hill Music Festival, has purchased 90 metres of barrier from Mojo Barriers.

The outdoor Magnetic Hill site has welcomed major concerts by the Rolling Stones, who attracted 85,000 people in 2005, and this year's Long Road out of Eden Tour by the Eagles, attended by 55,000 visitors.

The sale of the refurbished steel barrier, from Mojo Barriers' US office, was driven by the venue's need to be able to provide the highest level production facilities to visiting acts. The relative remoteness of the Canadian site was a potential obstacle for touring artists but the venue's newfound ability to offer the best available in-house barrier facilities will considerably ease the logistical burden for visiting international tours.

"Magnetic Hill Music Festival is one of the largest events in E

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Spain - The current global financial crisis failed to dampen enthusiasm for Digital Technology Expo 2008, recently held at the ExpoAthens Exhibition Centre in Greece, closing its doors with positive results. D.A.S. Audio distributor for Greece, IMA Audio, was "extremely satisfied" with the event since among the large number of visitors to the IMA Audio booth were existing clients as well as many business contacts from different areas of Greece.

A wide range of D.A.S. products were exhibited on the IMA Audio booth, including the Arco, Artec, Reference and DR series, as well as Variant 25, Variant 112 and Sub 18H systems. Despite its mainly national focus, the trade show continues to build on its position in Greece as a leading showcase for the professional sound and lighting, audio-visual, music and technology sectors. It is complemented by an educational programme, inc

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Ireland - Litestructures has announced the appointment of Castle Stage Hire as its new hire partner covering both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Established in 1992, Castle Stage Hire has become one of Irelands leading suppliers of mobile stages. Part of its continued expansion relied on the acquisition of an industry standard demountable decking system, and LiteDeck was the choice. The deal was put together between Castle Stage hire MD Cormac McCormick, Litestructures and UK master stockholding distributor Impact Products.

Taking an extensive stock of over 60 LiteDeck, along with leg frames, handrails and step units gives Castle Stage Hire a complete decking system to allow them to provide a turnkey solution to any client requirement.

Cormac McCormick comments: "We researched the market and have invested in LiteDeck as we recognise it to be not only a to

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Germany - W-DMX is once again gracing the stages of German musical theatre. Following a successful run with Wicked - The Witches of Oz, the system is being used on another popular musical, Ich Will Spaß ("I want to have fun!").

The 80s period will be revived in the Colosseum Theater Essen. The lighting rig will include 83 moving lights (amongst them 49 Vari*Lite VL3500 Spot and Wash units), plus 99 ETC Source Fours. To represent the colourful feel of the 80's, the stage is dominated by a giant Rubik's Cube equipped with 293 MR16s, custom created for the set design, with 197 LED/RGB-Modules built in. The 950sq.ft (88sq.m) large video wall is one of the largest moving screens in German staging. Furthermore, the edge of the stage is fitted with 54 B250 LED stripes from Schnick-Schnack-Systems. Power and data distribution for the lighting of the Rubik's Cube

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USA - Philadelphia's University of the Sciences main athletic facility, the gymnasium at Rosenberger Alumni Hall, recently received a sonic renovation, courtesy of Philadelphia-based Clear Sound. As Clear Sound's Chris Dietze explains, the facility has long been in need of better sound. "The gym's PA system has always been underpowered and poorly placed," says Dietze. "For sporting events, people tend to overlook bad sound and blame it on the ambient crowd noise, but they use the gym for other events too, like convocations and student orientations, and it's then that the problem would become painfully apparent." Clear Sound designed a system utilising 12 Community R1-66 full-range two-way loudspeaker systems mounted strategically across the gym's peaked metal roof, with six loudspeakers covering the bleacher areas and six more covering the court area. "The

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UK - After 10 successful years with L-Acoustics, industry veteran Paul Nicholson has been busy with two significant new projects: the first was to reinvigorate MIDAS ProSound, the audio company he founded some 20 years ago and the second was to set up a sister company, Red Square Audio, to handle distribution of high end audio products.

Nicholson comments, "Since my return at the beginning of July, MIDAS ProSound has been extremely successful in capturing some significant sales and securing several large scale installation projects through our ongoing consultancy work. Rentals are also increasing and some major production projects are under active development for next year. However, I really wanted to look at distribution rather than additional dealerships. With this in mind, I entered into discussions with several manufacturers and French console manufacturer Innovason bec

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UK - The story of William Tell is given much credence in Switzerland as it is regarded as an important episode in the formation of the Swiss nation. When director Volker Hesse interpreted the original Schiller play as a dialogue-only rendition of the story - Tellspiele - he solicited the assistance of Out Board's TiMax Audio Imaging system and sound designer Tom Strebel to produce reliable, person-specific, voice-localisation effects, with real-time automation from the new TiMax Tracker actor tracking system.

