UK / Austria - Cloud Electronics has announced Mocom Communication Systems as the exclusive distribution channel for the full range of Cloud audio mixers, zoners, multi-channel amplifiers, and audio distribution systems, throughout Austria, effective 22 September 2011.

Mocom was founded in 1991 by Walter Thornton and Harald Steindl and is based in Vienna. As a leading PRO-AV distributor Mocom has arranged a powerful portfolio of brands and in-house resources to not only help their trade partners winning business but also to support the industry by sponsoring various educational and social events.

Harald Steindl, CEO of Mocom, is "excited about our new relationship with Cloud Electronics. Cloud products are truly designed for the contractor's ease of installation and the user's ease of operation. Cloud products are a perfect fit and compliment Mocom's product offerings&quo

The Netherlands - CMRX Slim was recently used for an extensive wireless installation at Amerongen castle in the Netherlands on a site that has been occupied by a castle for over 700 years. The current structure from the 1670's re-opened its doors to the public again in July after a 10-year renovation process that included installation of state-of-the-art lighting and multimedia systems.

Every room in the castle is now equipped with energy efficient LED lighting, projections, and audio, bringing the castle back to life in a dynamic timecode controlled show aptly named "A Day in the Life of the Castle".

The multimedia show was created by Dutch theatre producer Saskia Boddeke and British filmmaker Peter Greenaway. The technical and practical realization was a collaboration between Rolight, LumenRadio's distributor in the Netherlands, Philips Lighting, Lichtpunt Theatert

UK - Rental company APR Audio road tested several combinations of Allen & Heath's iLive digital mixing system throughout the company's busy summer events calendar. APR selected iLive systems - ranging from the flagship modular iDR10 MixRack with iLive-144 and 176 Control Surfaces, to the fixed I/O iDR-64 and 48 MixRacks with iLive-T112 and R72 surfaces - to manage various festivals and corporate events.

At Glastonbury, APR provided PA and control systems to manage FOH and monitor mixing duties on two of the largest stages. On the West Holts stage, an iDR-64 with iLive-144 was provided at FOH, while a compact system, comprising an iDR-16 and iLive-R72 rackmount surface, was used to manage compere mics, DJ, and BGM duties at FOH. Delayed near-field monitoring was also controlled by this set up at the FOH tower.

On the John Peel Stage, an iDR-64 and iLive-176 with iLive MixPad ap

Flexible loudspeakers? What else would you expect from the company that pioneered electronically steerable arrays; Duran Audio is a company that never stops thinking.

The latest loudspeaker products from the AXYS R&D lab are the Flex U-12G2, U-14G2 and UFM-265. But why flexible, are Duran making arrays that you can bend now? Not yet, but who knows what the future holds; these new products are the latest generation of the companies highly successful Flex range. Flexible because of the amount of applications that these units can be used for, they are ideal for use in Theatre as: front fills, under balcony fills, surround loudspeakers and monitors whilst equally useful in the AV/Corporate world for boardrooms & presentation audio and are an ideal choice for small bars and clubs. Being all things to all market segments doesn't mean that the sound of the units is compromised though, as the

A new trade body, the Association of Sound Designers (ASD) will be launched at PLASA 2011.

For the last 18 months a group of sound designers have been working to create a new professional association with a series of meetings to discuss what the association should do and how it should work. The meetings were held at the National Theatre, the Royal Court and the Royal Exchange with attendance from over 60 of the country's leading sound designers as well as representatives from hire companies including Autograph, Blitz, Mac Sound and Orbital; manufacturers including d&b audiotechnik and Duran Audio; and educational institutes such as the Central School of Speech and Drama.

Gareth Fry, chair of the newly-elected Board of Trustees of the ASD, said that "the meetings were a great opportunity for a lot of sound designers to meet up, some for the first time, and discuss relevant issues

UK - Central to Take That's Progress Live 2011 tour was the giant figure of 'OM', a 20m high animated man, brought to 'life' as a primitive god-like figure during the on-stage action. In reality OM was designed and engineered by Brilliant Stages with the expert help of mechanical engineer Andy Edwards.

OM was first revealed to the audience as he slid out in a sitting position through the central performer stage which split in two to allow his entrance. Brilliant Stages created the dividing stage along with two band pods which rolled off-stage on tracks and were sited on hydraulic scissor lifts (two under each pod) to give them vertical movement.

