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UAE - Martin Audio took part in the recent FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Dubai 2009, with local service providers Almoe featuring a full line array sound rig.

This was the 15th edition of the Cup since its establishment in 1995, and the event in the United Arab Emirates was the second tournament to take place outside Brazil.

System designer was Almoe's head of audio, Bruno Vitanza, who relied heavily on Martin Audio's DISPLAY software to make all the acoustical predictions for the purpose-built beach soccer stadium, which was designed to accommodate nearly 6,000 spectators. "DISPLAY was a great help," he said. "I just had to 'virtually rig' the system on my PC and then when I did it for real I knew the line array would perfectly cover the areas I wanted ... in just one take."

For the main pitch Almoe fielded 16 W8LM Mini Line Array enclosures and eig

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Hot News - A major initiative for NAMM 2010 this week will be the introduction of NAMM's H.O.T. Zone which will offer specialised training courses and networking events for music industry professionals in live audio, house of worship and stage and lighting industries.

"NAMM recognises the importance of the live audio, house of worship and stage and lighting industries to the music products industry and welcomes these music industry professionals to the 2010 NAMM Show," says Kevin Johnstone, director of trade shows, NAMM. "This year, we're working closely with a number of partner organisations and media outlets that serve these segments to create a new and valuable education track to meet their needs and giving them even more reasons to attend this year's NAMM Show."

More than 15 industry partners, publishers, organisations and associations will offer a seri

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USA - During the holidays, New York City has some of the world's most beautiful outdoor displays. This year, the iconic display of large vintage C7 Christmas light bulbs in front of the McGraw-Hill building at 1221 6th Avenue has gone green. The traditional display has been replaced with a giant string of 31 LED holiday lights. PRG Scenic Technologies partnered with the designers from American Christmas, a leader in holiday décor and installations, to build and install the massive display.

"We initially pitched the new design to our client, the Rockefeller Group, owners of 1221 6th Avenue," said Lance R. Caffrey, chief production officer, American Christmas. "The Rockefeller Group puts a lot of emphasis on being LEED-certified and being environmentally aware, so as a nod to that, we suggested they change the existing display of conventional holiday lights t

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UK - As part of an ongoing relationship with Songtime Theatre Arts, London Light has again supported the theatre school with its latest production, Hairspray The Musical. London Light provided full support services from lighting design and pre-production to rental, get-in, operation and get-out.

The production was presented at the Magna Carta School theatre in Surrey, which presented a number of challenges including power, space and access restrictions during school hours.

Lighting designer Andy Vere explains: "We had a very short time in the theatre before the first performance so we arranged to do a pre-rig on the Thursday night, leaving the Friday night for focusing and plotting. Then the cast was onstage at 11am on the Saturday for re-blocking before the first performance at 8pm.

"Having pre-plotted the show back in our offices meant the only touch ups t

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France - RCF has provided the audio system for the new multi-purpose arena in the city of La Chapelle St Herblain, near Le Mans.

The New Theatre has been designed specifically for both theatre and live music performances. RCF France's local partner Terre De Son Le Mans installed a combination of C5212 Acustica series speakers and TTS28 passive subwoofers.

The C5215s were chosen for the installation to cover the different areas of the main hall. The design enables the system to cover the hall with both punchy sound and high definition.

Since the stage is mobile, TTS28 double 18" subwoofers have been chosen for their ease of movement and compact size.

A DX4008 digital sound processor was specified to manage the global system, with different presets according to stage placement and audience size.

RCF ART525-A two-way speakers are also used for mobile sound reinforcemen

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Belgium - Stageco used its engineering expertise to create the infrastructure for an ice skating rink and surrounding structures in Bruges.

As one of the oldest and most picturesque cities in Belgium, Bruges was the host to winter shopping and ice skating for locals and visitors to the city.

Stageco was brought in for the seventh consecutive year to create the framework and infrastructure for the city centre attraction. The Stageco team of four transported 80 tons of equipment to the site to build the 20m x 30m ice rink structure.

Tom Bilsen, project manager for Stageco comments, "The ice rink was a challenge due to the uneven ground level. Across the rink there was a difference of 1.5m in height which meant we had to design the structure to overcome this."

This year, Stageco also built 12 scaffolding towers surrounding the ice rick which were used for decoration

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UK - The annual Clothes Show Live fashion spectacular turned 21 in December 2009 with three-days of celebrations taking place at the NEC in Birmingham. Brought in by Haymarket Exhibitions and production manager Paul Devine, Stage One were asked to supply the Patrick Donohue designed stage, set and catwalk for this popular event.

