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Italy - EVR Media, one of the companies in Proel Group, organised a grand opening for its new offices in Rome.

EVR Media created an entertaining event that was also an opportunity to show off all the new technology that the company deploys in its daily activities. The event was enlightened by Jazz, DJ sets and effects created by the systems available on site. EVR Media worked together with New Sound Service of Rome and installed two Proel Axiom systems. They also chose indoor and outdoor Proel lighting systems and eight Sagitter 'Mantis' LED Moving Heads for the dance floor.

(Jim Evans)

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Qatar - Pearce Hire provided all the temporary power to the Doha Tribeca Film Festival, 26 - 30 October 2010.

The Tribeca Film Festival celebrates a year of films, education and community. International film stars including Robert De Niro, Kevin Spacey and Salma Hayek, who all graced the red carpet for the event.

The complex event site was split into several key production areas, each of which needed to be treated as a separate entity with its own needs and considerations. The central point to it all was red carpet area and other areas such as the Festival Esplanade, Family Area, the Lacombe Gallery and a huge outdoor theatre where 2,500 people could be seated in an 82m wide dome, constructed by Al Laith. The buildings and streets of Katara cultural village and amphitheatre were illuminated with architectural lighting designed by Adam Basset and supplied by PRG.

Pearce Hire

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Peru - Twelve years and $20 million after it was destroyed by a disastrous fire, the Teatro Municipal de Lima has enjoyed a gala re-opening by President Alan Garcia Perez and Luis Castaneda Lossio, the Mayor of Lima. All eyes on the President, all ears on the new Nexo Geo D sound reinforcement system, discreetly installed stage side.

No expense has been spared on expert advice and the best technical solutions in the refurbishment of this prestigious cultural venue in Peru's capital. One of the city's most important theatres, it was home to the metropolitan opera, ballet and drama companies before the fire in 1998.

Art and architecture experts, as well as the best Peruvian artisans, have lovingly executed the restoration, using pictures and design drawings from the original 1920 house, even decorating 350 ornaments in gold leaf. Now equipped with state-of-the-art acoustics, vis

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UK - A networked public address system from UK-based ASL Safety & Security has been installed at the Dungeness site, a former nuclear power station in the southeast of England now being decommissioned.

The Dungeness project features customised microphones connected to the client's voice information consoles with toggle switching that triggers digital voice announcement (DVA) messages. The four-zone monitored PA system covers much of Dungeness A which is a legacy Magnox power station.

Areas where access to the public address system can be obtained by microphone include the central control room, emergency indication centre, emergency control room and reception.

Following a successful first phase, ASL's rack-mounted Intellevac voice information network was installed to BS 5839-8:2008-compliant standards in the nuclear facility's accommodation block which has been created so tha

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USA - QSC Audio Products has introduced the GX7 as the newest model in its GX Series of power amplifiers. Engineered and assembled in the company's Costa Mesa, California facility, the GX7 maintains all of the key form and functional elements of the existing GX Series while delivering more power in a lighter weight package, says the company. The GX7 features 725W per channel at 8-ohms and 1000W per channel at 4-ohms, while weighing a mere 15.5 lbs for the 120V version.

"The QSC retail amplifier customer expects a truly professional solution at a value price point." states Ray van Straten, QSC director of marketing communications. "Our customers continually reinforce their message to us that they consider three key feature/benefits to be of utmost importance in a power amp - Clean, high-output power, maximum portability, and bulletproof reliability.

"In deve

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USA / Italy - Rational Acoustics LLC has appointed ModsArt as the exclusive distributors for all Rational Acoustics and Smaart branded products for Italy.

Founded by brothers Davide and Luigi Lombardi, ModsArt provides Italian distribution for a select group of lighting and equipment including Jands lighting consoles and Outline loudspeakers. They also provide training classes for audio professionals including Outline's Certified System Engineer course and, in the future, Rational Acoustics Smaart Training Classes.

Davide Lombardi comes from a successful career as a sound engineer and system technician, having worked extensively with UK-based Britannia Row over the past 8 years on such tours at Oasis, Amy Winehouse and James Taylor. He is currently on tour with opera star Andrea Bocelli. Luigi Lombardi comes from an equally successful career in lighting design.

