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USA - LED video display manufacturer PixelFLEX has announced that Cornerstone AV has been brought on as its newest production rental partner for its award-winning line of LED video technologies.

Based in Orem, Utah, Cornerstone AV works on live events across the United States and they have purchased FLEXCurtain HD 6.25mm LED video wall systems to incorporate into their rental inventory.

"We have been working with LED video walls for a few years now so when I had clients start requesting LED walls that could be set-up and torn-down more quickly without sacrificing HD quality, we took notice of the FLEXCurtain HD," says Dave Schnitker, Cornerstone AV. "I really like the size of the panels and I think PixelFLEX did a great job of designing the header bars so that they are very easy to work with in the linking system. As a rental partner, they went all out to get us the produc

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UK - Ritz Rehearsal Studios in south west London has recently upgraded its facilities, including a major investment in Sennheiser equipment.

Ritz is located in Putney. During its 40-year history it has played host to such names as The Stranglers, Blur, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and Amy Winehouse. It was acquired last year by 24/7 Productions, which provides services to the music touring, event production and TV production industries on a global basis.

"We were rehearsing at Ritz with one of our artists," explains Andrew Thornton, head production manager for 24/7, which has a client list including Paloma Faith, Annie Lennox, Jessie J, Ella Henderson and Shawn Mendes. "They wanted to upgrade the facility and were looking for some investment. John Pryer, who owns 24/7, was interested in helping them and, as a result, Ritz was incorporated into the 24/7 group of companies."

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Canada - The JUNO Awards, Canada's most prestigious music awards show, recently aired live on CTV from Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome and featured performances by many of the country's leading music artists, including Alessia Cara, Bryan Adams, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Dean Brody, Jann Arden, Shawn Mendes, The Tenors and The Weeknd.

But it was the performance by an L-Acoustics K1/K2 sound system - provided by another Canadian original, Solotech - that seamlessly kept the music sonically clear all night long.

Solotech's L-Acoustics system proved to be a particularly ideal solution for Scotiabank Saddledome, which is a beautiful sounding hall with a hyperbolic paraboloid-shaped roof (the world's longest) offering fantastic interior sightlines. However, that same design poses a number of challenges in terms of weight limitations. Thankfully, the superior weight-to-power ratio of

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World - Adele's tour of Europe and North America is possibly the biggest tour of 2016 - it certainly has the highest of production values and there is, quite simply, no room for error. This is the remit for German rental company Black Box Music and a team of engineers, who have specified equipment from some of the audio industry's best known and most well respected manufacturers. Used by Adele and her three backing singers, Sennheiser's flagship Digital 9000 system microphones are a vital component.

For Sennheiser, being part of such a prestigious, high production value tour fits perfectly with its ethos of providing world-class, innovative solutions that continually push the boundaries of audio technology, says the company. Front-of-House engineer for the tour is Dave Bracey and he was delighted with Digital 9000 from the moment he heard it.

"This is the first time that A

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UK - Inspired by The Beggar's Opera by John Gay, The Buskers Opera is a new musical currently running at the Park Theatre in North London. Written by Dougal Irvine, it stars Olivier Award-winning actor George Maguire and is set in London in 2012 as a group of street performers gather in protest against the over-priced, corporate games.

Alongside the performances, the production company is working closely with local homeless charities as a means of engaging them with theatre. With its strong reputation in all types of theatre, WL is supporting the production by sponsoring the lighting equipment.

The show has opened to rave reviews, with The Stage calling it "the best and most original British musical score since Bend It Like Beckham". Neil Marcus, one of the show's producers, comments, "We are delighted with the response so far. We've been workin

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Belgium - What is now known as 'the old K3' exited their career as the most successful girl band in the history of Benelux finishing a 122-date sold-out concert tour that finished on 8 May at Antwerp's Lotto Arena, having sold over 450,000 tickets in six months ... complete with lighting design and video content delivered by leading Belgian visual design practice, Painting with Light, led by Luc Peumans.

Concluding a remarkable 17-year career of music, TV, movies, musicals and numerous other associated projects, Karen Damen, Kristel Verbeke and Josje Huisman double headlined the show with 'the new K3' - Marthe De Pillecyn, Hanne Verbuggen and Klaasje Meijer - who were selected by a national TV competition in Belgium in late 2015 to ensure that the K3 concept, managed by production company Studio 100, continues to delight their enthusiastic audiences.

Luc and his team have

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The Netherlands - DJ, music producer and international superstar Armin van Buuren launched his new Armin Only spectacular at Amsterdam Ziggo Dome - Armin Only Embrace - once again uniting the technical and creative team that delivered the Armin Only - Intense world tour in 2014.

Central to the energy, excitement and emotion of the four-hour trance extravaganza in Amsterdam were 162 Robe moving lights - a megamix of Pointes, LEDWash 600s and LEDBeam 100s - among other fixtures crafted into the visual landscape.

The world class production values demanded by the show were supplied locally.

