Business

Details
UK - Luke Harrison, performing arts technician at Canon Slade School recently ordered some extra legs for his Metrodeck. Harrison has embraced the versatility of Maltbury's modular equipment and has achieved some exciting arrangements.

"We've recently bought a new set of legs to build a three-metre high tier with a boxed in, enclosed space attached," says Harrison. "Also, our lighting and sound control is operated from tall Metrodeck structures.

"In the past we have also built a two level 'in the round' space, seating about 200 people. The year previously, we extended our proscenium arch stage to incorporate a catwalk for our production of We Will Rock You. The flexibility and sizing of the system allows us to easily design stages and seating plans with little training required, and only a couple of spanners."

Future plans at Canon Slade Schoo

Details
Canada - RTS digital matrix intercom systems were prominent at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.

"We are very proud to have contributed to the success of another Olympic Games," says Scott Gilman of RTS, "and to have helped our broadcast partners achieve greater levels of communications performance and flexibility than ever before for an event of this size. RTS systems of all varieties and sizes deployed at every level at every site, from the smallest venues all the way up to the main broadcast centre.

"Our proven IP trunking platform proved itself invaluable once again, considering venues like Whistler are about a two-hour drive from the main CTV studios, for example, and with many more venues scattered around Vancouver. Some of the adjacent towns like Richmond even set up their own Cronus (DSP matrix intercom) strings to coordinate the large amo

Details
UK - Flying 35m in the air for up to 11 hours a day, late 2009 saw a large format Lighthouse LED screen play a major role in a promotion for mobile phone giant Nokia's Ovi maps service and entertained thousands of Londoners in the process.

Taking place over a two-week period, the 14 x 4 panel (14.22m x 3.04m) Rn7-ER 7mm screen was suspended from a crane in the city's Potters Fields Park, near Tower Bridge. Mounted in a frame forming a giant arrow, it provided a different form of interactive entertainment.

Passers-by were encouraged to send a text message, which would be displayed on the screen along with the sender's distance, calculated by Ovi maps positioning technology. Also using that technology, the crane would be instructed to rotate and point the arrow in the direction of the sender.

Pod Bluman of Bluman Associates devised the technical solution from an original idea

Details
USA - For its touring debut in North America, the RSC Lightlock is on the road with Bon Jovi on the group's The Circle Tour. Lititz, PA based Tait Towers was the first production company to make use of the motion dampening technology for two different portions of the production.

Being used in its traditional role, two RSC Lightlocks working in tandem are providing the needed stability on each of the tour's Syncrolite MX4 fixtures. Suspended from custom point lifts designed and manufactured by Tait Towers, the lights are flown in and out throughout the show.

Once rehearsals began, an unusual application was discovered for this new technology. With moving video walls used throughout the show's set, the tour's production team found a need to stabilize the 12 video columns which move over the stage area. RSC Lightlocks attached to the bottom of the video units provide motio

Details
UK - The multi-award winning company, Global Design Solutions (GDS) has announced the appointment of PRG Distribution as the exclusive distributor in a number of territories across Eastern Europe, Asia and South Africa.

PRG Distribution is a leading distributor of high-quality entertainment technology products. With offices around the world, PRG Distribution boasts a reputation for outstanding service and technical ability, both pre and post sales. A dedicated team of regional sales managers and a highly trained team of after-sales service technicians, represent brands including Vari*Lite, Seachanger, Pathway, Lycian and Gekko. PRG Distribution were the ideal choice for GDS to aid expansion of its global distribution network, says the company.

Andy Duffield, European sales manager at GDS commented: "GDS are delighted to welcome PRG on-board, we feel that their already str

Details
UK - Visitors to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2010 - which takes place on Tuesday 27 & Wednesday 28 April at the Royal Armouries - are invited to take part in a series of seminars presented by some of the industry's leading bodies.

The two-day Education & Learning Programme, which runs alongside the sell-out exhibition, proved a major success last year and this year will cover an equally diverse range of topics.

Beginning with The Theatres Trust Annual Conference, this year's debate focuses on the principles of School Theatre Design. That's followed by the Production Managers Forum with the SMA (Stage Management Association) and a session entitled Preparing for the Future with the NSA (National Skills Academy), who, as part of their quest to give people access to careers in the backstage industries, will explore why accreditation in the industry is important. It will also address

Details
Italy - The Teatro Comunale di Bologna has some new players on its stage this year: Clay Paky Alpha Washes and Alpha Profiles.

