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UK - Marl International reports the completion of a £100,000 project to install feature LED lighting at The Alnwick Garden, one of the UK's top visitor attractions adjoining Alnwick Castle, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland.

The Alnwick Garden is a public attraction founded by the Duchess of Northumberland and the new LED lighting is the first phase of Sparkle, a new permanent lighting installation conceived by the Duchess herself. The £100,000 project completed by Marl is specifically designed to focus on the central area of the garden, the Hornbeam Arbours and the Grand Cascade, which are the most prominent features when visitors first enter the garden. There is also lighting all the way up the central part of the garden from the steps, through to the dramatic archway at the very top of the garden, which can just be seen from the Pavilion area, abo

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Off Stage - Stevie Wonder has pulled out of a concert raising money for the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces. The singer had been scheduled to perform at the Los Angeles event on 6 December. In a statement, Wonder said: "I am and have always been against war, any war, anywhere."

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is currently in place, after a week of violence in Gaza last month. But tensions still run high. This week's gala concert supports an organisation which raises money for Israeli soldiers and their families. Wonder said the United Nations had recommended cancelling his performance because he is an official UN Messenger of Peace.

Festivals 2013 - Rihanna and Mumford & Sons have been announced as headliners for next year's T in the Park festival. The event, Scotland's biggest festival, is celebrating its 20th year in 2013 and will see US singe

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UK - Capital Sound was recently approached by Trigger, Professor Green's tour manager, and Ben Ashbourn of Relentless Energy Drink promoter Vision Nine to supply an audio package for the Professor's last UK gig this year, before he heads into the studio to work on his next album in early 2013.

Held at St John at Hackney Church in London for Relentless, Capital's production manager Charles Ellery knew straight away that the gig was going to present him with an acoustical challenge

"Essentially, St John's is a stone box that measure 45 x 45 metres, with a domed roof 18 metres high and the natural acoustic properties of a swimming pool!," says Ellery. "Initially, we looked at a system comprising Martin Audio LCs and WS218X subs, but in the back of my mind I knew we should be looking at the Martin Audio MLA Compact system for this, as it would be a great test of wha

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Germany - Riedel Communications, one of the leading providers of real-time networks for video, audio and communications, celebrated its 25th anniversary on its premises in Wuppertal.

More than 1,400 guests from the broadcast, event, theatre and industry markets joined the celebration. The event included a total of five different areas with accessible installations, 3D project mappings, outdoor whirlpools and a captivating fire-show. Numerous acts in changing locations from Klezmer and jazz performances over high wire acrobats to a heavy metal playing robot band were the ingredients for an inspiring night.

"It is incredible, what my team realized in the last 25 years", Thomas Riedel remarks. "Their dedication and passion play a vital role in our success. We are looking forward to the coming years. We already have some interesting ideas for projects and products l

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UK - TAIT Technologies have been awarded a Guinness World Records title for the world's largest landscape video display. Consisting of 634,500 individual pixels, TAIT's pixel tablet debuted at the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony on 27th July 2012 and was used with stunning effect at all other ceremonies during the games.

Throughout the ceremonies, the audience were able to hold TAIT's pixel tablet in their hand, becoming part of the vast seamless ring of images surrounding the stadium seating area. TAIT created 70,500 tablets, one for each stadium seat, integrating the audience into the ceremony performance. Opening Ceremony artistic director Danny Boyle worked with Frederic Opsomer, CEO of TAIT Technologies on his vision of turning the audience into a giant canvas.

"The assembly of dispersed LED pixels to form very large video images has been with us for some time,&

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The Netherlands - Philips Vari-Lite luminaires have been specified by lighting designer Marc Heinz for Utrechtse Spelen's stunning portrayal of Christoph Willibald von Gluck's opera, Orfeo ed Euridice. Directed by Jos Thie, Orfeo ed Euridice was performed at the former home of the late queen Juliana - the stunning Soestdijk palace,Utrecht.

Staged on water, the set comprises a 'floating' orchestra pit, the stage and a system of underwater catwalks. Although Heinz has designed for a number of large-scale operas performed in stadiums and arenas across Europe, working on water in a protected area presented a number of never experienced before challenges.

"We worked closely with ecologists to ensure the natural environment wasn't damaged by the production in anyway. In terms of the lighting we worked under very stringent rules. Our nighttime working hours were rigorousl

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USA / UK - Everyone knows someone who's had cancer, and while no one can predict where or who it will strike, most people agree that encouraging healthy choices and receiving regular medical checkups are key to avoiding and treating the disease. Annual checkups and simple screenings can dramatically increase rates of early detection. Breast, prostate and colon cancers are three that can be aggressively attacked with regular examination and screening protocols.

