UK - Innovation Productions is preparing itself for a busy summer with new additions to its already extensive rental stock. The company provides hire and sales of lighting, sound, video and staging equipment and is add new additions to all areas of its range from leading brand names, including Clay Paky, Martin Professional, Sennheiser, Christie Digital and DPA - with further additions planned for the coming months.

Andrew Pygott, the company's managing director and himself a respected lighting and systems designer, commented on some of the additions.

"Clay Paky Sharpys were selected as an addition to our rental stock because of their unrivalled performance over size and weight and although copies of this product have been attempted, the true original Clay Paky version is still the most outstanding small beamlight . We have had a lot of demand for the Sharpy from customer

UK - London- based lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) has made a substantial new investment in LED screen with the purchase of 100sq.m of BT6 6mm pitch high resolution surface.

The product has been manufactured specially for CSE to their specifications and will join the company's existing stock of BT12 and BT37 screens, all from the same factory, designed and built to the same exacting quality standards.

CSE's MD Haydn Cruickshank comments: "It was clear that we needed a high resolution screen, in particular for our corporate work. Following good experiences with the other pitch screens, it made sense to work with the same team again to bring this one to the market."

CSE's choice of manufacturer was made after extensive research and careful consideration. The relationship has been developed over the last four years buoyed by the exper

Slovakia - The Gothic Cathedral of St Elizabeth in Košice became the glowing centrepiece of the city's Opening Ceremony celebrations for its year as European Capital of Culture in a spectacular lighting scheme featuring Robe and Anolis LED fixtures.

The overall OC event lasted two days with over 1000 artists performing in 70 different locations in and around the city. The Cathedral - the largest in Slovakia - was lit for the entire time, providing a jaw-dropping backdrop for the finale of the OC.

The idea of illuminating elements of the Cathedral first came from Branislav Bernár from Showmedia, the company commissioned to produce the OC. They in turn approached Anolis's Czech based Brand Manager, Petr Kolma?ka to assist in developing the concept.

Kolma?ka took these initial ideas and augmented them with plans to highlight the whole Cathedral exterior in a 'monumental' ener

UK - Alchemea College and Britannia Row Productions Training have announced a new collaboration to offer the delivery of live sound training at the highest level. With Alchemea's facilities located on Britannia Row in Islington (the original HQ for Britannia Row Productions), both parties have enjoyed friendly relations for many years.

As part of this collaboration, Britannia Row Productions Training will deliver training for all students currently enrolled on Alchemea's full time Live Sound course.

Alchemea's marketing and sales director Mike Sinnott says, "Brit Row is a household name in the live sound industry, so we were thrilled to hear that they had developed their own intensive training programme. This collaboration will ensure that our students will continue to receive the highest standard of relevant hands on industry training using the latest cutting edge live s

UK - The introduction of the X-5 LED strobes from Peter Johansen's SGM provided all the inspiration necessary for multi-award winning production designer, LeRoy Bennett, to specify no fewer than 470 pieces for Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

The low-profile, lightweight X-5 is designed to deliver the same output as conventional strobes from one fifth of the power. Housing 2,970 LED's, power consumption of 360W with lamp life of 50,000 hours, contained in a slim aluminium chassis, it is designed into three cells - to boost creativity.

These attributes had been brought to LeRoy's attention by one of his partners, programmer Cory FitzGerald, and Randy Wade, who heads up SGM Inc, based in Houston, Texas. And so the designer decided to specify them for the first time.

"I was impressed by the combination of power consumption, brightness and rugged des

Italy - Researcher and eco-acoustic composer David Monacchi has been using DPA Microphones' 4060 miniature microphones to capture the sounds of the rainforest as part of his long-term environmental sound-art project entitled Fragments of Extinction.

David Monacchi, who is Professor of Electroacoustic Music at the Conservatorio G.Rossini in Pesaro, Italy, is collaborating with various institutions on this project, which involves travelling to some of the world's most remote areas of intact rainforest to record complex soundscape portraits.

"I use several microphone techniques in the field, most of which involve quite heavy and complex systems," Monacchi explains. "DPA miniature microphones are extremely lightweight and this makes them highly suitable to field work where I may have to hike long distances in extreme terrain."

Monacchi's two Hi-Sens DP

The Netherlands - Duran Audio will be running a two day training course at Duran Audio BV's R&D facility, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands on 14-15 May 2013.

