UK - Toby Alington and his team at Richmond Studios Productions are amidst last minute preparations for recording the UK's largest annual music show, The BRIT Awards 2013 in association with MasterCard.

Whilst this will be Alington's 19th year recording The BRITs, it is set to be one of the most exhilarating productions with the Nation's on-going Diamond Jubilee and Olympic fever. The new BRIT Award statue has been designed by Damien Hirst and has already caught the public's eye, and the show will once again be hosted by James Corden.

Alington and his audio team will mix the music for the live-to-air show from Floating Earth's state-of-the-art mobile recording unit, Floating Earth. This is equipped with an SSL C200 digital console, linked to over 100 remote mic-amps connected by

Czech Republic - As Robe Lighting's head office and production facilities are located not far from ?eský Krumlov where Showlight is being held this May 18-21, the Robe team is offering all Showlight 2013 attendees a special visit to its factory outside of the Showlight schedule.

Participants will have the opportunity not only to visit the production area but also experience the famous Czech hospitality in the spa Hotel Solan, based within the stunning Beskydy Mountains.

The coach will be scheduled to leave ?eský Krumlov on Tuesday 21 May at 5pm, with an expected travelling time of approximately 4.5 hours.

After arrival at the Hotel Solan, the guests can enjoy dinner consisting of local specialities and also visit the spa centre or the hotel swimming pool.

On Wednesday morning the schedule starts with a tour of Robe's architectural lighting division Anolis and its daughte

France - Philips Selecon is powering up its range of LED luminaires to exhibit at SIEL Paris this week (Stand D88).

Philips Selecon's French dealer Dimatec will be showcasing Selecon's PLFresnel1, PLProfile1, PLCYC1, PlyCyc2, and Studio Panel luminaires at this year's SIEL, taking place at Grande Halle de la Villette, Paris from 4-6 February.

"The new PL products use the same proven LED engine as the Philips Selecon PL3, PL1, PLCYC1 and the Philips Vari-Lite VLX ranges, which means colour matching in a multifunctional rig is entirely simplified," says Grant Bales-Smith, sales manager for Strand Selecon Europe. "In addition the user interface is the same for all luminaires, which ensures intuitive operation across the whole Philips Entertainment range of LED luminaires."

(Jim Evans)

featured content

LD Systems ICOA PRO series – high-performance coaxial PA speakers for professional demands

The popular ICOA PA systems have been further developed to include two active full-range coaxial speakers – ICOA PRO 12 A and ICOA PRO 15 A – as well as the active 21″ bass-reflex PA subwoofer ICOA PRO SUB 21 A. With its professional features and high output power, the ICOA PRO series is aimed at ambitious bands, musicians and DJs as well as hire companies and commercial customers looking for a compact, robust and powerful PA sound system. The ICOA PRO series is rounded off with modern connection and control options via Bluetooth 5.1 and the specially developed ICOA PRO app, for use on smartphones and tablets.

ld-systems.com/icoapro

UK - MP Event Trailers has partnered with Spanish manufacturer Capotex to launch a new temporary or permanent structure solution for the UK events market. The product, called Tubbo, is a modular, design gallery, transparent pod, which is billed as "ideal for outdoor events no matter what the weather".

The modular design of Tubbo makes it quick and easy to assemble and its streamline design and hi-tech material content comply with regulations meaning no structure licensing is needed.

Rhod Howcroft, rental fleet manager, MP Event Trailers comments, "The engaging design and aesthetics of Tubbo mean it will be an instant source of conversation between guests, as nothing like this has previously been available in the world of events. Visitors get the best of both worlds, a heated or air conditioned event space whilst still remaining and watching part of their surroun

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ETC Halcyon Silent

High End Systems Halcyon Silent builds on ETC’s legacy of fanless automated fixtures by incorporating features from the highly sought-after Halcyon family. Halcyon Silent perfectly balances silent operation with brilliant output of 18,400 lumens and high-impact features. 

For more information visit us at www.etcconnect.com

France - L-Acoustics reports that new modules are now available for third party software including CATT-Acoustics (Dynamic Link Library - DLL), EASE (Generic Loudspeaker Library - GLL), ODEON and LARA.