As the show progressed, OM performed moves that including a sweeping motion of the arms, nodding the head, raising each of the singers in the palm of his hands, until eventually moving out in a recumbent position into the middle

Qatar - Svetlost Teatar of Belgrade, has supplied the landmark venue of Qatar Education City Convention Centre in Doha with a large selection of Robert Juliat HMI profiles, followspots and Solo Fluorescent lighting.

Designed by Arata Isozaki and RHWL Architects, the exterior of the QECCC complex resembles a Sidra tree - the national symbol of Qatar. It is made up of 10 halls, including the 2500-seat Lyric Theatre, the 500-seat Concert Hall and a 4000-capacity banqueting and event facility, in addition to lecture halls, breakout spaces and a multipurpose exhibition hall.

Svetlost Teatar equipped the Lyric Theatre with Robert Juliat D'Artagnan 930 SNX 2.5kW HMI profiles, complete with Jalousie 2 dimming shutters, and two Cyrano 2500W HMI followspots. Twenty-four Solo 744 fluorescent strips were also added for linear effect production lighting. A further 12 Solo units were instal

UK - When English Heritage opened the new attraction at Dover Castle, Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk, it deployed audio-visual and show control technology from AV systems integrator Electrosonic to recreate the drama of World War II's Dunkirk evacuation.

Situated in the network of 60m long secret tunnels, 26m underground behind the famous White Cliffs of Dover, the attraction makes extensive use of AV technology to present the events of 26 May to 4 June 1940. In the highlight of the attraction, 23 projectors create giant images that run the entire length of the space augmented by spectacular lighting effects.

Denmark-based Kvorning Design & Communication, which designed and produced the new attraction, and Electrosonic faced some difficult tasks, including working in a historic site, dealing with the climate underground and projecting images in spaces where no su

China - A full range of Fohhn loudspeakers, DSP-based amplifiers, remote control and networking technology has recently been installed in a new 1200-seat theatre in Dongyang. The town, which has a population of around 800,000, is situated in the Chinese province of Zhejiang. Recent economic growth in the region has resulted in the building of the new theatre complex, which has been equipped with state-of-the-art audio-visual technology.

A total of 82 Fohhn loudspeakers (both conventional speakers and line array systems) have been installed in the new theatre, including 22 AT-66 and twenty AT-10 systems from Fohhn's Arc-Series, eight AS-40 compact subwoofers, 22 Linea Series AL-20 near-field systems and four Linea AL-150 line source column speakers.

Six XM-4 wedges have also been supplied for stage monitoring. In addition, thirty-one DSP-controlled amplifiers - 20 D-2.1500, 10

PLASA 2011 will see the launch of Amptown Cases' brand new Midas Venice F Series SiP Flightcases.

The Midas Venice F Series consoles are the first of the company's products to benefit from the advantage of the SiP technology. The usual rigid foam and rubber covered rear support has been replaced by a one-piece SiP insert. The robust rubber surface and soft core of the SiP inserts guarantees a long life and the best protection for the Midas consoles.

Amptown cases developed the first SiP (Super Impact protection) insert in 1998, initially as the best protection for moving heads, mixing desks, LCD screens and Plasma displays. A soft core and almost incorruptible surface guarantees perfect shock absorption.

PLASA 2011 2-R14

PLASA 2011 show will see the launch of Daktronics' newly revised Pro Series controllers with the popular Vortek Classic hoist. The new 3-part cueing feature of the controller allows the powerful Pro Series VAC control system the ability to execute multiple moves simultaneously from multiple cueing sequences.

"For the first time since Daktronics has been at the London show, we'll be able to demonstrate our easy-to-use, yet complex controller with our popular Vortek Classic hoist," said Operations Manager Dave Rossi, who will be at the show along with Ivan Del Rio, Project Manager for Europe and Middle East. "We're excited to show what our multi-cueing feature brings to the sophisticated, demanding performance requirements of today's stage."

PLASA participants will have opportunity to experience the intuitive, touch screen controls whether operating a full-sized or

The Nicolaudie Group's smartphone and tablet software company LightingSoft AG will introduce its EasyRemote iPad and browser app at PLASA 2011. The new software allows users to remotely control a wide range of DMX lighting software packages over a local network.

The EasyRemote designer is used to build a custom screen, a file that is then sent over to the iPad app, which can in turn be used to control a variety of software functions such as scene triggering and dimming. EasyRemote can also dynamically generate a web page which can be accessed from almost any device through a web browser.

