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Europe - After a period of consultation with the industry and the impact of the ongoing pandemic, Integrated Systems Events has announced that ISE, scheduled for 2-5 February 2021 in Barcelona, has been postponed and will now take place in June (dates to be confirmed), alongside a virtual offering.
Additionally, ISE will launch RISE Digital, a regular programme of content and networking events which will run throughout the year and support the live show.
Integrated Systems Events released the following statement: “We’ve been monitoring the conditions in Europe since the beginning of this year and have worked hard on your behalf to balance health and safety concerns with the need for commerce and F2F interaction. These two factors have had shifting weight throughout the calendar year and although we’ve felt confident and hopeful regarding delivering this show in F

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West End Revival - Six and Everybody's Talking About Jamie will become the first musicals back in the West End in mid-November, eight months after the curtain came down. They will hit the stage three weeks after a string of non-musical shows reopen London's theatre district. The Play That Goes Wrong, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap and Adam Kay's This Is Going To Hurt will all admit socially distant audiences in October.
Venue heads said "robust risk mitigation" would be in place. They include reduced capacities, contactless tickets, temperature tests and deep cleans, as well as hand sanitation, face coverings and track and trace.
The producers of Six, the hit show about Henry VIII's wives, will take a separate cast to The Lowry in Salford from late November. The musical had been due to be staged in the Greater Manchester venue
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USA - As part of its growth strategy for the new in ear monitor solution, the 3DME, ASI Audio has formed a partnership with Pro Audio/MI/Consumer Technology industry veteran Gregg Stein and his new company, Triple G Ventures.
“Gregg is one of the people in our industry I’ve always kept my eye on, his innovative approaches and genuine enthusiasm for new products and brands has always been refreshing and invigorating,” says Evan MacKenzie, ASI Audio VP of sales & marketing. “Triple G Ventures gets that sales and marketing must go hand in hand to create compelling product offers in modern and smart presentations to the customer.”
“ASI Audio’s innovative Active Ambient Audio technology is a game changer. The 3DME In Ear Monitor solution unites enhanced audio monitoring with true spatial 3D ambient “room” sound and hearing protection into a single in-e

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UK - Software provider Stardraw.com has announced that their Introduction to Stardraw Design 7.3 webinar has been approved by AVIXA as an RU- (Renewal Unit) eligible course for CTS (Certified Technology Specialist) certification. This includes the special designations CTS-D (Design) and CTS-I (Installation). This will allow the more than 13,000 professionals holding AVIXA’s CTS credential to earn renewal units towards their certification by completing Stardraw.com’s Introduction to Design 7.3 education programme.
The CTS certification programme – which has been administered by AVIXA for over 30 years - is recognised worldwide as the leading AV professional credential. Indeed, AVIXA’s CTS, CTS-D and CTS-I qualifications are the only AV certification programmes to be accredited by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and ANSI (American National Standard

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China - LED display specialist Absen has once again been recognised in Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies (BMC) programme.
The BMC programme is a global initiative that identifies and recognises private companies with advanced management ideas and excellent business performance. Key factors in the evaluation of a company’s management ability include strategy, capabilities, commitment and financial strength. This year, the selection criteria also considered resiliency towards the Covid-19 pandemic. Absen was deemed to have shown extraordinary competency in all areas, allowing the company to weather these difficult times.
With a reputation for providing high quality LED displays, Absen once again achieved the #1 global export position for the 11th consecutive year and will next year celebrate its 20th anniversary. Absen has a manufacturing facility with an annual pr

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USA - High End Systems has announced the finalist teams for the 2020 Hog Factor USA Collegiate Lighting Programming Competition. First held in North America in 2015, Hog Factor has become one of the premier lighting programming contests in the United States and across the globe.
For Phase One, each submitting team provided a performance lighting piece, programmed on a Hog or Hog 4 PC. The collegiate teams were judged by a panel of High End Systems and ETC employees. The three Hog Factor USA finalist teams are The Ghost Lights from Webster University, Bacon Powers from Southern Methodist University, and Hamburglers from Texas State University.
With the LDI 2020 Exhibition now cancelled, this year’s contest will take place online as part of ETC/HES’ Study Hall events in October. Details on the contest date, format and judging will be announced soon.

