UK - Co-founded in 1863 by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and Lord Leighton, and with Rodin, Churchill and Whistler amongst its former patrons, the Arts Club in Mayfair's Dover Street boasts a glamorous heritage.

Completely refurbished under the new management of Restaurateurs Arjun and Jai Waney, and property entrepreneur Gary Landesberg, they have sought to retain the heritage and charm of this authentic landmark whilst introducing the club as the hub of contemporary cultural life in London.

Designed by David D'Almada of Sagrada, the space consists of a series of individually furnished rooms, including a sophisticated Member's Library, and the Brasserie and Oyster Bar. kitchens are under the stewardship of chef director Raphael Duntoye of La Petite Maison.

With Mark Ronson at the helm as director of music, members are kept in tune with "cutting edge and stimulatin

Belgium - Over 100 Robe Robin 600E Spot and LEDWash moving lights were used to illuminate the Blue Room, one of five arenas at the 2011 I Love Techno (ILT) event - one of the biggest and most successful rave experiences in Europe - staged at the Flanders Expo, Ghent, and attended by a sold out audience of 35,000 enthusiastic ravers.

The Robes were specified by the event's lighting video and production designer Thomas Boets of LD Productions, and supplied by rental company L&L Stage Services from Herentals, Belgium.

Boets designed visuals for all areas across the whole event - in which he has been involved for over seven years.

Seventy-six Robe Robin 600 Spots and 26 Robin 600 LEDWashes were used in the Blue Room, rigged onto to a series of trusses over the stage/DJ booth and on two box trusses - one inside the other - with curved edges that were flown above the audience. The

USA - The Pig 'n' Whistle in midtown Manhattan is typical of many of the area's taverns. What the narrow storefront space lacks in width, it more than makes up for in depth and height, spanning two floors and extending far to the back of the building it occupies.

"It's only about 25ft wide, but it's more than 75ft deep, and there's an open veranda and dining area upstairs, with a high open ceiling," says Rich Trombitas of Cornwall-based Cardone Solomon & Associates Inc.

"It's a beautiful place," says Trombitas. "The architecture is just stunning, the finish and detail looks wonderful. But sonically it's very challenging. The stage is located on the second level, and particularly on Friday and Saturday nights when they have Irish bands and DJs in there, the noise level can be a real challenge."

The main floor is served by three wall-mounted TRX82

The Netherlands - Owned by Sander Krouwel, Road Productions is based in central Holland and operates in the corporate event, theatre, one-off events, and concert touring markets. The company is a loyal DiGiCo user, being the first rental company in Holland to purchase a dual D1 Live setup back in 2004. It is now adding to its console inventory with the purchase of a DiGiCo SD8 and SD11.

Road Productions is a key player in the Dutch rental market, working with singers such as Frans Bauer and his live band, and Trijntje.

As a satisfied DiGiCo user, Krouwel invested in a DiGiCo SD9 in 2010, but with the market expanding in the smaller and larger jobs, and seeing the range of consoles now available at TM Audio's seminars this year, he decided to make an additional investment in a DiGiCo SD8 and, for the smaller productions, an SD11.

"Our acts are very satisfied with this gu

Malaysia - The Vienna Boys Choir performed in the Plenary Hall of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in November, miked with DPA 2011C mics provided by Orange Events, a KL-based rental company.

Blurr Wong, owner of Orange Events, Blurr used two matched-pairs of DPA 2011C twin diaphragm compact cardioids from DPA's new Reference Standard series to mic the 30-piece choir. "These mics are special," says Blurr. "The twin diaphragm capsule design, combined with meticulous engineering, has resulted in the product being a good all-rounder mic. It sounds luscious."

Blurr also used a sensitivity-selected pair of DPA 4099P instrument clip mics for miking the grand piano, with one mic positioned at each end of the strings and the lid half open. "The 4099's small but packs lot of punches, allowing you to achieve studio-like quality in a live environment," con

Sweden - Reality TV talent competition Idol has aired on Sweden's TV4 since August 2004, and became one of the most popular shows on Swedish television. This year's edition was the final one and lighting designer Per Ax voted for a grandMA2 control system.

This comprised one grandMA2 full-size and one grandMA2 light console, four MA NPU (Network Processing Units) and three touchscreen computers, with grandMA2 on PC software running as backup. It all performed faultlessly while controlling 450 LED fixtures and moving lights from Philips Vari*Lite, Color Kinetics, Clay Paky and Martin Professional as well as a whole bunch of conventionals.

