UK - Realtime Environment Systems Ltd - to be known as 'RES' - is a new technical solutions company offering services to help designers, creative agencies and artists "achieve their wildest visual dreams". Mark Calvert and Dave Green have formed RES to provide "technical consultation and project-wide integration of all things visual in stage shows, corporate campaigns and permanent installations". The company will utilise the Ai Media Server - one the world's most powerful media server platforms, manufactured and developed in the UK by Avolites Media Ltd. RES Ltd is a global reseller of the Ai product, and has also been named as the first 'Ai Centre of Excellence'. RES continues to work very closely with the Avolites family, Calvert says.

Together over the past

South Africa - The Playhouse Company in Durban has taken delivery of new lighting equipment, which will be used in the Opera and Drama Theatres within the venue.

The order, supplied by DWR Distribution, included 40 x Robert Juliat 329 H 2KW/2.5Kw Fresnel Spotlights with Barndoors , 60 x Philips Selecon Rama 1kw / 1.2Kw Fresnels complete with Barndoors , 24 x Philips Strand PL1 LED Fresnels complete with Barndoors , one Robert Juliat 2.5k HMI Aramis Followspot and two Robert Juliat MSD 1200W Topaze Followspots complete with GT Stands.

"The fixtures were chosen for the superior lighting output, providing great optics with ease of operation," said Dave Whitehouse of DWR.

The Philips Strand PL1 is ideal for smaller venues and will be used in the Loft, an intimate theatre at The Playhouse, equipped for works of an experimental nature.

Denis Hutchinson, the external co

USA - Keeping one of summer's biggest festival weekends running with flawless wireless across eight stages in the middle of downtown Chicago is not a job for the faint of heart.

For the second straight year, C3 Presents, organizer of Lollapalooza, hired Frequency Coordination Group (FCG) to coordinate wireless throughout the three-day festival in Grant Park. Since its founding by RF specialist Brooks Schroeder in early 2013, FCG has earned a solid reputation for successfully managing the mission-critical wireless needs of some of the most challenging installations and events.

"For a big outdoor festival, especially in a place like downtown Chicago, wireless can get out of control in a hurry. That can turn any show into a disaster," says Brandon Sossamon, C3 production manager for Lollapalooza. "We consider having Brooks and Frequency Coordination Group on site t

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Case Study: Hans Zimmer Live

When award winning film composer Hans Zimmer brought his smash-hit tour Hans Zimmer Live to North America fall 2024, the show's audio team sought out to bring infrafrequency bass to the show to add new depth to the show's audio experience. The team chose Danley Sound Labs.

The Netherlands / South Africa - Wild and Marr, a leader in the distribution and installation of professional audio equipment in Southern Africa, has won the Studer Outstanding Achievement Award at a function held in Amsterdam during the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC).

Studer recognised Wild & Marr for their proactive approach to business development in their territory, their strong technical support infrastructure and winning focus on customer satisfaction.

"This is a great honour for Wild & Marr and reflects our commitment towards providing solutions and value to our customer experience," says Andrew Sorrill, sales and marketing manager at Wild & Marr.

Wild & Marr were the very first partner to set up a series of Vista Infinity seminars across the three main broadcast hubs in their territory and followed this up with a very successful series of On Ai

UK - Robert Juliat will exhibit at PLASA 2014 with its exclusive UK distributor, Ambersphere Solutions, where a new Robert Juliat followspot will be unveiled.

Rumours of a new product from these masters of followspot design have been permeating the industry over the last few months. PLASA 2014 will give visitors the first opportunity to see the new model which has been created to reflect the specific requirements of those working in the touring, live music and large event market - indoors and out.

