UK - Technical production company Hawthorns has recruited Rachel Waterfield as head of sales & marketing. With offices in London and Leicestershire, Hawthorns, have been busy expanding over recent years, most recently adding Cambridge based technical production company Anagram to their brand portfolio.

Waterfield brings 25 years of event industry experience to the role, and has previously held positions at companies including Hilton, Mask and MotivAction. Commenting on her appointment, managing director of Hawthorns, Martin Hawthorn said, "This is an exciting time for Hawthorns and Rachel is a welcome addition to the management team. Her remit includes exploring how we can best leverage the strengths of our existing brands within the business, develop the customer experience

USA - Martin Professional and Lighthouse Holland have officially launched Martin ShowDesigner 6 (MSD) 3D visualizer with a newly designed 3D engine to provide photorealistic rendering in real-time using the latest DirectX technology.

The MSD 6's user-friendly timeline control allows users to create complex presentations including lighting, video, animated scenery, camera motion and animated smoke effects. The user interface has been completely redesigned with a modern look, offering a rapid workflow to quickly drag and drop fixtures, objects and textures as well as instant access to any object's properties.

MSD 6 is Vectorworks-friendly and through a Windows-based plug-in, Vectorworks files can be exported and imported into MSD 6. The intelligent system learns from previous conversions to choose the right MSD fixture type to replace Vectorworks fixtures.

MSD 6 also comes wit

Germany - "We're a great believer in luck. The harder we work, the more luck we have." Although often attributed to Thomas Jefferson this could have just as easily coined by the team at MA Lighting. Their strong position in the market as the manufacturer of premier lighting consoles has not happened just by fluke or happy circumstance.

Since 1983, when Michael Adenau founded MA Lighting, the company has been committed to ploughing as much time, effort, resources and expertise as it can muster into developing the very best in lighting control. Today, more than 30 years on, MA Lighting is a top choice for lighting and video designers and operators throughout the entertainment sector.

The scalable grandMA2 with its sister product MA VPU (Video Processing Unit), are a lighting and media control system like no other, it provides seamless integration between lighting and v

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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

UK - LEE Filters has introduced an app that gives lighting designers access to the entire LEE colour effect filter range - all from the convenience of their iPhone.

Inspiration is something of an awkward customer. It has no respect for timetables or boundaries, and when it does strike, more often than not it happens at the most inopportune moments - usually when it's impossible to get access to a swatch book or a computer.

To help lighting designers out of tricky moments such as these, and allow them to explore and save their ideas while on the go, LEE Filters has launched the LEE Swatch iPhone app, available for download from the Apple App Store (cost £0.69 / $0.99).

With the complete range of filters available to view at the swipe of a fingertip, the LEE Swatch iPhone app is both intuitive and uncomplicated, and allows the user to: Search by filter name or number, an

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New Touring Series by Gravity – Every Scratch Has A Story

When the stage heats up, you need equipment that can keep up without compromise. The Gravity Touring Series has been specifically designed to meet the highest demands – for rental companies, professional musicians, concert organizers, and large event venues. Premium materials, exceptional durability, and impressive longevity make these products stand out. Whether on tour, in constant use, or under the toughest conditions: the Touring Series delivers maximum reliability and performance – every day, on every stage.
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UK - Specialist retail event organisers, Maynineteen has always taken care of the production aspect of jobs as a matter of course, but since their recent expansion they now offer this as a stand-alone service. With over 10 years experience and an unrivalled level of expertise this minor change will come as no surprise to some.

Unusual Rigging contract manager, Andy Sweet says, "Maynineteen Production supported our team during the preparation, rigging and loading out of the support structures for dressing building facade for the first Ideal Home Exhibition at EventCity in Manchester. They are the go to people if you need production support in the North. Nothing is too much trouble and their knowledge and relationships with local suppliers is second to none. They provided us with excellent logistical support and it would have been a much tougher job without them."

The

Brazil - GloboSat's new TV OB truck is producing live broadcasts from World Cup matches played in the Maracana stadium, in Rio de Janeiro. The vehicle, which was completed just in time for this year's event, is Brazil's first 4k OB truck, and is fitted with audio equipment from Lawo and state-of-the-art Ravenna IP networking technology.

