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UK - Christie has announced the largest and one of the most prestigious installations of Christie MicroTiles to date in EMEA, at the London Stock Exchange in Paternoster Square, London. The installation will be utilised in the Exchange's new Market Open Ceremony.

The installation of 508 Christie MicroTiles at the London Stock Exchange follows a recommendation for their use by CMS Consultant Jerry Collins and a subsequent tender won by long-standing Christie Partner, Focus 21 Visual Communications.

The new Market Open Ceremony provides companies joining London Stock Exchange markets with the opportunity to mark the occasion using the most advanced display technology and bespoke visual communication. The Christie MicroTiles installation replaces The Source, a moving sculpture previously installed in the Atrium.

Visitors to Paternoster Square are now welcomed by columns of Chri

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UK - Education is a fundamental part of Sennheiser UK's remit and its staff have already been hard at work helping students in 2011. March was a particularly busy month, with no less than three sessions laid on for the sound engineers of the future.

The beginning of the month saw an education workshop held in the Sennheiser lecture theatre (which the company also sponsors) at the Liverpool Institute of the Performing Arts (LIPA), where Sennheiser UK special projects manager Phil Cummings and chief RF engineer Andrew Lillywhite delivered a two-part session to 50 students.

The first was an overview of Sennheiser, including the company's history, products, services and position in the industry. The second part of the workshop was a radio microphone 'best practice' session, which covered a range of topics including what exactly a radio microphone is, planning and frequency allocat

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UK - HHB's post-focused Soho outpost Scrub has supplied ITV Studios with its first Avid Icon console - a 16-fader D-Control - along with a Pro Tools HD system and Media Composer Video Satellite.

The new equipment forms the centrepiece of the upgraded Sound Dubbing 4 at The London Studios, part of the ITV Studios complex on London's Southbank, the largest commercial production company in the UK.

"After a thorough review of TLS post sound requirements in 2009, we chose Pro Tools as our preferred system for future upgrades such as that recently undertaken at Sound Dubbing 4," comments Phil Graham, project manager at The London Studios. "Having worked with Scrub in the past, it was an easy decision to choose them to supply and commission the new ICON console. Working with Scrub is always a pleasant and smooth experience."

Building on a heritage of over 50 yea

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Germany - Lighting designer Manuel da Costa used Robe's most powerful series of moving lights - ColorSpot, ColorWash and ColorBeam 2500E ATs - as key fixtures on his rig for the latest series of German Idol (Deutschland sucht den Superstar). This was recorded in Studios 30/31 at the Coloneum complex in Koln and broadcast live on national TV channel RTL in a prime time Saturday night slot.

Da Costa has lit the show (this was the eighth series) since the start, and in that time has seen the demands and challenges of the lighting become increasingly sophisticated. Over the nine shows in the series, he had to programme for about 120 different songs and performances - ensuring that each one looked interesting, fresh and unique for the competitors, the 1300 live audience as well as several million TV viewers.

Robe fixtures were originally planned and specified for German I

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USA - Recognised as the largest non-denominational, Pentecostal church serving the Hispanic community in central Florida, Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal M.I. Church is an impressive organisation. The church recently moved into its new sanctuary with seating capacity for 2,600 worshippers. The former gymnasium is now the home of an impressive, and extensive, audiovisual setup that encompasses lighting, video, acoustic treatment throughout, and a new sound system drawn from the Aero Series 2 and Avant catalogues of D.A.S. Audio.

Mick Hall, account manager for GC Pro (Guitar Centre Professional Division), oversees a large percentage of the company's house of worship market projects and was intimately involved in both the design and installation of Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal's installation. He commented on the scope of the project and the decision to deploy D.A.S. Audio loudspeaker eq

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UK - Le Mark's StudioTak High Gloss flooring was chosen for The Overtones' latest TV advertisement which airs over the spring and summer months.

Recorded for the launch of their new album Good Ol' Fashioned Love, the set design made the most of the exceptional high gloss surface of the floor. The creative back-lighting bounced off the floor, giving "an incredible 'water' effect".

Le Mark's Stuart Gibbons notes, "It's great to see the floor used in this way, high gloss works so well with creative lighting and really gives a clean, stylish effect - Perfect for the release of the boys' new album, we wish them all the best of luck."

(Jim Evans)

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Australia - Monash University Academy of Performing Arts has purchased an ETC Ion 1500 console for their Alexander Theatre.