This was one of the practical starting points for the lighting department, comprising LDs Marc Heinz and André Beekmans (The Art of Light) who created the design, and Armin's long term lighting director on-the-road, Michael Seeverens also from The Art of Light. Marc, well known f

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Germany - Lighting designer Thomas Gerdon of gerdon Mediadesign has used an Elation Professional lighting package to light artist performances on the German television programme Verstehen Sie Spa

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China - Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing system was recently employed at FOH for a large concert held at Jinhua stadium, Zhejiang Province in China, to promote the cultural relationship between Kyrgyzstan and China.

The 30,000 seater venue hosted a line-up, which included several top artists from both countries, including Asian super stars, Jay Chou, Wilber Pan, Xie Tianxiao and Elva Hsiao. Managed by PA company, Shanghai Jiexin Entertainment Equipment Co. Ltd., the production was technically complex, featuring state-of-the-art stage, lighting and sound systems.

The audio team employed more than 100 line array speakers to create an optimal listening experience. For signal control, a FOH mixing system comprising the new dLive S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack was chosen.

"dLive has very flexible architecture and a quick response, allowing us to save a lot of ti

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UK - The top-rated fantasy drama show Game of Thrones is back for another series and with such a large fan base it has its own companion series, Thronecast, which Richard Martin Lighting (RML) has helped to light again, assisting lighting designer Iain Davidson.

Aired every week after the main show, Thronecast sees Sue Perkins and Jamie East host interviews with members of the cast and crew, interaction with the audience and social media alongside analysis of the previous episode and a preview of the next episode of Game of Thrones.

The rig comprises Robin LED Beam 100s, Sharpy Wash 330s and, much like Jon Snow to Westeros, the VL4000 Spots have made a welcome return to the rig.

The VL4000 Spot boasts 33,000 lumens and features a quiet Studio mode outputting 25,000 lumens, which is ideal for a show such as Thronecast, allowing big imp

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Italy - Fireworks weren't the only thing making noise at the fourth annual Adelfia Fireworks Fair in Bari, Italy, with D.A.S. professional sound systems playing an active role in the event's success. The fair drew in massive crowds this year, with 30,000 spectators turning out to see a series of firework displays designed by the top Italian companies in the industry.

The festivities fall on the same day that marks the festival of San Trifone and culminate in a fireworks show set to music. Pyrotechnic Emotions of the Past and Present was a group effort put on by Nanna Fireworks and Pirotécnica San Severo, while Omnia Service was called in to the technical side of the show.

Omni Service paired up with Antonio Armillotta when it came time to design the sound for this much-anticipated event, together deploying a power-packed selection of D.A.S. line array systems

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UK - Sadler's Wells is a leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences.

When the company was granted lottery funding for a technical refit, Graham Cutting, senior lighting technician at Sadler's Wells was keen to install new follow spots based on a system of tracked suspension mounts and brought Doughty Engineering on board to help turn the concept into reality.

Graham said, "I'd started looking into the idea previously, but at the time we simply didn't have the funds to make it happen. Following the Arts Council grant, I realised that we could look at this new system which would allow us to address two issues that the existing system was causing.

"Firstly, being on a lighting bridge, we often had the need to remove or relocate one or all of the 4

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Belgium - The garrison town of Leopoldsburg in Belgium was the setting for the large scale promenade theatrical spectacle De Groote Rappel, directed by Luc Stevens and featuring a large community cast from the city telling the story of two world wars, with the final act played out in a quadrangle in front of a prominent army barracks.

Lighting was designed by Michel Jacobs, a freelance LD with a track record of lighting more unusual or offbeat performances and a penchant for less commercial sectors, and Timothy Haesevoets from Leopoldsburg City Theatre.

The two both agreed that Robe moving lights - specifically BMFL Blades and DL4Ss were the way forward to light this challenging scenario.

Of 14 x BMFL Blades, eight were positioned along the front of the grandstand seating, with six at the back up on the third floor of the building pointing out and down through t

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France - QSC has announced the appointment of two new distribution partners in France, Algam Entreprises and AED Distribution. Algam will represent the QSC Systems Division and AED will represent the QSC Professional Division, respectively, to offer the company's portfolio of integrated systems and live sound products and solutions to customers throughout the country.

Both firms bring many years of expertise as leading distributors in the region, enabling premium manufacturers of professional audio visual products to consistently gain top market share positions in the region.

The new appointments follow a long and successful collaboration between QSC and Sennheiser France, who, by mutual agreement, will end their distribution arrangements at the beginning of July 2016. This decision, taken at the highest level in each organization, is a reflection of evolving product strat

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UK - Following the announcement of its appointment of independent audio engineering and design consultancy Vanguardia as its UK distributor for MeTrao, its unique intelligent network audio measurement system, Acoustic and audio specialist Event Acoustics has also assigned Istanbul-based ELIT the sole rights for Turkey, and audio visual design and distribution specialist ZAP S.A for Switzerland.