Members of the commercial AV industry are joining together in a grassroots effort called TEAM, or Tell Everyone Awareness Matters, to raise awareness of the positive impact healthcare and lifestyle choices can make in reducing risks of serious disease. Founding members Juice Goose, Community Professional Loudspeakers, HP Marketing (Colorado) and Women in AV (WAVE) invite you to join in TEAM Cancer Awareness. TEAM focuses o

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UK - Le Mark enjoyed a busy evening at the 2012 Hunts Post Business Awards. Winning every award they were nominated for, the Le Mark team bought home a trio of prestigious honours.

Sales director Linda Gibbons said, "It was a huge surprise and such an amazing achievement to win three individual awards. The Le Mark team have worked so hard this year with some amazing achievements, from supplying the 2012 London games with our portable flooring to amazing second-year results with our new Dirty Rigger range of tool pouches and rigger gloves. I'm incredibly proud and grateful to all of them."

Managing director Stuart Gibbons also commented, "What a way to mark 30 years in business - playing a vital role in the Olympics opening ceremony, gaining new distribution deals throughout the year and across the globe for our MagTape professional gaffer tapes & Dirty Rigger ra

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USA - LumenRadio has confirmed 0energyLighting Inc as its newest OEM partner. The US based company is a renowned manufacturer of the FlexAray Stage and Studio LED luminaries with its patent pending hexagonal shape. This design allows multiple units to be connected along each of their sides to create different configurations for a variety of applications.

All fixtures from the product portfolio, RGBaW, Variable White and Static White fixtures, will now be available with integrated CRMX technology.

RGBaW colour changing fixtures employ a combination of red, green, blue, amber and white LEDs for a full range of output options. Through its proprietary design, not only can RGBaW create beautiful saturated colours, but it can also produce earth tones and pastel colours that are rarely achieved by LEDs.

Variable White fixtures have a colour temperature range of 2700K-5600K, which a

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Europe - Canadian rockers Billy Talent celebrated the release of a new album in September by jumping straight into an arena run of Germany and central Europe. Having tested the touring waters on the summer European Festivals, the production and design was in the works and big things were being planned. Lighting Designer Dara Guiney had worked with the band briefly in 2010 and was invited to come aboard for the new album touring cycle.

The band are very much into big chorus rock looks with smooth verses. Dara had specified 28 Alpha Beam 1500, 24 Alpha Profile 1500 and 16 sharpys. "The power and beam from Clay Paky fixtures I find unparalleled at present and their reliability is fantastic. The fire power chosen had the ability to go from slick smooth looks to iris beam chaos without haste and the beams go for miles."

The design incorporated three straight lighting trus

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USA - The Detroit suburb of West Bloomfield is known for its lush, rolling hills, palatial homes, and sense of community. And the Jewish Community Centre is a local nexus, a sprawling campus offering athletic facilities, continuing education, a range of community outreach programmes. The JCC is also home to the Berman Centre for the Performing Arts, a newly-built 600-seat theatre hosting a steady calendar of music, dance, performance, film festivals, and special events.

The theatre is designed for flexibility, with movable walls that close to form two adjacent ballrooms, or open to create a single large theatre, with pull-out seating that expands the main room's 300 seats to 600. "It's very much a multi-use facility," explains Advanced Lighting and Sound's Bob Sullivan, the contractors on the project. "The system had to be adaptable to several different room confi

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New Zealand - Mojo Barriers supplied one of 2012's most hotly anticipated film premieres, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey held in Wellington, New Zealand, 28 November 2012.

Wearing elf ears and wizard hats, an estimated 100,000 fans waited patiently to greet their favourite stars including Cate Blanchett and Elijah Woods, who have both reprised their roles from Lord of the Rings.

Mojo Barriers worked with clients director Sir Peter Jackson's production company, 3 Foot 7 and Wellington City Council to install over 600m of barrier along the entire length of the red carpet which lined the city streets.

The barriers allowed fans to view and talk to the celebrities in complete safety as they made their way to the Embassy Theatre where the premiere took place. The carefully-designed configuration featured access gates to allow cast and crew cross over locations and

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Japan - ARX Systems has appointed Tokyo based Studio Equipment Corporation as their new Distributor for Japan.