At the heart of the audio control room is a latest-generation 48-fader Lawo mc²56 - which is both compact and powerful. The interfacing to the outside world is taken care of by a DALLIS I/O system in the truck and two DALLIS stageboxes (with port redundancy) that are linked via Ravenna. The console's integrated Lawo Plugin Server allows seamless integration of plugin effects that can be recalled with stored snapshots.

Gabriel Thomazini, sound engineer in Rio on the GloboSat OB truck, reports on his work with Lawo, "We have had good result

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AZOR® SP2 IP - Compact IP65 Spot Profile Moving Head

Compact design and IP65 protection for indoor and outdoor applications: the new AZOR® SP2 IP is the ideal solution for open-air events and outdoor theatres that require a powerful, weatherproof lighting system. An optimal partner for lighting designers and event service providers looking for a versatile LED show light in a compact housing.

AZOR® SP2 IP – the next generation of robust, weatherproof, and compact lighting for maximum creative freedom, both indoors and outdoors.

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France - Airstar, a world leader in advanced lighting solutions for the event industry, was recently called on to animate the iconic and majestic nave of the Grand Palais in Paris with dramatic lighting of the 23rd edition of the Tour Auto Optic 2ooo. They were contacted by Peter Auto, the company responsible for some of the most prestigious classic car events in Europe.

Over 5,000 visitors queued up to admire 250 classic racing cars registered for the race which recalled the golden age of BMW, Ford, Porsche and Jaguar to name a few. 15 lighting balloons from Airstar's Lunix range were deployed and used for various purposes including decoration, space filling, lighting and signage.

With a diameter ranging between 2 and 2.5m, all 15 balloons were inflated with helium and contained a couple of 1kW halogen lamps, with one exception: a gigantic 10m wide balloon suspended in the mi

UK - Earlier this year Green Hippo welcomed Vincent Steenhoek for a placement with its Hippotizer Product and Testing Department.

During his time at Green Hippo, Vincent attended Basic and Advanced HippoSchool training and was a great help within the department, working on testing and demo machines, and got to grips with Hippotizer in no time at all.

With his end-of-year exhibition in the pipeline, Vincent chose to use a HippoCritter media server to realize his vision and idea for the project. "And he was kind enough to give us a little profile of himself and his work after the exhibition," says the company. "In recent years this industry has seen the emergence of several amazing young talents, and Vincent will be joining the ranks of a number of very accomplished new-comers. With his portfolio growing, we are sure he will be involved with some amazing projects

Italy - Clay Paky lights stood godfather to Roby Facchinetti's tour. While awaiting the Pooh's 50th anniversary next year, Roby is doing the first solo tour of his career to support his album Ma che Vita la Mia (What a life I've had). The preview tour, which consisted of a few important shows in May, was an introduction to the tour itself, which will take place in the summer and autumn.

Crico Fabi, the Pooh's long-standing lighting designer, was a must for these events: "After all these years, Roby Facchinetti and I understand each other instantly. I am very happy I took part in this 'intimate tour', so to speak, where Roby performed alone in front of his audience for the first time."

Clay Paky was technical sponsor of the tour. The lights included Sharpy Washes, Sharpy Beams, A.leda Wash K20s, A.leda B-EYE K20s and Alpha Spot HPE 700s. "I used the A.leda

Sweden - Audio Concept, a Stockholm based audio retailer, has recently opened the doors to its newly refurbished showroom in the centre of the city. At 456sq.m this remarkable showroom is not only one of the largest specialist shops in Europe devoted to high end audio, but also one of the most original and creative. Amongst the range of audio equipment showcased is a 15.2 surround sound demo system that features Genelec G Series loudspeakers and an Illusonic IAP 16 processor.

