USA - Schnick Schnack Systems LED Accent Lighting literally spins with the hot seats on NBC's The Voice. Chosen by designer Oscar Dominguez of Darkfire Lighting Design, Schnick Schnack Systems' quality, camera-friendly, calibrated colours light the triangular podium on the front of each judge's chair. Naturally, whenever a critical red decision button is pushed, the LEDs behind the Plexiglas podium change colours and the chair spins around.

"The system consists of 42 10" LED S-Strips and 14 5" LED S-Strips, all driven by a Schnick Schnack Systems Long Distance (LD) Controller," states Melanie Lekaj of TMB Sales. "All in all it proved to be a trouble-free installation and was easily integrated into the show's DMX control system. That's the beauty of the Schnick Schnack system; it's specifically designed to be 100% colour consistent and reliable, an

South Africa - Calibre UK has extended its global reach still further with the appointment of Prosound as its new distribution partner for sub-Saharan Africa. Based in South Africa, Prosound is an experienced distributor and rental company with several decades of expertise in supplying professional sound and lighting equipment under its belt.

With more and more of its customers also requiring hardware solutions for multi-screen shows and installations, the link with Calibre UK was a natural progression, according to Prosound's technical director, Mark Malherbe: "Our reputation has been built on using only market-leading products in both our sales and hire departments, so when the opportunity arose to add Calibre to our roster, we jumped at the chance.

"We supply a number of high-end production companies not just in South Africa but in East and West African countries

Italy - Early 2013 has seen Yamaha CL series digital consoles in demand for work in sub-zero temperatures. As well as featuring in the broadcast facilities at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Austria, the 2013 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships saw CL systems deployed as the main mixers for the event arenas.

The championships were held in northern Italy's Val di Fiemme, with the audio infrastructure supplied by rental company Jam Session.

"We were considering new digital consoles for our rental stock and particularly for the Nordic World Ski Championships. After looking at both the digital mixers and audio networking currently on the market, we felt that the Yamaha CL series was the best for our needs," says Jam Session's Michele Garbari. "Dante can also manage extremely complex network situations which would require a much bigger investment u

UK - XL Video is supplying nearly 400sq.m of LED screen, plus 72 VersaTUBE LED battens and crew to Blink TV for the UK and European legs of One Direction's Take Me Home world tour.

The Pixled F-12 and F-30 screen has been specified by the tour's production designer Paul Normandale, who's worked with XL on many previous occasions including Coldplay's 2012 Mylo Xyloto tour, when he first used the then just launched F-12 surface.

"It was faultless," he comments. "It's always a pleasure dealing with Phil Mercer and XL - everything is very smooth and easy."

Phil Mercer (project managing for XL) says: "I really enjoy our on-going relationship with One Direction and with the tour's production director Steve Levitt and production manager Karen Ringland of Production North. Apart from that, it's great to see the band keep breaking records."

USA - Bandit Lites is on the road with American rock band, Needtobreathe on the second leg of their tour entitled The Reckoning. The tour began on 2 April and will continue through 17 August.

The first leg of the tour featured a custom-made typewriter, an addition that, while elaborate and impressive, could be distracting for audience members. Fortunately, inspiration struck guitarist Bo Rineheart as he looked over at the fly rail system lit by back light.

Jay Waddell, Needtobreathe's lighting designer of the last five years, drew upon that inspiration to create a different but "less flashy" set production: 1800ft of rope hang from a custom-built touring frame with a rope nail attached underneath, creating a look of a fly rail system. VL 2500s and Martin MAC Auras light the set from all angles, a task for which Waddell said the Auras were especially well suite

UK - In an ongoing commitment to raising the health and safety standards for dancers, Harlequin Floors was exclusive sponsor of the Dance and Lifelong Wellbeing conference which took place on 26 - 28 April at the Royal Academy of Dance and London College of Fashion.

Combining interviews, presentations, panel discussions, demonstration classes and a live performance, the conference brought together leading experts in dance, health, community arts and education to explore the ways in which dance can enhance lives.

"Harlequin Floors is delighted to be a part of such an important event," said Mark Rasmussen, group marketing manager for Harlequin Floors. "Our sponsorship of the conference is further evidence of our commitment to delivering the very highest standards of health and safety for the world's dance community."

Harlequin was present on all thre

UK - Embracing diverse and varied projects has always been Star Events Group ethos and 2013 will be no exception, says the company.

