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UK - Following the success of last year's events, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) Ltd's Video division - the exclusive UK dealer for Green Hippo media servers and LedGo video display solutions, and an official partner for Christie Digital projectors - are holding more UK video open days in conjunction with these leading brands, on Tuesday 1 April (AC-ET North, Leeds) / Thursday 3 April (AC-ET South, High Wycombe).

The events will showcase the latest innovations from these marques at the forefront of video production in the entertainment sector, as well as demonstrating how these complementary technologies together provide versatile video system solutions.

Green Hippo's Hippotizer media servers range continues to develop new features and components, ensuring its footholding as the market leader in video and media control solutions. Products showcased include the new Rac

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USA / UK - Electrosonic reports that March 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of the company's founding. In 1964 the company started with two rooms in London's Greenwich vegetable market. Five decades later, Electrosonic is an international, multi-million dollar business with headquarters in Burbank, California, and offices worldwide.

Electrosonic's story is complex but in many ways it parallels the history of audio-visual technology, and provides a window into how the industry and its services and products have changed.

Founded by Denis Naisbitt, Michael Ray and Robert Simpson, the company opened with the strapline "Electronic Control and Audio Systems". From the start, Electrosonic combined the manufacturing and selling of products with the building of complete engineered systems. Key product categories included electronic lighting control, multi-image slide projectio

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South Africa - Stage Audio Works Technology and Engineering Group has established itself firmly, not only on the South African horizon, but also within the African continent. Building on this maxim, the company has announced the acquisition of Event Technology Namibia, a long-standing sales partner, resulting in the opening of the Southern African office based in Windhoek.

The 1350sq.m warehouse and office space will service customers across Namibia, Angola, Zambia and other neighbouring countries, offering quicker access to stock of a diverse product range, support, product service, training and much more.

Commenting on the new office, branch manager Joppie Maritz, said, "Setting up our new office in Namibia underpins our commitment to the territory. The new office will offer demonstration and training facilities and a diverse inventory ready for same-day dispatch."

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Russia - At the XXII Olympic Winter Games organised by the Sochi Organizing Committee (SOC), part of the competitions were held in Krasnaja Poljana (the ski resort 45 km away from Sochi), while the heart of the Games - the Olympic village - was located on the Black Sea coast, in the town of Adler, 28 km from Sochi.

All the buildings surround a central water basin, where it is located the Medals Plaza.

The Medals Plaza was the heart of the village. Here, the award ceremonies took place every evening, giving prizes to the winning athletes of the various competitions; the medal assignment of the Olympic Winter Games 2014 was interchanged with musical performances by Russian and international artists.

DTS was present in the Medals Plaza with its products: 285 D.T.S. moving heads (203 x RAPTOR, 40 x MAX and 42 x NRG 1201), were installed on the stage; 149 RAPTOR were hanged to a

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UK - Pirates, mermaids and a boy who can fly without wires come to life under the sculptural throw of Clay Paky's Alpha Profile 1500s in Music Hall founder Geert Alaert's £10m video-mapped arena spectacular - Peter Pan, The Never Ending Story.

The technically ambitious show presented Belgium-based lighting designer Luc Peumans with a worthy challenge as he negotiated 'lighting light' on the production's projection based set.

"It's a completely different approach to lighting design, because the projection dictates the colour and mood as well as the angles of the key light," explains Peumans. "In addition, everything is meticulously timed. I specified the Clay Paky Alpha Profile 1500s as the rig's workhorses because of the sheer power of the beam and their quick dynamic response function, which worked perfectly with the fast-moving animation."

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UK - A collaborative event industry skills initiative, formed in 2010 by Delta Sound and White Light, welcomes Metro Broadcast and The Royal Albert Hall to the 2014 undergraduate programme. The growing initiative is an educational programme for stage technicians at the UK's leading universities and theatre schools aiming for a career in live events. The initiative helps prepare students for work and provides an opportunity to gain valuable insights into the industry offering advice on production planning, project management, creating a CV and interview tips.

The initiative reaches out to students of RADA, Central School of Speech and Drama, Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Mountview Academy, Rose Bruford College and the Guildford School of Acting.

This project was originally created by Delta Sound's projects director Lee Dennison, and Head of Events at White Light, Stuart Cr

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Europe - In response to growing industry demand, PLASA Events Ltd has announced that two new PLASA Focus events will take place in Europe during 2014.

