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UK - Nestling against the dramatic backdrop of the Cornish coast, almost at Britain's most southerly point, lies the Minack Theatre - a gloriously visual outdoor performance venue. Northern Light has recently completed the upgrade of the venue's house lighting, which included cabling infrastructure, fixture renewal and DMX distribution.

Chris Watts, who had overall responsibility for project management on behalf of Northern Light, said: "It truly has been a joy to work on such an exceptional venue. An open air theatre presents its own unique challenges, particularly in terms of Mother Nature. The bulk of the installation took place in January during extremely inclement weather, but we stood up to the wind and rain and finished the job on time and on budget. The only other real issue was the distraction provided by the beautiful scenery."

New Blues System LED fittings

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UK - Over three months of Saturday night television saw primetime UK talent show The X Factor crown its latest winner in time to get the coveted Christmas Number 1 chart slot. February and March 2009 gave many of the finalists and their newly found fans a chance to get up close and personal as the X Factor Live tour played multiple shows at the UK and Ireland's main arenas.

With a live backing band and the various different performers singing individually before all coming together for the finale, it is a complex show to mix. But with sales and rental company Wigwam Acoustics supplying a DiGiCo SD7 and D5 on monitors and at Front of House respectively, the show is able to maintain its pace.

On stage, monitor engineer Sean Horsman has a combination of in-ears, wedges and sidefills, with 56 input channels and 12 mono and 12 stereo outputs on his SD7.

"As eac

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UK - The Lighting Hospital is a unique new concept developed by production industry technical maverick Dik Welland to take care of, treat, offer TLC, counselling and repair of specialist lighting equipment elements - with a fast, efficient, cost-effective and personal service, says the company.

The primary products repaired and serviced are electronic switch mode lamp power supplies up to 7Kw. Welland comments: "There was a definite gap in the market for the quick and efficient repair of these, especially when out of warranty, and that's initially why I have set up the company".

Additionally, The Lighting Hospital also caters for a far wider range of products, including low voltage switch mode power supplies and control boards covering a whole gamut of moving light brands including Vari*Lite, High End, Martin Professional, Robe lighting and others.

Xenon 7Kw and 5K

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UK - The hit revival of Oliver!, starring Rowan Atkinson, has opened in London's West End using ETC lighting and controls. And not only has the show received acclaim from the critics, but the Eos lighting desk has also received acclaim from lighting designer Paule Constable.

"We looked at other desks to use on this show," explains Constable, "but the Eos is definitely the most theatre based, with the best support available. I was really impressed. Eos is establishing itself in the lighting world as the best board for the theatre."

Programmer Nick Simmons says: "Paule and I first experienced the Eos two years ago, when we worked together at the National Theatre on War Horse, and the desk has come a long way since then. We worked with the Eos product design team and provided feedback which resulted in changes to the way some features work w

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South Africa - Robe DigitalSpots took their share of the limelight at a special concert staged in the Big Top Arena, Carnival City Johannesburg, ZA, to celebrate 10 years at the top for leading South African singer/songwriter, Juanita du Plessis.

Lighting for the event - also recorded for DVD and enjoyed by a live audience of 3000 - was designed by Francois van der Merwe from MJ Event Gear, the company contracted to supply all the lighting and AV equipment.

The over-stage lighting rig was based on three trusses - front, mid and back - and the four DigitalSpot 5000DTs were placed on an additional V shaped truss, positioned centre stage front. Video footage ran for every song, so it was a vital component of the look and feel of the show.

Images from the DigitalSpots - 60% of which was supplied by du Plessis herself who took a very active interest in the overall show design - w

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Fewer Freebies - About 200 fewer free tickets will be handed out to people living near Worthy Farm in Somerset, the home of Glastonbury Festival. A spokesman for the festival told the BBC a change had been made to the area in which people have to live to receive a free festival pass. He said despite that, more than 3,000 would still be given away. Those finding themselves just outside the boundary will be given a free pass for Sunday's performances. They will also be able to claim £60 off the price of a ticket for the festival.

