UK - As part of an ongoing commitment to providing customers with the best in presentation technology, Saville Audio Visual has just taken delivery of 16 Panasonic DLP laser projectors for the conference and live events division. The investment is a major step in enhancing the hire stock available through the company’s twelve nationwide branches.
The new PT-RZ970 is a single lamp DLP projector featuring a huge 9,400 ANSI lumen output for high contrast and vivid colours at full HD resolution. Combined with Panasonics Clarity Processor 3 technology, it provides excellent levels of clarity, detail and depth with full edge-blending and projection mapping capability.
“Having seen the projector at ISE, we invited Panasonic to a shoot-out with two other leading brands and it’s performance resulted in us placing the order,” explained Andrew Ellerby, technical support m

UK - Eskimo Dance is an exhibition of the grime genre in its rawest form. From the early days of raves at small (and often illegal) venues, the sound has gained more mainstream popularity in recent years celebrated most recently by Eskimo Dance at Wembley’s SSE Arena.

Firmly in charge of programming and operating the lighting for the show was Elliott Mountford of EMLD. The show was run with one of Mountford’s most recent acquisitions: A grandMA2 Light with an MA2 Command Wing for a full tracking backup.

“The first console, the grandMA2 Lig

The Netherlands - Since opening its doors to the public in 2011, the 700-capacity Gebouw-T concert venue in Bergen Op Zoom, Netherlands, has been a staple for up-and-coming acts on the Benelux touring circuit. Locally, Gebouw-T also has an important place within the region as a vocational educational centre, with students from the local Zoomvliet technical college responsible for the lighting productions of live gigs.
To give students and concertgoers alike the best possible experience in live production, the venue recently decided to replace its outdated moving heads. To this end, local install and rental specialists Relight Group B.V. were brought on board to upgrade the lighting rig. Relight did this in stunning fashion by installing a collection of Chauvet Professional Maverick MK2 Spot and Maverick MK2 Wash LED fixtures.
“Given recent advances in professional LE

USA - A club with no permanent home, Club Nomadic is a traveling venue constructed each year to support the build-up to the Super Bowl. This year, Nomadic Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of the NFL’s hospitality partner On Location Experiences, assembled the club in Houston, home to Super Bowl LI.
Elation Professional stage and decorative lighting was used to dress the club in colour and effect for a series of pre-Super Bowl events with Elation’s new IP65-rated Proteus moving heads used outside to beckon visitors to the venue.
Construction of the 62,500sq.ft pop-up venue began on 28 November, 2016 with the live event space opening its doors on 2 February for a series of events that included VIP performances by Bruno Mars, The Chainsmokers, Snoop Dog, Sam Hunt and Taylor Swift.
For those looking to have a good time in the city ahead of the big game, the te

South Africa - Simon King is flying solo after working at the State Theatre in Pretoria for 28 years. He recently took a seat behind a grandMA2 full-size to light La Traviata, a stirring love story brought to The Joburg Theatre by the Joburg Ballet, and complimented with the music of Giuseppe Verdi.
“The ballet is by Veronica Paeper, a renowned South African choreographer from Cape Town, and Peter Cazalet, the set designer,” said King. “They have specific looks so when I create something they will say ‘yes or no’, or perhaps ask me to tinker. These are classic productions but I’m also given the liberty to play. Having worked with the ballet company since 1993, it’s like working with old friends.”
King programmed the lighting on a grandMA2 full-size, what he describes as his happy desk. “It always works for me – it’s like my other limb and I

UK - Yes featuring Anderson, Rabin and Wakeman, a newly formed group of the progressive rock band's core members, played a well-received show at Manchester Apollo, captured by Eagle Rock Entertainment for DVD. As the filming required precise lighting levels, Jonathan Pask of Illuminate Lighting Ltd designed a reliable multi-user control system of networked Avolites consoles to ensure each look was on point for camera.
"As the show was filmed for release later this year, it needed to be both amazing for the live audience and for those at home," says Pask. "I've used Avolites since I started out as an LD and their consoles have never let me down. The multi-console set-up for Manchester allowed us to both run the show smoothly and provide real-time management of the light levels, so that the cameras could capture high-quality footage."
To power the show's classic rock an

