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Germany - Panasonic has announced the creation of a new European solutions company that will bring together its various business products and develop world class solutions for its customers, offering a single point of contact and accountability.

Panasonic System Solutions Europe (PSSEU), a division of Panasonic Marketing Europe, founded on 1 April 2016, develops market specific solutions that include Panasonic devices, software, connectivity and third party products, delivered with world class design engineering and project management.

PSSEU will initially focus its activities on three distinct vertical markets: utilities, transportation and logistics.

The new organisation will be led by Tony O'Brien who has over 20 years' experience in enterprise solutions, having previously worked with organisations such as Siemens Building Technologies.

"For nearly 100 years, Pa

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Benelux - Belgian lighting designer Carlo Zaenan of QBE created another amazing live show in Benelux, using a rig that included 256 Robe moving lights - the 2016 leg of the Symphonica in Rosso concerts, six performances presented by Dutch superstar singer Marco Borsato at Amsterdam's 17,000 capacity Ziggo Dome.

This followed another six shows - all 12 completely sold out - in October 2015 at the same venue, which was transformed into a giant theatre space to present the concept.

Carlo has worked with Borsato since 1999 and since 2011 has been his regular LD and lighting operator. To develop the visual treatment for the 2015/16 Symphonica in Rosso, he worked closely with set designer Anne-Mari Ahola and Marcel de Vré, Borsato's long term show designer as well as the video crew from Visual Solutions and content creator Tom van Gestel from Fabrique Fantastique. Once th

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UK - PLASA, the Professional Lighting and Sound Association, has announced that Peter Heath has been appointed to the new role of managing director of PLASA, with effect from Monday 11 April 2016.

Peter brings with him a wealth of industry knowledge and hands-on sales and management experience. He joins PLASA from Roland Corporation, where he worked in various senior roles for nearly 20 years, making a substantial contribution to the sustained growth of its UK music division, where he became sales director in 2009.

In 2006 he set up Roland UK's Pro Audio division, which later became Roland Pro AV after merging with Edirol Video products. He developed his role and in 2012 became pro AV sales and marketing director in the UK. In 2014 he Joined Roland Europe Group as head of Pro AV for Europe. Peter has also worked closely with the Music Industries Association (MIA) and, thro

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Germany - At PL&S2016, TiMax and Out Board (Hall4.1-A38) are celebrating a couple of their busiest years ever with five musical shows now on Broadway currently using TiMax, and two of the West End's biggest shows this year about to open in London with TiMax SoundHub and Tracker, plus an ever increasing range of shows and installations across Scandinavia, Europe and the Far East. Out Board's Dave and Robin will be showing some major new enhancements to the TiMax2 SoundHub software just about to be released.

And in a Frankfurt debut, Out Board's PAT test joint-venture associates Data Strategy (Hall3 -G90) will demonstrate the PAT4 Test Processors, CAB5 Cable Testers and RCD Test modules with their QC-Check PAT automation and logging software which is rapidly being adopted by a growing number of the UK's top production rental companies - check in with Iain Roche to learn more.

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Germany - Allen & Heath has expanded its Qu compact digital range with the new Qu-SB ultra-compact intelligent mixer / interface. Qu-SB is designed as a Stage Box solution with all the features offered in the Qu series but purely designed for tablet control, freeing the user to mix from anywhere in the venue. Qu-SB provides a smart, portable solution for bands, music venues, project studios, schools and corporate events requiring a pro live and/or recording mixer in a tiny footprint.

A freestanding or rackmount surface-less mixer, Qu-SB has 16 XLR mic inputs, 2 line inputs and 14 outputs but thanks to the powerful Qu-32 core inside, it can be expanded up to 32 mic input channels and 24 outputs, enabling the mixer to connect over a single Cat5 digital snake to AB168, AR84 and AR2412 remote audio racks.

Eliminating the on deck user interface, all control parameters on Qu-SB

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USA - The latest rental company to add Elation's Platinum FLX hybrid luminaire to its rental inventory is Glendale, California-based Kinetic Lighting, Inc, an award-winning lighting supplier in the LA area that has also added a quantity of Colour Chorus LED battens to its stock.

"There were several things about the Platinum FLX that made us decide to stock them in our rental inventory," comments Kinetic Lighting president David Rosen. "It has the right mix of features - optics, form factor and price - and we get full CMY colour mixing in a hybrid fixture. But we were especially impressed with its output. The FLX is the brightest beam fixture we rent. And while we still rent lots of Elation's Platinum Beam 5R Extremes, and even the original Platinum Beam 5R, the FLX is a great complement to those while meeting the needs of clients who want even more output in a beam fixture."