"We were delighted to be invited to join the Clothes Show Live team once again," commented Steve Dolan, Account Director, Stage One. "Having worked with Paul and the team for over 10 years now it is testament to the hard work we have put into developing and maintaining a close working relationship."

The 400m2 stage was constructed using over 200 of Stage One's stock staging units and was completed with a PVC flooring effect, designed to resemble snow. Thrusting out from the stage was a 16m long catwalk and performance

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USA - Following successful discussions at PLASA 09 Multiform Lighting has appointed Apollo Design Technology based in Fort Wayne, Indianapolis as its US distributor of LED lighting and controllers for the Stage and Architainment markets.

Apollo will be exhibiting at the Big City Bash 14 January and at Super Saturday on 16 January in Atlanta, Georgia.

On display for the first time in the US will be the latest LED luminaires from Multiform, the MultiSpot HP and MultiBeam HP. Rated at 27W and 54W respectively these fixtures use 3W Multricel LEDs to produce a uniform, shadow free, colour output. Fitted with interchangeable lenses they can provide beam angles of 25, 40 and 60 degrees.

Manufactured from rugged aluminium extrusions and galvanised steel they are equipped with a combined hanging bracket/floor stand, safety cable and designed for DMX or standalone operation making the

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Denmark - Climate change is proving to be a good thing for video and projection services specialists Bluman Associates, who have completed a high-visibility project at the UN Conference in Copenhagen featuring a 20m tall giant globe in City Hall Square.

As the leaders of 192 different countries gathered in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Change Conference, Bluman Associates were providing full project management to American 'dome industry leaders' Absolute Hollywood. Designer James Lanier conceived a 20m tall Total Sphere representing Planet Earth which dominated the central square of Copenhagen.

The giant globe changed in appearance as it responded directly to text messages and emails from all over the world. Bluman Associates deployed 10 Christie S+20k c/w/TWIST projectors and two Delta Media Servers, running over 2 kilometres of custom-made fibre-optic DVI distribution

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Egypt - TAO Productions provided production consultancy for Beyonce's show in Egypt this winter, solving a range of challenging production issues that ensured the event's safety.

TAO was brought in 21 days before show day by Creative Entertainment Groups CEO Peter Brightman to assist with one of Egypt's biggest concerts at the new resort of Port Ghalib on the Red Sea coast. The event included a support show of aerial performance art supplied by Newsubstance Creative Agency from the UK.

CEG initially required production consultancy from TAO, with Andy Cotton fly to Egypt. The first issue was the staging structures which had been newly purchased by the Egyptian production company Golden Show from Eurotruss. Although the stage roof had sufficient weight loading for the Beyonce rig, globally there was a requirement for a 7.5 tonne touring video wall to be flown from the rear arch.

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USA - The exterior of the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles was awash in colour and patterns recently for the LA Philharmonic's Annual Gala. In concert with the energy of music director Gustavo Dudamel, lighting designer Raymond Thompson (Images by Lighting) created vibrant colour and pattern combinations using Martin MAC III Profile luminaires to give the iconic concert hall a glowing effect.

Thompson's lighting rig, supplied and operated by Kinetic Lighting of Los Angeles, consisted entirely of new luminaries including the MAC III Profile, LED sources, and other automated lights. Thompson sought a rig that featured LED, but also needed a luminaire that could handle the long throw distance and challenging surface of the building and turned to the MAC III.

Thompson comments, "We had to project colour and patterns from the east side of G

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China - Swiss digital signage manufacturer SpinetiX has appointed Beijing-based Avopo Technologies as certified distribution partner (CDP) for China.

Avopo will distribute the SpinetiX HMP100 Hyper Media Player. The HMP100 is able to completely replace PC based digital signage platforms. It utilises open software standards and has a small footprint with a very practical feature-set.

"Not only will Avopo increase the accessibility of our HMP100 to Chinese companies, they will manage and develop the Chinese partner and customer channels. This includes the provision of dedicated customer-based training at their Beijing demonstration centre, events support and project support for a wide variety of customers and markets in regional Chinese territories," says Nikola Knezovic, vice president of sales of SpinetiX.

