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UK - Lancashire-based HSL Group has taken the ambitious step of providing lighting designers in architectural segments with an invaluable resource for project work.

A major investment in 250 of SGM's multi-purpose Q-7s, an IP65-rated combination flood/strobe/blinder, augments a department which already contains over 100 G-Spots, as well as P-5 and P-2 wash lights.

The idea was hatched jointly by HSL Group MD, Simon Stuart, and SGM UK MD, Ian Kirby. With regional bases in Ireland, Kent and Southampton, the potential for HSL Group to capitalise in this sector becomes immense, the two men believe.

Explaining the move, Simon Stuart said, "We want to introduce more of these stunning lights to the marketplace and open a greater supply line for both temporary and permanent architectural projects. These fixtures are not only suitable because they are IP65 rated - they are also

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The Netherlands - In August 2015, Dutch rental company Primetime Eventtechniek + Inrichting, based in Cuijk, lost everything in a major fire that reduced their building and everything in it to ashes. Devastated yet undeterred by the major setback, Primetime owner Patrick Michiels vowed to rebuild and wasted no time getting the company back on its feet with an admirable "full speed ahead" attitude and the recent acquisition of an Elation Professional lighting package.

Primetime is a one-stop-shop for events of all types - corporate or private - and replacing its entertainment technology equipment was a priority. For years, Primetime has been a regular customer of Elation partner Fritz-Events whose owner, Fritz Abrahams, wanted to help Patrick achieve his objective of getting back on his feet as soon as possible.

After a comparison with various other lighting brands and a vi

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UK - When Yorkshire based Sound Hire needed to expand its range of wireless microphones, JTS's UF-20 was the winner from a strong field. Sound Hire, which specialises in the demanding theatre, performing arts and education markets, is no stranger to wireless equipment.

"I've been using wireless microphones since the mid-1980s and I'm a bit of an anorak when it comes to wireless systems," owner Joe Mitchell says. "I'd used some of the budget JTS products in the past, before they manufactured the higher spec systems and I'd always been impressed, as I've also been with the JTS cabled microphones I've used, which are good value for money and well made. I originally bought JTS systems for installations and found they just worked without any problems.

"Nobody ever came back and complained about them - they just did what they were supposed to do each and every time and that sort

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Europe - Nexo has posted new dates for its popular ETC training seminar programme, including some sessions dedicated to the company's flagship modular line array design, the STM Series.

All Nexo seminars are free of charge to students and the scope of the ETC programme ranges further than just Nexo products. ETC1 looks at generic issues of sound reinforcement such as acoustic fundamentals, and the theoretical approaches of point source and line array systems. All seminars include practical hands-on training with Nexo's own loudspeaker technologies.

Dates have been set for three different seminars in France and in the UK, taught in French or English. The generalist ETC courses take place over two days, while the STM course is for one day.

ETC1: designed for sound technicians and engineers, this progresses from theoretical classes in acoustic fundamentals, point source a

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France - A total of 232 Robe moving lights - including 80 x BMFL Blades, 70 x LEDWash 1200s, 84 x Pointes and 8 x LEDWash 300s were part of a colourful opening ceremony for the new 415m euro Grande Stade de Lyon.

Lighting designer Tony Anzalone was working for Lyon based GL events Audiovisual, who co-ordinated and supplied the high profile event's technical production.

The 60,000 capacity stadium will be the home of Ligue 1 football team Olympique Lyonnais (OL) as well as hosting concerts and other sporting events including the upcoming European Rugby Champions Cup Final in May.

The grand opening show featured a high energy son et lumi

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Denmark - SVT Swedish Broadcaster has awarded [LITE]COM Group the contract to be the official supplier of all lighting, control, truss, rigging and automation for Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The event will be taking place at the Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on 10, 12 and 14 May 2016, hosted by Petra Mede and Mans Zelmerl

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USA - The Knoxville Chamber Partnership recently held the Annual Governor's Breakfast at the Knoxville Convention Centre, where Governor Bill Haslam addressed a record breaking crowd of 660. Bandit Lites, a member of the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce, provided the lighting for the event as the Governor covered his legislative priorities for this session, which included increased funds for education and infrastructure improvement projects.

