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Australia - As part of this year's Vivid Sydney light festival, the Australia Museum's rooftop was once again a big canvas for a lightshow. As part of the setup, . Paul Walton, managing director of Fusion, collaborated with Show Technology, and chose ShowPro HEX 18 LED Pars and ShowPro EX36 LED Floods, both IP rated units.

"It goes through a few colour fades and variations keeping within a maritime theme," said Paul. The north side of the building was completely lit up by EX36 floods. "The reason they wanted the northern side lit up is that there is a lot of foot traffic from the ferry terminal."

It was important to use Wireless DMX from Wireless Solution on this side of the building, due to safety issues and constraints in using cables. "That's why we used some W-DMX as we couldn't run cable across the main thoroughfare. It was just a short link but an important one for s

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UAE - Celebrated lighting designer Terry Miranda used a Jands Vista L5 console to seamlessly synchronise his elegant lighting design with media content at the recent Al Burda Islamic Arts Awards, held at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre.

Open to artists specialising in calligraphy, poetry and music from across the Middle East, the prestigious awards are held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and organised by the UAE's Federal Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development.

For the twelfth consecutive year, Terry - at the helm of his Dubai-based company Lighthouse Productions - was responsible for designing and supplying the awards' set and lighting design.

This year, the starting point for Terry's design was Islamic architecture - with its geometric curves, arches, complex symmetries and domed structures. The intricate calligraphy asso

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South Africa - For the third consecutive year, Blond Productions supplied the full technical for the televised competition Clash of the Choirs held at Global Access Studios in Fox Street, Johannesburg. Mauritz Neethling from Blond was responsible for the lighting design, having control on a Grand MA 2 light and an impressive Robe lighting rig at his disposal.

Filmed for Mzansi Channel on DSTV, the competition saw seven celebrity choirmasters assemble amateur singers who went head to head at the Clash of the Choirs SA.

The competition kicked off at the end of 2015, with the finales held in April 2016. This meant the entire rig - the set designed and created by Dream Sets - had to come down and be put up again. The set was larger than before and with the studio on the sixth floor, it was a relief to have a lift in the building and a team of enthusiastic crew on site.<

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UK - Fat Boy Slim, Seb Fontaine, Nick Warren are just some of the legendary resident DJs that have shaped Cream's dance music identity since its inception in 1992. Beginning life in the form of a super club, the brand has gone on to become a worldwide success with numerous one-off parties and the annual Creamfields festival, bringing high-energy dance music to millions of fans in the process.

For the latest incarnation of the Cream series, which featured DJs John O'Callaghan, Bryan Kearney and Will Atkinson, Justlite's John McGuinness turned Belfast's cavernous T13 urban sports complex into a warmer club-like setting with help from a collection of fixtures from Chauvet Professional. At the heart of his design was a 55sq.m video wall created with PVP S7 panels. Adding colour and impact to the overall look were 24 Legend 230SR Beam moving fixtures, as well as 30 SlimPANEL Tri 24

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UK - Ahead of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, Aurora took to the stage with LD Gurdip Mahal to spotlight the BBC's televised live debate at the SSE Wembley Arena.

With representatives from the Leave and Remain camps lined up in front of a 6000 strong audience, the elaborate stage was full of colour as the campaigners traded views and addressed a selection of invited questions for the live broadcast.

Working closely with Gurdip Mahal, Aurora helped deliver the live experience with an array of equipment spread across two main stage areas, whilst also keeping the audience well and truly in the frame.

Martin MAC Viper Performance and Washes added strong tones to the production, with Viper AirFX also on board for extra versatility. 60 Clay Paky Mythos fixtures were also included with their beam properties whilst GLP XA XLs were placed throughout the arena t

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Canada - On Tuesday, 19 July, 2016, DPA Microphones, Lectrosonics, Sound Devices, and K-Tek, will host The Sound Summit Toronto at The Church on the Queensway in the city. This event is part of The Sound Summit series of informal networking and educational presentations for audio professionals. Together they gather, collaborate, and discuss their techniques and tools for capturing high-quality audio. This summit will mark the first international location in the series of events; past cities include New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando.

With the cooperation of some of the industry's most well-respected audio professionals, attendees will benefit from a one-on-one social experience with members of the community as well as these leading manufacturers who specialize in professional location audio capture.