Lighting designer's assistant and head electrician Tobias Winerdal commented, "I have worked on Swedish Idol for seven years. We started out with another console and used it for a few years. We moved on to the grandMA full-s

Sweden - Lund's City Theatre recently invested in a wireless DMX/RDM distribution system comprising LumenRadio's CRMX Nova products.

Lund, located in the southern most part of Sweden, is home to Lund's University that was established in 1666 and is now one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research. Lund's City Theatre is the centre of the local performing arts life. Productions range from visiting avant-garde dramatic theatre to locally produced crowd-pleasers like the recently featured musical Sweeny Todd.

When it was time to redo the signal distribution system for their main venue, major considerations were ease and cost of installation, as well as the need to accommodate future expansions and new technologies such as Ethernet and RDM. The theatre is located downtown and co-existence with other neighbouring radio systems was an absolute requirem

Germany - High End Systems new Technospot automated luminaire and DL.3 Digital Light took centrestage on the recent sold-out tour of Germany with two artists, Nik P. and Andreas Gabalier. The show also featured other High End Systems lighting and control products supplied by Getec-Eventtechnik.

The tour required a lighting and set design rig flexible enough to fit a variety of venues, said Preworks' Andreas Reinbacher. Lighting operator Michael Mayler jumped in to help in the design - "to make the messages of the songs visible to the audience," Reinbacher said. Both artists are Austrian. Nik P. and his band perform what's known as Schlager, or easy listening pop music. Andreas Gabalier is a folksinger. Mayler used 10 Technospots, two DL.3 digital lights, two Showpix and two StudioPix LED graphic display fixtures and 10 Studio Beam automated luminaires. All were control

The Netherlands - projectiondesign will use Integrated Systems Europe to highlight how their innovations are integrated in today's visual solutions for collaborative working.

"Recognising the increased adoption of AV into IT systems, projectiondesign's stand this year focuses on demonstrating several live and real-world demonstrations of product compatibility with leading 3D visualization and collaborative working examples that are already widely in use all over the world. We understand that today's businesses see the value in faster, better, and more well informed decision making and these examples will allow visitors to see, feel and touch enhance their effectiveness" says Anders L°kke, marketing director at projectiondesign.

"Our projection display products meet the ever increasing and challenging needs of a highly detailed and clear image. The wide range

UK - Black Light has used its rigging and working at heights expertise to help a high-profile leisure centre refurbishment meet its completion deadline. The company used innovative thinking and a bespoke access system to reach a malfunctioning high-level LED lighting feature at the Carnegie Leisure Centre in Dunfermline. This tricky repair challenge was jeopardising the scheduled hand-over of the newly renovated centre.

"The client and main contractors on this job were Fife Council, Balfour Beatty and Barr Construction," said Phil Haldane, Black Light's head of company development. "They were very impressed with the system we devised and our professional approach to the work. Most importantly, they were delighted with the result and the hassle-free outcome to what would otherwise have been a significant sticking point for their project."

The main challenge

Denmark - To mark Martin Professional's quarter of a century in the entertainment lighting industry, Martin will be celebrating with a variety of special activities in 2012, including anniversary events at trade shows throughout the year.

Incorporated in 1987 as a producer of disco lights and fog machines, the Danish-based company has grown over the past 25 years into one of the leading manufacturers of dynamic lighting and video displays. Martin's MAC line of moving heads alone has sold over 350,000 units and the company's growing line of LED products is among the fastest selling on the market.

The anniversary is also being marked on the Martin website, as well as Martin Professional's Facebook page, where industry professionals will find special opportunities to interact and share in Martin's look back at 25 years in the lighting industry.

"2012 marks our 25th anniver

USA - The restoration of Omaha's Greater Beth-El Temple is complete after a June 2008 arson attack that nearly destroyed the Apostolic Christian church, popular among Omaha's African-American community. The congregation was forced to relocate while the temple underwent a complete renovation. Left virtually an empty shell after the fire, the building required new floors, a ceiling, a stage, seating, and numerous other necessities including a sound system.

Greater Beth-El services include a full musical ensemble playing contemporary Christian and gospel music. Theatrical performances and concerts are also regular events at the temple. According to John Manhart of Direct Pro Audio LLC, the contractor who designed and installed Greater Beth-El's new audio system, low profile looks combined with large sound capability were paramount in selecting the new system.