To keep the lighting fairly simple due to the ballroom being scheduled for another immediate event, Bandit utilized Chauvet Freedom Pars along the convention walls. These battery powered fixtures allow techs to turn on the pre-programmed colour, set it, focus it and walk away, while Chauvet Colordash Blocks added dimension for the Governor's address upstage.

"The upstage was wall-to-wall pipe and drape which we lit with GRNLite LED Pars i

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USA - Hip Hop artist and producer J Cole toured his latest Grammy Award nominated studio album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive (titled after his childhood home), around the world in three 'Acts' - to venues across USA and Europe. The live album of the tour, Forest Hills Drive Live, was released in January, along with Cole's Road to Homecoming mini documentary series and the HBO TV special Forest Hills Drive: Homecoming.

The tour's production manager and Front of House engineer was Raymond Rogers who chose an SSL L500 console for FOH duties and used an SSL Live Recorder to multitrack every show and for virtual sound check.

The stage set was based on the Forest Hills Drive home, recently re-purchased by Cole, and included a flown model of the house and an original set, with the stage modelled on the roof of the house. The main audio inputs were from J Co

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USA - Marking a half-century of America's singularly most important sporting event, Super Bowl 50 did not disappoint in delivering electrifying performances during both pre-game and halftime programming. With a viewership of 111.9m - the third highest in history - this year's Super Bowl saw energetic performances from Beyoncé, Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga - all performing on Sennheiser wireless microphone systems.

Setting the stage for the Super Bowl's memorable 'golden anniversary', Lady Gaga delivered a soulful, classy rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner during the pre-game segment, crooning into a Sennheiser SKM 5200 handheld transmitter coupled with an MD 5235 dynamic microphone capsule. Accompanied by just a solo piano, her performance was marked by her incredible dynamic range and subtle use of cadence - captivating the emotions of millions of viewers around the wor

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UK - The Ministry of Sound London has carried out an elegant streamlining of its Harman Professional tools and distribution network, including an upgrade to the Soundcraft Vi3000 and Realtime Rack plug-in engine. These were supplied by Sound Technology, Harman Professional's UK and Ireland distributor.

"We had seen great service from our Si2 console - but we've been looking to upgrade for a while now to something with more screen real estate, and a platform which touring engineers are more comfortable with," stated MoS production manager, Chris Thoms. "The Vi3000 is a great trade off for its size and features - and of course the sound quality, steeped in Studer technology, is stunning."

The Realtime Rack plug-in engine connects directly to the Vi3000's built-in MADI interface, and MoS has installed a proprietary BSS BLU-Link card in the console, allowing a 32 x 32 digital

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The Netherlands - The City of The Hague's national theatre group, Het Nationale Toneel has incorporated TiMax SoundHub audio spatialisation and TiMax Tracker automation into its most recent touring production, The Revisor.

The production runs at the Koninklijke Schouwburg in Amsterdam from until 5 March 2016, after which it tours the country.

Four TiMax Tracker sensors are positioned above the stage area, picking up the zoned stage locations of the 20 'tagged' actors, using their exact positioning, or 'source zones', to localise their vocals via the distributed loudspeaker system. The TiMax SoundHub delay-matrix imaging creates a fully immersive and authentic experience that renders the production more intimate for all audience members regardless of where they are sitting.

The TiMax Tracker system controls the TiMax Soundhub processor, which automatically morphs

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UK - Curtain Up: Celebrating 40 Years of Theatre in London and New York at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, celebrates the extraordinary story of theatre in both London's West End and New York's Broadway. Created in partnership with The Society of London Theatre, the V&A and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Centre, it explores the craftsmanship that goes into creating award-winning plays, musicals and productions. With its strong reputation in theatre lighting along with installations and museum-based work, White Light was called upon to provide the production support on this ground-breaking exhibition.

Curtain Up opened just over a week ago as part of a year-long programme to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Olivier Awards, with every show on display having a story to tell in relation to the Olivier or Tony Awards. The exhibition was

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Norway - Olavshallen concert hall, located in Trondheim, Norway, and home to the Trondheim Symphonic Orchestra, recently upgraded the main hall with an Adamson S-Series sound reinforcement system.

