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UK - After its successful debut last year, Brighton's Royal Pavilion Real Ice Rink and Restaurant is back. Once again Brighton-based lighting design and hire company, TSL lit the rink, café bar and skate hire tents.

Lighting designer and managing director of TSL, Sam Tamplin, chose to use the Philips Selecon range of conventional luminaires to deliver a festive atmosphere to this historic setting.

Viewed by many as the most romantic and beautiful backdrop for an ice rink in the country, Brighton Pavilion is evocatively lit with 'arctic' blues and deep 'ice' greens complemented by tinges of 'sunset' lilac and pink. In contrast, the 'après ice bar's comfortable leather Chesterfields and rustic seating arrangements are lit in 'candle- light' open white and 'fire ember' reds and ambers.

Tamplin is using a combination of Rama and Acclaim luminaires to create the intimate

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UK - Manchester- based lighting rental company dbn is again supplying lighting and LED screen to The Warehouse Project (WHP) which is in its last season at the Store Street Car Park below Piccadilly Station in the city centre, before moving to a new location.

It's the fifth year that dbn has supplied lighting, visuals equipment and design services to WHP, which operates every Friday and Saturday night from the start of the new university terms in late September to New Years Day, and this year, it is being managed for dbn by Chris Phillips.

Three trusses are installed over the stage in the main room to facilitate lighting positions, together with four more trusses over the audience/dancefloor. The space is arched with a decent nearly 7m height in the centre, dropping to around 5m at the edges, so the trusses are placed to maximise and accentuate the shape of the room.

The eve

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UK - 2012 marks a significant anniversary for DiGiCo, as it celebrates 10 years since the arrival of its ground breaking D5 Live. Over that time, the company has expanded its product line and launched the revolutionary Stealth Digital Processing FPGA audio engine, found in all SD series consoles.

As DiGiCo has grown, it has expanded its facilities and team to become a leading live sound console manufacturer. The move to partner with ISIS, combined with Matrix, secures an enviable position for the company and its future, it says.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for DiGiCo to build further on the achievements of the last five years," says James Gordon, DiGiCo CEO. "The company has expanded rapidly in a short space of time and the timing is perfect to add some new investment and experience to the team. ISIS's historical knowledge of our niche industry is going to

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied lighting equipment, LED video screens and crew to the recent UK leg of the Chase & Status No More Idols tour, where Neil Carson's high energy lighting was much appreciated.

Carson has worked for Chase & Status for the last two years. The band shares the same management team as Pendulum, another artist to whom HSL provides lighting.

However, this is the first time Carson has used HSL to supply both lighting and video - a process likely to happen increasing frequently following a recent major investment in Martin EC10 and EC20 LED screen product. "It makes things very straightforward dealing with one source for all these elements," says Carson.

The Chase & Status project was managed for HSL by Mike Oates, who says: "We always enjoy working with Neil. He has great imagination and flare and the Chase & S

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UK - Apollo Cinemas and Dolby Laboratories have announced that they completed a project to upgrade the audio experience for cinema goers at all of its screens throughout the UK.

The 22-month programme concluded with the upgrade of the Apollo Cinema in Rhyl, where the installation of the latest 7.1 Dolby digital sound processors marked the conversion of all 83 of Apollo's cinemas screens at 14 locations in England and Wales.

"Quality surround sound is absolutely critical to the overall experience of enjoying a film," says Rob Arthur, managing director, Apollo Cinemas, "so we wanted to be able to offer our customers the very best with the quality and flexibility of the new Dolby digital cinema processors.

"We have been delighted with the results. The improvement in sound quality is really noticeable and we feel this, as part of our conversion to all-digital

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UK Indie folk rockers Bombay Bicycle Club are currently touring their latest album, A Different Kind Of Fix throughout the UK. So far the tour has been a great success, playing to sold-out venues nationwide, including the Brixton Academy. The band's monitor engineer, Dan Hermouet, was delighted to be trying out some SMX15 stage monitors from APG for the tour.

"I was specifically looking for a wedge monitor that would work with our in-ear monitors," explained Hermouet. "The band enjoys using their in-ears but we all agreed that it would be great if we could find something to supplement the IEMs so that they could benefit from the physical sensations on stage that you only get with a wedge monitor."

