UK - Bubble & Squeak, the specialist PR, marketing and events agency for the broadcast and media technology sector, has been appointed to provide marketing and PR services for PLASA London, the world's premier annual pro-audio, installation and entertainment technologies event. The 13 year old agency was appointed due to its industry knowledge and extensive experience with media industry events; its clients include Broadcast Video Expo (BVE), the largest UK trade exhibition for the broadcast and film industry, as well as UK Screen's Conch Awards which recognise excellence in audio post-production, and it organised the Music Producers' Guild awards from 2010-2012.

PLASA London is the key exhibition in PLASA's international events calendar, and takes place from 6-9 October 2013. This year's event brings an added challenge as PLASA London transitions from Earls Court to its new hig

USA - Free registration is now open for the PLASA Focus: Austin 2013 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops, running alongside PLASA Focus: Austin, at the Palmer Events Centre, Texas on 10-11 September 2013.

Still in the early stages of development, the programme already includes talks from some of the industry's leading talents who will discuss the latest trends, technologies and techniques, and is a unique opportunity for visitors to further develop their industry knowledge and take part in the discussions.

Lighting designer and programmer Eric Wade will present Designing AND Programming - Life is Good. Currently working as Usher's lighting designer, something he describes as "kinda a full-time gig", Wade has developed his skills over three decades and has become the favourite programmer and lightin

UK - The weather in London wasn't exceptionally sunny for the ABTT 2013 Theatre Show, but the atmosphere inside The Old Truman Brewery on 12 and 13 June was enough to put a smile on everyone's face, say the organisers.

The exhibition space, which was reorganised for 2013 with the addition of an extra hall, two seminar rooms and an imposing registration hall off Brick Lane in London's East End, provided visitors with an adventurous route around the exhibits and meeting areas. Two new initiatives - the Market Place and Village Green - were widely applauded. In the Market Place section of the Blue Hall, a collection of small booths enabled a wide range of theatrical suppliers and associations to present their services at an affordable cost.

The 'Village Green' as it became known during the event, became a central area for visitors to meet, have somewhere to sit and enjoy a coffee

UK - Pioneer is set to enter the professional audio market with the launch of its flagship club sound system. Drawing on the company's rich heritage in sound reproduction, deep understanding of the club industry, and close collaboration with Gary Stewart Audio (GSA) and Powersoft, this exciting arrival promises to make waves in Ibiza this season and, with Pioneer returning to the PLASA Show this year, will be available to hear at PLASA London (6-9 October, ExCeL, London) as Pioneer is set to demo the system in the show's exciting new AudioLab Arena.

"Pioneer and sub-brand TAD's expert sound engineers have been creating high-quality audio for many decades and, with Pioneer DJ's unrivalled expertise in the pro-DJ market, the move into club sound systems is a natural progression," says the company.

To create 'the ultimate club sound system', Pioneer partnered wit

UK - PLASA London 2013 will close its free registration offer later this week, and is urging visitors to sign up at www.plasashow.com in order to save £20 on the standard ticket price. Over 6000 people have already registered for this year's PLASA London event, which takes place at the ExCeL Centre, London from 6-9 October 2013.

Jen Barratt, show manager, PLASA London 2013, says: "We have some fantastic speakers lined up as well as free training sessions, demonstrations of the latest technology, a comprehensive exhibition and great networking opportunities. There aren't many events that would offer so much valuable content for free, so we urge visitors to use these last days of free registration to get the maximum value out of their visit."

Visitors will also have access to AudioLab 2013, the hotly anticipated new attraction that will see the creation of a new

South Africa - South Africa - Philips Entertainment's four premier brands - Selecon, Showline, Strand Lighting and Vari-Lite - are powering up to exhibit their latest luminaires and lighting control products ideal for theatre and staging applications at this year's Mediatech advanced technology show Africa (The Coca-Cola Dome, Northgate, Johannesburg, South Africa, 17-19 July 2013.)

Taking pride of place and following its popular debut earlier in the year at Frankfurt ProLight and Sound, Philips Showline will be promoting the SL NITRO 510 LED strobe.

Sister company Philips Vari-Lite will be demo'ing the recently released Indy software for the VLX Wash luminaire, which enables individual control of the fixture's seven 120-watt RGBW LED engines. This facilitates a multitude of stunning looks and original chases to be programmed on the face of the luminaire, further enhancing the

USA - Three new sessions have been added to the PLASA Focus: Austin 2013 Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free educational seminars and workshops running alongside PLASA Focus: Austin, at the Palmer Events Centre, on 10-11 September, 2013.