Lighting operator Jess Frost comments, "The 1500 has got some really smart features and is just an easy console to use coming from a Strand background. ETC really appear to have gone the right way about doing things. It's simple to operate quickly and efficiently."

ETC's Ion console is available in channel counts from 1024 right up to 3072 with show files fully interchangeable with the larger EOS series consoles. Monash's Ion 1500 was supplied by Melbourne dealer ASL Systems.

(Jim Evans)

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USA - Seattle's Experience Music Project (EMP) has installed Barco's C7 to provide a dramatic video display for its live music shows and entertainment acts.

Barco was selected to upgrade EMP's visualization platform with a curved, 60' x 33,' 7mm indoor LED display which spans the width of the innovative special event venue. The new display was unveiled at the recent debut of Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses exhibition, in which it showcased a candid retrospective of the grunge luminaries' musical history.

Despite containing more than six times the number of LED's as the previous LED display, Barco's C7 uses less power, which minimized the need for additional electrical or HVAC upgrades.

Sky Church will showcase a wide variety of media, including concert footage, short films, live feeds of museum events and programs, as well as video support for private events, live

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Norway / USA - projectiondesign has confirmed that it has successfully concluded negotiations on acquiring long-standing partner and distributor projectiondesign LLC, the exclusive distributor of projectiondesign products in North America since 2004.

"North America represents the largest single market for our world-class projection and display technologies and we are consistently impressed at the scale, innovation, and dynamic ways in which they are used by our partners," says executive vice president, Åsmund O. Fodstad who was recently appointed by projectiondesign to drive its global growth.

"Increasing our efforts and focus in this market will see a visible increase in presence and strengthen our ambition of being the preferred projector and services supplier. We've got the right mix of technologies and products designed specifically with customer requiremen

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USA - A nearly $2 billion enterprise, fashion trendsetter Urban Outfitters is hardly a strait-laced, button-down establishment. The firm's next-generation corporate ethos shows at their headquarters complex in the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, where the massive brick-and-steel structures exhibit a hip aesthetic mixing 21th century casual with early 20th century industrial. Recently, premium audio was added to the mix with the installation of a multi-zoned system incorporating 45 Meyer Sound self-powered loudspeakers.

Designed and installed by DBS Audio Systems of Coatesville, Penn., the network-controlled systems cover the lower level of Building 543. This 96,000sq.ft structure, built in 1939 as a steel plate-bending shop, encloses 70ft ceilings, vast expanses of glass, and layers of exposed steel and concrete. Now home to an upscale dining/events area, an Indian-themed co

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UK - The single largest inventory of Roland digital audio consoles in the UK is now held by BBC Scotland, where a variety of different V-Mixer models, Digital Snakes and stage boxes are in regular use in the studios at Pacific Quay, Glasgow, and on various OB assignments.

BBC Scotland was one of the early adopters of the M-400 V-Mixing System, the first digital console design from the Roland Systems Group, and now has four units in regular use. One M-400 is installed in a satellite truck, together with a S-1608 stage box, where it is used 300+ days a year on live radio and television reports for BBC Scotland and contributions to the national network.

Other consoles are deployed on a variety of programmes, from the Good Morning Scotland radio show, to political debate specials, Gaelic-language productions and all manner of live music performances. For Take the Floor

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UK - Coworth Park, the new multi-million pound five-star hotel and spa in the Dorchester Collection, has opened in Berkshire, some 20 miles west of London. Set in 240 acres of picturesque parkland on the borders of Windsor Great Park, Coworth Park is " reinventing the concept of the country house hotel for the 21st century". Its understated luxury facilities include the use of Electro-Voice loudspeakers, amplifiers and processors in a venue-wide audio-visual design that combines creativity and flexibility with exceptional sound quality and consistent coverage.

CGA Integration has been working on the project design and installation for almost a year. A trusted supplier to Dorchester Collection hotels, Chris Gunton, MD of CGA, has specified EV components in almost all his designs, including the über-stylish bars and restaurants of the Dorchester Hotel in London.

Co

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UK - Nexo's new 45°N-12 stage monitors have been chosen by Russell Watson for his UK tour.

Watson is the first British artist to tour with the N-12 wedges. "It's about time someone designed a wedge using modern technology," says Watson's system engineer Mike Savage.