"The partnership with Avopo Technologies is an excitin

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Colombia - From 10-12 October 2009, music enthusiasts had the opportunity to enjoy live performances of their favourite artists at this fall's Festival Altavoz. Each year, Festival Altavoz is sponsored by the Medellin Municipal Government and the event attracts the best musical acts from throughout the region as well as a few international performers. Key acts at this fall's festival included Germany's Kreator, Exodus (from the United States), as well as Colombia's own La Pestilencia.

For a crowd of roughly 80,000 people, the sound reinforcement system had to be a solid performer. That's why Medellin-based Grupo HANGAR - the firm contracted to produce the concert and provide sound - deployed a sizeable loudspeaker setup consisting of components from the D.A.S. Audio catalogue.

Alvaro Alzate, general manager for Grupo HANGAR, reports: "As in the previous five

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UK - Within months of switching its distribution model in the UK, Nexo has confirmed the members of its new dealer network, creating widespread availability for the French brand.

In addition to Fuzion and SSE Audio Group, companies which have had a long and steady association with the Nexo brand, the new members of the dealer network are: LMC Audio, Adlib Audio, Sysco AV, RG Jones, TG Baker, A.C. Entertainment Technologies, Northern Light, Leisuretec, ETA Sound, Musicland, Whitwam and Batmink. Rea Sound will continue to be the most prominent representative for Nexo in Ireland.

Nexo's UK sales manager Gareth Collyer comments: "These are some of the most recognisable companies in the UK industry, with top-flight track records in retail, installation, live performance and entertainment. Within the team, we have the skillsets necessary to work with consultants and architects,

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UK - Belfast based lighting rental company Production Services Ireland (PSI) supplied lighting, rigging and crew for the 2009 Young Voices Christmas Concert, staged in the city's Odyssey Arena with a lighting design by Joe Byrne.

It was at least the 5th year that PSI has been involved with the Belfast YV Christmas concert, produced by London based Sound & Light Productions and featuring a mass choir of 5000 schoolchildren, plus featured artists which this year included VV Brown and classical superstars, All Angels.

The Odyssey Arena was used in a 'back-to-front' format for this show, with the stage at the opposite end to normal, due to there being more bleacher seating in the rear of the venue to accommodate the enormous choir, which was wrapped around the back and sides of the stage.

This presented its own challenges for the PSI team - who had to light all the choir

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UK - XL Events enjoyed a very busy 2009, and here is a roundup of some of the highlights:

The Clothes Show Live was hosted at the Birmingham NEC in December for Haymarket Exhibitions. Production manager Paul Divine worked with XL Events on an ambitious set where all three screens were built onto revolves. The rear of the screens were dressed seasonal style to resemble giant bow-wrapped Christmas presents! These were constructed from three large Lighthouse R7 screens with varying panel counts and a right angle in each.

Tim Riley, project manager for XL Events says, "This was a challenging yet rewarding project. We had great support from Stage One who created the structure supporting the screens and the dressing at the back, and coupled with cool graphics, all elements combined to make an excellent show."

In November 2009, XL Events secured the contract to sup

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USA - Technomad reports that Hatboro-Horsham High School in the Philadelphia suburbs is now using a Technomad Turnkey PA System to enhance audio quality and coverage for sporting events in its outdoor campus stadium. The high school successfully used the system for its Fall 2009 football season and will use this system this spring for track and field events, as well as other outdoor sports and events.

"The clarity and functionality of the system from voice to music is amazing," said Louis James, athletic director at Hatboro-Horsham High School. "The system is used for all our home stadium athletic events along with band competitions. The system as a whole is much better than I could have expected for high school events."

The Technomad system, featuring two Technomad Noho weatherproof loudspeakers and a turnkey signal processing rack, replaced a pair of agin

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Germany - One of the largest and most prestigious holiday season celebrations in Germany, The National Press Association's annual ball (Bundespresseball 2009), took place at the Inter Continental Hotel in Berlin. The 2,500 strong event guest list included politicians, media and corporate personalities, all headed by Horst Köhler, Germany's president and official Head of State.

The Intercontinental hotel was completely transformed by a team of builders, artists, and technical designers taking 5,600 man hours to complete. Decorative structures were supplied by Deco Sun. L&S & Co. KG, Hupfer Beschallungstechnik, and Darkselection & Co. KG all whom own Adamson inventory, came together to provide complete sound production. Kaluza&Schmid managed the event, and PAM Events, Jands , LichtBlick Bühnentechnik provided lighting.

