USA - The second annual Rock Our World Awards were presented at ESTA's Annual Dinner on Thursday evening, 19 November, the evening before the LDI show. These awards, which recognize groundbreaking achievement by ESTA members in new products, product applications, or projects were created to acknowledge the genius of both the creator of technology and the designer or integrator who applies the technology in a real world environment.

Almost 30 nominations were received from across the industry and these were narrowed down to a shortlist of 10 finalists for the panel of judges to ponder upon. The judges for this year's awards were Roy Bickel, Tony Giovannetti, Anne Militello, Jason Rudolph, and Wendall Harrington.

The judges panel was chaired by Mike Wood, who said prior to announcing the winners, "The winner might be a product that could change the industry, it could

UK - International AV company Electrosonic is beginning its second year of registration by certification body NQA, to international environmental standard ISO 14001.

Robert Webb, Electrosonic quality, health & safety and environment manager explains, "As an organisation we continually assess the environmental impact of our operations and include environmental considerations in all investment decisions. We therefore decided to go for ISO 14001 certification.

"NQA has always provided us with the necessary support, tools and techniques. The auditing team are professional, understand our business operations and the culture of the organisation. NQA have helped us in achieving our business aspirations, getting it right first time.

"In the same way that we use ISO 9001 as the basis for maintaining good operational practice, ISO 14001 has provided us with a formal fra

Finland - Gold Dust gaming club is a new international and modern club concept in Finland.

Medialon Show & Media Control Software has been selected and programmed by Lumia, the leading Finnish AV-automation company, to be the main music, audio and lighting controller of the entire gaming club in both Vantaa and Tampere.

The Medialon system works as a scheduling agent for atmosphere mode changes, and triggers the different shows played in each of the Gold Dust gaming club rooms.

"The Medialon system is the key ingredient. It integrates several different devices into an easy-to-use system where complicated structure is hidden from users", says Timo Hiekkanen, operating and sales manager of LUMIA. "Usability issues were crucial, since the system had to be used by Gold Dust staff, and not by AV professionals."

Medialon Manager is also daily used to start up

USA For her current US tour, Miranda Lambert has gone digital.Taking into consideration tour production costs, the need for a console with a small footprint, and a desire to go 'all digital', FOH engineer Jason Macalik and production manager/monitor engineer Chris Newsom - both of whom have worked with Lambert for several years-researched the options. Ultimately, they chose dual DiGiCo SD8s as the desks fully fit the tour's criteria.

Macalik had spent time previously on a DiGiCo D5 on tours with Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts and had always been impressed with the sonics of DiGiCo's consoles. But for Newsom, this was his first foray into digital. "For the most part, I have been on analogue desks with Miranda," he said. "The decision to go completely digital this year was mainly because of our spot on Kenny Chesney's Sun City Carnival Tour.

"We knew th

USA - At the LDI exhibition in Orlando, Florida this week, Philips Color Kinetics announced two powerful LED floodlights specifically designed to withstand the rigors of the rental and entertainment environments.

ColorReach Powercore and iW Reach TR Powercore are the road-ready versions of ColorReach Powercore, the flagship high-performance floodlight from Philips Color Kinetics. These rental-friendly floodlights generate enough light output to replace multiple flood and wash fixtures for large-scale and long-throw applications.

ColorReach TR Powercore offers over 5,000 lumens of output, light projection of over 500 feet, and the ability to generate millions of colours and dynamic effects without the need for maintenance-intensive coloured gels, filters, or mechanical scrollers. New royal blue LEDs are standard with ColorReach TR Powercore to offer deeper, more saturated colou

USA - XS is an exclusive club located in the Encore Tower at luxury casino and resort Wynn Las Vegas. Conceptualised by nightlife entrepreneur Victor Drai, and described as the "gold standard where no extravagance is spared," XS features a sophisticated design that includes a 10ft rotating mirror ball chandelier encircled by a Martin lighting rig of MAC 250 Krypton and MAC 250 Wash luminaires.

Lighting designer for Wynn Resorts is Tom Kowalczuk who has the job of creating a variety of lighting designs across the Wynn property, from club to casino to convention room.

The elegant atmosphere at XS caters to a clientele who are looking for a more relaxed, intimate environment, but, as Kowalczuk explains, that doesn't exclude a dynamic lighting system.