With a 38-piece orchestra behind him, Russell Watson patrols an area across the front of the stage, demarcated by four Nexo N-12 monitors, coupled in pairs. "He moves around quite a lot," says Savage, "hence the need for two pairs of wedges, which give us a defined area but without any hotspots."

Watson's sound team is led by Max Bisgrove at front-of-house, with Brandon Reece on monitors and Mike Savage in the overall system designer role. "With Russell, it's all about his voice. He's an opera singer, so tone and phrase are all-important; he needs a crystal-clear monitor out

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South Africa - DJ Armin van Buuren chose South Africa to celebrate the launch of his A State of Trance 500 Tour which played five cities on five continents from 19 March - 18 April and included stops in South Africa, Europe, USA, South America and Australia.

South African rental house Complete Event Solutions (CES) was the number one choice as technical supplier for the South African leg. Just after Martin Professional distributor Electrosonic SA received their demo stock of MAC 101s, Bruce Schwartz from Electrosonic invited Dylan Bridle to see them in action.

Although the units were in short supply due to huge demand, the 101s arrived a day before load in with 48 units rigged in two straight rows of 20, and a further eight units dotted around a circle truss directly over FOH.

The all Martin rig consisted of MAC 700s, MAC 2000s and Atomic 3000 strobes while the MAC 10

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Abu Dhabi - Martin Professional's Exterior 400 Range of outdoor LED wash lights has been used to dynamically light the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD) building in a flood of decorative coloured light.

Installed around the perimeter of the building on 1.8m high decorative poles are Exterior 400 and Exterior 410 lighting fixtures as well as Martin Exterior 200 luminaires.

The main decision maker behind the lighting concept is ADJD architect Aziz Meleka who specified the Exterior 400 Range after viewing a demo by Martin Professional Middle East.

The project was then forwarded to the contractor, B.J. Lighting, a Martin Professional dealer in Abu Dhabi, who also handled local lighting supply and installation. B.J. Lighting worked closely with Martin Professional Middle East throughout the project.

The facade lighting for the building consists of three parts - dome, curved

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UK - February and March saw multimedia artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard bring together film, video and sound works made over the past seven years in one exhibition at the South London Gallery, Peckham. Sound is an integral part of their work, and an interest for which they are primarily known. To make the fullest artistic impact, the audio component of their work has to be of the highest quality, but without impacting on the visual element. Here, they found the answer in a K-Array loudspeaker system.

Titled Publicsfear, the exhibition featured works that were selected to explore ideas of being part of and / or observing an audience. These included File Under Sacred Music, a 2003 remake of The Cramps' 1978 video of their live performance at the Napa State Mental Institute, and the 2009 film Performer.

"As artists we're always aiming to push the bo

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Ireland - Production Services Ireland (PSI) has opened a new Dublin facility in Sandyford, just off the M50 to the south of the city.

This is to help service the increasing amount of work PSI is doing in southern Ireland, enabling a true 'all Ireland' operation, which will run in conjunction with the Belfast office and warehouse in Carryduff. The two locations are under two hours apart by road.

This Dublin base is being managed by Ciaran Tallon. He has been in the lighting and production industry for 24 years with active experience as a freelance technician, lighting operator and designer and as project manager working on tours, corporate events and installations, and for the last 12 years as hire manager with his previous company.

PSI's Brian Reilly states, "It's great to have someone of Ciaran's calibre on board. We've been considering this move for some time, and wit

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France - Christie is the sole provider for all digital projection services at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, including the Official Selection and the Marché du Film. The company is an official technical partner of the Festival, which runs from 11-22 May, 2011, for the fifth consecutive year.

As a technical partner, Christie will provide its DLP Digital Cinema projectors for the screening of major digital titles throughout the entire Festival. Of the 23 screening rooms that will use digital projection equipment at this year's Festival, 13 will be equipped with Christie SolariaTM Series projectors.

"With each new year, we are honoured to provide all digital projection services for the Cannes Film Festival. The trust that the Festival's organisers have placed in us is evidence of the reliability and performance of our digital cinema projectors,"

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UK - Prism Sound and its UK distribution partner, TTi distribution, are holding a two-day audio test and measurement training seminar from 2-3 June, 2011. This event will introduce engineers to the practical and theoretical aspects of accurately measuring audio for a wide variety of applications.