In Lights, Camera, Tracking! Paul Braile, a representative from CAST, will demonstrate BlackTrax, a revolutionary technology solution which takes production into the twenty-first century. By integrating lighting, audio, multimedia and video with one comprehensive tracking solution, BlackTrax delivers precise 3D and 6D positioning in real time. This session will take place at 1.30pm on both Tuesday, September 10 and Wednesday 11 September.

De-Mystifying Audio will be presented by d&b audiotechnik on Tuesday, 10 September at 2pm. No matter how well designed your electrical signal path, the acoustic signa

UK - PLASA London 2013 will feature more than 30 companies that did not exhibit in 2012, including Pioneer, Samsung and Sony, while many existing exhibitors have taken bigger stand space than last year. PLASA London takes place at the ExCeL Centre, London from 6-9 October 2013.

Jennie Barratt, show manager, PLASA London 2013, comments, "PLASA London delivers an attractive proposition to exhibitors, with over 12,000 high quality visitors who are eager to see the latest technology and are in a position of purchasing influence. We are pleased to welcome both new and returning exhibitors, from the industry giants to smaller yet innovative brands, many of whom have new products to present during the show."

Alex Barrand, audio specialist at Pioneersays, "We are returning to PLASA after a few years' hiatus as it is the ideal platform from which to launch our new Profes

South Africa - Clear-Com is featuring its Eclipse HX-Delta Matrix Frame at Mediatech Africa 2013 (Jasco Group, Stand G21). The HX-Delta brings the high capacity of Clear-Com's larger matrices to a compact, cost-effective 3RU frame. This smaller frame offers IP or fiber connectivity as well as seamless integration with wireless and third-party devices without external interface frames.

The size of the Eclipse HX-Delta makes it well suited for applications where space is limited but advanced connectivity is required, such as with OB trucks and smaller studios. The Eclipse HX-Delta system also has a new connection paradigm for larger venues, such as multi-level studios. Due to its small size and lower cost, HX-Delta gives users the option of building a distributed matrix system with frames in multiple areas of a facility. This new solution features a more flexible workflow and perm

Italy - Italian fans enjoyed a spectacular display of lights, lasers, and effects at Vasco Rossi 's sold-out stadium tour this year. For maximum visual impact, designer Giovanni Pinna specified 64 of the new Lase-Array systems from ER Productions of London, plus 14 Look Solutions Viper Deluxe smoke machines.

Controlling 12 of the Viper Deluxe machines were a LumenRadio wireless transmitter and 12 LumenRadio receivers. "Wireless was the only way to go," says ER Production's Ryan Hagan. "Smoke machine placement around the stadiums varies depending on the wind, which of course is unpredictable. With wireless we can cover every angle and whatever the wind throws at us. Such flexibility just isn't feasible with cables."

Hagan adds, "LumenRadio wireless DMX is great. It's solid as a rock and never lets us down. We use it at every festival show we work on too

USA - Designing shows for artistes ranging from Sheryl Crow to Fleetwood Mac over a long period, experienced LD Paul 'Arlo' Guthrie has been increasingly finding GLP's impression X4's an essential component in his touring inventory.

Earlier this summer, PRG supplied production for Fleetwood Mac's LIVE 2013 48-city Stateside arena tour - and this time Guthrie requisitioned 36 of the new generation LED moving heads.

The association between Paul Guthrie' (of Toss Film & Design) and Fleetwood Mac dates back to 1999 when he worked with lead singer Stevie Nicks, before co-designing the band's 2003 tour with their veteran LD Curry Grant and Bruce Rodgers (of Tribe Design). He then took over the reins entirely for their 2009 and 2013 tours.

Curry's own history with the band dates back to 1974, and since he had always used PRG as his preferred service provider Guthrie saw no reason t

UK - RG Jones' busy summer season with Martin Audio premier PA systems continued in July, with the 2013 Coronation Festival at Buckingham Palace. This followed the Glastonbury Festival, held a few weeks previously, with the simultaneous Henley Festival also placing further demands on their Martin Audio inventory.

Such congestion with very different environments was always going to be a challenge, but with careful planning and deployment, the Coronation Festival proved once again that RG Jones and Martin Audio were capable of uniting the audience experience.

