South Africa - Jolene Van Der Merwe joined Gold Reef City in the first half of 2008 as a stage manager and immediately fell in love with the lavish and classically-styled Lyric Theatre. She was very happy to join the Lyric family officially in October 2008 and currently works as the theatre's production co-ordinator, managing all the production requirements for their shows.

"I assist the stage manager with the day to day running of the backstage workings such as the scheduling of crew, liaising with our suppliers when we need to, servicing and repairing any equipment, purchasing new equipment to either replace or expand our existing in-house equipment and generally make sure that the team has everything they might need," said Jolene.

With this in mind, the Lyric recent

UK - The second annual T-Live music festival took place 29-30 August in Telford, Shropshire in the UK with production provided by the Liz Hobbs Group from Newark on Trent Nottinghamshire. The two day event, with an 80's themed night followed by a modern pop night, used 24 Elation Platinum Beam 5R's as the mainstay of the lighting rig.

Designed and operated by Oz Player, who used the fixtures in both the truss and floor package, commented on the ACL-type beam's frost effect wash look, "I've used the Elation Beam 5R on many shows and the soft edge frost adds another dimension."

Production manager Paul Joyce, who added extra Platinum Beam fixtures to the fleet for Tom Jones' shows earlier in the year, added, "I'm really happy with their performance. It's a great return on investment and we have them scheduled out on a major tour happening this month as well."<

France - In only their second use at a major concert event, 110 Solaris LED Mozart fixtures ringed the balcony rail of the Stade de France in Paris for the Beyoncé Jay Z On the Run HBO Concert Special. The Mozarts were chosen specifically to enhance the TV shoot featuring the tour's closing dates, and stood out brightly amidst over 80,000 fans.

"The Mozart is the perfect eye candy fixture and this was an ideal application for them - they really showed off the depth of the stadium and did a great job on camera," says Cory FitzGerald, the tour's lighting director. "We alternated Mozarts and Sharpys all around the second level of the Stade de France. They worked brilliantly." Lighting was co-designed by FitzGerald and Roy Bennett.

With settings from three to 48 DMX channels, and 1, 4, or 16 RGB "pixel" groups per fixture, the lightweight, low

Spain - OSCillation, the new free and owner software for Android, Windows PC and, in a few days also for Mac, developed by Work Pro is an application for the control of devices through OSC protocol. This software is the first on the market that allows to work directly with the layouts and customize them from a PC.

Users will be able to control several devices simultaneously thanks to its multi-target capability, besides of providing the possibility to protect the access to the software with a password. OSCillation makes possible to mix audio and lighting for embedded video in PC or Mac.

This application adds six preset layouts useful for users who need to control audio and lighting with DMX devices or digital signal processors designed by Work Pro. AS well as its compatibility also with TouchOSC layouts, users will be able to customize their own layouts for all kind of devices

USA - Matt Mullen, vice president of sales for J. R. Clancy, Inc., has announced the return of two of its top-performing associates to its sales and product development staff. Patrick Finn and Paul Skidmore returned to J. R. Clancy in August.

"Patrick and Paul each bring a career's worth of rigging expertise to J. R. Clancy, as well as a deep understanding of our customers' needs and the products and services they require," said Mullen. "They will work to develop new products, find new pathways to innovation, and open new markets for Clancy products."

Patrick Finn joined Clancy in 2009 as a dealer project manager and product manager. He returns to continue his work in product development while researching new innovations within the entertainment technology field. He brings experience as a technical director, theatre consultant, and rigging and fall protecti

USA - TAIT and sister company Stage Technologies have completed their move into a new joint location on Las Vegas's Wynn Road.

The new office, which includes 30,000sq.ft of workshop space, seven loading docks and a full ground-supported test stand will accommodate work for West Coast theatre, casino and theme park clients. Other features of the location include all utilities and systems for testing and system configurations for these projects. In addition to functioning as TAIT's West Coast permanent installation hub, the onsite team will handle operations, local show service and support, project management and administration.

According to Dana Bartholomew, VP of West Coast Operations, "The new TAIT Stage Technologies facility is not only great for clients in this region, but it will also serve as a home base for our integrators when they're working on installation projec

Portugal - Digital solutions manufacturer DiGiCo has confirmed the appointment of Garrett S.A. Audiovisuais as its exclusive distributor for Portugal.

Founded in 1978, Garrett has built an enviable reputation in Portugal by ensuring that it always offers relevant solutions to the market and employing a highly experienced team. As a result, it has an impressive list of brands in its portfolio, to which it is proud to add DiGiCo.

"For some time, we have wanted to work with a brand of mixing console that is both a market leader and technology innovator," says Garrett's Raul Fernandes. "This will allow us to provide our customers with a stronger offering in the field of professional audio and to apply the products directly to our turn-key projects.

"Although there has been some instability in the Portuguese market for the last two years, DiGiCo is a brand tha

USA - When Boise, Idaho-based lighting designer Brock Hogan was asked to design lighting for the recent co-headlining Matt Nathanson and Gavin Degraw U.S. and Canada Summer tour, he specified Robe Robin LEDWash 600s as the main stage washes.

