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New Talent in Lighting award winner announced

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Young lighting designer Elliot Griggs is named as the inaugural winner of the New Talent in Entertainment Lighting Design competition.

In May 2014 the Worshipful Company of Lightmongers, in conjunction with the Association of Lighting Designers, announced the creation of an annual award as part of their support for education and training in the field of entertainment lighting, for those Lighting Designers who are at the start of their career.

The first winner of the prize is Elliot Griggs who will be presented with his prize at PLASA London 2014. He will also be invited to attend one of the Lightmongers' dinners where award recipients are acknowledged.

The judging panel of professional theatre lighting designers was impressed by the overall quality of the work submitted b

PLASA 2014: Philips Strand Lighting celebrates 100 years with special bar

Details: 14 March 2016

Worldwide - This year sees Philips Strand Lighting celebrate its 100th birthday with festivities at PLASA London this October, including a cocktail hour at the special Strand Lighting bar on the Philips Entertainment stand.

"All are welcome to enjoy exclusive celebratory cocktails and nibbles every day at 5pm, alongside some very special VIP guests. So make sure to join in raising a glass or two to a century of lighting innovation!"

It's undeniable that Philips Strand Lighting's 100-year milestone is a momentous occasion as since inception in 1914, Strand Lighting and its product family has continuously evolved, playing a significant role in shaping the century's entertainment lighting and lighting control technology landscape.

The company's founders, Arthur Earnshaw and Philip Sheridan, were two private electricians who unwittingly established themselves as the fo

MG Rec & Play enables high-quality recording, as well as fast and easy playback of songs and sound effects

Yamaha Launches App for MG Series mixers

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Yamaha Commercial Audio has launched MG Rec & Play, an iPhone and iPad app which allows high quality recording and playback for MG Series XU models, via an attractive, easy-to-use interface.

The MG Series is a comprehensive line-up of mixing consoles, ranging from compact models ideal for music production and sub-mixing applications, through to versions capable of handling medium scale live events. The third generation MG Series, released earlier this year, offers significant upgrades in sound quality, design, operability and durability, as well as several impressive new functions.

Available now at the Apple App Store for free download, MG Rec & Play enables high-quality recording, as well as fast and easy playback of songs and sound effects, by simply connecting your iPhone or iPad to any MG Series XU model. The intuitive app can be used for a wide range of purposes, inc

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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.

LM 5 lights up Las Arenas in Valencia

Details: 14 March 2016

Spain - Las Arenas Hotel-Spa is the only five star luxury hotel located in Valencia and, in all probability, one of the most luxurious throughout Spain. This hotel began its construction in 2002 next to Las Arenas and La Malvarrosa beaches, in the seaside of Valencia.

In the end of the 19th century, right in this same place, was built the historic Las Arenas Spa. Its classical style has been maintained and mixed with the elegance and comfort of the modern design of Las Arenas hotel. This hotel, which have a total of 253 rooms with all facilities divided into different types of rooms, counts also with thermal spa. The pool, from where it is possible to see the Mediterranean Sea, gets back the original project from 1933 with the kids' pool, the solarium and the famous Las Arenas springboard.

The installation was carried out by José García from Sistec Lite, who chose the

TBK's FoH engineer Jason M. Tarulli and monitor engineer Rob Elliot (photo: Chris Isaac)

The Black Keys turn blue with Sennheiser

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Overnight success was slow in arriving for Ohio garage rock duo, The Black Keys (TBK). The band was active for over a decade in small clubs on the Midwest indie circuit before the big time finally caught up with them in 2010 with the release of their sixth album, Brothers, and its quirky hit single Tighten Up.

"We accidentally took off," remarked TBK's drummer, Patrick Carney. "We weren't expecting that." Nevertheless, they've had to get used to it as record sales and popularity have climbed steadily ever since, to the point where their eighth album, Turn Blue, released in May 2014, debuted at number one in Canada, the US and Australia, the band's first record to top the album charts anywhere. The band is currently in the midst of their Turn Blue worldwide tour complete with a full panoply of Sennheiser microphones specified by thei

Visit uTRAC at PLASA on stand K03 where the team will be giving tutorials on how the software can best be utilised for your business

PLASA 2014: uTRAC's reveals top five feature developments

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - At PLASA London, uTRAC has revealed its top five feature developments to facilitate more efficient organising and tracking of labour for events

With the launch of uTRAC v2.0, the team has bolstered its drive to become the go-to workforce management application for events. The significantly re-designed interface has been tailored to improve the user experience and make its mobile app more touch friendly for people wanting to do their scheduling on the go with their tablets.