Star Events Group brought its advanced QP (Quasi Parabolic) seating system to the market only three years ago and is already establishing itself as a leading quality seating supplier in the UK.

To continue this growth and development and with a strong focus on training ahead of the season, Star Events ran an extensive two day training exercise with Salima Ltd supplying 20 crew for product specific training.

The two days were split between classroom-style training and hands-on building of specific grandstand layouts. Salima were chosen as they were able to demonstrate the same focus and dedication to safety and service, says Star Events.

Star Events Group reports a much busier than expected season now taking shape, having already signed extende

Belgium - After more than two years of restoration work, the 1875 built Théatre Royal de Liège, home of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie (ORW), re-opened its doors to the public at the end of last year in Liège. The whole renovation project, unique in its kind, represented an investment of 31m euros and includes a fully-fledged L-Acoustics system.

In 2008 Riva Audio were appointed by the main contractor Putman, to carry out preliminary research, design and install the new audio system, using their expertise in stage mechanics and technical installations of theatres and studios.

"The big challenge was to persuade the city officials and opera management to place new audio gear in a classified 19th century building - they wanted the venue to be 'sound reinforcement less'," says Frédéric Vard, managing director of Riva Audio. "For example, i

Australia - The 55th Annual TV Week Logie Awards was held on Sunday 7 April 2013 at the Crown Palladium in Melbourne, Australia and broadcasted live on the Nine Network.

For several years the lighting has been designed and operated by Rohan Thornton in his role of lighting director at the Nine Network, however he left the network last year to freelance. Fortunately Nine realised they needed his talent and expertise and employed him on a contract basis.

On request from Rohan, Show Technology, Clay Paky's Australian distributor, rushed in the new Clay Paky Sharpy Wash 330 fixtures.

Thornton first saw the Sharpy Wash at the LDI show last October and he rated it the standout product of the show. "I thought they were brilliant," he remarked. "The speed, quality of beam, quality of colour and all the features were amazing. They have great intensity, power eff

Lebanon - X Factor is one of the most successful casting shows worldwide, and the same is true for X Factor Arabia which started broadcasting in March 2006. The current run of 20 shows is again based on the original British concept.

Video for X Factor Arabia, recently produced in Beirut, Lebanon, relied on an MA control system consisting of two grandMA2 light and six MA VPU plus (Video Processing Units).

Stephan Flören of LichtUnit GmbH, who worked as video supervisor and specified the MA VPU, the grandMA2 consoles and the video system, explained why he chose MA, and especially the MA VPU: "It was the reliability of the MA VPU and the grandMA2 system as it would have been very difficult to source any spare parts in Beirut.

"Furthermore, the new MA software release 2.8 has some excellent new features like the new 'output mixes' or the 'variable

Ireland - Leading Irish lighting rental company Just Lite, based in Dublin, is the first recipient in the UK of Robe's new RobinPointe moving head fixtures. The much-anticipated product was officially launched by Robe at the 2013 Prolight+Sound exhibition in Frankfurt. "The initial round of confirmed orders - just at the show alone - have been phenomenal," says the company.

Just Lite's Paul Smith was one of those visiting Frankfurt to ensure that his order for the company's first 12 Pointes was at the top of the pile to be processed. They will be supplied by Robe UK.

Smith got straight to the point when asked why he's buying the fixtures: "I needed a small multi-purpose unit that was versatile and did many different things - which is exactly The Pointe - in fact, it does so much more than it says on the tin."

Just Lite already owns over 400 Robe moving li

UK - POLARaudio has announced the exclusive UK distribution of Cornered Audio speakers. These loudspeakers are ergonomically designed for the provision of background music in a range of settings from retail environments to bars, entertainment venues and cafes. With a distinctly Scandinavian edge to design, form and function, they represent an interesting and decidedly original addition to POLARaudio's range, says the company.

POLARaudio MD John Midgley comments: "Cornered Audio represents another exciting opportunity to make available some extremely well designed and engineered audio products into the UK market. These specialist speakers are rugged but still aesthetically pleasing and take the concept of wall-mounted sound reinforcement to a very high level."

Cornered Audio speakers will be exhibited on the POLARaudio stand (N-C13) at PLASA Focus Leeds. Also on displ

UK / Ireland - Lighting and visuals rental specialist, Blackburn-based HSL, has formed a dynamic new partnership with Production Services Ireland (PSI) - a market leader in the territory with operations in Belfast and Dublin.

