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South Africa - Phil Blue, sales manager at Green Hippo, joined with DWR Distribution to deliver a week-long training programme to Green Hippo’s South African distributor’s client base. Sessions were led by Phil with logistical and technical support from DWR’s local staff.
First stop on the Republic of South Africa schedule was Cape Town, where Phil gave an illuminating session, including using DWR’s Hippotizer Boreal and Karst set-up to take attendees through ZooKeeper – Hippotizer’s interface, which allows for real-time control of the engine and all its components.
Phil then flew to South Africa’s east coast to take a session in DWR’s Durban office. The day again covered ZooKeeper, as well as ideas regarding using Green Hippo products in Durban’s churches and theatres, such as the historic Playhouse Theatre. Phil then journeyed to Johannesburg where

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Poland - One of the top PA companies in Poland, GMB Pro Sound, selected two of Allen & Heath’s flagship dLive S Class mixing systems from its hire stock to manage monitors at the Polsat SuperHit Festival in Sopot.
Polsat SuperHit Festival is one of the biggest and most popular festivals in Poland, and features performances from the biggest stars of the Polish pop music scene. This year, more than 30 artists performed including T.Love, Kortez and Sarsa.
Comprising S7000 Surfaces and DM64 MixRacks, the dual dLive system managed all the monitor requirements for the multiple acts over the weekend. The event was also broadcast on national TV, with viewing figures reaching 2.43m.
“When managing such a big event, it is essential that equipment is reliable, intuitive and fast. These features are easily achieved by the dLive S Class,” comments Marcin del Fidali

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USA - Every four years, audio producer/engineer Tom Lazarus heads to Fort Worth, TX to begin working on one of his favourite projects, the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. With much of the classical music world focused on the prestigious event, Lazarus turns to DPA Microphones' d:dicate 4006 Omnidirectional Microphone to showcase the competitors’ amazing piano playing talents.
Lazarus has been a long-time DPA user and considers the d:dicate 4006 to be his microphone of choice for piano. “The d:dicate 4006 has the clarity needed for an event that features multiple pianos like this one,” says Lazarus. “The 30 contestants from all over the world that make it to Texas have a choice of one of three Steinways to perform on. The d:dicate 4006 grabs the character of the various pianos exceptionally well. It is a flat and honest microphone that suits this situatio

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UK - Following on from a highly successful event in 2016, creative agency Imagination has once again produced Make the Future London and the Shell Eco-marathon Europe, a four-day event held at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
The event promotes innovation and future technologies, and includes a variety of family-friendly activities and exhibits to educate and entertain. Imagination’s global project director, Lynda Hickey, and event technical director, Matt Francis, called on PRG XL Video to supply lighting, rigging, and video technology for the event, as the company was able to provide technology across all three disciplines.
PRG XL rigging account manager, Ade Stead, worked with Imagination’s brief to specify and build rigging structures for the outdoor stages, LED screens and lighting, and truss and supports for the lighting in multiple m

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Australia - RÜFÜS is quickly becoming one of Australia’s most in-demand live acts, and for their most recent tour, the band scaled up its audio quality with an Adamson E-Series loudspeaker system provided by Eighth Day Sound Australia.
Following no less than five 2016 ARIA Award nominations (Australia’s Grammys), RÜFÜS embarked on their Full Bloom Australian tour in early 2017, hitting 13 markets they missed during their last sold-out run through the country. Wanting to make a statement with a show that reflects their growing stature, the band brought out the Adamson E-Series solution.
Systems tech Chris ‘Chopper’ Morrison, who works with top touring acts including The Who, had encountered Adamson’s E15 three-way, true line source loudspeakers at some of the bigger music festivals around the globe and was thoroughly impressed by their performance.

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USA - This month, new and classic stars are performing at the iHeartSummer ’17 Weekend at Fontainebleau, Miami Beach, culminating in a TV special and live, two-day national broadcast across 130+ iHeartRadio stations, websites, and apps. Integral to the show lighting’s networking and data distribution are four ProPlex GBS Gigabit switches.
“We have four GBS switches on the job - Two at FOH and two at pits backstage,” explains show lighting director and programmer, Michael Appel. “We have an A/B network set up at FOH with A side switch and processing for the main show. B side is a full back-up to an A/B Cat 5switch that feeds down the fibre net to various sACN nodes.”
Appel adds: “We have used ProPlex GBS on massive shows including Kids Choice Awards, Teen Choice and the iHeartRadio Festival in Las Vegas. The switches are very robust and we trust them to ha