Hermouet took three pairs of APG SMX15 on tour; one for each guitarist on stage and one as a listener. "I had several occasions to compare the SMX15s

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China - Belgian manufacturer Apex Audio has moved its distribution in China to Rightway Audio Consultants. "When we established Rightway, our aim was to offer advanced audio products to boost the level of product sales, engineering and systems integration of technologies into the Chinese market," explains Monica Au, marketing and communications executive at Rightway. "Our first priority has always been the quality of the brands we work with. We distribute a variety of top brands under an exclusive basis, which fully satisfies the needs of the audio professionals.

"The demand for audio equipment, especially at a professional level, is expanding due to the cultural development of the audio industry in Mainland China. To meet the various demands of our customers, we need to provide equipment with advanced technology.

"Apex is a professional audio manufact

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Belgium - Barco has appointed AED Display as official distributor of its projection and image processing products in the Benelux market. Through the partnership, which becomes effective on 1 January, resellers, system integrators and mid-sized rental companies will have easier access to Barco's products and support services. The agreement fits neatly into Barco's new strategy to increasingly rely on trusted channel partners for the distribution, installation and support of its products, in all markets, in order to raise customer service levels, says the company.

Over the past few months, Barco has significantly expanded its network of distribution partners. Instead of selling, installing and supporting its products itself, the company relies on its trusted channel partners to ensure the availability, delivery and pre- and post-sales support for its wide range of high-quality pr

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UK - Nick Gray of Renegade has blended "cool, contemporary and classic" in a massive lighting and set design for Kasabian's Velociraptor! world tour, which is currently playing UK arenas, with a large, no-compromise, full-on rock aesthetic to the delight of fans.

Gray is known as one of the most innovative 'new generation' UK visual designers whose work is intelligent and original. On this he collaborated closely on the stage look with the band's creative director Aitor Throup, who also designs the stage clothes through to the merchandise on sale, ensuring a creative - but flexible - coherence.

The stage design is highly architectural. Upstage is a massive ellipsoidal shaped LED dome, which is made up of nearly 100sq.m of BT-12, a 12mm LED screen product which has been custom manufactured for suppliers Colour Sound Experiment.

In front of this is an impressi

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UK - Ambersphere Solutions is hosting a festive office-warming celebration at its brand new premises in Park Royal - having enjoyed an impressive first three months of business since changing its name from MA Lighting UK, the company reports.

The 'Open-House' will be on Tuesday 20 December from 2-8pm and Glyn, Philip, Chris, David, Caz and Doug would like to welcome you for a glass or two, a mince pie and some festive banter with industry colleagues. Come and meet the new team and see their fabulous new facilities. The Ambersphere team also hints there may be a few exciting new products to tell visitors about . . .

Ambersphere Solutions is located in Park Royal, the heart of West London's lighting industry hub, a stone's throw from the LH2 Production and Rehearsal facility, just off the A40, and close by the public transport links of Acton and Ealing Broadway. There is parking

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Country Classic - Julian Fellowes is to write a new musical adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's novel The Wind in the Willows. The Downton Abbey creator will reunite with composer and lyricist duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe for the project. The trio previously collaborated on Cameron Mackintosh's West End and Broadway production of Mary Poppins. The new show will be created for the West End, although dates and a theatre venue have yet to be announced. Fellowes said. "The Wind in the Willows is one of our greatest classics and as true and entertaining now as it has ever been. I am delighted and tremendously flattered to have been asked to write the book for the new musical."

Parklife - Blur are set to be honoured at next year's Brit Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. It comes 21 years after their debut and 17 years si

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Finland - ETC has completed installation of three separate ETC Unison Paradigm Control systems at the new Helsinki Music Centre.

There are seven performance spaces at the centre, seating up to 1,704 people. The first Paradigm system controls the main concert hall; a second controls three of the rehearsal halls (Rehearsal Hall, Organo and Camerata); and a third controls the Sonore, Black Box and restaurant stage halls. All were supplied, installed and programmed by Studiotec Oy of Finland.

Project manager for Studiotec, Oskar Krogell explains: "Paradigm was chosen by the music centre for its integration with lighting control desks, dimmers and DMX. They also wanted non-technical personnel - including orchestra organisers, stage managers and even music students - to be able to use the show lighting in the halls for rehearsals and concerts. The Music Centre has seven stages

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USA - Jason Aldean, just 10-years old, has been selling out coast-to-coast and sweeping awards shows regularly. Aldean just won a record six American Country Awards, including Single of the Year, Album of the Year, and the Holy Grail of live shows, Touring Artist of the Year.

