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UK - Shure has launched a free integrated systems certification programme to offer sales and technical advice about its products and solutions.
Courses from the Shure Audio Institute (SAI) Integrated Systems Certification programme are available through Shure’s regional websites and are open to all clients looking to gain up-to-date knowledge on how to purchase, resell, and technically support Shure products in the integrated systems market.
The microphone manufacturer has also launched a new training space at its UK offices at the I.O Centre, Waltham Abbey. It is fitted out with high-end equipment including Shure Microflex Advance MXA910 ceiling microphone arrays, IntelliMix P300 audio conferencing processors and ANIUSB-MATRIX for use in video conferencing applications, with a third-party DSP platform for voice lift. Those who wish to attend the training facility c

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USA - ESTA will hold its Happy Hour for Behind the Scenes charity event on the opening night of The NAMM Show 2019, on Thursday, 24 January, from 6pm to 8pm on the Platinum Patio at the Anaheim Marriott.
Tickets are on sale now at www.behindthescenescharity.org/btshh and proceeds go directly to the Behind the Scenes charity.
The event is sponsored by Altman (Executive); IATSE and NAMM (Diamond); Ultratec (Platinum); Barbizon, Hayden Productions, H&H Specialties, Reed Rigging, Sapsis Rigging, Stage Rigging, and Stage Equipment and Lighting (Gold); Taylor & Taylor (Silver); Earl Girls, InCord, iWeiss Theatrical Solutions, and Osram (Bronze).
The Behind the Scenes charity provides financial support to entertainment technology industry professionals, or their immediate dependent family, who are seriously ill or injured, or to their surviving dependent famil

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) is holding a recruitment event on 1 November at the company’s High Wycombe headquarters, seeking experienced lighting professionals with a background in theatre, touring, corporate or rental to join the team on both a freelance and a permanent basis.
The company says there are opportunities for lighting freelancers to work across a calendar of tradeshows and events around Europe as well as permanent positions for lighting professionals.
The informal event will include an introduction to AC-ET, a tour of the facilities, and a talk about current vacancies. As well as meeting the team, there will be an opportunity to discuss the roles one-on-one with experienced AC-ET staff.
To sign up, email careers@ac-et.com with your CV or call 01494 446000.
(Jim Evans)

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South Africa - DWR Distribution’s Ole Boinamo hosted his first dot2 training session in both Tshwana and English at DWR’s offices in Johannesburg on 27-28 September.
The training was requested and sponsored by MGG with the aim to train crew based at Sun Arena’s Time Square in Pretoria, where MGG are the in-house technical supplier, as well as TUT (Tshwane University of Technology) students who are currently gaining work experience and training at MGG in order to complete their diploma.
“With most delegates residing in Pretoria, I presented the course in both Tshwana and English,” says Boinamo. “It makes a huge difference in understanding the functions of the console when you are being taught in your mother tongue. Learning becomes quicker, and more importantly, it creates an environment where students feel confident to ask any questions.”
“Once

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UK - Christie is technical sponsor for the Dead Puppet Society’s production of The Wider Earth by David Morton. The award-winning drama tells the story of a young Charles Darwin’s around-the-world journey aboard the HMS Beagle - is showing at a purpose-built theatre in London’s Natural History Museum.
Christie provided the Pandoras Box Players, Pandoras Box Manager and Widget Designer software to control animated projection content for the 11m screen, which provides a vibrant and detailed backdrop for the actors and puppets on a revolving stage.
The Wider Earth blends the traditional storytelling medium of puppetry with creative sound, lighting and video elements in an impressive spectacle at the 357-seat venue located in the museum’s Jerwood Gallery. The screen depicts many of the exotic locations that Darwin explored, further immersing the audie

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South Africa - Absen users in South Africa were invited to attend a three-day training session with Ricky Qiu from Absen at local distributor DWR Distribution earlier this year.
The ACE Training (Absen Accredited Certified Engineering) was attended by 20 delegates from both the rental and install markets, with the aim of imparting practical user knowledge to operate and set up screens as well as fault-finding.
“The Absen panels have taken off beyond our wildest imagination,” says Schalk Botha, sales representative at DWR. “The panels are user-friendly, reliable, cost effective and easy to maintain.”
Ricky Qiu from Absen adds: “The training went very well and was much better than I had anticipated. The course made sense to the delegates, and I can see a positive future for Absen in South Africa.”
Qui will be in the country again in November to

