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14 March 2016

Proving the adage that the old ones are the best; Valhalla, Blackpool Pleasure Beach's most iconic ride, has been voted one of the best in Europe more than a decade after it first opened. The world's biggest indoor dark ride was given the honour at the European Star Awards after a panel of International experts voted it one of the best on the Continent.

Valhalla, which takes riders on a Viking journey through fire, water, snow, thunder and lightning, has enjoyed longevity thanks to Sarner's initial creativity and diversity in combining a white knuckle flume ride with theatrical dynamics of powerful storyline sequences. Sarner conceived the masterplan d

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14 March 2016

During 2012 the SABC invited interested parties to participate in a tender process for the supply of lighting gear. Congratulations to Blackmotion Production who were awarded the tender at the end of last year.

Hire Company, Blackmotion, regularly work at the SABC where they've used their own Robe fixtures on five television productions.

"The SABC in-house crew also saw us supply a Tiger Touch to the television series Roots," explained Kagiso Tiro Daystar Moima, owner of Blackmotion. "They were fascinated by the console and the functions it provided for the lighting direct

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14 March 2016

The versatile FX-200s were specified by lighting and visuals designer Ed Warren from Next Level Lights.

The band has been touring for the last three years with various different arrangements of tungsten lightsources over and around the stage as an integral part of the lighting rig.

Earlier in this tour, Warren introduced LED festoon lighting, going from the stage and reaching right out into the audience ... and he wanted to take this up another level and add another dynamic and adaptable lightsource to the mix - enter the FX-200.

He had seen the product in action at various festivals over the summer and thought it ideal for the next evolution of his desig

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14 March 2016

The PRO3, which was purchased at PALME 2011, was used on monitors while the PRO9, purchased at PALME 2012, took care of FOH. The event was attended by nearly 300,000 people and saw acts including Don Moen, Israel Houghton, Fred Hammond, Deitrick Haddon and many more deliver sharp performances.

"We purchased the PRO9 as a natural progression from the PRO3, which we'd bought the year before." explains Bamishile Dipo, sound engineer from Solution Media and Infotech Ltd. "We decided on the PRO9 because the PRO3 had so totally

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14 March 2016

CORE Lighting specialises in battery-powered, wirelessly controlled LED lighting fixtures designed for instant illumination anywhere - events, parties and any other production where lighting fixtures need to be distributed over a wide area, and unsightly power and data cabling must be kept to an absolute minimum. On show will the Point15, Point20 and Point30 fixtures, all RGB-W, and the high-output Flood30, a white LED equivalent to a 750W tungsten spotlight, IP65 rated for outdoor use.

Visitors to the White Light Stand will also get a look at new products from PR Lighting, including the XLED336, a small and super bright LED moving light. The

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14 March 2016

However, the favourite of the talent show has another string to its bow as Rob Myer, managing director of Light Fantastic Production Services explains, "We have been providing lighting, audio , video and staging services to a wide range of private and corporate events across the UK and Europe since 2005. Our clients demand a high level of finish and are always looking to create a new visual aesthetic for each event.

"As long time users of Clay Paky products, we've recently bought Sharpys from Ambersphere Solutions to broaden our rental stock and these have proved extremely popular. A large part of our work is in hotel ballrooms or conference centres where height, power supply and rigging opportunities can be very limited. This is where the Sha

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14 March 2016

Glenn Roggeman, CEO of the AED group, comments, "Our mission as master distributor is to be a complete support tool to the distribution network with our experience of large demos, trainings, large stocks, experience in project sales, buying used equipment as trade in with leasing of new.

"The Distribution landscape is drastically changing and

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14 March 2016

MES Eclairages was founded in 1981 and is now the leading provider of theatrical and event lighting in western France. It has an extensive inventory of lighting equipment for rental including moving heads, LED units and control and also installs permanent lighting rigs into venues.

In 2012, sound rental company Melpomen, a member of SSE Audio Group since 2001, decided to establish its own lighting department and recruited Jerome Malen to run it. The move came as more and more event promoters in France are looking for a comprehensive and integrated hire equipment package. In line with this, Melpomen has also just created a video de

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14 March 2016

Hosted by Dermot O'Leary, the NTA's and its collection of star-studded award-winning celebrities shone on Le Mark's water-like-reflection studio floor.

Performances from dancing star Darcey Bussell relied on StudioTak's excellent durability.

Soon after, the high-gloss floor offered a glistening reflection for Kimberly Walsh & X Factor rising star Ella Henderson. The set was built and installed by Blackfriars Scenery Ltd.

Blackfriars project manager Perry Judge commented, "StudioTak is fantastic, we never use anything else."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Joining the company in 2003 as audio sales manager, Butler has been instrumental in driving forward and helping to establish the dedicated Audio Division, forging many new associations and relationships with manufacturers and customers along the way, says the company.

In 2011 Butler was appointed as acting video sales manager for AC-ET's Video Division, taking on a range of additional challenges and responsibilities.

Since then, he has played a key role in the expansion of the Video Division, bringing on-board many new video technologies and opening new business opportunities in the fast moving world of show and entertainment 'visuals'.

In his new appointment as audio visual director, Butler will continue to oversee the furth

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14 March 2016

"With Mackie's continued focus on creating innovative hardware solutions, the choice to transition Tracktion to TSC was clear," said Matt Redmon, Mackie product manager. "TSC is fully dedicated to the development, support and marketing of Tracktion. Their experience with the DAW market and intimate knowledge of Tracktion made them the perfect group to take Tracktion into the future."