Originally hired by Nathanson's management - who he met through his work with the group Train - to produce a lighting scheme for the tour, Hogan also reached out to Gavin Degraw's team to see if they had something in mind for the lighting. At this point, they decided it would make sense and be efficient if Hogan coordinated the lighting needs of both artists ... in a single adaptable and flexible design.

The size of the venues on the tour varied, and featured numerous theatres, so in order to fit the production in to the majority of spaces, Hogan chose a front and back truss to provide his lighting positions.

For Nathanson, there was an

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The Netherlands - Cadac signed up as an official supporter of the IBC conference for the first time, providing audio systems for the various conference events at the 2014 convention, including the Dolby Atmos featured IBC Big Screen Experience, which also featured Dolby Atmos, in the Amsterdam RAI exhibition auditoriumcentre.

IBC technical resources /audio, Terry Nelson, specified a Cadac MegaCOMMS high resolution digital audio network to distribute audio throughout the 1,700 seat IBC Big Screen Experience auditorium, where the IBC ran a programme of presentations and screenings, demonstrating "how the disciplines between cinema and traditional broadcast are merging". The IBC Big Screen Experience featured cutting-edge cinema technology, including Christie 6P 2D and 3D laser projection and Dolby Atmos immersive audio. Programme highlights included screenings of re-mast

USA - In their first significant use on a major tour, 165 Solaris LED 16x1 fixtures have been performing flawlessly on Jason Aldean's 2014 Burn It Down tour.

"I chose Solaris 16X1s because, based on my experience with the amazing Solaris Flare, I knew they would perform well for my needs," says Mike Swinford, the show's lighting and production designer. "We use them to outline the overhead trusses and also to outline the T-shaped thrust. They're performing very well and ride on the trusses everyday so they do not have to be handled at every show.

"As with the Flare product, I am really impressed by their high output, plus linear effects when used with the MA console driving them. The 16X1's individual LED "pixel" control is a real plus". Production personnel include tour LD Keith Hoagland and lighting programmer Mark Butts. The Solaris LED pr

Spain - Every September thousands of revellers descend upon the streets of Barcelona in Spain for La Mercè, a five-day, free-to-attend celebration. Live music, dance and theatre take place in venues across the city as locals and visitors alike bid farewell to summer and welcome the cooler days of autumn. This year, Mojo Barriers was called upon to provide its crowd control solutions at one of the festival's busiest venues, El Parc del Forum.

Mojo Barriers' Gatekeeper 2.0 intelligent turnstile system attracted organisers BSM, which needed to ensure capacities of the open air concert venue - which also hosts Primavera Sound festival - weren't breached. The venue welcomed live music fans across three nights who danced the night away to a host of local and international acts.

Leon van der Velden, project manager at Mojo Barriers, said, "The Gatekeeper 2.0 is the ideal soluti

UK - Wireless Lighting is a new company and online portal dedicated to the dry and cross hire of battery powered wireless lighting technologies for the show and event industry in and around London.

Founder Justin Hammond, who has been at the sharp end of the professional lighting, video and AV rental industry for eight years, spotted a gap in the market for quick, simple, reliable and no-nonsense service providing wireless lighting kit.

He states, "There's been a massive surge in popularity and use of wireless LED lighting over the last two years - there's no messing around with cabling, and the lighting fixtures can instantly transform any environment. Wireless Lighting is designed to provide a fast, efficient and straightforward service to all those wanting to make use of this technology on their events."

Clients can log in to the website, place their order, sele

USA - Following the successes at its Meyer Sound-equipped New York flagship and Chicago locations, City Winery recently selected a Mina line array loudspeaker system to help bring a quality live experience to its food- and wine-loving clientele in Napa.

Like all other City Winery locations, the philosophy behind the new 350-seat, cabaret-style listening room in the historic Napa Valley Opera House is a meticulous attention to sensory delight. The sound system is no exception acoustically or visually, according to Ed Greer, City Winery's chief production officer.

"Because we focus on singer-songwriters, we needed a PA that is extremely accurate acoustically, that can deliver with complete transparency," says Greer. "The Mina arrays achieve that goal, and their sleek profile also fits with the elegance of the room. Any system we install in City Winery will be Meye

Sweden - HD Resources (HDR) is one of the premier High Definition resource providers in Sweden. Based in Stockholm, the privately owned company offers fully equipped, high specification HD studios and a number of HD OB vehicles for outside broadcast purposes and is thus capable of covering almost every type of live or studio recording.

Known mainly for their work in horse racing, sports, music and entertainment, HDR works with all of the major Swedish broadcasters including the public broadcaster, SVT, and TV4 who is the country's largest commercial broadcaster.

HDR has recently built a new state-of-the-art OB vehicle featuring a number of DirectOut products that is presented as version 2.0 of their current HDR 6 24 Camera Expandable HD OB truck offering 24 seats with a true 5.1 audio mixing area. The new vehicle was built under the technical supervision of Sony's Martyn Smith

UK - The PLASA 2014 exhibition sees the culmination of Robe's 20th anniversary celebrations, with the Czech Republic based manufacturer making a big impact in the 1,000sq.m Robe Arena at London's ExCeL Centre.

