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The UK’s annual pop music back-slapping gala event, The Brits, was recorded live, in spectacular style, on February 26th at Earls Court 2, London. The live production was managed by Brit regular MJK Productions.

Another regular, Vari-Lite Europe provided the complete lighting system - featuring more than 500 luminaires - as well as providing the rig for the After Show Party. Lighting designer for the event was Al Gurdon. With the ceremony designed to look spectacular both for the live audience and a massive worldwide broadcast audience, the lighting design encompassed the entire space within Earl’s Court 2, both on and around the huge stage and the specially-constructed auditorium.

The large-scale lighting rig included 40 VL2416s, 54 VL5 Arcs, 81 VL5Bs, 76 VL5s, 24 VL6 wash luminaires, 38 VL6Cs, six VL7s and 130 VL2C spot luminaires, with control from two Virtuoso consol

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Festival Management Ltd (FML), the parent company of the Portsmouth’s ‘International Festival of the Sea’ has been awarded the event management consultancy contract for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee visit to the armed forces in Portsmouth in June 2002. This highlight of the Golden Jubilee year will demonstrate to the Queen the role of the armed forces in the 21st Century. Using an innovative format, it will feature the younger generation of Servicemen and women of all three services and their families. FML is currently involved in putting together the third International Festival of the Sea, a four-day event which will be held in Portsmouth Naval Base and Historic Dockyard over the August Bank Holiday this year. The largest maritime festival in the UK, the event now involves around 700 vessels from all over the world, thousands of exhibitors, traditional craftsmen, m
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Point Promotions have announced a 72% increase in attendance at last week’s ABTT Theatre Show. The show this year expanded into both of the Royal Horticultural Halls, and had widened its remit to attract 30 new exhibitors. The initial un-audited visitor attendance figures show an increase of 72% over last year’s registered numbers. Point Promotions was appointed by the Association of British Theatre Technicians (ABTT) to administer the change from the ABTT Trade Show to the bigger and improved ABTT Theatre Show. The expanded show featured on-stage technology such as lighting, rigging, drapes and sound and also many exhibitors with front-of-house technology including seating and staging.

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Show Presentation Services (SPS) has launched a new department dedicated to support the use of all types of information technology in the live events market. SPS Event IT will cater for the now commonplace use of IT within conferences and exhibitions, but its approach will differ from ‘traditional’ IT ideas. "What matters to us," said SPS managing director Robin Coles, "is the event as a whole. Stand-alone computers, flat screens, local networking, Internet access, webcasting and all the associated peripherals are becoming as fundamental as video, sound and lights at many events, and should be delivered with the same professional attitude, with all the technology that comes together to service an event being intrinsically linked. We have staffed SPS Event IT with people who approach anything computerish from the live show perspective. Our crew are not ‘ne

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The 2001 PLASA AGM, along with the popular AGM Dinner, will take place on Thursday 14 June in the historic setting of Coombe Abbey, near Coventry. Set in 500 acres of parkland and dating back to 1150, this former Cistercian Abbey is now a thriving hotel and conference centre. In a slightly revised format for 2001, the day will include an opportunity for members to meet with key representatives of PLASA’s various operations in a number of small, hour-long ‘break-out sessions’. These will be organised as follows:

- PLASA Show - members of the Clarion Events show management team and members of the PLASA Exhibitor Forum will be on hand to discuss PLASA Show-related issues.
- Membership Services - PLASA’s head office staff dealing with membership services will be joined by consultants from certain of our service providers and members of the PLASA Executive Commi

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Lee Baldock and Steve Moles report from Germany on the latest audio developments from the Pro Light & Sound exhibition . . .

This year’s Pro Light & Sound exhibition seemed even busier than usual, perhaps partly due to the PL&S halls being rearranged to spread virtually the length of the site, so that what once took 2 or 3 minutes now takes 5 or 10. There were probably many who missed the relative ease of the previous layout, but the point, of course, is that the visitors turned out in force and went home satisfied - albeit in more pain than usual. So to business . . .

Acoustic Line, part of Seeburg Professional PA Systems, presented the TSMSat+ to augment the TS series. This is a highly compact ‘fill’ speaker built to go with the TS Mini Sub+ and is based around a 10" mid driver with a 1" compression onto a very compact horn flare, making for a sma

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PLASA Presents Light & Sound Shanghai 2001, the fourth consecutive show to be held at the city’s Intex Centre, took place from 4-6 April.