The new notification centre showing outstanding tasks includes notifications for unpaid invoices, unfilled shifts, and overdue payments among many other updates that will help all team members stay on top of their tasks.

The certificate management feature means workers will be able to record details of their relevant qualifications. An expiry date linked with uTRAC's notification centre allows both wo

Laurie Giraudeau named Marketing Manager of AC-ET

PLASA 2014: AC-ET confirms senior appointments

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - At PLASA London 2014, A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) has confirmed a number of senior appointments.

Laurie Giraudeau joins AC-ET in the new role of marketing manager, with immediate effect. Laurie will use her proven track record within digital marketing & brand communications to develop and oversee the marketing strategies for AC-ET's specialist lighting, audio, rigging and video sales divisions, and sister installations company, A.C. Special Projects Ltd.

AC-ET Director, Peter Butler, comments, "The Board of Directors are delighted that Laurie is joining us to spearhead the marketing team. We feel certain that with Laurie's knowledge and experience of the markets we operate in, she will bring a lot to the table - helping us to focus our efforts and create a greater synergy working alongside the sales divisions."

Jack Moorhouse is appointed product m

OPUS X4 PROFILE – the most powerful LED moving head from Cameo to date

The OPUS® X4 PROFILE is the new flagship model from Cameo and is among the most powerful LED moving heads on the market. Equipped with a 1,400-watt LED white light engine, this spot profile moving head produces an enormous light output of 50,000 lm, providing powerful spot and gobo projections on even the largest stages and much more.
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PLASA 2014: Lee Dennison named head of audio at White Light

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - It was confirmed at PLASA London 2014 that White Light has appointed Lee Dennison as Head of Audio, further expanding the company's audio expertise. The move signals more growth for White Light as the company continues its strong market presence throughout the entertainment and events industries.

Dennison brings more than 20 years of audio experience to the position. He has previously worked with Autograph Sound Recording and most recently spent seven years working with Delta Sound/Sound by Design in a projects director position. In his new role at White Light, Dennison will work with Events, Sales, and Installation teams on audio elements for a variety of projects using his experience, knowledge and relationships with key manufacturers, suppliers and end clients.

Managing Director Bryan Raven explains the new addition, "We have always grown by listening to the needs

PLASA 2014: XTA debuts APA Series

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - After several years of investment in R&D resources, more than doubling the department's engineering staff, and following on from research projects into loudspeaker protection and adaptive protection, the APA Series makes its PLASA debut this year.

The completely new power and DSP platforms have been designed to interact intelligently and adapt to prevailing conditions, protecting drivers, and significantly enhancing performance from all speaker systems.

Waring Hayes, XTA's technical brand manager explains why this is at the centre of the design ethos for APA. "It's not so difficult to add a DSP module to an existing amplifier design in the form of a plug-in card, but to provide the level of monitoring and feedback within the amplifier that we wanted - that took a little longer!"

The tight coupling of the power supply's behaviour through real time monitoring of

PLASA London off to a flying start

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - PLASA London opened its doors at 10am this morning and welcomed a surge of visitors in the first few hours of the show. Hundreds of people skipped their typical Sunday activities in favour of a vibrant exhibition floor and an education programme packed with the world's biggest names in entertainment technology.

Here are some of the highlights from today's show:

World Class Exhibitors

Every year, PLASA London brings together the most important audio, lighting, video and staging companies, filling the show floor with a feast of exhibitors. This year is certainly no different, with more than 250 companies exhibiting. Looking around ExCeL London's first class exhibition space, we see companies like Robe, Clay Paky, Shure, Polar Audio, Autograph, SSE Audio, FBT, Philips Entertainment, White Light, Highlite, Chauvet, MA Lighting, SGM, Prolyte, A.C Entertainment Technol

Strebel's Audiopool team applied its TiMax dynamic delay-based magic to Basel's Military Tattoo

Growing outdoor trend for TiMax across Europe

Details: 14 March 2016

Europe - As summer 2014 draws to a close, the UK source-oriented reinforcement (SOR) specialists Out Board have seen their TiMax delay-matrix and performer-tracking systems deployed for a broad and varied season of outdoor shows across Europe.

Thunersee, Switzerland - The perennial TiMax sojurn in the stunning Swiss lakeside setting featured the visual spectacle that is AIDA the Musical. Contemporised by Elton John and Tim Rice originally for a Broadway outing in 2001, the Thunersee production accessed a new dimension with sound design by the award-winning Tom Strebel and audiopool.

