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South Africa - VisualAudio Productions’ Staal Van Der Bergh has invested in a new Hippotizer Karst Media Server from South African distributor DWR Distribution. The new purchase complements his existing Hippotizer Boreal Media Server.
Staal comments: “I love animals - the more Hippos, the merrier! But in all earnestness, I don’t always need a big Hippotizer such as the Boreal and the Karst’s greatest selling point is flexibility. Now I have the best of both worlds.”
DWR’s Dylan Jones agrees: “Staal can send out the Karst on an extra show, he can work on large productions using both the Karst and the Boreal, or he can do a smaller show with just the Karst.” In addition, the unit can also be rented out for dry hire.
“The main attributing feature is a 4k Output which can be split into more outputs if needed,” explained Dylan. “Because the Hipp

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UK - For Robbie William’s Heavy Entertainment Show, sound engineer Simon Hodge is mixing on a Digico SD7 using an L-Acoustics K1 based system from Britannia Row Productions (Brit Row) and has not found it wanting.
“We have played some very tricky venues, acoustically speaking,” said Hodge. “The new amplifiers and subs that Brit Row has invested in have made a big difference. I was expecting the new subs to be better but actually the difference is pretty phenomenal - they produce notes that I’ve not heard before with what feels like effortless power. The new amplifiers have made a difference to the HF as well which seems extended in to the range that only dogs can hear. I have ultimate respect for Josh Lloyd’s system design and line up but that combined with the new system has resulted in the most even coverage that I’ve ever heard in stadiums.”
Lloyd’

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Portugal - Lighting production company FX Road Lights has announced their first purchase of Core Lighting ColourPoint Mini uplighters as part of their investment into corporate markets.
The Lisbon-based company has invested in 48 units to go immediately into production and dry-hire stock.
The ColourPoint Mini debuted this year, complementing Core Lighting’s product range as a smaller and cost-effective version of the ColourPoint, a best-selling uplighter in the UK, and a standard among the major rental companies.
Agostinho Carvalho, sales manager for Lightset and dealer in Portugal, commented: “Core Lighting has a great reputation as a manufacturer of LED uplighters, and it had the ideal solution to FX – we’re thrilled to debuting the first units in our country.”
FX Road Lights, who celebrate their 15th year in the business, have grown rapidly in

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UAE - World Class Events supported DXB Live and WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 in the safe and successful delivery of WorldSkills Abu Dhabi 2017 held at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from 15-18 October.
Project director John Adkins, senior project manager Brian Gowen and six project managers planned and oversaw the event build, which welcomed 1,300 competitors, 10,000 international visitors and 100,000 visitors from the UAE.
John Adkins, managing director of World Class said: “Make no mistake, the de-rig for World Skills Abu Dhabi 2017 was a mammoth undertaking! The scale of the event, size of the venue and large quantities of kit, equipment and exhibits and the timeframe we working to meant that nothing less than a precise and efficient plan would ensure a successful outcome. The way that Showforce switched on all of its departments to mobilise the numbe

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Spain - A sizzling 2017 Ibiza summer season saw new clubbing experience Hï burst on the scene with fresh energy and impetus mainlined into the heart of the Balearic dance scene via visual productions created by Romain Pissenem and his team from High Scream.
Over 200 Robe moving lights helped Romain define Hï’s two spaces – the Theatre and the Club. These included 72 x Pointes, 24 x Spiiders and 36 x Spikies in the Theatre and 100 x Spikies and another 20 Spiiders in the Club, all supplied by their regular lighting rental partner, France based the SLS Group, who also supplied all Hï’s video.
The building was previously known as Space for years by the clubbing fraternity, so a major aesthetic objective was the total transformation involving everything apart from the exterior walls.
Romain teamed up with acclaimed show, lighting, set and video designer Will

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Belgium - Creative agency ACTLD has been deploying SGM’s LED luminaires for a long time and used various fixtures across their recent projects.
More than 60% of the projects ACTLD is involved in take place outdoors, and Koert Vermeulen, principal designer, founder, and managing partner of ACTLD, was lacking a specific product on the market.
“SGM is for us a natural partner being the only company at that point to develop an IP65-rated moving head. I had been talking – begging on my knees – for the last 15 years for a fixture like this. Everyone said to me ‘the market isn’t big enough’ or ‘order a thousand and we’ll make you one’. So, when Peter Johansen came with the G-Spot, I felt that finally someone had listened to my prayers,” says Koert Vermeulen with a smile.”
Some of ACTLD’s recent projects include Naked Truth for the Bright