These two days are aimed at consultants, sound system designers, installers and users who wish to learn more about AXYS products and software. Both days involve a combination of presentations, demonstrations and practical activities. There will also be some 'free time' set aside for attendees to experiment with the products.

Day one will focus on the highly successful AXYS Intellivox range. The Intellivox range, first introduced in 1996, was the pioneer of beam steering. AXYS Intellivox units have been installed in airports, atriums, railway stations, shopping malls, theatres, concert halls, museums, and many more difficult acoustic environments all over the world to provide highly intelligible speech reproduction in environme

USA - Chicago Spotlight, Inc. is shedding some light on United Centre, the largest arena in the US, with help from Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots. Home of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and a venue for top musical artists, the United Centre has hosted over 40m guests since it opened in 1994.

"The United Centre is in the process of replacing their current followspots," says Chicago Spotlight president Marty Lazarus. "Their existing fixtures have been there since the arena opened. Their goal is to replace two each year until all 12 are replaced with Cyranos."

Cyrano is a compact and efficient 2500W HMI followspot with a high-performance quartz condenser optical system. It features a 100% closing iris; 100% closing dimmer; B-size gobo holder , variable frost, dichroic blue filter; and 6-way boomerang color changer with removable fil

Spain - Located in the town of Erandio, near the Basque capital Bilbao, the Sonora nightclub is renowned for its quality of music, drawing people from a wide catchment area. This reputation is aided by a high specification audio system that features an Apex Intelli-X2 48 controller at its heart.

With a total capacity of 1500, Sonora is split into three rooms - 808 and 909 which host DJ sets and the Bar for live music. The audio system was designed by Hector Cabot of Barcelona-based Media Sys, who also supplied the equipment, and installed by Sonort, based in Bilbao.

It comprises Kling & Freitag loudspeakers throughout, powered by Lab Gruppen amplifiers in rooms 808 and 909, while the Bar loudspeakers use Proel amplifiers. An Apex Intelli-X2 48 system controller was specified because of its exceptional audio quality and flexibility.

"The Intelli-X2 48 controller is the m

Norway - One of the first European installations of- Dolby Atmos surround sound technology is at Kristiansand in Norway, where 54 Yamaha loudspeakers and 33 power amplifiers have been specified to deliver its exacting audio requirements.

Atmos supports up to 128 simultaneous, lossless audio elements in a mix. Using up to 64 loudspeakers, it heightens the realism and impact of cinema by making the soundtrack fully immersive. An array of overhead speakers complements screen and wall-mounted units to allow sound to be precisely positioned anywhere in the auditorium, producing a natural, lifelike audio experience that perfectly matches the storyline.

Owned by the Municipality of Kristiansand, the Kino has the highest footfall of any Norwegian cinema, with 370,000 filmgoers visiting each year. The Atmos system was installed in its 655-seat Screen 1 by Unique Cinema System (UCS), wh

Olympic Honours - The London 2012 Olympic Games have taken three awards at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts Craft Awards. The Olympics opening ceremony picked up a best director award while Super Saturday - when team GB scooped six gold medals - won for best sound. The Paralympics, broadcast on Channel Four, took best digital creativity.

Hamish Hamilton who directed the TV broadcasts of the London 2012 opening and closing ceremonies, was also honoured on the night with a special award in recognition of his "outstanding creative contribution to the industry and his extensive work and accomplishments in his field".

In The Ring - A stage musical based on the hit film Rocky is to open on Broadway. Sylvester Stallone, who starred in and wrote the script for the Oscar-winning 1976 film, is co-producing the theatre version, which will open at t

South Africa - Keystone Productions were awarded the role of production company, and MGG Productions as technical supplier, for the Nestle Conference and Gala Awards, held in two different venues at Champagne Sports Resort which is surrounded by majestic mountains in central Drakensberg. With over 30 presentations, each with a different theme, lighting could not take a back seat and included Robe and Clay Paky at a function where video predominantly featured.

This was the first time Nestle hosted a single event for the entire company. It was aptly attended by a thousand employees who lodged at Champagne Sports Resort and nearby surrounds for the three day conference.