"We are

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UK - Systems integrator IVC Media, has confirmed the completion of the final stage in its project to bring content alive with augmented reality at the Natural History Museum's Darwin Centre. The public audience can now view a new interactive film which shows enhanced and individualised content through the medium of bespoke hand held touch-screen devices, designed by IVC.

"The film, entitled Who do you think you really are? features a film making technology allowing Sir David Attenborough to take the audience on a virtual journey back through our evolutionary past, to where extinct creatures will appear to roam around in the studio," says John Smith, managing director, IVC Media. "By simply moving the interactive hand held touch screen, individuals in the Attenborough Studio auditorium can effectively interact with the environment from their perspective. The

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Spain - Hosted by Desperate Housewife movie star Eva Longoria, the 2010 MTV EMAs were broadcast live from Madrid's Caja Magica and Plaza de la Independcia in the historic Puerta de Alcalá on 7 November. For the eighth year running Sennheiser supported the star-studded occasion, which featured live performances from some of today's most popular artists.

Sennheiser UK's team of Mark Saunders, Andy Lillywhite and new addition Tim Sherrattt once again worked closely with audio provider Britannia Row and the event's sound designer Derrick Zieba to ensure the smooth execution of this technically challenging production. Magnetron, Sennheiser's presence in Spain, also provided valuable local support.

Equipment supplied included a significant number of SKM 5200 Mk I and II microphones, with extra 'bling' by Crystalroc for Eva Longoria's handset, plus ew 300 in ear monitors for

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In The White House - Acts including No Doubt and Dave Grohl played Beatles songs at a US gala on Sunday to celebrate Sir Paul McCartney and other winners of a cultural award. Sir Paul had earlier received a Kennedy Centre honour along with Oprah Winfrey, choreographer Bill T Jones, composer Jerry Herman and singer Merle Haggard.

Receiving his medallion at a White House dinner on Saturday, Sir Paul said "great things just come in bundles." The ex-Beatle was at the US President's home in June to receive another award. "I am a big fan of this president, and I think he's a great man who's got some difficulties," Sir Paul said at Saturday's event, hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sunday night's concert, held at Washington arts venue the Kennedy Centre, was filmed by US network CBS for broadcast later this month.

In The Money - Susan Philipsz

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UK - Creative Technology London partnered experienced stage and set designer Misty Buckley to help Channel 4 realise the spectacular T4 Stars Of 2010 televised show at London's Earls Court recently.

An all-star cast included Ellie Goulding, Tinchy Stryder, The Saturdays, Mark Ronson, N-Dubz and Pixie Lott, who became immersed in a galactic-themed world of comets and asteroids, brought to life by heavy use of CT London's modular Flyer 12mm pixel pitch semi-transparent LED display.

Misty Buckley, who also designed the set for last year's Channel 4 show, said that because of budget restrictions and concept uniformity, this year's event was set to follow a similar design model - until CT London stepped in. "Last year we used MiTRIX to produce vertical solid blocks of colour; but CT were so accommodating that we were able to increase the production values this year, and

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UK - The extravagant world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo-Kuti has moved to London's National Theatre - and with the move from New York came the change from two lighting consoles on Broadway to a single ETC Eos on the South Bank.

The National's senior lighting programmer John McGarrigle says, "We had just four weeks before the beginning of tech to convert the entire show - and one of the consoles we were moving from has no export function. We had no option but to sit in front of it for two weeks, reading all levels and parameter information from its displays, and painstakingly enter the data into Eos. We then had two weeks of visualisation with ESP Vision, where associate designer Paul Hackenmueller and I had a full 3D model of the Olivier, and worked our way through the show cue by cue."

With just a few days for tech, the lighting team made good use of the Eos sy

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UK - NSA Creative & Cultural has announced The National Skills Academy Annual Industry Conference which will take place on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 March 2011, at the newly opened Pavilion Dance, Bournemouth.

The conference will bring together the backstage and offstage industry to network, take part in practical seminars and look at the changing landscape of the industry.

Confirmed Speakers include Paul Latham of Live Nation, Melvin Benn of Festival Republic, Alison Wenham from the Association of Independent Music and John Northcote of the Academy Music Group.

Seminar sessions will include: Maximising your resources - practical session for staying on top; Industry & Education - Effective 2-way communication; Apprenticeships - How can your business benefit?; National Training Vs In-house training - what works for you?;

Delegates will also have the opportunity to attend th

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UK - Touchwood Shopping Centre in Solihull has completed a visual overhaul of its exterior to carry it through the festive season - for which 36 PixelRange PixelPars have been deployed, following a design created by Wickford, Essex-based DPL Production Lighting.

