France - Opéra Bastille in Paris is one of the two main venues of the Opera National du Paris, France's principal opera company (the other venue is the prestigious Opéra Garnier). Designed by Uruguayan architect Carlos Ott and located at the place de la Bastille, the building houses a 2700 seat theatre as well as a smaller concert hall and studio.

Part of President Francois Mitterrand's 'Grands Projets', Opéra Bastille was one of eight iconic building projects begun in the 1980s to revitalise Paris and create modern 'monuments' to symbolise France's role in art, economics and politics at the end of the twentieth century. The scale of Mitterrand's project was compared at the time to the major building schemes of Louis XIV and as such, The Bastille Opera house c

USA - PLASA's month-long elections to determine positions on its European and North American Regional Boards, together with its central Governing Body, concluded at midnight on Thursday 31 October.

Companies and individuals from PLASA's worldwide membership voted in the elections, which were conducted via a secure online poll.

There were four positions available on the European Regional Board. Filling the officer positions, Adam Blaxill of Stage Electrics was elected Regional Board Vice-Chair and Duncan Bell of Autograph Sound Ltd, was elected Secretary. Lee Dennison of Sound by Design Ltd is the new Professional Services Representative and Matt Lloyd of Global Design Solutions Ltd, has been voted as the Manufacturer Representative.

Four positions were up for election on the North American Regional Board with Eddie Raymond of IATSE Local 16 elected for his second term as Cha

UK - The 49th 'Wildlife Photographer Year' awards continued this world renowned event's tradition of showcasing the best in imagery of rarely seen wonders of the natural world. From the 43,000 entries from 96 countries, submissions were categorised into 18 categories including 'Animals in their Environment', 'Wildscapes' and 'Creative Visions'.

South Africa's Greg du Toit was victorious as the overall winner for his entry 'Essence of Elephants', with 14-year old, Udayan Rao Pawar, taking the top prize in the youth category.

Held at the Natural History Museum, Blitz Communications was contracted to deliver the event in the Central Hall. In a competition where image is king, it was crucial that both the photographs and the photographers themselves were shown in the best light possible.

Joanne Wood, senior events manager at the Museum said, "'The team at Blitz worked with

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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

Germany - Nature One, one of the most important electronic music festivals in Europe, was held once again at the former Pydna missile base, in the Hunsrück area. This year's motto was A time to shine. Although the festival is now 19 years old, it still looks at its best. The organisers from I-Motion GmbH, based in Mülheim-Kärlich near Koblenz, set up a megaparty on several stages.

The open air stage was again entrusted to lighting designer Thomas Gerdon, who used the three brands Lightpower deals with for his lighting design: Clay Paky, MA Lighting and Showline. The show equipment included none other than a grandMA2 full-size, a granMA2 light, a Network Processing Unit (NPU) and a 4Port Node (made by MA Lighting), Clay Paky Sharpy Beams, Clay Paky Sharpy Washes, Clay Paky Alpha Spot HPE 1500s and Clay Paky Alpha Wash 1500s.

"It is as if Clay Paky Sharpys were ma

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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/UK - L-Acoustics has announced the appointment of Dan Orton to the post of application engineer for the UK and Ireland.

Orton reports to Florent Bernard, head of application - touring and Cédric Montrezor, head of application - installation for L-Acoustics. "Dan is certainly a welcome addition to our team," notes Montrezor. "Given his proven track record as a talented development engineer in the sound reinforcement industry, I know that Dan will offer excellent support to our UK and Irish network of Integrators and Rental Companies."

Based in the UK, Orton is primarily tasked with providing support for both consultants and UK L-Acoustics systems integrators. His new duties include offering sound design assistance and solutions, providing on-site support for challenging projects, creating potential system models using L-Acoustics Soundvision so

Australia - When Canberra-based audio visual company One Vision decided it was time to replace their Yamaha digital mixers there was only one alternative for them - the Soundcraft Si Compact. Soundcraft's compact console is designed to offer digital power and versatility combined with an operator-friendly 'analogue feel'.

"We wanted a console that would be more hands on than the Yamaha consoles as far as the crossover between digital and analogue," commented Frank Meany, managing director of One Vision. "Basically we wanted a console with knobs on it as opposed to a console with buttons and scrolling pages of menus, it's more intuitive.

Frank and his team have found their Soundcraft Si Compact consoles to be very powerful and they are particularly impressed by the console's sound, with Frank remarking that it sounds more like an analogue console than other digit

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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

USA - In today's world of sound reinforcement systems, a PA might be anything from a collection of disparate parts to an integrated whole in which each component is designed to interact seamlessly with all others. While the latter has obvious benefits in terms of performance and flexibility, it's an approach that can be surprisingly challenging to find in the PA systems offered by leading vendors.

That's what Chris Chavanu of Electronic Contracting Company (ECCO) in Lincoln, Nebraska discovered when he set out to find the best match for the sound system requirements of Lincoln's new 15,147-seat Pinnacle Bank Arena, the new home of the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers men's and women's basketball teams.