The play was staged in the Uri Theatre in Altdorf - the Swiss province from whence Tell originally hailed. The 500+-capacity theatre is a standard proscenium build, but not much else about this production's staging could be described as standard. The theatre's interior was almost completely re-fashioned to create a 35m long stage platform stretching all the way from

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UK - DB Systems (DB), the global audio-visual company, has been awarded a contract by Rapiergroup to provide AV solutions for defence and aerospace giant, BAE Systems.

The two-year contract, which begins in January 2009, will see DB working with Rapiergroup to design innovative and bespoke AV solutions for BAE Systems' exhibits at over 28 exhibitions and events around the world. These include Farnborough, Paris, Dubai and Singapore Airshows, DSEi London, IDEX in Abu Dhabi and LAAD in Rio de Janeiro.

Previously, DB worked with Rapiergroup for BAE Systems between 2006 and 2008. However, to win this new contract DB successfully came through a competitive five-way pitch, which was spearheaded by David Bulley, Managing Director, and Jay Goldson, Senior Account Manager, who will also oversee this contract. BAE Systems is the third largest global defence company in the world and has

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Ireland - A pioneering installation at the new Wexford Opera House in Ireland marks a European first for auditorium sound - digitally steerable auditorium audio.

Acoustic consultant Peter Mapp and system integrators Northern Light specified six Renkus-Heinz Iconyx digitally steerable array loudspeakers, supplied by Renkus-Heinz's UK and Ireland distributor, Polar Audio. The project saw a completely new theatre complex built on the site of the previous theatre in this picturesque Irish coastal town.

Three pairs of Iconyx IC16 loudspeakers are installed, with one column of three concealed either side within the stage's proscenium arch. Each left and right pair covers, respectively, the stalls and first and second balconies. The Iconyx units' digital beam steering capabilities were used to precisely focus each loudspeaker on its allocated seating area during setup via the dedicat

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UAE - With everything hurtling rapidly toward a digital destination it's as well to remember that the laws of physics are what govern our ability to stage concerts, not ones and zeros. Where can you hang your 30-tonne LED screen and how can you hang it, are two questions that make a case in point.

These are exactly the questions Rick Wade (project manager) from Production Technology in Dubai asked himself when he learned he was about to have his busiest run-up to Christmas ever. Shows by Queen and Paul Rogers, Kylie Minogue, and George Michael, in the space of three weeks; and all of them had committed to provide a full production show, not some scaled-down version for the Middle East.

"For a production manager like Albert Lawrence with Queen, taking a show like theirs around Europe is relatively straightforward," said Wade, "in that the resources of companies l

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World - Wybron's Infogate feedback software plays a key role on Independence of the Seas, the newest and biggest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.

As part of Wybron's Infotrace feedback system, Infogate enables lighting equipment on board Independence of the Seas to talk back to its operators using the industry-standard two-way communication protocol Remote Device Management, or RDM. It constantly monitors the equipment, keeping an eye on any problems or maintenance issues.

"We can track scroller wear and tear, what strings are in which scrollers, identify each fixture individually and basically track how the rig is holding up," says lighting technician Michael Calder, who's now headed to Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas - another Infogate ship.

Independence of the Seas launched in April 2008 as the world's biggest cruise ship. Wei

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UK Eastern-themed cocktail bar, Orchid, in London's Leicester Square recently underwent an interior redesign using Tryka LED lighting modules.

Pembroke Design carried out the interior refurbishment, while the technical brief was interpreted by EM-Communications' Ed Manwaring, who says: "Tryka produces quality LED lighting units that are so robust and reliable you can 'install and forget', which is why I always specify them. Knowing that they're unlikely to encounter any problems frees me to focus on the next Tryka installation."

The original brief was to create a friendly and welcoming entrance lobby while softening some of the venue's more industrial features - the main smoke extractor for the Trocadero Centre, which is above the bar, forms a now-concealed element of Orchid's ceiling.

Mirror mosaics were used on the walls to brighten the entrance stairs, which fol

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Russia - Rental company Live Sound Agency is enjoying an extremely busy autumn/winter season following its recent investment in 32 Lab.gruppen Powered Loudspeaker Management (PLM) systems earlier in the year. The PLM devices, which are used to power their L'Acoustics V-DOSC rig, were supplied by Lab.gruppen's Moscow-based Russian distributor, I.S.P.A.