The first of these new events - and the first PLASA Focus to be staged in mainland Europe - will take place this summer, when PLASA Focus: Brussels open its doors in the heart of Belgium's capital city, on 1-2 July. PLASA Events reports that initial interest from exhibitors has been very positive, with over 30 companies already applying for space in Brussels, including brands such as ADJ, Chauvet, d&b audiotechnik, Robe and Shure.

Having introduced the successful PLASA Focus event model in Leeds, UK, in 2009 and subsequently in various cities across North America, PLASA has long been aware of the market's desire for more of this type of event in Europe. The BeNeLux region was one of the first to be considered for a regional mark

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Welcome Home - The Liverpool Everyman theatre has re-opened after being rebuilt at a cost of £27m. The Everyman became famous in the 1970s for launching the careers of actors like Bill Nighy, Julie Walters, Pete Postlethwaite and Sir Anthony Sher. Its rebirth comes as Liverpool City Council plans to cut its culture budget by 50% by 2017, although the council said the Everyman would be protected. The first production on the new stage will be Shakespeare's Twelfth Night starring Matthew Kelly and Nicholas Woodeson, which opens on 8 March.

Kelly and Woodeson are returning 40 years after being part of the illustrious Everyman company of the mid-1970s. The talent at that time also included actors Bernard Hill, Jonathan Pryce, Alison Steadman and Trevor Eve, writers Alan Bleasdale and Willy Russell, singer Barbara Dickson and poets Roger McGough and Adrian Mitchell. The t

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Belgium - Antwerp-based Revolution Event Support is one of Belgium's leading production companies, supplying sound, lighting and stage design to many of the country's best-known artists. Recently the company bought a pair of Yamaha CL5 digital mixing consoles to ensure its clients enjoy state-of-the-art sound.

Founded by Bart Faut 20 years ago, Revolution is run by Bart along with around 20 freelance staff. Supplying systems for both national and international shows, the company has built up a roster of regular clients who appreciate Revolution's commitment to quality and reliability.

As a longtime user of Yamaha audio products, Bart's inventory includes M7CL, O1V96, PM3500 consoles and Nexo PA speakers. But with touring productions becoming increasingly sophisticated, more inputs and outputs were needed. Revolution therefore purchased two CL5 consoles, along with two Rio3224-

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UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK), distributors for QSC products in the UK, recently supplied a QSC Q-Sys audio management system to RG Jones Sound Engineering for use in the renowned Serpentine Gallery's new art space in Central London, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery.

Like the original gallery, the Sackler sits next to the Serpentine lake from which both venues take their name, but the newer gallery, which opened in Autumn 2013, is on the north side of the bridge and is envisaged as a space for the display of cutting-edge works that will complement and contrast with those on view in the original gallery.

The Magazine, as the building now housing the Serpentine Sackler is called, a former gunpowder store dating from the Napoleonic Wars, was comprehensively refurbished from 2009 to 2013 by a team led by Zaha Hadid Architects, following many decades as a humble store for park ma

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World - Three million ticket sales, 35 countries played... This does not happen by accident. The Australian Pink Floyd Show, one of the world's most successful tribute acts, have spent many years honing their craft. SW19's Kevin Hopgood has played a significant part in making this touring powerhouse's show the technical success it is. His role for the current tour has expanded and, along with Paul Crockford, he has taken on overall management of the band as well as the production.

Kevin has been working with Australian Pink Floyd since 2003, having originally been brought in when their collective star was in the ascendant; they were moving from theatre-sized venues to arenas and going to places they had never toured before.

"They brought me in for my global experience, to take the production up a notch," comments Kevin. "So I brought in a team of people I knew w

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Benelux - Vivitek has announced a new distribution agreement with Sanel for Belgium and Luxembourg.

"Sanel's reputation for excellence and their expertise in the audio visual market have been central to Vivitek in choosing Sanel," " says David Zrihen, sales manager Vivitek. "With the enthusiasm of the Sanel team, their market development skills and support for the dealer, we expect to see solid growth for Vivitek in the Belgian and Luxembourg market."

Sanel is a Benelux-oriented company that provides and advises AV integrators, AV rental companies and digital signage specialists. Sanel is known as a distributor of amongst others Panasonic, and Sanel's core products are projectors of all sizes , professional LCD and plasma monitors, digital signage solutions and video conferencing, as well as a whole range of peripheral products for AV integration.