Based on specifications developed under the direction of Kevin Day at Dallas AV consultancy Wrightson, Johnson, Haddon & Williams, the arena's request for proposals (RFP) favo

UK - Last weekend the National Theatre celebrated 50 years by filling its stage with some of the country's finest actors and actresses for a once-in-a-lifetime theatrical extravaganza. On Saturday night BBC2 aired a special performance which was comprised of a variety of different plays that had run at the Theatre throughout its history. Those included Guys and Dolls, Angels in America, London Road and The History Boys.

The 100 strong cast included James Corden, Dame Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Derek Jacobi. And with a cast like that you know you are in for a night to remember!

RML supplied lights to the event which were used in the main stage during the show. The lighting designer Mark Henderson decided that MAC TW1s and VL1000TS would work perfectly to enhance the in-house rig and create his desired vision.

Matt Drury, head of lighting at the N

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) have praised the performance of industry-sponsored racing driver, Jack Goff in his debut season of the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship - which ended with a climactic battle for first position and a podium finish in the final race.

After winning the Renault Clio Cup in 2012, Jack moved up a level and signed with Team HARD for the 2013 BTCC season. He achieved great pace over the season, including being second fastest for most of the race day at Silverstone and a 2nd place podium finish in the final round at Brands Hatch.

As a result of his performance, Jack has been invited to be a guest driver for CAST Motorsport in the Lotus Six Hour endurance race on the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch this Saturday 9 November. He shares his guest drive with Simon Deacon, the current Lotus Cup UK Overall & 211 Champion.

The long distanc

UK - Since its official launch back in April of this year, OV Truss from Total Solutions Group (TSG) has found many willing adherents. The winning combination of lighter-weight and lower cost coupled with a strength gain of 15% against any other comparable truss is compelling, says TSG. Yet even with that triplet feature set there are other reasons why users have been quick on the uptake of OV Truss and these are all about the very practical considerations made by the end users.

"The Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, part of the expanding University of Lincoln campus, required a ground support grid," explained Jeff Pallett at SES Technical Ltd. "We already have a significant amount of TSG trussing in our hire stock; all their various ranges are durable, strong and retain their good looks. What the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre required was simple in definition - a

USA - USA - Track systems supremo Triple E will be teaming up with its long-time US distributor Rose Brand to exhibit its array of industry-leading products at LDI Las Vegas this month.

Triple E's managing director David Edelstein and general manager Scott Foster will be jetting to Sin City armed with Triple E's Erail, Unitrack, and Unibeam track systems - known for their simple design, rugged construction and ease of installation in entertainment applications.

They will also be demoing Triple E's track mounted motors SDRIVE and TDRIVE in conjunction with Rose Brand - which has been Triple E's American distributor for ten years - on LDI Booth #1035 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre, 22-24 November.

"Together with Rose Brand we've been developing the American market for Triple E systems for more than a decade now - and following the introduction of Erail and the SDRIVE

USA - Aquarii reports that it is the sole distributor in the United States and Canada for LightAct, an innovative lighting control system created by Enlighter. LightAct has never before been sold in the North American market. Aquarii will debut LightAct in booth 235 at LDI 2013 in Las Vegas.

Through pixilation, LightAct creates zones per pixel that trigger lighting channels via DMX512. Using this pixilation with state-of-the-art software and standard security cameras and sensors, LightAct senses where a person is standing and triggers the corresponding lighting channels, creating a lighting environment that truly responds to its surroundings.

Museums, exhibits, retail windows, entertainment venues and more will find that LightAct can highlight and bring attention to a featured product or object by illuminating the desired area whenever a person is close by. LightAct can be use

Belgium - L&L Stage Services is a busy technical production and rental company based in Herentals, near Antwerp, Belgium, founded in 1992 and run since 2004 by Bart Weyts, Tom Somers and Kris Laermans. They work across multiple sectors supplying sound, light and rigging and are known for high quality equipment and crews.

L&L first invested in Robe when the Robin series was launched in 2009 and their first Robe purchase was 600E Spots, which at the time, were actually the first in Benelux.

L&L was also the first company in Benelux to take delivery of LEDWash 600s when they were launched in 2010 - so they enjoy being 'the first' with the latest technology and paving the way for others to follow. This in turn has helped Robe become so strong in the Belgian market.

In rental stock at the moment L&L has nearly 200 Robe fixtures including 600E Spots, LEDWash 600s, LEDBeam 100s and

USA - City Theatrical is launching a spread of new products at LDI 2013 in booth 1649, including a new line of LED tape called QolorFLEX, the new D-Series LED Dimmers, the AutoYoke LED, SHoW Baby 5, and many new accessories. John McKernnon will be demonstrating Lightwright 5 and Broadway programmer Alex Fogel will be demonstrating Moving Light Assistant software.

QolorFlex LED Tape is LED lighting tape aimed at the professional lighting market, including live theatre, television, film and video, and live events. LED tape is a revolutionary product, allowing lighting users to put light in places that were impossible in the past and to create lighting fixtures and lighting effects in new and inexpensive ways. QolorFLEX™ LED tape is manufactured to City Theatrical's exact specifications and is available in a variety of types such as single color, RGB, RGBA, and RGBW.