Bandit Lites has been part of the Aldean family since the start. Lighting designer Aaron Swetland has continued to craft his art as the shows and lighting systems have grown geometrically through the years.

The My Kinda Party Tour has been setting records throughout 2011, and it continues into 2012. The album is platinum and Aldean is currently on top of the country and pop charts with the smash hit Don't You Wanna Stay with Kelly Clarkson.

For 2012, Swetland has utilized a great number of different technologies to help Aldean shine each night. His arsenal includes Martin MAC III's, MAC 2K

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USA - Chauvet reports that the first episode of We TV's My Fair Wedding features 12 SlimPAR Pro Tri wash lights.

Specified and installed by Lights Incredible, based in Kansas City, Mo., the flicker-free fixtures are part of a special episode called Make a Wish Bride.

Specified for their on-camera suitability as well as their compact size and low profile, SlimPAR Pro Tri fixtures added flexibility and precise colour temperature to the setting.

"They're sturdy, take up no room and look fantastic," Carol Rosenstein of Lights Incredible said. "We placed [the fixtures] around the perimeter of the room uplighting each of the fabric panels as well as around the back. They gave the ceiling a colorful glow throughout the reception and their output got more intense as the sun went down. The view from outside was beautiful."

(Jim Evans)

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USA - On 2 December 2011, the RBC Centre, home of the NHL Carolina Hurricanes, NC State Wolfpack Men's Basketball and host of the 2011 NHL Allstar Game and numerous large events in Raleigh was transformed into the world of Hip-Hop and R&B music and grooves.

The concert The Platinum Legends of Hip Hop and R&B featured the top original pioneers of Hip Hop includingThe Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, Kool Moe Dee, Christopher Williams, Al B. Sure, Aaron Hall, Doug E. Fresh and more.

The cutting edge RCF TT+ sound system, supplied by Rock Quarry Productions of Raleigh NC, included 32 TTL55-A, eight TTL33-A and 18 TTS56-A Subwoofers all software controlled by the RDNet management software

"RCF TT55 never fails to deliver the power and performance we need to cover even the largest of rooms. The RDNet system allows us amazing detailed control of all aspects of the system in real

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UK - Following the success of the launch of the British Military Tournament in 2010, this year's event was bigger and better, with the addition of participating units from the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, plus the American military.

Taking place in Earls Court, the Tournament is one of the largest displays of military theatre anywhere in the world, pulling together the best elements of the world-famous Royal Tournament. Once again, Unusual Rigging supported the event, supplying a raft of equipment plus crew.

In addition to 400m of truss for lighting and PA equipment, Unusual also provided truss and rigging for the massive 'hockey scoreboard' projection screen, flown above the centre of the arena. Hidden inside the screen were elements such as climbing ropes, for use in the gymnastic display by the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, and a hot air balloon basket, which w

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Singapore - Synergy AVL was awarded with the supply and installation tender of the National Art Council's Black Box Theatre for full theatrical production use.

As the name sugests, Black Box Theatre is painted completely black inside, and has a seating area of 128m2. The simple black room is able to bring many theatrical performances to life with the help of high quality sound and lighting systems. National Art Council's original Black Box Theatre lacked that certain quality in their sound and lighting systems. Synergy AVL's design and consulting team surveyed the existing system in the theatre and replaced them with components from the well-known brands that it carries.

A combination of Outline EIDOS 15, EIDOS 12 and EIDOS 118SW subwoofers have been installed. The EDIOS speakers are driven by Outline DPA 1004 digital power amplifiers - both made by Italian Audio manufacturer,

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Sweden - The highly contemporary Folkteatern Goteborg has incorporated a TiMax SoundHub-S32 audio showcontrol processor in the audio refurbishment for its main auditorium, controlled by a TiMax Tracker (TT) performer tracking system.

TiMax processing and control was specified by Alf Berntsen, head of leading Swedish acoustic consultants Artifon who undertook the audio design for the new space. A longtime advocate of delay-based source-oriented vocal reinforcement, Berntsen had previously included two TiMax systems in his designs for Norway's prestigious Oslo Opera House, where he had also been impressed with their ability to deliver highly immersive surround sound effects.

The project was overseen by head sound engineer at the theatre, Allan Antilla, and designed with the dual objectives of enhancing vocal intelligibility by transparent audio localisation of the actors' voices

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China - An L-Acoustics Kudo large format line source system has been used for an outdoor concert in Guangzhou by Greek pianist and composer Yanni, as part of his Chinese tour. The sound system was supplied to the tour's equipment provider, Beijing Dadong Huahan Audiovisual Equipment Co, by L-Acoustics' exclusive distributor for Greater China, Rightway Audio Consultants.