Live Sound Agency's Yuriy Sokolov reports: "The combination of one of the world's greatest system processors, Dolby Lake, with the tried and tested amplifier technology from Lab.gruppen in one single device is a stroke of genius. There is no discomfort for the user in that everything is already familiar to him and there is a good preset library to work from initially. After that, it's easy to customise if necessary. The result is that you are efficient straight away because your time is spent tuning the system, and not having

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UK - An issue that has cost electronics manufacturers worldwide a great deal of time, effort and money is the Restriction of Hazardous Substances directive, which restricts the use of many materials, most noticeably leaded solder and cadmium plating on connector shells.

UK-based Bryant Broadcast has now introduced a fully RoHS compliant version of the MIL-C 26482, 26 and 41-pin connectors, which are historically the connector of choice for the outside broadcast industry in the UK and are used in conjunction with 8- and 12-way 'Star-Quad' cables in audio multicore systems.

These new connectors have zinc cobalt black plating finish and heavy duty arctic grade ribbed coupling rings. Both the standard convention of cable-end male connector with locking ring to panel female receptacle with bayonet posts; and cable-end receptacle to mating panel mount plug are available. Both male a

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France - Projection specialists E/T/C won first prize for 'Innovation contributing to the Events Industry' at the 2008 Heavent Expo Awards held at the Hippodrome de Longchamp in Paris last week. The Award was created four years ago by the exhibition organisers and the ANAé (Association des Agences de Communication Evénementielle) to pay tribute to and encourage the technical "savoir-faire" of companies or individuals in the event field.

E/T/C was rewarded for its technical contribution to The Image Mill, the spectacular show created and produced by Robert Lepage and Ex Machina for Quebec City's 400th anniversary. The ground-breaking show saw the installation of 27 Christie 20K video projectors, which were programmed and controlled by E/T/C's multimedia platform, Onlyview. A monumental image 657m long was beamed onto the Bunge grain silos running al

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UK - Brilliant Stages has designed and manufactured the infrastructure for the spectacular focal point of AC~DC's Black Ice Tour 2008, the Rock 'n' Roll Train. Conceived by Fisher Studio's Jeremy Lloyd and Mark Fisher, the centrepiece is inspired by the first track of AC~DC's new album and requires a 'life size' steam locomotive which appears to have crashed onto stage.

The locomotive needs to be hidden upstage at the top of the show before, self-supported and powered by crew alone, moving 4.5m downstage to slew round into its final position between two video walls and over the walkway.

Various effects needed to be incorporated into the design, including lighting, pyrotechnics, smoke, C02, headlights, a brass bell and deployable, light-up devil horns, not to mention concealing - and then supporting - a huge inflatable known as Rosie.

The complete centrep

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Slovakia - Over 100 Robe moving lights were used to light Cat Girls, a new Slovakian TV project launched "to find the sexiest girl in the country".

Lighting for the show, staged in the Expo Arena in Bratislava in front of an enthusiastic live audience and broadcast live on Slovakia's Markiza network, was designed by Martin Kubánka, who was brought onboard by production company MAYA. All lighting and sound equipment for the event was supplied by Q-99, and it was one of the biggest TV productions yet seen in the country in terms of lighting and video technology.

Kubánka's creative challenge included producing an integrated lighting and video design that looked equally as good on camera as it did for the live audience, and that also fulfilled the usual demands of 'light entertainment' television. He worked closely with show director Karol Vosátko, camera direc

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Jordan - Amman's PRO4 Total Event Solutions has upgraded its rental sound systems with Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers to meet a variety of production needs in the area.

"Our goal was to raise the quality standards for live audio production in Jordan. This was why we invested in Meyer Sound," says Hisham Al Asad, production manager of Onstage, a division of PRO4 Total Event Solutions.

PRO4 is now stocked with Mica line array loudspeakers, 700-HP subwoofers, and a Galileo loudspeaker management system.

The first deployment of the Mica system was at the annual Amman Summer Festival, a 24-day marathon of social, cultural, and musical events held in the city's huge King Hussein Park and attended by more than 150,000 people. "Our client, the Greater Amman Municipality, was very satisfied with the high-quality audio production at the event. Of course, we are v

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Italy - Litec, one of the leading companies in the construction of aluminium structures for entertainment worldwide, has launched a new website, www.litectruss.com

The site has been filled with new content and redesigned with a vibrant look in line with the new corporate image of Litec, says the company.

Among the most important innovations is the Products section. The new section aims to make the whole range of Litec products more understandable. Each product is listed with its main technical features and users can also download all technical documents as well as having a look at a gallery of installations where the various products have been applied.

It is also now possible to find a product by typing its code or part of it in the search box of the site. All information about a single product will be collected quickly and directly on one page. "This will certainly hel

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