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USA - Voted for and recognised by the industry, AV Stumpfl received accolades for Wings Engine Stage media server and Monoclip screen system, both showing for the first time at InfoComm 2017.
On 13 June, Monoclip won the Rental & Staging Award for Best Projection Screen. It has all the features of the Monoblox system with a full clean profile without studs and press snaps. The Monoclip's entire frame block unfolds and the snap joints lock automatically for an ultra-fast set-up process. The MonoClip vinyl surface can be stretched easily and attached to the frame with patented QuickClip hooks. This gives the surface a perfect mat, seamless accurate fit to the projected image.
The fully upgraded Wings Engine Stage media server also won a Rental & Staging Award for Best Show Control Product. It combines a durable hardware platform with automatic camera based softed

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Europe - German manufacturer of digital audio and networked audio solutions DirectOut Technologies has recently struck an agreement with KDMC to become a distribution partner for Denmark.
The cooperation is based on a longstanding and close relationship with KDMC owner, Kim Johansen. DirectOut CEO and sales manager Jan Ehrlich is pleased with the new business partnership: “Kim Johansen has already worked with us for more than six years, from when he was with Soundware. During that time, Kim was very committed to our brand and products.
“As an extremely experienced and professional working audio engineer, he is highly respected by the industry and his clients. Doing business with Kim means that we can be confident that the client is covered perfectly in a qualified way.”
Johansen has been involved in large A/V and broadcast projects as product manager and s

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UAE - Sennheiser has started its Digital 6000 Demo Tour in the Middle East with the aim of giving customers a chance to get extended hands-on experience with its new wireless microphone system. The audio specialist is accepting requests from rental companies, production houses, large scale venues and broadcasters across the region that are interested in experiencing, first-hand, the impressive capabilities of the Digital 6000.
Sennheiser’s System Solutions team, with the support of UAE distributor Venuetech, will provide an on-site introduction and feature orientation on the wireless microphone system after which customers will be able to trial the Digital 6000 at their premises or test them in the field.
“The summer period offers rental companies time to spring clean, take stock and prepare for the upcoming season. This means that most sound teams are working at t

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UK - Digital and live production experts, Really Creative Media, has invested over £300,000 in Panasonic’s latest laser projectors, for its busy summer of touring and fashion events.
Really Creative Media has announced a major investment in Panasonic’s new PT-RZ31KEJ 30,000 lumen laser projectors, demonstrating the company’s commitment to its high-end offering to events clients. The new projectors will predominantly be used for music touring, but also for projection mapping and corporate events.
The PT-RZ31K Series offers detail-rich colour performance and accuracy, high brightness and advanced mapping capabilities. The laser light source means a more consistent brightness throughout the life of the projector. This, combined with its compact form and high brightness, make it ideal for use in live events.
The product offers up to 20,000 hours of maintenance

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Germany - The Adam Hall Group has announced its repositioning with a specific focus on business customers. Its newly launched corporate image campaign and a range of expansion measures pave the way. The company aims to increase the transparency of its solution portfolio and its service commitment to customers, partners and event technology professionals worldwide. With an investment of more than 20m euros in two building complexes, it is laying new foundations for the future.
The Adam Hall Group, as both a leading German manufacturer and a sales distribution company makes its focus on event technology solutions for the four professional customer segments – rental companies; AV installers; music instrument retailers and industrial flightcase manufacturers – more explicit.
With an ever-growing portfolio of pro audio, LED lighting, stage equipment and hardware produc

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UK - Black Light operate from their premises on the outskirts of Edinburgh, supplying high quality lighting, audio, AV and stage products for sale or hire to a wide range of clients. From educational establishments and amateur dramatics through to architectural installations and live events – a sector that resonates loudly in Edinburgh.
Last year the company’s founder and owner, Gavin Stewart took the radical step of selling 80% of the business to his staff creating an Employee Ownership Trust. “The business began in 1983 and I wanted to create a way for me to step away from the business without jeopardising the staff’s or the company’s future.”
This innovative approach reflects the company’s attitude to its investment strategy. Head of hire and events, Calder Sibbald elaborates on one of their purchases, the Spheriscan from Claypaky. “We were looking f