With sustainability high on the agenda and the need for environmental performance measurement, DPL's technical director, Pete Watts, specified PixelRange PixelPars. "The requirement was for low current fixtures with the ability to colour change, so LED units were obviously the way to go - and PixelRange is the brightest and the best quality you can get."

The project came about following a very successful installation completed by DPL, at another shopping centre. When the centre manager moved to Touchwood he picked up the phone to DPL and asked for their help again.

The brief was to enhance three outside are

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UK - Llanelli-based Vaughan Sound Installations (VSI) in conjunction with loudspeaker manufacturer Community UK and the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has recently completed a major refurbishment of the audio system at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.

The new system vastly improves the audio quality, intelligibility and coverage and integrates with the stadium's life safety systems in the eventuality of an emergency evacuation.

VSI has completed a number of stadium audio installations. Specifically in Wales, audio systems have been installed at Llanelli RFC's Parc y Scarlets stadium and the Cardiff SWALEC stadium.

Along with the new audio system, the Millennium Stadium has undergone major technological improvements over the summer carried out by the technology services company CAE. This includes the installation of two 90sq.m LED big screens for each end of the pitch and over 400 h

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China - Wireless Solution Sweden helped celebrate the 16th Asian Games, which took place in Guangzhou, China, 12-27 November. The lavish, multi-media Grand Opening (complete with a fireworks spectacle) was held outside Guangzhou's main stadium for the first time at Haixinsha Island on the Pearl River and drew more than a reported 3m spectators.

The Asian Games, held every four years, are the second largest sports event in the world after the Summer Olympic Games. Guangzhou is the second Chinese city to host an Asian Games following Beijing in 1990. A record number of nearly 14,000 athletes from 45 countries and regions participated in 476 gold medal events in 42 sports.

The organizer and director of the opening ceremony, Chen Weiya explained that the ceremony was designed to include a conventional light show, a pyrotechnics display, plus a show that Chen described as a "k

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Ireland - EQ Lighting were the main Lighting provider for the Dublin and Cork Studio venues at this year's Arthur's Day. The studios designed by Eugene O'Connor DOP and project managed for EQ Lighting by Rob Jones and Garrett Hanley, were the first outing for their newly purchased Clay Paky Alpha Spot 700, Alpha Wash 700 and Alpha Beam 700. Units were in use at four Dublin venues including Vicar St and The Academy and in The Savoy, Cork.

Alpha Beam 700s were also supplied to the Hop House at St James Gate Brewery for the main show. Arthur's day is a global televised event, seen by a worldwide audience and featured such acts as Snow Patrol and Paolo Nutini.

The various studio venue lighting directors had great praise for the Alpha 700 range and the units worked flawlessly throughout the week. Production for the studio venues was handled by EQ Audio and Events.

Garrett Hanley,

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USA - Tomcat reports that registration is now open for the 2011 Hoist & Rigging workshops on 16-19 February in Midland, Texas. A team of instructors has been assembled to deliver the Hoist & Truss workshop and the Rigging & Truss workshop. This ETCP recognized training programme will provide a hands-on-learning experience for participants interested in receiving both basic and advanced training in their area of specialisation - hoist or rigging.

"With the Hoist & Rigging workshops, Tomcat has established a reputation as a worldwide leader in safety training. The curriculum is regularly enriched in response to the changing needs of the industry as well as the feedback provided by participants," stated Tomcat's instructor Will Todd.

The hoist segment of the Hoist and Truss workshop features complete teardown and rebuild of a one ton Lodestar and a quarter-ton Prostar.

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UK - As part of a scheme to upgrade and expand its existing campus facilities, which began in 2000, the University of York has recently opened the new Theatre, Film & Television Building for students planning to enter the world of modern media.

According to the University's website, the Department of Theatre, Film and Television "offers a unique multi-disciplinary environment in which stage and screen are explored from artistic, scientific, theoretical and historical perspectives".

The Department's new building, which was completed in October 2010, provides electronic, media and performance facilities, including a scenic stage theatre, black box theatre, screening room, research and training areas, TV studios with audio and editing suites and ancillary teaching accommodation.