"Greater Beth-E

France - Lighting designer and DOP David Seligmann-Forest from Lite4Life used Robe Robin MMX Spots, Robin 600E Spots and LEDWash 600s to light La Grande Battle, a live TV presentation aired on French network France 2.

Ten major European stars from a diversity of musical genres - rock, pop, rap, flamenco, opera, brass band - battled it out to win the final of this popular series for the best re-interpretation of classical songs and music. They were selected from over 300 bands by the public vote via the website.

Hosted by popular TV presenter Nagui and classical musician Jean-Francois Zygel, the artist line up for the final included Italian opera singer Roberto Alagna, Anguun, France's 2012 Eurovision Song Contest hopeful and French jazz singer and guitarist, Thomas Dutronc. The show, recorded in the large Euromedia Studio 217, at the Studios de France in Paris, also inc

Germany - Hip-hop band Die Fantastischen Vier, AKA Fanta 4, just concluded their latest sold-out arena tour with a set, lighting and visual design by Gunther Hecker. The tour culminated in a spectacular home-coming performance by the band at Stuttgart's Hanns Martin Schleyer Halle.

Hecker - one of Germany's most innovative designers - worked in close collaboration with Marc Lorenz, who looked after all the LED screen and video elements, to create the show and specify the equipment. It has been acclaimed as one of the best stage presentations of Die Fantastischen Vier's long and eventful career which has put German hip-hop on the map. The 14m wide circular stage was built with a combination of Lite Structures' standard and custom products. It featured four 5m thrusts, each at 90 degree intervals around the stage.

Above, it was crowned by four circular trusses at 8, 10, 12 and 1

Russia - In 2011, Russian rock band DDT released the album Otherwise then hit the road playing dates across Russia, former Soviet countries and Europe. Stage and lighting design was by Andrejs Dubkovs of Lumen Art Division who turned to a Martin rig of MAC III series and MAC 2000 series fixtures along with MAC 700 Washes and MAC 301 Wash luminaires.

"The visual concept was based on several stories which gave the opportunity to create a bond between the music, video and audience," Andrejs Dubkovs says of the setup, which is dominated by a large 36 x 12m background projection screen. "The concept of the lighting design was one of symmetry that was harmonically fulfilled via video art while combining bright and colorful theatre and rock style lighting."

Used as video complement and creating impactful lighting looks onto the stage and catwalk were MAC II

Australia - The inaugural Equitana Sydney event was an extraordinary success with 45,000 attendees over the four days. Sydney Showgrounds was turned into an equine paradise with over 300 horses, five indoor demonstration arenas, two large outdoor competition arenas, 200 education presentations and demonstrations and 280 trade stands in the exhibition.

The key venue, The Dome, was transformed into a 5,000 seat international venue with concert lighting, sound and visuals supplied by Audio Visual Dynamics.

"The production challenges were enormous and the event could not have succeeded to the degree it did without a very skilled, dedicated - and patient - production crew," commented Colleen Lethbridge, production and media manager for Equitana. "The AVD team worked with us from the beginning to develop The Dome venue, offering advice and design ideas, so that we got

UK - Electrosonic has successfully upgraded some of the key audio-visual components in the Scottish Government's Media Centre at St. Andrew's House in Edinburgh. The Centre has the facility to run presentations, record proceedings and relay images to an adjacent room.

Electrosonic's Edinburgh office refreshed the essential presentation equipment in Media 1 (seating 70), Media 2 (a small briefing/meeting or overflow room), a preparatory Green Room supporting Media 1 & 2, a back projection room (for main control and video routing equipment), and a control room (housing video preview and audio equipment). The original equipment was installed around 12 years ago and overdue a refresh.

Carolyne Thomson, Scottish Government project manager, was very happy with the work carried out by the Electrosonic team. "They listened carefully to what we wanted to achieve and they came up w

USA - New York's Irving Plaza recently purchased High End Systems intellaspot and Technospot automated luminaires for installation in the live music/dance-oriented club.

In-house LD Ian Davis installed eight Technospots in early October and four intellaspots in early November. The 1,100-capacity venue was in need of a full-on lighting system for a while, Davis said.

"I hadn't had my lighting system at 100 percent in at least two years," he explained, "and High End Systems Chris McMeen was the only person who understood my plight. It was a real struggle that had been affecting my ability to do the kind of show I wanted to do." Regarding the Technospots, Davis says, "This is a great fixture at an unbelievable price. It is a small unit that competes in every way with the intellaspots, it has just about all the same attributes and super fast moving parts.