Working

Italy - Leading Italian TV Lighting Designer Massimo Castrichella took less than a minute to decide that he wanted Robe's Robin DLS profile, LEDWash 1200 and LEDBeam 100 fixtures on his lighting rig for the latest series of Un Minuto Per Vincere (One Minute To Win).

The second season of the Italian version of the hugely popular US Minute To Win It games show was recorded at the Auditorium del Foro Italico in Central Rome for national channel RAI. Contestants participate in a series of simple but frustratingly difficult to achieve 60 second challenges that usually involve common household objects!

Castrichella has worked for the prime Italian broadcaster for an impressive 35 years. He has also used Robe products in his work since 2004 and for this one - where 90 % of the lighting is for effects - he chose 20 x Robe DLS Profiles, 12 LEDWash 1200s and 30 LEDBeam 100

Qatar - European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases has shipped the first part of a major order for over 100 road cases for live event AV and video specialist Creative Technology (CT)'s Doha, Qatar facility.

These are to house a variety of kit used day-to-day by the busy rental operation which is headed by general manager Andy Reardon, including control systems, racks, a variety of different sized plasma screens, mains and power distros, 3U drawered racks, plastic blow-moulded cases with CNC machined foam inserts for audio and video processors and a number of high end bespoke designed cases to house assorted cameras.

5 Star's Keith Sykes visited Doha in the summer and undertook a marathon measure up of all the kit needing to be cased.

In the UK, CT has been a 5 Star client for many years, but this is the first time they have supplied the international facilities.

Reardon

USA - Clay Paky will be featuring a number of new releases and product developments at LDI in Las Vegas later this month.

A.leda B-EYE, winner of the 2013 Plasa Award for Innovation offers versatility and spectacular effects. Says the company, "A.leda B-EYE is versatile because it can be used in many di-verse ways, even within the same project. In fact this fixture is, simultaneously, a state-of-the-art LED wash-light, an amazing 'beam-light' and a projector for totally unseen, stunning graphic effects."

A.Leda B-EYE is a wash-light, generating beautiful colours and featuring an impressive, wide 6° to 70° beam aperture. The zoom however can be closed even further, down to as little as 4 degrees thus switching the light from a wash diffusion into a narrow and parallel beam. In this operating mode B-EYE becomes a 'beam-light, whose beam consists of an array of

USA - Audio-Technica is celebrating its 20th year of supporting the Country Music Association (CMA) Awards by providing an extensive selection of vocal and instrument microphones for its annual awards show.

The 47th Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Wednesday, 6 November, 2013, on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and featured over 150 Audio-Technica microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems. Audio-Technica microphones were chosen for their ability to provide clear and consistent audio quality for live broadcast.

The CMA Awards presentation is recognized as Country Music's Biggest Night and represents the pinnacle of achievement for those involved in country music. Once again, Audio-Technica microphones were featured for their accurate and reliable s

Switzerland - Tour Challenge is a new, 341km, four-day bicycle race set in the heart of the Swiss Alps, which starts and finishes in Davos and sees competitors hit picturesque locations en route including Lenzeerheide and St. Moritz. From September 5-8, Peavey's new HiSys series was at the audio helm as rental company, European Event und Medientechnik GmbH, supplied several cabinets to cater for the event's start and finish areas.

HiSys boxes were used for a string of audio applications across the four days including spoken-word presentations, background music, and hymns for the award ceremonies; two HiSys H10s and two HiSys H12s were deployed on speaker tripods, and were the loudspeakers of choice due to their lightweight frames and high performance, according to European Event und Medientechnik GmbH's owner, Thomas Beth.

"We supplied the Peavey HiSys system for Tour Cha

USA - Audinate, the inventors of the digital media networking solution Dante, is offering a series of specialized networking courses on-line that can be used for RU credits toward a CTS certification. Presently, two courses are now available which include The Principles of Digital Audio and Introduction to IP Networking for AV Systems.

The first new course, The Principles of Digital Audio covers the encoding and representation of audio in digital formats, how audio is communicated and manipulated in the digital domain and introduces the features and benefits of digital audio networking. Each person taking the course will receive 3.0 CTS RU credits in CTS Domain A.

The second new course, Introduction to IP Networking for AV Systems provides a high level informative discussion on the adoption of IP networking and then introduces the OSI model and how

South Africa - The Joburg Theatre has been one of the first to purchase Philips Selecon PLCYC-2LEDs in South Africa. The 10 new fixtures are being used for the magical production Aladdin, a pantomime by Jannice Honeyman which runs from 30 October right through to the holiday season.

Joburg Theatre were looking for a LED Cyc light solution to light up the cyclorama, the large white backdrop on stage which changes colour during shows. The purchase had to arrive on time for the annual panto.

"We compared the PLCYC-2LEDs with similar fixtures and found them to be more suited to theatre application and surprisingly more affordable," said Enos Ramoroko, technical manager at the Joburg Theatre. "With no need for labour intensive rigging (fewer and lighter units) and almost nonexistent maintenance, we can only hope to buy more of them to put a smile on the crew.&

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