Specialising in the broadcast, studio, and installation markets Studio Equipment Corporation exhibited ARX products at last month's Interbee Exhibition in Japan.

ARX's managing director Colin Park said, "Studio Equipment Corp's Toshihiro Inada told ARX that the exhibition was very successful for them with many visitors expressing interest in the ARX product ranges, especially the USB Direct Box & MSX Mic Line Splitter ranges which were being exhibited in Japan for the first time.

"We're excited to be working with the Studio Equipment Corporation team in Japan, they're enthusiastic about the bpossibilities for ARX and our products amongst their extensive client base."

(Jim Evans)

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France - A worthy array of Philips Vari-Lite luminaires have bought rhythm, colour and architecture to a Gospel Choir Variety Show, staged at the theatre of Draguignan, a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region to raise money for worthy causes.

A chorus of Vari-Lite VL3500 Wash and VL3000 Spot luminaires worked in harmony with the Gospel Choir to create an ethereal atmosphere, bathing France's favurite singer - and judge on the French version of hit TV show The X Factor - Julie Zenatti, in a veil of sculptural light.

Lighting was supplied and designed by the French rental house Pan Pot, Var, co-owned by long-time Vari-Lite fans Laurent and Serge Begnis. Lighting was rigged and programmed in such a way as to build a cathedral of light around the performers giving them a transcendental quality.

Equipped with the Vari*Brite mode, the VL350

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UK - A club with a rich tradition, Gloucester Rugby currently boasts one of the top teams in England's Aviva Premiership. Kingsholm Stadium, where the club plays its home matches, is one of the county's best-loved landmarks. Recently renovated at a cost of £6m, the 16,500-seat stadium also serves as a venue for events such as rock concerts, conferences and major hospitality functions. One aspect of their brief was for the stadium to be able to cater to a variety of genres of entertainment, which led the club's management to invest in a new sound reinforcement system.

Converge Networks - not only the club's IT partner but also respected and experienced in the field of fixed installation - was charged with responsibility for the design and installation of the system, having established a reputation in the area through its work in a variety of regional sports arenas.

Conver

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USA - The Lincoln Highway was the first automobile road across the United States, stretching from New York's Times Square to San Francisco. Marking the road's western end, high on a hill overlooking the Pacific and the Golden Gate Bridge, is the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. The building, a magnificent three-quarter-scale reproduction of Paris' Palais de la Légion d'Honneur, is home to a wide and varied collection of ancient and European art spanning more than 6,000 years.

The Palace is also home to the Florence Gould Theater, an ornate 333-seat jewel box auditorium designed by museum architect George Applegarth. Opened in 1924 as the Little Theater, the venue hosts a regular calendar of concerts, lectures and theatre performances.

The theatre's massive columns, rounded walls, and domed ceilings create a breathtaking environment, as well as some legendary ch

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UK - Bristol's flagship venue Colston Hall has completed a £20m redevelopment project which "fuses stunning contemporary architecture with the historical splendour of the 145 year old building". This has created a range of new meeting and conference spaces, putting the South West of England on the map of international event organisers.

The most notable external change is the glass-fronted foyer building, finished with a striking recycled copper cladding, designed by architects Levitt Bernstein Associates. On arrival into the building, guests are greeted by a spacious atrium crossed at upper floor levels by a series of bridges, seamlessly linking the new foyer with the existing main auditorium and other parts of the historic hall building.

The new spaces available for dry hire or day delegate event packages includes Bar level 3 and the adjoining terrace. This is

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental company HSL supplied nearly 300 moving and LED lightsources and over 100 generics to a series of Welsh language channel S4C Light Entertainment programmes recorded in a 10 day block at Studio 1 of the NEP Cymru (ITV Wales) facility at Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff .

These were specified by Cardiff and London based Lighting Designer Steffan Jones, who designed lighting and video for the raft of programmes, many featuring live artists. He was working for production companies Boomerang PLC in association with Alfresco TV and Apollo TV, and co-producers Mr. Producer.

HSL's TV and broadcast specialist Sean McGlone co-ordinated the project. He comments, "It's always a pleasure working with Steff. His drive, enthusiasm, imagination and keen visual eye are refreshing and invigorating, and his designs always interesting."

NEPC is the largest OB

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Europe - Popular Belgian singer Geike Arnaert spent the summer playing a number of European festival shows, her mixture of sparsely-arranged pop and haunting ballads providing a popular counterpoint to many of the other performers. Ensuring that the former Hooverphonic lead singer and her six-piece backing band had the appropriate monitor mixes was a DiGiCo SD11, manned by the band's regular engineer Gert Vreys.