Sound designers and acousticians can now simulate the L-Acoustics line source arrays via specific GLL or DLL files respectively for the electro-acoustic software EASE and CATT-Acoustics. L-Acoustics coaxial speakers can also be simulated using the dedicated GLL file in EASE and the Common Loudspeaker Format (CLF) file for CATT-Acoustics, ODEON and LARA.

Each third party software can be used in parallel with Soundvision to simulate additional parameters such as total sound pressure level (taking into account the reverberation field), intelligibility and clarity factor thanks to the fact that they include room acoustics properties.

Germain Simon, application engineer at L-Acoust

UK - Such has been the interest in Martin Audio's Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array (MLA) that the company has now created an MLA dedicated web portal, in order to "share the secrets of its advanced control technology with the growing community of users and potential customers".

This will be represented in two hierarchical modules. The public portal has now gone live and is available to everyone, while the private portal will be confined to MLA rental companies and trained technicians, allowing them to access more in-depth information and engage in discussion forums. This is scheduled to go live in the near future.

Running hand in hand is a new personal Certified Training Programme which complements the online resource, where technical information is hosted alongside an open forum. This gives MLA technical users the opportunity to share knowledge and experience, both

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Create new traditions – Cameo P6 - High Output Full-Spectrum Ellipsoidal

Cameo's P6 is a future-proof LED profiler with a powerful 600 W RGBACL engine and 16,000 lumens. It’s an energy-efficient replacement for 2.5 kW halogen profile lights in theatres and venues. With excellent light quality and natural colour rendering, it fits perfectly in theatres, musicals, TV studios, congresses, and live events.

With an LED life of 50,000 hours and low power use, the P6 cuts energy costs and supports the EU’s ‘Green Deal’ goals for climate neutrality by 2050. It also meets updated eco-design rules for lighting.

www.cameolight.com/p6profile

Keeping Clean - London's National Theatre is one of four historic sites to receive funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for "wash and brush up" restoration work. It has been granted £2.5m to help enhance the 20th-Century modernist building on London's South Bank. Last year, Arts Council England gave the theatre £17.5m to aid its upgrades. The remaining sites include Rochester Cathedral in Kent, the Carnegie Library in Dunfermline and Victorian mansion house Insole Court in Cardiff. A total of £11m was awarded to the places of cultural interest in England, Scotland and Wales.

Open Air - An amphitheatre is being planned in north London on the site where a 16th century theatre that hosted the premiere of Henry V used to exist. The remains of the Curtain Theatre - which was the base for the Lord Chamberlain's Men before they moved to the G

UK - MTV has been busy recording the sixth series of Brand New, a programme dedicated to upcoming talent tipped to break through in 2013. Previous discoveries include Lady GaGa, Justin Bieber and Ke$ha as well as UK talent including Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32 and Jessie J.

For the new series LD Piers Cox wanted an LED batten for backlighting and pixelmapping effects. He was looking for versatile units with plenty of punch to provide striking lighting effects but also with the ability to provide smooth crossfades and subtle colours. He approached Matt Mountier and Ed Railton from Limelite Lighting of Cranbrook, Kent, lighting suppliers for the series. They met him at the PLASA show in September and took him to the MilTec stand to see the LEDHead Batten2 being demonstrated.

Fitted with 18x 8W quadcolour LEDs, the Batten2 gives a very bright output with excellent colour mixin

UK - Live show and event production and design practice LarMac LIVE production managed and co-ordinated all technical elements for Donny & Marie's recent UK arena tour, presenting their record-breaking, hugely successful show from The Flamingo in Las Vegas to delighted UK fans.

LarMac LIVE's Ian Greenway took up the production management role on the road, assisted by Siobhan Shaw.

Ian Greenway comments, "This was a very interesting project for us. In essence our brief was to take an established theatrical production show, and repackage it to deal with the rigours of rock 'n' roll touring schedule while still retaining the sumptuous Vegas feel."

LarMac LIVE collaborated closely with Donny & Marie's creative and technical teams and their US production co-ordinator Chris Acton to ensure that the detailed and precise brief was covered, and also with UK promoter, Kilima

Spain - TC Group International (TCGI) has announced the appointment of Soinua as exclusive distributors of the Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake brands in Spain.

The move will create a new dedicated point of contact for Tannoy, Lab.gruppen and Lake customers in Spain and allow easier access to the companies' wide portfolio of professional loudspeaker, amplification and digital processing products across both the touring and installation markets.

