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14 March 2016

The 46th Annual CMA Awards aired live in 5.1-channel surround sound Thursday, 1 November, 2012, on the ABC Television Network from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, and featured over 200 Audio-Technica microphones, including an impressive array of hard-wired mics and Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless Systems.

The team responsible for the audio at this year's CMA's again included a who's who of broadcast audio. The audio was supervised by award-winning audio producers Tom Davis and Paul Sandweiss; ATK/Audiotek provided the sound system with FOH (front-of-house) mixers Patrick Baltzell and Rick Shimer; the broadcast music mix was handled by New Jersey/California-based M

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14 March 2016

The cases - a series of general purpose and custom items - were purchased to protect and transport Black Light's newest equipment investments, including lighting and rigging kit.

5 Star designed, manufactured and delivered the order with their characteristic speed and efficiency so the cases were able to go straight into action on a range of events and hires.

5 Star was selected for its reputation for producing robust, premium quality cases as well as the expedient turnaround, and was project managed for them by John Barsby out of the company's Wisbech HQ.

Eight Eurotrucker road trunks with full trays, one ETC Gio lighting console case, two Selecon Acclaim

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14 March 2016

Lighting stalwart Andy Graves, of Turkish-based LEDsistem, supplied 18 of SGM's innovative XC-5 RGB strobes among the lasers and special effects that animate this luxurious multi-zone venue. They had been specified by Arch Lite's Matthew Button and Trent O'Connor, who between them undertook responsibility for the architectural, theatrical and club lighting design.

Button, who masterminded the stage lighting design, had no hesitation in choosing the SGM solution over conventional strobes, stating, "In terms of power, this fixture not only outperforms a standa

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14 March 2016

Originally designed by the Bristol architect James Saunderson, the theatre is believed to be the oldest working theatre in the UK. Stage Electrics was awarded the contract to design and install a completely new technical infrastructure and production lighting, audio and communications systems. The project has been headed by consultants Charcoalblue with design by John Stevens and project management by John Woodley; architect Andrzej Blonski and builders Galliford Try.

The refurbishment includes the raising of the stalls and gallery to dramatically improve sightlines throughout the Georgian auditorium, a new, flexible thrust stage format, conversion of the pai

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14 March 2016

A collaboration between RMIT's Music Industry (Sound Production) and Audio Visual Technology departments, the MAVIS project is an opportunity for final year students to apply their skills in event planning, live sound, audio and visual recording in a professional setting, using industry standard equipment.

This year they were faced with a variety of acts, performing on two stages. The music ranged from cartoon metal warlords Barbariön, country rockers Alford's Band of Bullwinkles and psychedelic beatniks Wolfy & The Bat Cubs to singer/songwriter Violetta Delconte Ra

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14 March 2016

The UJ Theatre, The Playhouse Company and the Baxter Theatre were the hosting venues.

Overseas representatives promoting their latest equipment were Robe's Josef Valchar and Harry von den Stemmen, Phil Blue from Avolites and Peter Kirkup from LumenRadio.

"I feel like I'm coming home every time I come to South Africa," commented von den Stemmen. "When we do demos like these we never arrive with an average mix of products but choose novelties to show clients something different."

Robe focussed on the Robin DLX, DLS and DLF which are versatile and of equal interest to television studios, clubs and just about any

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14 March 2016

For the first time in the worldwide history of Monster Jam, the event brought together the world's biggest monster trucks, along with daredevil demo riders and, of course, the FMX-ers from Team Marvel and Team Destruction - creating the largest ever extreme sports battle.

Last year almost 70 Powersoft Duecanali amplifiers were installed in the Gelredome arena by TM Audio. Olaf Landzaat created the system design and headed the installation team. In collaboration with Italian engineers at Powersoft, a custom-made Media Matrix plugin was written, enabling the amps to be integrated into the system seamlessly.

