Japan - After an extensive renovation that took five years to complete, the historic Himeji Castle's grand reopening ceremony was an event not to be missed.

The renovation of what is considered Japan's most spectacular castle, which is frequently known as Hakuro-jo (White Egret Castle) or Shirasagi-jo (White Heron Castle) because of its brilliant white exterior, began in October 2009. It involved returning the walls to 'the white egret' whilst repairing the kawara tiled roof, and the recreation of the symbolic Shachihoko (Japanese mythological animal) decorating its ridge.

The opening ceremony, held before an invited audience of 1000 people (including government officials and politicians), saw Martin Audio's MLA Compact Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array brought into play, alongsi

- Since India's first Hard Rock Café opened in Mumbai's busy upmarket Worli district about nine years ago, the venue has built up a great following, thanks to its role as a standard-bearer of the brand's successful combination of good food and good music.

More recently, a second Hard Rock Café opened in Andheri (with its 1.5m inhabitants, one of the most vibrant important Mumbai suburbs) and recent changes to the two venues' music policy have been followed by a decision to upgrade the older venue's sound systems, with an Outline rig (the newer HRC, centrally located in the affluent Andheri West district, surrounded by many corporations and movie production houses, was already equipped with the Italian manufacturer's loudspeakers).

Music has always played a key role in the success of Hard Rock Café's venues around the world, and the man behind the mus

UK - Following a hugely successful Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt, ETC is getting ready to head to northern England, where its most popular new and updated products will be on display at PLASA Focus Leeds.

The new Source Four LED Fresnel adapter is set to take pride of place in the lighting area, alongside ColorSource PAR - the new addition to ETC's LED range which perfectly suits budget-starved venues without sacrificing the output quality or customer service levels that people have come to expect.

Source Four's miniature sibling, Source Four Mini, will also be on display, proving that bright, accurate light can come in a small package.

Meanwhile, an ETC Gio control desk will be joined by ETCnomad and ETCnomad Puck, each of which comes with powerful Eos-family software and provides similar lighting control features.

Gio is a compact control desk with big ideas: its fast, eas

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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.

Germany - MDG, the manufacturer of premiere fog, haze and low fog generators, celebrated its 35th anniversary at Prolight+Sound, Frankfurt with the release of three new fog generators.

The Me Series has been designed as the next stage in MDG's evolution of fog and represents a new family of generators with a higher degree of controllability and a powerful output from a compact chassis.

Me1 is the smallest of the Me family with a single nozzle output that can produce up to 100m3 (3,521 ft3) of fog per minute. It is unique in offering a MAX 3000 configuration setting.

Me2 is the powerful twin of the Me1, housed in the same size chassis but with twice the power and a dual output of 200m3 (7,063 ft3) per minute.

Me4's powerful quadruple output produces up to 400m3 (14,126 ft3) of fog per minute and is the ideal generator for applications requiring seriously high quantities of

UK - UK companies installing energy monitoring systems, such as the MeasureMyEnergy equipment offered by consultancy :entertaining sustainability, can now qualify for upfront financing from the Carbon Trust's Energy Efficiency Financing Scheme.

The scheme, which is run on behalf of the Carbon Trust by Siemens Finance, provides initial funding for the installation, with repayments made over a maximum of five years from the savings generated by working with the equipment.

The MeasureMyEnergy system - already installed at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Studio - utilises sensors on each circuit within a distribution board to log consumption, flag up anomalies and present real-time data via a secure web app.

Companies already working with the system - anecdotally report savings of between 10% and 20% through the ability to target the highest areas of consumption within a buildin

UK - Artistic Licence, the experts in lighting control, invite visitors to stand N-B23 at this year's PLASA Focus Leeds. Making its debut is versaSplit mini, a multi-functional modular DMX distribution system that promises to be the lighting control industry's equivalent of a Swiss Army knife.

versaSplit mini is housed in a compact metal case, suitable for desktop or truss mounting via an adapter. It comes with an inter-changeable input module, allowing the user to select between DMX/RDM, Ethernet (Art-Net, sACN & KiNET) or CRMX wireless DMX input.

The product features six splitter outputs, fitted with 5-pin XLR connectors. Moreover, all the input modules allow the user to switch to a 'fix mode' if any flickering is encountered.

The beauty of the product is that all the input modules (of which there are six types) can be purchased separately, making versaSplit mini an extrem

USA - Creative Stage Lighting is bringing its High End Systems Hog 4 training programme to PLASA Focus Kansas City 2015. As part of PLASA Focus Kansas City, CSL will hold a Hog 4 training course before the show at Harvest Productions, 18-19 May.

The ETC Ion Console May 18th training at XS Lighting is now sold out.

The PLASA Focus: Kansas City show floor and two days of additional Professional Development Programme seminars will be held at the Kansas City Convention Center 20-21 May.

The Hog 4 two-day hands-on training session will be taught by CSL sales engineer Phil Heid. Students will learn basic and intermediate Hog 4 programming techniques, including console layout, launching and managing shows, patching and editing fixtures, groups, palettes, directories and more. Students will be supplied their own HOG 4 controller to use for the duration of the class. Seats are priced

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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 - Since it opened its doors (and, indeed, retractable roof) in 1999, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium has hosted myriad high-profile sporting and music events. From special rally stages and speedway races to concerts featuring the likes of U2, The Police and The Rolling Stones, the venue has welcomed them all.

But it's rugby with which the Millennium Stadium is most closely associated - it is, after all, home to the Welsh rugby union team and recently saw two of the Six Nations 2015 matches played out on its turf.

For several years a PreSonus digital mixer has been at the heart of the stadium PA used for the various announcements, commentary and entertainment that go to make up such events. And most recently a new StudioLive 24.4.2AI desk has taken the central role in a system supplied and maintained by Llanelli-based PAI Group and operated by AB Acoustics.

The StudioLive 24.

UK - Chroma-Q Color One 100 LED Pars made their debut at Worthing's Connaught Theatre beaming bright, primary colours for an all-star production of Aladdin.

Originally an early cinema called the Picturedrome, in 1935 the venue was turned into a theatre when the Worthing Repertory Company outgrew its own premises - bringing with it the name Connaught Theatre. Last year's pantomime, Aladdin, starred singer Jon Lee of multi-million selling band S Club 7, alongside Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists Kieran Sutcliffe and Sarah Jameson.

The Color One 100 LED Pars were purchased for use in the venue's Studio Theatre, but made their debut in the main auditorium for the panto, to provide bright and comprehensive stage coverage.

"The main attraction of the Color One 100s for me was the excellent colour mixing and replication along with the decent lens,"

UAE - Portuguese audio manufacturer brand NEXT-proaudio has announced the appointment of its new distributor for the United Arab Emirates. The distribution company is Echo Beats Electronics, and from now on they will handle the exclusive distribution of NEXT-proaudio products for that market.

Echo Beats Electronics is part of a regional group with more than 27 years of experience in professional audio, lighting and A/V Equipment and more than 10 years in the broadcast industry.

"We are very happy to start this distribution with Echo Beats. We found a very professional company that offers high quality solutions to the market since long time ago with a big experience on the professional segment," said André Correia, NEXT-proaudio's assistant manager.

"We were looking for a loudspeaker manufacturer specialized in touring and installation products with high

UK - The Technical Department Ltd, a specialist electrical contractor providing generators, switchgear, transformers, cabling and lighting for events worldwide, are a proud Bronze Corporate Benefactor of the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in Kensington Gardens, London.

"The Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2015 has been designed by SelgasCano, our team look forward to supporting them later this year," the company says.

Belgium - Global visualization leader Barco is proud to launch Barco Capital, its new portfolio of equipment financing options. Barco Capital opens up new ways for customers to finance their investment in cutting-edge Barco technology to boost their business while balancing the payment spike.

The Barco Capital portfolio is initially available for the Digital Cinema, Venues and Hospitality, and Retail and Advertising product portfolios, starting with customers based in Europe and the Americas.

"For both current and potential Barco customers, it's essential to keep abreast of the latest innovation to generate business growth," says Sjoerd De Clerck, global director Barco Capital. "With Barco Capital, we help customers upgrade their equipment or invest in our state-of-the-art technology when the traditional capex-driven sales cannot be achieved or aren't appropriat

UK - A special version of Robe's Robin LEDWash 800 PureWhite SW fixture was specified by lighting designer and broadcast lighting and visual media effects specialist, Manfred Ollie Olma, from Cologne, Germany based lighting and visual design practice, mo2 design, for the new state-of-the-art Al Jazeera broadcast studio in London.

The studio, located on the 16th floor of The Shard in London features 80 of these Robe moving lights.

mo2 design was commissioned by set design and constructor Studio Hamburg, Germany's leading production service centre for film and television, which installed the studio's set and infrastructure on the strength of their designs for other high profile TV studio installations. These have included Phönixhof in Hamburg (also using Robe lights) and Sky Sports News in Munich.

The 600sq.m London studio is divided into two elements - the News Studio and th

UK / Belgium - As AED Master Distribution, with its HQ in Belgium, continues to expand to new territories with brands such as High End Systems and QSC Pro Audio, the company has recently added a couple of new profiles to its team.

The first new team member is Paul Young, who has been appointed as Brand Manager Rigging. Paul brings over 20 years' of the Live Entertainment sector and a wealth of experience gained in rigging and stage lighting to the position.

AED Distribution currently distributes some of the industry's leading rigging brands including the Prolyte trussing & staging range and Columbus McKinnon hoists, and wishes to add Young's experience to this rapidly growing area of their business. His role will primarily be to manage the brands and the link between manufacturer and the expanding AED sales team to ensure end users benefit from a truly focussed relationship wi

UK - The Midwich Group has increased its professional audio resource with the appointment of Simon Druce, who joins the Group as Audio External Sales Specialist.

Simon brings with him 15 years' worth of experience, having worked previously for audio brands Sennheiser and Audio-Technica, and distributors C:UK and Polar.

Simon joins a strong team of specialists headed up by Sales Manager Scott Pollard, and will be responsible for the audio portfolio at Midwich. The field-based role means that Simon will be able to assist dealers with all elements of a project, no matter where they are based, from helping make the right decision in terms of audio to demonstrating the products.

Simon stated that: "It's great to be joining a successful company that is continually developing its strategy and approach to business. Audio is a significant part of any project, and I'm really plea

UK - Acorn Event Structures has been awarded the prestigious contract to provide the complete staging package for the UK's No.1 electronic music festival - Creamfields. Held on the August back holiday, Creamfields is now considered the premier electronic music festival in the UK and attracts an audience of 70,000 to its Daresbury Estate venue.

Acorn will supply two 60m wide outdoor stage roofs using their Space Roof product combined with steel truss video wings to support 730sq.m of LED screen. Each main stage will be supplied complete with a newly designed cowshed arrangement, front-of-house structures and delay towers. In addition to the main stages, Acorn will also provide over 900sq.m of standalone stage platforms and wheelchair user platforms across 8 indoor arenas at the festival using its modular Layher decking system.

Ian Greenway, director of production company LarMac

UK - Rope Assemblies has announced that Linda Martin has been promoted to operations director.

Linda started with Rope Assemblies in October 2006 and during her time as operations manager has taken the company through ISO9001:2008 and recently also achieved the EN795 standard for anchor strops.

"Linda is an invaluable member of the team and has been instrumental in achieving the Quality Standards for the company and the development of new exciting products. We all wish her all the very best in her new role," says the company.

(Jim Evans)

USA - At NAB 2015 in Las Vegas, Shure debuted the Motiv MVL Lavalier Microphone, the latest addition to the company's Motiv line of digital recording solutions.

Suitable for capturing quality audio for field recording, dictation, news reporting, audio/video recording, and more, the MVL omnidirectional condenser lavalier microphone connects directly to any iOS and Android device for ultimate convenience and mobility.

Connecting directly to tablets and smartphones, the MVL is designed to be used with Shure's newest iOS app, ShurePlus Motiv Mobile Recording App, which is loaded with smart features for high-quality digital recording on-the-go and enables users to share audio files by email and text.

"With the MVL, we are expanding the options in our new Motiv product line to help professionals and consumers record quality audio on-the-go through mobile devices. MVL is a lav

China - Beijing-based RV Sun Acoustics has been appointed distributor for Pan Acoustics, the advanced steerable audio specialist from Wolfenbüttel in Germany.

Alan Li, vice general manager of RV Sun Acoustics explained their choice of Pan Beam, "With many column speakers available in the market over the last 10+ years, many companies have engineered their own solutions as part of an existing range of products in an attempt to tap into the growing market.

"We have been looking at the various solutions available in the market and all had their strengths and weaknesses, heavy, big, difficult to set up, so we were looking for a company that was specialised in steerable products but also offering a slim line of passive speakers, that had leading technology and the feature set that the market needed.

"We ultimately wanted outstanding performance combined with simpl

Germany - UK based motion control specialist Kinesys launched its new Pathfinder system at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt which was a great success.

The energy levels in Hall 9 of the Messe exhibition centre and specifically on and around the Kinesys booth were definitely up on 2014, and once again, the brand attracted a lot of interest from multiple market sectors and visitors from all over the world.

The launch of Pathfinder reinforced Kinesys' confidence in the exhibition as a major international gateway for the entertainment technology industry. It also built on the last 12 months' drive to get the brand further established within new territories, of which the company's inaugural Prolight exhibition in 2014 was an integral part.

"We were exceptionally pleased with the interest in Pathfinder and in Kinesys generally," underlines MD Dave Weatherhead.

"Followi

Germany - Power management company Eaton launched its new FLX lighting console - part of a new performance lighting control product line from Zero 88 - at Prolight+Sound in Frankfurt.

The Zero 88 team helped generate a great buzz and enjoyed a huge response to the FLX from the public as well as amassed international press and media.

A special press event on the Thursday was attended by a slew of industry journalists from around the world, and FLX demonstrations involving multiple consoles took place throughout the show on the stand of Zero 88's German distributor Ultralight. This was right at the heart of all the action in Hall 11 - arguably and consistently the busiest of the expo.

FLX has been designed to maximize the creativity and time of lighting designers working on medium sized shows across all sectors of the industry.

This powerful and compact console offers a clea

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