Designed to complement to Robert Juliat's Grand, Compact & Ultra-Compact ranges, the new followspot is the result of in depth consultation with rental companies and professional followspot operators. Easy to transport, install and maintain, the new model incorporates Robert Juliat's superlative optical and ergonomic qualities into a robust package that beats the rigours of touring. T

UK - The market's newest light sensation - the Elation Sniper - created a buzz when released at the PRO show in mid-September and is now heading to the PLASA show in London (Stand K70) for an encore. Elation Professional will be showing the newly released multi-effect and laser simulator along with a host of other lighting innovations that includes the hybrid Platinum SBX, a 3-in-1 beam, spot, and wash fixture with an innovative, new optical system.

"We are very excited to be returning to London this year, showing exciting new and innovative products. Last year's PLASA show was surprisingly good and we are optimistic that with all the fresh new products we and other manufacturers have come out with recently, customers will make the time to come out to ExCel in East London and see them all in action first hand," says Eric Loader, director of sales, Elation Professional.

UK - Ayrton will be exhibiting at PLASA, London (5-8 October, Stand R70) with an array of new products, all of which have been introduced to the market in the last few months. The new Radical Series and the full NandoBeam Range will both receive their UK premieres, with a world premiere reserved for the launch of the new NandoBeamS9.

The latest in the NandoBeam family, NandoBeam S9 is the big brother of the NandoBeamS3 and NandoBeamS6 LED moving head fixtures. Aimed at large musical, television and spectacular productions, NandoBeam S9 offers 55 x 15W RGBW LED and the same massive 8° to 40° zoom range in a highly controllable, rock-solid package. NandoBeam's independently controllable centre LED and ring configuration ensures the creation of a multitude of graphic effects.

A new-generation power supply offers over 95% total output efficiency and enables continuous use

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UK - ArKaos PRO will exhibit at PLASA 2014 in conjunction with its exclusive UK distributor, White Light (Stand F50). There they will demonstrate the new MediaMaster 4.1 the latest, ever-more powerful version of ArKaos PRO's media server software. A plethora of new features includes new aspect ratio and cropping tools, new hue, saturation and lightness tools, layer-based volume control and a redesigned interface.

MediaMaster 4.1 brings more flexible protection via an optional dongle and many additional features, yet retains the simplicity of operation familiar to its users.

MediaMaster 4.1 is no longer restricted to use on only one machine. A completely redesigned licensing system allows the user to register and deregister any machine remotely from their own account.

Also making its PLASA debut is LEDMaster, the new all-in-one solution delivering LEDshow control in three eas

UK - GoboPlus.com (Stand R01) is a one-stop online shop, dedicated purely to the supply of all things projection, including custom and stock metal, glass and digital gobos and images.

Proffering expert knowledge and exceptional service from Paul de Ville and Vicky Fairall, GoboPlus.com offers a comprehensive custom gobo service and stocks all Rosco, DHA and GAM ranges, in addition to its own unique GoboPlus.com designs.

The shop is open 24 hours a day via GoboPlus.com's user-friendly, intuitive website, which offers secure payment methods and a fast turnaround.

GoboPlus.com will exhibit alongside its sister company, CutColourPlus, a specialist filter company which services the needs of the entertainment, education and architectural market with the supply of lighting filters. CutColourPlus provides bespoke cutting and comprehensive scroll-making services, and supplies lightin

The Netherlands - BroaMan (Broadcast Manufactur GmbH) reported a hugely successful IBC Show in Amsterdam following a major media and customer launch for its new Mux22 MADI device.

In addition, the company presented its latest joint custom solution with Amptown System Company (ASC) and was also able to reveal that it had again networked three stands (including its own with Clear-Com and DiGiCo) in real time, using single mode fibre network solutions.

After an introduction from MD Tine Helmle, BroaMan's applications engineering manager Maciek Janiszewski presented the latest addition to its Mux22 platform, which offers scalable and protocol independent solutions for up to 16 3G/HD/SD-SDI I/O configurable video ports with built-in CWDM multiplexer. The arrival of Mux22 MADI makes the platform compatible with the industry standard MADI audio format.