UAE - Spread across ten days - and more than a kilometre of Abu Dhabi’s corniche - the Mother of the Nation Festival (MOTN) celebrates, commemorates and honours the inspirational values of Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.
Via a number of diverse activity zones, the festival again created an entertaining and highly interactive atmosphere, including educational activities, exhibitions and performance, inviting families and individuals from all walks of life to help preserve the Emirati heritage.
Based on their success in the inaugural year, Protec were again engaged to provide a comprehensive and fully integrated technology package - including rigging, and an array of backline from drum kits to keyboards - under the project management of James Lakin.
Working for Flash Entertainment on the Main Stage, his team faced considerable challenges, not only in re

Indonesia - Community Professional Loudspeakers has announced the appointment of Jakarta based PT. Goshen Swara Indonesia as its distributor for Indonesia.
Goshen is a leading distributor of AV products with an established portfolio of brands, including Apart, Shure, Biamp, Rane, DIS, SGM, AVIOM and K2VAudio.
Cunario Suriya, Goshen’s managing director, stated: “Community is a well-known brand with a comprehensive product range and outstanding technical support. Together with our value added distribution and committed network of installers and integrators, we are confident this provides our market with the right combination for a successful business.”
Suriya continued, “Community loudspeakers offer tangible benefits compared to other brands, particularly in challenging environments, and we are very excited to have the opportunity to develop and expand sal

Japan - Kawasaki-based production company Sunphonix recently acquired an E-Series system from Adamson Systems Engineering, making them the first E-Series partner in the Japanese market.
The package is comprised of E15 three-way, true line source enclosures and complementing E219 subwoofers, offering Sunphonix a significant competitive advantage to attract high-level domestic and international tours and large-scale music festivals in their home market.
“We were extremely impressed by the performance of the E-Series – such a nice, clear sound with a lot of punch,” offers Sunphonix system designer Akihiko Higashi, noting that Adamson’s Applied Certification training was a welcome value-add that will ensure Sunphonix can offer the highest level of performance for future clients. “The programme was very user-friendly and the presenters were very cooperative. We ap

South Africa - DWR Distribution’s Jannie de Jager will be presenting the Introduction Beginners Television Lighting Workshop on 23 May 2017.
Jannie’s vast experience has seen him involved with several studios and the commissioning thereof with projects including E-Tv Hyde Park LED upgrade (two studios), The Namibian Broadcasting Corporation LED upgrade (three studios), Botswana TV (three studios upgraded to LED) and the SuperSport Lagos Studios. He is also involved with training and support of many local broadcasting studios such as MultiChoice, SABC and ETV.
(Jim Evans)


Italy - Tuscany hosts Showlight 2017 and Green Hippo is heading to Firenze in force. This show, the 10th since its 1981 launch, takes place on 20-23 May in Florence, providing a beautiful backdrop for what promises to be a productive gathering.
Encompassing the disciplines of architectural lighting, concert, event, film, theatre, and television, Showlight anticipates that lighting practitioners from some 20 countries will attend the Florence event. Green Hippo will present its Hippotizer Media Server range at Showlight’s exhibition, enabling it to demonstrate its award-winning line to this multinational audience, while also benefiting from the show’s traditionally strong business networking environment.
The exhibition runs alongside Showlight’s series of presentations – exhibitor stands close during conference – meaning that exhibitors can also partici


USA - The Entertainment Technician Certification Programme (ETCP) has announced the launch of a new, redesigned version of its website: etcp.esta.org. Key features of the site include a cleaner and more modern design, a more engaging user experience with enhanced search and navigation.
The site's refreshed and simplified look, combined with enriched content, improved search functionality, and optimization for mobile devices allows users to better interact with ETCP.
(Jim Evans)

India - Mumbai-based PA company, Roshni Audiomatics, recently invested in an Allen & Heath dLive S Class mixing system, comprising a S7000 Surface and DM64 Rack, in preparation for the live broadcast of popular singing show, Rising Star, on the Colors TV Channel.
Established for over 20 years, Roshni Audiomatics’ client base encompasses all of the major channels and production houses in the region. The dLive system was purchased from Delhi-based distributor, Sun Infonet, after the TV Channel’s sound engineer, Mahesh Amberkar, had tried and tested it.
“I am really happy with dLive as it fulfils all of the requirements needed for any live telecast show. The Surface is user friendly, and I am very impressed with the extremely low latency and the EQ, which is superb,” says Mahesh Amberkar.
The Rising Star show generates 108 inputs and 60 out