RG Jones are themselves Royal Warrant Holders and participated at an exhibition in Buckingham Palace Gardens (along with 200 others) while simultaneously providing sound reinforcement for the gala concerts. The RG Jones stand comprised an original Morris J-type, as the one used by the original founder Ronald Geoffrey Jones

France - At the recent Main Square Festival in Arras, France, Paris-based rental house Dushow supplied Meyer Sound systems for both festival stages, including a Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system, and a Milo line array loudspeaker system. The three-day festival attracted a total crowd of approximately 100,000.

The Leo system on the festival's Main Stage supported headliners including Sting, Green Day, The Prodigy, and Indochine. With a maximum capacity of 30,000, the Main Stage field was fully covered by the LEO system's long-throw capabilities.

"This system's consistency of coverage and high output allowed us to avoid the need for delay towers, and to maintain sound integrity over the required distance of 110 meters," says Marc de Fouquières, general manager of Dushow. "Leo's excellent directivity also prevented conflict with audio from the seco

Switzerland - The Neuenburgersee in Estavayer-le-Lac in Switzerland is the all-year location for the Swatch Free4Style festival where the international elite of Freestyle-Motorcross (FMX), Wakeboard and Jetski come together.

The spectacular shows of the extreme athletes together with after show parties of distinguished DJs attract more than 25.000 visitors every year from Switzerland and France to the contemplative small town.

This year the native Mat Rebeaud, Levi Sherwood from New Zealand, Josh Sheehan and others performed exceptional, breath-taking FMX shows. The hazardous tricks require highest concentration and an absolute control of their bodies and machines. Also the disciplines Jetskiing and Wakeboarding with the award-winning Red Bull Team guaranteed drama.

The after-race parties belong to the stars of the Electro scene. Quentin Mosimann, Lucas Monème and Bad Nelso

UK - West London based lighting rental company Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) supplied lighting equipment, LED screen and crew to lighting designer Rich Gilson for the recent Die Antwoord (The Answer) show at London's Brixton Academy.

The South African Zef rap-ravers Ninja and Yolandi Vi$$er have a massive international cult following, a reputation for hugely energetic shows and visceral, raw, insightful - often controversial - videos that embrace numerous South African sub-cultures, all of which are self-directed.

Gilson has worked with them since last year. He designed the lighting for this latest three week UK and European tour based around the Brixton performance, where they brought in a full production.

He was extremely pleased when Colour Sound were also confirmed by promoter SJM to supply equipment for the gig, having worked with them on many previous occasions. "

Austria - One of Europe's most unusual air shows, the Scalaria Air Challenge takes place every July on Austria's Lake Wolfgang. Seaplanes and stunt flying are complemented by aircraft 'dancing' to live opera; live bands, fashion shows, DJs and more across several stages. The audio challenges of this event are considerable and this year, for the first time, a Yamaha CL5 was given the vital role of master console.

"Although the event takes place every year, there is always something new and special," says Thomas Szvetecz, freelance sound engineer and head of the Scalaria sound department for the past four years. "It has everything, including a flying opera with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and, this year, the world premiere of Harold Faltermeyer's Flying Bulls Anthem, featuring Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens.

"I always use Yamaha mixing consoles f

USA - The Rolling Stones have wrapped the US leg of their 50 & Counting world tour with grandMA2 consoles along for the still-wild ride. The Stones sell-out 50th anniversary tour is their first in six years. They opened the U.S. leg in LA and concluded their 18 dates in Washington, D.C. The band performed on a stage set featuring a giant set of psychedelic lips and a tongue-shaped walkway that riffed on their iconic logo. Patrick Woodroffe was the lighting designer and Ethan Weber the co-lighting director. Upstaging supplied the lighting equipment.

Weber and programmer/co-lighting director Dave Hill manned two grandMA2 full-size consoles, networked together, for the tour. "We love them", says Weber. "I handled the key lighting on one console and Dave ran the bulk of the system off the other." Both men are veteran Stones lighting directors with Hill hav

UK - Lighting show designer Nick Gray of Renegade was back for his third London Collections - Men (LCM) SS14 fashion experience, where he lit the two main spaces at Victoria House and The Hospital Club in central London.

All the primary British fashion Council (BFC) runway collections across the three show days took place in the basement of Victoria House, a warehouse space complete with original exposed features like pipework and ventilation plant. The place was whited out for the event as part of a high-impact scenic design by Bacchus.

Gray lit it as a fully multi-purpose area which was also used for several static presentations in addition to the catwalk shows, emphasising 'slick and cool' as the desired ambience.