DPA Microphones, Lectrosonics, Sound Devices, and K-Tek will also show

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USA - Due to overwhelming interest, the Entertainment Technician Certification Program (ETCP) Portable Power Distribution Technician (PPDT) examination will be offered at over 190 testing centres in North America beginning 15 July for computer-based testing. There is no application deadline and once a candidate is approved he/she can usually test within a couple of weeks, depending on candidate volume. Because this is a new examination, score reports will be delayed during testing time.

ETCP uses a point system to determine eligibility to sit for examinations. A candidate must have 25 points to apply for the ETCP Portable Power Distribution Technician examination. Points can be earned through work experience alone or through a combination of training (i.e., internships or apprenticeships), licensure, and degrees from accredited institutions. Courses taken outside a formal prog

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UK - Sound Technology ltd, distributor of Harman Professional audio products in the UK and Eire, has announced free training for JBL's Intellivox digitally controlled beam forming loudspeakers on 27/28September 2016.

The course takes place over two days and includes a mix of classroom and practical sessions. Day one covers JBL's DDC (Digital Directivity Control) and DDS (Digital Directivity Synthesis) technologies, design guidelines and WinControl & Rapid DDS software whilst day two focuses on DDA (Digital Directivity Analysis) acoustic prediction software and DDS Control.

Participants are welcome to attend either day or both, depending on their requirements.

The Intellivox training course takes place at Sound Technology's office and demonstration suite in Letchworth Garden City. The course is free to attend. To register, visit www.soundtech.co.uk/events.

(Jim Evan

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Korea - Iksan is located in Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, about 200km far from Seoul to the southwest, and the historical home of Baekje dynasty.

This church started as a small gathering in 1975. Only 17 members of five families had got together for worship. Now, it has grown substantially, with the main sanctuary holdiong 2,000 seats.

Avix, the Korean distributor for NEXT-proaudio, installed a NEXT-proaudio sound system within the church's main sanctuary for the system renovation. The main aim of the renovation was to achieve high sound pressure levels with high sound fidelity and good speech intelligibility throughout the venue.

The sound system comprises eight NEXT LA122 line array speakers, with four LA122W line array speakers flown below LA122 for down-fill for the main-hang on the left and right side over the stage.

Two NEXT X12 full-range speakers were used as

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China - Some of China's top rock artists kicked off the Music Power Rock China 30 tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Chinese rock music, flying in renowned engineer, Jim Ebdon, to manage FOH sound. Allen & Heath's dLive digital mixing systems were installed at FOH and monitors, with a ME personal monitor mixing system provided for artists.

The concert was staged on the same day and at the same venue as 30 years ago, when in 1986, Cui Jian, widely recognized as the father of Chinese rock, performed Nothing To My Name at Beijing Workers Gymnasium, marking the birth of Chinese Rock & Roll.

A total of 11 bands performed at the show with two drum kits, two sets of keyboards, Chinese drums, 10 guitar amps, two bass amps and various vocals.

Two dLive systems, each comprising a S7000 Control Surface and DM64 MixRack, were selected to manage the diverse audio requ

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UK - On 7 May, the BBC aired its special programming for the election of local councils and Police Commissioners, as well as the election of the Mayor of London. Coverage of the election results included a special type of projection technology which was supported with video projectors from PRG XL Video.

The stereoscopic projection technology used by the BBC is what enables presenter Jeremy Vine to move around the studio and point out specific pieces of information within the projected, semi-transparent screens without the projection landing on the presenter themselves. To the viewer the information is floating in the studio and the presenter is able to interact with it.

The technology behind this has been developed and refined over more than a decade. Originally invented in Japan by a company called NHK in around 2001, the concept was known as invisible light. It was achie

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Fred Olsen Cruise Lines recently engaged England's EW Production Services Ltd. (EWPSL) to address ongoing audio issues aboard MS Braemar, the most modern among the company's fleet of four cruise ships. Its Neptune Lounge hosts a wide range of activities, including live music, comedy, cabaret and full theatre productions. EWSPL's system design improves the entertainment experience for customers while addressing unwanted sound transmission affecting passenger cabins on adjoining decks above and below.