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UK - A 36-channel Audient ASP8024 desk with patchbay and producer’s desk has been installed at Cornwall charity Livewire Youth Music.
The charity offers free and open access to music lessons and its facilities are also used as a teaching space for 10 to 21 year-olds interested in live engineering and studio recording.
The arrival of the professional quality Audient console has brought a significant upgrade in sound quality along with a more enriching experience for those on both sides of the glass.
Manager Andy Rance has been running the youth centre for the best part of three decades, and was pleased to welcome local three-piece band, The Flying Saucepans as the first to be recorded using the analogue console last month. “Our long-time studio and venue engineer, Will Rodgers led the session with support from two of the older trainee studio engineers,” says

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UK - Adlib’s Scottish operation has recently supplied a substantial L-Acoustics package with DiGiCo control to Limelight Event Services, an Inverness-based production and rental company.
Limelight had already developed a relationship with Adlib as they previously owned a smaller L-Acoustics system and would use Adlib to source cross hires for larger shows and for spares as necessary.
The recent purchases include most of the current L-Acoustics range of speakers - K2, Kara, Kiva and ARCS Wide plus HiQ wedges – supplied together with LA amplifiers, proprietary flying systems, a set of LoadGuard motors and rigging - all fully flight-cased. A DiGiCo SD12 console was selected as a fully-featured user-friendly console with which most professional sound engineers will be familiar.
Craig Duncan, owner of Limelight Event Services, said: “We feel that L-Acoustics is

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has been appointed as a Panasonic Solutions partner for the Panasonic range of professional projectors and large format display screens.
The product range will bolster the line-up of technologies available from AC-ET’s video sales division.
Stuart Burdett, sales manager for AC-ET's video sales division, commented: “We're delighted to add Panasonic to our video portfolio. The brand and its products are synonymous with innovation, first-class image performance and excellent build quality, and we are excited to be able to make the full range available to our customers.”
AC-ET has access to Panasonic’s visual solutions, including popular models such as the PT-RZ970 laser projector, which is designed for intensive usage and maintenance-free, long-lasting brightness (9,400 lumens) in permanent installations. Panas

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USA - When the leadership team at Joppa, Maryland-based Mountain Christian Church (MCC) found a prime location in nearby Abingdon to establish its fourth area campus, there was one thing that wasn’t quite so ideal - the facility’s low 13ft ceilings, which limited sound reinforcement options for the planned 600-seat worship space.
However, AVL systems provider Mankin Media Systems of Franklin, Tennessee was able to recommend a highly effective and elegant solution in the form of L-Acoustics’ new Syva colinear loudspeaker system.
This project is particularly noteworthy in that it represents both the first North American permanent install for Syva as well as the world’s first house of worship to adopt the new system.
“The Syva system at Abingdon’s campus is the secret weapon that really made the room what it is,” says Mankin’s Tim Corder. “In the p

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USA - Playback engineer Romain Garnier and long-time FOH engineer James McCullagh have chosen DirectOut products to improve redundancy and provide D/A conversion for the Backstreet Boys’ entirely digital Larger Than Life Las Vegas residency and forthcoming 2018 world tour.
The US boy band that saw international success during the 1990s is currently in residency in Las Vegas – supported by audio company and DirectOut audio vendor Sound Image – with a live show based wholly on a “virtual band” playout of 64 separate and unequalised digitally recorded tracks.
Garnier explains: “We chose DirectOut products because they are extremely reliable and offer great flexibility. They’re also compact and robust which makes them perfect for the road.”
The playback rig for Larger Than Life includes a redundant pair of MacBook Pro computers running c

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USA - Audio-system integrator Solotech recently completed the world’s first permanent installation of JBL by Harman VTX A12 loudspeakers at The Colosseum at Caesars Windsor Hotel & Casino resort.
The Colosseum is a 5,000-seat venue that hosts a wide range of performances - from chart-topping rock bands to acclaimed comedians. In order to improve the sound quality in the venue, The Colosseum hired Solotech to replace its entire audio system in three separate phases. In the first phase, which was completed earlier this year, Solotech replaced the venue’s aging main hangs with 26 VTX A12 loudspeakers, JBL’s latest line array technology.
“We've got a world-class venue, and thanks to the VTX A12, we now have a world-class PA,” said David Cyrenne, production supervisor and audio engineer at The Colosseum. “We needed something reliable and versatile to complem