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UK - Baldwin Boxall has announced the launch of a new logo and refreshed look, reflecting the company's ethos of ongoing improvement and evolution of the brand. The new logo has an up-dated look, whilst keeping its traditional, and highly recognisable, blue triangle. The rebranding exercise has included a fully responsive website and modernised exhibition stand.

During the website redesign Baldwin Boxall insisted that there must be no loss of content as the company has always been keen to ensure that it is as informative as possible. To give you an idea of size, the site itself consists of well over 100 pages and contains over 200 items of downloadable content. In addition there is a project profile area, a news blog, customer log-in area and staff news blog.

Despite its size, the website is straight-forward to navigate, with plenty of interesting content, and includes a n

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UK - Honouring the talent that the British advertising industry has to offer, the British Arrows Awards this year celebrated their 40th anniversary. Taking place on Wednesday 23 March 2016 at Battersea Evolution, creative technical event production expert, Hawthorn was on hand to make sure this year's event was bigger and better than ever.

The evening, which was hosted by Peep Show actor and comedian David Mitchell, saw 18 gold and 26 silver awards handed out to the cream of the advertising crop, with guest presenters including actor Stanley Tucci.

Hawthorn has delivered the technical production for the British Arrows Awards since 2011, with the design and production values increasing in specification and complexity each year. Working alongside the British Arrows Awards producers, the team at Hawthorn once again provided an imaginative and unique way of using the 4,

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China - Five Christie DWU555-GS laser phosphor projectors provided impressive projections on the backdrop of a massive sand table model showcased at a new national heritage park in China - restoring the ancient glory of Luoyang city, China's former imperial capital during the Sui (589-618 BC) and Tang dynasties (618-907 AD).

Wu Zetian was the first and only female emperor in China. A major highlight is the full-scale reconstructions of two iconic towers that symbolised the splendour and opulence of Empress Wu's reign.

During her political heyday, Empress Wu instructed the construction of these two towers, which were described as architectural miracles. And today, the recreated nine-story-high Ming Tang houses a spectacular sand table model of the ancient city of Luoyang, which covers an area of 130sq.m and is built to a scale of 1:800.

The backdrop of the massive sand

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South Africa - When it comes to suspending line arrays for large-scale events, In-Harmony Productions rely on ProLyft motors from Prolyte. With six one Ton Prolyft motors in stock already, they recently made an investment of an additional two-ton motor to keep up with demand.

In-Harmony provides a service in two key areas, live technical productions and installations particularly for Houses of Worship, explains Juan Soothill, MD and system designer engineer at In-Harmony. "We own a JBL VTX V25 system, and for massive events collaborate with two other V25 owners. When working on bigger indoor and outdoor gigs, we want to be able to suspend more line array boxes with the focus being on safety."

Earlier this year, In-Harmony used the Prolyft motors for church meetings held in Johannesburg's FNB Stadium (an over 94 000 seater venue) and in Accra, Ghana. The motors then went st

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UK - The Kenneth Branagh Theatre Season has been running at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End since October 2015. In the first-ever season led by the BAFTA award-winning actor, it has achieved critical acclaim with hit productions such as The Winter's Tale starring Judi Dench, for which she has just won an Olivier Award, and Red Velvet starring Adrian Lester. The latest show, The Painkiller, which stars both Kenneth Branagh and Rob Brydon, has now opened to rave reviews. As with every other production throughout the season, White Light is providing the lighting equipment on this comedy classic.

The Painkiller tells the story of two men sat in adjacent hotel rooms. One of them is an assassin, whilst the other is suicidal and the only thing that separates them is an adjoining door. The play is a new adaptation of Francis Veber's classic French

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Australia - Cadac has announced the appointment of Hills as its new exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand. Hills, recently celebrated its 70th anniversary and is committed to being a value-added distributor of technology and communication solutions across a wide range of market sectors, including home, health, education and audio-visual.

Dan Fletcher, head of Hills AV, stated, "Hills is extremely proud to be exclusively distributing Cadac consoles in Australia and New Zealand. At Hills, the combination of Cadac with other world leading audio brands, such as L'Acoustics and Biamp, continues to provide our partners and their customers with complete solutions that are trusted the world over."