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Croatia - The MS My Wish offers ‘a deluxe, intimate experience’ for its 38 guests. With an advantage due to its a smaller, yacht-like size, the ship can navigate narrow waterways and explore not only Croatia’s medieval cities but also its smaller, quieter islands hardly explored by bigger vessels.
Boasting an onboard restaurant, a large sundeck, a rooftop hot tub, and a swimming platform for access to the Adriatic ocean, the MS My Wish needed an audio system that could match its design.
“The Mezzo 324 and Mezzo 604 were perfect for the job,” said Captain Marin Crncic of the MS My Wish.
The Mezzo series is Powersoft’s answer to providing the same sound clarity, reliability and build quality in a smaller install amplifier – just half of the rack unit form factor. All models come with state-of-the-art built-in DSP. It has two power sizes with a two or

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USA - With the AES Show Fall 2020 Convention coming up in October, newly announced technical programme details showcase a variety of sessions covering both audio science and research, as well as topical discussions of key issues in the audio industry.
Now in its expanded, virtual format, as Audio Engineering Month, the AES Show 2020 ‘offers attendees their own in-house convention’.
Several recently added sessions have been announced to the AES Show Technical Programme. Grammy-winning producer, engineer and mixer Vance Powell will detail some of his most successful mixing and recording techniques with the session Behind the Mix, hosted by AES recording and production track co-chair Peter Doell.
Doell further delves into the recording workflows taking plac

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South Africa - For the South African live events industry, 8 September was an emotional day that will be tattooed in the hearts and souls of the 200 people consisting of business owners, technicians and freelancers, who gathered at the Paul Kruger Statue in Central Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of demands to the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture. Under the banner of the #Flightcasemovement, this historic event saw the industry standing united, marching and pushing flightcases to represent their cause.
The industry players joined in spirit by those who could not afford the transportation cost to be there. “I felt like I was part of a huge national movement that will never be seen for another hundred years, I was proud to be part of this committee,” said Sizwe Mokoena of Ugozi Entertainment, a member of the #Flightcasemovement and who led the protestors in peacef

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USA - Around 2,000 venues, places, landmarks, and monuments all over the US were lit in red for the #RedAlertRESTART campaign on 1 September to highlight the critical situation facing the live events and entertainment industry and the need for lawmaker’s support of the Restart Act (S.3814) to offer some sort of relief to the industry.
This latest red day of action was part of a wider industry campaign being led by the #WeMakeEvents movement, a collective of trade organisations including PLASA (the Professional Lighting & Sound Association).
The idea of lighting buildings in ‘emergency red’ started in Germany with #NightofLight in June, and the concept caught on with red days of action organised in many European countries and the UK (initiated by #LightiItInRed on 6th July, followed up by PLASA’s #WeMakeEvents action on 11 August) as well as South Africa (#

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Germany - On 9 September, the Red Alert Action Alliance - Initiatives & Associations of the Event Industry (Aktionsbündnis AlarmstufeRot - Initiativen & Verbände der Veranstaltungswirtschaft) assembled at a large demonstration in Berlin in response to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic to the event industry.
With numerous companies having experienced hardly any sales for six months and a significant drop in revenue, the crisis is now threatening both businesses and jobs.
The demonstration was conceived as a concerted action by all stakeholders in the event industry - from agencies and artists to event technicians and showmen. According to the organisers, up to 15,000 employees in the event industry heeded the call. After countless had already taken off their ‘last shirts’ and laid them down in a symbolic action on the meadow in front of the German Bunde

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USA - Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) has announced Sound Technologies as its manufacturer’s representative for Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
“Sound Technologies’ Principal Jim Bobel not only spent four years as part of the EAW sales team but he has over 25 years of experience working with some of the top brands in the industry, so he brings in depth product and technology knowledge to the table,” says TJ Smith, president for EAW. “We are excited to once again be working with Jim as he grows his business. Sound Technologies will be a great asset in helping serve customers in the region.”
Based in Chicago, Sound Technologies’ mission is to ‘support and serve manufacturers, integrators, designers, production companies, artists, and anyone looking to produce great audio’.
“Earlier this year, it became very clear that our industry in pa

