UK - Queen guitarist Brian May and Broadway star Kerry Ellis played a set in support of endangered tigers at London's iconic St Pancras station, with sound provided by HK Audio's new Linear 5 speaker system.

May and Ellis were playing in support of the Born Free Foundation, which works to prevent individual animal suffering, protect threatened species and keep wildlife in the wild.

Sound at the event came from an HK Audio Linear 5 Big Venue Pack, supplied by Hertfordshire-based entertainment and production firm Mr H Productions.

The Linear 5 Big Venue Pack contains four LSUB2000A active 2x12" subs, two L5115FA Mid/Hi active cabinets and four L5112XA multi functional active cabinets configured as stage monitors. The Front of House system delivers approximately 6.8kw, which was more than loud enough for May and Ellis' six song set.

The pair played classics like Born

UK - Philips Entertainment Lighting has supplied Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club (CUADC) lighting designer Mitchell Clarke with a selection of Selecon PL3 Wash lights for the respected theatre company's ambitious production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.

"I had recently used the Philips Selecon PLCyc fixtures on the Cambridge University European Theatre Group's (CUETG) production of The Merchant of Venice," explains Clarke "I really liked them. I was particularly impressed with the seamless and intense washes of colour they offered and which I used on the all-important cyclorama that transformed every venue on the tour. So successful was the show lighting that our theatre, the ADC, is now considering purchasing 12 PLCycs for its own stock."

Following his creatively liberating experience, Clarke says he was keen to get his hands

UK - The Conference and Live Events division of leading UK audio visual services provider Saville Audio Visual have recently taken delivery of eight new Roland V-800HD Multi-format Live Video Switchers. Featuring High Definition picture quality and eight multi format channels with independent scalers as well as a variety of output formats including a built-in multi-viewer, the V-800HD Live Video Switcher is ideal for live event and corporate productions as well as web streaming. The addition of the V-800HD to the Saville inventory fits perfectly with recent investment in HD projectors and cameras, providing support for full HD compatible sources and program output devices across the extensive Saville network.

The 8 input / 6 output units feature 10-bit Internal processing with built-in frame synchronisers and scalers on all inputs alongside full SDI support covering 3G, HD and S

UK - Fuerzabruta, the Argentine theatrical extravaganza was recently hosted at Camden's legendary arts venue, The Roundhouse. Directed by Diqui James and technical director Alejandro Garcia, Fuerzabruta, meaning "brute force" provided its visitors an immersive theatrical carnival experience.

This fast paced and interactive production required its audience not only to be nimble but standing as they transitioned from being spectators to becoming part of the show. The production presented the audience with iconic images such as a man running the wrong way on a treadmill to a women swimming for survival in a water pool directly above the audiences heads.

For this one month production, the Roundhouse Trust and the Fuerzabruta Company turned to technical events specialists Stage Electrics to supply and install a full event lighting and audio solution.

Stage Electr

South Africa - Durban-based rental company, Insane Sound and Lighting, have been in the limelight as they provide technical for some fantastic gigs over the last few months. They supplied technical for Skrillex as he played at the Wavehouse in Durban and also provided lighting for international DJs including Afrojack, Like Mike & Dimitri Vega, Steve Aioki and Gareth Emery. At the end of last year, Insane also worked on the famous New Years Eve Street Party with Pete Thong and local 5FM DJs Fresh, Euphonic and Gareth Cliff.

"We mainly relied on Clay Paky Sharpies and our new Robe MMXs when it came to beams and Robe LED 600 Washes for colour," said Vimal Rawjee of Insane. "All control was via an Avolites Tiger Touch and power via Avolites Power Cubes."

Rawjee has been impressed with the Robe MMXs. "It's an awesome fixture and especially with the air kit,

Serbia - Avolites' compact yet fully-featured moving light control system Titan Mobile has powered an inspired light show in Serbia to mark a year of celebrations marking 1700 years of the Edict of Milan.

Avolites' Serbian distributor Studio Berar Projekt, based in the city of Novi Sad, supplied the Titan Mobile for the opening ceremony, which featured a dynamic lighting design beamed onto the façade of the Serbia's National Theatre in the city of Nis.

Serbia will mark 17 centuries of the Edict - a document on tolerance and religious equality signed by Roman Emporer Constantine - over the course of the year with theatre performances, exhibits and concerts. The Opening Ceremony offered a reading of the Edict of Milan and a gala concert of spiritual music attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikoli? and hosted by Russian Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Chepurin.

