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UK - PLASA Focus Glasgow, Scotland’s only dedicated event for entertainment technology, returns to the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) on the 17-18 January, with free registration now open.
The trade show, which is hosting leading international brands, networking events and a programme of seminars and workshops, will offer visitors access to over 80 pro audio, lighting, AV, rigging and staging brands, including Avolites, Bose, Chauvet, ETC, Funktion-One and Robe.
Chris Toulmin, Commercial Director at PLASA comments: “Scotland is renowned for its famed festivals, iconic venues and rich cultural heritage, and we are extremely proud to host an event which supports this incredibly rich sector in Scotland. We are looking forward to another successful year of providing Scotland with the perfect stage for networking, training and discovering.”
Industry professionals

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MTV Europe Music Awards - Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes was the big winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards, picking up three awards including the best artist prize. Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello was honoured with the best pop prize, French DJ David Guetta won for best electronic act, while US rapper Kendrick Lamar claimed best video.
There were a number of British wins, with Ed Sheeran scooping the best live category, Dua Lipa collecting the best new artist prize, and Chris Martin-fronted Coldplay named best rock act. Irish band U2 collected the Global Icon gong, previously awarded to Queen, Whitney Houston and Eminem. Taylor Swift, who was expected to be one of the big winners of the night with six nominations, failed to win any awards.
In The Summertime - Michael Buble will perform at British Summer Time festival 2018 - his first gig since his

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental specialist Colour Sound Experiment delivered lighting and video equipment for Neil Marsh’s show design for popular alt.trance aficionados Above & Beyond at London’s O2 Arena.
The one-off show was effectively a soft album launch for their new Common Ground work and comes ahead of an extensive 2018 tour which will kick off in the US.
Neil took the base elements of the design for this show from their recent AGBT250 show at the Gorge Amphitheatre, near Seattle in Washington State. The band host a weekly two hour radio show - Group Therapy Radio – and celebrate every 50 radio shows with a large ‘ABGT’ live event staged in a different county each time.
As a one-off, Neil’s philosophy was to take a lighting and video design concept that he knew worked very successfully and keep things straightforward given t

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UK - Live sound hire company Capital Sound has added a second SSL L500 and an Avid Venue S6L to its console inventory in a recent purchase from professional audio specialist HD Pro Audio.
"We purchased our first SSL L500 and L200 consoles earlier this year and have been pleased with their performance in every respect," said Paul Timmins, operations and development director at Capital Sound. “We buy high-end consoles for specific projects to form a solid foundation and the L500 is out on long-term hire with The Killers.
“The L200 is really interesting in that it meets the needs for our medium price console inventory, at the same time allowing many more clients the opportunity to experience the work flow, high-end performance and sound quality of SSL. Our decision to add the L200 has worked well with it proving very popular for shorter tours and enquiries have been s

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Italy - Leading Technologies recently deployed a JBL by Harman VTX A12 tour sound solution at Umbria Jazz Festival.
Held annually in Perugia and surrounding cities since 1973, Umbria Jazz Festival has hosted some of the biggest names in jazz and pop, including Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Prince, Alicia Keys, Santana, Elton John and many more.
Continuing the tradition of excellence, the 2017 festival hosted performances by Kraftwerk, Brian Wilson, Christian McBride, Wayne Shorter and many others. In order to ensure sound quality for the diverse line-up of artists on the main stage, Italian audio provider Leading Technologies deployed a complete JBL VTX A12 tour sound system.
“This is the first time we’ve deployed the new VTX A12 line arrays at the festival,” said Giovanni Bugari, manager, Leading Technologies. “The festival’s

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Europe - This summer’s Celine Dion LIVE 2017 tour, in support of her Encore un soir album, took the Canadian songstress on a 25-date tour of Europe in her first major tour for eight years.
Dion’s lighting designer of 28 years, Yves Aucoin, put together a lighting design that featured 24 Ayrton MagicPanel-R fixtures.
He says: “Celine takes her craft – and her audiences – seriously, and we spent a long time carefully listening to every song in her repertoire before choosing which she would perform and how they should look. Her collaboration with the design team comes in the early stages of a tour, after which point she concentrates on her performance and leaves us to our work on the visuals. She performs 26 songs in the show but selected 48 in total, switching between French and English from city to city.
“On a tour of this scale, with venues t