The merger sees PSI's highly successful and well established operations in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic continue unchanged with the same directors, staff, facilities and distinct identity. PSI now has the additional advantage of access to HSL's massive equipment inventory and additional resources.

Combined annual sales are expected to reach £15m in the next 24 months, there are over 100 full time skilled and talented employees and the new working relationship will enable both companies' UK and Irish operations to be streamlined, seamless and highly competitive, says a statement.

HSL's MD Simon Stuart comments: "Joining forces with

UK - Innovation Productions is preparing itself for a busy summer with new additions to its already extensive rental stock. The company provides hire and sales of lighting, sound, video and staging equipment and is add new additions to all areas of its range from leading brand names, including Clay Paky, Martin Professional, Sennheiser, Christie Digital and DPA - with further additions planned for the coming months.

Andrew Pygott, the company's managing director and himself a respected lighting and systems designer, commented on some of the additions.

"Clay Paky Sharpys were selected as an addition to our rental stock because of their unrivalled performance over size and weight and although copies of this product have been attempted, the true original Clay Paky version is still the most outstanding small beamlight . We have had a lot of demand for the Sharpy from customer

UK - London- based lighting and visuals rental company Colour Sound Experiment (CSE) has made a substantial new investment in LED screen with the purchase of 100sq.m of BT6 6mm pitch high resolution surface.

The product has been manufactured specially for CSE to their specifications and will join the company's existing stock of BT12 and BT37 screens, all from the same factory, designed and built to the same exacting quality standards.

CSE's MD Haydn Cruickshank comments: "It was clear that we needed a high resolution screen, in particular for our corporate work. Following good experiences with the other pitch screens, it made sense to work with the same team again to bring this one to the market."

CSE's choice of manufacturer was made after extensive research and careful consideration. The relationship has been developed over the last four years buoyed by the exper

Slovakia - The Gothic Cathedral of St Elizabeth in Košice became the glowing centrepiece of the city's Opening Ceremony celebrations for its year as European Capital of Culture in a spectacular lighting scheme featuring Robe and Anolis LED fixtures.

The overall OC event lasted two days with over 1000 artists performing in 70 different locations in and around the city. The Cathedral - the largest in Slovakia - was lit for the entire time, providing a jaw-dropping backdrop for the finale of the OC.

The idea of illuminating elements of the Cathedral first came from Branislav Bernár from Showmedia, the company commissioned to produce the OC. They in turn approached Anolis's Czech based Brand Manager, Petr Kolma?ka to assist in developing the concept.

Kolma?ka took these initial ideas and augmented them with plans to highlight the whole Cathedral exterior in a 'monumental' ener

UK - Alchemea College and Britannia Row Productions Training have announced a new collaboration to offer the delivery of live sound training at the highest level. With Alchemea's facilities located on Britannia Row in Islington (the original HQ for Britannia Row Productions), both parties have enjoyed friendly relations for many years.

As part of this collaboration, Britannia Row Productions Training will deliver training for all students currently enrolled on Alchemea's full time Live Sound course.

Alchemea's marketing and sales director Mike Sinnott says, "Brit Row is a household name in the live sound industry, so we were thrilled to hear that they had developed their own intensive training programme. This collaboration will ensure that our students will continue to receive the highest standard of relevant hands on industry training using the latest cutting edge live s

UK - The introduction of the X-5 LED strobes from Peter Johansen's SGM provided all the inspiration necessary for multi-award winning production designer, LeRoy Bennett, to specify no fewer than 470 pieces for Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour.

The low-profile, lightweight X-5 is designed to deliver the same output as conventional strobes from one fifth of the power. Housing 2,970 LED's, power consumption of 360W with lamp life of 50,000 hours, contained in a slim aluminium chassis, it is designed into three cells - to boost creativity.

These attributes had been brought to LeRoy's attention by one of his partners, programmer Cory FitzGerald, and Randy Wade, who heads up SGM Inc, based in Houston, Texas. And so the designer decided to specify them for the first time.

"I was impressed by the combination of power consumption, brightness and rugged des

Italy - Researcher and eco-acoustic composer David Monacchi has been using DPA Microphones' 4060 miniature microphones to capture the sounds of the rainforest as part of his long-term environmental sound-art project entitled Fragments of Extinction.