Several companies travelled to Shanghai as part of the Britain in China programme. Among them was DHA Lighting, exhibiting in conjunction with its Asian stockist Pacific Lighting (HK) and showing its latest product, the Gecko Image Projector, together with a range of other products. Zero 88 was reinforcing its presence in the Asian market with the first Asian showing of its Frog and Fat Frog lighting consoles, whilst Artistic Licence was profiling its DMX512 processor chip range which it is promoting for OEM business.

Strand Lighting debuted its 520i lighting console for the Chinese market and also showed its SL spotlights, 300 Series control consoles and SLD96 dimmers. Simplex, meanwhile, was promoting its Ultralight staging system designed

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The PLASA AGM is one of the key events of our year - it’s a chance for us to review what’s gone and plan for what will be a very different future. The most effective way we can do that is by involving as many Members as possible so we’ve strived to create an event that we feel is worth attending. Your role is very important so please don’t file your ideas, comments or complaints away for another time, take this opportunity to influence the way PLASA is heading by joining us for the 2001 AGM.

Even if you’ve got nothing to say (unlikely we think), it’s an ideal opportunity for some relaxed networking in beautiful surroundings. As a backdrop to this year’s event, we have chosen the historic setting of Coombe Abbey, near Coventry. Set in 500 acres of parkland and dating back to 1150, this former Cistercian Abbey is an ideal place to meet up with fa

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Photographic giant, Canon, unveiled its world vision at the recent Focus Show (NEC) with a stunning new stand featuring a huge globe constructed from leading aluminium trussing system, OPTI Trilite. The exhibition brings together photographers and suppliers from all over the UK, and is one of the key showcases for new products and services in Europe. As one of the biggest players in the market, Canon was determined to make a big splash and didn't disappoint. Canon's stand was the brainchild of exhibition specialists, Creative Concepts. "We always try to do something bigger and better every year for Canon's Focus stand," says managing director, Paul Harber. "This year we decided the central feature would be an enormous globe built from the polished version of OPTI Trilite. Being close business neighbours helps too, as both Creative Concepts and OPTI are based in Luton. Glen

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The Production Services Association has made two announcements: the first is that John Jones of PCM has filled the remaining seat on the 2001 PSA Council. John is a long-time supporter of the PSA and through his company PCM has donated £10,000 to the PSA Welfare & Benevolent Fund since the Fund’s inception. PCM has also gained a reputation for being among the industry’s leaders in promoting training, with the PCM Motor Schools now well established. In a separate announcement, Keith Owen will now oversee the PSA’s new series of BTEC courses. The courses, which commence in June in Birmingham with the Production Technician Intermediate BTEC, will be expanded during the year to cover other disciplines. Owen spent 20 years at Light & Sound Design before spending 18 months at Loughborough College as the PSA’s representative for training. He is working for two days a we

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At this year’s PALA Show in Singapore, Wharfedale Professional products will be exhibited on the stand of their distributor in Singapore, City Music. City Music will be showing a combination of already established loudspeakers and electronics, as well as several new products that have been developed since the Pro Light and Sound in Frankfurt earlier this year. Wharfedale Professional has been working for some time on a range of plastic enclosures to complement the already successful wooden enclosure ranges available. The results of this project can be seen at PALA in the form of the new LA Series. The LA Series offers four models at present; a 15" two-way full-range cabinet and a 15" sub as well as a powered version of both. The cabinet itself has flying points as well as an integral pole mount. As well as moving in different directions with the loudspeakers, Wharfedale P

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Performance Exhibitions Ltd has announced the launch of Performance 2001 - an exhibition including conferences, seminars and workshops aimed at the live performance industry. To be staged at the Newcastle Telewest Arena on 17-18 November 2001, the exhibition will bring together manufacturers, venues, producers and promoters, plus a complete range of associated services. Colin Rowell, director of ShowBlokes, whose vast portfolio includes production stage manager of The Tube, stage director for the MTV Awards and stage manager for the Brit Awards, recently returned to the North East, and is involved in live events in the area. He says: "I feel that this exhibition will offer companies a platform for exhibiting to a large audience. It will put the North East on the exhibition circuit where it belongs for this important segment of the industry." Over 1500sq.m of exhibition space wi

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I hadn’t been to Showtech before, but I understand from those that have, that the Show started out life like ABTT - lots of standard shell-scheme type stands, set out like so many rows of beach huts in a Victorian seaside resort on the South coast of England - as befits an environment apparently conducive to our brethren from the theatre set.