Traditionally festival organiser Michael Eavis has given free tickets away to people living in the villages of Pilton, Pylle and Sticklynch. The idea behind the give-away is to make up for disruption to roads when about 200,000 people arrive for the event at the end of June. The spokesman said: "No other major festival looks after people who li

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USA - The Entertainment Services and Technology Association (ESTA) and the Production Equipment Rental Association (PERA) have announced an agreement to merge, subject to final ratification.

Under the agreement, PERA will become the PERA Council within ESTA, retaining its focus on the production of film, television and commercials. The Council's mission is to focus on development and implementation of programs and services for production rental businesses.

The move will provide PERA members with immediate access to a wide array of benefits and services as well as the support of a professional staff, while allowing the PERA leadership to focus on their core mission. By adding a key sector, ESTA strengthens its voice on behalf of the entertainment technology industry and brings an important new dimension to many of its programs.

ESTA President Bill Groener commented: "In

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UK - There is a long historical association between the theatre and education. Most schools stage plays and have some kind of auditorium. Then there are the colleges and institutions that specialise in training the next generation of actors and theatre technicians.

This year The ABTT Theatre Show (Association of British Theatre Technicians) reflects the link and features many exhibitors who have supplied equipment for major school and college theatre installations over the last couple of years.

Sound and lighting equipment will feature heavily at The ABTT Theatre Show, but also on show is a whole range of products and services - from staging to floors to rigging and electro-mechanical hoists - that are as important in creating a theatre or performance space as loudspeakers and lights.

Among this year's exhibitors is Centre Stage Engineering, which has supplied and installed

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UK - Stage Technologies has announced that it has received the Queen's Award for Enterprise 2009 in the category of International Trade.

The Queen's Awards for Enterprise recognise and reward outstanding achievement by UK companies and are presented in three separate categories: International Trade, Innovation and Sustainable Development. The Awards are made each year by Her Majesty The Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister, who is assisted by an Advisory Committee that includes representatives of Government, industry and commerce, and the trade unions.

This is the second time that Stage Technologies has received a Queen's Award, the first being in 2003 in the same category for its 'outstanding international trade performance'. This year's Award has been bestowed in part due to an 84% increase in overseas revenue over a three-year period. The company also reports a sustai

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Taiwan - ARX Systems has announced the appointment of Taipei based Taiwan Access Co Ltd as its new distributor for Taiwan.

ARX managing director Colin Park commented: "Taiwan Access's Rick Chen and I have been discussing the possibilities of working together in Taiwan for some time. Rick thought with the release of new additions to our USB DI product range the time was right to expand ARX's presence in the Taiwanese market.

"Rick and his sales team also felt our range of signal processing products was a very complementary fit with the other lines they currently represent, they were especially excited by the new products we released at the recent Frankfurt Pro Light and Sound Exhibition."

Alongside ARX, Taiwan Access represent a number of companies including Schoeps, Superlux, Auralex & Monster Cable.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - As part of Martin Professional's ongoing reorganisation, the company has announced that general management responsibilities in the UK will continue to be handled by Tony Browne, who has served as managing director of Martin UK since 2007.

As we reported in January, Martin Professional A/S is in the process of creating a regional sales organisation, Martin EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) based at Martin's headquarter office in Aarhus, Denmark. During 2009, Martin's current European subsidiaries will be integrated into the new structure while Martin's distributors within the area will be served by the new European regional organisation at a later stage.

Villads Thomsen, previously managing director at Martin Professional's Scandinavian subsidiary, heads the organisation as vice-president EMEA.

Browne commented: "These are challenging times that are creating man

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USA - Once again filling the MGM's Grand Garden Arena, the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards drew Nashville's hottest acts to Las Vegas, where Shure wireless proved to be the choice of a number of artists performing at the annual event.

"From an audio and RF standpoint, Shure's UHF-R Series and the SM58 capsule continued to provide us with maximum stability and flexibility," production mixer J. Mark King said, commenting on the stage blueprint responsible for capturing the night's live performances. Giving credence to King's statement, the show opened with Brooks and Dunn, Taylor Swift, Rascal Flatts, and other A-list artists, all using UR/SM58 wireless to sing a medley of hits.

Shure endorser Heidi Newfield and her UR/SM58 mic took the stage shortly thereafter, as did Toby Keith, who broke slightly with the night's established standards by singing into a UR/KSM9

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UK - If you're an established freelancer or just starting out in the industry, you can take advantage of a free advice session being run as part of the programme of seminars at next week's PLASA Focus event in Leeds (28-29 April).