"When we saw the Neptune Lounge and its old system, we knew we could improve the situation dramatically," says Paul Byrne, operations manager for EWPSL. "The tricky bit was to accomplish that while at sea, and without interfering with the entertainment schedule. Fortunately, our friends at Electro-Voice UK provided an ETX loudspeaker system as a temporary sound system, and Fred Olsen Crui

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UK - Technical production specialist Hawthorn has seen significant expansion in its stock inventory over the last 12 months after investing £3m in new kit and warehouse improvements at its Leicestershire headquarters.

Hawthorn's hire service has seen a 90% increase in its supply to the theatre sector this year and the recent investments will play a key role in supporting the business's ambitious plans to build upon this success, as well as demonstrating the company's commitment to providing the very best possible service to clients.

Four prestigious productions are currently using Hawthorn equipment, including Hairspray the Musical, Brideshead Revisited and Jackie the Musical.

The company is currently exhibiting at the ABTT Theatre Show 2016 at London's Alexandra Palace.

Amongst the new stock additions were Martin MAC Viper Performance fi

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Europe - Slovakian violinist and producer Filip Jancik is rapidly gaining an international reputation as one of the best young classical musicians to cross over into the world of pop and rock. Now based in Vienna where he has his own studio, he often plays with top musicians as part of his own Rock 'n Violin project and also performs with acclaimed artists such as Canadian rock star Avril Lavigne.

Key to the success of Jancik's sound is DPA's d:vote 4099 Instrument Microphone for violin, which he uses for all of his live performances and also for any recording projects he undertakes.

"As a classically trained violinist, I have very high expectations when it comes to sound quality and therefore this was a key factor in my choice of microphone," he says. "When I started playing modern music in 2011, I realized that having a great microphone was going to be very important so

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USA - R. Kelly's Buffet Tour shows open with a haunting scene right out of a horror flick, complete with scary backlighting, eerie full moon images and a menacing bat-like drone flying overhead. When the star himself finally emerges, it's as if he's rising from the stage. Dressed in grim reaper black with large feathered wings, he is made all the more mysterious by shooting bursts of fog that appear to be triggered by his steps as he walks to the lip of the stage.

Russell Armentrout, president of Performance Lighting, came up with the fog burst concept after a design concept meeting with R. Kelly. Performance Lighting made it happen with the help of lighting director Tony Trovato by using a collection of 24 Vesuvio RGBA high-output LED foggers from Chauvet Professional.

"The concert is really an unfolding story told with music, words, effects and lighting," said Armentrout

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USA - The Daryl Hall and John Oates 2016 tour kicked off this year at New York's Madison Square Garden and will continue through the summer. Nashville-based Morris, in collaboration with famed designer Jesper Luth, provided the production and lighting design.

Featured in the design are 140 Solaris Mozart fixtures. "While these lights are small in scale, they make an incredible impact, encompassing both performers in light and creating a warm, asymmetrical backdrop for the show," says Jessica Charlton of Morris.

In January of this year, Morris provided lighting and audio for the 2016 NHL All-Star Weekend, where they first put the Mozarts to the test. The 2016 NHL All-Star Weekend's festivities were broadcast live, and the Mozarts performed well in the live show, while also looking great in both the television coverage and photographs. After that successful deployment, Matt

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USA / Europe - Leo Family systems kicked off Meyer Sound's 2016 summer festival season powering multi-day events at two major music festivals on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Boston Calling drew huge crowds to City Hall Plaza while BigCityBeats World Club Dome played out over 700,000sq.m in Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena.

The outdoor, city-centre site for Boston Calling featured two Leo Family systems supporting artists such as Sia, Disclosure, Robyn, Sufjan Stevens, Janelle Monae, and Haim. The systems were provided by Atkinson, N.H.-based Rainbow Production Services.

"This was the first year we had the Leo Family on both stages, with Leo on the Blue Stage and Lyon on the smaller Red Stage," reports Scott Tkachuk, CTO and touring director for Rainbow. "That combination gave us a lot more control, which was critical as we were surrounded by 60-story buildings of concrete

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UK - A new state-of-the-art, 600 seat auditorium at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall opened in October 2015 alongside the new Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) Centre. Both were designed by Glasgow City Council's in-house team of architects led by Kerr Robertson - also responsible for city projects such as the refurbishment of much lauded Glasgow City Halls - and world-renowned acoustic specialists ARUP.