Now, however, the Berlin show is more like an ABTT on growth hormones! Five big halls, segregated more or less by type of product, and large, designed stands that better reflect the egos of the firms concerned than the little market stalls of old. Yet the traffic, in terms of numbers at least, seemed to be dwarfed by the scale of the venture. That’s not to say that the visitors were not of a very high calibre, as was certainly the case. This was more like shopping at Harrods, wide aisles, no crush and exclusive clientele. So the parall

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Luciano Pavarotti recently returned to his home town of Modena, to host the annual open-air Pavarotti & Friends charity concert, with funds this year going to alleviate the plight of Afghan children.

The event was held, as always, in front of a packed crowd and transmitted live by Italian state broadcaster RAI’s channel 1. Daniele Tramontani is in charge of sound for the star-studded show. "Initially, it seemed a live recording wasn’t going to be done, but the organizers decided to put together a well appointed studio in a container backstage, so as well as supervising the FOH system, I was also responsible for the realization of the recording and broadcast mixing set-up - in short, everything apart from monitors!"

Sound engineer Stefano De Maio mixed FOH, with a 72-channel Cadac M-type master desk, a Midas XL3 for the orchestra, and a Heritage 1000 for guest mu

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This summer saw a free concert for 20,000 people staged in the busy heart of London. Mike Mann discovered that such a production has its logistical difficulties . . .

Before even thinking about the problems involved in bringing central London to a standstill, Star Hire’s Roger Barrett realised that the stage design for the Africa Day concert would have to be an unusual one: "We would normally have built a higher stage than this - but a major feature of the design was that the famous lions should be visible on stage." Two of the huge statues were incorporated into the stage, which was positioned just in front of Nelson’s Column, facing northwards towards the National Gallery. Flanked by the South African Embassy (who funded the entire event) and Canada House, the central area of Trafalgar Square itself also needed treatment. "One of the first things we realise

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The ABTT has confirmed that its ABTT Theatre Show 2002 will be held at the Royal Horticultural Halls on 19 and 20 June 2002. Further details of booking arrangements will be announced shortly. Any enquiries should be directed to the ABTT Office on 020 7403 3778.

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Oxford-based company Airstar Space Lighting helped illuminate the recent Playtex Moonwalk in Battersea Park in London where more than 7,000 women stripped to their bras to raise funds for cancer research. The world-wide leader and pioneers of the lighting balloon industry used one of their large helium-filled lit Solarc's and several air-filled Crystal's to guide the way for the half-dressed walkers during their midnight charity stroll. On the same weekend, Airstar provided light for 50,000 night-time revellers in Oxford's Cuttleslowe Park during an annual hot-air balloon festival. Airstar's products have been used around the world for a variety of projects including Film and TV productions, festivals and cultural and sporting events. The balloons have also been hired to light the set of the Oscar-winning blockbuster Titanic, for the 1999 Miss World contest in the Seychelles and numerous

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Mad Manufacturing will be providing the full lighting rig in the HK Audio demo theatre at the JHS Event 2001, held at the company's Garforth head office. In addition, Mad Manufacturing will be a guest exhibitor at Event 2001, able to both demo their impressive state-of-the-art lighting and effects systems, and to access the large number of trade visitors throughout the busy three-day duration of the show. With a well-deserved reputation for innovation in what is a highly competitive market, one of Mad's recent successes was the launch of the IMP, or Image Marketing Projector. This is a simple-to-use projector system which features an array of onboard programming options designed to give retailers a high-tech but convenient method of in-store product promotion.