UK - It all makes perfect sense, conduct an experiment for the Noise Abatement Society and what's the first thing you do? Rent in a PA system. It does make sense in one way, how else can you investigate the suppression of noise without first creating it, "but this was something completely different," said John Tinline of Encore who provided the system.

"This was another Martyn Ware Illustrious Production 3D sound installation", he continued. "The event was sponsored by the City of Brighton Council. We put 18 d&b audiotechnikQ1 loudspeakers in various places around West Street in Brighton. This is the main shopping street, the installation was part of the Brighton Festival, but the purpose was not to give people something to listen to, quite the opposite."

What Ware had designed was a six point sound field, a 3D image formed by Ware's signature eth

Thailand - LD Palle Palmé is the first to use Martin Professional's new MAC Aura in Thailand having incorporated 18 of the award-winning LED wash lights into his lighting design for renowned Swedish magician Joe Labero's Genesis Magic Spectacular show.

Playing at the Danze Fantasy Theatre, a 500-capacity new-built theatre in Phuket, Labero holds to a demanding schedule with performances five nights a week, two shows per night. Palmé looked across Southeast Asia for a rental company that could deliver a suitable rig for the ambitious show and eventually found Orange Events in Kuala Lumpur headed by Blurr Wong.

"It seemed to be a very professional company who worked with Martin gear and that was what I was looking for," Palmé states of the Malaysian-based company. "They had just invested in the new MAC Aura and I thought that this would

UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied and installed a full mother grid and flying system for scenery, cloths and props, plus all the lighting equipment to stage one of the UK's highest profile pantomimes this year - Robinson Crusoe & The Caribbean Pirates - at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow.

The show, produced by Qdos Entertainment, stars John Barrowman who also co-directs with Jonathan Kiley. He's joined by maverick Scottish comedy duo, The Krankies, in a colourful, all-action romp from Port Glasgow to Skull Island, where good and evil battle it out in classic panto style resulting in a supersonic evening of entertainment, slapstick humour and much hilarity. Lighting is designed by Nick Richings.

HSL's project manager is Mike Docksey, who comments, "It's great to work with Nick, particularly on this production which really lends itself to dramatic

UK - Audio-Technica Ltd has announced it has entered into an agreement with Allen & Heath Ltd to act as exclusive distributor for the mixer manufacturer in the UK.

The strategic move mirrors a similar arrangement in Germany, where Audio-Technica has been Allen & Heath distributor since 2005, seeing a significant growth in sales over the last six years in the territory.

Allen & Heath's sales and marketing manager, Debbie Maxted said: "Providing outstanding service to our UK customers is extremely important to us, so we are particularly delighted to be working with Audio-Technica, which has already demonstrated its commitment to the brand and to our dealers and end users in Germany. Allen & Heath has enjoyed strong growth in recent years and we have some exciting new products due for release in the near future, so we feel that this partnership comes at just the right time f

UK - On 1 January 2012 Elstree Light and Power (ELP) became the new owners of production rigging services company, Nippy Industries.

ELP has always had one foot in the rigging world as part of its mainstream lighting production offering, and has delivered various bespoke film and TV rigging projects in the past. This move sees a huge up-scaling in terms of the range of rigging equipment and expertise available from a single source.

Nippy Industries Managing Director, Steven Williams says: "Nippy will be absorbing ELP rigging, not the other way round. As such the quality standards of ELP rigging will be elevated to that of a dedicated rigging services company. Nippy Industries will remain able to supply the full range of services, as always, but with the vast addition of ELP equipment. We will remain in the same location, with the same core team, but gain additional ELP st

UK - After working with some of the UK's biggest music acts such as Adele, JLS and Calvin Harris, Live Effects are primed for a busy 2012. The company has seen unprecedented growth in the previous year and has now set up shop in the state-of-the-art Millennium Studios.

Located in Bedfordshire, just over an hour outside of the capital, the studios boast a generous 12-acre site, complete with helipad access and runway for clients wishing to fly in.

Established in 2006, Live Effects design and produce special effects for events from Formula 1 to theatre productions to stadium concerts; from initial design ideas, venue approval and risk assessment, through to set-up, firing and de-rigging.

Managing director Alex Jarrett comments: "We have a constant commitment to creativity and safety. All events are managed continuously to ensure spectacular and unforgettable results"

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