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UK - The Nottingham Contemporary has served as a shining beacon of modern art and education since opening its doors to the public in 2009. In addition to exhibiting world renowned artists such as David Hockney and Michael Beutler at no charge to the public, the art gallery performs a key social role through its work with schools, universities, community groups and outreach sessions.
Recently, the gallery held a fundraising gala for future exhibition and education programmes. Lending an elegant and stylish touch to the dinner, which included a tribute to contemporary American artist Glenn Ligon, was a lighting design anchored by eight Maverick MK2 Spots and eight Maverick MK1 Hybrids from Chauvet Professional.
The gallery specified the Chauvet Professional fixtures for The Space, a room within its interior that resembles a concrete bunker. Richly coloured and smooth eve

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UK - Musician, songwriter, singer, producer and one of progressive rock’s most distinctive guitar stylists, the UK leg of Steve Hackett’s recent Genesis Revisited with Classic Hackett 2017 Tour recently culminated in a sold-out show at London’s Palladium.
Mixed at FOH by Ben Fenner who has worked with Steve Hackett (both live and in the studio) since 1992 and ably supported by system technician Toby Donovan, the tour utilised part of Capital Sound’s inventory of Outline GTO C-12 line-array modules plus GTO-SUB low-frequency elements and LIPF-082 stage-lip fills, all driven by Powersoft X8 amplifiers.
Ben Fenner says, “I’m looking for width, depth and clarity, delivered with effortless power and giving a sense of immersion in the soundscape. Big, wide and impressive is what I’m after, but not loud as an end in itself; the capability for high sound

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UK - Manchester based audio specialist tube uk will be supplying a wide variety of audio systems to around 45 different projects and installations at the 2017 Manchester International Festival (MIF), which takes place in, around and all over the city from 29 June to 16 July.
The company - known for their fresh and inventive sonic solutions - has been involved since the first official MIF event back in 2007, and also two years before in a teaser event for the now biennial accessible-to-all arts festival which celebrates new works.
tube’s role in MIF has steadily increased over the years together with the sizes and scope of the Festival, and this year's projects will vary in length from five weeks (the longest including setup) to numerous one day pop-ups.
tube's Melvyn Coote will be overseeing all projects and collaborating closely with festival technical direct

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UK - “Just seven days before the concert was when we found out.” So said Lez Dwight of Britannia Row Productions, the morning after the specially arranged One Love benefit concert at Old Trafford Cricket Ground on 4 June. “Clair Global’s office in the US were the contracting party for the Ariana Grande tour and when she decided to do the charity event after the Manchester terrorist atrocity they contacted us directly, sensing that this was going to snowball, which is exactly what it did.”
This was always going to be tricky; if nothing else, Grande’s touring equipment was tied up in Manchester Arena for several days after the attack due to the police investigation. “We immediately arranged for extra equipment, mainly RF gear, mics and IEMs and two extra SD7s, to go into Wembley Arena over the bank holiday weekend. Here, Ariana’s band, who would form the ‘ho

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USA – ETC recently broke ground on the latest expansion to their headquarters building in southern Wisconsin. In 2004 ETC moved into their current headquarters building which, at the time, was nearly 250,000sq.ft In 2007 the company ran out of room and added an additional 78,000sq.ft of manufacturing space. By 2013 ETC had once again outgrown their building. They purchased a 355,000sq.ft building 16 miles west of the headquarters building in southern Wisconsin to provide additional manufacturing capacity.
Now, looking to expand again, ETC is adding a multi-storey, 75,000sq.ft addition. While the last two building expansions increased manufacturing space, this addition brings offices, lounge space, and meeting rooms primarily for research and development. The company currently employs just over 1000 staff in 10 offices around the globe. This expansion will allow the additi

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South Africa - After hearing that funds were being raised for the hospital bill for young Sineziwe Khumalo, who landed up in a coma and on life support after her lungs collapsed while working on an event, the SOS Charity Fund were glad to assist with a donation. Thankfully, all’s well that ends well!
Belinda Saville, well known South African events and project manager, sent out a cry for assistance from the industry on the social media platform to cover medical expenses for Sineziwe. After being released from ICU, Belinda then welcomed Sineziwe into her home to assist her with the initial recovery.
“This is my fifth year in the events industry,” said Sineziwe. “That is how I came to know the amazing Belinda who has been my mentor since day one. My roles in projects have included assisting with general productions demands, seeing to all compliance issues, ensur