Vreys asked Apex Audio to supply a suitable digital console for the festival shows. "I was happy to use the SD11," says Vreys. "I made up a custom 14U rack, which had the D-Rack and the wireless IEM and microphone units built in to it. I put the SD11 on top of it and so only needed one square metre of space, (which was ideal for festivals), as I could fit into any corner of the stage. It meant that I was out of the way, but the band could always see me.

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Australia - Jands Pty Ltd has been appointed as the exclusive distributor of Aurora in Australia.

"Jands represent leading audio brands such as JBL, Crown, BSS and Shure, which collectively provide a premium solution to audio contractors and installations. Increasingly these systems need control, and further, contractors and customers alike are looking for a one supplier solution to guarantee compatibility and performance. After a long search, Jands is excited about finding the perfect partner in Aurora." said Paul Mulholland, Jands managing director.

"The quality of the product, the integrity of the company, value for money and ease of programming will excite the market. The fact that the company is stronger in video distribution products is a bonus and allows Jands to further extend our solution offering."

The Jands technical team has started to get the

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Abu Dhabi - Four years on from the opening of the Yas Marina circuit the excitement of the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was enhanced with a series of After Race Concerts featuring Kylie Minogue, Nickleback and Eminem. With Kylie's production manager Kevin Hopgood busy on another tour, Capital Productions was asked to handle the production and audio needs for Kylie's concert on the Friday night.

Capital project manager Robin Conway handled the audio, whilst Paul Timmins took over the production role for this large scale one off show, which featured eight dancers specially flown in from Australia.

Regular sound engineers Kevin Pruce and Dan Kent, at FOH and monitors respectively, specified the control, which Capital supplied for both the rehearsals in London and the show in Abu Dhabi.

Consoles included an Avid Venue Profile System at FOH and a DiGiCo SD8 at monitors. RF included

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UK - XL Video supplied scenic LED plus projection and camera / IMAG systems - including some of their newest products - to Robbie Williams' acclaimed three nights at London's O2 Arena last week. With a rousing performance in-the-round, the star re-established himself in grand style as a solo artist.

For XL, it was the continuation of a long and fruitful relationship with Robbie Williams and his production team which stretches back over a decade. Video has always been an integral part of Robbie's live shows and his tours have blazed a trail for innovative, design-led applications of new video technology.

This was once again the case, making maximum impact at the O2 shows. The third show was broadcast live on Sky 1, and in other territories worldwide, and can now be seen on Sky's On-Demand service.

XL's project manager, Phil Mercer, worked closely with Robbie's long-term produ

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UK - The entire crew from the much-anticipated reunion tour by The Stone Roses took time out during rehearsals at LS-Live to complete their Event Safety Passport (SPA) certificate at the industry training centre on site, Backstage Academy.

Ahead of their shows in Manchester, production manager Tony Gittins wanted the crew to be up to speed with the latest health and safety considerations whilst working on a live event.

He booked all the crew onto the one-day course at the Academy, which is based at the LS-Live rehearsal studios in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire.

He said, "For the larger tours I do, I always send all the crew to do their Event Safety Passport because it raises their awareness of health and safety when they are working around the set.

"When we booked the production rehearsals for The Stone Roses at LS-Live, I was pleased to learn that the facility no

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Russia - When Russian guitarist Roman Miroshnichenko was booked to play a Jubilee concert with legendary guitarist Larry Coryell at the Moscow International House of Music, he knew he would need a first class microphone to truly capture the sound of this prestigious event.

DPA Microphone's Russian distributor I.S.P.A arranged for Roman to test a DPA d:vote 4099G Instrument Microphone for Guitar, which proved to be exactly what he was looking for.

"I heard that Paco De Lucia's sound engineer rated DPA microphones very highly so on that basis I decided I had to try them out," Roman Miroshnichenko says. "I was in need of a really good microphone for my upcoming Jubilee concert with Larry Coryell so I spoke to Maxim Kupryakhin at I.S.P.A who arranged for me to try a d:vote 4099G clip mic. The concert was a great and important test-drive for the microphone and from t

  1. PNLD lights Clapham's Adventure Bar
  2. ARX appoints new distributor for Israel
  3. TAU to distribute Ashly Audio in Benelux
  4. Sharpys join Gilbert's Hell on Wheels tour
  5. Jessie Ware warms to AKG D7
  6. Stage Electrics adds Yamaha CL5 consoles
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