"It was a massively long project," said Christopher Bolton from Keystone Productions, who was appointed the position by client Dithatha Productions. Keystone designed the show and took care of FOH and co

UK - XL Video supplied LED screens, cameras, Hippotizer media servers and control for the high profile London show by chart-topping and Grammy Award winning New York based indie pop band, Fun.

The video and lighting design was by Paul Normandale. He was approached by management and asked to come up with an inventive concept specifically for the sold-out Hammersmith Apollo show on the band's latest UK tour. Once again, he teamed up with XL Video to help make this happen, working closely with XL's Project Manager, Gareth Jeanne.

The video design was based on a poster of the band. Normandale wanted everyone in the room to be able to see a bigger picture rather than those at the front being bombarded just by a load of fragmented pixels ... and this informed his choice of LED surface.

He collaborated with Cincinnati based design studio Lightbourne who produced the video playback

UK - Sound system specialists Masons have fitted out many bars and club venues in their native Manchester over the years, using Martin Audio solutions.

One local leisure group that has regularly relied on the company's services to equip its multi-purpose venues has been Trof, which has developed its estate towards city centre operations - such as Gorilla.

This has been the most recent hybrid bar/restaurant/live venue to be installed by Masons. Their system designer Jack Jennings created an all-purpose environment that would satisfy live music aficionados and serious clubbers in the 600-capacity main space, and at the same time those who just want to enjoy the background ambience in the intimacy of the bar or function room areas.

Situated on a ground floor area between two railway arches, respectively assigned to function room and live venue, with a small mezzanine area provi

India - Since 2010, Sound.com has been at the forefront of some of the biggest sporting and entertainment events in India.

Therefore, when the company embarked, at the beginning of the new financial year with the opening ceremonies for Indian Premier League, the world-leading Twenty20 cricket championship, they were confident they could put on an audio spectacle to match similar ceremonies, starting with the Commonwealth Games 2010, The National Games in Ranchi and the Oman Tattoo in Muscat.

The multi-purpose Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata was chosen to host the opening ceremony of the cricketing franchise this year with the inauguration promising to be one of the most spectacular events ever witnessed. Built in 1984, the stadium is the largest in India and the second largest in the world with a capacity of 120,000. With its astroturf surface the facility primarily caters to foo

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds starts today, with a great seminar programme lined up for visitors over both days. Among a busy programme of pro audio sessions, tomorrow sees a presentation by Focusrite Audio Engineering, looking at their RedNet flexible recording platform.

For years the Dante Ethernet-based system has been used to provide a low latency, high-channel count audio transportation system for live sound reinforcement. Now Focusrite's RedNet system brings this rock-solid technology to the recording world, with high-quality digital conversion and state-of-the-art remote-controlled microphone preamplifiers. Long analogue multicore cables become a thing of the past, vastly reducing the cost and weight, whilst increasing the audio quality and flexibility of a location recording setup. This workshop covers the possible workflows and benefits of working with a RedNet digital audio s

USA - On 17 March, Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, celebrated the ministry's 40th anniversary by hosting a weekend event titled ReEnvision. The weekend was intended to reflect on how Harvest grew from a small church into one of America's mega-churches with one of the largest evangelical outreaches in America and the world, Harvest America.

Harvest lighting designer and programmer Christopher Eguizabal was tasked with lighting the event, as well as a special dinner for Harvest guests and staff to be aired on television. The lighting rig therefore needed to look good for both the live audience and on camera.

Eguizabal decided to go with Martin's MAC Aura wash light, which he used to key light the audience as well as wash the audience in an array of colors throughout the evening.

"I have always loved the products that Martin has put out

Spain - The main auditorium of the Fundación Juan March in Madrid has received a new ETC LED lighting system, thanks to ETC's Spanish dealer Stonex and installer Salas Audio Video. Because the space is used for lectures, interviews, cinema projection, piano concertos and concerts - with many of the events being broadcast - the lighting needed to be truly versatile.

The Fundación Juan March dedicates its resources and activities to the fields of science and the humanities, with concerts, lecture series and seminars in its main auditorium in Madrid. A series of free concerts, for example, introduces audiences to Monteverdi and the 'invention'of melody, while lectures discuss everything from philosophy and poetry to the transition to talking in movies.

Lighting designer José García explains, "The technical managers for the auditorium needed to balance a number of d

UK - The opening day of PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 was tremendously busy, with packed aisles, full seminars, and dozens of new products to see on the show floor.