The hall, which offers performances from a variety of genres, including classical music, opera, dance, pop, rock, jazz and family-oriented events, was long overdue for an upgrade. The existing system was installed back in 1989 when the concert hall opened. As a result, Stage Manager Henrik Torgersen began exploring options, ultimately contacting regional audio distributor Benum to assist him in the process.

"We began researching systems three years ago," Torgersen explains. "During that time we listened to demonstrations of many different systems. Last June Ronald and Kenneth from Benum visited - along with Adamson's Jochen Sommer - to demonstrate the new Adamson S10 system and o

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USA - Meyer Sound systems deliver powerful and intelligible sound for a diverse array of events at the new UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) building. One of the nation's premier institutions for the presentation of cinema, the recently reopened BAMPFA has installed a 7.1 Meyer Sound cinema system in its 232-seat Barbro Osher Theatre, which hosts both film screenings and lectures and discussions regarding current films and art exhibits. Elsewhere, CAL column array loudspeakers provide sound reinforcement for a large, outdoor LED screen.

The Osher Theater is the first in the history of BAMPFA that was designed and built from the outset to meet the highest technical standards for film showings. "Aside from the 10 percent of our film screenings that are silent, sound is a key component of the experience," says Larry Rinder, director of BAMPFA. "We wanted to

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New Zealand - Allen & Heath's Qu-32 compact digital mixers were used throughout the recent Auckland Folk Festival, managing FOH and monitor sound for all three stages.

The three stages comprised the Festival Stage, Mill Stage and new for 2016, the Village Stage. Selected by PA company, SoundandLight.co.nz, Qu-32 mixers were installed at FOH and monitors on each stage, with AR2412 and AR84 racks for additional remote IO.

"I have managed the folk festival for about 15 years. It requires 14 hours of mixing a day so reliability is key, which is why we have always used A&H mixers," comments Dave Hodge, director and engineer at SoundandLight.co.nz. "Due to the fabulous recall ability, we just use the compact QU-32 at FOH and monitors. Set up is so easy with scene recall for each band, song, individual instrument, and even a 'just in case' scenario, as acoustic groups often bring

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Mexico - The people of Mexico enthusiastically welcomed Pope Francis to their country with a warm reception that included traditional songs and dances, heartfelt tributes and richly coloured light from a collection of 24 Rogue R1 Wash fixtures from Chauvet Professional. Provided by Mexico City-based Kona Productions, the 15-watt RGBW LED Rogue fixtures were used to accent a variety of performances at Mexico's Papal visit welcoming ceremonies.

"When we were invited to collaborate on this project, a mixture of emotions swirled through us," said Andres Marroqu

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UK - Over 160 Core Lighting wireless LED fixtures were used to illuminate various areas in and around the Tower of London for an event attended by 200 guests and staged by Historic Royal Palaces (HRP) to showcase the capabilities of their event spaces at the attraction.

The ColourPoint, PinPoint, StripPoint and Flood30 fixtures were used to highlight architecture and enhance the evening atmosphere of this premier historic site and London landmark where the Core units were exclusively used for the lighting throughout.

The creative lighting schemes were a collaboration between Core and its European distributor White Light, designed to illustrate how the dynamics of the different event spaces can be transformed with the application of visual layers - from lighting and projection mapping to floral arrangements and catering - all adding magic and value to the equation.

Core

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USA - The Miraculous Medal Shrine has been inspiring the faithful since it was completed in 1927. One look at this classic white statue of the Virgin Mary and it's easy to understand why visiting it has been such a moving experience for so many people. Nestled in a domed gold leafed alcove and flanked by engaged marble columns and mosaic murals, the life-like sculpture radiates a sense of peace and spiritual renewal.

Recently, the transformative elements of the Shrine were enhanced even further with the addition of a vibrant lighting system anchored by Chauvet Professional fixtures that add layers of depth to its surroundings and changes to reflect different times of the day.