A discreet sound design was created for four separate stag

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Malawi - By supplying a complete DVX monitor system to the four-day vinspired Lake Of Stars (vLOS) festival recently, dBTechnologies provided headliners The Maccabees and many other UK and African bands with a calibre of sound reinforcement never before heard on the palm-fringed shores of Lake Malawi.

A total of eight DVX DM15s, a DVX12 and a DVA S10 subwoofer were loaned to the festival, much to the delight of vLOS stage tech/engineer, Craig Williams. "They were incredibly easy to set up and had a sonic clarity and detail you would not usually expect from a self-powered monitor," he reports.

"They are awesome products that I would take anywhere in the world, especially in a situation where weight, size and reliability are an issue," continues Williams. "The limiting system meant I could spend more time with the African artists and less time wor

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Italy - This past fall, Italian singer-songwriter and rock musician Gianna Nannini was out on her 15 date GiannaDream Tour with lighting and set design by Mamo Pozzoli.

Pozzoli incorporated a visually stunning cylindrical LED screen made up of Martin LC Series LED panels into the design. He explains his decision to use the LC panels, "I needed LED panels with a medium pitch between 30 and 60mm to ensure intelligibility and transparency simultaneously. Rental company Giochi di Luce offered me the LC Series so I took the opportunity to test them in combination with Martin's Maxedia media server and Maxxyz lighting console."

The LC panels formed an arcing 6m wide by 4m high cylindrical structure positioned at centre stage, the visual centrepiece of the set.

"With both concave and convex sides facing the audience, in practice we achieved two superimposed sc

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Australia - The North Melbourne Grand Final Breakfast is a function organised by the North Melbourne Football Club on the morning of the AFL (Australian Football League) Grand Final - marking the traditional start of Australia's landmark sporting day.

In addition to being a major social highlight and an annual must-watch ritual for thousands of footy fans, it plays a huge role in the pre-match build up. The breakfast includes a Grand Auction, with all proceeds donated to the Starlight Children's Foundation.

Clifton Productions were employed to provide lighting and visuals for the 1500 guests, including a veritable who's who of Australian sport, politics and culture plus performances from some of the biggest acts in town.

Robe moving lights were employed to creatively light the event, with 28 Robe ColorSpot 1200 ATs and 24 Robe ColorWash 1200 ATs rigged above the triangular s

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Austria - Vienna-based Concept Solutions is a major system provider in the Austrian market, servicing everything from small to large live music events, club gigs and corporate functions. Recently the company needed to expand its mixing console inventory and invested in the DiGiCo SD8.

"I had heard a lot about the great sound of DiGiCo consoles, so I decided to try them out," says Raphael Rupprecht, Concept Solutions technical director. "I tried the D1 and was amazed at the quality of the preamps, the EQs and the dynamics. Even my reference CDs sounded better over the PA when routed via the D1 - I could hear details I had never heard before."

The next DiGiCo console he tried was the SD8, and this immediately became the 'gold standard' for Concept Solutions.

"I contacted local distributor TON Eichinger and got an SD8 for evaluation. We tested the desk

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Germany - Belgium based XL-Technologies supplied two customised Pixled F-30 screens for the flagship Mercedes Benz Gallery showroom in Berlin.

XL-Technologies was commissioned to build the screens by Frankfurt-based design agency Atelier Markgraph. The company was recommended to provide a bespoke LED solution for the project by rental partner XL Video, which has worked on a variety of Motor Show Mercedes stands designed by Markgraph.

The two specially shaped screens are different sizes and flown at different angles in the showroom, Each has staggered edges and is made up from specially adapted and sized Pixled modules.

Screen 1 consists of 22 Pixled modules giving a full screen area of 20.6sq.m, with a plasma monitor inset at the lower levels. The second screen is constructed from 30 Pixled F-30 panels, making up a total surface area of 29.7sq.m with a much larger plasma mon

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UK - The Sound of Music featuring sound design by Mick Potter, continues to attract capacity audiences around the UK. Involving nine trailers' worth of equipment and scenery, The Really Useful Company's take on the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein original requires a backstage crew of 92, a cast of 28, a 14-piece orchestra, and scenery on a mountainous scale requiring five-ton stage lifts.

Orbital Sound has provided an equally impressive complement of sound equipment, with Mick Potter adapting his original design for the 2006 West End production to cope with the venue variations and the tight schedule on the extensive national tour.

Overall, the touring version of the show matches up closely to the West End production, with the exception of a slightly re-organised orchestra to allow for the logistics of touring a 14-piece band. The sound system revolves around Potter's trad

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