The Teatro Comunale di Bologna was designed in the 17th century by Antonio Galli da Bibbiena, and was the first opera house to be built with public funds and hired out by the city council. Its bell-shaped auditorium consists of four tiers of boxes with a royal box and gallery. During its history, it has put on works by practically all the major composers, including Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, Mozart and Donizetti.

Around the end of 2009, the lighting department managers / lighting designers Daniele Naldi and Andrea Oliva felt the need for a larger number of lights. Once they received the go-ahead and fixed budget from the Bologna city council, they turned to the major motorised spotlight manufacturers.

The Clay Paky Sales Manager for Italy Renat

Details
Switzerland - A Midas PRO6 has been installed into the X-Tra Club in Zurich by Swiss distributor Audiotech. The club, which hosts a variety of club nights and concerts, has a capacity of around 2,000.

The PRO6 is being operated by the club's four house technicians, bringing Midas sound quality to a diverse selection of artists who appear at the club, which has included Joss Stone, Nitzer Ebb, Doom, Method Man, De La Soul, Candy Dulfer and Jethro Tull.

Club owner Markus 'Mäke' Kappeler decided to buy the PRO6 in line with the club's tradition of installing high end equipment throughout. "I was only interested in buying a Midas, since these consoles suit every engineer's needs and puts a smile on their faces," he says. "A big plus of installing the PRO6 in our club was its compact size compared to the prevous desk, which has resulted in extra tickets for audience

Details
UK - Hawthorn has announced the launch of its new servicing and testing division, ServiceSafe.

As well as the full design and installation of permanent installations, Hawthorn's ServiceSafe team offer full testing and certification of electrical, rigging and AV equipment. Fully documented safety audits are carried out by qualified personnel. From a small school hall to a large scale concert hall Hawthorns can provide a solution and peace of mind, keeping all PAT test and inspection records for future reference.

Hawthorn's ServiceSafe team offers fully tailored annual testing programmes for venues, schools and colleges across the UK and its City & Guilds and NICEIC certified engineers can carry out all aspects of portable appliance and rigging testing. All engineers are CRB checked.

Hawthorn's head of installations, Alan Jackson, comments, "We're delighted to launch Serv

Details
UAE - Artistic Licence's specially created Rack-Split RDM RJ45 splitter plays a major role in the data distribution system, designed and implemented by e:cue lighting control, of the LED-covered 'Grid Shell' roof of Abu Dhabi's spectacular Yas Hotel.

Located within the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, the Yas Hotel's opening on 1 November 2009 coincided with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and it is the first hotel in the world to be built over a Formula 1 race circuit.

Designed by architects Asymptote Architecture of New York, the hotel's exterior surface forms a 217m aerodynamic sweep composed of over the 5,389 pivoting diamond-shaped colour changing LED panes. Conceived as an environmentally responsive skin that by day reflects the sky and surroundings and by night is lit by a nearly 5000 RGBW LED fixtures from ENFIS/Cooper Lighting, the Grid Shell is one of the world's largest LED

Details
Famine Relief - Bob Geldof has challenged the BBC to substantiate its report that millions raised for famine relief in Ethiopia were diverted to pay for weapons. The anti-poverty campaigner said there was "not a shred of evidence" Band Aid or Live Aid money was siphoned off. The report included claims that substantial sums of aid that went into rebel-held areas of Tigray province in 1985 were used to buy arms. The BBC World Service has said it is standing by its report.

Geldof told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show he would personally sue the Ethiopian government and spend the money on aid if any evidence was produced. He said, "Produce me one shred of evidence and I promise you I will professionally investigate it, I will professionally report it, and if there is any money missing I will sue the Ethiopian government for that money back and I will spend it on aid.

Details
UK - The Ashwin Street Christmas Street Party was part of a £750,000 London Development Agency funded project to revitalise parts of central Dalston. Organised by project architects MUF and J&L Gibbons - the event brought together local youth, community, performing arts, visual arts and creative industry organisations to create a snapshot of how the presently run-down area could be.

Arcola Theatre provided 18 PixelRange Micro Es and eight 50w birdies for the architectural lighting of the Colourworks and Print House buildings designed by Haberdashery London.