New Zealand - The Fo Guang Shan North Island temple and community centre has undergone a complete refit of its audio systems by integration specialists, AV Expression, with new systems based around Community Professional loudspeakers.
Fo Guang Shan North Island is a large temple and community centre of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist movement. The largest Buddhist temple in the country, it is located in the city of Auckland, famous for its yachts, and known as the City of Sails. The temple and complex were built over seven years and opened in late 2007. The design of the Temple is adapted from the palatial design of the Tang Dynasty.
With the original PA system deemed no longer fit for purpose, AV Expression was appointed to design and install new audio systems for both the temple and outdoor areas. The design was carried out in collaboration with Hills, Community’s distr

China - Driver Terry Grant recently repeated his Jaguar SUV F-PACE loop-the-loop stunt on a 19m ramp. This time, the setting was located on the famous sea front - the Bund in Shanghai.
Grant’s first time performing this hazardous act was in Frankfurt, Germany, where he broke the Guinness World Record back in 2015. Both times, production company Imagination highlighted the event with SGM G-Spot moving heads, ensuring that the impressive spectacle was highlighted in a worthy and festive manner.
Project manager Alex Qian from Imagination says: “The Chinese market is being flooded with cheap lighting fixtures. However, we wanted nothing less than the best of the best that could display the luxury car brand Jaguar the way it deserved to be. After a test of the G-Spot, there was no doubt: Delivering the strongest colours and being IP65-rated, the G-Spot was the optimum

UK - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying was recently revived at London’s Wilton’s Music Hall and White Light supplied the equipment.
How to Succeed tells the story of J. Pierrepont Finch who rises from lowly window washer to high-powered executive. The show is directed by Benji Sperring with a lighting design by the award-winning Nic Farman. Nic comments: “What’s great about working with Benji in particular is that he really allows me to make lighting become an integral part of the story telling. It was about creating caricature through the lighting and being brave with the design as we wanted to put our stamp on the show and make it appeal to a modern audience without losing the 60s era that the show is set in.
“Similarly, Mike Lees, the set and costume designer, created a beautiful perspective set and furnished the ‘office’ w

Estonia - Robe DL7S Profile LED moving lights and PARFect 100 LED PARs have been specified and installed at the Estonian National Concert Hall (Eesti Kontsert), located in the heart of Tallinn and home to the Estonian National Orchestra (ENO).
The impressive Neoclassical building is shared between the Estonian National Opera and the Ballet Theatre Estonia. The Concert Hall is run by the Eesti Foundation, together with five other high profile concert hall venues – in the Estonian cities of Tartu, Parnu and Jõhvi - and St Petersburg, Russia.
The new lights were delivered by Tallinn based sales and installation company E&S, and were part of a much-needed technical upgrade that replace the previous lighting scheme which was fully ‘conventional’.
“We don’t just do concerts” explained Eesti Foundation director Jüri Leiten, “Although they are very im


Czech Republic - K-array has appointed SOONN s.r.o. as its exclusive distributor for the Czech Republic.
Founded in 2011, SOONN’s main focuses are distribution, consulting, project design and installations in the field of professional audio equipment and system integration, contributing to applications in theatres, social halls, music clubs, hotels, multifunctional spaces, recording and postproduction studios and sport stadiums.
SOONN is also active in the broadcast market, where it cooperates with the important partners in the Czech Republic, and the rental market, where they collaborate with small and medium size rental companies.
K-array co-founder and President Alessandro Tatini comments: "We are fortunate to have partnered with a company so immersed in the pro audio market in the Czech Republic as SOONN. I am excited to have them as a part of our te

Chile - Based in Viña del Mar, near Santiago, Audio-pro has been supplying audio systems for corporate, social and artistic events since 1990. In the mid and late nineties, they moved into the live music events, positioning themselves as one of the most serious and prestigious companies for sound reinforcement in Chile’s concert touring market.
Last year, having thoroughly researched the market, they decided to shift up another gear and service large-scale concerts. “For this we had to buy the best loudspeaker system in the world,” says the company’s owner Jorge Diez. “L-Acoustics K1 was the clear choice, for its rider friendliness, quality sound and longevity. We knew it would be a good investment.”
Ordered in December, Audio-pro’s L-Acoustics touring system, the first of its kind in Chile, comprises 48 K1, 24 K1-SB subs, 36 K2, 24 KS28 subs, along with