Consultant support manager Bryan Davidson has been busy building the Hills brand portfolio. "Cadac is the perfect fit for our brand portfolio, it will partner extremely wel

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USA - The River Tour by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band calls forth powerful musical memories. Celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Boss' seminal The River recording and the recent release of The Ties That Bind: The River Collection box set, the concert features full-length sequential performances of the 1980 album's songs.

Mindful of the historical significance of the tour, lighting designer Jeff Ravitz was seeking to evoke images of the classic album's original era, yet at the same time, he wanted something that looked new and vibrant to reflect the energy that his client brings to the stage. He was able to do both with a uniquely framed configuration of COLORado 1-Tri IP LED pars from Chauvet Professional.

The longtime LD for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Ravitz had used the 42-watt COLORado 1-Tri IPs as "audience blasters" for his cl

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On The Campaign Trail - Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has accepted an invitation to speak at this year's Glastonbury festival in June - the first party leader to do so. Mr Corbyn will address music fans in the Left Field area, the line-up for which is organised by singer and activist Billy Bragg. The festival runs from 22 to 26 June - coinciding with the in-out referendum on the UK's EU membership on 23 June. Left Field, which mixes "pop and politics", said Mr Corbyn would be given a platform to discuss issues including social justice, the economy, gender and "and the possibilities for genuine change".

Royal Moves - The 2017 Olivier Awards will be held at the Royal Albert Hall, marking a departure from the Royal Opera House after five years. The ceremony has been held at the 2,256-seat ROH since 2012 but could more than double the size of its live audience when it moves t

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UK/Germany - Philips Lighting announces that the latest addition to the Philips Showline product range, the SL Hydrus 350*, has made its pre-launch debut at electronic duo Lamb's concert during the Convergence Sessions festival.

The festival ran from the 13 to the 19 March at venues across London including the Roundhouse and art deco Troxy. Now in its third year, Convergence spans different genres of music and celebrates visual artists and pioneering technology.

Lighting designer Mark Wynn-Edwards, who has worked with the band for nearly two years, specified 11 of the new moving lights to add super bright beam effects to his stripped back design.

"My concept for Lamb is always less is more, playing with black and white and minimalist looks," explains Wynn-Edwards. "When the opportunity came to preview the Philips Showline SL Hydrus 350 before it hits the market I jumpe

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Australia - Hillsong, a multi-site church with campuses in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Gold Coast, Hobart, Darwin and Noosa as well as numerous international campuses around the world, has announced a partnership with Adamson Systems Engineering to provide sound reinforcement to multiple Hillsong venues worldwide.

"It started with our looking for a new system that would better meet our needs for the City Centre worship space in Sydney," explains Hillsong production facilities manager Steve Le Roux. "At the same time, we knew that there were existing systems in other venues that needed to be upgraded, plus new churches under construction that would require sound reinforcement. It made sense to be incredibly thorough - we sat through many, many product demonstrations - in order to decide upon one manufacturer to work with for everything. In the end, Adamson came out

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USA - The South by Southwest Music Festival may have been the last of the trifecta that makes up SXSW 2016, but it was just as spectacular as the film and interactive portions of the nine-day event.

Lighting designer Victor Fable entrusted Bandit Lites to provide the lighting package for the McGarrah Jessee Rooftop stage, which featured performances from Phebe Starr, Armstrong Leigh, 2 Chainz, Aubrie Sellers, Flo Rida, LANco and Cypress Hill.

Keith Hoagland programmed the lighting and was the board op. Taking into account the lighting production needed to function both for performances in the daytime and evening, Fable created a dynamic structural look that applied high-performance fixtures with eye catching configurations.

"The stage was two tiered, split horizontally about a quarter way down from upstage," explained crew chief Ty Veneziano. "The second tier upstage w

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Argentina - DPA Microphones has announced that it has named Equaphon Sistemas de Sonido SRL as its new distributor in the Argentina market.

Equaphon designs, develops and manufactures international-quality sound products, and represents the best international brands in professional audio. At the same time, the company guarantees all its products: the ones designed and manufactured in Argentina and abroad, as well as the products of the companies it represents.