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USA - Nemesis Audio has agreed an exclusive distribution agreement with Pro-Sound for the distribution of the entire range of Nemesis Audio products in North and South America and Canada.
New York-based Pro-Sound is run by industry veterans Jim Flynn and Andy Hilton who combine many years of industry experience with a hand-picked team of technical experts to handle their sales and support operations across many audio disciplines including broadcast, theatre sound and concert touring.
Pro-Sound CEO Andy Hilton comments: “Nemesis products are ground-breaking and very well thought out and are already deployed on many theatre musicals in the USA. We aim to increase the line’s presence within this market area and further expand into new markets.”
Chris Headlam, Nemesis Audio managing director, adds: “With the ever-increasing presence of Nemesis Audio products

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Hold The Music - The family Prince has hit out at Donald Trump, calling for the US president to stop playing the star's songs at his rallies. The late musician joins a growing list of other artists who have also objected to the billionaire tycoon-turned-world leader playing their music at public events. Omarr Baker, Prince's half-brother, tweeted: "The Prince Estate has never given permission to President Trump or The White House to use Prince's songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately."
Purple Rain was reportedly part of the president's playlist in Mississippi last week. It comes after Trump's team reportedly included the star's hit song in a campaign rally playlist in the lead up to the November midterm elections. Others who have spoken against their music being played at Republican rallies include the Rolling Stones, Adele, Queen, George Harriso

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UK - Around 500 industry family, friends, acquaintances and business associates hit HSL’s Blackburn HQ to enjoy two social open days to celebrate the company’s 30th anniversary.
The event included an exhibition space which was dedicated to 32 of HSL’s key suppliers and partner companies including high profile brands and manufacturers like Avolites, Chauvet, High End Systems, J&C Joel, Martin by Harman, Robe, SGM, Philips Vari*Lite, Unilumin and many more, who showcased their latest technologies and enjoyed the general conviviality.
HSL’s Simon Stuart worked closely and tirelessly to make HSL30 happen with a short lead time, just before the autumn touring season kicked in. He worked alongside Jeff Demain as the co-show producer to get the building prepared while event organiser Mark Walsh took care of the administration. In fact, almost everyone working at

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The Netherlands - Ayrton has appointed Ampco Flashlight Sales as its latest exclusive distributor in its expanding international sales network. Based in Utrecht, Ampco Flashlight Sales will be responsible for the distribution of the entire portfolio of Ayrton products across The Netherlands, with immediate effect.
With a history that stretches back 30 years, Ampco Flashlight Sales is a distributor, systems integrator and project house for both professional lighting and audio products. Its rental division has recently invested in Ayrton Ghibli and MagicBlade-FX to add to its hire stock.
“To be a distributor for Ayrton is a gift,” says Ampco Flashlight Sales general manager, Peter de Fouw. “We have been looking at Ayrton with interest for a couple of years. Then came the release of the new progressive fixtures which really spurred us to talk to Ayrton and progress

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Europe - On Tuesday 9th October, the EU released a revised version of their proposed new Ecodesign and Ecolabelling Lighting regulations. These are the intended final versions of these regulations.
The full texts are available to read via the links below.
From an entertainment lighting perspective, this version is almost entirely unchanged from the draft published in July. There is a minor addition of a new exemption for some specialist fluorescent lamps used in the film industry. And the exemptions established in the July draft, which cover many areas of entertainment lighting, remain in place.
However, this draft does not address any of the issues that the entertainment lighting industry’s Ecodesign Task Group have been trying to raise with the EU since the publication of the July draft.
This means that some key issues remain:
- requirement for lig

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UK - Green Hippo, in partnership with Kinesys, is running a two-day Automation Masterclass. Held in Kinesys’s London demo room – just 20 minutes’ drive from Heathrow airport and fully-equipped with chain motors, rotators, trolleys and truss – the course is designed for anyone looking to explore integrating moving elements with Hippotizer. No prior knowledge of Kinesys automation systems is required, though a good understanding of Hippotizer and basic SHAPE functions will help attendees get the most out of the sessions.
Course content includes: Classroom component to comprehensively cover all aspects of automation, including connecting to an automation system, to visualising and pre-programming your show; Hands-on sessions in Kinesys demo room where students will work with hardware, practicing object alignment, parenting and automation scripting; Use of Kinesys Vector