Audio Concept offers a complete audio system service from initial consultation and planning, through to installation. Robert Grubstad of Audio Concept has been working with Genelec monitors for many years and was well aware of their potential as residential loudspeakers as well as for multichannel purposes:

"When we chose the Illusonic IAP 16, a unique multichannel processor, we knew we would need a

UK - The Professional Footballer's Association got its celebrations of this year's World Cup off to a great start by hosting a charity dinner on London's South Bank. Sennheiser UK - the PFA's official audio supplier - provided a Digital 9000 Series wireless microphone system for an evening that raised thousands of pounds for charity.

The dinner, which took place at the Riverbank Park Plaza, was attended by a number of World Cup legends, including 1966 winner George Cohen and other former England players, as well as the evening's host Alan Shearer. Featuring Brazilian-themed entertainment and a silent auction, in all the evening raised over £54,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Sennheiser UK supplied eight channels of Digital 9000 Series microphones to the event, including six handheld and two lapel mics, which were used by Shearer and for the silent auction.

Sennheiser

Spain - For another year running D.A.S. professional sound systems were on hand to provide sound reinforcement at Valencia's recent 40 POP concert. This legendary event, sponsored by the Cadena Ser radio network, has been held for over 25 years and has become a must-attend concert in the Mediterranean city, drawing tens of thousands of fans with a stellar line-up of musicians which this year included Pablo López, El Viaje de Elliot and Antonio Orozco.

The concert was held at the Agora esplanade next to the Hemisféric building at Valencia's City of Arts and Sciences, an unbeatable open-air setting where over 20,000 fans gathered for an evening of great music. As in years past, an array of D.A.S. systems were rolled out for this popular event, with 32 D.A.S. Aero 50 line array systems rigged for the main system. Two linear formations of 16 Aero 50s each were flown on eithe

USA - Following The Killers' wildly successful 2013 Battle Born world tour, performing in 50 countries and headlining arenas on six continents - including a sold-out Wembley Stadium show for which they wrote The Wembley Song - the Las Vegas-based phenomenon is back on the road this summer in support of their Direct Hits compilation. With appearances at North American and UK music festivals, the band's FOH engineer, Kenny Kaiser, is delivering their chart toppers with help from the new SSL Live console.

Kaiser works for Delicate Productions of Camarillo, California, serving as PA tech or system tech for Selena Gomez, Train and as monitor tech and crew chief for The Foo Fighters, among others. After moving to the Killers' camp last year, he took over the helm for their 2014 tour. However, Kaiser was not fond of their previous FOH console and knew instantly that he'd need to

Germany - At the World Cup Dome electronic dance music (EDM) festival in Frankfurt, a Meyer Sound Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcement system was selected for main-stage headliners Pet Shop Boys, David Guetta, Steve Aoki, and Tiësto.

With this latest deployment at the Commerzbank-Arena, the Meyer Sound Leo family of line array products continues its busy summer of EDM events, having recently powered the Mayday Festival in Germany and Soenda Festival in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

"Leo is strikingly elegant in appearance and relatively compact, particularly considering how it can project very clear sound over a considerable distance," says Holger Schwark, FOH engineer for the Pet Shop Boys.

Supplied and configured by POOLgroup of Emsdetten, Germany, the system featured dual main hangs of 14 Leo-M line array loudspeakers each, with two Mica line array loudspeake

UK - Creative producers Fuel Theatre have embarked on an adventurous project with the tour of their latest theatrical production, The Roof with lighting supplied by Stage Electrics. The Roof is a highly creative large outdoor production that has been created, produced and choreographed by artists Requardt & Rosenberg, commissioned by LIFT Festival and presented in association with the National Theatre, London.

Through three-dimensional sound, delivered via wireless headphones, this one-hour futuristic production transports its audience into the head of an avatar, who is a reluctant hero desperate to stay alive. The story is revealed using a blend of free running and contemporary dance by performers in a fast paced mix of death-defying acrobatics and choreography; all within a 360?purpose built arena. With an overall circumference of 100m, the arena is built with ei

USA - Nemetschek Vectorworksn has announced the release of the English version of SimTread 2, a pedestrian simulation tool developed by A&A Co. Ltd., the Vectorworks distributor in Japan, in partnership with Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan and Takenaka Corporation. As a plug-in for Vectorworks software, SimTread lets users simulate and analyze crowd movement. It can also serve as evacuation simulation software for both general and complex building and municipal designs.