The main technical challenge was in creating around 25 new rigging points in the ceiling and walls so mini-beam trusses could be installed in exactly the correc

USA - The 2013 CMT Music Awards was staged at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and featured a spectacular lighting design by Tom Kenny. The fan-voted awards show featured a rig which included 24 of Robe's newest moving light fixtures, the Pointe, along with a variety of Robe's other Robin series moving heads.

After a successful show with the new Pointe, just previously used on the MTV Upfront Presentation in New York, Kenny specified the multi-functional fixture for the CMT Music Awards.

This was the fifth year that Kenny has designed lighting for the CMT Music Awards, a live show, broadcast on CMT (Country Music Television) and attended by a live audience in a venue with a capacity of 15,000 people.

The creative team included lighting director and programmer Michael Appel, lighting programmer David 'Fuji' Convertino, scenic designer Anne Brahic, video content p

South Africa - Hip-hop artist, Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion, earlier this year played at two concerts in South Africa. At the Ellis Park Indoor Arena in Johannesburg on 19 May and at the Grand Arena at the GrandWest Casino in Cape Town on 21 May. In Cape Town, lighting designer for the event, Sean Caie, worked on what he describes as a solid platform - the grandMA2 light - to create a show which surpassed the requested technical rider.

Sean Caie, HOD for lighting at the Grand Arena was asked to step in as lighting designer by his boss and technical entertainment manager, Gavin Taylor. "I was a bit hesitant," admitted Caie. He knew that he had a big show coming up a couple of days directly after Snoop Dogg and there was a level of expectancy for that. "I was concerned that I could not give both parties my full attention. I care about what my shows look like and wanted

Lebanon - Founded as a small audio hire company in 1985 by audiophile Roger Bou Farhat, Loud N Clear initially set out to provide professional audio solutions for club nights across Lebanon, along with servicing small to mid-scale events and concerts.

Since then the company has expanded massively, and today supplies the latest technology - including Martin Audio's premium W8L Longbow line array - to the largest venues across the entire Middle East.

Famous acts he has serviced include Pussycat dolls, Gorillaz, Bryan Adams, Snow Patrol, Guns N' Roses, Sting, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Shakira - plus some of the world's leading DJ's such as Armin Van Buuren, Carl Cox, Paul Van Dyk, Tiesto and David Guetta.

It was as a club DJ that he encountered Martin Audio for the first time. "I preferred it over all sound systems in the market due to its loud and clear performance,"

UK - Blitz North is supporting the BBC in delivering their Summer in the City programme, a season of sport, fun and family entertainment aimed to promote becoming active in sports.

Staged in the MediaCityUK Piazza, the series of events are planned around the summer's major sporting events, and recently featured the Women's European Football Championships. A comprehensive technical solution was provided by the Blitz team, featuring all-weather staging and audio systems, and IP rated power distribution for the entire site to cover every eventuality. Video support included a miniature HD outside broadcast system, enabling relay of VT, off-air and live camera images to MediaCity's big screen.

John Crompton, project manager for Blitz Manchester, commented, "Delivering the perfect solution required careful consultation with all parties involved, including the FA and the

UK - Nominations close at the end of July for the sixth annual Knight of Illumination Awards, which recognise and reward the outstanding creative achievements of lighting designers working on productions in the UK. In keeping with tradition, the award ceremony will take place on the opening night of PLASA London 2013, 6 October 2013, at ExCeL London.

Jennie Barratt, show manager, PLASA London 2013, said, "The Knights of illumination Awards have become an integral part of PLASA London, and we're delighted that the organisers have brought the awards to ExCeL where the Platinum Suite promises to deliver a suitably glittering and glamorous atmosphere. We have many of the world's most creative lighting designers here in the UK and PLASA London is proud to help celebrate their incredible work."

The awards, which are supported by PLASA, are organised by The Society of Telev

UK - Event production and rental company OneBigStar once again chose Roland Systems Group (RSG) for the Glastonbudget tribute festival with the entire audio solution managed by RSG products including mixing, splitting, dropboxes and monitors. The Roland M-480 and M-300 Digital Consoles, the S-1608 Stage Box and M-48 Personal Monitors all played a key role in the setup which catered for live bands and acoustic sets.

Taking place in Wymeswold, Leicestershire, the festival which has grown in size and popularity year on year, presents the best in tribute bands and local music with over 100 performances on four stages over the May Bank Holiday weekend. For the first time the 2013 event added an 80's theme on the Saturday night including performances by Howard Jones, ABC, The Christians and Heaven 17.

"Having used RSG products for the past few years at Glastonbudget and also us

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