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UK - Full-service technical production company Blitz, A GES Company has recently invested in 24 ProLights Luma 1500 LED luminaires for use on high-profile corporate and live events.
Part of the global GES network, UK-based Blitz produces hundreds of events annually and has built up a loyal customer base over the past 25 years. The company provides production services for conferences, product launches, awards ceremonies, AGMs, exhibitions and road shows to a diverse range of global financial brands as well as aerospace and tech giants amongst others.
When Blitz's lighting manager Nick Clarke was looking to invest in a new moving spot fixture for medium and large-scale events, he approached technology reseller, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) for some options to look at.
Nick commented: "The Luma 1500 is ideal for us. It provides a great output LED source

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Finland - Helsinki City Theatre, the biggest professional repertoire theatre in Finland, has recently reopened its doors after an extensive three-year refurbishment and upgrade process. The technical part of the multi-million Euro renovation project was designed and managed by international theatre consultants Theatreplan.
“We were first approached by HCT in 2014 to work with them on a complete refit of the entire building,” explained Theatreplan director and stage engineering specialist, Dave Ludlam. The project started in March 2014 and was delivered in July 2017 for inauguration in August to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the modern Finnish nation.
Theatreplan carried out work on two of the six stages within the building: the ‘big stage’ with a capacity of 947, and the 347-seat ‘small stage’. The big stage now benefits from a re-shaped proscenium

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UK - Full service production company Stage Production is supplying all the production for a new multi-purpose event space in Birmingham called Crane and has turned to Elation Professional products to fulfil the lighting brief.
Crane, which opened on 29 September is a large space with a raw industrial feel in the heart of the Digbeth district of central Birmingham. Along with elevated ceilings, iron beams and exposed brick work, the space is defined by two 5-ton rolling cranes that span the width of the building and roll down its length on steel girders. The venue is run by The Rainbow Venues, which own a complex of other converted warehouse event and club spaces in the area, many of which Stage Productions has also been supplying production for over the last eight years.
Every week, a DJ or other artist performs at the 3500-capacity venue. Crane’s stage changes per

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Argentina - In their hit single At Dawn, Argentinian rockers La Beriso sing about the undying resilience of dreamers. It is an apt theme for this hard-rocking group of seven musicians who struggled for some years after they formed their band in the gritty port city of Avellaneda, before breaking through as one of South America’s hottest artists, an accomplishment that led Rolling Stone Argentina to proclaim them “the new hope of street rock”.
The band’s intense passion was on full display in their 2 September performance at Rosario’s Metropolitan concert hall, not just in their unflinchingly honest music, but also in the vividly coloured lightshow that supported it note for powerful note. Lighting designer David De Martin anchored his high-octane rig around a collection of Chauvet Professional fixtures supplied by Deligio - Producciones Técnicas.

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World - ESTA and PLASA have announced the release of an International Code of Practice for Entertainment Rigging (ICOPER) which is available as a free download at www.esta.org/icoper or www.plasa.org/icoper.
In response to calls from the international entertainment rigging community, rigging professionals from around the globe came together to create ICOPER to promote awareness and safety worldwide by providing a model code of practice with a focus on arena rigging. However, this Code of Practice is applicable to all event production rigging disciplines.
The practices described in the Code are intended to provide a universal foundation for those engaged in planning, managing and executing entertainment rigging. ICOPER also provides guidelines for those who wish to develop policy, design training content or help establish certification criteria.
Key areas covered

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Germany - If the six musicians of PUR keep their fans waiting for a whole year, there has to be a very good reason. And a gigantic, one-off concert provided the answer, as for the sixth time at the Veltins Arena, 65,000 fans flocked to the PUR & Friends concert. This gave them the chance not only to celebrate their band, but also a number of high-profile guests. Among them were Andreas Bourani, Daniel Wirtz, comedian Bülent Ceylan and Max Giesinger. The success of this mega event was assured at the beginning of the year, when all tickets were sold out in a very short time.
What the sold-out arena would be offered over the 150 minutes could only be described as ‘excitement’ - as the six musicians entered the venue to a fanfare and took to their gigantic stage in the centre of the arena. Lighting designer Günter Jäckle, who has been one of the permanent associates o