"SimTread lets Vectorworks users design with confidence by identifying crowded areas and factors that inhibit or change circulation flow," said Dr. Biplab Sarkar, chief technology officer at Nemetschek Vectorworks.

"It therefore expedites the iterative design process and helps to determine the best designs for safe traffic flows. Plus, several new features enhance SimTread's crowd movement simu

UK - BlackBox Recorder manufacturer JoeCo has announced that a new version of its JoeCoRemote software app for iPad is now available to download from the iTunes App Store.

JoeCoRemote for iPad enables remote control and operation of any 24- or 64-channel BlackBox Recorder or Player. In addition to the standard input metering display, this latest software release includes a new, dedicated monitor window offering real-time monitor mix control. The window features expandable channel strips with graphic faders, pan, PFL, solo and mute controls. This enables a separate headphone monitor mix to be easily created.

The new software also features more robust signalling between the JoeCoRemote hardware interface and the software app, leading to more efficient communication in both wireless and wired set-ups. Preliminary support for JoeCo's forthcoming BlackBox BBR1MP Recorder with integ

USA - The National September 11 Memorial & Museum has opened in the footprints of the World Trade Centre in Lower Manhattan. Electrosonic provided the audio-visual systems for the museum, which is primarily located about 70ft below ground and offers a moving visitor experience.

The National September 11 Memorial & Museum is an educational and historical institution honouring victims of both the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 1993 bombing, while examining 9/11 and its continued global significance. The museum building was designed by Davis Brody Bond, LLP with exhibit designs by Thinc Design and Layman Design. It is accessed by an entry pavilion designed by Snohetta.

Bob Haroutunian of PPI Consulting was the audio-visual systems designer for the museum and education center. Arup was the designer for the Pavilion Auditorium. The majority of the content was provided by Local Proj

USA - The last in the line of a legendary dynasty: Space Shuttle Atlantis, is now housed at the Kennedy Space Centre Visitor Centre, forming the centrepiece of its own 90,000sq.ft, $100m exhibit. The attraction was designed by PGAV Destinations, installed by Electrosonic and incorporates a pair of TiMax SoundHub audio showcontrol matrix systems to add immersive 3D spatialisation to a high-end multimedia history charting 33 missions of Atlantis, including maintenance of the Hubble Space Telescope and the building of the International Space Station.

Visitors enter through a full-scale vertical replica of Atlantis's external tank and two solid rocket boosters, which tower 15-stories above the three-story exhibit building. Visitors are corralled through a learning area to wait for the start of the pre-show which describes the role Atlantis played in the Space Shuttle Program and how

USA - Introducing a single component to address an array of AV switching and processing needs often encountered in boardrooms, classrooms and other presentation settings, Atlona announced at InfoComm 2014 its most advanced 4K-capable, HDBaseT switcher for systems which need to accept multiple digital and analogue inputs as selectable sources for displays located as far as 230 feet away.

The new Model AT-UHD-CLSO-612 is equipped with two HDBaseT, two HDMI, and two analogue inputs, and provides switching, up- and down-scaling, converting, audio de-embedding, and signal extension capabilities in a single rack-unit enclosure. According to the company, it is the first scaler that can take a 4K signal and display it on 1080p monitor.

"Switchers for single room systems, particularly in education settings, haven't addressed customers' needs in terms of providing inputs on lectern

UK - Leading European flightcase manufacturer 5 Star Cases supplied 250 lightweight flight cases complete with padded and semi-rigid bags to live video rental and production specialist Creative Technology (CT).

These are being used to house a variety of different monitors and screens that are in active service on major events and broadcast projects. The order comprised casing for 110 x 42 inch screens, 90 x 32 inch screens and 50 x 22 inch screens.

The cases were delivered in just a few days from the Cambridgeshire based manufacturer, while its specialist bag making facility - which has just been expanded to meet increased demands - was kept busy for around three weeks, as the bags are all individually hand-made and finished to order.

The cases and bags were purchased to refresh a whole raft of the protective cases and packaging for CT's television projects. They will be put

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