UK - IAG UK - parent company of Wharfedale Pro and SurgeX as well as a range of quality British HiFi brands including Audiolab, Castle, Mission , Quad and Wharfedale - is relocating its separate sales and service centres from their current buildings in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, to an all-new, purpose-built complex, incorporating UK operations, to be combined under one roof for the first time. Warehousing and distribution will continue to operate from the existing 59,000sq ft Bradford premises.

Wholly owned by IAG, the new facility is almost twice the size of the existing office and service buildings combined - 16,300sq ft, compared to 9,200sq ft. Its purpose is to enable greater efficiency and allow future expansion, illustrating IAG's commitment to Europe and in particular the

USA - Besides their corporate headquarters in southern California, MannKind Pharmaceuticals maintains two other campuses, including their technical operations team, located in Danbury, CT. It's a busy campus, hosting several hundred employees involved in the company's manufacturing, engineering, and quality assurance divisions.

The campus' central meeting point is a large, multipurpose room used for everything from lunches to corporate meetings and all types of presentations. It's a bright, airy, and welcoming space, but as Richard Trombitas of New York-based Cardone, Solomon and Associates explains, the room has long been an acoustical challenge.

"It's a really nice looking space, but not great for spoken word intelligibility," says Trombitas. "It's got a fairly high ceiling, a wall of windows, and lots of reflective surfaces."

Colortone AV's Joe Lemisch

UK - The Royal Albert Hall played host to the Mountbatten Festival of Music last week. The three nights featured Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines and captured the versatility of some of the world's finest military musicians.

The Royal Albert Hall's Richard Thomas designed the lighting rig which was supplied by a number of lighting companies, including Richard Martin Lighting (RML) who provided 24 Sharpys.

All proceeds of the festival go to the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund and CLIC Sergeant.

(Jim Evans)

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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. 

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The Netherlands - Dutch PA company, SoundWorks, supplied 28 ME-1 personal monitor mixers for iconic singer, Lee Towers, who recently hosted concerts over several nights at the New Luxor Theatre in Rotterdam.

Monitor engineer, Jens Koolwijk, managed audio design on the project, and tested several personal monitor systems before selecting ME.

van Koolwijk commented: "The decision was an easy one - ME just works like clockwork! There's no hassle, it's easy to set up, and the audio quality is sublime."

An iLive iDR-16 MixRack was employed as a system management hub for the multiple ME mixers, using the Rack's MADI interface to connect to the main monitor mixer. 40 channels of MADI fed the iDR-16 giving access to a full blown iLive DSP system if adjustments were needed to the MADI stream. The iDR-16 was controlled using iLive Editor leaving the ACE connection free to fe

UK - For the third consecutive year, XL Video sponsored the OLivier Award for Best Set Design (won by Bunny Christie and Finn Ross for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime) as well as supplying video equipment for the awards ceremony.

At London's Royal Opera House, XL supplied the centre-stage LED screen, built from Pixled FX-11, 12 tiles wide by 7 tiles high, which linked up with the ITV broadcast feed and displayed live camera relay, VT clips and nomination packages.

The main screen was matched on either side by two dynamic portrait orientated screens measuring 5 x 6 tiles and 5 x 8 tiles respectively, which showed nominee logos, special guest awards and Olivier logos.

Content for the side LED screens was fed by XL's Catalyst media servers (main and 'hot' backup) programmed and operated by Dan Bond with the main screen fully operated by the ITV Broadcast

UK - Motorised systems specialist Triple E's rigid and robust Unitrack system has facilitated smooth scene changes during Leeds-based Northern Ballet's UK tour of The Great Gatsby.

The dance company's technical manager Steven Wilkins worked closely with set designer Jerome Kaplan to devise a set comprising five sets of portal legs that would track on and off stage to different positions to create the various scenes.

"The portal legs were to be moved by the dancers and had to move freely and easily," says Wilkins. "As always at Northern Ballet we set about converting the designer's model into a 3D virtual world to prove that the show will work in the diverse range of venues we tour to. Once we'd worked out the weight of the scenic pieces and that it was within the safe working load of the track Unitrack was an easy choice.

"I choose Triple because e

USA - Clay Paky Sharpys are lighting up country singer Jason Aldean on the Night Train Tour, a musical powerhouse of a show also featuring Jake Owen and Thomas Rhett with location specific appearances by Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, and Kelly Clarkson.

Aldean is a double-Platinum recording artist who has had nine singles reach #1 on the Hot Country Songs charts. Bandit Lites Inc. is providing him with 24 Sharpys on the tour along with a pair of grandMA2 lighting consoles.

"The show design by Mike Swinford incorporates a lot of automation," notes Bandit Lites client rep Michael Golden. "Video panels carry the fixtures."

Lighting designer and programmer Aaron Swetland calls the show "very dynamic" with "a lot of elements and layers. The automated video screens move in all directions with 24 axes of movement."

Swetland says the <

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Strictly FX Highlights

Strictly FX was founded in 1996 by industry veterans Mark Grega and Ted Maccabee. Our expertise and knowledge of the world’s leading pyrotechnic, laser, and flame manufacturers allows us to curate astonishing live events. With over 500+ shows performed a year, there’s good chance you’ve seen some of our work!