The house system at the Gelredome (also installed by TM Audio several years ago) has

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14 March 2016

Hosted by Today show presenter Matt Lauer, the concert will be recorded from NBC's New York studios at Rockefeller Plaza. It will be broadcast live across NBC's other cable networks including Bravo, CNBC, E!, Syfy and USA at 20:00 EST (00:00 GMT) and tape-delayed on the west coast. The commercial-free telethon will also be streamed live on NBC's website. NBC organised a similar benefit after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 which raised $50

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14 March 2016

PLASA Focus: Stamford will also host the popular PLASA Professional Development Programme, a two-day programme of free seminars and events running alongside the exhibition - including a Keynote Session presented by legendary lighting designer and one of the world's preeminent theatre consultants, Richard Pilbrow. Richard will also be taking part in a book signing before the seminar, coinciding with a cocktail and hors d'oeuvres reception. This free to attend event takes place on Monday, 12 November from 5pm onwards. To book this session, and to see the full line u

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14 March 2016

Since the venue also hosts LAE Live Audio engineering diploma courses, it depends on showcasing the best in production technology. Recently it upgraded its mixing consoles and now standardises on Soundcraft platforms, which can be found in both the house and stage positions.

Three and a half years after purchasing a 32-channel Soundcraft MH3 from dealers Crystal Pro Audio, head of sound George Gregori gave the go-ahead for the purchase of a new Soundcraft Si Compact 32 from the same suppliers - giving them a matched channel count at both ends.

The desk was specified by head sound engineer Dave Preston, who earlier reviewed several other options in the same category before dec

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14 March 2016

Established in early 2011 to harness and strengthen the respected companies, Nordic Sales & Staging, Signal Audio and Moto Audio Sales, Matrix Group provides a powerful distribution partner for many international manufacturers. From a base in pro audio it has expanded this year into lighting distribution and sales - with PR Lighting becoming its latest acquisition.

Commenting on the move, Matrix CEO Kenneth Bremer, said: "As part of our strategy we wanted a brand that had a broad and well-made range of lighting products - that was both affordable and had professional specs.

"I asked several people for recommendations and we were introduced to Cui Lin at PR Lighting. We quickly realised the

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14 March 2016

Additionally, American trumpeter Roy Hargrove's RH Factor made their China debut while Chinese artists Tia Yuan, Karen Mok, and Khalil Fong gave riveting performances. Over 8,000 music fans enjoyed a weekend of music and some fantastic weather in the world's largest city.

Martin Audio distributors, Budee, service the main Green Note stage - the largest and most popular of the six stages - on an annual basis and the company's Lee Feng, one of China's leading tour sound engineers, built the PA system around Martin Audio MLA Multi-cellular loudspeaker arrays.

Remarkably, the audio mains were about as compact as it gets: at only 790kg - in

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14 March 2016

Based on the same concept as NBC's The Voice, the Chinese show featured four judges/coaches who used blind auditions to identify teams of singers they wanted to work with during the series. The prize for the winning artist, Liang Bo, was a recording contract.

Heading up sound production for the show was Mr Jin Shao Gang, a noted sound designer and one of China's most important sound engineers. During an extensive and illustrious career, Mr Jin has worked with many of the country's top recording artists and was also heavily involved in the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

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14 March 2016

The first day was dedicated to showing existing Codiscos clients, particularly those in the rental and staging markets, the newest Robe technologies now available on the Colombian market. The featured products were Robin 600 and 300 LED Washes, MMX Spot, the Robin 600 Beam, CitySkape Xtremes and 48s, the LEDForce PAR 18 and a selection of Robe hazers.

Sebastian Ochea remarks that the power saving and efficient running made possible using Robe's products, built to their 'smalle

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14 March 2016

The Stage Technologies system included 15 BigTow winches, ranging from 12 BT200s and two BT390s which flew smaller scenic items to a single BT490 which moved a very large scenic wall. The control system included several AU:tour control racks and an Acrobat G•6 desk, running the eChameleon software.