"The expansion of DPA's products into markets all over the world is an important part of the company's strategy for future growth, and we are pleased to name Equaphon as our new distributor in Argentina," says Leonardo Romero, sales director, Latin America for DPA Microphones. "This agreement brings together two companies that are both recognized for their high-quality craftsmanship, reliability and exemplary custome

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UK - Hawthorn is helping 1970s favourite, Jackie magazine, come back to life on stage with Jackie the Musical. Coming to theatres across the UK, Hawthorn is supplying equipment from its extensive hire range to meet the specification of the production's celebrated lighting designer, Philip Gladwell. Hawthorn has now worked with Philip on several productions, including recent collaboration on Hairspray and The James Plays.

Jackie launched in January 1964, attracting millions of fans as it became a best-selling teenage title for 10 years. Jackie The Musical revisits those heady days, and tells the story of a fifty-something divorcée who revisits her stash of well-thumbed Jackie magazines for the same reason she first read them nearly forty years ago: advice on how best to navigate the opposite sex. Funny and feisty, with a soundtra

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UK - With more than 45 years' experience, White Light has a strong reputation in supplying the latest state-of-the-art technology to the entertainment industry. As it continues to develop its range of video technology, the company has recently invested in the new and innovative ImageCue, a compact, easy-to-use image server that provides control of high definition still images and videos with only twelve channels of DMX512. The product is now available to purchase through WL, which is the exclusive UK distributor.

ImageCue has already made a major impact in the world of playback devices, having won the LDI 2015 PLASA Member's Choice Award for Best Gadget. The product allows users to supply their own images and videos using a USB flash drive or external hard drive and can provide access to over 65,000 image and video files. It is also extremely fast, with images and videos able

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USA - Three additional documents makes eight in public review at http://tsp.esta.org/tsp/documents/public_review_docs.php. Comments on these additional documents are due no later than 23 May, 2016. Anyone who would be materially affected by the publication of these documents as American National Standards is invited to submit comments. The three additional documents are:

BSR E1.28 - 2011 (R201x), Guidance on planning followspot positions in places of public assembly (a reaffirmation)

From the Followspot Position Working Group, E1.28 offers guidance on the planning of permanent followspot positions, including recommendations on the locations of the followspot positions within the venue, the power likely to be needed, the waste heat generated, the amount of space likely to be needed, and the fall protection and egress issues to be considered for the followspot op

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USA - Three existing ESTA standards have been opened for revision. Materially affected parties are invited to join the Technical Standards Program working groups developing the revisions or to comment in future public reviews. The three revision projects are:

BSR E1.40, Recommendations for the Planning of Theatrical Dust Effects

The standard is being revised primarily to address deflagration of dust. Other changes include a generalized grouping of types of dusts, editorial changes, and changes to references to Material Safety Data Sheets, which have been replaced by Safety Data Sheets. This is a project of the Fog & Smoke Working Group.

BSR E1.41, Recommendations for the Measurement of Entertainment Luminaires Utilizing Solid State Light Sources

This standard is being opened for revision to specify that the Fidelity Index (Rf) rating as defined in IES

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UK - Mariah Carey started her latest European tour March, Sweet Sweet Fantasy, by returning to the UK after 13 years' absence.

Working for the production team behind the tour, Creative Technology (CT) supplied seven Panasonic projectors which were used to feed playback content onto a number of upstage panels, all driven by Photon. The panels were able to move across the stage with the projection tracking and following the movements.

The four panels centred around the main upstage display, a large circular panel, which was also projected upon. All the visual effects were completed using projection.

(Jim Evans)

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UK - Music and design company GAS Music composed & produced the music and visuals behind the spectacular New Beginnings show of Ashton-Under-Lyne Old Swimming Baths. On 19 in the swim at March a live show revealed the history of the public swimming baths originally opened in 1870 with 11 original pieces of music plus a backdrop of CGI historical images created by GAS.

GAS worked closely with Tameside Council, choreographer Stacey Maurice who directed almost 200 dancers for the performance and creative producers Stone Soup who led the multi partnership project.

The opening event attracted over 10,000 people to celebrate the rebirth of this iconic piece of English history. The large brick Italianate building fell out of use 40 years ago and was on the at English Heritage at risk register but until funding of £3 million from Tameside Council, Heritage Lottery Fun

  1. Racoon hits the road with SSL
  2. Big Ears Festival returns with Bandit Lites
  3. White Light supplies lighting to the Olivier Awards
  4. PRG XL backs World Autism Awareness Day
  5. PL+S: Hibino makes significant Investment in Coda
  6. Southern California event facility outfitted with Elation
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