David Monacchi, who is Professor of Electroacoustic Music at the Conservatorio G.Rossini in Pesaro, Italy, is collaborating with various institutions on this project, which involves travelling to some of the world's most remote areas of intact rainforest to record complex soundscape portraits.

"I use several microphone techniques in the field, most of which involve quite heavy and complex systems," Monacchi explains. "DPA miniature microphones are extremely lightweight and this makes them highly suitable to field work where I may have to hike long distances in extreme terrain."

Monacchi's two Hi-Sens DP

The Netherlands - Duran Audio will be running a two day training course at Duran Audio BV's R&D facility, Zaltbommel, The Netherlands on 14-15 May 2013.

These two days are aimed at consultants, sound system designers, installers and users who wish to learn more about AXYS products and software. Both days involve a combination of presentations, demonstrations and practical activities. There will also be some 'free time' set aside for attendees to experiment with the products.

Day one will focus on the highly successful AXYS Intellivox range. The Intellivox range, first introduced in 1996, was the pioneer of beam steering. AXYS Intellivox units have been installed in airports, atriums, railway stations, shopping malls, theatres, concert halls, museums, and many more difficult acoustic environments all over the world to provide highly intelligible speech reproduction in environme

USA - Chicago Spotlight, Inc. is shedding some light on United Centre, the largest arena in the US, with help from Robert Juliat Cyrano followspots. Home of the NBA's Chicago Bulls and the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks and a venue for top musical artists, the United Centre has hosted over 40m guests since it opened in 1994.

"The United Centre is in the process of replacing their current followspots," says Chicago Spotlight president Marty Lazarus. "Their existing fixtures have been there since the arena opened. Their goal is to replace two each year until all 12 are replaced with Cyranos."

Cyrano is a compact and efficient 2500W HMI followspot with a high-performance quartz condenser optical system. It features a 100% closing iris; 100% closing dimmer; B-size gobo holder , variable frost, dichroic blue filter; and 6-way boomerang color changer with removable fil

Spain - Located in the town of Erandio, near the Basque capital Bilbao, the Sonora nightclub is renowned for its quality of music, drawing people from a wide catchment area. This reputation is aided by a high specification audio system that features an Apex Intelli-X2 48 controller at its heart.

With a total capacity of 1500, Sonora is split into three rooms - 808 and 909 which host DJ sets and the Bar for live music. The audio system was designed by Hector Cabot of Barcelona-based Media Sys, who also supplied the equipment, and installed by Sonort, based in Bilbao.

It comprises Kling & Freitag loudspeakers throughout, powered by Lab Gruppen amplifiers in rooms 808 and 909, while the Bar loudspeakers use Proel amplifiers. An Apex Intelli-X2 48 system controller was specified because of its exceptional audio quality and flexibility.

"The Intelli-X2 48 controller is the m

Norway - One of the first European installations of- Dolby Atmos surround sound technology is at Kristiansand in Norway, where 54 Yamaha loudspeakers and 33 power amplifiers have been specified to deliver its exacting audio requirements.

Atmos supports up to 128 simultaneous, lossless audio elements in a mix. Using up to 64 loudspeakers, it heightens the realism and impact of cinema by making the soundtrack fully immersive. An array of overhead speakers complements screen and wall-mounted units to allow sound to be precisely positioned anywhere in the auditorium, producing a natural, lifelike audio experience that perfectly matches the storyline.

Owned by the Municipality of Kristiansand, the Kino has the highest footfall of any Norwegian cinema, with 370,000 filmgoers visiting each year. The Atmos system was installed in its 655-seat Screen 1 by Unique Cinema System (UCS), wh

Olympic Honours - The London 2012 Olympic Games have taken three awards at this year's British Academy of Film and Television Arts Craft Awards. The Olympics opening ceremony picked up a best director award while Super Saturday - when team GB scooped six gold medals - won for best sound. The Paralympics, broadcast on Channel Four, took best digital creativity.

Hamish Hamilton who directed the TV broadcasts of the London 2012 opening and closing ceremonies, was also honoured on the night with a special award in recognition of his "outstanding creative contribution to the industry and his extensive work and accomplishments in his field".

In The Ring - A stage musical based on the hit film Rocky is to open on Broadway. Sylvester Stallone, who starred in and wrote the script for the Oscar-winning 1976 film, is co-producing the theatre version, which will open at t

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