Business

Details
UK - Two more keynote speakers will be joining Dutch architect Francine Houben of mecanoo architecten at this year’s International Theatre Engineering and Architecture Conference (ITEAC) held on 3-5 June in London.
The three-day event will be opened by Louise Jeffreys, Director of Arts at the Barbican.
Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports, with responsibility for the operation and development of Dubai International (DXB) as well as Dubai World Central (DWC), will provide an insight to the challenges that urbanisation brings to large infrastructure projects, and how important cultural development is as part of the process.
Ascan Mergenthaler, senior partner at Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, will enliven the stimulation and provocation session, which will spearhead the final day of the conference.
A stalwart of this leading firm for more

Details
Philippines - PMX has cemented its status as one of the Philippines’ top production technologies suppliers with a significant investment in an E-Series loudspeaker system from Adamson Systems Engineering. Adamson’s exclusive Filipino distributor, Stage Craft International, consulted on system choice, made the sale, and provided PMX staff with extensive training in January 2018.
“As we’ve grown to take on larger tours and festivals, we’ve had to expand our inventory accordingly. Adamson’s E-Series boasts the sound quality that allows us to differentiate from the competition and rider acceptance we need in a large-format loudspeaker solution,” comments PMX owner Ferdi Garcia. “The Adamson product has been very well received by the K-pop community, which has a strong following in the Philippines. We’re looking forward to offering our customers this premium pro

Details
South Africa - Twenty riggers in South Africa kicked off the year with the 2018 Prolyte Rigging Course in conjunction with DWR Distribution, Prolyte and Rhino Rigs. Rinus Bakker from Rhino Rigs hosted the course from 29 January to 2 February 2018, and on the sixth day, DWR’s Robert Izzett and Keith Pugin presented practical training.
“It was a good one,” says Rinus. “The delegates responded well and had good questions - they were spot on. The course ran according to schedule which was a great indication of their understanding.”
The training covered important aspects of safety, maintenance, lifting materials and force calculations.
Rinus’ next stop will be in Rotterdam where he will assist a circus and their performers to better understand rigging particularly with concepts like dynamic motion. His schedule so far includes training in Dubai, Holland

Details
France - LED lighting manufacturer, Ayrton, celebrated the winds of change last week with new headquarters and a growing product line.
The LED lighting specialist moved its headquarters to a new, independent 1350sq.m space in Villebon-Sur-Yvette in south-west Paris. The new premises include a new lobby, more office space, a warehouse, meeting rooms and a permanent 220sq,m showroom.
A distributor day inducting Ayrton’s broad international dealership preceded the official inauguration, which took place on Thursday 8 March 2018. Over 200 guests attended the Grand Opening event and were treated to a tour of the new premises, a cocktail dinner, and previews of Ayrton’s new light show which will be revealed to the public in its full glory at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt next month.
Star of the evening’s celebrations was the new showroom, available to all distribut

Details
Summer Sounds - Fairport's Cropredy Convention music festival has confirmed that Brian Wilson will perform the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds at Cropredy on Thursday 9 August 2018. Acclaimed for its ambition and sophistication, Pet Sounds is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential albums of all time. Released in 1966, Wilson's masterpiece is number 2 in the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, only beaten to the top spot by The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper. The festival will be held over three days (Thursday 9, Friday 10 and Saturday 11 August 2018) at Cropredy near Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Money Matters - Regional theatre workers have voted to accept pay increases ranging from 3% to 4.7%. The agreement will see a 4.7% increase for workers covered in grades four and five of UK Theatre’s agreement with union BECTU – bringing

Details
UK - We all know how tough it can be as a freelance in the entertainment technology industry. The hours are long, you’re away from your family and you only earn money when you’re working. What happens if you can’t work because you’re ill, you have an accident, or someone in your family needs your help and support? You probably do not have a stash of cash put away to see you through. What then?
That’s where Backup – The Technical Entertainment Charity can help and that’s why it is putting on Comfest – an evening of outstanding comedy with the legend that is Al Murray The Pub Landlord and a great supporting line-up at The Dorfman Theatre on 25 March 2018.
In case you don’t know, Backup provides financial support to industry technical professionals working in live events, theatre, TV and film. It offers support and help to get you back on your feet.