The Robe Arena is the company's largest exhibition area to date, and will highlight Robe's just launched BMFL Spot, a new mega-bright long-throw signature fixture which needs a large environment in which to be demonstrated most effectively.

Additionally, there are another 12 new innovations launched by Robe at PLASA 2014, together with all the current product range luminaires on this spectacular booth, which will also feature one of Robe's dazzling exhibition lightshows.

CEO Josef Valchar states, "We attend many exhibitions around the globe, but it's always good to be back in London, and this has always felt like THE lighting show for us. We wanted to do something

UK - MDG Fog Ltd has appointed two new distributors for its range of fog and haze generators.

From 1 October 2014, MDGfog UK, a trading division of Robe UK Ltd, will take responsibility for the exclusive distribution of the full MDG product range in the UK & Eire. This new division will be headed by Matt Wiseman, a well-known face in the UK entertainment industry who brings 20 years of experience to the role.

"I am looking forward to the new avenues and responsibilities this arrangement brings," says Wiseman. "It will allow MDGfog UK to focus wholeheartedly on promoting and servicing the MDG brand across the UK and Eire, with the added confidence of solid backing from Robe UK's established administrative, service and warehouse facilities in Northampton."

Mick Hannaford, Managing Director of Robe UK, adds, "We believe the quality and performance of th

UK - Two TV rental specialists - one operating in London and one in Glasgow - pooled their respective SGM inventories to great effect recently during the recent Scottish Independence Referendum.

With most of the broadcast activity centred on Glasgow, Tony Kennedy's Teknique Systems, having purchased 12 SGM P-5 Washlights from SGM UK, joined forces with Richard Martin Lighting (RML) to provide lighting infrastructure in two very different venues.

The live televised debate between Alistair Darling (leading the 'No' campaign) and Alex Salmond (Scotland's First Minister, heading the drive for Independence) - held at the historic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - was followed by the action through the night as the votes were counted. This took place in 'The Street', the central atrium area of the ultra-modern £72m BBC Pacific Quay, which only opened seven years ago.

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UK - When lighting designer Amarasri Songcharoen (aka Marci Song) of Seam Design was looking for the best lighting fixtures to light the 500 year old Raphael Cartoons - a series of large artworks by Rafael on display in London's Victoria & Albert Museum - she knew she needed something special. It had to be something which would output minimal or no ultraviolet light, as well as provide a perfectly lit atmosphere for a giant mirrored sculpture which was to be installed as part of the London Design Festival.

As part of the month long Precision & Poetry in Motion exhibition, design agency Barber Osgerby developed a system of two giant mirrored aeronautical 'wings,' which were suspended in the room and would slowly rotate on motors, altering the reflections of the Raphael Cartoons as they did. To light the artworks, she used 16 ETC Source Four LED Series 2 Lustr fixtures, con

Italy - Fox Sound Service has purchased the first Meyer Sound Lyon linear sound reinforcement system in Italy. Adding to Fox Sound's large Meyer Sound inventory of more than 170 loudspeakers, the Lyon system has supported a range of classical, rock, and dance events across the country.

"I was extremely impressed with the technical advantages of linear sound reinforcement offered by Meyer Sound's Leo linear large-scale sound reinforcementsystem, but we had been waiting for a more compact version better suited to the Italian market," explains Carlo Volpe, technical director and co-owner of Fox Sound. "Lyon is exactly what we need. It has the performance and versatility ideal for any production, from open-air classical music presentations to jazz festivals and rock concerts. My partners and I are proud to be the first in Italy to supply this new technology."

F

USA - Mexico's pop icon Juan Gabriel is touring the US with an SSL Live, console. One of Mexico's most successful vocalists, Gabriel is a Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame inductee and six-time Grammy nominee who has sold over 30m albums and performed throughout the world. When his Volver 2014 tour prepared for its US leg, front-of-house engineer Rodrigo López was excited to mix on SSL's latest innovation.

"As soon as it was available, I wanted to use it," López says of Live. "Just by reading 'SSL,' you know it's a quality console. An engineer friend of mine who used Live for another US tour provided the only training I needed. It's very user-friendly. Sound check was my rehearsal with the console. It just sounded correct, it was really great. Everything was there, the way I wanted it to be."

SSL Live's sonic quality was particularly noticeable on violin

UK - Black Light has played a key part in the 50th birthday celebrations for one of Scotland's most iconic pieces of engineering. The Edinburgh-based company provided all of the lighting for the concert that was a highlight of the festivities surrounding the Forth Road Bridge's anniversary.

"We designed, supplied and operated all the equipment for the main Bridge Party concert stage and performance arena," explains Russell Cobden, who was Black Light's project manager for the job. "It was an exciting thing to be involved with as it was a high-profile event that attracted a lot of media attention."

Black Light worked on the project with the organisers Unique Events. The two companies have a long-standing working relationship having collaborated for many years on world-class events such as Edinburgh's Hogmanay. Feedback was extremely positive, with Rab Randal

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