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Portugal - Following a series of recent meetings with distribution companies at international exhibitions including Pro Light & Sound in Frankfurt, WORK PRO has concluded new distribution arrangements for its LightShark lighting console.
Effective immediately, the following companies are exclusively responsible for LightShark sales, support, training and marketing in their respective territories: United States of America — Blizzard Lighting; Canada — AVL Media Group; France — Freevox; Switzerland — Plus Music; Colombia, Panama and Venezuela — Audio Concept.
“LightShark was something of a bold departure for WORK PRO, going way beyond the capabilities of any lighting control products we’ve released in the past,” explains Juan Jose Vila, WORK PRO’s chief sales officer. “Awareness of the console and its advantages and impressive price point has spre

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Italy - Music & Lights celebrated the official opening of their new headquarters, dedicating a day of exclusive celebration for customers, partners and international distributors.
The new base represents a further phase of development, with its over 40.000sqm surrounded by greenery and with a covered area of 10'000sqm, which brings together offices, research and development, production, laboratory and logistics.
An organisation that has acquired over the years a growing international reputation, with its brands that today are at the top of the professional entertainment industry.
This innovation played a central role in the distributor conference, held on the morning of the event and reserved for the international sales network.
Then, in the afternoon, the doors of the new exhibition areas opened up; a complex of over 1000sqm, including a stage set up

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South Africa - With a general insanity and a profound love and belief in the arts, Sue Clarence and her team staged the 26th Hilton Arts Festival, hosted at Hilton College in KwaZulu Natal. This year DWR Distribution’s SOS Charity Fund and the Hilton Festival stepped in to make a difference by bussing in 70 children from the Thembelihle Primary School to see three plays and attend two workshops.
Apart from the stunning weather on all three days, which was a first, what meant the most for Sue was the massive team effort from sponsors to high quality productions at this years’ festival. Everyone stood together from technical teams to cleaners, box office to arts, crafts and foodies. “We were one team and all equally important,” said Sue. “Another vital component is that the festival inspires creativity which is essential for the soul of a nation.”
Earlier thi

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USA - One of the most common problems for touring musicians is losing the seal on their custom acrylic in-ear monitors. The result is a loss of low frequencies – obviously a huge issue for bass players. Téja, the bassist for Janelle Monae, knows this from personal experience.
“It’s a real distraction on stage, because we depend on our in-ears,” she says. “It was frustrating, because they sounded good when the isolation was there, but the seal would always pop when I was singing, or even just smiling too big, and I would lose all the bass response. I had them remade several times, but nothing helped.”
Before a recent Janelle Monae show in Chicago, band and crew members met with Sensaphonics personnel Claudia Pyne (artist relations) and Dr. Laura Sinnott, Au.D., about hearing health and in-ear monitors. During the discussion, Téja brought up some of her qu

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USA - In 2009, a friend introduced Jason Bullock to an early model of the ChamSys MQ100. After playing with the console, Bullock took it out on the Summer ’09 NINJA tour he did for Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction. “After the tour, I was convinced the ChamSys was the console for my style of show,” recalled the New York-based designer.
That style, with all of its big looks, bold statements and roaring intensity was on full display this summer in Bullock’s work on the 27-city Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd Dazed and Blazed tour. Running the boards for both artists, Bullock took audiences on a breathtaking visual ride. Only now, instead of his original MQ100, he ran his 25-universe (not counting video) 250-fixture show with a ChamSys MagicQ MQ300 Pro supplied by Upstaging, Inc. out of Chicago.
“Justin Collie and the team at Nimbilist were responsible

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Europe - Voted ‘Best Guitarist’ at the recent European Blues Awards (2017), Finnish guitarist and singer-songwriter, Erja Lyytinen, hits the road this autumn to begin her Another World tour across Europe, accompanied by an Allen & Heath SQ-5 digital mixing system.
Supplied by Allen & Heath’s Finnish distributors, F-Musiikki-Oy, the single SQ-5 handles both FOH and monitor duties for the tour, with Lyytinen herself commenting favourably on the sound of the SQ: “The new SQ mixer works great with the IEM and the whole band has been very satisfied with the improved sound quality.”
The compact set-up comprises an SQ connected via SLink to an AR2412 AudioRack for remote I/O, which is rack-mounted with a wireless IEM system and positioned on stage for a fast, simple set-up at any venue.
Sound engineer Olli Huttunen adds, “SQ-5 is a compact, v