Tyler Hoffman, the owner and principal designer of Spire AVL created the new lighting system, using COLORado 1-Quad Tour pars, an Ovation C-640FC cyc light and Ovation E-190WW LED ellipsoidals, as wel

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South Africa - Lightship Productions, owned and run by the enterprising Ni-Lou Breytenbach, is the latest South African lighting production, design and delivery specialist to invest in MA Lighting control with the purchase of a grandMA Command Wing, delivered by SA distributors, DWR.

Lightship works across all industry sectors including corporate and live events, TV productions and theatre shows, the latter hailing back to Ni-Lou's industry roots. His varied workload includes designing and programming his own shows, providing operating and FOH co-ordination / support services for others and working as a lighting systems engineer.

Ni-Lou owns some control kit himself - to keep the business agile and flexible - and has developed symbiotic relationships with other rental and equipment suppliers, a main one being Pretoria based Stage Effects run by Theo Papenfus - to help deli

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UK - Two of the most renowned companies in touring and production - Cato Music and Production Park - have confirmed that they are to join forces. Touring specialists, Cato Music, will become part of the Production Park family based in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

The acquisition will pave the way for Production Park's popular Backstage Academy and Cato's specialist "Roadie School", Cato Academy, to create a Centre of Excellence for training the next generation of touring and production professionals.

The Cato Academy - based in South West London - is the only training centre in the world that educates future tour and production managers, backline techs and live sound engineers under one roof; whilst the Backstage Academy is renowned for its high quality delivery of degree programmes and courses dedicated to the live events industry. Both Academies have been pioneers in the f

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USA - In a brief that's pure music to any LD's ears, progressive rock Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) founder and producer Paul O'Neill's instructions to award-winning production and lighting designer Bryan Hartley regularly includes getting 'as many lights as possible' on the rig.

The latest Letters from the Labyrinth tour by the maverick prog rock band - which saw two TSO troupes simultaneously play the east and west coasts of America, eight shows a week reaching up to 45,000 people per day for two months - featured over 100 Robe moving lights on each rig - 60 x Pointes and 44 LEDBeam 100s.

These were part of design number 19 by Bryan for TSO, who are well known for their spectacularly visual live performances which have always enthusiastically embraced lighting, video, lasers and pyro. Bryan has been on-board with TSO since it started touring in 1999 and had also previou

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New Rules Please - New rules have been announced for the Eurovision Song Contest in the biggest change to voting since 1975. In previous years each country's jury and public votes were combined and announced in one go. Now the votes will be split with each country's jury vote cast first, and votes from viewers in all countries combined and announced at the end. Organisers say this will create a "dramatic finish" as the winner will only be revealed at the very end. In previous years the winner has been known for up to 20 minutes before the end of voting. "This format change will inject a new level of excitement into the finish of the Eurovision Song Contest," said Martin Osterdahl, executive producer for this year's show.

Beatles For Sale - A lock of John Lennon's hair that was cut off as he prepared for a film role has sold for $35,000 (£24,298). The four-inch pie

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World - A series of world-leading artists and DJs have confirmed to be a part of the first international tour for PLAYdifferently - a series of events to showcase the final prototypes of the brand's new mixer. The DJs and artists who will join Richie Hawtin and perform on the mixer include Carlo Ruetz, Chris Liebing, Cinthie, Diego Krause, DJ Tennis, Dubfire, Ean Golden, Fabio Florido, Francois K, Hito, Joris Voorn, Joseph Capriati, Loco Dice, Maceo Plex, Matrixxman, Matt Karmil, Mike Servito, Nastia, Paco Osuna, Roi Perez, The Martinez Brothers, tINI and Whyt Noyz.

The Prototypes Tour will start in Los Angeles at Sound on Monday 14 March and go on to visit club venues around the world including Fabric (London), Robert Johnson (Frankfurt), Watergate (Berlin), Tenax (Florence) and Output (New York). The tour will stop at leading music conventions including Musikmesse (Germany),

  1. Crystal clear speech inside Birmingham church
  2. Banda el Recodo plays on with Chauvet
  3. GLP Bar 20s hit the roof on Broadway
  4. SGM creates riveting nightscapes at e-Luminate
  5. Strictly KV2 for Vincent and Flavia's final Tango
  6. Star Events invests £500k in new kit
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