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South Africa - Callum Sutherland, the 18-year old founder of CSR Events, has invested in a dot2 XL-F console from DWR Distribution to compliment his six Robe LEDWash 300s fixtures. He plans to make this gear available for dry hire.
Callum, who still studies at the St Stithians College in Johannesburg, has taken his hobby and grown it into a successful rental company.
“Passion in this industry is a huge component and you have to really take care of everything from the equipment to the people because if you aren’t dedicated to making every factor of your production as good as possible you won’t grow as a business or person,” says Callum.
He is said to remain committed to reinvesting "every last cent" back into CSR Events in the belief that this will place him in a better position in purchasing good quality equipment that can be hired out to the industry a

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UK - Dartford-based laser system design specialists ER Productions have used £200,000 of funding from HSBC to finance high-end laser equipment and secure new concert and television contracts across the UK and internationally.As a result of the contract wins, the company is planning to take on new staff and is seeking bigger premises to accommodate the growing business.
Sarah Milligan, HSBC’s area director in Kent, said: “Marc and his team have developed an award-winning company in just 10 years. Our support has helped fund their shows around the world and we look forward to supporting the purchase of new premises down the line.”
Marc Webber, director of ER Productions said: “We have been with HSBC since we started the company back in 2007. HSBC helped us then with the loan we needed to start up and have continued to support us. In the last year we have investe

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USA - A portable church setup designed to go in and out of a middle school gym every weekend, Preston Trail McKinney required streamlined equipment for its audio, video, lighting, staging and furniture setups. Martin Audio Wavefront Precision Mini (WPM) was specified to address the venue’s limitations.
As described by Clark senior design consultant Peter Fitton: “The church is transported into a middle school gymnasium with a 16ft. x 32ft. stage, a 40ft. rear lighting truss upstage and lighting trusses on both sides of the auditorium about midway through the house that provide front light for the stage and house lighting for the audience area. The video system includes a video playback server, a switcher, an 11ft. tall x 14ft. wide screen in the centre and a 13,000-lumen projector in the back of the room. The school provides seating for 300-350 congregants.
“For

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Denmark - Musikhuset Aarhus – also known as Aarhus Concert Hall – in Aarhus, Denmark, is the latest in a number of high profile theatre venues in Scandinavia to invest in Robe, with a substantial purchase of 78 x Spiider LED wash beam fixtures.
These are primarily designated for use in their main hall where they will be “workhorse fixtures” explained head of lighting Ole Nielsen.
Located right in the centre of Denmark’s second city, Musikhuset is a major music venue and features five principal auditoriums - a 1600-capacity Stor Sal (Main Hall); the 1200-seater Symfonisk Sal (Symphonic Hall); the Lille Sal (Small Hall) with capacity of 300, the Rytmisk Sal (Rhythmic Hall) a flexible space that can accommodate 500 seated or 1000 standing, and where most of the rock and electronic music shows are staged. The Kammermusiksalen hosts chamber music recitals.
I

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UK - The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) recently partnered with White Light to support the technical training of students over the course of the next year.
As part of the partnership, the company will supply the equipment on internal productions, offer demonstration equipment for lectures and classes, introduce students to key industry members.
The partnership will also benefit WL’s existing apprenticeship scheme, with RADA tutors running masterclasses and the WL apprentices embarking on a training opportunity at RADA in the summer.
Neil Fraser, RADA’s director of technical training, comments: “Having worked with WL previously and knowing their own commitment to training the next generation of theatre practitioners, it seemed like a natural step to move into a partnership together.
“This is a really exciting opportunity for both organisations

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UK - Plenty of exciting activities await visitors to the Institute of Acoustics conference, Reproduced Sound, even before it opens next Wednesday, 22 November, and closes at 6pm on Thursday, 24 November.
At 6.30pm on 21 November there is a coach trip to the Entertainment Engineering subject group at the University of Derby that will include demos of 3D audio. Immediately after the conference, in the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel, Philip Newell will be hosting a workshop on creating the 1970s sound. On Friday morning, 25 November, there’ll be a visit to Green’s Mill - a working 19th century windmill and science centre once owned by physicist George Green (of Green Function fame).
Other highlights include an after-dinner demonstration on the use of VR in theatre at 7.30pm on Wednesday 22, and a workshop on applications of numerical modelling methods in audio by Patrick M