An unparalleled tool, MeTrao provides audio professionals and event organisers with a quick and easy way to measure and observe the increasingly strict sound level regulations of live event environments, whilst boosting the quality of the audio output. The system offers a unique feature of diagnosing off-site which sound system at a multi-stage event is reaching a risky level. It also establishes the problematic frequency so that adjustments can be made. This allows engineers and event

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Sweden - XLNT Advanced Technologies' industry-leading CyberHoist II system has delivered seamless and reliable automation across the colossal live production of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (ESC 2016). Europe's biggest televised event, which was reportedly seen by 200 million worldwide, was staged at Stockholm's Globe Arena. Technical director Ola Melzig, who is nothing short of a Eurovision expert with extensive experience managing the event's technical set-up since 2000, specified the CyberHoist II system from ESC 2016 official technical supplier Litecom.

Litecom, which invested in 32 units and four MotionCue3D control systems prior to the event, supplied a 88-hoist system, supported by Ampco Flashlight Rental. Melzig worked alongside Litecom CyberHoist II project manager Mathias Sonntag and Martin Hoop of Ampco Flashlight to design the complex moving arrangement for thi

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UK - The 8th Edition to PLASA Focus Leeds was once again a hit with the entertainment technology industry, welcoming record numbers of brands and a 9% increase in visitor numbers from 2015. The launch of the new Pavilion enabled the sell-out event to attract more new technology products to the show floor and saw the show appeal to even more buyers with the 2016 edition welcoming more than 2,600 attendees.

Christopher Toulmin, Director of PLASA Events comments: "The feedback from the show so far has been extremely positive, with a large emphasis on the quantity of business achieved. PLASA Focus Leeds had £425million worth of visitor spending power registered to the show, cementing its importance as a must-attend event for the region."

This point is reinforced by Bridget Kaur, J&C Joel's UK?sales rep for the south, who comments: "The show has been busy, as always. We'v

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Sweden - Visual production expert FIX8Group was part of the team operating the stunning video content for all 43 competing acts as well as pop megastar Justin Timberlake's performance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 (ESC 2016).

The 61st edition themed 'Come Together' was held at Stockholm's Globe arena and hosted by last year's Swedish champion M

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UK - Nestled on 23 rolling acres in one of the most picturesque regions of the US, the 700-seat New Covenant Fellowship church offers its members plenty of opportunities to worship, bond and enjoy life outdoors. There is the community garden, a community playground for children and a restful area where people can sit and read. Recently, as the church celebrated its 20th anniversary, its members complemented the natural beauty of their surroundings by enhancing the appearance of their building's interior with help from a collection of 30 LED fixtures from Chauvet Professional, supplied by The Design Oasis.

The fixtures were installed throughout the sanctuary as part of a project "to bring the church into the 21st century," said LD Justin Casey of Helm Projects, who designed the new lighting system. Casey revitalized the interior of the church by replacing its old ellipsoidals w

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USA - Located in Jupiter, Florida, Grace Immanuel Bible Church holds two identical worship services each Sunday with a smaller service Sunday evening in its 650-seat sanctuary. Services feature a blend of traditional and modern worship music for all ages and cultures with several vocalists and a variety of instruments and percussion. To support its worship services and special programs, Grace Immanuel recently acquired an Allen & Heath S7000 digital mixer with a DM64 MixRack and DX32 Expander.

Dan Kreider, Grace Immanuel's Minister of Music, says the church's special services may include a 12-voice mixed ensemble and an orchestra resulting in as many as 78 sources. To accommodate this quantity of inputs and provide separate mixes for its sound reinforcement system, in-ear stage monitors and live broadcast, the church had been cascading a pair of older, 32-channel digital mixer

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France - Situated in the French city of Lyon, the new Parc Olympique Lyonnais has ensured that its 59,000 capacity stadium will be served by pristine, broadcast quality audio - thanks to Powersoft's Ottocanali multi-channel amplifiers and EAW's high output, point source QX loudspeakers - as it prepares to be the main host for a major sports tournament this summer.

Axente, a well-respected professional audio distributor in France, and integration specialists Groupe SNEF and Axians worked together to design the distributed sound reinforcement system that provides fans with an enhanced game day experience. They teamed up with the design office of Atelier Audiovisuel, the engineering consulting firm brought in by Vinci Construction, to ensure that all of the stadium audio needs were met.

The eight-channel Ottocanali amplifiers provide 144 independently configurable channels to

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USA - Production and lighting designer for country music veteran Alan Jackson's 2016 Still Keepin' it Country tour, Craig Rutherford of Blueshift Design, was looking for something that could do more than the ubiquitous beam light and found it in Elation Professional's multi-functional Platinum FLX.

Alan Jackson is one of the most successful country artists of his generation having sold over 80m records worldwide with 35 songs hitting number one on country music charts. As an encore to his successful 25th Anniversary Keepin' it Country tour of 2015, Still Keepin' it Country started in April and will play festival and arena dates until November. Nashville-based Elite Multimedia Productions is handling all the lighting, video and LED for the tour.

Rutherford, who has been with Jackson for over two years says, "I wanted to use something with gobos and colour mixing that comple

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