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Brazil - First performed on Broadway in 1983, Baby - A Musical has recently opened for the first time in Brazil. Its run in Rio's João Caetano Theatre also marks the first use of a DiGiCo console on a Brazilian musical, with an SD8 the choice of sound designer Fernando Fortes.

The original production was nominated for seven Tony awards and has seen three subsequent productions, two in the US and one in the Philippines. Produced by Tadeu Aguiar and Eduardo Bakr, the new Brazilian version is being staged in Rio's oldest theatre.

"For some time I have been encouraged by friends like David Patridge in New York and Nick Lidster in England to try DiGiCo consoles," says Fortes. "This show was the ideal production and so I looked at the different options, settling on the SD8 as the right choice for the job."

Supplied by rental company Loudness Sonorizaç

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Singapore - DPA Microphones has appointed newly-formed distributor UniAudio Asia for its products in the south-east Asian market. The Singapore-based distributor has signed an agreement that covers Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Founded by former Sennheiser Electronic Asia sales manager Yusof Ahmad, UniAudio Asia will distribute key brands throughout south-east Asia. Mr Ahmad describes the philosophy behind his company as being "about people, people and people". Among those joining him at the company are Bryan Lee as head of sales, Thomas Sim as assistant sales manager, system engineer Wahab Jaffar, product trainer Charlie Yu and marketing and communications executive Amanda Tham.

Ahmad explains that brands within the growing product portfolio are intended to complement one another. "DPA completes the circuit with its fine-crafted miniature

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The Netherlands - Philips has entered into a patent license agreement with Cooper Industries. The license provides Cooper with full access to the Philips' LED-related patented technologies that Philips makes available to the lighting industry through its LED Luminaire and Retrofit Bulb licensing programme.

"We are very pleased that Cooper has joined our licensing program. We believe having such an open and accessible license program is greatly assisting in accelerating the adoption of LED lighting and fostering the growth of the LED industry", said Arian Duijvestijn, general manager lighting at Philips Intellectual Property & Standards.

This license agreement with Cooper follows earlier agreements between Philips and more than 100 companies, amongst which key lighting players like Acuity Brands, Osram and Zumtobel. Philips' licensing program includes many LED luminai

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UK - SES Entertainment Services on Stand number 1J-11, are running a competition at this year's PLASA show, with one lucky winner walking away with a holiday in Sunny Florida.

For every order placed on the stand this year, an entry will be placed into the competition to win a two week stay in a five-bed luxury villa in Kissimmee, Florida in 2012.

Just 10 minutes drive from the Gates of the Walt Disney resort in Orlando, Florida, the home sleeps up to 10 people and has a very large pool. Just off the highway 192, you will be in the heart of all the major attractions within a few minutes drive. The home benefits from four bathrooms, full air conditioning and a games room. Dates for the stay are subject to availability (Summer dates are still available) and the prize does not include flights or car hire. The value for entry is subject to a minimum spend of £250.00, but mult

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UK - InfoComm International will continue its programme of support for the UK's AV rental and staging community when it hosts a range of education sessions at this year's PLASA show next month.

The sessions will take place at London's Earl's Court on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 September. They will be led by Andre LeJeune, CTS, InfoComm's rental & staging staff instructor, who has more than 30 years' experience of staging and presentation and has been responsible for many large-scale productions for corporate clients around the world.

Topics covered will include 'Lighting for Video in the Large Meeting Environment', 'Audio Techniques for Corporate AV Events', and 'Project Management for Stage Labour'. Each session will last 90 minutes and will earn attendees 1.5 RUs (Renewal Units) towards continued InfoComm CTS certification. All sessions are free to attend.

Chris Lavel

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USA - PLASA Events has announced its first ever PLASA Focus: Tech, a three-day audio/video/lighting workshop and live concert to be held 20-22 February 2012 alongside the recently announced PLASA Focus: Austin 2012 event.

PLASA Focus: Tech will bring together industry experts Richard Cadena (Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light), Brad Schiller (The Automated Lighting Programmer's Handbook), Chad Yeary of Portal Designs, Damon Lang of Nomad Sound, and Coolux USA for a hands-on learning programme.

The workshop will include a lighting track with design, visualisation, and programming; a video track with video content design media server programming; and an audio track with audio system design live mixing. Each attendee will programme and/or operate the lighting, audio, or video for a portion of a live concert before an audience on the final night.