"Avol

UK - The nominations for the Olivier Awards with MasterCard - the most prestigious event in the UK's theatrical calendar - have been announced, and The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time leads the list with eight nominations, followed by Top Hat receiving seven, and the West End transfer of Chichester Festival Theatre's revival of Sweeney Todd in close competition with six. Other stand-out nominations include The Audience and Kiss Me, Kate receiving five each, and Constellations, The Bodyguard and Twelfth Night with four.

In the design categories, the White Light Award for Best Lighting Design nominees are Paul Anderson for The Master And Margarita; Paule Constable for The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time; Lee Curran for Constellations and Mark Henderson for Sweeney Todd.

The B

Sweden - Chalmers University of Technology Students' Union in Gothenburg, Sweden has invested in 12 new Robe LEDBeam 100s to add to its existing stock of Robe moving light fixtures.

The university focuses on research and education in technology, natural science and architecture and has 12,000 students, all members of the Student Union (SU) which has a modern multi-purpose building on the main campus with several performance and event spaces.

The SU stages anything from huge dance parties with nine dancefloors four or five times a year to concerts, dance and comedy shows, exhibitions, trade fairs and conventions in a busy schedule keeping their lighting and sound equipment in use every week.

The equipment is also available for dry hire to various student groups organizing their own events, and so it's important that they have kit which is very flexible and robust.

The SU's

UK - Crowd management specialist, AP Security has announced that it is to once again provide crowd safety services for the Forestry Commission's summer season of live music, working across all seven of its stunning woodland locations around the UK.

Launched in 2001, this highly successful series of events, which runs during the months of June and July, has grown from four sites to seven. AP was originally contracted in 2003, and in 2009 its remit was increased to cover all sites. Since then, the relationship between The Forestry Commission and the AP team has continued to blossom and AP is delighted to be able to continue this bond into 2013.

"Forest Live has gone from strength to strength and the Forestry Commission is now one of the UK's top music promoters," says AP's national sales manager, John Phillips. "The surroundings invariably make for a relaxed atmos

UK - Equally at home on the big event spectacular, the Saturday night TV talent show or the touring stage production, lighting designer Peter Barnes has an enviable reputation amongst his peers. Having been lighting shows for nearly 40 years, it is safe to say that he knows more than a thing or two about what works well on a stage . . .

So how long has he been using the Clay Paky Sharpy? "It was the Capital Radio 'Jingle Bell Ball' in December 2011," relates Barnes. "Julian Lavender at Neg Earth asked me if I would like to use them so I opted to give them a try. My first impressions were extremely positive - they were both very bright and very reliable. Both these attributes were vital ingredients on the job I've just recently completed. I used 12 Sharpys outside the theatre as Hollywood search lights at the Laureus Sports Awards in Rio."

Barnes' most recen

UK - As part of its ongoing commitment to providing training and support, Sennheiser UK has announced the launch of its UK Sound Academy.

Established in order to provide a series of courses aimed at professional sound engineers, students and anyone working within the audio industry, the first course, 'Basic Wireless Microphones and Monitoring', will take place on 18 April, at Sennheiser UK's head office in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

The course consists of a mixture of initial online learning, followed by a full day's workshop with some of Sennheiser's leading audio experts who will give attendees a basic understanding of techniques, as well as an insight into some of the tricks of the trade.

Primarily designed for new and existing users of wireless microphone and in-ear systems, Sennheiser's aim is to aid understanding of this key area and also provide an update on the d

France - Robe MMX Spots together with ColorWash and ColorSpot 700E ATs were used by LD Nicky Tisserand and DoP Encre Brune to light the final of the prestigious 2013 Haute Coiffure Française Trophy (HCT) event in Paris.

Organised by global hair brand L'Oréal, it was staged in the Carrousel du Louvre venue and recognises the talents of some of the best international hair stylists. The competition brought together over 100 competitors from 20 countries, which were whittled down to the ten finalists appearing before the jury and the public in Paris.

24 Robe Robin MMX Spots, 24 ColorWash 700E ATs and eight ColorSpot 700E ATs were used by Nicky in her lighting design, all supplied by rental company Impact Evènement based south of Paris.