UK - PLASA Focus Leeds opens its doors next week, 9-10 May at Royal Armouries, hosting a wealth of product launches and the latest UK debuts. A range of innovative technology will be showcased including Cadac’s CDC seven - the newest addition to its CDC series digital console line; Martin Audio’s Wavefront Precision Series - a new generation of multi-purpose line arrays, Shure’s Axient Digital Wireless System; Robe’s LEDBeam 150; d&b audiotechnik’s 24S and 24S-D and 21S-SUB point source installation loudspeakers, not to mention Philips Vari-Lite’s new VL6000 Beam mid-air effects fixture; Nexo’s extraordinary GEO M10 mid-size line array; RCF’s HDL 6-A new mini line array and Chauvet’s Maverick MK3 Wash.

Cliff Dounting, UK General manager, CHAUVET Professional says: "We are especially excited to showcase the new Maverick MK3 Wash at PLASA Focus Leeds

USA - Thousands gathered at Bridgestone Arena to witness what was to be a concert of the ages: Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard. Taking place on what would have been his 80th birthday and the one-year anniversary of Haggard’s death, the sold out evening featured collaborations from artists including Keith Richards and Willie Nelson’s emotional rendition of Reasons to Quit.
Bandit Lites provided the lighting for the concert, which was filmed for broadcast on a network and date to be announced at a later time.
Dozens of artists, including Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, John Mellencamp, Loretta Lynn, Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Avett Brothers, Alison Krauss, Sheryl Crowe, Kenny Chesney, Dierks Bentley and Hank Williams Jr. turned out to pay homage to the ‘Okie from Muskogee’.
Lighting designer Mark Carver utilised a wide range of fixtur

Australia - Canberra’s Elite Events recently added another 700m of ProCable 18X1.5 assemblies to their already significant inventory of the six-circuit cables. TMB’s distribution partner, Lexair Entertainment of New South Wales is the provider for this and other TMB products in Australia and New Zealand.
“We own around 10 kilometres of TMB Cables,” says Darren Russell, Elite Event’s managing director. “In addition to ProCable ‘Soca’cables built in the UK, we’ve invested in ProPlex DMX and Ethernet assemblies, as well as various headers, patch panels, and tails.”
Darren adds: “In the past, we made our own DMX and Ethernet cabling. The ProPlex purchases were the first time we bought complete data cables off the shelf. We looked at some samples and were impressed with the quality; they were really well made, as well as nice to roll. After doing the m

USA - Sensaphonics is running a Facebook giveaway contest for the month of May. In celebration of Better Hearing Month, the company will award one winner with a pair of classic 2X-S custom in-ear monitors and a dB Check in-ear sound level analyser.
To enter, visit and Like the Sensaphonics Facebook page, then Share (Public) the giveaway post titled Respect Your Ears at the top of the timeline. Sensaphonics will hold a random drawing among all qualified entries and announce the winner 1 June on its Facebook page.
“Better Hearing Month is the perfect time to show musicians how the right in-ear equipment can deliver amazing, high-impact audio while still supporting long-term hearing health,” says company founder and president, Dr. Michael Santucci. “As our clients know, Sensaphonics is committed to delivering both.”
Known for their dedication to hearing we

France - For 30 years French theme park Futuroscope has been thrilling visitors with its multimedia experiences and dynamic rides. To mark the start of its fourth decade, a new €11m state-of-the-art audio visual experience has opened, with an Alcons Audio system delivering the soundtrack.
Originally opened in 1992 under the name of The Magic Carpet, the multi-million Euro update of Futuroscope’s IMAX cinema has seen it reinvented as L'Extraordinaire Voyage (The Extraordinary Journey). Eighty-four spectators sit in a triple row of seats on a platform which turns vertical (so the rows are now sitting above each other) and whisks them off on a dynamic ten minute ‘flight’ around the world, accompanied by an orchestral soundtrack and sound effects, plus smells and wind.
Complementing the 600m2 hemispherical screen is a 12+1 Alcons Audio pro-ribbon system, supplied b

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