The new auditorium at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall exhibits a number of design features implemented to optimise the acoustic qualities of the venue, for both rehearsal and performance situations. Fixed sound absorption is distributed throughout the hall, controlling excessive loudness whilst also reducing reverberance. The large scale (risers, ceiling and upper wall elements) and small scale (lower side walls) articulation throughout the hall scatters sound at different fre

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Belgium - The fifth season of the Voice van Vlaanderan (Voice of Flanders) was staged in Hall 8 of the Ghent Expo centre, a massive complex on the outskirts of the picturesque Belgian city - with show design once again delivered by a team from design practice Arf & Yes, led by company owner and founder, Ignace D'Haese.

Arf & Yes provided the full show and venue technical design package for producers Endemol, including stage, set, lighting and video, plus the layout accommodating a large main performance stage and 3000 live audience, taking full advantage of all the available space.

The lighting rig included 86 x Robe moving lights - 52 x Pointes, 30 LEDWash 800s and four LEDWash 300s, which, together with other lights enabled Ignace and his team including lighting programmer / operator Timothy De Mets to create a versatile show environment.

Onstage were three massive L

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UK - Lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment celebrated 10 years of being a main technical supplier to Field Day - one of London's premier and most popular urban music events, staged in Victoria Park, Hackney.

"We are all extremely proud of that achievement," commented Colour Sound's MD Haydn Cruickshank (H), "and in that time have seen the event develop and diversify, all the time retaining its unique approach to music programming and its emphasis on delivering the highest production values to its audiences."

Working for LarMac LIVE, contracted by producers Loud Sound Events to co-ordinate all the technical elements of the event, Colour Sound supplied lighting to the nine largest performance areas (out of 12), and LED screens to five of these performance spaces.

Around 140 moving lights plus generics, control and all the LED screens filled three ar

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South Africa - Lighting designer and consultant, Denis Hutchinson, was loaned six Robert Juliat Dalis 300W LED Cyclights by DWR Distribution to 'test drive' on the musical Sophiatown which played at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg and at the State Theatre in Pretoria.

In South African history Sophiatown, apart from violence and poverty, was the renowned "mixed suburb" in the days of Apartheid, affectionately remembered for the lively politics, music, jazz and blues. It was where people lived together, undivided by colour, before the authorities tore it apart. Sophiatown, the musical production, played tribute to this society and also formed part of the Market Theatre's 40th birthday celebrations.

"Initially I wasn't quite sure how I was going to use the Dalis units on the show because they're cyc lights and I didn't have a cyc," commented Denis. "But I was

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Canada - Montreal's 22nd Bal en Blanc, Canada's oldest electronic music festival and one of the first EDM festivals in the world, featured an exclusive attraction by 45DEGREES, Cirque du Soleil's events and special projects company. Five Cirque acts performing during the Sultan+Shepard set were lit by an array of Clay Paky fixtures provided by 4U2C.

Held on Easter weekend at the Palais du congres, the Bal en Blanc was produced by Produkt with One Drop as its official cause partner. One Drop is a Montreal-based non-profit, created by Cirque founder Guy Laliberte, whose mission is to provide safe water to communities worldwide. 45DEGREES staged its "One Drop Moment" to showcase this collaboration and provide a taste of what's to come as the partnership continues with Bal en Blanc 2017.

"The challenge was to create a unique Cirque moment during a big EDM show with a live VJ a

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UK - This year's Exmouth Festival saw the UK debut of Proel's new Axiom AX800A compact line array, used for the very first time at a live event after the first units of the new product began shipping this month.

ESW Solutions had the timely opportunity to test the new AX800A system at the Exmouth Festival with one of its most experienced sound engineers Darren Campan and overseen by senior project manager Richard Hawkins.

ESW Solutions works on over 500 events a year and as the company looks to expand its business further, it is continually on the lookout for cost-effective, quality equipment to add to rental stock that will improve live event experiences. So when Proel's Mike Roissetter offered a product demonstration system for the festival, ESW's managing director Martin Nicholls was more than happy to trial it.

The AX800A is Proel's newest line array product, addin

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  4. ABTT 2016 Annual Theatre Awards
  5. PLASA 2016 Rigging Conference line-up announced
  6. ZZ Top raise hell with Electro-Voice
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