Vi

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UK/Germany - Mushroom Lighting Technology has added significantly to its portfolio of distributed brands by becoming a UK distributer for three European brands - Mobiled, LTH and CLS.

With a team that boasts over 40 years experience in the lighting industry, Northampton-based Mushroom is a distributor, consultant and installer (for both temporary and permanent installations) of high quality lighting, sound and pyrotechnics. The addition of three major new lighting brands to its distribution portfolio gives customers throughout the UK a considerably wider choice of lighting products, whether for entertainment, architectural, retail or industrial applications.

The wireless LED fixtures from France's Mobiled mean that LED lighting systems can be put together which are remarkably versatile. Battery power and cable-free DMX control mean that very flexible systems can be put togethe

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USA - Imagine Dragons has exploded onto the music scene of late and LD Nook Schoenfeld has turned to Elation Professional's compact Rayzor Q7 LED moving head to paint the American alt rocker's current Into the Night arena tour in coats of saturated colour.

"I wanted a small light that I could use in bulk that had internal LED color mixing and the Rayzor Q7 fit the bill perfectly," stated Nook, who handles production design on the band's five-week stint across North America.

Imagine Dragons enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2013 with the album Night Visions and top hit Radioactive and more success has followed in 2014 with a recent Grammy award and the Into the Night tour.

Nook says he turned to the compact Rayzor Q7 LED for the current tour for three main reasons: size, colour quality and price. "I like to emulate the old PAR can 64s o

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Canada - Located near Saint John, New Brunswick, the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station, which began operating in 1983, has been redesigned to meet all current nuclear facility standards. This included upgrades to its life safety systems and a plant-wide public address system completed by Backman Vidcom using Community loudspeakers for the outdoor and large indoor areas of the site.

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Backman Vidcom is a leading specialist in commercial audiovisual design, integration and service in the Atlantic Provinces. Backman Vidcom's audio division manager, Steve O'Rourke, commented, "Since 9/11 there has been a real focus on life safety systems. Along with security, fire protection and rescue systems, the PA system plays a vital role in plant safety. In an emergency situation, the ability to hear announcements and alerts clearly can be a matter of l

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UK - Bristol-based lighting rental specialist Fineline Lighting is supplying all house lighting & rigging to Motion - one of the most popular multi-room clubbing experiences in the UK , located in a atmospherically significant collection of historic warehouses in central Bristol, and with a reputation for showcasing some of the best EDM sounds on the planet.

Hand-in-hand with this goes a big commitment to providing the very best in production values for Motion clients, explains head of lighting James Harrington, who asked Fineline onboard as the regular lighting and rigging supplier in 2011, having known the company for many years.

Fineline supplies a standard 'house' lighting rig to the venue which has a capacity for up to 2,500 people depending on how many of its multiple spaces are opened, and this is regularly augmented with extras and specials as and when needed.

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Germany - Danley Sound Labs, manufacturer of innovative loudspeakers and subwoofers, will be at booth 8.0N60 (Hall 8.0, Booth N60) at Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt. As Danley approaches its tenth year in business, its solid foundation in the house of worship and theatremarkets has expanded exponentially into the arena and stadium markets with the introduction of the Danley Genesis and Jericho horns, which deliver line array coverage from point-source designs.

To support and sustain that growth, Danley is seeking international dealers and distributors in several key locations to join its team. Interested parties should either contact Jonathan "J.P." Parker, director of sales, and Chad Edwardson, applications engineer, or meet them at Pro Light & Sound.

"Although we have many areas of the world covered, there are still numerous holes in Danley's global dealer and

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USA - It was a night of glittering gowns, a red carpet and amazing lighting at The Trumpet Awards in Atlanta, Georgia. Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the event which works to celebrate and honour African American achievers and those who support the African American experience.

The Awards, which took place 25 January at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, honour accomplishments in diverse fields including law, medicine, business, politics, the Arts, civil rights, sports, entrepreneurship, entertainment and other careers.

The honourees of this year's event were a distinguished crowd including DeVon Franklin, senior vice president of Columbia Tristar Pictures, The Honorable Kamala Harris, Attorney General of California, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, awarding winning producers and song writers, Golden Globe winning actress Alfre Woodard, and Harvard Law professor Charles

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UK - PLASAtechnical announces that the RDM and sACN Developers Conference and Plugfest returns for 2014 and will take place on Thursday 24, Friday 25 and Saturday 26 April, in the UK, at Gatwick Manor, London Road at Lowfield Heath, just south of Gatwick Airport.