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UK - Stylus Productions is a new, London-based company providing production management services and pro-audio rental. Founded in 2016 by Sam Thomas and Oliver Weeks, the company delivers a comprehensive service for the touring and live events industry and has an uncompromising approach to technical excellence. In line with this, it has recently invested in DiGiCo mixing consoles, adding an SD10 and SD11 to its inventory.
“As a young company entering a competitive marketplace, we knew from the outset that we had to carry an inventory with maximum functionality and flexibility; systems that are powerful and applicable to a varied client base,” says Sam. “This made DiGiCo the obvious choice when looking at consoles.”
“We approach things very much from an engineers’ point of view, and try to devise solutions that will best suit their individual needs in demandi

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UK - Utopium has invested in new energy efficient lighting fixtures.
The company has added the SGM G-4 Wash fixtures, compact DMX-controlled LED Fresnel wash lights with superb colour mixing abilities and low power consumption. Contrary to most conventional wash lights, the G-4 comprises red, green blue, amber and mint LEDs, which mix directly in the light source. The fixture also contains a dichroic enhancer to create a deep blue which delivers a highly saturated backlight effect.
Utopium’s other recent acquisitions include: Martin VDO Sceptron 10, Hippotizer Amba Media Server, Avolites Tigher Touch 2 and Chauvet Colarado 2 Solo.
Utopium’s Colin Bodenham remarked: “By constantly reinvesting in our stock we can be sure that we are able to support our clients’ creative requirements. These fixtures are great additions to our dry hire and event lighting inve

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USA - Lighting designer Butch Allen created a stunning visual design for American rock band Paramore’s Tour Two US tour using a bevy of Elation Professional’s compact ACL 360i beam effect lights. Supplied by LMG Touring for the fall leg of the band’s US tour, which wrapped up on 17 October, 72 of the single-beam moving effects formed the aerial lighting focal point throughout the show.
“I needed a very small fixture with big output,” Allen said. “The lights were in the projection field for video and minimizing shadows without sacrificing the lighting look was a challenge. The ACL 360i fit the bill perfectly.” Allen, who was using the fixture for the first time, praised its intensity and named its small size and low weight (33 cm/13 in tall and 5.2 kg/11.5 lbs) as important factors in its choice, as well as the ability to fit the budget.
LMG Touri

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UK - Southampton Solent University has upgraded its performance studios as part of a £100m facilities improvement programme running up to 2020, with VDC supplying the cabling infrastructure.
The university’s TV, Film and Media Technology department already boasts a number of professional-standard facilities including 4K-ready broadcast studios, radio suites and newsrooms, and the decision was made to invest in similarly high-quality facilities for the Music and Performance students. The department has nine rooms in total, five full studios and four smaller workstations which can be used for mixing. Studio 1 was upgraded in 2016 but the remaining studios hadn’t been touched for around ten years so much of the kit was showing signs of wear and tear.
When the decision was made to redevelop Studio 1, Technical Instructor Jon Wills contacted VDC to provide the cabling

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Europe - Production manager Will Wilkinson engaged the services of Video Design, Negative Earth lighting and SSE for sound during Lady Antebellum’s recent European tour.
The band visited the Netherlands, England, Scotland and Ireland during the European leg of the tour comprising six dates between 1 October and 10 October, with the crew and band arriving on the continent on 27 September.
Wilkison says: “When you tour with such a tight schedule at an arena level, the key is being able to source close what we use in the US. In that sense of matched equipment, it was a very smooth transition from the US into Europe. As far as Video Design was concerned, our biggest concern was over the video content. With almost no time for production prep ahead of our first show in Amsterdam we needed to send our content over before we arrived and have it loaded onto the server.

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UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies recently supplied Edinburgh-based rental & production company Black Light with Luminex GigaCore switches to provide a dual redundancy fibre network for the reveal of the new £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing bridge.
The lighting scheme, designed by event production company JMP Productions and supplied by Black Light, was switched on by First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon to commemorate the completion of one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Scotland in a generation.
With the structure spanning 1.7 miles / 2.7 kilometres over the River Forth, and the launch event attracting a huge amount of media interest, Black Light needed to ensure that the technical infrastructure for the ambitious lighting scheme performed seamlessly.
The ultra-reliable system they chose consisted of Luminex GigaCore network switches, plus
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