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USA - Essay Video has recently announced the opening of its new virtual studio located in Norwalk, Connecticut. The virtual facility is equipped with the latest in LED technology, including Brompton Technology 4K Tessera SX40 LED processors, empowering Essay’s customers to ‘realise their creative projects and create complex, interactive and mixed reality presentations’.
“With the global pandemic, we had clients who had to pivot from live events and turn to virtual solutions,” explains Essay Video founder & CEO, Greg Fellows. “Our newly built virtual studio gives them a safe and healthy environment to make their creative projects a reality. We have multiple offices for privacy and social distancing, and we’ve partnered with HBO and Intel over the last six months to fine tune and perfect our virtual meetings. Whilst it’s not possible to hold a live show at

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China - Symetrix has partnered with EZ Pro International to bring the hands-on Symetrix Composer Certified Trainings to system designers throughout China.
Starting in Shenzhen in July and continuing to Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, and Xi’an throughout the rest of the year, the Symetrix Composer Certified Trainings have been a hit throughout China - producing a cadre of qualified Symetrix system designers in the region. The trainings utilise small class sizes, flexible training sites, and expert lecturers including EZ Pro’s vice president Kane Zhang and brand manager Tim Wang.
The innovative and informative trainings are divided into three levels - basic, certified programmer, and master. During basic training, students learn how to upload finished configuration files into their systems, make sure they are running smoothly, and learn Symetrix basic functions. This pr

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UK - Backstage Academy has affirmed its commitment to safeguarding students entering the live events industry, after it was selected by the QAA to take part in a series of best-practice Covid case studies. The institution was recognised by the assurance agency for the measures put in place following the outbreak of the pandemic.
Located at the world-renowned Production Park in South Kirby, Yorkshire, the higher education institution was included in a case study report, acknowledged by the QAA (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education) for its ability to adapt to the pandemic.
The Academy, which offers degrees, short courses and bespoke training for the live events industry, believes the special measures put in place for the next cohort of students in September will ensure “the long term survival of the industry, worth a vital £30bn to the UK’s economy”. <

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USA - The Meyer Sound education team has returned with a series of MAPP 3D round table discussions every Thursday in September. Each session will welcome questions from attendees and be answered by a team of panelists. The sessions will also focus on different features of Meyer Sound’s new MAPP 3D system design and prediction tool.
The first round table - which took place on Thursday, 3 September - addressed overall MAPP 3D help, feature requests and bug reports, main graphical user interface (GUI), viewports, importing CAD and SketchUp drawings, and SPL vs. Attenuation in model view.
This Thursday, 10 September, the session will focus on primitives, modifiers, and tweaking SPL range and resolution for quick design.
The third round table, scheduled for 17 September, will teach attendees how to interpret Δ dB and connect to the Galileo Galaxy Network Platform,

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UK/EMEA - disguise has landed a spot in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 index, which ranks the top 100 British private companies with the fastest-growing sales over their latest three years.
disguise was ranked at number 80 for the accelerated launch of its xR solution to meet the new market needs for immersive remote performance and virtual production. The company was also recognised as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2019 according to the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 index released last month.
“As technology continues to transform every aspect of how we live and work, visionary and ambitious companies will continue to be at the forefront of innovation,” says disguise CEO Fernando Kufer. “We are truly proud and humbled to be recognised for our efforts and to be included among these industry leaders. As a resul

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USA - In an effort ranging from coast to coast - and also taking in the Pacific and Caribbean Oceans - the Red Alert RESTART event, organized by members of the live industry, cast a red glow on the night of 1 September. More than 1,600 buildings, iconic structures, and residences, as theatres, production houses, hotels, casinos, recording studios, opera houses, ballrooms, nightclubs, arenas, and individual homes were part of the event, which also included demonstrations in many cities.
The goal of #RedAlert RESTART is to urge Congress to vote for the RESTART Act and to support the efforts of ExtendPUA.org by pushing for an extension and expansion of PUA benefits for 1099 and freelance workers, i.e. independent contractors; and an extension of the $600 FPUC as part of a comprehensive pandemic relief package.
A four-and-a-half-hour livestream on Facebook, ho