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Italy - Over 90 Robe moving lights including the new Robin 600 LEDWash are the core lighting fixtures being used on the new series of Reazione A Catena (Chain Reaction), a popular Italian games show based on contestants finding hidden words, which is being recorded at C Cinecittà Studios in Rome for RAI TV.

Lighting is designed by Massimo Castrichella, one of Italy's leading TV LDs, who has an impressive 33 year track record with the country's top TV channel, also making him one of the most knowledgeable and experienced practitioners in the art of TV lighting.

The set is based around a completely spherical auditorium with a small stage and curved seating. The studio walls are white and therefore ideal for colouration and gobo projections from the lighting, and a series of curved ribbon like LED surfaces are threaded around the space. The lighting is rigged on three cir

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UK - A new series of the tea time TV show Perfection is about to be broadcast. The BBC2 show is presented by Nick Knowles and filmed at BBC Glasgow

Martin Kempton designed the lighting show, provided by Richard Martin Lighting (RML) and supported by Tony Kennedy along with his team at TSL. The specification includes MAC 500s, VL1000TS, Alpha Beam 700s, 900mm Chroma Strips, Chroma Flood TCs and Stage Zoom 1200's.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Jodrell Bank, home of the famous Lovell radio telescope, has given visitors another reason to visit following the recent upgrade and expansion of its Discovery Centre. Electrosonic installed the audio-visual and interactive elements of the exhibits under subcontract to fit-out contractors, The Moule Partnership.

Part of the University of Manchester, the Discovery Centre works alongside the Observatory to educate visitors about the research and the live science that is carried out by the Jodrell Bank team. The new £3m project includes a new entrance building, the Planet Pavilion, and a new Space Pavilion for exhibitions and events.

Teresa Anderson, director of the Discovery Centre says, "We are delighted with the exhibition. It's a huge improvement on the last centre and the visitors are really enjoying the interactive elements. The exhibition enables us to insp

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Norway - Kaizers Orchestra is recognised as one of Norway's most prominent rock bands and best live acts. On Saturday 9 April, the band played the concert of their lifetime in a fully booked Oslo Spektrum. An audience of 10,000 spectators got to experience a spectacular show.

"As Norway's most important venue, selling out Oslo Spektrum is a huge step for any Norwegian band and we were glad to be there to assist Kaizers Orchestra in making it a truly remarkable evening for everyone in the audience." states Rubicon's marketing director, Nikolai Perminow.

Rubicon is Norway's leading rental provider of Clay Paky and delivered a range of Clay Paky Alpha Spot 1500 HPE, Alpha Spot 700 HPE and Alpha Wash 700s as moving fixtures for the show - alongside conventional lighting, rigging, PA and monitoring.

Neil Solheim, Kaizers Orchestra's lighting designer reports, "The

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UK - Buxton Opera House in Derbyshire recently selected a combined Allen & Heath iDR installation and iLive digital mixing system as the audio distribution and FOH mixer for a new multi-format theatre in its Pavilion Arts Centre.

The 360-capacity auditorium, which hosts a varied programme of theatre and conference events, has an iDR-32 MixRack and iDR-8 Mix Processor installed in a backstage sound rack, with an iLive-T80 Control Surface at FOH position. There is also a PL-6 remote fader panel and a laptop loaded with iLive and iDR control software in the studio, as well as a PL-10 rotary control panel in the prompt corner position. The rest of the PA system comprises Martin Audio speakers and amps.

"An iDR-8 was installed in the main Opera House to control the speaker PA system and we've been impressed by its versatility and user-friendliness, so a combined iDR-8 and iLiv

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Italy - London-based production company LarMac Live (LML) production managed the launch of the latest high profile Hard Rock Cafe venue, which has just opened in Florence.

Having a 'grand opening' event was fully endorsed by the Mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi. It was attended by a host of local dignitaries, politicians and celebrities, plus about 10,000 members of the public who pitched up to enjoy a free concert headlined by British rock superstars Simple Minds in the prime location of the Piazza della Repubblica, Florence (the venue is on Brunelleschi, 1 - just off the Piazza).

LarMac LIVE won the contract to produce and co-ordinate all technical production elements needed for the event through their previous work and connections with the client. They have worked on Women of Rock shows and Hard Rock Calling events in Hyde Park, London among others. They were also highly rec

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USA - Tennessee-based rental company Morris Light and Sound reports that it can't keep its new inventory of Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures on the shelves. The company is also doing a brisk business with its grandMA and grandMA light consoles.