Nicky has been using Robe products for some years. It's the third year she has lit the HCT Final show, and the third time she has used M

Germany - Loud Technologies and Mega Audio GmbH have announced a distribution agreement whereby Mega Audio will serve as the distributor for the Ampeg and Mackie brands in Germany.

"We are very excited to partner with Mega Audio," explained Tony Williams, director of sales, EMEA. "This agreement will support expanding Ampeg and Mackie sales and ensure that our level of customer service keeps pace with our growth in Germany.

"Dealers will benefit from this partnership with local stock availability, as well as excellent in-market sales, technical support and stronger marketing and brand awareness."

"We are extremely proud and thrilled to be part of the family now," explained Burkhard Elsner, CEO of Mega Audio. "To be able to help the growth and success in Germany of brands with such a long history of fantastic achievements in the audio i

UK - Audio legend Tony Andrews is to deliver the closing session of the Professional Development Programme on the final day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 on Wednesday 1 May.

It's About Time. That's the bold declaration posed by the founder of both Turbosound and Funktion-One, Tony Andrews as he rounds off the Professional Development Programme in style on Wednesday afternoon at 3.35pm. One of pro audio's true originals, Tony has spent a lifetime creating ground-breaking loudspeaker systems for the live entertainment industry. A genuine pioneer who has never chosen to take the easy route or fashionable option, his singular perspective on exactly how and where pro audio goes from here provides the perfect end to PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013.

Joining him in conversation is industry journalist Phil Ward who has been contributing reviews and feature articles to the hi-fi, profession

Estonia - Robe moving lights caught the action at a recent sold-out DJ set performance by popular UK dance / electro duo Chase & Status at the Saku Suurhall in Tallin, Estonia.

They were at the core of the lighting rig designed by Meelis Lusmägi for the event which was produced by Meedaekspress Ltd.

Lusmägi's brief was to produce a big, bold, dynamic and spectacular club style lightshow in the voluminous sports arena which is the largest such venue in Estonia. Lighting equipment supplied by locally based rental companies Cuuclub Ltd and E & T Light, both from Tallinn.

To help achieve the massive look and style required for the event he chose 24 x Robe Robin MMX Spots and 12 of Robe's new MMX WashBeam fixtures as key elements of the rig, together with 40 x Robin 100 LEDBeams and 12 x Robe ColorSpot 1200E ATs.

A single Robe DigitalSpot 3000 Mk II was used for beaming spons

UK - Stage Technologies has announced its 2013 schedule of UK-based training courses, to take place at its London office in July and October. Popular courses Introduction to Stage Automation and Introduction to eChameleon are joined this year by a more advanced session on 3ds Max Toolkit and Stage Technologies Sculptor Suite, which aims to give participants the opportunity to create, live-record and edit multi-dimensional paths and profiles.

Prices have been frozen at 2012 levels, with single day courses costing £75 plus VAT and two day sessions £150 + VAT, with a 10% discount available for members of The Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT), The Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph & Theatre Union (BECTU), PLASA and Stage Jobs Pro (SJP).

Stage Technologies' training development manager, Alex Hitchcock said, "With automati

France - Since the introduction of the K Systems Standard in 2008 L-Acoustics has trained over 2,200 technicians in over 270 training sessions worldwide.

L-Acoustics would like to recognise this accumulated field experience in the trade by providing accreditation to experienced system technicians through the L-Acoustics K Systems Engineer (KSE) accreditation programme. The KSE status represents recognition by the industry and peers that the individual has achieved an advanced level of understanding in implementing L-Acoustics systems.

David Brooks, application department, L-Acoustics, who was responsible for developing the programme, said, "We are thrilled to be able to acknowledge the high level of expertise in the field that L-Acoustics system technicians have accumulated. Our training programme reinforces our support for the Rental Network agents and technicians in the

UK - HTC recently launched their new flagship mobile phone, the HTC One, at two simultaneous events in London and New York.

Brand experience agency, SSG Create, producers of the global event, brought in XL Events for the London launch to provide projection, media servers, plasma screens, HD camera system/PPU, and HD recording system.

To unveil the new device, XL Events provided a two projector blend using XL's new Barco HDF-W26 units on to a screen behind the presenter.

This front projection was particularly challenging due to the requirement not to cast any shadows from the presenters including HTC CEO, Peter Chou.