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USA - Entertainment solutions company High Output decorated Boston’s City Hall Plaza using Elation Professional IP65-rated lighting for this year’s HUBweek festival.
With over 200 speakers, 150 events and 130 artists, the annual civic event brought together creatives in technology, science and art to foster innovation in the area.
Held on 12-15 October, HUBweek 2017 saw a different format than in previous years. Whereas a variety of sites around town have played host to past festivals, this year the festival was centrally located on Boston’s City Hall Plaza, dubbed The HUB. Designed in collaboration with design firm CBT, The HUB featured six geodesic domes, which housed talks, performances, and other interactive experiences, while a scattering of shipping containers were used to house events and art.
High Output provided all production suppor

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UK - Brighton-based band Fickle Friends is using a DiGiCo console on their current tour.
The band, who have been making waves across the UK since 2013, were signed by Polydor without even releasing a full-length album yet.
FOH engineer Calum Mordue of Patchwork London, who supplies the audio equipment for the tour, has been working with the band for the past 17 months and has picked the DiGiCo S21 console.
“I chose the S21 because of the compact size, channel count and processing power,” he says. “Being able to get 48 input channels across 16 stereo outputs from a console which is less than a meter wide is phenomenal. More importantly, it sounds like a DiGiGo; as good as a big boy SD7 The FX are great, too.”
Calum has really been able to put the S21 through its paces with Fickle Friends, as their requirements change from show to show.
“We r

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Australia - Sydney-based DJW Projects has become the first company in the Southern Hemisphere to install Powersoft’s new Quattrocanali 4-channel amplifiers.
The company installed four Quattrocanali 4804 (1200W pc/8 ohms) that power 16 channels of the 12” Void Venu 12 system subwoofers at the new Prince Hotel in Kirrawee, southern Sydney, for the Feros Group. The amplifiers were supplied by distributors PAVT (Production Audio Video Technology).
Launched at ISE this year, Quattrocanali 4804 features the patented SRM (Smart Rails Management) technology, allowing the efficiency of the system to be maximised and power consumption to be drastically reduced at any load and usage condition. Quattrocanali features the lowest thermal dissipation in the industry, reducing the need for external cooling devices.
It certainly ticked all the boxes for DJW Projects designer,

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Germany - Lawo, German manufacturer of audio, video and control solutions, has launched a new online product training for its Lawo Academy.
In its first course, the Academy is providing a free mc² audio console tutorial.
“In this video-based tutorial, new users can learn how to operate a Lawo mc²56 console. And as the workflows of all Lawo mc² consoles are very similar, this course will also help operators to work with any mc²36, mc²66 or mc²96 console,” says Christian Struck, senior product manager audio production at Lawo.
The course is structured into six chapters, with the full course taking up to four hours to complete and participants allowed to interrupt their lessons at any time and continue later. To enhance the learning experience, every chapter is followed by a short test. At the end of the tutorial, participants can pass an exam and get a c

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Australia - Point Source Audio (PSA) has appointed Australia-based ISL Systems to distribute its SEries8 and Embrace microphones as well as the CM-i series of patented in-ear headsets, in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
ISL Systems, based in Queensland, Australia, is headed by Wayne Grosser, who has a long-established reputation in Australia and throughout Southeast Asia. “Wayne has strong roots in the pro audio business in this region where he has been representing Clair Brothers in Australia for more than a decade,” said James Lamb, president of Point Source Audio. “We knew immediately ISL Systems would be a natural fit with our brand.”
Wayne Grosser, director of ISL Systems, elaborated on why Point Source Audio microphones are a fitting addition to ISL’s product portfolio: “The sub-miniature style microphones and patented lavalier mounting sys

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Spain - Green Hippo has appointed Earpro as its distributor in Portugal and Spain.
With offices in Barcelona and Madrid, Earpro is a specialist audio and visual distributor with experience in pro markets. The company was acquired by Midwich Group and has financial backing valued at over £400m.
Commenting on the new partnership James Roth, head of sales and marketing at Green Hippo, said: “This alliance is great news for visual creatives across Portugal and Spain. Earpro knows these markets inside and out, and our line of real-time video technology continues to grow in not just model choices, but also in its ease-of-use and technological talents.”
Miguel Mezquita, managing director of Earpro, commented: “We are delighted to team with Green Hippo. We are already very familiar with, and admirers of, its impressive product line and we can’t wait to play our