"After getting a demo of Sharpy we purchased 24 for the upcoming Xtreme Muzik The Tour, with country duo Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson," says David Haskell, owner of Morris Light and Sound. "Then we used them on Country Music Television's live Music Builds: CMT Disaster Relief Concert for the victims of the recent storms, floods, and tornadoes. After that, we ordered 12 more Sharpy fixtures for Jake Owen, who's supporting Keith Urban on tour.

"We're among the first to take delivery of the lights, which are pretty impressive for their size and punch. For television, their most impressive feature is how quiet t

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UK - Northampton based rigging specialists Unusual Rigging has officially launched its new website (www.unusual.co.uk). The interactive site provides clients, prospects and potential employees with extensive new features, higher quality content and complete information on services, news and events. The improved navigation, access to content and rich media additions, such as videos of installations, will aid users in making the most informed decisions about their options, says the company.

Since its founding in 1983 Unusual Rigging has grown to become one of the largest specialist rigging organisations in the entertainment technology industry, serving projects and clients nationwide. The new website is designed to inform clients and prospects in a straightforward manner, with concise content, SEO-rich text and stunning photography.

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The Netherlands - Christoph Willibald von Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice was staged during June and July against the royal backdrop of Soestdijk Palace in Utrecht, attracting 1,500 people per night. A large quantity of DPA microphones, including the first 2006A and 2011A mics to arrive in Holland, were provided by DPA's Dutch distributor Amptec for the event.

The opera, directed by De Utrechtse Spelen's artistic director Jos Thie, sees Orfeo persuading Amore, the god of love, to bring his beloved Euridice back from the Underworld. The action took place on a lake in front of the palace, with a steel net constructed just below the water level so the singers could walk, and even cycle, across the water from the palace to the main stage. Allowing the actors to appear in, on and below the water perfectly represented the two different realms - Earth, home of the living, and th

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USA - Since 1975, Tulsa's Mabee Centre has been the site of the annual Miss Oklahoma Pageant. Located on the campus of Oral Roberts University, Mabee Centre is also the home of the Golden Eagles men's' and women's' basketball teams and serves as the area's primary venue for concerts, business conferences, seminars, and other special events.

This year's Miss Oklahoma Pageant and its sibling event, Miss Oklahoma's Outstanding Teen contributed more than $2M in scholarship funds to the contestants. To ensure robust music reproduction and the finest speech intelligibility possible, the Mabee Center staff pulled out all the stops with its deployment of a robust sound reinforcement system drawn from the catalogue of D.A.S. Audio.

Casey Phariss serves as Oral Roberts University's audio services manager and chief audio engineer. In this capacity, he oversees the day-to-day operations a

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USA - ETCP Certification is a fundamental aide to employers who are looking for qualified technicians for lead positions. It guarantees a reliable level of expertise and skills because the exams are specific to this industry and a fair assessment of your knowledge. Don't delay in getting your certification!

All three ETCP examinations will be given at the October 2011 LDI show in Orlando. The Entertainment Electrician exam is scheduled for Friday, 28 October; the Arena Rigging exam is to be given the morning of Saturday, 29 October and the Theatre Rigging exam is scheduled for that afternoon. Candidates who wish to take multiple exams will receive a discount for the second exam. Interested applicants must submit their application, along with supporting materials and fee, to the ETCP office no later than 29 September 29.

Candidate information, including eligibility requirements

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Saudi Arabia - Sennheiser Middle East has recently supplied 16 ADN systems to Saudi Arabian AV systems integrator Electronic Special Equipment (ESE) for a single governmental project in the country's capital of Riyadh.

The project marks the largest single sale of the German manufacturer's flagship conference system and elevates Saudi Arabia to the position of the country with the most ADN systems in the world.

"We chose ADN for our client because we knew it would provide a true audio conference experience in a reliable system," comments ESE's sales manager, Khaled Makki. "ADN delivers high speech intelligibility in a modern designed unit that befits the glory and splendour of the project."

The system comprises a total of 240 delegate units and 16 chairman units. ADN CU-1 comes with free software that is continually updated, with the next version due in Se

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UK - "Once again Hippotizer played its role beautifully. It never fails to deliver what we need across a wide range of applications we throw at it," remarked Digital Insanity's Richard Bagshaw after completing the first ever Transmission 001 event at Jodrell Bank.