Slovakia - A substantial Robe moving light rig was used for the final of the 2013 Miss Universe Slovak Republic event, a high profile co-production between the In Agency and the Miss Universe Organisation, staged at the Aegon Arena National Tennis Centre in Bratislava and broadcast live on national TV channel RTVS 1.

Lighting was designed by Martin Kubanka, Slovakia's top television LD, and included over 100 Robe fixtures including LEDWash 600s and 1200s, ROBIN MMX Spots, ROBIN 300 and 600 Beams and LEDBeam 100s.

Kubanka worked closely with set designer Daniel Sichman on creating the show aesthetics which also featured a plethora of LED screens and lightsources in addition to all the Robes. The majority of the lighting and video together with the L-Acoustics Kara sound system, plus over 50 points of rigging was supplied by leading Slovakian technical solutions provider, Q-99.<

USA - Chosen for their video and pixel-mapping abilities, 130 Chauvet Professional ÉPIX Strip and 16 ÉPIX Bar fixtures complete the design for country singer Luke Bryan's Dirt Road Diaries tour.

"The main design concept as far as the ÉPIX Strip lights were concerned was to have a way to expand our video surfaces throughout the lighting rig," said lighting designer for the tour Justin Kitchenman. "Our lighting trusses cover the width and breadth of half the arena. We wanted to create the feeling that the entire space was alive with colour and motion." Kitchenman accomplished this by adding rows of single hung strips throughout the rig and then mapping them into the full screen video. The fixtures were provided by Elite Multimedia Productions with headquarters in Memphis, Tenn.

"We were already utilising the ArKaos media serve

UK - Lumonic has appointed Pacific Lighting as Distributor in Hong Kong and Singapore.

Lumonic director Mike Edwards comments, "We are delighted that Hugh and his team have decided to become distributors for the ilumo brand in Hong Kong and Singapore. Our brand fits perfectly with the ethos that drives Pacific Lighting. That is they strive to bring innovative lighting units to their market place, supported by technical knowledge and expertise and backed up with many years' experience in theatre, opera and leading festival lighting. They operate at the professional end of the market place offering excellent service to their discerning clients."

Hugh Chinnick, director Pacific Lighting adds, "Over the past 14 years Pacific Lighting has gained a reputation for supplying quality lighting products to the expanding professional entertainment markets in the region, and

UK - The Lighting Hospital has recently moved to new expanded premises in Bristol. This has enabled further streamlining of its processes to offer an even faster and slicker service for damaged lighting kit needing urgent treatment.

The success of the operation, launched in 2009 by well-known industry engineer Dik Welland, has been built on the fast turnarounds, friendly and efficient service, attention to detail and the quality of the repairs - all of which carry a 90 day warranty, but are rarely seen again.

"We pride ourselves on the excellent recovery rate," says Welland.

The Lighting Hospital space now comprises over 2500sq.ft dedicated to the repair of lighting fixtures of all types, specialising in electronic ballasts and moving light control boards as well as the full fixtures themselves and also lighting consoles.

Welland and his team of engineers and tec

UK - Blackburn-based lighting and visuals company HSL supplied lighting designer Neil Carson with full lighting production for chart topping, Brit Award winning singer songwriter Emeli Sandé's most recent UK tour, together with a 'specials' package for the European section.

Carson - who has worked with HSL on several previous projects including Chase & Status - was instrumental in getting the company on-board, where the account was project managed by Mike Oates.

Says Carson, "I wanted a lighting supplier that I knew could deliver the best quality kit, crew and attitude - HSL were my first choice."

Sandé's meteoric career trajectory which includes some interesting and inventive collaborations - has included three number one singles and a number one album Our Version of Events in the last two years and she performed at both Opening and Closing Ce

UK / Belgium - Tourmanagement.com is a new online tool for bands on the road, developed by touring professionals. Two months after its release, already 500 people are successfully using the site to internally communicate vital information between their crew and band members, managers, labels, promoters and PR companies about their tour, say the site owners. The system will be introduced during The Great Escape convention, 16-18 May in Brighton

Tourmanagement.com is a web-based application for touring bands where you "centralise every bit of information about a tour so band and crew members can follow and manage their calendars and access crucial information from wherever they are".

The service was founded by Roeland Veugelen, tour manager of Belgian singer songwriter Milow. "I was constantly updating people about the current situation of the tour; where we were

Sweden - Le Mark's newly appointed export team leader, Hannah Attfield, was on hand to support Swedish distributor Primetime at the 2013 LLB exhibition in Stockholm.

Running for three days, the show drew in some of the biggest names in theatre, TV and stage production.

Primetime, one of Le Mark's key Scandinavian distributors, reported an excellent level of interest in all products including the MagTape professional gaffer tape and ever growing Dirty Rigger gloves & accessories range.

Hannah Attfield commented: "Primetime and their staff are one of the most professional teams I've ever dealt with. They fully understand our products and offer outstanding service to their customers which is so important when distributing and representing our established brands."