The training seminar takes place at the AirSpace Conference Centre, Imperial War Museum, Duxford, and will cost £45 per day.

The first day will be devoted to covering the basics of audio measurement and will include sessions on objective and subjective measurement correlation; audio measurement units, single-tone audio measurements; FFTs; Sweeps and Digital Audio. There will be a general introduction session to get the day started and a Q&A wrap up so that those taking part can have their specific queries dealt with.

The second day will focus on practical measurement workshops

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UK - FOH engineer Rick Pope is out on the Jamiroquai tour with a Midas XL8 live performance system at FOH, supplied by Britannia Row and babysat by Britannia Row's Warren Grimsley, who is out for the first time with the system. Originally on the tour as PA tech, Grimsley was promoted to his position with little training on the XL8, but picked it up in no time.

"I had the luxury of playing with one a few times in lunch breaks at the warehouse before the tour!" he says. "I've found that the console is easy to get around, especially when using the POP(ulation) groups. Especially useful is a function which allows you to see any audio in the patch bay when you scroll over the I/O in question; very handy for troubleshooting."

Pope, working with an input count of 60 with a further 22 for FX returns, says, "Out of all the digital boards that I've used in the l

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Sweden - Kristianstad Theatre put LumenRadio's CRMX wireless system to good use in the recent local production of the Disney musical Beauty and the Beast. The theatre, staffed mostly by volunteers, is housed in a beautiful old building from 1906 on the fairgrounds of this southern Swedish town.

The local production management and technical staff pride themselves in using the best of new technology. They do not shy away from using equipment typically only found at larger professional theatres and hire professional designers to accomplish what they want.

Lighting designer Olof Söderberg, who has long and extensive experience from Swedish opera and musicals, designed a system with three CRMX receivers and one CRMC transmitter to distribute DMX from the ETC/AVAB Congo control console to hard to reach locations and mobile objects on-stage and around the theatre.

"We

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UK - This year's ABTT (Association of British Theatre Technicians) Theatre Show is hopeful that any tube strikes will be resolved and the show will not be affected by travel problems. But visitors to the event for theatre and staging technology should remember that there are plenty of other ways to get to the show venue in Victoria without relying on the Underground, say the organisers.

Many of the exhibitors at the 2011 Theatre Show are highlighting green and low-emission technologies, so visitors might want to show eco-solidarity by using foot power to get there. The Royal Horticultural Halls exhibition centre is only a short walk from Victoria mainline railway station, with Waterloo further along on the other side of the River Thames.

The Barclay's Cycle Hire scheme is another viable and eco-friendly way to get to the show. Mayor of London Boris Johnson wants the distinctiv

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UK - On 18 June The First Night Riders (FNRs) will once more rev up for an eight-day tour around the UK to raise money for The Theatrical Guild (TTG). You can join them for as long or as short a time as you like - a day, a weekend or, if you are feeling brave, the whole week!

On Saturday 18 June riders will depart from The National Theatre London and travel to the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds. They will travel to Norwich where they will have a backstage tour of the Theatre Royal. After an overnight stop, riders will journey to Castle Acre where they will have coffee with Jane Slattery. Then it's on to Nottingham for a complimentary lunch and tour courtesy of Eric Oldham of Metool Reels.

If you're not available the first weekend, why not join the ride on Friday 24 June in Cardiff? The riders will cruise to Swindon Mechanics Institute. From there they will travel to Stratford u

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Oman - Melody House, distributors of HK Audio speaker systems have recently supplied Omani based rental firm BIG Rentals with the new Elements speaker system. The rental firm attended a recent roadshow in Muscat where the Elements were showcased and were impressed with "its flexibility, scalability as well as the quality of the audio at a very attractive price point".

The Business International Group (BIG) originally began in 1978 and since then has grown into one of Oman's leading multi sector organizations that are now part of the Zubair Group since 1991. The rental department has grown rapidly in the past few years procuring equipment to enhance its offerings to its clients in the Sultanate.

"The guys from BIG were really impressed with the demonstration of the Elements at our recent event in Oman and decided to purchase a sizeable system a few weeks later,&q

  1. HHB supplies University of York complex
  2. Telenorba studios add Coemar LEDs
  3. TC System 6000 makes waves in UAE
  4. dBTechnologies appoints distributor for India
  5. Marshall demo facility relies on Yamaha
  6. Midas digital stars on Broadway
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