Alongside the IMP, Mad's new installation range also includes the popular 250W AXIS moving head, and the IMP Pro series of effe

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Popular Scottish band, Mogwai, played a pre-launch gig for their second album ‘Rock Action’ at the Shepherds Bush Empire in London. Mogwai, known as the 'no words' band because of their cinematic and instrumental music, played the pre-launch gig prior to embarking on a tour of Japan. The lighting rig for the event featured a host of Martin moving heads supplied by Bandit Lites and specified by LD Nick Jevons. He used six MAC 2000s, 10 MAC 500s and 10 MAC 600s, all controlled via an Avolites Pearl 2000, to create a cinematic and dramatic lightshow which perfectly complemented the various moods of Mogwai’s music. Jevons has been a lighting designer for over 10 years, and in his time has designed spectacular lightshows for bands such as the Super Furry Animals, Reef, Elastica and Skunk Anansie. In addition, he has also designed the lighting for a large number of extreme

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Exhibited widely in Europe, Japan and the US, Panamarenko, whose works are immediately recognizable and highly distinctive, has become one of the most famous contemporary artists in the world. Obsessed with flight, Panamarenko calls himself an artist-technologist, producing work that is a cross between art and science.

Belgium’s Museum of Contemporary Art (SMAK) in Ghent recently hosted a three-month retrospective exhibition of his most impressive works, an event that opened with a one-off show entitled Panamarenko by Night which took place on March 23. Martin’s Belgian distributor EVDV proposed giving Panamarenko’s work an additional touch of dynamism for the show so its architectural lighting specialist Duncan Verstraeten took the opportunity to incorporate Martin effects lighting into this rather unusual environment. He contacted lighting specialist Lode van Pee o

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Brand experience consultancy Hotcakes has won the international award for Best Consumer Products Event at the European IBTM Awards in Geneva (30 May), for its production of Marks & Spencer’s unique ‘Time To Celebrate’ touring show.

‘Time To Celebrate’ has been acknowledged as Europe’s biggest ever touring show undertaken by a retailer and was devised to showcase the retailer’s Christmas/Millennium collections. Taking place in a specially-designed state-of-the-art structure, the show was staged adjacent to M&S’s flagship stores in Bristol, Gateshead, Edinburgh and Camberley. It incorporated a celebrity cooking demonstration, a fashion show and an exhibition of merchandise from the Home & Gifts department, and was seen by 26,000 customers and staff across the UK. The event was managed by a crew of 550, and transported around the country by

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After the success of the multimedia waterscreen shows during the world expos in both Osaka (1990) and Tottori (1996), Yves Pépin and his team at ECA2 have been asked to produce the multi-media watershow for the Yamaguchi Expo in Japan, which runs from the 14th of July through to the 30th of September 2001. For the last two years, ECA2 and its technicians have been working alongside the Japanese Expo team to ensure the success of this night-time spectacular. The show will feature images projected onto four monumental spheres, as well as onto a giant water screen; pyrotechnic and fire effects will complete the impressive show.

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As part of the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Edwin Shirley Staging, the international staging and structure specialist, has built a bespoke 30m high needle-shaped tower, from which a £1 million Mercedes Benz Gullwing car will be balanced to help celebrate the luxury car company’s Centenary. The car will be placed on its nose and will be on display to visitors during the three-day motor show.

The ESS structure has been specially designed by Gerry Judah, the renowned designer behind such projects as the model of Auschwitz in the Holocaust Galleries at the Imperial War Museum and Linkbridge 2000 in the Woolwich Dockyard Estate, as well as last year’s central display at Goodwood. Patrick Woodroffe, known worldwide as a leader in lighting design and whose recent projects include Lord of the Dance II and the Rolling Stones tours, is lighting the structure. The festival, which open

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Showlight 2001 shall never be forgot - Tony Gottelier walks us through the highlights.

After having spent the weekend in Helensborough with friends, and undertaking several outdoor excursions immersed in Scottish mist, as opposed to Scotch mist which is something else entirely (and of which more later), it was quite a shock to wake up to unexpected and blazing heat for the first day of Showlight 2001. However, this weather was certainly appropriate as, in a very literal sense, the sun seemingly bathed this fourth quadrennial colloquium on entertainment lighting, in a golden glow throughout.

Huge credit has to go to the committee for the success that Showlight was once again. Some of the members of this panel will be mentioned in this article, some will not, if only because their roles were more behind the scenes, as it were, but all deserve fulsome praise for their contribution to a

  1. Association News - PLASA AGM Breaks New Ground
  2. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Park
  3. Event Associates Key to Festivals Success
  4. National Space Centre Opens
  5. ILMC Crowd Safety Panel Agrees Agenda
  6. National Recognition for UKCMA
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