This requirement, coupled with the restricted rigging at the venue, meant the projectors had to be flown from an angle and the images warped via a Coolux Pandora's Box supplied by XL to achieve the desired image quality.

The main show content was delivered fr

USA - Bandit Lites has announced the launch of its new e-commerce website BanditBuys.com. The new site (www.banditbuys.com) will feature used and new gear for sale, including lamps, fixtures, consoles, effects and foggers.

With more and more people shopping online, Bandit is hoping to make purchasing quality lighting more accessible and easy. Special deals will also be available in addition to sales and social media discounts.

All equipment has been tested by Bandit's trained technical staff, providing customers the same standard of service they have come to expect from its 40 years in the industry. Shipping will be available both domestically and internationally as well.

"We're thrilled for this new endeavour," said Roth Edwards, Bandits' director of technical operations. "We know there have been other online sources of purchasing new and used gear, and we ho

UK - Leading European flightcase specialist 5 Star has delivered a new order of cases to Sutton, Surrey, UK, based rental and technical solutions provider Point Source Productions to house a variety of new lighting equipment including control and both conventional and moving lights.

Point Source has been using 5 Star for the majority of its case requirements for the last seven years. In fact, the very first cases that 5 Star built for them are still going strong and are in regular use today - a real testament to their robust build!

Says Point Source Productions' MD Stephen Capel: "When you order a rugged, well-constructed case from 5 Star - that's exactly what you get! The quality, attention to detail and longevity is absolutely worth it."

Point Source embraces the same philosophy as 5 Star in striving to provide the very best quality of service and options for the

UK - PRG's Andrew Strachan supported Roy van den Brink, technical producer and event productions to supply a full AV package of lighting, video, sound and drapes for the Glory 5 World Series Kick Boxing at Excel London.

Stefaan Michels and Jeff Bailey also worked alongside Strachan to supply a 18m x 6m V18 Nocturne screen and two Barco HD20k projectors onto 2 x 21ft x 12ft side screens resulting in spectacular images throughout. The V18 Nocturne screen was a key feature of the production design and was used mostly for fighter's entrances for their video stings.

Strachan commented, "The speed in which the Nocturne screen went up was a real help with the time restraints of the schedule, fantastic."

Bill Martin was overall project manager with Ian Jones heading up the video element and Cameron Bannister the lighting.

Working with Delta Sound, Ben Milton (account man

UK - Warwick University is situated on a 700 acre campus near the city of Coventry. It has a strong reputation as a centre of academic excellence and sits consistently in the top 10 of all UK university league tables. The campus serves 22,000 students and is constantly evolving and developing as a result of continuing and significant investment. As well as providing teaching and accommodation environments for its students the university campus is also a focus for the wider community in the shape of the Warwick Arts Centre and the University Sports Centre.

In 2011, as a result of new legislation requiring the changing of wireless frequencies, the university took the decision to standardise its wireless microphones and commissioned POLARaudio to undertake the work. This complex project required POLARaudio to prepare a system design which required 216 channels of wireless UHF micro

UK - Heavy metal band Saxon descended upon the LS-Live studio in Wakefield to make and film the music video to their new single Sacrifice.

Heavy on special effects, the video is set to a stark backdrop where the band members and a ghostly female figure perform from LS-Live's LiteDeck stage, which they covered in sand. The video's sacrificial theme harks back to the Inca generation.

The band, from nearby South Yorkshire, had spent over a year writing and recording their 20th studio album, also called Sacrifice in LS-Live's new sound-proofed band rehearsal room, where they worked with the company to refine the facilities.

The album was produced by frontman Biff Byford, with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It has been praised for its raw thrash metal sounds and guitar work, topping the charts in Germany.

(Jim Evans)

Fringe Society - A membership society for fringe venue operators has been launched in a bid to represent the interests of independent theatres and create a better trading platform for them. The Society of Independent Theatres aims to support venues with up to 300 seats by sharing marketing materials and audience data, as well as by recycling costumes and props. It also hopes to create partnerships between its member venues to encourage tours of shows between them. This will extend production runs so that critics are more likely to review fringe shows and create publicity for the venues, according to the society's board of directors.

SIT is also in talks to form a centralised box office for selling tickets, and wants its website to become a resource for audiences by listing fringe venues and their productions across the UK. With around 26 members signed up so far, including Jermy

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