Here are 10 reasons to join us today:

* Audio legend Tony Andrews delivers his Keynote Speech What is Good Audio?

* Martin Audio debuts the MLA Mini

* Ambersphere presents Clay Paky and the Laws of Physics

* Award winning sound designer Gareth Fry gives his seminar Creative Manipulation of Sound

* d&b audiotechnik tell you Why Size Matters

* The ABTT discuss qualifications and competence in the technical theatre sector

* Jon Burton presents How to Soundcheck

* Focusrite deliver their workshop for recording engineers

* Lunch is on us!

* Registration is free on arrival

With all of this on offer and more, PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013 is a show you simply cannot afford to mis

UK - RS Components (RS), the trading brand of Electrocomponents plc, has entered into a global distribution agreement with Philips Lumileds, a leading provider of LED technologies.

This partnership with RS is part of a recent initiative by Philips Lumileds to restructure its distribution channels, steered by the LED vendor's strategic objective to grow its customer base globally through expansion into new markets.

In its 17 distribution centres located around the world RS has the capacity to stock the full breadth of the Philips Lumileds range, and is thus equipped to provide luminaire designers with immediate access to a comprehensive portfolio of application-specific LED solutions. Products can be sourced and purchased quickly online via the RS website and despatched on the same day.

"This agreement with RS means that we are able to serve the needs of our growing cust

Sweden - There is less than one month to go before the start of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest (14, 16 and 18 May), the most prestigious annual event for the European music industry and the most watched live TV broadcast in Europe. The organizers have planned a show in Malmö on 7 and 8 May 2013 to present the event to the industry and the international press. This unmissable date will also feature an exclusive 'backstage tour' that illustrates the cutting-edge technology that will be used during the contest, along with some workshops where the various technical partners will present the solutions they have provided for the event.

The figures involved in the 'final' of the international European contest are awesome, as always: 24 km of signal cable, 1283 lighting fixtures, 600 rigging points, 3500m of truss, 14 hippotizers, 40 km of power cable, four graphic designers, two lig

Singapore - Robe DLX LED Spots have been installed in a lighting upgrade at a leading international school in Singapore.

The Spots were specified by Tanglin Trust School's theatre manager Vincent Teo for the school's 400 capacity Berrick Performance Hall; they were supplied by Robe SEA's office, in a sale co-ordinated by Louis Teo.

The Berrick Performance Hall is a multi-purpose space used for a wide range of shows and events including in-house drama and musical productions, graduation and other academic ceremonies, conferences and exhibitions, music concerts, dance shows and other live performances.

Tanglin Trust School has over 2,700 students of which approximately 60% are British. Every student - across the Infant, Junior and Senior Schools with ages ranging from three to 18 years old - uses the space at some stage, with at least two events or productions taking place a w

UAE - Sennheiser Group reports the use of its newly launched Digital 9000 wireless system at the recent Bruno Mars and Paloma Faith concert held at the Dubai Media City Amphitheatre on 12 April 2013.

The Digital 9000 is the result of the largest R&D project in the company's history and this event marked the first time that the revolutionary system was used for a live concert in the Middle East. In addition, a number of Sennheiser's wireless systems, microphones and in-ear monitors were used at the concert, as per the technical rider outlined by the production teams of both the performers.

Mig Cardamone, sales and marketing manager at Sennheiser Middle East commented, "Bruno Mars' appearance in Dubai has been a widely anticipated event given the singer's immense popularity. Delta Sound, who provided the equipment rental for the show, were commissioned to ensuring the very

UK - Innovation Productions Ltd is preparing itself for a busy summer with some new additions to its already extensive rental stock. Innovation Productions provide hire and sales of lighting, sound, video and staging equipment have added new additions to all areas of their range from leading brand names, including Clay Paky, Martin Professional, Sennheiser, Christie Digital and DPA. Innovation Productions have other additions planned over the coming months.

Andrew Pygott the company's managing director and himself a respected lighting and systems designer commented on some of the additions.

"Clay Paky Sharpy's were selected as an addition to our rental stock because of there unrivalled performance over size and weight & although copies of this product have been attempted, the true original Clay Paky version is still the most outstanding small beamlight . We have had a lot

Latest Issue. . .