As in previous years, Strebel deployed the TiMax SoundHub and TiMax Tracker combination to bring vocal clarity and authenticity to the mammoth amphitheatre's audiences.

Strebel explains, "We simply cannot put on these Thun productions each year without TiMax SoundHub and Tracker. The audienc

PLASA 2014: Philips Selecon showcases LED innovations

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Visitors to PLASA London 2014 are invited to twice daily light shows on the Philips Entertainment stand L80, where they will be able to see Philips Selecon's latest innovation in LED technology, the RAMA LED Fresnel, in action.

Designed for 230v operation, the RAMA LED Fresnel combines the superior control and light quality of a Philips Selecon Fresnel but with added LED advantages. It provides an adjustable cone of light, has a soft edge and is easily blended with adjacent beams to provide even illumination.

A key benefit of the exciting new luminaire is that it is no longer necessary to change lamps and as a 3000K LED source, designers can use colour filters, in a similar way to a tungsten unit. It is also the ideal tool for general stage lighting as it has a smooth dimming curve and offers significant reductions in power consumption over traditional 1/1.2kW Tungsten Ha

The Modular Rigging System uses 48mm diameter aluminium barrels in conjunction with a truss style conical coupling

PLASA London 2014: Doughty's award winners on debut

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Faster rigging of stage and sets combined with improved safety are just two of the benefits offered by Doughty Engineering's Modular Rigging System, shown at PLASA for the first time.

A strong, safe alternative to 'home made' drop arms, which until now have been the only option for riggers, the system uses tried and tested connectors to give a SWL of 100kg and enables the safe and speedy rigging of luminaires from truss or fixed tubes or barrels. It also provides for a range of configurations to open up the possibility for highly innovative lighting design.

The Modular Rigging System uses 48mm diameter aluminium barrels in conjunction with a truss style conical coupling and is designed as two parts - Modular Drop Arms, which are single arms designed to be suspended with a coupler, and H-Frames, which can be suspended or floor-standing with tank traps.

Mark Chorley, desi

James Thomas Engineering joins TOMCAT in Milos Group

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Milos Group, one of the largest manufacturers of trussing and support structures in the world, welcomes James Thomas Engineering to its growing number of professional and trusted brands. James Thomas Engineering has been one of the leading manufacturers of aluminium trussing, rigging and ground support to North American and international clients since 1977. Its General Purpose, Supertruss and HD truss systems are known throughout the industry as benchmarks for professional outdoor concert, theatre and corporate venue productions.

As part of the Milos Group, and falling under the TOMCAT banner, JTE will continue to manufacture the same high quality "Made in the USA" products that industry professionals have relied upon for more than 35 years. Innovation will remain its first priority, and its mission statement "Innovation through Design and Engineering Excelle

The ColorSource PAR doesn't require extensive lighting knowledge to use

PLASA London 2014: ETC adds budget-friendly PAR to iLED lineup

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Venues with limited budgets that wanted to update their lighting systems with LEDs have until now often had only one option: flimsy, noisy and undependable fixtures with incredibly limited, fake-looking colour that drifted as soon as they were turned on. Now ETC has a new solution: the ColorSource PAR, an LED luminaire developed by colour experts and backed by ETC's industry leading service department. Schools, houses of worship, small theatres and other venues with tight budgets now have a way to affordably upgrade to LEDs, without losing out on beautiful colour.

Since ETC began developing LED luminaires, the company has spent a lot of time experimenting with colour, inventing LED products whose colour capabilities go well beyond what is available on the market today. ETC has applied this expertise to the ColorSource PAR, which uses a proportionate blend of red, green, blu

The Buddy was originally aimed at students, but is already being hailed as an essential piece of kit that established designers want carry in their back pockets

PLASA London 2014: ELC Lighting's Buddy takes a bow

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - ELC Lighting's Buddy has made its PLASA debut. Launched in summer 2014, the pocket sized Ethernet to DMX node has already won rave reviews from industry lighting designers and those who visited stand C03 at this year's show were amazed at just how capable the little device is. Designed and engineered as an entry level product, the Buddy was originally aimed at students, but is already being hailed as an essential piece of kit that established designers want carry in their back pockets, with several hundred units already sold.

Speaking at the ELC-Lighting stand, Silvio Cibien said, "Buddy has all the functions required to enable a user to get DMX out of their laptop at an entry level price. We feel that those taking their first tentative steps in the industry need to be able to experiment without the fear of doing something wrong, or losing all their work.