Details
USA - More than 150 lighting designers, students, educators and other USITT visitors boarded special buses at the Broward County Convention Centre for a visit to Chauvet Professional’s global headquarters.
While at the spacious facility, they got to meet with the company’s product development team for a behind-the-scenes look at some of the latest fixtures in the Ovation line of ellipsoidals, Fresnels, battens and followspots, as well as the widely- honoured Maverick and Rogue series of moving fixtures.
Guests had the opportunity to take part in interactive demos of popular lighting fixtures. There were also demos of the latest ChamSys consoles. At the conclusion of their visit, guests participated in a question-and-answer session with company CEO Albert Chauvet, who was “energised and encouraged” by the idea exchange.
“For me, it was rewarding to talk

Details
Namibia - Production and rental company Mikel-Jes Productions has invested in new Robe Spiider LED wash beams which have been added to its ever-growing rental stock of moving lights.
The company’s co-founder and owner Michael Vermeulen likes to keep up with the latest lighting trends. The Spiiders are the latest in a steadily expanding stock of Robe products which started in 2008 when Mikel-Jes was founded.
Both Mikel-Jes and the other major entertainment and production technology supplier in Windhoek, dB Audio, have taken a Robe path for their moving light inventories. This means that as well as servicing their own shows, there is a healthy cross rental business during the busy periods.
Mikel-Jes currently has around 90 Robe moving lights in rental stock including the Spiiders which they initially saw previewed at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.
The Spiide

Details
UK - Dave Ward, founder of Gateway Studio and the Gateway School has announced the re-opening of Gateway Professional Development Training.
“We are re-starting the industry training courses that we originally planned with the APRS (Association of Professional Recording Services). They are designed for professionals in the Creative Industries who would like a better understanding of the various disciplines outside their own specialist experience or expertise.
They may be managers or administrators as well as operators. Plans are also underway for specialist courses for teachers”, explained Ward.
The first course, designed to give a greater understanding of the world of recording and music production, will be held at Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios in West London. It will run over two days, Saturday, 12 May and Sunday 13 May 2018. It will be led by Dave W

Details
UK - PLASA has announced dates for Plugfest, a three-day lighting conference running 25-27 April 2018 at The Copthorne Hotel near London Gatwick.
Plugfest is an unmissable event for all lighting equipment manufacturers who want to ensure the interoperability of their equipment. It’s a hands-on place to ensure the reliability of lighting products, debug and improve connectivity with others. Representatives who would benefit from the event include product development engineers, system integrators, production electricians and technical support staff.
The expert team behind Plugfest, Hamish Dumbreck of JESE Ltd, Peter Willis of Howard Eaton Lighting and Wayne Howell of Artistic Licence, have helped create and define many of the communication protocols relevant to the lighting community and will be on hand throughout the event. Attendees can expect ‘break-outs’ and t

Details
Namibia - dB Audio in Namibia has continued its investment in Robe moving lights with the recent purchase of 12 Spiider LED wash beams adding to their inventory of over 150 Robe moving lights, the largest Robe stock in Namibia.
The lights were supplied by DWR and are the latest addition in a steady commitment to the brand which dates back 13 years by dB Audio, one of the busiest rental and production specialists in Namibia.
Owner and founder David Benade started the company in 2004, initially as an audio supplier, however it soon made sense to offer other production disciplines like lighting and rigging. At that point, audio was his specialist area, a competitor moving brand was dominant in the region, and, being a start-up, budget was tight.
When it came to purchasing some new LED washes, Spiiders were an obvious choice as specified by the dB lighting team led b

Details
UK - Born out of the back of van 24 years ago, BCS Audio has gone on to become one of the UK’s premier, multi-faceted pro audio companies. BCS owner David Shepherd explains why DiGiCo’s latest console, the SD12, was “an obvious investment” and the appropriate choice for the current James Arthur and Tom Odell tours.
“When the SD12 was launched, I could immediately see it being a very popular console because it’s such a great fit for both small and large jobs,” explains David. “The footprint of the console means it will fit into a bus or trailer, whilst its twin screens give it the feel of the larger consoles in the range, which helps Front of House engineers with speed of workflow. That’s why we bought two of them and they worked hard all summer on the tours, as well as for the both artists’ appearances during the busy festival season.”
“I was u

Details
UK - At the start of 2018, Johanna Town stepped into the office of chair for the Association of Lighting Designers (ALD). Just two months on, she has solidified the manifesto that will steer her course and chart the direction of the association, as she embarks on this role.
Town’s diverse career as a successful lighting designer contrasted against the learning struggles she faced at school inform her manifesto. Starting in the 1980s at Manchester’s Royal Exchange, where she applied for and successfully completed a two-year apprenticeship course, Town later became head of lighting at London’s Royal Court, where she remained for 17 years having lit over 50 Royal Court shows, before embarking on being a solely freelance lighting designer.
Town says of her new role that she would like “to be a springboard to bring out the best in people who have plans and ambitions