As with all Mux22 devices the

John Peel Lecture - Iggy Pop is to deliver this year's John Peel Lecture. The singer, regarded by many as the godfather of punk, will talk about the subject of free music in a capitalist society on 13 October. The lecture will be aired live on BBC 6 Music, the digital radio station on which Pop hosts a weekly show, and later on BBC Four. The lecture is named in honour of late BBC Radio 1 broadcaster John Peel, who died in 2004. An annual event since 2011, the lecture allows prominent musicians to discuss the state of music and the music industry. It has previously been delivered by Charlotte Church, Billy Bragg and Pete Townshend.

Eurovision - Ukraine has announced it will not be taking part in next year's Eurovision Song Contest due to limited finances. "We don't want to do something badly, and we don't have the money to do something well," said Zurab Alasania,

UK - With just five months to go until the doors open on the 2015 Event Production Show, organiser, Mash Media has confirmed stand sales are ahead of target.

Many well-known businesses will return to the 2015 Show, including Morris Leslie, Saville AV, Sunbaba, Total Displays and Winner Events, alongside some first-time exhibitors showcasing services such as staging, security, traffic management and structures, representing the diversity of the industry. Some of the new exhibitors in these areas include Staging Services, Sol Security, A Star and Contemporary Event Structures.

"The 2015 Event Production Show is really beginning to take shape as new and existing exhibitors confirm their support," said Liz Agostini, event director at Mash Media. "Sales are going well, 20% ahead of this time last year, which reflects the show's reputation as the premier place to disc

Russia - PR Lighting recently returned from a highly successful product showcase in Moscow at Prolight+Sound NAMM Russia, where the company partnered with territorial distributor Asia Music.

PR Lighting sales manager for the region, Bruce Tian, reports that as this is the critical show for the local market he was delighted that the booth was positioned close to the main entrance and in the same hall as all the major lighting companies.

Asia Music showcased all the heavyweights from its new and expanding LED range, including XRLED 300 Spot, XRLED 500 Spot, XR 330 Spot, XLED 1037 and XLED 1061 - which were mounted on plinths, and displayed for the first time in Russia. This enabled visitors to get 'hands on' and try them out at first hand.

A quantity of XR 200 Beams were also installed overhead to illuminate the booth.

As the only brand that Asia Music was representing the c

Italy - In spite of the overall critical economic period, a courageous organizer (Rome's DNA Concerti) decided to launch a brand-new Festival in a small picturesque town on the Abruzzo Adriatic coast in Italy, with a line-up up to the standards of Europe's established summer events.

As well as swimming, aperitifs on the beach at sunset, delicious local cuisine, and screenings of films and music-themed documentaries, music fans at the Siren Festival (24-27 July) were also able to attend countless DJ sets and concerts by numerous Italian bands and headliners of the calibre of The Drones, Dry The River, John Grant, Mogwai, The National and Alexis Taylor.

Audio contractor for the event was Blackout, who also supplied the lighting and video, and company owner Gaetano Lombardi, comments, "We worked for months on ensuring the success of the festival, which involved approximately

UK - A tip top team of Avolites Tiger Touch II consoles were specified by lighting designer Matt Mawdsley for the inaugural Invictus Games held mainly at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London this month.

The Invictus Games is the brainchild of Prince Harry, and took place from 10-14 September. More than 400 competitors from 13 countries participated in the multi-sport event. All of those taking part had fought alongside the UK in recent military campaigns, and had been wounded.

Two Tiger Touch II desks - known for combining maximum power with compact size - were supplied to the Games by Stage Electrics in Bristol. One was stationed in the Copper Box Arena (wheelchair rugby, wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball) and the other in a large temporary multi sport venue within the Here East building (archery, indoor rowing, powerlifting). All venues were covered and broadca

USA - Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne has taken to the road this autumn with his Supernova tour, which runs until mid November, climaxing with three dates at New York's Beacon Theatre. Front of House engineer Jon Lemon and monitor engineer Ed Ehrbar are taking advantage of the stellar power of DiGiCo SD10s throughout.

Jon has long been an advocate of DiGiCo consoles. In fact, he was one of the very first to use a D5 Live when the company launched in 2002. His faith in its products has never waned and both he and DiGiCo have benefitted from their long-standing relationship.