This one-hour session, which takes place at 12pm on Wednesday 29 April at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, will provide freelancers with an overview of a wide range of areas relevant to their working lives, including an examination of key legal requirements and responsibilities.

Its main focus will be an introduction to Health & Safety law for freelancers, including a review of risk management, individual levels of responsibility and risk assessment practices. It will also provide an understanding of financial issues such as IR35 and what it means for an individual's self employment status, outlining the measures that can be taken to protect it. There w

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China - Lying at the Western end of China's Great Wall, Jia Yu Guan has been a strategic transport nexus since the days of the Silk Road. This historic city, placed at one of the major crossroads of civilisation has added a grand new theatre to its already bustling streets.

It's a measure of the astonishing speed with which complex projects can be completed that the Jia Yu Guan Grand Theatre opened just sixteen months after builders first cut turf. An ambitious project by any measure, the fact that this prestigious arts venue was completed during the final year of China's massive construction project for the 2008 Olympics makes it all the more laudable. Jiuquan Iron & Steel (Group) Co, Ltd chose to install a d&b audiotechnik PA system in the venue.

"The main theatre seats just under one thousand two hundred people," explained Daniel Chan from the Hong Kong office of

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UK - Swansea's National Waterfront Museum has invested in a rolling programme to replace its current projector system with new Panasonic Projectors, used for the public display areas throughout the Museum.

The contemporary and stylish development built on Swansea's Waterfront attracts visitors from across the country to learn more about Wales' story of industry and innovation via interactive AV systems and digital displays.

The Museum is housed in an original and listed waterfront warehouse linked to a new, ultra-modern slate and glass building. The Museum uses cutting edge AV equipment to create interesting and engaging ways of displaying information and March marked the start of upgrading and replacing the current system.

Several Panasonic PT-D5700s have been purchased and installed by the Museum's technicians, with a total of 31 projectors to complete the update of the cu

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UK - Baldwin Boxall has announced a charity happy hour to be held every day on its stand at Firex between 2:00-3:00 pm. The stand has been designed as an old English Public House, with Baldwin Boxall staff handing visitors a glass of Harvey's Real Ale. During the Charity Happy Hour, visitors will be asked to make a donation in exchange for a drink.

The charity chosen is RAFT (Restoration of Appearance & Function Trust). RAFT is an independent charity working to prevent and improve the treatment of major traumas such as burns, wounds and cancers of the skin. This is achieved through medical advances in medical research and reconstructive plastic surgery.

Baldwin Boxall has supported the charity in previous years, holding golf days and the like. This is the first time the company has used the exhibition stand to raise money. Staff are optimistic that visitors will agree that the

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UK - The National Theatre's award-winning, puppet-led production, War Horse, has transferred from the National's Olivier Theatre to the New London Theatre in the West End.

Adapted from the novel by Michael Morpurgo, War Horse is set at the outbreak of World War One and tells the story of Joey, the beloved horse of young Albert, who is sold to the cavalry and shipped to France. But Albert cannot forget his horse, and embarks on a treacherous mission to the trenches to find him and bring him home.

The story is told by actors working with spectacular life-size puppets created by the Handspring Puppet Company who, along with designer Rae Smith, won an Olivier Award for the show last year; the design is completed by an Olivier-award nominated lighting design by Paule Constable.

Supplying the lighting rig for Paule Constable's design, entertainment lighting supplier

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UK / USA - With just days to go to Light Relief and Behind the Scenes By Design Day on 24 April, it's not too late to join the host of international designers who have come together to raise money for these two industry charities. This year, for the first time, Light Relief is joined by the US and Canadian charity, Behind the Scenes, resulting in a record number of designers donating their day's royalties, plus many leading lighting designers and others in the industry are giving individual donations.

Already pledging to donate their royalties for 24 April are the lighting designers of some 40 international shows, many of them - like Howard Harrison's Mamma Mia! and Mary Poppins - in several different productions. Joining Rick Fisher, Ken Billington and Ken Posner, the day's co-sponsors, are Neil Austin, donating his royalties from the Frost/Nixon US tour; M

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Italy - Located on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the town of Arzachena is a regional administrative centre located near Costa Smeralda, the venue for the upcoming G8 summit being held between 8-10 July. One of the facilities for media briefings that the globally powerful politicians may use is the just-completed Arzachena Auditorium Comunale, which features a state of the art Yamaha audio system.