"The B

Funktion-One and Space Ibiza's summer of love

Details: 14 March 2016

Spain - On Sunday 5 October 2014, the curtain fell on another incredible season for Space Ibiza, as it celebrated a summer of unforgettable parties with the Space Closing Fiesta. It welcomed more than 30 DJs and thousands of guests, who bid farewell to the iconic venue for another year. It was a fitting end to a very successful season, which saw Funktion-One complete its takeover of the venue, and helped it celebrate its 25th birthday with an additional outdoor stage at three special events - the Opening Fiesta, Closing Fiesta and 25th Anniversary Party.

At the beginning of the summer, while preparing the venue for the Space Opening Fiesta in May, Funktion-One, the Space technical team and Project Audio Ibiza made the annual upgrades and adjustments to its sound systems. This included a completely new speaker system for Sunset Terrace, meaning all six rooms of Pepe Roselló's gl

PSM300 introduces the clarity and precision of stereo, 24-bit digital audio processing to the PSM line

PLASA London 2014: Shure debuts personal monitor systems

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - At PLASA 2014, Shure Distribution UK (SDUK) has announced the addition of the PSM300 Stereo Personal Monitor Systems to the existing Shure line of In-Ear Monitoring (IEM) technology.

PSM300 introduces the clarity and precision of stereo, 24-bit digital audio processing to the PSM line, while still offering users the customised mix control for which PSM systems are renowned. The PSM300's two-tier entry-level/pro-grade control interface allows any user to get a personal monitoring mix up and running with speed and confidence, whether they're experienced engineers or new to IEM systems.

PSM 300 will be offered in two system configurations. The baseline PSM 300 Stereo Wireless Personal Monitor System includes SE112 Sound Isolating™ Earphones and delivers detailed 24-bit digital audio processing and reliable wireless operation over a range in excess of 90 metres. Shure-pa

Juan Vila and Peter James at PLASA London 2014

PLASA London 2014: SDUK to distribute WORK Pro Audio

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - Shure Distribution UK (SDUK), exclusive distributor in the UK and Ireland for leading pro audio brands including Shure, QSC, Radial, DIS, Sound Devices, Primacoustic and Servoreeler,confirmed at PLASA London 2014 that it is taking on a new line.

Manufactured by Spanish audio company Equipson, founded in 1995 and based in Valencia, WORK Pro Audio products are aimed at sound reinforcement and live sound applications. Effective immediately, SDUK will be responsible for all sales and technical support for WORK Pro Audio products in the UK and Ireland, replacing all previous UK distributors of the brand.

Highlights of the WORK Pro Audio range include loudspeakers, amplifiers and DSP Digital Matrix products which provide a quality alternative for installation projects of all budgets. The most recent addition to the brand is the BlueLine Digital range, a cost-effective, modular

The 139th Troy Fair opened this summer with a new grandstand sound system

Community upgrades fan experience at Troy Fair

Details: 14 March 2016

USA - Billed as the 'Largest Event in Bradford County', the 139th Troy Fair opened 21 July 21, 2014 with a new grandstands sound system provided by Gelnett and Associates of Northumberland, Pennsylvania and based on Community R Series loudspeakers.

The new system replaces a 1970s-era paging horn system that was inadequate for modern fair events and had prompted 2013's tractor pull announcer to complain, "We're not coming back unless you fix this!"

After interviewing several integrators, the Troy Fair board chose Gelnett and Associates to provide their new system. Gelnett President, Scott Gelnett reports that the fair board was very impressed during the on-site demo and knew this was the system for them.

The new system consists of two clusters of four Community R.5HPT loudspeakers covering the fans in the grandstands and three R2-52 loudspeakers covering the left, c

ETC's CEO, Fred Foster, hands over a cheque to Behind the Scenes UK trustee John Simpson (photo: Digital Deluxe)

ETC hands over £17,500 to Behind the Scenes UK

Details: 14 March 2016

UK - ETC has handed over a cheque for almost £17,500 to the Behind the Scenes UK charity at PLASA London 2014.

The donations come from people who bought the European version of the ETC iRFR or aRFR remote control app for their phone or tablet over the past year, all of whom had the choice of whether their money went to the US charity, or its UK branch, which until recently was called Light Relief.

Handing over a cheque to John Simpson, trustee of Behind the Scenes UK, ETC's CEO Fred Foster said, "Lighting can be easy to control using the ETC iRFR for iOS and aRFR for Android, but sometimes life can be more difficult. That's why we're pleased to continue to support the Behind the Scenes charity, which provides much needed support to our colleagues and their families when times are hard."

The apps - which turn any smartphone into a remote lighting controller -