Over a successful 20 years, Soinua has grown to become one of the leading companies in the fields of quality sound reinforcement, equipment rental and professional touring. Having dedicated themselves exclusively to the live sound market, recently the company has expanded their professional activities to the areas of distribution and sale of professional audio equipment.

The most recent major addition to its portfolio is the distribution

France - Known simply as 'Le Theatre', the new national theatre of Saint-Nazaire on the west coast of France occupies what used to be the old station of Saint-Nazaire. One of 70 national theatres that form part of the network of the French Ministry of Culture, le Theatre is an impressive concrete edifice reminiscent of a huge bunker. The outline is softened in places by the imprint of a floral pattern chiseled into the concrete, a theme which is also reflected inside the building.

As a national theatre, le Theatre had to conform to exacting technical standards, making it an extremely highly specified venue at every level, including of course the audio set-up. Technical director Patrick Balaud had no hesitation in specifying an Innovason Eclipse GT digital console as the FoH console for the main 826-seat theatre, which was supplied by TechnoSolutions of St Nazaire.

According to

USA - Experts in theatre and stage equipment PNTA have become the latest company to take on the full range of Dirty Rigger Gloves & Accessories in the USA.

With nearly 40 years in the business, Seattle based PNTA has grown over the years to offer one of the widest selection of equipment & consumables on the west coast.

PNTA's Richard Buckley said, "We are incredibly excited to introduce the Dirty Rigger tool pouch and rigger glove range. All the team here are really impressed with the quality and materials used on the construction of the gloves and accessories, and the stitching is excellent. They have a style of rigger glove that will suit just about any setting out in the field"

The Dirty Rigger range will be available at PNTA's online retail store and on display in their spacious new warehouse located on Andover Street, Seattle.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Production Resource Group, L.L.C. (PRG) is pleased to announce that Mbox Studio, a software-only media server application, is now available for purchase. A compact version of the popular Mbox media server, this product can be easily installed and operated on a user-supplied Intel-based Apple Mac computer (Intel processor, OSX 10.6.7 and higher).

Mbox Studio, with fewer parameters and less complex operations, offers substantial functionality and versatility. It operates identically to the full Mbox in both movie playback, effects, and in transition functions. Designed primarily for playback of SD content, it can also handle HD content. It offers eight playback layers and a fully functional pixel mapping toolset. A free demo content library, available as a separate download, can be used as a starting point for content creation with Mbox Studio.

Mbox Studio Version 3.6 is t

Europe - The Music Group has announced the appointment of Nigel Beaumont as head of its new Professional Division, overseeing all aspects of the company's Midas, Klark Teknik and Turbosound brands worldwide. Beaumont retains his role as senior vice president for operations that he has held since joining the Muisic Group in 2011. The appointment is effective 1 March, 2013.

CEO Uli Behringer commented, "Over the past two years, Nigel has added tremendous value to the Music Group and I am very proud of his achievements. With Nigel's profound pro experience at Harman, I am convinced he will continue, and accelerate, the growth of the division." Before joining the Music Group, Beaumont was with the Harman Pro Division, being most recently responsible for the management of the European operations of the division, encompassing Soundcraft, Studer and AKG.

Nigel Beaumont comm

USA - The rolling hills and fertile farmlands along the Delaware River were among the first to be settled by European colonists, and the area is rich in historic buildings and landmarks. Among them is Alexandria First Presbyterian Church, whose main sanctuary was built in the late 1800s, and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Despite being one of the older buildings in the area, Alexandria First Presbyterian is all modern on the inside, thanks to a sophisticated audio and video system designed and installed by Blackwood, NJ-based JD Sound and Video. The system includes distributed HD video, with multiple screens throughout, as well as a sound system featuring Community Professional Loudspeakers' Entasys column arrays and VLF Series subwoofers.

"It's not a large building, and it's not very ornate," says JD Sound's Joe DiSabatino. "But they've

UK - BVE 2013, to be held for the first time this year at Excel London, will see Sennheiser UK exhibiting its microphone, wireless system, long distance RF transport, headphone and monitoring products, as well as highlights from its distributed partners including Nagra and Avalon.