Details
USA - The Audio Engineering Society will hold its third International Conference on Music Induced Hearing Disorders at Columbia College in downtown Chicago from 20-22 June.
The conference will focus on strategies and technologies for safer long-term hearing outcomes in the music industry and includes two days of papers and presentations augmented by lively panel discussions. Registration is now open, with Early Bird pricing through 15 April.
The Conference on Music Induced Hearing Disorders will feature presentations by a roster of notable audiologists and researchers. The keynote speech, Music for Brain Health will be delivered by esteemed scientist, inventor, and musician Nina Kraus, PhD, of Northwestern University.
Other notable presenters include Sharon Kujawa of Harvard, Dr. Marshall Chasin from Toronto, research psychologist Elizabeth Beach of Austra

Details
Vietnam - Adamson Systems Engineering and its Vietnamese distributor, Van Lam Audio Equipment, have welcomed Ho Chi Minh City’s Van Nghe Music Centreas Vietnam’s first E-Series partner.
Following the delivery of Adamson’s Applied Certification training for Van Nghe Music Centre’s technicians, the company will demo its new system at Ho Chi Minh City’s Demo ProSound in Vietnam 2018 trade show from 22-23 March 2018.
“I had an opportunity to hear several products from Adamson’s E-Series and S-Series at an intimate demo in Hamburg last year, and was immediately impressed by the audio quality. I knew right there that we’d found the high-end system we’d been looking for that will help scale our company to the next level,” says Mr. Hieu Van Nghe, the owner and namesake of Van Nghe Music Center. “The support we’ve received from Van Lam, Sonos Libra in Th

Details
Switzerland - Avolites has reached an agreement with Cast Swiss Light Consulting for distribution of its full range of Titan lighting control and Ai media server products in Switzerland.
For more than 24 years Cast Swiss Light Consulting (Cast) has been a leading supplier of fixtures, lighting control, staging, power, signal distribution and accessories for the entertainment, theatre, studio and film industries. The agreement now sees the company become the sole distributor of Avolites control consoles and media servers in Switzerland.
"We were looking to expand to meet demand from our client base for top-class consoles and media server technology and we realised only a major player like Avolites could fill the gap," says Silvio Cibien, Cast's chairman. "We believe we are a great match - both companies are focused on delivering the best quality equipment for the indust

Details
Sweden - Rigging Works Sweden (RWS), one of the country’s largest independent rigging and automation specialists, has recently invested in the latest Kinesys Apex technology, having purchased eight new vari-speed Apex hoists to an already extensive Kinesys inventory.
The company is run by John McDonough, universally known as JonnyMac. All eight of the new motors were supplied to the country’s high profile 2018 Melodifestivalen tour, together with four of RWS’s existing Liftket motors running with Kinesys Elevation 1+ drives, a Kinesys Mentor 4 controller - offering SIL3 safety over Ethernet - at the hub of the system and one of RWS’s flexible Kinesys Vector control platforms.
This gruelling six-week event, known for its high production values, visited six cities to select the Swedish song and entrant for the annual Eurovision Song Contest (ESC).

Details
Indonesia - CSA Indonesia recently supplied Gamung Productions with a complete inventory of live audio solutions by Harman Professional Solutions.
The Harman systems supplied by local dealer CSA Indonesia include JBL, Crown and Soundcraft solutions.
Setiawan Winarto, CEO of CSA Indonesia, says: “An inventory of high-end products is essential to supplying performances with exceptional sound quality and coverage - no matter the size of the event. With the addition of JBL line arrays, Crown amplifiers and Soundcraft consoles, Gamung Productions gained an advantage over its competition, establishing a reputation for versatility and reliable service.”
Ramesh Jayaraman, VP & GM, Harman Professional Solutions, APAC, adds: “We’re happy to see our products being used by Gamung Productions, a leading touring and rental solution provider in Indonesia.”