"We are proud to announce not only the acquisition of Tracktion Music Production Software, but that Tracktion 4 is available immediately," remarked James Woodburn of Trackti

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14 March 2016

BSR E1.44 - 201x, Common Show File Exchange Format For Entertainment Industry Automation Control Systems - Stage Machinery, defines a common show file format for the exchange of automation control data between control systems by different manufacturers of stage machinery.

BSR E1.45 - 201x, Unidirectional Transport of IEEE 802 data frames over ANSI E1.11 (DMX512-A), defines a minimal method to transport IEEE 802 data frames unidirectionally over ANSI E1.11 physical links using an Alternate START Code. The primary motivation is to allow communication of 802 data to luminaires over an ANSI E1.11 DMX512-A datalink for data transmission from those luminaires using Visible Light Communication,

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14 March 2016

Coombes has worked in the commercial audio and video sectors for more than 15 years, and steps into the post following a six-month candidate search.

"Mark has a great mix of experience," says James Kennedy, operations manager at Peavey Commercial Audio. "His track record speaks for itself, having worked in an international sales capacity for a string of major industry manufacturers including Samsung, Opus and Crestron. He fits all the criteria for the role and we're delighted to have him on board."

Coombes adds, "Peavey is a world renowned company with an amazing audio heritage. I'm looking fo

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14 March 2016

After holding key positions in the pro audio industry, both in the United Kingdom as well as the Netherlands, Toni Scherrenberg was further responsible for market consulting in Austria as well as business development in Asia.

"Dynacord is an internationally renowned company with products that - without doubt - can only be described as outstanding", says Scherrenberg. "The Eastern European region is a highly interesting, expanding market, where top-quality products are in great demand. Our partners can be sure that I will put all my effort into focusing on the further development of our partnerships and the position of Dynacord in the respective markets."

"Toni Scherrenberg is a highly qualified sales specialist

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14 March 2016

Sharpy Wash 330 is a compact, lightweight 330 W washlight, with the luminous efficiency, graphic and optical performance of a 1000W fixture. It is extremely silent and quick, and fitted with a complete CMY color system, special colors, 6.5°-48° zoom, mechanical dimmer, beam shaping filter and motorized top-hat. It is an eco-friendly light, allowing considerable running and consumption cost savings.

A.LEDA, the new Clay Paky RGBW-LED moving head range have a library of pre-set graphic effects customizable by the operator, electronic linear dimmer, stop/strobe effect and a dedicated channel for color temperature setting. Each LED colour can be dinamically and individually controlled.

The Alpha Profile 800 ST is billed as "the most modern moving beam shaper in existence today for us

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14 March 2016

Extending the performance capabilities of the QFlex range, QFlex 64 complements the six existing models in this product line, with QFlex 48 previously being the largest column available, offering new possibilities for the product in particularly demanding applications.

Tannoy's QFlex is a range of digitally steerable, self-powered column array loudspeakers aimed at the high performance installation market. Purpose-designed for applications with problematic acoustics (where good intelligibility is required), QFlex technology gives the system designer a unique set of tools for controlling sound in large, acoustically challenging, highly reverberant spaces - typically involving expanses of reflective surfaces such as glass, metal, concrete or stone.

The QFlex 64 is no

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14 March 2016

The Live Action Arena stages live racing demonstrations and stunt shows every day for the duration of the popular racing-themed show, which is named after the UK's most popular weekly auto racing magazine.

To ensure the crowd could enjoy all the action wherever they sat, XL Events, working closely with event production company, Network Productions, as well as production director Malcolm Forbes, supplied a 90m wide by 9m high front projection using six stacks of Barco projectors.

Each stack included one of XL's new Barco HDF-W26 26k projectors on top of a Barco FLM HD20, which gave a total output of 276,000 lumens

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14 March 2016

In LH2's huge production rehearsal studio, which regularly hosts the biggest artists in the world from the Rolling Stones to Robbie Williams, Nexo and its first UK rental customer Capital Sound Hire set up the STM modular line array in a nine-sets a-side configuration.

Over the course of four days, the STM Sessions, which were hosted by Nexo's concert sound manager Stuart Kerrison, also included workshops on Nexo's proprietary design software NS-1, and innov

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14 March 2016

Owned by Shed Media, Renegade produces popular television shows such as Don't tell the Bride and Popstar as well as award-winning films My kidnapper and Me and The boys from Baghdad High.

Renegade, based in London, were looking to upgrade their lighting to showcase the classic cars being restored as part of Car SOS, but wanted a more energy efficient lighting solution.

In order to meet their requirements two of Gemma's energy efficient LED lighting products were selected for the project - the Sovereign 96 LED High Bay and Spitfire 48 LED Floodlight.

Both lights give clarity and coverage with high lumen outputs and instant strike up times, whilst the long life span o

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14 March 2016

Following its successful Eton debut the previous year, TiMax2 Soundhub is now a staple element of the School Play - this year a challenging modern-classical "suits & swords" interpretation of Shakespeare's infamous tragedy. Sound designer Rick Sarson envisioned and produced the immersive sound environment and programmed the TiMax2 SoundHub show in rehearsals for the student technical team to operate during the performances.

Act One's