Arcola Theatre's David Salter reports, "The Micros were perfect for this event and produced the desired effect with ease. The event required a small unit that was easy to transport and discrete to install. The Micros benefit from an integrated power supply, silent operation and very low 31 watt power consu

Details
Russia - Interlight Moscow 2010 will open one week earlier than previously announced. The trade show for the lighting industry will now be staged 9-12 November 2010 at the Expocentre, Fairgrounds in Moscow instead of 16-19 November as previously advertised.

This year, the exhibitions for decorative lighting and technical lighting will be presented in separate exhibition halls for the first time in an effort to achieve optimal visibility. The technical lighting, outdoor- and architectural lighting will be displayed in the Forum Hall while indoor lighting and decorative lighting will be exhibited in Hall 7.

More than 300 exhibitors have been c9onfirmed for the event.

(Jim Evans)

Details
UK - Red Square Audio has appointed dealers to help manage their Apex sales distribution within the UK and ROI. Adlib Audio, Autograph Sales and The Warehouse will offer sales and support in the UK, whilst Sound Communications will manage the Republic of Ireland.

RSA managing director Paul Nicholson comments, "We are fully committed to making the Apex range widely available throughout the UK and ROI, hence our decision to appoint a group of strategically positioned dealers who will help us to sell this great brand into the live and installation markets. Innovation, superb design, and sonic excellence are the Apex trademarks and I believe that we will see a proliferation of projects utilising these great audio tools in the coming months and years.

"Initially, our main focus will be on the unique SL noise control systems (the Argos and Hera), the dB distribution mixers

Details
Taiwan - The largest mega-star performer in Asia, Rain has closed his latest world tour with the biggest live concert ever staged in Taiwan, hosted by the country's newest venue, the Kaohsiung World Games Stadium. Taiwanese rental company Bornfree joined with Korean colleagues from Seoul Sound in a collaboration to supply a Nexo Geo T/Geo D line array system for a record-breaking 40,000-strong crowd.

The closing show of the Legend of Rainism Tour represented a triumph for the city of Kaohsiung, stealing this prestigious show away from the more usual staging post of Taipei, which has much smaller venues although it is renowned for its dynamic music scene.

In order to secure the show with the producers of Korean star Rain, the Taiwanese promoter Brokers Brothers had to guarantee that the high-performance sound specifications, sophisticated lighting and video and large sta

Details
The Netherlands - Ateis International has appointed Hills Sound, Vision and Lighting (SSVL) to distribute its public address and voice alarm products in Australia and New Zealand. Hills SSVL supplies the pro audio and audio visual sectors in both countries through well-established distribution networks and is now building on those to move into PA and VA with Ateis' full range of loudspeakers and control equipment.

Hills SSVL is the audio and lighting division of the Hills Industries group, which also includes Audio Telex, Australia Monitor, Crestron Control Solutions and Lighthouse Distribution. SSVL distributes a wide range of sound and light equipment, including Turbosound, Clay Paky and Italian lighting company DTS, from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland.

"More and more venues are opting for a combined EWIS (emergency warning and inte

Details
USA - BSR E1.6-3--201x, Selection and Use of Chain Hoists in the Entertainment Industry, is available for public review at www.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php through 3 May 2010. The review is over when the posted 'Review End Date' of 4 May is reached.

The draft standard is part of the BSR E1.6 powered theatrical rigging system project. This part, BSR E1.6-3, establishes minimum safety requirements for the selection and use of serially manufactured electric link chain hoists having capacity of two tons or less in the entertainment industry. This standard does not address the design or maintenance of these hoists. The standard is intended to provide for the protection of life, limb, and property.

(Jim Evans)

Details
USA - The Who's Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey lent a musical flair to the Super Bowl XLIV press conference, rocking the house courtesy of Renkus-Heinz's IC Live line array systems.

Press conferences are generally fairly droll affairs, and reporters aren't easily impressed, but the crowd at the Fort Lauderdale Convention Centre's Floridian Ballroom was anything but sedate as the two original members of The Who picked up acoustic guitars and provided them with a short but intimate set of the band's classics, including Pinball Wizard and Won't Get Fooled Again.

The vast ballroom was packed to capacity with some 1200 media-turned-fans as NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy introduced the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to the crowd, who were treated to a stellar sounding performance through four IC Live systems provided by AVW-TELAV Audio Visual Solutions. AVW-TELAV's Sean

Details
UK - Blackburn UK based lighting rental company HSL is supplying all lighting equipment and crew to Production North for the current six-week UK tour by popular boyband JLS.