"I haven't really mixed on any other console since the D5 Live became available," he says. "I think DiGiCo boards in general have a really good almost analog sound, and the company has been extremely receptive to suggestions from engineers like me, which in turn

Germany - The M'era Luna Festival takes place annually in Hildesheim, Germany at Flugplatz Hildesheim-Drispenstedt - a former British Army airbase. Featuring two stages, and historically specialising in goth, metal and industrial music, it also presents DJ sets on Friday and Saturday evening.

Lighting designer, Stephan Aue, and operator, Rico Münzer, were working with Swedish electronic dance band, Covenant - and making heavy use of SGM's new LED catalogue.

"The great thing about Covenant is that they are always looking for something extreme - and that provides a very good opportunity to try something new out," said Stephan. "During their very drum and bass oriented shows, the use of front light is almost not permitted and the stage is dominated by fog. I have been doing shows with them for almost 15 years and admire their courage and willingness to try out new

UK - Martin Audio's award-winning MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) PA system enjoyed its busiest weekend of the year, with two huge simultaneous London events either side of the capital.

While rental / production company Capital Sound were fielding no fewer than 170 enclosures at the perennial Proms in the Park (Hyde Park), over in the east at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the Prince Harry inspired Jaguar Land Rover Invictus Games Closing Concert also featured MLA.

The five hour extravaganza combined a celebration of medallion presentations to the wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women who competed in the Games, backed by a full concert line up headlined by the Foo Fighters with supporting acts including Kaiser Chiefs, Ellie Goulding, Ryan Adams, Bryan Adams, The Vamps, Rizzle Kicks and James Blunt.

A full house of over 25,000 people heard Prince Harry deli

UK - One London tradition that shows no sign of abating is the Last Night of the Proms celebrations in Hyde Park, hosted by Sir Terry Wogan. The open-air concert features a host of musical stars, including the perennial BBC Concert Orchestra - and this year Rufus Wainwright and Earth, Wind & Fire joined the bill.

London-based rental company Capital Sound once again provided the audio infrastructure for the event, deploying their expanding network of Optocore X6R-FX interfaces to provide a fully redundant loop; this encompassed the ten delay positions as well as the VIP platform and covered veranda, all distributed from the FOH rack presided over by experienced system tech Toby Donovan.

The Optocore racks have been a frequent visitor to Hyde Park this summer, having been deployed earlier at the Barclaycard British Summer Time Festival.

To accomplish this, Capital Sound techni

UK - ETC's recently introduced Nomad Puck - a tiny self contained computer which takes the place of either an Eos family or Cobalt family lighting desk - has been making a name for itself at the Edinburgh Festival.

The Pleasance, a Fringe venue with 23 different performance spaces, originally used a SmartFade - ETC's smallest console - in one of their spaces. But when Calder Sibbald at ETC's Edinburgh-based dealer Black Light offered them a Nomad Puck for use instead, they were keen to give it a try, especially given the extra power it would bring.

Over at the Forth Children's Theatre, lighting designer Grant Anderson, who had programmed the lighting for two Edinburgh shows on an ETC Ion, was delighted when he could upload his show file for one to a Nomad Puck, while the other could remain on the Ion.

"I already had the Eos show files for Les Misérables,&q

UK - Known for ground-breaking touring productions, the National Theatre of Scotland continues to amaze audiences across Scotland and the UK. The company's latest season features not only new productions, but new lighting technology to help each story shine. A fleet of new moving lights and control equipment from entertainment lighting specialist White Light will light up productions including The Tin Forest and The James Plays for 2014 and beyond.

Heading into the summer, Paul Claydon - head of lighting at the National Theatre Scotland - began looking for additions to the theatre company's permanent stocks. He worked with White Light's Antony Vine to determine the right mix of equipment, based on the key requirements of flexibility and touring endurance. With no permanent performance space, National Theatre Scotland productions are often on the road nationally and

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