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USA - Continuing to increase the lighting solutions available in their rental inventory, Elite Multimedia has announced the addition of Elation Artiste DaVinci LED luminaires. Needing a high-powered LED solution that provided minimal power consumption, the new 270W Cool White LED luminaires were also chosen for their diverse features and design creativitynd are now in stock at the Nashville office of the live event and touring production provider.
“In looking for an LED equivalent for our 700W short arc fixtures, we were interested in the Elation Artiste DaVinci because they could give us a wide feature set in an economical and multipurpose fixture,” stated Jason ‘Cannonball’ Jenkins, Elite Multimedia director of operations. “Their maiden voyage will be with our summer camp clients who needed a small fixture with low-power but great output, and we really like how

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USA - Elation Lighting Inc., based in Los Angeles, has been successfully offering Arkaos MediaMaster Express software for the past five years, as well as integrating Arkaos Kling-Net protocol into many of its lighting products. Elation has now entered into an agreement with Arkaos and A.C. Lighting Inc. to start selling Arkaos media servers to Elation’s US and Mexico dealers.
A.C. Lighting has been the exclusive North American distributor for the ArKaos range of media server solutions since 2012. The agreement between A.C. Lighting Inc. and Elation opens access to these powerful media servers to the entire Elation dealer network in the US and Mexico.
Eric Loader, Elation Professional sales director, comments: "As the market convergence between lighting and video continues, our customers need more powerful and flexible plug and play control solutions. Arkaos media s

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Creative Voices - The entertainment industry has pledged to fight against a hard Brexit and ensure that the sector has a voice during negotiations to leave the European Union, following last week’s general election result. As Conservative Party leader Theresa May continues talks with the Democratic Unionist Party in a bid to maintain a Conservative government, industry figures called on the new government to ensure that creative workers are given a voice when Brexit negotiations get underway.
Creative Industries Federation chief executive John Kampfner said the election result cast doubt over the country’s political stability, but said: “One thing is beyond doubt, however: Theresa May has seen that there is no clear mandate for the government to negotiate a hard Brexit. Federation members were 96% in favour of remaining in the EU when surveyed before the referendum. Th

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UK - Colour Sound Experiment has invested in 100 new LightSky AquaBeam waterproof beam moving lights in readiness for the 2017 festival season which will see the west London based lighting and video rental specialist supply over 60 different events with equipment, design services and crew.
MD Haydn Cruickshank (H) says they have been looking for a couple of years for a product that is water resistant and bright enough.
The IP44 rated LightSky AquaBeam is designed especially for outdoor live events and productions, and has been rigorously tested in the most exacting conditions, including enduring months of continuous extreme weather like driving rain, baking sun, dust, and windblown debris.
“They will be ideal for stage and PA wings positions or for lighting in outdoor scenarios where the kit has no protection at all” says H, adding that the fixtures are alrea

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Italy - A successful and enjoyable Showlight 2017 took place in May at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence, Italy. This much-loved, nomadic lighting quadrennial – the tenth of its kind – was attended by a record number of international delegates with 25 countries represented amongst over 400 attendees. The audience was treated to a broad and varied programme of papers and discussion panels delivered by 27 international designers and artists from many lighting disciplines across theatre, opera, film and television, architecture, live events – and everything in between.
Speakers for 2017 included Durham Marenghi, Phil Méheux, Roger Simonsz, Mikki Kunttu, Al Gurdon, Amy Mae-Smith, Isabel Nielen, Jeff Ravitz and many more. Italian lighting designers from the host country included Marco Filibeck, Vinicio Cheli and Aldo Visentin.
Alongside the small exhibition tha

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South Africa - Gearhouse South Africa has taken stock of two Robert Juliat Merlins purchased from DWR Distribution.
“It’s a pleasure for the crew to work with the Merlins,” commented Peter Abrahamse, acting lighting workshop manager. “No longer do you need four people to lift a big, bulky followspot as it is totally possible to move it around with only two people, saving us time on load in and load out.
“I have also had numerous reports from our crew saying they had to run the spots at a lower intensity as they were just too bright. This is unbelievable as we generally struggle in some venues to throw over 100 meters. While the Merlins cover the distance, they still deliver a bright output on stage.”
Designed by Robert Juliat with touring in mind, these compact fixtures have been a pleasing addition for Gearhouse. “In the past, we would have had to
  1. ABTT 2017 Annual Theatre Awards
  2. Peavey sponsors 2017 DMC US Finals
  3. Gus Dudgeon Foundation summer course confirmed
  4. MA Lighting identifies and bans copies
  5. AC-ET appointed Irish distributor for Luminex
  6. Loop light doubles stock of Pandoras Box
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