HSL's project manager Mike Oates says, "It's good to be back on the road with the Production North team and working alongside production manager Karen Ringland on this. The design is straightforward and uncomplicated, well thought-out and works perfectly for the band and the style of presentation."

The lighting was designed by Peter Barnes. He and show producer Beth Honan - who have previously worked together on Blazing Squad and Girls Aloud - collaborated closely during production rehearsals at Rhyl Pavilion in Wales, together with lighting programmer/operator Dave Lee. Lee is overseeing lighting the show on tour, working alongside HSL technician Johnny Harper.

Barnes had to maximise an expedi

Details
UK - For only the second time in history, the arena floor of the Royal Albert Hall was frozen with ice as a 25-strong cast of World, European and National Championship skaters brought the story of Cinderella on Ice to London. However, it was the first time in history that production services company the SFL Group brought their expertise into the 6,500-capacity arena, providing sound reinforcement in the shape of a d&b main PA and a shiny new 10-way personal monitor mixing system from RSS.

Although the Imperial Ice Stars have toured their balletic ice-skating productions across the world, the eight Albert Hall performances broke a long-standing convention and featured a live 20-piece orchestra, under the baton of composer Tim A Duncan. An innovative solution was needed to handle the monitoring requirements of the musicians, positioned behind the stage rather than in the pi

Details
UK - The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has opened a new exhibition and visitor centre In Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. The attraction is set within the grounds of the house where Shakespeare was born and is entitled Life, Love & Legacy: A New Introduction to William Shakespeare. It takes visitors through five zones in an immersive experience, bringing the history of Shakespeare to life.

Following a competitive pitch, the Trust appointed UK creative design and AV specialist Sarner to redevelop the visitor centre and give the Bard a modern makeover. Utilising its in-house creative and AV departments, Sarner designed a fully automated dark 'walk through' experience using the latest in AV technology, including seamless widescreen projection, and "has presented fascinating Shakespeare-related artefacts in a dynamic way that encapsulates the excitement and passion of t

Details
USA - Apollo Design Technology recently made the first donation to Behind the Scenes from first year sales of the winning templates in their annual Design-A-Pattern Contest. Each year, Apollo is committed to adding new gobo designs to their library of standard patterns but they wanted to get the actual users more involved so in 2008 they created the Design-A-Pattern Contest. Anyone can submit a design and those entries that meet Apollo's basic criteria for what makes a good standard pattern are posted on Apollo's website and the public votes for their favourite.

The first contest resulted in 30 entries and five winning patterns submitted by R. Christopher Stokes, Dwayne Thomas, Morgan Landrum, Todd Proffitt, and Gary McGarity. As recognition for being selected, the designer's name is included in the pattern name, the designs are added to Apollo's marketing material

Details
Sweden/Spain - Wireless Solution Sweden has announce the appointment of Entertainment Equipment Supplies (EES) as the new W-DMX dealer in Spain. EES, with locations in Madrid and San Sebastian, represents some of the top industry brands to live entertainment, television productions and special events in Spain, as well as supporting training seminars for their product lines.

"EES has proven to be the strongest contender in Spain, representing some of the best brands in entertainment lighting products", said Lotta Schiefer, EMEA sales manager for Wireless Solution. "Our products fit in very naturally with the EES portfolio, and we look forward to a long and successful relationship with them."

Nacho Acha-Orbea, CEO for EES added, "We are focused on high quality brands and equipment with which we can be confident we are offering the best products with the

Details
USA - Barco reports that 30 Barco/High End Systems DL.3 Digital Lights were used to create a seamless, 600ft circular blend of graphics - the first time a collage of this scale has ever been staged. Sponsored by a major pharmaceutical company, the remarkable corporate product launch was held in January at the Sands Expo Centre in Las Vegas - a facility large enough to accommodate the over 3000 sales representatives and executives in attendance.

For production and staging services, the client enlisted the help of New York City-based Todd Street Productions, who in turn reached out to Joe West, senior creative and lighting director for Digital Stage Chicago. West's challenge was not only to create a seamless ultra large-scale 600 x 20ft circular blend, but to create a design that could transform into two other completely different sets over the course of the conference - and all w

  1. American Zoetrope upgrades with Meyer Sound
  2. Alcons at the hub of Norway's film industry
  3. SMEs focusing on sales and marketing, survey finds
  4. Flex Array goes into Warpdrive
  5. White Light First Night for Love Never Dies
  6. iLive mixes the Pope's Czech celebrations
Page 1142 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .