Japan - The Nippon Budokan arena in central Tokyo played host to the Fumiya Fujii 30th Best Special Countdown Live on New Year's Eve 2014. The show was the spectacular culmination of a two-year tour by popular Japanese music artist Fumiya Fujii, in celebration of his 'double anniversary' which marked 30 years since the recording of his debut album and his 20th year as a solo artist.

Pivotal to Keisuke Nishi's design for the evening was a bank of 90 Ayrton IntelliPix-R LED panels supplied by Ayrton's Japanese distributor, First Engineering Japan.

IntelliPix-R is a modular beam projection panel of 25 independently controllable 4.5° LED emitters arranged in a 5 x 5 array which project graphics and media far into the air. Panels can be connected together to form a semi-transpare

France - Sono 64 Événements, the NEXT-proaudio's distributor in France, recently designed the sound system for Discotheque Les Vôutes, located in Paris.

The sound system was needed to achieve high sound pressure levels, high quality sound to join the concept of Les Vôutes, an intimate club inspired on the ancestral and historical cellars with exposed stone walls.

The club has a long dancefloor atmosphere, several rooms under the arches welcoming conformable booths and tables. The Sono 64 Événements team designed the system using the X-Line, MA series, LMS Series and DP Series from NEXT-proaudio, comprising four X15, 10 X10, four X8, six XH18, and two Xs15. The whole system is powered by MA3200 and MA3800. The whole system is controlled by four NEXT DP240 and fourLMS-242.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Electrosonic provided video, audio and control equipment and integration for the new Carol J. and Barney Barnett Learning Centre at The Florida Aquarium in Tampa. The new facility builds on Electrosonic's strong relationship with the aquarium, which includes earlier extensive refurbishing of a portion of the aquarium.

The Learning Centre features a circular main hub area with the lab room, toddlers' room, ocean room, coastal room and green room, branching off of it. The Hub Scenic, part of an introductory experience and presentation for visiting students, is at the core of the hub area. This scenic element, along with architectural detailing, special lighting and other embellishments, create the immersive experience of an ocean laboratory.

"A narrative about finding a missing turtle sets the stage for the story of the ocean lab," says Electrosonic project manag

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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.

UK - School Stage, the performing arts installation company offering exclusive provision to schools, colleges and universities, recently completed a project using Chauvet Professional fixtures to add colour and 'wow' factor to a multi-functional assembly hall in the newly built Lees Brook Community School in Derby.

The new school building was commissioned by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) because the school buildings were in poor shape, but no provision had been included for sound and lighting systems. Sensing this was a real opportunity to create the hall as a spectacular performance space, the school's former head teacher came out of retirement to project-manage the rebuild for the school.

Having sourced quotations and designs from other companies, the school governors awarded the contract to School Stage, who scrutinised the proposals and made sweeping changes to the bu

The Netherlands - Identifying the right sound reinforcement system to permanently install in a club, church or multipurpose space, requires a solution that will produce the highest quality audio reproduction today, tomorrow and for the years to come. A loudspeaker system from d&b audiotechnik will do just that and more, as ISE visitors discovered at the d&b stand and demo room.

"d&b is continuously expanding its portfolio for the installation markets. To support the requirements of our global installation customers we have put significant effort into product development, to provide pro audio solutions for opera houses, theatres or large music venues; wherever the highest quality of sound is required. Throughout this year we will introduce a number of new, high performance installation products to the market, to underline d&b's focus on these applications," says d&b CEO

UK - Leading Bristol-based rental company Enlightened Lighting has boosted its offering with an investment in the latest addition to the Showline eSeries family, the SL eSTRIP 10 luminaire.

Established in 2000, Enlightened is one of the principle lighting supply companies in the South West of England, stocking some of the latest and best technology and most recently bringing 24 of the powerful Showline units on board. Since the investment, they have been flying off the shelves, with Enlightened supplying them to various award shows, theatre productions, dry hires and other corporate rental companies.

"Many of our customers are looking for an LED luminaire with the features that the SL eSTRIP 10 offers, both for purchase and rent," says Enlightened's general manager Andrew Bartlett. "All the feedback has been fantastic so far, with our customers commenting on how

USA - The 57th GRAMMY Awards, broadcast on CBS the evening of 8 February from the Staples Centre in downtown Los Angeles, featured an unprecedented 23 live musical performances. With so many artists performing in an RF-intensive urban location, the production team was faced with the daunting task of ensuring flawless audio from everyone's wireless microphones and in-ear monitors.

From the hard-rocking opener by AC/DC to the poignant closing performance of Glory by John Legend and Common, Shure wireless microphone systems, wired mics, and in-ear monitoring systems were a near-constant presence. As always, musicians were permitted to use their preferred microphones for their performances.

Although artists brought their own custom earphones, all but one of the in-ear monitoring systems used were Shure PSM1000, with 24 channels split between two stages.

Both Shure Axient

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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.
www.cameolight.com

UK - A.C. Entertainment Technologies (AC-ET) will be featuring new lighting solutions from Chroma-Q, Mole-Richardson and Fiilex, grip equipment from Manfrotto, and video innovations from Green Hippo and Prolights - at the Broadcast Video Expo (BVE) 2015 show, held at Excel, London on 24-26 February (stand E20).

The company offers a comprehensive one-stop inventory of equipment solutions for film, television, and studio or location broadcast applications. This service covers products through to complete lighting and video systems, from supply through to installation.

The award-winning Chroma-Q Studio Force premium performance soft light range provides a soft, even light source in a choice of daylight, tungsten and variable white LED models which are comparable to traditional lighting technologies - and produce a massive output for their size.

The Mole-Richardson lighting rang

WhatsOn Winners - Miss Saigon has dominated this year's WhatsOnStage awards, winning nine trophies including best West End show. The record haul follows the musical's return to the West End last year, 25 years after it premiered in London. Former Doctor Who co-stars David Tennant and Billie Piper won best actor and best actress in a play. Tennant for Richard II and Piper for Great Britain. The awards, focusing predominantly on London theatre, are voted for entirely by members of the public.

The new production of Miss Saigon won nine of its 12 nominations, including best actor and actress in a musical, best direction, best choreography and best musical revival. The musical, set during the Vietnam War and based on the opera Madame Butterfly, opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre last May.

Lee Hall's adaptation of the 1998 film

UK - It is with great sadness that the family of Muriel 'Mu' Wiltshire has announced the news of her passing on 5 February. Mu was the mother of HHB Communications MD Ian Jones and a founding member of the successful professional audio technology supplier. A shareholder since the company was started in 1976, Mu served numerous roles at HHB and was a company director for many years. She was also HHB's first accountant/bookkeeper and retained this role until her retirement from day-to-day activities in 1989.

During her years with HHB, Mu was very active in attending shows and other industry events. She will be remembered as a gracious woman who welcomed friends and customers with a cup of tea and was known for making late-night meals for crew members after a gig. It is her kindness and friendly demeanour that will be remembered most by the many people in the industry who made her

Turkey - When Konya was under consideration as one of the host cities for a future European Championships to be held in Turkey, construction of a brand new UEFA-compliant stadium was proposed.

While original plans set a capacity of around 33,000 seats, this was later upgraded to 42,276 seats - divided over two tiers, with an additional 50 VIP boxes - and the new facility, based in Selçuklu, will now provide the club Konyaspor KR with a state-of-the-art stadium for home matches.

Asimetrik, the Turkish-based distributors and AV system integrators, were awarded the contract to provide a network-based professional grandstand PA system, as well as broadcast infrastructure system, not only compatible with UEFA requirements (but also FIFA and IAFF). They also designed and supplied a PA/VA emergency evacuation system, C.I.S. infrastructure as well as full conference and visual presen

UK - Flare Audio's PA system has been selected due to its 'clarity of sound' for powerhouse electro quartet Node's first concert in 15 years. Node Live will take place in the Amaryllis Fleming Concert Hall at the Royal College of Music in London on 27 February 2015.

The detailed ambient sonic landscape created by the band requires true clarity of sound and definition with even coverage and dispersion, as they fill the stage with an array of instruments and vintage analogue synthesizers, creating both a sonic and visual experience for the audience.

Just two X2As and two X5As will provide the 390 capacity venue with high definition coverage, whilst six SB21Cs (Flare's flat panel bass, awarded the 2013 PLASA Award for Excellence), will deliver the full and controllable bass needed for the dense textural soundscape the electronic super-group are renowned for. Because of the scope

UK - Of all the buildings set within the historic cloisters of Oxford, one that really stands out is the Chapel at All Souls College - one of the city's oldest, whose origins date back to 1438-1442. Built by master mason Richard Chevynton, the original structure of the carved reredos (screen altarpiece) dates from around 1447 but the Chapel was almost completely rebuilt following its destruction by Puritans, followed later by a mid-19th century renovation, heavily influenced by Victorian design ideals.

The chapel contains 40 stalls, for the 40 Fellows of the original foundation and a high chapel roof - but the difference in reverberation times, and therefore audibility, between a full chapel scenario to an empty one was palpable. And this was causing major concern.

And so the facility's regular service specialists, City AV, were brought in to assist. The company, which has pro

The Netherlands - After announcing in December that Integrated Systems Europe 2015 would be the last three-day event before a move to four days in 2016, attendance at this year's show comprehensively demonstrated why ISE has made the move to expand the duration of the exhibition.

In what was Europe's largest ever AV and systems integration exhibition 59,350 registered attendees came to the show between 10-12 February at the Amsterdam, RAI. This represents an increase of 8,347 registered attendees (16.4%) on ISE 2014.

"The volume of attendance confirmed ISE's position as the destination of choice for anyone involved in professional AV and systems integration," said Mike Blackman, Integrated Systems Events managing director. "In addition to the ongoing attendance success story," he continued, "the announcement that ISE has entered into a joint venture wi

The Netherlands - Apex has introduced its new, all-in-one conference room control system, Liviau R, which debuted at ISE 2015 and was named Best in Show by Installation magazine. Featuring a sleek, yet robust design Liviau R offers instant access to content and full control over your presentation as well as complete room control including lighting, video, audio and other automated services, all fully integrated and managed from the same platform.

Liviau's designers have focused on simplicity in addition to powerful functionality. The 10.1" touch interface is purposely limited to the information you require during meetings and presentations for as uncluttered a look as possible and thus minimum distraction during your event. The guided menu takes you easily through your meeting/presentation offering everything you need at your fingertips. Furthermore, the touch interf

Europe - The well-proven design team of Steven Cohen and his associate Bryan Barancik, have again pooled their creative energies to conceive an ever changing scenography for the Lenny Kravitz Strut tour.

The two designers repeated the magic they had introduced for the earlier 2011 tour, but this time making the centrepiece an automated retro-style overhead sphere, with unfolding petals revealing the light sources, redolent of the global 'superdiscos' of the 1990s.

To animate this mechanical sculpture - which was expertly fabricated by Tait Towers - they populated it with a total of 12 GLP impression X4 XL, 16 impression X4 and 32 impression X4 S; the inventory was supplied by Philadelphia based rental company, Atomic Lighting, and this was the first time the new X4 XL had been specified in North America (albeit for a European Tour).

The GLP platform is entirely familiar to b

USA - The Baptist Temple of McAllen,TX opens its doors and hearts to all. This much is evident in the welcoming section of its website, which declares, "We are teachers, lawyers, bookbinders, skateboarders, painters, musicians, and bikers..." It's also plain to see on the church's large stage, which bustles with energy during services, thanks in part to its dynamic band and singers, as well as the vivid light from a plethora of Chauvet Professional fixtures, including six Rogue R1 Spot moving heads.

"This is a very contemporary and dynamic house of worship," said Doug Hood, president of Custom Sound Designs (Fort Wayne, IN), which designed and installed the church's all-Chauvet lighting rig. "There's a lot happening on the stage at this church, such as line array speakers, environmental projection, and video projection - so we had to work the lighting pl

Germany - Nexo has announced the appointment of satis&fy, one of Europe's leading full service companies for event production, as a new distributor in Germany. The two companies have been working together since satis&fy invested heavily last year in Nexo STM modular line array systems as well as the latest compact line array Geo M6.

"We've been increasing our sales business over the last few years," explains Martin Ramrath, head of satis&fy's audio department, who will be handling Nexo sales. "To be true to what we're doing, as well as to the market, we are only selling those products that we've tested successfully in our rental business. As we believe in Nexo as a good partner and manufacturer of high end technology, it's the next logical step to also represent their products. Nexo's ranges have many applications across a lot of different market segments. Besides

UK / Sweden - LumenRadio has confirmed another OEM partnership - this time with London based Event Concept. Event Concept is an accredited production supplier to some of London's most sought after venues. They have recently expanded to include their own R&D facility to meet the demands of their partners who often have unique needs to place directional lighting in historically significant buildings.

Event Concept have already put this partnership to work and launched their first in-house designed fixture - the Concept 6 SD, the next step in wireless battery light technology. Developed to meet a host of new applications for battery lighting, Event Concept senior hire manager, Stephen McGuinness, comments, "We have just commissioned the second batch of 200 units as the lamp has been so well received by both our own designers and other major designers in the industry. We have h

Norway - Hajfell is hosting the FIS Alpine Junior World Ski Championships this winter and, with the original sound system installed 20 years ago for the Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the Hafjell Nationalanlegg decided a new system was required. The investment is part of a major overall upgrade of the national slalom slope, financed by the Norwegian government.

Hafjell is located just north of Lillehammer and is one of Norway's largest ski areas, with a starting point 1030m above sea level and a vertical drop of 835m. During the Winter Olympics in 1994 it was the venue for the slalom and giant slalom events and is the now the national arena and training facility for these disciplines. Following the Olympics, the resort was further developed and currently consists of 30 trails serviced by a cable car, three chair lifts and 11 ski lifts. Hafjell and its co-owned neighbouring venue t

Sweden - W-DMX by Wireless Solution once again played an important role in the recent Lights in Alingsaas event in Sweden. The event is Northern Europe's largest lighting workshop in public spaces, attracting more than 85,000 visitors every year.

Beginning in the year 2000, leading lighting designers and companies have been invited to Alingsas to demonstrate their expertise, network and hold workshops. For five weeks, the dark evenings of Sweden are transformed into beautiful lighting installations around the town.

It started in 1999 when students from HDK, Jönköping University and Gothenburg University gathered in Alingsas to experiment with different lighting designs for public buildings. The following year, the municipality entered into agreements with the Professional Lighting Designers' Association - PLDA, who have brought the international world of lighting design to A

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