The EasyRemote iPad app can currently be used with LumiDesk. Support with Daslight3 from Daslight and Sunlite Suite 2 from Nicolaudie will follow shortly.

PLASA 2011 1-G3

Emulator, the next generation of DJ performance technology that was first showcased at London's Ministry of Sound this summer, will be officially launched at PLASA 2011. This revolutionary piece of technology for DJs combines midi-based software with touch-screen hardware to deliver what the company describes as "stunning results".

Emulator is the world's first and only fully customisable, multi-touch system for professional DJs and music producers. Using a state-of-the-art dual view multi-touch system, Emulator's large-scale interface allows the DJ to become part of the light show as the crowd witnesses their every move, giving the performer a new and exciting way to communicate with the audience.

The official launch of Emulator was organised in partnership with Ministry of Sound as part of the 20:20 project, celebrating the iconic brand's 20th year in the industry. The sh

PLASA 2011 sees the launch of several new and improved Hippotizer features including LiveMask, VideoMapper, Ki-HNet support for PixelMapper and a new and improved DMX component.

All features are available on all products in the range starting from the HippoCritter, the mobile HippoPortamus, the powerful yet compact GrassHopper or the flagship product, Hippotizer HD.

Extending the already extensive toolset that encompasses drag and drop media management, intuitive Timeline programming, a host of effects and video processing tools and many more, these new components are vital in today's creative scenic video environment.

VideoMapper allows any part of a video output to be sent to an LED tile anywhere on stage, regardless of the complexity of the LED wall controller. It features full RBG colour correction per LED tile as well as scaling and rotation. Different mapping configurations a

Australia - Professional Audio Technology Pty Ltd (PAT) has delivered yet another K.M.E. Pano Series line array public address system - this time to the new sports and events hall at Sydney's prestigious Knox Grammar school.

The new sports and events hall, which consists of three basketball courts, a spectator seating gallery and everything else a sporting venue could ask for, will be used for sporting events and can also double as a concert hall comfortably holding up to 800-1,000 spectators. The Front of House concert rig consists of Line Source Units QL 1215 powered by a DA 428 with 700 Watts per channel and subs QLB 118 powered with a DA 230 amplifier with 1,500 Watts per channel. The K.M.E. amplifiers with multi channel functionality and DSP drive the entire system.

Professional Audio Technology's technology specialist Alan Liddelow was at the venue during the first sound

UK - Following SSE Hire's recent move to use Lab.gruppen PLM 10000Q as its standard monitor amplifier and Lake LM26 for digital returns with festival systems, SSE Sales has now been appointed as a sub-distributor for the products.

"The Lab.gruppen PLM range was an easy choice for SSE Hire, because of the onboard Lake processing and the fact that the amps can work on a Dante network out of the box" said SSE's Alex Penn.

"The power to weight/size ratio of the PLM 10000Q and PLM 20000Q is phenomenal. We just genuinely believe that these are the best amps to use where we have the choice."

"We are very pleased to be have been appointed as a sub-distributor for Lake/Lab.gruppen because these are great products. The range of amplifiers now available from Lab will work in all market sectors, as well as providing the very best for the touring market."

UK - This August Green Hippo held its first Asian distributor seminar in the UK. The timing was chosen to conclude the company's recent push to expand their dealer structure in Asia and was attended by partners from China, Japan and South East Asia.

The four-day seminar gave everyone at Green Hippo and their Asian partners a chance to meet face-to-face, introducing people who work together on a daily basis.

Green Hippo's marketing & sales director James R. Heron kicked off the workshops with a general company overview and an update on recent developments bringing all attendees up-to-speed.

Subsequently, everyone received a full day of HippoSchool training with Green Hippo's head of training Simon Harris, covering all the major features of the Hippotizer media server range, including the new LiveMask and UberPan components.

Broadcast Professional's product manager John Paul

World - Being in discussions and close relations with the alliance since its start in June 2011, the professional audio manufacturer Yamaha has become the ninth full member of OCA Alliance. Membership had been pending due to internal proceedings at the time of the original alliance announcement.

The OCA Alliance has been formed to ensure the standardisation of the Open Control Architecture (OCA) for a wide interoperability of professional audio equipment. Since its formation in June this year the members have been working towards a final technical definition of OCA.

As with all the other members, the Yamaha Corporation was initially approached by Bosch, the initiator of the OCA Alliance, to discuss how to overcome the challenge of interoperability in the professional audio market. "We are glad to now be able to join this alliance, with which we were in close communication

UK - The Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury is set to become one of the country's landmark theatres. Following a £25.6m development project, the venue will open on 4 October 2011. Award-winning theatre consultants Charcoalblue was appointed by owners of the theatre, Canterbury City Council, and were responsible for the design, planning and technical specification of the auditorium and backstage areas for both the main auditorium and the multi-configurable Marlowe Studio.

Working alongside architect Keith Williams of Keith Williams Architects was project manager for Charcoalblue, Paul Crosbie. He discusses the development: "The Marlowe Theatre has always been an extremely popular venue but it had become tired and was quite simply not big enough. Part of Charcoalblue's remit was to increase seating capacity to 1200 to enable the Marlowe to host the biggest and the best in tour

Czech Republic - Robe lighting supported the 51st Zlin Film Festival for Children and Youth in Zlín, which is the oldest and among the largest film festivals of its kind worldwide. It attracts over 100,000 visitors to see nearly 600 films from more than 50 countries screened over eight days.

It was originally staged in Zlin because the city in south-eastern Moravia had one of the first big movie studios in the Czech Republic, which was founded by famous local entrepreneur Jan Antonin Bata in 1936. The film studio was originally used to make promotional and advertising material for his company and products and gradually became the most prominent centre of filmmaking focussed on children and young people. It also became famous for its animation work, and has been used by numerous international directors over the years.

Robe's marketing manager Jiri Baros arranged and co-ordinat

Hong Kong - City Theatrical, manufacturer of lighting accessories, has appointed Ten Thousand Things (3T) as its distributor in Hong Kong and Macau.

Based in Hong Kong, Ten Thousand Things forms the sales arm of Alderamin Group, worldwide provider of comprehensive lighting project solutions. Ten Thousand Things offers technical supplies and support for a wide range of lighting products.

Gary Fails of City Theatrical comments, "We chose 3T because of the group's long-standing experience in the region. Naturally we seek to market our products through the most high profile and respected channels, and we feel 3T provides the qualities we are looking for."

Simon Fraser, co-owner of Alderamin Group, adds, "From our extensive experience designing and integrating projects throughout Asia, we have first-hand knowledge of the tools required to deliver a world-class proj

South Africa - Philips Selecon is helping a classic theatre in South Africa attract and keep its 'sell out' audiences.

With the explosion of festivals in South Africa, there is an increasing need for smaller theatres, outside of the festival scene, to provide performance space for newly created productions and to promote up and coming artists. The Atterbury is exactly that - a worldclass 420-seat 'West-End'styled theatre.

What distinguishes this theatre from other similar sized venues in the region is the sophistication of the entertainment technology it uses. A professional team, including Philips Entertainment distributor for South Africa DWR, has come together to design and specify the technical needs of the venue and Philips Selecon luminaires feature high on the lighting role call.

Selecon's South Africa reseller DWR Distribution worked alongside Pieter-Jan Kapp to desi

UK - Rental company, HSL is supplying a substantial 'extras package' for Arcade Fire's summer European festival tour, with lighting and set designed by Susanne Sasic, which is the latest leg of an ongoing world tour for their acclaimed 2010 album The Suburbs.

It is the first time that HSL has worked with Sasic, who has a reputation for innovative and interesting designs. HSL project manager Mike Oates says, "We are extremely pleased to be working with Susanne, who is known for her exceptional creative flair and style. The design looks stunning and in addition to that, the whole visuals package has been very well thought out to make it practical and tourable."

Looking after all the kit is Rob Starksfield, a regular HSL technician, who has also worked with Sasic on previous projects including REM.

Sasic's overall design has evolved with the different sections

UK - The 1980s returned to Scotland with a vengeance on the last weekend of July, as a plethora of iconic names from the fluorescent decade graced the stage of the Rewind Festival.

AP Security provided crowd safety services at the 2010 Rewind in Henley and the promoter was so impressed that the company was asked to provide its services at both sites in 2011.

"We have a very good relationship with the promoter and they wanted to maintain the consistency of the production team, as well as it being an event which we understand," says AP national sales manager John Phillips. "We gave them the option of us just providing a management team, but we were asked to provide all the required personnel. So we hired a comfortable coach and brought 95 staff - AP Security went on the road for the weekend."

With John, Chris Hollands and Tommy Michalis managing the AP team

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