The main system consisted of 16 Kudo cabinets, 32 V-DOSC large format line source boxes and 24 SB28 subs, with 24 dV-DOSC for in-fill and two 115XT HiQ providing stage monitoring. The complete system was powered by 32 LA8 amplified controllers housed in six LA-RAKs.

"The KUDO system was really great for this concert because of its accurate adjustable horizontal dispersion, extended frequency range down to 25Hz, and compact size," says Alan Wong, sales manager from Rightway Audio Consultants. "It'

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UK - The latest Bryan Adams tour is the first major one in the UK tour to feature Robe lighting's new Robin MMX Spots, as specified by lighting designer Ewan McRobb and supplied by the tour's lighting contractor, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK based Siyan.

McRobb - who has worked for superstar rocker Adams for the last five years - has used some Robe fixtures on rigs in the past, but has not actually integrated any into his designs until now. He was shown the MMXs when initially discussing the tour with Siyan's Nick Valdez, who had just taken delivery of some of Robe's newest technology. McRobb liked what he saw and decided to spec twelve MMXs onto the tour.

As a photographer of some repute, Adams takes a keen interest in lighting and therefore also his stage lighting. "He has multiple ideas and knows exactly what he wants," explains McRobb, adding that Adams also

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UK - No Saints, the leisure group set up by former Luminar Leisure boss Stephen Thomas, has added the Wonder brand to its growing portfolio, after acquiring four new sites in the south-east.

Known respectively as Wonder Lounge, Wonder Land and Wonder Years, the first fully-fledged nightclub (Wonder Land) opened recently in Sutton, Surrey.

Back in charge of the 900-capacity venue he once operated as Liquid, Thomas brought in Dakota House of Design (to work the Alice in Wonderland theme into an escapist nightclub interior), while Mark Damon of Cosmic Electronics renewed his company's long relationship with RCF to provide an end-to-end sound reinforcement solution.

"We have a long and successful track record working with RCF," he said, "and so we were 110% behind the idea of working with them on this project because we know their products are of high quality and

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UK - Audio Light Systems staff have recently refreshed their Emergency First Aid at Work with St Andrews First Aid in the head office in Edinburgh. All 18 core staff members completed the day long course with Ann Marie Paterson and Ian Ridland from St Andrews First Aid. All staff also utilised first aid applications on their mobile devices to ensure regular updates.

"It is important to have all members of staff trained to a good standard and ensuring that everyone is first aid trained helps toward safer sites." Said Trevor Cross, project manager, Audio Light Systems.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - A number of schools in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham are in the process of being equipped with giant Supernova optical front projection screens from Danish manufacturers dnp.

This is designed to boost learning and provide better data referencing from sources such as Visualiers, computers and portable touch screen whiteboards, which provide the ability to control lessons from anywhere in the classroom.

The order for over 200 of the Supernova Core screens in 16:10 aspect ratio, placed with Supernova's UK distributors, Paradigm Audio Visual, was sanctioned by Sheyne Lucock, Education ICT Strategy lead for the council, after his Strategy team had reviewed all the options.

Paradigm AV supplied 105 of the 100" displays to the primary schools alone via project consultants and fit-out specialists, REDS10. All the ICT equipment is being fitted by RM Education,

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UK - Over one million people descended upon Regent Street and Oxford Street this weekend for two days of festive shopping and entertainment at the annual Shop West End VIP Weekend 2011, organised by creative event production company Wilde Ones.

The Very Important Pedestrians (VIP) weekend sees the iconic London streets become traffic free for two days. Wilde Ones was reappointed by client New West End Company and worked closely with all stakeholders including Westminster Council, Met Police, Transport for London and over 80 retailers, to bring the streets to life and create a dynamic festive atmosphere.

The event featured a diverse range of entertainment to appeal to all audience demographics including Christmas-themed attractions located across six sites within the area. These included vintage buses, a traditional fun fair, large nutcrackers, a horse drawn Victorian bus ride,

  1. Visual Frontier lights Cellar music on DSTV
  2. SGM beam effects in Wonderland
  3. Robert Juliat Profiles for Rotterdamse Schouwburg
  4. Spectacular tarm laser show at Bremen ball
  5. Dynacord and Electro-Voice at Hallescher FC
  6. Rosco Floors support Disneyland dance gatherings
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