Stage Technologies' director of rentals services Ted Moore said: "It is a great privilege for our rentals team to be asked to provide an automation system for the National Theatre, one of the most famous

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14 March 2016

Chicco Hiranandani, business development manager at Midas's Middle East distributor NMK commented: "The Heritage Theatre joins a prestigious line up of venues that have specifically chosen Midas solutions for their reliability, redundancy and most importantly - audio quality. These venues include the Raha Theatre, Abu Dhabi; the Qatar National Theatre, Doha as well as the Royal Opera House in Muscat, Oman."

The Heritage Theatre is a 550 seat multi-purpose venue that is used for drama, dance, lectures and conferences. The latest supply of the PRO6 sees it join other UAE venues such as the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, which is currently using a Midas XL4.

"Midas is enjoying increasing

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14 March 2016

Event director, James Samuel explains: "The live event industry is buoyant after a record year in 2012 when this country's expertise was showcased to the entire world. It's clear that professionals are determined to maintain and capitalise on this exposure. The fact that bookings have already exceeded our launch year is an excellent testament to the show. It also highlights increasing optimism in the event sector and the UK's position on the international stage. We're delighted that Live Experience is growing at such pace in terms of floor space and

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14 March 2016

Dylan Thompson, Penguin Media Solutions' director of operations, says: "We've been aware of Crestron for some time and recently some projects have presented themselves which lend themselves perfectly to a Crestron product - becoming an authorised dealer was the only logical step to offer our clients the best possible solution."

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

For five of those nights, Floriade comes alive after dark with NightFest, when garden bed designs, pond waters and trees are shown in a whole new light amid dazzling light shows.

Designed and created by Mandylights, this year's NightFest made extensive use of the Martin MAC 301 Wash LED moving head with powerfully fast zoom and impressive zoom range.

A total of 48 MAC 301 fixtures, positioned in groups of six, took care of lighting the largest part of the site; the main vista comprising six different garden beds that occupy 200m x 50m of the park.

"It's the iconic view of Floriade that they use in all of their marketing," ex

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14 March 2016

After considering many different options, they decided that the solution would be to supplement the DJ booth with an LED video screen display. They felt the addition of a video wall would enhance and intensify the performance of the featured act, adding a powerful visual element that would serve as a commanding focal point in the club.

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14 March 2016

FRESH is a conference focused purely on meeting design. Attendees will experience, discover and learn about the latest tools and techniques to improve meetings and conferences and make them more effective. They can meet and confer with professionals in all aspects of meeting planning including design, production, facilitation, evaluation and much more. This mix of people and products make FRESH the conference of choice for anyone wishing to optimise the effectiveness of meetings, say the organisers.

This year the FRESH conference has a special focus on meeting formats, session formats and presentation formats, meaning visitors can expect an immersive and varied experience. Sessions include the 'learning carousel', featuring

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14 March 2016

In total, over 650 effects from large scale comets and mines to the Fairy Godmother's wand were fired as Harrods unveiled their magical Disney-themed Christmas window displays which will run until January.

Couture houses including Valentino and Versace created a range of stunning dresses for each Disney princess.

(Jim Evans)

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14 March 2016

Over 300m of Prolyte Truss from was used to construct a large banner frame on the roadway, and a series of MPT based lighting towers along the red carpet. The focal point of the entrance area was a stage constructed from Layher EV100 Event Decks, forming part of a structure also incorporating Layher Allround scaffoldi

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14 March 2016

This event allows for an informal personal look at the Martin product range, allowing time for a more detailed examination of their dynamic lighting and visual solutions.

There will be approximately 40 Martin products on display which will include, the MAC III Range, MAC Viper, MAC 700 Range, MAC Aura, MAC 101 range, Maxedia, Martin P3, M1, and M2PC, plus EC Panels, VC grid plus a range of exterior and smoke products.

The event takes place on 14 November, for registration contact info@innovation-productions.com

(Jim Evans)