With the respective heads of state/government of the USA, Russia, UK, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and Canada attending, the G8 Summit will see the attention of the entire world focused on Sardinia. With this in mind reliability, audio quality and unsurpassed post-sales support are all key requirements of any facilities which may be used in connection with the summit. At the Arzachena Auditorium Comunale audio system, installation company Italtecnica Snc - Rubano (PD) chose Yam

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USA - Seminal rock band Fleetwood Mac is touring North America with high flying Martin Professional LC Series LED panels incorporated as dynamically dominate set pieces.

Production designer is Paul Guthrie of Toss Film & Design Inc. of Minneapolis who handled lighting, set, video and content for the tour. "I decided early on that I wanted a clean, simple look that complemented the band," he says, "and I wanted to use technology in a way that enabled us to create modern versions of retro themes. We wound up using a lot of high tech equipment to try and make it look low tech."

He commented on the decision to use the Martin LC panels in the design, "I spoke very early on to Brad Haynes at Martin US about incorporating EvenLED (LED panels) into six large scale curved light boxes that are the centerpiece to the design but ran into some logistical obstacles

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USA - Colorado funk band Funkiphino has developed a new working paradigm centred around Aviom's Pro64 and Pro16 system capabilities and intuitive interface.

"We're a 13-piece funk band and our sheer size limits the places we can play," says keyboardist/manager Chris Fischer. "Our relationship with Aviom equipment turned into an evolution in our working model, replacing first our outdated, feedback-ridden floor monitoring system and, in its final form, actually changing our front-of-house mix system. I think that is quite remarkable for a monitoring/communication system."

The beginning of this evolution involved using Aviom's Pro16 Personal Mixers to upgrade the monitoring system. According to Fischer, "We were playing in venue after venue where the engineers were simply in over their heads. We had enough instances where we had horrible, nightmare monit

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Czech Republic - Barack Obama's only public speech on his first visit to Europe as US President took place in the historic and beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic. He addressed a crowd of 30,000 in Hradcanske Square, framed by the dramatic backdrop of Prague's medieval castle which dominates the city. Czech full service production company, Rental Pro, was awarded the tender to supply all of the audio, staging and screen equipment for the event, which included two Innovason Sy48 digital mixing consoles running a Nexo GEO loudspeaker system, all over an EtherSound network.

Tomas Ourednicek from Music Data (Innovason's exclusive distributor in the Czech Republic) was responsible for designing the successful system configuration. "The White House team made it very clear to us that failure of any kind - even the slightest hiccup - was not an option," recal

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The Netherlands - The Department of Pediatric Oncology at Amsterdam's Emma Children's Hospital, which is attached to the University of Amsterdam's Academic Medical Centre, boasts an unusual facility: a TV studio in the basement from which programmes are produced by and for children suffering from cancer.

Equipment from RTS, including a digital Cronus DSP intercom matrix and two keypanels (KP12 and KP32), ensures smooth production. The modular structure, easy handling and numerous DSP-controlled functions offered by RTS systems contribute significantly to the quality of the programs produced by Emma TV.

RTS supports the project by providing Emma Children's Hospital with equipment for the studio as well as its know-how virtually free of charge.

(Jim Evans)

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Israel - Compulite has announced that Creative Stage Lighting is now the North American distributor of its products which include the Vector series of lighting consoles (which are available to Creative Stage Lighting's Dealer Network immediately).

"The Creative Stage Lighting approach taking on new products, along with its strong dealer network has made CSL a natural choice for Compulite. We are delighted to establish together a significant presence for our products in the market," said Compulite CEO Yehuda Shukrun.

"This relationship with Compulite is very exciting and rounds out Creative's portfolio of the high quality products we distribute." said CSL president George B. Studnicky III.

Creative Stage Lighting recently announced its hiring of Michael Nevitt as product manager. Nevitt's responsibilities at CSL include supporting Compulite products sold i

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