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Furlough Extension - The chancellor is facing renewed calls to extend the furlough scheme specifically for the arts and leisure sectors, with the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee warning that the entire industry’s future is at risk without it. Julian Knight, chair of the cross-party committee, has written to Rishi Sunak claiming that the government’s current approach - whereby the job retention scheme will be wound down next month - renders its support for culture "highly inflexible".
"Moreover, ending the scheme for all industries alike in October does not reflect the unique situation faced by the arts and leisure sectors. These high-value sectors have become hostages to fortune; they are among the hardest hit by the COVID crisis, with 51% of workers still reliant on furlough, compared with 13% across all industries. However, while restrictions on activity

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Canada - As part of their commitment to education, CAST Group of Companies has announced a free version of wysiwyg Design is now available to all students and teachers, enrolled on a full or part-time lighting design course at a university, college, post-secondary vocational or polytechnical school.
Used in over 300 educational establishments worldwide, wysiwyg offers a 3D environment where productions can be planned, designed and programmed, risk free, offering students a safe virtual lab where ideas can be tested and experimented with.
With wysiwyg Design, you can create professional lighting plots and paperwork, and clearly communicate design ideas through high quality renders and animations. Should you wish to connect to a lighting console to programme shows, you can upgrade your free wysiwyg Design to a 4 universe (2048 channel) or 8 universe (4096 channel ) vers

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UK - The Association of Lighting Designers (ALD) will assist 68 emerging lighting designers through its Lumiere 20:20 mentorship scheme.
The original format planned to match 20 emerging lighting designers with experienced mentors but due to the generosity of ALD members who waived their micro-bursary, 38 applicants will now benefit from the one-on-one scheme.
The standard of applications was so high, says the ALD, that another programme -Team Lumière - has been initiated. It will welcome a further 22 applicants, who will work as a collective through an expanded version of the Lumière course programme.
The scheme expansion means the ALD will help 68 emerging lighting designers in total. Participants from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, England, Italy, Poland, Malaysia, Australia and the US have been chosen. Many of them identify as being under-represented in

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USA - As the industry continues to be largely shut down, entertainment industry workers are dealing with increased levels of depression and anxiety and many are struggling to maintain their mental and emotional wellbeing. Joblessness, isolation, and worry about the future are all contributing to the negative impact on mental health. The reality is that many are not coping well and reports of suicide are on the rise.
National Suicide Prevention Week is an opportunity to learn what can you do to help colleagues or family and friends you are concerned about, as well as find resources that may help you today or in the future. Visit btshelp.org/bethe1to see the warning signs of suicide, because the more familiar you are with the signs the more likely you are to recognise them. Then learn about the 5 Steps you can take to help keep

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UK - Following the recent announcement of the expansion of UKickstart Event 2020, the first UK-wide live and virtual gathering of event professionals post-lockdown, it has once again extended its programme to include a Live Performance panel discussion on kickstarting the events industry. The panel discussion will take place at one of White Light’s managed venues, Illuminate at the Science Museum, and will be chaired by managing director Bryan Raven.
The panel is called Working in a Post-COVID World – How to Kick-Start Live Performance and will take place on Tuesday 8 September at 4.30pm. Alongside Bryan, industry experts speaking will include Adam Blackwood, founder and creative director of Private Drama; Jon Drape, director of Engine No 4; Clara Cullen, venue support manager and Nicholas Wells, owner of Power Plan Services.
The panel will discuss is

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UK - Acclaimed lighting designer Paule Constable will deliver this year's Trotter Paterson Lecture, the Society of Light and Lighting (SLL) has announced.
Taking place on 10 September (Thursday) from 1pm, the event will for the first time be held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with free access to those registered. Constable will discuss her award-winning work, motivations, and experience as a lighting designer. Following the lecture, there will be a live Q&A session, where attendees will have the opportunity to submit questions.
Constable is an honorary fellow of Goldsmith’s College, Rose Bruford College and the Central School of Speech and Drama. She also received an honorary doctorate from the Royal Scottish Academy and has been leading the freelance lobbying of the UK government, which contributed to securing the £1.57bn investment to protect Britain’
  1. Elation Professional supports #RedAlertRESTART
  2. LEA Professional partners with LVX Marketing
  3. Exertis ProAV Australia to distribute Revolution Acoustics
  4. #WeMakeEvents campaign moves to next phase - Stand as One
  5. Chauvet plays multi-roles at Zoo Antwerpen
  6. Manchester march implements TPG’s COVID guidance
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