"For XS, we really had to sell the moving lights," he says. "The owner wanted the club to be subdued, s

South Africa - As part of the J&C Joel strategy to always put their customers first and knowing the importance of being on the ground in a certain area, they are happy to announce the opening of J&C Joel South Africa cc.

James Wheelwright CEO comments: "At J&C Joel we've had a long history in Africa and we now feel it is the right time to have a presence in the region in the form of J&C Joel South Africa. Africa is an exciting future market for the Theatre and Entertainment Industry."

James was happy to formalise the opening of J&C Joel South Africa with Declan Randall (one of South Africa's leading lighting designers and theatre consultants), their South African partner at J&C Joel HQ in Halifax England. (see image). For the last ten years, Barry Snow has been J&C Joel's representative in South Africa and he is now becoming their full time general manager.

Barry s

UK - Manchester-based DBN Lighting is supplying a full lighting system to one of Manchester's most exciting dance events - The Warehouse Project - which runs every weekend from the end of September to 1 January in the arches beneath Piccadilly Station.

It is DBN's fourth year working for production company Ear To The Ground with this pop-up nightclub, which features an impressive DJ line up and live performances from some of the finest dance bands. This year, the lighting design has been created by Simon Barrington, who has worked closely with DBN's project manager, Pete Robinson.

The lighting fixtures were all chosen for their small sizes and high impact. There are a total of 16 Martin Professional MAC 250 Entours, eight Clay Paky Alpha Wash 300s and six CP Alpha Wash 575 moving lights - distributed across all the trusses - together with eight Atomic strobes and 16 Stu

UK - Lighting Technology Projects (LTP), working to a lighting design by Speirs & Major Associates (SaMA) has installed and assisted in implementing the final specification for the new Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) memorial sculpture, in Poole.

This striking first ever national monument for the organisation is located in the gardens of the RNLI's HQ, and commemorates the 778 RNLI lifesavers lost since its foundation in 1824. The sculpture was designed by artist Sam Holland, and the by Satu Streatfield.

The sculpture shows a stainless steel boat containing a lifeboat crew member saving a casualty from the water - a bold and dramatic statement reflecting the history and projecting the future of the RNLI, symbolising courage, loss, selflessness, remembrance and hope.

LTP has worked in a similar role on other SaMA lighting projects, and was asked onboard when the li

UK - E/T/C UK's Ross Ashton designed a specially commissioned projection artwork for Durham Cathedral as part of the four-day Lumière Durham Festival of Light event, curated and co-ordinated by Artichoke.

Ashton's work, Crown of Light, covered the entire North fascia of the Cathedral including all sides of the three towers, and was the largest installation of the festival, and arguably also the biggest cathedral projection to date in the UK. Durham Cathedral dates back to 1093 and is regarded as one of the finest examples of Norman architecture in the country. It is a designated UNESCO world Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle which faces it across Palace Green.

Ashton received an initial brief from Artichoke's Helen Marriage and Nicky Webb about the narrative and direction of the show. Taking these as a creative starting point for the storyboard, he t

Finland - This month has seen the installation of dBTechnologies' wireless microphone and loudspeaker systems at SantaPark, Finland's festive theme park, just in time for its busiest season. The project for newly appointed Finnish distributor Live Nation, involved upgrading the stage entertainment arena at the underground attraction, where Opera 410D speakers and PU920 series wireless microphone systems are now used in the SantaPark Show.

Jori Asikainen of Live Nation says, "It was an easy decision when specifying the sound equipment for this project; both systems we used were exactly what we needed. The install went smoothly and it is proving to be reliable even at Arctic temperatures."

The digitally controlled 16 channel PU920 wireless microphone system features extensive working range, long battery life and a newly developed digital squelch control.

The O

UAE - Effective immediately, Venuetech LLC has become an Electro-Voice distributor for the UAE. In parallel, the existing partner, NMK Electronics Ent., will continue to market the products until middle of April 2010. This change doesn't affect the distribution of Electro-Voice microphones, which stays with AVL Electronics.

"In recent years the pro audio markets in the Middle East have changed greatly. In order to be able to continue to increase our market share with Electro-Voice we had to adapt our strategy. With a strong portfolio for all vertical markets - retail, installation and rental - and the new partnership with Venuetech, we are well-prepared to achieve our common objectives," comments Klaus Seitz, director sales export of Bosch Communications Systems.