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Denmark - Each summer, the popular Danish festival Grøn visits multiple cities providing music, stunning stage performances, and fun activities to a huge audience. Though accompanied by unsteady weather, the bright summer days in Denmark demand extremely powerful lighting sources. With this in mind, lighting designer Kristian Holm Nielsen turned to the SGM’s Q-7 as the right fit to illuminate Christopher’s show during the eight summer concerts.
"Performing in direct sunlight, my main focus was definitely getting light sources that could provide a powerful blinder effect – even when accompanied by a very bright sun,” said Kristian. When asked why the Q-7 was chosen for this project, Kristian simply but firmly replied: “The output. Definitely the output.”
With a track record of over 10 years in the business, Kristian had worked on countless shows prior to C

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UK - Set in the north east of England, Kingston Park Stadium recently underwent a complete upgrade of its main sound system, transforming the match day experience for visitors. Although billed as a multipurpose stadium, its main focus is rugby, and the 10,200-capacity facility is the home ground for both Aviva Premiership Rugby Union side Newcastle Falcons, and League side Newcastle Thunder.
A complete new RCF Acustica P-series weatherproof, purpose-designed stadium system has replaced an ageing PA that was not IP-rated, and no longer fit for purpose, as the North, South and West stands were systematically developed.
Part of a complete RCF solution, the equipment was supplied by Ed Gamble at local RCF partner Nitelites, who also assisted with the design, with installation carried out by the R&B Group under the project management of Steve Brown.
AV specialists

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The Netherlands - As society evolves, the uses for historic buildings also change and, sometimes, disappear. Some of these buildings are replaced, others stand empty before submitting to nature or demolition contractors. However, happily some are restored and enjoy a whole new lease of life. This is the case at Ons Koningsoord, a former Trappist abbey and monastery, where a major Yamaha audio system has helped it to become the vibrant new heart of the Dutch village of Berkel-Enschot.
Located near the city of Tilburg, the impressive Ons Koningsoord (translated as Our King’s Place) building was not allowed to decay when its days as a monastery came to an end. An ambitious plan was made to renovate, modernise and extend it, to provide apartments for both ‘starters’ and the over-55s, plus facilities including a community and cultural centre, library, youth club, nursery, s

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Mexico - Fashion Drive is a world-class shopping centre in Monterrey, Mexico, that offers all the amenities of modern retail. Located in the city’s contemporary municipality of San Pedro Garza Garcia, Fashion Drive is a high- profile shopping centre whose modern design goes beyond shopping to embrace leisure, entertainment, dining, and even a hotel. Opened in March 2017, the modern shopping mall features top fashion brand stores and stretches across four levels.
An eye-catching lighting scheme was sought to project multi-chromatic shades onto the building’s modern architecture, both indoors at a large atrium area and on the outdoor facade. Tasked with dynamically illuminating the façade and livening up the interior ceiling in a variety of shades was Elation’s Mexican partner, Adimsa, who worked with Monterrey-based Luxe Lighting on the project. The two companies work

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USA - When Milwaukee-based Clearwing Productions took on the job of designing a new audio system for the Minneapolis Convention Centre, it was even more of a blank slate than a typical install.
The nature of the space itself and the wide range of events it hosts demanded an extreme level of flexibility, and that’s before taking into account the complications inherent in any government job. To meet the often-conflicting audio and production needs and stay within a very tight budget, Clearwing turned to a large system centred on Kara and Kiva enclosures from L-Acoustics.
“While the system was spec’d specifically for the main auditorium, we knew from the beginning that pieces of the main system would be in a near-constant state of motion between the venue’s meeting rooms and ballrooms, in addition to the auditorium,” says Clearwing’s Kerry Miller, who w

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USA - Audio-Technica supplied more than 140 vocal and instrument microphones for the 51st Annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, presented Wednesday, 8 November 2017, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Broadcast live in 5.1-channel surround sound on the ABC Television Network, the awards show featured an extensive selection of Audio-Technica hard-wired microphones, plus Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems with AEW-T6100a Hypercardioid Dynamic Handheld Microphone/Transmitter. Audio-Technica microphones were chosen for their ability to provide clear and consistent audio quality for live broadcast.
The CMA Awards presentation is recognised as Country Music’s Biggest Night and represents the pinnacle of achievement for those involved in country music. The team of industry veterans responsible for the audio at this year’s CMA’s again included
  1. Powersoft rolls out CTS RU training sessions
  2. HVR Show Equipment invests in Infinity
  3. Ashland Baptist Church converts to Danley
  4. AVT Connect launches new brand and website
  5. HSL equips Chase & Status Brixton show
  6. Liberty University adds Claypaky Scenius Spots
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