Details
UK - From 2 April, Stage Electrics will become the exclusive distributor of Strand Lighting TV, studio & location lighting in the UK.
The Stage Electrics team have already received training from Philips Entertainment Lighting and the distributor is expected to soon be offering product demonstrations to customers nationwide.
Shaun Robertshaw, key account manager at Philips Entertainment Lighting, comments: “The decision to make Stage Electrics the sole distributor, has been made to help best serve the marketplace. This arrangement will bring many bonuses, including demonstration product being held at Stage Electrics in the UK”.
Anna Western, sales director of Stage Electrics, adds: “We are increasingly operating in broadcast sales, installation, system testing and maintenance. Partnering with Philips to become their Broadcast Lighting’s sole distribu

Details
USA - From today (15 March), Strong Lighting assumes sales, servicing and manufacturing duties for the full line of Phoebus followspots and searchlights.
Omaha-based Strong Lighting, which manufactures the Strong followspot, Syncrolite and SkyTracker ranges, will now add the Ultra Quartz II, Ultra Arc II, i-Marc, i-Chip, Titan and various searchlight models to its production line.
Phoebus product support, repairs will be provided by Strong Lighting’s team of lighting experts while parts and replacement lamps will also be shipped from its facility.
Paul Rabinovitz, president of Strong Lighting, comments: “The Phoebus name is familiar to everyone in the entertainment lighting industry and Strong Lighting is proud to be in a position to carry that tradition forward and take Phoebus products to the next level. Our deep knowledge of followspots and searchlights a

Details
UK - PLASA Focus Leeds, the essential event for entertainment technology, returns to celebrate its 10th anniversary at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds on 1-2 May. Free registration is open for the show that has already sold out, with over 130 international brands set to introduce their latest products.
In addition to the wide array of exhibitors from lighting, audio, AV, staging and rigging, attendees will have unlimited access to a seminar programme packed with hands-on technical workshops to inspiring keynote talks.
Journalist and LSi contributor Phil Ward will explore the advanced challenges of spatial and immersive audio alongside a panel of manufacturers and sound designers including Tom Slater from Call & Response and Sco

Details
UK - Green Hippo held its 3D Projection Mapping Masterclass at Down Hall Hotel and Spa in Essex this month. The Masterclass training course explored all things SHAPE and 3D projection mapping and attracted participants from Dubai, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland and the UK.
The 3D Projection Mapping Masterclass event involved 10 members of Green Hippo, plus two representatives from A.C. Entertainment Technologies, Green Hippo’s UK distributor and two trainers from Notch, the real-time visual creation tool that keeps up with your ideas.
A special aspect of this course was the opportunity for attendees to get ‘hands on’ 3D projection mapping experience. At the end of the day, once classroom sessions, delegates headed outdoors to pre-prepared projection mapping stations, equipped with Green Hippo kit, and eight HD Panasonic projectors, provided by VER.
The beginn

Details
Norway - ARX has announced the appointment of Oslo-based Prostage AS as the new exclusive distributor of the ARX product range in Norway.
The Oslo-based company will represent the full ARX range, including the AudiBox Series, with new models such as the ‘USB DI PLUS’ second generation USB ‘Plug and Play’ digital to analogue pro audio interface, as well as a new range of Dante enabled interface products. The ARX product range will add signal processing tools to a distribution portfolio that also includes Prolights, Yamaha, Lynx Pro Audio, Protruss, Lewitt, JTS, VMB, Enttec and Swisson among others.
“Prostage AS is a well-known and respected distributor of professional audio, lighting and AV products and is the ideal partner to grow the market and user base for our digital and analogue product range throughout Norway,” says ARX MD, Colin Park. “Here at ARX

Details
USA - Elation Professional has acquired the M-Series range of entertainment lighting controllers from Harman Professional Denmark ApS, formerly Martin Professional ApS.
The asset-based acquisition, set to be completed before the end of Q1, will include a limited-term licence agreement to distribute current controller products using the name M-Series and provide continued technical support and warranty service for prior Martin M-Series sales.
Elation already has in place key personnel with expertise in M-Series technology in order to provide on-going support and development of new products. This will ensure a seamless transition for the already established M-Series customer base, offering continuity and continued support by Elation on past sales of M-Series controllers by Harman Professional Solutions.
Toby Velazquez, president of Elation Lighting, comments: “W
  1. A fresh approach for PLASA’s 2018 AGM
  2. The Week in Light & Sound
  3. Martin Audio appoints distributor for Argentina
  4. Motion GmbH invests in Elation Professional
  5. Really Creative continues Panasonic investment
  6. Sennheiser strengthens position in immersive audio
Page 265 of 1813

Latest Issue. . .