"Venuetech will not just distribute our products. Their experienced team will help to build complete

UK - UK radio frequencies for wireless microphones and in-ear monitoring are set to see radical changes over the next few years. The changes will affect many users of these systems, so Sennheiser UK is working hard to take a lead in keeping its customers informed about developments - both in the 'big picture' and, more specifically, what users of the company's systems can do to ensure minimum disruption.

Ofcom has designated the currently used Channel 69 (854-862 MHz) as part of a band that will be re-allocated for new services, and has designated Channel 38 (606-614 MHz) as a replacement. Although the de-regulated / license exempt frequencies in Channel 70 (863-865 MHz) will not change, over the next three years there will be a need for much wireless equipment to be either replaced or converted to use Channel 38.

The current situation with Sennheiser equipment is as follows:F

UK - Known as The Warren, the Metropolitan Police Sports Club in Bromley is housed in a magnificent late Victorian building set in spacious gardens, where its main function room is expected to serve a number of different roles.

When interior designer Colin Stone (of Stone Me!) was brought in, it was with the task of upgrading a typical 1980's social club interior - by creating an ever-changing environment which it would be equally comfortable hosting formal conferences, banquets and wedding receptions to full-on entertainment for up to 600 people.

"This was a very dated function room which resembled a big top inside," remembers Stone. "The client wanted it to be more contemporary - sufficiently warm for the majority of uses but with elegance and opulence to enable it to host wedding receptions.

"The logical decision was to keep the environment neutral and

Festival Update - U2 are to headline next year's Glastonbury Festival, helping the event celebrate its 40th anniversary with their first appearance there. The band will lead the line-up at the Somerset show on Friday 25 June. It will be their first festival gig for more than 25 years and will see them make a flying visit to the UK in the middle of a North American tour. A statement from festival organiser Michael Eavis said: "The 26-year-old rumour has finally come true. At last, the biggest band in the world are going to play the best festival in the world. Nothing could be better for our 40th anniversary party. And there are even more surprises in the pipeline . . ."

Posthumous Awards (1) - The Music Producers Guild (UK) has announced that Les Paul will be the recipient of its 2010 Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production. The Award will be p

Italy - The SIB 2010 international exhibition of entertainment, installation and broadcast technology, will be held at the Rimini Fiera from 18-20 April 2010. The expo's project manager Angela Bellavista explains: "The Light & Stage Technology area will host the latest products in terms of entertainment lighting, architectural lighting, technology and equipment for theatre, cinema and television scenography; in the Audio area, the new sound frontiers for the entertainment world and in the new SIB Integra section all the products for professional AV and system integration."

In 2010, the Festival of Light, the event that every year features a combination of art and illumination, will arrive on the Rimini riviera, thanks to SIB. A lighting design event dedicated to the exhibition's professional visitors (architects, lighting designers, installers, theatre, cinema and tele

UK - Christie has announced that Audio Visual Materials (AVM) will distribute an expanded Christie portfolio, to include Christie's LCD projector range.

AVM has marketed Christie's single and three chip projection solutions to the AV reseller channel in the UK with great success since January 2008. The expansion of the offering to include Christie's fixed installation product is an organic progression of a successful and dovetailed working relationship between the two companies.

Joe Graziano, UK channel sales manager, explains: "AVM has had success with the previous offering and has proved itself a company easy to work with, technically knowledgeable and simple to do business with. They were a natural choice to take on the LCD projection line as AVM maintains the integrity of the Christie partner relationship within their own channel."

Mark Nisbet, managing directo

UK - Summit Steel supplied a Kinesys automation system with K2 control and all associated trussing and rigging to fly and track five projection screens in the main presentation area of the 2009 Sainsbury's Our conference, staged at the NEC, Birmingham, UK.

Summit was working for West Midlands based drpevents, who supplied all other aspects of the event production, including sound, lighting and video, which took place across five halls of the NEC. When it came to the automation elements of the show designed by drpgroup's Dale Parmenter, production manager Steve Pamplin wanted specialists onboard, and chose Summit Steel for whom the job was project managed by Chris Walker.

It was the first time that Summit had worked with drpgroup. "Chris impressed us and made us feel very comfortable," says Pamplin, adding that the time was tight to get the elaborate production instal

UK - An Outline line array system provided by Britannia Row supported the return of Robbie Williams at London's Roundhouse. The Outline Butterfly VLA was again requested by both the BBC and London's Roundhouse for the 2009 Electric Proms season. The system comprised 12 CDH 483 hi-packs per side, supplemented by three Mantas 'Wide boxes' for each hang and 12 Subtech 218s, all driven by Outline's T9 amplifiers and controlled via Dolby Lake 412s.