The Developers Conference provides a European forum for manufacturers, designers, consultants and prospective users; and aims to ensure that the adoption of these new standards achieves desired levels of interoperability and reliability.

Conference sessions will cover the understanding, implementation and use of the published E1.20 and E1.37 RDM standards as well as the E1.31 sACN standard. Other projects in the current PLASA Technical Standards Program such as"E1.33 : RDMnet" will also feature.

In all, three new Control Protocol projects were proposed at the recent PLASA meetings, held in January in Dalla

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Europe - Swedish PA company, Parashoot, has been on a European tour with Norwegian singer songwriter, Ane Brun, using iLive and ME systems for FoH and Monitors.

Parashoot used an iLive-T112 system, mixing both FOH and monitors on the same console. xDR-16 I/O expander racks were positioned on stage, one left and one right, along with an iDR-16 MixRack.

Parashoot has worked with Ane Brun since 2007, and the lineup comprises two drum kits with open micing, an upright bass with FX pedals, various guitars, 2 keyboards, backing vocalists and Brun. All musicians bar one used in ear monitors, and Parashoot opted to use Allen & Heath's ME personal monitoring system, comprising five ME-1 personal mixers with a ME-U hub as the power and distribution system on stage.

"I took the ME-1s down to rehearsals and everyone was thrilled with them. The layout is easy, you can pan and it's a

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UK - In support of his second album, Shangri-La, Jake Bugg set out on a UK tour, including headlining the first Albert Session of 2014 at Royal Albert Hall on 21 February. The sold out tour featured his home city at The Capital FM Arena Nottingham; Newcastle; London; Edinburgh and Manchester. At the Albert Hall he captivated his audience in two sets - one acoustic and one with his band.

PRG senior account manager Scottie Sanderson worked closely with Stuart Farrell, the lighting designer for Bugg's UK tour. The eclectic run of venues started as smaller club shows, building to the larger Nottingham Arena and Royal Albert Hall; back down to the Corn Exchange in Edinburgh. The prep was built around the larger shows, and allowed the crew to scale back with minimum impact on the production.

Facing a number of logistical challenges across the series of venues, Farrell talks a

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USA - The Super Bowl Halftime Show always glitters, and Bruno Mars's stellar performance at Super Bowl XLVIII was no exception. This year 330 Clay Paky Sharpys and a dozen Clay Paky A.leda B-EYE K20s were on hand to illuminate the show.

Lighting designer Bob Barnhart opted to have "a more rock 'n roll vibe in the rig than the stylized, choreographed shows that we've seen in the past. Bruno wanted this to be more of a live rock show."

Barnhart was challenged to capture that rock 'n roll sensibility as well as prepare for winter weather conditions that might envelop the open-air MetLife stadium in New Jersey. "It was a question of what we could design that could survive severe weather," he says. "Another factor was the limitations of rigging positions in the building and how we could symmetrically lay out the rig. We had to cover as much of the full stad

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France / UK - French loudspeaker systems manufacturer APG has announced the appointment of experienced pro audio professional Scott Fraser to head up APG's UK sales operation. "The fact of going direct will ensure that UK clients benefit from exactly the same support as customers in France, in addition to having access to a significant stock of demo equipment," say APG.

The move is indicative of APG's broader international strategy throughout the EMEA region. According to APG's VP global sales, Bruno Garros, the decision to go direct has been maturing for some time. "It is clearly the best solution for APG in the UK," he commented. "The traditional distribution model puts too many obstacles between us and the customer. We felt very strongly that the best way forward for us was to have a direct link into the UK with someone who is actually employed and tr

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USA - Sacramento Production & Lighting (SPL) supplied both LED and discharge lighting gear from Elation Professional for Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's State of the City address held at the historic Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on 12 February.

The 3800-seat multi-purpose venue is over 80 years old and after reopening in 1996 after a thorough renovation maintains all the charm of a building listed on the National Historic Register. SPL chose to light the historic stage, curtain and columns using Elation Platinum Wash ZFX Pro and Platinum Spot 15R Pro moving heads, as well as Elation Design LED Strips and Opti QA PAR lights.

"We are an Elation house primarily because of cost and road durability and used the Elation gear on the State of the City address to augment the venue's existing house lighting system that consisted of a front truss only," stated SPL's Dion Coo

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