(Jim Evans)

South Africa - The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has appointed Inhouse Venue Technical Management (IVTM) as its new audio visual supplier.

According to CTICC general manager for operations, Aage Hansen, the centre has entered into a business partnership with IVTM, who will now be responsible for overseeing all the audio-visual requirements and solutions for the centre and its clients.

The new appointment supersedes the existing partnership between the CTICC and its former in house audio visual supplier AV Alliance, whose contract concluded on 30 April 2013.

"As a convention centre committed to continually raising the benchmark in terms of creating memorable experiences, the CTICC places a key emphasis on partnering with suppliers who share this vision" says Hansen. "Partnering with IVTM, who boast an array of innovative leading audio visual

USA - When Ted Greenbaum became theatre manager at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Phoenix, Ariz., he wasted no time in upgrading the sound reinforcement system in the museum's 300-seat Music Theatre. The intimate venue now sports an all-Meyer Sound loudspeaker and monitor system.

The brainchild of former Target CEO Bob Ulrich, MIM houses more than 15,000 instruments from around 200 countries and territories around the world, many of which were used in folk and tribal settings.

According to Greenbaum, improving the sound system's imaging and coverage was one of his first priorities. A Meyer Sound solution was recommended by Lowell Pickett, MIM Music Theatre's artistic director, who had previously worked with Meyer Sound as a co-owner at Minneapolis's Dakota jazz club.

"The clarity and intelligibility are so much better now," Greenbaum says. "The differe

UK - Creative Technology (CT) will be the first customer to take delivery of the exciting new 8mm Outdoor LED product launched at ProLight+Sound by Barco's specialist LED division, LiveDots.

The new 8mm product is lightweight, low profile and silent in operation due to its fan-less design. With full outdoor brightness and high contrast to ensure optimal operation in direct sunlight, the product has been specifically developed by LiveDots in consultation with CT to service the companies growing portfolio of high profile sports events.

The C8 investment follows CT's successful introduction of the C5 and specially developed C16 as its mainstream indoor LED platform in early 2012. The C5 has established itself as one of the High Resolution product others are judged against and CT expect the C8 to be similarly successful.

The new product is expected to arrive at CT in May and wil

USA - When planning its new performing arts centre, the Mansfield, Tex., school district faced a dilemma. Though it was determined that both a large auditorium and a smaller performance hall would be ideal for its range of events, their budget could not justify building and maintaining multiple spaces. A solution was soon found in the multi-use Cunningham Performance Hall of the Mansfield ISD Centre for the Performing Arts, which utilizes a Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system to provide the ideal acoustics for its varying room configurations and programs.

While the performance hall holds 5,500 in its open configuration (mainly to accommodate graduations), seating is reduced to 4,200 when moveable walls slide out to form twin 650-seat lecture halls on each side, and reduced further to 1,800 when a thick acoustical curtain closes off the balcony for concerts. However, the 1.

USA - Founded in 1832, St. Augustine's Catholic Church, in Minster, Ohio, built its first building, a log structure, in 1835. The brick church building, built in 1848, has gone through several significant renovations including replacement of the original, single tower with twin Gothic towers in 1874, installation of stained glass windows in 1878 and the addition of seven ceiling murals, painted by Joseph Vittur, in 1866.

St. Augustine's beautiful interior is highly reverberant, which is well suited for its pipe organ and 78-voice choir. However, the church's acoustics have always been a challenge for voice intelligibility, so St. Augustine's worked with Steve Merrill of Stage Right Productions to install a new sound reinforcement system based on Community's Entasys 200 loudspeakers and dSPEC Loudspeaker Processor.

"The old sound system put the sound everywhere," said

USA - American rock bands Three Days Grace and Shinedown are on the road with Clay Paky Sharpy fixtures helping to light up their tour.

Three Days Grace and Shinedown are co-headlining a national arena tour, which commenced in February.

"Using Sharpy is almost mandatory these days," reports Mike Filsinger, the lighting designer for Three Days Grace. "It's an advanced light - pretty much the only technological advancement in lights lately: Clay Paky has really done the R&D to make better fixtures and is now reaping the rewards."

Bandit Lites supplied 28 Sharpys in the main package. A primary lighting rig serves both shows; each band also has a supplemental rig. Three Days Grace has eight additional Sharpys in its package; Filsinger's Sharpys are the dominant light in the rig and are used in the air and on the floor. Shinedown has 24 additional Sharpys, whi

USA - Founded in 1981 by spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the Art of Living Foundation has evolved to become one of the world's largest volunteer-based humanitarian and educational non-governmental organizations. Working with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the Foundation offers programs dedicated to health, education, eliminating stress, and restoring human values in more than 140 countries worldwide.

One of the Foundation's most treasured retreats is The International Centre for Meditation and Well-Being, located in the lush, rolling hills of the Great Smokey Mountains. It's an idyllic piece of Planet Earth, where visitors can immerse themselves in the grandeur of nature, while retuning their bodies and minds with yoga, meditation, and organic diet.

The retreat's Meditation Hall is a large, multi-purpose space that is used for everything from yoga and m

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