The festival took place on Saturday 2 July at the new Jodrell Bank Discovery centre in Cheshire and saw a crowd of 5000 turn up to enjoy the music, headlined by the Flaming Lips, and a three-minute projection piece on the Lovell Telescope, especially created for this pilot festival, which was to be highlight of the night.

There are plans for six 5000+ capacity events to take place at this site in 2012 when the telescope celebrates its 50th birthday.

For the projection, six 20K Christie projectors where mounted on top of a four-story scaffold tower behind the FOH control tent and the content was man

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UK - Peugeot UK decided to preview their new midrange saloon and estate range at the ICC in Birmingham in order to give their dealers a chance to view the new 508 series models first hand before the public launch of the car.

Production company AddingValue were given the brief to produce a spectacular reveal for the car and turned to Martin Professional's compact MAC 101 moving head wash. The reveal was to be followed by an on stage presentation by various Peugeot senior staff and would include interactive demonstrations and video presentations.

Production Manager Guy Ferguson from AddingValue contacted LD Paul Moorhouse and asked him to design the lighting for the dealer launch, having worked with Paul on previous projects for Peugeot. The brief was to create a Top Gear style studio look on stage, with lights visible to the audience, and to light the reveal of the car i

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France / Monaco - With bases in Paris, Nice and Marseille, French rental company Arpege Son Lumiere is continually busy with festivals, live tours, television shows and corporate events. The company has invested heavily in DiGiCo consoles, which are in constant use.

With four SD7s, four SD8s, three SD9s and an SD Ten on its books, as well as several D1s and D5s, Arpege is committed to DiGiCo and 2011 is proving a particularly busy summer for the consoles.

One of the highest profile events to use the company's DiGiCo consoles was the wedding of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock. Multiple mixers were involved in the ceremony itself and associated celebrations.

First, on 30th June, was a concert by the Eagles in the 25,000-capacity Stade Louis II. Here Arpege provided the entire audio production, except Eagles backline, including the SD9.

Over the next two d

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UK - The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff has recently installed a grandMA2 light console in its new 160 seat courtyard style Richard Burton Theatre, one of two performance spaces in a £22.5m landmark building development.

The College stages up to 18 drama productions a year and numerous music events, including student works and commercial shows. The College has owned a grandMA 'series 1' for three years, and so is well aware of the capabilities of MA Lighting's control platform and its superb reliability.

The grandMA2 was specified by senior technical lecturers and the technical operations department following detailed discussions about training and operational needs. The decision was fully endorsed by the College's technical operations manager Simon Denman-Ellis, who took up his new post at the College after 15 years as technical stage manager at Cardiff

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New Zealand - Bethlehem Baptist Church in Tauranga recently decided to upgrade its FOH console from analogue to digital, selecting Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing system as the replacement.

The church, which has capacity for approximately 1800 worshipers, is undergoing expansion, including the installation of new mixers and a speaker array system as part of the audio upgrade.

An iLive system, comprising an iDR-48 MixRack and iLive-T112 Control Surface, was supplied by Jansen Professional Audio & Lighting.

"Our volunteers find iLive logical and simple to use, yet it allows more technical users to dig into advanced features when needed," explains Bethlehem Baptist Church's technical co-ordinator, Caleb Fryett. "We have been so pleased with this purchase that we have since purchased a second."

The second smaller iLive system, comprising an iDR-16 MixR

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JB Lighting will be showing its new A8 which, like the company's A12, features a newly developed optical system and shares its wide zoom angle of 8° - 48°.

The A8 uses a total of 37 RGBW multi-chip LEDs, 15 Watt each, as a light source. In combination with an efficient optical system they create both saturated and pastel colours as well as white with what the company describes as "an impressive brightness". The A8 has hexagonally formed exit lenses which produce a uniform luminous field.

The "inner values" of the A8 are hidden in the compact housing and include three-phase stepper motors, silent additional fans and a receiver module for JB-lighting Wireless DMX. 3-pin and 5-pin DMX connectors and Powercon In/Out for easy handling.

With the A12 8°-48° zoom BeamWash, JB Lighting has implemented what it describes as its own expectations of the perfe

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  3. Rose Bruford shows new programmes to train designers and technologists
  4. Spotlight unveils LED zoom fresnel luminaire
  5. Elation introduces Platinum Wash LED Zoom
  6. Out Board preview iPad and iPhone apps for TiMiax2 Soundhub
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