A highlight of this year's products will be Sennheiser's flagship Digital 9000 Series. Launched at IBC 2012, Digital 9000 is a digital wireless system that can transmit completely uncompressed audio, artefact-free and with superb dynamics. Targeting broadcasting professionals, (musical) theatres and high-profile live audio events; Digital 9000 sets a new benchmark in digital wireless transmission. The system, which includes the EM 9046 receiver, SKM 9000 handheld and SK 9000 bodypack transmitters, and a comprehensive suite of accessories, has been meticulously designed for the highest channel counts in

Germany - LumenRadio's CRMX technology, together with lighting fixtures from Robe and Anolis, was recently used to illuminate and enhance a fascinating public renovation and arts project, named Iktomia, by German designer and sculptor Volker-Johannes Trieb.

Iktomia consists of an art gallery, an event venue, a sprawling public garden, and the old railway station of Sutthausen; a picturesque village located in the German countryside close to the border with the Netherlands. The design mandate called for an extensive lighting system to make the area attractive and engaging to the public also after dark.

Trieb, in cooperation with LumenRadio's distributor LMP, commissioned a lighting rig of powerful, yet inconspicuous, CitySkape 48 and CitySource 96 Robe fixtures; all with wireless CRMX OEM modules already installed. This rig, with a compliment of Anolis in-ground A

UK - XL Events supplied video production - including high powered projection system, control, screen management and crew - for the 2013 National Television Awards, broadcast live on ITV from London's O2 Arena.

Working for producers Indigo Television, the event was project managed for XL by Paul Wood. XL has been involved in the event - this was its thirteenth year - since 2005, in which time the production video elements have expanded significantly.

This year, the stage and set was designed by Wieder Design from Munich, well known for their work on German Idol, X-Factor and a myriad of other high profile TV extravaganzas.

It consisted of a large upstage projection screen measuring 11 x 6m, surrounded by four smaller screens - two at 6 x 3m and two at 5 x 3m.

The large screen used four of XL's new Barco HDF W26 26K projectors. Each of the outer screens was fed by a pair of

Austria - Vienna State Opera has taken delivery of ETC's newest lighting control desk, Gio, following an extensive search over a number of years.

Lighting chief Rudolf Fischer told Prospect magazine, "Our existing desks served us faithfully for 16 years, but no longer met our requirements. They lacked a Moving Light Engine, and spare parts were difficult to obtain, making maintenance difficult."

The theatre invested in four ETC Gio desks, along with two Remote Processor Units (RPUs) and an Ion to cover the main stage lighting, auditorium and Kinderzelt, a tent on the roof for children.

"We have a very large repertoire with a very wide range of lighting - there are over 200 shows, dating back to 1957. So the ability to handle traditional fixtures as well as our old desk could, was very important to us. We watched the market for some time, waiting until t

UK - Free registration is now open for the PLASA Professional Development Programme, which will run alongside a sold-out PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, on Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May 2013.

Whether you are a seasoned campaigner in the entertainment sector or a student considering the live events industry as a career, the PLASA PDP is an unmissable opportunity to learn new skills, watch new product demonstrations, and meet some of the most respected practitioners in the business.

Kicking off is Adam Bennette, Technical Director of ETC Europe, who leads a discussion about how to design new systems that support both tungsten and LED lighting in a rational and sustainable way. Requirements for Data and Power Infrastructures for LED Stage Lighting is a seminar where audience participation is an important part of the process so system designers, technical managers from thea

USA - On 31 December, over 11,000 devoted 'Bass Heads' packed Nashville's Bridgestone Arena to celebrate the new year with Californian dubstep musician/producer Lorin Ashton, better known as Bassnectar.

LMG Touring, which supplied sound and video for the artist's 2012 New Year's Eve show at the same venue and subsequent 32-date fall tour, once again provided this year's technical production elements, including a sizable L-Acoustics K1 System.

Abandoning last year's end-stage setup for a new in-the-round design, Bassnectar's main PA for the 2013 event was comprised of eight hangs of eight K1 enclosures, each with three-Kara down-fills, flown in LR pairs around the arena's massive central Jumbotron display.

To deliver the generous LF that one would expect from an artist named Bassnectar, LMG positioned 72 SB28 double-18-inch subs on end around the perimeter of the circular rot

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