The Butterfly has become the most specified system for the Roundhouse due to its high power and even dispersion together with its camera-friendly look, which is important for televised jobs from the venue. On 20 October the opening night of BBC's Electric Proms season saw the charismatic return of the one and only Robbie Williams who was backed by a 34-piece orchestra plus his own touring band. Legendary producer Trevor Horn was playing ba

USA - The 20th Annual Time For Heroes Celebrity Carnival, featuring Disney recording artist Miley Cyrus and a dazzling array of Hollywood luminaries at the Wadsworth Theater/Westwood VA Grounds, raised over $3.1 million for the fight against pediatric AIDS.

Put on by the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation and sponsored by Disney, the celebration drew more than 80 Hollywood names and sports superstars including Heidi Klum, Mark Wahlberg, Dwyane Wade, Billy Crystal, Sharon Stone, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz and Tony Hawk among many others. Volunteering their time as 'heroes,' they worked carnival-style game booths and interacted with guests and families.

LA Sound of Canoga Park, California provided audio for the event, with owner-president Richard Ralke serving as system engineer, assisted by band FOH engineer Paul David Hager, who mixes Miley and the Goo Goo Dolls, and

UAE - Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque (also known as the Grand Mosque) has been awarded two more awards for its lighting design.

US trade body ESTA named ETC and Martin Professional winners of the prestigious Rock Our World Awards which recognise outstanding, innovative achievements by ESTA members. Only a few weeks earlier, the Germany-based Professional Lighting Designers' Association (PLDA) presented the Grand Mosque with a Recognition Award for Best New Project. Other awards bestowed on the Grand Mosque in the past have included the IALD Award of Merit, IES Award of Excellence and two Middle East Lighting Design Awards for Project of the Year and Best Public Building Lighting Project.

With lighting designed by Speirs and Major Associates (SaMA), over 1,200 fixtures - including ETC Source Four luminaires - are controlled by 21 ETC Congo Light Servers an

Canada - Rental company Projecson chose RCF TT+ Series for the main sound reinforcement of the Osisko en lumière festival in Rouyn-Noranda in Canada. The event, held over four days, featured a roster of Canadian bands as well as international acts including Simple Plan and Scottish hard rock legends Nazareth.

Emanuele Morlini, RCF TT+ Product Specialist, flew in for the event as PA manager and worked closely with Projecson's staff and with Frank Teoli of Sound Distribution, RCF distributor in Canada, during the set up phase of the system which comprised TTL33-A line array modules, TTS28-A subwoofers and TT25-SMA stage monitors.

"We used the TT+ Shape Designer Software in order to set the DSP of the line array to obtain a long and evens coverage of the concert area," said Ghislain Petit, who runs Projecson together with Rejean Berube.

"We were very plea

UK - Eat To The Beat (ETTB) part of the Global Infusion Group, supported the recent BBC Children in Need concert at The Royal Albert Hall. Following their work on the recent Take That Tour, ETTB provided all of the crew, artist and VIP catering backstage. "There was a fantastic buzz backstage and everyone was so pleased that it was such a resounding success," the company says.

ETTB director Mary Shelley-Smith said: "Any event of this scale and prestige takes a huge amount of logistical planning, hard work and effort from everyone involved. It is great to know that all that it's all paid off. It was a real pleasure to be a part of such an amazing night."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Following a highly-demanding and successful evaluation of Soundcraft's Vi6 during the recent iTunes Festival at the Camden Roundhouse, W1 Productions have now invested in their own 64-input digital desk, which will go straight into hire stock.

The Bury St. Edmunds rental company is run by Stuart Turvill, who as production manager of iTunes supervised more than 60 artists (representing all genres), who played live at the venue throughout the month of July. Incoming sound engineers used the resident Vi6s, which completed arduous duty cycles in both the FOH and monitor positions.

"The obvious reason for choosing the Vi6 then - and for purchasing it now - was because it is extremely straightforward to operate," says Turvill. "We had mainly used other digital brands until then, and although these have their strengths, the Vi6 is a genuine walk-on digital desk.&q

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