Bam Construction approached Delstar Engineering to manufacture and install a 10-axis hoist

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China - During November, Haixinsa Island, Guangzhou, played host to two spectacular events - the opening and closing ceremonies for the 16th Asian Games.

PR Lighting was entrusted with the responsibility of presenting the festival of lighting which illuminated the event.

During the preparation of the Asian Games, General Director Weiya Chen stated that, "The ceremonies should not only be elegant, creative and unique, but also be multi-dimensional, and provide an all-encompassing festival of artistry and culture." And professional lighting effects were the critical factor in realising this ambition.

"Light is the soul of the stage. Without lighting, the stage will have no vitality or vigour. The PR Lighting moving heads contributed enormously to the high impact," said Xiaolan Sha, general lighting designer for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, who was also i

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Japan - Audio-Technica has opened the doors on a new facility, Technica Fukui. Located in Echizen City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Technica Fukui integrates the three pre-existing A-T Fukuoka branches into one location, consolidating and streamlining design efforts with increased collaboration among A-T's global design teams, says the company.

The new facility is equipped with a dedicated acoustic lab and an advanced-design anechoic chamber specially designed for audio testing. An emphasis has been placed on further advancing wireless technologies with research and product development.

Technica Fukui is designed to streamline Audio-Technica's product development process with emphasis on innovation, accuracy and efficiency. Investments in the latest wireless communication measurement tools will allow A-T to create wireless products for both professional and consumer markets that will

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Switzerland - TiMax Tracker and TiMax2 SoundHub audio showcontrol systems from UK developer, Out Board, have been in constant demand for the outdoor theatrical events becoming ever more popular across Europe. Two such events in the 2010 season were Anna's Carnifex - the story of Switzerland's last witchhunt of Anna Goldi the witch by Carnifex the witchhunter - and Dallebach Kari, a musical of the classic film which signalled the beginning of German-speaking new Swiss cinema.

Tom Strebel and his Basel-based sound design and consulting company audiopool were behind both events.

The Dallebach Kari opus was staged at Thunersee, where every year a large stage is built upon the beautiful lake of this, one of Switzerland's largest cities. Strebel employed the TiMax SoundHub not only to apply its delay-matrix localisation capabilities to the radio mics, but also f

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UK - PASMA and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are warning users of low level access products such as podium steps and folding room scaffolds to make sure that the equipment they have bought, or hired, meets at least the minimum standards of fall protection.

The warning follows increased concern about cheap, inferior products now flooding the UK market, especially in the construction sector, which offer limited protection to users by not having an adequate guardrail system fitted as standard.

Since 2004, industry estimates suggest that some 50,000 of these work at height tools have been sold in the UK and Ireland and are most widely used in the construction industry by a multitude of finishing trades.

Comments PASMA's managing director, Peter Bennett, "In theory, these products provide a compact, lightweight and protected work platform that represents a safe metho

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UK - December sees the opening of a new Covent Garden venue, the fourth in central London owned and operated by the growing cocktail chain - Adventure Bar & Lounge. Light Bureau have provided architectural lighting design to the 160sq.m subterranean basement bar in Bedford Street close to the piazza.

Working closely with interior designer, Sophie Hibberd, Light Bureau produced a dramatic solution relying on some simple theatrical techniques whilst producing comfortable lighting to booths for customers to relax and drink.

This is quite an achievement as Light Bureau director Paul Nulty explains: "The key to the success of the bar lighting has been to keep it simple, the budget for lighting was very tight, the total expenditure on lighting, including controls is just £4,000.00 so we had to be very creative with some of the details and resourceful with regards specific

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UK - Currently on an extensive tour to promote her debut, eponymously-titled album, Eliza Doolittle is playing a range of territories including Europe, the USA and Australia. A recent UK headline tour, followed by a prestigious support slot to Paloma Faith, has also helped to raise her profile in her home country.

Tour manager and Front of House engineer Jim Carmichael is a long-term Sennheiser user and a self-confessed fan of the 900 series. Currently, Eliza is using an e965 wireless microphone and G3 IEMs, with her band using wired e935 mics.

Touring takes its toll on equipment, especially when you're on a tight budget. "As well as providing good audio quality and signal strength, the Sennheiser equipment is extremely rugged and reliable," says Carmichael. "The company's backup is also excellent - I've never had a single problem that hasn't been solved with a

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