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UK - The new Flower Bowl Complex in Preston has recently installed Anolis’s Ambiane LED RGBW downlights.
The lighting scheme brings colour and vibrance to this three-cinema screen complex, part of a new multi entertainment and leisure destination concept developed by the team behind Barton Grange Garden Centre, designed to entice customers to spend more time having fun in one space.
The single storey building has an undulating ‘living’ grass roof designed to blend into the surrounding countryside. It is a ‘mixed leisure’ venue which offers three premium cinema screens, a four-ice sheet curling rink, an 8-lane ten-pin bowling alley, golf simulators and several food and restaurant outlets.
Russell Winteridge, general manager for Barton Grange and MD Guy Topping contacted Anolis and asked if they could design and supply a colour-changing and sustainable

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The Netherlands - There’s a roar of excitement coming from the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and it all has to do with their installation of quiet High End Systems SolaFrame Theatre LED fixtures.
The historic venue installed eight of the silent, fan-less fixtures – customised in an off-white colour to blend in just below the ceiling – in its Main Hall (Grote Zaal). The venue uses them to generate general front light for orchestras, as well as specials for soloists, and for shining on private events such as receptions and dinners held in the hall.
Head of lighting, Alfons Hutschemaekers, says a lighting designer friend saw the SolaFrame Theatre fixture at a trade show and urged him to check it out. “The fact that the fixture is silent when it does not move is our first priority,” he notes.
After a demo at the AED Group, he says, the SolaFrame Theatr

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USA - The 2018 revival of the Rogers and Hammerstein's classic musical, Carousel, has just completed its run at the Imperial Theatre in New York City with a sound design that earned the show and its Broadway Sound designer – and Tony winner - Scott Lehrer, with associate Alex Neumann, a Tony nomination this year.
Lehrer asserts that traditional revivals necessitate a transparent sound system so that the audience can remain unaware of the reinforcement. To achieve this, he made extensive use of TiMax delay-matrix spatialization, and explains, “It’s part of my toolbox and people hear it and they hear my work as sounding better because of it.”
For the audience to hear the full breadth of the 34 actors on the stage, as well as the 26-strong orchestra of solely acoustic instruments, Lehrer created a wide spread of time zones across the stage using TiMax2 Soun

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Germany - For quite some time consoles from China have been brought onto the market by a German distribution company. With regards to the key arrangement, these consoles are based on the MA onPC wing devices. In addition, these consoles - if the grandMA2 software is installed - illegally unlock parameters.
By preliminary injunction of the Munich Regional Court, the distribution company concerned has now been prohibited from distributing MA Lighting grandMA2 onPC software on devices other than original MA Lighting hardware. The infringer now faces a fine of up to 250,000 Euro for each case of a violation of the court ban and up to six months in custody if the amount cannot be raised. In order to avoid further legal disputes, the distribution company concerned has also committed itself to the complete cessation of sales of ‘Kolibre’ devices from the Chinese manufacturer Y

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UAE - APG has announced the appointment of Venuetech as its exclusive distributor in the Middle East. The partnership was officialised at Prolight+Sound Middle East in Dubai, where Venuetech displayed a broad range of APG products on its substantial booth.
As APG’s exclusive distributor in the region, Venuetech will cover the UAE, Saudi, Oman, Kuwait, Lebanon, Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain. This partnership opens a new market for APG - and is in line with the company’s strategic expansion: After reinforcing its presence in France and European countries (including Spain, Denmark and Benelux), the French loudspeaker manufacturer successfully developed its brand in Asia with the opening of regional offices in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Grégory Dapsanse, APG’s marketing & business development director, explained: “The Middle East was for us the next logical step for

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Europe - DirectOut has appointed Pilote Films of France and KDMC of Denmark respectively with the awards of Distributor of the Year 2017 and Outstanding Sales Performance of 2017. Both companies have achieved “a great result during 2017 and are confirming the positive trend in their business”.
Founded in 1982 and based in Puteaux, just outside of Paris, Pilote Films is a very well-known and established audiovisual distribution company in France. It is organised into two divisions, broadcast and residential, but it very well covers also the live and fixed installation markets.
According to DirectOut’s managing director Jan Ehrlich, the decision upon which company is going to be awarded as Distributor of the Year is at no time an easy one: "Many DirectOut partners performed quite well in the past year, but Pilote Films has performed incredibly well and this award
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